It’s a NEW YEAR! Get a NEW Commitment!

Becoming an entrepreneur requires a certain amount of drive and enthusiasm.  If we didn’t believe in ourselves and our businesses, we would still be working for someone else.  But when the going gets tough, it’s easy to lose sight of why we started in the first place.  This can cause us to become unmotivated, and it could be the demise of the business we’ve worked so hard to build if we’re not careful.

Businesses are like relationships:  commitment is an absolute must if they are to succeed.  Here are some tips for staying focused and pulling through the hard times.

* Write a mission statement if you haven’t done so already. It should concisely detail the purpose of your business and its key philosophies.  Many entrepreneurs neglect to do this unless it is required to obtain funding.  But a mission statement can help you remember why you wanted to start a business in the first place. Read more

Writing for SEO Without Losing Readability

Copywriting is one significant factor when you want to achieve excellent search engine ranking. Yet, a lot of times website owners think that all that they have to do is to incorporate keywords in page tags and include some keyword mentions in their articles. While SEO copywriting not exceedingly hard, writing for search engines is more complex than that.

“Search engine optimization copywriting” or SEO, is a method of writing viewable or easily scanned text on your web page which is very acceptable and readable for the internet user as well as targets certain or exact search terms, having the purpose of ranking high in search engines.
Read more

How to Make Your Blog More Appealing to Your Readers

Every blogger who earns income from their blog knows that the only way you can make money is by getting and keeping the traffic coming. Without your readers, you wouldn’t be making money at all.

There are lots of ways to get them there, but the question is - how do you keep them returning? If a reader isn’t impressed by your blog at all, then they’ll leave your blog, never to return again.

With them goes their blog’s traffic that you could’ve benefited from if they’d linked to you. Here are some tips to make your blog appealing enough to keep the traffic there to earn you some money.

Evaluate Your Design!

The most common mistake some bloggers make is in their blog’s design. Blog readers not only look for interesting and informative content - they also want to come to an inviting space to read it. Read more

Journaling? DO IT TODAY! By Cindy Rushton

Journaling?

Oh! Don’t feel bad if your answer is “NO” right now. (at least until the end of this post!)

I just got the most AMAZING journal as a gift. A friend of mine sent my entire family a journal each. Not just ANY journal either! Designer journals! It was such a treat. Not just because they were special designer journals. Rather, it was more because of what was going on in MY HEART right before she sent them. Well, you may need a bit of background!

I have always kept notebooks, journals, and idea books. But, I have not been journaling. GASP!?

No, something deep within has hindered me from journaling. Was it reading Anne Frank’s diary in school? Ugh…well, probably…I remember thinking that IF we were being required to read her diary…then…ugh…I might not ever want to journal MY THOUGHTS…they could be at risk! Insane huh? ha!

It might be more than that!

There is something else just a bit deeper that has kept me from journaling. Actually a few things!

First, valuing my own thoughts! For real! Journaling is an investment. It is an investment of time and money. Something deep within me has held me back from preserving those thoughts. They are so rambly (is that a possible word???)…they say things that I am not sure I want in print…they have no specific focus…they lack any refinement. With all of that said, see my dilemma with investing my time to journal them down? See my dilemma with placing THOSE thoughts into a beautiful journal?

Second, fearing my thoughts! Scare you yet? No, I am just like you! I get SOOOooo mad at my in-laws. I get so frustrated parenting. I get PMS. I battle fears (obviously!). And…that is not all! I also get TOTALLY hyped up over things that God blesses me with. Truth here? Yep! I get afraid that journaling my thoughts just might make me “sound” manic! hehe! Oh, yet another dilemma that hinders me from journaling!

And…ugh…TOO BUSY! Enough said? Well…this one just wasn’t a good enough reason, but it was probably one of the largest hindrances to journaling! Getting so busy with so many things–many of which are very insignificant compared to the riches of journaling. Yet, the very things that get done!

Excuses. Excuses. Excuses!

Can you believe I write ANY books and articles? These are the same things that hinder some of you from writing!

Yep! I battle with the same things that YOU battle against!

BUT! ONE THING is needful!

We all NEED to journal!

Journaling is especially necessary for the very reasons that I have not been journaling! I need to journal! YOU need to journal! Why?

Journaling processes our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It pulls them out of the deep recesses of our mind. Once it is on paper, we can literally disect our thoughts and see the hidden jewels in there! Totally necessary for the Christian writer! Actually, journaling is one of the most essential disciplines for the Christian writer. In a journal, a writer can brainstorm…outline…collect ideas…and work out a manuscript. Humm…only our enemy of our soul would want to discourage such a discipline!

Which brings me back to this amazing gift!

Just the day before the journal arrived, I was sitting with my family in a bookstore just pondering a million and one thoughts. I saw the cutest little journals just within eye-range. I sat there thinking, “WOW! It would be a great time of my life to begin journaling! There is SOOOo much going on in my mind. I really need to put these thoughts on paper.” Then, my brain kept racing…”Maybe I can invest in a journal JUST for these thoughts…BUT (you know where this is going!)…they cost soooo much…I would mess those pretty journals up with my crazy thoughts….” FOR REAL! And…I discounted the whole idea away.

The mail came the next day with all of the every day stuff–except a very precious box. As I opened it up, all I could do was cry. God had moved in my friend’s heart to have a journal sent to me. BUT, not just ANY journal! A designer journal! YEP! FOR REAL! It is one of the most beautiful journals I have ever seen!

Heather invested IN ME!

Words truly are so insufficient to capture what has gone on in my heart every since!

My first reactions were…”NOW THIS ONE *REALLY* IS TOO PRETTY TO USE!” (it is!) But, God moved on my heart immediately to say, “Cindy, Heather wanted to bless you and you can do nothing less than pour into this journal your heart!”

So, there it is! The beginning of MY journal!

My first entry included this (no worries to MY mind–I am not typing in EVERYTHING!),

“…Another thing that this gift does is convict me about journaling. Do you think Heather knew that there is so much on my heart and I just needed to pour it into a good friend? My first response was so wrong–”Oh! It’s too pretty to use with what *I* think and feel!” HELLO! Yep! I am a writer–80+ books–100’s of articles–and yet can it be that I do not value my own heart cries? My own exhilaration? My own walk with you? My own wisdom? Well this journal is too beautiful and too dear to NOT write in! To not record these precious days! Goodness my life is pivoting on the edge right now–I am walking into a Great Big Place! You, beloved journal, get to be my friend and host of all that desperately needs to be poured forth! Ready? Meet ya soon! Cindy”

So…all of this “ado” to bring me to a question for you….

Journaling?

Beloved, are you journaling? Are you clinging to your excuses?

Today is the day! Invest in your new friend today! Nurture your heart! Nurture your creativity! Nurture your brain! You will never be the same!

Ohhhh!

Journaling! Do it TODAY!

Writing to See Writers Reach Their Dreams…
Check out my NEW site just for writers!
http://www.Writers-Nook.com

So…You Want to be a Writer???
Check out our NEW Audio Seminar and Membership Site!
Sign up and get STEP-BY-STEP Help through Setting Up Your Own Wordpress Website!
http://www.Writers-Nook.com/onlineseminars.html

Let’s Setup An Outline! by Cindy Rushton

Outlining is the key to a smooth flow and thorough manuscript. Your outline will work alongside of your notebook to help you to organize your material and guide the writing process. Want a helpful guide? A balanced manuscript? Well-developed material? Try Outlining now!

* Decide on your topic/theme/book subject.

* Brainstorm all that could be included in your book—try creating a mind-map, making a list of what you want to cover, or jotting down chapters or sections of your book. If other thoughts come to mind, write them down as fast as possible. Keep jotting down ideas as they come. Do not censor your thoughts. That is for later!

* Look back over your ideas. Choose your subtopics (your chapters/sections of your book). These should support your main topic/theme.

* Under each subtopic, go back and fit in any points to be covered (in each chapter/section). The more ideas under each section, the better your details (although that is not necessary) Your details will become your paragraphs and sentences in your chapters.

* You are ready to write!

Writing to See Writers Reach Their Dreams…
Check out my NEW site just for writers!
http://www.Writers-Nook.com

So…You Want to be a Writer???
Check out our NEW Audio Seminar and Membership Site!
Sign up and get STEP-BY-STEP Help through Setting Up Your Own Wordpress Website!
http://www.Writers-Nook.com/onlineseminars.html

Let’s Create a Mind-Map! by Cindy Rushton

A mind-map is a fun and easy way to brainstorm ideas of what you want to cover in your book and to develop your topic so you include everything that is on your heart! It is a great technique for getting what you know or what you should share in your book on paper. It is a great way to get rid of that Writer’s Block and get going! Give it a try…

* Carry a notebook with you just for brainstorming/mindmapping.
* Draw a circle in the middle of a piece of paper. Inside of that circle, write down your topic.
* Without censoring yourself, quickly jot down related ideas and thoughts that come to mind. Enclose each in a circle, and draw a line to the original topic. If those trigger ideas, jot those down attached to the idea that triggers those extra ideas.
* Go back through deciding what you will use in your story/outline. Use ideas to generate your subtopics and details covered in your books.
* Keep your mind-map. You may need extra ideas later!