April 2024
Rock Your Book Marketing with the ELVIS Method
Effective Strategies That Help Independent Authors Stand Out
A Short History of Book Publishing
Create Your Successful Book Marketing Strategy Today
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Create Your Own Book Promotion Destiny
Author sets goals, asks questions, hires expert help, and gets the job done.
Peggy McColl is a professional author and speaker on the topic of goal achievement. Her first book, On Being...The Creator of Your Destiny was selling well, but not fast enough. She was about ready to publish her second book, and she needed to make room -- "It was the books or the dining room furniture." -- McColl decided to set a goal of her own, and that was to sell 2000 books in 48 hours."So, I decided to launch a promotion," she recalls. "Now keep in mind, I'm a person, like many self-published authors, who thought you wrote the book, and your job's done. And this even after attending marketing seminars and hearing speakers say, "you've written the book -- now the real work begins" -- it's just one of those things you don't really want to hear."
McColl started studying and learning about new marketing techniques, figuring out what she had to do to reach her goal of selling 2000 books in 48 hours. "It all started when I committed to the outcome, and then had to figure out the 'how.' It takes faith, because you're constantly knocked off the track, and it takes focus, because of all the other things we have going on in our lives."
"I called on some of the 'gurus' in the personal development field who had achieved the results I wanted, and asked them how they did it. I found that people out there with the experience I needed were willing to help me, and many seemed eager to get involved. I think when you're passionate about what you want, people perceive that and are more likely to open up. I learned that it really helps to be very clear about what you want, and be specific about how they can help you."
On July 24th, armed with a great email list and a "killer" sales letter, McColl launched her "Bundle Promotion," offering her book, and lots of free stuff, via an Internet mailing campaign to some 250,000 contacts. "I found out that it's really important to plan carefully, and to have all the ingredients in place. Then you push the GO button, and watch the results come in. It's an exciting way to do business."
The sales letter began like this: "If you knew that doing just one thing today would instantly increase your personal power to blast through to your goals, receive more than $350 worth of free bonuses, and, at the same time helping me achieve something that couldn't be done without your help.....would you do it?" Her combination offer-and-request struck a chord, and the orders began rolling in.
"The first night I didn't even sleep, and was on the phone, answering people's questions. It was great fun, hearing my 'you've got mail' bell constantly ringing. It was also a lot of work, especially taking on the fulfillment myself (many similar promotions run sales through an online retailer like amazon.com). But it was a good experience to do it myself, and now I have 800 more customers and their contact info -- 800 more 'hungry fish' in my pond."
McColl says three key things made the promotion work:
1) Match your message to the audience. Offer your product to people who will be interested in it. "I built my contact list by talking to other authors who are successful in selling self-help/personal development titles, and were willing to share their contacts."
2) Send a really, really good sales letter, written by a professional. "Tami DePalma of MarketAbility was able to take the rough information I gave her and turn it into a message with real impact." (See the actual sales letter at: http://www.destinies.com/promotion.html)
3) Offer something of value. McColl decided to "bundle" her book with a workbook, so that readers can implement what they learn, and online audio program, so that there's something to listen to and hear the author's voice, and a "Goal Map Planning System" that allows readers to track their goals and metrics. She also offered buyers her monthly online newsletter and daily email insights.
"People really want free stuff. It's gets to the point where they think, 'How foolish can she be, giving all this stuff away?' Now you're at the point of psychological reciprocity, you've created a bond with these people, and suddenly they feel like they owe you something back. Not only does this affect the current sale, but in the future, when you have other things to offer, the bond continues. It's all in the delivery, and way you present your offer."
Inspired by this experience and her new list of customers, McColl has already created a new offering, an eight-week e-course entitled "The Proven Secrets of SMART Success: 8 Weeks to Creating and Living your Destiny." (See that promotion at http://www.destinies.com/e-course/info.html)
"Sometimes I think people make it harder than it is. When we run up against challenges they can seem insurmountable, but that's only because we don't know how to do it, or haven't done it before. That's no reason to quit - that's the time to face the challenge and find out how to do what needs to be done."
Now McColl is getting ready to publish her second book, entitled On Being A Dog With a Bone, and working on a new book marketing plan. She used the same principles of getting out there and asking for what she needed to launch the new book and to help ensure its success.
"I quickly learned I had to get out there and ask for what I wanted. To get the stories from dog owners I went right to a big dog show being held in my area, and once people met me and knew what I needed, the stories just came pouring out. I even found the bulldog I wanted for the cover, met 'Charlie's' owner, and she said 'yes' he could model. During the photo shoot, I learned one of this woman's dogs had been a 'Purina Champion,' and she had contacts at the Purina Dog Chow Company. She hooked me up with them and I've already made a proposal to brand managers at Purina for them to use my book in a promotion."
So it looks like Peggy McColl's dining room furniture gets to stay, and if her promotional expertise keeps growing, she may well have the time and money to use it for some extravagant meals.
"For those that are willing to knock on doors, there's great opportunity out there, and there aren't that many people out there doing it. Unfortunately, many people allow their fears to hold them back."
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Peggy McColl is the author of On Being...The Creator of Your Destiny and the soon-to-be-released book On Being A Dog With A Bone. Peggy has been a featured speaker throughout Canada and the United States and is an acknowledged expert in goal achievement systems. She works closely with individuals and organizations assisting them to reach their maximum potential and achieve extraordinary results. She is also the driving force behind the most compelling strategic goal system of its kind, Goal Management Achievement Planning System (GoalMAPS).