The first is called RescueTime and it’s a downloadable system that monitors which you actually do while you’re online, whether it be email checking, site surfing or banging away on a project in Word.

I used it while working on PromoteANYTHINGOnline and found it to be pretty helpful. Here’s how it works:

You download the software to your computer and set up RescueTime to your own specifications. Nothing technical or complicated here, it just helps it recognize time well spent from time that may be not so well spent.

It tracks where and how you spend your online time, whether you know you’re doing it or not. You can check it periodically at the site directly and also sign up to receive weekly updates sent via email.
If you decide to give it a try, I strongly suggest those weekly updates. They’re real eye-openers!

You may well discover that those “few minutes” spent checking this or that out really amounted to hours wasted in a short span of time. Needless to say, this is an excellent tool for help with keeping the “blinders” on while you’re working on something.

I found it very helpful and more than a little enlightening. Unfortunately, I also found that it slowed my computer down considerably. I heard from others who reported the same. So I reluctantly uninstalled it.

However, I recently completed a virtual house cleaning of some junk I’d accumulated and never used. I just might give RescueTime another try.

I think it’s worth a try, and it’s free.

The second is also downloadable and a great tool for getting the most from your online working time. It’s called The Action Machine and you can set up your tasks with a time limit, during which you focus exclusively on that task until the timer alarm sounds. The cool thing about this tool is that you can set up all your day’s work at once or set up some to occur every day.

This guy has thought of practically everything and better yet, he’s constantly updating the software. I’ve received two updates since I first installed it – one of which I was about to suggest when I saw the email with the link!

At around $25, The Action Machine is a definite steal and it’s something you’ll certainly put to good use.

I’ll keep you posted about how it’s working for me!!

There’s also a pretty good OFFline tool that’s worked for quite a few over quite a few years. It’s called a pen and paper.

From Ben Franklin’s famous pros and cons decision making process to mindmapping techniques now being taught to kindergarteners, the pen (or a handful of markers) when coupled with an ordinary piece of paper has proven itself one heck of a sword against the dragons of time, effort and distraction.

Personally, I’m a big fan of a three-tool approach – one black pen, one red marker and one or more sheets of plain white paper, preferably mounted on a clipboard. Maybe that’s FOUR tools. A legal pad is fine too.

I write what I intend to do that day on the paper with the black pen. Writing down too many things will scare the dickens out of you and then you won’t want to do anything on the list.  Three to five items is manageable.

Prevailing wisdom claims that listing the toughest and/or least enjoyable task first with the purpose of tackling it first will make every other item seem like cake, because you did the worst first.

I say do that if you can. If nothing else, it’s worth a real try. I’ve discovered that I still balk at doing the toughest task at the top of the list, but I know that if I don’t do it then or by the end of the day, it’ll be carried over to the next day anyway. After seeing it for a few days, it gets done even if mostly out of a sense of shame than anything else.

Now the best part…the red marker. When you finish a task on your three to five task list, resist the natural urge to scribble or cross it out with your black pen. Reach instead for that red marker.

There must be a scientific study or two somewhere about the benefits of this technique, but here’s how it goes. Pop the cap off your red marker and make one strong straight line all the way across the task you’ve written on your list. Don’t scribble and don’t be dainty. Draw it like you mean it.

(If you’ve got a nice broad-tipped red marker, so much the better!)

Doing that will produce the most “DONE” feeling you’ve ever experienced, aside from collapsing after that marathon ten years ago. Both you and your brain now know for a fact that you have completed that task and it felt good. Really good. Good enough to make you want to do it again. You and your brain also know that the feeling will only happen again if you actually complete another task and then do it.

Another benefit is that you and your brain will feel increasing amounts of that “DONE” feeling as you mark off each new item.

Want to keep that feeling going? Save those daily sheets with those beautiful red lines through those completed tasks for at least a week and even a month or more. That’s solid visual proof that you did something on the way to reach your goals.

Your habit of DOING will grow stronger every day!

Because I do know this firsthand, it really, really saddens me to see people do it so very WRONG. I’m long since past getting ticked off about these things, but it does bum me out.

Why? Because it’s totally UNnecessary to do these things! And also by doing these things, the people doing them risk lifelong explusion from some excellent potential resources not just of sales, but of knowledge and networking. All this stuff is loads easier when you’re not doing it alone, believe me.

OK, here goes:

1. Don’t spam.

Pretty obvious, right? But as both a moderator and a participant on forums, I see it all the time. Granted, some are the work of pro spammers working on a big bank of computers in some dingy basement in some dingy city in some dingy country.

Too often, and more than once is too often to me, this spam is produced by misguided and either mis- or ill-informed individuals who stick a “Me too!” or some other lame message repeated a billion times in a billion place. Sometimes many of those places are on different sections of the same forum. Soooo not cool, soooo not helpful, soooo not effective!

If ever the urge strikes you to do something even remotely spammy, smack yourself silly and give yourself a severe talking to when you wake up. Repeat as needed.

2. Don’t spam by private message either.

I’m a member of a couple of very well-known forums with almost legendary reputations and a few gazillion members. They have so darn many members that I don’t visit them often. How can I feel special with all those other people vying for attention too??

Every so often, I see a private message from one of these forums in my inbox. Usually, it’s obvious that it’s not from the forum administrator (the only one/ones that should be e-mail the entire member list), but from another “member” who apparently joined just to do this. They may honestly believe that this is the way forum marketing is done.

Ahhh…NO.

If you’re a forum member and you want to contact another member with a legitimate question or request, follow that forum’s rules for doing so. Converse, don’t bombard.

Which brings me oh-so-conveniently to my next point:

3. Don’t have nothing worthwhile to say.

The occasional “Attaboy!” or “You go, girl!” encouragement is fine as long as it’s not all you ever do. Your forum visits should be timed to avoid blowing half a day without realizing it, and you should have an objective for your visit. Are you there to ask a specific question? Answer a specific question? Conduct a targeted poll? Research problems and concerns of your target market or maybe clarify the same?

It’s incredibly easy to fall into a “hanging out” habit with forums. I know because I’ve done it myself. Save the hanging out for forums you frequent JUST for fun after work hours. Be there for a real reason while you’re on your own clock.

4. Don’t abuse your signature file.

These few hyperlinked characters at the end of your forum posts are what ultimately make money. They’re that little cyber-doorway for those curious and hopefully interested visitors to pass through.

Don’t lock them out with an over-the-top message!

“Make Megalicious Moolah By Monday!!!” or “Be A Bedroom God!!!” aren’t exactly enticing to most. Low key is juuuust a bit more inviting, like:

“How I Conquered My Acne In One Week”

No screaming, no exaggeration. You must be sure that the destination your visitor reaches tells them what you say it will, or that’ll be their last click on anything associated with you.

For more about the DOs of forum marketing, grab the first lesson, “Week 1: Forums” of Promote ANYTHING Online: Your Step-By-Step Online Marketing Action Plan now.

I’m talking about your mailing list.

All those people who took the time and made the effort to subscribe are expecting to hear from you. In order for them to STAY subscribed and even a little bit interested in what you have to say, it’s got to be worth something to them. If your articles are worth being seen by others and you take action to make that happen, why not do the same for the folks who’ve said the actually want to hear from you?

Oh, and don’t be discouraged if your list isn’t “big” yet. My first ever online sale was made from a message sent to a list of 14 people. Yep, just 14.

They are your captive audience, and the ones most likely to give it a read just because it’s from you.

Whether you send updates or a regularly scheduled newsletter, include one of your recent articles. Write a lot of them? Include links to where they can read them and tel them a little about them upfront. As long as it’s something they perceive as having value to them, they’re more likely to take a look.

If you already know how to use your autoresponder service, it’s as easy as copy and paste. Don’t have one? My personal favorite is Aweber for two big reasons: lots of training in different formats – print, audio and video – and off-the-charts customer support. They’re both something I’ve gotta have from any tech-related service, and they haven’t disappointed me yet!

A word about free autoresponder services: DON’T. I’ve been there, and it was a total disaster. First there’s the ads they include in your mailings that distract from your message, and then there’s the lack of concern on their part when anything goes wrong and causes a problem for you. What do they care…it’s not like you’re paying for it after all. Not my idea of a good time.

It’s good to share. It’s even better to share with those who expect it!

There’s many platforms for creating stand-alone web pages that are also well optimized for the search engines and can even be monetized with affiliate links for related products, such as:

Squidoo

Hubpages

WetPaint

Weebly

These sites, also referred to as “free website” creators, have developed a good track record for results as well as a good reputation for ease of use.  I don’t know about you, but that’s certainly good news to me!

(Note: Please don’t confuse these with those “free website” creators you may have heard of, like Bravenet and Yahoo’s basic service. They’re so much more worthwhile and effective, it ain’t even funny.)

Each site has specific instructions for setting up your site, or lens in Squidoo’s case, that can have you up and running in little or no time. Your best bet would be to make each in the order given, because Squidoo and Hubpages do particularly well with the others close behind.

Some of these sites may have restrictions on how many you can create. Familiarize yourself with all requirements before getting started to avoid any “gotchas”.

If you provide article content for several sub-niches of a given niche, you can create a new page for each sub-niche. The more specific the focus of each site’s content, the more highly targeted the traffic.

In a nutshell, the pages you can produce at these sites are quick, easy, effective and F-R-E-E. The search engines love them, visitors appreciate the simple, clearcut layout and navigation they offer and you’ll love the fact that, used properly and consistently, they WORK.

Whenever I’ve heard or read any marketing or economics stuff, whether in school or online, they always use an imaginary product called a widget as an example. Red widgets, blue widgets, big widgets, little widgets.

Well, wouldn’t you know that a widget is a real thing online after all? It’s a type of Internet application you can plug into web pages and social networking site pages (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) to share content.

To create a widget from your blog, for instance, you can go to Widgetbox.com and convert your blog content into a widget you can place in several places and offer to others for placement in their places too.

All it takes is inserting your blog URL into the “Make A Widget” box and hit the “Continue” button, and you’re on your way.

You can even turn it into a Facebook application there that lots of faithful Facebook users can put on their Facebook pages, sending lots of other people your way. Look for “Make a Bebo App”.

Just like most other content formats, there’s directories of widgets as well. For instance:

Google Widget Directory

Yahoo Widgets

Widgetbox

Springwidgets

Widget Gallery

Snipperoo Widget Directory

RateItAll Widgets

Netvibes Widget Directory

Widgepedia

Xanga Widget Directory

As with directories for anything else, there’s loads of ‘em out there. And also with directories for anything else, some are good and some are basically worthless. Shop around and be picky, it’ll be worth it.

Widgets are both cool and popular. With the ability to make one so darned easy, it’s well worth the few minutes it takes!

Are you ready and raring to enter the wonderful world of widgets?

Whoopee!!

The important thing to keep in mind is that articles and blog posts (and any other formats) cannot be exactly alike. Change a few paragraphs as well as the order in which they appear, the title and the description. Repurposing articles means redesigning them to some degree to avoid the dreaded curse of duplicate content. When it all looks exactly alike, Google wonders…and you don’t want Google even wondering about the quality of your content.

Write a good blog post. Include some good, juicy info that others want to know. You know the kind, the stuff you love to find yourself. Then choose an article format that suits it – Jeff Herring’s Instant Article Templates are top notch – and “start spreading the news”.

Give yourself a pat on the back, you’ve just completed most of the work you need to do. Now that you have a definite starting point, the rest is just tweaking: a little change here, a little rewrite there, some of this and some of that, a few format flips, some directory posting and so on.

Best of all, you can be as high tech or low tech as you can handle. In the spirit of PromoteANYTHINGOnline, I strongly suggest that you start low tech and then go as high tech as you can stand. Once you reach your limit, get help and stretch yourself to grow a bit more. It WILL be worth it.

In fact, some approaches to repurposing articles aren’t actually as high tech as you might think. Do yourself a favor and keep following along with me, and I’ll do my darndest to provide some pleasant surprises along the way.

I know I definitely prefer the pleasant ones. How about you?

Did you know that your web host will automatically backup your website and/or blog files, but only on their prearranged schedule?

Depending on your activity level (doing it more often when you DO more and often), scheduling your own manual backup once a week can be a very good idea.

With hosts that offer the cPanel control panel for your account, it’s as easy as clicking a button. Namely the one labeled “Backup”.

Another quick backup bulletin: Your hosting account files and those found on your computer itself must be backed up separately. Hosting account files (websites, blogs and all their stuff) live at the hosting company; those in your computer (everything else!) naturally live on your computer.

Your computer can be totally wiped out, leaving you with nothing.

I suggest you try Mozy for some peace of mind. It’s a online remote backup service that stores all your computer files away from your computer. Just like your hosting company does for your sites and such.

So, two tips worth writing down and doing: Schedule your own backup for your hosting account, and back up your computer files regularly too.

Computers make ugly paperweights.

Today’s Change: I edited the Permalinks to show the blog post title, not the month and day, for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes. Here’s how:  Go to Options > Permalinks. You’ll see these choices: default, date and name based, numeric or custom.  I created a custom permalink structure with this code:

/%post_id%/%postname%/

That code will create URLs to individual blog posts that contain the Post ID and the Post Namelike this::

http://www.promoteanythingonline.net/82/tech-tips-from-lynette-chandler/

With this kind of permalink, your post are always relevant and never look “dated” in search results.

For the full story of why this is good, go here.

After trying for a couple of days to first get through the fear of self-upgrading to the current version of Wordpress and then delightedly discovering the Wordpress Automatic Upgrade plugin, which would do so immediately upon installation, I made a second not-so-delightful discovery.

The Wordpress Automatic Upgrade plugin, a.k.a. WPAU, was retired by its developer in September 2008. In other words, it’s now sooooo last year.

My next and definitely most delightful discovery was that WPAU has been incorporated into Wordpress 2.7, the current version. One upgrade to go and then no more!

Considering how often Wordpress upgrades, that’s very, very good news. I only wish I knew that two days ago.

Now for apology time: I haven’t blogged daily as I said I would. One day can be chalked up to observing my 20th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, but the ball was still dropped.

I’m looking forward to picking that ball up again come Tuesday after a long weekend away!

As for me, I’ve been working on them since Christmas.

Goals and resolutions and whatever else you want to call them are a total waste of time without the next part: how to actually DO it.

The place to start is the time you achieve that goal. Or rather, the time you see yourself achieving that goal.

Simpleology 101 has a cool tool for accomplishing that little feat, called the Backward Planner. That’s not all that’s cool about Simpleology – the fact that it won’t cost a penny isn’t bad either.

Ask yourself, “What step do I take today to achieve my desired goal?” Write it down. Ask again. Repeat.

It could be as easy as, well…blogging daily!

Speaking of blogging daily, my first change is updating to the latest version of Wordpress!