But as I lay in the bed semi-comatose, listening to the news channels, I realized that something really wonderful is happening right now if you’re hip to the game of writing for Desperate Buyers Only (DBOs).

In the US we’re teetering on the brink of a recession. The stock market is taking a beating. And it’s all good. Why? Because it’s creating profit opportunities.

For instance, when stock prices start going down, it’s a short sellers paradise. There are plenty of investors with money to burn who still want to play in the stock market, but don’t understand the fine art of short selling. (Which is a tricky investment strategy that works during times like these.)

Can you explain short selling to newbie investors? Can you write an numbers intense sales letter that helps them understand the huge financial benefits of short selling? If you can, THIS is the time to share your knowledge.

Foreclosure rates are skyrocketing right now, which is bad for cash strapped homeowners. But out in San Diego realtors are holding foreclosure tours for investors.

When one person loses, somebody else wins. Your job right now is to figure out who’s winning and who’s losing in this credit crunch game, and sell advice to the potential winners.

Somebody’s gonna do it. If you’ve got the knowledge, let it be you. Hard times can be profitable times.

Warmest regards,

Alexis

I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday.

May you be blessed with the most productive Christmas gift of them all – a great e-book idea that practically writes itself.

Love,

Alexis

For me, 2006 was very productive. And it wasn’t because I made more money. Admittedly I made less in 2007 than I did in 2006.

This past year ended up being productive because I was able to take a good chunk of my time to think and pray and re-energize myself on a spiritual level. A phase that I needed as much as a waterless man in the desert.

But even though I took a break, less money didn’t equate to less-than cushy lifestyle.

In 2007 we moved from Canada to New York City – (after spending an awesome year in Montreal). I was able to put my daughter in a bilingual kindergarten where the yearly tuition costs as much as a fresh-off-the-assembly-line 2008 Toyota. With the crazy US economy I’ve been able to make some decent investments. And yes… I am still the sole breadwinner of my household.

I don’t tell you this to brag or boast. Trust me when I say that I am no more special than the next man or woman.

I simply want you to understand that you don’t have to continuously work hard, if you make a conscious decision to continuously work smart.

For me, working smart meant writing a few e-books targeted towards desperate buyers, that ended up sustaining me and my family FOR YEARS. Traditional print book authors think they have it sweet when they get a royalty check. But my royalties arrive almost daily. And I expect them to.

The world may change, but heart-wrenching problems don’t.

So as you’re mentally sizing up 2007, I want you to ask yourself:

* Is this (infoproduct business) something that I truly want to do, day after day, week after week, month after month?

* Am I truly putting forth the necessary energy to make this business work?

* Am I staying focused? (Probably one of the most important questions – and yet one of the most neglected. If this is your downfall, see Business Goal Bootcamp.)

No matter where you are right now, you can always get a tighter hold of the reigns and take your business wherever you want it to go.

And even though she’s well-versed in online shopping, the catalogs continue coming. And she continues to fill her closets with merchandise purchased from those print catalogs.

My mother’s in the same boat. Relatively new computer, high speed Internet, existing computer knowledge. Only my mother’s shopping addiction is fulfilled by home shopping channels – rarely the Internet.

So when people ask me if the techniques in Desperate Buyers Only still work – (”Alexis, are you still making money using the techniques you advocate?”) – it’s always met with a resounding ‘YES!’

The Internet changes by leaps and bounds every couple of years. Most recently we’ve seen social media websites like MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and the such, draw millions upon millions of users. Lots of folks jumped on the bandwagon, trying to figure out how to promote their e-books on these venues.

I didn’t. And trust me, I’m not knocking anyone who did.

In all honesty I was too busy enjoying the fruits produced by the very marketing techniques I talk about in Desperate Buyers Only. I didn’t even stick a pinky toe anywhere else. (Ahem… let me correct myself… I did sign-up for a Facebook account. But I never did anything with it.)

In fact, you can fall into a coma today, wake up two years from now and I promise you’ll discover that:

1) People still go online to look for specific solutions to their problems.

2) People still use search engines to look for those solutions.

3) People are willing to pay for information if it solves an especially pressing problem.

4) People still read long, detailed salesletters if it speaks about solving a pressing problem that they have.

Yes, the Internet will have changed in two years. But that doesn’t mean your customers/prospects will also change their ways/habits in bulk.

Just like my mom won’t stop shopping on HSN. And just like my aunt won’t halt her love affair with snail-mail catalogs. Technology will ALWAYS progress faster than John and Jane Q. Public will.

So as the new year rapidly approaches, keep in mind that you don’t have to incorporate every new whiz-bang tactic into your e-book marketing routine.

Be willing to try new things. But don’t be so fast to discount or abandon the techniques that worked yesterday. Because in the end, the more things change, the more things really remain the same.

(I’m telling you, being a writer is the most awesome occupation on earth!)

Mini-me is enrolled in a bilingual garderie – (fancy French word for ‘day care’). I write and drink tea most of the day.

So yesterday I decide to go shoe shopping for Mini-me.

The Metro stop where I got off is the precise location where a gunman opened fire yesterday. There’s an underground passageway from the Atwater Metro that leads you directly past the Dawson College door.

Thank God I missed the gunfire. I was a couple of blocks away when it happened. But I have to admit, I was quite shaken seeing all those kids hysterically running down the street.

I walked (briskly) to Mini-me’s garderie, and brought her home. We stayed home last night (she missed kung fu). And I just cuddled her.

One of the teens who was hit by gunfire died yesterday. Two others are in seriously critical condition. Still others are in critical condition.

So today take a few extra minutes to hug your Mini-me’s (spouse, parents, friend, whomever) extra tight. Tell them how much they mean to you.

The people in our lives deserve such precious moments.

Alexis Dawes