My recent publications

You may think that I have become lazy again and am neglecting my blog. Not true!

Quite the opposite, in fact! I have been busy writing online articles for some German Websites. Great practice for writing, keeping my German skills up and getting feedback from awesome editors!

Even if you can't read German, marvel at some of my stories below:
Background story on the Victorian Bushfires
Shark attack at Bondi Beach
Divers survive seven hour ordeal on Great Barrier Reef
Floods in North Queensland (Wombat Magazin)
Floods in North Queensland (Klima Magazin)
First Australian Solar Institute founded

So, there you go! They're mostly news stories, but with my participation in the Sydney Writer's Centre feature writing workshop, more features aren't too far away!

Secrets of Internet Entrepreneurs Exposed

As you know, I am currently reading Secrets of Internet Entrepreneurs Exposed by Dale Beaumont and Shaun Stenning. The book was given to me at the Smart Online Profits Systems Workshop I attended last weekend, and is part of the Secrets Exposed series by Dale Beaumont. Each book of the series focuses on a different topic and collates the knowledge of a variety of experts into one book.



I have to admit, I haven't finished the book yet, but I already wanted to share some thoughts with you.

Firstly, I am totally blown away by the concept of the Secrets Exposed series. As a writer, and someone whose dream has always been to publish a book, I marvel at this 'outside the box thinking' that allowed Dale to publish 15 books in the last few years!!

You may think "Well, if he published that many books in such a short time, they can't be very good". I disagree. If you have a look at the books, you will see they are very good. What has allowed Dale to publish this many books, is a new and innovative way of creating content.

Instead of writing the whole book himself, he finds a variety of experts on the topic, offers some incentives to be part of the whole series (for example cross-marketing opportunities), and lets them write the content. Their contribution is guided by the questions he provides and, of course, the book is edited as a whole to make it flow nicely.

I haven't read any other books of the series yet, but what I like about Secrets of Internet Entrepreneurs Exposed, is that it includes such a wide range of people who have succeeded on the internet in a variety of ways. Entrepreneurs in the book vary from marketing experts and software creators, to eBay and eBook sellers. Their background varies just as much: from internet geek to initial technophobe.

And this is exactly the point Dale and Shaun are making with the book: No matter who you are, no matter what your knowledge and experience, if you decide to make money on the internet, there is a way that will suit you. This makes the book really encouraging for those of us who are looking for opportunities to take action.

I will share my favourite stories in a few days when I have finished the book.

Sydney Writers Centre - Feature Writing Workshop

Sydney Writers Centre - my mission of learning continues!

When I saw the feature writing course at the Sydney Writers Centre, I knew I had to attend! As luck would have it, the course that ran in November was already full when I came across it. I was still overseas when the two-day intensive course ran in January. And last night MY course finally started! You can imagine how excited I was after waiting for 3 months!

And my expectations were definitely rewarded! The 2 hours went by way too quickly and I can't wait for next week! Judy Skatssoon, the presenter, is great! She is energetic and knowledgeable and makes everyone feel like they have something to offer.

We talked about everything from news and feature article characteristics, to the history of New Journalism, and market characteristics. But what impressed me most were the article ideas we came up with, simply by brainstorming some of the newspapers and thinking outside the box. I love seeing how an individual's knowledge, experience and background influence the way they interpret an article and come up with new angles!

Well, the course will be running once a week for the next 5 weeks and cover topics such as finding ideas, interviewing, writing and structuring, pitching and selling, and maintaining contacts and much more.

Iam off working on my article ideas! Will keep you posted on my progress.

Smart Online Profit Systems

The Smart Online Profit Systems workshop came to an end on Sunday night. I must say, this was one of the most worthwhile seminars / workshops I have attended in a long time!

Initially, I came to this seminar because I had some spare time and I wanted to learn about search engine optimisation (SEO). I can tell you, I learnt a lot more than that!

The two days were absolutely packed with Shaun's and Sean's expertise, teaching us everything they know about the internet: SEO, email marketing, social media and of course their SMART system for online business (S= Selecting your passion; M= Market research, A= Affiliate Marketing, R= Results, T= Taking it to Market)!

Although I had never seriously thought about online business before, now I am changing my mind. What I learned in such a short time frame this weekend, makes me believe that it is far from impossible to keep up with internet developments! There are so many possibilities out there and they are increasing every minute!

What I found most intriguing about the workshop were the presenters: Shaun Stenning and Sean Rasmussen. They surprised me with their ethics and integrity in every aspect - their respective businesses, the workshop, dealing with workshop participants and clients.

It turns out, Internet Marketing is not the dog-eat-dog world I had always imagined it to be! Well, I have decided to find out more about it! My first step will be the book Secrets of Internet Entrpreneurs exposed by Dale Beaumont. Expect a review soon!