I don’t know about you, but I get a lot of information sent to me by online marketers who have something to sell. Mostly it’s How To Make Money Online and these are either e-books or coaching programmes that usually promise the earth, or at least a six figure income.

These are mostly through email lists I’ve opted into at some time or other and decided, for various reasons, to keep subscribing. Why?  Well, one answer is that it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the competition, in fact it’s essential, but the other important point is that I like the way they communicate.

The online marketing niche is huge, and it takes a lot to keep good, informative content coming. It also takes quite a bit of talent to make that content unique. So most of the marketers I elect to follow have very different and persuasive styles, fresh ideas and imaginative approaches to marketing. This is not always easy to achieve and if you are intending to join this make money online party it’s worth making an effort to study the best of them to see just how they do it.

Today I’m looking at Christian Russell’s Next Level Blogger

Christian at Next Level Blogger offers a heap of free information to support his consulting and coaching services. Coaching takes the form of a one-on-one session by phone, with previous email contact to establish exactly what marketing concerns you have and how he can best help you.

I like this approach. It’s personal and sincere. The other thing I like about Christian is his great writing style. His articles are clear and entertaining. I seriously believe that there’s not much to say about making money online that hasn’t already been said about a billion times, but it’s not what we say but the way we say it that really counts. Christian Russell has a golden touch when it come to writing. He’s definitely worth a look.

Tweet This Post 

Are you ever tempted to split infinitives? If so you’re in good company. They did it in Star Trek, as demonstrated by the title of this post,  and it’s since become an often quoted example.

A split infinitive occurs when an adverb or adverbial phrase is placed between the word to and the relevant verb. In this case the adverb boldly comes between the words to go, and this construction really gives emphasis to the boldness of the enterprise (pun intended). Somehow To go boldly where no man has gone before doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

Although there has been quite a lot of controversy over the practice of splitting infinitives, these days it’s generally acceptable, provided of course the sentence is not weakened or made to sound clumsy.

More than a few writers have found ways to send up the use of split infinitives. Wikipedia gives us this example:

The split infinitive, specifically its famous use in the Star Trek opening sequence, is the basis of a joke from Douglas Adams‘ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

In those days men were real men, women were real women, small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. And all dared to brave unknown terrors, to do mighty deeds, to boldly split infinitives that no man had split before – and thus was the Empire forged.

Tweet This Post 

Why do I get my best ideas while I’m at the office?  I have a report to get out by the end of the day and someone wants a business process for a four o’clock meeting, but here comes a great idea for a post
or
The solution to that plot problem in my next novel is suddenly just crying out to be recognised.

Creativity is capricious

Creativity is often like that. If you put time aside to work on your next writing project–set the scene, a pleasant space, a cup of coffee, a whole five hours of uninterrupted writing time–likely as not you won’t be able to come up with a thing.
Then next day at work when the pressure’s on to get things done your mind is suddenly full of great ideas that are jostling for attention.

When ideas just won’t lie down

Fortunately, electronic sytems provide us with lots of different options for getting information down fast and keeping it someplace safe. Here’s a summary of the different options I use to make my life easier and to make sure the creative muse doesn’t get sacrificed to my day job.

• Create a ‘to do’ list
• Make journal entries
• Use social networking sites

Create a ‘to do’ list

There are many electronic options for setting up lists, not the least of which might be a simple Word document with bullet points. However, simpler still is my favourite online to do list and task manager Todoist.

Todoist has an easy, intuitive interface that helps me get organized in a hurry. I can set up lists as projects, for example, for ideas related to a number of different writing tasks, and record them on separate pages. I can also record sub-projects that support my main ideas, then rearrange or collapse them as I go.

I’m often surprised at how clear and relevant these ideas are when I return to them later.  I make a point of regularly reviewing my lists to make sure I don’t forget that brilliant inspiration that came to me in the middle of a busy working day.

Make journal entries

I use my electronic journal throughout the day to record those random thoughts that seem monumentally important and just refuse to go away. I could use a hard-drive filing system, but an office PC, although restricted by passwords, just doesn’t feel really private. If I want to express my deepest feelings or explore ideas for creative projects my electronic journal running from my USB key is by far the best option.
A free trial of the software I use is downloadable here from DavidRM. The Journal . I especially like the fact that I can record thoughts for each day, or set up ongoing threads as separate categories that I can add to and expand as my ideas grow.
There’s also something comforting about having a private and personal cache of my ideas that I can refer to at any time.

Use social networking sites

Sites like Twitter and Facebook are far from private, but they are generally accessible in the workplace. Many organisations today recognise the value of employees being able to take short breaks during long hours at the computer. Let’s face it, Twitter is really a global water cooler, a place where everyone can stop by for a quick chat.

I use Twitter as a quick escape from the tasks I’m focusing on, and the stimulation from others online often sparks creative ideas I may not have otherwise come up with in the general scrum of daily activity. Then later, when I want to develop these ideas, I can refer back to my Twitter profile and review the sequence of tweets that got me started.

So in summary…

Your best ideas often come out of the blue when you least expect them. Start making lists and notes, and use electronic tools to map your creativity and wrestle those random thoughts to the ground.

Tweet This Post 

Tokoni believes everyone has a story to tell.

If you can’t get your message across in 140 characters on Twitter, join the community on Tokoni and tell your story to an audience that appreciates what you have to say.

It’s an easy tool to use. Set up your profile and start sharing your stories.  You can even start to record your autobiography or memoir one story at a time. When finished adding a story, choose a category and add tags (keywords) so your story can be easily found through search.

Create a Hub

A hub is a place for Tokoni members (Tokos) to collaborate, share and discuss stories around a topic. Hubs can be created from any number of places, like your profile page, a story page, and from the hubs link on the navigation bar on the top of every page.  When you create a hub you can name it, give it a description, add images or even video, and categories.

Let me tell you a story…

There was once a family of immigrants who decided to flee their country after a world-wide conflict left many people without homes and little hope for the future. The family first arrived in the Far North where they had no experience of the weather, the culture and the way of life in general.

They found it hard to relate to a new land and hoped to return home one day, but gradually, without even realising it was happening, they adapted to the new way of life.

When finally they had worked hard enough to save the money for the journey home, much to their surprise they realised that they didn’t want to go. The land they had fled to was their new home and that’s where they decided to stay.

Stories change the way we relate to each other

If I tell you this is my family story and show you photos from my family album you will probably now have a very different impression of me from when you first began this article.

Perhaps your background is similar. Somewhere in your history are people who faced the same challenges. If this is so, then we share parts of the story, and in this way we have established common ground on which to relate to each other. Even if your life experience bears no resemblance to mine, you have shared some of my experiences through my story.

If you don’t have a personal blog, telling your story on Tokoni is a great way to get published and share your story with others.

Tweet This Post