What I did feel strongly about was the dire misuse of the English language, with spelling errors and nonsensical phrases peppered throughout the entire rant. Example: “Dilapidated and close to whether-or-not it can be retained, we are lunching this APPEAL.” My knowledge of dangling participles may be a little stale, but I’m pretty sure the “dilapidated” in that sentence is referring to “we”  and not to the church itself.

I am feeling a little dilapidated at the moment; perhaps I should drop leaflets around the neighbourhood asking for donations to restore me.

Sorry, Mr Church. Perhaps I shalt not mock thy poor grammar, or covet thy neighbour’s apartments. Best of luck to you. But please, next time get your leaflet proof-read. Please.

The book has some nice blogging and monetization tips, including a reminder that PPC ads like AdSense are better for un-web-savvy visitors, not so good for your regulars, and then at the end there was a handy link to more free reading called Stop Procrastinating Now. Maybe later.

Why write an eBook?

• You probably have 80% of the content already from your blog posts
• It’s a nice service for your regular readers/new readers
• It helps promote your blog
• You can add affiliate links to it
• Street cred

Would you write an eBook?

If you already have, I’d be interested in hearing how it went.

I admit that I did once write an eBook. About seven years ago, at the grand old age of 23, I wrote a guide for men about how to attract women (priceless tips such as ‘wash’). It sold okay, not well enough for me to dedicate my life to writing eBooks though. If I did write another one now, the topic would probably be one of the following scorchers:

• How to make 4c a week from your blog
• A painstaking, point by point recap of the ’07 iPhone hype
• Tom Cruise: you can help for just $1 a day (plus meds)
• How to write good: present perfect simple vs present perfect continuous on your blog!

Newletter pre-send checklist

Once you’ve written it and built it (if you have a template) you’re ready to click send. But wait! If you’ve made a mistake you won’t be able to undo it. This is it. You’re about to push the button. First, run through these questions.

• Are your links all working? Broken links will frustrate users and kill traffic
• Do you have a clever subject line? A good subject line will get them clicking – keep it honest, though,and nothing raunchy. Is it SFW (Safe For Work?)
• If you have a template, have you tested it in all the main email clients? Just because it looks good in your Gmail in IE7 doesn’t mean it’ll look like that for everyone
• Has someone proof-read your copy? Staring at it yourself won’t be enough. You’ll miss things
• Does the email contain branding? You’ve worked so hard… don’t forget your logo if it’s an html newsletter, and put your brand in the ‘from’ section so it’s clear who’s sending the email
• Does the email contain an easy Unsubscribe option? You don’t want to encourage it, but make it a simple click process – better than being labeled ‘spam’
• Is your database full and ready to go? Have you checked it for de-dupes (an email address added more than once)? Did the people in the database sign up? Don’t send unsolicited emails, it’s a dangerous path
• Is your site running? Sounds silly, but if your server goes down as you send, of your links won’t open. That’s traffic lost and annoyance all round

When you’ve run through the list above and had a shot of whiskey, click send. Now comes the tracking which may happen immediately if you are using snazzy software.

Tracking involves answering the following questions which will help you tweak and plan more newsletters:

• How many people opened the newsletter? When? Read time can play a key part in when you send the newsletter and your content (for example, I sent a recipe newsletter mid-afternoon when people were hungry and considering dinner)
• How many clicks did you receive? One of the main aims of a newsletter is to drive traffic to your website. If users aren’t clicking then there’s a problem (note: a clickthru rate of 7% or more is considered positive)
• Which links were most popular? Tracking the popularity of links is key to building future newsletters which should be tailored to your users
• How many people unsubscribed? It’s tragic, but you will get some rejections. Keep the number as low as possible, that’s all, and don’t email people too often or they’ll opt out
• How many people wrote to you complaining they couldn’t read it or the code was all wrong? Good of them to let you know. If you’re struggling, enlist the help of an IT friend to check your code

It seems like a lot of work…

Well, you can always just paste some copy and click send if you’re only sending to a few people. But once you’ve grown a big database and want to go all professional, you’ll want a template and system. It is a learning curve, but with a few repetitions you get the hang of it and it’s fun tracking the stats and seeing your traffic boosted!

Done! Thanks for reading. Are you planning to send a newsletter, or have you sent some before? Do you sign up for newsletters all the time, and which are your favorites? Do tell.

Of course, the most basic way is just to paste your text into an email and send. But that’s not very pretty, and there are many free online email templates these days to make your job easier. You can also sign up for software that checks, sends and tracks the e-newsletter for you, but most come at a cost. Scroll down for examples.

What does a good e-newsletter system offer?

• A handy Wysiwyg (content table) so you don’t have to dive into code and can easily insert graphics etc
• Wysiwyg/HTML view options so you can easily switch between the code and the layout
• Preview option for test sends
• Customer support and easy to follow FAQ and guidelines
• Ability to insert personal data, eg. first name of subscriber so it says ‘Dear Rich Minx’ instead of ‘Dear Customer’
• Tracking and removal of bounced emails (often because the address is incorrect or the mailbox is full)
• Easy importing/exporting of email addresses and a good search function if you need to edit/remove
• Clear tracking of sends, open rates, unsubscribing and clicks
• The ability to post-date a send and specify the duration of a sendout (sending all at once can negatively affect your status in email clients, who might label you spam)

Should I pay for an enewsletter system?

You don’t have to, but if you want personalized customer support and reliability for sends, and are sending to thousands of people, you might want to consider a paid option. But look out for what they charge per send: do they have discounts for large databases? Is it easy to import/export the database? Many offer a free trial – take it for a spin first.

Tips for building an e-newsletter

• Learn basic HTML. The Wysiwyg helps but there will be times when you need to edit the code
• Test repeatedly by sending previews to major email clients (eg Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) and check in different browsers (eg. IE, Firefox). You will not be able to make it look perfect everywhere, but set a high standard for the main clients.
• Avoid CSS when possible (email clients may override your styles); use basic, old-fashioned HTML codes if you are building the code yourself.
• Keep the layout as simple as possible, and make sure images aren’t too heavy. Too many bells and whistles increase the chance of failure and being sent straight into ‘Spam’. No animated graphics!
• Make sure there is an easy Unsubscribe option. Provide a link (often near the bottom, but clear) to an Unsubscribe page. Many templates add this automatically. Don’t ask the person to enter their login details; keep it simple or they’ll just label you spam to make their lives easier.

Some free e-newsletter templates to modify and send yourself

• Mail Chimp
• Templates Box
• Interspire
• Kekeko

Some newsletter systems for creating, sending and tracking

• Constant Contact (has free 60-day trial)
• E-Newsletters Online (has free 14-day trial)
• Send Blaster (free basic version, paid upgrade to ‘Pro’)

Next: How to send your e-newsletter with a pre-send checklist

For a few years I was responsible for creating at least one e-newsletter a week for a company I worked for. The database grew from nothing to tens of thousands by the time I left (no, that’s not the entire population of New Zealand, but it’s a small town!).

Process of sending a newsletter

• First, promote the newsletter on your site and encourage your users to sign up, explaining why they should (exclusive content? competitions? free stuff?)
• Decide how often it will be sent (weekly is a suggested maximum) and what the key content will be, planning ahead by a few weeks so you don’t get stuck
• Write the text – see below for an example
• Write the code, or use a template (if using an html version, which I’ll cover later)
• Edit the template with text and images if using html
• Preview again and again
• Send via email or special software

Why send a newsletter?

• Promotes your site and key content to a targeted audience
• Increases traffic and conversions if you are selling a product
  
• Creates an added sense of community
• Provides a service to your user (bonus free content, exclusive offers etc)
• Little cost to your business and, once you’ve gotten the hang of it, not very time-consuming
• If you sell advertising, it’s more advertising space to sell

Writing an email newsletter: tips

• Keep it short
• Don’t write chunks of text
• Promote and link to your key content
• Keep the tone light
• Make the user immediately aware of the benefits of the newsletter

Example

Dear Bob Loblaw,

Welcome to Rich Minx Express, the newsletter with bonus content for Rich Minx readers. This week we have a $50 discount voucher on an iPhone, exclusive to Rich Minx Express members! See below for details.

It’s also been a busy week with our $5 million cash giveaway for the best site review; click here to enter if you haven’t already. A lucky winner will be chosen next week.

The most popular article this week on Rich Minx was How To Make Your Blog Not Suck Majorly, and the Rich Minx forum ‘buzz’ has centered round FrogMan’s thread about how he became a prince in just 90 days. Check it out!

‘Til next week,
The Team at Rich Minx

It’s a fake, but you get the idea.

Next post: How to build your newsletter.

Below are my picks, partly based on my interests, but if you have time I recommend you click the link above and check out the whole list. There are some interesting and imaginative entries!

• Three reasons to try a marathon… by Shane
• 3 Reasons Running is Good for You Alexander
• Top 3 Reasons Why You Have to Work from Home by Alfa
• 3 Reasons to Persevere by Anne
• 3 Useful Del.icio.us Tags, Life Quotes, & Traffic Generators by Adam Pieniazek
• L’Amour De Blog: 3 reasons why blogging is like being in love by Phil

My entry is here and I’ve just realized it’s badly named because the topic is 3 Cool Blogger T-Shirt Slogans, but the post title is 3 Times a Blogger. Oh well.

This is an interview with Alex Geana, a blogger for hire, a playwright and soon-to-be-published novelist based in New York. He contributes to the Huffington Post, one of the world’s most-read blogs.

I was asked and needed cash, so why not? I tried to monetize my first blog One Gay Date at a Time, but it was barely covering my hosting. I had a nice and loyal reader base, people were coming back and waiting for my posts, but no one was clicking on ads, even though they were targeted and useful. It was just a bit frustrating.

I also wanted to look for ways to diversify my base as a writer and be able to do the work I’m most passionate about. Literary work and highbrow writing doesn’t pay, but blogging does. It’s more effective as a business model because you charge on a monthly basis and don’t have to constantly pitch business, like a magazine writer has to pitch per article.

Two years ago, I was in touch with Toby Bloomberg at Diva Marketing who knew someone that needed help with a lawn blog, That’s how I started, and I’ve always seemed to have one blog client over these past few years. I’ve tried to expand, but business and corporations weren’t ready, people in business squinted and said ‘blob’. Now the landscape is different and companies, PR firms and people that need online content are starting to understand that it’s important to have a dedicated writer for a project.

How do you decide what to charge for your work?

Totally based on the project and how much work needs to be done. It’s also based on how many other projects I have going on around me. I’m more likely to give out a low number if I have little going on. Each case and contract is different. I don’t like to say in advance because it has a lot to do with how much time I’ll be spending on the blog. I also like charging a monthly fee, because, really, who wants to count posts at five bucks a pop? I should be spending the time writing, not accounting. Right now I’m at the mid-to-high end of the spectrum, because I do deliver as promised.

How do you market yourself and your writing?

Networking, lots of networking, parties, trying to approach people. I’ve also been lucky that people have found me. Yet most of my time is spent pitching. I’m also pushing a new blog writing biz, so I’m trying to create a new marketing model for myself. I really want to build connections with boutique PR agencies and also small advertising firms, simply because they have the most to benefit from blogging. Clients come in two forms. The first knows nothing about blogging, and believes that the Internet will someday go away. The second thinks that you can throw a blog into cyberspace and it’ll be instantly popular. It doesn’t work that way. I have one client that understands that good content is just part of the mix and I’m lucky to be working with him.

What do you consider yourself an authority on? Are there any topics you won’t touch?

I don’t like finance, even though I could do it if I really really had to. I’m very well-read because of my literary work. I keep informed on a wide host of topics. That said, I couldn’t be an authority on very niche topics, such as steel production, titanium, the Indian rupee. Yet if you’re smart enough and like to research as much as I do, you can write about a lot. If I figured out how to blog about lawns, I can blog about anything, it’s all about identifying a good editorial concept, creating something useful.

What are the pros and cons of writing for other people’s blogs?

You have to remember it’s their blog, they control the mix. The biggest con is that some clients don’t understand that you can’t throw a blog into the world and expect it to take off. They don’t think tech is important and readership requires actively seeking links. The best part is it allows me freedom and will eventually allow me to write the stuff I really want to write. Novels take forever to get to market, writing one is very hard, so to have that time would be amazing.

You are currently writing a book. How do you balance that with your freelance work?

I don’t get sleep; well, I do, but not enough. I parse out my day. I schedule my week in advance. I know I’ll be working on one thing, project or once concept in advance. So I’ll start up a blog or revamp a blog one week, then work on another project the next week. I even parse out my day by the hour. I know what I’ll be doing each hour of every day. It’s odd, there is room for spontaneity. Ultimately it’s about finishing work. It’s all about organizing.

My novel is called “The Life of Steely Eyed Man” about the journey of finding one’s place in New York and about all the odd moments and characters one encounters. It’s taken four long years and I’m almost done with it. I really want to start another play after this, take a break from novel writing. Yet even the title is changing and I’m still agonizing about a lot of very important details.

You are now a writer for the Huffington Post. How did that come about?

A friend of mine familiar with my literary work landed a spot as an Associate Editor for the new culture blog, Living Now. I’m going to say she asked me to write for them, but really I asked and she said yes. So yipe. I like it, I didn’t expect so many people to take notice. I’m glad to contribute.

What examples of your writing are you proudest of?

Again, my literary work and short stories that no one ever gets a chance to read, because getting a short story published takes forever, I’m also very proud of my playwriting, it’s been a long road and I’m finally getting noticed for my writing. It makes me excited but very scared at the same time.

What is the biggest mistake, if any, that you’ve made as a freelance writer?

Not marketing myself enough. I often give up and am not consistent in marketing as a freelancer. I’m sure I’d have a lot more work if I spent more time pitching and figuring out a strong approach. The hardest thing about writing is the rejection, so I really don’t take it personally but sometimes it’s hard.

What advice would you give any budding young bloggers for hire?

Just keep at it. There will, in the very near future, be a stronger need for more and more blog writers for hire simply because corporations and business are starting to understand the importance of fresh online content and that people are using the Internet to connect with each other and brands.

Also, don’t get too wrapped up in everything. I’m an early adapter, but some people are just discovering the blogosphere and just like in all things, some people become overnight sensations and some people burn out. Be in it for the long hall and not the momentary take.

Remember that blogging is about building connections that transcend into the real world, whether it’s through people meeting each other or just ideas.

“How to…” “10 Best…” “Why you should(n’t)…’

This is partly my fault for reading so many how-to-blog sites. These people are just doing their jobs and generally sharing very helpful tips. Plus, it’s more or less guaranteed that any headline with the above snippets will generate more clicks. I’m guilty of doing it myself.

It’s so easy to just blindly follow the standard instead of stopping and being original.

Being original is not about being different for the sake of it, it’s about being different in a clever way. It’s not too hard to be different when so many people are striving to be the same, but being clever can take some effort. I need at least eight hours’ sleep and some strong coffee before I can even attempt cleverness.

Here’s an example of being different in a clever way. Heading home last night on foot after dinner and drinks, I encountered a homeless guy. Homeless people/beggars are not uncommon in New York City and usually have a hat or box in front of them for donations. Occasionally there is a ‘please help, no food’ sign although the person’s unkempt appearance and the fact they’re hunched over on a street corner late at night already speaks volumes.

This particular homeless guy had a sign asking for money, but his sign read:

“Ninjas killed my father. Need money for Kung Fu lessons.”

(Update: I’ve just been informed that this sign is not original either, dammit. But my point still stands.)

Which sites/blogs do you read that are original? How do they stand out from the crowd?

Really, Shoemoney?

But he is probably right, in that a lot of people will visit his site to learn how to earn that elusive Google AdSense $133,000 paycheck. I know I do. So I grit my teeth over his fancy-free attitude to the English language and just read for the tips.

Stop: Grammar Time

But there are bloggers who write that they really want to improve their writing and grammar, whether they’re native English speakers or not, and so below are a few common mistakes and tips.

This is my former English Teacher schoolmarmish persona coming out for a bit. Hope the tips help someone, no one in particular. I know other bloggers have covered this topic. Don’t care. It bears repeating.

1. It’s and Its (there is no its’)
It’s = a contraction of it is, or occasionally it has.
Its = a possession of ‘it’. It is a thing, like a sofa or a car. This trips many people up because you say ‘the car’s wheel’ but ‘its wheel’. It is a mean grammar rule. At school I was taught to imagine that an ‘it’ doesn’t deserve an apostrophe.

2. Their and They’re and There
Their = a possession that belongs to them. Their house is on fire.
They’re = a contraction of they are. They’re pretty cool people.
There = where something is. The keys are over there.

3. Weather and whether
Weather = sunny, cloudy, foggy.
Whether = like if. I don’t know whether he loves me or not.

4. Your and You’re
Your = a possession you have. Your blog.
You’re = contraction of you are. You’re awesome.

5. Literally
This isn’t just in writing. I hear it on the news all the time. Literally means it actually happened, it’s not just for emphasis. So ‘I am literally sitting on a fortune’ or ‘I literally lost my head’ are not correct. Well, unlikely anyway. If unsure, leave it out.

6. Increase
I see ‘Increse your traffic’ everywhere. It’s increase.

7. Fewer and Less
Fewer = generally used for individual items you can count. My blog has fewer visitors than John Chow’s.
Less = used for more generic words that you can’t count. My blog has less traffic than John Chow’s.
Ask yourself: does the noun have a plural? If not, use less.

8. Good and Well
Good = good is an adjective which is used to describe a noun. He wrote a good post about spam. (Good describes the post.)
Well = well is an adverb which is used to describe a verb. He writes well. (Well describes the writing.)

9. Should Have, Would Have, Could Have (Would’ve, Should’ve, Could’ve)
Not should of, would of, or could of.

10. Lose vs Loose
Lose = the opposite of win.
Loose = the opposite of tight.

Bonus 11. Share, Shear, Sheer
Share = When you give some of what you have to another person. To share advice.
Shear = What you do to a sheep when it’s too woolly.
Sheer = Thin or unqualified. Sheer stockings. Sheer nonsense.
Cher = A pop diva.

We all make mistakes, but how do you feel about frequent grammar and spelling mistakes on blogs? Does it influence whether you continue reading? Does the writer’s attitude to it count?

We’re looking for the best haiku about personal finance, and we’re paying a cash prize of $20. The deadline for submissions is June 15. After that, we’re going to have an open voting period for another two weeks, whereupon we will announce the winner with the most votes.

Here is my entry.

The Piggy Bank

Shake my piggy bank
Its pink tummy is hollow
Where did the coins go?

This must be worthy of the Nobel Prize in Literature, surely. Evocative, melodic and reminiscent of Shakespeare in his haiku phase.

Think you can do better? Well, smarty pants, visit their site and enter your own version.