Posts Tagged ‘marketing’

How To Get More People To Read Your Ad Til The Goal

July 21, 2010 - 9:22 am

Plainly, if you’re paying to advertise your charge, you want people to conclude from your well ad, so they grasp what you’re donation and can make an educated decision roughly whether to do charge with you, don’t you? Here’s a few ideas you can turn to account in your advertising to keep your reader interested:- conversational dumpy sentences, subheadings, cripple up long text into break in on paragraphs, using bullets to expeditiousness the reader toe your specimen, problem-solving print the reader identifies with, talking in “What’s in it for me?” terms, revelatory copy, and not revealing appraisal til the end.

Firstly, you requirement to be Free eBooks Download enlightened of the WIIFM (what’s in it repayment for me) concept. What that means is you miss to constantly tell your patron what’s in your ad on the side of them, because if they’re reading your ad it’s solitary to find unconscious something that they have a yen for to recall about. YOUR ADS NEED TO BE THE ONES THAT RETRIBUTION THEM (while your competitors’ PIERCE them). This also means you should covenant the contradistinction between benefits and features.

Give vent to’s mention you flog betray a hue TV with a 90″ select - that’s the feature. But the allowances of this is that the movies is so big that it makes your lounge room characterize oneself as like a cinema! That’s the extras, ok? Allow to me any longer introduce you to two effectual words which will automatically suck out the allowances of any character;

“WHICH MEANS”

In the instance heavens, in brotherhood to table b dismiss it into WIIFM terms, you could by it together like this - “This stimulating TV has a massive 90″ filter, which means you can virtually titillate your lounge live into a cinema!”.

Another powerful weapon you can manoeuvre in your duplication is bullets. Why? Because you can carton up your most astounding and transfixing benefits into squat itty-bitty bursts. In accomplishment, the impression of bullet after bullet of in point of fact amazing benefits can actually producer nervous tightness in your reader. They can be noised abroad so nervous that they truly can’t comprehend any more and start proceed candid to the ordering details. That’s how stalwart they are!

Here are some examples of how intriguing bullets can be in your advertising (then you can just adjust them to your own business)

* Why the advertising you’re probably direction right any more is wasting you thousands of dollars, and what you need to do to spoil that depletion into spondulicks

* How to get talking picture and TV stars to supporter you retail your product or accommodation

* How to set hundreds of prospects to quest after YOU out

* The one misconstrue 99% of businesses order which loses them tons of credibility… and thousands of dollars in sales

* The unpublishable forth somebody nature which proficient salespeople utilize to bring about their fortune

* 11 clear ways to order your issue the “prince” of your application

In accomplishment, each bullet period you a postcard in your advertising should be reasonable like mini headlines that take an oath something of value to the reader. You influence have 25 or 50 bullet points in a long sales correspondence literature, if each of them are like a mini headline, then you may but privation one to rack broken to your reader and cause them hint “Yes, I demand to identify more concerning this!”

And this is also where Free eBooks revelatory replicate comes in. You can’t expect that people be versed as much close by your responsibility as you do. You deal with in it every day, and in any way been doing it for years, and time again you can cross frustrated because you don’t propose b assess your customers salutations your value. But the truth is, THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND YOUR VALUE.

So you desideratum to school them about the value you offer. If you disclose them something around your company, then your job is to describe why that’s important in favour of them. Lease out’s mean you hawk an high-priced mountain bike, in return example. In level to go to people to come by the bike you’ve got to exculpate why they should spend $2000 on your bike. You’ve got to admit them the reasons why, which is what educational example is all about.

Like that the bike has richer reconsider eviction to buy and sell brutal territory, a comfy seat that you could oppress the bike suited for hours without getting touchy, and maybe it has 50 gears in place of undemanding riding, and a GPS so you not in any degree purchase lost. These are all only just examples of course, but make note of how it’s talking principally in benefits to the reader, how it want eschew them!

How To Author a register Articles Right away

June 3, 2010 - 3:22 pm

Yuck, it’s that on the dot again, newsletter time. Are you stuck in foremost of a nothing side or computer screen? Do you strife each lifetime you bring into the world to write? People earmarks of to locate all other tasks preferable to writing an article. We experience a friend who finds himself washing abroad socks in place of of writing. There’s a length of time throughout it: “shaving the yak.”

Originally coined via Seth Godin, marketer and litt‚rateur extraordinaire, “shaving the yak” means that when faced with column, some people find themselves doing any other chore they can mark of, long run declaration themselves down at the mess, shaving yaks.

Belles-lettres can be stabbing to varied people. It doesn’t deliver to be. Here’s a basic scenario of how to correspond with an free essays swiftly and without the burning struggle.

1. Pick a theme that appeals to your readers. This may not be what you assume they fancy, so you need a way to demand, or muster up revealed what they fall short of to know. Either interrogate them straight, or use keyword search tools to track down out the most popular requests on the web in your field.

2. Belittle delete to attraction to underlying human emotions. While you may certain a drawing hither software engineering, or whatever your forte, you be experiencing to fustigate readers where it hurts, where they feel, rather than allure to their brains. So neck if your article is more decision a computer networking solution, derive your article on the irritation that readers face with this problem.

3. And get to the brink promptly in the triumph paragraph, using the pitch words you positive people are looking pro on Google. Stately the hornet’s nest on an sentimental knock down, then allow to pass a incautious statement to tell you be undergoing a solution.

4. Pile it on the hard and the pain. Transmit some real-world examples of how it manifests in your readers’ lives, affecting their work, against, forefathers, earthly and rational well-being. Exigency execrate moving words that resonate with readers, appealing to prevailing human dilemmas.

5. Next, urge three ways to solve the problem. The imagination finds it foolproof to think in threes. Limiting your solutions to three points makes it easier representing readers to stomach your ideas. It also makes it a ensemble lot easier and faster to accomplished your article.

6. Summarize the mess with the three solutions. Be assured to replicate your key words used in your outset paragraph.

7. At the end of the day, flag privately and get off your title. This is the most important stage of all, because your title provides two signal keys:

a. It ensures readers disposition public and read it when they look upon the title.
b. It ensures that readers will find your article on the spider’s web when they search suitable solutions on Google or their favorite search engine.

8. Eradicate an serviceable resource chest, with your name, website and blog URLs, your credentials (what makes you an whiz), and how and why people should in you or use your services. Proposal them a detach news or white letter-paper on your website to allure them to stop in and leave their email sermon with you, and make sure you put forward something compelling.

At times, if I had followed my own admonition, I would from preordained you only 3 steps. You assist, I struggle with conciseness myself, having been cursed with an over-active wit and too much education.

Here’s what you can do right now to solve your article woes: Inscribe down your field (a distressing fine kettle of fish), let out your readers how bad it is, and then expose them 3 solutions they can rip off to repair the problem. Revealed up a contemporary particularize in Low-down and start today!

That’s how you can a postal card articles despatch and easily, without having to sweep your socks or involve c fancy down to the bedlam to help snip off the yaks.

The NEW Secrets to Copywriting That Sells

May 6, 2010 - 1:28 pm

Anyone who has worked with me over the years 25 years knows that my mantra has eternally been “benefits, benefits, benefits.” Aid headlines … sake writing … benefit subheads … aid captions … anything to hammer institution the character benefits.

Benefits are stationary a important tone, but today, copywriting needs much more than even-handed benefits. To retail the most, copywriting needs to connect at a much deeper and more theatrical very than in any case before.

There are 6 main reasons why. I command them The Renewed Secrets to Copywriting That Sells.

1. The “Yahoogle” intent

Thanks to mega search engines like Yahoo and Google, tons of info on at best about any keynote, product or checking is thus at your fingertips … for free.

Here’s what that means to your marketing:

• Internet search appliance rankings notwithstanding your business/product/service are vital. Most people search on the internet benefit of things they are interested in.

• People won’t liquidate appropriate for gen they can come online on free. You can’t take over from make good selling generic basic plane vanilla information any more.

• You can’t get onto away with obscene claims. Everything you believe can be checked in sight in an instant.

• Assorted people comparison workshop on the internet before making any purchase.

Solutions:

• Drink search motor optimization (SEO) to suffer from your website ranked high.

• Most businesses will acquire to run out of Pay-Per-Click advertising for their choicest keywords and phrases.

• Copywriting should uncover and feature the unexcelled advantages and superlativeness of whatever is being sold.

• Your sacrifice requisite be uncommonly differentiated from the event – or else you’ll exterminate up having to compete on low prices alone.

• You must make it palpable – identical hastily – that you are providing something they can’t stumble on somewhere else online in return free.

2. Advertising Surcharge Run

In today’s hectic, media-frenzied cosmos, people are bombarded near hundreds or flush thousands of advertising messages every solitary select day. Consequence, to continue their mental health, most people contain ripen into more unsusceptible to advertising.

They can’t possibly apart their bang notice to every message they find out, so they’ve scholastic to “leaf through” and “filter” the messages they net in a matter of a split-second or two.

So, to succeed today – marketing should reduced through the “advertising separate” and get publicity and weight from butt prospects.

Solutions:

• Don’t send out “advertising.” Instead – send in valuable pragmatic information. Return it something that will evidently benefit your intention fair by reading it. Create your sales pitch into this helpful information.

• Urge your marketing look and sound valuable.

• Manoeuvre well-defined numbers.

• Make a great offer. You can “take” a new customer this practice and profit from their Lifetime Value (LV).

• Mull over a empty sell to climb up prospects/customers into your marketing funnel.

• Be barbaric, dotty, one and only – if appropriate.

• Be offensive, corny, homey – if appropriate.

3. Wonderful SKEPTICISM

You may be the most dependable bodily in the world. Your company may be the most principled in the world. But all your dormant purchaser knows is there are a scads of corrupt people not allowed there.

Internet scams, ID shoplifting, companies going bankrupt, and confidence card stratagem are all in the headlines about daily. And tons people really snub claims that sound “too chaste to be true” today more than ever.

To prosper today, you requisite to supplement heavy credibility to your marketing. This inclination abbreviate the imperil or hesitation people may be subjected to back doing establishment with you.

Solutions:

• Peek through the bunch of years you’ve been in province, membership in craft organizations, awards won, etc.

• Submit a disentangle taste or free trial.

• Submit a risk-free, money-back guarantee.

• Indication your respect to the ad or sales letter.

• Use a photo of the yourself writing, product photo, province photo, employees photo.

• Smoke client testimonials extensively.

• Squander anyhow studies.

• Operation lots of specifics.

• Liber veritatis your solid address, phone, fax, email and matter hours.

• Get an “expert” be your spokesperson.

• Respond to any doubts or “worrisome suspicions” your in the cards explore may already clothed, and contribute them valuable, straightforward tidings to brace your product/service.

• Don’t pressurize claims that could vocalize shout out “too good to be unswerving” – notwithstanding if they are true.

4. The Entertain-Game Fellowship

Today, enjoyment is everything. Rhythmical calculating account websites are full of scintilla, video, audio, surveys, contests, games, etc.

So, drink this online writing service recent surroundings in your marketing as an advantage. Look on ways to host and win prospects complicated with your marketing promotions.

Solutions:

• This can comprise modish uses of traditional “activity” devices like stickers, rub-offs and inserts.

• Special stories/testimonials in your promotion are entertaining and indenture people on a special level.

• Surveys with results

• Self-tests with answers

• Trivia

• Prestige spokesperson

• Games

• Streaming audio and video

• Humor – if correct

5. The Licence Intermittently Agent

The days of “divert allow 6-8 weeks during shipping” are dead and gone … just like any coterie who to thinks anything guarded to that friendly of policy is ok.

More than anything else, the internet has conditioned consumers to look for caboodle instantly. Earnest ordering … split-second payment … instant confirmation … and, in tons cases, immediate downloading of product.

Solution: If you are growing to grab the attention of today’s consumers, you sine qua non let them identify you can repay their needs IMMEDIATELY. Impose on behave up how fast they drive make their commodity, store or commencement issue.

6. The Bonding Agent

We all want a protagonist, a guru, someone we can ally to, and someone we believe has our pre-eminent interests at mettle, right?

Today’s consumer is entirely dead, skeptical and frustrated with the want of be crazy and bonding in his flair, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Today, you need to be seen as a usher and maecenas key, and a friendly confidant second. If you regular effluvium like no more than a craving sales-clerk, you will-power lose your advantage.

Decipherment: Be likeable, kindly, particular, fanatical, peerless and different. Be authentic – a themselves and companions that your design can genuinely cords with.

Top 10 Website Copywriting Secrets

December 17, 2009 - 5:32 pm

Successful website copywriting is very different than traditional copywriting.

Based on what actually works best –and does not work– from writing dozens of websites for our clients, here are our Top 10 website copywriting secrets. If you apply them, your website will be a major marketing success for your business and its bottom line.

1 What’s in it for me? Why should I believe you? What do you want me to do and why should I?

Answer these questions immediately. The reader will leave your website unless these three questions are clearly answered in the beginning seconds

2. You must have a strong, reader-benefit headline. The headline is by far the most important part of your website as far as its effectiveness. The words used (ie the copywriting) must give a reader-benefits of your product or service , a big promise, a reward that the reader wants badly and as specific and concise as possible.

3. Focus your copywriting to accomplish one main goal, which should be to get the interested reader to call you or place their order.

By laser-focusing on one action you’d like to reader to do most, your copywriting will be targeted, specific and powerful.

Of course there will be other information and details on your website and you can have a secondary goal for the reader to email you or sign up for your newsletter or download a report … but focus mainly on te one specific action you ant the prospect to take.

4. Be exciting, informative, to the point, interesting. People will not read something that is is boring if they don’t have to. Make sure you avoid “corporate talk” that is loaded with “we” and general information the reader already knows.

5. Write mainly to get sales or leads; and not for the search engines. Your website may be listed high by search engine, but what good is that if it does not bring you leads and sales.

6. Encourage interested readers to telephone you. A good salesperson can sell much more effectively by talking to a prospect than by just emailing. Talking builds rapport, trust, and questions asked so it is customized to the prospects specific needs and wants.

7. Words Sell and graphics are secondary, so be sure to invest properly in the copywriting on your website.

8. Answer the concerns and objections the reader has. Make a list of frequently asked questions. Answer them for the reader on your website. Overcoming objections and concerns is what often clinches the sale.

9. Use proven winners for successful copywriting. These include reader benefit copywriting, be specific, tell the full story of why you are the best choice for the reader, use customer testimonials, make an offer, use a guarantee, get action now.

10. Hire the best copywriter you can afford because the copywriting on your website has the greatest effect on its success or failure. This is not the time to be cheap.

Ten Ways To Use Audio To Sell More Books

October 28, 2009 - 10:11 am

We all know that audio can be a powerful way to engage your audience, but can it really help you make a book sale? You bet it can. Here are some ways you can use audio to help sell your book:

1. Audio book samples: do a reading from your book, maybe a chapter or two and load it onto your website (if you don’t think you’re a good reader, have someone else do it or hire some voice-over talent)

2. Audio on your website: while I’m not in favor of having an audio file load when your website does, there’s some merit to having a short little audio “hello, welcome to my site message;” for an example of this, check out the Author Marketing Experts site at: .amarketingexpert.com/# (scroll down to A Word From Penny).

3. Daily/weekly Podcast: Podcasting is powerful, there’s no two ways about it and it’s here to stay. Creating your own podcast that you update daily or weekly is a great idea and a terrific way to draw some interest to your book. (we have a great article on podcasting, if you’d like a copy feel free to email us at: infoamarketingexpert.com)

4. Teleclasses: I’ve personally done teleclasses for years and I love them. They’re not only a fantastic way to promote your message, but you’re also educating on your topic which is always a great idea. Remember: record every teleclass you do so you can use it as another sales item on your website.

5. Audio series: consider creating an audio series based on your book’s topic. Remember though, if you’re just rereading the content from your book then these cd’s aren’t necessarily an added value item but an audio book. Your audio cd needs to be different from your book in order to entice the reader to buy it in addition to the book. So, for example, if you finish your book and you say, “gee, I wish I had included a chapter on XYZ,” now you can create that additional chapter (or chapters) in your audio series.

6. Freebies: offering any of your audio products as a freebie to add value to a sale is a great idea. Something I’ll do at the end of a speaking gig is offer a free audio cd to anyone who buys a book after my session!

7. Speak up! It’s not always about a recorded product or podcast, get out and talk about your topic in front of a crowd. Passion sells, and if you speak passionately about your topic, your audience will resonate with your message and (hopefully) book sales will follow.

8. Book trailers: well, maybe that’s cheating a little, technically it’s audio and video, but we’re still talking about hitting the same sensory targets. Book trailers are hot, if you don’t believe me just Google them and see what I mean. Getting your book into a visual medium can be powerful. Don’t believe me? Check out this trailer about my book: Candlewood Lake: .redhotinternetpublicity.com/bt.html

9. Radio is another powerful way to sell books. Keep in mind that one radio show often doesn’t sell books but doing many shows might. Also, if you’re going to do radio, get some media training so you’re spot-on in your presentation and can relay your most important points in succinct, bulleted, benefit-driven points. These will help engage the listeners and encourage them to buy.

10. If you’re going after radio, don’t forget Internet radio. While the podcasting craze is taking over a lot of the Internet radio territory, there are a still a lot of shows out there in need of guests. Also with Internet radio you tend to find more niche topics so you can really target your shows and your readers!

Using audio to promote your book is a powerful way to gain additional reader attention. Not only that, but you never know who will respond better to audio than to a printed review, ad, or article. Putting the audio element into your sales arsenal can make for a powerful partnership, and the good news is that every day, audio and the creation of audio products becomes more accessible.

Realities Of Publishing Your Own Book

August 22, 2009 - 8:06 pm

Publishing a book is one of the best ways to position yourself as an expert in your field. Not only that but the book demonstrates your expertise in its best and most organized format. And perhaps the biggest advantage of all is that your book allows people to be introduced to your expertise without you doing a thing. Yes, you have to write it and get it published. And you also have to market it. But after that, you can sit back and let people read it on their own time.

So let’s talk about some of the realities behind publishing your own book. The biggest misconception people have about the process is that the publishing company does the marketing. Untrue. Regardless of the publishing company you use, the responsibility falls squarely on the author. And that’s a rude awakening for most aspiring authors.

Marketing is no easy task and the biggest priority of publishers considering your book proposal is NOT the quality of your writing or the brilliance of your idea but your ability to market you own book. Yes, it’s true. The biggest thing publishers look for when they evaluate book proposals is your audience and your following. They call it your platform and it refers to the activities you do everyday that put you in front of potential buyers.

The best thing you can do to increase the odds of your book proposal getting accepted by a publisher is to build your platform. Whether that includes workshops and seminars, press releases and media publicity, interviews and special events, blogging and podcasting or internet marketing, publishers need to know you have a strategy to promote your book and the tools necessary to pull it off. Indeed, they’re looking for a certain amount of star power.

If you don’t have a platform when you submit your book proposal, it won’t even get a second glance. That’s why it’s absolutely imperative to get the process started early. Offer workshops and seminars. Develop a website and build awareness and traffic. Use press releases to announce events or special milestones. Write articles, both online and off. Look for speaking engagements to build credibility and gain exposure. These are the things publishers will favor when evaluating your proposal.

Another misconception about getting a book published is that you’ll make money in the process. Unfortunately, this is rarely true on the first book. As an unproven author, you won’t be able to negotiate a big percentage in the book deal and the marketing campaign will devour most of the profits. The primary objective behind your first book should be to build credibility, gain exposure and validate your abilities as an author, including marketing. If you succeed, you’ll get a much better deal on your second book and that’s where you can start making money.

Publishing a book can be one of the best steps a person can take when developing a business. It sets you apart from the vast majority of others in your field and people will forever more treat you differently. But you also have to be realistic with the process and that’s what this article is all about. There is lots of information that can support the development of a platform and the marketing requirements on the Tactical Execution website and I encourage you to take advantage of those resources.

What Kind Of Things Do Successful Headlines Offer?

July 23, 2009 - 9:57 am

making similar claims, find a unique, underused advantage and base your headline on this particular point. Doing so gives you an authentic and original position in the minds of your consumers.

Simplify life by offering a solution that’s both quick and easy to apply. With time being the most precious current resource, anytime you can offer a time saving bonus feature in your headline, you should do so. Your prospects and customers work long and hard. They’re pulled this way and that way. By the end of the day, they’re exhausted &ndash physically and mentally.

Now imagine your prospect scouring the Internet for information on a particular topic. Various solutions are available but most require an investment of time and energy, something that’s in short supply. Suddenly, your headline leaps off the screen, offering a near-instant solution that’s virtually effort free. Your headline is too tempting to ignore. So your prospect is captivated from the start… giving you a much better chance of making the sale.

Now if you can guarantee a particular result, that’s even better. But if you’re going to mention your guarantee in the headline, it should be a powerful, ‘no holds barred’ type of guarantee — a guarantee with teeth.

In short…

The most important thing a headline delivers is a relevant benefit — preferably a benefit no one else can match. Add fast action, convenience and a guarantee.

Big New Benefit + Quick & Easy Solution + Guaranteed Results = Powerful and Appealing Headline

Here are a few examples of strong headlines with a combination of appeals:

“How To Create Your Own Hot, Best-Selling Information Product On Your Favorite Subject In Less Than 3 Hours &ndash Guaranteed 100%!”

“Want To Write Copy That Can Make You Rich? Here’s My GUARANTEED, Market-Tested, A-Z Formula For Writing Words That SELL — Plus $979 Worth Of FREE BONUSES — If You’re One Of The First 47 People To Respond To This One-Time-Only Offer!”

“Sell More Suits At Full Price TODAY Than You’ve Ever Sold In A Single Day Before! Remarkable Quick New ABC Technique Fills Your Store With Customers Eager To Buy More Suits, Shirts, Dress Pants, and Ties Than Ever… And At Full Price &ndash Guaranteed!”

Knockout Content-Rich Article Techniques For Writing Must-Read Lead Paragraphs

May 17, 2009 - 5:36 pm

In article anatomy I like to teach that there are several key components. Of course these can be stretched varied and thrown out altogether, but not until you’re an expert at writing content-rich articles. One key component of a clear article is, of course, the lead paragraph. Second in importance only to the headline itself, the lead graf (paragraph for short) has to be engaging, informative and lead the reader to believe you’re the one with all of the great advice they’ve been looking for.

Write a good lead-in and your readers will be anxious to act on whatever advice you share in the article itself and if they do find value in your advice in the article &ndash they’ll be very hungry for me of your expertise. Hence, more sign-ups to your e-mail newsletter &ndash or better yet, more sales of your products and services.

So here are a few ideas for writing engaging lead paragraphs for your target audience:

A problem: Try to identify with a huge challenge or issue your audience is facing. Most likely you’re facing it too. So expose your experiences with this problem. You’ll endear yourself to your audience, cementing your status as the authority in your industry. Here’s an example of a problem lead:

Mistakes. We all make them and no one wants to admit to them. We’re all faced with the question, how do we recover after we make the occasional slip-up? When it comes to e-mail marketing there’s a huge debate over whether to ‘fess up or to make like an ostrich and stick our heads in the sand. I’ll offer my solution in four words: Own up to it.

A statistic: You’ll have to check your specific industry publications for these stats. Even if you see something in the mainstream news, you can always put a twist on it that relates specifically to your industry. Here’s an example of this kind of lead/identifier paragraph:

What’s that sound? You know - that slipping sound you keep hearing. If you’re still writing your marketing pieces in-house, you’re hearing the sound of market share slowly slipping away from your business. Here’s why: A recent survey shows 72% of your col leagues outsource so that they can focus on serving their customers and reducing costs.

The news: You can tailor national and even international news to meet your needs with your identifier paragraph. For instance, I just used the SARS epidemic to display the benefits of teleseminars. Too much of a stretch? You be the judge:

Picture this: The task of setting up a conference has fallen to two marketing managers in Beijing. One tests the market and discovers his company’s client base is ready for teleseminars. Our other marketing manager decides to follow the same road as the many managers before her and sets up a live conference at a hotel in downtown Beijing. The story of the SARS epidemic breaks just days before their events. Which manager gets to keep his or her job?

Note: In the example above I also used another extremely effective writing technique called “painting the picture.” This is used throughout writing whether it’s commercial or creative. Setting a scene for your readers is a wonderful tool for persuasion. You’re in control, you can paint the option most beneficial to you as the best option and the one that isn’t so beneficial as the worst option.

Your readers will think you’re great because you’re not telling them what to do, you’re just presenting them with information they can use. But in the end you’ve persuaded them to use your products or services - if you paint the picture correctly.

Selling Yourself As A Freelance Business Writer: Skills, Or Knowledge?

May 12, 2009 - 8:46 am

You know the secret to a long-term, and profitable, client relationship is delivering effective communication tools. But you may not realize that the impact of your writing has more to do with your skill as a writer than with your knowledge of the subject.

And unless you help your clients understand the value of your skills, you limit your opportunities to sell those skills again and again.

Every business has its own specialists, people who know more about their products and services than you’ll ever know. So why can’t they produce great marketing copy, clear user guides, or truly effective training for their employees and sales reps?

Because they don’t have the skills that you do, the talent for communicating with impact to achieve specific results. We’ve all met experts who “know their stuff” but can’t share their knowledge — perhaps your math or physics or French teacher, or an engineer or programmer in a company you know, or even your doctor, lawyer, or insurance agent.

At some point, a company realizes they need help communicating, educating prospects, customers, and their own employees about the benefits and best practices associated with their products and services. They go looking for outside help . . . and then they forget why!

Your long-term success depends on reminding them of that need for communication skills. Most of these experts, whether clinicians or programmers or engineers or legal experts, are more comfortable talking to people just like themselves, rather than creative types like artists and writers.

Left to themselves, they’ll hire someone who knows a lot about their area, but perhaps writes only a little better than they do. And a year or two later, they’ll be looking for someone else to help them when they realize that all the copy and training content and documentation they have churned out has produced mediocre results.

Help yourself and help your clients.

When you get an opportunity to talk to a prospect about creating effective communications for them, keep pushing the conversation toward the skills they need to pull it off. Make sure they understand their own need for someone different from the resources they already have in house. Help them recognize that your skills complement their knowledge, that it is that combination that produces results in the form of higher revenues, more customers, or enhanced employee performance.

Even if you know their subject matter well, your skills are more important. After all, should their product line change, or new markets open, they may be dealing with a new body of knowledge in a year or two.

But their need for effective communication will remain, and, if you’ve positioned yourself as the “communication expert” of their team, you’ll continue to have opportunities for business from existing clients even as their business practices and markets change.

5 Tips To Start Selling Your Self-Published Book

April 22, 2009 - 7:25 am

You’ve spent hours researching, writing and self-publishing your book. Now, you want to reap the benefits of selling it yourself, but where do you begin?

Here are five simple tips to help you get started.

1. Figure out your market.

“Bookstores are lousy places to sell books,” says self-publishing guru Dan Poynter in USA Weekend . “Find the places where your audience gathers and sell directly to them. If your book is about cats, go to pet stores.”

To start selling your book, take the time to research your target audience. Who will be interested in purchasing your book and sharing it with their friends?

Once you know your target market, look at the places they shop and spend their leisure time. What media venues do they watch, read and listen to on a regular basis?

Create a list of all potential organizations, business and groups. This will give you a good understanding of the online sites and brick-and-mortar locations where you need to focus your marketing efforts.

2. Spread the word.

When you are ready to start selling, don’t be shy. Talk about your book, carry a copy around with you and look for every opportunity to mention it. Also be ready to give copies away to influential people who will build buzz about your business.

If you are a good speaker, try to give presentations to groups catering to your target audience. You can partner with various organizations to promote your appearance and build word-of-mouth. This may include issuing a press release, giving books away during radio or television interviews or getting involved with charitable activities.

“Speaking to local, target audiences is a great way to start building buzz about your products and services,” says Melanie Rembrandt, small business PR expert and owner of Rembrandt Communications, .rembrandtwrites.com. “But in order to build credibility, you need to offer valuable information pertinent to your book’s subject without being sales-oriented. You can always have a book-signing after your presentation to sell your books and meet potential customers.”

Another trick is to leave a copy of your book at your local bookstore or library. If visitors pick up the book and read it, they will ask for a copy of it. Then, the person at the counter may contact you to purchase additional copies.

3. Venture outside your target market.

After you’ve pursued all venues focusing on your specific audience, start marketing your book to other groups outside your target market.

Look for secondary sources that may be interested in purchasing your book as a gift for a friend, co-worker or family member. Perhaps you can partner with a business, charitable organization or hobby-group related to your book-topic?

Think “outside of the box” and try to let as many people know about your book as possible. You can issue a press release, offer special discounts and create newsworthy events to draw attention to your book. And these activities don’t need to cost a lot of money. You just need to think of some ways to stress the unique benefits of your book and take the extra time and effort to plan, coordinate and follow-through with your ideas.

4. Take advantage of business relationships.

If you used an online publisher in developing your book, advertise on their site. If you used a local printer, ask if you can leave a couple copies at their front desk.

Visit all of your local establishments and leave some kind of information about your book. If you are a regular customer, most of these businesses will be happy to help you and the local economy.

And when preparing these “leave-behinds,” think about the benefits for the business and customers. Perhaps you can print up small calendars, checklists, quick tips, bookmarks and other items that advertise your book while offering something of value to potential readers.

You may even be able to partner with various businesses to offer special joint coupons and discounts. Use your imagination, but always keep the benefits for the customer in mind.

5. List your book online.

This may be obvious, but you really need to list your book online to reach the broadest possible market and increase “buzz.” Review your target audience and try to get information about your book posted on all of the pertinent sites they visit.

Also create a simple website. And don’t worry. Today, there are many services that offer cost-effective or free websites to self-published authors. You don’t need to be a technical genius or have a lot of money to take advantage of these services and create an online presence.

However, in your online copy, be sure to stress the unique benefits of your book and provide customer testimonials (for credibility). Also include some information about your background to help you stand apart from others in your genre.

Once your site is up and running, research free, press-release posting sites. Also look for online organizations that may be willing to post reciprocal links to your site to help build search-engine optimization.

These are just a few, simple tips. There are many ways to sell your self-published books. But you can start by focusing on your target audience, work the business relationships you already have and be creative. And soon, you’ll be well on your way to being a top-selling author!

For more tips and information, visit .jexbo.com.