David Cross
Having the ability to earn income wherever you are is increasingly important in this fast changing world.
Last week our webmaster, David Cross, began the discussion of How to be #1 at Google and today shares the next part of his discussion on gaining top placements in Google for your business.
In our article last week So You Want to be #1 at Google? I shared with you the last-part-first of what to do with the traffic you generate from a concerted effort on search engine optimization (SEO).
But how do you actually get to the top spots on Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc?
The secret of getting to #1 on Google reminds me of the secret of The Dragon Scroll as revealed to Po the Panda (AKA The Dragon Warrior) in the film Kung Fu Panda. Here’s a short clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2oXmh3xxdI
And the million dollar secret is…there is no secret. YOU are the secret. That doesn’t mean that there’s no method, but the fact is, SEO is much more about finding your business niche and then creating content within that niche than any magic formula of keywords or submitting your website to search engines.
Back in 1995 when I first started using search engines to market (and before then on CompuServe and bulletin boards) it was a different story. You could pretty much create a website or web page about anything, stuff it full of keywords in hidden “META” tags and push that website and web pages to the top of a search engine without much trouble.
And many did.
Attorneys created websites filled with porn-related keywords for websites offering legal services. They generated a top ranking on search engines and drove a lot of – largely useless – traffic to their websites.
Roll ahead a few years and Google, Yahoo, et. al. are constantly attempting to thwart attempts to manipulate search engine results artificially through the use of search engine spamming techniques or “Black Hat SEO”. While a number of these techniques may work in the short-term, using them is likely to get you blocked from using them once you’re found out. And getting back into a search engine once you’re barred is a right royal fight.
Here is a short guide to getting you on the right path to SEO success.
1: Your Niche
The first component to SEO that you’ll need to gain rankings is a niche. It doesn’t have to be a new niche. You may be able to get a #1 Google ranking for terms like “Teaching Your Ferret to Ice Skate”, Learning Underwater “Basket Weaving” or “Over Niagara in a Tea Cup” but the reality is that you’ll get very little search traffic from these terms and anyone searching for such nearly nutcase niche terms is unlikely to convert to become a good customer.
Would it be easy to feature in Google for those terms? Yes? Is it recommended? Hey, it’s a free country and your time is your own…
Suppose your niche is trout fishing. You’ll want to create articles about trout fishing. But you notice that a search for trout fishing on Google brings up 8.82 million results. How do you get to the top of those results?
Possible, but it requires a lot of work.
My recommendation is to start with the 2nd element…
2: What Are You Selling?
Why is it you want to rank #1 in Google in the first place? Posterity? I rank high in Google for David Cross voiceover and David Cross voice over but I did that as part of my SEO efforts building my rankings for my business as a British voiceover artist.
If your business is trout fishing, what is the niche within that? Are you a guide? Do you produce lures or custom-built rods? Do you offer cures and seasonings for anglers who want to cook or preserve their catch?
What products or services are you selling?
Ultimately the reason why you want the #1 search engine listing is to generate relevant traffic to build your prospects and customer database. It makes sense to drill-down into your overall niche to find the smaller parts of that (marketers call this your “vertical within your market”).
What will emerge here is that the effort of targeting the very broad keyword of trout fishing is almost certainly not worth the effort unless you are Cabelas in which case please re-read point #2 and find the niches within the overall trout fishing market and instead target those.
Targeting customers within a broad/horizontal market is difficult and costly.
3: Build A Master Content/Key Word List
Now that you have your niche a little clearer now, the next step is to decide what you’re going to write about. Although it’s possible to sit down and on a whim write about whatever you feel like, you won’t generate the same SEO results.
I recommend you start a Master Keyword List (MKL) where you write down your niche and then start to look at the keyword and key phrases that stem from that niche.
Let’s assume that you got from trout fishing into Oregon Trout Fishing Guide and that your goal is to target bank (rather than boat) fly fishing anglers who want a guide in the Oregon High Desert area.
That’s a fairly tight niche.
You may want to write down all the rivers in that geographic area like the Deschutes and Crooked Rivers.
Next write down the best fishing spots on those rivers.
Where are the best places to eat? Stay? Closest airports? Record catches? Family fishing trips? Honeymoon fishing trips?
Start to build-out your MKL and keep adding to it.
These are the articles and topic areas you’ll be covering in your articles and SEO strategy. The MKL gives you a focus with which to attack your niche content creation and helps you always focus on your niche when creating that content rather than just “sitting down to write”.
4: Write!
Erm…
4a: “But I Can’t Write!”
Creating niche content is an essential component of your SEO strategy but the task of actually doing it – of writing regular content in your niche – can seem overwhelming when you are starting out or creating your weekly, bi-weekly or even (gulp) daily articles. (Gary’s written at least 1 and often 2 or 3, quality articles every day since this website launched in 1999.)
You may be the best trout fishing guide this side of the Steens Mountains but writing may make you quake with fear in your waders.
Fear not! If you “can’t write” there are options. First, learning to write is a good skill to acquire and there are courses that show you how. Gary’s running one this summer.
My wife, Cinda, for example is a truly brilliant veterinarian and gifted animal healer with a lively rapport with all her clients and their owners, but the thought of sitting down to write about it fills her with dread.
“Then don’t write,” I said. “Speak.” If you’ve ever spoken with her about your pet you know how caring, warm, friendly and knowledgeable she is.
What she could do is to have me ask her about common cat or dog health-related questions and we record, then transcribe it. It’s possible some pet owners wouldn’t mind her recording their conversations, and she could later remove the names, using generic pet names if necessary.
Or you could have someone interview you about the best trout fishing spots on the Deschutes River or you could interview fellow anglers and record them or…use your imagination. Reach out and make your articles useful. You could call the University of Oregon Institute of Marine Biology and ask for an interview on the lifecycle of ocean-going trout (Steelhead) or…?
Have someone transcribe this or use Casting Words or Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service.
This is a quick way to create niche content. Whether written or spoken, the content you create as well as being attractive to search engines must also pass…
5: The Bar Stool Test
The Bar Stool Test? It’s not difficult to write an article containing the right components to getting you to #1 on Google, but if that is an onerous and turgid read for your website visitor you just wasted that top search ranking.
The Bar Stool Test means simply, if the guy next to you at the bar starting telling this story, would you listen, gleaning pearls of wisdom, or could you want to quickly get away?
Remember this:
- Captivating a search engine is mathematical
- Captivating a person is emotional
Your search-optimized, niche content must also engage people enough to want to do business with you.
6: Have in Mind the Next Step
Last week we discussed the importance of moving your website visitor to the next step in your sales cycle. Bear this in mind when you create your article. For example if you want someone to sign-up for a free report on trout fishing in the Oregon High Desert, invite them to sign up. Or if your last tour sold out, start a wait list and invite them to sign up for that.
Make a point to your article. Use it to rank well in search engines and convert the interest of visitors.
7: That’s It?
Yes…not quite. Next week we’ll share the important aspects of getting your content to rank well.
I didn’t start this series with the techniques on how to rank well because it’s more important at the outset to understand what to do with the traffic you are driving to your website and to make sure that you aren’t putting monkeys in front of virtual typewriters in the hopes of recreating Shakespeare.
Next Wednesday, we’ll look at how to massage your articles to give them the best chance of getting to that seemingly elusive top spot on Google. David Cross
Writer’s Camps
Start a one year writing project. Be cool. Attend our summer Writer’s Camp in Blue Ridge Mountains. Start with our online course Self Fulfilled – How to be a Self Publisher FREE right away. ($299 value).
Delegates at previous summer writer’s camp in the Blue Ridge.
Our Writer’s Camps help learn writing to sell… the business of writing and how to publish.
Our summer and autumn writer’s camps in North Carolina fill up quickly. Our winter writer’s camp was totally filled.
Join us Friday, Saturday and Sunday June 14, 15, 16 Super Thinking Writer’s Camp, Ashe County, NC.
Join us Saturday, Sunday and Monday August 31- Sept 1-2 Super Thinking Writer’s Camp, Ashe County, NC.
Single $799
Couple $999
Please indicate which camp you’ll attend in the comments section.
My wife, Merri, and I have possibly the smallest… yet one of the highest earning… self publishing company in the world.
Our high earnings come from writing, self publishing secrets we learned and refined over the past 45 years of writing to sell. These secrets have worked so well they have earned extra millions for Merri and me and we share them at our writer’s camps..
Our goal at the camps are to help you “Get Started”… but to “Start Small” and maybe like us stay that way… small… tightly focus but highly profitable.
There I said it flying in the face of society hammering us to “Think Big”. This is the era where small is beautiful in a very big way.
At the camps we dive into this idea of smallness for profit.
I am stuck with this horrible fear of being broke. You know unfilled promises… tight finances… money worries…even costly groceries and bill collector stuff. I had all that decades ago and even though 40 years have passed it’s not forgotten.
I hate this for anybody. No money. No future prospects. Worry about the kids. Not knowing how to retire… or where to turn.
45 years ago I started writing because I was broke. These problems over 40 years ago affected me for life. In fact I am so hung up on this that that Merri and I (we are so thankful that we can) give away money to help create jobs… we have now donated close to a million dollars in our quest to reduce joblessness.
Merri and I are writers and self publishers. We have earned as much as $20,000 for a single day’s work… and have earned consistently year in and year out… while we do what we love… because of a few secrets.
We want to share these secrets with you so you can make six and even seven figure income each year in a matter that suits you.
There is more good news than the money. The secrets we share make working fun. You are your own boss. You gain respect so your ideas are listened to.
Most important you can be self fulfilled as you make the world a better place by writing.
Merri and I invite you to share a writer’s camp we’ll conduct in 2013? This will be a retreat high in the Blue Ridge for a select few that can help you create you own publications for profit.
Believe me… we will be relentless about three facts… serve well… be gratified… make good profits.
The retreat will be conducted in the seclusion of a forest. We’ll meet in June or August… but we want the work on your publication to begin right away…. tomorrow even. I’ll explain how you can begin right away in a moment.
At the camp we teach super thinking as well as how to write and publish. This secret “little system” creates a crack in the creative process… so you’ll not have just one idea for a business but many. You may be flooded with ideas! In fact a big part of the workshop narrows you down to deciding what to write first.
Merri and I are living proof. We can’t open the darn paper without getting a new idea.
First, let me repeat…Start Small!
The camp by the way is called “Self Fulfilled – How to Write and Self Publishing”. I am thinking of renaming it “Start Small but Earn Millions”.
Writers who earn the most are writers, like Merri and myself, who also publish. We always make an annual six figure income but some years we net seven figures…over a million dollars. That’s because we figured out that the lion’s share of income earned from writing goes to the publisher. The publishing part of writing can be outrageously profitable.
One case study we’ll look at in the course reviews the book. “Who Moved My Cheese.” It’s so small! I love it! The publisher had to push just to make it look like a book, yet 17 million copies in the first two years of release. No one is laughing. If the normal price is $19.95 a book, that’s $339,155 million in sales. If the author received a normal 12% royalty (on the wholesale price) he made a cool $20,346,500 (and much more as the book has continued to sell for years).
Pretty good, huh?
The $20 million plus will pay for quite a few groceries. Almost anyone would love to have this much income until they realize that this leaves the publisher with the other $300 million to spread around.
The neat thing about being a small, self publisher is that virtually all this money (the other 88%) is yours! (Sometimes the 12% too.) In other words, it could be all yours.
Merri and I began publishing with no money and little background. We started small! As already mentioned, I was bust and had no background in writing. I did not finish college.
Before we share the exact schedule of this exciting camp, let me outline a few of the benefits that self publishing has brought to Merri and me.
If you accept our invitation, we will hammer, even bombard you with the absolute, vital importance of starting small. We live in the era of epublishing that makes small “big”. This plays perfectly into the hands of small businesses and copywriters as we just happened to have a perfect advantage right now in the marketplace.
Let’s begin to understand this with that old rule… follow the money. Our self publishing business has brought us millions. We own four houses, a farmhouse, six cabins and over 1,000 acres of land. Plus more money than we can spend, in the bank… safe, secure bonds and shares… no mortgages… no credit card bills and zero debt!
Now let’s get to the important stuff. Our life is less stressed (not stress free – every business has stress) but Self Publishing can be a low stress business… no commuting… choose your own hours… immersed in your own passions with like minded souls. Work at home. How refreshing!
Here I am at our Florida home… at work?
You can have fun every day doing what you love as you accomplish goals that are important… to you… and are a service to your community.
Merri and I, for example, love helping people get jobs. So we used self publishing to create a foundation (Land of the Sun Foundation) to help the indigenous learn how to get work. The foundation has donated nearly a million dollars in Ecuador to create jobs.
What do you love? Why not make the kinds of money I’ve just mentioned publishing your passion and do something good for the world at the same time?
Your passion and self publishing create…magic, wealth, happiness.
Three other things you gain.
#1: Respect. If you are not a recluse like Merri and me, you’ll find yourself the center of attention at social events and with your friends and in business because publishing is highly respected.
#2: Power. Everyone wants publishers to distribute good information about them. And everyone fears publishers a bit. The pen IS mightier than the sword!
#3: Protection. Writers are protected by the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. You do not need a license to publish. There is no government watchdog nor do you have bureaucratic red tape involved in publishing. Publishers enjoy almost more freedom than any other occupation because of the Freedom of the Press. This is so powerful because the first amendment is actually a part of the Bill of Rights. Just in case you missed this in school (as most students did including me) here are the exact words of this amendment:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
You become the press and you are set free. You cannot get more protection than that.
Shall we get back to the money and lifestyle? What can self publishing do financially for you?
Merri and I love nature so our home in Florida is set amidst and orange grove… just far enough from busy parts of the state that we enjoy wonderful peace and quiet. This makes a perfect place to study. This is a winter shot from the front yard of our Florida home looking over our orange grove and lake… that we bought with cash from our self published writing.
This is only where we live in the winter.
The Blue Ridge is our summer home. That name is a slight misnomer for a large part of the year. Correctly named in the winter, these mountains would be called “White Ridge”. The white comes from snow which begins with S as does South which is where we head around November…to Florida or Ecuador .
While it’s freezing in the North Carolina mountains, we worry about sunburn sometimes.
The Ecuador hotel, by the way, is one of the most satisfying parts of our self publishing business. We bought it from bankruptcy because a dozen wonderful people (with babies and kids and worries about education, medical bills and yes groceries) were about to lose their jobs.
Mostly right now… due to a elderly mom and many wonderful new grand kids we spend winters at our in Florida and visit family in Oregon and England. So for your convenience (and ours) the next two writers camp will be conducted near our Ashe County North Carolina farm.
Why attend this camp? Self publishing can easily fulfill all of your material needs. More importantly it throws you together with fantastically interesting people from all walks of life. You all share a common goal… to write… to sell… to earn. This create magic for all.
You can enjoy this wonderful lifestyle. Married, single, rich, poor, in good and bad health, educated and not, travelers and those who want to just stay at home. This is who self publishing works for… those who want a gradual part time improvement in life and those who want to make big enhancements now.
This workshop appeals to anyone who would like to write or publish or both. We will look at how published products can include compilations, catalogues, CDS, interviews. Plus we’ll look at how to develop treks, tours, visits, products and services.
For example, you’ll see below how one delegate who attended the workshop used her publication to sell real estate.
This course is for individuals and couples. We include those who want their own publishing system together as a family business.
Self employed, retired, professionals and those who are employed who want to add extra income or who want to change their life entirely will benefit. Previous course delegates have included investors, chiropractors, doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects, other professionals and those who already own their own business and of course retirees.
This workshop is not theory. Merri and I share our real time experiences. We start at the beginning over 40 years ago but mainly look at how we earn hundreds of thousands and even millions a year in our exciting lifestyle…right now.
Let’s get our noses to the grindstone. The workshop provides a Path called the seven Ps. They provide a simple, small and easy path for starting your own publishing business.
The workshop has one focused, refined and relentless goal. To prepare you to start your first publication the day after the workshop ends!
May I add that this workshop has done a pretty good job already? Here are a few examples of small self publishing businesses that started after attending this workshop.
Barry Weinhold who attended our Writers Camp wrote: My first book sold over 200,000 copies in print. After attending your course I have published another book at Amazon.com.
Thanks for helping get the word out. The First free download of Book One had about 900 downloads and we have sold about 90 books since then. I did get some great reviews on Book One. Now book two is ready.
You can order Barry’s second book ($2.99) on Amazon.com by clicking here. “Breaking Family Patterns: How To Change Your Family Patterns!“
Nicki Goff who attended our writer’s camp wrote shortly after that she completed her first book “Easy Quinoa Recipes” with 13 quinoa recipes.
She had 10,000 downloads of the book in five days and obtained dozens of good reviews!
She wrote: Hi, Gary, Book sales are actually going well, and I’m having a lot of fun with this. I’m so grateful to you and Merri for pushing me to get some action going!
The free promos really get things going, and seem to reignite sales.
Two more in the works – both on gardening topics. Best wishes for 2013 to you and Merri. Love, Nicki
What a joy seeing how helping and connecting people helps all create their own special success. How beautiful to see friends turn their passions into profit!
You can get 13 more great quinoa recipes in Nicki Goff’s book at the links below.
You can order Nicki’s first book at Amazon.com.
Nicki learned at the camp that getting these downloads is step three in a seven step process. We (and others) have been helping Nicki and our delegates walk through these steps so they can earn income through writing and publishing again and again.
Nicki is now well on her way to wonderful self publishing success. She just completed her fourth book, “Under Cover Gardening”
The Writer’s Camp helps people of all ages from their teens to their 80s!
The father of the family of four wrote: Hi Gary and Merri: Just thought y’all would like to know that today Doss published his first book. It is called College Confidential and it is currently listed at number 42 on amazon. com. He would not have done it but for our experience this summer at your Writer’s Camp.
So, here is thanking you both very much.
Bill Winter
This book is written by a student, for students, College Confidential: An Insider’s Guide to Success written by Doss Winter is filled with practical tips and insider information addressing everything from Academics to getting your Zzzzs.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyascott/8428575086/in/photostream
Order College Confidential at Amazon.com here.
The writer’s camp refines both Merri’s and my 40 years of experience into its most essential points. All of us will have to work intensely to cram everything into three days.
This workshop is being conducted by Merri and me. We will be hosting the event near our North Carolina farm. These camps are intimate which allows us to personally work with each delegate to assure that all who attend can create their own publication.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyascott/8029808357/
On Friday, at 9 a.m. sharp, we get to work.
What will you write? Some of you know what you want to do…that’s great. We’ll work on that. Some of you just feel that you can succeed in this field…we’ll hone that and work on that. We’ll create our own niches.
Your product? Your goals? This is why we are inviting you to enroll in the camp now. This is a long term program and we’ll help you create your own product now that we can work on at the camp.
Here is where product development gets interesting. Your product will be safe.
Our camp uses three highly successful strategies… #1: personal attention from Merri and me… #2: peer review and #3: anonymity. Reasons for the personal attention is obvious. The peer review is a proven way to get extra insights into your publication. Look at the acknowledgements of any successful writer. They thank many people who helped make their book correct. The anonymity is our unique touch… so no one needs to be worried. I could say more but just believe me this makes all the difference. This is a unique part of our system that has evolved from decades of helping others write and publish products!
In the afternoon, we’ll dive into the 7 Ps of self publishing. Passion, Problem, Person, profitably priced Product, pathways to Prospects, Promise and Presentation.
Then we get down to brass tacks by placing the ideas you have fractured under the first magnifying glasses of Passion, Problem and Person. This is the beginning of your first perfect product so you can become your own perfect client.
I’ll talk about how your passions, your current knowledge bring you to your own niche create the stories. We’ll look at the all powerful “Golden Rule of Simplicity…Your Passions Represent Markets”.
Merri and I will both show you how to follow your passion to the market and use your passion to find “Prospecting Pathways” and “Presentation Templates” that are the drivers of your business.
Merri’s publishing skills and history, by the way, far exceed mine. She began her own import business selling products form Italy , Germany and Mexico through her own advertisements she wrote in the New Yorker, Sunday NY Times, Smithsonian, House & Garden, House Beautiful, and other magazines. Then with her ad agency edited and published hundreds of books, brought a bankrupt magazine to award winning status as executive editor to Gulf Shore Life (which later sold to the Robb Reports for $22+ million dollars), has edited over 1400 writers and was even offered the top editor (the only female) at the National Enquirer working directly with Generoso Pope (which she politely turned down). She lectured at Magazine Conferences throughout the South to help others bring their own publishing ventures to awarding winning and financial success.
We’ll then return to and chip away at your fractured writing and publishing ideas to refine the most valuable asset you have in your business armory… your imagination.
Finally around 5 pm, we’ll stop working as one large group. However, that is not the end of the educational, evolutionary process that will by now be whirling away. You’ll have enough momentum and information to refine your publication. That’s what you’ll be assigned to do.
We won’t want you to work too late though. We still have a lot to do on Sunday and Monday.
Saturday, I already know what will happen. You’ll all be sitting around with others buzzing over your ideas. I’ll have to force you back to group work at 9 a.m. because you’ll have such a head of steam you won’t want to stop talking. However, I hope that you have followed Merri’s and my example and had a good night’s sleep. Experience suggests that some of you in your excitement, will have worked through the night. You might not get to sleep now because today we’re going to accomplish three days work in a day!
We’ll start with a review of your assignments. No red marks or stars by the way… just feedback and a gentle coaxing toward the ways to create winning writing and self publishing ventures.
Then we’ll get into how to turn your thoughts/desires/energies into reality with:
#1: Stories with authenticity, meaning and roots.
#2: Stories true to the heart.
#3: Stories with conflict.
#4: Stories with passion.
The “why” of these four qualities is fascinating and so impossibly important, yet simple, that knowing it is worth the entire investment you make in the workshop. Here it is quick, down and dirty… knowledge worth millions.
There are three main demographic subgroups in the Western World. One is dying out. One controls everything but the third is rapidly rising… growing so fast that it can take down even a big organization like Starbucks (which it did in England) if ignored. Yet this third group (whom you will write and publish for) is at least partially ignored by every large corporation in the world. They all make the same cheesy error and this huge mistake creates fracturing opportunities for you… which will be the tiny, but immensely profitable small publisher.
We go on to our next Story Review about small niches that Merri and I have fractured. How we beat a publisher that’s 1,500 times larger in this niche.
We’ll break for lunch. Then at 2 pm it’s back to work:
In the afternoon, Merri and I look at how to match your passion to the National Psyche by studying the NY Times & USA Today best seller lists. We’ll see how new indie epublishers are creating top selling books and provide magical clues that lead to successful products, stories and marketing.
We’ll work on epublishing…how it is virtually free of expense to start/continue/succeed. Only things necessary: inspiration, desire, hard work and follow through…actual cost? Zero.
Then we’ll review how to use Twitter to develop viral marketing and… what’s next!
Getting your reports, books or simply ideas on the epublishing parade…that’s through Kindle, Book Nook, etc.
The excitement that builds by this time of the camp often interferes with the dream process. Ideas for reports, publishing ideas, businesses, stories, new lifestyles and bigger profits come rushing forth even though you are trying for sheep.
Regardless, on Sunday, – as before, we’ll start at 9 a.m. sharp and remain intensely focused until mid afternoon.
Before Merri and I wrap up the entire process, we’ll outline our how we’ll continue to assist you for the rest of the year.
Let’s end this with a summary: Merri and I will begin to help you develop your publishing, writing idea the minute you enroll. Our goal is to help you create your own product so you can fine tune it in July. The workshop will help you come up with new ideas… but we want you to start one now. Merri and I will be glad to help you with it.
Okay, how about your cash investment? The cost of the workshop.
As I said earlier, Merri and I have been self publishing for 40 years. This invitation provides access to information we share with only a very limited group.
The cost of the camp is $799 or $999 for a couple. Travel, your accommodations and other meals are your responsibility.
Registration is severely limited due to the personal attention we provide. We expect to be full.
Here is how to register immediately.
Click below:
Join us Friday, Saturday and Sunday June 14, 15, 16 Super Thinking Writer’s Camp, Ashe County, NC.
Join us Saturday, Sunday and Monday August 31- Sept 1-2 Super Thinking Writer’s Camp, Ashe County, NC.
Single $799
Couple $999
Please note which camp you’ll attend in the comments section.
We’ll send you an email giving you details and your preparatory assignments for the camp, travel, etc.
We’ll set up our line of communications as well as deliver our online Self Publishing course.
We’ll send you what you need to get started. We’re going to be learning from the first minute, and we want you to be ready.
Get started and work with us and the online course until the camp begins.
Best regards,
Gary
P.S. This is a chance to experience the dream life of a writer and self publisher.
We are going to work hard the entire time from now until the camp but the effects of this retreat won’t end on that Sunday. They’ll just begin.
One of the finest benefits you gain will be new like-minded friends. Our previous workshop delegates have stuck together…formed support groups and helped each other develop, grow and profit. This is called an “old boys network” in some places. Every major university and educational system has one…this invisible power because “who you know”, not just “what you know” works. We’ll encourage this so your alumni group can enhance your efforts whenever required.
May I share three final examples of how big, your little self publishing business can become from our workshop?
A long time friend, who had just retired from a 30 year career in the oil industry joined our program. His passion was to learn more about health and looking at the deep, more spiritual aspects of life since he had ended a financially successful career. He has gone on to publishing the leading healthy living magazine where he lives.
Not only does he publish 20,000 copies of a 48-64 page magazine on healthy living every month, he has been able to meet and work with leading health and spiritual leaders like Deepak Chopra, Dr. Wayne Dwyer and even the Dali Llama. What a thrill.
Michelle Toole, an at home mother, made a fateful decision… to attend our self publishing course.
Michelle was disabled when she took the “Self Fulfilled – How to be a Self Publisher” camp.
She took what she learned from our publishing courses and created her own successful global micro website.
Michelle wrote: “I have some great news, my web site http://healthy-holistic-living.com is now getting on average 2,000 visitors a day! Yup my little one man show web site now gets close to 60,000 visitors each month! The power of the internet is amazing as well as the opportunities. We have said it before but it deserves saying again the internet is truly the great equalizer.
“My web site is at a point now that it is growing without much effort and produces a nice passive income allowing me to continue working on my second site http://home-remedies-and-natural-cures.com and to get my third site up and running. I am also working on various joint ventures with other web sites focusing on helping others start their own web business. I am doing monthly webinars helping disabled individuals start their own business on the Internet and will be starting a coaching club in the new year. The opportunities are only limited by one’s imagination.
“Again I can not thank you and Merri enough, I look forward to many great adventures and new experiences in the coming years!”
Another successful self publisher who attended our workshop wrote :
“MY HEAD IS STILL SPINNING from all of the valuable input I received. Out in the boonies, 2 + hours from the airport in Charlotte , North Carolina it was not your typical setting for a business seminar.
“It was presented by a fascinating guy with an interesting career history. Gary Scott and his wife, Merri, split their time between their idyllic farm in North Carolina and their property in the mountains of Ecuador . I first heard about Gary through my interest in Ecuador .
“By his own admission, Gary is often ‘a bit ahead of the curve’ which is part of what makes his material interesting. You sense the authenticity of what he is saying but it has not caught on in the mainstream media or pop-culture.
“The input is that is already affecting my life was not just from the instructor, but from other participants. The small group, less than twenty, seemed to be intimately bonded as soon as the seminar started. People from all walks of life and all parts of the country gained insights from the information that was geared to create a ‘life of your choosing more so than just a successful business. A very simple but powerful concept. Why do we want the money in the first place?
“The lifestyle aspect of the course was taught by example. We, as a group, were temporarily inserted directly into the lifestyle led by Gary and Merri. No better way to learn than by doing.
“The course content suited my needs very nicely. It addressed issues pertinent to FilmTrips and my marketing company, MJ Media. New life has been injected into several FilmTrips projects that had been languishing on a back burner for quite some time. Gary talks about being open to ‘connect the dots’ and take advantage of distortions or discrepancies between economies and countries. I am in a very good position to do that. Telephone and Internet technology has certainly arrived to help make it happen. I will keep you posted!”
In the workshop we learn how to use the “Business Evolutionary Process.” Start with a small idea. Let the idea build enthusiasm. Let the enthusiasm lead you to an education. Let the education create action. The action will bring, deeper ideas…so you can start small and grow.
This is what so many others who have accepted Merri’s and my invitation have done and are doing now….as are we. A never ending process for all.
We hope you will join this growth process with us. If you do, this letter…the invitation and the workshop will be fateful and fun. Register today!
Join us Friday, Saturday and Sunday June 14, 15, 16 Super Thinking Writer’s Camp, Ashe County, NC.
Join us Saturday, Sunday and Monday August 31- Sept 1-2 Super Thinking Writer’s Camp, Ashe County, NC.
Single $799
Couple $999
Please note which camp you’ll attend in the comments section.
Delegates from our last camp wrote: My daughter and I had a fantastic time at the Writer’s Camp this past weekend. We both felt we gained a tremendous amount of knowledge on “how to make money with our writing skills”! Thank you.
Yours and Merri’s expertise on transmitting knowledge to others is phenomenal. The warm, personal feel of being with you both along with the great people in the class was great!
Thank you again for all the added information gained in all areas of life and what I consider gourmet meals served to us all.
Donna/Jeanna
Another wrote: Have just returned from the writing seminar conducted at your farm in Ashe County, North Carolina, I thought I’d give you my take on what I experienced. To suggest that the location, hosts, seminar content, and accommodations were adequate would be an understatement.
This was my introductory visit to the northwestern corner of North Carolina and it appears, from looking at the map, that this area could be considered the “foothills” of the Appalachian Mountain Range. Remote? You bet! But a beautiful place for retreating when life or weather calls for relocation.
Corresponding as we have for the past two years was simply a forerunner to our one on two meeting and I am so pleased that we found this opportunity. You are both most personable with dynamic and pleasing personalities. I was extremely comfortable the entire weekend and thank you for making that possible.
The seminar itself opened a whole new world that I hope to explore in the coming months. I drove away from your farm with a well inflated right rear tire and a wealth of information that could catapult me into a whole new profession should I opt to go that route. I still have a number of professional business ideas that I intend to pursue, however, the concepts and ideas conveyed in your seminar will serve to enhance whatever I undertake going forward.
But if there was one underlying common denominator that I recognized, it was the fact that you are both so well qualified to present in this field of communication. Probably my most prolific observation was how well read and knowledgeable you are. The breadth and depth of knowledge on so many diverse yet associated subjects kept my unswerving attention. It also opened my mind to a variety of fields that, heretofore, I would not have considered relevant to my interests. And as a presenter, Gary is prolific. I drove away knowing that not only did the seminar give me my money’s worth but I was introduced to some very valuable contacts.
The bottom line is your seminar was both eye opening and entertaining. I came, I saw, I learned, and I even ate healthy. Thanks for everything. John
The son of a father son team sent this note: Hi Merri! I just attended your writers camp with my dad this past weekend. I didn’t get to express how much I appreciated all that you and Gary did for us this weekend because we were in a hurry to get to the airport. Letting us stay in your cottage and having us for your writers camp was an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life! Gary and Merri’s stories of adventure, success, your lessons, and advice are truly priceless!!
This camp has inspired me. Writing has always come naturally for me but I never was able to view it as a business opportunity.
This camp has shown me not only that writing can be profitable, but HOW to make it profitable! Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with me. In my lifetime, I could only hope to see the success that you and Gary have achieved.
I not have only signed up for your newsletter, but I can’t stop spreading the word to my friends about my experience. Thanks again for your amazing hospitality, Mitchell
Join us Friday, Saturday and Sunday June 14, 15, 16 Super Thinking Writer’s Camp, Ashe County, NC.
Join us Saturday, Sunday and Monday August 31- Sept 1-2 Super Thinking Writer’s Camp, Ashe County, NC.
Single $799
Couple $999
Please note which camp you’ll attend in the comments section.
We share a David Cross video at the camp.
David has an unparalleled, hands-on marketing experience spanning 25 years in 22 countries for companies and charities large and small. He’s guided many companies and individuals to success in business and helped them achieve their marketing goals, both online and offline. He started working with the internet from the getgo and we have been lucky that he helped us start our website in the 1990s. He was also Senior Internet Consultant to Agora Inc. in Baltimore, MD. David worked closely with Agora’s publishers and marketers and over an 8-year period helped to propel Agora’s online revenues to over $300 Million in 2009 until he came to work with Merri and me full time.
More who have written about the Writer’s Camp.
From Sandra, a restaurant owner: “Dear Gary and Merri, Yes I did it! Without you and your wonderful writing class I would not have been able to see my potential!! I THANK YOU BOTH! You told me to write about what I know and I did. Thank you for all the encouragement. Starting today, we are taking orders and I wanted you to be the first to know! So here goes…..I have some exciting news to share! I have just written my first book and very much appreciate your help. This book would make a great gift for any bride-to-be or even the parents of the bride (especially if they’re paying the bill)! Please check it out. I genuinely appreciate you helping me spread the word! Thank you!! Sandra”
From Jerusha, an anthropologist: “Hello Gary and Merri. I am the first in the class to publish! I published a calendar on www.lulu.com!
From Todd, a wedding photographer: “Thanks, Gary and Merri name recognition is beginning. Here is my new photoletter that your program helped me develop. I’m getting more clear about my own marketing now, so I may be able to better advantage of it. I am planning now to send out an email once a week showcasing new photos and creating awareness for my products and services. By mid July, I will place my first greeting card order (with a printing company Merri recommended in Cotacachi). So, I will soon have an inexpensive product to offer along with the more expensive prints that I sell. So far, I’ve got 60 opt-on subscribers to my email list, and I am telling everyone I know about it, so it’s starting to grow nicely. My first goal is to have 1000 readers. I’ll see how quickly I can accomplish it. Take care, Todd”
From Micky, a real estate broker: “I want to say thank you for the inspiration and encouragement that I received through your publishing program. I recently published a 28 page booklet” Naples is Priceless “. This FREE booklet is being distributed through the Chamber of Commerce, banks, hotels, etc. With over 25 years as a Realtor I can now let potential real estate buyers gain knowledge and inside tidbits about this beautiful area. Again, thank you for helping me develop my potential. Micky”
Meet other successful writers.
Mike Herron who atteded our camp and is now on his second book just wrote: Hello Gary, I wanted to thank you and Merri for once again providing a wonderful and motivating experience at the Writer’s Camp last month. As with your other workshops I’ve attended, it inspired me to return home and finish my second book and get it published.
I’m pleased to announce that Appalachian Gold is now completed and available for people to purchase and read. It is available on Amazon in either e-book format or as a print-on-demand hard copy.
Unlike my first novel, Black Diamonds, the first book in the Colors of Alaska trilogy which takes place in Homer, Alaska, Appalachian Gold is set in the North Georgia Mountains. As is my style, I interweave local legends with love and bring them to contemporary life.
Susan and I both hope to attend more of your workshops at your North Carolina camps, perhaps we can manage to get up to one this summer. Maybe we can even work in a book signing at a nearby winery to help spread the word about Appalachian Gold.
Now I will turn my attention to completing the second book in my Alaskan trilogy. It will be called Blue Ice. Susan and I will be visiting Alaska in May and June doing research for the book, enjoying the majestic scenery, and visiting our son.
If any of your readers are aspiring authors who have yet to be published I would strongly encourage them to sign up for one of your writing camps at the first opportunity. I know the experience will provide them with the skills, knowledge and perhaps more importantly, the motivation, to return home and turn their dream into reality.
Best wishes always and we look forward to seeing you again soon. Mike
Our online course “Self Fulfilled - How to be a Self Publisher” is normally $299. See more here.
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Join us Friday, Saturday and Sunday June 14, 15, 16 Super Thinking Writer’s Camp, Ashe County, NC.
Join us Saturday, Sunday and Monday August 31- Sept 1-2 Super Thinking Writer’s Camp, Ashe County, NC.
Single $799
Couple $999
