Sunday, March 28, 2010

Website Designer Giving Away Money Making Websites

Web designer Jason Guy is giving away money making websites for visitors to his MrWebsiteGuy.com website.

Guy says that many people are interested in owning a money making website, but they lack the programming and design skills to make one themselves, or don't want to pay hundreds of dollars to purchase one.

"I look at the service as a starting-off point for a lot of people that would like to own a website but just aren't sure how to go about it," said Guy. "I can take care of the design work and the database programming and deliver a complete site within a few days. From that point, the site's owner can concentrate on promoting and monetizing the site."

The three basic designs being offered have one thing in common: they are designed so that the visitor will want to visit the site again and even tell their friends about it.

The first type of site allows people to enter a zip code, and receive a list of local gas stations and the cost per gallon at that station.

Another site design will give users a list of local theaters and movie times when they enter their zip code. People can see what movies are playing at which theaters, and the times the movies are showing. Additional links will take the user to the movie trailer of a particular listing.

Guy will also design a Flash game arcade site just for the asking. "Flash games are addicting. People get hooked on an online game, and they wind up visiting that site for hours." Over 1,000 online games are included with the site.

In addition, Guy will also include a self-growing blog with each site. "The sites are designed so that the front page has what the visitor wants, and the blog helps bring targeted visitors from the search engines," he said. The blog will post syndicated content, meaning that each day, the blog will grow by one or two new articles.

"Each month, the blog will add about 40 or 50 pages that are related to what the site is about. The more pages your blog has, the better chance visitors will find your site in the search engines."

The best way to monetize these sites would be to place Cost per Action banners and ads from Google Adsense. "These sites were made to run Cost per Action (CPA) banners," said Guy. "CPA banner advertising can be very lucrative with sites like these. For example, if you had a gas price site, you could run a banner ad that offered a $100 gas card. You would be paid a commission from the advertiser if one of your visitors sought out more information on the gas card."

Included with the money making websites will be information and resources on website promotion, building a mailing list, and getting started with CPA advertising.

For more information visit http://mrwebsiteguy.com/

Using Private Label Rights articles to make more money

Private Label Rights articles (PLR articles) are a great way to get a jumpstart on the publishing business on the Internet.

Typically, most people thinking about starting their own content/information website or growing their existing one get so overwhelmed by the writing process that they give up entirely. The ones who do keep adding content to their websites usually employ one of the two methods:

- They write the articles themselves
- They get someone else to write the articles - either an employee, or someone they outsource to

Both the above techniques have their own drawbacks. The former being painstakingly slow, and the latter being prohibitively expensive for most people.

Rohit Sinha, the owner and founder of http://www.plr-packs.com/, says PLR Articles can solve these problems for you. They save you time as well as money.

He even offers a huge collection of free PLR articles from his website, to help out those who are just starting out as a web publisher.

"It's all about removing the obstacles that are keeping you from becoming a web publisher and making money online," says Rohit Sinha.

Private Label Rights articles are articles written by others that you can publish as your own. Typically, these articles are sold to several people at once, to keep the costs down for everyone.

You can edit them before publishing to suit your website's needs. You can also convert them to other formats, such as audio or PDF. There are a number of other ways you can use PLR articles, such as publishing them in your newsletter or submitting to article directories.

This means that you can use PLR articles to create more content for your website or blog much faster and cheaper than you otherwise can. Search engines will love your website because of all the content you publish, and will drive more traffic to it.

You can even make money using PLR articles. You can monetize them via Adsense, Chitika, Amazon or eBay ads, or you can insert affiliate links that earn you commissions on every sale you generate.

The more traffic you get, the more money you make. For this reason, Rohit advises publishing as many articles on your website as you can. More articles will earn you an authority status in the eyes of the search engines, which is a must for good traffic.

Using PLR articles can let you really speed up this process. The faster you publish content on your website, the faster you can make money. The more content you publish, the more money you can potentially make.

Rohit provides a huge collection of PLR articles from his website, and also a smaller collection of free PLR articles to those just starting out.

Buzzcity Launches Mobilizer, A Free Revenue-Generating Mobile Platform For Web Publishers

Global mobile media business BuzzCity has today launched Mobilizer - a unique piece of technology that quickly enables publishers to create and monetise a mobile version of their website. Regardless of whether you are major national newspaper or individual blogger, Mobilizer takes your RSS feed and turns your web pages into mobile pages, making your content easily accessible to consumers on the mobile web. You will immediately start earning mobile display advertising revenue with a payout of up to 65 per cent of total ad revenues.

Publishers are able to choose the type of adverts that will appear on their mobile website as well as the number of ads and their position.

"It is common knowledge that consumer behaviour is shifting. Reading habits evolved from print-based media to web-based media and now mobile media is really coming in to play," says KF Lai, CEO of BuzzCity. "It is vital that publishers are making their content readily available on the mobile. Many have invested in apps for the iPhone but this will only serve a small section of the market.

As consumers increasingly use the mobile internet to browse and consume media, there is a real opportunity for publishers to create revenue streams. At BuzzCity we have focused on a simple solution that anyone can use."

Mobilizer is a free service, with no hosting fees, and free publisher support. In addition, publishers receive a unique QR code to display on their website, newspaper or magazine. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader software can scan the image of the QR Code causing the phone's browser to launch and redirect to the programmed URL.

Additional information can be found at http://www.buzzcity.com/

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Setting Freelance Writing Fees - 3 Things to Consider by Jennifer Mattern

"How much should I charge for my freelance writing services?" I hear this question all the time. Unfortunately, while there's a lot of information out there on setting freelance writing fees, much of it is incomplete. There's no magic answer - no one can give you a set dollar amount to charge for a specific freelance writing service. At best, when people try, they're only offering a guide - something to take into consideration based on surveys of what other writers are earning. These writers may or may not be in the same boat as you professionally. Rather than hoping someone can tell you what to charge for your writing services, you instead need to think about the process of setting rates - it's possible for every freelancer to set the right rates early on, and it doesn't have to be difficult.

The Biggest Mistake in Setting Freelance Writing Fees

One common thing I hear people telling new writers is that they have to price their services low in the beginning, and slowly increase their rates. That's not even close to the truth. While it can work for some writers, there are two problems with this strategy:

Most writers who try to make a drastic pricing change will fail. This is because they've invested huge amounts of time targeting a certain market, and they can't handle the transition (which amounts to completely starting over in many cases). Pricing too low early on puts the writer's freelance career in jeopardy, and unnecessarily so.

Pricing low with the expectation of increasing rates later will never, I repeat never, provide the best return on investment (ROI) for the time invested. You need to have basic business smarts to run as successful a freelance career as possible, and underpricing services (as opposed to products, which can be mass-produced) is never smart business. Never market a service-oriented business solely, or primarily, on price.

3 Things to Consider When Setting Freelance Writing Rates

Now that you know you should never randomly choose a low rate to begin with, how do you go about determining your minimum freelance writing fees? It's easy - figure out the minimum hourly rate you need to bill clients in order to get by (or reach your goals), and base other rates (per project, per word, per page, etc.) on the average amount of time certain types of projects take you to complete. Use the following formula:

Hourly Rate = Yearly Salary Goal / Weeks Worked / Hours Worked Per Week

The trick is determining the right values to plug into your formula. Be sure to take these things into consideration:

Your yearly salary as a freelancer is not equivalent to the same yearly salary as a full-time employee for someone else! This is because you have a much higher cost to an employer than just your end salary, and as a freelancer, you have to cover all of those costs independently (basic work expenses, the employer's portion of certain taxes, the employer's retirement contribution or health insurance contribution, etc.). So, for example, if you earn $50,000 for an employer, your cost to them (and therefore what you need to earn freelancing to be in an equivalent situation) might be closer to $70,000 per year. Consider all personal and business expenses, plus any savings or "extras" you want available, when setting a realistic income goal - this is a common mistake made (writers set their goals too low, only to learn the hard way that they're not earning enough for a similar lifestyle). All personal and business expenses have to be accounted for.

You will not be able to base rates on working 52 weeks per year, 40 hours per week! No one is likely to work every week without a break (and even if you think you can, you should never set yourself up for burnout early on). Factor in time for vacations, holidays, potential sick time or personal days. When I set my rates, I like to base it on 45 working weeks. Adjust it to your own needs. As for 40 hours per week, you have to understand that working hours are not the same as billable hours. In the beginning, if you're properly handling marketing and administrative tasks, it's not uncommon to have only around half of your working hours as billable hours - meaning you would use 20 hours per week in your formula rather than 40.

You need to account for slow times. In freelancing, you'll have ups and downs - busy times and slow times. That means it's very likely you'll have times during the year where you can't fill every billable hour at your necessary freelance writing rates. To account for this, I suggest adding at least 10% to either your income goal or minimum hourly rate calculated.

Once you know the minimum hourly rate you need to charge as a freelance writer, you can use that to determine other rate structures, or you can decide to set a goal even higher than that minimum - the idea is to charge at a level your credentials, skills, and experience support, while never dipping below the minimum you need to earn to make a successful go of freelancing.

Jennifer Mattern is a freelance business writer / Web content writer, blogger, and author of the Web Writer's Guide to Launching a Successful Freelance Web Writing Career e-book. The e-book is designed to help new freelance Web writers launch their online career, set their writing rates, build a portfolio, build a network, and learn how to effectively market their services to bring in new clients.

Find out more at the Web Writer's Guide blog at WebWritersGuide.com

Making Money Program- Efficient Tips on Facebook Marketing

With a laptop and high-level rate Internet approach, the possible for the home worker to succeed money online is close to boundless. As it happens to ruling the exact home based business chance, there are many ideas to regard a certain way. At this time are the high five:

1. Are you a salesman?

Approximately citizens have a normal ability for sales, during possible choice couldn't retail water to dignitary high and dry in the dry area. For the home based employee who has the skill to retail, group advertising could be the exact home based small business. Group advertising as a rule include promotion brand in single or extra position markets, as well as promotion the chance.
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Furthermore renowned as multi-balanced advertising, group advertising give share of a profit established on a allotment of your sales and on the sales of your "below mark," or those you have inducted to sell the manufactured goods. Each one chance has its private share of a profit strategy, and several wage unexpected extra on top of share of a profit.

2. Are you knowledgeable?

If you have years of knowledge being a home employee, you likely to happen have a skilled scheme of your stamina and defect. In addition, if you're fresh to being a capitalist, you as the case may be requirement preparation. Review for an assemblage that proposal the instrument used to shape and coaching you requirement peaceful to attain good outcome. The class of preparation you accept can include entirety from periodic publication meeting business or seminars (Internet-established seminars), to single-on-single training from your up mark, to coaching compendium and additional on paper supplies.

3. Are You Internet ability?

If you understand information your method nearby the Internet and understand information entity about prepare up and entertain sites, the potential are boundless. You can make your private websites, for illustration, and begin creating associate profit and home based profit.

If you haven't the obscure scheme of how to startand entertain a website, absolutely to learn an assemblage you can assistant with who will work out the important arise. There is countless Internet-based chance for the home based employee from business concern that support what are appeal to "carbon websites." They'll sketch and entertain your websites for you, in case all you have to prepare is work on advertising in consideration of ambition coming and going to your site.
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4. How a lot of do you wish for to production?

Previous to choosing a home based business chance, in an honest manner evaluate how a lot of you wish for to production. If a wait-at-home mom requirement ultra money, she could simply like to work two or three hours a time. If dignitary likes to renounce the rat race and work complete period as a home employee, money for moms plainly won't be sufficient salary. On occasion an invidual home based business will support all of the profit a human being requirement, during additional period you have to

commence on many chance to vary and increase your profit flow from work from home.

5. How extremity-On do you wish for to occur?

Approximately home based business chance need that you be with great force include on a occurring every day action, this one peaceful accomplishment and buyer of goods action or in advertising your websites or profession. Additional chance are extra inactive in creation, in that you have to consume accumulation of period originally, however they become not finishing. If you're a home employee who takes pleasure in being a continuous operating member, point out a chance that needs you to cooperate with additional citizens. If you favor to be permissive, pick a business that will mostly amble itself.

SpeakLike Announces Free WordPress Language Translation Plugin for Bloggers

SpeakLike -- a leader in rapid human translation services for SMBs, individuals, and large enterprises -- today announced the release of a free WordPress plugin for bloggers to easily and quickly publish their blogs in multiple languages. Cross-language communication is essential in today's Web 2.0 connected world where blogs are created locally and shared globally. SpeakLike combines paid crowdsourcing using thousands of translators located around the world with proprietary technology to provide users a platform to reach international and cross-cultural markets in a fast and cost-effective way. Translations for the SpeakLike for WordPress plugin are available 24/7 in 35 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Korean, Thai, Dutch, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, and more.

SpeakLike's Translation-as-a-Service (TaaS) leverages the company's managed crowdsourcing network consisting of thousands of SpeakLike translators located around the world to provide on-demand access to business-quality translation services, dramatically lowering the costs and turnaround time associated with mainstream translation service providers. SpeakLike bridges the gap between expensive and time-consuming legacy translation services and error-prone machine translation (MT) with an industry-proven platform that utilizes intelligent automated processing of human translation to ensure fast and accurate results.

"As blog publishers seek to broaden the reach of their content and increase their readership, language continues to be a significant barrier to creating a global audience," said Sanford Cohen, SpeakLike Founder and CEO. "Our WordPress plugin brings SpeakLike's efficient integration of workflow automation and human translation services within easy reach of the world's 10 million WordPress bloggers. By combining the accuracy and cost savings of translation crowdsoucing with the speed of internet communications, bloggers can write once in their native language and publish in any number of languages of their choice with the speed, ease, and accuracy required to engage their audience."

According to research company Quantcast, over 230 million people visit one or more WordPress-enabled blogs each month. The SpeakLike for WordPress plugin provides users with the option of using either SpeakLike's business-quality translation or their own reader community and machine translation. When the SpeakLike for WordPress plugin is installed, the process is automated and readers can access and experience the blog in their native language.

The SpeakLike for WordPress plugin was created in partnership with The Worldwide Lexicon, an open source project to translate the world's most interesting web content to and from any human language.

"The new WordPress plugin we've developed in partnership with SpeakLike integrates The Worldwide Lexicon, an open source translation memory that combines the internet and human translation, with SpeakLike's crowdsourced translation management platform," said Brian McConnell of The Worldwide Lexicon. "The SpeakLike for WordPress plugin makes it easy for WordPress sites to automate the process of publishing in multiple languages."

The SpeakLike for WordPress plugin is available free-for-download at http://www.speaklike.com/.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Specialization is the Keyword for Writers Making Article Submission

These are the days of specialization. Article submission is the task for specialists just like the legal processes are the tasks for the lawyers who specialize in the subject.

People who are resorting to the process of article submission for search engine optimization should realize that writing articles is the task of specialists. If you are thinking how the process of writing articles could be the job of specialists, then you should understand that it is a specialist job just as the lawyers perform the legal battles being the specialists in the field.

When it comes to search engine optimization, cost of labor and content development are the two most expensive elements involved in the process. A unique similarity between lawyers and writers is that just as the particular lawyer is expert in a particular field of law, writers on the web that are writing for article submission are experts on particular subjects. That effectively means that just as there are criminal lawyers specializing in the criminal law, there are content writers specializing in writing particular contents, like those based on history or geography, science, or sociology, as the case might be.

The terminology "copywriters" refers to the people who write contents for sales. Such people also understand the nuances of generating interest among the potential customers by article submission. Making people understand the utility of products or services you are promoting on the web requires specialization in article writing and that is exactly the task cut out for the copywriters.

But why specialization is required for article writing? The reason is simple. Use of keywords as well as general words is vital for successful article submission. Change of one word or its wrong placement can change the entire concept dramatically. Copywriters being experts in their field understand the difference and use of words that constitutes the dividing line between contents that generate lukewarm response and killer contents.

Some of the great copywriters have track records indicating that they have been able to generate millions of dollars and pounds with their qualitative article submission. Commensurate with their success they also charge accordingly but the webmasters and buyers using their contents know that they are specialists in their own rights in article writing and feel the expenses worthwhile.

And they are proved to be correct with the end results of huge search engine optimization.

Author Resource:

Gilbert is here to give you his own facts about seo consultant. You’re probably thinking, everyone says that, so, what’s different here. It’s the assurance of quality, genuineness, and a guarantee that values your time and interest.

For More Information Please Visit:

http://www.worldwebexperts.com/seo-experts.html
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Tips for Creating a Successful Podcasting Series

Experts predict by 2012, "broadband media" such as podcasts, online streaming video, and ad-supported music and video download services will make up more than half the total revenue the U.S. generates in advertising. That is more than $6.6 billion. The Tips for Creating a Successful Podcasting Series free white paper contains all the techniques used by profitable podcasters.

The Mequoda Group believes in assisting publishers and content marketers to the greatest extent. As society becomes more media-rich, the avenues for generating revenue increase. As podcasting in itself is an unfamiliar territory to many, this complimentary white paper offers valuable information. Use it to grow your circulation and build a larger email marketing list.

The subjects included in the free Tips for Creating a Successful Podcasting Series are:

-How to determine whether podcasting is right for your publication
-SEO tips for podcasting, vodcasting and social media
-How to track and measure the impact of your product

Mequoda constantly strives to help publishers succeed online by providing them with an array of services, including free daily tips, free reports, webinars, live events, consulting services and software services.

If you are already producing content and feel an audio medium would benefit your publication, then feel free to visit mequoda.com/free-reports/tips-for-creating-successful-podcasting-series/ for your complimentary copy of Tips for Creating a Successful Podcasting Series.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Freelancing As a Growing Job Hub by Yachika Verma

The world is moving up, and doing so at a fast pace, which means that there is no time to reflect back and take it easy. Nowadays, the operative word is innovation, and people are doing so in their professional front with aplomb. The online world has become a social job circuit for everyone who does not want to indulge their lives doing run of the mill desk jobs and at the same time want to earn decent money. One such career which is on the up rise is freelancing.

You might be wondering what freelancing is? I m sure you must have heard of the term before but not everybody is familiar with what it exactly means. Well, freelancing is a form of work where you are not obligated to work for any particular firm or company and you can just work independently, and your ideas and your work maybe taken up by companies that find your work exciting enough. Freelancing is a fast growing career options which many people are resorting to for some extra cash in their pockets. Companies these days are on the lookout for freelancers who can give them secure work and quality work. You might again have a question as to why a company would want a freelance writer.

The answer to that in economic terms is pretty simple really. The companies these days are on the verge of downsizing and majority of the firms all across the world are facing job cuts, what with the recession hitting and the economy capsizing. The company would have to hire individuals who are qualified for a job and pay them salaries on a monthly basis, which again is bad for business considering the modern economy and the times that we are going through. That is exactly why they want a freelancer, who can give them the same quality of work and still work on a per project basis. This way, the company saves on paying full fledged salaries of employees and still gets the job done, with an outsourced worker who likes to work independently.

Another aspect of choosing freelancing is the role of technology in the modern world. The communication channels via emails and phones have become lightning quick and you can be rest assured that the work you assign to a freelancer would reach your desk in the nick of time, which is a great plus in itself. Also, if you hire a freelance executive, the greatest thing you do is avoid paying additional costs. The freelancer would only charge you for the project that you assign to him and not a dime more. So, you save on paying his health insurance, bonus benefits, increments etc. that ways, you are saving money and at the same time, making sure that the work is done on time. This is precisely why it is said that the freelance way is the best way in the market at the present moment!!

Are you looking for top quality content writing service for your website? Do you want the best content writer for your content requirement? Well, simply click on the links to get a solution to these questions.

Freelancing For Newbies by Lizmar Ben

What is freelance work? I am sure that you have heard of freelance photographers eagerly snapping photographs of movie and sports stars, and selling them at huge profits to gossip columns and entertainment magazines or websites. These photographers are not employed by any of these magazine or website owners. They work for themselves as freelancers, and decide when and where they would like to work and often sell their work to the highest bidder if a highly sought after photograph has been taken.

Taking and selling photographs is by no means the only freelance opportunities available to freelance workers. You can work as a freelancer in many different professions. You can work as a translator, design websites, create applications, optimize websites, write adverts, work as a virtual PA, write reviews, the list goes on and on. And similar to freelance photographers, you decide when you want to work, and how much work you would like to do. No more working office hours at the beck and call of your boss. You are your own boss.

It does sound wonderful, doesn't it? Well it is not as simple as it seems, but it could be. We all have knowledge of something, a particular area where we would consider ourselves to be an expert. Why not use this knowledge by working as a freelancer, and getting paid to share your knowledge. It is much easier than you think.

Where do you go to get work as a freelancer?

Searching on Google will get you millions of possible results for potential freelance work. Proceed carefully though, as there are many scams out there. Your best bet would be to start with a reputable freelance provider. Again you can use Google to search for information on a particular site, and often you can find comments from would be freelancers, supporting or exposing these sites.

There are primarily two types of freelancer sites. The first type asks you to pay a membership fee, either monthly, or a once of payment. For someone starting with very little available resources, and no reputation, this could be a difficult option. They do have their advantages though. They tend to attract the more serious freelancers and suppliers, simply because you have to pay to join. These sites may or may not charge commission on projects completed. On the down side you can get scammed out of your hard earned cash by sites promising thousands of jobs, but once you have paid to join, you find very few opportunities available. The once off payment sites will mostly fall into this category.

The second type of freelancer sites will cost you nothing to join, and they will take a percentage of the total value of the project. The percentage is generally higher than pay to join sites, and is normally around ten percent. The advantage of this type of site is that anyone can join, but this can be a disadvantage as well, as you will get more unreliable freelancers and suppliers. If this type of site is well managed, it can be a good opportunity for new freelancers.

Before you join any of these sites though, you have to ensure that you can receive payments made to you. Most sites will offer you the option of more than one payment method, but you have to ensure that you can receive payment in your country. As an example you can not receive payments using PayPal in all countries. The last thing you would want is to complete a project and then find that you can not get your money.

To start of as a freelancer, you will have to build a good reputation. This may require you to work at much lower rates in the beginning to be able to secure projects. Consider this as your learning curve. Many freelancers take years before they can get sufficient work to be able to earn a living wage. You have to get stuck in and be unrelenting, and then you will be successful.

Nuckfut Ben has worked on online income generating systems for many years. Specialising in no capital startup systems that can provide an income for the average person with little or no experience. For handy tips and step by step guides visit his blog at http://www.moneyonline-sa.blogspot.com/ and see how easy it can be to generate additional income at no cost.

Self-Publishing Success: How You Can Earn $30,000 a Month with POD Publishing by Gang Chen

When I went to publish my book, Planting Design Illustrated, I received lots of interest from traditional publishers. But they wanted to make a lot of changes including adding a co-author. These were changes that would have made me dislike my own book!

So, I turned to self-publishing. At the time, making a lot of money was not at the top of my priorities. I simply wanted to publish my own book, my own way.

Now that I have self-published my first books, things have changed.

Yes, I still want to have full control and yes I want keep all of my rights to the book. But now the royalty checks have become a top priority, especially with the economic climate that we're in. That's why, when I self published my second book, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) AP Exam Guide with Outskirts Press (a print on demand publisher), I took a different approach.

My book had the benefit of being published at the right time, at the right price. I earned over $30,000 in royalties ($31,207.68, to be precise) in one month. I earned even more the next month. Within six months I had earned over $110,000!

Here Are The 5 Steps I Took When I Self-Published My Second Book...

Self-Publishing Success Step #1: Write a Valuable Book

This step is easily overlooked, but it is Number One on this list for a reason. Your book must provide some sort of value or benefit for the reader. In my case, my books are non-fiction and leaders in their niche. LEED is currently revolutionizing the construction industry. In fact, I earn the lion's share of my royalties from my LEED AP Exam Guide, which provides a mock exam, study guides, and sample questions for the LEED AP Exam. It is invaluable for those wanting to obtain the title of "LEED AP (Accredited Professional).

I don't think I'm saying anything revolutionary when I say that publishing non-fiction is an easier proposition on the self-publishing front than fiction. But even fiction books are valuable if they provide the type of "escape" your reader is seeking.

Whether you write non-fiction, fiction, poetry, or something else entirely, the book must deliver on its promise. You might do everything else on this list, and you might even find some short-lived success, but ultimately, the success of your book comes down to how valuable your book is to its readers.

Self-Publishing Success Step #2: Identify Your Target Audience

Who is your reader? If your answer is "everybody" you need to reevaluate your goals and recalibrate your expectations. In fact, the smaller your audience, the more success you will find. Look at my books: Planting Design Illustrated and LEED AP Exam. That small, target audience is precisely the reason my books are well-known in the proper circles.

Do I care that someone who reads Harry Potter has never heard of me? No. Is it incredibly important to me that students and professionals in the field of green building design and construction have heard of me? Yes.

Who do you think it is easier to find and market to—a person who reads Harry Potter, or a student/professional in the field of green building design and construction? Exactly! Remember, the smaller your pond, the bigger your fish.

Self-Publishing Success Step #3: Recognize the Type of Book You Are Publishing

You should be realistic about the type of book you are writing, and the type of publishing you are doing. If you are self-publishing your book (regardless of whether you are doing it yourself or through the publishing services of a POD company like I did), don't try to force your book to be something that it's not.

Your book is not a mass-market paperback like those you find in a grocery store. Nor is it the latest hardback, discounted 80%, like those you find at Costco. As a self-publishing author, both of those scenarios are too risky, and to be frank, you probably don't possess the means to take on that kind of risk.

So why try?

Self-publishing authors publish trade paperback and hardback books that can be available regionally (perhaps), locally (probably), and online (definitely).

Self-Publishing Success Step 4: Price Your Book Appropriately

No, this does not mean you should simply make your book as affordable as possible. It means you should complete market research to determine the prices of similar books in your category. Look on Amazon.com for similar books (you'll need to be aware of these books anyway, when it comes to marketing yours). Examine their page count and price point.

Now, make an honest assessment of your book in relation to the other books in your category. Does your content justify a higher price? Does your page count suggest a lower price? Your method of publishing should be considered but should not play a definitive role in the price of your book. The marketplace should.

It doesn't matter where you publish your book if no one is buying it.

Self-Publishing Success Step 5: Publish Your Book Wisely

When I chose my POD publisher for my second book, I was not considering how much my royalties were going to be. That only became important to me after the book was published. But they say hindsight is 20-20, so I'm going to share with you one of the main reasons my royalties are so high. The publisher I chose, Outskirts Press, pays me 100% of the profits of the book and lets me set my own pricing. iUniverse pays 20% of the profit. Xlibris pays 10% of the retail price. But by paying 100% of the profit, Outskirts Press allowed me to set the retail price to whatever I wanted, and now I earn the entire benefit of increasing my price.

Here's another way to look at it: If I had published my same exact book with iUniverse at the same exact retail price, instead of earning $31,207.68, I would have earned approximately $5,300. If I had published my same book with Xlibris, I would have earned approximately $4,600. Yes, without knowing any better, I would have still considered myself a successful self- published author, but probably not enough to write this article.

As you can see, self-publishing is working for me. I've made over $111,000 in six months. My royalties are increasing every month and I'm working on my third book, which I will also publish with Outskirts Press. If hindsight is indeed 20-20, I can only imagine what my royalties will be for book #3!

If you follow the steps above, you too can be on your way to earning $30,000 a month self-publishing!

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Gang Chen is a LEED AP and a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). As the internationally acclaimed author of "LEED AP Exam Guide" and "Planting Design Illustrated, Chen highly recommends self-publishing with Outskirts Press. Find out if your book is good enough to earn over $100,000 in six months with the 2 free e-book publishing guides available without obligation at: http://outskirtspress.com/ebook