Be a Jerk - And Watch Your Business Grow!

Who remembers the 1979 movie, The Jerk with Steve Martin? Do you remember the scene where Steve's character finds the phone directory and runs around screaming, "The new phone books are here, the new phone books are here! I'm somebody!"

I was 17 years old when the movie came out and I fondly remember that scene. Why? Because in 1979, I didn't have a phone number of my own. I remember laughing at Martin's goofy character but privately thinking, "Imagine that, my name in print for thousands of people to see. How cool!"

What did I do when I got my first apartment? You guessed it. Looked myself up immediately when the new phone books came out and ran around yelling, "I'm somebody!" I hoped someone would find it hilarious that I was quoting lines from The Jerk. No one got my joke. But that didn't stop me.

Secretly, I was addicted to seeing my name in print. I wanted more. Guess who is the happiest person in town when she sees the Verizon truck loaded with its stacks of books, glossy yellow on the outside, thin pages with fine print on the inside, each book with my unique personal gem (my name) deep inside, adorning one of those beautiful pages? I can't wait to get my hands on those fresh, clean, new, pristine pages.

Imagine my delight this morning when I Googled myself and found not just one entry, but at least 13 pages of entries associated with my name. Holy cow! Last time I checked there were only 9 pages! Why the new pages?

It's simple. Article marketing.

I'm more of the slow, steady article marketer rather than a prolific one, so if you're writing huge volumes of articles, imagine the exposure. Aside from the vanity aspect, what does this mean for me? Simple. My blog traffic has tripled. My articles have been picked up in a few newsletters. I have submitted the same articles to several article sources. I'm selling a ton of shortbread and just landed some freelance copywriting business.

This all translates into EXPOSURE. Exposure translates into REVENUE.

Don't be a jerk and sit there.

Or should I say, "BE The Jerk and feel the power of YOUR name in print."

Copyright 2005, Ann Zuccardy, All rights reserved.

Ann Zuccardy is a freelance technical and copy writer with 17 years of industry experience in marketing and technical communication. She currently consults with IBM in Essex Junction, Vermont where she writes software user manuals, training guides, and release notes. Ann is also the owner of Vermont Shortbread Company. She can be reached at wordbrains.com.

spotless home service Lake Forest ..
In The News:

A Columbia University breach exposed names, Social Security numbers and academic records of nearly 869,000 people, with notifications beginning in August.
Rental car drivers use AI-powered apps like Proofr to protect themselves from unfair damage fees as major companies deploy automated inspection tools.
Fox News' AI newsletter brings you the latest on technology advancements around artificial intelligence.
OnTrac data breach between April 13-15, 2025, exposed personal information of over 40,000 people including Social Security numbers and medical records.
A woman named Wika announces her engagement to an AI chatbot sparking worldwide debate about virtual relationships and technology.
The notorious people search site National Public Data relaunches despite a previous breach affecting 3 billion individuals, raising fresh privacy concerns.
Revolutionary TRAUMAGEL gel controls life-threatening bleeding from gunshot wounds and traumatic injuries, helping first responders prevent prehospital deaths.
Protect your home network by enabling proper encryption, creating strong passwords, checking connected devices and using VPN and antivirus software.
The Navy's solar-powered Skydweller drone flew nonstop for 73 hours in Mississippi, proving renewable energy can power long-endurance military missions.
Moving and downsizing expose seniors to identity theft and scams as data brokers collect real estate records and personal information to sell to criminals.
ShengShu's Vidar technology revolutionizes humanoid robot training by using AI-generated synthetic video, reducing required training data from hours to just 20 minutes.
Apple's older Mac computers face security risks without regular updates, but 10 essential tips including FileVault encryption and strong passwords can keep aging Macs protected.
Self-driving trucks from PlusAI could reshape freight transportation by 2027, addressing driver shortages and reducing logistics costs for businesses.
Solar farms are turning to sheep instead of mowers to cut grass under solar panels, lowering costs, reducing emissions and creating new income for farmers.
Fraudsters posing as local officials are making fake calls about missed jury duty, demanding payments in a rising scheme that exploits fear of arrest.
Honeywell Aerospace engineers developed a "surface alert system" that gives pilots two aural warnings when they are 15 and 30 seconds away from a collision on the runway.
Anonymous researcher has scraped public Spotify accounts of politicians and celebrities, highlighting major privacy risks in default platform settings.
AI chatbot toys marketed as screen-free playmates could undermine children's empathy and critical thinking skills, according to pediatric specialists.
TransUnion confirms a major data breach affecting 4.4 million U.S. consumers after hackers exploited third-party Salesforce apps to steal personal info.
Scammers use fake DocuSign emails claiming Apple Pay charges to steal personal information using fraudulent phone numbers and fake receipts.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
Farmers Insurance confirms data breach affecting over 1.1 million customers nationwide, exposing customer info including addresses.
The iconic Mary Kay pink Cadillac goes electric with the Cadillac Optiq, available only to the company's top 1% of sales force performers.
Cybercriminals abuse trusted Intel driver to gain kernel access and shut down Windows Defender, enabling undetected malware deployment since July 2025.
Using email aliases for online shopping and subscriptions can protect your privacy by preventing companies from linking your activity across websites.

How to Use Free Articles to Explode Your Internet Business!

In this article I will show you how to use... Read More

Newbies Guide to Writing and Submitting Ezine Articles

How many times have you read the following? If you... Read More

Adsense Authors: Who Are These People?

Adsense is a program designed by Google to help publishers... Read More

How to Get Ideas for an Article?

Are you short of ideas? There are times when we... Read More

Writing Articles - Six Mistakes To Avoid

Not writing articles yet? You really should try it, if... Read More

Writers Block - Find an Article Topic in Minutes Anytime Anywhere with These 7 Tips Guaranteed!

One question I get asked all the time is how... Read More

What Can a 13-Year-Old Kid Teach Us About Article Marketing?

Yesterday I met a 13-year old boy with a devilish... Read More

Interviews with Well-Known Ezine Writers #3: - Shelley Lowery

MS: Shelley, you're an excellent person to talk to about... Read More

8 Surefire Methods to Create an Article Title That Will Get Your Article Read More Often

Often all the Web Surfer will see is your title,... Read More

How to Cash in on the Huge Online Demand for Writers

Currently many online writers and would-be online writers, feel very... Read More

Why You Need an Article-Marketing Strategy before Posting a Single Article Online II

This is Part 2 of a 2 part article -... Read More

Finding Your Way Through Online Articles

For me, to decide to start a home business was... Read More

Top Ten Tips to Write Articles that Will Get Published

This free way to promote or publicize your book or... Read More

Article Marketing Benefit - Surges in Web Traffic Over and Over Again From Article Writing

Writing dozens, hundreds or even thousands of articles and making... Read More

Article Writing: SEO, Expert Authors and the Dumbification of the Internet

Article authors who use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) keywords to... Read More

20 Ways Posting Unique Articles Online will Bring You Fame and Fortune

You're Invited... Visualize your article going out like a party... Read More

Five Great Ideas For Your Next Article

It's amazing how quickly free articles can generatetraffic - my... Read More

Tips for Writing an Informative Article

How to write an informative article?The following tips can help... Read More

Top Ten Ways to Format and Leverage your Articles Success - Part 1

You want your business to be noticed by thousands daily.... Read More

One Space or Two?

One of my subscribers writes 'I can't hold my tongue... Read More

Seecrets on Website Promotion: The Hard Truths on Writing Free-reprint Articles

This author started with a clean website and wrote 5... Read More

Internet Marketing: Secrets of Writing Keyword Rich Articles in Six Easy Steps

Determining keywords is a critical step in writing articles online... Read More

Handling Rejection

Rejection is part of a writer's life. You must cope... Read More

Ambition versus Dedication

All writers aspire to recognition, but are we dedicated? Ambition... Read More

Artricle Writing and Promotion: Your Fast Track to Profits

Writing articles, and promoting them for publication, is one of... Read More

weekly home cleaning Mundelein ..