Essays Assistance » promotion

Simple Steps to a Killer Headline

Essays — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:16:17 +0000

The headline is undoubtly the most crucial factor of the sales copy. You could have the best sales copy ever written but a poorly written and not thought out headline will almost single handly ruin your business.The following points should insure your headline is quality and will force to read on.

1. Ultra Specific

You need to be as specific as possible. For example. Instead of “how an ebook author make thousands every month”,change it too “how an ebook autor makes $2,678.85 every month”.Its more specific and alot more believable.

2. Keep it unique and original

You really need to come up with your own original headine.For example im sick of seeing this headline. “Finally,the simple way to get free to your site. Its this word “finally”,its been totally overused.

3. Keep the urgency

This really forces the reader to view the sales page further.Give the headline a sense of urgency. For example, giving a special offer for reading on,deadline dates or total amounts available.

This techniques have personally been proven by myself, they work some better than other, the key is to keep tweaking and testing with the above points always in mind.

I use these tips in the headlines I create. I ALWAYS MAKE SURE MY HEADLINES GRAB THE ATTENTION. My website ebookprofitmaker.com currently has a conversion rate of 3.3% and 76% of my vistors read past the headline.

Choosing a Great Copywriter

Essays — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:27:58 +0000

No two copywriters are the same. So how do you know you’re getting the best writer for the job? Unless you know what to look for, choosing your copywriter can be a bit of a lottery.

The truth is, copywriters range from the great to the not-so-great. Just like any other profession, there are high flyers, under-achievers, rogue traders and young pretenders. And even if you bag a top banana for your project, who’s to say they’ll gel with you? Or your product? Your style? Your chosen media?

The answer, of course, is research. Knowing what you want and sniffing it out is wiser than saying yes to the first person with a ready typing finger. But remember, a copywriter is someone who can – and should – do more than write. Their greatest asset is curiosity.

Copywriters want to know the ins and outs of every little thing. They’re fascinated by human nature, knowing how to capitalise on motivations and get inside the consumer’s head. A good copywriter will research your market inside out, then look at you critically through your customer’s eyes. It’s their curiosity – not their way with words – that finally helps them see your business in a whole new light.

Whatever your project, this is the first quality to look for in your copywriter. Curiosity is the key to persuasion. And persuasion is the only reason copywriters exist in the first place!

So, your copywriter needs a way with words – fairly obvious! And they have to tick the curiosity box. But you still need to whittle down the field and find the one you can spark off.

Try asking yourself a few of these questions when you’re weighing up a candidate:

Who’s doing the talking? Are they listening to you or talking about themselves?

How quickly have they grasped your business? Not just your products, but also your marketplace?

Can they write passionately? About anything? Even the dullest product? If they get you excited about sprocket valves, hire them on the spot!

Have they worked in your industry and chosen media? If not, does their other work show they have a grip on your marketplace?

When you’ve chosen a suitable copywriter, you’ll know you’ve made the right choice when you start offering feedback. Professional copywriters thrive on constructive criticism – it’s a surefire way of knowing they’re heading in the right direction. That doesn’t mean they’ll roll over and accept any changes you make, but they will keep an open mind and listen to every point of view.

When you offer feedback, however, you should see it as a two-way street. You may have to let go of some of your preconceptions. Great copywriters can realise why your current marketing isn’t working, and won’t shirk from telling you. They’ll be cruel to be kind.

But for now, these small measures should protect you against hiring the wrong person. Of course there’s no guarantee – creativity by its very nature demands that element of uncertainty.

But if hiring a copywriter really is a lottery, you should be pretty close to scooping five numbers plus the bonus ball…

Tag, You’re It! (Or, How To Write Slogans)

Essays — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:31:38 +0000

Some call them “tag lines”; others refer to them as”catch lines” or “tie-in-slogans.” Whatever the words used to refer to them, they are perhaps the most important part of your promotional writing.

Do you recognize any of these? :

“Like a rock…”

“Fly the friendly skies…”

“It’s the real thing !”

“Quality is job number one”

“The quicker-picker-upper”

Most of those tag lines are recognizable by us without even including the name of the company or product.

They summarize in a very few words the essence of the thing they are promoting. They communicate a good, positive feeling or relationship to the product. They do it with a simple,memorable phrase that is easily repeated.

The shorter the description is, the more challenging it is to write. Anyone can write a 500-word description of a product or service. Now try doing it with 5 to 10 words ! Each word you choose is very important to the message.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS for writing good taglines for your business offer.

1) Start by noticing ads on billboards as you drive down the road.

Billboard advertisers have but a couple of seconds to grab your attention and sell their product or service. Usually their copy is going to be a very good tagline with a picture of the product or service. These are great examples of how to write effective taglines.

2) Notice other media forms like magazine and newspaper display ads, business cards, brief radio and TV commercials.

Observe the thing that caught your attention and makes the message easily remembered. It’s usually a concise and well-written tagline.

3) Write down everything you can think of that relates to your business. You may even start with a narrative description in paragraph form.

4) Now, make a list of the top 25 or 30 things that are important and worth mentioning.

Whittle that list down to 8 or 10 of the most important things you wish to say.

Now eliminate repetition or things that are not really that necessary to your product or service.

Get your list of words or phrases down to 3 or 4 central elements.

5) Based on your final core selection, make up some phrases that will serve as your taglines for consideration. Keep them short and use simple, everyday language.

Which of these taglines would you remember best? :

“Joe’s auto repair shop, the lowest-prices and the best service”

“Quality Care For Your Car !”

=====

“The Best Tax Service Anywhere Around The Town !”

“Your Tax Experts At Work !”

=====

“Emergengy ambulance service available 24-hours a day”

“When Minutes Count!”

Well, you get the idea!

Do some test marketing with your final two or three best taglines. Discover the one that works best for you and incorporate it into all of your promotional messages.

Remember, like any of life’s endeavors, experience and practice help to improve your skills level. If you want to be a good writer, write a lot!

Best of luck with your promotional efforts.

Can’t Write Articles For Links? Write code!

Essays — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:01:09 +0000

If you’ve subscribed to an seo newsletter for longer than a week, you’re well aware that writing articles with tips and advice pertaining to your website’s subject is a great way to generate links and traffic. But what if you can’t write or are afraid to write? Well, if you can write software, you’re still in luck! In this article I’ll show you a trick that can still garner you hundreds of links and won’t require you know the difference between adjectives and adverbs.

I’ll use my own little website as an example (I freely admit that I am neither a web designer nor a programmer). My wife and I own By Request DJ & Karaoke Company. Obviously, we specialize in weddings dances, school dances, company parties, and karaoke. We recently went through the process of converting all our CDs to compressed digital audio files which are played from a computer rather than hauling around thousands of CDs. In the process of ripping and encoding our music, I found many tasks were very repetitive and time consuming. Since I know a smattering of Visual Basic, it was simple to write a utility to automate these tasks. I figured that if it was helpful to me, some other DJ might find it helpful to, so I called my utility MP3G to ZIP and made it available for download from my website. I also decided to submit it to a few freeware sites just so it was easier to find.

What happened amazed me. Many of the links to my website from these freeware directories began showing up in Google. Given the name of my company and the descriptions of my freeware apps, this helped boost my site for some very competitive keywords. I decided to submit my software to a few more directories, and that’s when I found two very handy tools: PAD files and RoboSoft.

A PAD file is a “Portable Application Description, and it helps authors provide product descriptions and specifications to online sources in a standard way, using a standard data format that will allow webmasters and program librarians to automate program listings.” It takes the tedium out of submitting your software to hundreds of sites by enabling you to enter the URL to your software information rather than retyping all the information for every submission. It was created by the Association of Shareware Professionals (.asp-shareware.org/pad) and is a free utility.

RoboSoft (rudenko.com/robosoft) is a semi-automated software submission utility that contains a list of known freeware and shareware directories that accept submissions. It is only semi-autonomous because it won’t push the buttons for you, but it will fill in the blanks. This still allows you to quickly enter your software’s information to hundreds of websites. Websites who will all link back to your website and most often don’t require a reciprocal link. The RoboSoft database currently lists 420 freeware and shareware directories.

In the two months I have been using these tools I have seen my traffic jump from 800 unique visits per month to over 5000, and the link popularity of the page that has my two freeware apps has gone from 7 to 639 according to widexl.com. While these are small numbers for someone like cnn.com, sprint.com, or even napster.com, they are huge for a small site like mine. Plus, they are beginning to get me links from my fellow DJs who have used and appreciated my tools. I’m certain that they will eventually lead to good things.

So, while it isn’t a tactic that will make you number for “best website”, it will get you a few more links. And it won’t require you to submit any articles with tips about marketing your website.

Effective Article Writing And Marketing

Essays — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:41:34 +0000

Article Writing is becoming increasingly valued by Search Engine Optimisers who recognise the benefits that it brings- it is one of the best ways to increase traffic, search engine attention and returning visitors. When your article is published on a website, a link back to your website can be included. This link is valued highly by search engines- it is a one-way link, it is one of the few links on a page and the page has unique content on it. Because of this, many people have found that by regularly publishing articles (once a week, once a fortnight) their page rank has jumped up. This increases your search engine rank, which naturally increases your visit. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that more visitors equals more revenue!

This greatly benefits the author, but many people don’t realise that it also is very beneficial to publishers too. Search engines like sites that are constantly updated, as it shows that the website is active and widely used, and also like sites with content as it shows they are a valuable website, and not a link farm. Similarly to the benefits authors experience, publishers find their website increases in search engine rank, and so traffic and profits. It also has the added bonus to providing something new to users, who will regularly return to your site.

However, they are a few vital rules that authors should follow to make their article widely used. A badly written, unpunctuated article is not going to be looked twice at by any good webmaster.

Perhaps the most important rule in article writing is to properly punctuate your article, and to check it for spelling and grammatical mistakes. This will make it more enjoyable for readers to read, (and so it will be used more), and will make you, and your website, more professional.

Content is obviously the most important thing in any article. So, quite obviously, you have to know what you are talking about, otherwise no one will take you or your article seriously. Remember, your article will top up what people know, not introduce them to the subject. It is therefore helpful to specialise in a couple of subjects, or in a broad area. However, remember not to assume your audience are stupid, or be bigheaded.

Your article should be helpful to webmasters. To be this, give examples of what you are explaining. It makes complicated things easier to understand, splits up an article to make it readable, and can give the reader ideas on how to achieve what you have just explained. Similarly, give links to sites which may help your readers achieve what you have just explained. It makes it easier for them.

The last thing you should think about is the tone your article is written in. It is much easier and pleasanter for the reader if your tone is a friendly one. Also, remember to use words that are easy to read- for example, instead of ‘Furthermore, it has been discovered that by authoring articles writer’s have been advantaged due to their website being recipient to escalated search engine attention’ simply say what you mean- ‘By writing articles you will receive more search engine traffic’ (OK, so maybe it won’t be that extreme!).

The most important thing in your article from your point of view is what you put in the ‘About the Author’ box. This is your chance to shine, and is what you have written the article for. Whatever you write you will still receive the search engine benefits, however you will not receive the extra traffic from readers if you do not write it correctly. It should be formal but friendly, short, and sweet- it will only be glanced at so it has to grab the readers’ attention in a short amount of time. It should follow the structure of ‘A bit about the author, then tell the audience what you want them to do’. You should promote your website, but not advertise it too much.

For example, a bad information box would be ‘Visit the great website of the king of search engine optimisers, who will regularly update you with fantastic tips and priceless advice three times a week. He is a leader in his field and has had many years of experience with thousands of satisfied customers who describe him as the Internet equivalent to Jesus!’. Instead, write ‘Joe Bloggs has had many years experience in SEO, and is well known for his useful advice. Visit his website today to get great SEO tips three times a week’ (Again, this is exaggerated but you get the idea!).

The final part to writing an article is marketing it. This is relatively easy to do- submit to some article directories, and include it in your newsletter (or ask another website to include it in theirs). Some websites to help you submit it are:

.articlewow.com, .articledepot.co.uk, .article99.com.

Follow these tips and you will get a great traffic boost. Write some articles, and then write one on your tips that you have discovered from your own experience!

How To Get Started Writing Articles

Essays — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:14:12 +0000

If you are a new or budding writer, then you may be wondering how to get started writing articles. The first and most important rule of writing is simply to write what you know. That is not to say that you cannot research subjects to get a better idea of the needed content, but it is always best to have some previous knowledge of the topic before you accept the job.

Many people are terrific writers, but still struggle with how to get started writing articles for profit. As a budding writer, you will likely have to contribute some free writing projects in an effort to get your name noticed. As time progresses and your resume becomes more defined, you will be able to find paid writing jobs without a problem.

Writers not only wonder how to get started writing articles, but also where to submit their completed work. There are plenty of opportunities for talented individuals who have a knack for words, including newspaper reporting, magazine features, website content, press release and newsletter content, etc. If someone were to ask an accomplished writer how to get started writing articles, they would almost always reply by recommending patience, perseverance and promotion. When you decide to become a writer, you will also become a marketing specialist. You will now be in the position of having to sell your work to editors and this can be a very challenging task, but very much worth the extra push.

The best advice on how to get started writing articles would include the recommendation of having a good resume. If you cannot write your own resume, editors will wonder how you will be able to write for them. So, first and foremost, perfect the resume, polish it and make sure that it is without flaw. This means no errors in spelling, punctuation, etc. With that being said, keep in mind that nobody is perfect, so if you notice a mistake after your resume has been submitted, don’t spend too much time worrying about the error. Simply correct the problem and move on to the next opportunity. Truth be told, if your resume looks great, an editor will not disregard it just because you misspell one word or have a punctuation out of place. The next step in how to get started writing articles will be to create a writing sample. If you have been published previously, this will work to your advantage because you can use this as not only a sample of your work, but lend to the popularity of your writing as well. If you have never been published, then write the best article that you can on a subject that is close to your heart.

Still wondering how to get started writing articles? The best way is to just start writing and see where it takes you. Everyone from editors to webmasters are in constant need of content for their publications and websites, so there is no shortage in the writing market. Always keep your expectations in check and don’t expect to get rich overnight. Like any career, it will take time to build and experience is a must. The more you have written, the more you will get the chance to write.

For further information visit .real-articles.com

Eleven Steps To Print Publication

Essays — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:07:07 +0000

Creating a printed book is a bit more complicated than creating a PDF eBook. More steps are involved, just by right of producing a tangible finished product that needs to be handled in the physical world (versus an electronic document that can be distributed by e-mail or online). The basic print publishing process for a print-on-demand publishing cycle for a book that will be sold online through the print-on-demand vendor’s website (and/or other online booksellers like Amazon) breaks down as follows:

1. Complete your manuscript

2. Develop your cover concept (and do a trial run of a cover)

3. Format your manuscript for printing (the final product is called a “galley”)

4. Complete your cover artwork (and proof it with trial runs of a cover)

5. Put your galley and artwork together

6. Create marketing collateral, press releases, etc.

7. Publish!

8. Receive hard copies of your book and send out review copies to press

9. Send out press releases and place advertising and line up interviews

10.Continue the marketing cycle to keep your book in the press

11. Track your sales and order more books for more publicity

I recommend printing out this list and using it as a project plan for your print publishing. And fill in the blanks in the process, where you know there are more steps involved in your own personal experience. Or follow the sample project plan immediately following this section. Having a checklist to follow can simplify what can be a complicated and sometimes confusing process.

Now, one thing you may notice, is that I have listed marketing after the actual publication of your book. I strongly recommend waiting till you have a finished, published book in hand, before you start sending out press releases and generating interest. I’ve had international press people contact me within 24 hours of sending out my press materials, but I had no hard copies in hand to send to them, so that pretty much derailed the opportunity I’d created for myself.

In the traditional publishing world, it’s customary to publicize a printed book at least three months in advance of publication. This gives the press time to review bound galleys and work your publicity into their own production schedules. Now, for traditional publishers who have full staffs and plenty of money and connections and the machinery for publishing, that’s fine. They can pretty much guarantee that a book will come out exactly the way they say it will, exactly when they way it will. But when you’re on your own, it’s a different story. Anything could happen along the way. You could experience delays with the printer. You could experience personal complications. You could find yourself stalled by artwork that didn’t come out the way you wanted… any number of things can go wrong, when you’re on your own.

So, it’s prudent to be a bit more conservative about marketing a book you’re working on. Even if you’re 100% absolutely positively unwaveringly convinced that your book will come out in three weeks, anything can happen in that time, that can hold you up or wreck your carefully laid plans. So, don’t make any promises you can’t keep to the press. It will only work against you.

All this might sound a little daunting, but if you’re reading this, you’re probably an independent type of person, so the inherent risks and dangers will trouble you a lot less than someone who’s never published before and is nervous entering uncharted waters. Certainly, going it alone as an independent print publisher can take a lot more preparation and organization, than operating solely in digital formats. But it’s also very satisfying, to have a book in hand that you can give to friends, families, reviewers, and others who say, “So, you’re a writer?”

And if you format your book well, your work can be indistinguishable from the work of other writers published by mainstream publishing houses. You can get your own ISBN, your own professional-looking cover, a great looking interior, and all the marketing collateral you could ask for… without spending a small fortune. All it takes is determination, the right information, some creative inventiveness, a keen eye for detail, and a willingness to keep going, no matter what.

With a little extra care, some advanced planning, and an eye for detail, you can turn your eBooks or white papers or other digital information products into printed books — and not drive yourself crazy in the process.

How To Sell Your Books On Radio

Essays — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:19:12 +0000

In October 2004 when my book “Your Retirement Masterplan” (How To Books ISBN 1857039874) was published I participated in eleven 15-minute live interviews on local radio over a period of just five days.

The results were highly encouraging; the book leapt from nowhere on Amazon.co.uk to position 194 out of 3123 competing titles and eventually grabbed the No.1 spot for its core keyword (retirement) where it remained for nine months.

I am shortly to repeat the broadcast exercise for my newly published tome “How to Earn Money in Retirement” (How To Books ISBN 1845281128) but before doing so I am already off to a head start…

Although this title does not hit the bookstores until Monday 8 May 2006 it already ranks at No.47 out of 3453 competing titles on Amazon.co.uk &ndash which means of course that the book is already selling in big numbers online &ndash thanks largely to the success of its predecessor and the initial boost it got from radio promotion.

These promotional interviews are arranged by my publisher’s media consultancy and I do not require to visit a single studio to take part; they are all conducted over the telephone, sitting at my desk at home.

So what if you self-publish your output and you don’t have a publicist to arrange radio interviews?

Does that mean you are excluded?

No way; I have self-published several books in the past and managed my own promotion.

Wherever you live in the world you’ll find that the majority of local radio stations are banded together into a single network for cost-effectiveness.

Here is what you do…

1. Identify the controlling network;

2. Visit the corporate website containing links to all subsidiaries;

3. Pick out those stations within a 500/1000 mile orbit;

4. Visit each local station website individually;

5. Scan the daily programming schedules;

6. Highlight those programs that might identify with the topic of your book;

7. Note the presenter’s name;

8. Email him/her with a well-couched request for a live interview;

9. Follow that up with an identical snail mail request;

10. Follow that up with a telephone call (you’ll get to speak to someone in authority).

You know your topic inside out; speak up with confidence and you’ll get your interview; maybe not straightaway but, if you sell yourself and your project professionally, you’ll be logged into and up-and-coming slot in the station scheduling.

Go for it…it’s free!

I will be reporting in a subsequent article on the outcome of my latest batch of broadcasts.

In truth though there is more to creating bestselling books than spieling about them on radio and if you’d like to learn how I manage to produce bestsellers consistently, visit the website featured in the resource box below.

Jim Green is a bestselling author with an ever-growing string of niche non-fiction titles to his credit. 1st-creative-writing-course.com

From Ebook To Print Book: Five Pitfalls

Essays — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:33:23 +0000

Has anyone else noticed a trend of books, both self-published and from commercial publishers, that were originally ebooks and have not completely shaken the unfortunate signs of their origin?

1.Since ebooks can be sold easily at 80-100 pages, but print books cannot, the book version gains length through appendices that take up one-third of the page count. Sometimes the appendices are quite tangential to the main topic, and other times they contain golden information that should have been better integrated with the main content. There’s also padding evident within the book, especially a lot of large illustrations, cartoons or Powerpoint slides that add little to the reader’s learning experience.

2.Because ebooks are often sold with a lot of time-limited bonuses, these books also contain bonuses printed in them &ndash bonuses that have already expired when the book was purchased! This just happened to me with a hardcover 2007 book from John Wiley purchased through Amazon.com – not from some aftermarket source. What were they thinking?!

3.Ebooks, both free and for-fee, often function as a first step in a marketing funnel, with a disproportionate emphasis on moving the reader into the next, higher-priced offering, such as a boot camp or seminar. I’ve read two hardcover books recently that have too prominent and too pushy a pitch for the author’s very expensive seminar. A book should be a self-contained information unit, with other offerings mentioned but not with a hard sell. All promos should be placed after the main text, not within the chapters.

4.It’s common to create and sell or distribute an ebook anthology by asking contributors to send something in on a loosely defined theme and accepting all the contributions, with wildly uneven quality and relevance to one another. If it’s got a salable title, people will buy this sort of thing as a print book also, but reviews will be so-so at best, and the book is destined for a quick death.

5.Above all, laziness abounds. Since most ebooks have a short shelf life, there’s little thought given to making the contents substantive enough to withstand the evolution of the marketplace for a year or two. People who buy books for their personal library don’t want something that will make little sense when they pull a volume down from their shelf in three years’ time.

People can be fooled once, but book lovers won’t buy that author’s “books” again when it’s really an ebook in the trappings of a book &ndash without a book’s soul. Additionally, one of the big benefits for an author of publishing in print is getting books into libraries. Librarians don’t normally purchase books with the above weaknesses.

Want to turn an ebook into a print book that fully works in its new format? Give it depth, organize it well, use quality control if coordinating multiple contributions, make it useful and relevant for years to come, and keep self-promotion low-key. Then you’ll have readers eagerly awaiting your next book &ndash and the next and the next &ndash to add to their personal libraries.

Why Publish Your Writing In A Printed Book?

Essays — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:34:56 +0000

Why would anyone want to create a printed book, when then can create eBooks a lot more easily — and cheaply? Why would anyone want to get mired in the process of printing and shipping physical books that take time to deliver to customers, when they can deliver a digital information product immediately, with no additional production or shipping costs? What’s the point of having a tree-killing artifact of yesteryear in your creative portfolio?

Well, like it or not, a lot of people still prefer printed books to eBooks. They like — no, they love — the feel of a printed copy in their hands. It gives them a sense of well-being and solidity, to have a physical work they can carry with them and put on their bookshelves. They’re “old school” and they like it that way. Or, they just never warmed up to eBooks or digital media.

I had a conversation with an international television reporter about one of my books that was coming out soon — I didn’t yet have the printed version in my hands, but I had a PDF eBook I could send him. He said many times over that he hated to read eBooks, but that was all I had at the time, and so I sent it to him. It would have been a whole lot better if I could have sent him a printed copy, instead. Of course, I made do with what I had, but if only…

Now, there’s a very good reason some people like printed books better than eBooks — they can read them anywhere, anytime, without needing a computer to do it. For all the talk about “portable media,” these days, a book is really the ultimate in portable media! It fits in your hand, it doesn’t require batteries, and there are no complicated instructions to figure out! As advanced as our technology may be, there’s nothing like a book to truly “transport information” quickly and efficiently, across the bounds of time and space.

Ironic, isn’t it, that the ultimate medium for portable, instantaneous information sharing is just the thing that a lot of us thought was on its way out, with the advent of the internet!

Books are not “reserved” for the technologically gifted. They’re not available only to people with a computer and a broadband connection. They’re easy to use, easy to transport, and — unlike some of the cutting-edge entertainment technology available today — everybody understands what they’re all about.

When you publish a printed book, you level the playing field for potential customers, and you make it possible for a wider variety of people to access and enjoy your work.

Another reason to create a printed book, is for credibility. With a printed book in hand — especially one with an ISBN — you can approach magazines and newspapers and radio and television hosts and have something in hand to talk about with them. You can mail your book to reviewers and reporters, and you can hold up your creation for the camera, when it comes time to tell the audience what all the excitement is about. And when members of your audience go to their local bookstore to see if they carry your book (depending on what service you use to publish your book), they can put in a request for the book from the bookstore, and potentially help you get it stocked on the bookshelf stores. (Though you may already be convinced, like many other infopreneurs, that bookstores are not the place to sell books, still, it doesn’t hurt to see your book on the shelves of a brick-and-mortar store.)

Probably my favorite reason to publish in print, is how it can take your ideas to a whole new level and get you the kind of exposure once reserved only for the connected elite. Having a book in print has a way of instantly establishing you as an expert, in ways that producing (even getting rich from) digital information products can’t, in the “real world” offline. When people hear you’ve written a book, and they see that book in your hands, a connection kicks in, somewhere inside their heads, that says you must be pretty smart. Chances are, it’s true — you are! But the perception of others that you must be one smart cookie, since you’ve written this book, usually doesn’t get so far as to delve into the nature of your book, if it’s any “good,” or if your work is widely accepted and respected in academic or commercial circles.

Everyday folks have an innate respect for people who can write down enough coherent thought, and organize it completely enough, to produce a book. An awful lot of people never get that far. Some may think about it, but never do it. As a published author, as far as a lot of folks are concerned, you’re in a league of your own. And that’s a pretty good feeling!

I’ve gotten a bit of practice having that feeling. To my friends and family, I’m “just Kay” and that’s fine with me. All that fame business just kind of gets in the way, when it comes to my personal relationships. But to people who read the international press in the areas I publish in (technology and cross-cultural concerns), I have a somewhat different persona — I’m a published author who has caught the attention of folks from Asia and Europe with a controversial and rabble-rousing work that hit the presses in the fall of 2006. It’s pretty cool, to come across people from far away, who have read reviews of my books in magazines and newspapers I’ve never heard of. And I’ve got some pretty cool clippings of articles that mention me — and my book — exclusively, or in passing. That was all possible, because I published a printed book. It doesn’t matter that I have eBook versions of my works available for instant download. Most of the time, that’s not even on the radar of the mainstream international press. In fact, if anything, they kind of turn up their noses when I mention my eBook. But my printed version of that same book… well, that’s another story.

Publishing a printed book widens the reach of your ideas in ways that digital media can’t quite do. You open up your ideas to a whole different audience, and you get the chance to make even more of an impact with your concepts and your unique “take” on the world… taking a position of true thought leadership in a hurting world that’s sorely in need of fresh, new ideas. In fact, now is really the perfect time to be stepping out as a innovative new author in the print publishing world. The old formulas and the old ways of seeing the world and talking about it and conceptualizing it and relating to it, are pretty tired and worn out. We need fresh new ideas, brilliant new insights, and innovative ways of thinking about our world. You may have distilled everything you know and popped it into an eBook, but the print world offers you yet another medium (or “channel,” if you prefer marketing lingo) for your ideas.

My favorite reason of all for publishing a printed book, is the profound satisfaction that comes from holding a real, honest-to-goodness tangible book in your hands. I’ve been a book reader for over 30 years, and I’ve never lost my love for the sight of words on a printed page. All the better, when those words are mine! Some would call it vanity, but I call it doing my talents justice… and having something to show for all my work, all those live-long years of writing, writing, and writing some more, against all odds, hope against hope. I’m a very tactile person, when it comes to words, too, so I like to have something to hang onto. Digital is great — it’s my medium of choice, these days — but I can’t flip through the pages of a PDF quite the same way I can thumb through a book.

It really is an incredibly exciting time to be a writer and independent publisher! I’m so deeply grateful to have been born at this point in history, with my love of language and books — and the ability to put that love into manifest product. The possibilities really are endless… provided, of course, you know how to explore them. And that’s what this guide is about — getting you, an infopreneur or digital product creator, the tools and the skills and the orientation you need, to turn your digital content into print format, so you can reach a wider audience and more firmly establish yourself in your own niche of thought leadership.

Essays Assistance » promotion

Simple Steps to a Killer Headline

Related posts

Choosing a Great Copywriter

Related posts

Tag, You’re It! (Or, How To Write Slogans)

Related posts

Can’t Write Articles For Links? Write code!

Related posts

Effective Article Writing And Marketing

Related posts

How To Get Started Writing Articles

Related posts

Eleven Steps To Print Publication

Related posts

How To Sell Your Books On Radio

Related posts

From Ebook To Print Book: Five Pitfalls

Related posts

Why Publish Your Writing In A Printed Book?

Related posts