What being a published author has done for me (so far)
Hi all,
I have been doing offline marketing for quite some time now and I get most of my clients from local BNI groups and referrals. While much better than cold calling, it's still always an uphill battle. I get a lot of interest but not many follow through to the actual purchase.
In August, while researching better ways to attract clients, I bought a 30 or 40 page PLR book on local marketing topics. It's meant to be a credibility booster that I can hand out to potential clients. I had the standard client attraction materials such as fliers, brochures, a website, etc., but I thought to myself how great an idea self publishing was and how I would appear to business owners/potential clients.
I started rewriting the PLR but soon I realized that it was not enough. It was well written, but the presentation wasn't logical and the writer jumped all over the place. I decided that I would write my own book from scratch.
It took just under one and a half months to finish the draft. Although difficult and annoying at times, it was an enjoyable process overall. Then, what surprised me was that it took over 2 and a half months to properly edit and format the book for Kindle and CreateSpace. I have access to a lot of courses and software related to self publishing, but as a first timer it was still exceedingly difficult to provide what Amazon needed/wanted.
Still, finally everything was finished and I ordered my first 30 copies about 2 weeks ago. I was ready to hand the books out to prospective clients.
Because my folks are in town for the holidays I haven't gone to many networking meetings. Last week, I made some time and joined Toastmasters, attending my first meeting on Thursday. The group had about 25 people attending and only one of them was a business owner. The majority of them were foreigners or those in work positions where they frequently have to speak.
Since I was a new member I didn't get to say much more than an introduction. I briefly said that I was a marketing strategist who worked with local businesses to increase their profit using the Internet. You know, the typical elevator speech for offline consults. Then, I casually mentioned that I recently published my own book on that same topic.
Immediately the room was filled with "ooh's" and "ahh's". At the end of the meeting everyone wanted to talk to me. Specifically they all wanted to talk about my book.
Because I had other engagements after the meeting I wasn't able to stay long. But as I was walking out the sole business owner there (a CPA) rushed after me to get my info. I had some copies of my book in my car and I gave him one. The very next day he called me to set up an appointment.
I have never had a potential client chase after me before. I can only guess that in an environment where everyone is a business owner (i.e. BNI, RLI, etc.) the result will be even better!!
I'll update more as I test this more!
-Sherry
I have been doing offline marketing for quite some time now and I get most of my clients from local BNI groups and referrals. While much better than cold calling, it's still always an uphill battle. I get a lot of interest but not many follow through to the actual purchase.
In August, while researching better ways to attract clients, I bought a 30 or 40 page PLR book on local marketing topics. It's meant to be a credibility booster that I can hand out to potential clients. I had the standard client attraction materials such as fliers, brochures, a website, etc., but I thought to myself how great an idea self publishing was and how I would appear to business owners/potential clients.
I started rewriting the PLR but soon I realized that it was not enough. It was well written, but the presentation wasn't logical and the writer jumped all over the place. I decided that I would write my own book from scratch.
It took just under one and a half months to finish the draft. Although difficult and annoying at times, it was an enjoyable process overall. Then, what surprised me was that it took over 2 and a half months to properly edit and format the book for Kindle and CreateSpace. I have access to a lot of courses and software related to self publishing, but as a first timer it was still exceedingly difficult to provide what Amazon needed/wanted.
Still, finally everything was finished and I ordered my first 30 copies about 2 weeks ago. I was ready to hand the books out to prospective clients.
Because my folks are in town for the holidays I haven't gone to many networking meetings. Last week, I made some time and joined Toastmasters, attending my first meeting on Thursday. The group had about 25 people attending and only one of them was a business owner. The majority of them were foreigners or those in work positions where they frequently have to speak.
Since I was a new member I didn't get to say much more than an introduction. I briefly said that I was a marketing strategist who worked with local businesses to increase their profit using the Internet. You know, the typical elevator speech for offline consults. Then, I casually mentioned that I recently published my own book on that same topic.
Immediately the room was filled with "ooh's" and "ahh's". At the end of the meeting everyone wanted to talk to me. Specifically they all wanted to talk about my book.
Because I had other engagements after the meeting I wasn't able to stay long. But as I was walking out the sole business owner there (a CPA) rushed after me to get my info. I had some copies of my book in my car and I gave him one. The very next day he called me to set up an appointment.
I have never had a potential client chase after me before. I can only guess that in an environment where everyone is a business owner (i.e. BNI, RLI, etc.) the result will be even better!!
I'll update more as I test this more!
-Sherry
What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?