The PDF (Portable Document File) is probably the most popular format for eBooks and other documents. That's no surprise given that they are compatible with PCs and Macs alike and it enables the canny self publisher to create widespread exposure for publicity or plain old profit. Adobe's PDF creation software is undoubtedly the definitive leader of the pack when it comes to creating and manipulating PDFs, but it is prohibitively expensive for anybody on a budget; so it should be said that there is a (much) cheaper alternative...
The easiest and also the cheapest way to convert a Word document into PDF is to use the FREE word processor contained in the "Open Office" suite. Not only is this superb office suite compatible with Microsoft files such as Word and Excel but it also has the ability to create a PDF document directly.
I have been using Open Office without problems regularly now for the past couple of years, and can vouch for its stability and high quality. But why is it free you may ask? Quite simply because it is 'Open Source' software - if you need an explanation have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source
It goes without saying that I highly recommend you visit www.openoffice.org to check out the excellent "Open Office" software and see for yourself just how easy it is to convert Word documents to PDF without any hassle or extra expense.
The software can be downloaded from http://download.openoffice.org/index.html so if you want to create PDFs but can't afford expensive software for the purpose, check it out today!
Passive Income Streams - What are they and how can you get them?
It sounds fantastic, doesn't it? The very idea of a stream of income that is passive is incredibly attractive and seductive to any thinking person. But just what does passive income really mean? Definitioins of the term "Passive income" on the Web vary, but my personal favourite is found at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_income) which seems to cover most bases.
One obvious example of passive income is the interest accrued by a savings account – this is all very well while you have savings in place, but the problem with this kind of income is that it is residual, meaning that in order to maintain the income stream, only the residual part can be used. If you fall upon hard times or the interest rate drops dramatically you might have to start spending your lump sum, then of course the passive income disappears along with your savings. Not an ideal situation and it demonstrates the fragility of residual income.
The best kind of passive income then is continuous and does not rely on a lump sum. Once the wheels have been set in motion then no further action is required for the income to be generated, or as the Wikipedia definition states; "without continuing effort" - Quite simply, it happens all by itself! Sounds good to me, but how is that kind of passive income model created?
There are a number of ways, but probably the most well known are royalty payments earned for creating popular songs or best-selling books. We've all heard of the massive royalty cheques received by songwriters and top authors. But hang on a minute; does that mean you have to write a hit record or a bestselling novel in order to generate passive income? Well, if you have the talent, along with the patience and perhaps a bit of luck on your side, then by all means go for it. However, most of us fall short of one or more of the required criteria, and the number of people earning a living through this kind of passive income alone are in the minority.
One thing that cannot be overlooked is work. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because your time is not directly traded for cash that no work is required on your part. In most cases a great deal of time and effort has to be expended before even the smallest amount of passive income is realised, and this kind of 'up front' work without any obvious instant rewards will put many off before they even get started – after all; who wants to spend their evenings researching and writing articles for a Website when they could be out socialising or relaxing in front of the TV? Only the very dedicated, I believe.
However, the Internet, or more specifically; the World Wide Web offers up opportunities for the passive income seeker that would have been unheard of not so very long ago. Many unseen and unknown Website owners are silently raking in huge profits as a result of allowing advertising on a popular site. Imagine the earning potential of PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising on a site that pulls in 100,000 visitors per day, or the fee that could be commanded for a prominently placed banner on such a site. That kind of result surely justifies any amount of up-front work? Let's not forget though that a successful Website requires ongoing work to remain popular so it might not be considered the perfect example of a truly passive income stream model.
Some passive income streams can also be very small, requiring a combination of streams to make up a full time living. This can again be seen on the Internet when a webmaster has a number of Web sites each making a small amount of money from advertising (most recently Adsense has been the favourite) – In examples such as this it is the combined force of these smaller revenue streams that make up the overall income. On the face of it, this is not such a bad idea when you consider that if one of the sites fails it does not have a major effect on the overall earnings of the site owner, thereby avoiding financial catastrophe. For the belt and braces approach a number of different advertisers would also be combined, so that (as in this example) Adsense is not the only source of revenue.
The conclusion is that passive income although desirable to most in theory, will require some up-front effort to achieve, and not everybody has that discipline. For the person that is both disciplined and determined there are different ways of creating passive income streams and the World Wide Web offers one of the greatest opportunities of our time including the possibility of drawing income from a number of sources and combining them together into one larger sum - this is the model used by many successful Adsense devotees. However, it has also been seen that it is not always wise to put all of our eggs into one basket, and that a combination of different income streams could be the sensible option long term to cover the expenses necessary for living a fulfilling lifestyle.
Keen eBayers will be interested to hear that the latest Easy Profits With eBay newsletter is now online.
This time I outline some of the benefits of installing the eBay toolbar and I reveal another money spinning link that can help you make bonus profits from eBay sales. There is an up-to-date UK wholesaler's guide in eBook format you can download completely FREE and also a little known eBay link that leads to a wealth of goodies.
If you have an interest in eBay and want to learn about ways of maximising your income, or even if you just want a free e-book, you must visit the free eBay tips and tricks newsletter straight away!
The Secret Desire Revealed in Internet Entrepreneurs Everywhere
Today's budding entrepreneur is invariably drawn towards the Internet; either as a standalone business, or for marketing an existing offline business, and with potentially millions of customers online it is easy to understand why this medium is so attractive. Online marketing is readily available to anybody with a PC and an Internet connection and offers what is probably the most cost effective and low risk method of promoting almost any product or service to a worldwide audience.
Gone are the days when massive investment backed by a huge advertising campaign were the only pre-requisistes for a successful product launch, now homespun publishers everywhere can compete. Energy and creativity are often the substitutes for big financial investment in a brave new on-line world. This energy and creativity combined with a positive outlook and craving for success are the fuel and fire that drive the entrepreneur towards the ultimate goal.
Reaching for the stars has never been easier for the impoverished self publisher perhaps working from the confines of a kitchen table at home. Indeed, this scenario only serves to illustrate the all-consuming hope that the Internet has given to many of these hard working optimists. Competition, on the other hand, is fiercer than ever with many more budding on-line business owners appearing daily. Hang on in there though, don't be disillusioned by the amount of competitors because many are simply dipping a toe in the water and have no real desire to dive in and really go for it.
Quite simply, it is as it always was in business; those with the real commitment and single-minded will to succeed will win out in the end. Understanding and believing this simple rule is the key to unlocking an inner strength that will serve as nourishment on the often long and lonely road ahead. Ignoring this fact though would be foolish, leading only to demoralisation and, ultimately, ruin. Capitalise on your strengths and forget about any weaknesses, for others will have your weakness as their strength, so it would be folly to do otherwise. Kick those old beliefs into touch and start afresh if necessary; you will know if it becomes so. Look again closely at the words in this article, for although they may appear at times disjointed or archaic, you will find a hidden message that reveals the uppermost desire of many an Internet entrepreneur. Yes, it really is that simple!
Read on for the Solution...
Now that you have read my article titled “The Secret Desire Revealed in Internet Entrepreneurs Everywhere” you may be wondering what the hidden message is, or in fact if there really is a hidden message. Well, yes there is, but it was just a bit of writer's fun really and doesn't convey any great meaning or anything, so I hope you aren't disappointed with the result. Anyway, here is the solution: Solution to The Secret Desire Revealed in Internet Entrepreneurs Everywhere
It really is very simple: Just take the first letter of each sentence in the article and spell them out in order, like so:-
TOGETRICHQUICKLY
Put some spaces between the words where the spaces between the paragraphs in the article are and all becomes very clear:-
You might remember my little SEO experiment a while back involving 3 identical web pages but with differently formatted title and meta description tags? If not you can read the details HERE. Anyway, I thought it was time I had a little look at the results to see how the pages fared with the three major Search Engines (Google, MSN, Yahoo). As expected, the Googlebot was the first to crawl the experimental pages and the first SE to index them. Google has also followed 'the rules' in that the page with the 'correct' format comes out on top. This is all good stuff, especially given that Google remains head and shoulders above the competition and therefore the most 'important' search engine for site owners and SEO specialists. So it would appear that following 'the rules' when formatting Web pages will pay off with Google. However, not all of the SEs follow the same principles with their algorithms...
MSN has yet to index any of the pages, even though the msnbot has crawled the links several times. Perhaps the MSN algo requires more than one inbound link for a page to be considered important enough to index? Or perhaps a single web page with only one link to it is regarded as irrelevant?
Yahoo, on the other hand, has indexed the page with the nonsense title and irrelevant meta description. Quite why is a mystery to me as it seems to make no sense whatsoever. Perhaps with the different title and description the page is viewed as having more content than its competitors? Or maybe the title and description are simply ignored? Either way I don't like the idea that sloppy and badly formed pages can rank higher in the Yahoo SERPS.
In conclusion, it would seem that my little experiment has raised more questions than it answers, especially with regard to MSN and Yahoo. Although it is comforting to see that the world's most popular search engine appears to be playing by the rules. This reinforces the popular opinion that creating good quality content is the best long term strategy in getting a site to rank highly. One thing I have learned for sure from this little experiment is that I will have to make further study into the world of SEO.
Welcome to My Rich Pickings! The ongoing quest for financial and spiritual self-improvement...
About Me
Name:Tony Williams
Location:Wirral, United Kingdom
My name is Tony Williams and I live in Wirral, UK. I recently quit my job of more than 20 years working for a large organisation to become self employed. Am I mad? Quite probably...
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