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Myths about Selling
Your online commercializing conflict will include a number of dissimilar methods in different arenas of the Internet. You may have a web site, use an auto responder, post classified ads, post articles, place banner advertisings, sponsor lists and newssheets, circulate press handouts, and much more. Keep in mind, though, that when you are first commencing, it is vital that you concentrate on one facet of your merchandising crusade at a time and elevate it to its fullest degree before proceeding on to the next.
It is more effective to slowly become profitable by concentrating on one event at a time, than to hardly be gainful because you are attacking all of the events halfhearted.
Broaden and spend little sums of money on advertisement for the first time. If you apply a conservative approach, you will not be exhausted financially if an ad doesnít return the sales you were going for. Just keep trying out advertisements as your fund permits until you discover the one that works most effective; then you can roll it out and be positive that you are going to earn money rather than lose it!
If you have a lot of contest, state that you will respect all of your competitionsí vouchers and/or rebates; use “theirî advertisement to your advantage.
An antique problem in business sector is accumulating final payment for services delivered. As a business possessor, you need to be tended for “difficultî customers and “moochesî by exercising such matters as
In your contract or sales arrangements, state the interest rates and late fees that will be assessed if payment is not received within 30 days of completion.
Compose form letters to be used for accumulating the remainder. There should be three letters in total — one after the payment is ten days late, another after twenty days, and a third that lets the client know that youíll be turning their account over to a collection authority (or taking them to small claims court).
The third letter should not be sent until 45 days after the payment is late. And of course, never bluff. If you say you will turn it over to a collection agency, do so.
The best way to protect yourself is to take payment thru credit card. State to your customer that you will bill their credit card one third of the entire cost as an initial down payment, another third just after you have passed the 50% closing period, and the final third on delivery. Or use the two-payment system – half at the introduction of the task and the balance upon completion.
One more thing. You are free to use this article on your website provided that it stays unaltered and the links in the resourcebox is live, search-engine friendly links.
DO NOT STEAL. IT IS NOT WORTH IT.
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How can we make our Advertising as Effective as Possible.
The answer is to test. Test again. And then test some more. If ad ìAî receives a two percent response rate, and ad ìBî receives three percent, then we can deduce that ad ìBî will continue to outperform ad ìAî on a larger scale.
Testing takes time, however, and can be expensive if not kept in check. Therefore, itís ideal to start with some proven tested known ideas and work from there.
For example, if testing has shown for decades or more that targeted advertising significantly outperforms untargeted advertising (and it does), then we can start with that assumption and go from there.
If we know based on test results that crafting an ad that speaks directly to an individual performs better than addressing the masses (again, it does), then it makes little sense to start testing with the assumption that it does not. This is common sense.
So it stands to reason that knowing some basic rules or techniques about writing effective copy is in order. Test results will always trump everything, but itís better to have a starting point before you test.
Sometimes a little tweak here or there is all that is needed to increase response rates dramatically.
When a prospect reads your ad, letter, brochure, etc., the one thing he will be wondering from the start is: ìwhatís in it for me?î
And if your copy doesnít tell him, itíll land in the trash faster than he can read the headline or lead.
A lot of advertisers make this mistake. They focus on them as a company. How long theyíve been in business, who their biggest customers are, how theyíve spent ten years of research and millions of dollars on developing this product, blah, blah.
Actually, those points are important. But they should be expressed in a way that matters to your potential customer. Remember, once heís thrown it in the garbage, the sale is lost!
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How To Sell Your Books On Radio
When my book was published I participated in eleven 15-minute live interviews on local radio over a period of just five days.
The results were highly encouraging; the book leapt from nowhere on Amazon.co.uk to position 194 out of 3123 competing titles and eventually grabbed the No.1 spot for its core keyword (retirement) where it remained for nine months.
I am shortly to repeat the broadcast exercise for my newly published tome but before doing so I am already off to a head startÖ
Although this title does not hit the bookstores until Monday 8 May 2006 it already ranks at No.47 out of 3453 competing titles on Amazon.co.uk ñ which means of course that the book is already selling in big numbers online ñ thanks largely to the success of its predecessor and the initial boost it got from radio promotion.
These promotional interviews are arranged by my publisherís media consultancy and I do not require to visit a single studio to take part; they are all conducted over the telephone, sitting at my desk at home.
So what if you self-publish your output and you donít have a publicist to arrange radio interviews?
Does that mean you are excluded?
No way; I have self-published several books in the past and managed my own promotion.
Wherever you live in the world youíll find that the majority of local radio stations are banded together into a single network for cost-effectiveness.
Here is what you do
1. Identify the controlling network;
2. Visit the corporate website containing links to all subsidiaries;
3. Pick out those stations within a 500/1000 mile orbit;
4. Visit each local station website individually;
5. Scan the daily programming schedules;
6. Highlight those programs that might identify with the topic of your book;
7. Note the presenterís name;
8. Email him/her with a well-couched request for a live interview;
9. Follow that up with an identical snail mail request;
10. Follow that up with a telephone call (youíll get to speak to someone in authority).
You know your topic inside out; speak up with confidence and youíll get your interview; maybe not straightaway but, if you sell yourself and your project professionally, youíll be logged into and up-and-coming slot in the station scheduling.
Go for it is free!
I will be reporting in a subsequent article on the outcome of my latest batch of broadcasts.
In truth though there is more to creating bestselling books than spieling about them on radio and if youíd like to learn how I manage to produce bestsellers consistently, visit the website featured in the resource box below.
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Make Big Money On Your Book – 10 H*O*T Tips
Wouldn’t it be nice to write a book, get paid handsomely for it and be considered a top expert all at once? It’s possible–if you know the rules.
1. Study the publishing industry.
Today celebrity books rule. Books that catch a quick trend come in second. Take chick lit, for example. Nobody cared about hip books for women ten, or even five years ago. But women buy the majority of books–and actually read them. It’s not to say that other book genres aren’t viable. Of course they are. The big categories of fiction and non- fiction will live on forever. But even self-help is on the wane according to some sources. And, as a literature savvy friend of mine said, *Plots are passe.* There’s much more to know about the industry. Like what agents look for and how publishers decide on what will be profitable.
2. Understand that publishers don’t buy books, they buy ideas.
Many new authors think they need to write a book to sell it. Not so. You develop an idea (fiction excluded) and give publishers a taste of what’s to come. They decide whether your idea has a large enough market for them to make money on it. You must prove, without a doubt that they can. Lots of it.
3. Think of your proposal as the business plan for your book.
Map out the life of your book in the marketplace for the next five years. Plan on devoting at least that much time to promoting it.
4. Have a huge platform.
A platform is simply YOUR ability to sell books to the audience that you have said will buy–from you. Are you already a *personality* people recognize and love? How many organizations, companies, groups do you speak to every month? Do you write regularly for newspapers, magazines or the Internet? Do you have prestigious clients who can sell your books in bulk to their corporations? You get the idea. You must *look* like a mover and shaker in your field.
5. Be a media star.
If you’re not already a familiar face on TV, a vivacious voice on the radio or a person who appears in print often, not to worry. If you can show you have the potential to become a star, that’s a start. Maybe you’ve been on local TV and had rave reviews. If so, mention that.
6. Speak.
A major publishing house hired me to media coach one of their rising star authors. Her book was getting major national press–but she was dull. And they were worried that her lackluster personality would effect her book sales. We worked until she got comfortable on camera while talking vividly in 15 second soundbites.
7. Get media coached.
With some media coaching you can morph into a mediagenic maven. But it does take practice and sincere commitment. You can work on your pizzazz factor by studying great interviewees and modeling the behaviors you liked. If you canít afford a media coach, get out that video camera and do mock interviews with friend. A lot can be revealed and ironed out just by seeing how you appear to others on the big screen.
8. Develop your platform.
When I interviewed editors at top New York publishing houses like Simon & Schuster & HarperCollins they told me repeatedly that the most important thing a writer can have today is a strong *platform.* A platform is a plan of how you are going to reach your audience to sell books.
Prove you have a following. Publishers want to know who has bought your books or products in the past– and they want to know how many. Can you show that you have a track record of selling your goods to people across the globe, or at least in your community? Maybe youíre not as far along in your career as one of my clients who is a $12,000 an hour speaker who put in his proposal the fact that his audiences range from 100-10,000 people, and he speaks 250 times per year.
His speaking bureau typically sells his video and audio tapes to those audiences in advance when they book his talk. What you want to show is how you can secure sales in large quantities to people you know will buy from you–because they have bought already. Or how audiences similar to the ones who have purchased are primed to buy your book.
9. Get high profile endorsements.
To instantly establish your stature put these accolades on page number one so theyíre the first thing an agent or editor sees. Endorsements need to be from celebrities, best- selling authors and well-known experts in your field.
Show that youíre respected in the world. Endorsements show that high-level people believe in you, that youíre a good bet. They also go on your book cover jacket and help sell your book–and in todayís competitive marketplace itís essential. Donít say youíre *actively seeking endorsements.* Leading with the endorsements makes sure an agent or editor gets that youíre a big shot–or soon will be.
One secret that many authors donít know is the best blurbs are written by the writers themselves. Donít expect famous people to read your tome. They donít have the time or the desire. And please donít send it to them unsolicited. Ask permission. Then do the work for them and ask them to sign off on that perfect gem–the one youíve written–touting the marvels of your work.
10. Your sample chapter.
Once youíve established that the author has some sort of a platform, that they have some voice in the world beyond their circle of friends, I go straight to the sample chapter.
Prove you can write. *I want to know if they are a good writer, because an agent can tinker away with the rest of the proposal and make it sound really good,* says Kelly Notaras, a Senior Editor at Hyperion.
What if youíre not a great writer? Hire a ghost writer. Remember platform is non-replaceable. You, the personality, the presence, is what theyíre investing in. Good writing can be bought. Star quality canít
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