The Cat's Meow For Writers and Readers

Issue 03, Vol. 05

©February 10, 2005

“THE CAT’S MEOW FOR WRITERS & READERS”

Published by: Rosanne Catalano, (aka R.C. Kayla)

Writer/Author and Ezine/Newsletter Chief Editor

For her official author website – http://www.geocities.com/ctrosanne04/index.html

Editor and Proofreader: Nancy Peckford, writer, Ontario, Canada

EDITOR’S CORNER:

By Rosanne Catalano – www.geocities.com/ctrosanne04/index.html

For all my readers who live in northern states, hope you are staying warm, comfy and healthy this winter.

I myself am just recovering from the weirdest flu ever experienced in all my forty-six years. And yet I am not the only one who was very sick over the holidays, and is still recovering from this version of the flu…

To my father, stepmother, stepfather and mother-in-law, May you continue to rest up and get better.

To all my readers who are still suffering with the flu, please do rest and take things slow because this strain of flu is different from previous years. If you haven’t gotten the flu shot yet … go to your doctor as soon as possible and get it because the flu season is still upon us.

**** SPOTLIGHT ON: *****

I am also pleased to INTRODUCE A POET & WRITER whom I believe is destined for greater things…

Her name is Heidi Lynn (“Dizzy”) Metzger, and the two poems published online have received little recognition so far, but in my opinion they are not only well written, they are also very moving and emotional. Ms. Heidi Lynn Metzger’s poems and writing are definitely worth a look…

I have included them, with Ms. Metzger’s permission for all my readers to enjoy too.

She hails from the same place as the late actor, Marlon Brando, and the late comedian and talk show host, Johnny Carson – Omaha, Nebraska, in the U.S. Can’t wait to read more of her writing!

**** Ms. Metzger does not have an official author web site yet, but two of her poems are reproduced on the next page. ****

THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

By Heidi Lynn Metzger

You are my heart, my soul, and my life

When I am in your arms I have no strife.

I believe you were sent from Heaven above,

To bring me joy and show me love.

I cannot stand not to be with you,

Though when I am, I often feel blue;

I guess that’s what they call

Being ‘in love’ with you.

YOU

By Heidi Lynn Metzger

You are the one who brightens my days,

and takes away all the gloomy haze.

When I see you I start to smile,

and dream of us together all the while.

We have been together for a long time,

and I sure am glad you are mine.

Your smart and cute and sophisticated too,

Oh how I do love you so.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH THESE POEMS WAS GIVEN

I also received an article via e-mail that was submitted per my suggestion in the January issue of this ezine. The author of the article is Ms. Eva Browne-Paterson, who resides in Australia. She provides businesses with free tools, marketing resources, advertising ideas and promotional strategies.

You may find her article as informative as I have… It is about how to be more organized in the New Year.

“START THE NEW YEAR WITH A FRESH PERSPECTIVE”

By Eva Browne-Paterson – www.evieb.com

It’s that time of the year when many people make New Year’s resolutions. Did you make any yourself? You might or might not have …

If you did, just think back to this time last year and remember if you made any resolutions. Did you keep those resolutions?

If you did keep them, Congratulations! If you didn’t… never mind – it’s a fact that many people don’t keep their New Year’s resolutions.

Why is that?

Was the resolution too hard, too big, even unrealistic perhaps? Who knows?

All I know is that sometimes there are too many other things cluttering up our heads and we need to ‘clear the desk’ so to speak. This will enable us to start the year with a fresh perspective and have more chances of success in 2005.

Following are some helpful tips that you can put into practice to start the year off in the right frame of mind.

Archive Email

The archiving process makes your email data smaller in size and runs quicker. Most email programs have an archive function where you can select any email from say 3 months ago back and archive it. Once that is done, you can always open the archive file to look back at old email if necessary.

Check Subscriptions

If you have any subscriptions running through PayPal, StormPay or another payment processor, just check them out and make sure you are still making money with that program – that they are self-liquidating. If they aren’t, then decide whether to cancel your subscription or to keep with the program and plan an advertising campaign. It’s always a nice feeling to know you are saving yourself money when you cancel a subscription that just isn’t working out as you had hoped.

Backup Files

Although you should be backing up your files at regular intervals, we don’t always do that. Especially around Christmas time. Now is the time to burn last year’s files to CD or DVD and just keep the medium in your computer so you can access it when necessary. Don’t think that the cost of a DVD burner is too high. I recently purchased one for around $80.00 which is quite reasonable considering it holds around 5GB of data. Once you have burned the important files, consider deleting them from your hard drive to create more space.

Housekeeping

After backing up, it’s always a good idea to run Disk Defragmenter from the System Tools folder in the Start Menu. This will tidy your computer up and possibly make it run a little faster as well.

Check Ezine Subscriptions

If you’re subscribed to a large number of ezines (online magazines), you will know the ones that you enjoy reading and the ones that you don’t read. If you aren’t getting the information that you subscribed for in the first place, cancel your subscription by clicking on the ‘remove’ link at the bottom of any email you receive from the publisher. Of course if you subscribe to many ezines so you can post free classified ads, ignore this tip!

Check Program Subscriptions

Do you receive a ton of email from particular programs that you don’t ever read? If you do, try logging into the program and see if you can change the email options so you don’t receive email. Of course this doesn’t apply to programs that you need to remain informed about.

Eradicate Negativity

Do you have particular influences online that are negative and cheese you off sometimes? That’s easily fixed and let’s face it – who needs it? Either blacklist their email address or ban them in your messenger (IM) program. Done!

Make Plans

NOW that all that is done and clear… You can sit down and carry out the following important steps.

1. Write down your goals and objective for the year. (Don’t be afraid to aim big either). Use positive affirmation in a sentence, eg. “I will increase my opt-in list to 20,000 by June.” Or “I will make an extra $20,000 in profits by March.”

2. Write down HOW you will achieve these goals (the real guts of the plan) and give yourself a realistic time limit.

3. Display the list in a prominent place so you can see it from your computer.

If you follow these simple steps, you will find that they work much more effectively than by voicing a resolution at New Years. In fact, it can work ANY time of the year.

All the best to you for 2005.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eva Browne-Paterson publishes “EvieB’s New-Z” where you can advertise to 64,000 per week. http://www.evieb.com.

You can also save on essential business tools by joining her new program, CashCocktail for free: http://www.cashcocktail.com.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH THIS ARTICLE WAS GIVEN

Another informative article for my readers which is filled with helpful tips for independent professionals, entrepreneurs and small business owners, was submitted via email by Mr. Charlie Cook, a marketing specialist, for “In Mind Communications, LLC”, and can be read below.

4 STEPS TO SELLING MORE WITH YOUR WEB SITE

By Charlie Cook – www.marketingforsuccess.com

Is your web site helping you get attention for your business?

Does it prompt prospects to contact you?

Is it helping you build long-term relationships?

Does it generate the volume of sales you want?

Building a web site that works should be more like building your dream home than constructing a stage set. You want to build a solid structure to support the growth of your business, not a flashy façade. First, you’d talk with your partner about what kind of house you want and how it fits into your long-term plans. You’d discuss your budget and the location, style and size of the house, as well as the functions of the rooms and the flow between them. When you were in agreement, you’d seek out an architect to help you plan your home.

The architect would consider your ideas and objectives, create a coherent plan to meet your objectives. You’d review these and then she’d produce drawings and blueprints to guide the construction. You’d need a contractor to build your house, and the contractor would hire specialists to complete the job; carpenters, electricians, masons, roofers, etc. Once your home was completed, you’d need to maintain it; even a brand new house needs periodic attention.

Building or Renovating Your Dream Web Site

Can you imagine building your dream home without careful planning, or a clear sense of how the rooms would work together, or a blueprint?

Before you build your web site, did you define how it would function, how it would get attention, and how it would generate leads and build profitable relationships?

Did you have a web marketing blueprint?

A web designer is like your building contractor. They will assemble your web site, but they can’t tell you what the site is supposed to accomplish or how it fits into your overall marketing plan. Before you use a web designer you first need to understand what you want your site to do and how to structure it to convert prospects to clients.

Diane Varner, a successful web designer in El Granada, California, asks prospective clients a series of questions about their marketing before she starts work for them. She wants to find out what their overall marketing strategy is and how their web site fits into it. Her expertise is web design; if a prospect needs help defining their web-marketing plan, she refers them to me.

4 Steps to A Web Site that Sells

Create Your Web Plan and Marketing Content.

Before building or renovating your web site, you, too, should identify how your web site fits into your marketing strategy. Clarify and delineate the actions you want visitors to take and how to structure your site to get prospects to contact you and buy your products and services.

Organize site content and pages to mirror prospects’ decision-making process, moving them step-by-step towards a sale.

Write content that motivates prospects to continue reading and browsing your site and includes appropriate use of keywords to help boost your search engine rankings.

Hire a Web Designer/ General Contractor.

Once you have a plan and the supporting marketing copy ready, find a web designer who can put these elements together to create an easy-to-navigate site whose overall look and feel supports your positioning objectives. Many web designers function as general contractors and will sub-contract the programming required to create forms, manage databases, email or online shopping cart systems.

Market Your Web Site.

Most people make the mistake of waiting until their site is built to think about marketing it. If you started with the previously defined web plan, you will have avoided this m0ney-losing blunder. But don’t assume that people will find your web site on their own.

Use free promotional activities such as distributing your articles to get attention. Consider advertising in newsletters and/or using pay-per-click advertising.

Maintain Your Web Site.

Just like that dream house, a web site needs regular upkeep and updating. Allocate the time and m0ney to see that the site is well maintained, whether you learn to update text yourself, have someone in your company do it, or give the job to an outside professional.

The beautiful home you carefully planned and built creates the physical context for you to eat, sleep, relax and enjoy family and friends. Your web site should create the marketing context to help you get prospects’ attention, build relationships, and generate leads and sales.

Use the four steps above to build or renovate your web site and you’ll have a site that is more than a flimsy stage set; you’ll have a web site that will help grow your business.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mr. Charlie Cook helps service professionals and small business owners attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up for the Free Marketing Plan eBook, “7 Steps to Get More Clients and Grow Your Business” at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH THIS ARTICLE WAS GIVEN

END NOTE FROM THE EDITOR’S CORNER:

By Rosanne Catalano (aka R.C. Kayla)

author website: http://www.geocities.com/ctrosanne04/index.html

“Originally “The Cat’s Meow for Writers & Readers” was created to complement my author website, and I had thought this ezine would be about the writing life and me as a writer/author… I have decided it would better serve my readers (and that includes all the writers out there) if I wrote ‘helpful’ information and tips and spiritual advice on dealing with life in general because, honestly, that is what makes me happy… To help others, in any way I can and to write my stories.

My dear readers, you can still read my published stories – online, in print and still to be published – and all about the ‘writing life’ by visiting my official website.”

“Till next month, have a great February!”