Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

I remember my grandmother reading that book aloud. It has stuck with me all these years. Maybe it’s one that you were fortunate enough to have been exposed to.

That little engine’s chant, “I think I can, I think I can, …” is burned into the psyche of more than one generation along with “I had a dream” and “Ask not what your country can do for you …”

I would ask my Mom or Dad, “Can I do this or can I do that?” I no sooner finished asking the question when they would respond with another question, “I don’t know. Can you?”

Of course, what I meant to ask and should have asked was, “May I do this or that?” I was asking for permission using the wrong word. They knew what I was attempting to express, but they were teaching me a powerful lesson.

They were pointing out that only I knew whether I could. They would allow me or not allow me but, only I could. If you are parent, you may have done that too. They were also teaching me that using some words loosely does not always get the desired result.

So what does this story have to do with article writing? I have read many sales pages and articles and noticed that very often the author uses the word ‘can’ when using the word ‘will’ would do better to get the author’s desired result.

What do you as an article writer want? You want the reader to click through and read another page or read a sales presentation. By using the word ‘can’ instead of ‘will’, you are giving the reader a chance to question whether he or she can do whatever it is that you are you asking him to do.

For example, “You can learn to speak fluent Mandarin.” As opposed to, “You will learn to speak fluent Mandarin.”

In the first, the reader has an out. He has a choice to make. It is easier to see in the negative. He can say, “No, I cannot. I can’t even spell in English, let alone Mandarin. I really can’t do it.” Is it that he can’t or that he won’t (will not)?

In the second example, “You will learn to speak fluent Mandarin.” You are not giving the reader an opportunity to question himself. You are telling him that it is a done deal. You are telling the reader that by taking your course or buying your product, he will have Mandarin.

The choice factor does not exist. It may be a subtle play on words. Nevertheless, it works.

As powerful as the three-letter verb ‘can’ is, it does not match the power of the little verb ‘will’. As I said, it is most powerful in promotional articles, the pre-sell article.

But, it does work in any context. Try it in your article marketing. I think you will find that it changes the sense of your promotional articles and makes them more powerful and more convincing.

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Most word processors are programmed to alert the author whenever the verb is passive. It is not a bad thing. If you write technical papers and articles, it is acceptable.

If you are an article marketer, the passive voice gets a bad rap. Do you know that there is nothing wrong with passive voice? Allow me to explain.

In case you are not sure, let me first show you the difference. Active voice uses the subject of a sentence to do the action. Passive uses the object of the sentence to receive the action.

Example:

•  Bill threw the ball. (active)
• The ball was thrown by Bill. (passive)

(Note: I am using MS Word. Guess what just popped up. Yes, you guessed it. That little squiggly underlined that whole sentence. You just cannot get away from it. Don’t you just want that little squiggly line to disappear?)

In most cases, active voice is preferred. Active voice is better in the body of your article. Why is it better? It allows the reader to read easily through the body of your article. Active voice makes it easier for the reader to visualize what you want to communicate. More importantly, it gets him to the resource box quickly.

When is it acceptable to use passive voice? Let me show you two cases.

1) When you, the author, do not have a specific subject in mind or you want to emphasize the word or words affected by the action use passive voice.

Example: “Article marketers are not paid for their articles.” That sentence does not identify who it is that does not pay article marketers. The emphasis is on article marketers.

You could change it to active voice: “Publishers do not pay article marketers for their articles.” With this sentence, the emphasis shifts from the article marketer to the publisher. You may not want to do that. But, then again you might.

2) You may want to be vague or politically proper. You can use passive voice.

Example: “The critical remark was made by the wrong person at the wrong time.”

To change that sentence to active voice: “Tom made that critical remark at the wrong time.” Or, “The wrong person made that critical remark.”

In both cases, MS Word will alert you that the verb is passive. So what?

In the first, you want to emphasize “article marketers“. You want to emphasize the fact that they do not get direct compensation for their work.

In the second, you do not want to name names.

Do you see the difference?

Just because MS Word or some other word processor implies that it is wrong, it is not necessarily so. Before you change the sentence, make sure it does not change what you meant it to say.

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You can level your learning curve by seeking a mentor or you can go it alone. Many choose to go it alone because they’re broke and they have heard the call of making fast money online. In ten days, in thirty days, you will be a millionaire. Some might, most won’t. Are you one of the many who won’t be successful at Internet marketing? Find out how not to be one the unfortunate many and what you should do first. Read this.

This is not about buying into some program or finding a mentor. If you’re broke, you don’t have the money to buy into a program and most mentors aren’t consulting for free. So forget that.

This is about you. This is about what you want. You must be forewarned; you might not like this. To succeed in Internet marketing you’ve got to work at it. Period. This might not go well with gurus who promote get rich quick schemes, but it’s the truth. There are many ways to succeed at Internet marketing, but all of them require work.  They require effort. There’s no one secret formula. There are many ways. There are as many ways to succeed as there are gurus.

This is a self motivating industry. No one is going to tell you that you can’t take a break or that it’s time to call it a day. You will call the shots. But then that’s the beauty of being your own boss. That’s the beauty of being an Internet marketer, you call the shots.

So here is where you start: you start by doing something, anything! You say, ‘Well that’s not any advice, that’s not a concrete step, that’s not giving me any direction. I want specifics. I want to know what to do first and then second, then third …”

There are many ways to get started. You will find good, bad, useful, and useless information for free on the Internet. But your success will not depend on that information alone.

You can learn, and you can learn, and you can go on learning; you won’t ever succeed at Internet marketing. You’ll get discouraged and quit.  You will succeed at learning, not Internet marketing.

Yes, you’ve got to educate yourself. Once you’ve learned something implement it. Do it!  Take a deep breath. Stop. Do it! You must act!

Do something, even if it turns out to be wrong; it can always be undone and you will have learned what not to do! Will it take you a week, a month, three months to make money? Most successful small business owners take a year plus to turn a profit. You might do better.

If you have found that you are struggling to get your arms around Internet marketing and you have a few coins to spare consider a training program.  I did and it has helped me get started.  Visit this site. It is free and eventually you can buy into a membership. It will work for you.

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The following topics may be self evident but often they are overlooked by both newbies and experts.  Reminding yourself of their importance can only feed your success.  Here are five things that cost you nothing but your concentration. 

 1. Desire

Robert Collier, best selling author of Secret Of The Ages, said, “The first principle of success is desire — knowing what you want. Desire is the planting of your seed.”  It is the fire that ignites determination and commitment.

What do you desire?  Is it to make more money, to share your product’s benefits, to write articles about your product or service?  Desire is not forced.  It comes naturally from somewhere within you.  Desire is the great motivator.  Without desire it’s near impossible to implement the following keys.  Desire is the primary key.

 2. Focus

Create a picture that best represents your goal.  Keep that image foremost in your thoughts throughout the day.  Focus is the taming of desire.  It is simply the ability to maintain your concentration on an objective, a goal.  Focus is a state of  directed intent.  The desire to achieve an objective feeds focus.  You create focus by staying present with your objective.  It takes a conscious effort to keep your goal forefront in your thoughts.  Stay present with your goal.  It will open doors. 

 3. Knowledge

Use the product or service yourself.  Experience your product.  Read the advertising letter on the website.  Learn about the product you want to promote.  You can’t promote what you don’t believe in.  Teachers, lawyers, engineers, craftsmen, all have prerequisites.  So too with Internet marketing, you must educate yourself before you can be successful.  You don’t just jump in unprepared. 

In addition to your product information learn about marketing techniques and strategies.  Learn writing skills.  Training is available at all levels on and off the Internet.  Dare to become the success you were meant to be.  Arm yourself with knowledge and passion.

 4.  Passion

Without passion for the company, the products, or the services you wish to promote, you won’t do the work required to promote your product.  You develop passion by believing that what you have to offer is worthwhile.  You create passion by wanting to share your interest, your discovery, with others.

Your product must be beneficial to your customers and to you.  It will improve their health, increase their wealth, entertain them, or whatever it is that your product is designed to do and, of course, it will give you monetary rewards.  Passion is essential.

 5. Action

Finally, action.  Without action there no results.  You must take that first step.  Whether you are an advanced marketer or a beginner, enroll in training courses, tutorials, coaching classes.  New ideas and approaches to Internet marketing are formulated everyday.  Write a short article about your product or subject of interest.  Buy business cards and pass them out.  Join forums; visit blogs.  “Just do it!”

 There are certainly many other things to consider in affiliate internet marketing like having a good website, good marketing, widespread advertising, company support, effective keywords, to name some of the most important.

Sidestep desire, focus, knowledge, passion, and action and you reduce your chances for success dramatically.  They are the “why”  that inspire and the “how” that motivate some to make more in one month than others will make in a year.

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What is it that holds us back? Fear? I think fear of the unknown is what holds most of us back.

We are afraid that our website will not compare well against the thousands if not millions of websites and web pages floating in cyberspace.  Well.  Get over it!

We fear that our writing will be criticized by our readers.  So what!   Are you afraid of some unnamed critic without a face?  Your high school teacher is not watching!

Newbies, unite!  Why do so many newbies fail?  There are many reasons.  You get discouraged because you don’t make a sale in the first few weeks.  You hear all the gurus telling you that you can or will make thousands of dollars, maybe hundreds of thousands, within days of using their secret formula.  Most of those gurus have been at this for ten or more years. How long have you been at it?

Do you remember your first car? Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, it was probably a clunker.  Were you proud of it?  Did you take your girlfriend or boyfriend for ride? Did that old clunker get you from here to there?  Were you afraid of what others would say about it?  No. You were on the road. You had freedom. You were moving.

When did you upgrade to a newer hotter car?  Probably after, you started making some money.  What is the difference between your old clunker of a car and your clunker website?  None.  You have to start somewhere.  The point is YOU have to start.

We fear that our readers will criticize our writing.  Are you afraid someone is going to send you an “F” for poor composition or grammar?  I do not mean to say that you should throw grammar or composition to the wind.  I am saying that you can express yourself much more freely than when you were in school.  Besides, that is what editors are for.  (Note the “for” at the end of that last sentence.  I think it is called a dangling preposition.  I would get an “F” for that.)

I just received an email a few minutes ago from a fellow internet marketer, David Saeger  (The Home Biz Guy) on the same subject!

Here is what he said, “Ready, FIRE, then aim … This is the operating philosophy you MUST adopt to succeed with a home based business. That’s backwards for most people who like to aim before they fire.”

In Internet marketing, that is a good philosophy.  You have to start.  You have to move.  The Internet changes daily.  What you learn today, what works today, may not work tomorrow.

Most businesses struggle their first year before they see a profit not to mention the initial monetary investment to start the business.  In internet marketing, you don’t have that concern.

Give it a year.  If after that time, you still are not making money maybe you should reconsider.  However, that assumes that you have really done something other than study and read about it.

Take action! Just do it!

I have been there. If you are just starting out, you need something that gives you a step-by-step map from someone who hasn’t forgotten the frustrations of trying to get started. Get my book, Writing On The Web and get started on the right foot!

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How many of us have been flooded by emails announcing the one secret you need to insure your success in Internet marketing?  Or maybe surfing the Internet, you click on links and hit a ‘squeeze page’ or ‘landing page’.  Secrets like keyword mastery, traffic generation, perfecting your writing skills, advertising secrets, indispensable software, and e-books, are just a few.

If you are new to this, you have experienced this.  I have.  As a newbie I am so very tempted to buy them all.  I almost have.  Maybe you have too?

There’s no doubt that there are tools that you have to buy to advance your knowledge.  The question is how many programs, e- books, or videos do you have to buy to learn the secret to success?  Probably a lot fewer than you think. 

The biggest secret that many gurus fail to tell us is that the real secret to Internet marketing success is – Are you ready? – Desire. Desire that leads to action, persistent action, action based on knowledge.  You may say that to get that knowledge you’ve got to buy all those programs and e-books.  NO!

I know, the learning curve is steep.  There’s the terminology, the new vocabulary: domains, DNS, hosting servers, registry servers, PPC (pay per click), on and on.  And then there are the methods: article marketing, Adwords, Adsense, solo-ads, etc.  It is at this vulnerable point that we start our search for help and want to buy all those secrets.

You can learn on your own trying to put all the pieces together or you can choose a mentor or a training program. There are books, tutorials, videos, newsletters all aimed at teaching you how to make money online, how to get rich.  Some are free.  Most are not.

If you are just starting and haven’t a clue, having a mentor or training program is a good idea.  It helps to get your thoughts organized.  It gives you direction.  It will certainly shorten your learning curve.

Choose a training/program that you’re comfortable with; one that teaches you step-by-step; one that offers plenty of support; one that you can afford; one that shows you how to get started using FREE tools using the Internet.

Jumping from one guru to another just empties your pocketbook.  Stick with it.  Give it a chance.  Learn to say no.  Step back and ask: do I really need this new secret, this new tool to get started.  Most successful Internet marketers took some time and a lot of work to create their wealth.  That’s another secret that most gurus don’t emphasize – time.  It takes time to develop a business, any business, Internet or not.

I found such a program and it certainly has helped me.  The sincerity and thoroughness amazed me.  If you’re interested check it out here.

Saying No to the Gurus © by C. A. Perez

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