We did a survey of our students and people who wanted to sign up for courses from SparkplugU. One of the most frequently requested features we received was that we offer our classes in an electronic format so that you can take them on your own schedule. We can’t really blame you - we have busy schedules too. :)

So we have been working furiously on developing electronic courses that can be accessed immediately!

Two of our most popular classes are ready to go! You can now purchase and immediately download:

Introduction to Starting a Blog Network with Wendy Piersall & Easton Ellsworth

Write Press Releases to Grow Your Business with Susan Payton

Next month, the BlogWorldExpo conference is happening on September 19-21, with the 19th being a special Executive & Entrepreneur Conference segment. Last year, I spoke at BlogWorld, and will be again this year. The topic will be on how to sell advertising and sponsorships directly for your blog.

We’re also working hard to get as many people from Sparkplugging & SparkplugU to the conference as possible. Stay tuned - we might need a lot of room over there!

If you register for BlogWorld before August 22, 2008, you can get 25% off of your registration. You can buy an exhibits-only pass for as low as $100, with the 20-21 main conference a reasonable $400. That means that if you register early you get $100 off your ticket. If you are interested in online publishing, then I really can’t recommend this conference more highly!

This year it’s only going to be bigger and better. I will be there along with several of the Sparkplugging *:) Blog Network authors:

Susan Payton from The Marketing Eggspert

Shannon Hutton from Believer in Balance, Momsational & Seasonal Kids Activities

Starla Sireno from Ask the Coach

Please stop us and introduce yourself if you are going to be there!

45 Minute Audio
Textbook
Worksheet
In-depth Presentation Slides
$29.95

Learn a step by step process for Do-It-Yourself Press Releases

Taught by Susan Payton

Press releases have long been a successful method for getting the media’s attention and gaining additional exposure in newspapers, magazines and on television. But with today’s marketing 2.0 world, internet-based media has changed the game. Journalists are now bombarded with press releases, and the chance yours will end up as Time Magazine’s cover story is slim to nil. So what’s the point of press releases in today’s technology driven world?

You probably know press releases can help your business shine, but you don’t have the budget to pay someone to write them. Susan Payton, author of the book Lifetips 101 Entrepreneur Tips, will teach you the steps to writing an effective press release and distributing it to journalists, bloggers and potential customers.

Course Details

In this Course We Will Cover

What a is Press Release
Why they are important for sales, web traffic, and publicity

Where Press Releases are Distributed
How to get your press release into the right hands and increase your chances of getting your news covered by influential journalists, news outlets and bloggers

Why Bother with Press Releases?
Susan explains why you should be putting out press releases once a month, and why a regular schedule of releases will increase your chances of getting mentioned in the press.

How to Write a Press Release
A step-by-step guide in which Susan walks you through the process with specific examples and answers to your most frequently asked questions.

Insider Tips & Tricks
Learn when to distribute your press releases, how to leverage search engine traffic, and about the power of social bookmarking in relation to your web PR.

Save Hours of Time
Includes list of 30+ free and paid websites where you can submit releases online, fully screened to ensure you don’t waste your time with ineffective or scam services.

Who Should Take This Course

Any business owner that doesn’t have the budget to hire a press release writer will benefit from taking this course. Press Releases are a simple and powerful tool to increase product sales, site traffic, and word of mouth marketing efforts.

What Do Our Students Have to Say About
Writing Press Releases to Grow Your Business?

Course Fee Includes

• 45 minute Class Audio Recording in which Susan takes several students through the steps to creating their own press releases
  
• Class Presentation with illustrations, screen shots, and other bonus information
  
• Class Worksheet enabling you to fill in the blanks to write your own press release
  
• Class Textbook with links referenced in the class, more examples, press release templates, and topics and ideas

$29.95 Buy Write Press Releases to Grow Your Business and get *instant access* now!

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]]> http://www.sparkplugu.com/write-press-releases-to-grow-your-business/feed/ http://www.sparkplugu.com/introduction-to-starting-a-blog-network/ http://www.sparkplugu.com/introduction-to-starting-a-blog-network/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:58:25 +0000 Wendy Piersall http://www.sparkplugu.com/?p=100 Download Now for Instant Access Ever thought about starting a blog network? You wouldn't be alone; blog networks are rapidly emerging as one of the best ways to take your blogging career to the next level. Learn how to put a plan of action together to start a blog network from Wendy Piersall, founder of the Sparkplugging Blog Network and Easton Ellsworth, Editor with the Know More Media Blog Network.]]> Introduction to
Starting a Blog Network  includes:
90 Minute Audio and In Depth Workbook
$34.95

Learn what steps are involved in setting up a blog network, what pitfalls to avoid, & put together a plan of action!

Taught by Wendy Piersall & Easton Ellsworth

Ever thought about starting a blog network? You wouldn’t be alone; blog networks are rapidly emerging as one of the best ways to take your blogging career to the next level.

Learn how to put a plan of action together to start a blog network from Wendy Piersall, founder of the Sparkplugging Blog Network and Easton Ellsworth, Editor with the Know More Media Blog Network.

Course Details

In this Course We Cover

Planning and Design
How to define and differentiate your blog network from the competition

Traffic building strategies
Go beyond social media traffic or search engine optimization

Building a healthy network
Strategies to increase page views and ’stickiness’

Put together a strong business model
Income diversification methods for blog networks

Creating an advertising strategy
How to work with ad networks and sell your own inventory

Hiring and management of writers
How to find the right bloggers and keep them motivated

Technology considerations
Building a solid foundation for future scalability

Who Should Take This Course

This course is for experienced bloggers - while people new to blogging may want to learn about networks, we will not be discussing the basics of blog promotion.

What Do Our Students Have to Say About
Introduction to Starting a Blog Network?

Course Fee Includes

• Information-packed 90 minutes of audio
• In-depth workbook to walk you through the material, enabling you to take the information and put it into a specific plan of action to start a blog network.

]]> http://www.sparkplugu.com/introduction-to-starting-a-blog-network/feed/ http://www.sparkplugu.com/diversify-your-income-workshop/ http://www.sparkplugu.com/diversify-your-income-workshop/#comments Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:47:44 +0000 Wendy Piersall http://sparkplugu.com/?p=11 Buy & Download Now! Have you hit an income ceiling with your business or monetized blog? Are you stuck either billing hours or constantly seeking more traffic for your website? Then this course is for you. We'll be teaching multiple streams of income strategies for solo self-employed business owners & bloggers. Build a business that earns revenue in every kind of economy!]]> Diversify Your Income Workshop  includes:
3 Full Audio Sessions and
Detailed Course Workbook
$49.95

Learn income diversification strategies to ensure that your business makes money in every kind of economy!

Taught by Wendy Piersall & Marla Tabaka

Are you finding that your business grows and shrinks with the number of clients you can get? It’s a pretty vulnerable place to be, especially when your business relies on factors out of your control, like the economy.

If your only income is from billing projects or hours, then you are leaving yourself defenseless with all of your eggs in one basket. And you can only grow your business to the level of the amount of hours you can work in a week. Finding more clients isn’t the answer - diversifying how your business earns money is.

Course Details

In this Course We Cover

What is Passive, Leveraged and Residual income?

Why you need a mailing list

The difference between RSS Subscribers and Email subscribers

Using Autoresponders to create revenue that earns on autopilot

The inside scoop on dealing with Ad Networks

How to incorporate non-competitive advertising
even when you have a small audience

How to build a sales funnel for maximum revenue potential

An innovative approach to developing products

Create a structure and workflow that gives you
more time to spend on income generation

Who Should Take This Course

• You should have an existing service-based business (consultants, freelancers, coaches, etc.)
• OR You should be a blogger/web publisher that desires to start monetizing your traffic or increase your earnings

• It is strongly recommended that all participants have an existing web site, because the strategies we  teach are primarily geared toward internet-based promotion

What Do Our Students Have to Say About
our Diversify Your Income Workshop?

Course Fee Includes

• Three sessions of audio recordings with nearly 2 hours of solid information - no pitches or upsells, just 110 minutes of pure insights and advice.
• Detailed Course Workbook to walk you through the material, enabling you to take the information and put it into a specific plan of action
• Special Appendix with professional speaking resources and links for all products and services mentioned in the course

It has been a long-time goal of mine to find a way to bring this project to fruition. After running eMoms at Home, now Sparkplugging, for over two years, it became increasingly apparent to me that just writing great articles wasn’t enough. People were asking for more guidance, more support, more direction from me and the rest of the Sparkplugging authors.

Yet at the same time, I’ve always had a resistance to those scammy, spammy internet marketing ’schemes’ that seem to promise the world yet are in actually set up to prey on people who don’t fully understand what it takes to run a business on the internet. Of course, I would never do that. And while I have run my site, I’ve probably turned away over $20,000 worth of advertising from those kinds of ‘opportunities’, because I flat out to refuse to take part in their game.

It took a while for us to find a way to both offer quality training and ensure that I met the following criteria:

• We had to create a program that was explicitly clear on what the student would get - there is no guesswork when you register for one of our classes.
• We had to position it so that everyone understood that we are not teaching get-rich-quick schemes. If that’s what you want, then you can throw your money away with the millions of shady programs available online - go to it!
• Quality & usability were incredibly important. My name and my authors’ names are on the line with SparkplugU, and I would never jeopardize your goodwill for a buck.
• Most of all it had to be affordable. I know first-hand the struggles of the startup entrepreneur and solo business owners. You don’t have a ton of cash. We get that.

When I was 25 years old, I was a single mom, living in my parent’s basement. I had no business experience, no business schooling, and yet I decided to start my first business. There were some excellent resources available then - but nothing like there is today, thanks to technology.

SparkplugU means so much to me personally, because this is a resource built specifically to help everyone who was once in my shoes. I know there are many people out there who aren’t fortunate enough to have access to real training and advice from experienced business owners who get online business and Web 2.0.

Since I can’t reach back through time and help myself succeed in my first business, today I get to pay forward everything I’ve learned and my team and I get to pass on everything we know to a new generation of people who want work that fits into their life.

I honestly feel blessed to have this opportunity to work with you - and a huge, tearful and heartfelt thanks goes out right now to all of the Sparkplugging *:) authors and to our loyal, wonderful readers who make my job blissful on a daily basis!

Learn how to start and run a podcast that helps your business grow

Starts September 8

Taught by Kelly McCausey

I’ve often told business owners that they’ll be podcasting sooner or later and I believe that for two reasons. First, your target market wants to have a choice about how they consume your information and second, podcasting helps you to reach whole groups of people you may never have made contact with otherwise.

In this course you’ll be prepared for the creation of a podcast that helps you achieve your unique business goals. We’ll cover target market, purpose, content creation, finding guests and the development of a money strategy. Before you record one minute of content, you’ll know exactly what to do and why you’re doing it.

Course Details

In this Course We Will Cover

In the Strategy & Planning Section

• Week 1 - Target Market Development and Goals
• Weeks 2 & 3 - Content Development
• Week 4 - Income Strategies

In the Technology & Implementation Section

• Week 1 - Podcasting Tools
• Week 2 - Hosting Skills
• Week 3 - Production Skills
• Week 4 - Troubleshooting Q & A

Prerequisites

• It is strongly recommended (but not required) that all participants have an existing web site, because the strategies we will be teaching are primarily geared toward internet-based promotion
• It is recommended but not required that you have a high-speed internet connection to access and view the visual presentation in our web conference room

Course Fee

$39.95 Per 4-Week Session - Limited to 100 Participants

Course Workbook is included in this registration fee

Dates & Times

This is a four hour course, classes meet for one hour, once a week via a web conference room.

Podcasting Bootcamp - Technology & Implementation
September 8 - 29 at 9pm Eastern / 6pm Central
Register for the Podcasting Bootcamp - Technology & Implementation - $39.95 | 4 hours

Podcasting Bootcamp - Strategy & Planning
July 21 - Aug 11 at 9pm Eastern / 6pm Central
Podcasting Bootcamp - Strategy & Planning - Currently Running

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