Posts Tagged ‘publishedandprofitable’

Good news for authors and marketers: Mindjet’s MindManager mind mapping software, the indispensable writing tool I frequently referred to in my ActiveGarage Author’s Journey series, is now available for iPhones, iPads, and Android mobile devices.

Mindjet’s MindManager app for the iPad has quickly become an important part of my workflow for all types of writing projects…saving me time and helping me get a head start on my projects before I begin to write, no matter where I am.

Mind mapping on an iPad is a liberating writing tool that far exceeded my expectations

Background

Perhaps like you, I was initially doubtful that mind mapping on an iPad. I was happy with the mind maps I created on my home and office computers, plus my laptop. I was comfortable carrying around yellow legal pads and felt tip markers which I’d use to plan my articles, blog posts, and client marketing materials.

I was used to the ritual of deciphering my handwritten notes and recreating my hand-drawn mind maps on my computers when it was time to get down to work. In addition, I couldn’t see how it would be possible to use the iPad’s virtual keyboard to type extended amounts of text.

I also couldn’t imagine how large maps would fit on the iPad’s relatively small screen.

Planning versus writing

What I was overlooking, of course, was the difference between planning and writing.

Although I recognized that the hard work in most writing projects is planning what you’re going to say, I was overlooking the fact that mind maps don’t have to be large and detailed to provide an efficient guide to writing an article, blog post, or book.

Edit Topic screens

Mindjet’s use of Edit Topic screens also played an important role in my transition from yellow legal pads to MindManager on an iPad for planning my writing projects.

The issue of type size and readability on the iPad (or iPhone) screen is not an issue. This is because, when you select a topic or subtopic by tapping it, MindManager opens a large Edit Topic screen that provides all the space you need to enter topic and subtopic text.

The Edit Screen not only is large enough to make it easy to add subtopic and topic information, you can also add Notes—as much text as you want, if sentences and paragraphs occur to you during the planning stage that you want to immediately jot down—as well as links to URLs.

Using MindManager’s Edit Topic screens also allow you to insert icons indicating category and priority, as well as photographs and graphic images. You can also format topics and subtopics to indicate category and importance.

Workflow

Without a doubt, mind mapping on the iPad is a here-and-now reality, one that has saved me well over 100 hours during the past 3 months—and, probably, a heck of a lot more. I now spend less time planning my articles, blog posts, and books, and, I know from my time logs, that I’m spending less time writing them.

There’s no duplication of effort, no wasted time trying to decipher my handwriting, and I can include as many links to blogs and web pages while planning. Using the Notes feature, I can copy and paste text from online resources into my maps, saving me time later on.

Mind mapping on an iPad has given me more freedom than I’ve previously had. I spend less time tethered to my computers than before. As a result, I’m fresher and more relaxed when I sit down at my computer for an extended writing session. I now spend more time planning time in a Barnes & Noble café, at my favorite window table at the Dover Public Library, or riding the Downeaster toBoston.

And, for better or for worse, more blog posts have been planned in bed or in front of a television than ever before.

Where this is all going

My experiences mind mapping on an iPad has not only energized me, but it’s helped me realize just how basically inefficient desktop and laptop computing can be.

I reluctantly came to iPad ownership, but was amazed at how quickly I’ve adapted to using my fingers to select, zoom, and move around a mind map. I loved the fact that I didn’t have to “read” any “documentation” to get things done.

Most of all, I quickly grew to love the freedom from having to worry to save files and go back and forth between programs to share files between computers and send them as email attachments to clients.

The future, of course, is in the cloud, and I’m quickly getting used to backing-up and files using MindJet Connect or Dropbox which eliminate the need to Zip-compress and e-mail mind map templates with clients and webinar attendees.

The future, of course, is “hands-free” syncing of mind maps between computers. Syncing is a fast-approaching reality. Already, I can end my day reading a book on my Amazon.com Kindle, then pick-up my iPad the next day…and it will open to the page I was reading on my Kindle!

Soon, I’ll be able to begin to plan an article on my iPad, edit it on my main computer, finish it on a client’s computer, and all copies will be seamlessly updated.

Getting started

Currently, Mindjet’s MindManager for the iPad is still available for free for Apple iPhones, iPads, and Android mobile devices. This offers a great opportunity for you to discover the power of mind mapping as a writing tool.

• If you’re already using mind maps for writing, downloading one of Mindjet’s mobile apps for the iPhone, iPad, or Android device, will add capabilities and convenience and pave the way for enhanced file sharing and syncing.

• If you’re not yet using mind mapping for writing, the free mobile apps provide an easy way to get started.

Either way, once you get started, I invite you to download my free (no registration) 3-Step Writing Jumpstart Map or 20 Questions to Ask Before You Write a Book mind map templates to explore mind mapping’s contribution to your writing success.

—

Tagged as: active garage, author's journey, authors, business books, mind mapping, publishedandprofitable, roger c parker, Writing for Business, zite

Last week, I discussed some of the ways authors can attract profitable speaking invitations.

This week, I’d like to take the idea of “speaking for profit” to the next level, which involves creating, marketing, and producing special events like conferences, seminars, and workshops. These differ from speaking in two important ways:

• Multiple presenters. Conferences and workshops, often called “bootcamps,” typically involve multiple speakers. Often, there’s a well-known keynote speaker, followed by sessions conducted by subject area experts- -often other authors- -who may be paid, but often participate because of the visibility and opportunity to demonstrate their competence to attendees who may be coaching or consulting prospects.
• Affiliate marketers. Authors presenting conferences and workshops often depend on marketing affiliates to help promote and sell tickets to their events in exchange for either a flat fee, or a percentage of each attendee’s fees.

Major profit potential

Profits for authors presenting in-person events can be significant. Profits quickly mount up when you have 100 or 500 people paying several hundred dollars to attend a live event. Successful events also create a buying frenzy of back-of-the-room profits from books,
CD’s, DVD’s, and workbooks.

Soon after Looking Good in Print appeared, I became a lead speaker for desktop publishing conferences produced several times a year around the country by Thunderlizard Productions, a partnership of three authors. I remember staring out at hotel ballrooms filled with participants who often faithfully attended each year’s conference, as well as pre-conference and post-conference workshops.

Other sources of event profits include:

• Booth rentals. This involves renting booth in an adjacent “open-to-the-public” exhibition space to firms interested in marketing to conference attendees.
• Sponsorships. Often, corporations sponsor pre-conference breakfasts, sponsored lunches, and happy hour afternoon networking events.
• DVD’s and CDs. When events are recorded, post-conference sales of audios, transcripts, and videos create excellent content for direct-marketing and back of the room sales at upcoming events.
• Pre-registrations. Before one year’s event ends, savvy producers are usually offering significant discounts for attendees who pre-register for next year’s conference. These pre-registrations, of course, help pay for marketing next year’s event!

All is not entirely rosy, of course; promotion and space rental costs can be huge, and the potential of major losses is possible because of events far beyond your control. I also remember numerous event cancellations immediately following 9/11, and the current economic environment doesn’t encourage attendance at anything other than the most important events.

As a result of this, authors are frequently turning to “virtual events” based on computer and telephone-based teleseminars or webinars. These typically take place over several days. Whether in-person or virtual, however, the principles remain the same.

7 keys to success and profits

Even more than books, conferences and workshops are planning-intensive. Success involves careful planning and co-ordination. Planning often begins a year, or more, in advance.

Above is a copy of a mind map I’ve created to help clients plan their event’s success. The map’s purpose is to help you co-ordinate the 7 key activities that will determine your event’s success and profits:

1. Planning. Planning involves answering 2 key questions. The first question is, Where and when do you want to hold your event? This involves identifying and contacting conference and banquet facilities in the areas where you want to host your event. Realities like availability and pricing have to be balanced with desired requirements. The second question is, Who do you want to attend your event? As a successful author and marketer, you’re probably familiar with the concept of personas, described in Author’s Journey #2: How to Target the Right Readers for Your Book.
2. Promotion. As soon as you have locked-down space availability, it’s important to start preparing your online and offline marketing. Once you have identified your location and target market, you can start preparing landing pages and a web site for your event, even if the pages won’t go live until later. Details can always be added, but it’ essential to give copywriters and designers enough time to prepare the foundation for a multi-faceted and multimedia promotion program.
3. Sales. In addition to creating sales copy and attractive landing pages, you have to set up a sales system which will not only facilitate online registration and sales, but also will allow marketing affiliates to sell for you. First, you have to sell your event to marketing affiliates, getting them behind your event. Second, you have to provide your affiliates with the sales tools- -e-mail copy, pre-written blog posts, graphics- – they need to sell their markets. And, finally, you need to sell- -or convert- -visitors when they are sent to your website.
4. Content. Next, you need to create a “table of contents” for your events by identifying and contacting other experts in your field and convince them to speak at your event. Scheduling can be time-consuming because of the necessary co-ordination. Mind maps help you visually display the status of various time slots each morning and afternoon of your event. With a map, you can easily keep track of multiple speakers and multiple conference rooms throughout your event. After deciding who speaks when, you have to work with them and make sure their presentation addresses the topics you’ve agreed upon.
5. Visuals. Most events include a video component as well as a spoken message. Among the decisions you’ll have to make is whether or not to require all presenters use a presentation template that’s branded to your event. By encouraging presenters to use the same template pays off in terms of projecting a consistent and professional image. Again, your Workshop Planning Map can help you track the status of the various presenter’s visuals.
6. Handouts. Attendee handouts will play an important role in the perceived value of your event. This is no place for last-minute cost cutting. To your attendees, your handouts are their primary “souvenir.” Attendees, and their attendee’s friends, co-workers, and employers, will judge the value of your event by the quality of your handouts. In addition, evaluations are an important part of your event. Handouts must include clearly-marked evaluation forms that must be collected after each presentation.
7. Follow-up. Your event isn’t over on the last day. The success of next year’s event is paved by what you do after the event. Ideally, if your event ends on a Saturday, attendees will receive a “Thank You” gift in the mail on Monday, their next day back at work. By sending a tangible expression of your appreciation to attendees- -ideally, a “bonus” item that relates to your event- -you’ll be cementing a relationship that will last for years.

Although broken apart for clarity, above, many of the above tasks have to be simultaneously addressed. By analyzing all of the tasks involved in a successful event, and displaying them on a single mind map- -especially one that can be shared online by everyone involved in your event’s success- -you can monitor what’s been done, and what still needs to be done.

Planning & profits

Planning is a constant theme throughout a successful Author Journey, as you can see from my previous 32 posts.

But, no amount of planning can protect against every eventuality; Who could have foreseen the empty planes and empty pre-paid seminar seats following 9/11? Yet, by focusing on the above issues, and giving yourself and your team enough time to do the job right, you can leverage your book into a series of profitable events that may catapult you into an entirely different tax bracket!

—

Tagged as: 7 keys to profitable special events, affiliate marketing, audio conferences, author's journey, book sales, book signings, bootcamps, booth rentals, Content, handouts, pre-registrations, presentations, profitable speaking invitations, profiting from speaking, promotion, published and profitable, publishedandprofitable, publishedandprofitable.com, roger c parker, roger parker, special events, sponsorships, video conferences

During the past 28 weeks, we’ve been exploring ways to plan, write, and promote your book. Now, it’s time to enter the final stage of the Publishing Success Cycle, Step Four, Profiting.

During the next few installments, I’ll share ideas and tips for leveraging your book into higher profits for your business.

Learning from the successes of others

As we have seen so often in the past, the starting point is to get in the habit of constantly researching the competition online, studying the websites of authors who have written books in your field.

The goal of analyzing your competition’s websites is not to copy them, but to explore ways other authors have profited from their books, suggesting ideas you can adapt for:

• Creating information products, like reports, updates, videos, worksheets, templates, and webinars that readers of your book are likely to be interested in.
• Developing coaching and consulting services that will help your readers implement your ideas and recommendations.
• Building your speaker’s platform, cultivating invitations from event planners and speaker’s bureaus to deliver high-paying corporate keynote speeches, presentations, and workshops.

Research tips

Here are a few ideas to help you make the most of your explorations:

• Look beyond the obvious. When searching for profit ideas on author sites, expand your search beyond the authors and experts in your field. Explore the websites of authors in a variety of subjects.
• Know where to look. When you’re at their websites, explore keywords and navigation links like Products, Services, Coaching, Consulting, Assistance, To Learn More, and the like. You may also locate useful ideas in the Calendar, Press, or Media sections of their websites.
• Expand your horizons. Look for profit ideas used by others who write books in similar fields. Look for ideas that you can be the first to offer in your field!

For example, instead of just exploring author profit ideas from authors who have written books in your field, consider expanding your research using, as a guide, Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten’s The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. Start by creating an alphabetical list of the authors of the 100 Best Business Books, search for their websites, and create links to the websites. Then, visit each website and explore how each author profits from their books.

Another option is to visit the archives of Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten’s 1-800-CEO Reads Top 25 Business Books of the Month to identify successful business-oriented authors and study their websites. You can go back many years, studying the most important books from different months.

Or, you can visit the Author Page of the Harvard Business Review, and similar book publishers, and track down the websites of their authors in order to study how they profit from products, services, and speaking.

Tracking the results of your research

As always, the key to success is to carefully track the results of your research, so you can easily pull-out the most important lessons.

To help Published & Profitable members and my personal coaching clients keep track of the author websites they visit, and the profit ideas they’ve gathered from each site. You can download my Author Profit Tracking Worksheet, along with previous worksheets, from Published & Profitable’s Active Garage resource page.

You’re invited to download the worksheet, and print as many copies as you need on 3-hole punched paper. Fill out the worksheets by hand, tracking each author’s products, services, and speech/presentation topics. Then, store the worksheets in a 3-ring binder.

Author profit ideas and examples

Few authors are fortunate enough to be able to ignore profit opportunities generated by their book, beyond what they earn from the initial sale of their book!

I encourage you to spend a minimum of 30-45 minutes a week studying how other authors profit from their books. For more inspiring ideas and examples of how other authors are profiting from their book, I invite you to visit my growing (22+) online list of Author Profit Ideas at http://urli.st. In fact, you’re invited to add links to your favorite author profit ideas to my online list, or you can add submit your author profit ideas below, as comments

—

Tagged as: active garage, competition, profit, published and profitable, publishedandprofitable, research, roger c parker, roger parker, Writing for Business

During the past 10 weeks, I’ve been discussing different approaches to marketing your book, including list-building incentives, one sheets, and obtaining pre-publication quotes. (Here’s where you can review all previous installments.)

This week, I’d like to tie the previous 10 installments together, and close Part 3, Planning, by discussing the importance of creating a book marketing plan as early as possible.

As you’ll see below, the reason to start early is to set-up systems, like a blog with incentives and auto-responders, so that everything will be placed well before your book is published. Committing to a plan, even if you only spend an hour a week on marketing activities, will save you money and stress in the long run, paving the way for a successful book launch.

A marketing plan doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective! I believe in work worksheets, like the samples shown, but you can also create your own marketing plan worksheets using the tables feature of Microsoft Word. You can also use an online calendar, like Google’s, to assign starting and completion dates for each task identified in your book marketing plan.

4-stage book marketing

There are four distinct stages, or phases, of a successful book marketing plan:

• Announcement. As soon as you sign a contract with your publisher, or- -if you’re self-publishing- -your printer, it’s time to announce your forthcoming book online and offline.
• Pre-Launch. During the pre-launch phase, while you’re writing your book, you should be setting up the online structure for marketing your book and building a network of marketing partners whose efforts will culminate during your publication week book launch.
• Launch. The week of your book’s publication, you won’t have much time left over for beginning new marketing endeavors; hopefully, you’ll be too busy with interviews and events designed to call attention to your book’s publication.
• On-going. Things will settle down to a “maintenance” stage after your book’s publication. Your primary activities will involve keeping your book in the news, (and search engines), by commenting on reader feedback, encouraging reader reviews at Amazon.com, and blogging about new ideas that have emerged after your book’s publication.

Stage 1: Announcement

Here are some of the marketing tasks you should be addressing during the Announcement stage, right after you formally plan your publication agreement:

1. Social media. Announce your book’s title, publisher information, and publication date on your blog, and social media like Twitter, Facebook, etc.
2. Press. Prepare a press release and add it to your current website’s press center, as well as submit it online and offline to appropriate media.
3. Special markets. Prepare a list targeting special, i.e., non-bookstore, markets that are likely to be interested in your book, and announce your book using postcards and special market catalogs like Brian Jud’s Premium Book Company.

As in the stages that follow, the best way to assure that the tasks are completed is to prioritize the tasks, and assign definite (and realistic) starting dates and deadlines for each task, as shown in the worksheet samples.

Stage 2: Pre-launch

The Pre-launch phase is the longest and, in many ways, the most important. Here, you’ll be preparing the structure that will roll into action as your book’s publication date approaches. Tasks include:

1. Building anticipation. It’s never too early to start discussing your book using a series of podcasts, teleseminars, or videos describing why you’re writing your book, the topics you’re covering in your book, and how your target market will benefit from your book. Each podcast, teleseminar, or video enhances your search engine visibility and begins to attract prospective book buyers.
2. Online marketing. Unless you’ve already set up a blog for your book, it’s important that you set up a blog with an incentive and autoresponder to capture the names and e-mail addresses of prospective book buyers. Online marketing also includes setting up an Author’s Page at Amazon.com, which can include audios, videos, and an RSS feed from your blog.
3. Marketing partners. One of the most important pre-publication tasks is to identify others who sell to markets similar to yours, so you can set up a series of Launch Week promotions to introduce you and your book to their clients and prospects. The more work you do for your marketing partners, like creating landing pages and marketing messages for them to forward during your Launch Week promotion, the easier it will be to encourage marketing partners to promote your book’s publication, building advance sales and publication week sales.
4. Virtual book tour. Bookstore signings, although valuable in your area, may not be as important as virtual book tours that consist of teleseminar interviews hosted by bloggers and marketers with a strong Internet presence. Elizabeth Marshall is one of the most experienced resources for setting up virtual book tours.
5. Book covers and one sheets. It’s never too early to “encourage” your book publisher to begin working on a front cover design for your book. You’ll need a tentative book cover so you can produce downloadable and attachable one-sheets that describe your book, it’s contents, and its benefits to website visitors and the press.
6. Pre-publication reviews and testimonials. Finally, you should be building your expert network as early as possible, and preparing a “quote package” that you can send to experts in your field, soliciting their pre-publication comments and testimonials about your book.

As always, slow and steady wins the race; consistent weekly progress, beginning as early as possible, creates the best results.

Stage 3: Launch week.

With systems already set in place by the time your book’s publication date approaches, you’ll be able to focus on putting your best foot forward as you promote your book in the following ways:

1. Teleseminars and speaking. Hopefully, your book’s publication week will be occupied with a full schedule of local and online events. Each night, as you prepare for bed, you should review the talking points you want to weave into your interviews and responses to audience questions.
2. Acknowledging key supporters. As soon as your advance copies of your book arrive, you should send copies, accompanied by hand-written notes, to all who contributed pre-publication quotes and reader testimonials.
3. Encouraging reader reviews. Whenever possible, you should encourage family, friends, and key supporters to submit Reader Reviews to online bookstores like Amazon.com and others. You can also encourage these in your blogs and newsletters.

Traffic to your blogs and websites should be growing during your book launch week, as autoresponders and other online tools do the work while you reap the rewards of the marketing systems you’ve put in place.

Stage 4: On-going

Things settle down even more after the publication of your book. Promotion never “ends,” and you’ll undoubtedly discover new marketing opportunities as you move forward.

During the on-going, or maintenance, stage, a single blog post a week calling attention to your book, possibly referencing current events or new information, may be enough to maintain your book’s momentum and search engine visibility.

Setting yourself apart

The above 4-stage marketing approach, with the emphasis on the third, or Pre-Launch, stage will provide you and your book a significant competitive edge over your competition.

Many authors simply ignore the realities of book marketing, trusting their publisher or the fates to market their book for them. Most authors still begin to promote their book too late, i.e., after their book appears!

But, you can be far ahead of your competition if you’ve done your homework during the Announcement and Pre-launch stages. The benefit? While others are just getting started, you can be working on your follow-up titles, or leverage your book into highly-profitable back-end products and services.

As always, a little planning goes a long way!

—

Tagged as: active garage, blogs, books marketing, books promotion, business writing, publishedandprofitable, publishedandprofitable.com, Social Media, teleseminars, videos, Writing for Business

During the past few years, it has been increasingly obvious that the whole point of writing a book is not to sell books, but to build long-term and profitable reader relationships.

Yes, there are authors who support themselves with six figure advances and huge royalties, but there are also those who buy one lottery ticket and win millions of dollars.

In either case, you can’t count on favorable outcomes. The odds are too much against you.

A much better strategy, with a much higher probability of success, is to consider your book the core of your long-term self (or business) marketing plan. In this scenario, your book becomes the hub of a relationship-building strategy that begins long before your book appears and continues for years afterward.

Building “hooks” in your book

Long-term success requires inserting “hooks” into your book intended to drive readers to your website. This important marketing and profit task deserves your attention as soon as possible. There are two reasons why:

1. While you’re planning your book, you need to select the type of relationship-building bonus content you’re going to offer readers and how you’re going to promote the bonus in your book.
2. While writing your book, you need to be setting up, or delegating and supervising, the set-up of the online support structure needed to distribute your book’s bonus contents, i.e., autoresponders, landing pages, etc.

The above are too important, and too complex, to be left to the last minute.

Using your book to drive website traffic

Let’s start with the basic premise; readers who buy your book are your best source of coaching, consulting, and speaking profits.

If someone invests $20, or more, in a copy of your book, they’re raising their hand and indicating that they’re interested in what you have to say. Their purchase is proof they have problems they want to solve, or goals they want to achieve.

More important, by spending their hard-earned money on your book, they’re indicating that they think you’re the one to help them; you’re the obvious expert they trust, and they want to know more!

Your job at this point is to provide opportunities to learn more about you and the services you provide, information that shouldn’t appear too prominently in your book! No one wants to pay $20 to be advertised to- -save the infomercials for late-night television!

Registration and bonus content

Your big challenge, as you plan and write your book, is to come up with a way to subtly drive readers to your website.

Once readers of your book are at your website, you can introduce them to your marketing funnel; you can offer them access to bonus content in exchange for signing-up for your e-mail newsletter. In addition, once they’re at your website, you can describe additional ways you can help them solve their problems and achieve their goals.

As described in my Streetwise Guide to Relationship Marketing on the Internet, there are several categories of bonus content you can share with readers of your book:

1. Assessments. Assessments are worksheets or interactive forms that help readers self-assess their understanding of your book, or evaluate the areas of their business where change is needed, such as my Making the most of Microsoft Word assessment.
2. Checklists. Checklists, are similar to assessments in that they can either be downloadable and printed or filled-out online. Checklists help readers monitor their progress as they complete tasks described in your book.
3. Deeper content. Ideas that are only introduced can be converted into detailed case studies and, often, step-by-step procedurals that will help your readers put your ideas to work.
4. Excess content. Often, working with your editor, you’ll discover that there is no room for some of your best ideas. Instead of discarding them, use them as downloadable bonus content to thank your readers for buying your book.
5. Pass-along content. One of the best ways to promote your book to new prospective book buyers (and clients) is to provide readers with information that they can pass along to their friends and co-workers.
6. Specialized content. As an alternative to going deeper, i.e., great detail, you can adapt the ideas in your book for different vertical markets, such as different occupations or industries. You can also adapt your book’s content into beginner’s guides or offer advice for more advanced readers.
7. Updated content. New ideas and examples are certain to appear the day after approval of the final proof of your book. Although you can, and should, use your blog to share new content, often you can use it as reader rewards.
8. Worksheets. The best worksheets are those that help readers overcome inertia and avoid procrastination by immediately starting to implement the lessons described in your book. My sample Book Proposal Planner is an example of an online worksheet.

You can distribute the above bonus content ideas in a variety of formats; Adobe Acrobat PDF’s, password-protected pages, streaming audio or video, or- -if appropriate- -as mailed reports or CDs and DVDs.

How do you limit bonus content to legitimate readers?

Many authors only share their book’s bonus content with readers who register their name and e-mail addresses. Others limit distribution to readers who enter a password that appears in a specific location of their book, i.e., The second word at the top of Page 138.

These limiting strategies can be self-defeating and project an inappropriate image. The goal of writing a book is to build lasting and profitable relationships with readers, not test their persistence.

One of the techniques I used with my Relationship Marketing book, above, was to offer downloadable PDF’s of each of the worksheets in my book, and include the URL for the worksheets on the pages of the book referring, or displaying, each worksheet.

Getting a head start

As you can see, authors who only begin to think about marketing their book after it’s been published are at a significant disadvantage compared to those who address reader relationship building while planning and writing their book. Don’t make the mistake of failing to have a plan for converting readers into clients by driving them to your website as they read your book

—

Tagged as: active garage, Assessments, author's journey, authors, building relationships, business books, checklists, Content, promote, publishedandprofitable, readers, roger c parker, roger parker, Worksheets, write, Writing for Business

In this segment of my Author Journey series series, I’d like to encourage you to speak your way to book publishing success by speaking about your book at every opportunity.

Speaking is one of the best ways you can promote your book while planning and writing it. It creates a special bond with your audience, paving the way for book sales and lasting relationships.

Speaking builds anticipation for your book’s publication. Whether your audience is a local chamber of commerce or a networking group, or a convention, speaking provides you with immediate feedback about your book’s title and contents.

Each speech also provides you with a deadline to prepare or refine your message and an opportunity to build anticipation for your book by promoting your speech.

As often is the case, of course, you may benefit more from the speech than those in the audience. Each time you speak, for example, you become more comfortable as a speaker and your delivery is likely to improve. Each time you speak, you’ll probably identify rough spots- -awkward words and phrases- -that you can replace with shorter, easier to say words and phrases.

And, don’t forget what you’ll learn from the audience’s questions! One relevant, unexpected question can provide you with a fresh perspective or open up new avenues for you to explore in your book, or your next book.

What should you talk about?

Your speeches should revolve around your book, approached from different perspectives. Options include:

• Testing the content waters. Previewing the topic, and approach, you’re taking in your book and testing the ideas developed in different chapters. You could prepare one “generic” speech introducing your book, plus a couple of other speeches focused on individual chapters.
• The writing experience. Many of the people in the audience may be envious of your position at the podium in front of the room; they’re likely to never write a book themselves. You can tap into their vicarious identification with you by sharing your perspective on what it’s like to want to write and actually act on the impulse.
• Reflections on your book. If your book has already appeared, your speeches, or a portion of them, can discuss what reviewers and readers have said about your book, sparking dialog and questions, plus providing a compelling reason for attendees to buy their own copy of your book so they can comment and join the dialog.
• Updated information. After your book has appeared, your speeches can provide you with an opportunity to describe new information, interpretation, and trends, that have occurred after your book’s publication.

To help you prepare your speeches, for a limited time, I’ve added a copy of my Author Speech Planning Worksheet to the other resources on my Active Garage Resource Page for you to download and print.

Use the worksheet to plan your speech around your audience’s goals and needs, and keep your speeches as simple as possible. The shorter your speech, the more time there will be for audience comments and questions.

Making the most of your speeches

Here are some of the ways you can leverage your speeches into book sales and marketing funnel profits:

• Introduction. Always prepare you own introduction; don’t depend on someone else to know what to say when they’re introducing you. An inappropriate or inaccurate introduction can launch your speech on an awkward, confidence-destroying note. Prepare your own brief, 2 or 3 paragraph introduction, and e-mail it to the event organizer ahead of time. BUT, in addition, bring along a printed copy of your introduction.
• Networking. One of the best ways you can leverage speeches into a book sales is to circulate before your speech, introducing yourself to members of the audience. A little mingling goes a long way, helping you find out what the audience members you meet are looking for in your speech. In addition, pre-speech mingling builds comfort and familiarity that will pay big dividends when- -during your speech- -you look someone in the eye, they’re likely to smile or nod encouragingly.
• Handouts. Always prepare and distribute handouts; you never know who will be in the audience. Your handouts can be as simple as an outline of your speech, FAQ-type questions and answers about your topic, or a brief backgrounder about you and your writing project. Your handouts can also be thumbnails of presentation visuals, if you’re using them, or relevant resources, like reprints of articles, blog posts, or a list of appropriate websites. Always conclude with a one-sheet describing your book with URL links to your blog or your book’s description on Amazon.com.
• Landing page. Consider preparing a special landing page for each major speech, or topic that you frequently address. A landing page is a special page of your blog or website that doesn’t appear in your site’s navigation. Create a special, easy to say and spell, custom TinyUrl link to the landing page, i.e., http://tinyurl.com/DoverChamber. Use the landing page to access bonus content not available elsewhere on your site. In addition, build your list by inviting attendees to receive sample chapters of your book as you’re writing it.
• Pre-publication offers and advance sales. Create a promotion, perhaps in concert with your marketing partners, offering special incentives to those who order your book at Amazon.com before it is published.
• Press and media. When appropriate, post a draft of your speech in your site’s press, or media, center, along with your photograph and a photograph of your book’s front cover. Make it as easy as possible for your hosts to promote your speech and leverage your words after the speech.

Video

Whenever possible, arrange to have your speech recorded in both audio and video. (Always check with your hosts, of course, to make sure this is appropriate.)

Even if you don’t use the recording on your website, you’ll benefit from seeing and hearing yourself from the audience’s point of view.

But- -more important- -remember that videos don’t have to be long to be effective. A 20 or 30-second highlight from your speech is all that’s needed to add excitement to your website and generate more speaking invitations by presenting you as an experienced speaker.

Are you using speaking to sell more books?

Although few claim to enjoy, or look forward, to opportunities to speak, the reality is that speaking is one of the best ways to ensure the success of your book; speaking helps you plan and write a better book while building anticipation for your book’s publication. Speak about your book at every opportunity, and leverage each speaking opportunity to the maximum. How often do you speak about your book? What are some of the lessons you’ve learned? What’s keeping you from speaking more often? Share your experiences as comments, below!

Tagged as: active garage, author's journey, book title, publishedandprofitable, publishedandprofitable.com, roger c parker, roger parker, speaking

Now is the time for you to begin using video to market and sell your books and build your personal brand. Video is easier than ever. In fact, the cost of getting started has dropped to zero.

That’s right: free!

I’d like to show you can start building your online video presence today, even if you haven’t had any previous video experience!

What do you need to get started?

You probably already have what you need to get started. You need:

• A Twitter username and password. The solution I’m recommending, Screenr.com, is based on your Twitter.com username and password. Screenr will automatically notify twitter each time you publish a video. After that, you can manually ReTweet your video on your blog and website. You can also embed the HTML code for the video.
• Microphone. You’ll also need a microphone, or headset, connected to your computer. Headsets are better because they free your hands to advance the visuals. If you already use Skype, you’re all set.
• Presentation software. I recommend using a presentation program like PowerPoint as the foundation of your initial videos. PowerPoint makes it easy to plan, illustrate, deliver your videos, pacing the delivery of your message.

You can, of course, use MindManager mind maps, or a desktop publishing to illustrate your points as you describe them.

What is Screenr?

Screenr.com is a web-based recorder integrated with a hosting platform and close ties with Twitter.com.

Screenr eliminates the need to:

• Buy, download, and install new software
• Learn new software
• Choose a hosting platform
• Upload files after recording
• Manually create links to each video

Screenr is part of the Articulate Group, an established e-learning firm. Articulate publishes leading e-learning software. You may already be familiar with their Rapid E-learning Blog and their Articulate Word-of-mouth Blog.

What can you do with it?

As I see it, the most important tasks Screenr helps authors do for free is:

• Build anticipation for your book as you write it, walking readers through your book’s table of contents as you discuss your goals
• Preview the front and back covers of your book as soon as they are finalized, showing different options and discussing why you made the decisions you did.
• Prepare for your book launch by sharing the details of your book launch with your marketing partners
• Walk readers through each chapter, describing the goals of each chapter as well as previewing the illustrations and reader engagement tools, like exercises and questions, to help readers put your ideas to work

The number of ways you can use Screenr to promote your book is only limited by your imagination. You can also use Screenr to share audio and video testimonials from experts and readers. You can share new information as it becomes available. And, you can drive readers to your website and build your e-mail list by showing the bonus materials you offer to readers who register.

How do you use Screenr?

Start by visiting screenr.com and watching their 1-minute video. Then, register using your Twitter.com username and password. Screenr will verify and remember your Twitter information.

To begin your first recording, press the Record Your Screen Cast Now button. This takes you to the Screenr record screen, where you’ll be prompted to resize your screen to highlight just the portion of the screen you want to record. In my case, I set the recording screen to the size of my PowerPoint presentation, as shown in the picture.

When you’re ready, press the red Record button. When you’re finished, press the green Done button.

Screenr then takes you to the Publish Your Screencast page, where you can:

• Preview your screencast
• Describe your screencast in 117 characters, or less
• Tweet! your screencast and add it to the screencasts displayed on Screenr
• Delete your screencast, so you can start all over

What’s the most important thing to remember?

If you’re new to video, the biggest surprise you’re likely to experience is how quickly 3 or 4 minutes go by! Because time flies when creating a short- -i.e., 5-minute, or less- -video, you have to limit the number of ideas and points in your videos and you must limit the number of words used to address each point.

To master the power of conciseness, I encourage you to follow a 3-step process:

• Step 1. Use PowerPoint to create a structure. Begin each video by creating a short PowerPoint presentations, like the one shown here, to storyboard, or organize, your ideas and provide a pacing tool for narrating each slide.
• Step 2. Prepare a “script” for each presentation. Use your favorite word processing program to select the words to accompany each of the PowerPoint slides. The script is not for you to read word-for word during your video, but simply to drill the main ideas into your brain and guide your discussion of each point.
• Step 3. Record, preview, delete, and re-record. Don’t expect to get it right the first time. You’ll probably require multiple takes to get it right, but, that’s OK. (That’s what Screenr’s delete button is for!) Do it again and again, each time eliminating a few ideas or unnecessary words, or replacing long words with short words. Pay attention to the elapsed time indicator as you record, if you find yourself spending too much time on a slide, do some editing!

Like so many of the other skills needed during your Author’s Journey, video success is a matter of doing it over and over again until it’s right. As you work, your comfort with this new medium will quickly advance.

My first video, for example, took me about five hours to prepare. My second video, however, took less than 3 hours! Most important, the more I work with Screenr, the less time I need. I need less and less time because I’m becoming better able to judge the number of words needed to accompany each slide.

Have you been putting off video until you “have the time?”

If you have, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to build your personal brand and sell more books. Screenr is not the only option, of course, and- -at some point- -you may select a more powerful video platform. But, right now, it offers you an easy way to get started creating an online video platform and building anticipation for your book without spending any money. Share your experiences with Screenr, or any other online video solution. Share your experiences and lessons-learned with other Active Garage readers as comments, below.

Visit my Active Garage Resource Center, where you can download the script I created for my second video, plus additional worksheets for previous Author Journey topics

Tagged as: active garage, author's journey, book launch, microphone, presentation, publishedandprofitable, publishedandprofitable.com, recording, roger c parker, screenr, Twitter, videos, writing success cycle

As we’ve seen in the past 5 blog posts, an author’s marketing and promotion responsibilities begin long before their book’s publication date. It’s never too early to begin marketing and promoting your book!

In this post, we’re going to examine the advantages of building your network among the experts in your field, which usually includes the authors of existing titles in your field.

The main reason to build your expert network as early as possible is so you can obtain pre-publication quotes for the front and back covers of your book. The better known the expert, the more credibility their quote will add to your book!

Books by new authors, especially, benefit from the credibility that an established author’s name and comment can add to your book. When a recognized expert endorses your book, some of their fame and trust rubs off on you; this reduces the hesitation involved in buying a book by a new author.

Why will authors of competing books endorse your book?

On the surface, you may wonder why authors are usually willing to endorse competing books.

The reason is simple; when their endorsement appears on the cover of your book, their endorsement benefits them almost as much as you. Their name and quote on your book cover reinforces their expert status in the field. Equally important, it maintains their visibility and reminds readers of their book, or books.

Their endorsement of your book also positions them in a favorable light, demonstrating their willingness to “do the right thing” and help newcomers to the field. In addition, I’ve found most authors like to help other authors. Chances are, when they were starting out, they benefited from the guidance and support of earlier experts. The support they offer you is their way of giving thanks and keeping the good vibes flowing.

Other benefits of expert networking

Once you establish communication and create an e-mail or telephone relationship with an expert in your field, of course, there’s no way of knowing where that relationship will take you. If you and the expert “click,” the benefits might extend to:

• Interviews. You might be able to interview the expert for your book, and the expert might recommend others who might provide additional information or testimonials.
• Increased presence in your book. If the expert really likes what they see of your book, they might be willing to provide an Introduction or Foreword for your book. They might even consider providing a chapter, or more, for your book.
• Introductions to other experts. An expert might be able to pave the way for you to successfully re-contact individuals who, previously, did not respond to your initial e-mail or telephone communications.
• Referrals and pass-alongs. Another advantage of establishing your expert network is that they might pass your name along to meeting planners looking for additional speakers, or refer coaching and consulting prospects to you when they can’t take on the project themselves.

So, the networking you do to obtain book cover quotes from experts in your field might be just opening the door to future opportunities and projects.

3 Steps to Success

Today, thanks to the Internet, it’s easier than ever to communicate with published authors and other high-visibility experts in your field.

The following is a simple 3-step process that has worked for me and many of my book coaching clients.

Step 1: Target the right experts

The first step is to identify the experts whose endorsement will do the most good for your book. Begin with the authors of existing books in your field, then expand your search to others who may have had firsthand experience with the problem or goal you are addressing in your book.

As you broaden your search, search for bloggers, reporters, and other commentators who write about the topic. Search for educators who may have conducted research in your field or spoken on the topic. Finally, if appropriate, consider searching for well-known business owners or celebrities who may have had personal experiences with the topic you’re writing about. If the celebrity approach makes sense, don’t try to make direct contact, but locate their publicist who could put you in contact with them.

Most important, develop a system to track the results of your expert search. In addition to their website and contact information, for example, jot down how you located them and the reason their endorsement will add credibility to your book.

During the first step, avoid prematurely contacting the individuals. Continue your research before moving on to Step Two.

Step 2: Prepare your initial contact

The key to success in building your expert network is to create connections, or build bridges, to the expert. You must pave the way for your initial contact. Here are some ideas:

• Authors. If they have written a book, read it. Pay particular attention to the chapters that are relevant to your topic, and take detailed notes.
• Social marketing. If they have a blog, familiarize yourself with their previous posts and comment whenever appropriate on their latest posts. Reference their blog posts on your blog. Follow their Tweets on Twitter.com and Retweet when appropriate.
• Speeches. If they are speaking or presenting in your area, attend the event so that you can later reference the event in your communications. Likewise, if possible, try to attend their teleseminars, webinars, and workshops.

Look for connectors who may already have an established association with the expert. Connectors take many forms. Perhaps they are peers, perhaps they studied with them, worked with them, or have hired them in the past. Any plausible connection that can be expanded into the subject line of an e-mail is preferable to a cold call from a stranger.

Next, prepare a package containing detailed information about your project, but don’t include your entire manuscript, and don’t immediately send it! What I have found works well is a PDF containing:

• 1-page mission statement describing your book’s “big idea,” it’s intended market, and a brief statement of reader benefits.
• Detailed table of contents, with primary and secondary headings.
• 2 sample chapters.

Experts are busy; avoid information overkill. Send the minimum needed to communicate the quality of your project. If the recipient wants to see more, they’ll let you know!

In your initial communication, be as concise and polite as possible as you explain why you’re contacting them. Reference their article, book, blog, or speech. Describe its relevance to your book.

Conclude by asking their permission to send them more information about your project, and ask them if they prefer an electronic PDF file or printed copies.

If they express interest, send your information package as soon as possible. (That’s why you want to prepare it before you contact them.) The goal of your initial communication is to get them to agree to taking a look at your materials, not to immediately generate a suitable endorsement. Remember: you’re asking a favor, and a significant one; you’re asking them to put their seal of approval on your book.

Step 3: Follow-up and track the results

Don’t despair if you do not immediately receive a response to your initial communication. Never assume a lack of response is a rejection.

Instead, allow a week, or 10 days, to go by before you re-contact them. Send a follow-up e-mail, and- -again- -keep it as short as possible.

Persistence pays off! Keep on their radar scope with short, relevant, e-mails at consistent intervals. It may take several e-mails, but, that’s okay! The expert may be traveling, on deadline, or on jury duty, only responding to e-mails from recognized clients or peers.

Eventually, however, the pressure will go away. At that point, they may go through their unopened e-mail and be intrigued enough by your persistence to respond favorably to your request for permission to send them information and samples from your book.

Indeed, they may even pick-up the phone and call you, to find out who’s the person behind the e-mail!

Visit my Active Garage resource center, where you can download a worksheets for expert networking, and previous Author Journey topics

—

Tagged as: active garage, author's journey, book experts, experts, marketing, published and profitable, publishedandprofitable, roger c parker, Writing for Business

In many ways, teleseminars are the ideal tool to launch your book to great success. Teleseminars make it easy and affordable for you to generate advance orders for your book, leading to a successful book launch.

Why teleseminars?

Here are some of the reasons teleseminars work so well for nonfiction authors:

• Free. Let’s start with the obvious; most teleseminar services are free. Combine this with the “free market” opportunities of e-mail and social marketing (blogs, Twitter, etc.) and you have a dynamite marketing tool that far surpasses the free tools available to authors in previous decades.
• Easy. Teleseminars are easy to prepare and deliver. All you need to do is prepare a simple outline, or mind map, or outline, of the topics you want to discuss.
• Personal. Teleseminars build enthusiasm and early “buy in” for the launch of your book. Teleseminars not only build familiarity and trust, but listening to you discuss your book as you write creates a community that wants to see your book succeed.
• Pre-publication testimonials. Discussing and sharing drafts of your upcoming book with teleseminar attendees will inevitably lead to live and e-mailed pre-publication quotes which you can use on your website and for promoting your book.

But, perhaps the most important benefit of a teleseminar series about your book is the opportunities they offer for pre-selling copies of your book before it appears.

Advance sales

There are two benefits of advance sales. If you’re self-publishing, advance sales can generate cashflow before your book appears. To benefit from advance sales, you’ll want to create a meaningful incentive- -beyond just a pre-publication discount- -such as audio copies or transcripts of your calls, or PDF copies of bonus content, such as special reports or worksheets.

Advance sales are equally important if your book is being published by a trade publisher for bookstore distribution. Bookstores pay careful attention to advance orders; titles with strong advance sales on Amazon.com and other online retailers. Bookstores will view advance orders as evidence of strong market interest in your book, increasing the likelihood they will increase their initial orders.

In addition, evidence of strong advance sales might also free up some additional marketing support from trade publishers.

Promoting your teleseminars

Promoting your teleseminar series is easier today than ever before.  Today’s authors have access to a wide selection of free, online, marketing tools that will make it easy for you to promote your teleseminars.

You’re probably already using most of the tools, such as:

1. E-mail marketing
2. Blogging and guest blogging
3. Social media, like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
4. Online press releases

Your ability to manage your time is an important predictor of teleseminar success. Success comes from promoting your teleseminars the same way you use tools like a Google Calendar to schedule your writing time. Successful authors view their writing time as time commitments, or appointments, they make with themselves. A couple of 30-minute sessions each week should be enough to use e-mail and the Internet to promote your teleseminars and promote the launch of your book.

Teleseminar Planning

Preparing for your teleseminars

Most authors find teleseminars easy to prepare, since it is often easier to talk about a topic than it is to write about it.

There’s no reason to “script” your teleseminar, as this will inevitably cause you to speak in a “reading” voice. Instead, prepare an outline, or a mind map (download sample), that displays the topics you want to cover, and in what order.

Avoid sentences when planning teleseminar content

Resist the urge to include full “subject, verb, noun” sentences in your outlines or mind maps!

Instead, simply list the keywords, or phrases, you want to cover. Include enough information to jog your memory, and keep you on track, but keep your notes as short as possible. This will result in a much more lively teleseminar for both you and your attendees.

After all, your teleseminar attendees are adults; they’re not children who want you to read to them, they want to hear your talk about your upcoming book, and be able to comment and ask you questions!

Presentation tips

Here are a few teleseminar tips that have helped me over the years:

• ŸMuting. Always mute your callers to avoid distractions like vacuum cleaners, dogs barking, background conversations, or- -worst of all- -answering machines.
• Beginning. Always begin by describing the relevance of the information you’re about to share, and how it aligns with your book and your market’s information needs.
• Middle. Don’t try to tell everything about your book in a single teleseminar. Instead, focus each teleseminar on a single chapter, or topic, covered in your book. Limit teleseminar content to 3 main ideas, followed by a short bullet list of tips. Avoid spending too much time on any one point.
• Question & Answers. Never end your teleseminar with a request for comments and questions. If callers don’t respond, your disappointment and discomfort will be obvious, and it will sap the energy of everyone on your call. Instead, open the lines with an invitation for questions and comments well before the end of your call.
• Resist the urge to panic when callers don’t immediately respond. No one wants to be the first caller to comment or ask a question. Give them time to respond. Once the first caller asks a question or comments, the others will follow.
• Conclusion/call to action. End your call with a summary of the important points, and a call to action. Your call to action can be an invitation to pre-order your book, or you can direct callers to a landing page where they can download a bonus PDF and learn more about you- -or take advantage of your latest offer.

Teleseminar frequency

As in so many other aspects of marketing, success rarely comes from an individual teleseminar; instead, success typically is the result of a series of teleseminars that build on each other and reinforce each other.

It’s up to you to decide how far ahead of your book’s launch you want to begin your teleseminars. There’s nothing wrong with committing to a pre-publication teleseminar series to launch your book the day you sign your publishing contract or the day you begin writing your book. However, once you commit to a teleseminar series to promote your book and attract pre-publication sales, set up a schedule of events at consistent intervals. The commitment of a scheduled teleseminar series will ensure the success of your book launch promotion.

Visit Roger C. Parker’s Active Garage resource center, where you can download mindmaps and resources available only to Author Journey readers. (No registration required)

—

Tagged as: active garage, book coach, presentation, publishedandprofitable, roger parker, teleseminars, writing business books, Writing for Business, writing success cycle

In last week’s installment of my Author’s Journey, I described the importance of creating an incentive to encourage visitors to your blog to sign-up for your e-mail marketing program.

This week, I’m going to describe tip sheets, the simplest, easiest way to create an incentive to build your list and attract new prospects to your marketing funnel.

Tip sheets are powerful and effective because they don’t have to be elaborate, as the two examples, at below left, show; each is printed on one side of a single sheet of paper. They’re judged by the value of their information, not by the number of words or pages they contain.

Why tip sheets make great incentives

Tip sheets distill your expertise into 8 to 12 easy-to-implement actionable ideas. They are judged not by the length, but by the quality of the information you share.

Tip sheets save you money because they are usually distributed as downloadable PDF files, although they are multi-functional; you can easily print-out copies of your tip sheets to carry with you and to distribute at networking functions and speaking engagements.

Not only do the tip sheets save you money, they also save time, for both you and your market. Why? Because they are short and to the point – they are easily written and easily read.

• Tip sheets save you time. Tip sheets leverage your existing knowledge into chunks of information with high-perceived value. In an hour, or so, you can write and format an effective tip sheet. The above examples contain fewer than 500 words.
• Tip sheets save your clients and prospects time. The brevity and concisely-presented information that saves you time also saves time for your clients and prospects. They can easily judge your expertise and appreciate the value of the information you provide.

Tip sheets, of course, don’t have to be limited to one side of a single sheet of paper, and they can benefit from professional design assistance. As the example on the right shows, two-sided tip sheets provide extra space for graphics and more information to further enhance your image and communicate your expertise.

The better-looking your tip sheet, the more likely that prospects will save it and refer to it in the future.

Tips for creating and formatting tip sheets

Here are some tips for creating tip sheets.

• Title. Choose a title for your tip sheet that engages your market by making a promise that’s relevant to your prospects.
• Introduction. Provide a one-paragraph introduction that “sells” the relevance of the ideas that follow. The shorter, the better.
• Content. Base your tips on the questions that clients and prospects ask you every day in person and via e-mail. Organize your tip sheet in a question and answer format, or use a short phrase to introduce each tip.
• Call to action. End with a call to action, which can be as simple as an offer to obtain answer questions submitted by phone or e-mail.
• Links. Use links to your website to make it easy for recipients to take the next step. Make sure that your links are spelled out (for those who may be reading a printed version of your tip sheet) and make sure the links are activated in your PDF.
• Graphics. Personalize your tip sheets with a photograph, accompanied by a one-sentence background or positioning statement.
• Design. Use contrasting typeface, type size, and formatting options like bold or italics to visually set the questions, or phrase introducing each tip, apart from the body copy that follows.
• Color. Use color with restraint; less is always more. Avoid choosing light colors, i.e., yellow, for text. As always, the colors you use in your tip sheets should reflect the colors associated with your website and your personal brand.
• Layout. Use a 2-column layout to keep lines short and easy to read. Add extra line spacing to enhance readability.

Leveraging your tip sheets

Here are some tips for leveraging your tip sheets:

• Print and carry. Print copies of your tip sheet on your desktop printer, or have color copies made at office supply stores like Staples. Always carry copies with you wherever you go. You never know when you’ll meet your next valuable prospect!
• Promotion. Use the back of your business card to promote your tip sheet. Show a thumbnail of your business card, and the specific page of your website where prospects can sign up to receive it.

Most important, create new tip sheets on a regular basis. Add interest to your tip sheets, and a reason for visitors to return to your site, by creating a new tip sheet on a different topic each quarter.

But, limit access to your previous tip sheets to those who sign up for your latest tip sheet! Place links to previous tip sheets on a special landing page, with a URL that you share in the confirmation e-mail prospects receive when they sign-up for your tip sheet.

Limiting access to previous tip sheets adds strength to your offering, making it more and more important for prospects sign up for your tip sheet and e-mail newsletter.

Note: for one week only, you’re invited to download (no registration required) PDF samples of the tip sheet examples shown above; visit a special page I created for my Active Garage friends.

—

Tagged as: active garage, author's journey, book, business writing, market, profit, promote, publish, publishedandprofitable, roger parker, tip sheets, title, write, Writing for Business