Another $6,000 off line marketing sale with almost no effort

I thought about it, but the services described in the book are pretty comprehensive. A good idea is to simply buy two or three local online marketing books on Amazon, to see what chapters to write, and you can use them as templates. It sure speeds up the writing process.

Added later; You can't use PLR content to create your Kindle books or your Createspace books. If more than 10% of your content is already published somewhere...anywhere...even public domain work...Amazon will cancel your sales page. Do it a few times, and they will cancel your account.

It's a lot better to use similar books as templates, and to spur ideas....but write in your own words. You really want the reader to see you as the expert. And a book with your personalty in it is the most persuasive.

I second this. I would love more info on the how to for the publishing part. I believe you use createspace but not sure if you ever said for sure.

Once again Claude a great thread that really inspires. Thank you for sharing.

I use Createspace and Kindle. Some authors (even here on the Kindle Forum)
put out a good book a month on different subjects. I'm on schedule for about one every 6 months, and I could speed that up if I wanted to. Books are longer than most WSOs. A Kindle book may be 55 pages or more, but a paperback book on Createspace should be 100 pages or more. If you really write the book, I can tell you how to use Amazon to promote the book. It's all free.

Using Createspace is incredibly easy. My in house IT guy figured it all out in about an hour.

On Createspace, you can create a cover, format the book, create chapters, table of contents, promotion pages, and they will even give you a free ISBN number. Getting a book published is light years ahead of where it was even 5 years ago.

Message you an outline?
You can download a complete copy for $3.00 on Amazon. The title is Local Online Marketing.

My book is designed to teach everything the reader needs to know to promote their local business online, to sell them on the idea that it's too much work to do it all themselves, and that I'm the right guy to do everything for them. So I get fantastic reviews, and a few good clients every month...just from the books bought on Amazon. You can use the book as a template if you like.

I bought 6 or 8 books on Kindle publishing to learn most of it, but the Warrior Book Club sub forum gives you a ton of information on publishing on Kindle, and using Createspace.

Most of my books are sold on Kindle. But most of my clients buy the paperback book. So you need a paperback edition too.

The first few were friends in business that I sent copies to. After that, they were people who actually ordered the book on Amazon, and wrote the reviews.
I don't know most of them...

Several Forum members were kind enough to leave a review...but they all bought the book from Amazon. You can tell when the book was purchased online from Amazon or not.

I have three books out now on Amazon. Many people order two or three and leave reviews for the ones they read. None of them are paid reviews.

I get people that e-mail me or call and say that they got a lot out of the books. I thank them and ask if they would like to give a review. Sometimes they do. But none are compensated. And at the end of the book I ask for a review.


Thanks. Remember though, I was 15 minutes on the phone..but a lot went on before I talked to them. And that's the part that will help you get clients. The 15 minutes was just to help them make a decision right then. But all the heavy lifting was already done before the phone call.

Just click the link in his signature. You can "look inside" the book and see what it's about. Or just buy it for $2.99.

Jon; Thank you. I recommended that you buy a few local online marketing books to show examples of formats and what to include in the chapters.

Personally, the three books I wrote were actually edited version of expensive marketing information products I sold. So originally, the books were far bigger, and included DVDs and CDs. My Selling Local Advertising book is almost a words for word transcription of a 3 hour workshop I put on for advertising sales reps.

A few books will give you about 90% of the information you'll need to write the book. Editing, a few examples from your own experience, a few screen shots of examples...and you're almost there.

Just don't ever copy word for word text from another book.

Buy three books on your subject. Yellow highlight the parts that you think are brilliant. Combine the three highlighted versions together, and add some personal examples...and you are almost there.

The whole process should take less than 40 hours, including creating a cover, submitting the book to Createspace, and promotion.

A 100 page paperback book is really maybe 50-60 Word pages, double spaced. If you just sit and talk for two hours, that's about what you have.

A friend of mine wrote about 20 questions about his subject. We met in a restaurant, I asked the questions, and he gave complete answers. He recorded the conversation. At the end of two hours, he had the basis of a book. He sent it to a transcriptionist on Fiverr, and for about $80, he got the unedited book back. A day or so editing, and he submitted the book.

That's another fast way to write a book. His questions were the chapter titles, the answers were the chapters themselves.

If it takes you 6 months to write a book,, you aren't putting any effort at all into it. It just can't get easier than the ways I just described.

But there are people who will take your recordings of speeches and make a book out of that. Lot's of CEOs get books qhost written that way. But it's several thousand dollars.

I should also point out that my books are selling briskly, but I still make less than a thousand dollars a month from them in total. These books are really sales presentations for your online services.

Mention in your book a few times that you offer services. You can even use client examples to be test cases. But you must give real value. You must give enough information in the book that, if they never bought anything else from you, they could do what your book describes.

In my books, I give out my best stuff. I don't skimp. The only things I don't include are industry specific techniques that some readers couldn't use.

I have an offer for a free consultation in the front of the book, and a little marketing information at the end. The last chapter is usually the real beginning of a sales presentation. But the reader must be completely satisfied before they get that far, or you'll get bad reviews. And a few bad reviews will kill your book sales immediately.

I need to tell you guys; This isn't "the quick and easy method to get sales". Writing a book or two is far harder than just prospecting for clients. But after the books are written and out there, selling gets easier, and you get clients coming to you.

But for 3 years after my first book was published and on Amazon, I was still making cold calls and networking. It takes time before this can replace other marketing. That being said, in the last 6 months, my book Local Online Marketing has brought in 23 clients at between $4,000-$6,000 in up front fees each. And my speaking to groups was a big part of that. The members of the audience bought my book either later, or before I spoke...and then called me.

There is great marketing. But there is really no effortless marketing. I'm not marketing hard now, but you can't get anywhere starting out with no effort.

In other words, don't stop cold calling because you are going to devote all your time to writing books. You'll starve before you get your first client.

There may be some confusion. I bought the books on how to publish on Kindle and Createspace. The content of my books came from workshops and larger information products that I used to sell when speaking. Now I just offer my service.

I did, however buy about a dozen paperback books on my subject to get formatting and cover ideas.
I just found out I can quote myself! Kind of funny.

Take it from someone who learned the hard way.

Never look for or test new lead sources AFTER they stop biting.

When things are good is the time to test and experiment.

leads are your life blood. if you wait till things go bad ...
it can lead to devastating consequences.

I lost a 350k a month business with that very mistake.
I was a rookie, now i know better.

The articles are great because people will actually read the articles...and they know what The Huffington Post is. So there is a lot of credibility there. Me? If I were you, I'd edit the 12 to 15 best articles and put it into a book.

Why? You've already done all the heavy lifting. It would take you almost no extra work. And being an author of a book adds credibility, just like the articles.

Have you done any radio interviews? If you do, both The Huffington Post articles and a book would get you the interview and you use that time to prospect (I know you know that already)


Do more with the articles? Yes, make a book out of them, and use them to send out to book talks to groups of wedding planners and wedding dress shop owners.

Being an author (Just saying it to someone changes their perception of the relationship) also helps you justify a higher price. I'd leave a copy with every new client. They won't read it, but it will impress them far more than a series of articles.

People are impressed when someone is introduced as "Doctor". Want to impress the doctor? Tell them you are an Author. It's amazing, funny, fun to watch, and silly.

Very smart question.

My book is either a lead generator, meaning they have read my book before they call...or I was speaking at an event and they got my book before I spoke.

One thing I never do is sell my book at an event...or allow it to be handed out just before I speak. Because they will think "OK, I got the stuff", and not buy my service.


In a sales presentation to someone I cold called or networked...I don't mention the book, or that I'm an author.

If they ask about my book (in a sales presentation) I tell them that the book gives them the exact same information I'm giving them now.....and at the end, I'm available to perform all the services, if they want them done.

In my presentations, I'll give them any information the want, the more the better. The more they know, the less they want to do it themselves.

I want them to read my book first, because it will show them how complicated and work intensive the whole process is.

You see, the book isn't really competing with my service, because I'm not selling an information product. The "Do it yourselfers" aren't my market. I want the guy that wants it done for him.

But if I'm speaking to a group, and the book is handed out just as I speak, the people don't know how much work it is, and may decide to try it themselves. And I want to avoid that.

The purpose of the book in prospecting is;
To let them know I'm an expert
To show them how difficult it would be to try this themselves,
To help me get interviews and speaking gigs.

I never bring up the book, or that I'm an author, in a one on one sales presentation...because we may get side tracked down a road I don't want to go. But I do get them bring out a copy they bought earlier and ask me to sign it. That's kind of fun.

Originally Posted by mjbmedia I know this thread is about business gained as a direct influence of your book, but most of your leads wont be that way (I am guessing), they wont know about you or your book, so you still have to do the donkey work somewhere, introducing them to you and/or your book/authorship.

Actually, at this point, nearly all my clients came from;
1) Buying my book and calling me...or
2) Hearing me speak to a group they were in, and they have my book...or
3) A referral from a client that tells them about my book, and my service....or
4) Someone who came across a video/article I put out..went to Amazon...bought a batch of copies of my book to give as gifts...and those people call me.
5) Once in a blue moon...I still cold call in person or work networking events to get new blood.

But this isn't a get rich quick scheme. It took me 6 months to write my first book. It took me years to learn how to speak in front of groups well enough to sell a high end service...from the stage.
It took me years to build up a stable of clients that refer other clients to me.

So if you only write a book and put it on Amazon, you'll get a few clients....but if you use it as a lead generator,(for speaking gigs and interviews) it works very well. I should mention that I put more energy into marketing my book, than I did writing it. It's listed on hundreds of book websites, I had to figure out all the ways you could promote your book on Amazon...which helps a lot.

Claude,

You just keep raising the bar higher and higher, sigh.

All those in favor of suspending Claude's membership on WF for a month so we can catch up with this dude, say 'aye'!

Awesome stuff.

Tom

I don't need to tell you that you did an awesome job here, Claude. Loved your approach to the entire call.

Do you mind if I ask why you decided to use so many takeaways in one call?

Is this your standard sales process, or did you just get a spidey sense tingling that this was the way you were going to close him?

Do you sell like this a lot? What was your reasoning?

Fantastic thread.

Funny little followup story....

I was reading through this entire thread, and noted the parts where Claude is talking about his books. It turns out I've got a few books on Amazon as well, the difference is that mine are reference style books, and they are listed on Amazon for $99.95 each.

So anyway, I'm reading through this thread, and all of a sudden, the thought occurs to me, 'Jeez, I haven't logged onto Createspace recently to check my account.'

type, type, type, login, 'wow', 'holy freaking cow', 'holy bleep'.

Turns out I had a few libraries that came through that ordered multiple (i.e. 15-20 copies each ) of the book, and my unpaid royalties were uuhhh substantial.

So, since its Friday night, maybe instead of taking the lil' woman out to McDonalds for a value meal, I'll upgrade, and take her to Burger King and pop for whoppers.

Anyway, its been a good week. Enjoy the weekend everybody.

Tom

Perhaps you could teach gap analysis to small groups of business owners for X per workshop.

Createspace gives you your own ISBN number. It's free. The only downside (it really isn't a downside) is that it will say "Published by Createspace" on your Amazon sales page description.

Claude,

Is your book available on iTunes?

I'd like to read the ebook on my iPad.

Rich

Misterme; I don't know if he originally wanted just a website. He read my book. And only a part of the book is about websites. He asked me the question exactly as posted, and we didn't talk about "just a website" again.

I don't think I really flipped him to the whole service, I think he may have asked that question to see how comparable my prices were with a known commodity. That's my guess.

He mentioned that the website still says $3,999 (although my presentations and agreements show $5,999)....... and I explained some additional services provided, that were not included in that price...a mobile website, 36 additional slide show videos, 2 additional Youtube channels, submitting videos to 50 additional video sites with different titles, and a thousand internal links (Total) on Youtube manually written and posted.

I gave him the choice, and he went for the upgrade. So have the last 6 or 7 that have bought. So we ended up at $5,999 plus the $199 a month. My agreement has the price at $5,999 plus an optional upgrade (twice everything except websites) at $7,999. So, had he not mentioned the $3,999, I would have quoted $5,999 plus an upgrade if wanted.

I just didn't mention this part of the conversation in the first post, because it would have confused the point I was making....which is to write a book, or create a CD or DVD that establishes you as the expert (and minor celebrity, like all authors) to do the major part of prospecting and selling for you.

Thanks for the reminder though. When he mentioned the $3,999, I honestly thought it was already increased to $5,999 on the website. I'll have my guy take care of it tomorrow.

The last several clients bought during my "30 minute free phone consultation", and never went to the website.

Would I have accepted the $3,999? Yes, but I wouldn't have given the additional services.

added later; I just went to my site, and saw where the $3,999 was. There are other things on the site that I thought were changed. Thanks again for the heads up.


Rich; I Tunes? No. But it is on Kindle (which you can download to your computer) or you can buy the paperback book.