Clayton Makepeace has released the latest issue of ‘Total Package’. The featured article by Troy White is titled “46 Ways to Make Your New Lead Generation Tool Useful”. [Article]


Clayton Makepeace has released the latest issue of ‘Total Package’.

The featured article:

46 Ways to Make Your New Lead Generation Tool Useful

by Troy Whit

Fellow Business-Builder,

Thanks for all the great comments and feedback from last week’s article.

Obviously, it is a good fit for many of you that want better lead generation and even additional profit streams.

I overlooked something though.

A book is an excellent tool to have in your belt, but unless you have somewhere to use it, it is absolutely useless.

First, I had questions about the differences between self-published books and getting picked up and represented by a publisher.

Both work.

One (typically) makes you more money though:
Self-publishing.

Think about it … having a publisher means they get a significant chunk of the revenues. That said, it also means they help promote the book … kind of. A publisher definitely helps you get your books in the stores and maybe even some publicity.

Both of which you can do with your own elbow-grease. You cannot rely strictly on a publisher for all your promotions though … they have 578 other authors to promote.

Not only that, you had better be good … real good … if you think a publisher will pick you up.

To me, it is much easier getting started in this form of marketing by doing it yourself.

And LOTS of successful authors went the self-publishing route:

Books That Were Originally Self-Published
(Thank you to Dan Poynter
at http://danpoynter.com for this list)

– What Color is Your Parachute by Episcopal clergymen, Richard Nelson Bolles. 22 editions, 6 million copies, 11 languages and 288 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Now published by Ten Speed Press.

– In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters. More than 25,000 copies were sold directly to consumers in its first year. Then it was sold to Warner and the publisher sold 10 million more.

– The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. His manuscript made the rounds of the mainstream houses and then he decided to publish himself. He started by selling copies out of the trunk of his Honda – over 100,000 of them. He subsequently sold out to Warner Books for $800,000. The number-one bestseller in 1996, it spent 165 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller list. More than 5.5 million copies have been sold.

– The One-Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson sold more than 20,000 copies locally before they sold out to William Morrow. It has now sold more than 12-million copies since 1982 and is in 25 languages.

– A Time to Kill by John Grisham. He sold his first work out of the trunk of his car.
The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton has sold more than a million copies in Canada (second only to the Bible in Canada) and two-million in the US.

– The Self-Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter has 190,000 copies in print after 15 revised editions since 1979. The publisher is Para Publishing (Dan Poynter). As a result of this book, Poynter has been called “the godfather to thousands of books.”

– Other well-known self-publishers include: Deepak Chopra, Louise Hay, Mark Twain, Ken Keyes, Jr., Gertrude Stein, Zane Grey, Upton Sinclair, Carl Sandburg, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, Ezra Pound, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Stephen Crane, Mary Baker Eddy, George Bernard Shaw, Anais Nin, Thomas Paine, Virginia Wolff, e.e. Cummings, William Blake, Edgar Allen Poe, Rudyard Kipling, Henry David Thoreau, Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Alexandre Dumas, William E.B. DuBois, and Robert Ringer.

If you are in company like that …
you’re on the right track.

Once you have a successful book, then it may become easier to find a publisher.

Until then, let’s talk about how you can actually produce and sell your book to make money. I highly recommend using your book as a business card and handing it out to applicable prospects … talk about making an impact!

If you are in a competitive situation and they are looking at you and three others … don’t you think that the impression of having your own book in print makes an impact?

Most definitely!

You now have the perception of being THE expert in your field … and your odds of being chosen just went up exponentially.

But your book is also a significant asset in your marketing funnel, one that will make you money.

Remember This Before You Start

1. Write for your one, ideal audience. You are not looking for everyone … you are looking for the perfect client. So write your book (or chapter) to that EXACT person. Know exactly what they want … how they are making their decision … what other competitors they will be talking to … what their biggest frustration is … and how you can help them fix their problem.

2. Write a compelling book title, subtitle and front cover blurb. No different than the headline of your ad! Your book title is the ad for the book … so make the most of it.

3. Mention your other products and services in the book. Think of your book as a giant content-packed sales tool. If they love your book, they will want more information from you … so make sure they know what else you can offer them.

4. Write the back cover blurb before you write your book. Much like the order form in a direct mail campaign, the back cover can and should be able to sell the book on its own. It is THAT important. Think about it: When you pick up a book at the store, you see the title, the cover, then read the back blurb. A poorly written back cover will destroy your chance of a sale.

Amazon book review ““ excellent example of back cover copy

Editorial Reviews

Book Description
A powerful sales letter is the ultimate marketing tool for all types of business owners, sales reps, and advertising professionals. However, most sales letters end up getting tossed in the junk mail pile. The Ultimate Sales Letter, 3rd Edition shows you how to write letters that get read, generate leads, and make money. Coverage includes:

The twelve best headline formulas
Strategies for building a customer base
Sales letters for Web sites and online use
This guide teaches you a step-by-step system for writing sales letters any business can use”“designed by the most successful and highly-paid professional direct-response copywriter in the country.

About the Author

Dan S. Kennedy is president of Kennedy’s Inner Circle, and has been writing sales letters for over twenty years for both large and small businesses. He is a popular speaker on marketing and sales issues. His popular newsletter, The No B.S. Marketing Letter, reaches thousands of people in the U.S.

Product Details

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Adams Media Corporation; 3rd edition (February 28, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 1593374992

THE SECRET (shhhhh ….)
To GET YOUR BOOK OUT QUICKLY

– Set up a regular writing schedule

– Plan a short book first

– Let your passion lead you to a topic

– Choose what’s interesting to you

– Get to know your reader before you write

– Develop a plan for each chapter before you write

– Design your book to market well while you write

– 46 Fun, Easy and Creative Ways to Promote Your Book on a Budget
http://www.afcp.org/ ““ Association of Free Community Papers ““ thousands of communities have papers that you can advertise in.

– Ask employers if they have employee newspapers ““ advertise in there ““ give a percentage of sales as a donation to their favorite charity.

– Pay-Per-Click search engines are very effective to get highly-targeted visitors to your Web site (where you can give away chapters to entice them to buy the entire thing).

– Chat rooms and forums ““ answer questions and use your Web site (with a headline or enticer as a signature).

– Use postcards ““ use your book’s cover as the cover graphic (as long as it has a very catchy name and tells exactly why they would buy the book).

– http://spawn.org ““ Great place to hang out with other authors and writers. Tons of free content as well.

– Start a newsletter (online and offline) about your topic ““ collect names and send weekly info to them.

– Come up with some associated special reports or articles that have value to your potential readers … offer to give them $147 worth of FREE bonuses with the purchase of your book.

– Write book reviews on Amazon (of books you have read) and put your book Web site as a link.
Get a listing on Amazon ““ make sure you make use of the capability to have extra graphics, inserts, excerpts, indexes etc. (Amazon Advantage Program).

– Do up a review sheet with every comment and testimonial (careful with all these ridiculous new FTC rules around testimonials … I am still trying to understand them myself) you have collected. Use this sheet on your Web site, for PR, for advertising for sales literature.
Is your book radio ready? Is it on a timely topic? Go after the talk shows and make some phone calls, see if they are looking for authors or guest speakers.

– Everywhere you go ““ drop off stickers, promos, business cards etc.

– Make it worth peoples’ while to promote your book- donate a percent to charities, give back to the community in some way.

– Use the skills learned on this blog to write some excellent advertising and marketing materials you can use for Web, print, postcards, direct mail etc …

– Use commissioned sales reps ““ pay for performance model is by far the best ““ typically they will collect 5% – 10% – Publishers Weekly classifieds has reps looking for books to sell.
Hire a telemarketer or PR person to set up interviews, book signings, sales events etc ““ pay them on a commission basis.

– Place classified advertisements in relevant newspapers, magazines, periodicals, inserts, card packs, catalogs.

– Do everything you can to find unique ways to sell your books in bulk. A friend and associate of mine, Bob Burg, produced a great little book called The Success Formula. A small book that can be mailed in a #10 envelope. He sells them by the thousands to companies who have large numbers of sales reps or agents. Your money made per book is lower, but when you are selling 3,000 at a time …

– I interviewed Mary Halpin last year of Best of Bridge. They sold well over 3,000,000 copies of their cookbooks over the years. They got their start by co-branding the book with real estate companies. The real estate company would have their logo on the front of the book and give it away to new home owners with the purchase of their home. How can you take that idea and use it for your book? New business owners? New parents? New pet owners? Think it through.

Joint venture with newsletter owners. Find appropriate newsletters for your book subject (or remote subjects). Offer to split the profits with them if you write-up, and they send out, an advertising piece to sell your book.

Have a local hangout? Ask them to help you promote your book ““ share in the profits.

Talk to your local museums and airport book stores ““ will they help sell your book?
Search out and contact all relevant associations and Chambers of Commerce in your city, province/state and country

Sell them door-to-door ““ or hire someone to do it for you. A very profitable way to generate quick cash. Focus in on areas of cities you know have your perfect target market.
Find out if there are any local book clubs. If not local, then national. Join some. Find out how they work and how they pick the books.

Carry product samples, brochures, cards, stickers, stamps or catalogs with you everywhere ““ use them as much as you can.

Look at book fairs that focus on international markets. There may be agents there that like your book and want to sell it in other countries.

Find trade shows to attend ““ joint venture with other attendees to share the cost of a booth.

Approach the other booth vendors at the show ““ pay them a small amount if they put up one of your signs or promotions at their booth.

Give a talk … announce it, promote it, pitch it, scream it out at the top of your lungs.

Get large posters made up advertising your books.

Use vinyl stickers on your car windows … make sure you keep brochures in your glove box as people will stop you and ask you questions.

Get extra book covers made up ““ use them as promotional pieces.

Tape record all your speeches, talks, interviews etc ““ use these and repackage them for sale.

Have associates, and associations endorse your book.

Non-book store retailers ( e.g.) religious stores or gift shops wherever you may find a niche your book falls into.

Subsidiary rights, foreign rights, serial rights.

Book clubs, like www.booksonline.com, are a great place to promote.
The biggest and cheapest marketing tip is with a Press Release. Send your book out for review – make sure to find an angle or invent a topic that will make your book stand out.

Personalize the topic.

Focus on one extraordinary example in the book.

Give the media a copy of the book for them to use.

www.bookmarket.com has a ton of great information for selling your book.

Blogs, podcasting, online video.

Twitter, Facebook and all the appropriate social networks.

Write a letter to the editor or offer to do a guest editorial.

When you are writing your book … always remember:

Good Enough is Good Enough!

You are not trying to win a Writer’s Guild Award for your literary excellence here …

… You are trying to get products created fast so you can learn how to market them quickly and make yourself a lot of money in as short of time as possible.

Hope this helps you get going. This is a starting point … there are some excellent resources out there to get you selling.

I would love to hear your ideas.

Thanks again.

To your success,

Troy White

Editor, Small Business Mastery

Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE

Troy White is a top marketing coach, consultant & direct response copywriter based in Calgary, Canada. He has a powerful approach to growing small businesses and entrepreneurial run ventures on a budget. His FREE Cash Flow Surges newsletter shares tons of great strategies.

He also publishes the incredibly powerful Cash Flow Calendar system that gives you daily, weekly and monthly marketing ideas to promote your business and stand out from the crowd. Click here to get your free tips for growing your business!

Attribution Statement: This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage.com.

The Total Package

*IMNewsWatch would like to thank Clayton Makepeace for granting permission to reprint this article.