Walking the Talk, Part 9 – Setting the Stage for Success
(The Walking The Talk series was created to show an ebook launch from idea to salesletter to marketing.)
I don’t want to give anyone the impression that I don’t have insecurity issues just like every other ebook writer out there.
I worry about marketing. I worry about what’s going to happen if a project doesn’t work out as planned.
Indeed I work within a set of guidelines (DBO) that significantly increase my chances for success.
But let’s be realistic… until you get out there and start selling, there’s nothing written in stone saying how much you’ll make from any project.
And I’m not exempt from that rule just because I’ve had some success stories.
So I’m always looking to play the game a little better than I did before.
On my bulletin board at home I’ve got a handmade poster that says, “Evolve or become a dinosaur. And we all see where the dinosaurs are.”
Evolving means experimenting. Leaving room for growth, whether it’s through success or failure. Because either way, you will evolve. You just have to get your butt out there.
For example, before I came out with DBO, I never blogged to sell an ebook.
And now I blog here for that very reason. And I find blogging to be an awesome salestool for DBO, as well as The Book is in the Buzz.
But the thing is, I’ve never blogged in the hopes of selling an ebook based on the DBO strategy.
So I figured that this would be a good opportunity to try that out.
My plan is to create a blog at NoMoreSmellyHouse.com (or possibly another domain, I haven’t made up my mind yet).
This new blog will contain reviews of different types of air fresheners, air purifiers and the such. (Remember I was thinking about including product reviews in the actual ebook. But I thought this strategy would be more efficient from a marketing standpoint.)
In this way I’m building up an audience of potential buyers. And I can use affiliate links in the blog to sell the products I review.
Now don’t get me wrong. This isn’t going to be a great big love fest for every product I try.
Part of the Alexis Dawes allure is that I’m pretty straightfoward about what works.
I don’t pour sugar on shit, and tell you to take a bite. That’s just not my style.
I’m just hoping to build a loyal audience as I’ve done here. Using honest reviews from myself, and other fresh air avengers. And I hope to get it started within the next 4 days.
For this task I’ll need to customize my blog. And I don’t do that kind of stuff.
So tomorrow I’ll show you the project description that I’m going to use to get a freelancer.
And then later in the week I’ll show you the progress I’ve made with writing the actual ebook.
So far I’ve done 11 full pages with 12 point font. Woo-hoo! It’s coming along.
Alexis Dawes
P.S.- Comments on this strategy? Ideas for me? Share and share alike.
Filed under: Bullet Point
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1) How do you know the right length for your ebooks? Critics of DBO wrote that even though it’s got a lot of great information, they were still hung up about it being “short” (it was what, 99 pages? Not short to me, given the subject, but critics will be critics…)
2) Love the “taking action” part. 2007 is gonna be my action year too (working on a site to help people w/ finances — little broad, but you know what I mean
) Encouraging people to go or get off the pot sounds harsh, but sometimes we really all just need a swift kick in the pants.
3) Good luck with *lance, wherever you go (I suspect Elance, but hey
). My first project on Elance was a complete disaster, looking back. I originally liked the project (ebook + sales letter), until I realized that honestly? Doing it yourself is far easier than letting some salesperson do it. Because of that costly mistake? I’m several months behind schedule. Lesson learned? Either vet your freelancer better, or use that homegrown passion to get the job done yourself. (Of course, having DBO by your side helps — I sent that pdf off to FedEx to be printed as an actual book, which has done wonders for my productivity — I can slap it on my copy holder as I brainstorm.)
4) How *are* your other ebooks doing? I mean, we heard a lot about DBO (which cemented your rep as the stealth ebook blogger ….do you have a list, by the way?)
5) ….stay special. I love your blog posts!
Isabella
Hi Isabella,
Okay I’m going to rant a little bit here, so I don’t have to blog about this.
Part of the message behind DBO is that YOU CAN write shorter length ebooks, and still be okay. This is the EXACT message I impart in my salesletter. So I don’t understand people who want DBO to be bigger, while they themselves learn how to writer short reports. It almost seems hypocritical.
Some critics want me to give more. More of what? I don’t tell you anything that I haven’t personally tried and had success with. That’s the way I work. And that’s the way I’m going to continue to work.
The reason why so many people get ‘analysis paralysis’ in this business is because they buy 500 different products, and they don’t know where the heck to start. That’s insane to me! They have analysis paralysis because they don’t know when to turn off all the learning, and just get started.
You’re not going to get any smarter reading and reading and reading. You get smarter by trying and doing.
I remember being on John Kremer’s book marketing site, and reading about some negative feedback that he had received about his infamous book, “1,001 Ways to Market Your Book.” I think someone said that the information wasn’t good, not enough, or something similar.
All I kept thinking was… how in the world do you NOT get at least 10 great ideas from a marketing book that has 1,001 ideas and 700+ pages? I mean re-e-e-aly now. It struck me as so absurd that someone could diss this man’s book. It’s considered to be the bible to book marketers. Bestselling authors contribute their success to John Kremer’s book. And yet someone did find fault with it.
Which just goes to prove that no matter what you say, or what you do, or how many pages you have, you will ALWAYS have a critic. If you’re giving away $100 bills on the street corner, there will be someone who snubs you because you’re not giving away $200. Believe it.
And that’s my take on those “critics.”
So how do I decide on the number of pages? I don’t have a set number in my head.
I write the way I would want an ebook. I want the gist of the message in as few words as possible. I don’t like going through fluff. So I don’t give fluff.
2) Yes, action is really the missing link in any project. Like I said, so many people get stuck in this business because they underestimate their ability to take action. They read and read and read and watch DVD’s, and read some more. And then nothing.
So get busy Isabella! Make 2007 your year.
3) I had one DBO reader who’s making a killing using freelancers. I guess it just depends on your project description, your topic, the writer you choose, etc. I think everybody should get their hands dirty at least once, and do their own ebooks. There’s no substitute for knowing the process in an intimate fashion. You learn so much when you make mistakes.
4) My other ebooks are actually doing very well.
The Christmas season was HOT. My gosh, I couldn’t believe how sales picked up.
Although now that I’ve given my secrets with DBO, I don’t tell what other products I’ve created.
I found one site selling an ebook on a topic that I talked about in DBO. The salesletter used the same bits and pieces from my sites storyline. The sites I talked about in DBO were sacrificial lambs. I figured there would be copycats. And sure enough…
So now I use pen names when I write my ebooks. And I don’t talk about them for obvious reasons.
BUT… that’s where the Walking The Talk series comes in.
I figured this would be a great way to show the evolution of what I do on a regular basis. I’m not just one of those people who writes about writing ebooks, and doesn’t actually write them. I actually walk the talk.
5) Thank you for your kind feedback Isabella. It’s so nice to feel appreciated. And I mean that.
Alexis
Hi Alexis, love your writing, as usual.
Couple of thoughts…
1. You could use my training videos that you have access to, to get your blog going. Just a thought, since you have access to it
2. If you’re starting the blog first, to get SE love and visitor love, then that’s a great idea too.
As your Wordpress blog’s home page in your root folder shows as /index.php – you can run with this till your salesletter is ready, then save and publish that salesletter as /index.html, which will live side-by-side with the blog’s /index.php, but…it will take priority on your host as the main page that visitors see when they visit your domainname.com.
Therefore, when you publish your home page, your visitor will see the salesletter. Then you can point them to the blog at domainname.com/index.php, or create a redirect on your host where /blog will redirect to /index.php.
You can see an example at WordpressTutorials.com. Those home pages are html pages. But the blog is located at WordpressTutorials.com/blog – which will redirect to WordpressTutorials.com/index.php.
So this can work for any of your DBO readers, who are hoping to get some maturity on the net (before they launch their salesletters), get the search engine and blog engines crawling early, PLUS possibly get some early audience participation.
Lastly, a blog could help pre-launch tease your topic’s audience, and can help to gain subscribers to an early-notification list that will help you start off with a subscriber base that’s salivating to pick up your book as soon as your send them a launch email.
All the best with your new DBO book launch, Alexis! Cheers!
Hi Sherman,
Thank you for reminding me about my membership to your site. I have a few things I’m going to check out tonight.
You’re right about getting some SE maturity before officially launching. And just getting people excited about the ebook. I really think the blog will be a great way to do this.
Thanks a bunch Sherman!
Hope you’re not freezing over there in BC.
Alexis
Hey Alexis, you bet – use it
True with SE + Social Proof.
Funny its snowing more this year than previous years. But I’m staying warm indoors
Cheers. You’re welcome to call me anytime you want to talk, eh?