Keeping Your Ideas Organised

By: Debbie Dragon

Ideas and inspiration can strike at any moment. You may have ideas for a new business, a product or service, or new ways of improving the efficiency of your operations. Regardless of what your ideas are about, if you don't want those ideas to disappear from your memory as fast as they arrived, you need to develop an organized method for recording your ideas when they occur - and another plan for what to do with all of those ideas you generate.

•Digital-Based Idea Organization

You've probably discovered it doesn't work to jot down ideas in your mobile phone, laptop, tablet and computer depending on where you are when inspiration strikes - because you have no idea where anything is later when you need to put those ideas into action!

Your best solution is to implement a web based application that you can access from any of your internet-connected gadgets.

This way, you can add ideas wherever you are, with whatever devices you happen to have with you at the moment, and they will all be in one, organized place for later retrieval.
You might keep it as simple as using Google Docs, and create folders for each topic you come up with ideas for (advertising, training, products and services, etc). Within each folder, you might then have a document of ideas pertaining to each topic. If you want to save web pages, you can create a spreadsheet of links within each topic and jot down a description or why you have saved that site in your idea bank.

If you are a fan of mind mapping for idea generation, you might like Comapping - an online version that lets you keep track of your ideas and tasks in a single map.

You can use it alone or share it with others.
Alternatively, if you like to see your ideas alongside the tasks you're currently working on or the projects you are responsible for - you might try using an all-in-one solution like a web based project management system. There are several on the market, including paid software and free options. WorkZone allows you to set up your entire work responsibilities, personal to do lists, and make use of the popular Gantt charts. Create a project for ideas and keep adding to it - the benefit to this system is you can literally schedule 'due dates' to remind yourself to review ideas and put them into action later so they don't just get recorded and forgotten.

•Paper-Based Idea Organization

Many people find a three-ring binder is ideal for keeping their ideas organized.

You can quickly jot down ideas as they occur to you, no matter where you are, and slide them into the appropriate section of your binder. You can also print information from a computer and insert into your binder, or rip pages from magazines and newspapers. Office supply stores sell inexpensive dividers that allow you to label each section in your binder. The labels you use will depend on the type of ideas you are organizing, but some examples may be: Advertising Ideas, Increasing Efficiency, Staff Training, New Products/Services, etc. For paper that is the wrong size for 3-hole punches, you can include dividers with pockets, or insert a folder to hold odd-shaped paper.

You might also decide to use the expanding accordion-style folders. If you use these to organize your ideas into the various pockets, it's recommended that you purchase the flexible plastic type rather than the cardboard file folders, as they will hold up longer.

Whichever paper-based organizational method you choose, you will still need to schedule time to review the ideas after they are saved.

On your calendar or to-do list, make a date weekly or bi-weekly to review ideas and start putting the best ones into practice.

How To Use Facebook To Market Your Book

by Sherrie Wilkolaski

Facebook continues to grow as the marketing platform of choice for just about everything – goods, services, and causes – so it’s an obvious place for authors to consider when you start marketing your book. To get the most out of your Facebook presence here are 4 things that every author should know:

1.  Create a Fan Page

There are two types of Facebook pages – a profile page and a fan page. Profile pages are what individuals use to connect to friends, family, classmates and colleagues. Fan pages are used for promotion. They are perfect for building closer relationship with your audience and customers.

Every author should have a fan page. To set up a fan page, go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php and follow the step-by-step instructions. Now that you have a Fan page you can promote your page on your website, in your ebook and in press releases. 

2.  Ask People to Like You

Your goal is to have people “Like” your page. Once someone likes your page, any updates you post to your Fan page will be visible in your stream. This keeps your fans engaged and keeps you and your books “top of mind”. This makes it more likely that next time a fan is looking for a new read, or recommending a book – you and your work will come to mind. To get your first “Likes” send a message to family and friends asking them to like your page. Ask current fans on your website to Like your page. If you are on Twitter ask your Twitter fans to Like your page. Anytime you receive media exposure make sure to mention your Facebook page.

3.  Install the Facebook App for Authors

There is a great FREE Facebook app for authors that you should install on your page. To install the app go to: https://apps.facebook.com/authorapp/?ref=ts. It takes less than 30 seconds to get the app onto your page.

The app has these great features:

- Allows you to import your book information directly from Amazon.

- Allows your fans to buy your books with one-click.

- Allows you to offer a free chapter of your book.

- Allows you to collect email addresses from your fans so you can send email updates.

-  Allows you to highlight upcoming book signings and event you are holding.

To learn more about the app you can visit:

http://www.freebooksy.com/freebooksy-author-marketing-ap/

4.  Stay Engaged

The key to a successful Facebook page is to consistently update your page. You can decide on the frequency – at a minimum you want to post something new once a week. Your posts can be simple: something that inspired you (a picture, a quote, an interaction); an upcoming event you are holding; an update on the new book you are writing; a news article that you found interesting. It’s more important to post something than to post the perfect thing, so don’t spend too much time obsessing over what to post, rather, just put something out there.

By following these four simple steps you will be on your way to using Facebook as a successful marketing tool!

Tell us what you think about the Author App!

Tags: author app, infinity publishing, book marketing, book publicity, self publishing, self publishing companies, independent publishing, sherrie wilkolaski, facebook

Principles of Instructional Leadership

By: Ryan May

Instructional leadership refers to the administrative duties required by those responsible for leading educational institutions. These managerial tasks commonly fall to the principal or lead administrator and comprise all actions that he or she undertakes personally or delegates to others to promote growth in student learning. In short, the instructional leader creates a student-centered school environment.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals cites the primary function of instructional leadership as leading learning communities.

Within this concept, the shift in education has gone from teaching to learning, with some even going so far as to coin the term "learning leader" in reference to an instructional administrator.

Within a system of instructional leadership, the administrator encourages educational achievement by making the quality of instruction the top priority of the institution. As such, the role differs from that of a traditional school administrator in a number of crucial ways. Chief among them is the act of transforming the role of administrator from someone who spends the majority of their time dealing with administrative duties to one who becomes the primary learner within the organisation.

In this capacity, the instructional leader is better able to strive for excellence in education by working with teachers, parents and even the community as a whole to redefine educational objectives and set school-wide or district-wide goals for improvement.

Additional responsibilities in this role require the instructional administrator to provide the necessary resources for learning to students as well as continuing education opportunities for teachers and staff, thereby ensuring that the institution remains up to date on the latest approaches and techniques for learning. Acting as an instructional resource, the administrator may:

*Establish clear goals for students, teachers and staff

*Allocate resources

*Manage the curriculum to ensure it coincides with goals

*Monitor lesson plans to make sure they conform to the established guidelines

*Evaluate teachers based on the new parameters

Reasons for Adopting Instructional Leadership

Those who train to become instructional leaders must exhibit a clear sense of direction for their school, prioritising the issues that directly impact the output of students.

In addition, an instructional leader continuously monitors the classroom to leverage the strengths of teachers while reducing their weaknesses. But more essential than any other factor, these principals lead by example, serving as a visible presence and committed to achieving the highest success in teaching and learning.

As in many other avenues of life, those who exhibit the most enthusiasm are the ones who inspire the most people. And this contagious enthusiasm is at the core of instructional leadership.

Viewed as a collaborative learning environment that readily employs the ideas and creativity present in teachers and support staff, the process of learning within a system of instructional leadership is no longer confined solely to the classroom. Instead, it becomes the objective of all educators.

The rise of instructional leadership indicates a significant departure from the tradition of an authoritarian administrator.

Instead, the process of learning is viewed as a pursuit that should take place from the top-down. In theory, if those overseeing the management of the institution and its resources are excited about learning, they'll share this enthusiasm with those around them, a viral process that spreads from teachers to students, from students to parents and, before long, from parents to the community at large.

Aside from the obvious benefits received by students, think what this level of enthusiasm among voters would inspire when considering a funding-based referendum on the next ballot.