No longer are we allowed to boost ratings with purchasing eBooks quickly, but we are no longer allowed to have legitimate eBay e-delivery business anymore!

There are ways around this:

1. Print out your eBook and bind it.
2. Burn it into a CD and deliver it.
3. Send them a letter stating the URL to download it from.

That’s all I can think of offhand. Let me know if you can come up with something better!

Doesn’t that just make you smile? Put the quote on your MSN sub-nick and inspire others to see things as they are, nothing to worry about!

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about writing came to me after about a year of writing ETR. Like many writers, I often tried to put too much into each essay. I began with a main idea, but when that idea suggested a second one and then a third, I put those in too. That was a mistake. It made the essay too long and cumbersome. And instead of gaining power, the message weakened.

My strongest pieces - the ones that got the most positive responses from ETR readers - were those that focused on one good and helpful thought. By restricting myself that way, I managed to say more in fewer words.

Readers, I realized, didn’t want to hear everything I had to say about a particular topic every time I fired up my computer. They were looking for a single, useful idea that could make them more successful.

So I came up with a rule that I asked everyone writing for ETR to abide by. I called it “The Rule of One” - and it was very simple: Write about only one thing at a time. Because one good idea, clearly and convincingly presented, is better than a dozen so-so ideas strung together.

I truly believed that following this rule would always produce better writing… and it did.

Several years later, I introduced the Rule of One concept to Agora writers and copywriters at a creative retreat. Many of them have used it since then, to great effect. Then, last year, I divulged it to more than 600 people at the AWAI/ETR yearly Bootcamp in Delray Beach, FL. I’m sure that many of them, too, have used it to improve their writing.

This rule is not ironclad at ETR. That’s because some of our writers just don’t buy it and others can’t always reduce their pieces to a single idea. I occasionally violate it myself. (If I have six good reasons for this or 12 techniques for that, I sometimes can’t stop myself from including them all. The results are always disappointing.) But almost all of ETR’s best essays have followed this rule. If you are interested in looking at some of them, here are seven:

How to Become a Chicken Entrepreneur
The idea: The best (and lowest-risk) way to start your own business is to keep your day job while working on your entrepreneurial venture at night and on weekends. You can quit when your new business is bringing in more than your regular income.

Do You Own Your Business or Does It Own You?
The idea: Entrepreneurs who want to create a valuable business they can retire from some day must organize it so that it doesn’t require their constant presence to be profitable.

How to Avoid the Conceit of Outside Knowledge
The idea: Just because you have been a longtime customer of a restaurant or another type of business doesn’t mean you are capable of running a similar one. There are many hidden “secrets” to every type of business - not visible to outsiders - that are critical to success.

Don’t Let Perfect Ruin Good
The idea: Don’t wait for everything to be perfect before launching a new product or business. Put serious effort into getting it right, test it in the real world, and then you’ll know what improvements you need to make.

The Best Way to Surpass Your Peers and Rise to the Top of Any Business
The idea: Working harder than your co-workers and competitors will guarantee your success.

A Business Question You Must Be Able to Answer
The idea: Before you can sell a product, you need to find out if people will buy it.

How to Become What You Want to Be
The idea: You can’t actually BE a writer unless you write - just as you can’t be a pilot if you don’t fly planes, a philanthropist if you don’t give away money, an entrepreneur if you don’t start a business… and so on.

Recently I have been thinking (and writing) about how best-selling books are crafted. Many of them seem to follow the Rule of One. Consider these classic business best-sellers:

What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles
The idea: Finding a life-changing new job that you love is the key to happiness.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The idea: There is a pattern to commercial and cultural trends. If you understand the pattern, you can use the knowledge to benefit yourself and others.

Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
The idea: The purpose of advertising is to sell, not entertain or win creative awards.

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
The idea: Extremely low storage and delivery costs for digital information products have made marketing niche products extremely profitable.

Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton
The idea: The best way to motivate employees (and improve your business) is to focus on their strengths rather than correct their weaknesses.

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
The idea: Change is inevitable. So you must be prepared to change or you’ll be left behind.

And here’s a very recent example: Suzy Welch, a former editor of the Harvard Business Review (and the wife of Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric) was given a million-dollar contract by Scribner (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) to publish 10-10-10, a book based on a variation of a single good idea that’s been around for years: Before you make a decision, consider the impact it will have on you in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years.

We have taught ETR readers to think that way many times since we began publishing in 2000. But we never thought of turning the idea into a book. Shame on us.

If you are planning to write a book, you probably have lots of ideas that you want to include. Figure out which one is the strongest, and focus on it. That’s what I did with Ready, Fire, Aim. Though this book contains just about everything I know about starting and growing entrepreneurial businesses, the title zeros in on the one idea I thought was the strongest and most useful. And this may be the reason it got so many positive reviews. Most of the industry people we showed it to - professional businesspeople and writers - said it was the best book I’ve ever written. My other books have plenty of good ideas in them. But they were designed to be comprehensive and were titled that way. This one took better advantage of the Rule of One.

The best thing about the Rule of One is that it’s not just for writing books and articles. You can also apply it to your business goals.

Before you go into a meeting, for example, think about the one thing you’d like to accomplish. Make that one thing your priority, and hammer away at it. You’ll be amazed at how often you will end up leaving the meeting with that goal accomplished.

Use the Rule of One at business lunches, too, and even parties. Challenge yourself: “Who is the best person I can network with here?” And “What is the one best thing I can say to that person to capture his interest?”

Spend some time today looking at work you’ve done - ads you’ve written, products you’ve created, goals you’ve set. How could you make them stronger by applying the Rule of One?

[Ed. Note: Get Michael Masterson’s insights into becoming successful in your business and personal life, achieving financial independence, and accomplishing all your goals on his website. You’ll find updates on Michael’s books, news on upcoming ETR events, Michael’s blog, and room to send in your comments and questions. Check it out today.
Learn dozens more strategies for making your writing stronger with AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Good news is coming for one and all! Woot!

“But wait Seb, isn’t it supposed to be Ash Wednesday?”

True, but because of the clash between Chinese New Year’s Eve reunion dinner, our Archdiocese changed it to Ash Tuesday. After all, if you have to abstain while you’re supposed to celebrate, it won’t really fit the mood, would it?

So here we are, 41 days away from Good Friday. Lent, here we come!

If you’ve kept up with popular media, you would’ve seen movies like the Terminator series, I Robot, the Matrix Trilogy, etc. I Robot was the closest in attempting to make robots seems like a viable option, but in the end, it stopped there.

So does that mean that the script writers of these block-buster hits don’t think that robots will be a safe option for our future? Are they trying to strike fear into our hearts?

Fortunately, fear has no place in a scientist’s heart, so I’m pretty sure research will still carry on.

I read a short story online the other day by Marshall Brain, called Manna. It showed the inevitable decline of human society due to its reliance on robots: Even though labour and materials are cheaper due to the advancements of science, human greed ruined it and caused the most pain. The rich controlled the robots, who in turn controlled the poor.

Of course, the essay continued on to show how much good a system like that can actually benefit mankind. Without spoiling much of the storyline, another country took the initiative to make sure the robots were to serve, and mankind to enjoy the benefits. Imagine a world where you do not have to work to earn your keep, where everything is shared. And in that community of sharing, you are able to pursue your deepest desires.

If you dreamed of being a writer, you could take all the time in the world to work on your opus.

If you dreamed of being a singer, you could create your own albums and share it with the world.

If you dreamed of improving the world in any way at all, you can do it with the finest minds in the world at your side, sharing your dream.

No longer are you trapped by the necessity of a job. No longer would you have to get stressed over working for someone else. No longer would anyone be motivated by money, because it holds no meaning in that world of abundance.

Imagine that.

What would be your vision of the future? Do you see the light? Or just the gloom ahead?

1. Budget Traveling
2. Earning with Clickbank
3. Ezine Marketing
4. Home Improvement
5. Resale Rights Products

Enjoy!

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/324303/1/.html

Rest in peace, Heath. I’ve never watched Brokeback Mountain, but I’ve always enjoyed A Knight’s Tale. Cheers!

1. Finish the 21km half marathon within 3 hours! (Deadline: September)
2. Make a side income that will generate at least $1,000 a month! (Deadline: June)
3. Learn French (Deadline: December)
4. Drive (Deadline: June)
5. Become an expert in Business Building! (Deadline December)

What do you think?

You scored 54% I to E, 36% N to S, 33% F to T, and 42% J to P!

Your type is known as the teacher, or the educating mentor. You also belong to the larger group, called idealists. You tend to bring out the best in other people. You lead without seeming to do so. People are naturally drawn to you. You expect the very best from people which takes the form of enthusiastic encouragement which is so charming that people try their best not to disappoint you. You share your personality type with 3% of the population.
You need to feel a deep and meaningful connection to your romantic partners, and go to great lengths to understand and please your mate. Harmony is vitally important to you, and you often put others’ needs before your own. You have a pretty thin skin and are easily hurt. Although you strive for harmony, when your values or ethics are violated, you can be very emotional, confrontational, and even punishing. However, you are very insightful about the underlying cause of conflicts, and an excellent communicator, so you have the tools to bring about a quick and peaceful resolution as long as you can keep control of your facilities. You want to be appreciated for your thoughtfulness and compassion. You need your partner to make a real effort to get to know you. Above all, you need to be able to express your feelings and have them taken seriously.
Your group summary: idealists (NF)
Your type summary: ENFJ

Looks good eh? Sounds like exactly what I need to do Information Publishing! Teach! MUAHAHAHA!!!

Lots have happened in the last 3 months. The world spun a few degrees, had some personal problems I had to deal with, and also had to take a stand and point myself in the direction I want my life to take.

Guess what I chose?

Internet Marketing, by far, beats the competition. All I need now is some actual commentors to tell me that my work isn’t crap. LOL!

But hey, keep expecting the good stuff here!

Word of Mouth.

Once people decide that they want to spread the word about your product/service/business, you have free advertising! And not just that, you’ll also achieve targeted traffic as well!

Have you ever heard of Simpleology, by Mark Joyner? He’s starting a new course, teaching people how to create buzz about your product, so much so that a brand new startup can achieve what Harley Davidson achieved: Good buzz!

Read the Simpleology blog, and then listen to the webinar that just recently concluded. (If the website is down, let me know. I’ve got a copy stored in my hard drive.)

Here’s to all your future successes!

P.S. There’s no affiliate link over here. I’ve got nothing to gain by sharing this with you, other than knowing that I’ve spread the word about a good site around.

But you’ve gotta admit, there’s probably a lot being shown there that you could learn to build your own online empire!

Watch it online or download it into your computer. Be sure to get the latest Quicktime Player!

The Next Internet Millionaire!

So what’s the solution?

Well, there are no fixed plans or strategies, but you can still improve your prospects if you somehow manage to attract online users to your eBay store. This implies that even in the world of online businesses, you have to depend on conventional forms of advertising and marketing strategies to improve your business. Hogging the limelight in eBay can pay rich dividends in future, and this is why you need to start working on this well before you make your first successful deal on eBay as a seller.

Getting all the attention that your eBay store needs however is not all that easy because on eBay, sellable times are classified according to their generic names such as laptops, digital cameras, software etc, and not by brand names, for example, ‘AB’ laptops, ‘XYZ’ digital cameras etc. It is only when a user clicks on the generic names or enters a search query that he gets to see the available brands under the selected category and the name of the seller and his store.

The best that you can do to hog the limelight on eBay is to use the right keywords and the most relevant product description. This should be done with the objective of getting your product in the Top 10 or on the first page of search results when a prospective buyer enters a generic search query. Most prospective customers do not normally look beyond the first or second page of the search results and this is why it is even more necessary to get your product listed on the first page.

For making your eBay store popular, you also need to take due care while designing your product page. Small spelling mistakes or discrepancies and smudgy images can easily put off potential customers, even when you might be offering the best quality products at the most reasonable rates. It is thus better to concentrate on a few products rather than add more and more to your store without keeping a check on the content. How well you present your products and store to potential customers is what makes all the difference on eBay and you need to undertake all the initiatives that you think will help you achieve this objective. Hogging the limelight on eBay will then become a lot easier.

After a while, some of them just keep sending you affiliate link after affiliate link. All they want is your money!

When I first started looking into Internet Marketing, I genuinely tried to get as much information as I could. But now, I see it clearly: There’s too much information to be absorbed before you start working. If you want to succeed, sometimes you have to use what you already know. Not getting stuck doing “analysis paralysis”.

A friend of mine recommended me to read more books on investing and business building. I told him, “That’s all I’ve been doing the last few years while planning for my future. But now the future has arrived, and I’m still studying? It’s time for action! Studying can come once the mistakes have been made!”

And that’s what I want to pass on to you. Go for it!

But the real trouble comes in when you become disillusioned with the Internet. Perhaps you feel that there’s nothing but scams roaming the Internet. Perhaps the Gems in the Net aren’t presenting themselves to you.

Or worse, you feel that the only way to make money online is to scam others the same way you’ve been scammed yourself.

My advice to you: Don’t buy everything online. Keep your wallet away from the computer, and just start educating yourself with free stuff.

There’s plenty of free stuff online, real quality Gems that can teach you the way to riches.

You wanna know what the basics are to Internet Marketing?

1. Build a List that’s interested in what you’ve got.
2. Write a product that you can sell to them.

You can choose to do 1 first, or 2 first. Either way, as long as you’ve got a list, you’ve got a fighting chance to make a living online.

And that’s really how many businesses online make it!

How about Quick Cash? How can I make fast dough?

1. Join Clickbank.
2. Choose an Affiliate Product you wish to sell.
3. Join Google Adwords.
4. Write an Ad for the Affiliate Product you intend to sell.
5. Publish.

That’s the quick and dirty way to make some dough online. Of course, it’s not a guaranteed way to live. Sometimes your keywords in the ad might be wrong, or inefficient. You would probably need to go for professional tools like Chris Carpenter’s Google Cash Detective, but of course you could always just get started and learn by trial and error.

I realise that I might’ve wrote about these things before, but with all the emails I’ve been receiving, I’m convinced that those newbies might be purchasing everything online, and getting disillusioned. I just don’t want that happening.

Cheers to Internet Marketing!

Of course!

There are also sites out there who review other sites, stating to know which sites are legit and which sites aren’t. But usually it’s just to make a quick buck, cos they’ll place their affiliate links inside.

But my personal favourite site is http://www.scamwatcher.org. In fact, he’s exposed Autosurf sites, and found one that’s completely a scam. Read the story here.

Keep updated. Don’t get scammed.

Check out the story here.

eBay has too many good points to be exploited for it to be ignored. For example, millions of people search through eBay for the product they want. That settles your traffic already.

Next, it is properly categorized, so all who are actually searching for your type of product will find it, making them targeted traffic!

And last but not least, payment is easily handled with the integration of Paypal and eBay! With Paypal being integrated, there’s no need for me to worry about sending out the product without receiving payment. Once payment is received, eBay will know about it and send the client the URL of my product!

With all these benefits, why aren’t you eBaying yet?

P.S. If you wanna check me out, my eBay handle is sebastiancheok. I’ll put a link up soon, so that you can take a look at all the Resale or MRR stuff I’ve got in my digital closet.

Things have really gotten hectic though. I’ve joined up with John Thornhill’s Mentorship Monthly program! I know, I posted about membership sites before, but I really believe in working with this guy! He’s one of the earliest marketers I’ve ever read about, and I’m still signing up for his newsletters!

And it’s only $10 a month! Talk about value for money!

So I’ve recently been fiddling with eBay and stuff, and it’s interesting, the results that follow. Soon I’ll be slowly building up the other aspects of this business, like the list building and product creation.

In the meantime though, I’ll be doing a lot of Resell Rights material on eBay. Wish me luck!

P.S. Don’t you wanna buy me a beer? Check out the sidebar!