Godek’s theory is that when someone tries to buy the book (and it doesn’t show up in the store’s inventory) they will note that the book sold and will order replacement copies. While he can’t document how many books he has sold with this sneaky strategy, Godek has sold more than 1.7 million books.

There are two lessons you can take from this. First, freely give away samples. When Godek “donates” books to bookstores, the cost to him is minimal. But, it exposes the book to readers (and retailers) who might not have found it otherwise.

Second, don’t be afraid to try something a little “odd” if the risk is low and it might work. Don’t do something unethical, illegal or nasty. However, being creative can help you find ways to promote yourself which are inexpensive and fun. Just because no one has done it before doesn’t mean it is a bad idea. It just means you’re more clever than those other folks!

Oh, and a third lesson: I’m telling you about Greg Godek (and his book) because he not only created “reverse shoplifting,” but he told people about it. If you come up with an unusual way to promote yourself, tell others about it. You may get additional attention as your strategy is shared.

Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any. - Orson Scott Card

Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats. – Howard Aiken

If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word. – Margaret Atwood

Nighttime is really the best time to work. All the ideas are there to be yours because everyone else is asleep. -  Catherine O’Hara

Don’t get it right, just get it written. – James Thurber

If you’re going to be a writer, the first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow. – Louis L’Amour

The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. – Mary Heaton Vorse

Lower your standards and keep writing. – William Stafford

I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning. – William Faulkner

Do you have a favorite quotation that motivates or inspires you to write?

Here’s the secret: Did you know that many flickr members will allow you to use their photos on your blog? You can not take any and every photo, and there typically are some restrictions on use, but there are many quality photos available. In most cases, you need to properly attribute the photo and include a link. The license information can be found on each photo’s page.

If it says, “All rights reserved,” then the photographer does not allow use of the photo. However, many say, “Some rights reserved,” or some variation on that. Click on the “Some rights reserved” link and you will see exactly how the photo may be used and you will see the link that should be copied and pasted into your webpage as a photo credit.

The photographers who allow use of their photos still own all of the rights to their photos. They have just decided to freely grant certain rights to others who wish to use the photos. The photographers do this on the flickr site via Creative Commons (CC) licensing. CC licensing may allow commercial or non-commercial use, or it may or may not allow any modifications to the original work (aside from resizing it).

An easy way to find photos you may use is to start your search from the Creative Commons site: http://search.creativecommons.org/. Make sure you check the box about allowing commercial use, then search for keywords related to your blog. You will be amazed at what comes up! (If you want to be able to modify the images, be sure to check the box that says “modify, adapt or build upon” before doing your search.)

When you find a photo you like, verify the license terms then download the photo and copy the attribution link. You can also use the search at CreativeCommons.org to find text, music, video and other content that you may legally use.

I not only find great photos I can use, I get ideas for additional posts as I go through the search results. Photos have a way of getting the creative juices flowing. Before I know it, I have ten or more great post ideas.

If you already have an idea for a post, but need a cool photo to go with it, the PhotoDropper WordPress plugin will use criteria you set to find photos for you. Thanks to Marc Mackenzie of JustEyewear.com for suggesting this plugin.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spcbrass/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

1.More often than not when anyone complains about anything there’s an opportunity wrapped up in the complaint.

Many businesses were created in response to complaints. People complained that something they wanted was not available, or it was hard to get, or the quality wasn’t up to their standards, or…whatever the complaint, the response can be the creation of a successful new product or service.

2.Listen when other people complain about situations. Make it standard procedure to turn the coin over—see what opportunity is spelled out on the other side.

Ask yourself, “How could this complaint be addressed?” Think about solutions you could offer.

3.Listen when you yourself kick about little “personal” things that get your goat. When you act to correct these annoyances you not only get rid of the bother, but it can touch off a whole new attitude for the constructive handling of all sorts of things that bother you.

How often do you grouse about not being able to find things, or that you can’t make your computer do what you want it to do. A day spent with an organizer could solve the first problem, and a computer class at your local college could resolve your other complaint. A little time invested now could make you much more productive—and stop your complaints!

4.Remember that when we refuse to do anything but complain about things that bother us we perpetuate an endless cycle of frustration.

Are you going to continue to complain about that $#@%^# computer, or are you going to take action?

5.Get things out of your system by crabbing about things first if you must—but then ask yourself, “How can I capitalize on this?”

OK, sometimes we just want to bitch. So do a little complaining. Set a timer, and let yourself whine and moan for seven minutes. Then stop and come up with a solution. (You might find it hard to keep complaining for a full seven minutes when you realize how silly you sound and that your complaining isn’t getting you anywhere.)

6.When something about your work doesn’t suit you, be sure to turn the coin over. Here’s your chance to go to town in an area that you yourself control.

Don’t like your job? Bored with your business? Find ways to challenge yourself and make things more interesting.

7.Remember, there is not just one opportunity on the other side of the coin—there are often several.

In school, we were taught that there is one correct answer to every question. In life, there can be dozens or even hundreds of workable solutions.

The next time you hear yourself or someone else complain, stop and ask, “So what am I going to do about this? Where is the opportunity for me to do something exciting and wonderful?”

You can get by without a Muse by finding ways to inspire yourself. Instead of sitting at your computer, waiting for inspiration to strike, try one or more of these:

Put yourself in new surroundings. If you usually work in your office, go to a museum or library. Have lunch at a restaurant you’ve been meaning to try. Take a walk in the park. Get yourself into a new environment.

Look for unexpected connections. If you are looking for new markets for your business, think of unusual ways your product or service could be used. Who has that need? Maybe they should be your market!

Listen to Mozart. Studies show that listening to Mozart can improve test scores, increase productivity and more. It couldn’t hurt.

Find an activity that relaxes you, and do it. It might be painting (portraits or the garage), driving, cooking, exercising, or anything you enjoy. As you relax and de-stress, you will free your mind.

Try a new activity. Work a puzzle, take music lessons, listen to language tapes, take up a craft or acquire another new skill. You’ll engage your brain in new ways. Studies have shown this actually creates new pathways in your brain.

Get together with friends or colleagues who can give you a new perspective. Start a group that meets regularly to talk out business issues, or just have an informal network you can call on when you need to brainstorm.

Pick up paper and pen and write down whatever comes to mind. It may be brilliant, it may be stupid, it may unrelated to what you are trying to do or it may be the answer you’ve been seeking. Write it down. Make random connections and keep writing. Your answer could show up on the page.

Don’t like to write? Record your thoughts on tape, then listen to the tape a couple of times.

Fill your mind with lots of different stimuli, stir, then simmer a while. The raw data will zip around inside your brain and make connections you may not have anticipated.

Sleep on it. Write down the first thought you have when you wake up in the morning. Your subconscious was working while you slept. You can even try programming your subconscious. Before you go to sleep, think about the question you want to answer. Tell yourself you want to wake up with the answer.

Be open for inspiration at unexpected times. The idea may not come at exactly the moment you want to beckon it. Accept creativity when it finds you.

Although many people have seen their financial situation, and thus their spending patterns, change, there is still a lot of spending going on. And when the economy bounces back (and it will) you want to be positioned to make the most of it.

In a previous article, I talked about finding opportunities in a down economy. Here are some ways you can attract customers to what you have to offer.

Repackage your products and services to make them more affordable. One way to entice customers is with a discount. However, a better way might be to offer a basic version with few or no options at a lower price than the full-featured version.

Cater to do-it-yourselfers. Many people are taking on tasks, such as home repairs, that in the past they would have hired someone else to do. If that is the trend in your industry, sell help to the do-it-yourselfers by selling information products (e.g., books, ebooks, audio and video, etc.), teaching classes (in person, teleseminars or webinars), putting together packages of the materials they need, or otherwise helping them to do it, rather than doing it for them. This can work well for almost any service business.

Reach out to a new market. It is famously said than when asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” Go where the money is. Is there a market that needs what you offer and can afford to pay you?

Reach out to other businesses. Are there businesses in a complementary field that you could team up with to jointly provide services? That automatically cuts your marketing costs by at least 50%, and brings your business to the attention of new customers.

Create new sources of revenue. Diversification is always good, so look for new ways to generate income. Develop a new product that serves the current needs of your clients. Include advertising on your website or blog. (Yes, advertisers are still spending money.)

Invest in the future. If you have the cash, invest in ways that will prepare you to take the lead as the economy improves (e.g., equipment, materials, space, people). If you have more time than money, use the time to position yourself: create content for your website, start blogging, update your marketing materials, fill in the gaps in your knowledge, write a long-term business plan and begin implementing it.

Times of economic upheaval are not only times of crisis, they present great opportunities, too. But if you are deep in your shell you will not see them.

The fact is that if you can help people get what they want, they will find a way to pay you in any economy. People are still spending money, but they are making different choices than they have in the past.

Keep in mind that “downsizing” spending can mean greater opportunities for some businesses. For example, fewer people are splurging on expensive restaurant meals these days. However, some grocers have reported that they are selling more of their expensive cuts of meat, such as quality steaks. People who want a good steak may choose to cook one at home rather than going out to a fine dining restaurant. Bad news for the restaurant means good news for the grocer.

How can you find new opportunities for your business?

Listen to your customers. In some businesses, you may find that the help your customers need today is different from what they wanted from you in the past. How can you adjust to help them realize their dreams?

Solve new problems. The saying is that if you keep doing what you have always done, you will get the results you have always gotten. The idea is that you have to try new things in order to move forward. However, today you may find that if you do what you have always done you will start moving backwards. Old solutions to old problems will not work. Help customers with the needs they have now.

Find a way you can provide a substitute for a more expensive option. For example, if companies are cutting their travel and training budgets, could you provide lower-cost training options such as webinars and teleseminars? Can you help companies get more for less in any area, from telecommunications to advertising to shipping, supplies and other expenses? The same idea works for consumers, too. Can you offer an option that helps them make more money or spend less?

Get outside of your shell and look for the new opportunities that exist. They are everywhere, just waiting for you to find them.

Many of the posts I write are based on things I receive in my email.  I get so many ideas handed to me this way, it is easy to keep adding content to my sites.

Are you missing out on this useful source of ideas and inspiration? Here is how to tap into it, starting right now.

Google Alerts.
Subscribe to Google Alerts to keep up with what is happening in your field. Set alerts for your top keywords, and when Google runs across a web page, blog post or news item about them you will get an email. I use this all the time for post ideas on my mystery shopper blog.

Sometimes I reference the item and link to it, adding my own thoughts and commentary. This is a recent example of this type of post. If you want a short post, you might just link to the post with a sentence or two. Including a live link to the original article is good netiquette, as well as being useful to your readers, so don’t forget to link.

You might also create a roundup post with links to many items identified through Google Alerts. This is an example of a roundup post from Rhonda Tipton’s blog.

Email newsletters.
I subscribe to email newsletters on a variety of topics, and an article or comment there may get my brain in gear. For example, this post about money was inspired by a newsletter from Paul Myers. Your favorite email newsletters may get you thinking about things you want to share with your readers. Or you may discover a resource that they could use.

Credit your inspiration as appropriate. And never reproduce their works without permission. Simply copying their article onto your web site (even with credit to them) is copyright infringement, and it is wrong. Linking to them is fine.

You might even write a review and recommendation of a newsletter you find especially valuable or interesting and suggest that your readers subscribe. (Maybe a newsletter such as IdeaLady Insider? Hint, hint.  ;o)   )

Questions from readers and clients.
I get a lot of questions and comments from readers who trust me to provide good information. The answer I send them may also be useful to many others, so I use it as the basis for a blog post or article. These questions are a frequent source of inspiration for me.

The next time you need inspiration, take a peek at your inbox, then start writing!

That seems to be an occupational hazard for bloggers. After a while, no matter what is happening around you, you are wondering, “How can I turn this into a blog post?”

Once you have that blogging mindset in place, topics will come at you from all directions, and you will never be at a loss for something to write about. Until that day, here are some ideas to get you going.

Use one of these prompts as inspiration for your next post.

• Tell the story of a recent consumer experience–visiting a store, calling a tech support line, etc.
• What is on your desk?
• Share your guilty pleasure. Is there a food, web site, television show, hobby or other diversion that you enjoy, even though you think maybe you shouldn’t?
• Tell about a time when you failed, and what it taught you.
• What gadget could you not live without?
• What is your earliest childhood memory? Compare it with today.
• Set a goal, and give updates on your progress. (This creates a whole series.)
• Do you have a collection? Tell how you started, or where you found your most prized item.
• What is in your purse or wallet?
• Who is your hero and why?
• Describe a typical day in your life.
• What is the last book you read?
• Do you observe rituals and traditions surrounding the holidays, special occasions or just day-to-day life?
• Tell how you overcame a fear or obstacle.
• What gives you comfort when you are sick or anxious?
• Answer a question from a reader.
• Look back at something you wrote a year or more ago. Do you have new insight? Have your opinions changed?
• Describe a disillusioning experience. Perhaps when you discovered someone you admired was only human, or that something you believed in was not what you thought it was.
• For what are you most thankful?
• What does your Tivo know about you that even your best friend doesn’t know?
• Imagine a day five, ten or more years in the future. What will the world (or your small piece of it) be like? What will be different in your industry?
• Challenge yourself to have a new experience, then write about it.
• Describe something everyone could do to make the world a better place.
• Come up with a new use for an object.
• Open the dictionary to a random page, close your eyes and point to a word. Find a way to work the word into an article five or more times. (It doesn’t count if the word is “the.”)
• If you were creating a time capsule for the current year, what would you include?
• Most of us had help from someone along the way, in our lives or careers. Who helped you? How? What are you doing to pay it forward?
• Tell a joke.
• Rant. What are you mad about today?
• Do you have a favorite item of clothing? Why? Does it make you feel confident, sexy, comfortable . . .?
• If you could pass any law, what would it be and why? What would the penalty for violating the law be?
• Can you identify a turning point in your life? What was it? How might your life be different if it hadn’t happened?
• Eavesdrop. Did you overhear a conversation snippet on the bus, at the coffee shop or in the airport? What did it make you think of?
• Share your to-do list.

Be open to inspiration all the time. What do you think of when you look at that photo or hear that song? What lessons did you learn today? Did you hear something on the radio or read something in another blog that gave you an “Aha!” moment? Write about it!

Now, why are you still sitting here reading when you should be writing?

Leo Quinn is the author of a How to Own Your Paycheck Again!, a program about becoming debt-free. Many of his sales are made through affiliates, people who promote Leo’s program to their customers. Signing a single high-profile affiliate can mean thousands of dollars in new sales, but there are lots of other marketers competing for their attention. Leo is always looking for ways to make himself stand out, and one way he does so is with lumpy mail.

“Lumpy mail” can be defined as anything sent through the postal service or other carriers that stands out. It should be unexpected and unusual.

Lumpy mail may be sent in an envelope or package, but often it is sent with no packaging at all. Leo has sent bank bags, sports bottles, baby bottles and large rubber balls through the mail with only stamps.

Would a postal carrier standing at the door with a large red ball get the attention of your prospects? You can see examples, and send personalized balls to your sales prospects, at http://www.SendABall.com/. When Leo used SendABall.com to reach prospective affiliates, the handwritten message on each ball directed recipients to a web site with their name in the URL. At each site was a video of Leo delivering a personal video greeting, made just for them.

For one campaign, Leo bought ten prepaid cell phones, activated them, programmed his phone number into them, then mailed them to prospects and asked them to call him. The total cost was under $300. One of the recipients became an affiliate, resulting in $6000 in sales.

An alternative to sending cell phones would be to send a small recorder or MP3 player with a personalized greeting. Or even a portable DVD player with a video greeting recorded especially for the prospect.

Avoid sending lumpy mail that might cause security issues, such as anything that ticks, or contains white powder. Food items are probably not a good idea, unless they are commercially prepared and sealed. Whenever possible, ship to an office instead of a P.O. box, and do not require a signature on delivery. You do not want to inconvenience your prospects.

When is it appropriate to send lumpy mail? Although it might work as a first approach, Leo recommends sending lumpy mail when the prospect has become aware of you, but has not yet taken action. Perhaps you have sent more traditional mailings, emailed, called, or met them at an event.

The response rate for a campaign such as this is typically higher than for standard direct mail approaches. Of course, the costs are greater. Leo points out that a more important number than the response rate is the return on investment—does it earn a lot more than it cost?

Because lumpy mail can be more expensive than regular mailings, it should be used when the potential sale warrants it.