The Ink Tree Report December, 2005
If you read about our competition last month (The Write Stuff
- bound and determined to succeed) you were probably curious
to find out how such a project would turn out. Well, it was
incredible. It wildly exceeded our expectations and we can't wait to
do it again.
The feedback we received was that this was a
tremendous opportunity for writers -- something that wasn't offered
anywhere else. That is exactly what we were trying to achieve, so it
seems that our plan worked.
How many chances does the average author get to WIN a
publishing contract? Not many it seems!
Needless to say, we will be holding this competition
again, and possibly in your area.
You can read all about it at
http://www.findingthewritestuff.com
Until next time, have a wonderful holiday season and
we'll talk books and publishing more in the New Year.
Best,
Joni Pypers
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Brought to you by Ink Tree Ltd., your source of help for anything
related to self publishing and book marketing.
Visit us at
http://www.inktreemarketing.com
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Marketing, Marketing, Marketing
**Feature Article**
Entrepreneurial
Writers, I Bet You Didn’t Think Of This
By Chris Willitts
Marketing your writing online can
come in many flavors. But here is a radical idea for you to consider
that most people have never heard of. Divide your “one” book of
facts, short stories or novel into separate eBooks (electronic
books) — packaging and selling them as a new series/chapter every
month. This is called serializing.
The goal here is to prime your fan base and draw them in with
appetizers of your writing and eventually sell them the entirety of
this material in a physical book — while making a little cash in the
process. Studies show that nearly 20% of those who buy eBooks later
buy paperbacks. You can think of eBooks as low-cost previews.
The cutting-edge insanity about eBooks is the convenience of their
instant electronic delivery and the incredible ZERO cost to produce
them. You can produce an unlimited amount of eBooks and it will cost
absolutely nothing, apart from the initial cost of having them
designed. In addition, there is no cost to deliver eBooks. And
because you don't have to worry about the hassles of supplies or
inventory, this method of publishing is incredibly convenient. The
best distribution format for eBooks is Adobe® Acrobat® Portable
Document Format, or PDF, in 8-1/2"x11" page format; so, it can be
easily printed out if desired.
Let’s look at applying this strategy, realistically, to the real
world: Imagine that you have an ezine (electronic newsletter) of
2,000 subscribers. On a monthly basis you deliver, via email, a new
set of informative facts (essays) or short stories, fiction series,
or group of poems that you package and sell as a PDF eBook. You
announce this to all 2,000 of your ezine subscribers, including a
free sample, and sell the set for $5 as an instant download. Suppose
only 2% of your subscribers purchase your new eBook each month. 40
readers x $5 = $200 per month.
Imagine if you teamed up with owners of various ezines within your
marketplace to promote and sell your appetizers (eBooks). Let’s say
you find someone with an ezine that has 10,000 subscribers and work
out a deal to split the profits 50/50. Using the same figures
mentioned above, that would put an additional $500 in your pocket.
In fact, you aren’t required to own your own ezine to test this
concept out — you can simply team up with one or more owners of
various ezines.
Two hundred to five hundred dollars extra per month won’t make you
rich, but for many of us it adds up to at least a car payment. Not
to mention that this figure should grow because ideally ezines are
continuously adding new subscribers. Another way to generate more
income is by increasing the conversion rate from 2% to 5%.
The brilliance in this approach is that you can cultivate a loyal
following — people who will buy your physical books when you publish
them because they already have a taste of your work, and if its
good, will want some more. Because this “out-of-the-box” concept
will cost you next to nothing to implement, it is about as low-risk
(financially) as it gets. This will also give you an opportunity to
receive feedback from your fan base about your writing that will
allow you to fine-tune the quality of your work.
So what am I trying to say here?
Go sell appetizers to entice your audience to move on to the main
course.
© Copyright 2005 Chris Willitts
Chris Willitts is the founder of Go Publish Yourself™, an
award-winning Web site for writers. For the Latest Self-Publishing
Tips and Book Marketing Secrets, visit
http://www.go-publish-yourself.com Special Gift: Be sure to get
your FREE Self-Publishing Action Plan (it's a $19.95 Value) when you
stop by.
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Tips You Can Use
Need a good editor?
If you haven't heard of it already,
you should check out The Editorial Freelancers Association. It is
THE professional resource for editorial specialists and those who
hire them.
http://www.the-efa.org/
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Have You Heard?
There's a new web design service for self publishers.
If you're not selling your books online yet, you're missing out on
sales.
Check it out here:
http://www.go-publish-yourself.com/web-design.php
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Mention My Book!
Don’t forget to submit YOUR book! You'll find instructions at the
end of this section.
==========================
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Especially yours!
Find out how having all your healthcare information
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========================
GREAT GIFT!
Simply Read! and
Simply Write!
Uncover Your Child's Reading Potential and
Make Writing and Enjoyable Part of Your Life
Available at:
http://www.readingwings.com/
Vera Goodman, Author
Read & Write with Confidence and Enrich Your Life!
If you or someone in your family is a poor reader or
writer, at any age, just think for a minute about what that lack of
skill might be costing.
Vera believes that anyone can become a confident
reader and writer. Her goal is not only to involve her learners in
skill building activities, but to foster interest in learning for
the sake of learning. Reading and writing are important life skills,
but they can also be a life-long struggle.
The Reading Wings Approach presents simple, effective strategies for
mentoring others to achieve the success we all deserve. She works
not only with children, but more importantly coaches the people kids
look up to - their parents.
Vera, a retired teacher, has a lot of support for her approach.
Whether you are a teacher, parent, volunteer mentor, reading coach,
home-schooler, early literacy specialist, pre-school teacher,
daycare worker, or someone who deals with learning disabilities,
Vera Goodman's books, workshops and consults can assist you in many
ways.
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***The intention of our Mention My Book section is to give free
exposure to self published books. Every bit of publicity counts! If
you want to submit your book for mention, please send an email with
the subject line “Mention My Book!” to us at:
info@inktreemarketing.com***
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Inspiration
There is no such thing as a 'self-made' man. We
are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a
kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has
entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as
well as our success.
-- George Matthew Adams
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To your publishing success,
Joni Pypers
VP Marketing
Ink Tree Ltd.
For more information on Ink Tree and our self publishing and book
marketing services for authors and publishers, visit us at:
http://www.inktreemarketing.com
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