Twice this week, people who want to create ebooks but are afraid that the content will be plagiarized, or that their customers will give the ebooks to their friends, asked me how I prevent that from happening to my own ebooks.

I don’t worry about it. Period.

With one slight exception. When you turn a document into a PDF, the security settings allow you to prohibit people from cutting and pasting the text. I always do this to prevent someone from stealing my content and turning it into an article with their byline. They can retype what I’ve written, of course, but preventing cutting and pasting makes plagiarizing more difficult.

But if people are able to download the ebook and save it to their hard drive, there’s nothing I can do to prevent them from passing it along to their friends. Let’s say somebody passes along my ebook, How to be a Kick-butt Publicity Hound, shown here.

Lots of reasons not to fret

• Throughout the ebook, I include links to sales pages where I sell related products. If somebody who has received it for free clicks on one of those links and buys a product, I win.
• Ditto for links to other people’s products and services that I sell for a commission. If somebody who has not bought the book clicks on a link and buys a product from a vendor who pays me a commission, I win.
• My ebooks include a list of “Recommended Resources” at the end of each book. Many of these resources are products and services I sell for a commission. I only include products and services from vendors I know, and that I can stand behind 100 percent.
• My ebooks also include a list of places where readers can find lots of free content, like my free “The Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week” ebooks. Every December, I give away a free ebook filled with the best two dozen tips from that year’s ezines. I encourage people to regift the book to their friends. Every item includes links to my own products, or to products and services I sell for a commission. I’ve even written about 12 ways you can use my free ebooks.
• The person who gets an ebook that somebody else bought might not know me. Because my ebooks are content-rich, the reader might think, “This is pretty good stuff. I wonder what else she has at her website?”

When creating your ebook, think of all the ways you can use that book to sell other things. Build in links to your website, links to product pages, links back to your blog, affiliate links, and links to places where a reader can find more free content by opting in with their name and email address.

I always include references to my free ezine, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” and tell people how to subscribe. If somebody who gets the ebook for free subscribes to my ezine, I now have their email address. Again, I win.

Authors and publishers, particularly those who publish printed books and other materials, have taken me to task for this attitude, but that’s OK. Let them spend time worrying about how to protect their content. I’d rather spend my time creating more helpful content that my readers might pass along to someone who doesn’t know me.

Am I wrong?

If you publish ebooks, how do you deal with this “problem”? Do you think I’m wrong?

By the way, if you’re looking for content for your blog, pay attention to questions that people are asking you. This blog post originated because two people asked me the same question. If you want more ideas on how to find blog content, see “Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging,” a teleseminar I hosted a few weeks ago with blogging expert Patsi Krakoff.

One of the handouts includes 101 ways to find content for your blog. Here’s a list of 9 easy places to find content for your blog, from those handouts.

Have you claimed your copy of “The Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week of 2009″ yet?

It not, grab it here. You’ll find the 26 tips that generated the most response from readers of my ezine last year. 

I give away this ebook each year, and my readers eagerly look forward to it. Many of them regift the book to their own friends and followers. And the big attaction is that anyone can access the ebook. You don’t have to opt in with your name and email address. 

What will you learn in this book? Plenty.

For example, I explain how to create your own day, week or month of the year. You’ll learn about lots of tricks and tools for participating at the social media sites. Read about 10 dead or dying PR tactics. 

And for Publicity Hounds who are looking to connect with journalists, I’ve given you several resources.  The book will help you, regardless of what business or nonprofit you’re in. 

Use the ebook one of these 12 ways:

1. Create a Facebook note, and excerpt the entire tip. Use the photo along with the text, and you’ve got a nice little item that your followers and fans will love. Christine Buffaloe discussed Facebook notes when she was my guest during a teleseminar on “11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook.” 
        
2. No time for a Note? Write about it and share the link (http://tinyurl.com/bestof2009tips) in a Facebook status update.
       
3. Write about it in a LinkedIn status update.
        
4. Blog about the book, and include your own success story that ties into one of the tips. 
        
5. Offer the ebook as a bonus along with other products and services you’re selling.
       
6. Give it to your clients and customers.
       
7. Mention it at your weekly staff meetings.
       
8. Add it to the Free Articles page at your website.
       
9. Give it away to the winner of a contest you’re sponsoring.  
         
10. Offer the ebook as a freebie to help you capture names and email addresses at your website. 
       
11. Create a video that discusses the ebook and upload it to your website or to YouTube, then share that with your social media friends and followers.
       
12. Include the link  (http://tinyurl.com/bestof2009tips) in a book you’re writing, or in handouts you’re using for a speaking engagement.

What about you? Have you thought of any other clever ways to use the ebook? If so, share them here. I’d love to hear them.

Ted Fuller of Lafayette, Calif., writes:

“Thanks to you and Paulette Ensign, the Tips Booklet Queen, I have completed my first two booklets.

“‘The Best Ideas Yet About Aging Successfully is 16 pages, and ‘Tips for Writing a Great Memoir is 12 pages.  Now comes the grind of contacting book and gift store distributors, retirement home companies, and other organizations serving seniors.

“Any suggestions on how one gets these charming publications publicized so the purchasing departments seek me out with their orders?”

If you’re not using teleseminars in your business, you’re missing a fabulous opportunity to amass a loyal following of people who want to hear what you have to say.

With a lousy economy that leaves people reluctant to pay for hotels and airfare, teleseminars are an easy, inexpensive alternative to live events.  

They’re also a handy way to create products very quickly. I’ve hosted dozens of teleseminars on a wide variety of publicity-related topics, and then turned them into CDs, MP3s and electronic transcripts. I host two private  teleseminars each month for people in The Publicity Hound Mentor Program.

Join Steve Harrison on Thursday, November 12, for a free telephone seminar with an author who rakes in over $3.4 million a year this way.

One of the fastest ways to sell more books and make more as an author is do telephone seminars based on your expertise.  To learn how, join Steve for a free 90-minute teleseminar with author Alex Mandossian and learn:

• Eight models for using teleseminars to sell books and make big buckeroos.
      
• How Alex sold over 3,023 books in a single teleseminar.
       
• Why you’re lucky to get 25 people at a traditional bookstore signing but Alex routinely gets 1,200+ on teleseminars with his ‘virtual book tour’ strategy.
      
• The case history of how Alex used teleseminars to help a first-time author hit the New York Times Best Seller List.

Register here.

The most successful authors, consultants, speakers and experts do one thing differently from most others.

They figure out creative ways to spin their expertise into multiple products and services. Many of the most successful authors, for example, never intend to rely on income solely from their book, even if it’s a best-seller.

That’s because they understand that, first, writing a best-seller is a long shot. But more importantly, even if they don’t write a best-seller, the book is better used as a “carrot” to pull in readers who are interested in a topic, and who can then buy more products and services related to the title of the book.

Here’s a short list of what those can include:

• Calendars
• Board games
• T-shirts and other clothing
• Consulting services
• Membership sites
• Subscription newsletters
• Special reports
• CDs and DVDs
• Joint ventures with other non-competing authors who target the same audience

Add it all up, and the revenue from those offerings can surpass  the revenue from a book. And many of those products and services have far less competition than a book has.

On Thursday, Oct. 22., Steve Harrison will host a free 90-minute teleseminar on “How to Thrive as an Author or Expert in Any Economy”  at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern. You will learn:

• 22 super-lucrative income streams which most authors overlook — but are surprisingly easy to implement (and certainly MUCH easier to produce than writing another book).
     
• Some surprisingly simple ways to quickly and easily make another $5,000.000 to $15,000.00+/month from your book or expertise — even if you haven’t made any money so far as an author/expert.
     
• 3 ways to turn what you write into strong passive income month-after-month.

The call, which will last about 90 minutes, is the third preview call for Steve’s upcoming Quantum Leap Publicity & Marketing Program.  

If the time is inconvenient for you, recruit somebody to listen and take notes because Steve seldom offer the replays.  

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?”

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.

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.

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.

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.