How to Make an Ebook your Greatest Salesman
Posted on 29-12-07, under Ebook, Create An Ebook, Download Ebook, Money, Write, Write Ebook, Publish Ebook, Free Dwnloadable Ebook, Ebook Making Money Top, Download Ebook Free Pdf, Free, Download, Pdf, Ebook Free, Write Your Own Ebook, Ebook Write, Create Download Ebook, How To Write An Ebook For Free, What Software Is Needed To Create An Ebook. No Comments
Ebooks are definitely here to stay. Bound, printed books will remain very popular, however the same information distributed in printed material can be sent and received electronically in the form of ebooks.
Ebooks have become more popular over the past few years and will continue to be a convenient and profitable method for distributing information.
There are different types of ebooks including those designed for marketing. Most marketing ebooks contain links to web pages that promote related products or resources. Marketing ebooks are also known as viral ebooks and have the potential for becoming the writer’s greatest salesman. Below are a few steps to ensure that your ebook becomes a profit-generating machine.
First, your ebook needs to be interesting and informative. Don’t expect any positive word-of-mouth advertising if your ebook is boring and a waste of time in the minds of it’s readers. If your readers view your information as valuable to them, they will be more likely to visit the websites you recommend in your ebook.
Next, make sure that your ebook contains a prominent section stating that readers have permission to give your ebook away. Mass distribution is the key to success. The more your ebook is downloaded, the greater likelihood your valuable information gets in the minds of the public and that you’re profiting from readers visiting your website and affiliate links. Give readers permission to post your ebook on their websites as a free giveaway and use it as a bonus or bundle it with other products. This is where having those links in your ebook will pay off.
Finally, before you send your ebook out to the world, double check it for spelling and grammatical errors. It’s a really good idea to have someone else proof your ebook as well for mistakes. Grammatical errors in your ebook reflect badly on you as an author and will definitely hinder the success of your ebook campaign, so take the time to get it right before your begin promoting it. Also, be sure that you have tested every link to verify that each one lands on the correct page.
A well-planned, innovative ebook has the potential of becoming a writer’s greatest salesmen for years to come and will provide momentum for future projects.
.About the Author:
Scott Brooks is successful internet marketer that has been helping people succeed online for over five years.
Have you been wanting to create your own eBook, but just haven’t known how to get started? Get a FREE, comprehensive guide to teach you everything you need to know about writing an eBook here: How to Write an Ebook
How to Make an Ebook
Posted on 27-12-07, under Default category. No Comments
Ebooks have become a very common commodity on the Internet.
Ebooks are electronic books that you can open, read, and print by using your computer. Writing an eBook is among the best ways to brand your own business. Writing an eBook is like any other form of writing be it a letter, a user guide, a report, etc. You must know who your target audience is and write to them. Writing an eBook is actually easier than you might think and is a feasible way to make some extra money online.
Steps in Writing an Ebook
Your eBook must provide answers to questions that a hungry audience within your niche is asking. There is so much junk information floating around providing answers and solutions which people could care less about. Even though your eBook needs to be about a niche in which you have some degree of knowledge, you can easily find what marketers are hungry for in practically any niche by simply looking at what people are talking about in forums. You’ll often read common questions from people who are willing to pay a pretty to someone who can provide answers.
Decide on a catchy, yet meaningful title for your eBook. Be careful that your title doesn’t misrepresent your eBook’s content. The last thing you want is to tarnish your reputation as an author by exaggerating the claims of your eBook with your title or in your marketing pitches. It’s always better to under-promote and over-deliver.
Decide on how many pages you want your eBook to have. The nice thing about eBooks is that they don’t have to be very long. 25 - 40 pages is quite common for eBooks. After you finish writing your eBook, be sure to have a couple different individuals proof it for errors. Typographical errors are so common nowadays, but that doesn’t make them right or acceptable. Numerous typos in books or eBooks always leave a poor reflection on the author. Once you have written your eBook and have it laid out in an easy-to-read manner, you will need to convert it into a .pdf or an .exe format.
Once you’ve finished producing and pricing your eBook, you need to develop a marketing strategy. The are literally hundreds of ways to market your eBook, so implement a variety of methods. I would also suggest recruiting affiliates to promote your eBook. Provide your affiliates with tools such as banners, articles, and even a list of keywords. Affiliate participation and success will depend on the quality of your eBook and the promotional tools which you as the creator provide them.
Conclusion
Many marketers are making a small fortune selling eBooks online. Writing an eBook is like building a house, You have to start with a solid foundation and a specific plan. Writing an eBook is probably easier than you think. The hardest part is actually siting down and begin writing.
.About the Author:
Scott Brooks is a successful entrepreneur with over five years experience in internet marketing. Have you been wanting to create your own eBook, but just haven’t known how to get started? Get a FREE, comprehensive guide to teach you everything you need to know about writing an eBook.
Get your free copy here: How to Write an Ebook.
How to Use Ebook To Achieve Your Marketing And Promotion Target
Posted on 24-12-07, under Ebooks, Ebook, Custom, Business, Website, Back, Ways, Customer, Traffic, Promote, Site, Quality, Drive, Course, Daily, Read, Chapter, Turn, Innumerable, Your Business, Posted On, Which Brings, Use Them. No Comments
There are innumerable ways to use ebooks to promote your
business and drive quality traffic to your website. Once posted
on your site, you can turn them into a daily course, which
brings your customer back to read the next chapter.
You can use
them as a free gift for making a purchase or for filling out a
survey. Put your ebook on a disc, and you will have an
innovative brochure. Blow your competition away by inserting the
disc into your sales packages.
The most effective marketing products are those that are unique.
Copyright your ebook, and immediately, you have a powerful tool
that you, and you alone, can offer to the public. People will
have to visit your site to acquire your ebook, which increases
the flow of quality traffic and the potential of sales and
affiliate contacts.
Make sure that you keep your ebook current. Update it frequently
as the market and trends change. Add new advice and techniques
to show your prospects how your goods or services can enrich
their lives. By constantly keeping abreast of new trends and
techniques, you can continue to see profits from your ebook for
years after your original creation.
Another phenomenal advantage of ebooks is that you can test
their marketing potential without putting out hardly any cash at
all. You can even produce an ebook one copy at a time, each time
you receive an order, eliminating the need for storage and
inventory. By this method, you can gauge the saleablity of your
ebook, and make adjustments as necessary until the orders start
pouring in. Ebooks allow you to learn about your market and
customer habits and motivation over a period of time, without
risking your precious financial resources. They also provide you
with an invaluable way to gather marketing information, which
you can use in many different facets of your business.
Use your ebook to discover what the specific goals and problems
are in your specific industry. Then figure out how to solve
these problems, and publish an ebook with this invaluable
information. This will increase the value of your business,
upgrade your reputation, and get you known as an expert in your
field.
You can extend the value of single ebook by breaking the book
down into chapters for a serial course, into special reports
available on your website, or into audio or visual tapes. Ebooks
can be broken down into several different promotional materials
by excepting some of the articles and using them to promote
yourproduct. You can include a catalog in your ebook to promote
all the products or services you sell. You can include a
thank-you note for reading your book and an invitation to
download a trial version of your product. Or you can include a
form for your audience to contact you for further information or
with questions, thereby building your business relationships and
your mailing list. Using ebooks in this manner helps to cut the
cost of individually producing separate promotional materials.
You can use a single ebook to entice new prospects and to sell
new products to your current customers.
No other medium has this kind of flexibility and ability for
expansion. Think of your ebook like spider spinning a beautiful
and intricate web. Now go and create that web, and see how many
customers and prospects you can catch!
.About the Author:
Don’t be scare off when you hear about product creation.
Basically a product can be almost anything you put together that
pass on quality information, and contrary to what you may think,
it can be created very easily once you know how.
How to Write for Article Directories for More Exposure of your Work
Posted on 23-12-07, under Writing, Article Directories, Articles, Writing Articles, Article, Free, Free Advertising. No Comments
Many social bookmarking sites have avid writers on a variety of topics. For you serious writers there are ways to get your articles published for free.
You sign up for your account at an article directory at no cost, then you can submit your article to the directories. These directories are used by webmasters, ezine writers and newsletter publishers for content. The publishers and webmasters have to have new content all the time for their product and it is not feasible to write it all themselves, so they use to the Article Directories to get free content.
So if they publish an ezine about gardening they will scour the directories for content. If you have written an article on gardening and submitted it to the directories in the gardening category, the publisher sees it and uses it in the ezine. You will not be paid but there are benefits for you. First your work will be out in front of more eyeballs, which is very beneficial. But there is a second reason this has become so popular. Let’s say you write articles on gardening because you are promoting a website that you own and you want to let people know about.
Here is how it works. At the end of the article there will be a Resource Box. In that box you print a short bio of yourself and then add links to your website(s). Three links only, anymore than that and the directory won’t print your work. If the publisher puts you in his ezine, you now have “free advertising” that will be seen by all of his readers.
There are some steps you will need to take. When you write your article, first you write the “Title” and then the “Author’s name.” If you want you can add a URL to a photo of yourself. Supply an email address where you can be contacted (this doesn’t go out to the general public it is for the directories use only). Now for two important steps, Keywords and a Summary, both are essential in article writing. Keywords (Some sites call them tags) are words that you have used in your title and throughout the body of the article. If you write an article about “Making Herbal Vinegars” obviously that will be in your title and throughout the main article. Keywords are typed in a line and are separated by commas.
A summary is a synopsis of the article so that the publisher can tell at a glimpse if your article is something he wants to use. Get as much of the flavor of the article into this.
Next is the article followed by the resource box.
So essentially this is how you do it:
Title:
XXXXXXXXXX
Author:
Mary Hanna
URL to picture:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Email:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Keywords:
XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX
Body:
XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
At the end of the body you should insert a copyright notice. Here is the one I use:
————————————
Copyright © Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
————————————-
(Don’t use the lines; I just did it so it would stand out).
Immediately after that is the Resource Box, where you get to place your links to the websites you are promoting.
The usual publishing rules apply; only publish your own work. The directories check all submissions so don’t try to sneak someone else’s work by. If the name of the author doesn’t match the name in the resource box it won’t be published. A typical article is 500 – 1500 words. Never put any links in the body of the article, it then looks like blatant advertising. Always choose a category that applies to your subject. It is silly to write an article about gardening and publish it under technology. Make sure there are no grammatical errors or misspellings, publishers don’t have time to edit your work. The best way to test your work is to print it out and then read it out loud; you will be amazed at the errors you will pick up when you follow this tip. No directories will accept articles full of hate, bigotry, or sex.
Always submit to quality directories such as ArticleBazaar.net or EzinesArticles.com. There are many good directories out on the web. When you are first starting out just publish to a few of them. Later on you may want to purchase software that will enable you to automatically publish at many directories sites at once. I wouldn’t do that until you see how this method works for you. Most directories review your submission within a few days and then send you a confirming email that you have been published.
If you have a home based business that sells products this is a great way to get exposure. Give it a try; you’ve already published your article on Gather or de.lil. cious or Digg It, this is just a second step.
Good luck.
Copyright © Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
.About the Author:
How to Achieve Financial Internet Success
Posted on 22-12-07, under Ebook, Create Ebook, Article, Create Your Own Ebook, Ezebook, Success, Profit, Monthly Income. No Comments
In every business, a few individuals make millions upon millions of dollars. In addition, another ten percent do unbelievably well. And likewise, there are a few who struggle for years and make little if any money at all.
The ten percent above those bottom individuals just barely scrape by earning a pittance. The rest of us are somewhere in the middle.
Whatever your current status, you should try to emulate successful Internet marketers. Make every effort to do what they do. By following in their footsteps, you may not achieve super star status right away, but your financial results will certainly improve.
Some of the characteristics of successful Internet marketers are as follows:
1) They develop and sell their own products. In addition, they allow others to sell their products on an affiliate basis. Having your own product is the biggest factor in becoming a successful Internet marketer. You must have your own products in order to excel. Commit time each day on your own product, I have found that the conversion ratio for my ebooks is considerably higher than the conversion ration for my affiliate sales. With your own product, you can control the price, delivery method, sales page, and other factors that effect sales.
2) They take advantage of every possible method in monetizing the Internet and their websites. They use all types of advertising and any other sources to generate income. Continuing monthly income is a very important income source for successful Internet marketers.
3) They continually work to build traffic to their websites. Expanding traffic today equals a growing income tomorrow. Each day, spend some time on efforts to increase traffic to your website and blogs.
By working hard, you can achieve great success. Of course there is no guarantee that you will reach the status of super success. But most people would probably be happy with a thirty or forty percent increase from their current income levels. By working hard and following the three steps above, you can be well on your way to a successful Internet business. Most Successful Internet marketers have worked very hard to earn they have. Copy the efforts of those successful individuals and someday, people new to the business may try to imitate you.
.About the Author:
Develop your own product with my newest Ebook, Create Your Own Ebook in 3 Easy Steps. For details, go to http://www.milliondollararticle.com/ezebook.html
Easily develop your own Ebook and start making real money today!
Get tons of downloads, articles, and PDF’s on generating income, visit http://www.milliondollararticle.com Visit today and sign-in for your free downloads!
7 Ways to Speed Up your Writing Time
Posted on 19-12-07, under Time, Writer, Proofreading, Typing, Comfort, Distractions, Outlines, Spellcheck, Write. No Comments
Are you an article writer or an e-book writer? If so, how long does it take you to write? Just a few of these methods, seven to be exact, are outlined below.
(1) Comfort – If you would like to write quicker, you need to find a setting that you feel comfortable in. In addition to actually feeling comfortable, you need to be comfortable. Whether you want to work from your bed or outdoors, you are advised to do so. You are also urged to dress comfortably. When writers are comfortable, they are able to not only work quicker, but also produce better work.
(2) Distractions – All distractions need to be eliminated.
Although this may seem difficult, it doesn’t have to be. For instance, if you are a work-at-home parent, you can try sending your child to daycare, even if it is only one day a week. You can also try working during nap times or even at night, after your child has gone to sleep. The elimination of distractions is a great way to write quicker. In fact, it is also known to reduce or completely eliminate the chances of developing writers block.
(3) Typing – Do you consider yourself to be fast at typing? If you type less than fifty words per minute (wpm), you may want to think about taking a typing class. One of the many problems that e-book writers face is that their fingers don’t go as fast as their minds do. Once your typing improves to a quicker speed, you may notice a significant improvement in the amount of time that it takes you to write.
(4) Outlines – If you are an e-book writer who currently doesn’t use an outline, you may want to think about doing so. Outlines are relatively easy to develop and they have an unlimited number of benefits. One of those benefits is that you know exactly what to write and how to write it. This means that you can just focus on writing and not necessarily thinking about your next step. This, alone, can save you a considerable amount of time.
(5) Spell Check – Spell check, without a doubt, is important to any e-book. That is why it is important that you do it, but you may want to write first and spell check later. If you use a program like Microsoft Word, all of your misspelled words will be highlighted and waiting for you. For that reason you are advised to wait until the end, doing so will eliminate small breaks; breaks that may bring on a case of writers block.
(6) Proofreading – As with spell checking, proofreading is extremely important. Many e-book authors like to proofread after writing a chapter or a paragraph. If at all possible, you are urged not to do this. You may want to write now and proofread later. Once you get on a roll with writing, you may not want to stop. In the end, you may find that it results in you being able to finish your work quicker.
(7) Time – You are advised to not worry about time. Even if you are on a deadline, you are urged to take your time and not think about it. Worrying about just how much time it takes you to write will have a negative impact on your work. In fact, it is likely to result in more mistakes. Those mistakes take time to fix. If you are looking to write quicker, you should try focusing on your writing, rather than time itself. You may be surprised just how much it helps!
The above mentioned write quicker methods are just a few of the many that exist. As you likely already know, what works for someone else, might not work for you. With that in mind, you are still advised to give the above mentioned approaches a try. What do you have to loose?
Writing faster is a lot easier than many people think. If you put your mind to it, could you be writing faster in no time at all.
.About the Author:
Terry Detty finds press release services and SEO marketing software his passion. In addition to marketing, he enjoys reading and occasionally goes out for a short walk.
Discover How to Write in a Style to Increase Sales
Posted on 18-12-07, under Writing, Ebook, Create Ebook, Article, Ezebook, Success, Profit, Conversation, Friendly, Writing Style. No Comments
People like dealing with those who are friendly. When interacting in person, we take visual cues from each other. Subconsciously, we note whether the other person is smiling, happy, sad, sincere, trustworthy, etc.
We listen to verbal clues as well to gain insight into their personality. We do this without even realizing it. After meeting someone new, we know in less than a minute whether we like that person or not, and we may not even know why.
On the Internet, we don’t get visual or verbal cues. We can’t hear the enthusiasm in someone’s voice. Much of the information we receive there is through the written word. When I first started out, I had an experience that has stayed with me and served me well.
Shortly after starting in this business, one of my subscribers contacted me by email. He addressed me by my first name and his email was written in a pleasant conversational tone. It sounded like my subscriber, whom I’d never met and did not even recall, was writing to an old friend. Because of the regular emails that he received from me, he felt as though he was talking to an old friend.
I thought, “That’s really nice. He feels as though he knows me through the regular messages sent out by my autoresponder. And through his tone, it sounds like he thinks I know him too.”
Ever since I received that email, I make a special effort to write my autoresponder messages, sales pages, and Ebooks as though I’m talking to a friend. Notice that I didn’t say friends (plural). I want each reader to think that the information they are reading is a personal message I crafted just for them.
I start out with a friendly greeting and address them by their first name whenever possible. I use the terms “you” and “I” liberally in the body of my message. I try to use a conversational tone, similar to what I would say if I was talking to them in person. In my sign-off, except for the first few mailings, I use just my first name.
If I can make one suggestion to you, always write in a friendly conversational tone. People are more inclined to buy from someone they like and trust. Convey those traits in your writing style and you will attract friends as well as success.
.About the Author:
Attract success with my newest product, Create Your Own Ebook in 3 Easy Steps. For details, go to http://www.milliondollararticle.com/ezebook.html
Easily develop your own Ebook and start making real money today!
Get tons of downloads, articles, and PDF’s on generating income, visit http://www.milliondollararticle.com Visit today and sign-in for your free downloads!
How To Boost Profits From Your Free Ebook
Posted on 11-12-07, under Ebook, Business, Report, Its, Download, Not, Improve, People, Care, Content, Long, Looking, May, Period, Dont, Fac, Wrote, For Useful, Business They, Own Interest. No Comments
People who download a free Ebook or report are looking for
useful content that can help them to improve their business.
They don’t care who wrote it, as long as it is in their own
interest.
Period.
You may like it or not, but it’s a fact that people only care
about THEMSELVES.
If you don’t agree with this, you should not even consider
distributing or writing a free Ebook, and skip this article.
Let me explain.
When I have downloaded another one of those “glorified
collection of affiliate links” reports, I get the impression
that the author is out for a quick buck, and I immediately
search for the EXIT button…
Result: the file moves to my trash bin, faster than you can say
“cash in” 
If your free Ebook or report has nothing valuable to offer…
…. then DON’T write it!
If you think that you’ll win by sowing a bunch of “click-me-
rich” links in your Ebook, you think unprofessional!
However, you can place affiliate links in your Ebook, and make
profits from them…
…. but you have to be EXTREMELY carefully.
Let me show you how to do it right…
If you use an affiliate link, do this so your readers will not
realize you are trying to sell them something.
You can “recommended” or “review” a product. Tell your readers
what you liked about the product that you endorse, and what the
product can do for THEIR business!
When you do this, be sure to select a product that offers value
-or assistance- to your target market.
If you do this, you will gain TRUST.
Without trust, your business is doomed to fail!
Here’s one example:
Suppose your Ebook or special report contains tips and recipes
to make better cakes.
Your Ebook will cater to people who like to cook, so you can
include a link to a bookstore that sells cooking books, or a
company that sells cooking material.
There’s nothing wrong doing this. It will be accepted, and
sometimes appreciated.
Just don’t EVER try to sell a product that you wouldn’t buy
yourself, or your reputation will be destroyed forever!
Got this? Okay, now never forget it!
Happy promoting!
.About the Author:
Dirk Dupon gives away a free 4 day email course “How to Write,
Create, Promote and Sell an Ebook Online”. You can get it from:
http://www.ebooks-made-easy.com
Double your Ebook Earnings
Posted on 05-12-07, under Ebook, Make Your Own Ebook, Article, Create Your Own Ebook, Ezebook, Download Ebook, Ebook Creator, Download. No Comments
You’ve written your Ebook but what do you do next? This question haunts many an Ebook writer. But, it is not as overwhelming as you may think. Double or even triple your Ebook earnings by following the steps below.
First of all, you need an attractive, eye-catching title. If there is one factor that can make or break your Ebook, it is the title. A fantastic Ebook, filled with great, new information will not get any readers if it has a dull uninteresting title. You need an intriguing title to generate interest in your Ebook. To find this type of information, you’ve got to do some keyword research. Enter words related to your Ebook and determine how many people have searched on these terms over the last month. There are still several websites that provide this information for free. You can find them by doing a search for “keyword tool” or “free keyword tool”.
You can also find successful titles from article content sites. By doing a search for “submit articles”, you will find many pages of them. Research related articles from the larger websites. Use their search box and type in the keyword related to your Ebook. They will usually show you three lists: most recent articles, most viewed articles, and most published articles. Nearly all ezines provide these types of lists. Look at articles from the most viewed and most published lists. These are the most successful articles in that niche. Of course, you cannot copy a title directly from someone else’s work. That would be plagiarism, which is against the law.
Now that you’ve got the title that will draw them in by the millions, you’ve got to make sure you have a sales page that sells. Don’t try to be fancy and use non-traditional fonts. Use Times New Roman, Arial, or Verdana. Some browsers cannot display some of the more exotic fonts so stick to one of these. Also, use a minimum of colors. The occasional red headline is fine, but, stick to traditional black for the most part. Never include any ads on your sales page. You do not want to distract your viewers from making a purchase.
The final step you need to consider as you release your Ebook is advertising. People must be able to find your Ebook in order to buy it. If this is your first Ebook, start out with advertising that you can do for free. Write and submit at least one article each day. Make sure you design an attractive, compelling resource box to entice viewers to click on your Ebook links. In addition, use free ezine ads. Many ezines will allow you to place a free ad if you become a subscriber. If you are going to join a large number of ezines, or sign up with an ad submission company, use an alternative email address, not your primary one. Create a number of blogs and post new articles daily. At the bottom of each entry you make, provide a link to your new Ebook.
These are just some of the steps required for a successful Ebook launch. But, if you’ve done everything right, you could be on the road to riches beyond your wildest dreams.
.About the Author:
For riches beyond YOUR wildest dreams, Create Your Own Ebook in 3 Easy Steps. For details, go to http://www.milliondollararticle.com/ezebook.html
Easily develop your own Ebook and start making real money!
Get tons of downloads, articles, and PDF’s on generating income, visit http://www.milliondollararticle.com
Visit and sign-in today for free downloads!
How To Find Top Notch Information On Any Subject To Use When Creating A Product
Posted on 05-12-07, under Part, Its, Sub, Looking, Research, Sources, Important, Move, Subject, Detective, Lot, Checking, Thing, Knowing, Youre, Doing, A Particular, Instances, His Possible, Clues The, Are In, Your Encyclopaedia. No Comments
When you’re doing research or looking for information on a
particular subject, it’s a lot like a detective checking all his
possible clues.
The important thing is knowing who or where your sources are.
In almost all instances, your first move should be to your
encyclopaedia. If you don’t have an up to date set, there’s
always your public library.
Most of the time, an encyclopaedia will give you at least the
general facts about your subject.
You may have to check other sources for more detailed
information on the subject.
After you’ve selected a number of books for background
information, check the magazines either directly related to your
subject, or those carrying articles on the subject.
Most of the time, you’ll find that magazines will provide you
with more up to date and timely information than books.
To check out information on your subject in magazines, look in
the Reader’s Guide To Periodical Literature.
Under subject and author headings, the completed section of this
guide will list articles printed in magazines since the turn of
the century.
The Suggestions For Use section will instruct you how to read
the codes under each heading.
If you can’t find the subject listed, think of similar subjects
that might be related.
The Suggestions For Use section will instruct you on how to read
the codes under each heading.
If you can’t find your subject listed, think of similar subjects
that might be related.
If your subject is part of a particular field of study, there
may be a special index that will help you.
Among these special indexes, you’ll find: Art Index, Business
Periodicals Index, Consumers Index, Education Index, Humanities
Index, Social Sciences Index, Biological and Agricultural Index,
and Applied Sciences and Technology Index.
You’ll even find a Popular Periodicals Index which lists
articles that have appeared in currently popular magazines.
You’ll also find that most city newspapers are veritable gold
mines of reference material.
Most of the big city newspapers have computerised indexes.
Several of the special national newspapers such as The Times
also have reference indexes.
Without a doubt, the Times Index is the most complete.
In these newspaper indexes, subjects and people are listed
alphabetically with the date, page number, and usually with the
number of columns devoted to that particular story.
About all you have to do is avail yourself of this information
is to stop by the newspaper office, tell them the kind of
information you’re looking for, and ask their help in locating
it within their index.
Facts on File is a world news digest that’s found at most public
libraries.
This is a weekly publication that’s broken down into four
categories: world Affairs, US Affairs, Other Nations and
Miscellaneous.
Editorials on File is a similar service that comes out twice a
month.
It is a survey of newspaper editorials that span a wide range of
subjects.
If you want to know about business trends, you should ask for
and look at the Moody’s Reports.
These cover banking and finance, industry and public services.
Most large public libraries also keep pamphlet files for
brochures from various information services and government
agencies. Be sure to ask about these.
Whenever you have a question or want more information on a
subject, always check first in the material that has been
written about it.
Public libraries and newspapers are free, and will definitely
point you in the right direction even if you don’t know much
about sources.
One of the best sources of information is people. Ask around,
and more often than not, you’ll find someone right in your own
area who is well versed on your subject.
An introductory phone call and an explanation as to why you’re
researching the subject will almost always lead you to many
people who’ll be glad to talk with you.
Interviewing and talking with people will give you the chance to
ask questions and hear specific explanations about the details
that may not be fully covered in a book, newspaper or other
publication.
When interviewing, your questions should be open ended - in
other words, questions which do not allow for a simple yes or
no.
You should get the people you’re talking with to discuss their
experiences relative to the subject.
Post hypothetical situations, asking what they would do or what
would happen under a given set of circumstances.
Researching and gathering information on a particular subject
can be fun, exciting, and very informative. It will never be
dull or boring.
The important thing is to search out all the available sources,
and then to take advantage of them.
From there, you’ll find it’s very much like putting a jigsaw
puzzle together; the closer you get to completing the picture,
the most excited you become.
Many people find that when they begin a research project on a
specific subject, they quickly uncover so many interesting
related subjects that it’s hard to confine their enthusiasm to
just the one subject.
This is what learning is all about, regardless of the use you
eventually make of the information you gather.
The more you learn, the more you want to learn.
Curiosity about all things, and good, basic research, are the
prime requisites for any successful writer.
To have read about or experienced only a few aspects of a given
subject won’t interest very many people.
What the people want is a thorough discussion of the subject
from as many different points of view as possible.
This, of course, requires research, and to do research, you have
to know where to find the material you want.
Hopefully, we’ve ‘turned you on’ with the idea that the
information you’re interested in is available and virtually at
your fingertips.
All it takes is just a bit of effort on your part to avail
yourself of it.
Just remember, whatever has been thought of or dreamed of by man
since the beginning of time has been written about, and you can
learn about it with a reasonable amount of searching.
.About the Author:
Jonathan Streets weekly eZine “21st Century Entrepreneur” is one
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