Content is always in high demand. Right now the focus seems to be on Private Label Rights (or PLR) articles. PLR articles are pre-written and sold in packages to online businesses looking for content. The big selling points of PLR articles are that you may edit the articles and that there is no author bio required (so they don’t have any outbound links).

Compare PLR articles to free reprint articles. Free reprint articles from places like ezinearticles.com or freeaffiliatearticles.com are written by people who have something they’d like to share. (Or, they are sometimes written by people just publishing junk, in the hopes that they’ll get some incoming links. But, good article directories will delete those, so we’ll focus on the good ones here.)

So, which is better? Honestly, each has its place. Sometimes you’ll find an excellent free reprint article that you’ll want to share with your readers and you won’t mind a bit having an outbound link, especially if there is an affiliate program associated with it. The free reprint article added value to your readers, and you didn’t have to write the article. That’s what free reprint articles are all about.

Other times you’ll already have an idea in mind for a topic and you’ll just want a boost getting that section of your website done. If you run across a high quality PLR package on that niche, you’re set to go.

So, how do you know which PLR service or membership to choose? Here are some guidelines to follow:

1. Some PLR sites offer a monthly membership where you receive a grab-bag of articles – on any topic. If you already know what you need, this may be a waste of money. Other PLR sites will list topics and you can buy the articles in a shopping cart. That ensures you receive the articles you need when you need them.

2. Are the articles written by professional writers with experience? Or are they outsourced to the cheapest overseas help they can find – no matter the quality? If the articles are going to be a reflection of your business, you’ll want to ensure that the articles are well-written.

3. Who’s running this thing? Is the PLR site run by someone who knows about content or someone who thinks they can ride the content wave and make a quick buck? Make sure you’re hitching your wagon to someone who knows what they’re doing.

Those are just a few tips to keep you from wasting money on a PLR site that you can’t use. Continue to use free reprint articles, but look into PLR articles as well. They can both benefit your website and your business.

Nicole Dean invites you to check out EasyPLR.com – where you’ll find high-quality PLR articles on niches sold in very limited quantities.

I, personally, recommend this site for all your PLR article needs.

Thanks so much, Nicole!

PAY ATTENTION!!

….because, you just might be missing a feature that could save your day …or make you more money ….or save you tons of time ….which is saving money, right? Doesn’t everyone always say that “Time is money!” You betcha they do!

Let’s get to it, then, shall we? I’m going to Social Fresh on Sunday – as you can see in my sidebar. Super groovy awesome thing, that. And I won my ticket, too – from a super groovy awesome dude named Jason “Super Cool” Falls. Makes it even cooler, no? Makes you a little jealous, yes?

I’m meeting my good friend and totally awesome mentor, Lynn Terry, there. And I was thinking, with my darn sore broken foot, and meager ok, I’m completely clueless navigation skills, and minivan having some issue with the brakes – I might just take the bus. I mean, that’s a lot of reasons to take it, don’t you think?

So I was wondering if Lynn would be able to pick me up from the bus station (can’t remember if her car will be there) or if I had to take a taxi, how terrible (if at all) the fee would be. I mean, it could be twenty miles from the hotel. So I head over to Google maps and check things out. Cool thing is, the station is only 2.5 miles from the hotel.

Even cooler thing – I can embed the map! I was looking for a way to email it to myself and I discovered that you can actually embed it! You just click on the upper right where it says ‘link’ and it gives you the direct link – which is VERY long – I emailed it to myself. (Wasn’t quite as long as the URL’s that my buddy, John uses! Ha!) It was long, though, and looked kind of funny in the email. I’m easily amused, too, so that probably doesn’t even count.

It also gives you the option to customize and preview the embedded map – before you embed it. Which is great, because, on this site, I’d need the medium map, as opposed to the one I really liked, which was the large one – which I could easily use on Hippie Spelunker. The small one is oh-so-boring, but, I’m sure it could come in handy, too. And after all of this drivel, here is the map:

And it, of course, links back to the original. So let’s say, for example, Lynn can pick me up and I need to show her the map – all I have to do is show it to her right here on this blog post! Which is a much easier URL to share than that giant Google Maps one! And I’m sure there are plenty of other uses for it, as well!

And the main point is, to just. pay. attention. And who I’m really SCREAMING this at is

….dun dun dun

…..MYSELF! This is the second time in a week that this has happened to me. Something right under my nose, that’s been there all along, that I have never even noticed. Only problem is, I forgot what the first one was. Which is another good reason for starting this series – so that I can go back through it and learn (re-learn) a thing or two – that just might really help me out one day!

So ….

PAY ATTENTION!!

And pay attention to my “Pay Attention” series to see what cool thing is right under our noses next!

@TarynP Teaching to think confidently, “These ppl don’t know who I am, but I’m the bomb.” #winATL

The emphasis is mine, because, I think it ROCKS!!! That tweet then reminded me of a couple of lines at the end of one of @ElizabethPW’s recent blog posts that really, really resonated with me. Here it is – you ready? Ok….

Knowing that I don’t need anything. Knowing that I’m already kickass.

Now that is freaking awesometastic.

Want. on. a. poster. Badly. Very badly.

And then I remembered the video that I watched from Tony Robbins last night. I just love that guy. It was his Special Holiday Message and his wife is in it for a snippet – she’s so cute! At the end of it, he added a clip of Jim Rohn, his mentor who just passed away. Tony said that his biggest takeaway from Jim was that YOU have to be amazing if you want your business to be amazing. How simple and how utterly, completely eye-opening. I had never heard Jim talk, though I’d been meaning to all week, after hearing so many people online talk about him. So I was really glad that Tony sent that video to us and that he’d attached the part from Jim Rohn.

Ok, so …basically, I’m having a good day today. If you couldn’t tell. And I don’t want to blow smoke up anyone’s a$$ – I know we’ll have bad days. I know that good days – amazing business days – good weather days – happy family days – don’t mean that everything will be rosy all the time. I can tell you that I had a perfectly ROTTEN day yesterday. It was cloudy, I argued with my hubby in the morning (great way to start the day. heh.) and I wasn’t feeling very well. I did, however, try to keep my head in the game. I listened to some positive podcasts and I pushed myself to get some work done even though I knew I was feeling lousy (mentally, emotionally and physically), because, I knew that if I didn’t – I would feel worse.

So I know there are bad days. Tomorrow might be one. (I think I’m talking to myself here more than anyone. Frealz.) I also know that if I want my business – meaning anything that I do online for pay, whether that be selling my own products, or being a virtual assistant or anything – to be amazing – I have to be amazing, too.

And the cool thing is, we all already are amazing. It’s just a matter of stepping into it.

So go on – step into your amazing.

And then comment on this post – because, it’ll make me feel that much more amazing!! (And see, that’s one more way we can be amazing – help others feel their amazing!)

So come on – what do you have to say to me today?

So you’ve been thinking of starting a business from home. You’ve got some skills, don’t have a lot of space for inventory, so you figure it might be a good idea to start a service business. In fact, it’s a GREAT idea – you just have to be prepared to get your business off the ground and balance all the work/life responsibilities that are on your plate.

This article is going to provide you with easy-to-follow tips to do just that, but first, if you still don’t know what type of service business to start, here are a few popular suggestions:

Ghostwriting for the Internet: Write articles, reports and other information for online business owners.

Transcription Business: Create written records of audio recordings, meetings and more.

Virtual Assistant Business: Provide administrative support, secretarial services and more for other companies.

It doesn’t matter what type of service business you start, there will be some challenges along the way. Here are some tips help you as you go along:

1. First and foremost, set your working hours and ensure everyone in your household is aware of them and respects them. If you happen to be a mother or have other interruptions during the day, there’s nothing wrong with setting aside smaller chunks of time where you’ll be working. This isn’t the “real world” work setting anymore – it’s better. You work at home and you can decide when you work.

2. As a service business, you have two very important roles. One of those roles is to provide service for your clients. The other is to FIND those clients and the time involved in this is something many service-providers don’t take into account. Ensure you have enough time for providing services and the marketing tasks for your business – or hire some help to make the most efficient use of your time.

3. Charge a fair and rewarding rate. Even if you charge your clients for each hour you work for them, there are many tasks (administrative, marketing, etc.) that you don’t get paid for. To set a rate that is worthwhile to you, you need to decide what type of overall income you desire and figure out how many hours total (all business activities) you want to be working. If you find you can’t charge a rate that is worthwhile, consider another business idea or target a specific type clientele that is willing to pay the rates you charge.

4. Be choosy about your clients. It can be tempting to simply take on any clients because you may need the cash. Unfortunately, bad clients can drain your time, suck up your energy and end up being more work than they’re worth. Resist the temptation to just take any clients because your business will be more fruitful in the long run if you work with easy-to-manage, low-maintenance clients.

5. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you find yourself taking on more clients than you can handle to earn more money, revisit tip #3 above. You may be concerned about giving your clients a good deal, but they actually suffer when you can’t provide the quality service they deserve. Instead aim for fewer clients, charge more and give them stellar service.

If you keep these things in mind, your transition to a work-at-home service provider will go much more smoothly. It’s not always easy and when you’re first starting out, it can be tough to find that balance and a schedule that you can work with. But stick with it and keep refining your process and you’ll find yourself owning a very rewarding business that you absolutely love.

Recommended

To get more at home business ideas, be sure to visit Just Add Sweat – they’re your source for step-by-step guides for starting your very own home-based business. You’ll find the guidance you need to get your business off the ground, find real-life success stories from women just like you and more.

Click here to go to Just Add Sweat