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Best way to sell 500 books in 1 week starting from scratch

by luckyman#9
46 replies
I consider myself fairly savvy regarding internet marketing and the web, but all of my knowledge is academic. I've never actually sold anything online. The up-side is that I am a 15 year IT professional and can crank out websites, squeeze pages and everything else technical with ease. My wife has been studying and practicing various forms of self-healing, yoga and meditation for years. Her dream is to be a published author and has a book that is nearly (98%) complete. The idea was to create a comprehensive platform around her message and offer books and other informational products to that community.

However, for a variety of reasons, I am properly motivated by necessity to accelerate the book selling process and get over the initial hump of putting the first thing out there. I've tried a lot of other things recently that I considered to be 'safer', but they haven't panned out yet. Therefore, the idea is to
I'm really looking for some help in poking holes in my strategy or for suggesting different strategies. My current idea is this:
1. Put up a squeeze page for the book hooked to payment through Stripe and a digital delivery piece to deliver the book.
2. Notify my and my wife's facebook friends of the book (approximately 500 ppl).
3. Send a copy for free to a couple of friends that have over 1k FB friends and ask them to kindly promote it if they like it. I also have a loose contact with a lot of twitter followers that might be willing to help if they honestly like it.
4. Increase activity in online communities that would be interested in this genre.
5. Roll-out a full site that supports my wife's work. This would have the normal pieces like a blog, etc.
6. Identify bloggers who are in a similar genre and offer to write a guest post on a certain subject for them. This would drive traffic to the site in #4 (which would also have the book on it).
7. Find other marketplaces that sell digital books in this genre to gain greater exposure to different audiences.
8. Publish it on the Kindle (easy to do, but you have to wait multiple months to get payment)

Another idea is to offer some type of launch day/week coupon for certain ppl like the FB friends.

What is not 100% clear is how much of this can be realistically done to reach a goal of 500 books or about ~$5000 dollars by Monday 10/29. I'm thinking the book will be priced just under $10 or maybe 7.99. $5k is the goal, so the number of books would need to increase if the price is lower.

In a perfect world, I would recommend putting up a splash page with the product description and an email sign-up form to build a list. This would be advertised on a person's blog/platform and then more things sent out leading up to the release of the product.

Since I've never done this before and I don't really have too much time for trial and error, I'm turning to the Warrior Forum for help.

Please let me know what additional information I can provide.

Thanks!
#500 #books #scratch #sell #starting #week
  • Profile picture of the author WFAlex
    I'd try this:

    1. In the book your wife is writing, sprinkle a couple of affiliate links throughout the guide related to products in your niche (yoga classes, clickbank self-help ebooks etc. and at the end maybe hardsell some self-help membership on 1-2 pages of the ebook).

    2. Create a salespage, for a $10 book it doesn't have to be a 3 miles long one.

    3. Set up an affiliate program on jvzoo or similar, where affiliates can get paid the moment the sale is made, and set it to 100% (yes, affiliate get's $10, you get $0).

    4. Grab an autoresponder like Aweber.

    5. After the checkout process, buyers will get to the download page of the ebook. Force them to opt-in first, give an excuse like continued updates to the book, a free self-help newsletter etc. Only after opting in they'll be able to access the download.

    6. On the download page, put some related product banners with your affiliate links above and below the download link for your ebook (though make it easy enough for your buyers to find the actual download link )

    7. Load up an Aweber sequence of emails that will last for 3-4 months (with an email sent every 2-3 days, every 3rd email can be a hardsell one, the rest should be good, helpful content with a subtle soft-selling involved at the end, if it makes sense).

    Now you just have to contact all those bloggers, FB friends etc. you mentioned above and offer them to promote the guide for 100% commission. You'll end up getting a 100% buyers list in a very short time with a lot of longterm potential.

    To increase revenue:
    - think of adding a one-time-offer (after they paid for the original book and get sent to your squeeze page, instead of letting them to the download introduce them to a one time offer. might be a bit hardcore though, so think about if you want to go that route)

    - add exit-pop ups to your salespage, when they leave have them opt in to a freebie list (give them some free PLR self-help report), then send them lots of emails promoting your paid product or related affiliate products

    - on your buyers list, try to offer free webinars (gotomeeting.com) and provide really awesome content in those (~1hr long), in the last 15 minutes push some high-ticket affiliate product. Webinars can be a really awesome preselling tool.

    Hope that helps a bit You still gotta work your ass off though, if you want to manage this all in one month. Good luck to you, hope others can chime in and give you better advice (how to get success in an even shorter period of time). Cheers.
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    • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
      Nod- Thanks for the great response. I'll need to re-read it to make sure I didn't miss anything. I really like the idea for building a list and using affiliate sales. I'm not sure if I'd do 100%, but it's very creative and I see the value in it.

      Some of the other suggestions might not be a good fit for the brand. While I have a goal of 500 sales in the first week, I should also say that the long term goal is to publish other books and build a community around my wife and her message/services. Therefore anything to sales-e or forceful likely won't be the best fit. I could be wrong, again I'm new to this. Maybe someone can comment on that?

      Thanks again!
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan J
      Originally Posted by WFAlex View Post

      I'd try this:

      1. In the book your wife is writing, sprinkle a couple of affiliate links throughout the guide related to products in your niche (yoga classes, clickbank self-help ebooks etc. and at the end maybe hardsell some self-help membership on 1-2 pages of the ebook).

      2. Create a salespage, for a $10 book it doesn't have to be a 3 miles long one.

      3. Set up an affiliate program on jvzoo or similar, where affiliates can get paid the moment the sale is made, and set it to 100% (yes, affiliate get's $10, you get $0).

      4. Grab an autoresponder like Aweber.

      5. After the checkout process, buyers will get to the download page of the ebook. Force them to opt-in first, give an excuse like continued updates to the book, a free self-help newsletter etc. Only after opting in they'll be able to access the download.

      6. On the download page, put some related product banners with your affiliate links above and below the download link for your ebook (though make it easy enough for your buyers to find the actual download link )

      7. Load up an Aweber sequence of emails that will last for 3-4 months (with an email sent every 2-3 days, every 3rd email can be a hardsell one, the rest should be good, helpful content with a subtle soft-selling involved at the end, if it makes sense).

      Now you just have to contact all those bloggers, FB friends etc. you mentioned above and offer them to promote the guide for 100% commission. You'll end up getting a 100% buyers list in a very short time with a lot of longterm potential.

      To increase revenue:
      - think of adding a one-time-offer (after they paid for the original book and get sent to your squeeze page, instead of letting them to the download introduce them to a one time offer. might be a bit hardcore though, so think about if you want to go that route)

      - add exit-pop ups to your salespage, when they leave have them opt in to a freebie list (give them some free PLR self-help report), then send them lots of emails promoting your paid product or related affiliate products

      - on your buyers list, try to offer free webinars (gotomeeting.com) and provide really awesome content in those (~1hr long), in the last 15 minutes push some high-ticket affiliate product. Webinars can be a really awesome preselling tool.

      Hope that helps a bit You still gotta work your ass off though, if you want to manage this all in one month. Good luck to you, hope others can chime in and give you better advice (how to get success in an even shorter period of time). Cheers.
      Solid advice. I'd do this personally - also I can't emphasize enough how having an OTO will increase your Bottom Line...that's without backend-marketing either.

      Giving away 100% may seem a bit ...but think of it like this:

      "Short Term Pain.. Long Term Gain!"
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  • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
    Practically put, if this is your first time then 500 is way off the mark.
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    • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
      Originally Posted by WeavingThoughts View Post

      Practically put, if this is your first time then 500 is way off the mark.
      What would you consider 'on the mark' then?

      Regardless, I'm going for the goal and will keep this thread updated on my progress and what worked. I have found that you sometimes have to have big goals to accomplish anything notable.
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    • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
      Originally Posted by WeavingThoughts View Post

      Practically put, if this is your first time then 500 is way off the mark.
      Now why would you say the op is off the mark? The only person who can limit income is yourself. I have heard so many people on here say it takes years to make it and suggesting to try and make your first dollar and such.

      BS .. people can make it first try and make millions their first year. If you start out with a defeated attitude .. expect to be defeated.
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  • Profile picture of the author GailTrahd
    Between you and Nod the plan appears to be really solid. My caveat would be to separate yourself from friends, family, television and anything else that is distracting. Although not rocket science, it is time consuming. With a short deadline you need all the time you can scrape together.

    I might also add - 98% done is done enough for your wife's book. When it's 'complete' it gives you the opportunity to resend content to your buyers with the update - always nice to receive.

    Think about putting the book on Amazon as a hard copy also for those of us who like to hold that book in our hands

    Have your wife help write those emails for the autoresponder where you are sharing great content about the topic. She is the expert and can crank those out faster than you can. You do the tweaking at the beginning and end for any sales that you want to include.
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    • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
      GailTrahd- I love the part about 98% being done. I'm going to read the manuscript tonight with that in mind.

      For physical books on Amazon, could you recommend an on demand fulfillment service? We wanted to do that, but assumed it would come later because of time.

      I'll definitely be focused on just this, although my 4yo can be a bit distracting and will certainly have my wife writting as much copy as possible.

      Thank you!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jay Brass
    OP, if you've never put any of your knowledge into place, don't expect awesome results right away. It's all about trial and error. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
    We'll see how it goes. I'm optimistic and open. I think the content is quality. I'll keep the thread posted on my progress. Thanks again to all who have added feedback.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gerald Arno
    Banned
    That´s another screaming thread from a questioner who intends to achieve unrealistic results in a short period of time.

    You might be able to sell 500 copies within a week, but only if you have thousands of dollars ready for advertising this thing. But not even then it´s assured that you will sell 500 copies in 7 days.

    The problem here is that you purely focus on unrealistic short term results with no real plan for future projects or investments.

    What´s the point of investing $20,000 in 7 days just to sell 500 copies to $10 each? You have the argument that you need quick money as fast as possible, but you won´t make it this way. The only point that makes sense is when you are already established and can afford to invest in several PPC campaigns, but with the intention to make this profitable in a smart way.

    It doesn´t make sense to build a house in 7 days just to see it break down a couple weeks later.

    The best online business are build through hard work, not quick choices.

    The first thing you have to ask yourself is what you can offer and teach people. Then you have to acquire sufficient information in this area and market it. Still, it takes a long time to sell as many copies you intend to and it can rarely be done in just a few days, UNLESS you have an already successful marketing system set up and/or have sufficient money to invest.
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    • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
      Originally Posted by GeraldGigerl View Post

      That´s another screaming thread from a questioner who intends to achieve unrealistic results in a short period of time.
      Not sure if you had the chance to read my whole post, but the premise was to look at my strategy and comment on how it could be improved to reach the results. If you think the only way to reach results is w/ a $20k marketing budget, then that would be helpful info - although out of reach for me. If you don't think it's possible, then that's your opinion too.

      I wanted to achieve a couple of things by posting this here:
      1) Accountability - as I said, I have a lot of academic knowledge but haven't put it to work yet. Writing this publicly enables me to share this experience and have a sense of being accountable to others for my results.
      2) Helping others - I'm sure other new folks would benefit from my strategy, goals and experience. I will be transparent about my results.
      3) Community - I don't have an in-person community to help or bounce ideas off of, so this is it.

      None of my intentions are to be short sighted or make a quick buck. This business has been meticulously planned over several years in one form or another. What has been a challenge is just getting started. I have beautiful plans, strategies and even content, but publishing something with (in this case) my wife's name on it has been intimidating for various reasons. The book we are publishing is close to my wife's heart and part of her career as an author. She wants it to be right for her message and be truly helpful to others. As such, the marketing tactics need to reflect that same message - as does all the copy and look and feel of each site, email etc. This is launching her career as an author, not mine as an internet marketer.

      Regarding your assertion that it cannot be done, there are many examples of people selling profitable eBooks with small ecosystems (and no IM) where they are reaching the numbers I'm talking about. They are part of communities that I'm not and have content that is right for niches that leverage specific conduits with access to many potential buyers. I realize that not having a platform is against me, but that will come. In many ways this is a challenge that is both fun and intimidating, but any result will be counted as a success.
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      • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
        Originally Posted by luckyman#9 View Post

        Not sure if you had the chance to read my whole post, but the premise was to look at my strategy and comment on how it could be improved to reach the results.
        How can the model be improved?

        Simple. Set a more realistic date. Its good to have deadlines, but this is too "visionary" for my tastes.

        You're going to run into problems that noone will predict. I can make a list of 10,001 things that can go wrong. Maybe your copy/message is weak, and doesn't connect with people. Maybe the title is weak and you need more testing. Maybe people just aren't interested, and you don't sell more than 10 copies in 1 week.

        You've outlined a process, but the majority of the REAL details are not visible to us in this thread. Its good to be optimistic. Its just as useful to be realistic.

        If you need to sell 500 books that bad... maybe consider offline? Maybe you can hire someone off CL and commission them for door to door sales?

        Maybe you can rank a few videos on youtube, and pitch the book there?
        Maybe maybe. Maybe you can try it, start failing, so you can come back with more details, and people can help you a little better?

        The only recommendations you'll get, are MORE things to do. Which will take MORE TIME. So again, maybe I'm just being negative, I don't see you reaching that goal no matter what.

        Some people CAN reach a goal like that. Probably because they have a ton of experience and have done it before. Like I said, I hate to be the realistic one, but $5000 in a week, doing something you've never done before... reality tells me you have a 1% chance of success.

        A 7% chance of reaching half that success.

        EVEN IF someone had a wso on doing specifically this, and SHOWED YOU EXACTLY how their system worked, chances are you still wouldn't reach the goal. But please, by all means, ignore this advice. I hate bringing people down. Nor is this my niche. I'm sure there are plenty of folks who have sold $5,000 worth of books on their first attempt... or even $2500 worth of books... or even....
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        • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
          Originally Posted by RedShifted View Post

          If you need to sell 500 books that bad... maybe consider offline? Maybe you can hire someone off CL and commission them for door to door sales?
          Very creative. I'm not sure it is keeping with our brand or long-term strategy, but this is unique. Thanks.
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      • Profile picture of the author Gerald Arno
        Banned
        Originally Posted by luckyman#9 View Post

        Accountability - as I said, I have a lot of academic knowledge but haven't put it to work yet.
        Academic knowledge is good but has no real in intrinsic value in running a successful online business.

        Originally Posted by luckyman#9 View Post

        This business has been meticulously planned over several years in one form or another. What has been a challenge is just getting started.
        There we go. I think your biggest barrier is to break out of the theoretical stage and get into the practical stage. It´s better to plan less and work more!! My advice for you is to just get started and work hard and fast. Planning for several years won´t get you anywhere, unless you take continues action.

        There are way too many people who have a remarkable academic background but are not able to take action. Former education is just the beginning and mostly irrelevant when it comes to reaching breakthrough success online.

        Mostly the people with less former education but keen persistence win the marketing game on the internet.

        It´s time to stop talking about how things could be done and start taking massive action. Just because you are talking about how something works, doesn´t mean that you actually have the skill to do it. Just because you are reading 10 eBooks on how to create your product, doesn´t mean that you actually have the skills and talents. The only thing that will ever matter when it comes to achieving success is the work you put in.

        It´s time to be different. It´s time to stop being academic and start taking action, or you might see another 5 years pass by.

        The biggest problem with knowledge that you get from any university is that it´s not practical.

        It´s good to hear that you have a plan since so many years, but that´s not going to pay you in the end. You know it and I know it. The only thing that will ever bring you success is how well you implement your plans.

        Here is my biggest tip for you: Start acquiring knowledge that has unquestionable potential to achieve substantial results by consistent implementation of action steps.

        Stop being academic by rationalizing a topic just because you used to do it in the past. You are now getting started in a completely new area that requires new beliefs and new mindsets, so it´s wise to adjust accordingly!
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        • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
          Originally Posted by GeraldGigerl View Post

          It´s time to be different. It´s time to stop being academic and start taking action, or you might see another 5 years pass by.
          Well put. And to clarify, the academic knowledge I mentioned has come from several years of case studies, reading this and other forums and developing concepts. School gave me an MIS degree.
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  • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
    Nobody can guarantee a win in the first try. It may happen but the chances are slim. You can't bank on it to pay a loan. Just ask yourself if an eastern world bank would be willing to loan your idea. If they would then you are probably on the right track. Otherwise it is day dreaming or a game of fate where although you might succeed, but the odds are against you,

    By the way, how many sales has the op made till now?
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  • Profile picture of the author eternalsongbird
    Your steps look great. I am keeping an eye on your thread. Keep updating.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    It's been a couple days. Got the site up yet? Got a sales letter (or squeeze page) yet? Can visitors buy yet? Getting any traffic yet? Made any sales yet?

    Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author bassem
    if your wife's product is quality , you can to do JV with someone "big fish" in your niche who has a big list, then offer him 60-70% of the revenue or just ask him to give it as a bonus to his product... if you get like 4000 subscriber in your list you can make more than 5k in few months by promoting other affiliate offers

    good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
    Time for an update. I had hoped to have more to report by now, but the development of the book has taken longer than expected. For the purpose of this post I am going to update the progress and keep the end-date to Monday, or possibly a week after release. I still think the experiment is beneficial to myself and others who may be reading this and will follow through.

    Status: The domain is bought and a teaser page up. The sales page is complete save for a few wording and color tweaks. The book is nearly done and should be available for sale tomorrow. I've identified other big bloggers in the genre and will consider reaching out (thanks bassem). We've also worked out a few offline marketing techniques and identified some folks who could help.

    More to come later.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jesse L
    call the local paper and say "local author makes book debut!" Keep your tale to the reporter interesting.

    They'll publish it and the locals will buy because you just might get famous some day.
    Make it 500 signed copies to sweeten the deal.

    Nothing is impossible...
    Book taking too much time to finish? JV a ghost writer to help.

    There is ALWAYS a way... you may pay dearly for it in the future, but there is always a way.

    I wish you luck!

    JL
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  • Profile picture of the author ProAffiliate01
    As long as you have the means to promote enough in order to get the traffic you need to sell 500 books, it is possible. I hope it happens for you, but it would take some bit of effort on your part.
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  • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
    Long over due on this update, but that last 2% of the book took quite a bit more work than expected. The sales page was actually quite involved to get just right too, and I know it can still be optimized.

    We missed the launch date. In fact, we missed the end date. As of yesterday the book is now available for sale at Creating Joy – 9 Keys to Everlasting Happiness Please, feel free to critique whatever you think can be optimized and provide feedback on the niche, content and presentation.

    Even though we missed the launch date, I'm still interested in seeing where the sales are in one week's time to see if 500 in a week is achievable, which really was the original question.

    Publishing the book has made me realize there is an unending number of things you could do to promote it and choosing the best place to spend your time is the trick.

    Thanks again for all of the great responses.
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    • Profile picture of the author aprilm
      Originally Posted by luckyman#9 View Post

      Long over due on this update, but that last 2% of the book took quite a bit more work than expected. The sales page was actually quite involved to get just right too, and I know it can still be optimized.

      We missed the launch date. In fact, we missed the end date. As of yesterday the book is now available for sale at Creating Joy - 9 Keys to Everlasting Happiness Please, feel free to critique whatever you think can be optimized and provide feedback on the niche, content and presentation.

      Even though we missed the launch date, I'm still interested in seeing where the sales are in one week's time to see if 500 in a week is achievable, which really was the original question.

      Publishing the book has made me realize there is an unending number of things you could do to promote it and choosing the best place to spend your time is the trick.

      Thanks again for all of the great responses.
      I love your header graphic and your ebook cover. The site looks great and the book looks interesting. Congrats on getting this accomplished!
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      • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
        Originally Posted by aprilm View Post

        I love your header graphic and your ebook cover. The site looks great and the book looks interesting. Congrats on getting this accomplished!
        Thank you!
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  • Profile picture of the author slicka
    congrats on getting it launched, thats the hardest part!
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    Congratulations... most people don't even make it this far.

    Some helpful tips for you to consider.
    1. You need to improve the headline. Something that hits the exact benefit. The one you have now is a benefit but is very broad. Narrow that focus in your headline and be more specific about the ONE thing, the BIGGEST thing people will benefit from once they read the book.

    2. The 3 images (Key, check mark, light bulb) should be replaces by a powerful testimonial or another hard hitting benefit, not a feature. When thinking about benefits you need to consider what your customers could be like after reading your book. How are they to feel? Will their thoughts be more clear, etc...

    3. Instead of calling yourself "The author's Husband" why not be more personable and say "Kristina's husband"...

    4. Raise your price! Why not add some thoughtful bonuses like audio interviews, etc... and get that price point up. How much? Test it... Personally I would test $47... $37... $27 when you add exclusive bonuses.
    It's a learning process my friend but on the upside it can't get worse than today's results so keep moving forward and keep making small changes and test it.

    Study other sales pages of successful products and see what kinds of things they are doing to get some ideas you can try.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    Marketing Strategy....

    1. Look at today's headlines... look at tomorrows headlines... Think, how can you use those nagging, negative headlines to your advantage. Then use a variation of them in your headlines for a stampede of press releases. Yahoo picks up a lot of PR Web press releases, heck I've seen Yahoo feature WSO products all because of their press release.

    2. Interviews... why not interview your wife and record it like a radio show. Put that on YouTube. The video portion can just be your pic on one side and her pic on the other with a catchy headline (title of the shows episode)

    3. Contact potential JV partners. They don't have to be BIG FISH to get results. Offer to put their affiliate link inside one of your free reports so they can give to their list. Offer to do an interview with them to give them value to their lists. Do this and it won't be like selling at all... Just someone who's wanting others to be filled with Joy!

    4. Be unconventional in your marketing... People are tired of "Normal" so don't be predictable, do something different.

    5. Hit those strategies hard and gain some momentum... Sky's the limit!
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    • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
      Originally Posted by Mike Hill View Post

      Marketing Strategy....

      1. Look at today's headlines... look at tomorrows headlines... Think, how can you use those nagging, negative headlines to your advantage. Then use a variation of them in your headlines for a stampede of press releases. Yahoo picks up a lot of PR Web press releases, heck I've seen Yahoo feature WSO products all because of their press release.

      2. Interviews... why not interview your wife and record it like a radio show. Put that on YouTube. The video portion can just be your pic on one side and her pic on the other with a catchy headline (title of the shows episode)

      3. Contact potential JV partners. They don't have to be BIG FISH to get results. Offer to put their affiliate link inside one of your free reports so they can give to their list. Offer to do an interview with them to give them value to their lists. Do this and it won't be like selling at all... Just someone who's wanting others to be filled with Joy!

      4. Be unconventional in your marketing... People are tired of "Normal" so don't be predictable, do something different.

      5. Hit those strategies hard and gain some momentum... Sky's the limit!
      Don't stop now Brother Hill ... The amen pew is in a tizzy and ready to pass the hat.
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      • Profile picture of the author davidf515
        I'd personally like to see some testimonials (other than a husband's). If you have any friends in related fields of study, give them copies to read and comment on, then use the quotes along with their names and credentials (Dr., PhD, "Author of..."). If you know any celebrities, even better still. When I saw Deepak Chopra's name it really grabbed my attention - until I saw that it was just a quote. A testimonial from THAT guy would be HUGE. While you're probably not going to get someone with that kind of clout, ANY recommendations from seemingly reputable sources can go a long way. The general population isn't as jaded about seeing testimonials as we in the IM crowd are, so they can be very powerful.
        But, then again, what the hell, why not send a copy to Chopra (and Oprah!), and a few other celebs asking for blurbs? You never know!
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        • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
          Originally Posted by davidf515 View Post

          But, then again, what the hell, why not send a copy to Chopra (and Oprah!), and a few other celebs asking for blurbs? You never know!
          It's funny because I've been thinking about doing just that. I agree on the testimonials too, they will be added once finalized.

          Thanks.
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    • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
      Originally Posted by Mike Hill View Post

      Marketing Strategy....

      1. Look at today's headlines... look at tomorrows headlines... Think, how can you use those nagging, negative headlines to your advantage. Then use a variation of them in your headlines for a stampede of press releases. Yahoo picks up a lot of PR Web press releases, heck I've seen Yahoo feature WSO products all because of their press release.

      2. Interviews... why not interview your wife and record it like a radio show. Put that on YouTube. The video portion can just be your pic on one side and her pic on the other with a catchy headline (title of the shows episode)

      3. Contact potential JV partners. They don't have to be BIG FISH to get results. Offer to put their affiliate link inside one of your free reports so they can give to their list. Offer to do an interview with them to give them value to their lists. Do this and it won't be like selling at all... Just someone who's wanting others to be filled with Joy!

      4. Be unconventional in your marketing... People are tired of "Normal" so don't be predictable, do something different.

      5. Hit those strategies hard and gain some momentum... Sky's the limit!

      Mike- Thanks for the great advice. Lots of good stuff here to consider and some things that I'm just going to run with like stronger headlines. I can definitely see how that would help. Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisWF
    Here is another tread that might be helpful:


    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ads-1-day.html
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    Two words for you LEVERAGE BABY!

    It is true i am in the financial niche and sold 2000 ebooks in a 24 hour period during my launch earlier this year. And the ebook was only 12 pages long and $29.

    Yes I made $58,000 but let me back to the leverage baby comment.

    what I did was :-

    1) SPent a few weeks building up contacts, and those with BIG LISTS in the financial niche.

    2) Offered them a no brainer deal where they kept 60% of the profits. This is better than 50% lol.

    3) Had to friends in the financial world, who had lists, and people on their lists were interested in promoting also. This got even more interest and sales. MORE LEVERAGE!!!

    SO I had to give away 60% of my sales to my partners I used on this launch. However, 20k for a few weeks work (and not too much sleep) was well worth it. Plus I have a bigger list of buyers that I can use and sell to as well.

    So I do not know how you can do this, without leverage, and using some other great tactics I can see above.
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    • Profile picture of the author luckyman#9
      Originally Posted by celente View Post

      Two words for you LEVERAGE BABY!.
      This is great and I agree. I am looking for other sites/bloggers in this niche that I can JV with, but first I am updating the sales page. I believe it is not quite strong enough. @Mike Hill said that the headline is not strong enough and he's right. So, before doing things that bring more traffic to the site I am going to improve the copy and more clearly define how the book can help people in lots of ways, not just being happy for happy's sake. The contents of the book and the sales page aren't quite in sync yet. I'll get that done and then get one the leverage band-wagon.

      Thanks again everyone!
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  • Profile picture of the author Broderick Boyd
    I'd say:

    Make a sales video of the product, use a simple copyrighting formula to make the video like:

    -Interest catching intro
    -Introduce the problem
    -Tell your story
    -Introduce the solution
    -Add bonuses
    -Frame price
    -Remove risk
    -Direct to take action

    Add your product on clickbank at 75% commision and direct to your sales page or use another affiliate program and offer 100% commission.

    Consider using cpc facebook or Google advertising and send them to your blog with links to your salespage or squeeze page on the blog.

    Make lots of youtube videos in your niche with a link to your squeeze page that then goes to your sales page.

    Hope that helps!

    -Brody
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  • Profile picture of the author visimedia
    after placing the funnel, you will just need to drive tons of traffic and you're done. Good volume of traffic will lead you to your goal. That's the only key I think
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  • Profile picture of the author MA Robinson
    Congrats and good luck. Launching it is the hardest part.
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    • Profile picture of the author Attraction Marketing
      96% of the people that come to your sales page will hit the back button, never to be seen again. It's not you and it's not the page; these are just the basic facts.

      If only you had something you could give to them to capture the email addresses of 40 to 70% of that traffic so that you could expose them to your sales message for the suggested 7 exposures in order to fan their desire to buy into a frenzy so that completing the purchase is the logical next step. See where I'm going here?

      I read this entire thread expecting to see this suggested already and I'm shocked that it wasn't. Offer the first chapter of your wife's book as a Free Sneak Peak into the 9 Keys to Everlasting Happiness - Create an unstoppable abundance of joy in your life in 7 days or less.

      Before you do this, you must do this one thing. Rewrite your wife's first chapter so that it reads like a long form sales letter fanning the customer's desire for everything they are about to discover in the coming pages. I'm sure she already tells her story, which is perfect! Because as they get to know her, like her and trust her, they will be hot red buyers by the end of the first chapter. Of course there will be a call to action in the footer that says, -> Click Here to Claim Your Powerful Abundance Package Today! This link, of course, leads them back to your real sales page, where now they are primed and ready to buy, as opposed to before when they were immediately hit with the option to spend $12.99. There is also a big beautiful picture of their Abundance of Joy Package at the end of the chapter with a bold call to action that links back to your sales page.

      This is a perfect addition to your plan for several reasons.

      1. You get to capture most of the traffic that comes to your page to create the community you desire around your wife's products even if they don't purchase right away.

      2. You increase the likelihood that they will purchase right after they read the free chapter, creating a buyers list for you.

      3. You've created the opportunity to continue to market to the prospect list and buyer list so that you can give value and sell other products and your own membership site when it comes available.

      p.s. I have some feelings about the price of your wife's book. I feel $12.99 is middle of the road. I say either make it under $10 so you can get them into your buyer's funnel or give them the option to upgrade to the printed book for twice the price. Some will go for the printed book that will cost you just $7 to create and ship via createspace.

      Click here to estimate publishing and shipping costs

      Click here to experience the Createspace overview

      See? You will get your $13 after all; and for the physical book, at that, which has a higher perceived value for the customer. If you go this route, be certain to create a resources page online that is easy for them to get to so that they can take advantage of all of the affiliate promotions in the book.
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  • Profile picture of the author Flyingpig7
    I agree with Attraction Marketing you need to presell the book to buyers.

    As a regular Kindle book buyer I always download the sample this is usually the first chapter teaser of a book (not always); before making my mind up to spending my money.
    The other thing I noticed is that this book is not on Kindle why not ? You will automatically use the leveraging power of Amazon all that traffic; the KDP select for extra marketing sales etc... I realize that perhaps this is a whole new world you might not have yet explored. (I'm making an assumption here as you've not mentioned it at all in your first post). There are others Ibooks, Nook, Smashwords, Createspace (real paperbacks).


    You also definately need testimonials as already mentioned by a few others above.
    These I always read at Amazon all the good & bad points they really can tip a reader over into a buyer even a fan. I've even bought books that had bad reviews just because I want to see what all the fuss is and so that I can make up my mind for myself.
    Lastly congratulations on getting this far taking massive action, look forward to seeing you reaching your goal of 500 sales.

    Keren
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  • Profile picture of the author lerxtjr
    Lots of good suggestions on this thread for anyone wanting to sell books online. There are a couple of challenges you need to face before you're going to be able to hit your goal that I don't see anyone has pointed out to you yet.

    1. You're attempting to sell what's called a "soft topic." The good 'ol making money and losing weight topics are considered "hard topics" because they are quantifiable. So, they're much easier sells. The hardest soft topics books to sell are novels, for example. Your topic of general touchy-feely "getting joy in your life" is considered a soft topic. Use your copywriting to give quantifiable examples of exactly "how" peoples' joy has been improved as a result of the book.

    2. Comments about needing a better headline have already been made. I'll add to it that your headline needs to be "sexy" to sell. Try reading your headline and tacking these endings on:

    ...Even if You've Lost Everything
    ...in 9 Simple Steps Your Mother Doesn't Even Know

    3. You're in a hugely competitive market and, unless your wife is a celebrity, she is probably not well-known. If that's true, then not a lot of people even know the book exists. So, you're going to have to get the book in a lot of hands to get people talking about it....so that others go buy the book. I'd suggest "giving" the book away to 500 people. Get the book in the hands of as many as you can and go for the goal of generating "50" testimonials to make the book appear so popular that people almost feel left out if they haven't bought it yet.
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  • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
    Send a copy to yoga instructors and incent them to share it with all their students.
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  • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
    The #1 thing that many people we work with on book launches learn is that 95%+ of the work is done prior to launch, meaning that you want to spend 3-4 weeks driving traffic to your opt-in landing page to get initial sign-ups.

    Online marketing of information (as with any online marketing) is a numbers game - if you want 500 sales, you want to drive 25,000 to 50,000 visits to your sales page over that time (1-2% conversion). With excellent targeting you can up that conversion rate from 2% to 5-6% and reduce the number of visits you need.

    Where will these visitors and excellent targeting come from?

    1. Content you have produced - traffic driven by initial SEO (blog, articles, press releases, etc...)
    2. Paid advertising - depends on your budget, leave yourself 1-2 weeks for testing and then ramp up on high ROI ads
    3. Affiliates/partners - you can establish these relationships early and have them send traffic to your landing page (assuming you are giving away solid content and can track partner revenues through your launch)
    4. Other proactive methods such as social networks, forums and teleseminars/webinars

    With these techniques it is feasible to drive 10,000+ visitors to your website - build a significant list that you can hit along with partner traffic on launch day, this will drive your sales.

    In the meantime you will have had to have created a solid sales funnel and sales page as well as initial affiliate promotion group...that doesn't happen overnight, but the work is definitely worth it since many affiliates will continue to promote and your sales funnel is the "autopilot" part of your business that you can use to constantly attract and convert customers.

    Jeff
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