Archive for the ‘writing a book’ Category

Four ways to add quick profits to your business…

By: Darcy Juarez on: December 28th, 2012 2 Comments

“Publish or perish.”

That’s what Dan Kennedy and Matt Zagula say in their new book, No B.S. Trust-based Marketing.

Dan continues, “Even if you are a proprietor of a local hardware store, landscape company, home remodeling company, etc., …you need to write and publish your own book as well as other information media such as newsletters, special reports, how-to-guides, and more. Anyone who seeks trusted authority and advisor status will publish, or perish.”

In an age of diminishing trust, establishing credibility and authority are increasingly becoming key factors to success. And there’s no doubt that published authors are considered trusted authorities.

In chapter 7, Dan starts out by saying that Matt Zagula points out that “author is in the word authority.”

But before you start thinking you need to run out and write a book, I’ll let you in on a little secret: That is not what I, nor Dan are suggesting here.

There are many things you can publish. In fact, information products don’t even have to be written. You can create video and audio information products too. Or create an audio program and have it transcribed to create a book or report.

Here’s a sample of some of the info-products you might want to consider for your business:

  • Newsletters
  • E-books
  • Special Reports
  • How-to Guides
  • Lists of resources
  • Insider reports
  • Expert interviews

Information products establish trust and credibility—making it easier to sell your core products and services at premium prices.

In addition, here are four additional reasons why you should consider adding information products to your business:

  1. High profit margins.  Consider that people value information differently than they do physical products. For example, the cost of an iPhone is worth a set amount. But an information product that promises to double your income in 90 days is worth a subjective amount to each person considering purchasing it. Combine this with the fact that you can create information products at a very low cost (especially if you create digital products that consumers download) and you have an extremely high profit margin.
  2. Create enduring information products once, get paid on them forever.  When you create evergreen information products they retain their selling power year and year. That means you do the work once and make money year after year.
  3. Easy and low cost distribution. You can create an e-book or a video series or special report with very low costs. You can use video, audio, and PDF files to create low-cost information products and with inexpensive distribution channels such as email, you can distribute your products instantly, automatically, easily and inexpensively.
  4. Eliminate commoditization. In a world where commoditization is a problem, you can set yourself and your business apart by leveraging your knowledge to create information products. Plus while there may be products similar to yours, there is virtually no competition for your product because no one knows exactly what you know, nor will they present it in exactly the same way you do. That means your info-product will be unique and won’t exist in any other place. You can also use your info-product to set your business apart even further by incorporating your unique selling proposition throughout your product. For example, if your unique proposition is that you are the only health club that includes a custom diet for your customers, you might want to talk about the benefits and importance of combining proper diet with exercise throughout your info-product.

Increase your credibility and authority this year by creating an information product. You’ll find it a low-cost way to increase your income  and set yourself apart from your competition.

NOTE: As you know GKIC is an Info-marketing business created and launched by Dan Kennedy. For the first time, Dan is going to reveal the single most important and powerful concept on which he based his entire business, that made possible what you know of today as GKIC, an inspiration that has “launched a thousand ships.”

Dan has NEVER taught this concept as he’ll describe it during his A-Z Info-Biz Blueprints Reboot. He will also reveal the checklists behind his approach to info-marketing and their sources, and the very-short-list of authors that he’s most closely emulated.

If you are sensibly curious about the “SOURCE(S)” of the power Dan’s demonstrated during his successful career as a professional info-marketer, builder of brand and empire, and builder of others’ info-businesses as well, then you will walk barefoot across a 500-mile fire walk if need be, to be at this event. To Learn More About This Event Click Here

Hunt “Whales” And Get Rich…

By: Dan Kennedy on: December 26th, 2012 9 Comments

January marks my 40th year in this business.

I have sold myself as a consultant, a copywriter, a speaker. I’ve sold products through info-marketing.  You can see a pretty complete list by clicking here…and even find a number of my info-marketing products at 25% through the end of the year.

I’ve sold my services and products in wildly prosperous times when customers were practically falling over themselves buying. And I’ve sold my services and products during dark times, with a shrinking economy, and seemingly nowhere in sight.

At the recent GKIC Info-Summit, legendary copywriter John Carlton joined me, and we presented three sessions on copywriting. John isn’t actively seeking new clients nor am I, but we both know there are “whales” in that pond and by sheer force of habit, we want to be seen by them, showing off.  (In the casino industry, a “whale” is a high-roller; a rich, repeat customer. I use the term to mean a desirable, valuable client.)

In this instance, John picked up a nice chunk of change from purchases of his copywriting course in “back of the room sales.” I was compensated too, by my relationship with GKIC.

Speaking on Peter Lowe’s Success tour, I built my herd (and my income) by sending letters to everyone in attendance, whether they stayed to see me or not.

I did not always get to show off in such nice places or in front of such qualified prospects. However even in the most unlikely places, I’ve found speaking a great way to grow my business.

I recall a bad speaking gig  in the 90’s, done as a favor, with a room of utterly unqualified prospects—but for one guy, who had just sold his company for $50 million.  He wanted to be a famous author and speaker, and paid me six figures to be his ghost writer and copywriter. This sort of thing is whale-hunting in the desert. There’s no good reason to expect any to be there, but then again you never know.  So you always show off what you know.

There were times I was on panels, with others better known than I, but a chance to show off, which I took, and used more smartly than the others, showing off broader knowledge. And I snagged a whales.

You may be about to tell me that showing off isn’t natural for you. That the very idea of speaking to a group terrifies you.  That you are shy.  Or that you find all this unseemly.  Or worst, that you resent it, and feel entitled to get work as whatever your profession is because you are skilled or talented at “whatever your profession” is.

Sorry, you’re not entitled to anything by skill or talent.

Even the U.S. Constitution was wisely written to guarantee only the right of pursuit of.  Nothing more. They said: go get it if you can.  And none of it has to come naturally or easily to you.  That, fortunately, is not a prerequisite for success. I stuttered uncontrollably in childhood and never totally erased it. I’m an anti-social, reclusive, bookworm by nature, not a born performer. I learned to show-off. So you can decide whether you want to stay glued to whatever your reasons are that you “can’t” or “shouldn’t have to” do these things, or you can be rich.

In speaking at GKIC Info-Summit, John and I know for certain there are whales. Whether you are in a room that is certain to have whales, or not, it is better to be showing off somewhere than nowhere.  And these days with the Internet, you can conduct webinars and promote them broadly and cheaply and hunt for whales at home. There is someplace available to you today and every day; to show off what you know.

NOTE:  As I mentioned, I’ve been in this business 40 years. I am in the trenches and intimately involved with clients’ and my own info-marketing on a day to day basis, adjusting to (and coping with!) changes, creating new blueprints as needed, creating new opportunities, making millions of dollars materialize from the thin air if ideas and initiative. I also have the richest background from long tenure and broad diversity in the field, dating back a full 40 YEARS (!) from 2013.

I’m currently preparing, re-assembling, re-organizing, up-dating, fully detailing everything I’ve learned in those 40 years, and presenting it at The A-Z Info-Biz Blueprints Re-Boot. This will be the most complete and detailed and valuable multi-day training on this business that has ever been built. So if you’re serious about adding substantial income to your bottom line, then this is the place to learn how to do that. To Learn More About This Event Click Here

 

So You Want to Write a Book?

By: Kristen Moeller on: March 9th, 2010 14 Comments

If the answer is yes, allegedly you are among eighty percent of the population. But how many of those eighty percent do you think actually write one?

I have heard varying reports but based on human nature, my guess would be … not that many.

Then of course, of that eighty percent, there are people at various points of the writing process. Some may never even begin—they will swear they want to and it will always seem like a good idea. They just won’t ever do it. Others may start writing and never finish. There may be notebooks with ideas, countless books on writing and a few half-completed stories lying around. And still others may actually finish writing the book, yet leave it gathering dust in a corner of their office, forever to remain unpublished.

Writing a book can provide a lot: self-satisfaction, being recognized as an expert in your field, achievement of a life-long goal, artistic expression, taking your career and business to another level, opening up opportunities such as speaking engagements, additional clients, and even media exposure. The list goes on and on. It definitely sounds like a good idea. So what stops so many of us?

I have the good fortune to coach a multitude of authors in the completion of their book writing process. Through this experience, my journey in writing my own book, as well as my twenty years of study of human behavior, I have become an expert on this topic.

There are as many reasons as there are individuals. However it’s actually not that complicated. There are really only few common themes. And it’s important to note, that often what seems like a reason is only a surface level excuse obscuring a deeper concern.

Here are some of the most frequently heard themes:

The concern for time. The internal thought pattern sounds like: I don’t have enough time right now. I probably will later. I will start on Friday. Or maybe I will start next week, or next year. I will celebrate by starting on my upcoming birthday! I will begin after the holidays, on the first day of summer. I will wait until I take that fabulous vacation—I am sure I will access my creativity on the beach in Fiji. I will start after the kids go back to school, after they graduate. I will start when I retire …

Starting is always out there on the horizon. It is never now!

The concern for ability. Often the time concern is a smoke screen for the deeper concern of ability! This goes like: I can’t write. I have never been a writer. I got a “D” on my paper in 5th grade and the teacher said my writing wasn’t descriptive enough. I don’t even like writing thank you notes. I won’t be able to clearly say what I want to communicate. There are so many truly talented writers out there, why am I even considering this?

This is really the fear of being judged. Deep down, we have the thought –there is no way I will ever let anyone read my writing. What if they don’t like it? They will think I am uninformed, uneducated, lack talent. Still worse, they may think I am boring, ridiculous or even stupid.

Then we have the extraneous concerns: I can’t type. I can’t sit for long periods of time. What if I get hungry? I don’t like my reading glasses, they hurt my nose. I need to call the plumber first. Oops, I forgot to clean the cat box.

The bottom line is most of our concerns are really excuses. And they aren’t going anywhere. All those concerns and excuses are along for the ride!

I have studied this. I have personally interviewed, listened to interviews and read articles by best-selling authors. Many of them express similar thoughts. There can be temporary relief in knowing we are not alone in our concerns. However, after our temporary relief wears off, we still need to sit down and write. For some of us, sitting down to write requires the same amount of energy each time. It really is amazing that anything gets written

And, we may become fascinated by this. If so, we have what is referred to as “analysis paralysis.” We feel the need to explore all the reasons why we don’t, can’t, or won’t write. We think maybe we need a therapist to uncover the childhood event that caused us to feel inadequate.

And maybe we do need to do this. I was a therapist for many years as well. There is a time and place for therapy. It’s a fact that most of the human population has had at least one formative childhood event that altered our view of ourselves, others and the world. If unresolved, this could still be running the show. Or maybe we just don’t want to commit.

What separates the published authors from those for whom the idea remains merely an idea? The answer I have found is commitment.

Ask yourself, are you committed to it? If not, I encourage you to save yourself the hassle, the worry, the stress and forget it now. And be complete about that. Don’t mess with yourself, just say you aren’t committed.

However, if you say you are committed; if you really are prepared to make a promise to yourself—then go forward. Take the first crucial step and commit. Commit in a way you never have before. Put your word on the line and your butt in the chair. Tell everyone you know you are doing this. Make large promises and create the systems to back them up. Have a time line. Don’t let yourself off the hook. Create structures for support whether it’s a mastermind group, an accountability partner or a coach.

Your initial inspiration will fade. That is what inspiration does. The question is what are you going to do and who are you going to be after it fades? After it doesn’t seem like a good idea any more—when you are staring pen in hand at the blank page or fingers on the keyboard with nothing coming forth. Those moments can be painful. Can you be with that?

If you can, I promise you the rewards are great. My belief is that writing a book illuminates parts of ourselves that we wouldn’t see otherwise. The process can provide an access to our greatness, our wisdom, and our strengths in new and wondrous ways. And, did I mention, it can be painful?

The real question to ask yourself is are you up for the challenge? And if so, what are you waiting for?

Kristen Moeller’s first book, Waiting for Jack: Confessions of a Self-Help Junkie: How to Stop Waiting and Start Living Your Life is available now.