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The Irish, those who hail the country of Ireland, both by birth and those who simply claim it, are a God-fearing and unique group of people. It is said that everybody has been an Irish Catholic at least once in their lives. Who won’t join in the festivities of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations? Attributed to the Irish are hundreds of thousands of quotes over the centuries, and here are a few of their best. Enjoy, and feel free to use for yourself as often as you like.

1. “There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting.”~~ By John Millington Synge~~

2. “St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time — a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.”~~ By Adrienne Cook.~~

3. “Ireland is rich in literature that understands a soul’s yearnings, and dancing that understands a happy heart.”~~ By Margaret Jackson.~~

4. “Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.”~~ By Alex Levine.~~

5. “Maybe it’s bred in the bone, but the sound of pipes is a little bit of heaven to some of us.” ~~ By Nancy O’Keeefe.~~

6. “In Ireland the inevitable never happens and the unexpected constantly occurs.” ~~ By Sir John Pentland Mahaffy.~~

7. “Long life to you, a wet mouth, and death in Ireland”

8. “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures”

9. “I believe in the sun when it’s not shining, I believe in love even when I feel it not, I believe what whiskey will not cure, there is no cure for.”

Many of the quotes that are attributed to Ireland are those that are full of dealing with strife and problems. For many individuals in Ireland’s history, their lives were anything but easy. They struggled to find food, homes and shelter many times. And, when they had that there was disease ravishing them. For those in Ireland, many quotes are very religious in nature as well. The goal of each is to inspire or just to learn to deal with the things that were put at their feet.

Electronic mail is quick and easy but has not taken the place of regular mail (a.k.a. snail mail). And with mail service comes the need for envelopes. Envelopes are necessary to safely transport everything from personal correspondence to business proposals to wedding invitations to announcements and the like.
Envelopes come in a variety of different forms, styles and sizes. Just to name a few, there are commercial envelopes (think business size), window envelopes, open-end envelopes, self-sealing envelopes, remittance envelopes, booklet envelopes, square envelopes and so many more.

There are also specialty envelopes such as the ones used for greeting cards, wedding invitations, birthday/shower invitations etc. Depending on what type of correspondence you are sending, some items come with envelopes to match while others do not. It’s always a good idea to shop around at a number of different places to find exactly what you require.

Envelopes come in different colors as well- practically every color of the rainbow if you look hard enough. While white is a standard color and considered the professional way to go, a great deal of packing envelopes with bubbles inside, are yellow. And holiday envelopes (such as for Christmas) can often be purchased at stationery stores in festive colors such as red or green.

When deciding on the most appropriate size and style for what you need to mail, take into account the shape and size of the item(s). Don’t stuff the envelope to busting capacity. Always remember to leave enough room to comfortably seal the envelope. Allow each item some space to move around in!

A regular envelope is also referred to as a business size envelope. These are standard envelopes and are used on a regular basis by businesses and individuals alike. They can be broken down into two kinds- legal size and letter size envelopes. Incidentally there is a size of legal (business) envelope that is the most popular and that is the #10 envelope. This envelope’s dimensions measure 4 1/8 x 9 1/2. This size of envelope is used so frequently because a piece of standard size paper, 8 1/2 x 11, when it is folded three ways slips effortlessly into a # 10 envelope.

There are also other sizes of business (also referred to as commercial) size envelopes as well. There is the # 11, #12 and #14. What happened to the # 13 envelope is anyone’s guess. The measurements of each of the above envelope’s are as follows: #11 (4 1/2 x 10 3/8), # 12 (4 3/4 x 11) and # 14 (5 x 11 1/2).

To describe three other types of envelopes briefly, square envelopes have no seams and therefore are often used to send items such as booklets, announcements about new businesses and promotional deals. As a rule this kind of envelope can be purchased in stock that is made with white wove and comes in two sizes, the 24-pound and the 28-pound. Another kind of envelope, called the A-series envelope is also a favorite of businesses and comes in 6 different styles, the A-2, A-6, A-7, A-8, A-long and the A-10.

These envelopes are very sophisticated looking and are available in three kinds of weights, 60, 70 and 80 pounds. Open-end envelopes, which also go by the name of catalog envelopes, are often used to mail items such as thicker booklets, pamphlets and magazines. They are good for items such as these for two reasons, they have a gummed flap and the flap opens on the side that is longer so bulky printed materials fit inside very easily.

Everything seems fine, no mistakes, no false statements, no taboo ideologies expressed but still you get “satisfactory” and think about what a looser you are. It seems unfair. After getting the same result each time you ask yourself, what is that I do wrong? How to write it? Here are some hints for you to get the general idea of how to do it. First of all, you are to choose, what kind of essay it will be (for and against, persuasive, description essay). Each of them has its own peculiarities and requires different style. Then you have to structure your essay properly in order to highlight the theme you were given or you have chosen. There has to be an introduction, where you introduce the main idea and the statement around which you are going to make your essay. Then goes a main body where you state all the necessary facts to prove your idea, express your opinion, and make an impression. Use as many facts as it is only possible. This will make your essay more interesting and serve the right aim, to impress the reader by your intelligence and writing skills. Then conclusion comes, where you summarize everything mentioned in the main body and make the necessary statements, according to the type of essay you are going to write.

If you consider at least some of the above mentioned you will not have to do this term paper research, spend hours to compose it, check it hundred times, than give it to a friend to check, and see that the result stays the same and you hide the paper with disgust and swear that it will never happen again. Your research paper has to be next to perfect. Language you use is also very important. Your idea may seem great and the facts that you’ve stated are proper, but the way you have represented them leaves something more to be desired. You are to be careful with words, not to use strong verbs unless it is absolutely necessary. There has to be no offence, no matter how emotional your essay is. There have to be some introductory words like “all the things considered”, “actually” etc. This shows your excellent knowledge of the literary language. This is an additional plus to your nicely composed and well-written essay. It is also a big plus for you to use quotations and extracts out of famous writers’ masterpieces. It makes your language more emphatic and makes very good impression on those who read it.

And finally, you are to use some psychology. You may know a person you turn the paper in to. It is your teacher or a lecturer so one way or another you may get acquainted with some of her/his basic ideas and principles. Even if your essay is perfect and there is nothing to add and to correct, you’ll still be given an “F” for not responding to the ideas of the lectures delivered. So, be careful with what you write and what you express, your reader may not like it. To make a good impression one also has to be very accurate. If you had a task to write an essay on the spot, not to print at home, you have to make a sketch and only then, after looking through it write it to your final paper, with no corrections made. If you read this carefully and follow some of the instructions, you’ll reach success in writing and hang your work graded “A” on the wall above the bed.

Content writing has become an important task for webmasters nowadays. Literally content writing means writing content for the web. If you’re into web business then it becomes necessary for you to have a website that has current, relevant, and interesting content. This in return attracts and retains visitors to your site. However, one should always keep in mind that content writing is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Following are the few tips required to keep your website content relevant:

To begin with the first one is the passion of writing. Content writer should be passionate about writing as there is nothing worse than reading a dull and mundane article. This means if you aren’t interested in writing then please don’t write. As it will only provide the crap or waste.

The next tip is that content writing should be done with clarity and brevity. While writing just ask a question to yourself that does your article make sense? Also keep a check that you’re not using complex and arcane terms. Always keep this in mind that every visitor on internet is not literate and also English is not their prime language. Thus, try to keep your writing simple and flowing. Furthermore, also try to keep it crisp and short. The reason is that long and verbose article will certainly lose reader’s attention. And if you’re reader is gone then you’re bound to lose readership.

Third tip is what purpose of writing is. Mind you content writing is done with a specified purpose. Means if you’re trying to sell a product, then it should sell. Thus, focus to the writing becomes more important. Try to write topic centric articles and if by any means you want to mention something unrelated to the subject then it is advisable to write new article.

Last but not the least is that write in your own style. Content writing should be done in your own style as it engages the reader and grabs their interest. Preferably write as if you are in conversation with your readers. This is the reason blogs sells.

Hence, every successful content writer should know when to quit and begin writing. And if you’re an amateur to content writing then make a point to read more and try to do extensive research so that you get the crux of what content writing is.

“Watchability.” Both my spell checker and an online dictionary tell me that “watchability” is not a real word. However, I will continue to use it because, in my opinion, the ability to be watchable may be the single most important trait a speaker can have.

This summer, I attended the annual convention of the National Speakers Association. I thought that the kickoff speaker was amazing. However, if you break down his style in purely technical terms, he was awful. He kept moving around the stage, he stepped out of the light and into the audience, he checked his watch while speaking, etc. Despite all that, he had watchability. Something about his delivery and style kept me grossly engaged. Others must have thought so as well – you don’t get to open a national speakers convention if people think you’re no good.

So what is watchability? It is, to be a bit redundant, the characteristic of being watchable. People enjoy watching and listening to you speak. The amazing thing is that if you are watchable, then even if you mess up or if your content or delivery isn’t up to snuff, the audience will enjoy it.

The ultimate goal, of course, is to have great content and delivery while being amazingly watchable. The challenge is that while content and delivery are easily viewable traits, watchability is abstract. It’s easy to watch a speaker and critique how they move, or how they use their facials. You can listen and critique stutters, inflection, pace, and vocal variety. The value of their content is easy to immediately judge.

Watchability, however, is like charisma. You can’t define a set criteria, but you know it when you see it.

I have however, observed a few things that all eminently watchable speakers do:

They are themselves. These speakers speak from the heart, and speak in a style that is true to themselves. They don’t use other people’s words, and they don’t use unnatural body movements that a coach taught them. They give you the impression that if the two of you were hanging out for dinner, they would say the same thing in the same way.

They are comfortable. Watchable speakers look right at home on stage. This comes from two things: 1) they are experienced and know the material inside and out, and 2) they are not afraid of failure. While they want to communicate their message and please they audience, they are not wrapped up in all that. They are content to just get on stage and do their best. If the audience likes it great; if not, it’s not the end of the world.

They are having fun. You have probably seen a speaker (even a “professional”) who looks like they don’t want to be on stage. Watchable speakers have fun. Even if their topic is serious, they clearly act as if they want to be on that stage. They view it as an honor and a privilege. Whether it stems from fear, arrogance, burn-out, or some mysterious other factor, when a speaker would rather be somewhere else, an audience can feel it.

Practice implementing these three ideas: be yourself, get comfortable, and have fun. You can instantly and drastically increase the value of your speech without changing a single word if you do this. You will, in word, become “watchable.”

Think of the last really memorable talk or presentation that you attended. Now, was that easy to do, or did you really have to rack your brains to remember one? Sadly, too many presentations are easy to forget. And that’s a big problem because the only reason the presenter gave the talk was to communicate something to you.

However, there are four basic things that you can do to ensure that your verbal messages are understood – and remembered – time and time again.

Although somewhat obvious and deceptively simple, these are:

Understand the purpose of the presentation
Keep the message clear and concise
Be prepared
Be vivid when delivering the message

Understand what you want to achieve:

Before you start working on your talk or presentation, it’s essential that you really understand what you want to say, who you want to tell and why they might want to listen. To do this, ask yourself: Who? What? How? When? Where? Why?

Who are you speaking to? What are their interests, beliefs and values? What do they share in common with others; how are they unique?

What message do you wish to convey? One way of answering this question is to ask yourself about the ‘success criteria’. How do you know if and when you have successfully communicated what you have in mind?

How can you best put across your message? Language is most important here, as are non verbal cues such as body language and expressions. Choose your words and non verbal cues while keeping your audience in mind. Plan a beginning, middle and end. If time and place allow, consider and prepare audio-visual aids.

When? Timing is important here. Develop a sense of timing, so that your contributions are seen and heard as relevant to the issue or matter at hand. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.

Where? What is the physical context of the communication in mind? You may have time to visit the venue, for example, and rearrange the furniture. Check for availability and visibility if you are using audio or visual aids.

Why? In order to convert hearers into listeners, you need to know why they should listen to you – and tell them if necessary.

The Importance of Simplicity:

When it comes to wording your message, less is more. You’re giving your audience headlines, too much information will overload and bore your listeners.. They are not expecting to become experts on the subject as a result of hearing your presentation, therefore simplicity is best.

If you’re using slides, limit the content of each one to a few bullet points, a single statement or a very simple diagram.

Preparation:

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. In fact, it is the most important factor in determining your communication successes. When possible, set meeting times and speaking and presentation times well in advance, thus allowing yourself the time you need to prepare your communications. Each minute of a presentation deserves thirty minutes preparation.

Of course, not all communications can be scheduled. In this case, preparation may mean having a good, thorough understanding of the office goings-on, enabling you to communicate with the knowledge you need to be effective, both through verbal and written communications

Successful Delivery:

The manner in which you deliver your speech or presentation has a lasting impact on your audience. Again, preparation is paramount here, in order to hold the listeners attention. Some useful tips for keeping your presentation vivid include:

Use examples to bring your points to life
Keep your body language up-beat – don’t stay stuck behind a rostrum
Don’t talk to fast. Less is more here too. Pauses are effective.
Use a variety of tones of voice
Use visual aids.

Presentations and public speaking, although daunting, can be a very enjoyable, rewarding experience, once adequate time is taken to prepare and rehearse them. An enthusiastic speaker who is confident with their material will make a lasting memorable impression on their audience.

If you want people to buy, you gotta ask for the sale.

Truly, it is that simple. Yet I can’t tell you how many ads, Web sites, brochures, sales letters, etc. are floating around out there that aren’t asking.

So, what is a call to action? It’s telling people what action you want them to take. Typical calls to action include:

Hurry in today.
Buy now.
Call now.
Visit now.
Click here now.

Nothing terribly sexy, I agree. However, if you want to see an increase in your customers, leads, income, etc., this is an essential component.

But, you might be thinking, isn’t it obvious? Why else would you be running an ad if you didn’t want people to buy what you’re selling?

Good question. And it’s true, people do know (if they stop to think about it) that you would probably like them to buy from you.

However, the unfortunate truth is your potential customers aren’t going to spend that much time thinking about it. People have too much going on in their lives to spend very much time and energy on your business. If they do read your ad or promotional material and it doesn’t contain a call to action, they’ll likely say, “Oh, that’s nice” and go on to the next thing.

And even if they were interested in purchasing your offerings, they may not know what their next step should be. Do they pick up the phone? Go to a specific Web page? Visit a store? And if they don’t know what they should be doing, chances are they won’t do anything at all.

So you need to tell your potential customers what you want them to do. (Remember, people are busy, and if you don’t make doing business with you easy, they probably won’t do business with you at all.)

So, back to the above call to actions. Did you notice they all had something in common? The word “now” (or, in the case of the first one, “today”).

If people think they can buy from you anytime, they’ll say “oh, I can do this later.” And later rarely comes. You need to give them a reason to buy from you right now, while they’re interested. Adding the “now” or some other urgency or scarcity technique (maybe a limited time offer or few copies left statement) is a great way to push people into doing what you want them to do right now and not later.

While we’re on the topic of calls to action, I want to talk about one other type of advertising campaign where you rarely see calls to action. These are called branding campaigns. Typically they’re shown on national television by big corporations (MacDonald’s, Nike, Starbucks, Target). In those instances, the businesses are building a brand that will cause you think of that business first when you’re interested in purchasing their products. For instance, when you’re hungry, you think MacDonald’s. You need new athletic shoes, you think Nike. You’re dying for that cup of joe, so you think Starbucks, etc.

While there’s nothing wrong with branding campaigns, they are tougher to track than campaigns with a specific call to action (Sale ends Saturday, call before Friday to receive your free gift, etc.) Those campaigns are also called direct response because you’re asking the customer to respond directly. Direct response campaigns can be tested, so you have a good idea what’s working and what’s not (and can tweak the campaign accordingly). And, if the campaign doesn’t require getting a salesperson involved (i.e. if the call to action is for the customer to whip out his wallet right there) the campaign will just run itself (and make money all by itself).

(One note: You do need to do more than add a call to action to have a strong direct response campaign, but that doesn’t negate the power a call to action can bring to your campaigns.)

Branding campaigns are nearly impossible to test, track and tweak. They either appear to work or don’t appear to work. And if they don’t appear to work, it’s very difficult to start tweaking to improve the response rate.

However, branding is still very, very important. As a business owner, you need a good brand and you need to communicate that brand effectively. And sometimes it makes sense to run a branding campaign.

However, my advice for most situations is to combine branding and direct response. Your brand is clearly communicated in your ads and promotional materials, but you also take advantage of some direct response techniques at the same time.

If nothing else, make sure you don’t forget the call to action.

Creativity Resources — Write Your Call to Action

Want to include a call to action in your promotional materials but don’t know where to start? Here’s an easy step-by-step formula:

1. Figure out your purpose for the ad or promotional material. Why are you running this ad, creating this Web site, printing this brochure? (And no, an acceptable answer is NOT because everyone else has one.) Is it to generate leads? Get your name out there? Get people to buy? Or what?

2. Now write it down.

3. That’s it. That’s your call to action. Whatever the end result you want for the campaign is what you should be asking people to do.

Changing a few words in your copy can lead to double-digit increases in conversions. If that sounds like a bunch of hype from an online infomercial, stick around and I’ll show you how it’s done.

That’s really all that happened with Kneelsit.com, an Australian ergonomic computer chair manufacturer. They had what would be considered a successful site with a continual stream of orders. All the basic information was already included on the home page, but the owner felt as though something was not quite “there” yet. He wanted a fresh approach to the site’s copy, so that’s what he received. And the results were simply amazing.

The Problems

While Kneelsit had great rankings for their key terms (normally #1 to #4 in popular search engines) keeping those rankings high required some attention to the SEO piece of the puzzle. Conversions, however, were not at their maximum. The business was not suffering, but it did have room for improvement. So, after receiving a sample chair to use during the process, I set (or should I say “sat”) out to work.

Once I assembled the chair and rolled it up to my desk, I kept a notepad nearby so I could jot down benefits as I noticed them. In just a few days’ time, I had a long list of features and benefits to refer to.

As I read over the original home page copy (which can be seen here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/kneelsit-home-original.html), I noticed something else. Many of the benefits I had on my paper were referenced (at least briefly) in the original copy. Some were phrased differently than I would later phrase them, but most were there.

However, in this highly competitive industry, I wanted to be sure to keep the uniqueness of the chair on the forefront. Visitors needed to quickly see that the Kneelsit was superior to other computer chairs available. The changing of some verbiage and providing more details in some areas would help keep visitors reading and help them easily distinguish this chair from others on their comparison list.

Once my list of benefits was completed, I began relating these options to other kneeling chairs and to users of ergonomic computer chairs. I wanted to see which benefits on my list were unique in the marketplace. I also wanted to know about the users of these chairs. After all, the buyer is the center of the process and should also be the focus of the copy.

My research revealed some of the reasons users would need an ergonomic chair and also the biggest complaints about some of the current ergonomic designs. In addition, I discovered which benefits were common to other ergonomic chairs and which were distinctive.

The Solutions

Armed with the research results, I started crafting the copy to speak to that one person who was forced to sit at a computer all day, in pain, and who desperately needed help. This person had tried several other computer chairs before with little to no results and was getting skeptical about finding a solution.

I looked back over my list of benefits in search of the ones that would not be found in the competition’s copy. I focused on one exclusive, patented feature (the axle design) and the fact that the chair was customizable for every body type.

I laid out a plan for the new copy including keyword selection, keyword placement, benefits and key points to be mentioned.

Similar in many ways to the original copy, the new version had some subtle, but powerful, changes. The goal of the new copy was to show the true distinction of these chairs by highlighting the most impressive benefits.

I would also focus on incorporating keyphrases in headlines and sub-heads (where it made sense to do so) and throughout the copy. I had to pay careful attention to making the copy sound natural, as I never want the SEO factors to overshadow the message of the page.

In Part 2 of this series (seen here: http://www.marketingwords.com/articles/articles_subtlechanges2.html), we’ll take a look at what went into the rewrite as well as what type of results were achieved with the new copy.

Like most first time authors, I figured that once the word was out that I’d written a book, the world would beat a path to my door wanting to buy it. I’ll admit I gave little thought to marketing until the day my first printing of Handbook To A Happier Life was delivered. In a panic, I called a published author I knew and asked, “What do I do now?” She suggested several books about book marketing, which I bought immediately. I was on my way.

Success in book selling is a three step process: 1. Write the book. 2. Print the book. 3. Sell the book. That last one can be bit tricky:-)

Space does not permit me to go into all the details of my process or to list the many people who helped, however, there are a couple of very important points I learned early on which made all the difference.

The most important thing I learned was to identify my reader. As much as I hated to admit it, not everyone would buy my book. My early feedback told me entrepreneurs, network marketers and salespeople were buying my book. I began to ask myself focused questions as to how I could best reach these people. I set goals. After all, if you don’t have a goal, how will you know when you’ve succeeded? I took specific actions daily. That’s important. Consistent action will make all the difference.

There were days when I was ready to give up but I kept taking action. I refused to give up. Another important point. Never, never, never give up! One day, a door opened. I had located a distributor who was selling to the market I wanted to reach. They reviewed “Handbook To A Happier Life” and it was put on a recommended reading list. It went into eight printings with almost 100,000 copies sold and was translated into several languages, and then sold to a big publisher. I knew all along that once people saw this book, they would want to read it.

I firmly believe most books will sell once you have taken the time to clearly define your market, set your goals and commit to taking daily action. And more action – keeping in mind that there are many places you can sell books besides bookstores. Go for it!

The Best Business Card You Ever Had

“Keep in mind Jim, this is a great business card.” That was my first lesson as a new author and it has served me well over the years. On a lark, I sent 20 copies of my new book to the presidents of several big direct sales companies. The result was a glowing testimonial from the president of one of the companies, along with an order for 250 books. Was it worth the cost of giving away the 20? You bet it was! I like to think of giving away books as planting seeds. You never know which ones will spout or when.

Many professional speakers and coaches willingly give away their $12 paperback book (with a cost of a $2-$4) and attract clients and bookings worth thousands of dollars from it. Others obtain high priced consulting contracts using the book as a door opener.

Too many new authors believe that once their book is written the sales will just come pouring in and they will make a bundle. Sadly, this disillusionment is shattered when they receive a royalty check. The honest to goodness truth of the matter is that the writer’s work is only started when the book is released. Even the huge author names of today began by peddling their books out of the back of their car. Many big-name authors also began by self-publishing because no one recognized their talent. They did not start off their career with a huge bang. They did not have the money to afford publicists and big marketing firms when they started out and yet they are super successful now. Take heart from their examples.

Marketing, promoting and networking must be done every single day, for the life of the book, in balance with your other activities and obligations.

Many new authors feel their only way to success is through book signings and bookstores stocking their book. They are wrong. While in larger centers with good promotion a book signing event or book reading event may result in as much as a couple hundred one-time sales… most smaller venues can only expect less than 10 sales. Is this worth the 2 hours or more that you spend at the event? Not counting all the preperation, marketing the event, promotion materials, time taken from work and any displays that you have designed and possibly paid for ahead of time. These events do not pay authors to host an event so any sales they do have may not even cover the traveling costs, hotel cost, meals, parking or supplies – let alone the time they put into it. Nor do they usually result in long-term sales – sales are often only during the few days around the event.

Bookstores can only realistically stock less than 1% of the 3 million books available on the market. Their discount with the publisher/distributor is large. Authors are paid royalties only on what their publisher has recieved. So is all the time and effort going into attaining spots on bookstore shelves worth it?

While the markets above are valuable and important to any author – what authors need to do is think outside the box. Figure out where your efforts will bring the greatest results. Don’t expect immediate and overwhelming acceptance by the media or your audience. Marketing, networking and promoting are long-term efforts that will reap greater rewards as efforts continue.

Many authors live in tiny towns and hold down jobs or have physical limitations that prevent out-of-town promotions; much like ourselves. This can be overcome. Again, think outside the box, use the Internet and your contacts – and be persistant. Newspapers, libraries, and bookstores are only the most obvious markets and also are the most difficult to gain the attention of without a strong image because everyone is vying for their attention. Work on your image and get strong promotion materials that help you stand out among the hundred thousand or more new books released annually.

So develop a long-term marketing plan and stick with it for the full term of your contract with the publisher. The market plan will grow and change as time goes on. And keep good records so you can determine how you will go about marketing the next book.

I just wanted to mention here that some authors get overwhelmed by the immense amount of effort it takes to market a book. If we take one day, one step at a time we will find it is not so overwhelming. I find it works best to figure out what you will concentrate on this week and then set a goal for today. I do this nearly every day. It helps me keep a steady pace going, without taking on too much or too little.

Remember too, that efforts you are making today may not reap immediate results. You may have to hit a market several times before they pick up your proposal. For instance, some contacts from nearly a year ago are now resulting in promotions in their publications. So be patient and professional in all that you do. Again, keep records so that you can follow up.

Newsletters can be small but effective markets for your work. On average, they can range in size from 1000-17,000 readers or more. E-zines typically reach an audience larger than 5000. Get a few of them in one month and you are reaching a wide audience! You don’t need to be rich or famous or have a publicist if you are determined and able to committ effort every single day. (Do take some time for yourself, though!)