FREE “Write Your Own eBook” eBook

July 12th, 2008 by thrandur

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FREE This is one of the best eBooks about turning your knowledge into something you can sell as an eBook on the internet. In fact I paid almost $50 for it! - And it was worth it :)

You might ask: “Why do I need to write my own eBook?”

Because selling your knowledge as an eBook is what many consider to be one of the best ways to make great money online. In addition after you have written your own book you establish more credibility and you will in fact become an authority in your subject.
“But how do I go about doing that?”

Lets say you have been collecting stamps from childhood. You know all about the most valuable stamps, misprints and rare countries. Or like me where I took my knowledge and love for 4 wheeling and love for the great outdoors to create the eBook: 4×4 Off Roads.

Some of the major advantages of having your own eBook:

  • Readers get their book immediately as a download to their PC.
  • eBooks are easy to update with new knowledge.
  • No shipping.
  • Low cost per unit ( how does “zero” sound - anyone? )

The book contains information about:

  • How to find profitable ideas
  • How to package your e-book
  • How to write for an e-book
  • How to price your e-book
  • How to market your e-book

I HIGHLY recommend that you pick up your copy ( did I mention it is free? ) and use it to make your own profitable eBook.

Click here to read more about the eBook and get it in your hands…

Popularity: 12% [?]

Outsourcing With Mechanical Turk

July 10th, 2008 by thrandur

Being a webmaster of your own sites can be daunting. You actually have to DO most of the work yourself or find someone else who can do it for you. Some tasks are easier to do using the right software and some are easier using a service.

Mechanical Turk

Using Amazon Mechanical Turk is one of the more brilliant ways to outsource. Of course you have to think about tasks that are easy and quick to work on but still need human intelligence. After funding your account, you create Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs for short) and submit them to the Mechanical Turk. After a surprisingly short time you get results coming in from workers around the globe.

I am just starting to experiment with the possibilities but already find this extremely useful.

Example - using the Advanced HIT tool:

Title: Do You LOVE your Digital Camera?

Description: Give us your quick view on it.

Keywords: digital photo,digital camera,nikon,canon,olympus,pentax,minolta

Expires in: 100 days

Provide Detailed Instructions:

  • Go read the example at: http://i.digital-photo-web.com/Olympus-Digital-Camera/Olympus-E500
  • Tell us in your own words (100-500) about your own digital camera.
  • What brand and exact model is it?
  • What do you like about it the most?
  • What tasks do you use it for?
  • Where would you like to see improvements?
  • Thanks in advance for taking the time and giving your input.

Select an Answer Format - Free Text Answer

And finally I pay for my HIT: 100 assignments for $0.05 each.

Yeah - you read that right. I get plenty of results for only 5 cents per completed task!

A few examples with minor editing:

All the results I have got are usable and many give valuable insights.

Popularity: 12% [?]

4×4 Truck Lift Kits

July 2nd, 2008 by thrandur

4×4OffRoads.com has now extended its range of offerings. You can now find a full sett of lift kits for your 4×4 truck or SUV.

This is a convenient way for you to find what is available and select the lift that fits your needs and budget.

Find by lift type, producer or what is available for your own brand of 4×4 truck.

Lift Type

Body Lift Kits
Suspension Lift Kits
Air Lift Kits
Cheap Lift Kits

Lift Producer

BDS Lift Kits
Fabtech Lift Kits
Pro Comp Lift Kits
Rancho Lift Kits
RCD Lift Kits
Rough Country Lift Kits
Skyjacker Lift Kits
Tuff Country Lift Kits

Lift Kits

Chevy Lift Kits
Dodge Lift Kits
Ford Lift Kits
GMC Lift Kits
Hummer Lift Kits
Jeep Lift Kits
Land Rover Lift Kits
Mitsubishi Lift Kits
Nissan Lift Kits
Suzuki Lift Kits
Toyota Lift Kits

Yeah - these listings eventually lead to individual items for sale on eBay…

Popularity: 12% [?]

Outsourcing My Web Business

May 5th, 2008 by thrandur

Outsourcing is the current buzz around the net.

I’ll start you off with some pointers in how and what I do - just get some details down and add some meat to the bones…

Lets be clear about the fact that I am no expert in outsourcing. But simply running my daily live I outsource a lot of tasks, sometimes without noticing. You do too. Buy a pizza or take away chicken and you have outsourced COOKING.

Here is a list of a few outsourcing routes I have tried:

www.Need-An-Article.com - I use them for article writing when I don’t feel like writing it myself from scratch. Using the service is pretty straightforward - you get reasonable quality and can ask for one revision. I had one writer that was not up to par but most are ok and I found one that was very good. It is important to get your own voice into the article and make minor adjustments. The cost is a little over $5 for each article as well as a monthly fee of $10.

Example:
http://www.digital-photo-web.com/madame-tussauds-museum-london.html
(took the photos myself)

www.AbsoluteCovers.com - Ovi Dogar is a very capable and quick graphics designer. I used his service for the graphics for creating my eBook cover. The result was very professional. In addition to the cover he made the graphics for the sales page from a photo I sent and some text. Can’t recall the cost but it was less than $200 for the whole package.

Example:
http://www.4×4offroads.com/book.html

www.SubmitEdge.com - I recently started using their services. For $15 I can get 100 one way links from directories. Pretty hard to do that by hand for less. I also am trying out the “Basic link building package” for $79. So far so good - except the first article I just got back is not acceptable. I am just now asking for a rewrite on that.

Photo Journalists hired - I currently have one guy who is writing articles for me on a regular basis. I asked for submissions in my newsletter and got a few responses. The cost per article is fixed and is of course way higher than NAA but the quality and relevancy is also much higher. This way I can have original and interesting articles from places where I can’t be. I am looking for more photo journalists (of both sexes) to take the website even further.

Example:
http://www.4×4offroads.com/off-road-adventure-romania-easter.html

Hope that this list gets someone inspired to try some tasks. Like most webmasters I am sometimes a little too convinced that I am personally the best man for each job. However I think outsourcing is vital for healthy growth to increase profits and safe time.

Popularity: 34% [?]

WordPress Blogging or Building an SBI site?

April 30th, 2008 by thrandur

As you may know I am a great fan of Ken Evoy of SiteSell. His clear thinking and especially his way of transferring those ideas to the people around him is mindboggling. Ken likes to shake up things and get you to look deeper than before.

This time Ken set forth a direct attack on the blogging craze.

Blog or Build? With Site Build It!…
You Actually Do Both Automatically.
Beyond That, Is Full Blogging Right For You?

Should You Full Blog? For Most Small Business People…
“Full-Blogging” Is the Wrong Choice To Build a Business
Blogging. Everyone’s doing it.

And that is a financial mistake for most small businesses. Few make much money at blogging because it is usually the wrong way to grow an online business. That’s important if you want your Web venture to be more than just a hobby (”an activity or interest pursued for pleasure and not primarily for income”).

blog time ordered What is blogging, exactly? Well, after you strip away all the hoopla…

Blogging is merely a different way to build a Web site. Its content is organized by the date/time of its “posts,” which are what blogs call “Web pages” (even the word “posts” suggests time-sensitivity).

The points he makes are well thought out.

Of course his statements have caused a stir in the blogging world. Rosalind Gardner got all angry and wrote what I consider to be a less well thought out response:

http://www.netprofitstoday.com/blog/blogging-is-a-massive-mistake-huh/

Andy Beard takes a much more balanced route and admits he has learned a lot from Ken and understands his point.

http://andybeard.eu/2008/04/ken-evoy-attacks-blogging-wordpress.html

I think the main point Ken is making is that for the average business a full blog is simply too much work for the actual results it will produce. Taking the long time view will make the blogging posts of little value.

Some are talking about the technical aspect of blogging vs. building. SBI is not really a technical solution it is a marketing strategy along with a handful of tools to support the growth.

For me - as a technical thinker and doer - I chose to create this one blog to link all my sites and to have a place where I can express my views on a number of things - small and large.

My recommendation:

Choose WordPress if you are willing to spend more time and cost or are willing to take on the steeper learning curve. You will have to learn about the more technical sites of hosting like upgrading the software and handling technical challenges. Outsource these things and the cost goes even higher.

Choose SBI if you want to drive your business safely to a set goal. My SBI sites are the core of my strategy of building an “online empire” (sorry if that sounds like a used phrase).

In the end it is all a matter of delivering value to your customer and making the world a little better.

Popularity: 24% [?]

US States, Capitals and a ZIP code

April 10th, 2008 by thrandur

I was working on 4×4Sale.net and wanted to give an easy access to all 4×4 trucks within a particular US state. I needed a zip code within the state to make searching possible through the BANS system. Since I couldn’t find a single source for this I went through the trouble of collecting this information myself.

Here is the result and please don’t hesitate to link to this page to help others in similar situations.

List of all US states, their capitals and a ZIP code within the capital:



Alabama 

Ala.

AL

Montgomery

36101

Alaska 

Alaska

AK

Juneau

99801

Arizona 

Ariz.

AZ

Phoenix

85001

Arkansas 

Ark.

AR

Little Rock

72201

California 

Calif.

CA

Sacramento

94203

Colorado 

Colo.

CO

Denver

80201

Connecticut 

Conn.

CT

Hartford

06101

Delaware 

Del.

DE

Dover

19901

Florida 

Fla.

FL

Tallahassee

32301

Georgia 

Ga.

GA

Atlanta

30301

Hawaii 

Hawaii

HI

Honolulu

96801

Idaho 

Idaho

ID

Boise

83701

Illinois 

Ill.

IL

Springfield

62701

Indiana 

Ind.

IN

Indianapolis

46201

Iowa 

Iowa

IA

Des Moines

50301

Kansas 

Kans.

KS

Topeka

66601

Kentucky 

Ky.

KY

Frankfort

40601

Louisiana 

La.

LA

Baton Rouge

70801

Maine 

Maine

ME

Augusta

04330

Maryland 

Md.

MD

Annapolis

21401

Massachusetts 

Mass.

MA

Boston

02108

Michigan 

Mich.

MI

Lansing

48901

Minnesota 

Minn.

MN

St. Paul

55101

Mississippi 

Miss.

MS

Jackson

39201

Missouri 

Mo.

MO

Jefferson City

65101

Montana 

Mont.

MT

Helena

59601

Nebraska 

Nebr.

NE

Lincoln

68501

Nevada 

Nev.

NV

Carson City

89701

New Hampshire 

N.H.

NH

Concord

03301

New Jersey 

N.J.

NJ

Trenton

08601

New Mexico 

N.M.

NM

Santa Fe

87501

New York 

N.Y.

NY

Albany

12201

North Carolina

N.C.

NC

Raleigh

27601

North Dakota 

N.D.

ND

Bismarck

58501

Ohio 

Ohio

OH

Columbus

43201

Oklahoma 

Okla.

OK

Oklahoma City

73101

Oregon 

Ore.

OR

Salem

97301

Pennsylvania 

Pa.

PA

Harrisburg

17101

Rhode Island 

R.I.

RI

Providence

02901

South Carolina

S.C.

SC

Columbia

29201

South Dakota 

S.D.

SD

Pierre

57501

Tennessee 

Tenn.

TN

Nashville

37201

Texas 

Tex.

TX

Austin

73301

Utah 

Utah

UT

Salt Lake City

84101

Vermont 

Vt.

VT

Montpelier

05601

Virginia 

Va.

VA

Richmond

23218

Washington 

Wash.

WA

Olympia

98501

West Virginia 

W.Va.

WV

Charleston

25301

Wisconsin 

Wis.

WI

Madison

53701

Wyoming 

Wyo.

WY

Cheyenne

82001

 

Nice blogs about Zip codes:

100 Top Foreclosure Zip Codes and Cities
The 25 Coolest Free Websites for Non-Techies
Profit Week: Using Zip Codes To Improve Profit

Popularity: 21% [?]

Security Camera Direct!

February 15th, 2008 by thrandur

The need to keep an eye on your property is ever growing. The prices for security cameras are constantly getting lower and this makes it easier for you as a home owner or a business owner. Instead of hiring an employee or keeping watchdogs you can now setup an automatic security system.

Security-Camera-Direct.c