Know-How Exchange : E-Marketing

This is going to sound harsh, and maybe you have an answer, BUT:

You wrote a book on marketing and promoting on the Internet, and yet you're asking for help on how to market your book? There's something amiss with that, isn't that?

I also think you're grossly underestimating the importance of being willing to pay people very well for their help in marketing your book. For example, on ClickBank it's not uncommon for publishers to give up 75% of the sale to the affiliate.

Sure, you could offer only a 25% commission, but the publisher who offers 75% is probably going to get 10-20x the affiliates, and therefore will make 3-7x as much money.

Plus, an ebook is not (should not) be a one-shot deal. You're building a list of people that you can then market other products to. I know publishers who gladly break even on the first sale because they know the lifetime value of the customer is there.

Regardless of what you do, good luck with you new book!

No offense taken – I am asking for advice from other successful authors who have found a delivery method for their ebooks that is working well for them right now.

To get into the book without giving the idea away -- my book specifically deals with promotion on the internet and not on the finite details of the delivery method that will get a ebook delivered to a recipient with minimal cost.

I already have PayPal on several of my sites. The limitations with PayPal is that it does not automate the delivery of the book. That is what I am after -- a fully automated delivery system that after the order is taken it delivers the book to the recipient with minimal wait time and minimal cost out of my pocket.

Dear Levon,

Had Paul not been the first to say it, I would have.

Levon, I enjoy reading your input here on M. Profs, but telling people you're putting together an e-book that's is going to revolutionize the way people market and promote online without appearing to know how to distribute it may not be the smartest move.

Why?

Because it drives a large dump truck straight through your wall of credibility.

The other thing to consider is that an e-book alone might not be enough. You'll gain more traction with video AND audio, and you might want to look at spending a good amount of money on an optimized PPC campaign or a forum launch of some kind.

Either this or you'll need some serious friends who know what they're talking about and who have what you may lack: a list of willing buyers.

You can have the best product in the world, really you can. But without qualified traffic, you're screwed.

I follow the world of online marketing pretty closely. I'm no expert but over the last year or so I've made some solid connections with eight to ten of the Internet's top online marketers. And here, we're talking about people that can make over $1 million in one day.

Between them these men and women make several hundred million dollars every year. How? By giving a lot of stuff away.

It sounds counter productive I know but Levon, all this "lion's share" stuff? It won't win you many friends.

To get word of your rocking new product out into the world you need affiliates and joint venture partners; you need a free report, and you need some kind of loss leader (well, you don't NEED one, but you'll do better by giving some of your content away for free).

You'll also need a launch platform.

The loss leader? That's a low end product that has a lot of perceived value and you sell this up front. Except you don't sell it. You give it away to your affiliates and you offer them 100 percent of the profit.

All of it.

In exchange, they drive traffic to your sales site. Your profit? That lies in the back end, not at the front.

There's more to this. A lot more. But the point is this: being awesome isn't enough.

You've got to offer value and benefits (to customers AND to affiliates and JV partners), and on top of that, you've got to offer proof that your revolutionary new method works.

To offer value you've got to be willing to give stuff away and, in the first instance, you've even got to be prepared to just break even.

On top of this you've got to test your price, test and refine your sales copy, and test and refine your landing pages and offers. And if all this wasn't enough, you've also got to get people to know you, like you, and trust you.

As much as you may have worked your butt off on this book the truth is that no one cares how much of the book you wrote; they want to know what's in it for them.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

Dear Levon,

For automation, what about www.clickbank.com. ?

They'll handle all the downloading for you, all the returns, refunds, and delivery.

They'll charge you a fee per transaction, but at least the delivery will be taken off your shoulders.

I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

Thanks Gary for the lecture on Internet Marketing and how to achieve credibility, but I think my request was taken out of context. I think you guys are trying to knock me off of my high horse after I broke into the TOP 25 as of this morning (lol).

Again I will repeat my request, I am looking for a cheap delivery method like the one that Inbox just offered above that will get my product to the people at minimal cost.

And Thanks Inbox -- That script looks stellar - I am going to check it out. If there is any other tools, applications or systems that people are using right now and like because it is working well for them - do let me know - I always let you know.

I am asking you like I would ask a friend who may of recently launched an Ebook who might of been delivering the book one way and found a cheaper method to deliver it.

I have given plenty of free advice on this forum and am only asking for someone to shed some light on this road that I have not travelled yet.

Thanks Gary!

Dear Levon,

P.S. Congratulations on making it into the Top 25.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

That is a lot of resources - Thanks Gary.

I will have to send you a complimentary copy of the ebook once it is finished. You too Inbox.

Thanks everyone all of this information is very helpful.

-Levon