Book Marketing on a Budget: Planning a Book Marketing Campaign that Works

Seven Secrets of Writing a Book that Sells

by: Penny C. Sansevieri

It's one thing to write a book, it's an entirely different thing to write one that's a saleable, viable, marketable product. Ensuring the success of a book is something even the biggest publishers have never been able to guarantee. Mitigating circumstances, flash trends, and world events will all affect buyer preferences. That said, there are still ways to leverage the sales-factor in your favor and here's how you do it.

1. Know your readers. We're not just talking about whether your readers are male or female. You'll want to know myriad factors about your audience. How old are your readers (age range)? Are readers married, single, or divorced? Where do your readers reader live (generally)? What do your readers do for a living? What other books/publications do they read? Develop a profile that includes where they shop, what clubs do they belong to, etc.

These elements will help you incorporate these aspects into your book *and* help you unearth salient marketing opportunities (i.e., publications and stores).

2. Know your market. What's the market like for your book? Is there a trend out there you're positioning yourself towards. Are you reading all the publications related to this topic/trend? Are there any "holes" out there your book could fill? What's the future for this market/topic? For example, let's say you're a fiction writer looking to publish chick lit. Go to any bookstore and you can't help but spot the cutsie, pink, cartoonish covers. Many thought this trend was dying out, but it has recently seen another surge. What do you know about trends related to your book/topic/audience?

3. Similar books. What else has been published on your topic? Have you read all ten books in your category? If you haven't, you should. You'll want to know everything you can about what's out there and how it's being perceived in the marketplace. It's never a problem having a similar topic. When I published No More Rejections - Get Published Today, I knew there were other books out there on marketing. I read them all--then angled my book differently.







4. Getting and staying current. What's going on in your industry today? What are some hot buttons? What are people looking for? What's next on the horizon for this topic/audience? If you can't seem to gather this information through traditional channels, why not survey your target audience? There are a number of places to run free surveys, Survey Monkey is one of them: http://www.surveymonkey.com

5. Follow the media. What's the media talking about these days (besides the California election & Ben-lo)? Keep track of media buzz--what they're paying attention to and what they're writing about. Delve beyond the front page of your paper to the second or third page and see what's filling the pages. If you can get your hands on out-of-state papers, do a comparative review. Do you see a trend in coverage? Is there something that seems to be getting more buzz even if it's on page six?

6. Talk, teach, listen. One of the best ways I've found to get in touch with my audience was to teach a class and do speaking engagements. When I was putting together my book, Get Published Today, I found that the classes I taught provided valuable information for creating a great book because they put me directly in touch with my audience!

7. Timing is everything. When do you plan to release your tome? Are you releasing around a holiday or anniversary? Could you take advantage of any upcoming event and/or holiday for your book launch?

How to Create a Media Frenzy for Your Book

by: Dr. Jamie Fettig

Learn to use the media to create free exposure for yourself and to sell your books. And most importantly, how to be a great guest once you get on the air.
Prepare talking points before making media appearances.
Many new authors spend so much time and energy trying to get in the newspaper or on radio that when they get there, they don't know what to say. But if you take an hour to prepare concise, compelling comments about your book, you'll come off as a real pro, increase sales, and maybe even be asked back!
The average radio interview lasts five minutes, of which three might be broadcast, and on average you might get six inches of coverage in your local newspaper. You don't have a lot of time to waste hemming and hawing about your book, and the journalist interviewing you doesn't want to waste his or her time either. So before you even start soliciting press coverage, write down and memorize your talking points.
You say you know your book? I'm sure you do. But when you're under the gun of a timed interview, or an interviewer hits you with a surprise question, it's easy to stammer or get confused. Talking points are your lifeline. I suggest preparing a list that looks like this:
a. What's the "elevator pitch" (a 10-second summary) of my book?
b. Who is my book targeted to?
c. How did I decide to write it?
d. What are three passages in my book that I want to quote?
e. What can people get out of my book?
f. Where can people buy my book?
Write those down on note cards and memorize them, but keep the cards with you when you do interviews, just in case. That way, you'll come off more professional and make the most of the time you get.
Focus heavily on PR.
If you don't believe in the power of public relations and the media to turn an unknown book into a bestseller, I have two words for you: Oprah Winfrey. Get your book 15 minutes on her show and you'll sell a million copies. That's the power of the media.
Of course, getting on Oprah is the Holy Grail of book marketing, and while you shouldn't NOT try to get on her show, you shouldn't focus only on that. PR is your most powerful tool for creating awareness and selling books. So early on, while you're still in final editing, start making lists of media outlets, cashing in on contacts, making calls and sending out e-mails.
PR works because it's got credibility. Instead of a paid ad, people see an objective journalist reviewing your book, or a talk show host who's chosen to have you on her show because she liked your book. Media exposure carries tremendous weight with book buyers. Ask your friends how many books they've bought after hearing about them on "Fresh Air" on National Public Radio.
These are some of the PR avenues you can pursue:

• Reviews in any and all publications, print and online especially.
• Features in print and online publications.
• Radio interviews.
• Television interviews.
• A regular column in a magazine or newspaper or online.
• Speaking engagements.
• A role as an "expert source" for one or more journalists.
• Creating press events.
• Tying your book to a charity or cause.

It all begins with your press kit. That's a snazzy folder that contains the press release about your book's publication, a bio of you, a black and white photo of you (professionally done) and any press coverage you may have already received. Once you've identified your media list, send that kit to the key contacts at each paper, magazine, TV or radio station.
But don't stop there. PR is about relationships, and you've got to strike the right balance of "eager to help" and "respecting your time." Follow up your press kit with an e-mail in a week or so, and stay in touch. Offer story ideas or to be quoted for a feature. Make yourself an asset to journalists and editors and you'll be surprised at the results.
Two final tips:

• Always include your Web address in your PR, stories, interviews, etc.
• Always get reprints, videotapes, etc. of your press coverage to use later.

Learn to use the media to create free exposure for yourself and to sell your books. And most importantly, how to be a great guest once you get on the air.
Prepare talking points before making media appearances.
Many new authors spend so much time and energy trying to get in the newspaper or on radio that when they get there, they don't know what to say. But if you take an hour to prepare concise, compelling comments about your book, you'll come off as a real pro, increase sales, and maybe even be asked back!
The average radio interview lasts five minutes, of which three might be broadcast, and on average you might get six inches of coverage in your local newspaper. You don't have a lot of time to waste hemming and hawing about your book, and the journalist interviewing you doesn't want to waste his or her time either. So before you even start soliciting press coverage, write down and memorize your talking points.
You say you know your book? I'm sure you do. But when you're under the gun of a timed interview, or an interviewer hits you with a surprise question, it's easy to stammer or get confused. Talking points are your lifeline. I suggest preparing a list that looks like this:
g. What's the "elevator pitch" (a 10-second summary) of my book?
h. Who is my book targeted to?
i. How did I decide to write it?
j. What are three passages in my book that I want to quote?
k. What can people get out of my book?
l. Where can people buy my book?
Write those down on note cards and memorize them, but keep the cards with you when you do interviews, just in case. That way, you'll come off more professional and make the most of the time you get.
Focus heavily on PR.
If you don't believe in the power of public relations and the media to turn an unknown book into a bestseller, I have two words for you: Oprah Winfrey. Get your book 15 minutes on her show and you'll sell a million copies. That's the power of the media.
Of course, getting on Oprah is the Holy Grail of book marketing, and while you shouldn't NOT try to get on her show, you shouldn't focus only on that. PR is your most powerful tool for creating awareness and selling books. So early on, while you're still in final editing, start making lists of media outlets, cashing in on contacts, making calls and sending out e-mails.
PR works because it's got credibility. Instead of a paid ad, people see an objective journalist reviewing your book, or a talk show host who's chosen to have you on her show because she liked your book. Media exposure carries tremendous weight with book buyers. Ask your friends how many books they've bought after hearing about them on "Fresh Air" on National Public Radio.
These are some of the PR avenues you can pursue:

• Reviews in any and all publications, print and online especially.
• Features in print and online publications.
• Radio interviews.
• Television interviews.
• A regular column in a magazine or newspaper or online.
• Speaking engagements.
• A role as an "expert source" for one or more journalists.
• Creating press events.
• Tying your book to a charity or cause.

It all begins with your press kit. That's a snazzy folder that contains the press release about your book's publication, a bio of you, a black and white photo of you (professionally done) and any press coverage you may have already received. Once you've identified your media list, send that kit to the key contacts at each paper, magazine, TV or radio station.
But don't stop there. PR is about relationships, and you've got to strike the right balance of "eager to help" and "respecting your time." Follow up your press kit with an e-mail in a week or so, and stay in touch. Offer story ideas or to be quoted for a feature. Make yourself an asset to journalists and editors and you'll be surprised at the results.
Two final tips:

• Always include your Web address in your PR, stories, interviews, etc.
• Always get reprints, videotapes, etc. of your press coverage to use later.

Promotional Content... It's the little things that count

by: Edward B. Toupin

Promotional content is the invisible content in the various recesses of a
Web page. This type of content is used by search engines and directories to
properly categorize your site and its pages during indexing.

--- Site Title ---

The title is the first thing a search engine displays as a result of a
search. This makes it imperative that the title contains something readable
and descriptive. Do not place a bunch of redundant terms in your
title---make sure that the title can be read as a sentence. If the reader
cannot understand the meaning of the title, then chances are they will not
visit your site.

Once you create your page title, place it once within the header of the page
using the < itle> tags. Many marketers will place their title as
many as five to ten times within the header of their page! This is good in
that your relevance increases from the number of keywords; however, this
repetitive approach is poor netiquette and is usually not accepted by most
search engines.

--- META Tags ---

Meta Tags are information fields located in the header of a Web page. These
tags store information about your browser, keywords, site description, and
authoring information. The two main Meta Tags are "description" and
"keywords." The "description" tag contains a short description of your page
while the "keywords" tag contains a search keyword list for your page.
These two Meta Tags are used by search engines to index your site and are
critical elements of every Web page. When your site is indexed, users can
enter search topics into the search engine to locate your site based on
these two tags.

The Meta Tags should look like this in the of your Web page:




To ensure the proper indexing of your page, you will have to devise a
content scheme that targets numerous types of search engines. Note that
different search engines will index your site in different ways, depending
on the content. For instance, the following list provides information on the
different ways that search engines can index your site:

* Some search engines look for an agreement between the description,
keyword, title, and body.

* Some search engines use only the information located in the first line of
the body of the page.

* Some search engines use a combination of the Meta Tags and the body
content to weight your page based upon consistency.

Obviously, you would want to maintain a consistent content and style
throughout your page. It is important, however, to learn how the different
types of search engines work to have your page properly positioned in the
lists.

--- Hidden Form Fields ---

Once you've developed the keywords for your site, you'll find that you still
have over a dozen or so discarded phrases and words that are relevant to
your page. Your Meta Tags are probably filled to the maximum 255 character
limit and that the first line of your page body is a graphic and contains no
pertinent text. Forcing any of these additional phrases and keywords into
the page can get you rejected from several search engines for "keyword
stuffing," described below.

These types of dilemmas are quite common for many Web page developers, but
the solution is simple: a hidden form field. This form field is identical to
every other form field (e.g. input fields, radio buttons, check boxes,
etc.), however, it cannot be seen on the page in a browser.

The hidden form fields go in the body of the Web page and look like the
following:

Many search engines will recognize hidden form fields and use the
information to index your site in the same manner as they would standard
text in the body of your page. Some search engines ignore such fields,
however, it is important to create pages that are acceptable across all
search engines.

Hidden form fields can be used as the first line of text in your Web page
and should reside in your page before any other content. The reason for this
placement is that most search engines will only use the first 2,048
characters in a document. With hidden form fields, you can still get those
extra keywords into your document without forfeiting space and layout.

--- Keywords ---

Keywords are one of the more important elements of a Web page since they
describe the page to which they belong. The keywords that you select for
your site must be relevant to the page as well as frequently used within the
page's content.

Relevant keywords provide a better position in a search engine for your
target market. For instance, if your site is specific to a new piece of
financial software, it's important to stress the keywords that best describe
the general and specific characteristics of the software. If someone
performs a search for "automobile" and your site appears, it's certain that
you will get a few users. The problem is that these users will do you no
good since they are interested in another topic.

Obviously, if you're selling some product that's important to a wide range
of markets, then nearly any choice of keywords would be relevant to your
site. The point is that you want to ensure that you're bringing in only
those users that are interested in what your site has to offer. In this way,
you are maximizing your marketing effort.

The following rules may not make sense immediately, however, by following
them, you're sure to increase your search engine position as well as the
number of hits your site receives:

* Plural Form of Keywords
When a user performs a search, it's unlikely that they will enter a search
term that exactly matches the keywords you selected for your site. In some
cases, the user will enter the singular form of a keyword and in others,
they may enter the plural form. It's essential to capture both forms of a
keyword to maximize your exposure!

* Repeat Important Keywords
In the days of old, we could repeat a keyword numerous times to increase the
relevancy of a site in a search engine. This repetition allowed sites to be
placed higher in the search engine's list so that the user would see that
site first. Today, search engines filter out those sites that over-repeat
keywords. It's best to repeat the most important keywords no more than twice
to increase your relevancy without being eliminated.

* Diversify Keyword Meanings
Assume that every user has a different vocabulary--some users say "book"
while others may say "publication" or "document." Each word refers to the
same thing, however, unless your keywords are properly selected, you may
only get one-third of your potential hits! When devising your keyword
scheme, take into account the different forms of a given keyword. Create the
keywords important to your site in such a way that, regardless of the search
terms used by a user, your site will appear in the results list.

* Keyword Variations
Consider the fact that users will not enter the keywords into a search
engine the same way every time. For instance, some users may enter "real
time software" while others may enter "real-time software" or "realtime
software." Think about the keyword variations to ensure the capture of as
many users as possible. Also, consider common misspellings of keywords. I
know many intelligent individuals who tend to misspell certain words because
of the phonetic spelling of the word---consider "eves" and "eaves." If a
user consistently misspells such a word and you happen to sell plant hangers
for under eaves, you might lose potential clients.

* Keyword Combinations and Phrases
Some search engines will only take the first 255 characters of a keyword
list, while others accept a nearly unlimited list of keywords. The problem
is that you must target the 255-character limitation to be accepted by as
many search engines as possible. One method to accommodate the keyword list
limitation is to use phrases that best describe the page. For instance, I
could use "ebook marketing" as a phrase that could be found with several
combinations of search topics in a search engine. Another method is to
ensure that the most relevant keywords are located at the front of the
keyword list---even with a 255-character limitation, the most important
keywords are accepted.

--- Keyword Selection ---

Your objective is to attract as many relevant visits to your site as
possible. With that in mind, you will have to select keywords that are
commonly used by users and that are relevant to your site.

You can easily attract users by entering such keywords as "naked women,
adult, sex, ..." into your keyword list. Since these are some of the most
searched-for keywords, I can guarantee that your site will get hits. Do you
think that someone searching for pornography is going to spend very much
time on your page? The problem here is that you will be attracting people
who won't provide a relevant hit to your site. This tactic wastes bandwidth,
time, and money.

--- Developing Keyword Lists ---

Using the information we've reviewed, let's look at creating a keyword list
for a page. This is actually a more difficult task then creating the page
itself since you must determine the best keywords that describe your page.
To begin this task, let's ask ourselves: "how would people begin to search
for a site like mine?"

Immediately, you could come up with about three-dozen keywords to place in a
keyword list, however, many of the keywords that you think are relevant may
turn out to be useless. Think about how you perform searches for certain
information and apply that experience to the selection of keywords for your
page. You'll find that the time taken to create a good keyword list will be
most beneficial.

The best way to weed out useless keywords is to use the steps outlined in
the following list. These steps are proven and have worked on several sites
I've marketed.

* Create an exhaustive list of words that describe your site.
* Review and eliminate words that are least descriptive or redundant.
* Create plural versions of words without altering their form.
* Consider and note misspelling variations.
* Combine words into phases.
* Eliminate duplicate phrases.
* Eliminate phrases with words duplicated in other phrases.
* Check for other words or phrases that can diversify the list.
* Create a comma-delimited list of all phrases and remaining words.
* Move and order the most relevant words to the front of the list.
* Duplicate the four more important words and phrases twice.
* Ask an associate to review the words and phrases.
* Ask an associate to edit the list based on their search preferences.
* Clean up and limit the list to 255 characters.
* Perform searches using your keywords to locate other relevant sites.
* Go to these sites to see how they created their keyword list.

One of The Biggest And Deadliest Mistakes Affiliates Make On

by: David Seitz

XU62BWV76BYE 

Being the affiliate marketing director for one of the
nets most popular affiliate programs I tend to see just
about every type of problem an affiliate could run into.
One of the biggest problems if not THE biggest problem
I see again and again is what we refer to
as "Affiliate Gluttony"

And no, were not talking donuts here!

All jokes aside, affiliate gluttony is a very real and
serious problem among the affiliate marketing world and
you may be surprised to see that your own webpage might
fall into the gluttony category. Don't worry though, it's
only partially contagious and there is a cure!

So what is affiliate gluttony?

Glad you asked! If you can recognize affiliate
gluttony, you can avoid it entirely and increase
your affiliate promotion revenue.

Affiliate gluttony is really greed in disguise. It's
an "unfocused" attempt at earning multiple income
streams. Don't get me wrong "multiple" income streams
should be one of your "biggest" goals but trying to
create them on ONE website is just asking for failure.
No wait... it's BEGGING for it!

I am sure you have seen it plenty of times online.
You come across a website while looking for a product
or piece of information and you get dumped into
gluttony land.

Let's set an example here...

Sally has a website on ebook marketing which promotes
"Big Companies Super Duper Ebook Marketing Guide"
affiliate program. But hold on a minute, while we are
waiting for the page to load ridiculous amounts of
needless images we also see that Sally is promoting
the "Dandy John's Nuclear Powered Orange Juice Squeezer
With Email Attachment Interface" plus don't forget
the "Romance or Bust: Hitch Hikers Guide To Finding
A Soul Mate On The Open Desert Road In 7 Days or Less"
affiliate program and several "hundred" other great
bargains that we all have been looking for our entire
lives! Wow, everything from fruit baskets to rocket fuel.

Damn, we found the gold mine here! I better call my
credit card company right now and request a credit
extension because daddy's going to be ordering up a
storm today! Sally will be on her way to a tropical
paradise by the time I'm done shopping at her site.

S T O P ! ! !

Ok Sally, it's time to wake up! In reality I'd hit
my browsers back button faster than you can say:
"What's a nuclear powered orange juicer look like?"

How many affiliate ad's do you think you can fit on
one webpage? Are you trying to break the record?

This is killing your sales!

Sally has been stricken with a sever case of affiliate
gluttony. All is not lost though, with a bit of work,
Sally will be able to create several income streams
out of her website and all without losing any of her
affiliate programs she so enthusiastically promotes.

If you're already stuck in this rather popular ditch
it's not hard to dig yourself out. Slowly modify
your webpages with a personal touch and you will soon
see your click thru rates and sales referrals
pleasantly increasing!

Our best advice to Sally is to take each of her
most popular affiliate programs and create unique
websites for each.

It's not as hard as you think it is. Imagine if Sally
bought up nuclearjuicer.com and created a 3 to 5 page
website that totally focused on promoting "Dandy John's
Nuclear Powered Orange Juice Squeezer With Email
Attachment Interface" Do you think her sales would
increase? You better believe it! Adding pictures,
personal testimonials and quick load times will help
create a total marketing machine focused on selling
one product! When a targeted visitor comes to
nuclearjuicer.com looking for a juicer they will have
nothing interfering with their purchase decision.

Whether you promote software or lawn mowers, if you
focus on your target market, you will
increase your affiliate referrals.

Sally can immediately put this idea into play with very
little out of pocket expense using these resources:

Domains can be purchased dirt cheap at:
http://www.000domains.com/

Webservers are very inexpensive and easy to find:
http://www.hostinvestigator.com/
http://webhostdir.com/
http://www.hostcompare.com/

"Targeted" Traffic can also be purchased dirt cheap at:
http://www.virtual-imagination.com/payperclick/

Need help with HTML, uploading and graphics? Here is just
about everything you would possibly need to create a site:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/
http://www.obscure.org/~jaws/htmlhelp.html
http://www.webmonkey.com/

With a little time and patience, you can literally create
as many affiliate income streams as you want! Each one
should be focused on one specific category or concept to
generate the most revenue. When you leave your targeted
visitors with fewer purchasing choices and keep them
focused on one product, you will create many more
affiliate sales.

Remember, a glutton's ugly on the eyes...

DON'T BE A GLUTTON!

Free E-Book Marketing: Destroying The Myths

by: Chayden A. Bates

Before you read this, understand right now: Free E-Book Marketing WORKS! It has been proven to be one of the *most powerful* forms of online marketing ever offered. But with the knowledge of its existence, and nothing but a notion of the idea, many who have attempted to utilize its power have failed. Why? The lack of understanding! Free E-Book Marketing has been in use for over SIX YEARS. Successfully utilized by many "high-class" marketers. These few have been actively creating and promoting Free E-Books since the ability was provided. Then, about the three-fourths of the way through 1999, the news broke of this powerful "new" marketing form and everyone and their brother were trying to "cash-in" on the opportunities they were hearing about. Buying up the e-publishing software stock, many misunderstanding marketers began creating and compiling everything they could get their hands on. Throwing these so called worth while Free E-Books into the world of the Web, they were actually doing more harm than good. Little did ( or do ) they realize the necessary steps that need to be taken in order to ensure their success ... that of quality, unique and beneficial content. Let me ask you, "How many Free E-Books have you downloaded due to its sizzling title, only to find nothing but an over used report with a million and one banner ads flashing in your face?" Too many to count? There in lies the problem. How many "bad" Free E-Books does it take before you stop downloading Free E-Books all together? Do you know what that does, not only for the author of the Free E-Book, but other, successful Free E-Book Marketers? Too say the least, its not good. So what DOES make a good Free E-Book? What makes a Free E-Book successful in the sense that it does what it is meant to do? It's rather simple, and if you're at all interested in this "old" form of marketing, than here are the TWO MOST IMPORTANT aspects you need to realize: ONE: Your E-Book must be focused. It should only present a single offer to its readers. It should not stray or attempt to teach everything about anything. It should be centered around one solid idea: To present your ( business ) knowledge as to establish yourself as an expert in your field. To show and help the reader realize that you are a credible source of information. After reading your Free E-Book, your reader should have a firm grasp of the concepts you present. They should be able to follow through and succeed with the resources you provide. This will help the passing of your Free E-Book as well as strengthen your chances for future dealings with its readers. ( This is what makes you money, not the banner ads. ) TWO: Your E-Book must be educational. If you decide to utilize Free E-Book Marketing, than understand this: Your Free E-Book is to be created to generate leads. How do you generate leads? You educate your prospects about what you have to offer. You show them the hows, whats and whys of how your offer works and will work to benefit them to act upon. You must teach the reader all that you successfully can about what the contents of your Free E-Book will do for them. Before they will hand you their money to enhance their lives, they need to know WHY what you're offering will work for them. By demonstrating, thus educating through the use of your Free E-Book, your reader will naturally gravitate towards you for "further" information, where in you may charge for admission, thus making you your profits. Free E-Book Marketing is simply a matter of understanding how the marketing and psychological strategies of it work. Understanding the above is *by far* the most important aspects of Free E-Book Marketing you need to realize. If what I have just shown you is not followed, you will only work to hurt yourself. People want quality, informative content ... and you want their money. By giving them what they want, then suggesting they come to you for more, you will work to help each other. Free E-Book Marketing WORKS! But ONLY if you use it right. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chayden is the author of the highly acclaimed NEW E-Book, "E-Book Marketing Explained!" and is currently teaching other online marketers how to maximize their online promotional efforts with the use of Free E-Book Marketing - the most "viral" online advantage you've got!. Visit his site for full details: http://www.marketingeffect.com/me.cgi?ME260_campaign.

 

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A Perfect Fathers Day Gift: Publish Dad's Story As An E-book

by: Wayne Perkins

From Normandy to Funafuti, from the warehouse to the boardroom, fathers have been giving their lives unselfishly for their families. The movie Peal Harbor has just come out and helps remind us that our Fathers are very special people. They will give their lives for their loved ones. With new technological advances over the years in e-book publishing, it is now possible to publish an e-book about your Dad, and present it for the world to see. It will cost you a little time but it won't cost you any money. This gift is the perfect gift for honoring Dad. What is an E-book? -------------------------- An e-book is simply a digital file or collection of files that, when put together and published, tells a story or may teach you a lesson or a skill. Four major advantages of publishing this way are: 1. An e-book can be 5 pages long or 500 pages long. There is no longer a need to conform to requirements of book editors, wholesalers and distributors. You are the boss! 2. The author can add sound, photographs and even video to the e-book. 3. An e-book is always a work in progress. The author can add, delete, and change the story in a matter of minutes. Your Dad's story can grow in size over the years. 4. E-books are easily distributed to relatives across the country and those living in other countries. What better way to give thanks and tribute to our Dad's than to tell his story? Every year you can add to the story and create a legacy for your children and grandchildren. You can add stories daily if that is what you wish! Isn't this better than giving him a tie or barbecue mittens? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ How do I create an E--book? I am not a technical person! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- Here are 5 simple steps to help you make this Dad's Day, her very best. 1. Create your e-book just like you would create any document. You do not need any special formatting. 2. Save your e-book in Microsoft word as a doc. File a text file and/or html file. ( An ASCII text file is the printing that you use in the body of your e-mail. People can read it on any computer located around the world) If you are using Microsoft Word, you would "save as" text or .txt. 3. Set up an account with Infopost.com. They will host your file and give you a free website page to include your description, reviews, pricing and any other information. You may also post this story to your own website if you wish. If you want to offer your Dad's story for free, designate a "Price" of 0.00. Or you may set a price for it and earn some money. Infopost will accept credit card payments for your sales and pay you an 80 percent royalty on each sale! Infopost.com is located at: http://www.infopost.com 4. Look for a link on the top of the page that reads, "Post Info." Follow the directions on listing your e-book, including the description, sample chapter (if you have a large e-book) and then follow the simple directions to up-load your e-book to Infopost.com. Make sure you include your author name and book title under "keywords" when prompted. Once you fill in the online forms that ask you for pricing and description information, you can post a similar book or hit the browse button on the Infopost page to find and upload your e-book file from your hard disk. You will then be issued an URL or Internet address of your Dad's story description page. 5. Copy and paste the URL of your e-book description page to your e- mail signature and send the URL to all of you friends and relatives. You may even register you Infopost description page with major search engines. What about Using Search Engines to Blast My Dad's Story to the World? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------- You can accomplish this process for free by using the following resources: http://www.searchenginewatch.com http://www.jimtools.com http://www.urlsubmitter.com Are There Other Ways To Promote My Dad's Story Without Using Search Engines? Yes, if you would like to market your Dad's story to the world you will find all free e-book marketing resources at: http://www.wayneperkins.net/ebooks hreetips.html Summary: ---------------------------- Now is the time to give your Dad something he will cherish forever. The process of writing the book will be therapeutic for you as well. Congratulations! You are now an official E-book author and your Dad will be honored on-line forever! Your Dad will be proud. Happy Father's Day. About the Author Wayne Perkins is the best selling author of "A Cheap and Easy Guide to Self-publishing E-books" and offers consulting for e-book authors. http://www.wayneperkins.net/offer/art.html mailto:wayne@wayneperkins.net

 

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A New Way to Publish

by: Penny C. Sansevieri

These days, there are several ways to get your book published. You can get an agent and go the traditional route, you can self-publish, or you can take advantage of a new form of publishing called "print-on-demand" or POD. What exactly is print-on-demand publishing? Think of it as self-publishing with a twist. It used to be, if you wanted to circumvent the traditional publishing houses, you had to tackle everything from printers to cover designers, ISBNs (International Standard Book Number) to distribution. Feeling dizzy yet? Sure, there were also self-publishing houses called vanity presses. They churned out about 6,000 titles per year and the author paid anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 to publish his or her book. Cost alone was usually enough to discourage anyone who had not spent a great deal of time in the industry. Options were pretty limited, until the Internet explosion occurred. Enter the on-demand publisher. Now, for a minimal fee (usually from $159 to $1,500), you can see your book in print. Essentially, what you're doing is hiring a publisher to publish your book. They take care of the cover, the book interior, the ISBN, and the distribution. They are compensated for this by receiving a portion of the profits every time you sell a book. You are compensated through royalties and while these do vary, they typically fall somewhere in the 18-20 percent range per book. The great part about POD publishing is that the "on-demand" part enables them to print books as they are needed, meaning that someone (probably you) won't get stuck with a garage full of books you can't get rid of. If you only sell 100 books, that's what they'll print. There are no minimum orders, and your book will always stay in print. To give you an idea of the scope of the on-demand publishing industry, consider this: the typical big New York publisher prints about eight hundred new titles a year. At last count, some of the print-on-demand publishers were doing five hundred a month. Early estimates indicate that POD publishers printed around half a million books in 2001. This year, there are indications that this industry will hit the $78 billion market. These indicators tell us that the POD industry is growing at a pace no one anticipated. Why? Because the traditional publishing field is narrowing. Only one percent of books published each year are by unpublished authors. Does this low number tell us that there are fewer new authors out there? Absolutely not. What it tells us is that publishing houses are cutting back, merging and no longer willing to take chances on untested material. The challenge with this industry is that you can't get published unless you're published it's a cycle from which we all aspire to escape. Now, we can. If you publish your book through a POD press, you are no longer considered a first-time published author. That is, if you sell the book. You still have to market your book. But take heart. With shrinking publishing budgets, you have to market your own book, no matter who publishes you. The hefty marketing budgets that used to accompany new releases are dwindling quickly. So, let's say you publish your book through a POD publisher and you market it. You market it so well that you begin to garner interest from bigger publishing houses. How many books you need to sell is anyone's guess. Traditionally, the range has been between 5,000 and 8,000. Recently, however, Kensington Books (an imprint of Citadel Press) formed an alliance with POD giant iUniverse (www.iuniverse.com) to consider any book that sold over five hundred copies. By "consider," they mean they will consider publishing it. At five hundred copies, this levels the playing field considerably. If you've written a good book and you market it effectively, you'll sell five hundred copies in the blink of an eye. Publishers I've spoken to at some of the biggest houses in the industry (Time Warner, Simon & Schuster) readily admit they watch these books very carefully to see what's selling. By picking a book that is selling moderately well, the publisher knows two things: the book has found an audience, and the author knows how to market it. Even if you don't get picked up traditionally, there's still hope. If you sell a reasonable amount of books and you still aspire to a bigger publishing house, you can include this first publishing experience in your query letter. How do you find these on-demand publishers? A list of some I've worked with follows this article, but who you pick will depend entirely on you and the needs of your book. For some, it’s the turnaround time; for others, it’s whether or not they can print in hardcover. Generally, though, the final product should be your first consideration; distribution or shipping time should be second. Once you've narrowed your publishers down to two or three, a good idea would be to order a book from each of them. This will tell you two things. First, you'll get a sense for their ordering process and how quickly they ship the book to you, and second, you'll get a firsthand look at the quality of their books. What about the selection process? Do these publishers accept anything that's sent to them? The answer is no. While the approval process is far less restrictive than traditional publishers and you don't need an agent, some POD publishers still have guidelines as to what they will and won't consider. These guidelines vary from publisher to publisher, so you'll need to check their individual sites or contracts for specifics. Also, some publishers will even read the manuscript to determine the quality; if they feel the work is so poor it's unmarketable, they will turn it down. While you're in the selection process, download the publishing company's publishing contract and look it over carefully. You'll want to make sure a few things are in place before you sign on the dotted line. First off, be certain you're able to retain all the rights to your book (foreign, film, audio, hard cover, paperback, and ebook). This is extremely important. Never give or sell any of the rights away to a book you're publishing through the POD process. Second, determine how quickly you can cancel this agreement. Ideally, cancellation should be immediate. Cancellation clauses will benefit you if your book should get picked up by a traditional house or if you decide to switch publishing companies. Your time to market, meaning the time it takes them to format your manuscript into a book and get it ready for sale, will vary. Generally, you should see a completed book within ninety days, or in some cases, even less. This turnaround is incredible when you consider it takes a traditional house about twelve to eighteen months to get a new title ready for sale. As with anything, there are drawbacks to this form of publishing. One of the biggest issues with print-on-demand is that there is a no-return policy in place for these books. Returns are a crucial part of doing retail business in the U.S. In fact, a whopping 35 percent of merchandise purchased is returned. Still, authors are finding ways around this issue. Some place books in specialty shops because these stores have a lower return factor. Others sell books on-line. Some bookstores will even carry a non-returnable book if the demand exists. Secondly, this form of printing is more expensive than the traditional trade paperback model. Generally, POD books will be priced higher. Their price is often determined by the page count. As print-on-demand machines become more efficient and the per-page printing costs decline, POD book prices will drop. Many have already decreased considerably from where they were a year ago. Despite the obstacles, there are many success stories emerging from this industry and many more are finding their way to success everyday. Here are a few titles you might recognize that were (or are) POD books: · "Legally Blond" (AuthorHouse.com) · "The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club" (iUniverse) currently on the New York Times bestseller list · "The Pearls of the Stone Man" (Xlibris.com) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 With on-demand publishing, what was once a dream can now be a reality. In an industry that is saturated with exceptional talent, the advent of these publishers has afforded authors an opportunity that might otherwise not be available to them. It is an opportunity millions are taking advantage of. For some, it's a way to finally see their book in print. For others it's a road to publishing success. Print-On-Demand Publishers: http://www.iuniverse.com/ http://www.infinitypublishing.com http://www.traffordpublishing.com http://www.xlibris.com About the author: Penny C. Sansevieri The Cliffhanger was published in June of 2000. After a strategic marketing campaign it quickly climbed the ranks at Amazon.com to the ##1 best selling book in San Diego. Her most recent book: No More Rejections. Get Published Today! was released in July of 2002 to rave reviews. Penny is a book marketing and media relations specialist. She also coaches authors on projects, manuscripts and marketing plans and instructs a variety of coursing on publishing and promotion. To learn more about her books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at www.amarketingexpert.comTo subscribe to her free ezine, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@booksbypen.com Copyright ã 2004 Penny C. Sansevieri

 

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19 Ways to Secure Non-Returnable Book Sales

by: Ink Tree Ltd.

Surprisingly, book stores are not always your greatest source of book sales. Most authors and publishers do want their books to be available in all of the book stores, and rightly so. You want your book to be there, too. You want your book to be a “household name” – a topic of conversation in coffee rooms and at dinner tables everywhere. Your publicity campaign is designed to create interest in your book, and to drive buyers to the book store market. Unfortunately, those traditional book store sales aren’t always “sold”. The books might be returned over and over again. That’s the sad reality of the book retail industry. Your book’s fame, however, can help you to acquire nonreturnable sales in the nontraditional market where a sale actually is a sale – where sales of 25,000 copies and more are not uncommon. Here are 19 strategies that will help you acquire those sales: 1. Write your book for a very broad market – nonfiction works best. 2. Write a book that people will be happy to give as a gift. 3. Add as many photos and illustrations as you can afford. 4. Keep the topic light – avoid heavy social commentaries, controversial topics, scientific theories and other “heavy” subjects. 5. Have your book professionally designed. 6. Have your book professionally edited. 7. Give your book a catchy name – avoid boring titles such as How to Have a Happy, Fulfilling Life. 8. Make sure that the cover design is appealing, appears three dimensional and can compete with all of the major publishing houses. Hire a professional designer. 9. Sell the benefits of your book on the back cover. That is where you will sell buyers on the reasons why they just can’t live without your book. 10. Price the book competitively in your genre. 11. Make your book look like it is good value for the price – it’s all about perceived value in the minds of the buyers. 12. Don’t write for yourself – write for the end buyer. Fulfill a need for them or make them feel better. 13. Think of the corporate market when you are writing. Make a list of corporations that can benefit from your book, and then contact them. 14. Submit your book to the book clubs at least six months before you publish. 15. Find an agent who sells to the gift market. 16. Find an agent who sells foreign rights. 17. Find an agent who sells to the display market. 18. Don’t be afraid to offer large discounts on nonreturnable sales. 19. Seek licensing agreements – they are a great source of income for no work on your part. A professionally designed book opens many doors while an amateurish appearance closes many doors. It is vitally important that you invest in your book at the beginning to create sales in the long term. Plan for publicity and marketing before you print your books – printing is not the final expense in your marketing plan. It is the beginning. You can have the best book in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it. Create a book that buyers just can’t resist. © Copyright 2004 Ink Tree Ltd. Ink Tree Ltd. helps authors publish, market and sell books. We have all the tools you need to succeed in book publishing. Let us help you make your book a success. http://www.inktreemarketing.com About the Author Ink Tree is a book marketing firm that aims to help writers publish, market, and sell books. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book... to Success - the fast, easy, simple way. www.inktreemarketing.com

 

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8 Advantages of Publishing Your Own Book as an Entrepreneur

by: Ink Tree Ltd.

8 Advantages of Publishing Your Own Book as an Entrepreneur As an aspiring or an established entrepreneur, you are an expert in something, but does the rest of the world know? You have a wealth of information, experience and knowledge that you can package into a book that will benefit others. This truly is the information age and people want to know what you know. 1. A book will give you unbelievable credibility which increases the respect you will receive from customers and business associates. Wouldn’t you be more likely to purchase widgets from the business person who wrote the book on widgets? New customers are more likely to take advice from, or purchase the services/products from, an established author. Many consultants increase the levels of their business simply by writing a book on their area of expertise. 2. The typical business person might run into roadblocks when seeking media recognition and publicity for their product or service because the media tend to see this kind of exposure as advertising. However, books receive exposure in the form of reviews or features all the time. Books make great print stories and authors make great featured guests on radio and television shows. Sure beats pulling together an advertising budget. 3. Writing a book gives you instant expert status. If you wrote the book, you are now seen as the authority on that subject by others. And you are! You will have now proven that you know what you’re talking about. You will show, in writing, that you know your business area inside and out. 4. Most entrepreneurs love to hear that publishing a book can easily lead to increased fees. People will pay more to work with an established expert then someone who seems less established in a business. Your book has just given you instant added credentials. It would be nice to add “author of…” behind your name, wouldn’t it? 5. If you are not already a consultant, a book along with your proven expert status could bring you new consulting opportunities where you can bill for your time to educate, speak to and work with other companies and individuals helping them succeed through what you know. 6. If you have a service business or you are selling products already, a book will allow you to add a product to your existing business. Expanding your line is never a bad thing and will open up all kinds of doors in your marketing plan. 7. If you aren’t already on the internet (and you should be, but that’s another article), you can add online marketing to your marketing plan with your book. There are loads of places to sell your book online and having an information product to offer will give you a second stream of revenue with huge potential. 8. Expanding your marketing opportunities and focusing on opportunities for residual income is what you should be focusing on as an entrepreneur. Quit trading your hours for dollars and start working smarter. Your own book will be a complement and a supplement to your current business. It will also mean an additional source of revenue added to your bottom line. I’d be willing to bet that you’ve thought of writing a book at some point in your career. Almost every single person has. Use your passion. Take your knowledge, package it and sell it. People are willing to pay for what you already know. Copyright Ó 2003 Ink Tree Ltd. Ink Tree Ltd. Helping writers publish, market and sell books! If there is a book inside you – profit from it. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book… to Success – the fast, easy, simple way. Publish your own book with one-on-one expert help from publishing professionals who have created numerous bestsellers and sold hundreds of thousands of books. Phone: or 403-295-3898 Email: info@inktreemarketing.com Web: www.moneyinpublishing.com or www.inktreemarketing.com About the Author Ink Tree Ltd. is a book marketing firm that helps writers publish, market and sell books. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book... to Success - the fast, easy, simple waywww.inktreemarketing.com

 

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7 Vital Book Promotion Tips

by: Lea Toland

As a literary publicist I often am asked about publicity tips, tricks, and the magic behind my work. It's not magic. All you need to know are the basics and from there you will be able to create an effective book promotion. Below I've listed the most vital and basic tips to a successful book publicity campaign. 1. ALWAYS Take 'No' for an answer It can be frustrating when the media isn't interested in your book or story idea, but always thank them for their time and move on. If you try and persuade or argue with them you will leave a bad impression of yourself and your chances of working with this particular media in the future are slim. Try back in a couple months if it's a show or publication that you're particularly interested. The media changes with the seasons, and trends, so they may love your show or feature idea then, rather then now. 2. Don't Hound Your Publicist The more time you take up with your book publicist the less time they have to talk with the media. When you first begin your book publicity campaign ask your book publicist when an appropriate time would be to have a weekly chat, and see if they have a number to call in case of a publicity emergency. This will be well received by your book publicist and their efforts will be more successful! 3. Start NOW A book publicity campaign is the most successful within the first 6 months from your book's publication date (differs for traditionally published authors). This is because the media wants the latest products and they want to be the first to tell their audience about them. It's best to start publicizing your story to mainstream and industry media prior to your book's release and reach out to consumers once your book is available to order. 4. Don't Pitch Your Book Make sure that you're pitching a concept, show idea, or solution when you begin promoting your book. If you sound more like…. "Hello, I am an author who just published my women's interest novel....." rather then, "Hello, is this a good time for you? Great. I'm a relationship expert who has proven that love novels bring couples closer in bed…" The second pitch is more intriguing and will most likely get a few minutes from the person on the receiving end. Your goal with every pitch should be to get their attention, a few minutes of their time and booked or featured as a guest, depending on the type of media. 5. Create a Press Kit Before you begin promoting your book you should have a press kit ready to go. The essentials in most literary kits are a cover letter, press release, author bio, Q&A page, sample interview questions, and articles that make your topic relevant today. You're publisher should supply you with these materials and if you're self-published you'll most likely need to create these materials from scratch and on your own. This can be a daunting task to some, but the internet or library can be helpful when researching the proper formats of these products. Or, find a publicist to create a press kit for you! 6. Know Your Target Audience Who will buy your book? 'Everybody' is not the correct answer to this question, although it is a common answer. The more focused you can get with your efforts the better your results will be. If your book is more main stream rather then specialized, then try beginning with a smaller audience and broadening your focus after you've saturated this first audience. Just a tip: Authors should always start with their local media, then regional (surrounding areas and states), and finally saturate national media. 7. Have fun! Your enthusiasm, humor, and smile should shine through in every phone pitch, letter, and e-mail. If you're not excited about getting your work out there, then why should a producer or editor be excited to give you time on their program or space in their publication. I truly believe that any author can publicize their own book if they have the drive, energy, and time to see it through from beginning to end. Publicity is the most vital within the first six months from its publication date, so authors should hit the ground running. If you need more guidance or would rather hire a professional to handle your book's publicity then start looking now. There are many publicity companies out there, but you need to find the one that's right for you and that is as excited about your book as you are. About the Author Please visit us for more information on our book promotion services: Book Promotion and Book Marketing Services

 

7 Steps to Successful Publishing

by: Ink Tree Ltd.

The decision to publish a book is very exciting! It causes the creative juices to flow and the eyes to light up. But wait – before you begin the publishing process, know about the seven most important steps you need to know before publishing your book. Make sure that you take every step into careful consideration so that your road to success is an easy one: 1. Know why you are writing a book. Are you writing your memoirs for the family, are you writing a community cookbook, are you writing a book of regional interest or are you writing a national bestseller? All of these goals are valid, but each goal has different implications for your business plan. Know why you are writing and know that you can create that bestseller if that is your goal. 2. Treat publishing as a business. You are passing beyond the realm of author into the exciting world of publishing. You are not just a writer, you are about to become a publisher who wants to produce a profitable book, and you want to keep the profits for yourself. 3. Write a business plan. Being aware of the business aspect of publishing is not an end in itself – you need to formally write your plan. It does not need to be a fifty page document with every accounting possibility recorded, but it should outline all of the costs that you will encounter from obtaining the necessary funds to knowing the price of mailing a book. The business plan needs to account for future expenses as well as pre-publication expenses. 4. Plan for publicity and marketing. You must plan for the publicity and marketing of your book. You can have the best book in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it. You don’t want to print books that sit in your garage. You want to print books that will sell, sell, sell! 5. Write about a subject that you know well. Don’t write about something that you can’t talk about without effort. Write about a subject with which you are very familiar and that excites you. Writing the book will establish you as an expert in your field, so choose the topic that causes everyone you know to come to you for advice. The publicity will then be so easy that you will love being the “star”. 6. Know who will buy your book. So many authors think that “everyone” needs and should buy their books. Not so. Perhaps “everyone” needs their books, but not “everyone” will want to buy. Research and know WHO will actually WANT your book and market, market to them. They will buy! 7. Look for non-bookstore markets and do not be afraid of the large discounts. Bookstores are a hugely important market for most authors, but they are far from being the only place to sell books. There are many non-traditional markets that buy books in large quantities with no returns. This is a great market – sales made are guaranteed sales not consignment sales. Do not be afraid of the larger discounts when you make those large volume sales. The books you sell are actually SOLD. Think how much more pleasant a journey is if you know which fork in the road will lead you to smooth driving and which fork in the road will lead you through potholes. Knowing the most effective publishing steps before you print will make your publishing career fun and profitable. Copyright © 2003 Ink Tree Ltd. Ink Tree Ltd. Helping writers publish, market and sell books! If there is a book inside you – profit from it. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book… to Success – the fast, easy, simple way. Publish your own book with one-on-one expert help from publishing professionals who have created numerous bestsellers and sold hundreds of thousands of books. Phone: or 403-295-3898 Email: info@inktreemarketing.com Web: www.moneyinpublishing.com or www.inktreemarketing.com Ink Tree Ltd. is a book marketing firm that helps writers publish, market and sell books. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book... to Success - the fast, easy, simple way. www.moneyinpublishing.com or www.inktreemarketing.com info@inktreemarketing.com

 

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5 Steps To Help Fail-Proof Your Growing Service Business

by: Debbie Jenkins

Business startup and failure rates are scary... In The USA... - Every Year Over 1 Million People Start A Business - By The End Of The First Year 40% Of Them Will Be Out Of Business - Within 5 Years More Than 80% (800,000) Of These Businesses Will Have Failed (Source: The eMyth Revisited, Michal E Gerber, US Department of Commerce) In The UK... - 2003 Saw 423,100 New Businesses In England & Wales Startup - Over Half of All New Firms Fail In The First 3 Years - At Least 211,550 Of These Businesses Will Have Failed Before The End Of 2006 (Source: Barclays SME Market Research Team England & Wales Statistics Based On Business Current Account Customers) Unfortunately more and more people are being encouraged to go it alone by government agencies and banks while being given out-dated advice that doesn't actually work. The advisors in these organisations typically have experience in larger production / manufacturing / financial businesses and share marketing advice that really doesn't work for the majority of small service-based businesses today. Their text-book marketing principles simply do not translate to businesses with limited money to invest in advertising, direct mail and telesales. In many cases these advisors are telling people how to run a business even though they're actually working for a bank or government agency themselves. They have no real experience spending their own money to grow a business. Survival and inevitable success means being lean, mean and focused on getting a genuine result (in the form of profit) from the time and money you invest. So here are 5 tips you can use to take the power back and begin "fail proofing" your growing business today. #1. Question "Experts" Thoroughly Be wary of government funded trainers and / or advisors put forward by banks. These people, in many cases, don't have a clue what its like to run and grow their own business. Make it your job to "suss them out" before taking anything they tell you too seriously. Some questions that I like... What's your experience of starting and running a small business? Have you actually spent your own money trying to make a business work? What mistakes have you made? What lessons can I learn from your experience? Will this advice / support / idea cost me money or make me money? Who really benefits when I take the course of action you're recommending? #2. Model Excellent Businesses Now by this I don't mean simply copy random things they do. Just because the boss of a successful firm like yours drives a brand-new Bentley it doesn't mean you should rush out and buy one too. That won't guarantee success. You're looking to find the things that she did in order to afford the Bentley in the first place. So find out as much about their processes and systems as you can and then look for evidence to support applying similar things that work for them to your business. Subscribe to their mailing list. Visit their premises. Talk to their staff. Talk to their customers. Read their ads (or notice that they don't advertise). Network with them. You can learn just as much from non-competing businesses too. So why not set up a support / learning group or see if a successful entrepreneur would be able to mentor you. #3. Have A BIG Goal Big goals, by definition, should be easier to hit than small goals. So don't think small - think big. After nearly 8 years in business I still like to set regular, big, 90 day goals. I call these goals SHAGs - Short Hairy Audacious Goals. Too many businesses focus on surviving. They think in terms of what they don't want. They miss the opportunity to really succeed and then get what they were desperately trying to avoid - failure! Focusing on what you don't want really doesn't work. If you don't want to fail you should focus on succeeding in a big way. #4. Improve Constantly Have goals and set targets. Know what outcomes you want and quantify them where possible. Then work towards your goals using the following cycle... 1. Implement (Do Something) 2. Measure (Test & Review) 3. Improve (Learn & Adjust) As my friend and firewalk trainer Sanjay Shah says, if you simply improve by 1 percent a day, you'll have improved 300 percent (allowing for holidays) in a year! #5. Don't Follow The Crowd Look, we both know most businesses fail so don't do what most other businesses do or you'll get the same results. Don't just advertise because every other business seems to advertise. Make sure advertising will make you money. Don't just do telesales because that happens to be the service your local Chamber of Commerce is selling. Don't measure turnover when profit and cashflow is usually more important. Don't take on staff just because other businesses believe more people equals growth. More people often just means less profit! Don't do the same thing, in the same way, to the same people as every other business like yours. Do something different! About the Author 4 Out Of 5 Small Businesses Go Bust Inside 5 Years! Finally - A Guaranteed Way To Make Sure You're Not One Of Them... http://www.leanmarketing.co.uk/toolbooks

 

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5 Reasons Why You Can't Create Your Own eProducts

by: Dan B. Cauthron

What is there that prevents you from creating and marketing
your own exclusive information eproducts?

Chances are, it could be one or more of the self-defeating
reasons that we commonly hear from those who contact us
seeking advice. Several of those reasons are addressed
here. We intend to debunk the validity of each and every
one.

Reason #1 - I Can't.

Can't isn't even a word! It's a contraction of the words
can not. Those are the two most self-defeating words in the
English language, or any other language that they may be
translated to.

Think of it this way. In the first stages of all our lives,
we really could NOT do much of anything. Mother or Dad, or
someone else, had to do everything for us. But all of us,
as we grew, LEARNED to DO things for ourselves.

Our human ability to learn is what sets us apart from the
beasts of the field and forest. Take advantage of that
miraculous gift. After all, do you think that the world's
most successful people were born knowing everything they
know today? Of course not!

Reason #2 - I Don't Have a Good Idea For an eProduct.

As the Internet itself is in a constant state of flux and
metamorphosis, so do new problems and new needs arise
constantly. Therein lies a hotbed of potential for new
solutions and new information to be disseminated.

Consider your own needs and problems as an Internet user.
Believe it or not, there are untold numbers of other people
worldwide who are experiencing the same situations. I
behooves you to do some research, find solutions to your
own problems, and then help others to fulfill those needs.

Now, think about what specialized knowledge you already
have. Practically everyone has experience and insight that
others will happily pay for. Natural human curiosity
motivates us all to want to know what others know, and the
range of topics is limitless. What you know IS worth money
to many other people.

Reason #3 - I'm Not a Good Writer.

Have you ever written a letter to a friend? Do you
communicate with others through email? Then you CAN write.
Whether or not you think you are 'good' is not an issue
here. After all, we're talking about creating an
information product, not winning a Pulitzer Prize.

Begin with an outline or framework of the major points you
want to convey. Next, add sub-topics as needed to elaborate
your point. Then, begin 'filling in the blanks' with the
information and knowledge that you have on each point. Even
the great novelist James A. Michener used this mechanical
approach.

Even the best writers in any venue compose their works in
rough draft. Editing, punctuation, and grammar correction
comes later, and is typically relegated to someone else who
has an eye for such work.

Final editing can be easily accomplished by contacting the
English department of a local high school or college. You
may also do an online search for the keywords 'editing
services' or 'ghost writing' to get professional assistance.

Reason #4 - I Don't Know How To Compile The Product.

eBook compiler softwares are readily available for as
little as $20 US, and since their advent a few years ago,
they have come a long way toward being user friendly.
Besides, this is actually the most simple of all the steps
in generating your own eproduct. Using a good software like
eBook Edit Pro, you can have a ready to market product in
as little as 30 minutes.

If you prefer to seek professional help at this stage, do
an online search for the keywords 'ebook compiling
services.' You will be presented with several options to
investigate.

Reason #5 - I Don't Know Where or How To Sell The Product.

This is not a valid reason either. The Internet itself is
an information driven medium. Most Internet users come
online seeking one thing only . . . information. Your job
will be to present your product in the right places when
those people come looking for the information.

Untold numbers of volumes are available on the Net that
deal with the topic of ebook marketing. We're happy to
offer, with our compliments, three concise guides that will
help you on the way to successfully marketing your own
eproducts. Send a blank email to our autoresponder for the
download links.

mailto:selfpublish@listwarrior.com

So you see, there is actually nothing standing in the way
of you creating and marketing your own eproducts, except
your own fears, or your own failure to recognize your own
natural abilities. Begin right now by saying 'I CAN.'

_________________________________________________
Dan B. Cauthron offers original marketing insights and a
7-Volume eMarketing Library to all new subscribers. Join
his list by visiting http://www.Earn-Revenew.com or send
your name and email address to Dan@Earn-Revenew.com
with the words 'subscribe me' in the subject bar.
__________________________________________________

5 Deadly Viral Ebook Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

by: John Hocking

Creating a viral ebook marketing campaign can be one of the easiest and most effective ways to promote your product or website. Before you begin writing your viral ebook, you need to know the 5 most common mistakes that can cost you time and potential income. 1) Never Link Directly to Content You Do Not Control You should always use redirect links placed on your own server instead of direct links to affiliate programs. You never know when the program you are promoting will change the way its affiliate links work or go out of business. Using redirect links allows you to quickly replace the affiliate links with the new version or redirect to a similar product. I can not stress enough how important this step is to you. Once you launch your viral ebook, you can not get it back to make changes to it. Using redirect links will prevent dead links and lost profit. 2) Avoid Using Dated Information By Providing Too Specific Details. Do not talk about free trials or time specific discounts. The affiliate program you are promoting my not always be offering the trials or discounts. You will anger your readers if they can not get the bargains you promised. You should also avoid statements like "Just Released" or "Just Launched!". The program you are talking about may have been around for years but the time your reader gets your ebook. 3) Never Include Information You Do Not Want All Over The World. Because of the viral nature of your ebook, it will eventually spread to every corner of the world. If you include personal information like your home phone or your cell phone number, you may be unpleasantly awakened at all hours of the night. The person in England or Japan, may not be aware you live in United States. It is best to provide only an email address or autoresponder for the initial contact. 4) Do Not Brand The Ebook Yourself Putting yourself in the position of having to manually brand and send each copy of the ebook is a sure way to turn your campaign into NIGHTMARE. You may be thinking, "What's the BIG DEAL?" Let imagine for a moment that your ebook starts out slowly and only 10 people request a branded version the first week. It takes you about 6 minutes per ebook to brand it and send it to the user. You have just given up an hour of your life. Now those 10 people each give it away to 10 people that also request branded versions. You now have 100 new requests at 6 minutes each. Now were are talking 60 hours. As you can see with each passing generation, you will quickly become unable or unwilling to fulfill requests. The solution is to give your carriers the ability and instructions to rebrand the ebooks themselves. This will take you out of the loop and allow your virus to grow exponentially unattended. 5) Do Not Forget To Launch A New Window For External Links When linking to any information not found directly in your ebook, you should always open a new window. Many sales processes use javascript that could cause compatibly problems if viewed within your ebook. It would be terrible if a viewer where ready to buy a product based on your reccomendation but was unable to because you failed to include this simple step. Avoiding these 5 simple viral ebook marketing mistakes will greatly increase the profitability of your campaign while avoiding the pitfalls. ------------------------------------------------------------ John Hocking created http://www.guidetoebookmarketing.com "Your Source of Information on Creating and Marketing Ebooks" To learn how to create your own viral ebook visit John Hocking's Viral Ebook Resource http://www.viral-ebook.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Hocking created http://www.guidetoebookmarketing.com "Your Source of Information on Creating and Marketing Ebooks" To learn how to create your own viral ebook visit John Hocking's Viral Ebook Resource http://www.viral-ebook.com

 

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3 Reasons eBook Publishers Need AutoResponders

by: David Hallum

I'll bet you think ebook publishers don't need autoresponders, am I right? Well they do! And here's why... #1. If you publish more than one ebook, why not make up a list of your titles and call it a catalog. Then place your list on a autoresponder, then you could tell people to send a blank email to your autoresponder to get your free catalog via email. #2. If your ebook is in EXE format, some people will be afraid to buy and/or download it. You could place a copy of any reviews you have of your ebook on a autoresponder along with a sample chapter. This way people could get a peek at your ebook contents, plus their fears would be eased by knowing that someone else has bought, downloaded and reviewed your ebook. Reason #3 Let's say you use one or both of the above, but still no one buys or downloads your ebook/s. Let me ask you this, "Did you send them a follow-up message?" You do know that most people need see your offer at least 3-5 times before they will make a decision. Don't you? Well now that you know, you will need a autoresponder that can automatically follow-up for you. This way you only need to set it up once then let it do the work for you. I found a company that will not only give you free follow-up autoresponders, they will also pay you to help them give them away. Here are some of the features they offer: *Instant, reliable delivery (in only 10 to 30 seconds!) *Unlimited, reliable follow ups (up to 5, even 10 times!) *Unlimited message length *Unlimited message changes *Control Panel Interface is easy and simple *Powerful personalization features *Database of your prospects' e-mail addresses *Powerful mailing list management features *AOL and WebTV friendly Let's see your prospects' request your information via e-mail and they get it in a matter of seconds. Then their names and e-mail addresses will be added to your database and then the system schedules delivery of the next follow up messages (at a time you decide on for the next follow-up message to go out) all automatically. This is a completely FREE service and very easy to set up. After you're done setting it up, your ebook marketing machine will be working for you 24-7. Still think ebook publishers don't need autoresponders? For the name of the company that offer this service and to get more ebook marketing ideas. Why not join our email discussion group "Ebook Talk" by going to my web site at: http://ebooknews.netfirms.com About the Author David Hallum published the ZDNet four star rated famous ebook "The Newbie's Guide To Publishing An Ezine" he now publish the interactive "eBooK News - ePublishers & ePublications Resource Directory" check it out at: http://ebooknews.netfirms.com/cgi-bin/search/ilink.cgi

 

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