I recently spoke with a gentleman who had written and published a book on terrorism’s threat to our water supply. As we discussed avenues for marketing his book, this gentleman remarked that mostly academicians had purchased the book, which he found scary. Here was an individual who had the knowledge and the foresight to write a book on an important subject of concern to our country, and yet he did not recognize the position this placed him in. The first thing this gentleman needs to do in marketing his book is to accept the fact that, since he wrote the book, he is now the expert on the subject of how terrorism could affect our water supply.

The same is true for you. When you author a book on a particular subject, you become an expert on that subject. In marketing your books, you must accept this and proceed as an expert.

1. Think like an expert.

Experts don’t wonder who might want to read their books. Rather, they think, “Who needs this information?” “Who would benefit most from this information?” and “Who can help me access my book’s intended audience?” Thinking like an expert opens doors of opportunities for you. Experts seek out other experts in their field. They find others who are writing or speaking on the same subjects and network with them. Experts also think, “The world would be a better place if more people knew about this,” thus they take and make the most of every opportunity to educate and inform others about their subject of expertise.

2. Act like an expert.

Our actions flow from our thoughts. What you think influences what you do. If you are thinking like an expert, then you will begin to act like an expert. Experts approach others with confidence. Confidence engenders respect and trust. Experts make the most of every opportunity to alert others to new information without being overbearing. There is no need for arrogance or dominance when you know you possess knowledge, only a determination to help others learn the information also.

3. Talk like an expert.

Experts speak with authority. They don’t lead conversations with “I believe,” or “I feel that.” Instead, experts speak with conviction. They invite people to see and believe what they are presenting through clear reasoning. Experts say things like “Five reasons you need to know this information,” “Studies show or research indicates,” or “History reveals.” Speaking with conviction to an audience invites and encourages people to learn more on your subject.

You are an expert on your subject. Whether you are approaching a radio station to book a guest interview, speaking at a local bookstore on your book, or writing an article for a magazine, when you think, act, and talk like an expert, people will sit up and take notice. When you conduct yourself as an expert, doors of opportunity open for you to promote your book’s subject and increase your book’s sales.

Categories: Book reports
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In this part of “Act Like a Best-Selling Author,” we will attempt to answer the question: “When should I start marketing my book?” The answer, you should start marketing your book months before the manuscript is finish. This is why it is important to have “RELEASE DATE” for your book and stick to it. Just because you maybe a Self-published writer or author, doesn’t mean you don’t have deadlines too. So, marketing should always start at least 60 days before the book is released.

Without the backing of a big name publisher, you need to immediately implement powerful, no-holds barred, book marketing strategies which are designed to sell your books quickly. The best advice is to market your book everyday. Any original book marketing idea you have that does not take away from the integrity of your work, use it.

The truth is, you can have a really fabulous book, but if know one knows your book is about to be released, then you won’t have a buzz. If you don’t create a buzz, then there isn’t any anticipation. No anticipation means it makes it just that much harder to sell your book when it is released.

Thank goodness for the INTERNET. The INTERNET is one of the best ways to create a buzz about your new book. The most surefire way to create that buzz is by implementing the following pre-promotion plan:

A. Get a website for your book or an author’s website about you the author.

B. Start a Blog and add it to your website: Start blogging about your book. If your book is on a particular subject matter, then Blog about that subject matter. Tell your blogging subscribers or readers about your experiences in writing your book. A Blog is simply a weblogged journal. Journaling about your experiences writing the book is a way to create a buzz.

C. Write Articles. Write articles and submit them to article directories about your book. You can write articles about the subject matter or you can write articles about book marketing, writing a book, or being a self-published author. In your author’s resource box or bio box, you can include a link to your website.

D. Write a small ebook with the first two chapters of your book included. Give the ebook away to people who agree to join your email or mailing list. Now, you have a list of interested people to purchase your book once it has been released.

With these book marketing strategies, you are sure to create a buzz about your book and tap into your target market for more sales once your book is released.

Categories: Book reports
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Super copy writing has not much to do with suffocating, stuffy language.

It has a lot to do with simplicity, clarity and FROM THE HEART talk.

Though, looking around at your competitors, you’ll see there’s a lot of pompous strutting towards the first way.

Don’t go down their path!

If you’re struggling with commanding attention from your promotional material, especially the ‘headline’ you’d do well to stick to the proven… HOW TO!

In fact, almost any ad or promotional piece, can start with this dynamic duo.

Let’s test…

For an accountant: “John Nairn’s Small Business Accounting - if you’re looking for a cheap, affordable, friendly accountant, then give me a call on 021 23 123 1234 and let’s see what we can do”

Hmm… not too enticing, right?

Okay, let’s stick our tried and tested How To, and rearrange the furniture a little.

“How to Save a Ton of Tax, Breathe More Easily and Keep the Taxman from Sniffing at Your Door!” This special report is waiting for you courtesy of John Nairn’s Small Business Accountancy Practice who Specialises in Helping Small Business owners who have been in business from 1-5 years. Call freephone 0800 1234 123 today, as their are very limited copies available of this special report: Plus, if you are one of the first 35 to call, you’ll also receive a special bonus gift!

Okay, let’s play with another one.

How about…

Dentists!

Joey Jones Dentist Services for all the family. Why not book your family appointment and receive 20% off your first lot of treatments. We’ve been in the profession for 15 years and pride ourselves in our services. Call 020 7665 7773 now; you won’t be disappointed.

Sounds boring, right? Sounds pretty much like most ads in that category!

Though, I’m telling you, that’s what your competition is upto!

And… maybe… you too?

Okay, let’s turn this around.

“How to Make Sure Your Whole Family Can Get Their First Dental Treatment… FREE!” Joey Jones, The Family Dental Specialist, Invites You to A Tour of His Friendly Dental Surgery. Please Call Maria, our Family Dental Welcome Manager on 000 000 000 and she will arrange a time that is suitable to you. By the way, we love children under 10… they’ll be spoilt rotten here and they may not want to leave!

Study these ads for they hold a BIG KEY for you in crafting your own marketing materials.

Categories: Writing tips
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Any sales letter roughly follows the following sequence:

a. Image.

b. Headline.

c. Greeting.

d. Lead paragraph.

e. Body.

f. Closing.

The Image:

If there is a logo or design for your business, use it in the sales letter only if it is really pertinent to what you are offering. You are not selling your business logo; you are selling benefits that the buyer will realize if he buys your product or service. Use a specific image that is inherent to your headline, content, and theme, or do not use one at all. Stick to words as far as possible.

Job Of The Headline:

The headline is usually 3 - 30 words long. It should be catchy. It should grab the reader’s attention and tell him what the ad (sales letter) is about. Ideally, the job of the headline is to get the reader’s concentration, target the viewers, list an advantage, and make an assurance.

Greeting And Lead Paragraph:

Any sales letter that influences the reader has a possibility of being opened and read.

- Spin a yarn that the reader can identify with, using a conversational tone.

- Announce a new product or service, an exclusive event, or important news, flaunting your unique selling proposition.

- Speak to the reader as your equal: “Dear fellow car purchaser, are you aware of. . . ”

- You could start with something innovative, perhaps a quote or anecdote.

- You could start by identifying the reader’s problem, one that your product promises to solve.

- Ask a question that might excite the reader.

- Let the reader in on some secret or uncommon information.

You could use a sub-headline to answer a query posed in the headline. For example, Part A could say: “Want to lose 15 pounds within 3 weeks at an affordable price?” Part 2 could say: “Well, this is how you can do it . . . ”

Body Of The Letter:

The body copy should use the same tone and endure with the theme of the headline. You should persist highlighting the benefits and offer proof of the claim you made. Provide details of the benefits and the features. Build credibility. Your basic objective is to create a need or want for your products or services and make people do what you want them to.

Closing Or Call To Action:

If you solicit the reader to order, support, or to contact you for the particular cause, you must make it easy for him to reply. You must support the sales letter with a prepaid envelope and an order form. If not suitable, supply a toll-free telephone number, an email link, and/or your URL. Always thank the reader for his patience. Always use a postscript.

A Final Suggestion:

Getting the reader to spend his hard-earned money on you is the real challenge. The best way to ensure this is to use test readers. Test readers would be able to give their opinion if anything is missing in the letter.

Categories: Writing tips
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I have just been asked a question from a former colleague of mine, and it was about something that I hadn’t really thought about. It is because I work from home, and he thought that it was quite a difficult status to achieve. He had been trying for ages and wanted to know my secret. Well, I can’t think of a secret that I’ve adopted to be able to work from home. So I feel we best way to explain it is to say exactly how it all happened to me. Hopefully, you can find something in this story that you can use to help you start working from home, whether it be through your current employer, or starting a small business of your own.

Some years ago while I was living and working in Holland, a small company I worked for went into bankruptcy. It was all right for three of the four people in the office as they were contractors, who came from England, but to me it was slightly different. I had set up home in Holland. So, I had to keep the job of some sort is. As the company went into decline, one by one the other members of staff left. Just leaving me there in the office alone. Now I wanted to be able to have an income the next year after the company closed so I decided that I would keep working on the project’s. even though I wasn’t getting paid. This gave me a lot of contacts with the companies we were working for. With this one-to-one contact with the companies I achieved a reputation of wanting to get the job done, whatever the circumstances. So when the New Year came and I had no salary, I had to find another way of making an income. So I went to see an accountant, who helped me set up a one-man business. I then contacted the people I had been working for and said I would be willing to carry on with the project. They were quite happy with the continuity and therefore I started working to myself.

I realised that this work was not going to last forever, so I started advertising. Even though it was in a different language, being only an English speaker living in Holland, but that seemed to work well. The thing about technical writing, as opposed to any other kind of writing. It is not continuous, project based projects have highs and lows. They do not always need to be documented at that moment, seven hours a day, five days a week. So, people were quite happy to hire me on an hourly basis as long as the schedule was met. With long-term projects. I did fixed quotes, and then invoiced equally over the six-month, this gave me some kind of regular income. This also meant I had to find other tasks to occupy my time and also would fill my bank account. So I didn’t just stick to technical writing but looked at other aspects of the job and that included finding translators for people at desktop publishing. Basic illustration and consultancy. All these tasks got me out to meet people, and my name was passed about, which in itself was self publicity.

After a few years working like this I decided to move back to my roots in the United Kingdom. Because I did not have a reputation as a freelance writer. I went back into contracting, basing myself on site. I did this for approximately 18 months. Then I explained to the manager of the department I was working for that there was not really enough work to keep me occupied for 40 hours a week, probably only about 25. Obviously, this meant a cut in income, but it also meant a cut in expenditure for such things as travel, eating out, etc and also gave me more time with the family. Following on from this conversation, I suggested that I worked from home and came into for meetings once a week. In turn this would focus the other members of the software teams time on when they had to give me information to carry on with the project. Working on site meetings can be cancelled or pushed back or deadlines, switched very quickly, but if you state that you will be in on Thursday for a meeting. The meeting actually happens when and where it was set so therefore the project keeps on schedule and everybody’s happy. The manager was quite happy that his budget was not going over on documentation, and I was able to find more freelance work, while I was staying at home. Self publicity, again, I suppose.

Sometimes it is hard getting jobs where they do will allow you to work from home, but it all boils down to trust, your self belief belief and your ability to be able to get to their site in a reasonable time, if required.

So in conclusion, what I am saying about being able to work from home, is that it is a combination of getting people to trust you, having belief in yourself, self publicity, (that is the bit I don’t like really), and getting the job done on schedule on budget and correct. You must also be willing to do jobs that you wouldn’t normally do. They could be jobs that are on the periphery of your main task. For example, my main profession is technical writing, but I am quite happy to take jobs as a proof reader copywriter and editor at desktop publishing. You have to change the rates you ask, according to the task you’ve got but if you want the luxury of working from home, and it is a luxury. You have to be flexible.

So if you really want to work from home and stayed with the company you’re working for the best plan is to make a list of the benefits that you feel it could give to the company, how often you feel you would be happy with being on site, what you would be willing to give up, to be able to work from home and make sure you have the facilities to be able to work from home and still be in contact with the office during the working day. And now the difficult bit, finding your boss in a good mood and presenting your plans to him.

Categories: Term paper writing
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