Category Archives: Writing/Blogging

Writing/Blogging

Use a Schedule To Write Faster and Smarter

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Virtually all serious writers know it’s not easy to consistently come up with new write-ups that their target audience will appreciate.

And that’s why many are constantly on the lookout for ideas to overcome or minimise the above mentioned challenge.

I Am No Exception.

I’ve also experienced the challenge of struggling to generate new content that would be considered valuable by potential clients/customers and readers in general.

For years I drew inspiration from happenings around me, to come up with new content for my work.

Sometimes I came up empty. On such occasions, I would really struggle to get my writing done.

It’s a testament to the passion I have for what I do, that I kept going for so long.

So much so, that I eventually began reaping financially rewarding benefits as a result of my writing e.g via sales leads for my feed formulation software/handbook, direct sales of my print/electronic books from my online store etc.

Today, I No Longer Struggle To Write Like I Used To

Something has changed – and for the better too.

Ever since I began following a publishing schedule (based on 6 different categories, at one per day) on my blog, everything has simply fallen in place.

I now have an amazing degree of clarity about what to write about. It’s so much easier to narrow down to potential topics when the categories have been defined.

In addition, I am able to do the actual writing quickly and almost effortlessly because I would often have spent time thinking up useful points to go with my chosen topic before it falls due.

Most importantly, writing according to a schedule has enabled me progressively build up my library of written works based on the set categories.

This now gives me added motivation to write more, since I plan to periodically publish ebooks for sale on each category using a compilation of selected write-ups. Each write-up will probably be treated as a chapter in the ebook.

I know from past experience that this works, having used the same strategy to get my 25 Articles Ebook published.

Final Words

What I’m saying in essence is that writing based on a publishing schedule will get you to be more committed to your writing responsibilities.

It will also make you more consistent in producing good quality content over time.

Considering that less than 3 months ago, I did not believe in using a schedule, what I’ve said here should be worthy of consideration by any writer in search of viable ways to boost her writing productivity.

“You can’t say, I won’t write today because that excuse will extend into several days, then several months, then… you are not a writer anymore, just someone who dreams about being a writer.” – Dorothy C. Fontana

Entrepreneurship, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

Writing Is The Key To Business Marketing Success

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One hasn’t become a writer until one has distilled writing into a habit, and that habit has been forced into an obsession. Writing has to be an obsession. It has to be something as organic, physiological and psychological as speaking or sleeping or eating.
Niyi Osundare

Writing when done effectively, can be used to get favorably noticed. And you can also use it to influence change.

It is because I’ve experienced the above powerful truth many times in different stages of my life that I am today simply unable to give up writing.

Without my writing I would not have achieved most of the success and progress I’ve recorded in paid as well as self employment.

What do you do when you have little or no money to spend on marketing and advertising to attract buyers?

When you don’t know any powerful, rich or connected persons to open doors for you to meet important decision makers(bypassing gatekeepers).

How do you establish credibility as an expert in your subject or field before a potentially global audience of readers and potential clients?

It is my experience based conviction that writing is the most cost effective and reliable way to achieve the above.

Indeed, I have achieved all the above through writing over the past ten years.

Even in a socioeconomic environment like mine, where trust can be so hard to earn, I’ve repeatedly generated high quality sales leads and won sales using nothing but my writing.

It has also earned me valuable paid speaking opportunities. I’m building more client relationships and partnerships with people I’ve yet to meet from across the country, and as far as Singapore, Canada and the USA.

If I had not adopted writing, especially web writing, I would NEVER have achieved any of the above. I know this for a fact.

And that’s why relatives close to me will tell you that if I had to choose between eating and finishing off a new article according to my schedule, I’d do the latter without giving it a second thought.

The quote credited to Niyi Osundare above perfectly describes what writing means to me. It’s essential to my progress in business and in life.

In Paid Employment, Writing Helped Me Attract Career Advancement Opportunities

It was in paid employment that I first discovered how powerful writing could be.

In Guinness Nigeria I was trained as a brewer and line manager. I joined the company as a graduate trainee in October 1994, and voluntarily left to become self employed in December 2001.

During that time I was widely recognised – and rewarded with rapid career advancement – for my ideas, initiatives and innovations which I used my writing to bring to the attention of key decision makers.

Quite often my ideas were developed in my spare time or as I went through each day. None of it was in my job description at any time. I just identified an opportunity to make a useful contribution, and simply followed my instincts.

I worked very hard and long hours then. Just like I still do when necessary today

My latest ebook is a product of that process.

I originally wrote it as a guest post to share my ideas about how I get my writing done.

But it was over 3,500 words long, attracting requests to trim down and refine it.

It was while I was rewriting it that I discovered I needed to submit a finished ebook for the October 2012 AWAI Writing Challenge I’d enrolled for.

The thought just struck me that my long article could do well as an ebooklet at least. Since I did not have any other content in readier form, convincing myself to go this route was easy :-)

But I was not lazy about it. I took time to flesh out relevant parts, and rewrite some. Then I prepared a cover and setup the online store.

Completing that process was more important to me than winning any reward.

Here’s an example of how following my instincts led me to use my writing to influence change in paid employment:

2 years after joining Guinness Nigeria Benin Brewery, I wrote a series of papers as a green horned brewer, arguing that a faulty formula had been used for years in computing a performance parameter called “Brewhouse Turn Around Time(TRT)”.

Using spreadsheet examples based on real brewing data, I proved my point, and proposed an adjustment to the formula to eliminate the error.

I ruffled a number of senior colleagues’ feathers, as you can imagine, but my conviction gave me the courage to push my ideas through to senior management.

The changes were eventually accepted.

Later in 1997, I wrote a management research paper based on my experiences for entry into the (now defunct) Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM)’s Young Manager’s Competition. After placing 5th at the national finals in Lagos, I discovered many senior executives suddenly knew my name.

I would later learn that my boss at the time, Greg, had announced my achievement at the brewery management meeting.

Interestingly, my entry to that event was self sponsored while I was on leave. He only got to know because after winning at the zonal finals, I’d resumed work, and had to request days off to travel to Lagos for the national finals.

What I’m trying to say here is that it was a personal goal I set for myself. I just saw the newspaper advert, and – again – followed my instincts. It was never my intention to let my boss know.

But he eventually did. And I got recognised in my company as a result of my efforts to use my writing to share ideas I had from my workplace experiences, with the outside world.

A year later, in 1998, I returned with a paper to senior management proposing the adoption of a brewery performance measure.

I called it “Brewhouse Efficiency%”(BHE) and used the weighted formula I derived for it on five years of real data, with charts.

My argument was that BHE provided a more balanced measure of the overall performance of the brewing department, unlike the TRT which only looked at one of three contributory aspects.

This paper got the attention of top management, and was discussed at the Monthly Technical Review Meetings for 6 months.

During that time, the Lagos brewery was asked to test the formula using their own brewing data. I still recall taking calls from Chizzy Uduanochie, who was then in Lagos Harp Brewery at Ogba, to explain how to go about getting correct raw data to feed into the formula.

During that year I was seconded twice to act as Training & Technical Development Manager.

I have no doubts in my mind that my 1997 and ’98 achievements influenced top management’s decision in that regard.

This especially since other more senior and experienced candidates were passed over in the process. A lot more of that would happen right into the year I left.

The above results are just a few examples of the unique experiences that opened my eyes to the power that writing effectively can confer on anyone.

So, going into self employment, especially after reading online about information publishing, I was convinced I could use my writing to earn income.

Writing Can Also Be Therapeutic – For Coping With Adversity As A Startup

A writer never has a vacation. For a writer life consists of either writing or thinking about writing.
Eugene Ionesco

It’s common knowledge that hard – and harsh – times that new entrepreneurs inevitably encounter often lead many to quit and return to the security of paid employment for instance.

I know what it feels like to enter the proverbial “university of hard knocks” (i.e the real world), from a salaried job, and suddenly find yourself struggling with a perpetual scarcity of money.

And I don’t mean big bucks. No. I’m talking about small money. The kind that I used to give away to others without a thought knowing that I had more than I needed from regular salary payments.

The idea of actually running out of cash never really seemed real to me. Until when I spent the last naira from the entitlement paid to me by Guinness following my decision to resign despite great career prospects ahead of me.

You must understand that I had my kids and their mother to worry about. Having relocated from Benin, we were living in my parents’ home till I could find a place.

Unfortunately business had not gone as planned, and I’d exhausted the funds meant for renting a place in pursuing leads and covering expenses!

The embarassment and humiliation was one I felt could kill me. And that was just the beginning.

I have since gone on to experience not having money to get prescribed malaria drugs for my child, and having to watch him suffer pains and high fever all night till I was able to borrow money the next morning.

It’s amazing how a lack of cash can help one achieve mental clarity. You initially feel a strange sense of terror. But if you keep calm and let the realisation of your situation wash over you, it won’t seem so bad.

During this period the words supposedly utterred by a few former colleagues from Guinness came back to haunt me. I’d heard that they’d called me “mad”, for choosing to resign at a time when I was doing so well.

But I refused to let that bother me. Even in my pain right then in 2003, I knew I would not be happier doing anything else.

Working a 9 to 5 job had become too limiting for me. I wanted the freedom to use my ideas and energies to serve a larger audience, without the restrictions of a structured workplace.

So I turned to reading the books that had inspired me. Napoleon Hill’s Think & Grow Rich and James Cook’s “Startup Entrepreneur” were my favorites.

Out of desperation, I began highlighting phrases and other blocks of text (e.g anecdotes about hardships other successful people experienced and survived) that I found especially helpful.

At a point, I decided to type the highlighted text in MS Word, so I could re-read them to boost my morale. Later I began writing my own anecdotes and experiences into it.

NB: By early 2004, it had grown into an 80 page ebook titled “Entrepreneur’s Survival Reference Manual(25 Avoidable Mistakes No One Will Warn You About In Starting Your Own Business In Nigeria)”.

But I did not put it up for sale. It was mainly for my personal use. Whenever I needed a boost, I got on my PC and opened the PDF.

James Cook wrote that “the entrepreneur needs no samaritans.” I decided to look inwards.

That day in 2003, I got the idea to write my 70 page Feed Formulation Handbook. Not long after, I wrote my “Proven 5 Step Formula for Learning Any Language In Three Months or Less”.

Both books were experience based. I was following the advice in Mr. Hill’s book. I had no money, but I knew stuff that I was convinced people would pay me money to get.
I did not have money to get them published normally. But rather than let that stop me, I chose to print them out, then make neat photocopies which I gave to those who paid.

So, I began telling friends and relatives about both books. The language book quickly earned buyers. I did more thinking and took a copy to Ola Fajemisin, the TV producer for NTA 2 Channel 5 whose name I’d seen scrolling across the screen for years.

I’d never met or spoken with him before. But when he arrived in his office to meet with me, I spoke to him with all the enthusiasm I could muster, proposing a weekly French language show based on my book.

When I finally shut up, he flipped through the spiral bound copy I put on his table, looked at me, and said “I think it’s a good idea. But let’s get you to appear and discuss the book on Saturday’s Morning Ride Show” and see how people call in. We’ll use that to decide whether or not to go ahead.”

That was a show many paid handsome sums to appear on. He put me on it free. My sister called to tell me her friend saw me being interviewed on TV and wanted a copy of my book. So I made more sales. And I knew I could do more.

The TV show idea did not make it due to poor response, but I’d earned useful achievement to put on my resume, and on the book’s sales page: Featured on NTA 2 Channel 5′ Morning Ride. Many clients till today refuse to believe I never paid a kobo to get that exposure for my tiny book!

In 2005, my relentless search led me to use Print On Demand publishing.

Not long after, I discovered article marketing and began using it to promote my books and services.

As An Entrepreneur Writing Has Helped Me Achieve Low Cost Name Recognition & Leads Generation

I’ll be 43 in July. This month 10 years ago, I was starting out as an entrepreneur, distributing spiral bound copies of my paper (Self-Development As A Tool for Achieving Career Advancement(A Practical Guide Based On Experience) to the HR/Training Managers and key executives in over 40 organisations across Lagos.

Notable examples included Lagos Business School’s Pat Utomi (he was not yet “Prof.” then) and Dr. J. Maiyaki of Center for Management Development, among others.
I’d typed the entire 45 page management research paper during my final weeks on the job I’d resigned from as Training and Technical Development Manager.

My plan was based on ideas I’d gotten from reading Michel Fortin’s “10 Commandments of Power Positioning” ebook.

Knowing that I needed low cost avenues to get my training and speaking services noticed by my target market, I’d excitedly adopted Fortin’s recommendations.

Using writing to attract potential clients was central to the message in his ebook.

Apart from Utomi who had his PA invite me to meet with him over my management research paper, only Dr. Maiyaki and his team went further to invite me to deliver a lecture (for which I was paid a honorarium).

Final Words: Web Writing Offers Financial Security In Today’s Uncertain Economy

Since then I have achieved even greater progress in my business using my writing – especially online.

The results I’ve gotten led me to recently sign up with constant-content.com as a writer offering my articles and services for sale.

In June 2012, I reinvented my online presence to revolve around THIS new blog as a central point for promoting my products and services.

As it is with everything else in life, one has to learn new ways to get more of the results he wants. I was excited when Constant Content sent me payment for my first and so far only sale.

But I know I need to master the art of writing what buyers want to read out there. I’m reading up on that.

Same applies to my sales on Lulu.com. I’m keen to get back to the times when I recorded sales of my books monthly.

There’s nothing more gratifying than being able to earn income from what you write or have written. The overheads are so low. And the margins potentially limitless.

I am also driven by a vision to show others how to earn income in this manner.

Especially people in parts of the world (like mine) with limited alternatives. And I’ve already started by teaching my kids what I know.

One thing is certain. I can never stop writing because I know it is the key to my dream of achieving financial freedom, especially via passive income streams from sales of my written works.

The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn’t behave that way you would never do anything.
John Irving

Writing/Blogging

When You Absolutely Have To Write

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In this article, I use a touching story of courage and heroism, to explain how you can (and why you may have to) get your writing done, regardless of challenges you encounter.

A talented teenage girl from a struggling home got lucky when the coach of a top gymnastics club got her a scholarship to train in the club. If she did well, she would join other world class athletes to compete for a place on the country’s Olympics team.

However, this girl was unlike the other kids whose parents were comfortable.

For instance, she had to work part-time to support her single mother. She also had a disabled younger brother who needed to take certain expensive prescription pills for a life threatening condition he suffered. These sometimes affected her performance in training and during meets.

Forced To “Steal” To Save A Life

One day, the pressure from carrying those adults responsibilities pushed her to do something that threatened to cost her the scholarship, and a place on the national team.

She had returned home from training and found the brother on the verge of a crisis. He told her their mother had not returned and that his drugs had run out. She stood silently thinking for a few seconds watching him beginning to tremble and sweat.

Then suddenly she grabbed the prescription bottle, and raced to the neighbourhood pharmacy. Holding up the pills bottle, she told the pharmacist she wanted a refill. When he dropped the new bottle in front of her, she emptied her purse on the counter and gave him all the money she found in it. He counted it and told her it was not enough.

She replied that she had no more, and that her brother would die if he did’nt take his medication soon. The pharmacist sneered and told her to leave or he would call the cops. As he turned away, the girl grabbed the full bottle of pills and sprinted away, ignoring the alarmed pharmacist shouting after her.

Getting home, she quickly administered the drug to her brother who was already on the floor, and he soon began to recover.

Paying The Price & Reaping The “Rewards”…

A few hours later, there was a knock on the door of their apartment. When she opened it, the cops were there to arrest her.

Later that night, her mother who was contacted by a male friend she’d telephoned came with him to bail her out.

Some weeks later, she missed a scheduled court hearing and was compelled to wear a tracking device around her ankles wherever she went.

The embarrassment and humiliation was great. But she got through it.

That singular stunt almost cost her a place on the gymnastics team. And she had known there was a risk that could happen.

Yet, she had not hesitated to do what she knew needed to be done. It was not entirely a smart decision. But under the circumstances it was expedient. She had followed her heart, and not her head, probably saving her younger brother’s life in the process.

And so to him she was a hero!

When she later travelled out of the state to compete at the trials for a place on the team to the Olympics, he got her boyfriend to have him transported (in his wheelchair) overnight in a bus, to watch and cheer her at the event venue the next day.

His surprise appearance ended up giving her a much needed morale boost that helped her clinch a place on the team with her final performance – despite earlier costly errors she’d made.

Relating It To Writing/Blogging?

Succeeding in any area of life requires making a decision to “show up”, no matter what.

Even if you’re late, it would be better than not making an appearance at all.

Think about this when next you’re trying to find the motivation to write your blog, newsletter etc.

Maybe you’ve been getting poor results from your past efforts. Or maybe you’re so busy with a lucrative writing project, you’re considering skipping that scheduled post on your blog.

Well don’t.

I suggest you try to imagine that ensuring you publish that scheduled piece could save a life. Train your mind to regard sticking with your writing schedule as if someone’s life depends on it. Someone you really care for.

What would you NOT do to keep her alive?

No matter how tired you are, you’d battle to stay awake until you’re done. Down black coffee if need be :-)

And you’d want to be sure the write-up’s content quality is up to spec. If the girl had gotten her brother an adulterated version of the prescribed drug, he may not have recovered!

This may sound crazy, but I can tell you this approach works quite well for me whenever I need that extra push to stick with it.

The life and death scenario is a bit extreme I agree, but it gets the message across :-)

Final Words

Try it and see. This strategy can help you quickly clear the cobwebs from your mind and focus your writing efforts, with great results to show.

Remember that your readers expect you to show up. You’ll also feel quite proud of yourself when you look back later and recall that you got it done, inspite of the challenges that made you consider giving up!

Writing/Blogging

Do You Need A Writing Coach?

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“Even if you’re on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there” – Anon

I’m good at learning and doing new stuff by myself. Yet, I readily take advantage of any opportunity to improve myself by learning from others. You can never be so good that you cannot learn something more – or new.

If you look closely enough, and are honest with yourself, you’ll find there’s something you can do better. I know this and constantly act based on that realisation, so as to improve myself.

Fifteen years of coaching people from different backgrounds and age groups, have however taught me that not everyone is comfortable with self-tutoring.

This does not mean they are weak. We all just have different learning styles. Some of us do better when we have someone to guide and challenge us (and even cheer from the sidelines), as we aim for new heights of achievement.

A Writing Coach Can Help You To The Next Level…And Success!

A writing coach can guide you to effectively address the limiting habits that may be affecting your writing progress. In addition s/he will help you hone your writing skills so that you become better over time.

So, if you’re still struggling to get your writing done (or to improve), I recommend getting yourself a competent mentor or coach. You do not necessarily have to go hiring one.

The Internet itself offers access to writing experts who freely give useful coaching tips (via an introductory self-marketing strategy) in form of blog posts, opt-in newsletters and ebooks. You can start with those.

In addition, you can also talk to a friend, relative or associate you know to be competent enough to provide the coaching support you need. For best results, both strategies can even be combined.

Two Highly Recognised Experts Who Offer Paid Writing Coaching/Support

However, if paid coaching interests you, I’ve added links to websites run by two ladies who offer coaching services below.

I have not taken their courses (yet), but the free content and wisdom they offer (and their impressive credentials) suggest they will deliver good value for money.  

1. Judy Cullins (Book writing Coach) – www.bookcoaching.com . Judy has been a successful book writing coach for over 2 and half decades.

When you visit her website, you’ll discover she enjoys a healthy following from writers and those aspiring. And for good reason too  – she knows her stuff.

I found her through her smart LinkedIn.com marketing, which I believe other business owners should study and adapt for their own use!

2. James Chartrand and her (that’s NOT a typo!) team can be found at www.menwithpens.ca. She runs the “Damn Fine Words writing course” for business owners.

TIP: If you’re curious about the conflicting name and gender reference, read this VERY popular post titled "Why James Chartrand Wears Women’s Underpants". That’s how I found him….sorry, her :-)

Compete For A FREE Spot On James Chartrand’s Writing Course (Deadline for entry is 23rd January 2013)

It would interest you to know that James recently announced a contest in which you can win a FREE or discounted spot on her highly rated writing course.

Read “How To Win Your Spot in the DFW Writing Course" on her website for details. The contest closes 23d January.

If you miss this one however, don’t worry,  there’ll be another :-)

Final Words

I’m not sure how I’m going to make it happen yet, but I plan to sign up for lessons with Judy and James, to improve my writing skills and knowledge of book publishing.

From carefully studying the resources offered by both ladies (who are generations apart by the way), I believe there’s a lot I can pick up from them as individuals.

Maybe you should check them out too.

(Psst: They don’t know I’ve put them in here!)

I cannot of course guarantee any particular outcome to you. Therefore before you choose to sign up for a paid session, please do your own due diligence – and take your decision based on your own convictions.

NB: This post is based on excerpts from my latest ebook titled “WHY YOU KEEP FAILING TO ACHIEVE YOUR WRITING GOALS! (10 Habits That are Holding You Back and How to Change Them for Good)“

Writing/Blogging

Why Article Marketing Is Still Effective

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In the recent past, especially following Google’s most recent algorithm updates, I’ve read blogs declaring that article marketing no longer works. This article explains why you’ll deny yourself access to timeless marketing rewards, if you accept such thinking.

In The Beginning

Between 2006 and Dec 2010, my active use of article marketing really boosted traffic to my website.

Back then “Googling” an article marketer’s name revealed websites that republished articles she had submitted to article directories providing the service.

Since the bylines inserted at the end of each article often included a URL pointing to the author’s website, she was able to build up a decent backlink profile that earned it high search engine visibility.

Content syndication and traffic were powerful benefits derivable from article marketing.

But it also delivered name recognition for the author, which over time helped her achieve authority or expert status.

In my case, I did my homework early on and decided my time would be best spent focussing my article submission efforts at Ezinearticles.com.

But Bad Guys Began Negatively Exploiting Article Marketing

However, from sometime in 2011, I began noticing significant drops in traffic (and leads) from my article marketing efforts, even though I kept writing.

In addition, I also began discovering “spun” versions of some of my popular articles on blogs which often had little or no information on their about pages!

The negative impression created by the association of my name, with the poorly written spun content soon made my enthusiasm for continuing with article marketing gradually drop.

Too many bad guys had joined the game. And internet users were getting a raw deal in terms of search engine results quality.

Google’s Algorithm Intervention Restores Some Sanity

It was therefore a blessing in disguise that Google eventually implemented a series of algorithm updates (most recent being Panda and Penguin).

The websites propagating spun content were soon taken out of relevance in search results.

But along with that change has also occurred a considerable drop in the overall effectiveness of article marketing.

This is due, among other things, to a drop in ranking accorded to article directories.
Consequently, the benefits of backlinks from them to author websites are all but lost.

The strict Google regime now makes online searches more productive.

It must be noted however that the bad guys have since begun exploiting loopholes in it, to launch Negative SEO attacks that get innocent websites wrongly penalised.

Hopefully Google will provide affected website owners a smarter means of self defense than the LINKS DISAVOW tool they’ve recently added to the Google Webmaster Tool interface.

Final Words: Article Marketing Still Works

Inspite of the above described setbacks suffered in the recent past by article marketing, this strategy still works.

And quite well too – especially for those who are prepared to play by the rules, and deliver quality content.

(NB: I’m apparently not alone in refusing to throw the article marketing baby out with the bathwater. An intelligently written September 2, 2012 post by a guy named Chad Klass, titled Does Article Marketing Still Work?, expresses sentiments similar to mine.)

Having said the above, to further enhance your chances of success in article marketing, you must choose the right articles syndication platform to use.

My preference for Ezinearticles.com has not changed.

They’ve remained well ahead of their competition, and have proven to be quite creative and adaptable in the face of the many changes that have occurred.

You may wish to start with them as well.

On a final note, the key to reaping continuous article marketing benefits – especially of traffic and name recognition – in the long term is that you must publish new, original and unique content on a regular basis.

However, to get the best results you must also abide by the article directory’s stated guidelines.

For instance Ezinearticles.com’s Chris Knight strongly recommends that authors stick to an article length of between 400 and 700 words.

This is to encourage as many as possible of the website publishers who visit the directory to republish YOUR content via their numerous email newsletter and website outlets.

You’ll get to build a loyal following from content publishers constantly in need of new writeups to serve their large and growing audiences.

And when your content gets read by more people, traffic to your website, name recognition, and the other benefits will naturally result.

The above will get – and keep – you in the good books of the search engines, making your website turn up more frequently in Search Engines Results Pages (SERPs) – which is afterall what everyone wants :-)

Related:

1. 4 Reasons To Make Writing Your Key Marketing Strategy

2. View my over 170 published articles at the Ezine Articles Directory:
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Tayo_Solagbade

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Writing/Blogging

4 Reasons To Make Writing Your Key Marketing Strategy

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Are you charged with getting good marketing mileage for your company on a slim budget?

If yes, then writing offers potentially great rewards you may want to seriously consider.

This article discusses 4 advantages you stand to gain by using writing for your business promotion or marketing.

NB: I draw from my personal achievements and observations over the past six years.

It’s A Tested And Proven Strategy

For years, many smart thinking and results focussed website owners have used writing as a low cost strategy for building organic traffic and backlinks to their websites.

It’s a tested and proven strategy, that is implemented in various forms.

Examples include article marketing, ebook publishing, blogging – and probably most popular now is Guest Blogging.

Below, I Outline 4 Key Benefits You Can Reap From Using It

1. It’s Cheap – And Can Be FREE

Everyone loves to be able to get more done for less.

When done right, writing can deliver amazing marketing reach and impact for relatively little or no monetary investment.

Therefore, the only reason any serious minded business/website owner would NOT adopt this pocket-friendly method, would probably be a lack of time (or skill).

However, even the above mentioned limitations present no real problem.

And that’s because the benefits to be had would readily justify outsourcing the necessary writing to a competent (and ethical) content provider.

2. It Attracts The Attention Of Potential Buyers

“Potential buyers” are also referred to as “Pre-Qualified Prospects” I.e people who already nurse interests or needs related to the topics your write-ups cover.

If you do it right, your writing will be deemed useful and relevant to the needs of your target audience.

And that will reflect in the good quality traffic your website will receive.

By quality I mean that you will experience increasing views per blog post for instance, and also lower bounce rate (or longer times spent per visitor) and so on.

3. It Builds Credibility That Ultimately Facilitates Selling

When a reader sees that you are named as “Author” for an article or ebook she finds useful, she’s likely to regard you as an expert or authority on the subject covered in the write-up.

And as she discovers more of your writing, she’s likely to gradually become more positively disposed towards marketing offers inserted at strategic points in the body of your written works.

What’s more, your readers likely mention you to others verbally, and possibly by sharing your published content to their social media contacts – thereby generating referral traffic to your website.

Some of that “attention” will eventually translate into sales leads, that you may end up converting to actual sales.

4. It’s Timeless Marketing & Therefore Never Expires

Except you run foul of guidelines set by your host or the search engines, any writing you publish (on or off the web) will remain accessible indefinitely.

And if you take care to make your articles evergreen (by avoiding time limited topics or themes), your write-ups will continue working for you for years to come.

That’s unlike other expensive business promotion strategies which promise quicker results, but have limited shelf lives.

Final Words

It goes without saying, that the benefits described above will happen (and keep happening), ONLY if you write regularly and consistently.

Otherwise your visitors will eventually run out of new/regularly published write-ups to read, and eventually stop coming!

Sadly, the above point is a common reason why some people fail at using this strategy.

They start writing, but when quick results fail to come, they stop…often too soon.

What I have said above is based on authentic successes I have achieved for myself, and my clients, in using writing to market products and services across various industries and markets.

It’s important to note also, that the perspective I’ve adopted here is that of the average sales or marketing professional (whether self employed or in paid employment), who is NOT an SEO savvy web marketing professional.

In other words, as you progress, you will be looking to learn a few SEO strategies, to facilitate effective use of writing to drive your business promotion or marketing efforts – especially online – to higher levels.

Writing/Blogging

Use Your Smartphone To Boost Your Productivity (5 Tested & Proven Tips)

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[Update – 25th June 2018: 6. Use Whatsapp On Your PC/Laptop Browser: I now use an Android Smartphone to do the stuff described below, and LOTS more e.g Providing interactive coaching to clients via private Whatsapp groups like the one in the screenshot below, for my Web Marketing for CEOs club. Note that the screenshot was taken from my Laptop screen interface i.e. I use an browser app extension that allows me to connect Whatsapp from my phone to my Laptop and use it from there, in a synchronized manner. That way I need not go back to the phone, if I’m busy on the Laptop. For me, that’s a major time/effort saving convenience that does wonders for my productivity!]

Click the screenshot below to view larger version in a new window…

smart-productivity

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In my new ebook titled “WHY YOU KEEP FAILING TO ACHIEVE YOUR WRITING GOALS! – 10 Habits That Are Holding You Back, And How To Change Them For Good!” – published on 31st October 2012, I mentioned that 80% of my website content updates were done from my Blackberry Smart phone at the time. As of 3 weeks ago, I estimate that over 90% of my content updates now happen from my mobile device. So I rarely need to carry my laptop with me to keep my updates going. To provide some perspective, below are specific examples of tasks I get done more productively using this approach :

1. Text, Pictures, Videos, Html code Updates On My Websites/Blogs

I’ve found pictures I took with my smartphone useful for illustrating a point or two on my websites or blog posts. And I’ve created images using Photoshop on my laptop, that I then transferred on to my smartphone, from where I inserted them into a web page or blog post. Most of my sites are based on either of two popular database driven Content Management Systems (CMS) i.e WordPress and Joomla. And that’s what makes doing the above possible. I regularly make all sorts of updates via both CMS from my Smartphone – including adding pictures or images via an Add New Media browser dialog. I use this interface to upload and insert pictures into a post.

Pix of Caterpillar taken by my kids.  Above: Pix of Caterpillar taken by my kids. But I must say that WordPress has proved itself to be easier to manipulate with predictable results using this mobile interface. Add to the above the fact of Joomla’s significantly steeper learning curve, and you’ll understand why I now lean more towards using WordPress for my work. And I generally encourage my clients to do so too.

Over the past 3 weeks, almost every single post I’ve published here on this Self-Development Nuggets blog has been TYPED in its entirety on my Blackberry smartphone: In case you’re wondering, that includes THIS post you’re currently reading. And I mean every single character, including the opening and closing tags for the subheadings and other html formatting you may be seeing right now. Screenshot of draft articles list in the memo pad interface on my smartphone. Above: Screenshot of draft articles list in the memo pad interface on my smartphone. That naturally implies one needs some knowledge of basic html and a little resilience in typing on the tiny mobile device keypad!

But that’s not necessarily so. You see, I choose to work like this because I’ve found it suits me. I’m able to keep my writing smarter and less wordy because of the limiting typing interface. However, you can always do all the writing and formatting of your content (including embedding pictures and videos) in your regular html editor’s design view. Once you’re ready to publish the post, you’d simply highlight the entire body of content with your mouse, then switch to code view and click “copy” to store the html equivalent in your PC’s clipboard. Next you’d open a blank notepad file and paste the copied code into the text file. Then save it into an easy to access folder location in your smartphone (this step requires that you physically connect your mobile to your PC using a data cable. Or you could send the text file to the mobile using a bluetooth connection if both devices have that feature).

You’d then open your administrator interface on your blog, and click “Add a new post” for example. Once that edit window opens, you’d simply copy and paste your new post’s html contents into it, add a title, choose the category, and fill in the SEO details etc, and click publish (or edit to schedule for publishing at a later date or time). Within seconds your new blog post would be live :-)

NB: Sometimes adding the images or pictures directly from phone to webpage or blog can for some unknown reason fail to go as planned. When that happens, I simply browse – still on my phone – to an upload form page on my main website. Using the form, I would choose the image from the relevant folder on my phone, then click upload to store the image to a folder on my webserver. Next I’d use the image URL emailed to me (within seconds of the upload) by the CGI script that powers the form, to add the html image embed code referencing the image on the server into my blog or webpage. Then I’d click the SAVE or PUBLISH button, and the image would appear as required.

2. Social Media Updates Publishing

By setting up my Twitter and Facebook accounts to “talk to each other” I’m able to publish updates to both at once either way. And because my LinkedIn account is linked to my Twitter account I actually get to publish to all 3 channels at once, anytime I share my updates from LinkedIn. Since I have mobile apps for each of the 3 channels installed on my phone, you can imagine how easily I’m able to publish updates about my blog content to them right from my phone. Incidentally RSS Graffitti, a popular Facebook plugin also automatically publishes every new post I add to my blog, to every Facebook page and profile I’ve set it up on. So that provides a backup update publishing of sorts.

3. Web Marketing Tasks Implementation

Regular readers will know that I constantly refer to my dependence on a carefully crafted Web Marketing System, which helps me cost-effectively generate high quality sales leads for my various products and services. One way it works is that anytime a potential buyer takes action to request more information about a specific offering by submitting a request form, I instantly get her enquiry on my phone via email push technology. What this does for me, is that I no longer have to go checking for emails that have arrived. Even better, I don’t have to worry about missing emails that get sent into the spam or junk mail folder by an over-aggressive email filter. Before I began using push email, the foregoing sometimes had me arguing with a client. One one occasion, a client repeatedly insisted he had sent me an email few days earlier, and I equally insisted I’d not seen it.

Then one day, weeks afterwards, I checked my spam folder, and there it was!

But that’s not the only advantage I enjoy from using my web marketing system on my phone…

Each request form on my website caters for a particular product or service enquiry. I therefore took care to configure all the forms to deliver the enquiry via email to me using a unique subject line that lets me know – even before I open it – which product and/or service the enquiry is about.

Now, to save time and effort in responding to each email, I use a CGI script that delivers a specific custom message for each form to the submitter’s email address within seconds. Then, to follow up, I have pre-written boiler plate messages stored as individual memo pad files on my Smartphone for each enquiry. Within a few minutes I’m able to insert names and other unique recipient details to the template.

And I then copy and paste, into the reply window, to send to the enquirer. Because I’ve prepared virtually all the information I need to make my responses in a ready-to-use template, it often takes me relatively little effort or time to make all of the above happen, from anywhere I am – even when I’m on the move! Without access to the powerful features of a smartphone, doing this would not be as easy, convenient or timely.

4. Streamlined Bank Transactions Updates Tracking

Like I’ve stated elsewhere, due to limiting infrastructure in my society, I have to provide traditional (cash) payment options for local buyers – just as I offer more up to date and convenient channels for international buyers. In the past (i.e for local payments), I depended on getting mobile phone SMS alerts for deposits into my bank account by buyers. Each alert attracted a small charge from the bank to me, and depending on how active the account got (for both withdrawals and deposits), that amount tended to add up at the month’s end.

I naturally wanted an option that did not deplete my bank balance in any way, hence my adoption of email alerts :-) However, a more compelling reason I had for choosing email alerts, was the inherent difficulty of keeping track of the bank alerts sent via SMS. There was also the greater possibility of SMS storage space outage on a busy mobile phone used for business. As a result of the above considerations, the option of getting instant ZERO cost email alerts on my smartphone has remained a preferred alternative for me. Making timely payment confirmation and fulfillment of orders has become easier as a result of the above. And that has greatly enhanced smooth interactions with local buyers.

5. Browsing 50% Cheaper By Using My Smartphone As A Modem

Do you own a smartphone and still invest in routine cyber cafe visits to do your browsing? Or do you make heavy monthly Internet browsing data purchases to use a wireless modem (which you had/have to buy) for browsing on your PC? If you said “yes” to either of the above questions, then this last point could help you save a huge chunk of the money you’ve been spending to get your browsing done.

Since November 2011(over a year now) I have used my Blackberry phone as a tethered modem for browsing on my laptop. During this period I have successfully carried out ALL the tasks I normally used to do on my Starcomms wireless modem and in cyber cafes without problems of any sort. And that includes adding video demonstrations (80MB to 140MB) for my Excel software guides and demos to my Youtube channel.

Click the preceding link or Youtube icon below this post to watch some of them. This has helped me cut down my monthly expenses by about 50%.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I must make this observation that it’s not been rosy all the way. Over the last 3 months or so, I’ve however noticed a significant drop in the connection speeds delivered by Etisalat, my ISP. Despite my complaints they’ve not been able to impove the performance. So I’m looking to see if any of the other providers can do better on a long term basis. Having said that, you will agree with me that THAT problem is not due to my use of the Blackberry as a modem. It’s due instead to poor connection speeds from my ISP.

 

So except for video uploads which now rarely succeed, I still use my Blackberry modem to meet all my heavy duty browsing needs on a routine basis. And the time, effort, convenience and cost savings STILL remain very substantial. No exaggeration. I won’t say much more here about how this is possible, since I already have a page on which I excitedly shared this massive cost-saving alternative many months back. So just click here to learn more .

Final Words

If you plan to make the most of yourself in your personal and business life in today’s world, you must explore the benefits derivable from using your smartphone in the ways I’ve explained above. And that’s just for starters. There’s so much more you can learn, that will make you superproductive. You only need to be ready to learn. If you are, I can help you implement a self-directed private learning program that will take you as far as you’re willing to go. Send me a message using the contact form on this blog with details of your needs.

Writing/Blogging

How Far Should You Go To Get Comments?

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Are You Still Trying To Crack The Code For Getting Regular Comments?

If YES, then this article may help you refine the choices you make, to include the use of only ethical practices to achieve your goal.

I’ve written it to offer guidance to blog owners or administrators who may feel pressured to get comments in at all cost.

My message is that an “all’s fair in war” or “anything goes” attitude towards getting visitors to comment on your blog, can actually hurt you more than it could possibly help you.

Is Your Blog Already Getting Regular Comments?

If yes, let me ask you the following questions:

1. How do you get visitors to comment on your blog on a regular basis?

2. What was your blog’s average comments count per post like when you initially launched out?

3. Were people always falling over themselves to post their comments?

4. Or did you have to go out of your way to get your readers to speak up.

Whatever Answers You Give To The Above, I Suggest You Avoid Using Any Of The Following Methods To Get Comments In

Let me make it clear that what I say here is my personal opinion.

Having said that however, I add that I’m not trying to preach at anyone from a position of self-righteousness.

Instead I challenge you to consider what your readers would think of you, if they found out that you use either of the methods I’ve advised against below.

If you know they will not be upset or disappointed to learn you use those methods, then by all means continue.

Otherwise, make needed changes.

Would You Go This Far, To Get Comments?

1. Comments Seeding?

This appears to be a method developed by well intentioned honest blog owners.

It is infact recommended by a well known, high income earning blogger, in an ebook on the subject.

The idea is basically to post comments on your own blog post, using an alias or possibly a pen name of some sort.

Your purpose would not be to deceive, but to stimulate the reader’s interest in posting a comment, by starting the process using your alias.

Those who advocate this approach argue that most readers may not wish to be the first to comment. And that they tend to comment on posts that aleady have one or two comments.

I say end your post with an invitation to comment or share thoughts on the post’s topic.

You could go further and offer gifts or prizes to encourage visitors to comment qualitatively and actively.

2. Buddy Commenting?

Yeremi Akpan touched on this method of getting blog comments in a recent post titled “Are You Committing Incest With Your Blog?”.

It occurs in various forms, but basically involves getting a group of friends, affiliate partners, and others in your network of regular contacts to commit deliberate effort towards commenting on each of your blog posts.

And you would return the favour to each one of them, whenever they publish their separate blog posts…:-)

I’m going to be blunt here:

I totally dislike this method. And I’ve come across enough blogs that use it, to know that it’s bad for the Internet’s content quality control.

For instance, when an uninitiated visitor to such a blog sees a high comments count on a post, she’s likely to anticipate it offers potentially useful content.

However, since buddy commenting is practiced on the blog, a real danger exists that poor quality posts may still enjoy a lot of “Great post. Thanks for sharing!” obligatory back-slapping buddy comments which NAUSEATE me so much!

Imagine just how let down a visitor would feel after arriving at that kind of post via a Google search?

If more of such blogs were to come up, trying to guage blog content quality, based on comments counts, would gradually become a waste of time!

Final Words

As a blog owner looking to jumpstart or boost comment counts on your posts, I recommend taking the high road from the beginning.

That way you’ll be free from conscience attacks of any sort, if nothing else.

If you already use either of the above described methods to get comments on your blog, I suggest you stop doing so altogether.

What You Can Do:

Based on what I’ve said above, the path to follow is obvious.

Use ethically responsible methods to get your readers to comment on your posts.

For ideas you can use, read my post titled “Is Your Blog Productive, Or Just Plain Busy? (Interesting Arguments For & Against Blog Comments)”.

It feaures links to articles by competent blogging experts like Matt Smith, offering sound advice you can reliably follow, to attract comments to your blog posts.

Goodluck.

Public Speaking, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

Improve Yourself For Your Audience’s Sake!

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So, I Guess This Is Something Of A Rant…About People Who "Arrange Success" For Themselves

I’m writing about how certain people churn out mediocre content dressed in pretty packaging, with massive backing from what I’ve called "arranged networks". My decision to write this piece arose from having a flyer for one such publication handed to me about 2 weeks ago.

What was wrong with it? Well, if one were to go by the details in the well designed flyer, nothing that I could see.

In fact, the outward appearance was quite impressive, and the content well composed. Which explains why I excitedly went online to see if I could learn more about the book, and its author using the URLs provided in the LEARN MORE section..

But to my amazement, there was NOTHING on the website on that day, except for a clock counting down, with a notice that it would soon be ready!

I thought it odd that a product so well introduced in a flyer did not have a website ready BEFORE promotional activities began.

But I let it go.

Listed just below the URL for the book’s website, after all, was the author’s website address.

"There has to be at least a mention of the product on the author’s personal website" I thought.

So, off I went to the latter via another tab in Google Chrome. But alas, there was NOT even a single mention of the new book on the author’s personal website!

That was when I lost it. And I decided it was time to say something about the unhealthy trend I’d observed for a while.

This post is the product of that decision.

The truth is that certain people use their "arranged" networks to get their written works presented as the ultimate solution to "trusting" audiences. These audiences sometimes lack the ability to discern "content quality".

As a result, the mediocre writers have a field day "selling" their works. But knowing that they lack "depth", these individuals often avoid operating outside their "networks".

(NB: I just revisited the book’s website NOW, while typing this. It’s been updated to a one page offering, of essentially the same contents from the flyer. Again, the same problem of the author’s lack of depth is exposed!).

To Achieve Relevance, You Must Show Up Where The Best Are Found!

If ANYONE aspires to excel, she must be willing to do what it takes to QUALIFY to rub shoulders with those who excel (or have done so).

When the Indians wanted to step up their game in software development, they brought in the best experts from across the world. Their kids began learning programming right from primary school level.

When the USA decided it wanted to become a force to reckon with in World Soccer, she threw her doors open to the best players and coaches on the planet.

The American NBA boasts the best pro basketball players in the world, because it seeks out the best talents worldwide. Then it "develops" them into marketable assets in the league.

Nigeria’s outing in Basketball at the last Olympics was its best ever showing. And that was because over 80% of the players who represented us were either playing in the American NBA or had had stints there before moving elsewhere.

The point I’m trying to make is that those who use "arranged networks" do NOT want a level playing field. One where merit reigns, and fair/impartial opportunities to succeed are given to those aspiring to success.

What’s more, it appears there is a carefully orchestrated effort to ensure only persons who belong in their circles get acknowledged by them, and the thousands they influence.

Note however that this does not mean that the person who does not belong cannot command the attention and interest of those influenced by these people. It just means it may take him/her much longer to achieve that goal.

"Arranged Networks" Are Unhealthy For Society

What upsets me however is that through their actions, these "arranged networks", where they exist, keep society from progressing. Just because they want to stay relevant – even when they are not prepared to improve the quality they offer!

They use the access they have to financial and other resources provided, to create opportunities preferentially for their members.

Out here for instance, in Nigeria, we have so many public speaking geniuses who keep publishing works they class as best sellers, but which one cannot find people reading!

It pains me so much to see this happen so often. And that’s a key reason why I publish my weekly Public Speaking IDEAS newsletter.

I am so hungry to see authentic professional speakers from my country command the respect and attention of people from OUTSIDE Nigeria through independent evaluation of the quality of their "content", and competence. And I would really love to see such speakers get invited to speak outside Nigeria, without the involvement or intervention of ANY Nigerians or groups of Nigerians in Diaspora.

What we currently have is a situation where a group of "friends" or associates talk to others in Diaspora, to get their public speaker friend to fly to London and speak to a group of Nigerians in Diaspora – possibly with few non-Nigerian friends attending.

This was the same thing that used to happen with our musicians in the past, but has now changed. Ten years ago, or even further back, most of our musicians would say they’d gone abroad to do international shows.

The problem was that unlike ours, the Jamaican musicians got invited for real LIVE concerts in public venues to entertain truly international audiences. In contrast, our musicians often went to abroad to perform at specially arranged private parties for Nigerians in Diaspora who wanted music from home.

There were very few of them like Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the multi-instrumentalist Afro beat maestro, who regularly got invited to performed at real life international concerts to audiences across the world. Just like his 2 sons (Seun and Femi) now do.

You Cannot Give What You Do Not Have

The above is the truth about what’s happening with our public speakers here in Nigeria. I’m being brutally frank here. There’s no point being subtle about continued proliferation of poor quality works by mediocres backed by "arranged networks" of influential personalities.

These people fail to aspire for higher standards, and yet seek to dominate the industry using their network of contacts!

Like I’ve said earlier, this is one of the reasons why I continue publishing my weekly Public Speaking IDEAS newsletter : To provide an example of how passion can be used to pursue achievement of thought leadership.

I do it to help myself just as much as I do it for the readers.

Every day I publish a new issue of that newsletter, I use it to tell myself that I am BETTER off than I was a week before. Because with that new issue, I have added NEW  and ORIGINAL content of my own creation, to the web, in my name.

The implication is that I have a growing wealth of content to draw from towards promoting and marketing myself as a speaker. Some of which may even prove useful for earning passive income (if I combine them into an ebook for instance).

In the meantime, since people are discovering and reading the newsletter on an international platform, I’m gradually achieving name recognition as the "Publisher of the Public Speaking IDEAS newsletter".

Final Words

To me, the above is what any professional expert worth his or her salt should do i.e. put your stuff out to impact the world, and in the process improve yourself, for the benefit of your target audience.

And that is what many authentic experts in many other parts of the world actually do. I know, because I have studied them – and interact with a number.

I do NOT see much of that happening out here.

Yet, ever so often, someone passes me a pretty flyer like the one I’ve described above, and tells me some speaking genius produced it for use in selling a masterpiece of a book on Public Speaking.

Then I visit the website for the so called product and find it BLANK!!! – once again confirming my belief that most of what they do is "arranged success".

Or how do you explain a person producing flyers for a supposedly top class product described in a sophisticated flyer, but neglecting to put up ANY content on the website for the product BEFORE going live to announce its availability?

I’m not perfect, but I’d like to think I am not that reckless in presenting my products and services.

And that’s the problem. When one offers to "teach" others, and then goes on to make such glaring omissions, it raises the question about whether s/he has truly mastered the principles s/he wishes to teach others!

There, I said it. Now it’s off my chest – and I actually feel better.

I hope you found it to be a useful read…:-)

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, General, Parenting, Public Speaking, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

Pay N10,500 (instead of N18,000) And Get My Feed Formulation Handbook And Software Bundle!

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UPDATE(15th Jan 2013 at 11.57p.m Nigerian time): New price for the Feed Formulation Software (or Ration Formulator) is N12,500. The handbook remains available for N8,000!

The information below is relevant to my currently on-going year end bundled offer announced at the bottom of the following recent posts:

1. Can You Be Trusted?(Real Life Farm Business Sales Conversations With People Just Like You)

2. A World Bank Expert’s Tip On Feed Formulation

UPDATE(14th Dec. 2012 at 10.42a.m Nigerian time): Pay N10,500 and get the bundle – For 25 Buyers Only!

My attention has just been drawn to the fact that last year’s bundled offer price of N10,500 is what still appears on the FAQ/sales page here!

I have no idea what went wrong as I vividly recall updating that page before announcing this year’s N14,000 offer.

In light of the fact that many have already seen the lower offer, and as a gesture of goodwill, I’ve decided to bring the price down to N10,500.00.

This offer will however be for the first 25 persons who buy on or before midnight of 15th January 2013.

Once the offer expires the prices on that sales page will be updated to N18,000.

Send SMS with your name and email to me via 234-803-302-1263 to book your slot before all 25 are taken. You can also email your name and phone number to me via tayo at tksola dot com.