Interested in learning a little bit more about ebooks? Wondering about the difference between a freebie ebook and one you sell? (Because there ARE differences!).

Well, here’s your chance!

As part of the Business and Learning Grand Re-Opening Extravaganza tomorrow, Thursday October 15th, I am presenting a webinar on the ins and outs of ebooks and how you can help them to market your biz and build your bank account.

I was honored to be asked to be a Team Leader on the site and would love for you to join me and the other Team Leaders tomorrow as we each present some really cool information to business owners and entrepreneurs such as yourself.

You can check out the full line up of webinars here and also sign up. It’s FREE and there will be giveaways such as coaching and memberships. So don’t  miss out! Hope to see you there!!

PS got an ebook question for me? Post it here in the comments or shoot me an email at words at tinamcallister dot com and I’ll make sure to address it during the webinar!

So you may already know that I am an Animoto junkie since I wrote all about it a few weeks back. I confess: I love Animoto.

It’s easy. It’s a complete no-brainer. You upload some photos. Insert some text. Pick the music. And let Animoto put it all together. Piece o’ cake!

But what if you’re just not sure what to say? Or what tact to take with your video?

How do you find the inspiration?

My advice: check out the music. Go to the Animoto music choices and listen. You only get about 30 seconds of music to hear each selection. But it’s enough to hear the emotions behind it.

Is it jumpy and fast? Is it slow and sad? Music evokes emotions in most of us (well, those of us normal humans, anyway) and the music can completely change the tone of a piece.

I am going to post two short videos. Same pictures. Same text. Two very different pieces of music.

(I was actually going to pick a classical piece to REALLY show a difference and then I stumbled across this piece called Funkasaurus…which I had to pick in tribute to the munchkin who loves dinosaurs).

Did you notice the differences? (Hopefully you did!)

Anyway, the point is that music can really inspire you to feel different things. So BEFORE you write the text for your promo video and BEFORE you decide on the pictures that will be floating around, listen to a bunch of music clips and see what hits you. You may go in a completely different direction than what you originally planned. You may decide to make multiple videos to promote your ebook – a different “feel” and a slightly different message to different target markets.

Let the music guide you and see what you come up with!

If you’ve looked at the recent blog posts, you know I’ve been bitten by the video bug. But I know not everyone is so rarin’ to go in front of a camera and record themselves. And that’s okay. Because with cool sites like Animoto – you can whip up an awesome little video in a manner of minutes.

You can register for an Animoto account for FREE. Yes, free. (We love free around here).

Here’s the lowdown on Animoto and the free account:

PROS: uh, did I mention it is FREE? It’s simple to use…takes only minutes of your time. Exports to YouTube.. You can share the video via email or use the code to embed it in your site. They have music and pictures available.

CONS: you will soon find out that 30 seconds is really, really short. And that it truly limits what you can pack into a single video. Also, while the music is nifty, there is little to choose from. So far, I’ve been able to find what I want/need…but I could see where I might want more selection. Big con – the pictures are less than desirable (to me, anyway) and slim pickin’s. The amount of text you can type is also quite limited. Kind of annoying for a wordy writer like me.

Seriously, though. I would give Animoto the big thumbs up for promoting an ebook, an e-report or your biz in any way. All you have to do is upload pictures, add some text, pick out some music and voila! Animoto does it all pretty much for you. And it ends up looking like a polished piece o’ work.

Here is one I made as a promo for the 28 Ebook Writing Tips For Parents (an e-report I recently released). I am embedding it using YouTube:

And here’s one I made in all of 6 minutes…using one of my own pictures, and then some royalty free pics over at stock.xchng. And this one is using the embed code from Animoto (so you can see the difference):

There are options for those of you who want to make longer videos. One is the all access pass for $30. This still brands the videos with the Animoto image, apparently. I’m going to try this out before moving onto the next option…which is the commercial use version. The plumped up biz account at Animoto will set you back $99 for 3 months, or $249 a year (thank goodness for business write-offs) but it appears there are a lot more goodies for you to work with when you go this route. As I continue to use Animoto and make various videos, I will be sure to give you feedback.

Okay…it’s no secret I’m a parent (you can even see a picture of me with my little business assistant on the About Tina Page). And I love to work with parents. Whether they work part-time or full-time at a home business, I get a kick out of helping parents learn how they can use ebooks to promote their biz, build credibility, make money…and sometimes all of that rolled up into one!

So I whipped up a little e-report for the parents out there. Easy to read – 28 tips of ebook writing goodness.

And it’s free! Yippee!!

So go ahead and fill out the form below and you will get your nifty e-report via email (alas, after you confirm that you want it, because the Aweber peeps require such things).

Don’t see the form above? No, it’s not a magic invisible form. It means there are technical difficulties. Such is life. So post a comment to let me know if it’s missing and I’ll make sure you get a copy of the e-report!

Most of us embrace the milestones we hit in our lives. From graduating school to hitting a home run to mastering how to make an omelet…we have big and little milestones in our lives that we celebrate.

But what about business?

I’m not talking specifically about your long term dreams and goals (though achieving them is certainly a HUGE milestone and to be most definitely celebrated!!).

I’m referring to the everyday little things in our business. To find out more about why you should celebrate the little milestones, watch the video below….

I know a little about a lot of stuff. And a lot about a handful of things. But the stuff I know a lot about sure as hell doesn’t include the techie side of websites.

Yes, I know how to update my sites (both static and WordPress sites). But the backend stuff? Heck no!

And honestly, I’m not interested in it anyway. I have WAY too much on my plate as it is.

So…earlier this week it was pointed out to me that my WP sites were down. Not cool.

Even not cooler? I was on the road and really didn’t have the time (or inclination) to figure out what was wrong. Beyond the error log over at Bluehost, I was lost.

This is when it’s pretty handy to have someone that you can contact to help you with such things. The things you don’t know and the things you really don’t want to know.

And for me, that person is Vince.

Have you ever heard the saying “You know more than you think you know?” I sure hope you have!

For many of us, it’s true!

We have information locked inside us that others would LOVE to have!

Many home biz owners are stumped for what they should write about, what they could possibly put into an ebook to use as a marketing piece or a money maker. So here’s my ultra-simple idea when you get stumped:

Ooh, ooh!! Ultra excited here!!

My Flip camera arrived and I put it to use! After trying to mess around with my pricey HD cameras with no luck (okay, so perhaps some of the issue is operator error…I’ll take some blame here…) I picked up a great deal on a Flip and you know what? I flippin’ love it!!!

(okay, a bit cheesy, but at least I’m crackin’ myself up)

With no further ado, I present my first ebook writing tip via video:

Comments? Suggestions? I would love to hear your feedback on the tip, or on the video itself. Thanks!!

In my free “Work At Home Marketing That Doesn’t Suck” ebook, I mention social media and even more importantly – Twitter. I know not everyone is into Twitter. In fact, I’ve received some email asking me if Twitter is really worth the time and effort. And while I am no expert on Twitter by any means, I do believe it’s a great tool for your business, if used wisely.

There are tons of Twitter resources out there. And in a few days I will post a mini Twitter tutorial about some of the applications I use, some I don’t but would still recommend and a few really good articles, webcasts and whatnot.

But, in the meantime, how can you use Twitter to promote your ebook? Here are several ways:

1) Tweet about your ebook, with a link to the sales or opt-in page. Make sure you shorten your url and also think about how to shorten your whole tweet so it will be re-tweetable. You want to make it easy for others to retweet the link, gaining more notice from more tweeps. Do not, I repeat: Do not keep tweeting about it over and over and over again. Seeing the same thing being pimped out via Twitter multiple times a day is a big turn off. Yes, you can mention it a few times, but space the tweets apart and have other interaction on your Twitter account.

Don’t forget to think of ways to change up how you tweet about your ebook. For example, I thanked contributors to my ebook and mentioned what page their quote was on, along with a link to the opt-in page of the ebook. That way, they got some recognition and could re-tweet if they wanted and others would know about the free ebook…in a less salesy, annoying way.

2) Ask for testimonials using the @ (vs. the DM). This can be before you launch or after. Doing it before you launch helps build buzz. And then you can add the testimonials to your ebook. But doing it after works as well. You can always whip up a blog post that incorporates the testimonials, further extending the ebook love on your site. Now…to build the buzz you need to use the @ so that your Twitter followers will actually see your tweets. If you use the DM (direct message) feature then only the person you sent the DM to will know about your ebook. Sort of defeats the purpose of promotion, huh?

3) Already got testimonials? Tweet them! Obviously you will have to shorten them up, or you may have to say something like “Guess what? @TinaMc loves my new ebook! Chk out what she says: <link>.” People feel better about checking things out when someone else has already done the checking for them. Especially someone they trust, like, etc.

4) Tweet the countdown to ebook launch. If it’s 21 days ’til you launch your ebook, you may not want to tweet about it every. single. day. But, you can tweet “3 weeks until “Best Sales Tactics For Home Bizs EVER” is available” and then update intermittently. The last few days up to launch, remind your followers about the launch. Again, don’t be annoying. Make sure you tweet about other stuff too. And if the book has already launched, but you plan on taking it off the market for some reason, you can countdown that too. Think “Only 2 days left for you to grab the free ebook before page goes down! <link>”

5) Make sure you stay aware of any reviews or blog posts that are written about your ebook. Then tweet about any internet coverage your ebook has received. Again, people like to see what others have to say before they dive right in, especially if we’re talking about an ebook you are selling for $$. So any reviews, mentions, ANYTHING on the web, tweet about it and add the link.

6) Ask tweeps what they think about your ebook. No, not every one of your followers will have picked up your ebook – even if it’s free – but you can still invite commentary by asking what people think and whether they have any questions. It still generates interest and buzz around your ebook.

7) Create a giveaway or contest ONLY on Twitter. Reward your followers and other tweeps with a giveaway of a certain number of your ebooks. Or offer it up as a prize (this works obviously for $$ ebooks, not freebies) to some other tweep holding a contest. People like to win stuff. And people like to re-tweet about the possibility of winning stuff.

8 ) Mention any discounts via Twitter. Better yet, offer a Twitter-only discount. If people can’t win something (see #7) they at least like to feel they are getting a sweet deal. So offering a discount is something that you can tweet about that will likely get retweeted…more promo for your ebook!!

Can you think of other ways to promote your ebook via Twitter? If so, send me an @!!

It’s easy to throw everything and the kitchen sink into your ebook. And it’s just as easy to go the opposite route and fail to incorporate some really cool additions that can make your ebook shine! So when you are writing that ebook, start thinking about what you can add to spice things up a bit and add value.

Here are a few ideas:

- throw in your bio; Okay, this isn’t an “extra.” It’s a must have. You wrote the book, now make sure you introduce yourself to your readers and go the full mile. Let them know all about you (especially how it pertains to the ebook), give them contact information, a picture and info on upcoming work-related things.

- add a checklist; checklists are great for condensing your information to one page…something that can be printed out and used. (Just don’t forget your url in the header or footer of that checklist page!)

- provide discounts…have a discount to your services/products. Think of it as a gift to your readers. Perhaps you can work out a discount or some sort of special deal with a colleague on their services.

- add testimonials; no, not a kazillion of them. People don’t want to read page after page of how great you are. But a single page with a few testimonials of you and your product/service is nifty. (and it feels good, right?)

- add statistics; do a little research and find some stats out there to support your claims, to bolster your ebook. Make sure you state clearly where the stats are coming from. Or, you can even conduct your own surveys (check out Survey Monkey or Easy Internet Survey).

- add trivia; quotes, fun stats or interesting little tidbits of information that help augment your book can be sprinkled throughout, or added on a bonus page. Here’s a post with a bunch of trivia site links.

- add a FAQ page on your products/services; you get asked the same questions all the time, so head some of your prospects off at the pass by providing a “Frequently Asked Questions” page in your ebook.

- include a “Thank You” page; there are people who have supported you in your work. And here’s where you can acknowledge them. If they have a business and url, mention it and spread the link love!

- add a list; this is different than a checklist. You’re listing a “top ten” or some other number of listed items. You can add a list of web sites that would be useful. You can add a list of possible software resources.

- top it off with some graphics or pictures; some people like to print out their ebook…so I don’t typically recommend overloading your ebook with graphics that suck up a lot of ink. (Sprinkling throughout – good, overload – bad). But, if you have a subject that could use some picture or graphic representation, think about creating specific graphic pages and then referring to them through the text (as in, “see Picture 1-A on page 52″ or “Check out all the photos on page 52″). By having a page or two of the heavy graphics separate from the text, your prospects still get the visual element but can choose whether to print those pages out or not.

What do you think would make a great “extra” for an ebook?