Friday, June 18, 2010

Happy 15th Anniversary to Me/WordPress 201 Revealed

Well, my wife and I are celebrating our 15th anniversary this
week. Considering I never thought I would get married when I was
living in NYC, I'd consider this a major accomplishment as well
as a blessing. Especially when you consider how I spent $2,000.00
to meet my wife ...

Growing up and dating in NYC, I was always introduced to "nice
Jewish girls". After all, thought my friends, I was white, middle
class and Jewish so what else would I want in a woman? The only
problem was in those days I did not really practice Judaism
anymore than I liked nice Jewish girls. In fact, I went to the
opposite extremes -- I was attracted to non-Jews and non-white
girls. Hey, NYC is a melting pot.

Anyway, when I got to Tulsa in 1993 I was bored and lonely and
decided to try joining an introduction service. They interviewed
me for 4 hours, charged me two grand, and then started sending me
introductions. The first was a bad match -- an older woman who was
a teacher who liked to stay home and iron. I may not be Mr.
Excitement myself, but I try to have a life outside of my work.
Nah, the first introduction was not for me.

But then I met Amy. Right away when I saw her, I had a smile on
my face. She was short like me, but the similarities stopped
right there. She was half Korean - half Puerto Rican - and I was
in heaven. She was a dental hygienist and loved all things
sports. The only things we really had in common was a love for
sushi and going to the movies. I never thought it would really
turn into anything. After all, she wasn't looking for a serious
relationship.

Somehow, despite a million differences, we stuck together and a
year later we had fallen in love and gotten married. That was
back in 1995 and here we are now with two kids who rule our
lives. When I asked Amy what she wanted for our anniversary she
said she wanted a Cox Digi. If you receive cable service from Cox
Communications, you'll know they have these cute animated
characters called Digis who help the cable guys install their
services. The only problem is you can't buy these critters
anywhere.

That's when I called upon my old friend, we'll call Mr. X, who
managed to procure one for me. Said he had to give a kidney to
get it. My wife was delighted with her Digi and best of all it
was free. Well, almost free. I owe my friend, Mr. X a new kidney
now.

Anyway, this all goes to show that networking among your friends
comes in mighty handy when you need a unique gift. And one of the
best ways to build this type of relationship is through -- anyone
-- anyone -- Bueller -- anyone -- that's right -- blogging. Thank
you.

Now there are two popular ways to build a blog: Blogger (from
Google) and WordPress. Of the two, Blogger is faster and easier
to get started but very difficult to customize and give it a
flavor of your own. WordPress can be used to build great custom
blogs as well as fully functional web sites, and it is much
easier and more powerful than Blogger. It comes with its own
content management system, too.

Here's a special low cost way to learn more about blogging and
how to optimize your WordPress blog. It comes with videos, music,
templates a Cox Digi -- OK, I threw that last one in -- but it's
really a very complete package of goodies which you can use to spice
up your WordPress blog AND you can resell it, too! Yeah, it comes
with everything you need. Check it out here:

http://www.resellerproducts.com/wordpress201revealed/


Until next time,

Steven

PS: Share my newsletters with friends. Click the link below to
forward it right now:

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Monday, June 14, 2010

Project Minisite

As the rain pounds endlessly down here in Tulsa, we're watching
the water puddle up on the window sill in our office, wondering
when they are going to come and fix this thing!

We celebrated my son, Christian's, 11th birthday this weekend.
Went to a Japanese steak house where they toss the knives around
like Benihana, and then to the Ringling Brothers circus. We all
had a fun time. He's especially thrilled with his new iPod Touch.

With a wet week forecasted ahead, I thought I would try to shine
a ray of sunlight on my subscribers by sharing an invaluable cool
video series I came across over the weekend.

Of all the questions I receive from my subscribers, the most
frequently asked question is "How do I design a mini site?"

A mini site is a site focused on the sale of a specific product
or service whether that be an ebook, a DVD, a software tool or
even a coaching service. The goal of a mini site is to make the
sale.

While sales copy is critical to a mini site, the design is also
a critical element -- an element I frequently see ignored. While
a plain white page can be effective, the sales letter better be
kick ass. If not, it needs to be well designed, too, to attract
and retain the visitor's attention long enough to get them to
read the sales letter and hopefully buy whatever you're selling.

Now over the years I have written about the formulaic approach
to sales letters and mini site design, but the fact is unless
you've watched someone else design one, step by step, you
probably aren't going to do a good job and be positioned for
success. I can tell you what to do, but seeing is believing.

So along comes a new video series entitled Project Mini Site.
This is a collection of 29, step-by-step videos, along with two
reference guides PLUS all of the sample graphics you need to
follow along. By the time you're done, you will have mastered the
art of mini site design. You can learn all about this marvelous
series and see the introductory video here:

http://www.minisitedesign.com/

I strongly recommend this series to you whether you are a newbie
or looking to fine tune your Internet marketing skills. And at
only $27.00 it's a steal. This same video series is selling
elsewhere on the Net for $47.00 and higher. Be proactive and pick
up your copy now, so you can start developing your skills and
making more money.

Until next time,

Steven

P.S.: Tell your friends about Project Mini Site right now. Click
the link below to share this information with them before the
price goes up.

http://getresponse.com/forward.html?x=a62b&m=rp4i&s=BMayh&y=K&

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Life Can Be a Dream Killer If You Let It

Life is strange, isn't it? You find yourself focusing your
entire life in one particular area because you think "this is
what I am good at and this is what I am supposed to do". But what
happens when you recognize you have another talent that you enjoy
even more -- and that it brings joy to others? That's when it's
time to stop and think.

And so while I am primarily still focusing my time on my
marketing consulting services and serving my active clients, I am
also turning some of my attention to establishing myself as a
local comedy magician. It all started a long time ago ...

I was about 5 when my Dad showed me my first coin and card
tricks. It took me a long time to figure out how those coins kept
coming out of my ears or how my Dad always seemed to know the
card I picked. Of course, it helped that my Dad had worked in my
Uncle Harry's magic shop back when he was a teenager. Harry
taught me a thing or two about the classics of magic, and I just
ran with it, devouring every book I could find in the local and
school libraries.

By the time I was a teen, I was performing at every opportunity
I got. Kids' parties, social gatherings, even standing on line at
the movies. Magic pretty much consumed my life and fascinated me.
For a while I dreamed about making it big as an entertainer, but
then college and life got in the way of the dream, and it's only
been over the past few months that I've allowed myself to indulge
in my secret life as a magician.

With one performance behind me and another coming up at the end
of June, I'm beginning to realize that I REALLY like performing
and want to keep doing it. I make people laugh. I move people.
And I have fun doing it, too. Here's the invitation to the show
in case you'll be in Tulsa:

http://www.sophisticatedsorcery.com/invitation.htm

This all begs the question: are you doing what you're doing
because that's all you have ever tried or is there something else
you should be doing which taps into your other gifts and talents?
Is there something else that brings you joy and possibly brings
joy to others, too?

I receive a lot of emails and phone calls from subscribers and
folks who have stumbled upon me through my web sites. Most of
these people work at doing X but dream of doing Y. A professor
who dreams of writing and selling ebooks. A retiree who loves
gardening and wants to earn money sharing her hobby with others.
The inventor who toils by day at his 9-5 job but who creates
ingenious software by night.

Why can't you do what you do to pay the bills by day and dabble
in what you love by night? Who says you can't have your cake and
eat it, too? Life can be a dream killer. Don't let that happen to
you. Dare to dream and reach for the stars.

Until next time,


Steven


P.S.: You don't need to spend an arm and a leg to create your
web sites if you have the right tools. Here's the one I recommend
most:

http://www.xsitepro.com/index_r.html?p=spidy

Monday, June 07, 2010

New Cool Marketing Tools

Hope all is well on your side of the screen. A number of new
marketing related products have been crossing my desk lately and
some are definitely worth looking at.

The first is Super Easy DIY Yourself Graphics -- Version 2 --
from Max Rylski. Max puts out some great stuff that saves time
and money when it comes to developing graphics. He provides you
with a library of customizable PhotoShop PSD files. If you own
PhotoShop (PC or Mac) and haven't been able to make the most of
it yet, don't despair. With this new product you'll be able to
create wonderful vector graphics in minutes. Very easy to use. Click to
customize. Check out the samples and a video overview here:

http://www.resellerproducts.com/superdiygraphicsv2/

If you are wanting to develop a firmer foundation with PhotoShop
so you can begin to get your money's worth out of this powerful
graphics tool, then please check out the PhotoShop CS Mastery
Series -- a collection of well-produced tutorials that walk you
the basics of using PhotoShop's most popular features. This is well
priced and you can learn more here:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/photoshopcsmastervideotutorialseries.htm

While we're on the topic of video tutorials, how many people do
you know who have Twitter accounts? Lots, right? Now how many do
you know who really know what they are doing and are using
Twitter to stimulate their business? Very few, right? Check out
this other collection of video tutorials called Twitter
Explosion. It shows you not only how to use the service but more
importantly, how to make Twitter work for you:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/ebooks/twitterexplosion.htm

If you have been wondering what Facebook can do for you,
check out this well written and informative ebook entitled
Facebook Social Ads Exposed. It explains how Facebook works, how
to advertise on it, and how to use it as a strategic marketing tool.
Stop wasting your time and money, and start tapping into the
money-making power of Facebook:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/ebooks/facebooksocialadsexposed.htm

People are still asking me which software they should use to
create their own ebook covers. If you want something that is easy to
use, I strongly suggest eCover Software Pro. You just pick the
type of cover you want to create, add your own images and click a
button. It's so easy:

http://www.ebookcovercreator.com/ecoversoftwarepro.htm

The other alternative I highly recommend and would be lost
without is Quick 3D Cover. This is not a very well known piece of
software. If it was, more people would be using it instead of
PhotoShop. It's cheap, easy and can create multiple covers in
different perspectives in batch mode -- that means you load your
cover, pick your templates, and click "Go!" In less than a minute
you can create over 70 different images -- plus it comes with its
own built-in designer module. Check it out here:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/quick3dcover.htm

OK, that's it until next time.

Best,

Steven

P.S.: Click the link below to forward this email to a friend:

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Wednesday, June 02, 2010

PhotoShop CS Mastery Helps You Learn PhotoShop

Good evening. Long day at work followed by weeding my wife's
garden and losing terribly to my 10 year old son in a game of
Spades. What a day!

Over the years I have developed many skills on my own. I enjoy
the challenge of learning new things and one of the most powerful
tools I have learned fairly well is Adobe PhotoShop. It's proven
to be indispensable not only in web site development and
advertising but also for ebook cover design. In fact, as a direct
result of learning how to use PhotoShop and acquiring a vast
library of PhotoShop actions, I have been able to generate income
as an ebook cover designer. Imagine that!

--------

Sidebar: if you want to see effortless search engine
optimization at work check out the ranking for "ebook cover
artist" on Google: www.ebookcoverartist.com is at #1 and #2. Also
at #3 and #4 is www.ebookcovercreator.com -- another one of my
cover design oriented web sites. Oh, #6 is
www.graphicsassistance.com -- another one of my sites. Search for
"ebook cover" and you'll find me at #1 again. I own this space.
OK, bragging done.

--------

Back to PhotoShop. It's a must have software package and
skill set if you are serious about online marketing for anything.
You'll need it for ebook covers, for logos, for header graphics.
You name it, PhotoShop is the solution.

The only problem is that it's cumbersome to learn. It has a
million features and functions. It's confusing. It's easy to get
lost in the bits and bytes. And did I say it costs an arm and a leg?

You need to break it down into bite-sized chunks that are easily
digested. It helps if you have an expert looking over your
shoulder every step of the way to show you how it all works. And
it helps if you focus on just the most frequently needed
features.

So here you go -- a new video tutorial series called PhotoShop
CS Mastery. Check out the review here:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/photoshopcsmastervideotutorialseries.htm

Even I learned more about some of the features I have not been
using. You can learn a lot from this, especially if you are a
beginner. Look, if you've already shelled out a couple of hundred
bucks on PhotoShop, you owe it to yourself to purchase these
cheap - but well-produced - tutorials. Isn't it time you learned
how to use the darn thing? Make that investment pay off like I did!


Until next time,

Steven