I love this article by Nicole Dean so much!! And I would absolutely subtitle it:

Wisdom bubbled up from a pineapple under the sea.

That is, by far, the BEST quote of my week! What about yours? Let me tell you, I just love Nicole’s marketing style, her business acumen. She is a very successful businesswoman, but she is STILL Nicole! There could be no better mentor for me, I’m telling you. If there’s one thing you cannot tame into a business suit and a bun – it’s my “Lisa-ness”. It’s just not budging. Not going anywhere. You cannot stuff it into a box for eight hours so I can ‘behave’ for the day and make my wages. It just won’t work. And the awesome thing I’ve learned from Nicole is that – none of that needs to happen. What an amazing breath of fresh air!

Read on and see how dead on she is about spicing up your article marketing with just the right touch of a living, breathing, dynamic you!


Article Writing Tips from SpongeBob SquarePants

Wisdom can be found in the most unexpected places. Today, wisdom bubbled up from a pineapple under the sea. I suddenly realized that everything you’d want to know about writing articles for your website can be taught by SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends.

When you write for your newsletter, blog, or website, which character are you most like?

Squidward: Squidward is B-O-R-I-N-G. When writing articles, are you a Squidward? Do you just get the words down on paper or are you finding a fun twist to entertain your audience and keep them coming back for more? Take time to make your articles stand out from the thousands of other dull articles out there by including personal stories or just having fun while writing. For instance, this article could be entitled “How to Write a Good Article”, but would it stand out from the hundreds of other articles about article writing? Probably not.

Mr. Krabs: This crustacean is focused on one thing and one thing only, making more and more and more money. Only a cartoon could actually have dollar signs drawn in his eyes. He thinks of no one, only how he can benefit. Are your articles focused on you or on the reader? Are you providing information or do you have blinders on, thinking only about how you can make money from the article you are writing? If your article reads like an ad or is self-serving or full of affiliate links, you might write like Mr. Krabs.

Patrick: SpongeBob’s best friend, the starfish, has a good heart, but isn’t the brightest creature in the sea. Do your articles make you sound like an expert? Are you providing valuable content or just pushing out sloppy articles as fast as you can? Always double check for typos and grammatical errors. If you’re challenged by spelling and grammar, hire a Virtual Assistant or Copywriter to proofread and submit your article for you. Or slow down, set your article aside for a day and then reread it before you click the “submit” button.

Plankton: The smallest creature in the sea is also the sneakiest. He’ll do anything and hurt anyone to steal someone else’s work (the Krabby Pattie secret formula). Write your own material. Don’t be Plankton. Don’t copy and paste someone else’s work, edit it, and try to pass it off as your own. You will be caught, and it just isn’t worth it. Take the same amount of effort and work on your own thoughts and ideas. Plankton never gets away with his schemes, either. He’s on Plan “Z” and is still pathetically failing at his attempts to steal the secret formula.

SpongeBob: This little guy always tries to do the right thing, and is a hard worker. He may not always end up getting the results he hoped for, but he bounces back and tackles his work with a renewed vigor. SpongeBob works very hard, he’s a good friend, he always thinks of others, and tries to have fun no matter what he is faced with. Hardworking, friendly SpongeBob is the guy to be when writing articles.

Although this is a silly lesson in article writing, I hope you’ll remember the important messages our underwater friends have taught us.

1. Be entertaining. Not boring.
2. Write articles to help others, not with dollar signs in your eyes.
3. Proofread your articles carefully, and provide valuable information.
4. Write your own material. Don’t copy others.
5. Be a SpongeBob! Hard work and persistence pay off.

Before you know it, you’ll develop a following for having informative and entertaining articles and you’ll be King or Queen of the sea.

Article by:

Nicole Dean, owner of ShowMomtheMoney.com uses Article Marketing to get free advertising on websites and in newsletters worldwide. She welcomes you to visit www.EasyArticleMarketing.com to find out how.

I spend a lot of my time online at one particular forum and that is the Self Starters Weekly Tips Forum, run by my sweet friend, Lynn Terry. I’ve been hanging out there and learning from Lynn for a long time. She is really smart and even better – she has a way of simplifying things so that my overloaded brain can comprehend them. I used to hang out at a lot of different forums and follow a lot of different ‘mentors’ and try to read a lot of different guru’s emails. Wow, that was so confusing. It’s really just the way I do things – ADD all the way, baby! (I’ve got a post in draft right now about the books on my bedside table, because, someone asked me on Twitter what I was gonna read when I said I had some great books. I told her, “That’s a blog post!” I just read too many things at once.)

And that is how I try to learn about internet marketing and affiliate marketing. And that only leads to BRAIN OVERLOAD and not to mention, a lack of doing, instead of just reading/learning. So a few years ago, I whittled down the number of “gurus” that I follow to just 2 or 3, I think it was. And now it’s pretty much just Lynn. Oh sure, I have a SHITAKE load of smart online-marketing-type friends and I learn plenty from them, too. As far as a true mentor, though, it’s mostly just Lynn now. And the funny thing is I can’t remember who the other 1 or 2 other ‘gurus’ were. And that was just about three years ago, that I did the ‘whittling’. I guess they just didn’t make an impact on me. At the time, I really looked up to them. Ah well…

So anyway, if you follow me on Twitter you may have seen me tweet this on Tuesday:

I had just come out of Lynn’s Free Tuesday Webinar, which she holds every week, and she let us know that in conjunction with SSWT’s 7th Birthday, some BIG changes are coming. She wouldn’t tell us much, just to watch out for the announcements! And that they were coming soon!

Lynn’s forum has a private section for her Elite Mastermind members, of which I am one. One of the perks (my favorite perk!) is the Elite Brainstorming Hour every Thursday at 11am Central. During our Brainstorming today, Lynn told us a little bit more about the upcoming changes. She didn’t tell us much, but, she did tell us a little more. One of the big things that she told us is that she is, once again, closing the door on the Elite private group for some period of time. How much time? Well, she didn’t say. She has closed it before. Sometimes for a few months and one time I think she closed it for six months or more.

And she said that when she opens it back up, things will be a lot different. My guess is that the price will go up, as well. It will be worth every penny, though, I can tell you that for sure! Every time she has upgraded and made changes, they’ve been amazing!

All of the good stuff that has been happening in my life the last few years, as far as business and networking (and hey, making some great new friends, too!) has all be attributed to being a part of Lynn’s group. I’m more grateful for her and all the people involved in our group than I could ever say!

You have a chance to get into Lynn’s Elite group now, before the door closes – and before the price possibly goes up – but, you really shouldn’t wait! It could be another six months before she decides to open the doors back up. You just never know! So if you really want to kick your online business up a notch and get involved with a great group of people, do it now, while you still can!

To join us, click here ==> SSWT Elite Membership

I’ve bought a lot of how-to-make-money-online ebooks, joined a lot of different groups/memberships, tried a lot of different things and I can tell you that Lynn Terry is – for sure – the real deal! This is one investment in your business that you will not regret! I know I don’t!

P.S. Truly, Lynn is an ‘Idea Woman’! I can’t wait to see what she’s got up her sleeve for us next! Last time she closed the doors to the Elite Membership, there were scores of people “window shopping” at SSWT! I saw Lynn get asked time and time again “When are you opening the membership back up?” If window shopping’s not your bag, then get over there with us now!
Go now! ===> SSWT Elite Membership

Actually, I wish a LOT of people (i.e. businesses) out here had websites! It is such a rare thing out here in this county. And when they do have sites, they are all image-based, or they just plain don’t offer much information or interactivity for the visitor. And most importantly, they do not engage the visitor. Which, I suppose, is the same thing as interactivity, but, it is so important – it’s worth saying twice in two different ways!

My son recently needed two root canals and I set to work looking for a dentist. I found one that did, in fact, have a website. And not only did he have a website, but, there was a LOT of good information on there about root canals and the whole process. I learned a lot from their site! And I was uber impressed with the depth and the “web 2.0′ness” of the website.

For various reasons, however, we wound up taking our son to another dentist in a nearby town. The guy is really cool – super nice, very into digital photography, even teaches it at a nearby college at night. Sounds like he’s tech-savvy, right?

But – he doesn’t have a business website. I was thinking how cool a site for a man that ‘up’ on things could be. And it could be completely littered with his own personal photography! And he was so good at explaining all of the different steps in the procedures that he was doing to my son – he could have a ‘knock it outta the park’ helpful-to-his-clients website! But he doesn’t even have a bland website, much less a website that matches his seemingly modern viewpoint on technology and his great teaching ability.

There is a San Diego dentist that has a very nice website that has some instructional information in a ‘Patient Library’. And they even have a way for you to fill out your forms before you come into the office! That’s definitely helpful – it’s such a pain to try to get all that information filled out, balancing the clipboard on your knees in the waiting room. So you can just relax and wait for your name to be called when you arrive.

Even they could do better, though, because, they have a newsletter and a blog – but, they are both outdated. And you can’t sign up to get the newsletter by email.

A really cool thing they do have on their site, though, is a ’special offer’ that is exclusive to people who’ve visited their website! Awesome! It’s an incredible special offer, too – it is a coupon good for a Starbucks drink of your choice and a $129 Sonicare Professional Electric Toothbrush! Wow!

That is exactly the kind of thing I would love to see businesses around here start doing! (After they come out of the stone ages and get websites, that is!) Just think about it, if you heard of Dr. Smith, who did root canals for $800 and Dr. Jones, who did root canals for $800 plus you get a new $129 electric toothbrush – where are you going to go?

I thought so.

(Click to biggify.)

Uh…yeah…Lynn and I have been talking a lot lately! Ha!

I stumbled onto the Twitter Grader this afternoon and I, being the self-centered me that I am, checked my score. I got a 94, not too shabby. And then, further with the self-concern, I wondered how I compared to Lynn Terry’s score. I put in her name and clicked ‘Get My Grade’ and went to other windows bee-bopping around, doing other things, while I waited. When I finally went back to that window – before I could even notice her score – I saw it! Lynn is completely obsessed with me! There’s no denying it! It’s all there in black and white! Burnt orange and white! Whatev!

Hahaha! I’m just kidding! Lynn and I have known each other for a number of years – well, she’s been on my radar, anyhoo. I’m frequently wearing my slacker-gear and I joined her forum eons ago (in internet-speak) and never freaking posted!

Image via Wikipedia

But, I digress – this post is about Lynn being in love with me. Oh yeah. See, she has this free webinar every Tuesday morning – just for me! Seriously – go read the page! Go on – click it! You’ll see – it says it right there in that post – this is for Lisa. Yep. Yeppers.

And she makes up catchy new phrases like “Rank and Tank” just for me to use! And then she makes nice long posts to explain them thoroughly – to me!

Alright, alright, I’m just razzin’ ya again! But let me tell ya something she does do for me. And I imagine for a lot of other people, too. I mean, she teaches me a lot, sure. But sometimes she reaches straight through the computer screen and touches. my. heart., effectively adding fuel to the fire I already have burning there. You know the fire – that fire I have to succeed at this thing called ‘online business’.

So Lynn, thank you! Even though I probably won’t be leaving my husband for ya anytime soon (ya never know – it could happen)! Thank you for teaching me (and all of us that learn from you) so much!

What the heck happened?! This was supposed to be a ‘givin’ Lynn grief’ post and it turned into another ‘Lynn Terry Lovefest’. Man! (Sorry, davebo, or whatever your name is – I guess Lynn’s good nature just brings it out in us – even when we’re trying to give her a hard time!)

I haven’t talked about these guys – or even marketing – a whole lot on this blog. I was ‘planning’ on talking about that kind of stuff on LisaMarieMary.com, but, now I’m pretty much ignoring that blog. Poor blog. Anyway, though, what I’m trying to say is that both of these guys – JMo and Frank – totally ROCK!! I have learned so much from them – and I’ve never once been able to purchase any of their products. So that means I’ve learned all that I’ve learned from them for FREE!

That right there ought to tell you that these guys are ‘good guys’ – and they are! And you should go help Jason crush the other guys and check out his link: Mass Control Gift

If he wins the affiliate referral contest, he will get a 30 inch flatscreen monitor – oh man! I wish I could win that sucker! I need want a flat screen so badly – this ol’ behemoth of mine is so big I kicked it off the desk! Ha! It’s on a little sidetable next to my desk, because, I just couldn’t tolerate it’s taking up so much of my precious (albeit ‘messy’) desk space! Of course, I’m pretty sure I don’t need a 30 inch – that sounds way too big! Or was he talking TV? Hmm… I pay attention, really, I do. Sometimes.

And if he wins, Jason is going to host a TWENTY FOUR HOUR LIVE Ustream show! Yikes! That’s gonna be crazy!

Here’s JMo on video telling you all about it!