If you saw this graphic of a Toupee, would you buy it?

I didn't think so.

What if it were accompanied by this?

Too funny! Now, you actually have me thinking of men in my life who NEED this toupee. And, at only $6.95 — what a bargain!

Adios, Hair Club for Men. I'm getting the folically-challenged men in my life, the The Inconspicuous Toupee! <– click there if you're interested in buying one of these slick “Rico Suave” toupees for the balding man in your life.

I'll be back soon with some great marketing examples of taking a product that is mediocre to fabulous — with *great* copy!

Do you need to schnazz up your copy?

Do-it-Yourselfers check out –>  Copywriting Course for Beginners

Want to find a Copywriter? —> Shelancers for Hire

Interested in Copywriting as a Home Business? –> Moms Talk Biz has a copywriting course.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Nicole

Well, it's the same with Marketing. I know… heck, I PREACH to my affiliates to set up custom error pages so they aren't sending traffic to dead pages.

You know the error pages that say “Page Not Found” and make your readers leave your site faster than beans leave my husband? (hee!)

Instead put up a page that says “oops!” and is monetized in some way. Use that traffic so that you aren't wasting it.

Well, sometimes I forget to follow my own advice.

Now, I'm not a total slacker. I DO have error pages on some of my sites.

For instance, you can see this one:

ShowMomtheMoney.com Error Page (opens in a new window)

BUT… imagine how embarrassed I was when a certain Internet Marketing expert sent me an email after he'd ordered on EasyPLR.com — and got the default error page — AND I didn't have it monetized.

Talk about feeling like a rooky. Geesh.  Double whammy – (1) error when downloading AND (2) no custom error page.

OUCH.

I know, I know. I'm making too big of a deal over nothing — or am I?

I looked in my stats for ShowMomtheMoney.com and over 2000 errors showed up for this month alone.

I'm glad I had my error page set up. It was viewed quite a bit the last few months.

And, in EasyPLR I had over 6000 errors this month — with NO custom error page.

That's a lot of wasted traffic that I've been losing month after month. (sob!)

That's not just bad for me, that's bad for my affiliates, too.  So, today, I'm working on plugging up those places where traffic is sneaking away from me.

So, are your error pages working for you?

If not, use them now.

Here are some ideas for better utilizing your Error Pages…

1. Set up a squeeze page like I did on ShowMomtheMoney. Send the traffic to an ecourse that you have set up or just have them join your ezine to receive your newsletter. (*If you don't have one yet I recommend this service and use it myself – click here to try it for $1.)

2. Offer a free report that contains your own product links. (You can create one easily with PLR content.)

3. Offer a free report that contains affiliate links. Need one? I'll have a new site soon where you can grab all of the free brandable reports you'll ever want or need.

4. Display your products like a storefront.

5. Put your RSS blog feed on your error page.

6. Invite your visitor to join your affiliate program.

7. Sell or trade the space if you don't have anything to offer.

HOW do you do it?

Well, if you're using Mom Webs or Reliable Webs, you just log into your cpanel and click on the little icon that says “Error Pages” and it'll walk you through it.

If you're using any other host, it may vary – and usually involves editing your .htaccess file. If you're on Windows hosting, it WILL vary (since you don't have a .htaccess file, silly).

If you are comfortable editing your .htaccess file, you can do this yourself. If not, outsource it to a Virtual Assistant.

To Set up Your Error Pages in your .htaccess File…

Open your .htaccess file and insert this code at the top:

# -ErrorDocuments-
ErrorDocument 400 /customerrorpage.htm #Bad Request
ErrorDocument 401 /customerrorpage.htm #Authorization Required
ErrorDocument 403 /customerrorpage.htm #Forbidden
ErrorDocument 404 /customerrorpage.htm #Not Found (Most Common)

Note: The paths to the custom error pages are all relative to the root folder (where .htaccess lives), and each could be different.

Then, set up your custom error page on your site – using the same name as you used in the htaccess file. (You can name the file and folder whatever you'd like — just make sure that you make it match in both places.)

That's just a quick “on the fly” explanation. I hope it helps you to earn more from your existing web traffic.

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. If you'd like to see my new Error page that'll be showing soon — you can peek at it for ideas by clicking here.

I've mentioned in the past that I'm happy to do interviews, especially written ones, since they are easy for me to fit into my schedule. (Want one? Just contact my helpers helper@justaddsweat.com and we'll get you set up.)

Here are two interviews that I did recently —

• Vonetta @ Small Business Sanity – Entrepreneur Spotlight: Nicole Dean, Multiple Income Stream Diva
• Affiliate Tips – Interview With Nicole Dean the Affiliate Success Coach

Why do I take the time to do these?

1. New Readers. As you can see, both interviews expose me to new readers. The Affiliate Tips interview has already been rated almost 200 times. Who knows how many eyeballs have seen that page. The interview is archived, so it has the potential to send me traffic for years to come.

2. Talking about ME. I also get the opportunity to talk about ME without feeling silly or braggadocios. That's kind of the point — to talk about myself and what I have to offer people. Unlike my a press release, an ecourse, or an article for article marketing, I can freely talk about how wonderful my products are. Of course you can do that to some extent in your articles and press releases, but that's the POINT of the interview so it comes naturally.

3. Talking about my products and freebies. I'm also given the opportunity to showcase my projects when the interviewer asks what I'm up to, or where people can learn more.

4. Link love. For search engines, I'm given some link love, which is always nice.

5. It's fun! I get to meet new friends.

6. Credibility/Endorsement. The interviews also lend an air of credibility. The fact that I was asked and am featured on these sites acts as an endorsement by the readers.

So… when the last time you thought about doing interviews? Got anything to talk about? If you've got a blog, the answer is “yes”!

Get started.

Here are a few places where you can learn more.

1. In my Web Traffic Basics course, I share tips for being a Guest on an Online Radio Show.
2. Of course, Kelly McCausey has a great course about Press Releases.
3. I recommend you stop by Shelancers.com to see how affordably you can get help with your press release writing. (I have a press writer who I found through Shelancers.)
4. Many of my interviews are found through networking. People chat with me at places like www.MomsMastermind.com and find that I am a real person who is willing to grant interviews when it's a win-win situation. So, I highly recommend that you find a group of successful marketers to hang with. It's amazing the deals that go down when you're chatting with people who can get things done. (Check out www.MomsMastermind.com if you're a mom. It's great!)
5. HARO. These are reporters looking for people to interview. Join the list. It's free.

You've GOT to market your business if you want to keep growing. Whether you're doing that with article marketing, guest blogging, or search engine optimization, it's all good.

Interviews are another avenue of marketing. Give it a try.

Have a wonderful week.
Nicole

Teacher OK after crashing into bear on a bicycle

Why did I giggle? Well, silly, I couldn't figure out why the bear was on the bicycle in the first place. Was it a trained circus bear? Had it escaped from a zoo?

This, my friends, is the reason why proofreaders and copywriters exist. To avoid miscommunications like those.

Of course, in this instance, it was funny — and thank God the Teacher is ok.

However, there have been many instances of really poor headlines — some of which are seen on Jay Leno.

In fact, I found a site that offers lots of “Headlines gone WRONG!”:

Here are a few of my favorites for your sick and twisted delight:

• Panda mating fails; Veterinarian takes over — I wouldn't want to be THAT Veterinarian!
• Enraged cow injures farmer with ax – How the Cow swung the ax without having thumbs is beyond me!
• Stolen painting found by tree – That's one smart (and scary) tree!
• Never withhold herpes infection from loved one – No comment.
• If strike isn't settled quickly, it may last a while – Duh?

Oh yeah, baby. That's why good copy is essential to your online business, too. Words matter. The order of the words, the specific words that are chosen can make an impact or make you look downright silly!

If you're looking for the perfect proofreader or copywriter, I invite you to check out Shelancers.com.

If you'd like to know what to DO once you've found that perfect copywriter — I recommend OutsourceWeekly.com

Have a great week!

Nicole

Well, it works.

Here's what just one of our members had to say…

As a Virtual Assistant I have searched high and low to find some places to advertise. When I heard about Shelancers I was very excited. I jumped on the great price and started advertising.

Within a couple weeks I had my first client from Shelancers. Since then I have gained a total of three clients from Shelancers and I could not be happier. Shelancers is an amazing place and I will be Advertising with Shelancers.com as long as they will have me.

Tricia Gardner, NE TimeSaverVA

If you're a service provider who wants more clients like Tricia, we'd love to help you too!

Check out Shelancers.com. (Members get many other benefits besides advertising, including training.)

Are YOU looking for a writer or VA for your business?
Find the help you need in your business here.

Have a wonderful day.
Nicole

Serve Up Tasty Recipes for your Blog Readers
by Arika Lewis

Are you looking for a fast way to add appeal to your blog? Try adding recipes! It's an easy way to add content that people will “eat up”. Everyone eats and most people cook, at least a little bit. But, how do you get recipes that you can use on your blog? There are numerous places to find recipes and I'll give you a few ideas in just a bit, but first let's discuss some legalese.

To keep from violating any copyright laws, you can not just take recipes out of cookbooks or magazines and type them into your blog. You'll absolutely want to be sure that any recipe you use does not contain the original directions word for word. Both recipe instructions and recipe collections may be copyright protected. Therefore, you have to use other options.

Now let's cover my favorite ways to find recipes that you can use on your mom blog.

Your Recipes

We all have recipes that we make on a regular basis at home. Maybe a favorite dish that is easy to make and everyone loves? Do you have a specialty? Or just a handful of favorite dishes?

If so, get them on your computer and use them on your blog.

Aunts, Grandma & Friends

Does your mother have a special chili recipe that everyone loves? Ooh, and that spicy dip that your sister always brings to football parties.

Look around the Thanksgiving dinner table and ask everyone to share their recipes. Then, start asking your friends, neighbors and co-workers.

Hire a Writer

Another way to get recipes for your blog is to hire a ghostwriter to write them for you. This is a great way to save time and focus your energy elsewhere be it on your website, marketing efforts, or something else. Keep in mind that hiring someone will cost money. However, for most the cost is worth it when you look at the time and effort necessary to do it yourself. You'll have more time to focus on other aspects of your business. Also, you can assign a project to a freelance writer and have it back quicker than you might on your own. You might check out elance.com or shelancers.com for starters.

PLR Recipes

The fourth (and my personal favorite) way to get recipes for your blog is to purchase PLR recipes. The great thing about PLR recipes is:

1. You aren't stuck coming up with all of the recipes yourself.
2. You don't have to pay someone else to write them for you.
3. You can change the recipes as much or as little as you'd like.
4. You can split them up and add them to multiple blogs. You can pretty much do whatever you'd like with them to create a product, freebie or something else.

You can get a lot of PLR recipes for cheap. Some PLR sites sell them for less than a dollar each.

Of course there are some rules with PLR recipes and depending on where you get your recipes the rules vary. For instance, most PLR content providers will not allow you to submit PLR articles to article directories or offer them as private label rights content elsewhere. So, be sure to check the rules before purchasing any PLR content.

A final tip: I recommend that you edit your PLR recipes so they are unique. Some ways to do this are:

• Modify the directions.
• Make the title sound more interesting.
• Give the reader some additional tips. Maybe a favorite side disk or a way to speed up the preparation.

Now you know how very easy it is to add a recipe section to your blog. I hope you'll consider getting started right away so you can attract hungry readers.

Get yummy PLR recipes each month. Just compile them and Viola! You'll have a ready made cookbook that you can sell from your blog. Need a way to make more with your blog? Check out the Menu Planning Affiliate Program

********

Want a unique version of this article to post on your own blog? Get one here. (Just remember you cannot edit the article in anyway and you must leave the resource box in tact.)

If you're an affiliate of YummyPLR you can of course replace the link with your affiliate link and use this bio instead:

Get yummy <a href=”http://www.YummyPLR.com”>PLR recipes</a> each month. Just compile them and Viola! You've got a ready to sell cookbook that you can sell from your blog. Need a way to make more with your blog? The ladies at www.YummyPLR.com will help you with that, too!

Catch ya later,

Nik

If you're unfamiliar with using Giveaways as a traffic generator, then this will be something pretty cool.

There are two factors at work here that you can benefit from.

1. You sign up as a Contributor to get exposure for yourself from everyone who signs up for the freebies. This could be thousands of eyeballs on your name and your URL.
AND… in this instance..
2. Your contribution is a rebrandable download that everyone who downloads it can REDISTRIBUTE it.

I'll certainly let you know when all of the freebies are available for download so you can load up on freebies. However, right now, they are only looking for contributors. So, if you have a brandable item (an ebook or free report) that you'd like to get circulating more, this is a great opportunity to do so.

I just wish I could sign up more than once!

Anyway, check out the page to see the details: Viral Brandable Giveaway < — click here.

Let me know if you have any questions.
Nicole

Questions:
1. Why would I give something away?
You'd give away a pdf document that presells your other products and links to them. That way, everyone who downloads your free gift will have the opportunity to learn more about you and your products or services.

2. How do I make a document brandable?
I use Viral PDF

3. What if I don't have a giveaway item?
Well, I'd suggest you make one. You can hire a writer or even start with a PLR product and edit it to make it your own. (If that's in the allowable rules.)

Here's the link again: Viral Brandable Giveaway < — click here.

For instance, look at my new blog!

Logo is by Jen Hauck of InternetMarketingChic.com

Blog is by Kelly McCausey of FreshNets.com

I had a brainstorming session with my new press partner, Sharon McMillan this morning and am very excited about the future. She's going to make me famous!

I just took on two interns yesterday (I don't know if I can name them yet, but trust me that you'll be hearing about them … much, in the coming weeks!)

And, I just found a new, budding copywriter who is going to help me revamp my headlines. http://getawayvirtualservices.com

The thing that I'm really excited about is that I connected with all of these women at one of two places:

www.MomsMastermind.com – my favorite networking hang out.
&
www.Shelancers.com – my favorite site for Service Providers.

I just wanted to give a shout out to all the amazing women out there and say “Thank you” to those who make me look good every day.

Nicole

—–

This is a non-paid opportunity to learn the trade of ecommerce website building and promotion from the ground up.

You will learn how to build an ecommerce website using the Shop Kit Plus ecommerce system as well as learn how to promote and support the Shop Kit Plus client and Watersweb Shops for the long term.

Skills to be learned include:
• Shop Kit Plus Installation and Customization
• Website Template Creation and Customization
• Shop Kit Plus Integration with WAHMcart
• WordPress Blog Integration and Customization
• Customer Support
• Website Promotion
• Article Marketing
• Social Networking
• Manual Writing

The Summer Ecommerce Intern position requires an investment of 20 hours per week (learning and working) for fourteen weeks and can turn into a long-term paid position. When you do the majority of your work is not important but you must have at least five hours a week available in the morning or afternoon during the business week.

Prerequisite Skills:
• Internet Research
• Web design experience (Expression Web or Dreamweaver experience acceptable)
• Writing Ability

You will sign a non-disclosure agreement.

You must own a fast, reliable computer and have a high speed nternet connection.

You will be provided with all necessary learning materials and mentoring and any software required.

To Apply:
Send resume outlining skills & experience to: intern@waterswebshops.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Include a Cover Letter that expressed your interest in building ecommerce websites and any particular experience that you have that would make you a good candidate. Be open about your long term goals as they relate to ecommerce and website building.

Your subject line should be SUMMER INTERNSHIP, written in all caps.

Please view the Shop Kit Plus http://www.shopkitplus.com/ and Watersweb Shops http://www.waterswebshops.com/ websites before applying.

Please do not email or call directly, let your resume and cover letter make your introduction.

Thank you!
_________________
Michelle Waters
Michelle Waters Online
Ecommerce for physical product sellers: Shop Kit Plus

We just added a forum and we've posted four job openings already. The June report is about “Specialization in your Service Business”. It's about how offering less can earn you more money.

We've also added an audio about how to become a Copywriter (a great specialization to choose). AND, I added an interview with an Accountant (CPA) and Certified Financial Planner about Common Business Mistakes.

If you're interested in joining us at Shelancers, I look forward to seeing you on the inside!

www.Shelancers.com

Warmly,

Nicole