15 Ways to Super Charge Your Business...

We decided it would be fun to interview 10 of the smartest marekting guruswe know, including 7 multi-millionaires, about the best ways to increasecustomer and cash flow for just about any business.What we got were a variety of fresh, innovative ideas -- and once you readthem, you will know that they came from a group of folksd who have alreadymade it big in businesses of their own.The following are the "15 Best" ideas for super charging your business, nomatter what kind of business you are in.1. "Same-Old" is out -- Getting attention with something new is in. To getnew business, you must strive to be innovative and dramatic. For example,an insurance agency, offered "the biggest steak dinner in town" if itcouldn't save any person money on their car insurance. This challenge wasenough to make the telephone start ringing off the hook for days at a time.The customer flow was "absolutely crazy" for days. The bottom line:dozens of new insurance buyers and tons of new cash flow -- and all theyhad to do was fork out the cost for a half dozen steak dinners!2. Tight target marketing. The big job in marketing and sales is gettingto the right people inside another company. Addressing mail to "FacilitiesManager" or printing a "routing slip" on the outside ofthe envelope isineffective. Hitting the target is the challenge.Scoring a bull's eye meansmaking contact with the right individuals and is the only way to make thesale. Taking time to be highly targeted in business communication isessential.3. Be more creative. Pushing direct-mail pieces out the door or sendingthe newsletter to the mail room isn't doing the job. Ask yourself: "Willanyone be intrigued enough to read the mailer--before tossing it in thewastebasket?" Ask the same question about the company newsletter. A highlycreative approach is necessary to be different and distinctive. Creativitycosts money. But, if more peopleread the ad, take time with the newsletteror decide that the offer in a mailer makes sense, you have accomplished thegoal.4. Focus on what customers care about. After listening to the admissionsdirector talk about what should be shown in the school'snew recruitingvideo, the marketing consultant asked, "Is this whatparents and prospectivestudents are interested in knowing?"Suddenly, everyone became lessconfident. Someone suggested askingthe student tour guides what questionsthe visiting parents and kidsasked? Whether creating an ad, a brochure, ora sales presentation,knowing what the customer wants, needs and expects iswhat works.5. Tell customers how to think about your company. We come toconclusionsby making comparisons. If you don't let customers and prospects know why itis in their best interests to do business withyou or buy your product, theywon't. The rating of life insurance companies makes an impact on customers.The J.D. Powers' customer-satisfaction survey on cars and personal computermanufacturers influences buying behavior. Wise companies spend time andeffort consciously influencing the way they are perceived bycustomers,prospects, bankers and stockholders.6. Make your offers outstanding. Customers are cautious. They don't likebeing put on the spot; they don't want to make a mistake. This is whyoffers are essential. "Try it for 30 days...free." "We won't deposit yourcredit card slip for a month." "Your satisfaction is guaranteed." "Take thecar for the weekend and drive it all you want." The goal is to overcome thecustomer's reluctance.7. Be in the right place at the right time. "Why didn't I think of you lastweek when we bought the new..." Some salespeople simply shrug off suchcomments. "Oh, well. I can't be in the right place every time." Wrong. Beingin front of the customer is today's assignment. Developing a consistentprogram for staying in front of customers regularly is the challenge. A mixof seminars, newsletters, bulletins, fact sheets, special events andinformative articles will keep you in the customers' minds.8. Name your product or service. One of the best ways to differentiateyour products or services from all the rest is to give them distinctivenames. A building contractor with expertise in remodeling during off-hourscalls himself the "stealth" remodeler. A fuel oil dealer doesn't talk aboutservice--he emphasizes "ComfortCare Service." The idea is to imbue ordinaryideas with new meaning thereby separating your com-pany from yourcompetitors. Make sure, however, that the name appeals to your customersand not just to you.9. Be relentless. Persistence is power in marketing and sales. Far toomany firms fail in their efforts because they don't follow through longenough to produce proper results. Marketing momentum comes from acon-sistent effort. Once you start a newsletter, issue it on schedule. Ittakes time for customers to comprehend what you are doing and for prospectsto get acquainted--and comfortable--with a business.10. Get rid of the self-serving nonsense. Most company publications, ads,letters, brochures, and other sales materials are filled with words,photographs and information that do nothing more than toot the company'shorn. No one cares that the business says it is the "best," "oldest" or the"biggest." Pictures of the staff are only interesting to the staff. Abetter approach is to ask prospects what they want to know about yourcompany. We doubt anyone will be anxious to see pictures of the CEO,chairman of the board or the executive vice president.11. Tell them everything you know. Spill the beans, so to speak.Sincetoday's customers want information, knowledge and helpful ideas, doeverything you can to share everything you know. This is the only way tobecome a valued resource to your customers. When people use your ideas,they will buy what you sell.12. Be generous. No one wants to do business with firms operatingon aone-way street. Buy a new car and the dealer hands you a 20-cent plastickey holder! It sends a message that this dealer doesn't under-stand hiscustomers. You may forget the car, but you will never forget the lousy keyring! Another auto dealer delivers the new car to your office. What adifference. This dealer sends a powerful message--our customers areimportant.13. Make prospect identification your mission. The single mostimportantdaily activity in any business is prospect identification.By makingprospecting a continuing process, companies produce asteady flow of newsales leads. They never stop asking, "Who do wewant to do business with ifwe have the chance?" Then make sure all prospects are entered into adatabase so they can be cultivated over a period of time.14. Scrutinize your corporate identity. Yes, how a company presents itselfmakes a difference. Is the logo appropriate? Is it dated? Does itcommunicate the right message and the correct image? Is the president theonly one who understands it? What about the company colors? Are theyreminiscent of the late '50s? Do the letterhead, mailing labels andbusiness cards convey a strong, positive message? Or, are they dull andordinary looking? If you don't think this is important, your competitorswill be thrilled. Corporate identity is the face you put on your company.15. Write customer-centered letters. Most business letters have cold,impersonal words. "As per our conversation..." "Pursuant to ouragree-ment..." When was the last time you heard anyone talk this way atlunch (other than perhaps a lawyer)? Yet, give the same executives a penand they become stilted. There is no reason why business letters should notbe warm, friendly, conversational, interesting--and customer-centered.Write as if you were the one reading it. Should a letter end at the bottomof the first page? Yes, if that's what it takes to tell the story? But itmay take two, four or six pages. A letter should be as long as necessaryand always interesting to the reader.

INSTANT MONEYMAKING PART - TIME BUSINESSES

IntroductionYou're on the road to success - Congratulations! You boughtthis report because you want information on starting a business,part-time at first, without investing a lot of money, yet onethat will quickly be a money-maker. You'll find a number ofthem here.In each one we give the basic concept of the business, whatproduct or service it provides to your customers, and how it isoperated, and (if any are necessary) what equipment orfacilities or help will be needed.But whatever business you choose, remember that no business cansucceed without your effort. remember that determination andhard work are the mother and father of success. If you supplythose, and use the information we supply, you can't miss. Goodluck!1. Television Computer PicturesLease a computer printer and a video camera and a monitorscreen that produces large-size, high contrast portraits ofcustomers in 30 seconds, while they wait. You will find this asure-fire crowd attracter, as the printer chatters away. Set upin a crowded resort are. Charge at least $4 a picture, framedin a simple mat, almost all of which is gross profit. Net costof all materials, about 8 cents.Hot source: The equipment to do this is available fromSketch Division, 140 Wood Road, Braintree, Mass. 021842. Badge-MakingRent a small multilith printing machine and a badge sealingmachine, and using self-adhesive Presstype for typesetting,design and set cut sayings for the badges. Sell as a customservice, making slogans to order, or make a wide range offar-out sayings in bulk quantities and sell them to local giftand novelty shops for resale.3. Run a "Consignment Shop"It requires very little capital and accepts goods for sale frommembers of the public and sells these items for them on acommission basis. You might try a wide variety of items atfirst, to see what sells best and most regularly.4. Picture Framing, In Your Own HomeRelatively inexpensive materials with a good sense of color andstyle and a reasonable ability with carpentry tools, will builda large custom-framing business, since people who spend money onart won't skimp on the frames either, if they want agood-looking result.5. Rental EquipmentBe the source of supplies for do-it-yourselfers. Working onlySaturdays and Sundays, when they do, you rent out power tools,such as circular saws, jigsaws, reciprocating saws, gasolinechain saws, electric drills, electric planers, belt and orbitalsanders, routers, paint sprayers, wallpaper-removal steamers,staple guns, pumps, home cleaning machines, Roto-tillers, andother equipment for daily fees. Operate out of your garage.6. Talent Bureau, For Kid's or Adults' PartiesUsing local ads, or your own contacts, line up 10 to 20 localentertainers, magicians, comics, puppeteers and other talents,and supply them for parties, club meetings and other functions. Have a list of films you can also supply for the same, or othergroups, which they can project themselves, if they wish, or youwill supply an operator.7. Throwing Parties for ProfitEveryone loves to go to a party, and nowadays some smartoperators make a mint running them for everybody who wants toattend. You can too! Hire a hall and a band, plan to set up abar (if you can get a temporary liquor permit), and promote thehell out of it with ads, handbills, bumper stickers andlamp-post posters. Special parties aimed at a particular groupdo best, such as singles, or under-thirties, or over-forties. This idea is especially good in college towns.8. Start a Hobby CenterMake money on your unused space (and maybe the power toolsyou've already paid for!) Turn your basement into a woodworkingcenter, your spare bedroom into a photo darkroom, and yourgarage into a pottery workshop with a wheel and a small kiln. Rent the space and equipment by the hour, expand into morehobbies as time and money permit, and charge additional fees forinstruction in any of those fields you're good at.9. Organize a Babysitting ServiceOne of the troubles most people find is that their babysitter isalways busy just the night they want to go out. You set up aservice, finding good reliable teenage girls and boys,middle-aged or older women, and act as a go-between, providingsitters whenever your customers want them, collecting the fees,and paying the sitters. Advertise your service, and handbillshouse-to-house locally being a good way.10. Make Money From Your HobbiesAre you an expert at something that you do at home for fun? Then make it pay off for you! If you're a gourmet cook, givecooking lessons in the haut cuisine. If you're an accomplishedpainter in oils or water-color, offer a portrait-paintingservice. If you're a skilled carpenter, design and make customcabinets to order. Almost any hobby you're good at can beturned to making a profit if you think about it carefully, anddecide who could use your expertise - as a consultant in thatfield, if nothing else. All you really have to do to getstarted is to place an ad!11. Publish a Buy/Swap Paper in Your TownGet money from both ends in this sweetheart deal. Publish theweekly paper with classified ads from the public offering stufffor sale, arranged according to category, and charge the peoplefor their ads (some operators let them pay only if and when theysell, but in that case charge them a percentage of the sellingprice, 5% for smaller items, 2% or 3% for automobiles), and thensell the newspaper (suggest price is 25 cents) as well, throughlocal newsstands and by subscription (in the mail). Once youhave a fairly decent circulation, local merchants will also payyou for display ads, because they know people really read buyand swap newspapers religiously cover-to-cover.12. Do Custom Photo DevelopingQuality is essential, and speed is generally also required,although you can charge a premium for rush service. If youalready have an elaborate dark-room set-up in your home, so muchthe better, but if not it can be fitted in anywhere you haveroom, the basement being ideal, since windows are not arequirement. You must be able not only to develop and printevery normal size of film from 35 mm to 8" x 10" but handleenlargements up to a minimum of 30" x 40", and preferably 5" 8*"or more, and do copying both of opaque material and slides. Anability to offer retouching, restoration and coloring as well ishelpful, even if you have to send that specialized work out.13. Publish a Part-Time Jobs DirectoryMake this a newsstand book, as well as offering it, with smallads, by mail order. List all the possible jobs people can getpart-time, especially angling it at college kids on vacation,teachers after school hours, housewives with time on theirhands, and moonlighters looking for part-time second jobs.14. Run a Children's "Explorer Club"Take kids on Saturday and Sunday outings. Ten kids each day,to zoos, farms, theaters, children's shows and sports events. Asmall micro-bus (rented and, or eventually bought) can be usedto travel in. Many parents are delighted to have weekend daysto themselves, even though it costs them some dough.15. Be an InstructorTeach whatever you know. Your trade, profession, cookingskills, a second language, woodworking, chess, photography,knitting, karate, bridge, auto repair, etc. People will pay forgood lessons in these useful and enjoyable skills.16. Run a Floor Scraping/Polishing ServiceYou buy or (at first) rent, a heavy-duty machine, and do thecleaning and waxing of fine, hardwood floors. If the floors arein very bad condition, machine sand them and them completelyrefinish them with modern super-durable polyurethane finishes.17. Operate a Children's HotelThis is sort of a "boarding house" for kids while their parentgo away for a week-end or two-week vacation. Requires a largehouse, and preferably, a large yard or grounds, swings, slides,and facilities useful for kids. Must be done very responsiblyand carefully. Also, don't take very young children (less than9 or 10 say) because they may require too much dressing,feeding, etc.18. Start a Mail-Order BusinessWrite a booklet about something people really want to knowabout, print a few hundred copies, and place some small ads. You'd be surprised how much money you can make. Sell moderncopies of out-of-print uncopyrighted material or books. Or sellsomething unusual you make at home, providing that it issomething really useful to your prospective customers. Or sellsome of your ideas such as #2 badges, #37 genealogy, and others.19. Operate a Xerox Copy CenterThe secret of this is not just selling one or two copies of eachoriginal (although on a 300-page original manuscript, that canadd up too), but using one of the latest high-speed high-qualitymass-production Xeroxes so that you can compete with the guysoperating those quick printing services, by turning out 100 or200 resumes, letters, or circulars just as fast, and probably agreat deal faster, for the same (or potentially less if you wantto be competitive) money as they charge. This way you have twokinds of work, giving you twice as many customers, and twice theprofit opportunity, and with the right location, a chance toclean up.If you want to offer even more services, and have the space inyour shop, as well as the potential customers, you can offerXerox reductions (New York Times-size page down to 8-1/2"x11"),and Xerox copies in full-color, which are remarkably good. Thecolor machine will also make color copies directly from 35 mm.color slides in one quick step.Of course, you can consider using other brands of xerographiccopiers, such as IBM, Kodak, Savin, Canon, Minolta or others,but although you may theoretically save money, make sure oftheir service policies, and that they have field servicemen inyour locality, or you may find yourself stuck with a copier onthe fritz for a week, which could ruin your business.20. Be a Local News CorrespondentFor big city papers some distance from your town. When an eventoccurs in your area you write the story for those papers (theyhave correspondents in many big places but not in most smalltowns or isolated areas) and they pay you for it. This is knownas being a "stringer". If you're good with a camera, takephotos to accompany the story.21. Campground Store-On-WheelsUse either a panel truck or a camper body on a pick-up truckchassis. Go to public park areas and campgrounds sellingcharcoal, paper plates, water-melon, ice cream, eggs, milk,bread, insect repellent, sunglasses, newspapers, etc.22. Create a New Tour-Bus ServiceEven in affluent America, not everyone has a car, and even thosewho do often prefer to leave long trips to a professional busdriver. and although there are bus tours offered to somefamiliar places, there are still so many interesting, evenexciting, places people would like to go to, if they wereoffered the chance. Here's where you come in. You must becreative about it, and study all the six-State areas around yourhometown, to discover some original and different places totravel to on day trips which will "turn on" your prospectivecustomers, and get them to sign up.The rest is easy. You get competitive quotes (from commercialbus companies) for a quality bus to do the round-trip, with asuitable stopover at the destination point (enough to do thesights, shop and maybe eat as well). Then you figure you tourprice per person so you can make a profit even if the bus isonly half full or so. Then you have a safety margin - and ifyou sell every seat you will do very well indeed.Then all you have to do is sell. You put little ads in yourlocal papers, paste up flyers wherever you can (supermarkets aregood), contact local travel agents (of course you give them apercentage on what they sell for you), local hotel clerks, etc.,and you also contact women's clubs, religious groups, fraternalsocieties, factory social organizations, and so on (they maytake a whole bus, or even two, and you give them a specialprice, naturally).23. Run a Pet Hotel ServiceFor dogs or cats or both. People will pay high fees to ensurehigh-quality care of the animal they love. Separate kennels foreach animal are essential. Good food and adequate care andattention must be assured also. You can hire responsibleteenagers to help you. Advertise with posters in pet shops,veterinarians' offices; and if they're cheaply available, getthe mailing lists of local ASPCA groups and other animal welfaregroups, as well as membership lists of dog and cat clubs.24. Sell Second-Hand Kids ClothingChildren usually outgrow their clothes rather than wearing themout. So many families have such clothing left around. Youcollect it, paying nothing or as little as possible. Then youresell it; you can do the selling by ads, handbills or throughyour church or community groups.25. Breed Tropical FishThis requires only a moderate amount of space and a smallinvestment in equipment. Properly done, it needs only a smallamount of your time yet can make you a good profit. You canobtain your beginning stock from the large wholesale dealers. You can sell direct to consumers (the hobbyists) or to stores inyour area.Hot Sources:Betta Tropicals Inc., 1310 Unionport Rd., Bronx, NYTropa Co., 1685 3rd Ave., New York, NY26. Make Plastic Engraved SignsAll you need is a simple-to-operate machine that engraveslettering in various types onto sheets of plastic of manycolors, finishes and sizes. Perfect for signs for merchants,banks, doctors, dentists, schools and colleges, private frontdoors, and many other uses.Hot Source for the Machine:New Hermes Engravograph from New Hermes Inc., 20 Cooper Square,New York, NY 10003.27. Sell Christmas TreesSeasonal, but if you have the time in the few weeks beforeChristmas, can be a good money maker. Find a vacant storefrontor lot, or space inside a larger building, where people pass by.But be sure to order a supply of trees enough in advance. Andif you own country land that is not being used, consider growingthe trees yourself. Your first crop can be ready in four years,with steady crops from then on.28. Open a Rubber Stamp BusinessManufacture them in your basement. The materials needed arecheap. And the finished stamps can be sold to many people,storeowners, offices, individuals. You can market them by mailand through local merchants.Hot Source: The machine and a financing plan to buy it areavailable from: Rubber Stamp Division, 1512 Jarvis Ave., Chicago,IL 6062629. Camper's Equipment Rental ServiceWith urban living, the back-to-nature movement is growing andcamping is becoming very popular. Rent out tents, sleepingbags, portable propane stoves, chairs, etc. Demandidentification from customers and reliable security (keeping oneof their credit cards is good).30. Operate a Key-Safety ServiceEach customer is sold a special tag to put on his or her keyring. It says "Drop in any mailbox" and has the address of apost office box that you rent (Don't use your home address forthe same reason your customers shouldn't have their home addresson their keys - dishonest people finding the keys will comeprowling around). You assign each customer's tag a code numberfrom a list that you keep. When someone's keys arrive at yourpost office box, you return them to him, for another fee.31. Be a Used Car Buying ConsultantWith a knowledge of cars, plus the proper test equipment (forchecking the engine, transmission, brakes, font-end alignment,and chassis), you go with your customer to check out the usedcar he is thinking of buying. Advertise your service next tothe ads offering used cars for sale. After a while you will getto know people in this field and you can pick up more money byacting as a middleman in sales between private individuals.32. Sell "Loss Leaders" for ProfitThis may sound contradictory but it isn't. Supermarkets aren'tthe only ones who use loss leaders. A good mail-order idea isoffering a cute item (worth much more) for $1 in women'smagazines, giving prompt delivery and including with it stuffers(ads with order blanks) for half a dozen more expensive items. The repeat business on the other items makes the $1 offerprofitable.33. Baby Items Rental ServiceYou rent everything needed for a baby's care - stroller,playpen, high chair, etc. When the customer's baby outgrowsthem you rent to the next couple. Of course, you mustadvertise, and also send direct mail pieces to all couples withnew births (get their names from hospitals and newspapers andlist brokers).34. Operate a "Give a Party" ServiceYou rent out everything needed for a party: tables, chairs,punch bowls, table cloths, cutlery, and napkins. You can alsosupply waitresses and bartenders, finding them through agenciesthat supply temporary help such as Manpower. But if you canfind good workers yourself, you can save the agency fee and makemore money.35. Operate a Miniature Slot Car Racing TrackIn your basement (or wherever you can fit it) build a large andelaborate miniature slot car racing track (with a least 6 or 8slots). Local kids, and often adults, pay you by the hour torace, using either your cars or theirs. To boost interest youcan hold monthly contests with trophies.36. All-Service ServiceYou line up the specialists in fixing almost anything, and takecare of getting them customers by delivering handbills to homesand placing ads in supermarkets and local papers. They pay you5% of every job refer to them, which can soon add up.37. Genealogy for People Who Want RootsYou seek out the records in public or university libraries,county courthouses and elsewhere, as necessary, for a slidingfee, depending on the size of family, difficulties in gettinginformation, geographic dispersion, and other factors.

"CREATE YOUR OWN INFORMATION PRODUCTS!"

Millions and millions of full sized books and small booklets aresold each year. Most are produced by the large publishinghouses. However, there are also several million books soldevery year by small, unassuming, one-person publishingcompanies. Many of these one-person publishers operate from ahome-based office. And, surprisingly, some home-based publishersearn excellent incomes. (What's more, some are even becomingvery rich.)In this report you'll learn how to succeed as a home-basedpublisher, producing books, booklets, reports and manuals onnearly every subject imaginable. And, if you have no desire towrite your own material, you'll learn how to get authors towrite for you.Many authors have chosen to by-pass the usual publishing routesand, instead, self-publish their own books. Admittedly, thisrequires more work, but it could also mean more profits. Thereare many reasons authors decide to self-publish, including:1. It's very difficult to get a manuscript accepted by the giantpublishing houses, unless you are a personality in some field,or are already a successful author.2. Often, the large publishing companies will want to edit amanuscript in such a manner that is unacceptable to the author.3. Often, the author can market his own book more effectivelythan a large publisher will. This is especially true if thematerial is of a non- fiction or of "how-to" nature.4. Self publishing allows the author to keep all of the profits.5. There is plenty of opportunity for the author/self- publisherto set up other profit center products that are related to thetopic of the book.So, as you can see, there are many compelling reasons whythousands of authors have chosen to self-publish. Also, theavailability of low cost microcomputers have madeself-publishing much easier than in past years. This report willgive you a step- by- step approach to self-publishing your ownbook.Note: this report is not about writing. It is assumed that youwill write your own booklets, or hire a ghostwriter to do thejob for you. So the following information will focus only onthe steps you need to take to succeed (make money) as a self-publisher.HOW IT WORKS AND HOW TO DO IT STEP-BY-STEP(1) Generate book ideas and proposals, either your own or byhiring authors/ghostwriters.(2) Evaluate these ideas and proposals as to the feasibility ofproducing a valued book, and reaching a large group ofprospective customers.(3) Evaluate the size of the market and determine how you'llreach that market. Also, research any competitive books.(4) Consider various related products that you could sell to thepeople who buy your book.(5) Write and edit the book, pay royalties to an author, or hirea ghostwriter to do it for you.(6) Produce a camera-ready copy for the printer.(7) Begin your marketing effort by designing ads and brochures.(Often, this step comes before, or during, writing the book.Your sales material can give you something to "live up to.")(8) Launch a full scale marketing and publicity campaign. (A"full-scale" roll-out should follow a test marketing campaign.You want to make certain you have a truly salable product, andshould spend little money to test the waters.)(9) Get printing quotes and have the final version of the bookready to print and bind as soon as you're sure there will besufficient sales to warrant these costs.(10) Sell follow-up products to your customers.All of these steps can be carried out quickly. You could easilyhave a fast-selling book on the market within 6 months, or less.SELECTING A TOPICThe best, and easiest, subjects for self-publishers to produceare of the "how to" genre. Books, reports and manuals that tellreaders how to do something are among the liveliest sellers.It's very difficult for a small publisher to be successful withnovels, or poetry books. So this report will focus on "how to"books. However, you can apply many of the techniques discussedhere to market other kinds of books as well.To begin, you should publish material on topics which you aremost familiar. You should also have a market targeted and a planfor reaching that market. Example: you may have in mind toproduce a book about how to make money with crafts -- to be soldin small craft shops, craft fairs, craft magazines and throughdirect mail to people who make craft items.It's not necessary for you to be an expert on a topic if youaren't writing the book yourself. But you do need to beknowledgeable enough to evaluate the book proposals that aresubmitted to you. Otherwise, you'll have to hire an expert toevaluate the manuscript for you.Most small publishers specialize in one general topic. Forexample: crafts, income opportunities, computers, a particularhobby, gardening, health and others. A home-based publisher,like you, will then produce several books on the same subject.Thus, greatly increasing sales because you'll have related booksto offer to the same customer.Once you have a few potential topics, these ideas must beevaluated. The most crucial question is, "can I sell a booklike this and, if so, how will I sell it?" First, you need toevaluate the size of the market. If there are only a fewthousand people who would be interested in your book, you maywant to reconsider.Many small publishers recommend that you have a potential marketof at least 50,000 people who would be interested in your topic.Next, you need to determine if these people are easy to reach.Are there magazines, trade associations, or mailing lists thatyou can use?Example: Book -- HOW TO USE LOTUS 1-2-3 SOFTWARE Market -- 2million owners of Lotus 1-2-3. How to reach -- mailing list ofLotus owners, special magazines for Lotus users, computerbookstoresYou'll find that most self-publishers suggest that you find amarket niche that is not being adequately covered. Here's asampling of marketing model railroading, self-publishers,writers, Apple computer owners, computer programmers, gardeners,health enthusiasts and hundreds of other narrowly definedinterests. Each of these topics may only have a potential marketof 50,000 to 200,000. But this is often enough for you to besuccessful. It's especially true if you have a good way to reachthese people, and if you publish several books about the topic.Most publishers are recommending that you stick to specialsubject books rather than broad coverage books. It seems as ifthe day of the high page count, broad topic books are aboutover. There are also many groups of people who are interested inall kinds of narrow, specialized topics.Other factors to evaluate include: are there any similar booksalready on the market, how is your book different (morevaluable), are there people who really want your book, is yourinformation up-to-date and can you produce exciting promotionalmaterial to sell your book?It's important to consider your book's selling points. If it'seasy, write an ad for the book, that is, your material has manyselling points, the book will be easier to market. More aboutbook marketing later.BOOK TITLESThe title of your book can have a big effect on sales. A goodtitle will often result in increased interest as well as higherprofits. Example:HOW TO GET RICH IN MAIL ORDER is much better than HOW TO GETSTARTED IN MAIL ORDER.Here are a few more good examples of lively book titles:HOMEMADE CASH, CASH FROM YOUR COMPUTER, IS THERE A BOOK INSIDEYOU, QUICK CASH -- (129 WAYS ANYONE, ANYWHERE CAN MAKE $200RIGHT AFTER DINNER), HOW TO WRITE A MILLION- DOLLAR OPPORTUNITYBOOK, WHY S.O.B.'S SUCCEED AND NICE GUYS FAIL IN SMALL BUSINESS,CASH COPY, I'LL BUY THAT!, HOW TO MAKE PVC FURNITURE FOR FUN ANDPROFIT, CASH IN BY CLEANING UP, $200 A DAY WITH YOUR PICKUP, ADSTHAT SELL, HOW TO MAKE YOUR ADVERTISING MAKE MONEY, HOW I MADE$1,000,000 IN MAIL ORDER, HOW TO MAKE MAXIMUM MONEY IN MINIMUMTIME, SECRETS OF HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL MAILING LIST BROKER,HOW TO WRITE A HIT SONG ... AND SELL IT!, HOW TO ADVERTISE FORLESS THAN THE COST OF A POSTAGE STAMP! And so on.A good book title should: grab the attention of the customer,clearly reveal the book's subject, arouse interest, define thearea covered by the book and promise benefits to thebuyer/reader. Many books also have a subtitle. The subtitle isusually about 6 to 15 words long and should reveal even moreabout the book. For example:QUICK CASH! How Anyone, At Any Time, Anywhere Can Make At Least$200 Right After Dinner.One more thing about book titles: If you're planning to produceads or direct mail pieces to promote your book, you shouldconsider a snappy, upbeat title which can be also used as yourheadline. The above book title, along with its sub-title, innational full-page advertisements has sold thousands of copiesof the book, Quick Cash. It's attention-getting, informative,captures the imagination of the proper prospect and offers abenefit.BOOK LAYOUTThere are several basic decisions you must make concerning thelayout of your book. These decisions will influence the cost youpay for printing. For example:(1) Stick with standard sizes -- 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches or 8 1/2 x11 inches. (Some printers may have slightly different bookdimensions.) But just make sure that you request a standard sizethat your printer can easily produce. Odd sizes will increasethe overall cost of printing.(2) Number of pages -- All book printers have optimum number ofpages that they can produce. These are usually increments of 4,8, 16, or 32 pages. You'll want to make sure your book falls onthese increments or you'll pay extra for blank pages. The pagecount does not include the cover. Example: It may cost 10% morefor a 161 page book than it does for a 160 page book. Therefore,you'll want to reduce your manuscript by one page.(3) Typeface -- This is the style and size of the letters thatmake up the text. The most used typeface for books is TimesRoman at 10 point size. If you use 12 point size, more pages arerequired, 8 point size will require less pages but will beharder to read. Don't use some offbeat, out of the ordinarytypeface. Make your book easy to read.(4) Type of cover -- You can decide to use a plain, one- colorcover or a glossy, 4-color cover. If you're planning to sellthrough bookstores, you'll need to design a fancier, eye-catching cover. For mail order sales, customers are buyinginformation, not a pretty cover; so you can put less emphasis oncover design.(5) Other factors that you may need to consider are: pictures,photos, an index, size of chapter headings and subheadings.You can explore various book layouts simply by examiningdifferent books. Pick one that you like and discuss it with yourprinter.TYPESETTINGOnce the book, or booklet, is written and edited, your firstconcern is to prepare a "camera ready" copy for the printer. Theprinter must have a good master copy of your book in order toprepare plates for the printing press. The pages of this mastercopy must appear exactly as you want the final copy of the bookto look. In other words, it should contain: headlines, subheads,margins, justified text, any graphics or pictures and, ideally,proportionally spaced letters (typesetting).The only way to get all of the above features is by having yourbook typeset. Unfortunately, typesetting can be expensive. Youmay pay $20, or more, per page if you hire a commercialtypesetter. However, microcomputers can reduce the cost oftypesetting. Here's what I mean:(1) Produce the book on computer and deliver a floppy disk to atypesetter who can typeset from your disk. This saves the costof having the typesetter key in your book's text, word by word.(2) Send the disk to a computer owner who has a laser printerand desktop publishing software and have him/her typeset thebook for you. They will often do this for a reasonable fee of $1to $3 per page.(3) Use a modem to transfer the text of your book via atelephone to a typesetter who can handle modem transmissions.(4) Buy your own laser printer and desktop publishing softwareand typeset the book yourself.If you already own a computer and are going to publish severalbooks, then option #4 is the best way to go. This gives youcomplete control over the typesetting. It also allows you toperform editing changes quickly.There are two other options for typesetting your book. The firstis to use a high quality typewriter to produce the text. You canalso use the rub-on headline type that can be purchased from anyoffice supply store. Unfortunately, this will not produce a verygood looking book. And, with today's competition and readilyavailable desktop publishing systems, this approach will leaveyou a step behind other publishers.A slightly better option is a computer system together with ahigh quality (24 pin) multi-mode dot matrix printer. This willproduce near letter quality text, justified margins, columns andproportionally spaced text. These are features you cannot getwith a typewriter. So you'll end up with a fair quality book(but not near as good as that produced with a laser printer).My advice is to get, or rent, a full desktop publishing systemto produce several books. However, if you just want toself-publish just one book, then consider using the services ofa commercial typesetter. Or hire someone who owns a desktoppublishing system. This will allow you to produce the bestmaster copy for your printer. And will result in a professionallooking book. At a minimum, you'll want the book's cover to beprofessionally typeset.BOOK EDITINGThere are two phases of book editing. The first step is to editthe book before typesetting, and before a printing master isproduced. This step is designed to eliminate the majority oferrors.The second phase is to complete a final editing of the bookafter a master copy has been typeset. The purpose of the secondphase is to eliminate any remaining errors. A second purpose ofthis step is to cut out or add material and to adjust the lengthof the book, if necessary.You may also wish to adjust the length of a chapter so that eachchapter will begin on a right hand page. You may wish to adjustthe length of the book to save printing costs. For example: as Imentioned earlier, most book printers operate in set incrementsof pages. Many offer 16 page signatures. Therefore, a 160 pagebook would take 10 signatures. A 164 page book would take 11signatures and cost extra because of those additional pages. Soif you can eliminate 4 pages, you'll save printing costs.Editing a book takes a considerable amount of time. There aremany things to check for, including: spelling errors, sentencesthat are too long, misuse of words, punctuation errors, capitalletters, nonsense sentences, factual errors, omissions of vitalmaterial and so forth. Eliminating spelling errors is usuallythe easy part. If you have a computer, you can use a spellchecker program to catch most mistakes.I usually make about three passes through the entire booklooking for errors. When an error is found, I'll mark it with ared pen so it is easy to find. When the entire book has beenedited I return to the computer and make the necessary changes.Then I'll print the book one final time and again check forerrors. Finally, I'll have another person make a last check forme. Having another person make a final check of the book can bebeneficial. They will look at the book with a fresh view andcatch errors that you may have overlooked.One of the most important parts of editing is to check thebook's facts, and its completeness. You must make certain thatthe book contains no factual errors and that it adequatelycovers the topic. If your book falls short in these two areas,it will most likely be a failure and a waste of your time andmoney, as well as a waste of your reader's time and money. Soalways double check each fact and make certain that all of theimportant facets of the topic are discussed. In other words,make sure that your book has something informative to say ...and that it's said correctly.After the book has been typeset, you can make one final check tolook for small errors. It's almost impossible to catch allerrors, but you'll want to remove as many as possible. (Note:there are minor errors in this report. See if you can findthem. It'll be good exercise.)PRINTING THE BOOKCosts to print a book can vary widely, depending upon manyfactors and upon the printing company that you choose. Examples:(1) The type of paper used in the book and on the cover. Thereare many different grades of paper from which to choose.50-pound offset paper is commonly used for the interior of mostbooks.(2) The book's dimensions and number of pages.(3) The number of books printed.You'll pay a much higher cost-per-book if you have, say, 1,000copies printed rather than 5,000 or 10,000 copies printed. Butthe number of books that you produce should also depend upon howmany you think you can sell within the first year of marketing.You can always order an additional printing, if your book provesto be a fast seller. The price-per-copy usually decreases atabout 2,500 to 3,000 copies.You'll want a sufficient number of pages in your book toadequately cover the topic. Don't write in a "too wordy" routinejust to add extra pages. Make sure that you have something worthsaying ... then say it succinctly. "How-to" readers dislikerambling prose. So leave all "fluff" out of your book and get tothe point.At the same time, you'll want enough pages in your book tosuitably impress the reader that it contains an adequatecoverage of the topic. You can't completely cover a wideranging subject in less than 100 pages. You may need 200 or 300pages. However, some narrow topics can be nicely covered in 10to 50 pages. (This booklet is an example.)It's often acknowledged by self-publishers that "page count"determines the price you charge for your book. But, in general,I disagree. To me, it's the value of the information you providethat should determines price. For example, if you havediscovered a unique, fast, easy, low-cost way to make fuel forautomobiles at home, and can relate that information in 6 justpages, you can most likely sell your report for a very highprice. Who cares how many pages it takes? It's the how-toinformation that's important.Once you have the complete specifications of the book, it's timeto get printing quotes. You should contact at least 4 or 6printers for these quotes. Too, many printers will give yousamples of their work.Here's a typical request for a book printing quote:"Please quote prices for the following book, Cash From YourComputer.120 pages, trim size 8 x 10 inches, 2 color glossy cover,perfect bound, printed on 50-pound offset paper.Quote prices for 1,000, 3,000, and 5,000 copies, includingdelivery price. This book is to be finished within 30 days ofreceipt of camera ready copy."Before you choose a printer, be certain to check on reliability,quality and length of time to produce your book. Ask for a fewcustomer references and don't be bashful about checking withthem about the printer's reliability and qualifications.You don't always want to go with the cheapest price. Forexample, you may find a nearby printing company that will printyour book at a slightly higher price than a far away competitor.But you can pick up the books yourself, thus saving the cost ofshipping which may lower the overall cost. The most importantthing you can do is to find a printer with whom you can easilywork. A printer who will readily work with you can provide a lotof help getting your book ready for printing, thereby saving youtime and money. While price is an important factor, I look forreliability, honesty, speed and service first.BOOK MARKETINGBook marketing efforts really begin before the book is evenprinted. You must define and identify your most likelycustomers, determine why they would want your book, designbenefit laden ads and brochures and direct your ads toward themost likely place your prospect will see it. It can also consistof developing a wholesale program to dealers, wholesalers andbookstores.Other marketing methods include: sending publicity releases,mailing review book copies to editors of appropriatepublications and, perhaps, appearing on radio or TV talkshows. There are literally hundreds of different ways to sellyour books. One self-publisher sells 30 to 40 books every day byhawking them on the street! Imagine ... no ad costs, no directmail costs, no discounts, no postage ... just pure profit.Some publishers go so far as to design an ad, or direct mailpiece, for their book before they even write it. If they havetrouble writing a hard-hitting ad, they would probably havetrouble selling the book. Too, a pre-publication ad can giveyou something to "live up to" as you prepare your book.All book ads, direct mail pieces and brochures should focus onthe benefits that the book will give the customer. Thesebenefits include: more money, a better job, health, happiness,knowledge, love, luck, personal improvement, and so on. Your adsneed to convince your prospects that they'll enjoy thesebenefits by buying your book. Therefore, your ads must beeye-catching, descriptive and inspirational. If you don't wantto tackle writing your own ads, hire a direct responsecopywriter to do it for you. The really goods ones can oftenbring you more business than you can handle. Look in directresponse trade journals such as Direct Marketing magazine and DMNews for copywriter listings. Another important factor to consider is the overall appearanceof your ads and brochures. Simply put, they should lookappealing and be easy to read. Make sure that you follow therules of typesetting, proper graphic techniques and, mostimportantly, employ a stop-the- readers-in-their-tracks headlineand use well written, compelling ad copy.Many self-publishers who sell by mail order offer some form ofmoney back guarantee. Most offer a 30 to 90 day refund forreturned books. Owen Publishing always gives a full year. Agood, reliable guarantee will definitely improve sales of yourbook.Mail order book sales can also be increased by adding incentivessuch as: 10% discount when buying before a certain date; freereport with each purchase; buy four books get the fifth onefree; or some other low-cost freebie. A bonus for promptnessalmost always increases book sales. But remember, when you'rementioning your bonus, relate the benefits derived from thatbonus ... not just the bonus itself. If you intend to sell yourbook via mail order, observe the ads used by other booksellersand take time to read several books about mail order techniques.One of the lowest cost ways to sell your book by mail is calledthe two-step method. Using this strategy, you place low- costclassified ads to obtain inquiries for your book. You then sendto each inquiry a packet of information, including an effectivesales letter. Most often, you'll want to send a follow- upmailing to those who didn't buy. And offer an additionalincentive.This two-step method is the lowest cost way to start. It's usedby some very successful companies, and has led many self-publishers to success. As time goes on, and your experienceincreases, expand into display ads and direct mail campaigns.OTHER SELLING TECHNIQUESOne way to promote your book is by making personal appearancesat book stores. You can arrange a book signing party with thebook store owner or manager. The book store orders 50 or 100 ofyour book and advertises the party. The author personallyautographs each book as it's sold. Some authors go on nationaltours that encompasses autographing parties, talk showappearances, speeches, seminars and trade shows.It should be mentioned that this way to sell your book is, in reality,difficult. Getting book store owners or managers to agree to"book signing" events takes some doing. Your topic must be very,very interesting and you must be convincing enough to get yourfoot in the door. It takes work, but it can be a lucrative wayto sell books.The dealership selling method works well for many self-publishers. There are many mail order book sellers who may beinterested in selling your books for you on a dropship basis.The mail order book dealer advertises your book(s) in hiscatalog and when an order arrives, sends you 50% (or whatever)of the retail price along with a shipping label addressed to thecustomer. You then ship the book directly to the buyer.This method works very well if you have camera-ready advertisingbrochures for the dealer to insert with his catalog or othermailings. The dealer will put his name and address on thebrochure and have several thousand copies printed. He thendistributes these brochures along with his other salesliterature or, perhaps, even runs ads for your book.Dealers can be found by placing small, inexpensive ads in theopportunity-type magazines, and by adding the tag-line "DealerInquiries Invited" to the bottom of your own sales materials.There are many self-publishing groups that work together inco-op marketing, either through book shows or by direct mail.You may want to take advantage of these co-op efforts. Also,there are many book shows going on all the time throughout thecountry where you can exhibit and sell books directly, or makecontact with wholesalers.ADDITIONAL INCOMEHere are a few other ways your book can produce money for you:selling through book clubs, selling subsidiary rights, movierights (wasn't there a movie called How To Make Love To AMarried Woman, or something like that, based on a "how-to"book?), or by selling foreign rights.Anyway, all of these methods can produce some excellent profitswith little extra work on your part. It is suggested that you getinvolved with a local self-publishers or writer's group whereyou can develop different ways to make money with your book.One of the best ways to produce additional income from your bookis by selling products that are related to the book's topic. Ifyou're selling a book about making money with computers, forexample, you should include a catalog other computer books orshareware software.When you get an order for your main product (your book), youship the order along with a catalog of your other products.Since the customer has already expressed an interest in yourtopic by buying your book, a certain percentage of those buyerswill also be interested in your other related products. That is,of course, assuming that your customer was satisfied. You canget these other products by developing them yourself, or byacting as a dealer for other companies. Some self-publishersmake more money from these "bounce back" catalog sales than theydid from the original book sale.As your sales increase, you'll need to keep a customer mailinglist. You can then mail catalogs or information on your latestbook throughout the year to your buyers. Whenever possible,you'll want to include discount coupons or other sales materialin the book itself. Why? To capture many of the names of peoplewho buy your book through bookstores or from dealers. You'llnotice that many smart publishers include sales literature orcatalogs on the last few pages of the book in order to generateadditional sales.Another important aspect of marketing is the manner in which youoperate your business. You should always bend over backwards totreat the customer respectfully. Answer all complaints and shipall refunds promptly. Process all orders fast and reply to everyinquiry the same day, if possible. You want to develop a goodreputation for your company, if you ever expect to harvestrepeat orders.INCOME POTENTIALMany self-publishing authors have become millionaires. Most makean above average living. Writing and marketing your work, theessence of self-publishing, takes learning, practice,perseverance and determination. The work is "easy." It's notlike mining 16 tons of coal. But your brain must be engaged atall times and you must constantly seek ways to better marketyour book. About 5% of your efforts will be tied up in producingyour book ... the other 95% will be marketing.Understand this: No matter how good your book is, now matter howwell written, no matter how timely or interesting the topic,nothing will happen until you lead your proper prospect to thepoint of taking out his or her checkbook and actually buying.So keep in mind that, not only must you prepare a salable bookor report, you must begin to master the techniques of marketing.The two skills, writing and marketing, can be easily learned.And, as you progress, you'll discover pockets of profit that cansend your earnings sky high.The potential for earning is staggering.SOURCESWriter's Digest magazine at your newsstandHow To Write "How-To" Books & Articles by Raymond Hull Writer'sDigest BooksWriter's Resource Guide Edited by Bernadine Clark Writer'sDigest BooksWriter's Utopia Formula Report by Jerry Buchanan TOWERS Club USAPO Box 2038 Vancouver, WA 98668How To Make Your Advertising Make Money by John Caples PrenticeHallAds That Sell by Robert Bly 174 Holland Ave. New Milford, NJ07646The Secrets of Mail Order Unlocked by Ed Simpson Owen PublishingCompany Battle Ground, WA 98604-0010The Self-Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter Para Publishing PO Box4232 Santa Barbara, CA 93103Publishing Short-Run Books by Dan Poynter (address above)Plus, you'll need a good dictionary, thesaurus and a book on theelements of grammar.CONCLUSIONSelf-publishing your own book, like most worthwhile endeavors,takes some amount of preparation. You can hire experts to dopart of the work for you (design covers, typesetting, editing,indexing, ghostwriting, etc.). It is recommended that you do muchof the work yourself in order to save money and to help youlearn the ins and outs of book publishing.You can save yourself some problems by preparing an overall planfor producing and marketing your book. You'll also want togather additional products related to the book's topic that youcan sell for additional profits.Thousands of successful authors have found that self-publishingis the only route to take. Why not you?

Network Marketing - The True Product Behind Any Network Marketing Company

In the world of network marketing, people often make the mistake of focusing on the product and compensation plan when marketing their business opportunity. This is a natural step since that is the direction most MLM sponsors provide to their new distributors. It is this advice that contributes to the high failure rate in the world of network marketing.
People do not buy into a network marketing company because the product is amazing or the compensation plan is the most powerful, they are buying into a dream. You are selling dreams in this business, you are selling solutions to peoples problems, you are selling YOU. Ultimately, you are the real product people are buying.
You are selling your ability and value to those seeking what you have: financial freedom, free time, less stress, no boss or no more deadlines. Whatever the case may be, anyone looking to start a business from home is looking for a way out of their current situation and they are looking for the person who can lead them in the right direction.
There are a number of people out there involved in the same business opportunity, with the same product and compensation plan. What are you going to do to set yourself apart from all of those other people? How are you going to separate yourself from the pack? You will have to do no more than educate yourself about internet marketing, put what you learn into practice and be yourself. So once you have found your opportunity, it comes down to you.
There is only one of YOU.
Try asking yourself the following questions:
What is it that makes me different from anyone else?
What is it about me that make me same as others?
It is within the answers to these questions that you will find your unique product. You as an individual will have certain qualities to offer others in a way that no one else can, but you are bound to share viewpoints and philosophies as others. It is within those similar viewpoints and philosophies that you will find your niche.
If you are not familiar with the term, a niche is simply a particular group of people that you are speaking to through you marketing.
One of my niches, for example, is like minded parents who want to get their kids out of daycare or want to supplement their single income. Maybe make life a bit easier and have more time to enjoy their family.
You see not only am I an internet and network marketer, I am a mom and a restaurant owner with my husband. He works about 70 hours a week and has no where near the amount of time we would like him to have with our little girl.
Another niche of mine is fellow network marketers who are not finding the success they know is out there and they are not finding real leadership from their sponsor. Finding niche is easy, communicating with them effectively is the real job of a network marketer.
To find more information about myself and my businesses you can visit http://greenmomhappymom.com and http://jessray.com
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Online Home MLM Business - Where Do You Start?

Hundreds if not thousands of people across the globe are searching daily, for that illusive "On Line Home MLM Business" - you know, the one that will rescue them from the eternal debt spiral they have engineered for themselves over the past years.
So where do you start?
How do you find such a business?
Does such a business exist in the real world?
There are thousands of different MLM (Multi Level Marketing) business opportunities to be found on the internet. Many of these dangle carrots in front of you with sometimes unbelievable claims. You will very rarely come across any opportunity that states up front, what the true cost to you will be. Both in money and time. For this reason, you need to set out some basic elements before embarking on any on line home MLM business otherwise, the debt spiral you are already in will worsen.
So, lets look at these basic elements:-
Motivation
Expectations
Resolve
Budget
Motivation: It may not be obvious at first, but you need to take a step back from those initial thoughts for a moment and put down on paper what it is that has brought you to the decision to start your own "on line home business".
Expectations: In addition to your motivation, you then need to put down on paper what you hope to get out of your new "on line home business" = Your Expectations
Resolve: Your motivation and expectation elements are a key to your success, as without these, you will not have the resolve to succeed in your MLM business. Your resolve simply put, means are you prepared to work at making your business a success? Are you prepared to work through the lows as well as the highs? In spite of many claims on the internet, you will not get rich over night. You have to work at it! This may well not be what you want hear, but it is a fact. You get out of any business, what you put into it!
Okay, so you have the motivation and you have outlined your expectations and you are prepared for the long haul. Where next?
Budget: To be successful in any business, it essential that you set a budget that you are comfortable with. A budget is simply knowing how much money and or time you have to spend on a monthly or annual basis on your project.
The money budget is pretty obvious really and as long as you stick within your limits and not be tempted by the multitude of offers that will undoubtedly come your way, you will be fine. Do not even think of going over budget, unless you have already started to see an income from your new business. Even then, be conservative. You can very quickly eat up profits in the early stages of a business. Many people when starting their new on line mlm business, start on a "shoestring budget". There is nothing wrong with this and many many people have been successful who started in this way. Just don't lose sight of your budget.
One thing many people overlook, is the time budget. If you are one of the thousands of people starting an on line mlm business in a bid to gain financial freedom from debt, you may well already have stress at home as a result of money worries. The last thing you will want now, is to add further stress by alienating members of your family by spending too much time on the internet. You may however be one of those people who just don't have much free time. In either case, time management can play an important part in having a successful business.
Even if if you only have one hour a day to spend on your new business, be clear on what you would like to achieve within that hour. It may simply be spending your hour adding links to your web pages or writing an article, or maybe putting advertising in place. Whatever you need to achieve, it is a good idea to map out your goals in your diary and try to stick to these, only moving on to the next one when each goal has been achieved.
Right, you now have the basic requirements for a successful business plan
Copyright © Graham Maddison-2008
www Home Business
www Home Business - free ebooks
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