Your Book Not in Book Stores? Don’t Worry

Your Book Not in Book Stores? Don’t Worry

by: Dr. Jamie Fettig

Trying to figure out how to get your self published books into book stores? Don’t worry about it because you can get more book sales easier and with less effort elsewhere. Some useful tips for you and your book from Mark Victor Hansen, who has sold more than 100 million books so far.

Sure, we all want to look on the shelves at Barnes and Noble and see our books there. Itกs thrilling. But itกs really not necessary. I see so many authors waste their time and money paying distributors and driving from store to store, delivering books when they should be selling directly to the public. The Internet makes it possible.

In fact, there are many good reasons NOT to be in bookstores:

You don’t have to pay a distributor, who will take a cut of your profits.

You don’t have to worry about shipping and returns.

You don’t have to fight for shelf space.

In most cases, selling direct to the public, or through bulk sales to institutions, is a much better way to turn your book into a revenue stream. With the Internet, tradeshows and other events, and seminars, you have multiple ways to sell direct, pocket 100% of the profits, and save yourself the hassle of trying to get into Borders.

I also recommend selling on Amazon.com. They do take a substantial chunk of your sales price, but itกs a wonderful way to generate buzz about your book. Otherwise, unless you can truly benefit from the prestige of being on the bookshelves, leave the bookstores to John Grisham and Stephen King.

Pursue bulk sales.

Ninety percent of new authors are only focused with getting people into bookstores to buy their book. And itกs great if you can do that, but I give them all the same advice: do not overlook bulk sales. They can turn your book from a moneyloser into a profit center in a few months. Bulk sales are a gold mine.

What do I mean by bulk sales? I mean selling your books in large quantities to an organization, which could mean anything from a corporation to a school district to a nonprofit group to a church. Youกll have to give the organization a price break for buying in bulk, but youกll get dozens, hundreds or even thousands of your books into peopleกs hands, which dramatically increases your wordofmouth and viral marketing.

Promoting bulk sales is a pretty straightforward deal. Simply look at your book and ask yourself what companies, organizations or affinity groups would be interested in the book for their employees or members. If youกve written a book on corporate team building, make a list of corporations where you have personal contacts. If your book is about exercise for seniors, try contacting AARP. And so on. Marketing bulk sales is usually about personal contact, either by letter or direct mail.

When you’re going after bulk sales, try to get to the กgatekeepers,ก the people who can make the decisions for a large organization. It makes much more sense to talk to 20 people who have the potential between them to order 10,000 books than to sell them one at a time. Even if you only get orders from three of those gatekeepers, youกll sell a few thousand books.

Be sure to offer a good bulk rate discount for your bulk buyers. The more books they buy, the bigger the price break. If they buy over 1,000, give them 50% off. Youกll still make money and youกll start winning readers.

Always build your mailing and email lists.

There are two kinds of lists: physical mailing address lists and email lists, and you should always be building both. They are your promotional lifelines to your potential readers and customers, and everything you do to market your book should have some component that gathers contact information of prospective buyers.

The best way to build your list is quite simple: get people to come to your Website, offer them something of value, and require them to give you (at a minimum) their name and email address to get it. The kinds of things you can offer:

Downloadable excerpts from your book.

A subscription to your enewsletter.

An advance discount on your book.

An audio CD or other ancillary product.

Be creative. Is there something that pushes your target audienceกs buttons? Offer it to them. This kind of กoptinก list, where people consent to receiving future information from you, is the gold standard of marketing.

Some other reputable ways you can build your list:

Take names or business cards at a tradeshow or conference.

Membership lists from organizations of which you are a member

Get respected colleagues to email their lists asking their contacts to go to your site to find something of value to them.

But always, always be building your list. And make sure that your database software is solid, proven, regularly maintained, and backed up weekly.

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

by Dr. Jamie Fettig

How To Find Your Perfect MLM Sponsor In 3 Easy Ste

How To Find Your Perfect MLM Sponsor In 3 Easy Steps Without Going Completely Insane

by: John Stafford

If youกve never had the experience you’re very lucky….

You just joined a great new MLM company and are excited and ready to go, you email your sponsor to find out whatกs next.

Days pass…

No response.

You try again but still nothing.

So, how do you avoid this terrible fate?

Iกm glad you asked, here are the 3 ways you can use to find your perfect MLM sponsor:

1. Find out if heกs active

Nothing drives me crazier then joining a company and finding out my sponsor isn’t doing anything to work the business.

If the company has a scoreboard or ranking site, see if heกs on it. Check out his websites in Google and see how they’re set up.

The important thing is to make sure heกs making an effort 🙂

2. Email or Call him

Take a minute กbeforeก you join up to email or call him with questions.

Ask him whatever you like and see if he responds.

Don’t think you’re bothering your prospective mentor, if heกs the right person he won’t mind.

3. Find out how long heกs been with the company

Another thing youกll run into is finding a sponsor thatกs been with the company a week and has no clue.

Now don’t get me wrong, itกs okay to be new but the กblind leading the blindก isn’t going to help anyone.

When you’re sending him the email from step 2 just ask him how long heกs been with the company and see what happens.

*Remember*

The relationship you’re forming will be lasting a really long time, you want to be sure heกs the right person to help you build your team.

Follow these steps and soon youกll find a sponsor you’re happy with that will help you take your new MLM business to the next level.

Copyright 2004 John Stafford

About The Author

Is your MLM not making you the money you hoped?

Join my team for free and you could be making a few extra hundred a month in just a short time. Iกll work with you personally to get your first reps and youกll get a $97+ marketing package just for trying it out.

http://www.yoursecondpaycheck.com/freepackage/

This article was posted on October 12, 2004

by John Stafford

Why You Should Use (Not Abuse) Forums to Increase

Why You Should Use (Not Abuse) Forums to Increase Your Traffic

by: Tinu AbayomiPaul

There are dozens of reasons why you should look up the forums that are related to your market and post to them often. Here are 3 to get you started.

1 Get to Know Your Market as both an Associate and An Expert

The research alone is a good enough reason to at least sign up to some forums and read. Just by reading posts in forums, you can hear what your market concerns are, straight from consumers. Youกll be able to find what their pains are look particularly for frequent questions that don’t appear to have solutions.

For example, if you sell timeshares, and you join travel communities, you may often hear questions asking for the best times of year to visit a certain region or locale. With this information you could start a section at your site for every listing that tells the cheapest time to travel for that area, the best time of year for good weather, and other special bits of information a traveler might want.

When you’re comfortable enough to begin posting, after watching the conversation for a few days, or perhaps even a week, you might find that new people have questions that you can help them with. By consistently becoming the goto person, you increase your credibility as a knowledgeable expert, and people begin to trust your ability to provide information.

2 Increase Your Siteกs Visibility With More Targeted Links Back to Your Site

Many forums are run by hobbyists who aren’t so much concerned with marking money from their visitors, as having an established community for discourse on certain issues. These forums will often allow you to leave a link to your site in every post. The ones that are open to public viewing for visitors are also frequently spidered by search engines.

If you set up your link correctly, youกll then have topical links back to your own forum. Even if the search engine spiders can’t see these links at forums that can be viewed by registered users only, you will also find that once you become a part of the community, other members will click your link out of curiosity or because they’re looking for something specific that you may have at your site.

Even forums that exist to gain more sales of their own products often allow you to post your link, especially if it isn’t to a competing site. For example, internet marketing forums run by people who sell doityourself SEO products may allow infopreneurs who sell a different type of product, such as an autoresponder service, to post their link freely.

The focus here, at all times, is to help other members, not just to promote your product. Your link is in your signature, so unless someone asks you a specific question, you get far better results from being helpful than you do by posting forum spam that gets deleted anyway.

3 Lurk, Listen and Learn

If youกve been around forums at all, you already know that there are often 8 to ten times more people registered and not posting than there are people who actually visit and participate.

Reading without ever posting is commonly known as กlurkingก. I usually suggest that at least for the first week, you should monitor the community you wish to join in this way, just reading posts, and learning the personality of the forum youกd like to post in this keeps you from committing any faux pas that might have you corrected by another member, or even worse, banned.

Sometimes youกll find a forum that is appropriate to read, but doesn’t seem like the right place for commercial posting. Or you might find that you’re there to learn and not to teach or maybe you just don’t have the time to post as youกd like to. You can still learn a lot by being a lurker.

When lurking in forums, your primary job is to listen (figuratively speaking) and learn. Again, pay attention to questions that come up repeatedly over the course of a month or so. Be on the look out for rumored product or technology developments. Find out who is the resident expert maybe this is the key person for an interview you want to do, or an affiliate program you can join.

The most important thing you can learn from this exercise is what annoyances your market is experiencing. If you sell cat furniture, and you find out that a common complaint is availability in remote markets, maybe you can change your shipping policy to add international ordering and increase the scope of your business.

Anywhere you can fit a solution to a problem can bring you the sales you need. You may find out that you need to change your product, to enhance it, or perhaps to take out features your prospects just aren’t interested in.

This is a good solution when you have the time to visit forums and post or read. As you become more busy, youกll find yourself at the forums less and less as a poster, so this isn’t necessarily a permanent solution. However, if you follow these steps correctly, youกll soon have the traffic to foster more community relations at your own site as well.

Copyright 2005 Tinu AbayomiPaul

About The Author

Tinu is a website promotion specialist who posts free information on a variety of traffic tips in her blog at http://www.freetraffictip.com.

This article was posted on April 23

by Tinu AbayomiPaul

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

How to Hire a Freelancer Using Elance

How to Hire a Freelancer Using Elance

by: Matt Bacak

If you have a project that you need to outsource but don’t know where to turn, Elance might be your solution. Elance connects businesses with a pool of professional providers from around the globe. When you post a project on Elance, providers compete against each other to give you the best price and service. You can choose either an open bid where all qualified Elance professionals can bid or an invitation only bid where you can peruse portfolios and choose which providers youกd like to invite to bid on your project. Signing up with Elance is easy and itกs free. Hereกs a stepbystep guide to start you on your way to finding the professional thatกs right for you.

1. Go to Elance.com and click on the ขBuy Servicesข tab located at the top of the page. This will take you to the next screen.

2. On this screen youกll be presented with three choices: ขPost Your Projectข, ขSearch For Providersข or ขGet Project Reviewข. For this guide we are going to focus only on posting a project for open bid. So, click on the first button, ขPost Your Project.ข (You can always come back later to investigate the other options.)

3. Here, youกll need to enter your contact information. If you do not already have a username and password, click on the ขclick hereข underline next to the password box to get to the next screen. If you have a username and password, enter it now and skip to step 5.

4. Youกll see a screen with eight empty boxes. Youกll need to create a ขusernameข and choose a password. Enter each within the assigned boxes. Reenter your password in the ขReenter passwordข box. Remember to choose both a username and a password that youกll remember. Next, enter your email address, first name, last name and phone number. Youกll also need to reenter your email address for verification purposes. Then, click ขcontinueข.

5. Choose the category which best suits your project needs. There are 11 categories to choose from. These include: Administrative Support, Architecture & Engineering, Audio, Visual & Multimedia, Graphic Design & Art, Legal, Management & Finance, Sales & Marketing, Software & Technology, Training & Development, Website Development and Writing & Translation. Once you choose your main category, youกll be asked to choose a subcategory. This allows you to receive bids that better match your project. After choosing your subcategory, youกll be taken to the next screen.

6. On this screen there are three main boxes of information to provide. In the first box, youกll need to Choose a Title for your project (e.g., 12 Business Articles), describe your project in detail (how many words, project deadlines, etc.), choose how many days you will allow providers to bid on your project, choose an estimated start date, a projected budget and attach any files that may be relevant to your project. The more detailed you are in describing your project, the easier it will be for qualified providers to give you detailed proposals regarding your project.

7. In the next box, youกll be asked if you want providers to able to seek clarification on your project via the private message board. If so, check the box. If not, skip to the next box.

8. Finally, youกll be asked to choose how you receive your bids. The Select Level will provide you with higher quality providers. Providers will give you more competitive bids as Elance charges providers a higher rate to list as a Select Provider. Youกll also be seen as more serious about your project if you choose this level. The lowest amount you can receive for your project is $250 and you also must pay a refundable $25 deposit to post your project. If you choose not to go this route, you can pick the Basic level which allows you to post your project without a deposit but youกll still need to be credit card verified (so that Elance knows you can pay for projects you award.) After filling in the required information in each of the boxes, click ขContinueข to move to the next screen.

9. Here, youกll need to provide your credit card information. Unless you chose Select providers you won’t be charged. If you want to pay your provider with a credit card through Elance, youกll need to verify your credit card. Elance will make two small posts against your card and then refund them once youกve posted your project. Once you supply the required information, click on ขContinueข.

10. On the next screen, youกll confirm the information you supplied regarding your project. If you need to make any changes, this is the place. You can either click on ขPost Project Nowข to make your project active or on ขSave & Post Laterข to post the project at a later date.

11. Now that your project is live, bidders can bid on your project. When you receive a number of bids, pick the provider best suited to your needs and your project is on it way to being completed.

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com

This article was posted on August 08

by Matt Bacak

10 Ways To Shift Your Sales Into Overdrive

10 Ways To Shift Your Sales Into Overdrive

by: Andrew Cantrell

1. Publish testimonials for your free stuff. It would increase their value and if they’re viral marketing tools, youกll have more people giving them away.

2. Give your visitors a good time so they will visit your web site again. Use a few jokes, humorous graphics and funny stories.

3. Make money from web sites that don’t have an affiliate program, by doing a joint venture. Set up the affiliate program through a third party for them.

4. Build rapport with your potential customers by teaching them something new. Provide them with f.ree ebooks, articles, tips, courses, etc.

5. Allow your visitors to collect things from your web site so they will stop back again and again. It could be a series of software, ebooks or articles.

6. Keep each page of your web site consistent or similar. Use similar text fonts, colors, graphics and background on every page.

7. Build a popular directory of freebies. It will draw tons of traffic to your web site and you can request that submitters place your link on their web site.

8. Create traffic generators that people can add to their site without doing all the work. It can be an article directory, freebie directory, web tool, etc.

9. Challenge your visitors to buy your product or service. People love a good challenge. Tell them if they can find a flaw youกll give them a refund.

10. Form a strategic alliance with other related but noncompeting businesses. Youกll be able to beat your competition by selling to a larger audience.

Quote of the Day:

กWhen you have too much month for you paycheck, then what you need to do is realize that there is abundance all around you and focus on the abundance and not your lack and as night follows day abundance will come to you.ก Sidney Madwed

Warm regards,

Andrew Cantrell

http://www.zipzoombiz.com

About The Author

Andrew Cantrell, The owner of Zipzoombiz.com has helped thousands of ordinary people from all over the world to earn online business success!

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 23

by Andrew Cantrell

10 Choice Ways To Give Your Subscriptions A Boost

10 Choice Ways To Give Your Subscriptions A Boost

by: Ken Hill

1. Swap an ad.

Use ads that youกve tested and that have proven to be effective in getting you more subscriptions.

Youกll be able to get a greater response from your ads because youกve already fine tuned them before swapping.

2. Write articles.

Youกll be able to get more new ezine subscribers that enjoy your writing and that are interested in the topics you write about.

3. Swap an article.

You could swap exclusive articles, or you could swap one of your reprint articles if you don’t have the time write a new exclusive article.

4. Swap a ‘thank youก page recommendation.

Youกll be able to successfully get more new subscribers through the other ezine publisherกs recommendation of your ezine.

Only recommend ezines that offer valuable content to their subscribers. You don’t want to start off on the wrong foot by recommending something that is subpar.

5. Swap a recommendation in your welcome message.

Swap your recommendation with a publisher that offers a bonus, and delivers it in her welcome message.

Her new subscribers will be looking for her bonus in her welcome email, giving her recommendation of your ezine more exposure.

6. Swap an ebook ad or recommendation.

In addition to getting more subscribers, if the ebooks are brandable you can both earn money by offering each othersก ebooks.

7. Promote your ezine on the back of your business cards.

Youกll be able to let your ‘real worldก customers and prospects know about your ezine.

Youกll also be able to get more new sign ups from the networking events that you attend throughout the year.

8. Include an ad for your ezine in your catalogs and brochures.

Youกll be able to let your customers on your mailing list know about your ezine.

Youกll also be able to get more new subscribers that have proven themselves to be interested in your products by requesting your catalog or brochure.

9. Publish testimonials for your ezine.

Increase your subscriptions by posting testimonials on your site that share the benefits of joining your ezine.

10. Purchase ezine advertising.

Youกll be able to get your ad for your ezine in front of people interested in what your ezine has to offer.

Purchasing ezine advertising is also a very good choice if you don’t have enough subscribers yet to begin swapping ads.

About The Author

Article by Ken Hill. Are You Struggling To Get More New Subscribers? Want to increase your subscriptions fast? Now you can with amazing, breakthrough software that makes promoting your ezine a snap! Get the details now at: http://www.netpromarketer.com/ezine_announce.html.

This article was posted on February 02

by Ken Hill

10 Ways To Get More Profit From Your Ezine

10 Ways To Get More Profit From Your Ezine

by: Ken Hill

Publishing an ezine will help you to strengthen your status as an expert in your field and convert more of your visitors into customers.

The following tips will provide you with ways to successfully increase the revenue you get from publishing your own ezine:

1. Write your own articles.

Writing articles will help you to connect with your readers, share your knowledge, and promote your business through your resource box.

If you have an affiliate program, let your subscribers as well as your other affiliates reprint your articles with their affiliate URLs in your resource box.

Youกll be able get more of your readers and visitors to join your affiliate program and successfully promote your business.

2. Include testimonials for your products or services within your ezine.

Your testimonials will increase your readersก confidence in your product. Include testimonials from your customers and also from other experts in your field.

3. Provide examples of how youกve helped your clients.

For instance, if you design web sites you could provide examples of the web sites youกve designed.

Your clients will enjoy the free promotion that you give them and youกll be able to showcase your work.

4. Offer a free ebook as a bonus for subscribing.

Your ebook will help you to successfully promote your business and also help you to effectively promote affiliate programs youกve joined to your new subscribers.

5. Sell advertising space.

Once your ezine is of sufficient size, you can rake in more profits by selling ads to your subscribers and visitors.

Offer your readers special limited time offers to get more people to buy advertising for the first time and to get more repeat sales.

Also provide testimonials in your ezine and on your site that share how advertising in your ezine has paid off for your advertisers.

6. Write a product review.

Your product review will help you to successfully กsoft sellก your affiliate programกs product to your subscribers.

Focus your review on how their product will specifically benefit your readers, and share your positive experiences with the product.

Don’t be afraid to point out some minor negative aspects about the product, and keep your review hype free.

You can also write reviews about products youกve bought that disappointed you. Your subscribers will appreciate your honesty and youกll be able to increase their trust in you.

7. Swap an ad for your business.

Youกll be able to get your ad run at no cost in a targeted ezine in exchange for running that publisherกs ad.

Track your swaps, and then swap your ads for longer runs with publishers whose ezines gave you an excellent response.

8. Swap a recommendation with another ezine publisher.

Recommend another publisherกs product in your ezine in exchange for her recommending your product.

Youกll be able to get more sales than you would from a paid ezine ad because your product will be endorsed by a trusted source.

9. Use your thank you page to your advantage.

Your thank you page is a great place to offer a special sale, recommend one of your affiliate programs, and include your signature file.

In addition, you can get more new subscribers that would be interested in your products by swapping an ad or recommendation for your ezine on this page.

10. Send out a special solo mailing to your subscribers.

You could announce a special promotion, a new teleclass, or a sale on advertising in your ezine.

Keep your special mailings to one or two a month. Bombarding your readers with emails will decrease the effectiveness of your mailings and cause you to get more unsubscribe requests.

About The Author

Article by writer, Ken Hill. Do You Publish an Ezine? Want more subscribers? Put your ezine promotion on autopilot with this must have ezine promotional tool. Over 1600+ places to promote your ezine. Learn more now at: http://www.scstats.com/r.cfm?i=4604.

This article was posted on November 30, 2004

by Ken Hill

You Can SAVE your Dime When YOU Listen To The Voi

You Can SAVE your Dime When YOU Listen To The Voices of Experience…

by: Don Monteith

Discover the pitfalls of owning your own business

BEFORE… [you make a BAD choice!]

Itกs really BIG dollars rather than dimes… at least thatกs my experience over many years. Thousands can be GONE quickly if you fail to plan and work your plan toward success. That said, the first step baby size should be at the กfeetก of one who has been there… done it!!

Invincible, right? If anyone can do it, I can!! Looking back over many years 40 plus itกs written all over the decisions made during my early attempts at starting a new business. Yes, I spent most of my career as an entrepreneur, owning or coowning a business. Sometimes for the กrightก reasons, at other times it turned กsouthก and bellyup.

At the time it didn’t seem like much… my first venture out of business college. กExcitedก to say the least. 21 years old, eager, energized, ‘ready to rollก was more like it. NOTHING could go wrong, but it surely did.

Somebody [I won’t call any names] sold us a bill of goods. Just beware, everyone is NOT truthful or trustworthy in business.

You need to know… that goes for Internet gurus too. Lots of hype but not much substance is often the case. Unfortunately, distance keeps you at armslength long after your money is gone.

Itกs different when you have no personal [in the flesh] contact… you’re usually thousands of miles apart and most often itกs NO answer when you call.

Just be careful or your funds can/will be depleted in a flash. Been there done that, too.

On the contrary, there is that 1% ± group of Internet gurus as honest and trustworthy as youกll find anywhere. Itกs like ALL business dealings with homeowners business owners it pays to KNOW the reputation of the person and source in advance of spending your cash.

ONE MORE TIME

Lots of stuff happened… for 5 great years, I had a wonderful BOSS who was supportive to the utmost. Held an Administrative Executive spot on the management team; super staff personnel; private office; in the days when a good cigar was AOK [those were the days!]

Today, itกs beyond belief but times do change, sometimes for a cleaner office environment.

Anyway, the spark ignited again… about 6 months later, it was NOT called the กsparkก, but the ‘torchก or a กcall to disasterก the beginning of a sad downhill slide without a parachute. This time I had a bride and 2 sons who required food and shelter… an added challenge for sure.

We made it, but certainly not on easy street as we had planned earlier.

WHATกS THE POINT?

NOT having a REALLY good reason to start a business should be warning enough DON’t do it!!

Unfortunately, some of us think owning a business is the only way to hit the BIG time… fast cars, big houses, big income. For us it did turn out OK in the end, but many of our challenges could have been missed simply by being more patient and having a mentor team prior to our stepping off into deep water to sink or swim.

Statistics?

About 90% of business กstartsก end in failure. Why? Either itกs a lack of financial support; no business knowledge; no skills or talent; and you can add your own list to mine. Doesn’t really matter except when itกs YOUR money; your time; your family; your future; just another statistic.

My preretirement business venture lasted 25 years and I highly recommend the entrepreneurial lifestyle… however, ONLY if you can discover something that youกll enjoy and love doing everyday rather than thinking itกs all about making lots of money. The money will come if you’re doing what God has intended for you to do.

In closing, you may enjoy reading a letter recently received from Ken McArthur, an internet friend of mine who discovered an exceptional insight about business owners from Mark Joyner, likely the most successful internet guru of the decade.

To give you some idea about Mark and his expertise… other executives pay him $2,000 an hour to consult with them on how to grow their business.

Hereกs the link to Kenกs letter: that I wanted to share with you for your perusal.

About The Author

Don Monteith

Youกll want to check out Donกs career path website with lots of FREE ideas to Discover your dream job or new business venture. http://www.CareerCoachingCentral.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 09

by Don Monteith

Five Marketing Nightmares and How to Prevent Them

Five Marketing Nightmares and How to Prevent Them

by: Susan Freidmann

The success or failure of your trade show rests heavily on how well you market your event. Marketing, when done right, can project a positive image of your event, entice exhibitors to sign the dotted line, and attract loyal customers.

However, critical mistakes in your marketing campaign can have the opposite effect. Here are five costly errors that are common in our business, along with some sound advice on how to avoid making them.

1. You select the wrong exhibition hall.

Youกve got the perfect trade show or so you think. The products are a great fit for the demographics you’re going to attract. The city youกve selected is glamorous, loaded with cultural and entertainment opportunities, is easily accessible, and has ample hotel space near the exhibition hall. And youกve done a crackerjack job marketing your show youกve sold all your exhibit booths and advance ticket sales are off the charts. What could go wrong? Plenty, if the exhibition hall youกve selected is a poor fit.

For example, suppose the exhibition space is too small for the crowd youกll attract. With thousands of people pushing and shoving each other to find the exhibits, your show will quickly get a bad reputation as an uncomfortable event where itกs impossible to see all the products. And negative word of mouth travels almost as fast as the speed of light.

The solution: Do your homework! Get the inside scoop from other trade show managers who have done shows at that exhibition hall. Find out what was positive about their experiences. Conduct an onsite inspection before committing to the exhibition space, paying close attention to such factors as exhibit hall space, bathroom facilities, and air circulation.

Consider location (is it in a dangerous part of town?), accessibility (are there traffic problems?), and service (are ticket counters adequately staffed?). Better yet, do your inspection while a trade show is going on at the exhibition hall. Youกll get to see for yourself whether shows operate efficiently there.

2. You compile an ineffective prospect database.

You might be trying to cut corners by doing your data management inhouse, but if you don’t have database pros on staff, itกs best to seek professional help! A list that has unlikely prospects or outofdate addresses is a waste of time and money, and youกll lose precious opportunities to zero in on hot potential customers. You might hesitate to spend more money on a solid database management firm, but you could lose twice as much by failing to reach the right target audience.

3. You construct a poorly designed Web site.

Youกll feel like a relic left over from the preElectronic Revolution days if you don’t have a Web site. However, many trade show managers, in a rush to construct and display a Web site, wind up with sites that lack compelling graphics or information that will be useful to their potential exhibitors. Without proper guidance youกll waste money … and project an image of a business that isn’t ready for this millennium.

The solution: Find a reliable Web site designer who is familiar with the trade show business and will hire writers who can create Web site copy that is powerful, persuasive, and informative. But don’t put a site up until you’re ready; you wouldn’t want your Web site debut to fall flat.

4. You have a great Web site, but nobody sees it.

Those who aren’t Internet savvy sometimes think that once they create a Web site, their prospects will automatically find it after all, thatกs what Web search engines are for, right? Wrong! Search engines are great if someone wants general information about trade shows, but thereกs no guarantee your show will be at the top of the กhit list.ก Because there are millions of Web sites on the Internet, the only sure way to differentiate your site from the rest and drive traffic to it is through collateral advertising. Make sure your Web site address is prominently displayed on all your advertising and marketing materials, including your stationery and business cards. An expensive, snazzy Web site is useless if no one visits it.

5. You put together an ineffective ad campaign.

Bad advertising is worse than no advertising at all. Unless you have a great inhouse advertising department, resist the temptation to create your own ad campaign. Advertising is not a good place to start a budgetcutting initiative. But just because you hire pros to do your advertising doesn’t mean youกll have an effective campaign. Itกs best to find an ad agency that has had consistent success in the trade show industry.

To find such an agency, do your research. Consult with other trade show managers and look through the Advertising Redbook, available in the reference section at most public libraries. Ask for examples of an ad agencyกs work with other trade shows. Steer clear of campaigns that might be a turnoff to your prospects by appealing to a specific generation rather than a wider audience. And remember that humor and creativity are important attentiongetting devices in advertising, but don’t let your message get lost.

About The Author

Written by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: ขMeeting & Event Planning for Dummies,ข working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training. Go to http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com to sign up for a free copy of ExhibitSmart Tips of the Week.

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 29

by Susan Freidmann

Webmaster or Web Slave? Time Saving Tips for Cyber

Webmaster or Web Slave? Time Saving Tips for Cyberpreneurs

by: Marty Foley

Time is money in your online business, just as in the offline business world.

Problem is, the typical Internet entrepreneur is in a race against time: Often snowed under with many things to do, trying to achieve maximum results (income) within the precious, very limited time available.

Especially if you’re holding down a fulltime job while trying to launch or expand your Internet business in your spare hours, youกve got precious little time to waste.

If care isn’t exercised in the way we spend time online, our personal and family life can suffer, not to mention bad financial consequences.

To add to that pressure, family members may resent the amount of time spent on our venture, versus the limited income it may initially earn.

As the author of an audio program on time management, Iกm going to share with you some proven time management tips, which have been adapted to running a business online. I can’t promise you more than 24 hours in your day, but Iกll share practical tips to help you work smarter and more profitably online instead of longer or harder.

Two primary keys to making the most of the time we spend online are:

A) Being selective, and

B) Staying focused.

We must be SELECTIVE, because there are an infinite number of things we can spend our online time on, which will not yield productive results.

We must stay FOCUSED, because any of an infinite number of things can easily distract us from getting more important things done.

That brings us to the first step of effective online time management…

1) Set Goals

If you don’t know what your final destination is, how can you ever take action toward getting there? Hence, the need to set goals.

The goals you set for your online business will vary, based on which stage you’re at and which direction you want to go from there. It helps to write your goals down and periodically review them. Many feel that this better enables your subconscious mind to help you work toward your goals.

2) Keep and Use a Prioritized ToDo List

Keeping lists may seem simplistic, but the most productive topachievers are typically methodical users of ToDo lists.

Be sure to rank each task on your ToDo lists by priority, such as high, medium or low. As you tackle the items on your list, always tackle the highest priority tasks first, and those of lower priority as time allows. Obviously, your highest priority tasks will correspond with the achievement of your highest priority goals.

Iกve found that a 3ring binder kept near my computer is a good place for organizing ToDo lists, project notes, and other frequently used online information, within easy fingertip reach.

Once your goals are set, youกll know exactly where you’re going (and what to stay focused on), and when you use a prioritized ToDo list, youกll have a stepbystep plan for reaching your destination.

3) Exercise SelfDiscipline

The best time management system in the world is worthless if we don’t exercise selfdiscipline.

Itกs so easy to log on to the Net, just planning to กcheck your email,ก and before you know it, get distracted by other things and end up spending much more time on things we hadn’t planned, and wonder where the time went.

I know, I know: Itกs easier said than done, but exercising selfdiscipline will help us stay focused and avoid wasting time or getting distracted on less important activities. If you can stay focused on the most important tasks (which youกve identified by setting goals and prioritizing your ToDo list), youกll see greater results from your time and effort.

4) Automate Where Possible

I have written much more on this topic than the limited space in this article allows, but let me mention a few tools that aren’t new to online marketers, but whose timesaving value is often overlooked:

*Autoresponders

Autoresponders are very useful tools for automatically filling your prospectsก requests for information on your products and services, nonstop, 24 hrs of every day of the year.

*Email Filters

The กfiltersก feature of good email programs such as Pegasus and Eudora Pro make the automation of many email activities a snap. If you’re not using them, you don’t know what you’re missing.

~ Pegasus: http://www.pmail.com/

~ Eudora Pro: http://www.eudora.com

5) Periodically Analyze Your Business

In our quest for more value from the time we spend in our online businesses, it helps to stand back and periodically analyze which activities have been working and which haven’t.

From there, we can give more attention to expanding whatกs been working, and tweak, change, or eliminate what hasn’t. We can thus progressively see more profitable results from the time spent online.

Conclusion

If you want to get maximum benefit from the limited time you have to accomplish things in your online business, or any other area of life, you must manage your time well.

When you do, youกll achieve more, and youกll look back on your work with the satisfaction of knowing that you got the most important things done, instead of looking back with regret.

As Benjamin Franklin said: กDost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for thatกs the stuff life is made of.ก

About The Author

Marty Foley is a successful home business owner and the founder of http://ProfitInfo.com/. His Internet marketing techniques and resources have helped set the standard in ecommerce, and have often been imitated by other famous Internet marketers. They can truly help you succeed online: http://ProfitInfo.com/

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 3, 2002

by Marty Foley

10 Explosive Ways To TurboBoost Your Sales

10 Explosive Ways To TurboBoost Your Sales

by: Carlo Cabrera

1. Design your web site to be a targeted resource center. Choose one subject and build on it. Youกll gain repeat visitors that are interested in that topic.

2. Offer something that is really free. If people go to your site and what you said was free really isn’t, youกll lose their trust and they won’t buy anything.

3. Add a chat room or message board to your web site. People want to interact with other people that have they same interests as them.

4. Entice people to link to your web site by giving them something free in return. Thisกll increase your ranking in some search engines.

5. Trigger your readerกs emotions in your ad copy. Example, if you sell a book on gambling tips, tell them the feelings theyกll get when they win money.

6. Make sure your site looks good in all browsers. You could be losing sales because it looks distorted in some web browsers.

7. Increase your sales by emailing full page ads to your ezine subscribers. Remember to tell people before they subscribe or they may consider it spam.

8. Ask people questions in your ad copy that make them think about their problems. For example: Do you want to be free of your debts?

9. Magnify the size of your prospects problem in your ad; show how your product can solve it. The bigger the problem, the more sales youกll have.

10. Invest a percentage of your profits right back into your business. Spend it on marketing, product improvement, customer service, advertising, etc.

Copyright 2005 Carlo Cabrera

About The Author

I am Carlo S. Cabrera and in order to obtain our desires we must do what has been done by those who are in possession of what we wish and expect the same results. To obtain your desires of health, wealth, & love. Please join me at: http://www.InstantAutomaticWealth.com/blogger and to discover 3 easy steps to an online income please visit: http://www.InstantAutomaticWealth.com/pips.

This article was posted on August 22

by Carlo Cabrera