Free Digital Photography Guide

With the great quality of photos we can get from digital cameras many people are now enjoying photography as a hobby, or even taking many of their own business photos.

But do you ever wonder why some shots turn out better than others? Why some have great lighting or texture and others are rather… flat?

While catching up on some reading at one of my favourite blogs, My New Shiny Shoes, I came across this post about a free digital photography guide. And sure enough… it’s totally free. No catches, no gimmicks.  I’ve just downloaded a copy and although I haven’t read the entire guide yet, I’ve already learnt a few tips.

If you would like to improve your camera skills, download your copy now.

How To Earn A Full-Time Income Plus On eBay

Have you ever bought or sold anything on eBay?

I was fortunate enough to spend last Friday – Sunday at an eBay Magic Seminar on the Gold Coast, run by the eBay Magicians, Matt and Amanda Clarkson.

I can honestly say that this was a highly worthwhile weekend, with loads of valuable information being shared. Matt and Amanda are such lovely, genuine people with a high level of integrity… and a great sense of humour. In addition to all the useful information and brilliant ideas, I spent three days with a room full of positive, motivated people, some of whom I’m sure I’ll be keeping in touch with.

Matt and Amanda speak all around the world so if ever you get a chance to hear them, it will be worth the effort to go.

You can read more about Matt and Amanda in the latest edition of the Business Mums Magazine (they’re the gorgeous couple on the cover) or visit their Bidding Buzz web site where you can download a free audio with more information on how to earn a living from selling on eBay.

Who Owns Your Content? Think Again…

When you post information on the Internet it’s worthwhile reading the fine print before you get too carried away.

If you use sites such as facebook, myspace or gmail I urge you to visit the World Internet Summit Blog now and watch this Sean Roach video.

I’ve seen one of Sean Roach’s presentations before and he is so funny, but he really knows his stuff.

Here’s to your success in business…

Donna-Marie

Do You Know Where Your Words May End Up?

When you write something on the internet – on your blog, blog comments, your website, articles that you publish – do you ever stop and wonder where your words may end up?

Personally, it never ceases to amaze me where my articles end up. I often see articles I’ve submitted to article directories on other people’s blog and websites, and I’ve even seen a couple in business newsletters that I subscribe to (all used appropriately and acknowledging the author, of course).

This week, I discovered that a post by Paul B. Brown on the New York Times Business Blog has quoted the Small Business Diva. Who would ever have thought? (NB: This is a great blog by the way – definitely worth visiting).

Now, would you like to know how I discovered this? No, I don’t have time to spend all day reading through millions of websites/blogs. I subscribe to Google Alerts. All you do is go to Google Alerts and enter the search terms you want to be alerted to, such as your name, your business name or even just an industry or topic that you’re interested in. Enter how often you want to receive email alerts, whether you want websites, blogs or everything, and your email address. That’s it. Simple.

When someone publishes something that includes your nominated search terms, you’ll be sent an email with the details.

Here’s to your success in business,

Donna-Marie

Blogs I Love

I feel honoured that not one but TWO other business owners last week awarded the Small Business Diva this I Love Your Blog award. Thank you to Annette from Under the Loupe and Marnie B. (I love both of their blogs too!)

The rules of this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.

In turn, I would like to pass the I Love Your Blog award on to the following blogs that I love:

1. Heart Harmony
2. Business Mums Magazine
3. Write Powerful Resumes
4. Shel Design
5. Herbology
6. VA Directory
7. Oz-e-WAHM

There are several others I’d like to include but 7 is probably enough for now. I hope you visit these – my favourite blogs.

Here’s to your success in small business,

Donna-Marie

Something Special Just For Blondes…

Even though I’m not blonde I wanted to share this cool new t-shirt with you, in anticipation of the Blondes Inc. up-coming website launch.

Blondes Inc. will be launched very soon to put a fun slant on their amazing and more serious humanitarian plans.

These cool blondes’ t-shirts are available in various sizes (the large size is the equivalent to a size 12 in Australia). Although the company is based in the US, they can be mailed to Australia too.

My.Organiser Refill Pages Have Arrived… Nearly!

If you’re a regular reader of A Good Sort’s blog then you would no doubt have read that the 2009 refill pages for their My.Organiser and mini organiser are due to arrive this Friday.

If you’re not familiar with A Good Sort and their attractive, practical organisers, check them out now.

Who Wants To Grow Their Blog?

Many bloggers know the feeling of having other people visiting your blog… leaving comments… developing a relationship with the blog host and other readers… subscribing to your RSS feed. There are many things you can do to help this process along – get involved in blogging communities, visit and comment on other blogs you like, participate in blog carnivals.

For any business woman who is serious about blogging I highly recommend joining the Blog Whammy group. This is a great group of business women who are all committed to providing blogs with quality content, regular posts and an overall beneficial blogging community.

The Blog Whammy is free to join, there are only a few simple, straight-forward rules and you will notice the difference it makes to your blog in just a few short weeks. Even better… you will develop business relationships and friends within this supportive community. I hope to see you there  🙂

Here’s to your success in business…

Donna-Marie

How To Have A Lifestyle In Business

Would you like to discover how to have a lifestyle in business?

What if there was a recipe for having a lifestyle in business… a step by step way to increase your profits and the outcome was enjoying a lifestyle with an abundance of time and money? There is such a recipe, which has virtually been a secret until now. A few have discovered it, and those who have are enjoying astounding time and money benefits.

James McNamara, founder of Impact Factory, will be sharing 5 Ways To Build Your Profits And Free Up Your Time at the Business Growth Session in Brisbane, Australia, on July 30th.

James McNamara

Full details are available here – bookings are essential. If you are in Brisbane, I hope you can join us.

Here’s to your success in business…

Donna-Marie

Do You Keep Up With Your Blogroll Friends?

This is a question raised by Elena at her EP Designs blog – some people have a blogroll list so long a kangaroo couldn’t jump over it… do they actually keep up with those blogging friends? Do they regularly read their posts and comment on them?

Well, I must admit that I’m one of those people. I don’t have all my favourite blogs listed on my blog because there’s just too many of them. And yes, I do like to keep up with them all (although I must admit, never as often as I’d like). 

Late last year I found myself really struggling to keep up with them all, clicking from one blog to another. Then I spent an hour or so and subscribed to all my favourite blogs. If you haven’t already done this, I highly recommend you do. You can use a simple program like Bloglines or Feedburner. Add all your favourites and then just log in there each day or each week. You can see all the new posts since your last visit and read them in one place. If you want to comment on anything, you can easily do that too.

Here’s to your success in business…

Donna-Marie

 

A Way With Words

A dear friend of mine, Leonie Featherstone, has just published a fantastic book, A Way With Words… Release the Genie Within.

If you’ve ever found yourself staring blankly at the inside of a card, wondering how to put your thoughts and feelings into words… then this is the book for you.

Leonie has filled this book with verses for us to use when we’re writing inside cards… from birthday wishes to christening; moving house to bereavement; even words to say ‘thank you’ for friendship or guidance. Plus, there are lists of verbs and adjectives at the back of the book to help you to change some of the words in the suggested verses to something that seems more appropriate for the person you are writing for. Leonie’s thought of everything here!

The best thing about it for me is that they’re the type of words that I can see myself using.

If you’re interested in this book, please email Leonie. It’s only $19.95 (AUD) + $2.50 for postage and packaging of one book in Australia. It makes a great gift idea too.

Here’s to your success in business…

Donna-Marie 

How to Make Money While You Sleep Seminar

Last weekend I attended a fantastic 2-day seminar on the Gold Coast. It was the How to Make Money While You Sleep seminar organised by Brett McFall, as part of his promotional tour for his new book of the same name.

Brett has an amazing gift for teaching what he knows and always shares practical, useful information. Plus, he always over-delivers on content… and always lives up to his promises.

I know a lot of regular readers here are based in Melbourne… and guess what? Brett’s just announced that he’s heading to Melbourne soon. He’ll be there on 21-22 June and there is only a small fee, which is donated to a worthwhile charity. You can get the full details at Brett’s How to Make Money While You Sleep site.

For those who can’t make it to the Melbourne seminar, check out his book here – you can even get a free sample chapter.

May Madness

It’s May Madness at the Business Mums Network.

Every year, Business Mums Network run a special promotion for the entire month of May. These offers – some products heavily discounted, others with great bonuses – are not just from Business Mums. There are a whole series of businesses who have joined in the promotions.

Business Mums are offering a huge saving on subscriptions to The Business Mums Magazine (a fantastic magazine, full of practical information for parents running a business, and edited by Yours Truly).

Plus, there’s plenty more offers such as:

• Nuvo Maternity will give free express delivery AND a discount on purchases
• Australian Expo is offering a discounted annual booth
• a great offer from multimediART when you sign up for www.My-Shop.com.au

Here’s to your success in small business…

Donna-Marie

What Makes a Good Email Subject Heading?

I just received 13 emails from an associate… all in a row… one after another. And I was so grateful she sent each one separately!

Some people may prefer to get one email with all the information, but these 13 emails, while on the same project, were each on a different section. When you have so much information like this, it’s actually easier to receive – and store – the different sections in different emails, rather than trying to search one endless email for that little snippet of information you may want at any time.

Tash at Word Constructions mentions this on one of her posts – email subjects – that’s worth reading. Plus, she shares several other great tips for constructing a good subject heading to help get your emails read.

Here’s to your success in business…

Donna-Marie

The Essential Business Guide

Diva Promotions have just launched their Essential Business Guide, full of practical tips and information for running a successful business.

To get your hands on this, you can download it now for free from one of my sites – Jacaranda Business Support Services. It’s on the left hand side, under the heading Who wants some free stuff?

It contains great articles from various authors on a wide range of topics about running a business, including one by Yours Truly, explaining the basic differences between PR, Advertising and Marketing… and which is best for you.

Here’s to your success in business…

Truth of Fiction?

Almost every day I receive some sort of email from a well-meaning relative, friend or colleague, warning me about the latest ‘shocking danger’. These warnings range from health issues, scams, computer viruses, safety issues… I’m sure you know the ones I am referring to. What’s more, these emails almost always ask you to forward the warning to everyone in your address book to make sure they’re aware of the potential dangers too.

Do you automatically forward on these warnings?

I don’t.

I go to a fantastic website – Truth or Fiction. You can look up the general topic of the warning email you’ve been sent and nine times out of ten, it will have the exact email in its files. It will tell you a little bit about the email and whether it’s true, fiction or a combination.

Before you automatically forward those ‘urgent warnings’, have a quick look on Truth or Fiction.

Here’s to your business success…

Demystifying the Use of Flickr Images

Have you ever wondered whether using photos from Flickr was possible for your personal situation? Do you have trouble wading through all the so-so pictures to find the good quality ones?

This post, How to Use and Understand Flickr Images, on the Working Solo blog is sure to help. Leah goes into great detail to explain not only how to find the best photos, but also the various licenses available and what they mean.

If you are looking for quality pics to include on your website, blog, newsletter or elsewhere, read this post before you head over to Flickr.

Here’s to your business success…

Being Grateful

Here’s a great article I thought you might like – Being Grateful. This was written by Sharon Clark for her Dreaming Miracles website. When you read this, keep in mind that Sharon’s husband was recently diagnosed with Cancer so they’re facing a pretty rough time. Yet Sharon & Colin, most days, still share a positive energy, love and optimism with everyone around them.

I know sometimes, when my day doesn’t seem to be going that well, I can turn it around just by changing my attitude. This often begins by being grateful for the little things… the good things. This helps take the focus off the not-so-good things.

Next time you’re having a bad day at work, think about the good things related to your work – perhaps the flexibility, the pay, the benefits or the fact that you get to go home soon! If you’re having trouble balancing work and family responsibilities, start by being grateful that you have a family and that you have work. If you’re really stuck for ideas, be thankful that you’re breathing – that’s always a good start!

Right now, I am grateful to you for reading this post  🙂

Thank you Sharon, for reminding us to appreciate the little things; the things we often overlook.

Here’s to your business success…

Online Trade Magazines

I just came across this post on the Beauty Banquet blog, where Anne shares with us details of where we can obtain FREE trade magazines.

The magazines and white papers cover a wide range of industries, including Agriculture, Business, Engineering and IT, just for starters. To see the full range of free trade publications on offer, go to http://associates.tradepub.com/

Here’s to your business success…

Comparing Yourself with Your Competition

Yesterday I read a great tip for small business owners on the Thinking Home Business blog.

It’s all about how we compare ourselves with our competitors and suggests that we start looking at our competitors and ourselves as choices – after all, that’s how we are viewed by prospective clients, aren’t we? They will look at all possible service providers – or choices – and choose the one they feel is best suited to their particular needs. 

Please go and read this post. It’s a great concept and one that I will endeavour to keep in mind from now on.

Here’s to your business success…