The Death of Book Publishing, Part II
I recently posted about why I’m leaning toward abandoning traditional book publishers, despite my status as a best-selling author. The reason is simple: The publishing world has changed to the point where publishers seek out large list owners to publish, and rely on them 100% to promote the book.
Update: I’ve finally made the decision to walk away from the publishing world, despite strong interest from a major publisher (larger than my previous publisher, Wiley), to publish my next book concept.
Why I Love Internet Marketing
I already knew I truly love internet marketing, but today it hit me in a big way.
Now that corporate tax time is over (March 15th rather than April 15th), I cleared the stacks of paperwork off my desk, boxed them up for storage, and started the day with a clean slate and fresh mind. My first order of business was making a list of potential new product ideas, and the list quickly got long.
Why The Publishing Industry Is Obsolete
No, this is not one of those “the death of printed books” posts. I love books. I buy them all the time and they’re all over my house. I strongly prefer relaxing in a big chair with a book over a laptop or other electronic device. There are far too many people like me, so I don’t ever think books will become obsolete.
The issue I’m talking about here is the failure of the mainstream publishing industry to embrace the Internet and the Information Age.
I’ve been agonizing over what to do with my next book concept. It’s a killer concept, totally groundbreaking, and is sure to sell a ton, probably even more than my best-seller Never Cold Call Again has. My choices are to go with a traditional book, through a traditional publisher, or to release it myself, perhaps as an information product or an online course. Read more
How I Increased My Sales by E-Mailing More!
Surprise, surprise. It’s true.
In a previous post about what I’ve “resolved” to do different this year (I put that word in quotes because I’ve publicly mocked New Years’ Resolutions), I mentioned that the more I email my subscriber list, the more people buy, and, surprisingly, almost no one unsubscribes.
Since I’m a numbers guy and won’t make any business decision without first seeing the hard bottom-line numbers, I of course went about my decision to increase email frequency scientifically, and set up an A/B split-run test to determine what works best. (If you’re new to internet marketing, an A/B split-run test is where two different versions of a web page are served to visitors in equal amounts, and the results are tracked and recorded.)
Are you wasting time doing things yourself?
A friend just tweeted this statement, which I couldn’t agree with more: “People’s perception of “it costs a lot” cracks me up… I am willing to pay u to do it to save me the aggravation, so just do it.”
I think the same thing every time someone calls hiring a maid or some other domestic help as “frivolous.” Sure, I could do the work myself, but why would I waste my time when it’s so well-spent elsewhere? Is it really a good use of my time to mop the floors or mow the lawn? The only domestic work I still do myself is detailing my car, and it’s because I really truly cannot find anyone who can do it better or with as much attention to detail as myself.
As true as this issue is with domestic work, it’s even more so in business and particularly internet marketing.
What I’m Doing Different in 2010
You know by now that I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions, but since blog posts about what people will be doing differently in the new year are so popular, I thought I’d share my thoughts.
Most of these plans come from trial and error experience in prior years, as do most of the decisions I make and new directions I try. Here’s the short list:
1. More JV and Affiliate Promotions. There’s a common myth in the internet marketing world that mailing affiliate promotions to your list will encourage unsubscribes, but I have not found that to be the case. If you maintain a good relationship with your list, they’ll pay attention to you and they won’t unsubscribe. Combine that with the fact that open rates are never as high as we all want, and you can see why multiple promos per month won’t hurt.
Why New Year’s Resolutions Are Stupid
I love my gym. I typically go mid-morning and it’s rarely, if ever, crowded. The people who are there at that time are serious, dedicated, and consistent. You don’t have the overcrowding, fighting for equipment, annoying cell phone use, and idle chit-chat that goes on during a gym’s “rush hour” before and after work, and on weekends.
Fast-forward to today. The place was PACKED. And we all know why.
It’s the New Year’s Resolutions crowd.
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