PUBLISHER NOTE: If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know about the upcoming freelance writing seminar in October. Details.
Many have inquired about what will be discussed at the seminar. So, in order to answer your questions and to get you prepared for what to expect, I've started a series of posts entitled "40 Days to a Successful Freelance Writing Career."
To start at the beginning, click here. And, welcome to the blog. Now, on to today’s post . . .
Why Aren’t You Rich?
I went to a motivational seminar about a month ago. The featured speaker was self-made millionaire, Jim Ziegler. Mr. Ziegler is an entrepreneur, speaker, consultant and author. The title of the workbook he handed out in the seminar was “Why aren’t you rich?”
Why do I bring this up? Because it’s a form of shock marketing – today’s topic. I think we all have an idea of what shock marketing is, so the better question to ponder here is what does/should it do?
POST CONTINUED BELOW
**************************************************
Want to learn exactly what to do to earn $100, $150, $200/day or more as a freelance writer, editor and/or copy editor? Inkwell Editorial's upcoming Freelance Writing Seminar will tell you how. Details. It's a career anyone who can read and write can start -- with the right information.
**************************************************
According to a 2004 article on the Kellogg School of Management’s website, “. . . the goal of shock marketing is to create a buzz among a target audience . . . In advertising you want to do two things. . . First, break through the advertising clutter out there. Second, you want (the ad) to be remembered."
While subtle, Ziegler’s simple sentence on the front of his workbook did this – by making the reader think, “Yeah, why aren’t I rich?”
By causing the reader to pause and think, you immediately gain their attention (eg, break through the advertising clutter). And, it’s certainly a phrase that sticks in your head (ie, you remember it) – almost like American Idol’s William Hung’s rendition of Ricky Martin’s “She Bang.” No matter how hard you try, you can’t get it out of your head.
What Would Howard Stern Do?
Shock marketing doesn’t have to be “shocking,” a la Shock Jock Howard Stern, to be effective. Make the reader think, laugh, recall a fond moment, etc. and you have achieved the goal of shock marketing.
Examples of Effective Shock Marketing
Remember the “Where’s the Beef?” campaign Wendy’s used back in the 80s? After almost twenty years, I still remember that old lady standing at the counter asking the question. It was hilarious.
(Okay I’m dating myself a little here – if you don’t remember this commercial, you’re not old enough to be a freelance writer!)
Type of Shock Value: Comedy! It still is one of the most effective ways to get – and hold – the public’s attention.
As a freelance writer, you could do a series of postcards or email campaigns using humor to encourage clients to use your services. Depending on how funny you are, dollars to doughnuts they will get forwarded to friends, family and acquaintances alike.
Prospects will start to look forward to your communication – and, whammo! When they need freelance writing services, who do you think they’re going to call?
Practically everyone knows about the dogfighting scandal involving ex-Atlanta Falcon quarterback Michael Vick by now. Who picketed him? PETA. How? By showing signs of bloodied dogs involved in dogfighting.
Type of Shock Value: In essence, appealing to a basic emotion (in this case, humanity). Again, the tactics used by organizations like PETA and right-to-life associations achieve the two basic goals of shock marketing – breaking through the clutter, and being remembered.
NOTE: The type of emotion you appeal to can vary – it could be anger, fear, love, etc.
How can you use this type of shock marketing as a freelance writer? Take a badly worded web page from a prospective client’s website. Edit it – in red. This will highlight all the errors in a “shocking” manner.
Then, send the prospect an edited version you did.
The tag line of your company/correspondence might read something like, “Basic Communication: Where every successful relationship starts.”
This plays on the prospect’s fear of: Is my website that bad? Am I losing business because of it? Does it need to be redone?
The type of shock marketing you use isn’t important, so play to your strengths. If you have a gift for comedy – by all means go for that. However, be careful that your shock marketing techniques match the tone of your company.
What do I mean by this? Your company’s image, which we’ll discuss tomorrow.
NEXT POST: In Post #10 tomorrow, we’ll discuss your company’s image. As in, how you want it to be perceived. You must get this right from the beginning to be successful – tomorrow’s post will explain why.
What do you think? If you have questions, comments or observations about this post, send them in. Email them to info [at] InkwellEditorial.com.
Editorially yours,
Yuwanda (who is this person?)
P.S.: I wanted to create a “shocking” message to end, but I spent the early part of the evening watching the US Open (I love tennis!). Did anyone catch that match between V. Williams and Jelena Jankovic (3 sets – third set tiebreak)? Awesome! Go girls! Anyway, I expended all of my energy -- and brain cells – watching that match. So, I end on a mere whimper. Sorry :(
**************************************************
Upcoming Features in Inkwell Editorial’s Newsletter
September 12: Gordon Graham. We ring in the “editorial season” by interviewing Gordon Graham, aka “that white paper guy.” Gordon writes and edits white papers and case studies. He charges $90/hour just to edit a white paper and a minimum of $4,000 to produce a white paper from scratch.
Now, do you see why I had to interview him?! Most freelancers don’t even dream of making this type of money. I can’t wait for this interview.
Missed the latest issue of Inkwell's freelance writing newsletter? The 8/15 issue featured an interview with B2B freelance writer, Meryl K. Evans. Want to break into this very lucrative market? Meryl's interview sheds some detailed light on how. Sign up to receive your copy to read what Meryl had to say.
Gain clients, web traffic and brand awareness. How? Let us interview you for our popular newsletter? Full details. Read the first issue here.
************************************************
Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com.
**************************************************
Like what you read here? Find the content useful and informative? Make us a Technorati Favorite. Simply click the Technorati icon at the top right-hand corner of the page.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
POST #9: 40 Days to a Successful Freelance Writing Career
Friday, August 31, 2007
POST #6: 40 Days to a Successful Freelance Writing Career
PUBLISHER NOTE: If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know about the upcoming freelance writing seminar in October. Details.
Many have inquired about what will be discussed at the seminar. So, in order to answer your questions and to get you prepared for what to expect, I've started a series of posts entitled "40 Days to a Successful Freelance Writing Career."
To start at the beginning, click here. And, welcome to the blog. Now, on to today’s post . . .
Researching for Dollars
In yesterday’s post, we talked about how to get PR for your business. We also explained the difference between PR and advertising. So, if you haven’t read this post, please go back and do so because you will better utilize the information we’re going to go over today.
As I said in Post #3 when we went over niche marketing, once you decide on a niche, it’s time to learn everything you can about them. This is the only way you're going to be able to decide the who, what, where, when, why and how’s of marketing to them -- effectively.
To illustrate this point, following is a personal example.
POST CONTINUED BELOW
**************************************************
Want to learn exactly what to do to earn $100, $150, $200/day or more as a freelance writer, editor and/or copy editor? Inkwell Editorial's upcoming Freelance Writing Seminar will tell you how. Details. It's a career anyone who can read and write can start -- with the right information.
**************************************************
The mortgage brokers I processed loans through had been in business for 13+ years. They were having trouble drumming up business though. At the current time, they were running an expensive radio ad campaign and it wasn’t as effective as they’d hoped it would be.
When I hard all of this, my immediate thought was, “Why are you trying to drum up new business when you have 13+ years of old clients you can market to?”
While old clients consistently called them and also sent referrals to them, they weren’t actively keeping in touch with their old clients. So, I gave them two ideas to implement to drum up business – almost immediately: i) start a monthly e-newsletter; ii) mail a monthly postcard.
I explained to them the old marketing idiom that 80% of their business comes from 20% of their clients. They told me that they knew this intrinsically, but “didn’t have time to follow up.”
How to Make Clients Realize They Need You
When I heard this I asked them, “Who would you loan $50 to if they asked – a stranger, or a friend you’ve given a loan to before and who has paid you back?”
Of course, they both said the friend. I told them, this is exactly the same scenario. Old clients know, trust and respect you. There’s no need to convince them. It’s an easy sale.
Simply staying in contact with them will garner you many referrals (new clients) and repeat business. I told them, "The best thing about referrals – you don’t have to do nearly as much selling to them because the person who referred them is usually someone they know. And, that’s all most need. If it's good enough for my friend, it's good enough for me."
I think this is when they realized how I could help them – it was their “light bulb” moment, so to speak.
Marketing Tip to Remember: I remember reading a survey a few years ago that when consumers comparison shop, most only compare one or two vendors for the product/service they are considering buying. Please get the distinction here – this is when they bother to compare at all.
So, I explained to the brokers that if you are able to become “top of mind” for clients when they are looking for mortgage services, you have an excellent chance of them using you.
So, why did I tell you all of this? What does this have to do with research? Well, I learned a ton.
1) Many mortgage brokers are mom and pop shops consisting of less than 5 full-time employees, excluding loan officers
2) Many don’t have the time/money/knowledge/etc. to mount advertising campaigns
3) Most have the money to do low-cost, long-term marketing
4) Many rely on word-of-mouth advertising
5) Most don’t have their databases organized into a functional system
6) Many would love, love, love to have someone “handle their marketing”
7) Most process between 5-15 loans/month – depending on how many loan officers they have
8) Most have problems hiring dependable, productive loan officers
9) Turnover is extremely high in the industry
10) The loan processor is the “nerve center” of the office – he/she usually acts as the processor, admin asst, receptionist, girl Friday, etc.
There are so many ways to use this type of info it’s scary. Eg, design a campaign to hire productive staff, create a training manual for new loan officers, send out a monthly newsletter to stay in touch with existing clients, create a referral incentive marketing campaign, etc.
The whole reason you want to know details about a niche is so you can touch upon their “sore spots/weaknesses” when you contact them. This way, they feel like you understand them and can solve their problem.
Remember, prospects don’t’ respond to ads, they respond to your ability to help them solve a problem. To know the problem, you have to know the niche.
Unbeknownst to me, my “new career” had brought me right back to my old one – but with a twist. I discovered that I really loved marketing, advising, teaching and dispensing information. About a year later is when the idea for freelance writing seminars was born. It melded all of what I love to do in one box.
How to Research Your Niche and Make Every Marketing Campaign a Success
After all of this you may be thinking, “It was easy for you to find out information about this niche – you worked in the field. How does that help me?” Following are three things you can do to research any niche.
3 Ways to Research a Niche Market & Make More Money – FREE
1. Go to the Source: After picking the brain of my brokers, I started to ask questions of other mortgage brokers. Many times at networking events, I told mortgage brokers that I was a freelance writer targeting their sector and wanted to find out as much as I could about what they needed.
This served two purposes: i) it made them aware of my services; and ii) it let them know that I was truly interested in helping them to increase their business. It also started them to thinking about new ways of marketing.
One thing you’ll find – especially with small business owners – is that they love to talk about their business. Usually, with minimal prompting, you can get them to talking. Soak up as much as you can from these conversations, for it’ll help you immensely in your marketing efforts.
2. Professional Organizations: As I mentioned in the previous point, I network a lot. Every niche is usually represented by some professional organization.
Find these organizations and join their lists – where possible. Sign up to receive their newsletters, read their websites, go to their networking events, etc. This way, you’ll stay abreast of the changes in their industry and will stay in the loop as to what’s important to them.
3. Tap Industry Affiliates: What I mean by this is, talk to people who do business with your niche market. In the case of mortgage brokers, they do business with real estate agents, appraisers, title companies, landscaping services, etc.
Ask these professionals questions about the niche you’re targeting. A side benefit of this is, you introduce yourself to another market you may be able to target.
One of the reasons being a loan officer interested me is that years ago in New York City, I was a real estate agent. So, I had some inside knowledge of what loan officers were and what they did. So, my niche is really the real estate industry – although I target primarily real estate agents and mortgage brokers within this sector.
Just by doing these three things, you will find out a wealth of information about your target market. Use this info to help you formulate marketing campaigns that help them solve everyday problems.
In the case of the two mortgage brokers I worked with, they had a database of over 11,000 clients. BUT, the information was in old file folders and stored on old computer disks.
Segment Your Database for Maximum Sales
I advised them to hire someone to come in and i) get all the contacts into a searchable database; and ii) sort the info so that they could more easily market to it (eg, separate contacts by purchases and refi’s). This would help them to market more effectively. How?
For example, if you had a database of all the clients who had refinanced through you, then you could send them postcards reminding them that the terms of their ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) was about to expire so they should call you for a FREE consultation on how to get into a fixed rate mortgage.
I told them, just imagine that if you only did 2-3 of those a month at an average refi cost of $4,000. That’s $8,000-$12,000/month – and it only cost you a postcard.
I hope I’ve illustrated how knowing your marketing can make selling to them (sharing your services with them) so much easier. Remember, you are not marketing your freelance services, you are selling solutions to problems. This requires knowledge of the sector.
Every time you sit down to write a marketing piece, keep this in mind.
So, what’s on tap for Monday (I know it’s a holiday, but I will be posting anyway)?
MONDAY'S POST: In Post #7 on Monday, we’ll discuss some technical aspects of marketing, eg, drip campaigns (you’re gonna love this cuz it means more money for you), how to retain customers once you get them, etc.
What do you think? If you have questions, comments or observations about this post, send them in. Email them to info [at] InkwellEditorial.com.
Happy Labor Day!
Yuwanda (who is this person?)
**************************************************
September 12: Gordon Graham. We ring in the “editorial season” by interviewing Gordon Graham, aka “that white paper guy.” Gordon writes and edits white papers and case studies. He charges $90/hour just to edit a white paper and a minimum of $4,000 to produce a white paper from scratch.
Now, do you see why I had to interview him?! Most freelancers don’t even dream of making this type of money. I can’t wait for this interview.
Missed the latest issue of Inkwell's freelance writing newsletter? The 8/15 issue featured an interview with B2B freelance writer, Meryl K. Evans. Want to break into this very lucrative market? Meryl's interview sheds some detailed light on how. Sign up to receive your copy to read what Meryl had to say.
Gain clients, web traffic and brand awareness. How? Let us interview you for our popular newsletter? Full details. Read the first issue here.
NOTE: As editorial is cyclical and slow during the summer, in July and August, the newsletter will be published once. In September, we go back to our twice-monthly publishing schedule. Subscribe today so you don't miss anything!
*************************************************
Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com.
**************************************************
Like what you read here? Find the content useful and informative? Make us a Technorati Favorite. Simply click the Technorati icon at the top right-hand corner of the page.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Publishing E-books for A Living: How to Ensure an Income for Life
I’ve been a freelance writer since 1993. Many writers write because it’s their calling. They love it and can’t imagine doing anything else.
Unlike these gifted souls, I write because I have a knack for it and it allows me to order my life around my work, not my work around my life. This is why I love publishing e-books for a living.
Besides the benefit of working in my jammies, the number one advantage of publishing e-books for a living is residual income. Once an e-book is written, it can earn you money for years to come.
What do I mean? Let me explain by way of a personal story.
POST CONTINUED BELOW
***************************************
Want to start a profitable career as a freelance writer? Our work-from-home ebooks contain all the information you need to get started right way! Log on to order. It's fast, simple, safe and secure.
FREE E-book on Article Marketing: If you write and distribute free content, learn how to increase your income via this free e-book. Full details.
Freelance Writing Seminar: Employers tell exactly what they're looking for in freelancers -- and more! Get the details here.
***************************************
Publishing E-books for A Living: How & Why I Started
I published my first e-book, How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer, in 2002. It was prompted by all the inquiries I received about freelancing after 9/11, when many in the publishing, advertising, communications industry lost their jobs.
By way of background, at the time, I owned an editorial staffing agency in New York City, Inkwell Editorial. After 9/11, the industry I staffed (publishing, advertising, media, communications, etc.) suffered a severe downturn.
As no one was placing ads, magazines were cutting back, dot-coms were going out of business and advertising agencies were trimming the fat. All of this meant many writers, copy editors, creative directors, editors, copywriters, etc., lost their jobs.
Many turned to freelancing – but few knew how to go about it. So, I wrote the e-book to shed some light on it.
That one was received so well that I followed up with a companion e-book, Advice from Successful Freelancers, which featured advice from real freelancers on how they succeeded.
To date, I’ve published 6 e-books, one e-course and numerous reports, pamphlets and guides – all focused on the business of creative freelancing.
Publishing E-books for A Living: How to Ensure an Income for Life
Once you write and publish an e-book, you can make it an income-generating enterprise for years to come. How? By doing the following:
A) Update Your Publications: Keep your e-book(s) relevant by regularly updating the material. The initial writing is the hard part. Updating it every few years will give readers a reason to re-purchase from you.
You can even offer discounts to those who bought the original publication.
B) Publish a Line: What I mean by this is, publish in a niche. For example, my e-books are all about the business of freelancing.
Each title focuses on a different aspect of this topic – whether it’s getting a website, learning effective marketing techniques or first-hand advice from other freelancers.
The wonderful thing about publishing a line is that the more products you offer, the better chance you have of making a sale. By listing all of the titles you offer at the end of each publication, you can effectively cross promote with little to no effort.
C) Create Other Products: Like what? Seminars, workshops, CDs, DVDs and e-courses.
The beauty of e-books is once they’re written, you have the bones of a seminar, workshop or DVD right there in front of you. Rewrite and rearrange the material to fit the different format.
Some people like their products live (eg, a seminar, workshop); some like to listen to it in the car on the way to work (CD), some prefer to work at their leisure (e-course).
Again, cross market all of these, which brings me to my next point -- marketing in general.
D) Market, Market, Market: This is an on-going thing. Put together a marketing schedule you can following week in and week out – for months on end.
Create a blog, publish a website, do a podcast – whatever it is, do it consistently and watch your sales grow.
Publishing e-books for a living is a wonderful way to ensure an income for life – and allow you to have a life. Good luck if you decide to give it a go.
Wanna know the steps to take to publish a successful e-book? Read this post.
Good luck if you decide to publish an e-book of your own!
**************************
Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com.
*************************
Like what you read here? Find the content useful and informative? Make us a Technorati Favorite. Simply click the Technorati icon at the top right-hand corner of the page.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Inkwell Editorial E-book Sale!
Starting Monday, InkwellEditorial.com's e-books go on sale. From Monday, May 21st, through Monday, May 28th (Memorial Day), you will be able to purchase any of the e-books listed on InkwellEditorial.com for only $2.99.*
The e-course will be only $9.97!* That's a 90% savings!
This is a reward for all who waited so patiently for MONTHS while they were being updated/revised. All payments are accepted via PayPal.
Yuwanda Black, Publisher
InkwellEditorial.com
InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com
P.S.: Stay tuned for a surprise announcement on Monday as well.
P.P.S.: Remember, all Inkwell Editorial e-books are written from first-hand knowledge. You get the benefit of hearing directly from those who are where you want to be.
*Offer does not include free website. All e-books and the e-course are delivered as pdf files within 24 hours of purchasing.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Research Your Way to E-book Success
What to Look for "In the Competition" when You Are Researching Your E-book
As I explained in mye 2/26 post, Freelance E-book Writer: The Steps I Take to Create a Successful E-book, researching the competition is a vital component of creating a successful e-book. In fact, it is the very first thing I do after getting an idea for an e-book.
Why? Read on:
POST CONTINUED BELOW
*************************
Want to Achieve Freelance Writing Success -- Quickly? Sign up for the Freelance Writing E-course: Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Free website included. Log on and register today!
************************
How the Competition Stacks Up: You want to see how many like products are out there. You may find a few, or you may find many. Whatever you find has to be looked at from both sides of the coin - good and bad.
Eg, if there are a lot of books on your subject, some questions you might want to ask are:
i) are they in e-book form: this is important because, if they don't, then you could target the online segment who may have be disserved by the paper/hardback book
ii) do they cover the topic in detail, OR, cover it as I would cover it: Look at the outline (most e-books tell you in an outline or on a sales page what is covered in the book).
This is important because you could cover the same material from a different angle, a funnier angle, a more professional angle, a personal experience angle, etc.
iii) what is their experience in the field: perhaps the most important thing in selling an e-book is the author's experience. Eg, I've been a freelancer since 1993, I worked in legal publishing for 10 years; I owned an editorial staffing agency for 8 years; have written six e-books and one freelance writing e-course.
In short, I can make the buyer feel confident in purchasing my products because I have the experience to back up what I wrote on.
DON'T get intimidated if you don't have an extensive background.
How to Sell Your E-book if You Have Limited Experience
Sell your expertise case by case. What I mean is, using case studies, spell out for potential buyers how you helped a client achieve his/her goal. A case study is really just an in-depth testimonial.
It lays out a problem that a client had, and tells how a product/company/person helped solve the problem. They are very effective ways to sell.
Conversely, if there are not a lot of books on your subject matter, two immediate questions come to mind, ie:
i) is there a market for this product? It could just be that no one else has thought to cover this subject. NOTE: This is highly unlikely, but don't let that deter you. Niche material is very popular, but do make sure there is enough of a market to advertise to.
Eg, if there are only 25,000 pig farmers in California, how many of them do you think are going to be interested in your take on feeding pigs a vegetarian diet (the subject of your e-book)?
My point? Be realistic. Make sure there is a broad enough market to justify spending your time writing your book.
ii) how am I going to reach this market? If you're writing an e-book on a subject matter that no one else has written on, then you have to find out how to reach them. Maybe the reason no one has written an e-book on the subject you want to write on is because the audience is offline, not online.
Some other questions regarding the competition you want to answer is who they market to, how do they reach them, what is their pricing structure, do they offer add-ons*, etc.
*Add-ons: Add-ons are freebies e-book sellers give to buyers. They can be anything from a free website to other free e-books. They are usually complementary products to the item they're promoting.
Researching your competition will tell you virtually everything you need to know to successfully market your product - if you do your research well.
*************************
Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.
*************************
Like what you read here? Find the content useful and informative? Subscribe to the Inkwell Editorial feed (under the LINKS section to your right) to receive new content immediately upon publishing. OR, email your address to subscribe and receive job listings -- immediately!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
E-books: Charge for Them, or Give Them Away -- Which Makes You More Money?
I wrote my first e-book a few years ago, and was instantly hooked on this easy way to get - and dispense - information. I've since written 7, and an e-course. As I said, it's addictive.
While I knew I was going to sell the first few I wrote, with others I thought, "Hmm, should I use this as a free giveaway, or charge for it?" Well, as with most things in life, I learned that - it depends. On what?
POST CONTINUED BELOW
*************************
Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.
*************************
What Do You Want to Accomplish with Your E-book
Quite simply, it depends on your goal. Is your goal to increase your subscriber list, qualify your prospects, make immediate money, etc.
An e-book can do all of this - it depends on how you market it.
Marketing for Subscribers with an E-book
Almost every online marketing guru will tell you that e-books are a great way to increase your subscriber list. Use your e-book as a giveaway.
Eg, subscribe to my newsletter and receive a free copy of the article marketing e-book, Everything You Wanted to Know About Article Marketing! which will tell you how to increase your sales by distributing free articles.
Qualifying Prospects With Your E-book
E-books can also be great qualifiers. What do I mean? You can separate the tire kickers from the serious inquirers. While some will always just want a freebie, the vast majority of prospects who request a free, informational product are those who are really interested in making a purchase.
Think about it, the more serious you are about something, the more time you're apt to spend researching it. So, after a speaking engagement, for example, you might say, "If you're interested in learning more, email me to request a copy of the free e-book, The Small Biz Owner's Marketing Kit!
Those who are really serious are much more likely to follow up with you than those who just had a passing interest in what you had to say during your speaking engagement.
Making Direct Sales with Your E-book
Creating an e-book to sell adds to your bottom line in a multitude of ways: i) it enhances your credibility within your field, which eventually leads to more clients; ii) it puts money directly into your pocket via direct sales; and iii) it gives you the opportunity to create a line of products around the e-book (eg, t-shirts, pins, coffee mugs, etc.).
No matter how you use e-books, they are a great marketing tool every freelancer should utilize.
Tomorrow's Post: A career-changing opportunity -- it's big, but I can't decide. What is it? I'll tell you tomrrow.
*************************
Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.
*************************
Like what you read here? Find the content useful and informative? Subscribe to the Inkwell Editorial feed (under the LINKS section to your right) to receive new content immediately upon publishing. OR, email your address to subscribe and receive job listings -- immediately!
Monday, February 26, 2007
ATTN E-book Writers: Here are the Steps I Take to Create a Successful E-book
There are tons of articles on the internet about writing e-books. So, what makes this one different? In short, me. As the writer of six e-books and one e-course, here I will outline the process I use to create my e-books.
First, a little history: As the article, Are You an Angry, Frustrated Freelance Writer? illustrates, the rate war rages on among freelancers. And, in my opinion, it is not likely to be solved anytime soon - if ever.
This is why I'm a firm believer that freelance writers should create their own products for sale. It doesn't have to be an e-book because many don't have the knowledge or fortitude to promote such a product. It could be t-shirts, mugs, a greeting card line -- whatever. The point is, having an extra income stream is just smart business, in my humble opinion.
POST CONTINUED BELOW
*************************
Want to Achieve Freelance Writing Success -- Quickly? Sign up for the Freelance Writing E-course: Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! & get a FREE writing website. Log on and register today!
*************************
NOTE: Writing an e-book is the easy part. You will spend 10 times more time promoting this product than you did writing it. If you think money is just going to pour in because you put your e-book up for sale, you're wrong.
Marketing - in any business - is where the real work comes in. Keep that in mind BEFORE you decide to create an e-book to sell. So, with all that being said, following is what I do once my little ole brain lights up with an idea I want to turn into an e-book.
1. Research: I research the competition, looking for the following: like products; where sold; by whom; for how much.
I didn't do this with my first two e-books, but got into the habit of it after that. Researching a product will tell you the following -- among a host of other things: what the competition is, how to devise a marketing plan and what to sell it for.
Every e-book is different, but what will sell it is you - as in, your experience, the spin you put on it, etc.
As for marketing, you can read effective web sales letters, see where the competition is promoting similar products, assess whether others are offering add-ons, etc. I could go on and on about this portion (and I will in another article), but just so you know, research is where I start.
2. Outline: Usually, I take about a week to come up with an outline. Just like writing a paper in high school, I outline the chapters and what I want to cover in them.
I usually don't formalize the names of the chapters until after they have been written; my outline lists the idea I want to cover in a given chapter. Sometimes that will turn out to be the name of the chapter - but that's not the norm.
3. Write: It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to three months to complete an e-book. It all depends on how busy I am. One thing I do do is give myself a completion date. I'm the type of person who will procrastinate forever if I don't give myself a deadline. So, I try to keep that.
4. Quality Control: Usually, I will hire a freelance copy editor/proofreader/editor to do the QC on the e-book. I usually give the freelancer a week to complete this.
5. Rewrites: If the copy editor/proofreader/editor has suggested structural changes, eg, this section would work better in Chapter 3, then I will switch things around.I have to admit, though, I don't do much rewriting because in my outline, I pretty much organize the material the way I want it to appear.
6. PDF It: Turn the file into a .pdf. This is not really necessary, but it helps in keeping users from copying and/or editing your material and possibly reselling it.
7. Create Sales Letter: I create a page on my website to promote the book.
8. Create Marketing Plan: Usually, I have an idea of how I want to go about promoting the e-book before I even write it. Because I've written a few and write for a niche audience (creative freelancers), I pretty much follow the same marketing plan, tweaking it from time to time.
9. Promote, Promote, Promote - into eternity!
*************************
Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.
*************************
Like what you read here? Find the content useful and informative? Subscribe to the Inkwell Editorial feed (under the LINKS section to your right) to receive new content immediately upon publishing. OR, email your address to subscribe and receive job listings -- immediately!
