The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Hugo Tschudin of River Vale, N.J. writes:

“My booklet, Wake Up to Abundant Energy: 113 Ways to Make it Easy to ‘Rise and Shine,’ takes the struggle out of getting up in the morning.

“I’d like to find licensees who could buy the booklets in bulk to give away to customers who request a catalog, visit a showroom, or download a report.  Or, a company can buy the booklets for their own employees who can wake up energized and work more efficiently.

“I have focused on companies most likely to help their customers and employees fight fatigue, such as mattress manufacturers, breakfast cereal companies and coffee shops.

“But I’m wondering if it would be more effective to focus on other lines of business, or just on very large employers?  How can I find licensees for this booklet?  Or how can I generate free publicity to let companies know about it?”

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Business Promotion, Information Products, Publicity for Niche Markets
posted On: 5/26/2009: 2:23 pm: By Joan
Comments: 11 Comments

For sales people and business owners ONLY:

Answer this question in 10 seconds or less. If you sell a product or service, what’s the one thing that sets you apart from your competitors?

If your answer isn’t “a book,” you could be leaving money on the table.

If you own a business/professional practice, or certainly if you sell something high-ticket, you should really consider becoming a published author. Publishing a book establishes your credibility as an expert. It serves as a fancy brochure that puts to shame all those other boring, three-panel brochures your competitors are printing.

A book also gives potential clients and customers a chance to know, like and trust you—long before you ask for the order.   

To discover how to get a book out quickly—even if you have no writing skills and haven’t got a clue what you’d write about— join Steve Harrison for a free webinar (or telephone seminar) today, at either 2 or 7 p.m. Eastern Time. It’s called “How to Grow Your own Business by Having Your Own Book and Getting it Done Quickly.”

Here’s just some of what you’ll discover later today:

• How to quickly create a book that attracts clients.
    
• Why a book instantly gives you expert status in your market or industry.
    
• The secret to quickly getting your book done even if you think you have no time or no writing skills.
    
• How one professional more than doubled his closing percentage simply by giving prospects a copy of his book.
    
• Wondering what you’d write about?  You’ll see lots of examples of good books you can quickly model.
    
• How a book makes prospects and clients feel like they know you long before you ever meet.
    
• Why bestselling author Robert Kiyosaki jokes his book is a “brochure” because it brings him so much business.
    
• How having a book makes it easier to get publicity in newspapers and magazines plus radio/TV shows.
    
• Want to raise your fees?  How having your own book can help.
    
• Pros and cons of various publishing options.
    
• Critical mistakes to avoid if you want a book that actually brings in paying clients.

Many authors write books because they have something valuable to share with the world. But they invest years of their time writing it, and by the time it’s done, they’re tired of it. They see lackluster sales, and they move on to something else.

Don’t be one of those authors. Write a book quickly to upsell potential clients to other high-ticket products and services. Register for the free teleseminar.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Information Products
posted On: 5/21/2009: 9:24 am: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

Do you generate such great publicity that you can boast about your website traffic? If so, that’s OK.

But all the traffic in the world is useless unless it’s putting money in your pocket. That’s why if you’re selling ANYTHING online, you should sign up for Tom Antion’s teleseminar “Increase Your Web Sales: 27 Ways to Get ‘em to Buy” at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Feb. 26.

What makes Tom the expert?

About eight years ago, he promoted a teleseminar he was hosting on Thanksgiving night. Maybe he booked it on that date accidentally without looking at the calendar. Or maybe he figured, “Hey, what else do people do on Thanksgiving night except sit around and watch TV?”

He sold 60 seats at the teleseminar at $29.95 a pop. One hour on the phone = $1,797.00. But that’s not all.

Just one technique he used during that call enticed 21 of those people to spend an additional $97 with him, or a total of $2,037.00 additional dollars.

Add that to the original amount of $1,770.00 and you get a whopping $3,834.00 for one hour on the phone—on Thanksgiving night.

I’ve been following Tom ever since I created my website about 12 years ago, and I’m familiar with most of the tips he’s going to share. One of my very favorites is a technique he calls ”Do you want fries with that?” When a customer buys something, his shopping cart asks if the customer wants to buy a related product, sometimes for only $5 or $10.  I’ve tried it myself hundreds of times, and it works.  All those extra $5 and $10 sales really add up.

You don’t have to try all 27 tips, or even most of them, or even 10 of them. Just one or two can help you sell thousands more dollars of products and services.

Posted In: Business Promotion, Information Products, Magazine Publicity
posted On: 2/24/2009: 2:29 pm: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

If you’re a member of Stompernet, the world’s largest membership site for Internet marketers, and you’re attending the Stompernet LIVE 7 event March 5-8 in Atlanta—or if you’re attending as a member’s guest—let me know. I’d love to meet you, say hi and maybe even buy you coffee.

I’ve cut back drastically on travel because I hate airport hassles, but this event is well worth it. It’s a chance to:

Be a human sponge for three days.

I soaked up so much valuable information last April at the Stompernet Live 5 event that I couldn’t figure out how I’d ever do it all. (Hint: don’t even try to do it all. Choose what’s best for you and leave the rest.) The Stompernet faculty members and other speakers are among the most successful and creative Internet marketers in the business.

Meet joint venture partners

In April, I finally met and had dinner with Mike Stewart who I’ve known for several years.  We ended up collaborating on a teleseminar that taught Publicity Hounds how to use video at a website, blog or in a video sales letter, and the best camera and video-ediitng software to use. You can listen to the 67-minute recording here. 

I also met Lynn Terry. I’ve been recommending her dirt-cheap 13-page report Easy Fast Cash Strategies. The report teaches you how to market a special report that you’ve written for a niche audience, even if you don’t have a website, shopping cart, or email addresses of people who have given you permission to market to them.  

I met Publicity Hound Leili McKinley, a business coach who I invited to be my guest expert during a teleseminar on Outsourcing Secrets: How to Get the Best Quality, Price & Teamwork from Freelancers.  

Hear a website critique

Brad Fallon, who founded Stompernet with Andy Jenkins, critiqued my website. All members get a website critique and you can attend the critique sessions even if you don’t want a faculty member to review your site.

 
Network

Some of the most valuable relationships aren’t made in the meeting room, but in the hallways, at the coffee table, and during the breaks. Go out of your way to invite interesting people you’ve met to lunch or dinner. That’s where a lot of the deals are made.

Find out what’s new

You’ll learn what’s new in social networking, blogging, podcasting and search engine optimization.

One of the speakers will be business coach and Stompernet member Paul Lemberg. He’s the creator of Forumla Five, the package of videos, checklists and coaching that teaches you how to follow five simple formulas to double your business this year. Stompernet asked me to review the product, and I’ve been devouring the videos the last several weeks. Be sure to check out the five free videos about Formula Five as well as the webinar. But make sure you have a pen and paper close at hand, or sit at another computer and take notes. You’ll come away with dozens of tips and ideas you can start applying to your business today, regardless of what you sell. 

Hope to see you in March in Atlanta! If you’re going, let me know.  I’m bringing Chris Buffaloe, my assistant, and she’d love to meet you too.

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, Information Products, Search engine optimization, Social media marketing, Video
posted On: 1/17/2009: 3:05 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Internet marketers are hawking thousands of products that promise to help you promote yourself and get rich quick—AFTER you pay, in some cases, several thousand dollars for the how-to information.

I just discovered one of those how-to products that’s perfect for Publicity Hounds, but at a paltry $10. It just might be the best money you’ve ever spent.

It’s a 13-page report called “Easy 7-Step Fast Cash Strategy, written by Lynn Terry, who I met at a members-only convention hosted by Stompernet, the Internet marketing membership site, earlier this year. (Sorry, but membership in Stompernet is currently closed.)

Lynn’s report teaches you how to market a special report that you’ve written for a niche audience, even if you don’t have a website, shopping cart, or email addresses of people who have given you permission to market to them. Most Publicity Hounds I know would love to create info-products for their niche, but they abhor the thought of creating a website, processing the payments or delivering the product.

Lynn suggests that you write a content-rich report that walks people through the steps of how to solve a problem, similar to the 52 special reports I sell on publicity-related topics.

You can give away the report as background information for journalists, or for your favorite clients and customers. But Lynn suggests you sell it to the public like she’s doing so you have an additional revenue stream.

The only 2 things you need

You only need two things: a PayPal account and an email address. I recommend the report for:

—Anyone who has written a book and is looking for a fast, inexpensive product to create so they can upsell their readers to something else.

—Anyone who has written a book and wants a low-price product that catches the attention of people in a particular target audience who also might be interested in the book.

—Publicity Hounds who want to promote their expertise and demonstrate their ability to solve problems. If people love the report, they might be inclined to hire you at your hourly consulting rate.

—Speakers who are trying to get paid gigs in a particular industry. Rather than cold-calling meeting planners, you can market the report to a niche, and then include in the report information about topics on which you speak. I’d even go so far as to suggest that within the report, you mention that readers who would like to hear you speak at a live event should contact meeting planners at their trade associations and hire you for their next event, assuming you’re a good fit.

—Anyone in PR who wants more clients. That includes book publicists, PR agency people and sole-proprietor publicists. Write a report on how to a solve a particular publicity problem. Many people don’t want to do their own publicity. They’d rather hire someone like you.

—Small-business owners who can explain within the report a problem and solution that relates to a product or service they sell. The report can generate leads that turn into paying customers.

In some cases, you can create the report and start selling it in well under a week. And if you have questions, go over to Lynne’s discussion forum where she’ll be happy to help you.

From drug store manager to Internet marketer

Michael Brown of Howard, Ohio, one of Lynn’s customers, quit his day job managing drug stores earlier this year and started his own Internet marketing business selling information products after he read Lynn’s Fast Cash Strategy report. He followed her step-by-step instructions, created a special report, and marketed it exactly as she explained.

Initially, he sold 300 copies of the $10 report. He then expanded the report into a $47 ebook and sold 1,200 copies. Total income from both products: $59,400. Since then, he has created dozens more reports and other information products and sells them from his website, TheProfitHQ.com.

While reading the report, my “ah-ha” moment came when Lynn explained how to quietly sell your report at a few specific websites, and then generate feedback and testimonials which you can then use during the product launch.

Michael says his “ah-ha” moment came when he read on Page 13 the exact wording you should use, including the subject line, when you’re emailing someone to introduce yourself and suggest they join you in a joint venture to market the report.

“That was a good starting point for me,” Michael said. “It’s one thing to create a product but something altogether to try to round up people to help you promote it.”

Today, his business has grown to include managing two membership sites.

Get Lynn’s report. Read it, choose a topic, write your own report, and then get started marketing it to people who are searching right now for helpful solutions to aggravating problems. Who knows? You just might be able to quit your day job.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Business Promotion, Information Products, PR Consultants/Publicists, Writing Articles
posted On: 12/23/2008: 12:12 am: By Joan
Comments: 2 Comments