Tag: books
Simple Steps Lead To Successful Books
Like most first time authors, I figured that once the word was out that I’d written a book, the world would beat a path to my door wanting to buy it. I’ll admit I gave little thought to marketing until the day my first printing of Handbook To A Happier Life was delivered. In a panic, I called a published author I knew and asked, “What do I do now?” She suggested several books about book marketing, which I bought immediately. I was on my way.
Success in book selling is a three step process: 1. Write the book. 2. Print the book. 3. Sell the book. That last one can be bit tricky:-)
Space does not permit me to go into all the details of my process or to list the many people who helped, however, there are a couple of very important points I learned early on which made all the difference.
The most important thing I learned was to identify my reader. As much as I hated to admit it, not everyone would buy my book. My early feedback told me entrepreneurs, network marketers and salespeople were buying my book. I began to ask myself focused questions as to how I could best reach these people. I set goals. After all, if you don’t have a goal, how will you know when you’ve succeeded? I took specific actions daily. That’s important. Consistent action will make all the difference.
There were days when I was ready to give up but I kept taking action. I refused to give up. Another important point. Never, never, never give up! One day, a door opened. I had located a distributor who was selling to the market I wanted to reach. They reviewed “Handbook To A Happier Life” and it was put on a recommended reading list. It went into eight printings with almost 100,000 copies sold and was translated into several languages, and then sold to a big publisher. I knew all along that once people saw this book, they would want to read it.
I firmly believe most books will sell once you have taken the time to clearly define your market, set your goals and commit to taking daily action. And more action – keeping in mind that there are many places you can sell books besides bookstores. Go for it!
The Best Business Card You Ever Had
“Keep in mind Jim, this is a great business card.” That was my first lesson as a new author and it has served me well over the years. On a lark, I sent 20 copies of my new book to the presidents of several big direct sales companies. The result was a glowing testimonial from the president of one of the companies, along with an order for 250 books. Was it worth the cost of giving away the 20? You bet it was! I like to think of giving away books as planting seeds. You never know which ones will spout or when.
Many professional speakers and coaches willingly give away their $12 paperback book (with a cost of a $2-$4) and attract clients and bookings worth thousands of dollars from it. Others obtain high priced consulting contracts using the book as a door opener.
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Profit From Effective Public Speaking
Developing and utilizing presentation skills can result in increased income for you. Here are a few ways that you can turn your public speaking experience into business profits.
1. Free Speeches to Promote Your Business
A lawyer might make a speech to a group of business persons, free of charge, about the advantages of incorporating their businesses. This could result in obtaining new clients. It could also cause existing clients to purchase additional services, such as incorporations, minute book work, income tax election filings, and so on.
2. Paid Seminars, Workshops and Teleclasses
You could charge admission fees to attend a seminar entitled “How To Incorporate Yourself Without a Lawyer”. This seminar could detail the considerations and mechanics of incorporating your own private corporation.
3. Sell Information Products
The information presented during a speech or seminar could form the basis for information products such as books, courses, special reports or folios, audios, videos, DVDs, electronic books, and so forth. For example, you could write a book entitled “How To Incorporate Yourself Without a Lawyer”.
Including such products as handouts at your seminar would increase the value for the attendees (which you could charge for). Even if you gave a free speech to a group, you could still receive back-end income from the sale of such information products.
Obviously, your public speaking skills will be especially important when producing an audio or video cassette. Your listeners and viewers will make certain judgments based on your personal appearance, poise, audience contact, use of gestures, enthusiasm, how informative the material is, and many other factors.
Your information products establish your credibility as an expert, resulting in even more business. As well, you can market those same information products through mail order, direct mail, Internet marketing, and other methods.
4. Consulting and Other Opportunities
As your reputation as an expert in your specialized field grows, you will become more in demand. Clients may seek you out for lucrative speaking engagements. You may be invited to write magazine articles, consult for large corporations, act as an expert trial witness, become a syndicated columnist, et cetera.
Therefore, whether you are a novice or an experienced public speaker, it pays to increase and utilize your public speaking skills.
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Today’s Entertainment Encompasses Digital Videos, E-Books, and Audio
Today, we can get virtually of the information and entertainment we need with a few clicks of our mouse.
The digital revolution has transformed the way we receive information and indulge in entertainment. We no longer have to listen to the radio, watch TV, go to the movies, or pick up books at our local bookstore. Instead, we can get virtually of the information and entertainment we need with a few clicks of our mouse.
Digital videos, e-books, and audio products are appealing for two primary reasons: they’re affordable and they’re instantly downloadable. Because there is no manufacturing process per se, you don’t have to pay for tangible goods or packaging. Plus, those providing informational products and digital entertainment don’t have the high overhead costs of a brick-and-mortar retail outlet, such as leasing a storefront and paying salaries of sales associates. As a result, digital downloads are a fraction of the price of the similar items you’d buy at a store.
Similarly, digital information and entertainment offers the ultimate convenience. Because digital products are instantly downloadable, you can easily find what you want, pay for it, and download it in a matter of minutes. You never have to traipse to the store, face online backorders, or wait for your books, music, and videos to arrive in the mail.
Because the technology to create digital videos, e-books, and audio products is widely available, you have a greater choice than ever before. Indeed, you can find excellent sources of information and entertainment that mainstream publishers might overlook. Moreover, many sources of entertainment and informational products allow you to sample the wares before you buy, by enabling you to listen to a portion of the audio or read a few pages of the ebooks.
That’s not to say that, for example, bestsellers aren’t available on audio. You can find audio versions of James Patterson and Michael Connelly crime novels as well as non-fiction bestsellers like “Freakonomics” and “Preacher and the Presidents.”
But you can also find e-books on a wide range of topics written by experts who may never publish a bound book. For example, perhaps you love to garden and want to learn the secrets of bonsai gardening or how to do companion planting and design an organic, sustainable food system.
Because of the lead-time involved in publishing a book, e-books also allow you to get up to the minute information on timely topics. Take the current housing market, for example. If you’re a homeowner who wants to sell or an investor looking to take advantage of the increase in foreclosures, you can’t afford to wait a year or two for a book to be published to learn the best strategies for reaching your goal. E-books allow you to get the information you need right now.
Perhaps the best feature of downloadable products is flexibility. For example, you can download audio books without any special software, and then either listen to them, transfer them to an MP3 player, or burn them onto a CD.
Digital videos, e-books, and audio products are the wave of the future – and the future is today!
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How to Write a User-Friendly eBook
Right now, someone, somewhere will be embarking on the writing of an eBook. Why? Some do it to make some money; itís one of the easiest ways to start an online business.
Others do it to share information they may have for those in similar financial, social or medical situations; maybe you want to share how you beat cancer or how you got out of debt.
Whatever your reason, there are some basic rules to consider that will make the final product more professional and. So, let look at some of them.
Anyone that embarks on writing an eBook will undoubtedly have read many as well. You will know from this that you must write in an appealing way that maintains the readerís attention. After all, you want them to read ALL your eBook donít you? Plus, youíll want them to come back for more if you are building an online business.
There are many tricks you can use to keep your readersí attention.
Anecdotes give practical examples of what you are trying to explain. These give readers confidence that what you are saying really does work. They are also a great way of explaining complicated topics.
Images are also a powerful tool. They can make topics clearer and they will stick in a readerís mind longer than 5000 words of text. They also break the eBook up and give the reader ìmarkersî to parts that interest them.
Note-boxes or sidebars are also good for summarizing a point or providing additional information. Like images, they break the text up and make the reading experience more enjoyable.
Write in a conversational style so the reader feels that you are talking just to them. This way they feel that they are the only one benefiting from your information and that makes it more valuable to them.
Donít write long sentences or paragraphs. They become difficult to read and detract from the experience. Your eBook is more likely to be put down and not picked up again.
You should also change the length of your paragraphs and sentences so you donít send your readers to sleep. Blocks of text that are all the same length will lose the readerís attention and youíll be lucky of they are awake by Page 10!
We mentioned earlier the use of images as a way of breaking up text. It may be that you canít use images to any great extent; but there are other tricks.
A very powerful one is the use of numbered and bulleted lists. Even with the most basic of word-processing programs you can include different types of bullets and even use custom pictures as bullet icons. These make your topic easier for the reader to absorb and also to give them a mental break from blocks of text.
Finally, think about the design of your eBook. Select a font that’s easy to read, and stick to it. You may be tempted to change fonts as a way of trying to make it more interesting. Donít. All it does is confuse your readers and they will switch-off.
I recommend either one and a half or double line spacing. Spacing the lines too far apart make it difficult for the reader to track where they are. Too close makes it dull.
Also, choose a font size that is in proportion to the line spacing you are using. You can get away with a larger font (say 14 point) with 1.5 line spacing but 8 point will look weird. Experiment with different combinations to find one that suits you but remember – what looks OK on the screen may look dreadful in print. Think about how your readers are probably going to read the final eBook (most print PDF eBooks ñ the idea of the paperless world is myth!).
Lastly, add page numbers and a header to each page with the title of your eBook. Iíve lost count of the number of times I have been infuriated by the number of eBooks that donít have page numbers. Also, adding a title in the header is a good way of reminding the reader what they are reading and who wrote it. Donít overcrowd headers and footers but use them wisely to give branding to the eBook (your company name or web address if you sell online).
Most importantly, don’t forget to do a proper spelling and grammar check. You can even go to somewhere like elance.com and get someone to proof read it for you (for a fee). Itís worth it to end up with a credible eBook.
Like it or not, you and your topic will be judged by the standard of spelling and punctuation. Donít shortcut on quality for fear of some criticism. Itís better to find out before it is published.
That’s it! By following the simple steps above you have just written your eBook. All that is left for you to do is publish it online and get visitors to your website so they can read it. But those topics are a whole new ball-game and best left for another day.
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When all else fails, give the gift of books
My mother used to tell me, “When all else fails, give the gift of books.” When I was growing up, a book was a big deal. By today’s standards, less than half of Americans consider a book a big deal. The truth is, that many people don’t think much about books throughout their life. Between working, the kids’ soccer games, taking care of home, and the nine hundred and seventy two other things that sit patiently on a list waiting for their due attention, books do not cross the minds of many these days. That is, at least, until they receive the perfect book as a gift.
The perfect gift giving book isn’t a title, it’s about paying attention to the recipient and knowing instinctively what they enjoy and what they crave. Many stay at home parents state that they crave one of two things, intellectual stimulation or more passion in their lives. There you have it. You can either get the craving stay at home parent an intellectual masterpiece that gets their brain function kicking in high gear or you can grab them up a steamy romance novel that will knock their socks off. This little principle applies to giving books as gifts to every man, woman, and child out there. And if you do it well, you might even be able to inspire a book worm in the making to delve into the world of books they have forgotten about.
So, how do you pick the perfect books as gifts for those who aren’t so vocal about their potential reading interests? Gift giving books come in two categories. The reading category is buying a book that they will read cover to cover and hopefully enjoy the opportunity to delve into someone else’s life for awhile. Emotional or inspirational books are usually hard cover (although the trend toward soft cover is shifting) that are filled with something unique such as poetry, inspirational sayings, or other creative forms of “life’s greatest gifts” notions. Knowing which category to gravitate toward can be a challenge, especially when giving books as gifts to men.
Simple coffee table books that enlighten, inspire, or make someone laugh can be excellent gift giving books. They are usually not gender specific and can introduce someone to a new concept or thought process without any heavy reading. By using basic interests as your guide, giving books as gifts that send a message (such as inspirational coffee table books) can allow you to say things to someone you care for without ever having that awkward uncomfortable moment that makes people stumble. For instance, if someone is struggling with a significant loss in their life, it is very difficult to find the right words to offer comfort. An inspirational coffee table book as a gift can offer that comfort without being direct. Your point, however, will be well taken.
Giving books as gifts to children is always a joy and a pleasure. Hunting out the perfect book that teaches them something new or offers them a new perspective is always fun. Kids don’t always get all that excited about receiving a book as a gift initially, but usually appreciate it later on when they open it up and start reading it. Whether you’re looking for gift giving book for a three year old or a ten year old, hunting down something new and creative along the children’s books section is almost as much fun as coloring Easter eggs with them. It allows you to consider them carefully, to think about how they relate to the world and what interests of theirs are really starting to develop. You don’t have to hit it perfectly on the head when it comes to kids books as gifts. Most kids will find books engaging as long as there some meat to the story line. Very few children are too terribly picky about topics. After all, so much is still brand new to children.
Often, something as simple as giving books as gifts can open up someone to the forgotten joys of sinking into a great novel and escaping the world for awhile into a land of their choosing. The greatest successful measure of giving books as gifts is knowing that they went out and purchased another book when they were finished with the first. Reading offers something that television, DVDs, and other forms of electronic entertainment can’t even begin to offer. Books stir the imagination in ways that are healthy and long lasting. We imagine that characters, we can imaging their surroundings and their lifestyle, and we can imagine the way the story unfolds. When it is not done for us via electronic imagery, the imagination becomes so much richer.
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Ebooks Are Raking It In
Have you always wanted an unlimited income that you didn’t have to leave the comfort of your own home for? Have you ever thought about becoming a writer, and publishing books? Well, many people have become well-known authors, and have made quite a bit of money writing books, but it seems that even more are making a lot more money writing ebooks.
Ebooks can be a very valuable asset. Let me just list a few of the reasons why they have become so popular. First of all, paper books take what seems an eternity to get published, not to mention that it costs quite a bit of money in printing, and postage, and handling, and stuff. Ebooks do not have a publishing cost, plus ebooks are digital. They can be emailed to your client directly, or they can download the ebook from your website, giving them instant gratification, which everyone loves. They are also digitally stored, so you don’t have all kinds of books cluttering up your house.
Ebooks also stay there, on the internet, indefinately, if you will, making money for you, while you sit back, on the beach, contemplating what you will be writing your next ebook about. That’s right, you can just relax while your ebook sits on your website, making you money. Many people are just raking in the dough from ebooks today. But, you will need to use some tools (there are links on my website to access these tools) to make sure that there is enough traffic being directed to your site.
There are all sorts of ways to bring traffic to your site, like writing articles, (like the one written here), using autoresponders, and buying mailing lists. My mentors, whom I have links to on my website, offer many tools and tips for driving traffic to your site. One tip is to build the customers trust, by offering plenty of free stuff. Free PDF files are a hot item to offer for free, because people can pass them around freely, appealing to more of a mass market. And any computer with Adobe Reader, (which can be downloaded for free), can read these types of files.
PDF files are also considered valuable to search engines, thus making it easier for customers to find your site.
There are many other ways to get traffic to your site, and many other methods of making money online, but writing ebooks is one of the easiest, and most profitable ways. For more information, please go to my website, and check out my links. If you register with my site, I will send you some simply amazing reports, with tons of invaluable information, all for FREE! Go there now! Take the step, learn something new. Learn something proven to make money!
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