Publish Your Christian Novel or Non-Fiction Book with Best Self Publisher

Authors today are increasingly turning to self publishing as a solution to getting their books to market. With traditional publishers offering less and less and asking more and more of their authors, many are choosing self publishing in order to control their own destiny and to dramatically increase their profit. However, just as most folks who build an addition to their home don't act as a general contractor, authors who self publish are now discovering partnership publishers.

Companies like CSN Books Orange County provide comprehensive evaluation of an author's work at whatever stage the project has reached. CSN can then provide a full range of services including professional editing, proofing, writing, typesetting, cover design, publishing, printing, marketing and distribution of the book. Gary Kirk, president of CSN Books Orange County, explains how to self publish your Christian book in this video.

Nine Key Ingredients For Website Creation, Design, and Development

Yesterday a business Yahoo Group in Los Angeles that I subscribe to got into a heated discussion of what a new website creation, design, and/or development should cost, including SEO, or search engine optimization. I decided to create a basic primer in order to explain why the cost will be $3000 or more for a serious site. Here's what I came up with:

Copy this list and put it in your website file for any future plans you have to create or update your website. If your website designer can't do these things, or has no proof of their ability to do them, you should either use a different designer or assemble a team to do the work.

1. Determine what the website is to be used for. Is it an online brochure? Do you expect people to take action (Call, email, sign up, come in, buy something?) Is it an information resource? Will clients continue to come to the site to "do work" after they become clients.
2. Set goals and objectives with regard to what the website is to achieve. Is it for placement on searches? What will be satisfactory?Is it to generate traffic? How many unique visitors per day? What bounce rate is acceptable? Is it for conversions? How many phone calls per day do you expect?
3. Keyword search. If you were a consumer of your goods or services, how would you search for you? Use keyword generators and evaluation programs to decide on keywords and phrases that are important to you to achieve desired results in #2 above. If you are a local business these key words would include local cities, neighborhoods, villages, and zip codes.
4. What is your message? What are your important brands/models, products, services. How can you create a compelling headline that will establish a need that you can then fill in the body paragraphs of your first page?
5. What is the competition doing? Learn from competition in your area and across the country with a review of best practices on other websites that are in your business.
6. Google loves content. How can you create substantial textual content on your site so that Google sees you as an expert? How does that content get properly arranged on the site in order for Google to pay attention.
7. How will people reach you? Automated email? Online Chat? 800# (not always a good idea?) Send away for white paper? Sign up for newsletter?
8. What graphic impression do you want to make? If you are retail, for instance, the impression you leave on the website should be similar to the experience the customer will get in store.
9. How will you maximize the traffic to the site once built? Use of the keywords in appropriate places is just one piece of that pie. How do you get back links? Where do you list the site?

I may have left something out, here, but these are the basics. This is the underlying effort required for a professional website. That's why $3000 is a reasonable number, and $5000 is not that much. This is not much different than creating the interior design, store front and signage for a retail location. It isn't cheap to do it right. It can be very expensive to do it cheap.

I have just worked with a team to create the closest thing I have seen to a perfect website. You can see it at http://www.UnwindMobileSpa.com

If you would like me to help you do a Great Website, call 310-920-9649.

Computer Data Recovery Business in Tampa Fl Creates SEO Challange

My YouTube Videos have been bringing me serious business in the last few weeks. One call was from a Computer Data Recovery Company who has an office in Tampa Fl. They also have 30 other offices where clients can bring their computer hard drives, tape drives, or other media that has crashed and burned. As a big fan of CSI, it is fun to have this account. CSI would potentially send a purposely destroyed drive to VA Data Recovery to try to extract data.

Anyway, it turns out this is a pretty competitive category, and my now client is having trouble getting the visibility he wants on Google Maps. So I decided to tackle just one city first. The goal was to get a high position on Google Maps for VA Data Recovery under data recovery in Tampa Fl. If my techniques panned out for data recovery in Tampa Fl., then I could try for computer data recovery Tampa Fl or data recovery New York, NY.

So far, I did a few tricks on Google Maps, added him to YellowPages.com and MerchantCircle.com. The good news is that he is moving up under data recovery Tampa, Fl in the organic, but he is still not on the front page in maps. Next, I'm going to put him on several other local search engines, add pictures and video to his Maps listing, and try to get some reviews going.

The Best Plumber I Ever Had Is My Newest Client

Now that is a pretty good name for an emergency plumber. He will come out any time of the day or night, including Sundays. His website is one of the longest I have ever seen, but you won't forget http://www.TheBestPlumberIEverHad.com. In addition to emergency plumbing, he also has a specialization in water heaters, including tankless water heaters. I've really been interested in the tankless concept. I took a close look at my water heater the other day, and it has all kinds of funny stuff growing out of the top of it. Vince, the owner, says that you need to do some maintenance on water heaters or they give out sooner. The only thing I've ever done to mine is fight with my wife over the temperature setting.

Of course, The Best Plumber I Ever Had does all the normal plumber stuff, too: Drain Cleaning, Water Heaters, Toilet Repair, Garbage Disposals, Video Camera Inspections, Sewer Line Repair, and Water Line Repair.

He prefers to work close to headquarters which includes Burbank, Pasadena, Glendale, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles 90027, Hollywood, Silverlake, and West Hollywood.

New Website for Venice CA Acupuncturist in Cooperation with Neon Wolf Web Design

Check out this website for Urban Remedy Community Acupuncture in Venice. The owner, Eric Baumgartner did most of the writing on the inside pages, and Neon Wolf is 100% responsible for the graphics. I take credit for the text on the front page and some of the navigation elements. I think the final result is very cool. I am no collaborating with Neon Wolf in the creation of several additional websites, including a new one for me. He has some great skills, and I will provide more info on the new sites as the come on line.

Tax Problems Are Another Secret Sin

I may have mentioned that I have joined an organization called LeTip. We trade business referrals. One of our newest members, who has also become my newest client, is Mike Montano. He works with folks who are having problems with the IRS over unfiled returns, delinquent personal income taxes or payroll taxes, and individuals and companies who have had the IRS file a lien or a levy against them. Do you know anyone like that? Probably not. Or better said, you may know several people who are in that boat, but who don't talk about it. Kind of embarassing.

I have a substantial background in this area (having had a few rounds of trouble with the IRS during the difficult years that my business went through), and studied it in Law School. Don't believe the current commercials regarding "Pennies on the Dollar." The IRS is no longer very helpful with compromises or reducing the principle. In fact, it is even difficult to get a reduction in interest and penalties.

Mike Montano is with Demetriou, Montano, and Associates. They have offices in Santa Monica and Newport Beach, but deal with client all over the US by phone and fax. If you are someone you know needs help with IRS taxes, and especially if the amount is over $10,000, the should call Demetriou, Montano, and Associates. You can learn more about them by checking out a PR release I just did for them, or you can visit their website.

Acupuncturist in Venice Has A Completely New Approach

Acupuncture is definitely becoming mainstream. A quick bit of research for my new client, Urban Remedy Community Acupuncture in Venice, CA, revealed that acupuncture in now a standard part of the regime for detox and rehab in both public and private hospitals and clinics. Prior to meeting the proprietor and acupuncturist at Urban Remedy, Eric Baumgartner, I knew that some of my friends had used acupuncture for severe headaches and migraines, and I knew that acupuncture was being used for things like joint pain and stress, but I have gained a great deal of additional knowledge in a short few weeks on the extent of what folks visit acupuncturists to cure.

Hand-in-hand with the detox and rehab, similar methods are used for other habitual or addictive issues such as smoking or overeating. My own sense of things is that 75% of illness of any kind is related to stress, and Eric put the number even higher. Some of the less enthusiastic articles on acupuncture suggest that the needles don't do anything, but folks get better from the placebo effect and the nap that commonly goes with acupuncture. If that's true, then we just need to convince folks to take more naps. Somehow it is easier to get the overstressed adult in Venice to go to an acupuncturist for that relaxing procedure than to just put their head down on their desk for a half hour.

The Urban Remedy Community Acupuncture Center is a very unique medical practice. Check out a press release that I sent out on the center here, or visit their website here, or their blog here.

Marketing Is What I Do, Says West Los Angeles Based Marketing Consultant

I now become even more shameless than in the past. I know that this blog is supposed to be about Ideas. Well, until I get about 15 more clients, I won't have time to share my ideas. That is not a threat, in that some of you may be breathing a sigh of relief that you are no longer expected to know what cornball thing I have recently posted when I see you. For those who are here by chance, and this is the only post you've ever seen, please check out some of the archives to see what is supposed to be here.

Anyway. The special marketing prices below are unprecedented. I am only offering these prices because I need the business. (The title of this blog is the Truth About Everything.) So, check it out, and if I can help your business, or aunt Minnie's business, or your hair stylist's business, have 'em give me an email or a call.

Call now! 310-920-9649
E-mail! RandyKirk77@Gmail.com

Specials

PR Release Value $500 NOW ONLY $149.00
1 Release including development of hook, all writing and rewrites, upload to Web based PR release service. Targeting of 6-8 news resources for direct pitch.
Example

Optimize one Website (basic) Value $500 NOW ONLY $149.00
Determine and agree on keywords to target, provide direction and written text to Client's webmaster as to how to make appropriate changes to the website. Provide client with direction as to how to increase positioning through easy back link strategies. Monitor progress and make additional changes as necessary.
Example: Google the key phrase: Bike Shop Mission Viejo Rock N' Road is my client. 5 months ago, they were not in the top 10 under this key phrase.

Create Blog with 4 posts (no special graphics) Value $400 NOW ONLY $149.00
Help with selection of url and title. Create agreed upon Description. Set up all back end. Create appropriate side bar information. Write 4 posts of one or two paragraphs with pictures (borrowed from others, legally or provided by the client.) This will be a Blogspot blog, which is free.
Example

YouTube Video (shoot, edit, title, keyword, upload) Value $350 NOW ONLY $199.00
Work with client to determine what kind of YouTube video is most likely to generate interest, establish a position on Google, and provide information for existing and future clients that will be useful in making buying decisions.
Example

Flickr.com catalog (6 pictures minimum) Value $250 NOW ONLY $129.00
Use client provided pictures of products or other materials that can represent products and services to create a Flickr.com catalog. Each picture becomes like a mini web page which can then provide one more way for clients to find the company in a Google Search.
Example

300 pens made from recycled material - custom imprinted 20% off list See picture
This fun pen, made from recycled paper and wood chips, is totally unique. I have noted several of my business friends still using the product months after I gifted them.

Put your business up on Google Maps, Local Yahoo, Info USA, and Super Yellow Value $249 NOW ONLY $149
The key to being found on the internet today is often being listed on local search engines. In order to maximize your exposure it is important to create the listings based on best practices. These are the top four. Once you have seen how I do it, you may want to do the other 30 yourself or I can do those as well.

Sales seminar (1-2 hours) for 5-25 people in Los Angeles County Value $1000 NOW ONLY $299.00
I have been writing and speaking on sales, goal setting, and motivation for over 30 years in the US and Canada. No professional motivator will even call you back for this cost. Next year this time, I probably won't either.

****Do all of the above, plus create complete custom analysis of your marketing with short and long term plan to increase sales. Value $5000 NOW ONLY $1499 SAVE $3501.00

Also available.

New product development (recent product designed from scratch)
Packaging design Example
Major event design and execution (grand openings, major sales) Testimonials available
Trade show development (Over 200 show booths in 15 different industries.)
Promotional Products, Corporate Gifts, Advertising Specialties (20 years experience)
Hiring, training, and motivation of sales personnel Over 100 seminars
Pay per click
Door knob hangers

Call 310-920-9649
E-mail RandyKirk77@Gmail.com

Great Meal at New York Style Coneys and Franks Restaurant in Newport Beach

If you should schlep down to Newport Beach (actually, it's in Costa Mesa at 17th St. and Irvine Ave) and you were interested in a mouthful of flavor, and a VERY COLD BEER, I have found the place. Carm's Coneys is all about the REAL DEAL from New York. The owner, Carm, is a fanatic about his hometown in Syracuse, NY (upstate.) He believes, and he might be right, that the best franks, with names like Zweigle and Sabrett and Hoffman's, are made right there. He imports the franks and sausages and mustards from that distant land in order to insure his patrons that he is serving up food normally reserved for New Yorkers and folks who happen to travel there.

I dropped by with my little video camera the other day and shot some man on the street (also kid on the street) videos of other folk's opinions about the place. Check it out.

Best Beach Cruiser for The Money at http://Bikes-Cheap.com

Need a really good cheap beach cruiser with bike shop quality at department store prices. Most of my readers know I've been in the bicycle industry for 30 something years. I have located a product line called 3G bikes that has made it possible for several of my clients to buy really good looking, good performing beach cruiser bicycles at cheap prices. The website is http://www.bikes-cheap.com. They have mens and womens styles and with three 3 colors in the ladies and 5 in the mens. Ready for the price. $149.95 if you mention this article or the website. Right now, on the floor of these same shops the price is as much as $189.95, which is still a great price for this quality.

These bikes make great prizes for events or raffles. They are inexpensive enough to purchase as a gift to a local boys and girls club or other charitable organization. Clearly, they make great gifts for family members.

Special Electric Electra Bike at Newport Beach Bike Shop

If you head down to Newport Beach anytime soon, check out Zclipse bike shop. They are located just across from the Newport Beach Pier next to the crab cooker. Of course, they are another client of mine. They are totally different from all the rest. Their major income is from renting bikes and electric hybrid bicycles by the hour, day, or week. They sell them, too, of course. I rode one of the electric hybrids the other day, and they are a blast. Here's short video we did on the Electra beach cruiser bike that the convert to an electric Electra.

Marketing Consulting in Los Angeles is Coming Along

Some of you may be wondering if I have found any more accounts for my marketing consulting and promotional products company here in Los Angeles. Yes indeed. I decided not to limit myself to bike shops, so now do consulting for a web design company, a graphic artist, a computer consulting company, and company that makes products that are UV sensitive. I am more than halfway to my goal regarding clients with about 14.

I can still use your help. If you know a company anywhere in the world (I am discussing doing business with a company in England) that needs more sales, more customers, better web presence or just a few hundred pens with their name on them, call me or have them call me at 310-920-9649. My new website for the marketing consulting and SEO work.

Glendora Has A Great Piano Teacher - See Her Play

While I'm bragging. Here is a short recital from daughter, Christian, the Piano Teacher. She lives in Glendora, which is close to Covina, Monrovia, San Dimas, Pomona, and Irwindale. I say that to remind you all to send your friends to see her for piano lessons.

And, did I mention she is also my friend on my new facebook.

Music Lessons for Your Child in Glendora, California

If you have a child and live anywhere near Glendora, Ca, like Covina, La Verne, Monrovia, Pomona, or Irwindale, and if you've thought you'd like your child to have music lessons, I've got a tip for you. There is an incredible music instructor living in Glendora who gives music instruction to children with gentleness and great skill. The name of the company is Musical Finger Piano Instruction, and I am totally biased and in the tank for the teacher, Christian Nichols.

She is my oldest daughter and took instruction under an amazing teacher in Culver City. Her musical technique has always resulted in friends and family asking her to play at any occasion where Christian and a piano are present in the same room. Now, as a mother of three little ones under the age of 5, she brings great parenting skills, teaching skills, and musical talent to the piano classroom

So if you don't have a child living in that area, but you have a friend, family member, associate or any one else who you think would benefit from such instruction, give Christian a call at 626-533-7712 or see her website.

Here is a video of her teaching 4 year-old Maddie (my grand daughter BTW)

Sewing Thread and Other Sewing Notions

For those of you who are expecting me to discuss the fact that we are halfway through summer, and it would appear that we are not going to have a particularly warm year, much less a record hurricane season, sorry. Today, the lesson is on sewing thread. You see, right now I have to make a living. Then, when all my clients are doing well, and my family is eating again, I can go back to blathering about global warming, Obama, and such.






As my new little business (not small business, that would be like a business with a few employees. Little business is like me, myself, and I) makes course corrections, I now am offering marketing consulting to every and any kind of business. One of those is SolarActive Intl. They make cool products that change color when you take them into the sun.

At Cal Springs, LLC (the new name of my former business), they offer this UV sensitive approach in water bottles, and we did very well with SolarActive water bottles over the years. As my client, I now realize their biggest business is sewing thread, buttons, pony beads, embroidery thread, and lace. See picture as to how cool this is when it changes colors.