FITNESS PROS & ONLINE MARKETERS: Get a high-quality custom ebook w/ full resale rights & limited competition
Wednesday, October 28, 2009I knack for writing really high-quality fitness e-books. Not the kind you can get written for a few hundred dollars from someone on eLance or one of those that you can get off resale sites for $50. My e-books are really detailed, accurate and informative e-books complete with photos, detailed exercise descriptions and layout. Good examples are Sure Victory and Secrets of a Turbocharged Metabolism.
The problem is that I find most fitness pros and many marketers don't have the resources to hire me to write an e-book of this quality even though they'd very much like to. The last time I wrote one of these ebooks I was paid over $3,500 and it was only 50 pages.
If you don't have a sure-fire online sales system set up to sell an ebook, that kind of price tag can be a big gamble. Yet fitness e-books sell great online and are a good way for fitness pros to get their business online. If you already sell info products online, then you're probably always on the lookout for another good product to bring in more profits--and, of course, the less you pay for that product the better your profits are.
So I started thinking; what if wrote one ebook and offered the resell rights to 10 people and customized the e-book for each person so they each had a unique product. By splitting the cost up, it would be more affordable for each person and yet they get an e-book of the highest quality that they can sell unlimited quantities of without paying royalties or anything like that. And by limiting the number of people who can buy it, the competition is limited so the market is wide open.
Now I don't have a lot of details right now, because I'm just trying to get a feel for how many people would be interested, but here's what I'm thinking so far:
- 75-100 page e-book with detailed exercise descriptions, excellent photos (use yours or mine), routines, nutrition information, meal plans
- Focused on weight loss and metabolism, which is a highly popular subject, and including heart health information. Depending on feedback, we could also go with muscle building or all-around fitness
- Each person would get a unique title and cover and customized inside pages that could include their own photo and business name (for fitness pros who want to brand themselves).
- Each person gets rights to resell as many copies as they want and even print it in hardcopy if they want to and sell it on Amazon or wherever.
- Includes sales letters, lead-generator report and follow-up emails, possibly some Adword ads
- Maximum of 10 people involved to limit competition and cross-over
- I'm thinking the price range would be around $800 to include everything and the customization.
Like I said, I'm just looking to see who is interested and get some feedback so I can offer a product that you all really want. If you even THINK you might be interested, send me an email at john@fikoppy.com and let me know what you'd like to see in such an ebook.
If I get enough people interested I'll put together a complete outline and complete package details based on feedback I get. Then you can decide for sure whether you want to participate. THERE'S NO OBLIGATION TO YOU RIGHT NOW . . . just email me and let me know if you're even remotely interested. I don't want to plan this whole thing out if nobody is interested.
Again, if you're interested, email me at john@fikopy.com.
Labels: Internet, Marketing, Product Quality, Web, Writer, writing
posted by John E Fike @ 10:57 AM,
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Everybody loves to spam. I find it disgusting.
Monday, August 24, 2009Social Media--the online phenomenon that was supposed to connect people on a real and personal level like never before--has become the new playground for spammers.
Most social media spammers believe they are doing what they're supposed to do. They believe they are supplying quality content by guiding their followers to useful articles and web sites.
That's fine--to an extent. When you come across a truly excellent article, tweeting about that on Twitter or posting a link on Facebook is fine. But make sure you do two things with it:
- Give your opinion about it. Your opinion gives merit to the post or tweet and is the reason your followers follow you.
- Do it OCCASIONALLY! If all you're doing is tweeting and posting all day long with links to other people's content, you're not displaying your expertise.
Posting links without giving your opinion, especially when you post 5, 10, 20 links a day, is just spamming. It's annoying and you're not adding any real value to it.
If you're using social media for marketing, you want to be perceived as an expert. To do that you have to add or provide value to your posts. Why should I read that article? Do you agree with it? What should I look for in it? What's the most important point?
Most of your posts should not be article links and retweets. If you're doing that, you're just an aggregator--not an expert. An expert provides his or her own content. Tell us what you know. Bottom line, that's how we know you're an expert.
Let's be honest; if you need a product or service, are you going to go to the person who sends you a link to an informative article related to what you need, or are you going to go to the person who actually wrote the article?
If you find a good article, go ahead and link to it, but write your own article that expounds further on it and link to it as well. This is a great way to showcase the depth of your knowledge and prove that you're an expert.
Labels: Articles, Content, Internet, Marketing, Product Quality, Web
posted by John E Fike @ 7:21 AM,
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Earn Your Social Media Following -- Great Content Earns Respect
Wednesday, August 12, 2009I've been on Twitter for just shy of two weeks now and I've noticed 3 main types of Twitterers (or is it Tweeters?):
1. People there to just have fun and get connected
2. People there to market their business and connect with potential customers
3. People there to annoy the (insert expletive of choice) out of everyone else by spamming links to blog posts and articles that provide no real value in hopes that enough people will click on their Google ads or buy their product.
Folks, if you're going to use Twitter or any other social media to market your business, you have to EARN your followers. Give them content that is of value to them. People will respect an occasional posting that useful more than they will respect hourly posts with links to re-hashed articles bought from an article factory that pays people in foreign countries $5 for every article they write. Who wants to read articles with English so bad you don't even understand what they're saying? Most of those articles contain erroneous information too, because the authors just dig up anything on the Internet to use as source material. These "writers" often copy/paste other writer's stuff into their own articles, which is why they seem so disjointed.
Take the time to craft relevant articles that reflect your personality and the kind of quality business that you do. You'll gain more respect, more followers and more customers by doing so. Plus, you'll respect yourself in the morning because you'll know that you've added value to the world instead of annoying the world.
*** SELF PROMOTION ***
If you need help crafting your articles or keeping your blog/social media posts going, shoot me an email at john@fikopy.com. I've written numerous articles that help marketers present a professional image of expertise and build a quality following they can market to again and again.
Labels: Articles, Content, Fikopy, Marketing, Product Quality, Web
posted by John E Fike @ 6:33 AM,
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Info-Product Entrepreneur -- or Info-Product Huckster?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009Info-products, especially e-books and video courses, are everywhere on the Internet these days. A handful of them are excellent products in which the information is well researched, is very useful and is presented in a professional and attractive manner. Buying and reading one of these info-products is very rewarding, making you glad to spend the money and giving you confidence in the provider's expertise.
Unfortunately, most of the info-products out there are just junk. Research is minimal and usually limited to searching through internet articles. Information is often incorrect or not very useful. The writing and presentation is amateurish and sloppy. Purchasing one of these info-products is not only disappointing, but also leaves you feeling swindled.
The people who provide the first kind of info-product are true info-product entrepreneurs. They understand that a happy customer is a repeat customer. By impressing customers from the very beginning, these entrepreneurs create a huge market for additional products because their customers trust them and rely on them for good information. Their revenue streams continue to grow and grow.
The people who do a good job selling junk disguised as info-products are nothing but hucksters. They are like the snake oil salesman of lore who rides into town, sells all his bottles of tonic water disguised as a miracle cure, then leaves town never to be seen again. Info-product hucksters hire "writers" in India to write 50 pages on a topic for a $100 or so, then try to pass it off as the revelation their customers have been waiting for. They sell a few thousand copies, then move on to another popular info field and start again. They may or may not be around to dole out the many refunds that get requested.
If you're going to go through the trouble of creating a product and creating a market for it, you might as well create a quality product so that you don't have to start all over again to build your market. All the best info-product "gurus" tell you this: Most of your profits do not come from your first and main product; they come from the second, third, fourth, and fifth products. That's because it costs a whole lot less to market to a group of people who are already loyal to you than it does to reach out and find a new audience that may be interested in your product. Less marketing expense means more profits
The additional products are also more profitable because they can carry a larger price tag. When you've proven reliable on products with smaller price tags, your customers are less hesitant to buy more expensive products from you--because they know they can trust you. Of course, you have to prove yourself again and provide a product with the quality to support that higher price tag.
If you're in the info-product business--or want to be--plan to be a long-term info-product entrepreneur--not a short-term huckster. Life is easier that way, and more profitable.
***SELF PROMOTION***
I've written many top quality information products for entrepreneurs who are making excellent money online. Shoot me an email today at john@fikopy.com or call me at 419-371-2302 and we can talk about what it will take to make you a successful info-product entrepreneur with a reputation for being an expert in your field.
Labels: Content, Internet, Marketing, Product Quality, Research, Web
posted by John E Fike @ 7:43 AM,
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Be Clear on Your Goals
Thursday, August 6, 2009Reading a recent entry on Seth Godin's blog: Are we solving the same problem? It struck a chord with me. Everyone sees things through a different perspective. When you ask someone to solve a problem or give their opinion without defining the desired result or the kind of opinion you're seeking, then you get an answer based on the person's own motivations.
For example, I recently wrote an award entry for a client. They are trying to win an award based on a project they completed. When I finished with the first draft, my contact with the client passed it out to everyone who worked on the project to get their opionion. There are several things wrong with that approach, but the biggest one was that my contact didn't qualify the kind of opinion they were looking for. What we needed was a review of the facts to make sure nothing was misrepresented or forgotten. What we got back were largely comments on the literary style of the entry. And one crew leader was just about outraged at how little of his crew's "passion" for the project came through.
While grand literary style and a story of "passion" would make a great magazine article or short story that would attract readers, that wasn't our goal. We had to win a contest based on four distinct criteria. The entry would win only if we showed how my client excelled in all four criteria. Unfortunately for a certain crew leader, "passion" wasn't one of the criteria. It certainly was an important part of what made that project important to the client and their customer, but it wasn't what the judges were looking at.
Actually, the draft that was passed around at my client's office was the second draft. The first one I wrote with the kind of style and grandeur that makes a good profile or story. Unfortunately it came out twice as long as the contest allowed. So what got cut? Everything that didin't directly support my client's case for winning according to the criteria. That meant that some of the literary grandeur that folks in the office would have liked to see got sacrificed. I kept the language simple and easy to understand so that judges could clearly understand the excellence of the project, but to get all the facts and supporting information in there it wound up reading more like a hard news story than an article fit for The New Yorker magazine.
It's not that the feedback we got was "wrong". It's just that they didn't know the criteria by which they needed to judge the piece. Once I reminded the client of the particular goal we were trying to achieve and what we needed to do achieve that goal, we found that we were actually on the same page.
So, the lesson is, when you are asking for feedback, opionions or solutions, make sure that everyone understands what the goal is and what is required to get there.
Labels: Articles, Copy, Copywriting, Product Quality
posted by John E Fike @ 6:01 AM,
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Don't Fog Their Vision: Be Clear About the Commitment Your Customers are Making
Wednesday, August 5, 2009My wife and I are investigating online charter schools as a way to educate our children. All the programs we've looked at tout the value of parental involvement and the flexibility of working online. But they fail to answer two of our most basic questions: 1) how much time is likely to be required of us, and 2) Will our child have to be online at certain times for scheduled activities?
It all comes down to one question: "If we sign up with you what is our commitment?"
No one should be expected to do business with someone until they know the answer to that question. That goes for online charter schools; that goes for copywriters (that's me) and that goes for you and your business.
Most of us know that we need to talk about the benefits of our products or services, but how many of us talk about what our customer's commitment is?
Our customers' commitment isn't just price. For retail, often the commitment is obvious or simple in that they have to follow instructions for the product. But have you ever bought something and found out it needed an additional product in order for some of the features to work or that you had to assemble it, but didn't realize it? Those sorts of things cause frustration.
This is even more true in service fields. Will your customer have to fill out a questionnaire? Will they have to meet with you? How often and for how long? Will they have to train their staff differently to implement your service or recommendations? Will their be costs besides your fee?
Don't suprise your customers. Be up front about the amount of commitment required on their part.
Will that scare some customers off? Occasionally. But remember: a satisfied customer tells 5 people about you, but a disappointed customer tells 500 people.
Labels: Advertising, Marketing, Marketing Campaign, Product Quality
posted by John E Fike @ 6:11 AM,
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Successful E-mail and Direct Mail Campaigns: 5 Secrets to Generating Huge Response and Outstanding Profits
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Direct mail and e-mail campaigns can generate higher return on your investment dollar than any other form of marketing—when done correctly.
But if you’ve tried putting together a campaign for you business without the guidance of a direct mail/e-mail expert, you probably got dismal results from your campaign. When I look at failed campaigns—especially email campaigns on the Internet—they are missing 1 or more of five ingredients essential for a successful direct mail or e-mail campaign. Most failed campaigns lack 2-3 of these ingredients and some are missing all five!
Without these five ingredients your campaign efforts are wasted because you will not reach an audience that desires your product or service with a marketing message that appeals to them and motivates them to buy. Nor will you be able to test various parts of your campaign to make it even better and generate more response and more revenue.
The 5 Secrets to Generating Huge Response and Outstanding Profits are:
- A highly targeted list to people who desire your product, service or information
- Research that identifies the desires and fears and uncovers a fresh marketing approach for your campaign
- An outstanding offer that is difficult to reject
- Response mechanism that tracks response for testing and follow-up promotions
- Excellent product or service that excites customers and offers many benefits
Over the next week or so, I will be blogging about these 5 Secrets to Generating Huge Response and Outstanding Profits so that you will understand how to make your next direct mail or e-mail marketing campaign a huge success.
As I get the blog entries posted, the each of the five secrets above will become a live link to the appropriate post.
Make sure you subscribe to this blog so that you don’t miss any of the five secrets.
At any time, if you wish to get more information about making your next direct mail or e-mail campaign a success, give me a call at 419-371-2302 or email me at john@fikopy.com for a free 15-minute consultation about your campaign.
John E. Fike
http://www.fikopy.com/
Labels: Copy, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Direct Response, E-Mail, Fikopy, Marketing Campaign, Product Quality, Research
posted by John E Fike @ 12:32 PM,
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