When you look at your marketing plan (or think what you should have on it if you had one), how does publishing your own eBook fit in? Is it high on your list of priorities? Does it even appear on your plan?


When you think about enhancing your business, producing your own eBook is an excellent way to differentiate your business and brand leading to an increase in visibility, credibility and profitability.


Let’s take a look at a list 13 benefits an eBook brings to your business.


INCENTIVE
Sometimes you need to give people a little nudge … errr incentive to inspire them to take action, especially when it seems like the action you’re requesting only benefits you and not them. How can you create a win-win? Offer your eBook as a thank you. Here are some benefits for your business that you can achieve by giving away your eBook.


1. Build a List
By building a list of prospects and followers, you now have a good base of warm leads to build a rapport with instead of cold calling. You will build a bigger list, faster if you have something of value you can use to entice people to give you their contact information. A free eBook is excellent bait.


2. Keep Your List Loyal
Once you build your list, don’t let them become listless. You need to engage your list on a regular basis with strong content. Give them your eBook to chew on for a while.


3. Boost Traffic to Your Site
With an online business, you can market a giveaway of your eBook on other sites to led readers back to your site to build your traffic … and when they get there, you will ask them to sign in so you can build your list, right?


4. Get More Affiliates
If you offer affiliate programs, giving away a free eBook is an added bonus for marketers to consider signing up for your program.


5. Improve Your Downline
For the MLMers and Network Marketers, a big part of your success comes from building up your downline. Differentiate yourself from the other MLMers by giving away your eBook to attract and reward people for joining in as part of your downline.


INCOME
What is the purpose of a successful business? To generate profits. In addition to your other products and services, or as your primary product, publishing an eBook has multiple income opportunities.


6. Just Sell It
You have talent and a unique combination of experience and insight. If you see a demand for what you have to offer, write it in an eBook and sell it.


7. Create More Affiliate Opportunities with Links
Do you participate in affiliate programs? Why not include them in your eBook and earn extra income when your readers click through to the sites you are recommending.


8. Improve Sales of Another Product / Service by Bundling
Do you have another product or service that is your primary profit maker? Do you have a new product that you want to improve its sales? Boost your sales by bundling your eBook at a reduced rate or as a bonus offer.


9. Generate Income with Customizable PLR
You may not want to take the time and effort to sell your eBook to various markets … but others might. Sell the rights to your eBook to those that prefer to publish it as their own.


10. Create Advertising Opportunities
If you have a strong following and if the market recognizes you as a leader, you may have an opportunity to advertise complementary products and services. Your eBook becomes a vehicle for other businesses to get recognition … and you some extra income.


11. Make Joint Venture Connections
One of the best ways you can break into a new market or gain credibility quickly is through an already established joint venture partner. You can attract joint venture partners and increase your opportunities for making a positive connection by providing a copy of your eBook for them to read. You may even decide on a future eBook to collaborate with or mention your joint venture partners as a way to build a better bond.


NOTORIETY
Who doesn’t want to be famous? OK, you might not want the paparazzi snooping through your garbage cans and popping out of your bushes, but on a smaller scale, being recognized by the market in a positive way can create a big boost to your business.


12. Become a Branded “Expert”
The Internet if full of people claiming to be an expert or guru after only six months on the job. Some other industries have businesses that boast the same superiority. There is the perception of status and credibility that comes with being an author. Flex your talent and prove you are better than the rest by putting your wisdom into words in your own eBook.


13. Go Viral
Create an eBook of value and see how quickly it is passed around as an attachment. You may be concerned that you are losing out on sales, but in reality, you can’t stop people from sharing. At least you are getting your name out there through free marketing. Hopefully, your eBook has your contact info so when you impress new readers, they know how to find you.


If you find writing an eBook a frightening feat, realize that you don’t have to do it alone. Your participation can vary depending on your comfort level and expertise. Many eBook authors hire a coach for direction and structure, an editor for grammar and flow, or in a growing number of eBooks, a ghostwriter to produce a publishable, finished piece.


What eBook can you create to take advantage of the above-mentioned benefits? Need help? My partner, Maria and I can help you through Small Biz Break. Contact us. Coaching, editing and ghostwriting services are some of our specialties.


All the Best,


Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide
Small Biz Break

Before we get into the post, I want to clarify what I mean by “better traffic”. Everyone wants more traffic to their site, but more of what kind of traffic? For the purpose of this post, I am going to focus on valuable traffic – traffic made up of prime prospects, not looky loos.


There is a variety of ways to get more traffic. As a solopreneur consultant and copywriter, I can put together a solid marketing campaign to get you more traffic, but before I would ever put a proposal in front of you, I would ask you these six basic questions to make sure you get valuable traffic:


1. What focused group are you trying to attract?

2. What message do you want to delivery that is of importance to them?

3. Do you have something of value specifically for their needs when they arrive to your site?

4. Do you have a persuasive offer ready to convert visitors into customers?

5. What expected results do you hope to achieve from this new campaign?

6. What have you tried before to bring traffic to your site and what were your results?


Volume of traffic is secondary to value. Yes, you want both, but if you start focusing on volume over value, you are at high risk for blowing your marketing budget and losing potentially valuable prospects in the process.


If you are struggling with solid answers to these questions, get help. If you hire an Internet Marketing pro or SEO expert, they need to help you answer these questions before you kick off your new marketing campaign. Don’t hire them to simply get you more traffic and hope that your products and services will sell themselves.


It is possible (and sometimes beneficial) to have two answers for questions two, three and four, while you need to have one answer for questions one and five per campaign. You may have multiple answers for question six.


You can have two answers for questions two, three and four, if you are trying to test the market to see which campaign and offering performs the best for generating sales. For example, you may have recently written a new ebook and you choose to offer it as a stand-alone product for $49 and as a bundle with other products and services for $99. Will your target market prefer to go for the lower price or favor the value of the bundled option?


So when you next choose to kick off a new marketing campaign to bring in better traffic, remember to answer the six basic questions above and focus on value before volume.


All the Best,


Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide
Small Biz Break

This is the last post of the series (10 of 10) discussing the essential steps for launching a successful, sustainable solopreneur business. If you missed the disclaimer post, it is helpful if you take a minute to read it before going forward. Here’s the link to the post.


So far I’ve covered the following sequential steps:


1. Define Your UVP and Prime Prospects

2. Perform Your Market Research

3. Create Your Business Plan

4. Square Away Your Finances

5. License, Permits, Certifications and Legal Structures

6. Develop Your Products

7. Set Up Shop

8. Launch Your Marketing Campaigns

9. Turn Prospects into Customers


Now that you’ve started selling to customers, not only will you need to get new customers, but you’ll want to keep your new customers loyal for future business opportunities. If you’re unsure why a repeat customer is a benefit for your business, let me give you some of the positives they represent:

A. The process to attract a prospect and convert them to a customer is often more time consuming and costlier than getting repeat business from a current customer.

B. The longer a customer is purchasing your products and services the less likely they are to switch to a competitor.

C. The more times you service a customer, the easier and less costly they become. You will learn their nuances and be able to provide the products and services they want, when they want them, and how they want them.

D. Long-term, multiple purchase customers have a greater trust in your offers making them more likely to purchase higher margin offers and supplemental items. Additionally, they are more forgiving. If you do make a mistake, they are more likely to give you another chance.

E. Long-term customers make great advocates for bringing in new business. They are your best source for testimonials and increase your company exposure through word of mouth.


So how do you create a loyal customer?


1. Make good on your first sale.
You will have difficulty getting a second sale if you don’t deliver as promised on the first. Did you hit your delivery date? Did your product or service do what you promoted? Was the customer satisfied? Did you ask? Did you follow up right away?

If you give them a great experience the first time, you have an excellent opportunity to service their future needs. And always remember to thank them for their business.


2. Stay in contact.
Depending upon the length of time in between needs, make sure your customers don’t forget about you. You don’t want to simply push offers on them. If you do, your relationship will solely revolve around the deal of the day. Stay in touch through providing educational updates of value focused on their needs and wants.


3. Provide exclusive offers.
A customer has given you their money and trust. Thank them by giving them exclusive offers. These offers can include an early release of a product or a service, a discount, a special training seminar – anything that gives them an advantage over others in the market for taking that leap of faith by giving you their business.


4. Give them something more than the best price.
Typically, lowest price is the weakest competitive edge. Most customers seek best value for the dollar. When you converted them from a prospect to a customer, they may have mentioned that price was their biggest concern. Chances are they wanted to minimize their risk by giving you a chance. If you failed, they wouldn’t have experienced as big of a loss. However, as you prove yourself trustworthy and get to know your customers better, you will often find they rank value as a higher priority than low pricing.


5. They’re not just a paycheck, they’re people.
People do business with people. Get to know your customers, their names, their likes, their dislikes, their hobbies, their personalities … and without being overbearing, give them the opportunity to get to know you.


6. Get them involved in your growth.

All customers start as target prospects.

A percentage of target prospects become customers.

A smaller percentage of target customers become advocates supporting and promoting your business.

And a smaller percentage of advocates become partners.

An excellent process to keep a prospect through the process to becoming a partner is to get them involved in your growth. If you plan to create a new product or service, get their input. Let them get involved in reviewing and testing pre-release versions.


7. Stay consistent.
Regardless of your type of business, inconsistency of service and quality is often the best way to give business over to your competition. You set expectations with the first sale and through future promises. When customers return, they have a preset expectation of their experience. Unrealized expectations result in disappointment. Some customers will be forward enough to let you know if they are dissatisfied. Most new customers, however, will simply take their business elsewhere.


Thank you for reading through this series. I hope you’ve found it helpful. If after reading any of these posts you have trouble applying these concepts to your business, please write to me at thesologuide@gmail.com. I would love to help.


All the Best,


Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide

This is post 9 of 10 in a series discussing the essential steps for launching a successful, sustainable solopreneur business. If you missed the disclaimer post, it is helpful if you take a minute to read it before going forward. Here’s the link to the post.


So far I’ve covered the following sequential steps:


1. Define Your UVP and Prime Prospects

2. Perform Your Market Research

3. Create Your Business Plan

4. Square Away Your Finances

5. License, Permits, Certifications and Legal Structures

6. Develop Your Products

7. Set Up Shop

8. Launch Your Marketing Campaigns


Now is the time to turn your prospects into paying customers. If you are at this step and you’re wondering “Who can I get as a customer?” then you need to go back and take another look through steps 1, 2, 3 and 8.


Let’s start with the premise that you are going after “good” prospects. What defines a “good” prospect? The answer to that will vary depending upon your business and your business model. I define a good prospect as someone that is truly wants or is in need of the products and services I’m offering and is more than just a paycheck. I wrote a piece, “Defining a ‘Good’ Prospect” in my last series that further details a “good” prospect.


There is the danger at this early stage for you to stray from your plan and chase after anyone willing to give you money. While a plan is a living document and you should test the waters around your focus, don’t stray too far from your core competencies. You can quickly find yourself chasing your tail, wasting time and money chasing business instead of attracting and capturing it.


Once you’ve zeroed in on your prime prospects, take these points into consideration for converting them into customers:


1. Get in front of them frequently.
Statistics indicate, in most cases, you will need to “touch” a prospect 5 – 8 times before they warm to the idea of buying from you. And it may take them another 10 – 12 “touches” before they actually buy. Yes, these numbers can vary by industry, but don’t frustrate yourself with the goal of selling all customers on the first interaction. Yes, you want to move the prospect forward to a sale, but nobody likes a pushy, desperate salesperson.


“Touching” a prospect can include ads, emails, phone calls, face-to-face meetings, articles, blog posts, samples … anything where the prospect gets a better sense of who you are, what you offer and if you deliver on your promises.


2. Ask the right questions.
Effective selling requires more questions and less statements. “But, wait Doug, I sell online and I don’t actually speak to the customer …” you say. You have other opportunities to question your customers. This will usually happen in your market research, your marketing campaigns and on your site guiding prospects to a sale.


Did you do any surveys ahead of time? Are you polling people on the Internet and on your site? Did you research to see if other businesses performed surveys and polls of your target market? Do you participate in any forums where your prospects ask questions?


By asking the right questions, you can determine if you can meet the prospects’ needs instead of wasting time, you can determine the best solution you have to offer to meet their needs and you can guide them to a sale by taking control of conversation.


If you don’t know what questions to ask, I recommend you get a copy of “Asking Questions, Winning Sales” by Stephan Schiffman.


One basic rule to remember is if you find yourself making more “I” or “we” statements than asking “you” questions, you need to change up your focus and conversation. The only way to really know what your prospects want is to ask.


3. Be a good listener.
If you take the time to ask question, don’t waste your prospect’s time and your opportunity by not listening to their answers or dismissing them if you don’t like their responses. A prospect gives away (either directly or indirectly) their needs in their answers. Keep your ears open.


4. Give more value than what they’re paying for.
Although I believe this is always true regardless of how well known you are within the industry, this is especially true when you are just starting. You need to build momentum. You need to build a buzz within the industry. You need to start gathering customer testimonials and referrals.


Giving more doesn’t always need to cost more. It can include you giving discounts for a limited time or giving special bonus products and services as part of the bundle. However, it can include discounts on future products, PLR (Private Label Rights) products, insightful information you’ve created, discounts on joint venture partners’ products, and other items of value that cost you little to nothing.


The worst scenario to be in is to have to lower your price to close to nothing because that’s equivalent to the value your prospects believe you’re giving. If this is the case, take a look at your offer and your product or service. Are you not promoting your product in the right way? Could you bundle more of the low-cost, no-cost items mentioned above to make the deal more attractive? Did you create a valuable product or service to begin with according to your market research? Are you focusing on the right target market?


5. Ask for the business.
Don’t believe you have a product that will sell itself. I have been in sales, business management, ownership and consulting for a number of years and don’t know of many (if any) products that sell themselves … in the beginning unless it was a multi-national, branded corporation that spent millions on pre-sale marketing (think Apple and the iPod).


You may have a product that your market needs. Unless you’ve done a tremendous job in your pre-launch marketing to build up the buzz like major corporations do, you still have to ask for the business. Chances are that you are unknown to your market. It will take you hustling for sales, asking for the business and asking for testimonials before you may hook your market.


Asking for the business comes after you’ve asked your prospect the appropriate questions, zeroed in on their need, created a proposal matching their need laced with more value than they are paying for (creating an offer they will have a hard time refusing) … and then asking for the business.


This applies to selling online, too. You can still take a similar process as the face-to-face scenario with the copy on your site and the functionality you offer to let them feel in control of their buying decision with a call to action that they can’t refuse.


If after reading this post, you are still struggling with your sales, leave me a comment or drop me a line at thesologuide@gmail.com.


Last up in this series for successful, sustainable solopreneur businesses is, “Keep Customers Loyal”.


All the Best,


Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide

Before we get started, click on the image above and watch the video of Donald Trump firing another apprentice hopeful.


It’s pretty obvious in the video clip that Amy is trying to do her best dance to save her behind, but she made two major mistakes.


1. She didn’t take notice of the very people that she was tasked to attract. Obviously, this video is only the final snippet of the overall show, but it seems her task was to win business from people within a mall. Apparently, there was a significant Spanish speaking population that she didn’t account for upfront or notice once she got there – which leads to her second mistake.


2. Although she had two teammates fluent in Spanish, she failed to hire enough professionals knowledgeable in the nuances of connecting with the Hispanic market to strengthen her possibilities of successful hitting her goal.


The Donald delivered his catch phrase, “you’re fired” and Amy was sent packing.


Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, had a great business quote:

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

A customer can fire you by taking their business with your elsewhere, but how many prospects aren’t even hiring you because you haven’t been paying attention to who they are and thus, using the wrong marketing to attract them?


This is a perfect example of thinking “everyone” will respond to the same cookie-cutter approach. Sure “everyone” is a large pool of people, but not everyone swims in the same circles.


Here’s a similar analogy for applying generic marketing. Did you ever play Marco Polo in the pool when you were a kid?


Let’s say you’re playing in an Olympic size pool with 100 people representing the total population of potential customers. Instead of just you being “it”, there are two other people “it”, too (i.e. your competition). Of the 100 people, there are five different demographics, each responding to a keyword other than “Marco”.


You can take the time to research (or hire a pro) to learn what keyword each demographic respond to, or you can just jump in and figure it out as you go along. If you jump in and start playing though, you won’t know the prospects keyword until you tag them. If you used “Marco”, but their keyword is “Miguel”, you have to count to 20 and start over – with your eyes closed of course while everyone keeps moving. Every minute you play, your competition has the possibility of tagging people out of the game first as you continue to lose time (and money).


Do you jump in and take your chances in hopes you get lucky or do you do some research or hire a pro to identify the keywords each demographic responds to? Times ticking and it’s game on. How long can you last if you take the former approach instead of the latter.


You will grow your business faster if you focus on a specific niche, speak their language and service them well. Then once you capture a niche, you can always conquer other niches later, if you choose.


Had Amy paid attention to the diversity in her immediate demographics and determined what they responded to, she would have had a much better chance of completing her task and sending one of her competitors packing.


Are you an apprentice or a pro?


All the Best,


Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide