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Have you ever considered starting a home based tutoring business?  If you are knowledgeable in a certain subject area, this may be just the business for you.

There are so many kids (and some adults) who need a little extra help in certain areas when it comes to academics.  You can start a home based tutoring business and be the solution to their challenges.

People getting help through tutoring can mean the difference between success and failure; the difference between getting to the finishing line and quitting.

Do you want to make that difference?  Consider starting a home based tutoring business.   And I have some good news for you.  Kasey Hammond, a lady who has been tutoring people in Spanish for years now, has written a guide to help you get started.  You could start a tutoring business on your own, but I think you will cut your learning curve greatly if you get some help and advice from someone who is doing it successfully.

Kasey is running a back to school special price on her guide.  Right now, you can purchase it at half-price ($47).

Click on the link below to watch a video Kasey made (you will need to enter your email to get access.)

Starting a Home Based Tutoring Business

But don’t buy the product there.  If you decide to purchase Kasey’s guide, click on the link below to get the half-price deal.   The price is only good until midnight Wednesday, Sept. 1 so act now if you’re interested!

Buy here

I am going to switch the order of things this week and give you the freebie today instead of on Friday.  I don’t want you to miss this!  It is an online copywriting course and you can get it absolutely free!

What is copywriting?  It is the use of words to promote a business, opinion or idea. (definition according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copywriting)

Copywriting, many times, can make or break the sale, thereby really having an impact on the success of your business.

You can sign up for Copywriting 101 completely free.  It is a ten-day course, with each day covering another aspect of online copywriting.  Karon Thackston and Chris Cobb are leading the course with a host of other well-known online marketers.

You will have access to each class for free for 24 hours, meaning that once it is posted online, you have up to 24 hours to access it.   After that point, it will not be free.

So, if you need some help with your online copywriting, be sure to take advantage of this offer.  I know I plan to.  Even if you cannot make it every day, do what you can.  I am sure you will pick up some valuable tips.

Here’s the Schedule:

Session #1 Wednesday, September 1:
Copywriting’s First Commandment: Know Thy Target Audience by Karon Thackston

Session #2 Thursday, September 2:
Copywriting Basics & Planning: Two Steps Pros Never Skip by Karon Thackston

Session #3 Friday, September 3:
Sales Letters 2.0: More Than Long, Scrolling Copy by Michel Fortin

Session #4 Saturday, September 4:
Busting the Press Release Writing Myths by Shannon Cherry

Session #5 Sunday, September 5:
Blogging Basics That Make All the Difference by Lynn Terry

Session #6 Monday, September 6:
Article Writing Secrets Your Mother Never Told You About by Jeff Herring

Session #7 Tuesday, September 7:
Dissecting, Diagramming and Delivering Exceptional Landing Pages by Brian Massey

Session #8 Wednesday, September 8:
Applying the Science of Persuasion to Copywriting by Kevin Hogan

Session #9 Thursday, September 9:
The Myths & Musts of Writing Search Engine Optimized Copy by Karon Thackston

Session #10 Friday, September 10:
Crafting Intriguing Headlines That Pull by Karon Thackston

Online Copywriting Course

P.S.  Come back on Wednesday for our Bible Verses for Business post.

Today I have a great freebie to share with you.  It is a report on Scrapbooking Paper written by Vera Raposo, who has been scrapbooking for many years.

In this report, Vera shares a ton of tips about scrapbooking paper and how to make the most of it.

Whether you want to scrapbook for yourself and your family or make a business out of it, this report will give you lots of great advice.  Download it below.

Scrapbooking Paper report

Blogging Tips

We have a special treat today.  Lynette Chandler has offered to write guest blog posts on blogging tips, and I definitely wanted in!  You had to submit 5 interview questions which she would answer in a post.  Those who submitted the 5 questions are also entered into a contest, and the interview with the most votes wins some pretty great prizes.  So, without further ado, here’s the interview with Lynette.

Question 1: Could you explain the concept of earning money for page views of your blog?

When you join an advertising network or are taking advertisers who pay a certain amount for every thousand views the ad receives. So the more page views you can get, the more you will earn. Of course this is not an easy thing to do. Typically page view ads work better for the publisher who has a very popular blog or a network of blogs that can help make up the minimum views without much effort. If you display Google Ads, some advertisers choose the pay per thousand campaign too which is why sometimes you may find you made some money with no clicks. The bad thing about it is you can’t quite dictate which type ads you want.
But regardless, it all boils down to traffic because the number of visitors and the number of views are proportionate. The more visitors you have, the more views you get so overall I think it is a good idea to work on that traffic. Getting new people and bringing people back. The views will follow in its heels.
Question 2: What are some tips for engaging your readers so they will participate and comment?
Write open ended posts. Posts where people feel compelled to add their two cents to. Topics that aren’t factual, black and white, controversial or strong opinion tend to do that.
Ask people for their input. What do they think. What do they recommend, What are their problems, How have they solved a similar problem, What do they use to solve it.
And that leads to creating ‘crowd sourcing’ posts. Like putting up a question sent to you you can’t answer and asking the readers to help a fellow reader.
While you’re at that, consider interviewing or featuring readers.
Brainstorm ways to get readers roped into an activity. For example, on a foodie blog. Challenge readers to create a new dish based on 2 or 3 ingredients. Take a picture and share their recipe.
Question 3: What’s the best way to keep your blog fresh and interesting?
Keep creating great content
Like before, think of ways of getting people involved an activity where you aren’t the only one talking.
Accept guest authors to break up your voice
Change the way you deliver content. Add videos or audios.
Give people things they can download and enjoy away from the blog
Work with other bloggers, like what we are doing with this Interview Project
Change your pace up once in a while. Increase your frequency sometimes.
Question 4: Can you talk about ways to monetize your blog that actually work?

I am a big believer that the people who buy from you are usually repeat readers who are either subscribed to your feed or your email list. So encourage people to subscribe. If you have a product, put your product’s banners on the blog and make them more prominent than affiliate offers. But banners are not enough. Review the products you use or get customers to share their experiences on your blog. Put your offers on the blog if there is a special or coupon, let people know.
Since the nature of blogs is to feature new content, reviews and offers can get buried. Bring them up again and again. Think up of different ways you can write about the product. Have you found a new way to use the product? An unexpected benefit? Can you think of how it has improved your work or life? Can it be added to a list?
Question 5: Where do you get good pictures to use on your blog besides Istock (preferably free images?)
My first sources are SXC.hu and Flickr where you search specifically for Creative Commons pictures. These are pictures where the photographers have graciously allowed you to share and use. I usually find what I need between the two and don’t mind providing a link back. In particular Flickr, one of the conditions is you link back. There are other sources which I have not checked out and I’ll list them here for your convenience:

FreeImages.co.uk http://www.freeimages.co.uk/
Stockvault.net http://www.stockvault.net/
Every Stock Photo http://www.everystockphoto.com/
iClipart.com http://www.iclipart.com/
OpenPhoto http://openphoto.net/

Did you like this interview? Then let us know by voting for Laurie at http://blogenergizer.com/teip-vote/

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  James 1:19-20

Let us be swift to hear and slow to speak – that goes against human nature, doesn’t it?  We all want our point to be heard and therefore, many times, we try to make it before someone else is even done speaking.

This verse tells us that we are to listen first and then speak after we have heard and thought about it.   When we are slow to speak, we get a chance to think through what we want to say.

Slow to wrath – how many times have we jumped to conclusions or gotten defensive and been the deliverer of wrath?

Now, this applies to all areas of our lives and relationships.  When we look at it in relation to our business dealings, we see that we need to listen to customers and, if you have them,  employees.   We need to let them speak and tell us what’s on their mind.  Then, without anger, we should answer them (after we have heard them out.)

I believe, when we behave in accordance with this verse, God is pleased and we also have much more harmonious relationships.   Your business will benefit from it also.  Don’t we all want to do business with someone who is not going to fly off the handle when we have a complaint or an issue to discuss?  Be that “someone” that people want to deal with:-)

I have heard quite a bit about mind mapping, but I have to admit, I have never done it myself.

If you would like to do some mind mapping and want to keep it neat and organized, this free tool may be a good way to do it.

Some of the uses of mind mapping are:

  • Brainstorming for a project
  • Keep track of projects
  • Keep a small database of something
  • Good place to keep track of information when doing research on Google

You can take a look at this tool at the link below.  They give you download and installation instructions and information on the license on their site.

Free Mind Mapping Software

If you are looking for an affordable ecommerce solution, I have a great resource for you.

Today, many people are creating ecommerce sites to sell products.   The problem is is that ecommerce sites are a little complicated to make for the average person.

Well, we have stumbled upon a great solution.  We were also looking for an affordable ecommerce solution for a project we were working on.  As I was doing some research, I came across Market Theme, which can be used with Wordpress to create an ecommerce site.

Wordpress is free to download and Market Theme is just $55.  So, for $55 and the price of a domain name and web hosting (total of all three would cost approximately $180-$190ish) you can get started having your own ecommerce store.   The domain and web hosting would need to be renewed yearly.

Market Theme is so easy to use, and if I am saying that, it has to be easy!  I am not your most technically inclined individual:-)

It has a shopping cart which hooks up with Paypal and it is VERY professional looking.

See for yourself.  Take a look at the link below.

Affordable Ecommerce Solution

This morning, as I was reading the Bible, the following verse jumped out at me and I had to share it with you all.

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” Colossians 1:9-10

When I look at his verse, I see that we should pray for this – to be filled with God’s wisdom that will lead us to do His will.   As we do His will, that will enable us to please Him and be fruitful, which in turn, will increase  our knowledge of Him.

It sounds like a “viscous circle” but a good one, so I guess it’s not viscous – more of a blessed circle:-)  We pray for God’s wisdom, His will is revealed, we walk in His will and please Him, in turn we have more knowledge of Him.  Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

This became my prayer today for all of our family, but in particular, one of my kids, who needs to know what God’s will is for their life.

As we pursue a home based business and just “life,” consider praying this verse and see if God’s will becomes plainer and your knowledge of Him increases.

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