Blogging, Writing, and Publishing

“What'd you do that for?” Angus yelled. “He was going to eat me,” the overweight Bart whined a little too loudly. He still had his shotgun poised over his head. “No he wasn’t, you fool. He probably heard all the commotion you made and came to investigate,” said Charles. “What in the world was this aborigine doing up at this time of night?” Bart complained, laboring for air. “Probably guarding the camp from lads like us,” Charles chided. “Keep it down! Did you have to hit him so hard? I think he’s dead,” Angus chastised. “I said I didn’t mean to. You shouldn’t have brought me here. You should’ve left me to guard the camp instead of Roger,” Bart continued to whine. “This stuff scares me and I hate walking through it. I can’t believe you made me come.” “We needed someone competent to stand by at camp. We didn’t think you could cause trouble under supervision,” Charles continued. Angus dug into his back pack and pulled out an ornament he took from an Asmat warrior he fo...

Marketing Pan Am style If you belong to any social networking groups, Linked In, Facebook, Twitter and etc, you are probably anticipating next week’s TV pilot episode of Pan Am. Particularly relevant is how you may have become aware of this new TV series; primarily as a result of social network marketing. The huge awareness is driven not by huge TV commercial plugs, but by social networking using the following 5 methods: 1. Create awareness on as many social networking sites as possible. As covered in “ Get Rich in a Niche ” it’s not the expensive advertising that gets potential customers, but rather opportunities available to target a potential audience and create a community for them. Pan Am has a page on Facebook full of pictures, videos and important TV show facts. They also have a Twitter account with regular tweets referring to the show. 2. Introduce each of your products. Pan Am successfully introduced each of their characters individually with a small back story via posts and ...

I wrote this comic to help defense contractors understand the importance of not altering or modifying their security containers (safes). To do so is in violation of the national industrial security program and can cause the GSA approved container to lose its certification. What ideas do you have to make learning fun? Jeffrey W. Bennett, ISP is the owner of Red Bike Publishing . Jeff is an accomplished writer of non-fiction books, novels and periodicals. He also owns Red bike Publishing. Published books include: "Get Rich in a Niche-Insider's Guide to Self Publishing in a Specialized Industry" and "Commitment-A Novel". Jeff is an expert in security and has written many security books including: "Insider's Guide to Security Clearances" and "DoD Security Clearances and Contracts Guidebook". See Red Bike Publishing for print copies of: Army Leadership The Ranger Handbook The Army Physical Readiness Manual Drill and Ceremonies The ITAR The...

Here are 5 ways to present yourself as the "go to" person on anything. 1. First of all you need to present a a unique need or product that has not been provided. This could be as a result of a missing education, information, study programs, or guidance within your industry or area of expertise.  2. Provide answers. Sadly, though many people may have identified the need only a few have solutions. You should be able to provide the answers that help customers reach their professional or personal goals. 3. Others recognize you as the expert? You've identified what is lacking in industry, showed how you can help. Now, demonstrate how customers can succeed. 4. Determine a price. What will others be willing to pay for this knowledge? Is there anything that you can offer for free to help build credibility and become “go to” person? 5. What are some concrete ways that you can get your message out? Develop your website with a sales message and video (see http://www.redbikepu...

Leadership, the most essential element of combat power, gives purpose, direction, and motivation in combat. The leader balances and maximizes maneuver, firepower, and protection against the enemy. This chapter discusses how he does this by exploring the principles of leadership (BE, KNOW, DO); the duties, responsibilities, and actions of an effective leader; and the leader's assumption of command. 1-1. PRINCIPLES. The principles of leadership are BE, KNOW, and DO. PRINCIPLES. The principles of leadership are BE, KNOW, and DO. BE • Technically and tactically proficientTechnically and tactically proficient • Able to accomplish to standard all tasks required for the wartime mission.Able to accomplish to standard all tasks required for the wartime mission. • Courageous, committed, and candid.Courageous, committed, and candid. • A leader with integrity.A leader with integrity. KNOW • The four major factors of leadership and how they affect each other are-- ---Led -...

Is your indie publishing company positioned for success? These 5 takeaways can help your company, products and books before a broader market. Building a strong presence and leveraging your friends, shareholders and other parties interested in your posts to broadcast your writings can create huge momentum. For example, suppose you have a blog that provides information about your publishing company or a niche book. You blog an article about your latest book. It feeds to your Facebook page and your friends "Like" it or provide comments. Soon others might become interested and your audience increases. However, if you are in a nice industry, only a certain audience will actually benefit from your posts. This is the audience that you educate and provide great books to. They join your LinkedIn groups, Facebook pages and follow your tweets. You've got a good thing going, your audience is faithful, continue to buy your books and comment on your posts. But what if you write ano...

How to create a book trailer video I’ve seen some great video ideas and am recently joining the many who post videos about their books or companies. So far, I’ve really enjoyed the fun and adventurous videos I’ve created that feature an idea and not books. These videos include Zombie vs. Ranger and How Not to Get a consulting Job. These videos are meant to be fun and entertaining and don’t even mention my products until the end. However, I still can’t discount the effectiveness of a good old fashioned (well recent fashion anyway) video featuring a specific product or book. Great graphics and the right type of music can combine to create a compelling reason for a viewer to take action. This action could include buying a product, visiting a website or signing up for a newsletter. Whatever call to action you want from your video, make sure to make the video worthy of watching. Here are five great tips for making a video trailer: 1. Invest in video software. There is great software that t...

Maybe you think you are alone, fighting the one person fight that many leaders face. However, you would be wrong to assume that just because you are the only employee of your indie publishing company and the only author that you have to take on so much alone. There may be a way to solicit help without having to pay a salary. So how does the business owner create a teaming environment or create a program where no one works there? Through High Power Teams High power teams (HPT) are the most effective types of entities. Where groups form, storm and norm, HPTs go further to create a body more capable than any individual. They do this by agreeing to rules and primarily keeping in mind that throughout any process or problem, it’s not about the individual, it’s about the group. This allows the organization to benefit as a whole as each member sacrifices their individual desires. The members do not lose or give up the individuality that makes them unique. It does not stifle individual creativ...