Is Click Fraud Really a Problem?

Is Click Fraud Really a Problem?

by: Tommy Maric

Click fraud is currently a major topic in online advertising. Many argue that it presents a threat to the stability and viability of payperclick (PPC) advertising, the key revenue generator for both Google and Overture. In actuality, click fraud is not a significant issue at all.

Click fraud occurs when ads are clicked for reasons other than a genuine interest in learning more about the product or service advertised. Click fraud occurs in two forms. In one instance, fraud arises from competitors trying to sabotage each other. One competitor clicks on the ads of another just to drain the budget of that company. The other instance occurs when webmasters (or people associated with the webmaster) repeatedly click Google AdSense ads (which are syndications of others’ ads) on their own web pages in order to generate more revenue. While both Overture and Google have developed sophisticated technologies to detect click fraud, their systems are, and may never be, foolproof.

The real question is how much does click fraud actually damage the PPC industry? Gross fraud, i.e., when one person or technology consistently and repeatedly clicks on an ad, aside, which Overture and Google can easily detect, we believe that click fraud has no real impact on the industry. The following explains why.

Efficient market theory says that it is impossible to ขbeat a marketข because prices already incorporate and reflect all relevant information. As the PPC industry has matured, efficiency has begun to take root. That is, the price of each keyword has been driven up to the point where it reflects the highest price an advertiser is willing to pay for a click.

For instance, a book retailer may pay $1.00 per click based on internal metrics. These metrics dictate, for example, that on average 30% of clickers purchase a book and the average profit per sale is $4.00. So, for every 100 clicks ($100 cost), they make 30 sales ($120 revenue) and generate a $20.00 (20%) profit. Note that years ago, the same retailer may have been able to pay only $0.50 per click, but as the market matured and more retailers began advertising, competitive bidding forced the price up to $1.00 where the highest return the most advertisers can make is 20%.

The key point is that click fraud is already taken into effect when advertisers select the highest amount they will bid. For instance, there is no difference whether an advertiser pays $0.83/click for 121 clicks with 21 being fraudulent, or $1.00/click for 100 clicks when there is absolutely no fraud. In either case, the advertiser pays $100 and generates a profit of $20, and Overture and/or Google make $100. What changes is the advertiser’s yield (e.g., the percent of clickers who purchased the book) which in turn effects their highest bid price. That is, with fraud, 30 out of 121 clickers (24.8%) purchased the book, and without fraud 30 out of 100 clickers (30%) purchased it. Without fraud, the bid price in an efficient market will rise from $0.83 to $1.00.

In summary, online advertisers must focus on analyzing and improving their internal metrics (e.g., conversions) and not worry about click fraud as it is already incorporated into keyword bid prices. Hopefully, the frivolous lawsuits and refund requests spawned by apparent click fraud will end as those in the industry recognize this undeniable fact.

About The Author

Tommy Maric is the manager of TopPayingKeywords.com. TopPayingKeywords.com is designed to help webmasters maximize their profits using Google’s Adsense™ program. Through extensive research, TopPayingKeywords.com develops uptodate databases of the most popular keywords and their accompanying bid prices. For more information, please visit http://www.toppayingkeywords.com.

Contact:

877TOPWORD

(8778679673)

tommy@[email protected]

This article was posted on April 13

by Tommy Maric

Extend Your Book’s Life With a Sales Letter

Extend Your Book’s Life With a Sales Letter

by: Judy Cullins

Authors, publishers and business owners are great at getting their books written and launched. But after the initial oneyear honeymoon, sales slow down. To counter this, make sure to let your audience know about your bookกs benefits and how it can help them in their lives. Keep your book alive and selling well for years when you write a sales letter.

You can write your first sales letter in less than two hours. As you practice, you will be able to write a short one in only one hour.

What Every Sales Letter Needs to Pull Orders and Profits

1. Start the letter with a benefitdriven headline and include headlines throughout.

Example: กWant a Quick and Easy way to Quadruple your Online Income in Four Months?

If you answered, กYesก to yourself, the headline succeeds, because you will keep reading. If you said, กNo, I don’t believe this, but Iกm curious about where this is going,ก the headline still succeeds. You win when your headline seduces your potential customer to read on in your sales letter and finally to decide to buy.

2. List the top five benefits of your book with bullets.

To define your top benefits start with a list of challenges your client or customer wants solutions for. If you are not rock sure of who your audience is and what they need, your sales copy won’t work.

Essentially, you need to say how your book will make someoneกs life easier or richer in time or money; how it will entertain or inspire; how it will make readers be more successful, more attractive, healthier; how it will help them feel better and avoid catastrophe, sickness, or surgery.

Remember to highlight your bookกs ultimate benefit above the others. This could be the opening headline. If you list more than five benefits use the strongest three to five as your bullet points. Sprinkle the rest throughout your copy.

3. Address your potential buyerกs resistance.

Tell a background story about where your audience is NOW so they will connect emotionally with your solutions. If your book is designed for people who want to write, the sales letter should focus on the fact that many people don’t write books because they doubt that their books will sell well enough to justify all the effort; they worry that a book may not be significant enough, that writing it will take too long and publishing it will cost too much; and besides, they really aren’t writers.ก One, by one, a good sales letter will address a potential buyer’s major concerns.

4. Provide a quick overview of the book’s features.

One client wrote a book on ways to live a successful life. Her top features included *a doityourselfข approach, *reallife coaching examples *mastering the art of ‘moseying’ and *practical tips and strategies that can immediately be implemented into your everyday life.

Example: In this treasure chest you will….

Impact your letter more when you combine your best benefit with a feature such as ขBalance work and home by mastering the joy of moseying.ข While benefits sell and features explain, your web or shorter email sales letter needs to mention features so your potential buyer will know what’s inside your book.

5. Sprinkle testimonials throughout your sales letter.

Since people who learn about your book are more likely to buy it when they think other people already have, it’s important to offer testimonials from experts in your field, relevant celebrities, and satisfied users who have profited from your advice. Don’t send the whole book to people when you ask for testimonials. Just send them a list of the benefits and phrases to make it easy to respond as well as the title and introduction.

6. Offer your potential buyers three or four chances to buy.

They may have already decided to buy before encountering your sales letter, so put กBuy Nowก information near the top and present more buying opportunities along the way after your list of benefits, your summary of the book’s features, and your testimonials.

7. End your sales letter with a 100% moneyback guarantee.

When you offer an ironclad guarantee’this product comes with a 100% Money Back Guarantee. Read the book cover to cover, and if the strategies don’t work for you within 60 days, weกll cheerfully refund your money, and you can keep the product too! people see your book as valuable enough for you to put yourself on the line for it. They will be more likely to buy and be satisfied with their purchase.

8. Share the downside of your book.

Being up front about your bookกs limitations can increase your credibility and create empathy.

Example: ‘this ebook won’t write the book for you, or even get it published, but it will show you the steps and resources you need to write compelling copy, finish fully and sell well.ก

9. Include your credentials.

Obviously, expertise is important. One author wrote a book on stress and how it affects relationships. Her sales letter included ขI interviewed 30 couples and included their answers to my ขwhat do you do daily to keep your relationship alive and joyful? My 20 years background as a marriage and family therapist includes 10 years coaching, consulting and presenting 25 seminars a year.

Keep your book alive and selling well for years with a sales letter emailed out and on your Web site.

Judy Cullins ©2004 All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

Judy Cullins, 20year Book and Internet Marketing Coach with small business people who want to make a difference in peopleกs lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent lifelong income. Author of 10 eBooks including กWrite your eBook Fast,ก กHow to Market your Business on the Internet,ก and กCreate your Web Site With Marketing Pizzazz,ก she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, ‘the Book Coach Says…ก and กBusiness Tip of the Monthก at http://www.bookcoaching.com/optin.shtml and over 155 free articles. Email her at [email protected].

This article was posted on November 19, 2004

by Judy Cullins

Go To Work In Your UNDERPANTS!

Go To Work In Your UNDERPANTS!

by: Neil Moran

A StepByStep Guide for creating imaginative order pulling adverts for both on and offline marketing

OK, let’s get started!

Rule One The Headline

The headline is without doubt the most important part of your advert, that big chunky text at the top of your ad, if this doesn’t grab their attention then you’ve lost a potential customer/sale.

The sole function of your headline is to get the readers attention so that they will read the rest offer your offer, right? That’s obvious, but pick up any newspaper and take a look at the classified section and look at all those lousy headlines :

Increase Your Sales Today

Beat Inflation

The above headlines hardly make you want to read on, do they? In fact they’d be lucky to get a second glance.

Let’s say, for example, you was trying to promote a book about working from home on the Internet, what would be a good imaginative headline?

Learn How To Work From Home On The Internet

Yawn!…Boring! Not exactly imaginative is it?

Or

Go To Work In Your UNDERPANTS!

Hhmm….No prizes for guessing which headline would get their attention!

Rule Two The Subheading

With the subheading you should just give the reader a couple of lines of text to draw them into the main body of your advert, such as:

Millions of people all over the world are making a fortune working in their underpants! Discover how YOU can do it too.

Now they’ve just got to read on, I haven’t even mentioned the Internet yet, I’m pretty sure they’ll want to know what I’m talking about.

Rule Three The Body Text

The body text of your advert is where you have the chance to ‘sell’ the reader your product, it’s time to make that sale!

This is where a lot of people blow it, instead of concentrating on what benefits the customer can gain from their product or service they just ramble on how good their company or product is.

For example, for the Internet book I could write:

กI’ve been marketing on the Internet for over 20 years, last year alone I made over £250,000 from selling just one product…ก

So what? Big deal! I’m not interested in how good you are, what can you do for ME, the customer?

Make a list of all the benefits people will get by buying your product and work them into your body text keeping the focus on your reader.

So, for the Internet book we could have:

Discover the free way to get thousands of people advertising your product and YOU keep all the profit!

Learn how to start your own Internet business for less than the price of a pizza.

How to get your hands on top selling Internet products free.

Get a systematic marketing system that works while you sleep.

Insider secrets to email marketing revealed.

How to TRIPLE your sales using one simple technique that doesn’t cost a dime!

How to advertise your product just once and keep on selling it for years to come automatically.

How to build websites which really pull in the money and that take less than an hour to build.

etc. etc.

That’s better, now we’ve got their interest peaked, they are surely intrigued by now, we still need some more body copy to go along with these bullet points, such as:

Discover how you can earn what you want, when you want without leaving home!

For the first time ever a top Internet marketer teaches you how to stake your claim on the Internet spending little to no money. You don’t need any Internet knowledge, business premises or employees, just a home computer and this powerful book. This stepbystep book will teach you how to….

Rule Four The Coupon / Order Form

The coupon or order form should ALWAYS restate the price and briefly describe what you are selling.

If the price is right for them, they will then read your entire advert before making a buying decision.

Keeping this in mind, it would be WRONG to have the coupon or order form say:

กPlease send me a copy of How To Work In Your Underpants, I enclose a cheque for £14.99 made payable to Joe Bloggs….ก

This is wrong because you haven’t resold the product, it should look something like this:

กYes, I would like the secret inside information on how to make money on the Internet, please send me a copy of the book How To Work In Your Underpants. I enclose a cheque/P.O. (Includes postage and packing) for £14.99 made payable to Joe Bloggs…..etcก

Now anyone who has just scanned your ad and gone straight to the order form will be intrigued enough to read the whole advert!

Don’t confuse your customers

You must be very clear as to how much your customer is going to pay, don’t confuse them, a confused customer won’t buy!

If your product costs £20 plus £5 postage and packing then your order form should say:

กI enclose a cheque/P.O. for £25 (£20 plus £5 p&p) made payable to Joe Bloggsก

If you do not P&P then you should state this in on your order form:

กI enclose a cheque/P.O. for £25 (price includes p&p) made payable to Joe Bloggsก

It is common practise to inflate the p&p price in order to deflate the product price, don’t go over the top though.

Whenever you see the word ‘handling’, as in ‘post, packing and handling’, you know that you are seeing an inflated p&p figure. The word ‘handling’ can be used to justify any amount of expense if someone queries the fact they have been charged £8 p&p and when they get the product it’s got a 50 pence stamp on it.

Rule Five The Guarantee

You’re selling a quality product, right? There shouldn’t be any reason why the customer will be unhappy with your product, is there? So you should be able to offer customers a full, no questions asked, money back guarantee.

Don’t put any conditions on your guarantee, i.e., ขif you’re not 100% happy with your product, just return it with it’s original packaging for a full refundข, with a guarantee like that the customer will think, ขOh, I see, if I actually take it out of the wrapping they won’t refund my money! sneaky !#@&*!ข. Keep it simple and put a time limit on your guarantee:

ขIf you’re not totally satisfied with the book Go To Work In Your UNDERPANTS! simply return it within 30 days of receipt for a full refund.ข

Rule Six Typefaces & Graphics

The purpose of your ad is to get the readers attention, there’s no need for fancy typefaces, colours or images (unless it’s a picture of your product).

Make it easy for the customer to read, there’s no need to give them a headache or eye strain when they read your advert.

Rule Seven Always ‘Close’ The Sale

Anyone who’s had any kind of training in sales will be able to tell you the importance of closing a sale which is basically a quick run down of the benefits of your product and then asking for the order.

No matter how good your advert is, if you don’t close the sale at the end of your advert, that’s another potential customer lost! You must evoke some kind of buying action, make them see that they’ve got nothing to lose by just trying your fantastic product, get that order! i.e.:

กOrder your copy of Go To Work In Your Underpants TODAY and try it out for 3 whole months, if the secrets of Internet success outlined in this incredible book don’t work for you just simply return it for a FULL, no questions asked, refund.ก

Rule Eight Make It Easy To Order

Offer as many different ways for them to pay as you can, cheque, postal order, credit card, egold, or paypal etc.

Try and offer a FREEPOST address for them to send the money, it’s bad enough trying to find an envelope in most households, never mind a stamp.

Make sure it’s clear EXACTLY how much they have to pay for your product, including postage and packing, i.e.:

กI enclose a cheque/P.O. (Includes postage and packing) for £14.99 made payable to…ก

Don’t expect people to calculate it for themselves.

If you don’t have a coupon or order form on your advert, let them know they don’t have to write you a letter explaining why they’ve sent you a cheque in the first place. For a no coupon advert you would write something like:

‘to order your book, write your NAME and ADDRESS on a piece of paper, enclose a cheque/P.O. for £14.99 (includes postage and packing) and send it to Joe Bloggs FREEPOST, 14 Anystreet, Sometown, England.ก

Rule Nine Know Your Target Audience & Market

It’s very important that you know who your target audience is and that you craft your adverts accordingly.

Don’t use long words that most people wouldn’t know the meaning of, keep your sentences short, simple, and to the point.

How would your product benefit your target audience? Why should they buy your product? What are it’s key features?

Never talk about ‘you’ in your adverts, the customer only cares about ‘themselves’ and how your product will enhance THEIR lives.

OK that concludes the rules for crafting order pulling adverts, you may not be able to sell ice to the Eskimos, but you’ll at least have a better chance than most!

About The Author

For the FULL version of this article and an example of how the finished advert will look, visit: http://www.forfreedom.ws/order_pulling_advert.htm

This article was posted on February 09, 2004

by Neil Moran

Top Ten Ways of Why and How to Write your Bookกs S

Top Ten Ways of Why and How to Write your Bookกs Sales Letter Part 2

by: Judy Cullins

Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. But after the initial oneyear honeymoon, sales slow down. To counter this make sure your print or ebook will keep on selling from the first day, the first year, even for life. Count on this being a two to three year project to become well known.

Write a short sales letter for each book.

Whether you have a web site or not, you can write a first class, mustbuynow sales letter. Since you are making your book a business write a sales letter for each teleclass and service as well. I even write one for my bookcoaching services.

What Every Sales Letter Needs to Pull Orders and Profits

You can write each sales letter in less than four hours the first time. As you practice, you can an excellent one in two hours.

For part one of this article email [email protected].

5. Sprinkle Testimonials Throughout your Sales Letter.

Potential buyers who visit your site are pulled to buy when they think other people have already bought and liked your book. If other people are happy with your product or service, they will be too.

Include testimonials from experts in your field, celebrities, man/woman on the street, and other people who have profited from your book’s advice. Learn how to approach influential contacts through email friendly notes and requests. To save these busy people time.(they want to help, but consider itกs time consuming to create testimonials) ask them look at your list of 510 benefit phrases, and a page of your table of contents to give you’re a testimonial within a few weeks. Remember, they don’t have to read the whole book to give you a testimonial. Don’t be shy on this one. It’s part of the publishingpromotion process.

Give as you receive. Give that person something of value. Study their web site or read their ezine, and send them a short helpful tip, report or joke.

6. Offer your potential buyers three or four chances to buy.

Are you a skimmer? Many visitors are too. They may have already decided to buy before coming to your sales letter, or after your sparkling headline, book cover, and introduction don’t want to read more. After the cover, offer a กClick Hereก or กBuy Nowก near the top of the letter. Offer more buying opportunities along the way after a list of benefits, whatกs in this book (features), and testimonials. You may offer by a download eBook by credit card or with a tollfree telephone number—maybe three or four times.

7. Make your Sales Letter Credible.

To boost sales, authors often add free bonus reports related to their book. Visitors often want the bonus special report more than the product itself. The bonus ขHow to Get Testimonials From the Rich and Famousข I offered with the ขHow to Write your eBook or Other Book Fast!ข on my web site’s ขDiscounts of the Month.ข Link increased that book’s sales double in one month.

Make sure your free bonus reports do not cost more than the price of your product. Would you believe this offer กOrder this for $49 now and receive 4 special bonus reports worth $395?ก

8. Share the downside of your book to create empathy.

For example, ‘this ebook won’t write the book for you, or even get it published, but it will show you the steps and resources to write compelling copy, finish fully and sell well.ก

9. Include your expert credentials

กI spent 6 months researching this book and 3 months writing it. My background includes 23 years bookcoaching, presenting 70 writing and marketing seminars a year, and 48 published clients since 1999.ก

10. End your Sales Letter with your 100% MoneyBack Guarantee.

When you offer an ironclad guarantee, people see your book as so valuable that you put yourself on the line for it. They will be more likely to buy and be satisfied with their purchase.

‘this product comes with a 100% Money Back Guarantee. Read the book cover to cover, and if the strategies don’t work for you within 60 days, weกll cheerfully refund your money, and you can keep the product too!ก

Without a book sales letter to guide your potential buyers on your web site, you leave them bored, uninspired, without enough information to make that decision to buy. Your web site and ezine must entertain, inform, and give enough benefits to convince your readers to order your book.

For all email promotion campaigns, without a sales letter for each product, your unique, useful and inspiring information will not get read, people won’t know you as the expert, and you won’t make the sales you want.

Judy Cullins ©2005 All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

Judy Cullins, 20year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in peopleกs lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent lifelong income. Author of 10 eBooks including Write your eBook or Other Short Book Fast, Ten NonTechie Ways to Market Your Book Online, The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Your Targeted Web Traffic, and Power Writing for Web Sites That Sell, she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, ‘the BookCoach Says…,ก กBusiness Tip of the Month,ก and blog Q & A at http://www.bookcoaching.com/optin.shtml and over 170 free articles. Email her at [email protected].

This article was posted on March 08

by Judy Cullins

How to Create a Media Frenzy for Your Book

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, youกll 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? Iกm sure you do. But when you’re under the gun of a timed interview, or an interviewer hits you with a surprise question, itกs easy to stammer or get confused. Talking points are your lifeline. I suggest preparing a list that looks like this:

a. Whatกs the กelevator pitchก (a 10second 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, youกll 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 youกll sell a million copies. Thatกs 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 emails.

PR works because itกs got credibility. Instead of a paid ad, people see an objective journalist reviewing your book, or a talk show host whoกs 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 theyกve bought after hearing about them on กFresh Airก 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 กexpert sourceก for one or more journalists.

Creating press events.

Tying your book to a charity or cause.

It all begins with your press kit. Thatกs a snazzy folder that contains the press release about your bookกs publication, a bio of you, a black and white photo of you (professionally done) and any press coverage you may have already received. Once youกve 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 youกve got to strike the right balance of กeager to helpก and ‘respecting your time.ก Follow up your press kit with an email 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 youกll 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, youกll 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? Iกm sure you do. But when you’re under the gun of a timed interview, or an interviewer hits you with a surprise question, itกs easy to stammer or get confused. Talking points are your lifeline. I suggest preparing a list that looks like this:

g. Whatกs the กelevator pitchก (a 10second 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, youกll 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 youกll sell a million copies. Thatกs 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 emails.

PR works because itกs got credibility. Instead of a paid ad, people see an objective journalist reviewing your book, or a talk show host whoกs 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 theyกve bought after hearing about them on กFresh Airก 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 กexpert sourceก for one or more journalists.

Creating press events.

Tying your book to a charity or cause.

It all begins with your press kit. Thatกs a snazzy folder that contains the press release about your bookกs publication, a bio of you, a black and white photo of you (professionally done) and any press coverage you may have already received. Once youกve 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 youกve got to strike the right balance of กeager to helpก and ‘respecting your time.ก Follow up your press kit with an email 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 youกll 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.

About The Author

Dr. Jamie Fettig

Are you interested in the one seminar that has created more BestSelling authors than any other seminar? A seminar put on by the guy who has sold more books than every other book in the history of the world except the bible? Then get yourself to the Mega Book Marketing Seminar and train yourself to be a megasuccessful author and become a sought after speaker. Make the difference with your book that you want to make. To Register and for more information go to http://www.bazuji.com/book

This article was posted on March 18, 2005

by Dr. Jamie Fettig

Google Tests Expanded Search To Include Printed Wo

Google Tests Expanded Search To Include Printed Works

by: Jakob Jelling

Google Labs is currently testing Google Print, which returns results from within scanned printed books along with Googleกs standard web search results. The searcher doesn’t have to do anything special the printed work results are already included in the Google database. Searchers have the option of narrowing their search by including, for example, the word กbookก in their search terms. For example, a search on กhome repairก might return a variety of web sites, online merchants, etc., while changing the search to กhome repair bookก will help filter the results to include more material scanned directly from books.

Publishers don’t want their entire books read online of course, so Google limits the number of pages a single user may read at any one time. A user can see the page where their search was found, plus they can go two pages forward and two pages backward from their original result page. Google provides links to merchants where the book can be purchased. Google earns no revenue from book purchases, but they do display their contextual advertising within the Google Print results, and they share this with participating publishers.

Once youกve found your search terms in a book, you can then enter additional search terms that will be limited to the book itself, rather than the entire web. Googleกs selection includes both fiction and nonfiction, technical reference and professional books, textbooks, and more.

Since Google Print is currently in testing, a searcher won’t necessarily find results from every book they expect to see. As the program grows, Google has indicated they will continue to add books to their searchable database. Publishers who want to participate can do so for free.

By Jakob Jelling

http://www.sitetube.com

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

This article was posted on November 08, 2004

by Jakob Jelling

E(merging) Books

E(merging) Books

by: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

A novel redefinition through experimentation of the classical format of the book is emerging.

Consider the now defunct BookTailor. It used to sell its book customization software mainly to travel agents but this technology is likely to conquer other niches (such as the legal and medical professions). It allows users to select bits and pieces from a library of ebooks, combine them into a totally new tome and print and bind the latter on demand. The client can also choose to buy the endproduct as an ebook. Consider what this simple business model does to entrenched and age old notions such as กoriginalก and กcopiesก, copyright, and book identifiers. What is the กoriginalก in this case? Is it the final, usercustomized book or its sources? And if no customized book is identical to any other what happens to the intuitive notion of กcopiesก? Should BookTailorgenerated books considered to be unique exemplars of onecopy print runs? If so, should each one receive a unique identifier (for instance, a unique ISBN)? Does the user possess any rights in the final product, composed and selected by him? What about the copyrights of the original authors?

Or take BookCrossing.com. On the face of it, it presents no profound challenge to established publishing practices and to the modern concept of intellectual property. Members register their books, obtain a BCID (BookCrossing ID Number) and then give the book to someone, or simply leave it lying around for a total stranger to find. Henceforth, fate determines the chain of events. Eventual successive owners of the volume are supposed to report to BookCrossing (by email) about the bookกs and their whereabouts, thereby generating moving plots and mapping the territory of literacy and bibliomania. This innocuous model subversively undermines the concept legal and moral of ownership. It also expropriates the book from the realm of passive, inert objects and transforms it into a catalyst of human interactions across time and space. In other words, it returns the book to its origins: a time capsule, a time machine and the embodiment of a historical narrative.

Ebooks, hitherto, have largely been nothing but an ephemeral rendition of their print predecessors. But ebooks are another medium altogether. They can and will provide a different reading experience. Consider กhyperlinks within the ebook and without it to web content, reference works, etc., embedded instant shopping and ordering links, divergent, userinteractive, decision driven plotlines, interaction with other ebooks (using Bluetooth or another wireless standard), collaborative authoring, gaming and community activities, automatically or periodically updated content, ,multimedia capabilities, database, Favourites and History Maintenance (records of reading habits, shopping habits, interaction with other readers, plot related decisions and much more), automatic and embedded audio conversion and translation capabilities, full wireless piconetworking and scatternetworking capabilities and moreก.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of กMalignant Self Love Narcissism Revisitedก and กAfter the Rain How the West Lost the Eastก. He is a columnist in กCentral Europe Reviewก, United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

This article was posted on February 2, 2002

by Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

How to Avoid the 11 Biggest Mistakes of FirstTime

How to Avoid the 11 Biggest Mistakes of FirstTime

by: Roger C. Parker

ขIf you want to change your life,ข Harry Beckwith wrote in The Invisible Touch, ขwrite a book.ข But, writing a book can also be tremendously frustrating and unrewarding.

Following are the 11 biggest reasons most firsttime authors fail to receive the rewards they are due.

1. Unrealistic expectations

Don’t expect to get rich off your book, even if it’s a success by publishing standards. The vast majority of books fail to earn out their advance.

Instead, develop a personal marketing plan to leverage your career off your book. Instead of trying to make money on the book itself, use your book to open doors, promote your credibility, and build relationships with readers.

2. Writing without a contract

Never write a book without a signed contract. Instead, prepare a polished proposal and two sample chapters.

Publishers are increasingly selective the titles they accept. Often, less than 1 in 20 titles proposed are published. Writing a book that isn’t accepted is not a good use of your time.

3. No agent

You must be represented by a literary agent. Publishers rarely accept unsolicited book proposals. Unsolicited proposals are frequently returned unread or are simply discarded.

The right agent will know exactly which publishers might be interested in your book. Agents can also negotiate terms more effectively than you.

4. Weak titles

Titles sell books. The title of your book is like the headline of an advertisement. The title represents your one and only chance to attract the attention of acquisition editors or bookstore readers.

Successful titles stress the benefits readers will gain from your book. Successful titles arouse curiosity and offer solutions. They often include consonants and alliteration (repeated ขhardข sounds like G, K, P or T).

5. Title versus series

Focus on a series of books rather than an individual title. Publishers want concepts that can be expanded into a series rather than individual titles.

6. Going it alone

Successful careers involve a nurturing support group of readers and peers.

Your quest should include the support of your friends, other authors, book coaches, readers and others who will help you maintain your enthusiasm while providing ideas, assistance, and feedback.

7. ขEventข writing

Write a little each day rather than ขgoing awayข to write your book.

Stress is an author’s biggest enemy. When you attempt marathon writing, you’re putting an unrealistic burden on yourself. ขWhat happens if I come back and my book isn’t written?ข

Commit to write 45 minutes a day. This reduces stress and continuously reengages your subconscious mind.

8. Selfediting

Avoid unnecessary selfediting. It’s far more important to complete the first draft of your book than to agonize over the perfection of every word.

Editors will ensure that grammar is correct and ideas appear in the proper order. But, they can’t do anything until you submit the final manuscript.

9. Failure to promote

Publishers are not promoters. Publishers are skilled at editing, manufacturing, and distributing books. But, they are not set up to give your book the marketing attention it deserves. A single publicist may represent over 100 books!

If you want your book to succeed, you have to promote it as well as write it.

10. Failure to backup and save

Save frequently when writing. Always save before printing. Never turn off your computer without making a copy of your files for offpremises storage. Never end a writing session without printing out a hard copy of the latest version of the chapter you’re writing.

11. Failure to plan future profits

Before writing your book, create a book marketing plan. Book sales should be just the first step in an ongoing relationship with your readers. Your plan should identify opportunities from consulting, newsletters, audio/video recordings, seminars, speeches, and yearly updates etc.

Conclusion

A book can, indeed, change your life. But, you must take charge take a proactive role in promoting and leveraging its success.

About The Author

Roger C. Parker

To learn more, visit www.PublishedAndProfitable.com. Subscribe to Published and Profitable and download a free sample lesson from my fourweek Profit From the Author Inside You course.

This article was posted on November 10, 2004

by Roger C. Parker

How to Make a Website: Minus the Headaches

How to Make a Website: Minus the Headaches

by: Tom Antion

There is nothing wrong with making your own website if you are looking to save some money. Be prepared however, for your finished product to resemble an after school project; cutesy, homemade touches and all. It is pretty hard to make your own website and have it look professional; but, there is an easier way that will leave you with fewer headaches in the long run.

You must first do some web research. Click around and find websites that have the look you are going for. Make some notes and jot down what it is you do and do not want representing you. You should also start thinking of some keywords that will help people find you if they were to type them into a search engine.

After you have a rough idea of what you would like your site to look like, you should contact a professional who will take care of all the hassles that come with making a webpage. I recommend contacting Global Presence in Tucson, Arizona, http://www.saeler.com; they do great work and pay special attention to detail.

Your website will be created so that you can make changes when and if you see fit. To do this, you should purchase a web authoring program, and learn how to properly navigate the system to make revisions on your site. After the site is up, you only need to know how to do 4 things in order to keep your site up to date.

1. Be able to add a new page, complete with all of the navigation buttons from previous pages.

2. Have the ability to add text.

3. Be able to add a graphic.

4. Know how to make a hyperlink.

These are 4 easy steps that will be repeated numerous times throughout your website’s existence.

Not everyone uses the same browser, so your webpage may look very different from one computer to the next. To get a quick look at how your site may appear on other browsers, go to http://www.anybrowser.com/. When choosing a font, use something standard like Times New Roman; one that virtually every computer has. A good resource to help guide you through all of your website problems is Robin Williams’ (no, not that Robin Williams) book, The Non Designers Web Book.

*Remember to keep your site simple, so that customers don’t get confused by all the buttons, and click away.

About The Author

Tom Antion provides entertaining speeches and educational seminars. He is the ultimate entrepreneur, having owned many businesses BEFORE graduating college. Tom is the author of the best selling presentation skills book กWake กem Up Business Presentationsก and กClick: The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing.ก It is important to Tom that his knowledge be not only absorbed, but enjoyed. This is why he delivers his speeches laced with great humor and hysterical jokes. Tom has addressed more than 87 different industries and is thoroughly committed to his clientกs needs. http://www.antion.com.

This article was posted on August 30

by Tom Antion

Profiting From Writting Your Own Ebook

Profiting From Writting Your Own Ebook

by: Greg Hayes

As you might have heard, the Internet is all about information. Millions of people logon to the Internet each day searching for information. They’re searching for everything from health and wellness to love and relationships. People crave information and will pay to get the info they want.
Thatกs why ebooks are the hottest products on the Internet. Itกs digital information thatกs downloadable and therefore brings instant gratification to the user. In just a matter of minutes, you can have expert knowledge saved on your hard drive that you can read at your leisure. It can be printed out and made into a regular book. Itกs an incredible medium for writers and experts who would have before the Internet needed a publisher or magazine to print and sell their knowledge in book form.
The good news is just about anyone can write an ebook and sell it on the internet with virtually no cost. If you happen to be an expert on a particular subject then thatกs a definite plus but you need not be an expert on a subject to write an ebook. If you think that sounds ridiculous, just think back to your school days. How many times were you given an assignment to write a lengthy report on a subject you knew nothing about? I remember writing several reports in high school and college on subjects I knew nothing about. The end result was always a report that read like an expert on the subject had written it. How did I do it? Research of course. Thatกs how we all did it. That was the whole purpose of the assignment. It was teaching you to conduct your own research and fact finding and then compiling that research into a report. You can use this same technique to write an ebook.
Iกm going to reveal my age here. I remember way back in the 70กs seeing an ad in a magazine for this rather interesting book. It was titled กHow to Pick Up Women.ก It could only be bought through mail order. Unlike most books of the time the author of this book had an idea for a book that contained valuable information. Well, it was valuable to a whole lot of young men. The problem was that he was no expert on picking up women. So how did he write the book? Once again, research. Only this time the research involved conducting actual interviews with young women. Thatกs right. He just went out and started interviewing the average woman on the street. He asked questions like กwhat attracts you to a man?ก and กwhat characteristics to you find sexy in a man?ก Interestingly enough, there were plenty of women who were willing to give a few minutes of their time to answer questions for a book.
After completing the interviews, he compiled the information into a book and then preceded to print copies of the book himself using an old printing press he had purchased. No publisher wanted to publish his book. They of course changed their minds when they saw how many of the books were selling. The author couldn’t keep up with the orders. It seemed there were many thousands of men who wanted this information.
Now, 30 years later nothing has really changed. People are still in search of information. The good news is that you need not purchase a printing press to publish a book. You just need a computer and the power of the Internet. You can write your own ebook and start profiting almost right away. You can sell your ebook over and over again at almost 100% profit.

About The Author

Are You Tired of the scams and the getrichquick schemes? Greg Hayes is founding editor of http://www.mammothprofits.com/. Mammothprofits is the website devoted to helping others filter out the scams and become successful in a home based business.

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 11, 2004

by Greg Hayes

An Often Overlooked Strategy for Getting Your Foot

An Often Overlooked Strategy for Getting Your Foot in the Door

by: Kathleen Gage

Most companies are constantly seeking efficient and cost effective marketing and promotions strategies. It’s likely they are also seeking strategies to increase sales through obtaining key information. Regardless of the industry, almost everyone has heard or read arguments saying sales and marketing are separate, while at other times hearing and reading they are interconnected.

The fact is that you have to market your product or business in order to find prospects to sell to. On the other hand, your level of professionalism as a salesperson will directly impact your marketing message. Simply put, everything you do is a part of your marketing. Without effective marketing many people won’t know what you are selling. The two go hand in hand.

In the process of selling you must be able to address the question most prospects will ask: ขWhat can you do for me?ข This question can be answered by the content of your marketing material as well as your responses while meeting with a client.

While you can tell your prospects and customers how absolutely wonderful you are and all you can do for them, an even more effective strategy is for someone else to ขblow your horn.ข A customer who is willing to answer that question for your prospect oftentimes adds to your effectiveness and credibility in the sales process.

One of the best ways to do this is with written customer testimonials. Testimonials can be very effective in positioning your product or service and may give that extra little push when a potential client is trying to decide on whether or not they will be doing business with you.

The easiest way to get a testimonial is to do a great job. The second easiest way is to ask for it. When a customer or client tells you how happy they are with what you have done ask them if they would be willing to put that in a letter.

It is a good idea to have a cross section of testimonials you can use in your sales and marketing process. This way, regardless of your clients’ situation, you have a testimonial that will address their needs.

Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. Asking for a testimonial is not arrogant or egotistical. When you go above and beyond, most people are willing to let others know how much they appreciate you or your product.

A short time ago my most recent book was released. Myself and my coauthors have enjoyed increased daily sales with 101 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door. Although many people are telling us how fun, creative and useful the book is, I knew if we could get testimonials from readers we would be able to use them in our marketing and promotions efforts.

I sent an email out to a few dozen folks who had purchased the book asking for written feedback. Within minutes I began receiving testimonials. Here two of the dozens I received:

ขI was pleasantly surprised reading 101 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door. I was so impressed that I am requiring my sales staff to read it and we are getting together to discuss how we can implement some of these ideas into our marketing campaigns. Great job!ข

Michele Michalewicz, CTP, President, Western Leisure, Inc.

ข101 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door was full of great ideas to separate sales people from the ordinary. This is a must have book for those that want to be remembered and stand apart from the ordinary sales person or marketing company. This book has been referred back to often and will be a permanent addition to our business library. Thank you for putting these ideas into a book.ข

Craig Watkins, Owner, Premium Exteriors and Coatings of Utah

www.WhyKeepPainting.com

What Craig and Michele have said is a greater testament to a potential buyer than me telling them how great the book is. And notice what it is doing for them… their testimony is added visibility for their company. A win/win situation.

Although testimonials are great to use, keep in mind that they do not replace the simple act of asking potential clients for the business. Testimonials are simply another key aspect of an effective success strategy.

Copyright © 2004 by Kathleen Gage

Web address: www.kathleengage.com

Publishing Guidelines: You may publish my article in your newsletter, on your website or in your print publication provided you include the resource box at the end. Notification would be appreciated but is not required.

About The Author

If you are in any form of sales and are tired of cold calling visit www.101waystogetyourfootinthedoor.com to receive fr*ee tips on getting your foot in the door and staying ahead of the competition. Author Kathleen Gage is a business advisor, keynote speaker and trainer who helps others increase revenues and decrease costs by gaining dominance and visibility within their market.

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 31

by Kathleen Gage

Writing a Book’s Marketing Plan for Maximum Profit

Writing a Book’s Marketing Plan for Maximum Profit

by: Roger C. Parker

Much has been written about book proposals. But less has been written about book marketing plans. This is wrong!
What happens after your book is published has a great deal to do with whether you become published and profitable… or just published.
A book proposal is a directmarketing document intended to persuade publishers to edit, print and distribute your book. It’s a sales piece intended to communicate the inevitability of your book’s success.
Your book’s marketing plan, however, is intended for an audience of one – You! It’s not intended for your publisher. Rather, it’s intended to identify the revenue streams that you will develop after your book is published.
Your marketing plan should describe profits you will earn above and beyond royalties from sales of your book. It should describe in detail your market and the steps you will take to earn this income.
The reason to prepare your marketing plan now, before you sign a publishing contract or write your book, is that the success of your marketing plan depends on the way your book publishing contract is negotiated.
Coaching and consulting
Let’s assume, for example, that you plan to use your book as a way of enhancing your visibility and credibility among your target market. At the simplest level, you will want to include your web site address at several points in the book. Knowing this goal, you can insist that the publisher agrees in writing to include your web site address in specific locations in your book.
Remember: promises don’t make it! Let’s take the worst case scenario. You and your acquisition editor agree that you can include five mentions of your web site address in the book. However, as often occurs, the acquisition editor, after signing the contract, fades out of the picture.
The new development editor then informs you that author’s URL’s can only appear in one place, in the author biography hidden toward the rear of the book. When this happens, what happens to your coaching and consulting plans?
Likewise, you may have planned to buy books in case lot quantities for resale and/or distribution to your prospects and clients. Understanding this before you sign the contract, you can include the right to purchase books for resale at trade discounts in your contract, ensuring your ‘book pipeline’ won’t get turned off.
If you know you want to offer telephone coaching at $75.00 a call, for example, you can negotiate written permission to promote this service within the body of your book.
Remember: promises are written on air. Only written agreements count!
Other backend profit opportunities based on your book’s title include:

Articles, columns, newsletters
Yearly updates
Special Reports
Teleclasses and seminars
Speaking and training
Audio/video recordings
Choosing a web site address based on your book’s title
Free downloads of sample chapters from your web site
Feebased web site services

The possibilities are endless, but nothing can happen if, after signing the contract, the publisher limits your ability to promote your business and your website in your book.
Thus, it’s imperative that you start by preparing a marketing plan that analyzes postpublication profit opportunities and describes the steps needed to make them happen. Only then are you in a position to decide if the publisher’s ‘boilerplate’ contract meets your needs.
The stronger your book proposal and the more experienced your agent, the more likely you’ll get what you want (need) in your contract.
Jay Conrad Levinson says the first volume of his Guerrilla Marketing series earned him thirty million dollars. But only about $35,000 came from the book itself. All the rest came from backend profits.
That’s how important this issue is!

About The Author

Roger C. Parker is the $32,000,000 author with over 1.6 million copies in print. Do you make these marketing and design mistakes? Find out at www.gmarketingdesign.com

This article was posted on July 02, 2004

by Roger C. Parker