Archive for the ‘sales’ CategoryHow One Author’s Self Published Book Became a Best SellerDecember 10th, 2011Hi All! Many of my clients are authors, or aspiring authors, who self publish their books or who have gotten traditional publishing deals. But regardless of how they published, they come to me for help with book marketing. And, as the author of 3 books myself, I can tell you first hand that just because your book is on Amazon (or available elsewhere) it doesn’t matter if no one knows it exists! That said, I came across an interesting article published by The Wall Street Journal, written by Alexandra Alter, about how one self published author took matters into her own hands and ended up with a best-seller that has now sold over 400,000 copies! I wanted to share this great story with you because it’s not only inspirational for any of you who are authors or planning to become one, but it also explains HOW she made this happen. Here’s an excerpt from the article: Article: “How I Became a Best-Selling Author”: This summer, Darcie Chan’s debut novel became an unexpected hit. It has sold more than 400,000 copies and landed on the best-seller lists alongside brand-name authors like Michael Connelly, James Patterson and Kathryn Stockett. It’s been a success by any measure, save one. Ms. Chan still hasn’t found a publisher. Five years ago, Ms. Chan’s novel, “The Mill River Recluse,” which tells the story of a wealthy Vermont widow who bestows her fortune on town residents who barely knew her, would have languished in a drawer. A dozen publishers and more than 100 literary agents rejected it. “Nobody was willing to take a chance,” says Ms. Chan, a 37-year-old lawyer who drafts environmental legislation. “It was too much of a publishing risk.” This past May, Ms. Chan decided to digitally publish it herself, hoping to gain a few readers and some feedback. She bought some ads on Web sites targeting e-book readers, paid for a review from Kirkus Reviews, and strategically priced her book at 99 cents to encourage readers to try it. She’s now attracting bids from foreign imprints, movie studios and audio-book publishers, without selling a single copy in print. The story of how Ms. Chan joined the ranks of best sellers is as much a tale of digital marketing savvy and strategic pricing as one of artistic triumph. Her breakout signals a monumental shift in the way books are packaged, priced and sold in the digital era. Just as music executives have been sidestepped by YouTube sensations and indie iTunes hits, book publishers are losing ground to independent authors and watching their powerful status as literary gatekeepers wither. Self-publishing has long been derided as a last resort for authors who lack the talent or savvy to hack it in the publishing business. But it has gained a patina of legitimacy as a growing number of self-published authors land on best-seller lists. Last year, 133,036 self-published titles were released, up from 51,237 in 2006, according to Bowker, a company that tracks publishing trends. To read the rest of this info-packed article and learn more about Ms. Chan’s amazing story, CLICK HERE! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa  Reverse the Risk and Explode Your ProfitsOctober 23rd, 2011 Jim Palmer: The Newsletter Guru Hi All! The following guest blog post is courtesy of Jim Palmer who is internationally known as The Newsletter Guru. Jim is the premier go-to resource for maximizing the profitability of customer relationships. So without further delay, let’s jump into his informative article, “Reverse the Risk and Explode Profits”: I have a question for you. Why don’t more of your customers or prospects buy from you? If your answer is “because of price,” you’re probably wrong. I coach a lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners, and when our discussion turns to reasons for not buying, invariably the excuse is price. “My customers don’t say ‘yes’ more often because of price.” In reality, customers don’t say “yes” more often because of skepticism, or lack of trust or perceived value. It’s what Zig Ziglar emphasizes as one of the five obstacles to a sale: no trust. Lack of trust is probably the biggest obstacle between your company and a sale. It’s rarely price. The reason more of your customers or prospects don’t buy from you is that you haven’t done enough to build your customers’ trust in your products or services. Why the 30- or 60- or 90-Day Warranty Is Not Enough! You’ve heard of Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, usually at the worst possible moment. Well, there’s another variation of that, and it goes like this: The product will cease working exactly one day after the warranty expires. Enough of us have had that exact experience that it lends credence to the veracity of the law. We all take those 30- or 60- or 90-day warranties with a grain of salt. It makes us skeptical consumers. Your customers are no different. They’re wondering, “What if it doesn’t work? What happens when it fails? What if I don’t get the result I was expecting?” They may be on the fence about buying from you. You’ve done a lot to move them to consider buying from you, but they’re thinking, “Yeah, I kind of like it. It sounds like it will solve my problem. I think the price is fair, but what if . . . ?” Get rid of the “what if,” and you can close the deal. It’s easy to do. Easy? Yup. All you have to do is reverse the risk. Risk reversal means that you, the business owner, assume all the risks associated with purchasing the product (or service), so it’s going to work to your customers’ satisfaction. If they’re on the decision fence and have nothing to lose, they’re going to buy. Let’s be clear—square one is that you must offer a high-quality product or service. That’s a given. It’s a no-brainer. Some of my coaching clients assure me that they do (and I believe them), and then they go on to tell me about their 30- or 60- or 90-day guarantee. That sort of offer simply makes people skeptical because we’ve all been burned by that warranty version of Murphy’s Law. What happens after 30 days? What happens after 60 or 90 days? When prospects wonder about that, they’re going to be hesitant to buy. You haven’t gotten them over the trust hurdle. The L.L. Bean Approach: “Our products are guaranteed to give 100% satisfaction in every way. Return anything purchased from us at any time if it proves otherwise. We do not want you to have anything from L.L. Bean that is not completely satisfactory.” As the story goes, a woman returned a pair of boots after fifteen years because the sole had worn out. She thought they should have lasted longer. They were replaced, no questions asked. That’s a rocksolid, stand-behind-your-product guarantee. A super strong guarantee shows that you are supremely confident in your belief that your products and services do what you say they are going to do. It should be paramount in whatever you sell in the first place. So if that’s true, and if you are supremely confident, then give an ironclad guarantee. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain—sales and higher profits. Your ironclad guarantee is just what your customers need to increase their trust and lose their fear of risk. When they have nothing to fear and nothing to lose, they have no reason not to buy. Your super strong guarantee needs a few things to really make it work. First, it has to have a specific name, and when possible, the name of your guarantee should be associated with the benefit of your product and the degree to which you back it up. Second, it needs a specific logo. A lot of entrepreneurs use a seal in conjunction with their guarantees, and that image resonates with customers. It’s like the Good Housekeeping “Seal of Approval.” That seal, and the guarantee behind it, have been around for more than one hundred years. The Good Housekeeping Research Institute tests products and only offers the seal on those that pass its strict standards. It’s an ironclad, rock-solid guarantee. Consumers know they can rely on the product if it has the seal. They can trust it! Jim Palmer is internationally known as The Newsletter Guru, the go-to resource for maximizing the profitability of customer relationships. Jim is also the acclaimed author of The Magic of Newsletter Marketing – The Secret to More Profits and Customers for Life and also Stick Like Glue – How to Create an Everlasting Bond with Your Customers So They Stay Longer, Spend More, and Refer More, and The Fastest Way to Higher Profits – 19 Immediate Profit-Enhancing Strategies You Can Use Today. Learn more about Jim and all his programs at: www.NewsletterGuru.TV.
Why Google Places Can Help You Attract More Clients: Online or OfflineSeptember 27th, 2011Hi All! The following article is a Guest Blog from Cindy Morus and Christine Wood, Co-founders of BizFinder Local (.com). They help businesses, offline and online, get more customers with the latest technology and online marketing tools, including Google Places. And in this easy-to-follow article they are going to explain what Google Places is and why you need to take it seriously! Why Google Places Can Help You Attract More Clients: Online or Offline: Search for your business on a mobile device and click on everthing that comes up (if nothing shows up, you’ve identified your first problem). Does it look like you’re active and “open for business?” One of the first things you should see is a listing of 7 Google Places entries. Are you there? What is Google Places? It’s a huge directory of businesses created by Google. These free place pages are available for both online and offline businesses, and show up when you search for a business. Even though you mostly serve clients outside your geographic area, are you willing to work with local customers? Then you need a Google Places page! Virtual Businesses and solo entrepreneurs qualify for a Google Places listing and “puts you on the (Google) map!” If your business doesn’t have a place page your are missing out on a huge opportunity and it’s easy to get one for your business! Imagine having Google promoting your services to everyone who lives in your area (even if you don’t have any articles and blog posts out there)! Local and Mobile searches are at the top of Google’s priority list. Did you know that 82% of local searches result in offline action (a visit, a phone call, a More people search for businesses online than anywhere else, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to be credible to local customers! And if you’d like us to do a FREE Google Places evaluation for your business to see how you show up in the search results, contact us today! Many clients who come to us do NOT show up in a Google Places search and that means they are missing out on attracting new business. Thanks, Cindy & Christine! Great info and great offer! Lisa 5 Things Your Freelance Sales Writer Must DeliverJuly 18th, 2011Hi All! The following blog is a guest post courtesy of Debbie Feldstein, a freelance non-fiction writer based in New York City. For more than 20 years, she has provided imaginative, unique, and persuasive copy in the form of press releases, brochures, sales letters, and autoresponders. She has authored dozens of books, reports, and articles on effective sales and marketing. Among her ‘best sellers’ are How to Use Social Media Marketing to Attract More Prospects, Make More Sales and How to Create Information Products. For more information, please visit www.creativeblocks.com or send a message to oddball@creativeblocks.com. Plus, I can personally vouch for Deb’s talent because she has been the Editor for my 3 books! She really is fabulous and great to work with. Okay! Let’s jump into Deb’s article: 5 Things Your Freelance Sales Writer Must Deliver The Internet makes it easy to find and hire freelance copywriters. But the question many entrepreneurs and small business owners face when they want to outsource their copywriting needs is this: How do I know which copywriter to choose? (My short answer is ‘Choose ME,’ of course.) If you don’t know anything about the product you’re buying, then it’s tough to get a good deal. For example, if you don’t know diddly about cars, you may end up buying a Yugo instead of a Mercedes. One way to ‘look under the hood’ of a potential hire that you want to handle your business writing is to ask them in their proposal if they know (and can deliver) the 5 essentials of a good sales message. Anatomy of a Conversion-Oriented Sales Message Whether it’s an advertisement in the Sunday paper, a postcard, an online sales letter, a television commercial, or even a flyer stuck under the wipers of an automobile, an effective pitch always includes these elements. To assess skills, ask your copywriter to provide portfolio samples of: ***Headline – A headline should be unique, powerful, and convey the biggest benefit of using a product or service. ***Body Copy – The body copy should be an emotionally compelling recitation of what the consumer will receive and needs to do. ***Social Proof – Testimonials and endorsements, prove that an offer is what you claim. The problem is that many testimonials and long and rambling. (Ask your copywriter for a sample of a before-and-after testimonial that he/she has edited.) ***Guarantee – Guarantees should remove risk so that the consumer has no fear of disappointment. ***Bonus – Offering something of additional value (“But wait, there’s more!”) should transform a sales offer from ‘good’ to ‘irresistible.’ ***Urgent Call to Action – Procrastination kills profits and, unfortunately, prospective buyers may be likely to put aside offers to act upon at a later date. Ask your copywriter for an example of a statement that tells a consumer how to place an order, with an incentive for them to act quickly. Important note: When asking for a sample of these various elements, it is appropriate to request something from the writer’s portfolio. It is NOT appropriate to ask your as-yet-unhired writer to do work ‘on spec’ and deliver samples based on your specific project. Unscrupulous entrepreneurs (and you don’t want to be one of THOSE) sometimes ask numerous copywriters to provide on-spec samples. Then they simply cobble those samples together to create their own sales message, without paying any of the writers whose creativity they are pilfering. Your prospects are waiting for you. And so are the talented copywriters that can help you turn those prospects into buyers. Go for it! Thanks, Deb, for the great advice! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa
New Book, “Small Message, Big Impact” Worth ReadingJune 03rd, 2011 Teri Sjodin's New Book Now on Amazon! Hi All! When I was offered an advanced reading copy of Teri Sjodin’s, new book, “Small Message, Big Impact: How to Put the Power of the Elevator Speech Effect to Work for You”, I quickly accepted. Why? Because it’s a great topic and one that I see many people struggle with. In a nutshell, I have to say that Teri’s new book rocks! And you can now pick a copy because it became available on all major online book retailers, like Amazon, this week. Here’s the scoop on why I highly recommend reading her book, and why I felt compelled to tell you about it:
Here’s a snapshot of what you’ll learn:
And it’s not just me giving the book great reviews. Business Guru, Harvey Mackay, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, “Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive”, as well as Selling Power Magazine and many others, have given it rave reviews, too. Are you curious about Teri and why she is qualified to write a book on this topic? Here’s her brief bio: Terri L. Sjodin is the principal and founder of Sjodin Communications, a public speaking, sales training, and consulting firm. For over twenty years, Terri has served as a speaker and consultant to an impressive list of companies, industry associations, academic conferences, CEOs, and members of the United States Congress. She is also the author of “New Sales Speak: The 9 Biggest Sales Presentation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them” (Wiley). Okay! Go get a copy! And thanks, again, to Kevin Small, an amazing Literary Agent, for offering me an advanced copy…also congrads to Teri on writing a great book! Cheers & Happy Marketing, Lisa How I’m Celebrating 2011 National Small Business WeekMay 16th, 2011Hi All! This week, May 16-May 20, is National Small Business Week! It’s an annual event, mandated by the President of the United States, and was started in 1963 to pay tribute to all the small businesses across America each year (now totaling 27.2 million in 2011!). Other quick factoids: More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and small businesses also create 60-80 percent of new jobs in the country…so we contribute to the economy big time! And, because I coach and consult with small business owners, coaches, consultants, speakers and authors, and I see how much they struggle with their branding, marketing, PR, sales, book marketing, and/or social media strategies (prior to hiring me, of course!), I wanted to celebrate this annual event by providing you with a special offer to help your business succeed. Special Offer Details: - Receive a 15% discount on ANY consulting package that I offer. I provide a wide variety of package options ranging in cost so you are sure to find one that fits your budget! - In addition to the special savings, I will also ADD one “bonus” consulting session to any package you choose! - This is limited to the first 5 people who contact me by the end of this national event (by Friday, May 20th). So if you are struggling with your branding, marketing, PR, social media, sales and/or book marketing efforts, contact me right away. I can also help you develop a “topic expert” personal brand platform to attract paid public speaking opportunities and media interviews…I help most of my clients with that! Again, this is limited to 5 people and you need to contact me by May 20th. Just send me an email or give me a call and I will email you my complete Services & Options Overview Package. Contact info: Lisa@PromoteUGuru.com or call 408-340-8789. Let’s get your brand, business and bottom-line booming in 2011! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa Ten Tips for Effective Networking In-PersonApril 23rd, 2011Nowadays, most people seem to be solely focused on social networking online. And, yes, while I am a firm believer that social media communities, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, are AMAZING tools for making connections and business building, I find that many clients I work with tend to forget about “the other” type of networking…attending industry mixers and professional association gatherings! Quite honestly, I find that attending in-person networking events can typically yield me positive business results faster than online networking. Therefore, I make an effort to include in-person networking in my business-building mix. But, I also find that people are not that great at using their valuable in-person networking time wisely. So I often spend time coaching my clients on networking at events so that they are comfortable attending and get the most out of them. That said, here are Ten Tips I recommend to make your in-person networking efforts a success:
Okay, now find some good association mixers and industry events in your area, and try to attend at least 1-2 per month. There is a very good chance you’ll reap the benefits of your networking efforts quickly, such as: See your connection database grow quickly; find new opportunities otherwise missed; and attract new clients to generate more income! And, here’s a great quote I’ll leave you with on this topic (but I can’t remember who said it): Take your offline contacts online, and your online contacts offline…I think that’s great advice. And if you have a helpful networking tip to share, please share it! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa Business Building Tools for Coaches and ConsultantsFebruary 11th, 2011Hi All! Many of my clients are coaches or consultants, and they hire me because they are struggling with growing their practices and generating more income. And, some of them are also authors who have written a book to help increase their notoriety as an expert so they need my help with their branding and book marketing, too. If you can relate to any of that, and you are a coach or consultant, I recommend checking out these (2) FREE tools, created by my colleague, Kathleen Gage. Kathleen is an online marketing expert and has helped many coaches and consultants increase their income by becoming more savvy about using the internet as a key marketing and sales tool for growing their practices. Here are the 2 FREE Products she is offering: 1. SPECIAL REPORT: What You Need to Know to Start & Build Your Coaching or Consulting Business Again, it’s free and NO OPT-IN is required! Simply click here to receive this info-packed pdf! 2. 3-PART VIDEO SERIES: Build a Successful Coaching and Consulting Business This is ALSO FREE, and simply click here to access the videos! And, if you’re really serious about ramping your practice, be sure to check out the New Horizon’s Telesummit! 12 Experts (one is me!) will be conducting sessions loaded with advice and strategies all about how to grow your coaching and consulting business. Here is a snapshot of what you’ll learn by attending this event: - Attract higher-paying clients There are several different registration options, ranging in price, so you’re bound to find one that works with your budget! And the event is VIA PHONE, so you can attend from anywhere on your phone. The New Horizons Telesummit is February 23rd and 24th, so CLICK HERE for details! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa How to Sell, or Make Your Free e-Book Available, on AmazonJanuary 28th, 2011Hi All! Recently, this question has been posed to me a lot: “I want to sell my e-book on Amazon, or I have a free e-book that I want to make available on Amazon. How do I do it?” So, I decided to write a quick blog post to answer this question for authors. This isn’t intended to give you the step-by-step instructions! It’s intended to give you the general info you need to get started: TIP ONE: Amazon’s Digital Text Platform (DTP) Service: This enables you to self-publish ebooks for Kindle downloads: https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/signin Note: This is for whether your ebook is free or you plan to sell it. It also has directions for getting your ISBN and provides that info once you’ve logged in to your account (IBSN info is also provided in the 2 article links below). Directions for log in/account set-up are provided on the link above. This page also provides info about Amazon’s DTP compensation program when you’re selling an ebook. Also, read this short “how to” article. It says that in order for your ebook to be SOLD on Amazon for download on a Kindle an ISBN IS REQUIRED: http://www.ehow.com/how_5740131_sell-ebook-amazon_s-kindle.html TIP TWO: Here’s a good “how to” article about creating and distributing your ebook through Amazon. It states this info is for whether your ebook is FREE or to be sold. According to this article, an ISBN number is NOT required for FREE ebooks on Amazon (but I’d get an ISBN for an ebook even if the ebook is free): http://www.ehow.com/how_4489551_sell-book-kindle-format.html TIP THREE: If you’d prefer NOT to do all of this yourself, here’s a turnkey service that will layout/format your ebooks, get your ISBN numbers, and set-up your ebook with major online retailers. They handle all of it for $149 per title (plus 15% commission of net per sale): http://www.ebookit.com/ Okay! That should take some of the mystery out of this process for you, and hopefully saved you time in researching the answers on your own. Good luck! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa 4 Steps to Leveraging Other People’s Audiences for Big ExposureJanuary 14th, 2011Hi All! I saw the following blog post on ByBloggers.net (an amazing resource for learning effective strategies to create and market digital products), and received permission from them, and the article’s author, to share it here. It’s loaded with great information to help you expand your brand to the followers of other bloggers and online broadcasters (ie: People with podcast shows) who have large audiences. No need for me to go on about this topic…author, Mike Tiojanco, does a fine job on his own! But before you dive into his info-packed article, here’s some info about Mike: He is an entrepreneur, blogger, and partner at BlogcastFM Premium. In January, he is launching his new project, 8 Hour Rebellion, aimed at helping people break out of the 9-5 and live a life free from the chains of an office desk (so he can spend more time with his wife, two kids, and Xbox360). And you can follow him on twitter: @mtio. So, without further delay…here is what Mike has to say about:Leveraging Other People’s AudiencesMost entrepreneurs are familiar with the concept of using leverage to make money. Use other people’s time (OPT) or, more commonly, other people’s money (OPM) to push your business. However, when I launched a membership site, it wasn’t OPT or OPM that made it a success. It was OPA. Other People’s Audiences. Anatomy of a PartnershipLast November, I helped launch BlogcastFM Premium – a membership site that helps people take their blogs to the next level. None of that would have happened without a partnership between myself and the BlogcastFM founders, Srini Rao and Sid Savara. Let’s go step-by-step through the partnership/joint venture (JV) process as I experienced it: 1. Build Your NetworkWay back in February I heard about a new podcast series that was launching – BlogcastFM. I had been reading Sid’s personal development blog and following him on twitter. I was just starting my own blog at the time, so the podcast content was perfect for me. I ended up following Srini on twitter and reading his blog. A couple posts into my blog I shot him an email asking him to take a look. He was kind enough to take few minutes to check it out and give me some feedback. I kept in contact with him via twitter, and eventually pitched him on my very first guest post. At the time I had no clue that these initial contacts would turn into a partnership, but at the time I was just looking to connect with people who were doing what I wanted to be doing. The takeaway: Work on building your network early and often. Many successful bloggers advise that you spend 50% of your time writing content and 50% of your time networking. 2. Listen to People’s NeedsLike I mentioned before, I am a devoted listener of BlogcastFM. I listen to just about every episode the day it comes out, sometimes more than once (I’ve got a 45 min. commute). After listening to that many episodes, a common theme appeared. In just about every episode, Srini commented, “If I could put into action the ideas I get from every interview, my blog would be way more successful than it is.” So even Srini, the host of the podcast… the interviewer himself… needed help pulling the best tips out of every interview and figuring out how to implement them. Surely their audience was having the same issues. I could help with that. The Takeaway: Find something that someone’s audience needs that the blogger doesn’t have time to create (or has no interest in creating). Dave Navarro did this with Naomi Dunford’s audience. Her audience at ittybiz.com consists of small online business owners. She offers marketing and business development advice – a lot of which is focused on creating ebooks and other digital products. However, her material didn’t really focus on how to launch the ebook once it was created – Dave’s specialty. Before partnering on “How to Launch the **** of Your eBook,” Dave Navarro was mostly unknown. It was the partnership with Naomi that put him on the map. 3. Pitch the IdeaBack in September, I approached them with an idea for the product – a membership site offering action worksheets for each of their 100+ interviews on BlogcastFM. They said yes. I think what really put them over the edge is that I provided a sample of the product – an action worksheet for the interview with Sean Ogle. This let them see exactly what I had in mind, as opposed to an abstract description in an email. The Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to pitch the idea. After my pitch, the feedback the guys gave to me was that this was something they really wanted to create for their audience, but they didn’t have the time to do it themselves. Worst case scenario, they pass, but now you’re really on their radar. The last step: 4. Make Them Love You.This is something I’m still working on, and will continue to work on as long as BlogcastFM is around. Do the best work you can. Make them feel lucky to have you on their team. Remember, your work is a reflection on their reputation. The Takeaway: After someone says yes, provide the best work you can so that they feel that the partnership was the best business decision they ever made. Like I said, I’m still working on this one. I had some family issues that prevented me from doing this over the past month or so, but you better believe I’m going to work my tail off showing them that this was the right decision for them. That said, I’ve got some interviews to listen to and some worksheets to create… BIG thanks to Mike, and to Jonathan, founder of ByBloggers.net, for allowing me to share this! GREAT ADVICE and useful info! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa
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