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20May/100

6 Ways to Catch More Opt-ins Than Ever Before – Ezine-Publishing

6 Ways to Catch More Opt-ins Than Ever Before

Remember that when you have new visitors at your website, your #1 goal is to get them on your ezine list! That way you have permission to contact them again and again, educating them about your helpful services and products that they came to learn more about.But you can't just put up a link that says "free newsletter". No one cares! You need to carefully craft an opt-in box that works like a big net, catching the exact type of "fish" you want as your ideal clients and customers.Also remember, don't hide your box at the bottom of your web pages. Right now, most testing shows that the best place for your opt-in box is the upper right corner... loud and proud!Here are six simple things you should have in your opt-in box that will help you get more signups than ever before.1) An Attention-Getting HEADLINERemember that online readers SKIM copy - they don't read it word for word. So the headline in your opt-in box may be the ONLY thing they read, which determines whether they sign up or not. So don't waste this space saying something like "Free Newsletter" or even worse... "Sign up for our mailing list." Ugh! Instead, tell me the MOST exciting thing your ezine will give me!Examples:
"Are You Ready to Blast Off Your SALES This Year?"
"FINALLY: Learn How to Keep That Weight Off For Good"
"Insider Secrets to Writing Novels for Big Bucks"2) A Raving Description of Your EzineWork hard at putting together a description of your ezine that gets prospects excited to sign up! Remember they're tuned into station WIIFM ("What's In It For ME?"). Tell them what your information is going to DO for them as well as everything they GET. Examples: How-to articles, quick and easy tips, free resources, insider secrets. Aim for your description to be between 15 and 30 words.3) A Field to Enter Their FIRST NAME.Getting people's names along with their e-mails allows you to personalize your ezine for them. For example, if I was on your list, your e-mail would come to me saying, "Dear Ali..." The subject line could even say, "Ali, here's your free tip". Why do you want to do this? Studies prove that having the recipient's name in the subject line of your e-mails can increase your open rates by 60%!The problem is, many people value their privacy and are hesitant to give you their full name. For this reason, just ask for their FIRST name. It's been proven that you'll get MORE names from people if you only ask for the first name. (And their first name is generally all you'll need anyway.)4) A Field to Enter Their Primary EMAIL ADDRESS.Many people have a backup or personal e-mail address that they use just for receiving newsletters and promotions. The problem is they are often from free e-mail services like Yahoo or Hotmail. These services filter e-mail like crazy, and their mailboxes fill up quickly, so there's a good chance your e-mails won't even reach these recipients.The solution is, simply ask for their primary e-mail. It's amazing, but simply ASKING them to enter their primary e-mail will get you more quality e-mails on your list! (You'll also get less bounce-backs from undeliverable e-mails. If you get too many of those, it raises a red flag to some spam filter programs.)5) A BUTTON That Says "Subscribe" or "Sign Me Up Now"Make it very clear what they should click on to activate their subscription once they type in their name and email. Don't use something confusing like a link that says "submit form".6) Your PRIVACY POLICY, right then and there.Everyone's scared to receive more spam these days, so put your prospects at ease. Don't make them wonder what you're going to do with their e-mail addresses. State right next to or below your opt-in form what your policy is. Mine is, "We will never sell, rent, trade, or share your e-mail with any other organization." (Feel free to use that yourself.) DON'T make people click on a link to read your privacy policy - it looks like you have something to hide. In fact, in some U.S. states, it's now required that you state your privacy policy right at the point of opt-in, so it's a good idea no matter where you do business.Want to See a Sample of This in Action?If you'd like to see many of these components in action, see my pop-under box at www.ezinequeen.com/popup.htm.And if you'd like MORE step-by-step instructions on how to get more signups at your website (and beyond) and build your list bigger than ever before, see my SPECIAL REPORT: "101 Simple, FREE and Low-Cost Ways to Quickly Build a Massive EMAIL LIST", which you can learn more about here.

15May/100

How to Catch the Writing Bug

How to Catch the Writing Bug

----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and theresource box below is included. ----------------------------------------------------------
How to Catch the Writing Bug
By Stephen Bucaro
If you earn income as a writer, or use writing as amarketing tool, you know how difficult it can be at timesto write. I started writing for my website and newslettera few years ago. Sometimes it would be two or three weeksbetween articles. Sometimes writing would be torture. Thenone day I caught the writing bug.
Now I write two or three articles each day. I don't haveto struggle for topic ideas. I have thousands of good ideasto choose from. Instead, now I struggle to limit the scopeof areas that I will write about. What happened to causethis change? I caught the writing bug.
The writing bug is contagious, and by reading this article,you too will catch the writing bug!
How to Choose a Topic
The most difficult part of the writing process is choosinga good topic. A good topic is one that other people wantto read about and one that is interesting enough for youto write about. Here's how to create a notebook full ofgreat topic ideas.
- Use a three-ring notebook as an idea file.
Your idea notebook should have two parts. The first partis sheets where you jot down ideas whenever they pop intoyour head. The second part is tabbed dividers where youkeep reference material and partially written articles.
Where do ideas come from? Everywhere! Ideas can come fromTV news or any TV show. They can come from a book,newspaper, or magazine. They can come from the web. Ideascan come from a conversation with a friend. All of thesesources are sending information and ideas to you.
After you learn how to catch ideas, your idea notebook willbe bulging with great ideas and research information forarticle and book topics. You don't need to plagerize orcopy other peoples' work. Your article should be nothinglike the material that you get an idea from because youhave the "writer's attitude". Below are some thoughts froma person with the writer's attitude.
- I can explain the topic better.- I know more about the topic.- I disagree with this source.- I can approach that topic from another angle.- I can elaborate more on that topic.- I can write a more concise article.- I can break the information up into more readable short

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9May/100

Catch a Leprechaun in Your Garden-Gardening

Catch a Leprechaun in Your Garden

There is no mention to be found of female leprechauns in traditional Irish legend, so as to how they came to be .. your guess is as good as mine.
These apparently aged, diminutive men are hard-working cobblers, turning out exquisite shoes for other sprites. If you happen across an industrious little fellow hammering out a shoe, look closely - for he may be a leprechaun. Step quietly, for leprechauns will avoid humans, knowing us to be foolish and greedy.
A leprechaun dresses in old-fashioned clothes of green, with a red cap, multi-pocketed leather apron, and buckled shoes. He is quite fond of a smoke from his foul smelling clay pipe which is always close by, and he is frequently in an intoxicated state from home-brew poteen. However, a leprechaun never becomes so drunk that the hand which holds the hammer becomes unsteady and his shoemaker's work affected. If you hear the sound of a hammer from behind a hedgerow you know you have found him.
As well as cobbling, his other trade is banking, and he is guardian to the ancient treasures. Much treasure was left by the Danes when they marauded through Ireland, and the leprechaun buries it in crocks or pots. Rainbows reveal where pots of gold are hidden, so he will sometimes spend all day moving crocks from one spot to another to elude the tell-tale end of the rainbow. If you catch a leprechaun, don't let him out of your grasp before he reveals his gold. He'll try to distract you with all manner of tricks and, in the blink of an eye, will dash out of sight. For such a sturdy little chap, he can move with the speed of a rabbit.
He carries two leather pouches. In one there is a silver shilling, a magical coin that returns to the purse each time it's spent. In the other there is a gold coin for bribing his way out of difficult situations. (Don't accept this coin - it turns into a rock). But he can be generous if you do him a good turn. Your kind deed wil be repaid with a wish.
Leprechauns come in two distinct groups - leprechaun and cluricaun. A cluricaun dresses very stylishly with a jaunty cap, large silver buckles on his shoes, beautiful gold laces and pale blue stockings. You will never see him wear an apron or carry a hammer. He has a jolly grin, a slightly pink-tipped nose and is almost always drunk and cheerful. Pass him by, for he never has any money, or any idea where treasure is buried.
A cluricaun will steal or borrow almost anything, making merry and creating mayhem in your house during the hours of darkness. He will happily busy himself raiding your kitchen, pantry, larder and cellar and after dinner he will harness your sheep, goats, dogs and even your domestic fowls to ride away.Through the countryside he will race them, over the fields and into the bog. Leprechauns denounce cluricaun behavior, but it has been said that cluricauns may just be leprechauns on drunken sprees.
You can make a trap with common household items. Take a net, a cardboard box, green paint, green tissue paper, some pennies and an old shoe. Firstly, paint the cardboard box green and place the old shoe inside. Cover the opening with thin green tissue paper. Carefully lay the pennies on the tissue paper. (If you don't want to use real money, you can easily substitute chocolate gold- wrapped coins or make your own by cutting circles out of cardboard and painting them gold).
Place the trap near some trees or hedgerows. Make sure it's disguised well and blends into the surroundings. When the Leprechaun sees the coins he will try to collect them. He will step onto the tissue paper, it will break and he will fall into the box. Now quickly throw the net over him.
You can also try to lure a leprechaun with some poteen instead of an old shoe. When he falls into the box he will drink the brew, get drunk and then you can grab him.
No one has yet caught a leprechaun, but don't be discouraged. Start looking today. Good luck !!
There is no mention to be found of female leprechauns in traditional Irish legend, so as to how they came to be .. your guess is as good as mine.
These apparently aged, diminutive men are hard-working cobblers, turning out exquisite shoes for other sprites. If you happen across an industrious little fellow hammering out a shoe, look closely - for he may be a leprechaun. Step quietly, for leprechauns will avoid humans, knowing us to be foolish and greedy.
A leprechaun dresses in old-fashioned clothes of green, with a red cap, multi-pocketed leather apron, and buckled shoes. He is quite fond of a smoke from his foul smelling clay pipe which is always close by, and he is frequently in an intoxicated state from home-brew poteen. However, a leprechaun never becomes so drunk that the hand which holds the hammer becomes unsteady and his shoemaker's work affected. If you hear the sound of a hammer from behind a hedgerow you know you have found him.
As well as cobbling, his other trade is banking, and he is guardian to the ancient treasures. Much treasure was left by the Danes when they marauded through Ireland, and the leprechaun buries it in crocks or pots. Rainbows reveal where pots of gold are hidden, so he will sometimes spend all day moving crocks from one spot to another to elude the tell-tale end of the rainbow. If you catch a leprechaun, don't let him out of your grasp before he reveals his gold. He'll try to distract you with all manner of tricks and, in the blink of an eye, will dash out of sight. For such a sturdy little chap, he can move with the speed of a rabbit.
He carries two leather pouches. In one there is a silver shilling, a magical coin that returns to the purse each time it's spent. In the other there is a gold coin for bribing his way out of difficult situations. (Don't accept this coin - it turns into a rock). But he can be generous if you do him a good turn. Your kind deed wil be repaid with a wish.
Leprechauns come in two distinct groups - leprechaun and cluricaun. A cluricaun dresses very stylishly with a jaunty cap, large silver buckles on his shoes, beautiful gold laces and pale blue stockings. You will never see him wear an apron or carry a hammer. He has a jolly grin, a slightly pink-tipped nose and is almost always drunk and cheerful. Pass him by, for he never has any money, or any idea where treasure is buried.
A cluricaun will steal or borrow almost anything, making merry and creating mayhem in your house during the hours of darkness. He will happily busy himself raiding your kitchen, pantry, larder and cellar and after dinner he will harness your sheep, goats, dogs and even your domestic fowls to ride away.Through the countryside he will race them, over the fields and into the bog. Leprechauns denounce cluricaun behavior, but it has been said that cluricauns may just be leprechauns on drunken sprees.
You can make a trap with common household items. Take a net, a cardboard box, green paint, green tissue paper, some pennies and an old shoe. Firstly, paint the cardboard box green and place the old shoe inside. Cover the opening with thin green tissue paper. Carefully lay the pennies on the tissue paper. (If you don't want to use real money, you can easily substitute chocolate gold- wrapped coins or make your own by cutting circles out of cardboard and painting them gold).
Place the trap near some trees or hedgerows. Make sure it's disguised well and blends into the surroundings. When the Leprechaun sees the coins he will try to collect them. He will step onto the tissue paper, it will break and he will fall into the box. Now quickly throw the net over him.
You can also try to lure a leprechaun with some poteen instead of an old shoe. When he falls into the box he will drink the brew, get drunk and then you can grab him.
No one has yet caught a leprechaun, but don't be discouraged. Start looking today. Good luck !! Susanna Duffy is a Civil Celebrant, mythologist and storyteller. http://celebrant.yarralink.com