What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know (TM) - The Blog For Original Content Infopreneurs

How To Stop Leaving Easy Money On The Table Every Day With Your Blog Or Website

2011-05-09T13:16:23-07:00

I’m sure that most, if not all of you reading this What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know Blog have at least a blog and/or a website, if not several of them. And as a savvy entrepreneur or original content infopreneur, you’re doing it not because you’re a hobbyist who wants the world to know you exist, but because it makes sense for your business efforts. You have a blog or website because you can monetize that content either directly, or indirectly.

Direct monetization is when you make money from your site through Google AdSense or a direct sale of your product from that site. Indirectly monetizing is when you get someone to join your list or connect with you through social media because of your content, and then down the line they become a customer, or refer you to someone who does.

I primarily use indirect monetization through my media properties such as this blog, or my podcast or other websites, to monetize my content, because I like to build a long-term relationship with my audience and have the opportunity to become a trusted resource that you will turn to for your information needs ongoing, but I do use direct monetization as well.

I also like using direct monetization methods that don’t always require a site visitor to have to open up their wallet in order for me to make money. One way to do this is to take advantage of Publisher Programs. That’s right, if you have a blog or website even if you don’t publish books, you ARE a publisher—just like the very biggest media companies out there.

Now pretty much everyone on the planet knows about Google AdSense—and if you don’t, it’s one of the most basic ways to make anywhere from pocket change to some nice steady money simply by applying to their program with an established site and then pasting some code they will give you onto it. As you’ll notice if you check out my various media properties—some I will use AdSense on, and some like What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know The Blog, I won’t for strategic reasons.

The Publisher Program you’re likely overlooking, is one that is perfectly permissible to be run simultaneously with Google AdSense (and you have to be careful about this because not every Publisher Program can peacefully coexist with it and you don’t want to piss off Google). And this Publisher program is just as easy to use as Google AdSense while being a little more subtle.

If you check out one of my other blogs, TheHealthyFoodReview.com, you’ll see that I include Google AdSense, and then when you look closely at the various blog posts after the page has been loaded for a moment, you’ll also see that certain words have blue double underscores on them, and when you hover your mouse over them, you’ll see

what looks like a cartoon conversation balloon show up. Those are called contextual ads. Which means that some advertiser paid one of the contextual Publisher Program companies to show you an ad, and the Publisher gets paid if you click on it, or take an action and actually opt-in to a list or buy something at the site.

And just like with Google AdSense, you can be paid to serve up these ads and make money from these advertisers. Why have just one Publisher Program on your page when you can have two?

While there are many of these contextual advertising programs out there, including the Yahoo Publisher Network, you can learn more about the one I use called Kontera.

Once you’ve signed up for, and been approved by, Kontera, you’ll be able to list all your sites that you want to participate in the program, and a unique code will be generated for each site. You simply paste the code onto the applicable site, and in about 24 hours, you’ll start to see that the double blue underscored lines are appearing under select words on your site or blog.

You don’t get to pick which words contain the ads, Kontera does it for you based on a match between what your content says and the ads they need to place for their advertisers. But it also means you don’t have to scratch your head endlessly testing and tweaking the best position, color, size, etc. for your ads like you do when optimizing your Google AdSense.

I also like the fact that Kontera lets you get a payout now at $50 rather than $100 like many other advertising programs do. That’s money in your bank account twice as fast. Now you’re not likely to get rich off of a contextual advertising program like Kontera. But if by taking a few minutes to sign up for the program and pasting a piece of code on your blog or website, you can further monetize the content you’re already putting out there effortlessly ongoing, why keep leaving their money on the table 24/7?

This is just one of the money making ideas I discuss in chapter 18 of my book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know! called Leveraging The Media That I Create To Share What You Know. So if this topic intrigues you, you’ll want to grab a copy at WhatYouKnowIsWorthMoreBook.com, and if you’re not already on my list, you can save $10 on my book by opting in at the site.

Want to hear this content as a What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know Podcast? CLICK HERE

I now invite you to Get a FREE 3-chapter excerpt from my 5-star Amazon rated book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know™ - Achieving The Life You Were Meant To Have By Making Money From What YOU Know! and access to my 60-minute author interview teleseminar CLICK HERE

Wishing you maximum success!

--Melanie R. Jordan, The Expert At Making Money From What You Uniquely Know, Author of Think Beyond The Book and What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know™ - Achieving The Life You Were Meant To Have By Making Money From What YOU Know! and Host of infopreneur podcast What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM), The Podcast Available 24/7 at: http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

Don't miss a post--subscribe to this infopreneur blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs feed. It's easy! CLICK HERE

Follow me on Twitter

Join my new LinkedIn Group Make Your Own Job! What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM)!

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Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles and healthy eating, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's Other Blogs:

The Healthy Food Review where healthy eating with favorite comfort foods is deliciously possible! at http://www.TheHealthyFoodReview.com

Vegas Inside Scoop--for Las Vegas locals and visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

ZumbaForHealth.com for those who love Zumba® like I do!

Please note that my company SunLover Publishing LLC is an affiliate for Kontera and we will receive a commission if you sign up for their publisher program, however it will help us keep bringing you great content via this blog more regularly.

Quora: 7 Reasons Why It's My New Best Marketing Friend

2011-04-01T11:49:18-07:00

For those of you don’t know, Quora.com is a free site where people post questions they are looking for help with. Why bother answering other people’s questions? It’s one of the 12 Ways Infopreneurs (and entrepreneurs of course) Can Do Marketing Without Needing The Big Bucks that I discuss in that 33-page megachapter in my book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know! But in a nutshell, it’s a great way to show what you uniquely know, build credibility in a particular field, and get leads, sales and boost your SEO in the process.

Even though Quora has been available to the general public since June 2010, I had never heard of it till a few weeks ago from Publicity Hound Joan Stewart’s blog post 6 Reasons To Use Quora To Promote Your Expertise at PublicityHound.net (well worth your time). Quora was co-founded by Facebook’s former CTO Adam D’Angelo and originally attracted the Silicon Valley crowd.

So here are the 7 reasons why Quora is my best new marketing friend:

1. You can you set up a general profile with links to your sites and social media profiles, as well as unique mini profiles for every category you want to focus on answering questions in.

It’s great when you’re as diverse as I am and answering questions on business topics like marketing, social media, blogging and podcasting, but also healthy eating, healthy living and Zumba.

2. For each of the topics you set up to get notifications on, Quora will send you an e-mail every time a question appears.

Now this feature is not for those who get easily frustrated getting a lot of e-mail, because depending on the Quora topic, you’ll likely start getting dozens of e-mails a day from the system. No worries—it’s easy to scan an e-mail in a couple of seconds and know if it’s something you want to answer or not. And by using the e-mail notification feature, you can get the jump on being the first, if not among the first to answer the question.

Some of the questions are too general, dumb or self-serving to be worth answering, but many will give you a good chance to show your stuff—and those are the ones worth your time. Simple, right?

3. Quora uses the Twitter-like concept of followers and following—both people and questions.

So while you’re answering questions, you can also build your connections of people who are paying attention to what you specifically say as you post answers on Quora. You can also send them messages like you can in Twitter, except it appears people actually read these (at least for now they do). I use this to do a friendly welcome to anyone who follows me and restate my expertise. In fact, I already got a great lead for someone who wants me to ghostwrite a book for them just doing this one little thing.

4. When you post an answer, you get three opportunities for people to see linkbacks to the stuff you really want them to regarding your business.

When you answer a question it links to your overall Quora profile and then displays the first few words of your topic-specific profile, and then where it can be done appropriately related to your answer or as an example, you can include a link in the actual answer post as well. See why it pays to answer? But wait, it gets better.

5. After you post your answer on Quora, there will be a little box that looks like a retweet box that comes up after your answer post, that pre-fills in the question you answered and a link to your answer and asks if you want to post it to Facebook and Twitter?

Of course you do! This is probably my absolute favorite thing on Quora!

Now with one click you also have made your answer do triple duty by sharing it with the world on Quora and now it goes to the world on Twitter and Facebook. Plus, it lets people know by association that you’re on Quora so they can now connect with you and ask you a question there as well. I know a constant lament I get from marketing and coaching clients is “what do I say on social media, I’m running out of stuff to say.” Well here’s a regular way to have something very valuable to say.

6. You don’t always have to answer a question always to get exposure on the site.

You can also be the poster of a question, and just like you do for a blog, you can comment on pieces and get the same triple link exposure opportunity that you can with an answer!

7. Quora is used by many journalists and top bloggers to ask questions about items they’re working on and to uncover sources.

So who knows, the next question you answer on Quora could just get you connected to a major media outlet and result in some coverage for you and your work. Not bad for taking a moment to share your knowledge.

I highly recommend you give Quora a try, and when you register for the site, please be sure to follow me—of course I’ll follow you back!

P.S. What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) - The Blog For Original Content Infopreneurs has a new sponsor--Audible is offering a FREE audiobook download with a FREE 14-day trial to give you a chance to check out their service. To download your free audiobook CLICK HERE.

Want to hear this content as a What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know Podcast? CLICK HERE

Wishing you maximum success!

Don't miss a post--subscribe to this infopreneur blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs feed. It's easy! CLICK HERE

Follow me on Twitter

Join my new LinkedIn Group Make Your Own Job! What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM)!

Like Me On Facebook, Think Beyond The Book Facebook Page and What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) Facebook Fan Page

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles and healthy eating, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's Other Blogs:

The Healthy Food Review where healthy eating with favorite comfort foods is deliciously possible! at http://www.TheHealthyFoodReview.com

Vegas Inside Scoop--for Las Vegas locals and visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

ZumbaForHealth.com for those who love Zumba® like I do!

Please note that my company SunLover Publishing LLC is an affiliate for Audible and we will receive a commission if you take advantage of their free offer, however it will help us keep bringing you great content via this blog more regularly.

Think Beyond The Book: The Guide To Helping Authors Finally Make Money

2011-01-09T19:33:47-08:00

One of my goals in 2011 is to help fellow authors finally make money doing what they love most--sharing their unique knowledge and content with the world. So I've put together a special guide called Think Beyond The Book(TM): Achieve Maximum Audience And Revenue For Your Knowledge Faster, Better And Easier which is now available on Amazon Kindle, or you can order directly through me.

I'm a six-time, well actually with this new Kindle E-Book, make that a seven-time author, but it was when I stopped thinking like an author, and learned how to Think Beyond The Book, that I stopped being a starving artist, and started finally making money from my books. Enough money that I no longer had to work a day job, and could instead focus on doing what I really loved to do, and living the flexible lifestyle that I desired.

If you're an author or an aspiring author who wants to make the most money possible from writing, it's time to change your mindset, and profit as much as possible from the unique content that you create--as you definitely deserve!

In Think Beyond The Book, I'm sharing with you the simple secrets to finally making money as an author (and if you already make a bunch of money as an author, that's super--now you'll make even more. You'll also reach more people with your work than ever before and achieve your maximum possible audience. Here's what's included:

1. How to change your author mindset to achieve maximum possible audience and revenue from your content,

2. The unlimited potential of thinking beyond the book.

3. The 5 key ways you must present your writing to achieve maximum audience and revenue.

4. Exactly how to sell the same content that's in your book, for hundreds, even thousands of dollars, to book customers.

5. How to get customers who won't read your book to buy from you anyway.

Think Beyond The Book is for non-fiction and fiction authors, and will have you laughing and learning as you are put on the path to making more money and reaching a bigger audience. What are you waiting for? Go grab your copy right now!

Wishing you maximum success!

Don't miss a post--subscribe to this infopreneur blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs feed. It's easy! CLICK HERE

Follow me on Twitter

Join my new LinkedIn Group Make Your Own Job! What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM)!

Like Me On Facebook, Think Beyond The Book Facebook Page and What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) Facebook Fan Page

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles and healthy eating, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's Other Blogs:

The Healthy Food Review where healthy eating with favorite comfort foods is deliciously possible! at http://www.TheHealthyFoodReview.com

Vegas Inside Scoop--for Las Vegas locals and visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

How My Aunt Netti Helped Me Finish What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know

2010-12-26T08:46:03-08:00

It was one year ago today that one of the big fans of my writing and a special someone who inspired me to finish What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know! passed away.

My Great Aunt Netti, who was technically my Great Aunt by marriage, and not by blood (although you'd never know the difference), kept in touch from across the country through the old-fashioned method of writing letters. She'd read my last book Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and really enjoyed it, and we shared back and forth different things we were doing as part of our respective healthy lifestyles.

Those of you who have heard my author teleseminar interview or read the book excerpt for What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know! are aware that for a variety of reasons that contributed to major writer's block, that book took me 7 years to write, when I had written my other five within the span of two years. How did I get over it?

Well, it was one of those letters from Aunt Netti that helped inspire me to get over it. In fact, it's one that I've kept and held onto. At the end of that letter she simply said "you're a very talented writer and you should keep at it."

I kept that letter up on my bulletin board at my home office and it got me going again. The message of empowerment in life, and the step-by-step guide to monetizing and marketing one's unique knowledge as a means to get there, was just too important to not get out there and benefit others.

As a great source of inspiration, I made her one of the two dedications at the front of the book. It was always my goal to go cross-country and visit Aunt Netti and hand her the book in-person so she could see her name in print and know how much she had helped me. Unfortunately, I developed an acute physical ailment and could not travel for a long period of time, and simultaneously Aunt Netti's health deteriorated. By the time I was able to travel, we got the bad news that she didn't have long to go, and the day after Christmas last year she passed on. It upset me terribly that she never got to see the book dedication in What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know!

This past Summer, my husband and I went back to our native New York for a visit, and while we were there we visited Aunt Netti's grave to pay our respects. I left a copy of What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know! at the site in a ziploc bag to protect it from the elements, and told her about what I did, and everything I had wanted to say if I had been given the chance.

I like to think that Aunt Netti heard me and knows how much I appreciated her belief in me, since it's what got me believing in myself again. Thanks Aunt Netti, you are greatly missed by myself and all the others you touched with your warmth, humor and caring throughout your life.

I now invite you to learn more about the empowering book Aunt Netti helped me finish. Get a FREE 3-chapter excerpt from my 5-star Amazon rated book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know™ - Achieving The Life You Were Meant To Have By Making Money From What YOU Know! and access to my 60-minute author interview teleseminar CLICK HERE

Happy Infopreneuring!

--Melanie R. Jordan, The Expert At Making Money From What You Uniquely Know, Author of What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know™ - Achieving The Life You Were Meant To Have By Making Money From What YOU Know! and Host of infopreneur podcast What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM), The Podcast Available 24/7 at: http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

Don't miss a post--subscribe to this infopreneur blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs feed. It's easy! CLICK HERE

Follow me on Twitter

Join my new LinkedIn Group Make Your Own Job! What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM)!

Friend Me On Facebook, What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) Facebook Fan Page

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles and healthy eating, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's Other Blogs:

The Healthy Food Review where healthy eating with favorite comfort foods is deliciously possible! at http://www.TheHealthyFoodReview.com

Vegas Inside Scoop--for Las Vegas locals and visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

The video creation resource offered in this blog post was purchased by me and since I thought it was a must-have, I am now recommending it and representing it as an affiliate which means I get a little bit of commission if you make a purchase. I only recommend resources that I have purchased myself, or I know the creator and trust them to put out a quality offering.

Win A Copy Of What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know

2010-12-20T23:22:39-08:00

Update: 12/22 Thanks to all who entered, the winners have been selected and received their books. However, you can still be a winner when you lock in $5 savings on a copy of my book if you join my list and purchase What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know using the special offer you'll get upon opt-in at the following link:

----> http://www.whatyouknowisworthmorebook.com

Hi All,

It's Time For Your Chance To Win A Free Copy Of My Book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know!(TM)

I'm sponsoring a contest in conjunction with a website called AnyLuckyDay.com and 5 lucky people will win a copy of the e-book version of What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know! just by commenting at that site.

But you only have till 11:59 PM ET on 12/21 for your chance to win, so hurry and enter at:

----> http://budurl.com/WinWYK

Or if you want a sure thing, you can lock in $10 savings on a copy of my book and get $205 in bonuses if you purchase it only at the following link:

----> http://budurl.com/LuckyDayOffer

So, enter to win, or be a guaranteed winner, by buying your copy of What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know! at the lowest price I've ever offered for the e-book version along with special bonuses
totaling $205--a no-brainer, right? And you won't get those as a contest winner.

But hurry, both offers absolutely expire at 11:59 PM ET on 12/21--that's less than 24 hours. Jack Bauer would certainly be in a rush (that is if 24 was still on :)

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season and maximum success!

Happy Infopreneuring!

Don't miss a post--subscribe to this infopreneur blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs feed. It's easy! CLICK HERE

Follow me on Twitter

Join my new LinkedIn Group Make Your Own Job! What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM)!

Friend Me On Facebook, What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) Facebook Fan Page

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles and healthy eating, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's Other Blogs:

The Healthy Food Review where healthy eating with favorite comfort foods is deliciously possible! at http://www.TheHealthyFoodReview.com

Vegas Inside Scoop--for Las Vegas locals and visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

Florida Inside Scoop--for Florida locals and visitors at http://www.FloridaInsideScoop.com

How I Made A Book Trailer Video For What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know

2010-11-22T12:56:16-08:00

Last week I realized I would miss two great opportunities if I didn't have a book trailer video pronto for What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know! The first was that my publisher, Booklocker.com is now offering to add a book trailer to my book sales pages. The second, was that with the holiday gift idea press release I was going to be doing for What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know! allowed a book trailer video to be included as well.

I decided enough's enough, so one night last week I was wired, I stayed up till 2 AM (I do my best creative work as a night owl), and finally made my first (of several) book trailers and other videos happen. How did I achieve this polished video so quickly and easily?

After, all I had been practially pulling my hair out trying to make a great video that didn't have a huge learning curve, didn't require a lot of technical knowledge or editing software knowledge, and didn't always require me to be on camera. Well, here's how I did it.

Step One:

I decided on my target market for this particular video (in this one it's people who have been laid off, fear it or know someone who is unemployed and looking for their next career move, although my book also targets entrepreneurs, as well as content creators like authors), made some bullet points about the key items and the Call To Action I wanted to be sure I got in the video.

Step Two:

I looked through my large collection of royalty-free photos acquired over time (and added a couple for $1 each from iStockPhoto). I used Audacity, a free audio editing software program that I use to edit my What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know, The Podcast episodes to triple the length of the original royalty-free audio instrumental I use for my podcast (you could also do a search for royalty-free audio that is a longer length (1-2 minutes).

Step Three:

I typed, dragged and dropped and hit a few buttons.

Step Four:

I signed up for the Animoto Pro Account version at http://budurl.com/MakeGreatVideo By the way don't let that "Pro" level scare you off. It's a whole $39 a month (or you can sign up annually and save), and you can make unlimited, high-definition videos for commercial use that are ad free and service provider logo free and include a direct link hot button at the end of your video.

Step Five:

Published my new cool video to YouTube and then publicized it to my extensive social media networks on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as my list.

That's it!

How many videos could you make working for you 24/7 out there on YouTube and all over the internet each month if you had an easy professional video creation solution like this that even I could use? I know I'm going to be making hundreds now that I know how to make videos without a camera and how to make book trailers with this super simple service. Please be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss out on any.

I also now invite you to learn everything you need to know, step-by-step, about original content infopreneuring and marketing (so you have something to make videos about that makes you some money from your own unique know-how). Get a FREE 3-chapter excerpt from my 5-star Amazon rated book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know™ - Achieving The Life You Were Meant To Have By Making Money From What YOU Know! and access to my 60-minute author interview teleseminar CLICK HERE

Happy Infopreneuring!

Don't miss a post--subscribe to this infopreneur blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs feed. It's easy! CLICK HERE

Follow me on Twitter

Join my new LinkedIn Group Make Your Own Job! What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM)!

Friend Me On Facebook, What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) Facebook Fan Page

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles and healthy eating, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's Other Blogs:

The Healthy Food Review where healthy eating with favorite comfort foods is deliciously possible! at http://www.TheHealthyFoodReview.com

Vegas Inside Scoop--for Las Vegas locals and visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

SEO The Super Simple Thing That Got Me Media Coverage In A Major Women's Magazine

2010-11-10T14:19:26-08:00

Update: The story gets better! The same columnist from Woman's World asked me to be a source again for another round-up piece that just published!

You’ve probably seen SEO guru after SEO guru, and SEO service after SEO service, talk about the hoops you have to jump through, the expensive courses you need, the tons of backlinks you have to build, the hefty pay-per-click budget you need to show up as a top sponsored result, and the thousands of dollars you have to spend on search engine optimization (SEO) if you want to get found online.

And if you’ve read the huge 33-page chapter A Dozen Ways Infopreneurs Can Succeed Without Needing The Big Bucks from my book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know!(TM) you’re aware that I think that labor-intensive, obsessed and expensive approaches to search engine optimization are so unnecessary.

Well nothing proves that point more than the story I’m about to share with you.

It’s no secret that I believe very strongly in the importance of public relations efforts as a way that any entrepreneur, infopreneur or content creator can do their marketing without having to spend big bucks. So pretty much every day, some of my time is devoted to public relations activities for myself or my marketing and coaching clients.

But sometimes if you make an effort to get your work out there into the world, the opportunity for media coverage comes to you. And you don’t have to be a major celebrity for this to happen!

A couple of days ago I got an e-mail from one of the editors at a major women’s magazine (Woman's World) that you will see on the newsstands and supermarket checkouts with the subject “interview request.” The editor was under a tight deadline and was hoping I could accommodate a quick interview request on my opinions on healthy food choices. Let’s see, you’re a major women’s magazine that has people like Oprah and Dr. Oz regularly on the cover and reach 7.5 million readers an issue. I’d say that’s a big yes!

I immediately contacted her back letting her know that I was pleased to be a resource, and that I could e-mail her back the content she needed a day sooner than the deadline she had requested. She complimented me on my professionalism and assistance and off I went to work.

When I first saw the interview request, I was instantly trying to figure out how this editor found me. Was it a press release or media pitch? Was it my tweets? Was it one of the media queries I answer on a daily basis? Fortunately, as the consummate marketer I am, I had simply asked the editor back in my acceptance of the request how she found me, as being a 20+ year marketing veteran, I always like to know how my marketing efforts are working.

The answer shocked me. It was pure organic search.

This plum public relations payday came not from any of the things you might think would lead to a media coverage direct hit. And I’ve had a publicist in the past for my healthy eating book Have You Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! but what I got for the hefty monthly retainer that was stretching my budget to the limit at the time, were guest spots on tiny radio stations that no one ever listened to, and similarly forgettable tiny newspaper pieces. I never came anywhere close to this kind of top-ranking publication.

And it all happened from the editor Googling terms for healthy living bloggers that related directly to her piece, and that search turned up a post I had done for my blog The Healthy Food Review(TM) on healthy living and eating almost 2 years ago. And it wasn’t like The Healthy Food Review has first page Google rank or millions of visitors a month.

But what The Healthy Food Review and all my blogs have, is good, original, keyword-rich writing from yours truly. I get lots of hits on my individual blog posts because of this. So when the major Women’s magazine editor typed in specific search terms, I was found and now that this connection was made, I’m getting major media coverage to start off the new year.

And it didn’t take a ton of money—less than $10 a month for the professional blogging platform I use for 3 of my blogs, and a domain name at $10 a year—all it took was having an established blog (The Healthy Food Review has been around for nearly two years now), that was updated ongoing with quality, original content, with keyword-rich writing.

And I don’t post to my blogs daily or even weekly like “they” say you must do. I do it when I have something to say. I’m not on Wordpress, and I don’t have a webmaster pimping up my blog. I just write and share good, original, keyword-rich content ongoing.

And that’s something any of you reading this blog post can easily do. See why I keep saying you need your own media properties? I can now add to the list of reasons why, like I shared in my blog post Why You Need Your Own Media Properties--major media coverage!

Here's the Woman's World piece CLICK HERE Need help with affordable PR? CLICK HERE

I now invite you to learn everything you need to know, step-by-step, about original content infopreneuring and marketing. Get a FREE 3-chapter excerpt from my 5-star Amazon rated book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know™ - Achieving The Life You Were Meant To Have By Making Money From What YOU Know! and access to my 60-minute author interview teleseminar CLICK HERE

Want to hear this content as a What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know Podcast episode? CLICK HERE

Happy Infopreneuring!

Don't miss a post--subscribe to this infopreneur blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs feed. It's easy! CLICK HERE

Follow me on Twitter

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Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles and healthy eating, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's Other Blogs:

The Healthy Food Review where healthy eating with favorite comfort foods is deliciously possible! at http://www.TheHealthyFoodReview.com

Vegas Inside Scoop--for Las Vegas locals and visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

Teleseminars Webinars And Live Events Promote Them Online With 50+ Places

2010-11-07T09:23:22-08:00

Update 11/22/10: If you are also interested in promoting your small business, book, product, event, etc. offline as well, Joan Stewart also has a follow-up webinar package for promoting events offline called 60+ Places To Promote Your Product, Service, Cause, Issue Or Event To Build The Buzz And Encourage Others To Promote For You.

Do you do teleseminars and webinars like I do? Do you do live events ("real world" offline) like I do for some of my marketing clients? Then you need to grab your copy of 50+ Places To Promote Your Live And Virtual Events Online to Reach Your Target Market And Pull Sell-out Crowds from my friend and public relations mentor, Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound.

I wasn't able to attend the original webinar live as I was flying back from BlogWorld/New Media Expo that day. But I just caught up this past week with the replay, Powerpoint slides and handouts she provided (the same ones that are available for purchase), and I was blown away by the content.

Joan Stewart over-delivered in this information-packed event (in fact, she ran about a half hour over and had to sign off before her webinar service cut her off! I was truly blown away by all the possibilities that exist online for promoting my own teleseminars and webinars, as well as promoting online the teleseminars and webinars I host for my marketing clients and original content information product/service coaching clients. In addition, Joan shared tips on uncovering additional websites that can be

used to promote niche-specific events--as if you didn't have enough sites to work with just from the 50+ she shared in the webinar.

While no one can say for sure that someone who stumbles upon your event listing will sign up or buy, the more exposure you can get for the event that you're promoting--and most of these listings are free by the way (you just need some spare time to get them set up and entered or a good virtual assistant)--surely can't hurt overall. Plus, I imagine the one-way backlinks from many of these event promotion sites where you create a profile might give you some extra SEO juice.

And it doesn't matter that you missed the live event because you can get your very own treasure map of 50+ Places To Promote Your Live And Virtual Events Online to Reach Your Target Market And Pull Sell-out Crowds through the special replay package Joan is making available at a generous price that makes it affordable for any small business, entrepreneur, inforpreneur, marketing freelancer, marketing consultant, internet marketer, information marketer, artist, band, author, speaker, coach--anyone who needs to promote teleseminars, webinars or live events online while spending little or no money to do it.

Go grab your copy of 50+ Places To Promote Your Live And Virtual Events Online to Reach Your Target Market And Pull Sell-out Crowds CLICK HERE I bought it myself and highly recommend it as well as I do all of Joan Stewart (The Publicity Hound's) public relations resources.

More of my blog posts about teleseminars:

Infopreneurs: Don't Make This Deadly Teleseminar Mistake

Podcast Or Teleseminar: Which Is Better?

The Big Bucks In Teleseminars: How To Make Them--a very special What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM), The Podcast episode CLICK HERE

A FREE Transcript of this infopreneur podcast episode is available courtesy of New Media Transcription CLICK HERE

Are You The Dead Guy (or Gal) On Your Teleseminars? CLICK HERE

Are You Giving Away Too Much Free Teleseminar Content? CLICK HERE

Live Teleseminar Or Pre-Recorded? CLICK HERE

A Tale Of Two Teleseminar Training Programs CLICK HERE

I now invite you to learn everything you need to know, step-by-step, about infopreneuring and marketing! Get a FREE 3-chapter excerpt from my 5-star Amazon rated book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know™ - Achieving The Life You Were Meant To Have By Making Money From What YOU Know! and access to my 60-minute author interview teleseminar CLICK HERE

Happy Infopreneuring!

Don't miss a post--subscribe to this infopreneur blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs feed. It's easy! CLICK HERE

Follow me on Twitter

Join my new LinkedIn Group Make Your Own Job! What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM)!

Friend Me On Facebook, What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) Facebook Fan Page

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles and healthy eating, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's Other Blogs:

The Healthy Food Review where healthy eating with favorite comfort foods is deliciously possible! at http://www.TheHealthyFoodReview.com

Vegas Inside Scoop--for Las Vegas locals and visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

The Online event resource offered in this blog post was purchased by me and since I thought it was a must-have, I am now recommending it and representing it as an affiliate which means I get a little bit of commission if you make a purchase. I haven't taken the offline course, but know Joan to always offer quality content. I only recommend resources that I have purchased myself, or I know the creator and trust them to put out a quality offering.

BlogWorld New Media Expo: How Going Led To My First Live Video

2010-10-26T21:04:22-07:00

Now while my business is primarily virtual, there are times when you just can’t beat an in-person business event, and going to this year’s BlogWorld/New Media Expo in Las Vegas was one of them. I had been to the conference two years ago when it was just The New Media Expo and got a lot out of it—it got me to stop talking about launching What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know The Podcast, and be inspired to actually do it.

Plus, it’s where I met the Microsoft employee who loved my podcast and got it recognized as a featured show (where it remained ongoing), and my book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know spotlighted on the Office Products Podcast Directory. That love from Microsoft wouldn’t have happened any other way.

So I was optimistic about more magic happening when I attended this year’s conference, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was also appropriate that this time instead of involving audio, the magic involved video.

As many of my regular readers (which of course I hope you are) know, my core strengths when it comes to content creation are the written word, audio and interactive training, and while I’ve made a couple of slideshow videos, and some instructional videos, despite knowing how important a medium it is, it’s still something I’ve struggled with.

So the second day of the event, I decided to ditch the morning keynote since it was some political strategists discussing social media, and even though politics fascinates my Mom, it’s just not my thing. I was working on my laptop using the conference’s free wifi outside a conference room, around one of the areas that had been dubbed “the water cooler of BlogWorld New Media Expo”—also known as the power strips put out in common areas by a sponsor. Laptops and smartphones do need to be recharged, and so these became natural gathering places.

It wasn’t long before I struck up a conversation with one woman who had also decided to ditch the political strategist keynote, and then we were joined by another. We were talking about what we each did, our thoughts on social media and new media and I started talking about my philosophies on content creation. One of the women stopped me and said “ooh that’s good, wait a moment,” and then she whipped out her iPod Nano with video recorder and said “now say that again.”

At that point I realized she meant to put me on video—gulp, live.

I laughed and said “thanks but I don’t go on camera for video.” But she wasn’t taking no for an answer, and got up and came over to me with the iPod ready to go. I kept protesting, but she was relentless—and as I watched my new friend proceed through the conference, I realized that she might have missed her calling as a journalist because she strong-armed even some of the conference’s heavy hitter speakers into letting her do a quick video interview with them. So at least I was in good company.

I looked at the iPod poised and ready to roll, and thought that while I hadn’t slept that much the night before and my hair hadn’t cooperated that morning, I was wearing my What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know t-shirt, which would be good for branding, and she said I could plug my website. On the other hand, this was live—me on camera, no practice, no fancy lighting, no make up artist and no editing—was it the way I wanted my first time on camera to happen?

Then I thought of how many people all around me at the conference were doing on-camera video fearlessly, so I gave in and repeated what I had said, added a bit more and even remembered to get WhatYouKnowIsWorthMoreBook.com and my free 3-chapter book excerpt in.

After it was done, my friend told me I was worrying for nothing, I did just great. But for me the worrying had just begun—I wanted to see the video which she promised me later on in the day.

Later on during the afternoon keynote, I sat next to her again, and I watched out of the corner of my eye as she skillfully added a footer with my name, book title and website to the video and then watched horrified as I realized she was uploading it to YouTube and I hadn’t even seen it yet. Wow, I was not ready for primetime, and competing against the cats who do clever things videos.

I’m probably harder on myself than anyone else, so I had been waiting to create the perfect video. I would be perfect, the lighting would be perfect, it would set the video world on fire. But months later, I still hadn’t made a video with myself on camera.

Years ago when my husband and I were in the process of relocating to Southern California, and I was still in the Corporate World, I had to fly out ahead of the move for some interviews. Now in California everyone drives, but I had grown up in my native NYC and was a subway and bus girl. I got my license at age 26 and still rarely drove, and never on the highway. So I was trying to figure out how I was going to get myself around to all these appointments, because I had very little highway experience and I had seen the 12 lanes across freeways of LA on TV.

My husband had basically told me that I was a good driver and I had to just get on the highway and do it. I was terrified of this Marquis De Sade driving school method, but I wanted desperately to get around on my own in LA, so after leaving the airport in my rental car, I managed to get on the highway, just beating out a truck, and doing my best to keep up with the flow of traffic which was about 15 miles per hour faster than the speed limit. I remember getting to The Westin Bonaventure, with the biggest headache of my life from the pressure of driving white-knuckled on the freeway for the first time, and basically throwing the valet the keys to my car saying “take it, I’m shot.”

But after I checked in and reflected on the experience, I realized that if I hadn’t been pushed outside my comfort zone, I wouldn’t have tried to drive on the freeway and it might be really tough for me to live in California—the best experience of my life.

And just like then, while my very first live video was far from the perfection I was seeking, thanks to a chance meeting at a conference, I did finally step out of my comfort zone and attended what was to me the Marquis De Sade school of video. And the end result was, I finally did one. And once I did, suddenly it didn’t seem so far fetched that I could do this with some improvements, and I even attended sessions the next day on live video streaming—which I would never have considered before I did my live video and realized I did live to tell about it. This time, the magic that happened at BlogWorld New Media Expo was actually getting over my fear of doing on-camera video, and very soon I’ll have stuff to put on YouTube—no more procrastinating.

Most importantly, it was a reminder of how important it is to be able to step outside of your comfort zone, and create content in all the forms that your audience wants to consume it—-not just the ones that you’re most comfortable creating.

Want to hear this content as a What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know Podcast episode? CLICK HERE

Happy Infopreneuring!

Don't miss a post--subscribe to this infopreneur blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs feed. It's easy! CLICK HERE

Follow me on Twitter

Join my new LinkedIn Group Make Your Own Job! What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM)!

Friend Me On Facebook, What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) Facebook Fan Page

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles and healthy eating, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's Other Blogs:

The Healthy Food Review where healthy eating with favorite comfort foods is deliciously possible! at http://www.TheHealthyFoodReview.com

Vegas Inside Scoop--for Las Vegas locals and visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

Why Entrepreneurs And Infopreneurs Need Their Own Media Properties

2010-09-29T18:31:50-07:00

Being active as I am in social media, as well as keeping tabs on the hot topics out there on the internet and in the media for entrepreneurs and original content infopreneurs, I’d say that the two most common questions are:

How do I publicize my business on a limited budget?
How do I get more traffic to my site?

Well, one of the least expensive ways to accomplish both is to simply have your own media properties. What do I mean by a media property? I’m referring to:

1. A blog—whether it be a traditional text blog, v-log or hybrid of the two.

2. A podcast or internet radio show—whether it be an audio podcast like my What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM), The Podcast, or a live show hosted on sites like BlogTalk Radio or TalkShoe; or a video podcast, or an internet TV show like one you host on sites like UStream.

3. Your own TV channel—whether it be your YouTube Channel or one you set up on a proprietary basis on

your own website.

Right now I have 2 out of the 3 (my podcast and multiple blogs), which according to singer Meatloaf, isn’t bad, but by year-end, I’ll have all 3 types of media properties going for me. Why do I focus so hard on my media properties? Because it’s one of the lowest-cost, most unique ways to get my message out there, and to drive traffic that builds my lists and brings in sales.

All three types of media properties range from no-cost to low-cost (which alone is a key benefit that puts this within the reach of anyone—you can see the resources I use at infotoolsforyou.com), and because my media properties are mine all mine, there are some really important benefits:

First, unlike when I regularly pitch the media, or answer a media query, in a type of “ooh, ooh” pick me Mr. Kotter” (yeah, there I go dating myself again), when I want to say something, I already have the media in place to do it. I don’t have to ask myself for permission to be on my podcast, I just plug in my microphone. I don’t have to hope I get in print, I hit publish on my next blog post, and I am in print. And I don’t have to pitch the network to get a pilot for my show, I’ll simply shoot a video and upload it to YouTube.

Next, I am in complete control of my message—and that’s in terms of content, scheduling and frequency. I don’t have to get anyone’s OK, I don’t have to build consensus with my peers, I don’t have to be worried about being quoted out of context by a reporter, or having a key point I was hoping to get in left out, and no one edits my message but me. If I want to have multiple pieces of new content at a certain time, I can do it, and when I release them is solely up to me. I don’t have to wait for a time slot, or space to open up.

Another benefit of your own media properties is that your own style and personality will come shining through. People will check out your content because they find value in what you are sharing, and because they like your style—maybe even your voice or image.

This point is SO important for entrepreneurs and infopreneurs, because, quite frankly, it’s rare that you’re going to be the only one that is offering services or products on your topic. In fact, it’s pretty much a guarantee. So what sets you apart is the fact that you bother to have media properties at all. You bother to communicate with prospects for your products and services in ways that most of your competitors do not.

Also, while I love to create content in my down-to-earth, infotainment style, I’m also deadly serious about it having a business purpose. If it’s not serving a business purpose, then it’s a passion project or hobby. Which is OK, but if you’re like me, you’re not on The Forbes Richest People in America list—at least not yet, so you do want to make sure that you work in calls to action throughout your media—especially when you provide your programming for free.

It’s why I ask you to please join my list, give my Facebook page a like and comment, and why I hope if you love what I do, you’ll help me spread the word by sharing my podcasts, blog posts and videos with a friend or colleague. And, yes I will plug specific products and services where appropriate from time to time as well.

Having my media properties helps me get my message out there (publicizing my business and my information products and services), and having one or more calls to action each podcast episode, blog post or video is what brings the traffic to my sites and builds my lists.

But there’s still another benefit to having your own media properties—just like any other media mogul, you can monetize your content beyond your own marketing and traffic building purposes. You can take advertising, ad links, sponsors, selectively be an affiliate and participate in publisher programs like Google AdSense where possible.

The decision to further monetize your media properties beyond indirectly doing so by publicizing your own business and offerings can be done on a case-by-case basis. On some of my media properties you will see one or more of these additional monetization techniques in place, and on others, you won’t see them at all, or very minimally. And it’s definitely another very reliable income stream for me now that I have several media properties in place.

This is what I refer to in my book What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know as leveraging the media you create to share what you know. It’s just one of the 6 components of my infopreneur business model I discuss. So if developing and owning your own media properties intrigues you, please grab a copy of What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know and get all the details and then some!

So the next time you start thinking how do I promote my business and drive traffic to my site? Think of adding one or more media properties to your marketing efforts, and if you already have one, make sure you’re getting the most out of it, and then add another, and another! I haven’t stopped adding new media properties yet, so neither should you! Because besides solving a marketing dilemma, it could also make you some nice money!

Happy Infopreneuring!

Don't miss a post--subscribe to this infopreneur blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs feed. It's easy! CLICK HERE

Follow me on Twitter

Join my new LinkedIn Group Make Your Own Job! What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM)!

Friend Me On Facebook, What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) Facebook Fan Page

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles and healthy eating, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's Other Blogs:

The Healthy Food Review where healthy eating with favorite comfort foods is deliciously possible! at http://www.TheHealthyFoodReview.com

Vegas Inside Scoop--for Las Vegas locals and visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com