Just on a whim, I decided to answer a question on Hubpages titled "What will you do if you are going to die today...??" My intention was not to be morbid, nor have I received any bad news from doctors lately. I just thought that it is a nice exercise to step back for a bit, and look at the bigger picture.
Read more...What I Would Do If I have Only 24 Hours Left To Live
Monday, September 21, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Article - How To Get Ideas For Articles
The article marketing gurus tell us that getting 5 or 10 articles out there is just not going to cut it. The most prolific article writers in the article directories has written thousands of articles. When you first start to think of it, that's a lot of articles! But with a little diligence, a little creativity, and some helpful tips, it might just be manageable.
Write On Similar and Related Topics
A little imagination goes a long way. If you are selling clocks, you don't just have to talk about clocks. Talk about things that people interested in clocks would be interested in, or you can talk about the history of clocks, or what life would be like without clocks. There is really a thousand and one things that you can write articles on, just let your imagination run free.
Lists
Lists are a great way to start writing articles. The first step is to make a list of a particular aspect of your product. For examples, you can make a list of all the advantages of your product. Make the list as long as you can. When you are done, split your list into smaller article sized lists, and write an article for each of the smaller lists. Once you have gone through your whole list, make another list of another aspect of your product.
Target Different Audiences
A whole spectrum of people will read your article. From a single article, you can write more articles based on the same points, but targeted at a specific demographic. Let's say you are selling sports equipment and you are writing about why one needs to keep fit. If you are writing for young single women, you might say that a well toned body is a big plus when attracting the opposite sex. If you are writing for married women, you might say that a well toned body is great for keeping their husbands interested.
If You Think There Are Just No More Unique Articles You Can Write...
If you run out of article ideas, simply search the web for your relevant topic. Read through a couple of articles and websites and I'm sure you will get enough new ideas to keep you busy for a while. Just remember not to copy and come up with completely original material.
Conclusion
Writing many articles on the same topic is really not as challenging as it would appear at first glance. There are always many angles to any topic and you can write one article for each angle. You have the option of expanding on each individual point made in an article and you can explore related topics in the same way. In fact, when you think about it, you probably won't have time to write all the potential articles.
Write On Similar and Related Topics
A little imagination goes a long way. If you are selling clocks, you don't just have to talk about clocks. Talk about things that people interested in clocks would be interested in, or you can talk about the history of clocks, or what life would be like without clocks. There is really a thousand and one things that you can write articles on, just let your imagination run free.
Lists
Lists are a great way to start writing articles. The first step is to make a list of a particular aspect of your product. For examples, you can make a list of all the advantages of your product. Make the list as long as you can. When you are done, split your list into smaller article sized lists, and write an article for each of the smaller lists. Once you have gone through your whole list, make another list of another aspect of your product.
Target Different Audiences
A whole spectrum of people will read your article. From a single article, you can write more articles based on the same points, but targeted at a specific demographic. Let's say you are selling sports equipment and you are writing about why one needs to keep fit. If you are writing for young single women, you might say that a well toned body is a big plus when attracting the opposite sex. If you are writing for married women, you might say that a well toned body is great for keeping their husbands interested.
If You Think There Are Just No More Unique Articles You Can Write...
If you run out of article ideas, simply search the web for your relevant topic. Read through a couple of articles and websites and I'm sure you will get enough new ideas to keep you busy for a while. Just remember not to copy and come up with completely original material.
Conclusion
Writing many articles on the same topic is really not as challenging as it would appear at first glance. There are always many angles to any topic and you can write one article for each angle. You have the option of expanding on each individual point made in an article and you can explore related topics in the same way. In fact, when you think about it, you probably won't have time to write all the potential articles.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Article - How To Write Articles Really Fast
We want to finish writing our articles as fast as possible. Because there are so many other other things waiting for us to do like watching television, playing computer games, and just lazing around doing nothing. And our significant other will remind us that there are other things to be done like taking out the trash, mowing the lawn and painting the garage. So, to give you poor guys a helping hand, I have prepared a list of hints on how you can shorten your article writing time.
Think About It First
You don't want to just decide to write an article and then immediately start writing. Spend a few minutes to think and note down the gist of what you want to say. And you might want to take a little time to mull over what you want to write and how you want to write it. I usually take a few days. That way, when you really do sit down and start writing, it's already half done.
Set A Deadline
It is best that there is a deadline for finishing every project. Otherwise, you might find yourself continually fine tuning an already near perfect work. A deadline is a good way to tell you when to stop.
Practice Makes Perfect
You didn't know how to walk when you were very young. It took many hours of practice, practice and more practice. And when you have finished practicing, you practiced some more. And now not only can you walk, you can hop, skip, jump and even run. Writing articles is no different. Just keep practicing and you will get real good and will be able to write real fast.
Don't Be A Perfectionist
Your article can aspire to be perfect but does not have to be. And not being perfect is also not an excuse for shoddy work. You just have to be mindful that there has to be a balance between a well written article that is finished comparatively fast, and a perfect article that takes forever to write.
Look For Similar Examples
Why reinvent the wheel? I'm definitely not advising you to copy from other similar articles but it doesn't hurt to read them so that you can have more ideas on how you want to present your article. But do remember that when it is time to put pen to paper, do write a totally original article.
Conclusion
If you find that you are taking forever just to finish one article, the tips above will certainly help. I can recall a time when I would take days to complete just one article, and nowadays, I can finish one within one or two hours. And the tips above have certainly helped me to achieve this.
Think About It First
You don't want to just decide to write an article and then immediately start writing. Spend a few minutes to think and note down the gist of what you want to say. And you might want to take a little time to mull over what you want to write and how you want to write it. I usually take a few days. That way, when you really do sit down and start writing, it's already half done.
Set A Deadline
It is best that there is a deadline for finishing every project. Otherwise, you might find yourself continually fine tuning an already near perfect work. A deadline is a good way to tell you when to stop.
Practice Makes Perfect
You didn't know how to walk when you were very young. It took many hours of practice, practice and more practice. And when you have finished practicing, you practiced some more. And now not only can you walk, you can hop, skip, jump and even run. Writing articles is no different. Just keep practicing and you will get real good and will be able to write real fast.
Don't Be A Perfectionist
Your article can aspire to be perfect but does not have to be. And not being perfect is also not an excuse for shoddy work. You just have to be mindful that there has to be a balance between a well written article that is finished comparatively fast, and a perfect article that takes forever to write.
Look For Similar Examples
Why reinvent the wheel? I'm definitely not advising you to copy from other similar articles but it doesn't hurt to read them so that you can have more ideas on how you want to present your article. But do remember that when it is time to put pen to paper, do write a totally original article.
Conclusion
If you find that you are taking forever just to finish one article, the tips above will certainly help. I can recall a time when I would take days to complete just one article, and nowadays, I can finish one within one or two hours. And the tips above have certainly helped me to achieve this.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Hub - The Faith Of A Muslim Woman
Sometimes, the simplest words and the simplest actions, things that we do and say without even thinking, betray who we really are. It is then that we are at our worst, or our best.
Read more....The Faith Of A Muslim Woman
Read more....The Faith Of A Muslim Woman
Friday, August 28, 2009
Article - How To Write Good Articles
You are here because you want to know how to write a good online article. Unfortunately, I can't teach you how to write well, not in one article. And anyway, I'm not a good enough writer to be qualified to teach. But I do know a thing or two about writing for the online community, and this article is about how to gear your writing for the online world.
Know Your Subject
The key to writing good articles is knowing your subject matter. Granted that you can't be an expert in everything, and that most writers are asked to write on a wide range of subjects, that little extra time taken to do a bit more research or homework before starting to write will pay off handsomely.
Use Subheadings And Bullet Points
It is an excellent idea to break up your article into a few sections. Start each section with a subheading and if you are presenting a list of items, you would do well to put them in bullet form. When you write your article in this way, you make it easier for the reader to have an idea of what your article encompasses, so that he can decide if he wants to read further.
Write In The First Person
I would recommend to always write in the first person. The reader gets the feeling that you are personally talking to her, and will be much more open to listening to what you have to say. And as a writer, I find that it is easier and more enjoyable to write in that way.
Be Short And To The Point
The articles you write for online consumption are generally not meant to be literary pieces but are vehicles through which you impart your expertise. Nevertheless, you can incorporate your own style but do be mindful that your readers are looking are a quick and fast read to get the information they want.
Check For Errors In Grammar And Spelling
Make sure you run your article through a spell checker. And before submitting your article, spend a few minutes and give it a onceover to eliminate any grammatical errors. Remember that it doesn't have to be perfect, but you also do not want any obvious errors in your article.
Conclusion
If you take the time and trouble to write a good article, it can boost your popularity and reputation much more than any promotion could. And it isn't really that difficult to write a good article. So do take the time and effort to craft an article that will keep your readers well informed, and one that they will enjoy reading as well.
Know Your Subject
The key to writing good articles is knowing your subject matter. Granted that you can't be an expert in everything, and that most writers are asked to write on a wide range of subjects, that little extra time taken to do a bit more research or homework before starting to write will pay off handsomely.
Use Subheadings And Bullet Points
It is an excellent idea to break up your article into a few sections. Start each section with a subheading and if you are presenting a list of items, you would do well to put them in bullet form. When you write your article in this way, you make it easier for the reader to have an idea of what your article encompasses, so that he can decide if he wants to read further.
Write In The First Person
I would recommend to always write in the first person. The reader gets the feeling that you are personally talking to her, and will be much more open to listening to what you have to say. And as a writer, I find that it is easier and more enjoyable to write in that way.
Be Short And To The Point
The articles you write for online consumption are generally not meant to be literary pieces but are vehicles through which you impart your expertise. Nevertheless, you can incorporate your own style but do be mindful that your readers are looking are a quick and fast read to get the information they want.
Check For Errors In Grammar And Spelling
Make sure you run your article through a spell checker. And before submitting your article, spend a few minutes and give it a onceover to eliminate any grammatical errors. Remember that it doesn't have to be perfect, but you also do not want any obvious errors in your article.
Conclusion
If you take the time and trouble to write a good article, it can boost your popularity and reputation much more than any promotion could. And it isn't really that difficult to write a good article. So do take the time and effort to craft an article that will keep your readers well informed, and one that they will enjoy reading as well.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Article - Basic HTML For Online Articles
When submitting articles online, you would usually not need to know HTML. But there are still a few article directories that only allows text submissions, and any formatting you need to do must be done also in text.
The following HTML tags are introduced in this article: unordered html list < ul >, list item < li >, anchor < a >, italics < i >, underline < u >, bold < b > and line break < br >. Although the tags accepted by different directories are not the same, for the most part, the tags here are all you need to be able to properly format your article.
HTML tags are enclosed within angle brackets, and the HTML tags in this article are shown with a space before and after the opening and closing angle bracket. This is done so that they will not be mistaken for actual formatting tags. When you are submitting your own articles, the spaces must be removed.
It might look a little daunting but I promise that you will end up with better looking articles, and it really is easy once you get the hang of it. Okay? Let's continue...
The Open And Close Tags Of HTML
Most HTML tags comes with an opening and a closing tag, while a few tags are used by themselves.
As an example, the italics tag needs to be closed and is used as follows:
< i >This sentence is in italics.< /i >
Notice the opening tag, < i >, and the closing tag, < /i >.
However, the line break tag does not need a closing tag and is used by itself:
There will be a line break after this sentence.< br >
Nesting
Nesting basically means that the tags can be used inside of each other. But do be careful not to made the common error of interlinking instead of nesting the tags.
This is correct:
< i >< b >This text in bold and italics.< /b >< /i >
This is another correct example:
< b >The word < i >italics< /i > is in < i >italics< /i >.< /b >
This is not right:
< b >< i >This text will not be bolded and be in italics.< /b >< /i >
Bold, Italic And Underline Tag
The bold, underline and italic HTML tags are < b >, < u > and < i > respectively. Their closing tags are < /b >, < /u > and < /i > respectively. And they are used to bold, underline and italicize your text.
The following will bold, italicize and underline the text enclosed:
< u >< b >< i >This line is in italics, underlined and bold.< /i >< /b >< /u >
The Line Break Tag
This HTML tag is used to start a new line. This tag is used by itself and does not need a closing tag.
The following is an example of how it can be used:
There is a line break after this line.< br >
2 or more line break tags can also be used together:
You have inserted 2 line breaks after this sentence.< br >< br >
The Anchor HTML Tag
This tag is used to provide a link to another web page or web site. It is used with another HTML element called an attribute, and the attribute that you need to be concerned with is the href attribute.
To link to your website or blog, you will use the anchor tag in the following way:
Please visit my site < a href="MySiteDotCom" >here< /a >.
Note that in the previous example, the only word that will be underlined and clickable is the word "here". In addition, MySiteDotCom must be an actual url.
Unordered HTML List And List Item Tag
These 2 tags are used together to create an unordered list. The unordered HTML list tag < ul > is used to indicate the start and end of the list while the list item tag < li > indicates each individual item on the list.
For example, if you wanted an unordered list of 3 items, you would write something like the following:
This is a list of 3 items:
< ul >< li >First Item< /li >
< li >Second Item< /li >
< li >Third Item< /li >< /ul >
Observe the nesting of the list item tags within the unordered HTML list tag.
Conclusion
The article directories are many and varied and they also differ in which HTML tags they will accept. Do read their submission guidelines and remember to always use the preview button before submitting your article.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Article - Get Rich Quick Schemes That Work
Get rich quick schemes are very popular on the Internet. Everywhere you turn, you come across an advertisement for a business that claims to be able to make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. But even the most gullible will admit that probably most of such businesses or opportunities will fail to deliver on their promise.
So I have put together below a short list of rather unorthodox get rich quick schemes. But they have been proven to work for many people in the past, which is more than what you can say for the get rich schemes that you find on the Internet.
Marry Into Money
This is the oldest get rich quick scheme in the book but it still works very well. Who needs love when they have money right? But the modern age has introduced a new complication - the prenuptial agreement. Unless you have every intention of remaining married, you must find a way to skillfully navigate this thorny issue.
Start A Ponzi Scheme
If you are the owner of a ponzi, you can make a lot of money. It's really not that difficult to start one. All you need is a good business plan and gullible investors loaded with money. Promise them a great monthly return on their investment and they will be throwing money at you.
The money collected goes to fund your holiday in South America, your kid's college tuition and to pay off the car loan. But do remember that the first priority must go to the people who put in the money. Pay the investors their monthly return and don't forget to tell them that more money is needed to expand the business. Giving your investors a referral fee to bring in new suckers .... err .... investors is a good idea. The more fresh money comes in, the longer your scheme will run and the more money you can make.
Try Your Luck At The Lottery
The lottery is probably the only way you can be dirt poor one day, and be rolling in dough the next. But make sure you have enough money to buy the lottery ticket.
But don't celebrate yet. Your chances of winning are rather poor. You have to be prepared to buy one ticket every week for the the next couple of thousand years to stand a decent chance of winning.
Try Your Hand At Begging
You pick a street corner and put up a sign that says something like, "I haven't eaten in 3 days." Make sure you go on a diet first. You put a hat in front of you, look hungry and you are in business. Good-hearted passersby will simply drop money into the hat. Note that dirty and tattered clothes works wonders on your takings.
Conclusion
The purpose of this article is a little fun and to highlight that there are no such thing as a get rich quick scheme. If a scheme actually works, more and more people will get to know of it, implement its methods, and eventually, it will lose its effectively and become a get rich slow scheme.
So I have put together below a short list of rather unorthodox get rich quick schemes. But they have been proven to work for many people in the past, which is more than what you can say for the get rich schemes that you find on the Internet.
Marry Into Money
This is the oldest get rich quick scheme in the book but it still works very well. Who needs love when they have money right? But the modern age has introduced a new complication - the prenuptial agreement. Unless you have every intention of remaining married, you must find a way to skillfully navigate this thorny issue.
Start A Ponzi Scheme
If you are the owner of a ponzi, you can make a lot of money. It's really not that difficult to start one. All you need is a good business plan and gullible investors loaded with money. Promise them a great monthly return on their investment and they will be throwing money at you.
The money collected goes to fund your holiday in South America, your kid's college tuition and to pay off the car loan. But do remember that the first priority must go to the people who put in the money. Pay the investors their monthly return and don't forget to tell them that more money is needed to expand the business. Giving your investors a referral fee to bring in new suckers .... err .... investors is a good idea. The more fresh money comes in, the longer your scheme will run and the more money you can make.
Try Your Luck At The Lottery
The lottery is probably the only way you can be dirt poor one day, and be rolling in dough the next. But make sure you have enough money to buy the lottery ticket.
But don't celebrate yet. Your chances of winning are rather poor. You have to be prepared to buy one ticket every week for the the next couple of thousand years to stand a decent chance of winning.
Try Your Hand At Begging
You pick a street corner and put up a sign that says something like, "I haven't eaten in 3 days." Make sure you go on a diet first. You put a hat in front of you, look hungry and you are in business. Good-hearted passersby will simply drop money into the hat. Note that dirty and tattered clothes works wonders on your takings.
Conclusion
The purpose of this article is a little fun and to highlight that there are no such thing as a get rich quick scheme. If a scheme actually works, more and more people will get to know of it, implement its methods, and eventually, it will lose its effectively and become a get rich slow scheme.
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