Advice on "decluttering" ebook

[Dana_W]

A friend of mine just helped me clean and organize my house top to bottom, we took before and after pictures, etc. Now, she is a psychologist and business is slow, so I suggested to her that she do an info product on how to get organized, and she's interested. I especially like that she can offer the psychological background - and she has a Ph.D. to back it up!

I have some ideas, but from my brilliant Warrior friends - if you were on a super limited budget, where and how would you promote this? Both online and offline. (She's also probably going to start an organizing service.)

I can get her website up and running, get her an ebook cover, send traffic to her site with articles and press releases, make sure her site is filled with good SEO'd content...I don't know how to do PPC although that might be an option for the future...I can promote it for her via Twitter which gets ME a lot of business...

Other ideas?

Also she might want to have a question and answer section on her site, I was thinking - like in the blog posting area.

[activetrader]

Another idea would be to install a forum on her site and people can post questions and engage in interaction

[charlesburke]

Maybe it'd be useful to get her some appearances on local radio shows. It could drum up awareness of her for local consulting jobs, and also look very good on her site,, with brief audio clips, thus helping to credentialize her.

Cheers, Charles

[mywebwork]

Hi Dana (and Happy Mothers Day!)

Did you just take still pictures or did you video the "Before and after pictures" as well? Even if they are just stills you could crop together a short intro video to display on her site. Post it on YouTube and use one of the many WordPress plugins to display YouTube video on the site you create for her. The extra YouTube traffic wouldn't hurt either.

She might also want to offer a downloadable "freebie" to build a mailing list, perhaps a quick-tip or checklist for organizing your home or office.

Bill

[Susanrh]

Hi Dana,
If she's advertising her business off line via flyers or business cards, or any other physical media she should advertise the ebook and website there.

Hopefully this will attract people who wouldn't normally find her on the web, and you can collect their details for follow up.

Susan

[Dana_W]

Wonderful suggestions, everyone! I'm open for more!

I took still pictures, not video, but we're definitely planning on using them as before and after shots for advertising!

[Mary Gallivan]

Hi Dana

There's the usual free traffic methods - article marketing, commenting on forums, Yahoo Answers etc.

Getting organised could also be applied to other areas and different niches

Getting organised in the office - filing, whiteboards, etc

Organising a wedding/holiday/party/special event.....

Teaching your children to be organised and keep their bedroom tidy etc

Mary

[BrenneM]

I too like the before and after pictures. However, I think a before and after testimony would also be helpful. E.G. This was my life before and this is my life now.

[Marty S]

IMHO, this is just begging for a video series.

I would do the whole thing over again but the two of you find a mutual friend in need of organizing and convince her/him to let the two of you do his/her organizing makeover - only this time you record all of it and create a mini youtube or auto responder series about it. I would also consider refining the concept for single dwelling men - who often have disgusting flats. Such as;

"How Dudes can impress the babes with a clean and organized home with less than one hour of work a week."

I would also strive to add humor and drama to the production to keep viewers interested. As well, if you and your friend have anywhere near the looks of your beautiful profile photo then you MUST be in film and take advantage of it with this target audience.

[Jillian Slack]

Oh, Dana! I am so jealous!

I'll bet it's a fabulous feeling to be free from clutter!

Decluttering is a big deal lately. There's a frequent guest on "Oprah" and he has gone around the country in these cute little VW New Beetles with a clean-up crew. They ambush people and clean up their houses.

As much as I'd love to have my clutter taken care of, I don't think I'd want Oprah and the whole world to see just how messy I really am!

Use your before-and-after photos to create some video.

Use voiceover and interview your friend about the biggest problems she saw with each project in the "before" photos, the steps she took to take care of those problems, and then talk a little about the "after" photos.

Get testimonials from happy clients.

Tie it in with saving time and making money. Those are two big priorities for people today.

Saving time = quit losing your keys every week and you'll spend more time with your family, be less rushed when you go out the door in the morning, etc.

Making money = quit losing your keys and your stress level goes down so you can concentrate on your work or business, get to work on time (since you know where those pesky keys are), devote your mind and your energy to more creative tasks instead of needless searching.

The guy on Oprah has a book out called "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" He's looking at how having a neater, clean environment helps you from the inside out.

Plus we hang on to stuff that we simply don't need. Do we really want to keep the business cards from a failed business venture five years ago? What is it doing to our karma to have that negativity sitting in a drawer?

You could do all kinds of fabulous things with this partner.

Do free teleseminars to get people on your list. You could interview her and talk about some great stuff on the free calls without giving away the farm. Give the callers enough info to entice them and let them know WHY they need this information from her.

When you do the ebook, consider doing an audio version as well.

Let's face it. We clutterbugs are often so disorganized that we don't have time to sit down and read. Give us the option to listen to the mp3 file on our computers or download to iPod and listen while we're hauling kids back and forth.

Create checklists for how to get started decluttering. What supplies do you need? Where do you find them at a good price (include affiliate links to these products)?

Go a little deeper and look at why some of us feel drawn to this clutter. Can she dig and help us overcome the reasons we hang on to this stuff?

Once we declutter, what do we do to remain decluttered? There's another program for the two of you to work on.

What if we relapse? There's another product or program.

Just a few ideas. You could have a lot of fun with this!

Jill