However, to grow as a person and a business professional, I’m thinking I’m going to have to step outside of my WAHM comfort zone here pretty soon. You may be asking “You own an online greeting card business, why on Earth would you want to do that?” Well, there are a couple of reasons.

I have been a WAHM now for 4 years, and so far I’ve been able to conduct all of my business online. But now that I’m looking at both kids being in school for the first time this Fall, I’m looking at ways to take advantage of the business in my own ‘backyard’! That’s right – I’m branching out offline.

I’ve already checked the local paper for the times and locations for meetings of business networking groups, and plan to call our local Chamber of Commerce to find out when they hold their meetings. (Hopefully this won’t conflict with my youngest’s school schedule – don’t know if he is in morning or afternoon Kindergarten yet.)

Let’s say I go to the next meeting and there are 30 people there; statistics show that the average person knows 250 people…. Well, if each of those 30 people in this networking group knows 250 people, who knows how many of them may need my greeting card service?

By showing up regularly for meetings and events, eventually I will get to know the other members. The conversation will eventually lead to the subject of what each of I do for a living. When they, or someone they know, are in need of my services, I will be the first person they think of to ask for help.

Besides, it might be nice to get dressed up and get out of the house!

Sure, having 1,000,000 subscribers is the best thing that could ever happen in any Internet Marketer’s mind. But, what sounds too good to be true, in this case IS too good to be true.

What many beginning marketers do not really know though is that these bulk companies harvest the email addresses using robots and other wares on the Internet. That is how the 1,000,000 email addresses come about. The bots capture, or harvest every email on a site, or associated with other emails – thus not all 1,000,000 email addresses are really in use because a portion of them are either be owned by the same owners (one owner can own more than 1 email accounts) or are obsolete.

Now, the really awful part is that if you purchase the so-called 1,000,000 names even at a low price, not only is it a waste of money, but you are risking being accused of spamming. It is no longer a surprise how you often receive spam emails on Viagra, OEM Software and things you do not even need in your inbox.

Unsolicited emails may be reported a SPAM. And if you are marketing to these 1,000,000 email addresses, that is so possible, because of all of those names, no one knows you or has even subscribed to your mailing list. You run the risk of being reported to your email service provider, the FTC, your hosting company – not to mention possibly having your website, personal and business names labeled as “spammer” – could really hurt your business and your reputation that you may have worked hard to build.

So, the next time you see such an ad, tell yourself that it just not worth it!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. Write articles to help others, not with dollar signs in your eyes.
2. Write your own material. Don’t copy others.
3. Proofread your articles carefully, and provide valuable information.
4. Be entertaining. Not boring.
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.

Author Resource -> Nicole Dean is published all over the web, under numerous pen names. She welcomes you to visit Easy Article Marketing to get started using article marketing to boost your business today.

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