One of the questions people are ALWAYS asking me... by Richard Grady

Hi Folks!

One of the questions people are ALWAYS asking me....

As you might expect, I receive a LOT of emails and many of these emails contain questions from my customers and subscribers relating to earning money online. I get questions about traffic, questions about payment processing, questions about writing eBooks, questions about eBay, questions about...., well you get the point :-)

I also get a lot of technical-type questions, usually related to script installation or web design. And one of the most common questions that I get asked which falls into this category is 'How can I design a logo/eBook cover/graphic for my website?'

There are of course several answers to this question....

1. You could purchase some logo/eBook cover design software - there are lots of different types on the market. I used this method for my eBook covers for years but there is a downside. You are usually restricted to a selection of graphic templates which means that whatever you do, your end result is always going to be similar to the logo or graphic of someone else who has used the same software. This wasn't a problem for me five years ago but nowadays I can spot an 'out of the box' graphic from a mile away and for some reason, it immediately puts me off.

2. Head on over to one of the freelance websites and hire someone to design your logo or graphic for you. This really is pot-luck and whilst you might get lucky, you could also find that you waste both your time and money with someone who doesn't have a clue. Knowing how to use advanced graphics software such as Adobe PhotoShop doesn't mean you are a good designer - you can either do it or you can't....

3. Spend some serious money and buy yourself a copy of Adobe PhotoShop and then invest some serious time as you try and learn how to use it! I once spent a day trying to get to grips with some of the basic features of this software before giving up! If you stick with it, you will be able to do pretty much anything you want graphically but it is one heck of a steep learning curve.

4. Hire someone with years of experience in graphic design who comes highly recommended. What's that I hear you cry? Can I recommend someone? Of course I can :-)

Yvonne Tagbo runs a business designing eBook covers, logos and other website-related graphics and having experienced her service and work, I can definitely recommend her. Yvonne designed the various graphics for my latest product, 'Still Making it Happen'.

So, in order to save you emailing me in three months time when you need a logo or eBook graphic, can you do one thing for me? Visit Yvonne's website and then BOOKMARK IT! The chances are that at this very moment, you don't need any logos or graphics designed BUT you may well need one in a few weeks/months time and I don't want hundreds of you emailing me because you have forgotten the following link!

Therefore, if you think that there is even the slightest chance that you will need the skills of a graphic designer in the future, add Yvonne's site to your favourites and then you can contact her when you need to.

You will find Yvonne's site at: http://www.ecovercreative.com

(And if you are already selling an eBook with an old 'home-made' cover, why not get Yvonne to design a fresh and professional one for you? A quality graphic really can make a huge difference when it comes to sales.

Trader Online Forum Advertising....

A couple of weeks ago I announced that I was going to be offering some banner advertising spaces on my busy forum. These spaces were limited in number but I do still have a couple of spots available so if you are interested in seeing your banner on the forum, please take a look at the link below:

http://traderonlineforum.com/index.php?showtopic=6292

It's almost the end of the year....

Well another year is almost over and although I will probably squeeze one more brief newsletter in before Christmas, I wanted to let you know about some changes which I will be making to the newsletter next year.....

I will be stopping the current newsletter format completely - I have been writing this newsletter twice a month for over five years now and it is time for a change.

However I am going to be replacing it with something bigger and hopefully much better! I don't want to reveal too much at this stage but let's just say that it is time to take the Online Trader Newsletter to the next level! :-)

Watch this space!

Until next time....

Richard Grady