How to create an eBook to market your business

An eBook is a great way to show your customers how you can help them. Just imagine: Your prospective client wonders how to solve a problem or obtain a product or service.  They find your eBook available by doing an online search and, presto – instant credibility.

Hubspot blogger Pamela Seiple recently posted a very helpful article entitled, “How to Write and Launch an eBook That Generates Leads.” Here is a synopsis of her “13 Tips for Writing & Launching an eBook:”

1. Brainstorm & Decide on Your Topic.
2. Come Up With a Table of Contents or Detailed Outline.
3. Create the Content.
4. Format the Design.
5. Incorporate Images, Screenshots, Charts/Graphs, Etc.
6. Add Links & CTAs to Additional Resources.
7. Add Social Sharing Links.
8. Give it a Name.
9. Edit, and Have Someone Else Proof, Too.
10. Create the Landing Page.
11. Promote With Email & Social Media.
12. Collect Your Leads & Measure Results.
13. Link to the Ebook in Other Content & Use in Evergreen Promotion.

I would add, early-on, to schedule each of these activities into your calendar with pop-up reminders. It’s so easy to be distracted by the day-to-day expediencies. But if you know that Wednesday and Thursday afternoons are for working on this project, chances are you’ll get it done. Another helpful idea might be to engage someone else to partner with you on the book or to at least check on your progress once in a while. We all perform better if we feel we are going to be accountable.

So, get started today with your initial planning; figure out when you want to see the finished project and begin putting one foot in front of the other.

Read more: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/17380/How-to-Write-and-Launch-an-Ebook-That-Generates-Leads.aspx#ixzz1Pv7AeZLA.

Just 5% more focus give you unprecedented, record-breaking performance

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Author and owner of Entelechy Training & Development Jim Madrid showed attendees at the Canadian Resort Development Association (CRDA) conference how being just 5 percent more focused means Tiger Woods makes millions of dollars a year while another player with similar stats makes one-tenth of that. Madrid says he developed his training philosophy by watching mentors like John Nordstrom or Milt Kuolt of Thousand Trails and others in the early days.

The takeaway for me was that we can grow mental blocks about the way we do business. Madrid compares it to scotomas, or blind spots. He said, take Cliff Young as an example. "Sixty one year old Cliff Young became a household name in 1983 when he beat all of the starters and won the first Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon," according to UltraLegends.com. Why? Because Cliff didn’t know he wasn’t able to run longer than 18 hours without a six-hour break to sleep. He was a shepherd who had learned to go long distances when his dog died and so he shuffled across most of Australia only resting on the side of the road when he grew tired and won the race by two days!

Madrid impressed me by positing that it is possible to live up to more than the typical 30 percent of one’s potential. The secret to getting more performance from yourself and your staff is to expect more. Others have called it “positive psychology,” he says. And he recommends the book Learned Optimism, by Dr. Martin Seligman. I, for one, intend to download it on my Nook tonight!

Dr. Mehmet Oz and social media

It seems that everywhere you look fans are discussing Mehmet Oz – the cardiac surgeon, author, and Emmy Award-winning host of The Dr. Oz Show. And for good reason: Oz provides health care advice Americans might not be getting elsewhere. 

Take his interview, today (April 18, 2011), with Dr. Thomas Perls, founder and director of the New England Centenarian Study, the largest study of centenarians and their families in the world. Perls created a formula to forecast who might live to be 100. The rules are:

1. Attitude (add five years if you’re excited about life; subtract five if you’re fearful of growing older)

2. Genetics (have a 90+ relative?)

3. Exercise (at least 30 minutes every day)

4. Maintaining interests (are you building your brain?)

5. Nutrition (poor habits remove years)

 Also, surprisingly, Perls says smoking even one cigarette a day takes 15 years off your life!

With a super-friendly ‘bedside’ manner and oodles of charm, Oz engages his studio and at-home audiences while they learn how to protect the health of themselves and their families. His web site and blog do the same. They are information-packed and his blog draws on the expertise of a weighty panel of experts.

So why isn’t the social media world overrun with references to him…’ozzified,’ if you will? While we found that YouTube has plenty of footage of the show, there’s barely a whisper out of Twitter according to a very ‘quick-and-dirty’ survey. And while almost 1.1 million people “like” his Facebook page, it is not a conversation; it’s a billboard. Again, our research has only scratched the surface, but we were surprised

Drechsler-Scott hired by World Resorts International

Prior to the ARDA Convention in Orlando last week, we were pleased to announce that our firm, Drechsler Communications, was retained by World Resorts International (WRI). (Drechsler Communications, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a sister company with Social Media Servicing and was established in 2006 by timeshare industry veteran Sharon Drechsler-Scott, who is a registered resort professional with the American Resort Development Association, ARDA.) World Resorts provides members-only access to private resorts and travel benefits. We'll be performing public relations services for them, such as broadcasting news about the company, writing articles about them and helping them broaden their market.
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“I think World Resorts’ ‘Sam’s Club’ approach – customers pay a membership fee to access an online gateway for deeply discounted accommodations and travel products|–|is what vacationers want today,” says Drechsler-Scott. “There are a number of clubs out there, but what makes World Resorts unique is its formal relationships with some pretty important players including the major exchange providers, and a customizable developer-partnership program. I’ll be looking for ways to explain how World Resorts offers consumers, as well as sales partners, a robust, reliable and affordable program they cannot find elsewhere.”

“We’re confident that with Sharon’s 20-plus years of experience in the vacation ownership – timeshare industry, she will be able to show prospective sales outlets and developer partners the benefits of working with World Resorts International. We’ve worked hard to deliver a fully-performing, powerful platform for their use and to provide them with a highly attractive compensation package,” stated Charles Thompson, WRI Chief Operating Officer. “At the same time, Sharon will be handling our business-to-consumer communications from a PR perspective as well. One of her first challenges on the B2C side will be to launch the WRI Member Newsletter, a blog and other initiatives to engage members and prospective members.”

Sharon Drechsler-Scott to speak at Canadian Resort Development Association (CRDA) at the end of April, 2011

CRDA's "Resort Development Summit" Breaks Record!

In what can only be seen as a "good news story" for the shared ownership industry, The Canadian Resort Development Association (CRDA) announced today that sponsorship of CRDA's upcoming conference in Vancouver, BC has surpassed ALL of the Association's previous records.

I will be speaking about social media during this year's conference and sense that it will be a great meeting!

According to CRDA's President & CEO, Ross Perlmutter,: "We're both ecstatic and grateful to have been supported by so many good corporate citizens in our industry this year, and I truly believe that this bodes extremely well for the future. Like most other industry events, our Conference sponsorship was down substantially last year, however; this year we've bounced back and shattered our previous, all-time record by at least 10%. In fact, we're still receiving and processing several sponsorship and exhibit enquiries - it's unreal."

Perlmutter credits the increase in sponsorship to both an improvement in the overall health of the industry and a high level of interest in this year's Conference. "While the level our event's sponsorship commitments may (understandably) not mean that much to the average attendee, I definitely see it as 'the canary in the coal mine'. It tells me that our industry's premiere suppliers are once again active and engaged, and that they have a great deal of confidence in our industry's potential for prosperity in both the short and long term. I strongly believe that it's a very clear sign that we've turned the corner, and that we're all poised for a robust growth spurt in the months ahead."

"The good news is not just on the sponsorship side; we're also witnessing extremely strong interest in our Conference from attendees. This year, we've expanded the programming, we've increased out breakout sessions by 25% and our ever-growing roster of speakers is among the best we've ever offered. Our 'Early Bird' registration is far ahead of last year's pace, and by the time it closes this Friday (March 25th), I anticipate that we'll be at least 25% ahead of last year's level. Attendees are telling us that they love the choice of venue and location of this year's event - the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver, BC - and all of these factors have contributed to the popularity of (and increased demand for) our unique event. Again, it's all good news!"

 In addition to several information sessions, the conference will feature a dedicated exhibition area and two separate networking receptions. Registration for the conference is now open and, as a special bonus, all "early bird" registrations (received prior to March 25th) will be eligible to win a Carnival Cruise™ for two, valued at over $1,000. Complete details are now available by visiting the conference's dedicated website at www.crdaconference.com.

ARDA Convention beginning next week!

Attending the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) convention in Orlando beginning on March 28, 2011 means having the opportunity to choose from a huge number of educational sessions.

Held at the Orlando World Center Marriott from March 28 through 30, this gathering for the vacation ownership industry attracts more than 3,000 participants from more than 20 countries and offers attendees a myriad of educational, networking and social opportunities. This annual event is the largest timeshare, or vacation ownership, industry-oriented convention in the world.

While I am moderating a session on Social Media, myself, (“Social Media Best Practices” on Wednesday March 30, 2011 from 3:15pm – 4:30pm), I'm planning to attend some other promising ones, too. One of these will be  "The Best Business Technology Solutions - Learn from the Masters," on March 29, from 9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. My client, Matt Brosious, will be joined by several other key IT executives to discuss the many choices available in technology today that enable those involved in the business to understand their customers’ work models more effectively and how to perform more profitably.

There are dozens of educational sessions being presented, plus networking events and parties. If you haven't registered yet, there's still time. Visit ARDA.org for more information. I hope to see you there!

ARDA's Breakfast of Champions -- a not-to-be-missed event!

The Thursday Breakfast of Champions is an important session. Perhaps it's not vital from a networking point of view, but for those of us in the business who wish to make our companies the very best they can be -- this session is vital.

Here is ARDA's write-up on “Life Lessons” -- the Thursday morning Breakfast of Champions event:

"Join timeshare industry professionals at the Breakfast of Champions and stay to hear keynote speaker, Lieutenant Colonel Greg Gadson, share his inspiring story of courage in the face of adversity and the importance of teamwork in overcoming life’s obstacles. Lt. Col. Gadson is uniquely qualified to share these life lessons, as he credits them to his very survival.

"Immediately following the Breakfast of Champions, WIN is sponsoring a panel of professionals, who will share their stories of how they have moved beyond diversity and become actively engaged in inclusion efforts in both their professional and personal lives.

"ARDA is offering both the Breakfast of Champions and the “Moving Beyond Diversity” discussion as an exclusive specially priced package for WIN members only. Without paying the overall ARDA Convention registration fee, WIN members may purchase this package for just $55.

"To register, complete this form and return with payment to Adrienne Riley via fax at (202) 289-8544."