It’s not hard to imagine one’s life experiences flowing like a stream. People you meet, conversations you have, flashes of insight, emotions - these things and more wash steadily past. The essence of one’s life is dispersed in this river.

You cannot hold onto a river. Grasp at it and you get nothing more than an empty wet hand that will dry soon enough. But, no matter how clear the water appears, it carries with it artifacts of where it has been. Don’t believe me? Put a rock in the stream and wait.

I recently wrote about a podcast I had heard that discussed a method for developing and selling e-books. This was not the ‘download my e-book, rebrand it, and sell it’ get rich quick approach. They focussed on identifying potential products, evaluating the potential market, market testing, and then producing and selling. It is a very systematic process.

Product evaluation and market testing has been high on my mind since I heard that podcast, so I started doing some research on the subject. I found a few very interesting resources. Links to them are at the end of this article.

When was the last time you had to join a new group? Maybe you started a new job or school. Maybe you joined a club or church. If you are anything like me, the process of getting to know people probably went something like this:

You showed up and talked with a small number of people at first - the boss, a greeter, the person sitting next to you. You talked about common interests and started the process of getting to know more about each other. At the same time, you started to listen to what the people around you were talking about. You gravitated toward the people you found interesting and eventually found an opportunity to contribute to the group conversations.

I got a great email today from web marketing consultant Dr. Ralph F. Wilson about getting non-reciprocal links onto your website. (If you are not famililar with Dr. Wilson, I recommend checking out his website and signing up for his newsletter.) He mentioned three ways to get folks linking in:

• Write Great Content
• Write ‘Give Away Articles’
• Use Search Engines To Find Sites and Directories To Submit a Link

I’ve written about the first two topics before, but I have not written about the last one. So, how do you use search engines to find places to submit your site links?

Blogger Yaro Starak released a great 2-part podcast on his Small Business Branding site. It’s an interview with Internet Entrepreneur Daryl Grant entitled ‘How To Make $250,000 A Year Selling E-Books.’

They discuss how she sets up her sites, how the books are produced (she doesn’t write them herself), how she generates traffic, and how she writes the sales page copy to convert visits to sales. Her website also gives a thorough breakdown of her process: www.AndrewandDaryl.com. The site includes links to sample survey pages, a spreadsheet for calculating the profitability of an idea, and active e-book sales pages (surprise - not one of them is about online marketing!)

I’ll bet you understand my frustrations with online advertising. When writing advertising copy for the web you have to address the same concerns that a salesperson deals with face-to-face, but without the direct feedback or ability to adapt your words to new questions or objections. You have to anticipate everything before you start writing your advertising copy.

Master copywriter and direct marketing entrepreneur Joseph Sugarman, in his 1999 book Triggers, discussed and illustrated 30 different ways to motivate, influence, and persuade people when writing. It was an inspiring read. But, I had trouble getting all of those great ideas into my copy. Whenever I started getting traffic to a salespage I wrote, my results were zero. I couldn’t translate my knowledge into effect sales copy.

While reading an article on Yahoo! about search engine marketing, I was introduced to the work of Jennifer Laycock, managing editor of the online Search Engine Guide newsletter. The site turned out to be a useful resources, but the real treat was the free e-book she was giving away. It’s not your typical web market e-book.

Jennifer’s new book, Zero Dollars, a Little Talent, and Thirty Days, is a compilation of thirty daily articles she wrote chronicling her efforts to start a new online business with no cash, and turn a profit. She made money - not the overnight millions folks usually brag about - but a real profit. I also get the feeling she’ll continue to make money from the site and be able to work less to keep it going.

Imagine if there was an enormous engine that, when running, created opportunities for you. Mysteriously, you would find yourself meeting people who could help you acheive your goals. Resources would appear out of nowhere - money, supplies, office space, publicity. All the while, in the background, your engine would be chugging away making new opportunities - your Synchronicity Engine!

The dictionary calls synchronicity a coincidental occurance of events that appear to be meaningfully related but cannot be explained. I have another definition: synchronicity is the force that brings together the right people at the right time with the right resources to make things happen.

The Internet is flooded with questionable tools for making money. I know, because I’ve looked. Everyone is trying to convince you that you’ll be an overnight millionaire if only you buy their e-book for $49.99!

In my searches I’ve found a few sources of valuable information. One of them is Ken Evoy. He’s created a wealth of resources to help you build a real business on the web - not some free clone website, but a real resource that turns browsers into buyers.