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Perhaps you’ve thought about writing and selling your own e-books as a new income stream. But did you know that by giving them away (or practically giving them away), you can turn e-books into incredible marketing tools?

Whether you write a completely new e-book from scratch or compile information from your blog or website into a more comprehensive resource, let’s take a look at how you can get marketing benefits from even short e-books and reports.

There is More Than One Way to Market With E-books

When people talk about using e-books as a marketing tool, they often focus on only one potential way to do that. Let’s look at that method first and then explore a couple of others.

1. Build your mailing list.  — E-books can be a great way to entice people to sign up for your newsletter or other email list. Advertise the free e-book for subscribers and have it delivered as soon as they confirm their email subscription. Why would you want to do this? You can use your email list to sell private newsletter advertisements, sell other products to subscribers, or promote other sites or products or services.
2. Promote professional services. — Short informational e-books can be great tools for service providers. For example, I used to run a small PR firm. I offered press release writing services. I gave away a 17 page e-book about how to write press releases. It brought in client leads for those writing services because they could see I knew what I was talking about, and I gave them something of value that competitors did not. These kinds of e-books work a lot like white papers.
3. Up-sell to other information products. — By giving away e-books as marketing tools, you can use them to up-sell readers. In other words, you provide a short e-book as an introduction to a topic, and then if readers like it the end of your e-book encourages them to purchase a much more advanced e-book on a similar topic.

3 Keys to Effective E-book Marketing

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

Remember that by “e-book marketing” here we’re referring to using e-books to market other things (not marketing e-books themselves). With that in mind, here are three things that might make your e-book marketing more effective.

1. Keep e-books free or low cost. — While you should price appropriately for your market if you release e-books as a primary product or income stream, using them as marketing tools is different. They can be most effective as freebies — the free information becomes the incentive for the target readers to do something else (like sign up or purchase another product or service). If you insist on charging for them, keep marketing tool e-books much cheaper than your typical e-books or other information products.
2. Offer actionable information. – Don’t make people feel like they got nothing out of reading your e-book. The fact that it’s a marketing tool in your perspective does not mean it should have no value to the reader. Using the press release writing e-book I mentioned before as an example, rather than simply use the e-book to explain what releases are I taught readers how to write their own. First, that meant people intimidated by the process or unable to make the time for it were more likely to hire someone like me. And for the rest who tried it on their own first, quite a few still became clients for their next release because they gained a greater appreciation of the work that goes into them and they wanted a professional’s touch the next time around. Don’t be afraid to teach others to do things you can do. Hoarding knowledge doesn’t help in this case.
3. Keep the content relevant. — For example, don’t write an e-book on making money online just because you think people want to know how to do that. Each individual e-book has to not only answer a question or solve a problem for the reader, but they should each be relevant to your end marketing goal. For example, if you were selling a home pedicure package you might release a free e-book on giving yourself a home pedicure. You could entice people to sign up for your mailing list for future promotions to get that e-book, and increase the odds even more by including a coupon code for the product in the e-book itself.

Are you using e-books as effective marketing tools? What have you used them to promote? How well did it work out? If you have stories or marketing tips to share that involve e-books, please comment below to tell us about it.

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If you’re a book lover, you probably know that all Borders stores are closing. This weekend I went to the nearest store to check out the liquidation sale. And I have to say, I wasn’t that impressed. Books seemed to be selling slowly, even with 40-50% discounts. They still couldn’t seem to compete with online behemoth, Amazon.com.

As sad as it is to see physical bookstores closing, there’s hope. These big box retailers knocked down the little independent bookstores years ago, and now those indie bookstores have a chance to shine again. So let’s take a look at how the Borders failure can be a good thing for small businesses in this industry, and a few lessons those independent booksellers can learn from it.

Lesson 1: Get with the Times

Borders hung onto a comfortable business model in a rapidly-changing industry. They didn’t get with the times and give customers what they wanted. Smaller bookstores still have time to get their operations up to date. Yes, people still want hard copies of books. But they also want shopping convenience and e-books. Here are a few ways smaller booksellers can modernize their stores:

• Let customers search book availability online. That lets them avoid wasted time in stores searching for things. Let them either reserve in-stock titles for 24 hours or purchase them online for pick-up at their convenience. It’s like online shopping without paying for or waiting on shipping.
• Get involved in affiliate promotions. Encourage more authors to launch affiliate programs for online versions of their books (the bookstore earns commissions on sales). Or join existing affiliate programs through large online e-book sellers to avoid your own licensing deals. Offer in-store consoles for shoppers to browse and order the e-books. You can do the same through your website.
• Pay your own commissions. Referral sales can be big business, and the bookselling industry is no exception. Give customers a reason to refer others to your shop with affiliate programs or special loyalty rewards. Better yet, partner with libraries. They need income sources. You need more sales. Why not have referrals built into their online catalog? You deliver the books to the library and patrons can pick up orders just like they’d pick up hold items. The library gets a cut of each sale they refer. Win-win.

Lesson 2: Offer Value-Added Services

Story time can keep families coming back to your bookstore. - Credit: Shuva Rahim - Fotolia.com

A cup of java isn’t enough to keep bookstores alive. Smaller bookstores need to find new value-added services to keep customers coming in-store. Here are a few examples.

• Offer children’s story time on a regular basis.
• Host author book signings, readings, and other events.
• Launch a community book club (or several).
• Offer used books and trade-in opportunities to compete with low-priced online used book sales.
• Host contests or events like writing workshops — find new local talent to promote and get local press coverage for it.
• Host events relevant to your store (murder mystery parties for a mystery bookstore, Halloween events for one specializing in horror, period costume parties, etc.).

Lesson 3: Find Your Niche

It’s tough to compete as a generalist in an industry where one or two large retailers dominate the market. They can buy in such bulk that they can afford to offer greater discounts than a small seller can. You can’t compete with them on price. Instead, smaller sellers can compete with niche specialties (such as a mystery bookstore or one focused on children’s books). Here are some of the benefits of doing that.

• You can provide more knowledgeable staff than a general bookstore can — people passionate about a specific genre who know the authors, books, and niche inside and out.
• You can focus on highly relevant authors and books for events your customers might be interested in (rather than hosting general events where customers might only be interested once every few months).
• You can offer more obscure titles and collectibles within your niche because you don’t have to save floor space for a huge diverse collection of books.

The bookselling industry might be changing, but that doesn’t mean physical bookstores are going anywhere. Those with a creative edge will likely thrive and take things like the Borders failure as an opportunity to shine.

Do you have a favorite independent bookstore? What do they do that bigger chains don’t (or can’t)? How are they adapting to changes in book buying behavior and e-publishing? Share your thoughts, stories, and other comments below.

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Despite the fact that social media marketing seems to monopolize internet marketing conversations lately, it’s far from your only option. For example, email marketing can still be a highly effective way to communicate with an audience, drive traffic, and increase sales.

I used to use simple email newsletters to promote site features and content, but stopped years ago because I didn’t have enough products to promote. The return wasn’t there at the time. With several new e-books and a series of e-courses in the pipeline, I decided that now was a good time to get back into email marketing.

That meant I had to choose a new email marketing service. In my case, I chose Aweber. I won’t tell you to run out and sign up for their service, but I do want to share some of the issues that came up when making that decision.

By answering the following questions, you’ll have an easier time choosing the best email marketing provider for your small business.

1. Is this for a new list or are you moving an existing list?

Any email marketing service can help you start a new list. But if you already have an opt-in list, your choices might be more limited by things like import limits or rules regarding new opt-ins. Rather than potentially losing subscribers with a new opt-in for the service transfer, you might be better off asking your current provider if they can offer a different plan that better suits your needs.

2. How many subscribers do you anticipate early on? In the future?

An important consideration when choosing an email marketing service is whether or not they can handle your current subscriber count. Check their limits (which will likely vary based on pricing tiers) and make sure they can accommodate your current list size. Also consider anticipated growth of your list. Does the service you’re interested in offer scalable options that can grow with your business, or are you already maxing out their subscriber limits?

3. What will you use the email marketing service for?

Different email marketing services can offer different features. Which are most important to you? That will depend on what you plan to do with the list. For example, I mentioned e-courses earlier. So I looked for a service with good autoresponder features to deliver scheduled course materials.

What's involved in email marketing? - Credit: Danard Vincente (via Flickr)

You might want to do something similar, use it mostly to deliver RSS feeds via email, send manual newsletters, send scheduled announcements or promotions, or do some combination of these things. Even if you aren’t ready for all of these things right now, think about the foreseeable future. Choose an email marketing service that fits into your ongoing marketing strategy to avoid having to switch services again too soon.

4. How much can you afford?

Another important consideration is the affordability factor. If you can’t afford to use a paid service at all, then you might want to tailor your strategy to free options available. If you have an adequate budget you can go for premium services that offer greater reliability, no ads in your emails, and better response tracking (in addition to the primary features you want).

Did you recently choose your first email marketing service or change providers? What made you choose them? What were you looking for and what made that provider stand out? In addition to the things mentioned here, what other factors would you suggest small business owners consider? Leave your thoughts, stories, and tips in the comments below.

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

When we previously talked about how to write a white paper, we looked at the ways informational reports can be used as highly effective marketing tools. Marketing case studies are another popular informational marketing tool you can use to promote your business.

You might have in-house marketing folks write your case studies or you might hire a freelancer to help you out. But if you want to give it a try on your own, this article should get you moving in the right direction.

What is a Case Study?

There are different types of case studies. For the purpose of this article we’re talking only about “marketing case studies.” A marketing case study is kind of like your company’s chance to play show-and-tell with your customers, prospects, and the public. A case study is a document that details a very specific success you’ve seen — either on your own behalf or on the behalf of a client.

For example, an SEO firm might publish case studies relating to individual clients and past projects such as showing a struggling client achieving first placement search engine rankings as a result of the firm’s search engine marketing plan and implementation.

What a Case Study Includes

1. Problem – Your marketing case study should start out by highlighting a business problem you or a client had. It should be a problem that other customers or prospects can relate to, or something that might interest the media if you plan to use them as background material for newsworthy stories you intend to pitch.
2. Approach / Solution – Next you’ll cover your plan or approach — how you intended to address the problem. You should briefly explain why you chose the approach that you did and how the problem can be solved using that approach.
3. Results / Evaluation – Then you’ll want to share specific results proving that your approach and intended solution worked in a real-life scenario. You might also offer further evaluation of the approach if you think it’s needed.

You can do more than publish case studies to your website. For example, why not include them in your media kit or share them at presentations? - Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

Why Marketing Case Studies are Important

Case studies lend more legitimacy to your company, services, or products. They go beyond the hypothetical and prove that you really know how to get results. This can help you:

1. Land media coverage or be looked at as an expert source for interviews;
2. Attract more clients or customers when they see the real-world impact you, your products, or your services can have.

In the end, case studies help you prove the value of what you offer in a very specific and measurable way. You may remember that white papers work using a similar formula — problem, general solution, your solution. The biggest difference is that while a white paper can educate your prospective buyers in a longer format, these generally shorter case studies are more about illustrating something specific and real.

You move beyond the “I can help you solve your problem by doing X, Y, and Z,” to “Here’s what I’ve already done to prove I can solve the very problem you’re experiencing.” And that can be an incredibly strong motivational marketing tool.

Have you used marketing case studies before? How have they worked out for you? Do you have case study writing tips you’d like to share? Please leave your thoughts, experiences, and ideas in the comments below.

Your ad is visually appealing. You paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for it. It has been printed in magazines and newspapers or played on television and radio. You turn on your open sign the day of the Super Colossal Blowout Sale. That’s funny. No one is waiting in line for me to open. You wait optimistically. You close up shop 15 minutes early. It was business as usual today. Only one person mentioned your ad or brought in your coupon.

Has this been your experience? Would you like to get more from your advertising dollars? Failed ads have no clear objective to begin with or did not meet their objective. In most advertising success or failure is measured by return on investment (ROI) of an ad. Did your ad make money? What was the percentage or return?

Failure to Reach

Did anyone see or hear your ad? Most ad campaigns fail because they aren’t reaching your target audience.  Spend time studying your demographics and psychographics. Your ROI will automatically improve as soon as you start reaching your ideal market segment.

Predictable Ads

Your ad sounded just right. You followed the formulas. It looks like everyone else’s. That’s precisely the problem. Predictable ads do not pique the Broca’s area of the brain, which understands language. They fail to get attention because they’re polished, professional, cliché.

Your ad violated Orwell’s rule, “Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.” “We have the best service and selection” is the equivalent of “blah blah blah.”Clishe allows the reader or listener to passively follow along. It does not conjure up any new imagery. Your ad was background noise.

Ad Content

Ads fail because they are boring.  Get out the yellow pages and look up your business.  Look at your competition.  How many times do you see the same words and phrases throughout?  Your company needs to stand out.

Ads fail because they are all about you.  You know the old benefit-feature rule.  Why are you talking about yourself so much?  People want to know, “What’s in it for me?”

Ads fail when they are too content rich. (That’s hard for me to say, as a writer. But as a copywriter, I know less is more.) You cannot and should not cover every service or product you offer. Focus on one. Capture the attention, grow the interest, build a desire, and end with a clear call to action.

Emotionless Ads

Ads fail because they don’t affect emotion. To arouse desire that motivates purchase, you need to sell the emotional end result, not the product.  Harley doesn’t sell motorcycles.  They sell the excuse/opportunity for 43-year-old accountants to wear black leather and have people in small towns fear them.  Sell the attitude, sell the lifestyle.

Do not confuse this with entertainment. An ad that simply entertains without persuading will not yield a high ROI. The most successful ads deliver involvement and clarity.

Lack of Differentiation

Why should anyone come to you (rather than your competitor)? A unique selling position should answer that question. It must be relevant to your target audience, addressing their point of pain. Think about how you can help your clients.

Don’t be afraid to offend. No, I’m not saying your ad should be sexist, racist, or shocking. But it does need to get attention and compel action. Remember that of the customers who hate your ads, 98.9 percent of them will still come to you when they need your product. These customers don’t cost you money. They just complain to the cashier about your annoying ad while handing over their cash.

No Clear Call to Action

Ads fail if they have no clear call to action. You cannot assume your audience will know what you want them to do. Never overestimate their intelligence. Tell them what to do and cause them to imagine themselves doing it.

Ads fail when they have too many calls to action. Do you ask readers to go to the website, stop in, and call? Do you fill half your ad space with contact info?  This is especially detrimental with radio advertising. No one can remember all that! End with one clear singular call to action. If you even use a phone number on television or radio, make it easy to recall.

By:  Terra L. Fletcher, Fletcher Freelance

About the Author:

Terra L. Fletcher is a freelance writer living in Shawano, Wisconsin. In addition to writing articles for the web, mainstream publication, and industry journals, Fletcher provides business writing and marketing services. She owns Fletcher Freelance where she writes, edits, and provides marketing consultations. Fletcher enjoys speaking to trade and professional organizations on presenting a professional image, internet marketing, and Facebook for business. When she’s not writing, Fletcher loves to cook, spend time outdoors, and read.

Using YouTube could pay off big time for your business. Industry experts agree that search engines love video, which could result in higher Google rankings. So how should you get started? YouTube is the number one video-sharing site, making the site a must-do. But beware, to leverage this effectively can take time. Luckily, it’s also a great area for bringing in an intern or freelancer to help. Here are a few pointers on where to start:

1. Create a Customized Channel –Your YouTube channel should match the look and feel of your brand – you can use the custom options to change the default settings of your YouTube page to incorporate your logo and add custom colors. It’s important that your branding is consistent across all of your social media sites.

2. Upload and Organize Content – An intern or freelancer can upload all relevant video content whether it’s a presentation you recently gave or a promo video. Are you creating a weekly podcast? Add some images and upload your podcast as a video. Whether you have hundreds of videos or just a few, creating a strategy and organizing your content is a great project to get some help with. Maybe your content should be sorted by date or chronological order depending on your business. Don’t forget the playlist option, where you can mix multiple videos into a perfect playlist.

3. Engage Others – While watching a video may seem solitary, YouTube is a social site. “Favorite” videos appropriate to your business and make friends with other relevant users. Add comments to content you enjoy and make sure an intern or freelancers moderates comments on your clips, too.

4. Get Tagging – Tagging content is critical. The better your videos are tagged, the more likely they are to show up in relevant searches – critical your customers (and potential customers) to find your content.
• Title: Create a title that clearly uses relevant keywords from the video.
• Description: Again, use keywords to describe the content. But don’t forget to add your company name and a relevant link to your website.
• Category: Make sure that your video is classified in the best category to describe its content.
• Tags: Use tags to help narrow down the category and get specific. For example, if your category is fashion, use tags like New York City, street style, e-commerce and boots for a video touting your newest products for your shore store in the Big Apple. Add as many tags as necessary to distinguish your video.

5. Track Progress with Analytics – You can get insight on every video that is uploaded to YouTube by clicking on the “Insight” button. Ask your intern or freelancer to look at the data to see the demographics about who is viewing your most popular videos and how they are finding your videos.

Is your small business constantly struggling to find ways to get its name out there? Are you trying to trim your marketing and PR budget so you can outlast this recession?

Well, there’s good news. Now you can get your name out there without spending anything at all. If you use these 3 free publicity-generating tactics, you’ll increase your brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, enhance your credibility, and get more qualified leads and sales.

If you know of any other free ways to get publicity, share your tactics by leaving a comment.

 1. Online press release distribution

Sending out press releases through the dozens of free PR distribution websites online is a great way to get your name out there. Make sure your press release contains an interesting, newsworthy angle and a powerful headline that sucks readers in. This gives your press release the best chance of standing out and getting picked up by other media outlets.

One of the great things about online press release directories is that most of them allow you to include links in the body of your press release. This allows you to create keyword-rich backlinks aimed at landing pages on your site. This drives targeted traffic to those pages, and it also helps those pages rank better for the chosen keywords.

Speaking of search engine rankings, Google tends to really love press releases. I’ve had press releases I’ve written stay on the first page of the search results for the targeted keyword for more than a year. That’s why it’s so important to optimize your press release by placing the keyword in the headline, subhead, and body.

2. Article marketing

Writing interesting, informative articles for online article directories will yield multiple benefits. In addition to increasing your online presence, article marketing bolsters your credibility, positioning you as an expert in your industry.

Whenever you write articles, always make sure your content is fully compliant with the guidelines of the article directories you’re targeting. Article submission directories typically have minimum word counts, maximum number of links allowed, formatting requirements, and quality standards. As it relates to quality, don’t use your article as a thinly-veiled advertisement. Instead, focus on giving sound advice and useful information to readers as this will help you earn their trust, making them more comfortable doing business with you in the future.

The thing to remember about article marketing is that it takes time to build a successful campaign. You can’t just publish one article and expect to see great results. You need to consistently publish a decent volume of well-written articles over a long period of time before you start to really see the benefits. Consistency is the key!

3. Guest blogging

We’ve talked about the importance of guest blogging on here before. The blogosphere is an amazing tool for helping your business reach its target audience. Whenever you submit a guest blog, your credibility is instantly increased because it acts as an endorsement from the host blogger who’s allowing you to talk to his readers.

For the most success guest blogging, you need to always focus on putting your best foot forward. Remember, this is your chance to make a strong first impression with a new audience. With that in mind, you need to submit the best piece of content you’re capable of writing. Try to give the audience something that they haven’t read a million times before, and make sure to include your unique personality in the piece. This will help you build a relationship with the readers.

What are some other free ways to get publicity? Share your best tips by leaving a comment.

In business, there are 2 words that can go a long way to keeping customers happy and loyal. The words? Thank you. As simple as it might sound, customers love feeling appreciated. And taking the time to thank the customer instantly separates your company from most others, increasing the chances that your customer will remain loyal.

You’ve probably already heard this, but it’s worth repeating. It’s cheaper to keep an existing customer than to attract a new one. That’s why customer retention should always be a top priority.

Here are 5 simple ways you can thank your customers.

1. Offer special discounts to loyal customers—It’s a win-win really. By offering your loyal customers a special discount (e.g. As our way of saying “thank you” please enjoy 25% off any item in our store), you show them just how much you appreciate their business. At the same time, you generate more business for yourself because they’re going to redeem that coupon by making a purchase with you.

You could also use the “punch card” program (e.g. Get 4 car washes and your 5th one is free) to reward customers. Many businesses put this to use as it keeps customers coming back so they can work their way to earning that reward.

2. Hold after hours in-store events—I’ve played guitar for most of my life, and I buy most of my equipment at Guitar Center. One thing they do that I really like is they hold special in-store after hours sales for loyal customers. The only way you can enter the store during this event is with a postcard invitation.

At these events, the prices are much lower than usual, letting dedicated customers enjoy the best deals around. Because the event is exclusive, it makes customer feel special, like they belong.

3. Send personalized thank you notes—It’s one thing to send out an automated email thanking customers for their purchase. It’s another thing to take the time to write and mail personalized thank you letters. The great thing about letters is that they tend to get held onto. Emails get deleted. Phone calls get forgotten. Letters stick around.

Take a few minutes to write your customers a short note thanking them for their business. It’s a small gesture, but it will grab the attention of your customers.

4. Create a birthday club—One of the local ice cream shops I visit lets customers sign up for a program to receive a free ice cream cone on their birthday. I think this is a great idea as it says both “thank you” and “happy birthday”, helping you take your relationship with the customer up a notch.

5. Send business their way if possible—If you serve other businesses, you should look for opportunities to refer business to them. For example, I’m a freelance copywriter. One of my clients is a web design company. On more than a few occasions, I’ve heard friends complaining about their designer or just looking for a new one, and I’d tell them to check out my client that offers web design services. The client appreciates it, and my friends get quality design work. Everybody wins.

How do you thank your customers? Share your best tips by leaving a comment.

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

When this post topic was agreed upon weeks ago, I had a very specific plan in mind. I wanted to talk about the constant claims of sexism in social media that I hear from colleagues — not enough women presenting at conferences, not enough women published on social media topics in journals, etc.

However, the issue of sexism in business on the Web recently took a different turn in the blogosphere — Freelancer James Chartrand of Men With Pens announced that he is actually a she. I’m not going to get into all of the details here. There are plenty of places where you can learn more. In essence though, “James” was struggling to land the kind of work she wanted, so she decided to use a male pseudonym. Income rose drastically. Now bloggers all over the freelance, blogging, and social media niches are attributing that success to gender bias.

I think they’re full of crap.

A Bit of Background

Just to be up front, I’ve never been a fan of James Chartrand. I never cared for the Men With Pens blog, and was never a regular reader. So unlike clients, closer colleagues, and regular readers of the blog, I don’t have the potential issue of feeling personally betrayed by the lie.

That said, as much as I wasn’t a fan of James, I always respected the fact that “he” was willing to speak his mind openly whether or not I agreed with him. I love people who speak their mind and tell the truth as they see it without constantly worrying about what everyone else thinks of them.

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

That respect is gone. James was never that person. She wasn’t speaking her mind freely and openly. She was hiding behind a penis. Her opinions were never truly presented as her own, and speaking your mind while wearing a mask simply doesn’t deserve the same kind of respect. I’d much rather have read material from a ballsy woman taking a risk than a coward.

I don’t know how accurate James’ single mom story is. I will say that if it’s true I do genuinely feel bad that any women felt they had to adopt a male persona (not simply a pen name) to make more, or enough, money.

I don’t consider myself a feminist, at least in that I don’t make it my mission to improve the situation of females as a whole. Instead I’m a big believer in taking personal responsibility for your own success and failures. I know many successful female freelance writers. I know plenty of successful male freelance writers. I also know quite a few of both sexes who struggle to get by. I know men who have blogged as women. We have an example here of a woman who blogged as a man. There are also both men and women who blog under pseudonyms without undergoing a virtual sex change. Success in this kind of work doesn’t seem to be heavily gender-specific at all. I think there’s much more to the story than the gender bias issue everyone seems to be talking about.

You’re Your Own Harshest Critic

Look. I don’t buy into all the “visualize yourself as a success and it will happen” crap. Is confidence a part of the equation? Absolutely. But so is everything you do with that confidence. Knowing you deserve more isn’t enough. Knowing you’re qualified for a gig isn’t enough. Plenty of other people probably are too. It’s a part of your job to exude confidence and demonstrate value to clients in your pitch.

I have to wonder how much James’ (she hasn’t revealed her real name yet) perception of gender bias in the freelance world influenced how she behaved as a woman. I also have to wonder how her confidence, approach, tone, and marketing changed when she donned the new man suit. You can’t be two different people but still remain exactly the same.

By James’ account she was going through a pretty desperate time. How many desperate people really put their best foot forward in the freelance market? It would be incredibly difficult to put your focus squarely on a client’s needs when your own needs are so dire. I doubt anyone could realistically say that there isn’t some level of relief in taking on a new persona — getting to step outside your real life and worries to try something new. Don’t try to tell me that had absolutely no effect whatsoever on how James presented him/herself. I don’t think any level-headed person would buy that line.

Credit: MenWithPens.ca

You can see what I mean by visiting Men with Pens (or even just taking a look at the logo on the right). One of the things that always turned me off of the blog was the hyper-masculinity of the design. It had little to do with the niche. The entire package felt like an overcompensation issue. And it apparently was. It’s not exactly the kind of image a woman would go for if writing as an actual woman. That fact alone shows that the marketing approach changed.

Still, others flocked to the site (and to hire James). Why? Because Men With Pens got something very right — branding. Not only did James’ pen name have a nice flow in and of itself, but Men with Pens presents a pretty straightforward image of what you’re going to get. Did James’ estrogen-laden marketing efforts have the same branding benefits going for it? I highly doubt it — but without the whole story from Ms. Chartrand no one can really know. And that lack of information is precisely what makes gender bias seem so plausible, at least until you put on your critical thinking cap and look at the bigger picture.

I really wish the online writing, blogging and social media communities would put the emphasis where it belongs — taking responsibility for your own success rather than feeling the need to play the role of victim. There’s nothing wrong with using a pen name. But when you have to pretend to be an entirely different person to improve your situation, that’s not taking responsibility — it’s playing a game. I do understand that desperate times call for desperate measures, but the sad thing here is that we’ll never know if James could have been equally successful just being herself if she would have simply worked on the confidence and rethought her personal branding.

How much do you think confidence based in anonymity played into James’ improved success? What about branding? And if you want to blame it all on gender bias, then how do you explain the vast group of successful female freelance writers both on the Web and off? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and PayScale, the best jobs in America currently are as follows.  If you have an educational qualification and experience in IT or healthcare, it’s going to be a cakewalk for you, what with the numerous opportunities out there, just waiting for you.

Let’s take a look at the 50 best jobs in the United States:

#1 Systems Engineer – Information Technology (Pay: $87,100 – $130,000)

The highest rated job in the United States is in the information technology sector. Engineers are considered extremely valuable due to their exceptional technical problem solving skills. They have jobs as the think-tank “managers” on complex projects, including military defense programs and major transportation networks.

#2 Physician Assistant – Healthcare (Pay: $90,900 – $124,000)

They work under a doctor’s supervision and it is a recession proof field because of the shortage of PAs.

#3 College Professor – Education (Pay: $70,400 – $115,000)

The best part of this job is the scheduling freedom they get, as well as the time off for holidays and less workload in summer.

#4 Nurse Practitioner – Healthcare (Pay: $85,200- $113,000)

With the growth of retail health clinics and the shortage of primary care doctors, NPs have lots of opportunities in hospitals, private practices and urgent-care centers.

#5 Information Technology Project Manager – IT (Pay: $98,700 – $140,000)

Plenty of opportunities and scope for growth as every company needs tech savvy managers. They can even rise to the level of a chief technology office with salaries of $300,000.

#6 Certified Public Accountant – Financial (Pay: $74,200 – $138,000)

CPAs are in demand with the government and businesses. They can also work for themselves as tax preparers. A great recession proof job!

#7 Physical Therapist – Healthcare (Pay: $74,300 – $98,100)

The inevitability of aging makes this a high demand job, where physical therapy treatment is needed for a lot of chronic conditions.

#8 Computer/Network Security Consultant – IT (Pay: $99,700 – $152,000)

Companies and government agencies increasingly need to safeguard themselves against breach of security in their computer systems. Top level consultants demand very high pay.

#9 Intelligence Analyst – Government (Pay: $82,500 – $115,000)

Great for those who love adventure as data is collected from internet, military, spy reports, satellite images etc.

#10 Sales Director – Sales & Marketing (Pay: $140,000 – $239,000)

Sales directors who can help during an economic downturn are always needed. They often get promoted to the higher levels of management.

#11 Anesthesiologist – Healthcare (Pay: $292,000 – $408,000)

They are doctors who are in great demand, as they are essential to administer anesthesia during surgery or other procedures.

#12 Software Developer – IT (Pay: $79,400 – $116,000)

Their job is to write software for websites, applications and data processing systems.

#13 Pharmacists – Healthcare (Pay: $109,000 – $134,000)

They give medications for prescriptions issued by medical practitioners.

#14 Occupational Therapist – Healthcare (Pay: $69,700 – $100,000)

This job involves organizing and participating in rehabilitative programs to help restore daily living and vocational skills to disabled persons.

#15 Nurse Anesthetist – Healthcare (Pay: $117,000 – $214,000)

Working with anesthesiologists to help administer anesthesia to patients, they monitor and adjust the levels of anesthesia during the surgery and also take care of patients after surgery.

#16 Software Product Manager – IT (Pay: $106,000 – $148,000)

Their job is to assess customer needs and come up with new software products or new features for the old products.

#17 Business Analyst – IT (Pay: $82,600 – $119,000)

Analyzing management, healthcare, engineering, operations and other business information processes to provide software and hardware solutions is their job.

#18 Attorney/Lawyer – Legal (Pay: $115,000 – $262,000)

They represent clients in civil and criminal proceedings, advice clients on legal matters and draw up legal documents.

#19 Physician/General Practice (Pay: $150,000 – $228,000)

They will always be in demand as they help treat all sorts of diseases, conditions and injuries.

#20 Human Resource Manager (Pay: $71,000 – $111,000)

Their role is central to any organization.  They have to plan and manage everything related to human resources; including recruitment, benefits, training, compensation and employee relations.  They are also required to ensure that all procedures and policies of the company are properly followed through.

While the above listed are the top 20 best jobs, let us take a brief look at the rest of the 30 jobs in the list along with the pay.

#21 Senior Financial Analyst (Pay: $79,900 – $109,000)

#22 Physician/Obstetrician/Gynecologist – Healthcare (Pay: $222,000 – $338,000)

#23 Clinical Psychologist – Healthcare (Pay: $81,100 – $172,000)

#24 Psychiatrist – Healthcare (Pay: $177,000 – $279,000)

#25 Veterinarian (Pay: $83,900 – $157,000)

#26 Marketing Manager – Sales & Marketing (Pay: $76,600 – $126,000)

#27 Speech Language Pathologist – Healthcare (Pay: $70,900 – $116,000)

#28 Technical Writer – IT (Pay: $67,400 – $99,600)

#29 Finance Director – Financial (Pay: $121,000 – $214,000)

#30 Telecommunications Network Engineer – IT (Pay: $86,200 – $130,000)

#31 Director of Communications – Sales & Marketing (Pay: $78,300 – $135,000)

#32 Hotel General Manager (Pay: $76,800 – $146000)

#33 Securities Trader – Financial (Pay: $113,000 – $491,000)

#34 Account Executive – Sales & Marketing (Pay: $81,400 – $157,000)

#35 Education/Training Consultant – Education (Pay: $77,800 – $157,000)

#36 Corporate Paralegal – Legal (Pay: $65,600 – $96,000)

#37 Quality Control Engineer – Engineering (Pay: $69,300 – $96,800)

#38 Manufacturing Engineer – Engineering (Pay: $75,100 – $103,000)

#39 Software Program Managers – IT (Pay: $110,000 – $152,000)

#40 Applications Systems Analyst – IT (Pay: $71,500 – $95,900)

#41 Senior Internal Auditor – Financial (Pay: $75,000 – $106,000)

#42 Commercial Property Manager (Pay: $75,400 – $123,000)

#43 Creative Director (Pay: $86,900 – $157,000)

#44 Pharmaceutical & Sales Representative – Sales & Marketing (Pay: $105,000 – $138,000)

#45 Associate – Investment Banking – Financial (Pay: $106,000 – $221,000)

#46 Training & Development Manager (Pay: $79,800 – $120,000)

#47 Product Marketing Manager – Sales & Marketing (Pay: $105,000 – $146,000)

#48 Quality Assurance Manager – Engineering (Pay: $79,500 – $122,000)

#49 Financial Research Analyst – Financial (Pay: $65,500 – $155,000)

#50 Outside Sales Representative – Sales & Marketing (Pay: $66,900 – $125,000)

The starting pay mentioned for all the jobs is for workers with at least 2-7 years experience in the particular field. What are you waiting for?  Grab the job that suits your qualifications the best and make hay, recession or not.