During the last week of January, I set my promotional planto action. I contacted a few e-zine publishers and asked ifthey'd be interested in doing a cooperative venture with me.
The cooperative venture? A customized version of a freee-mail workshop I created to promote my e-book. In thecustomized version, the e-zine publishers are the "sponsors"and the links in the workshop pointing to my e-book's salespage are their referral links. I'm selling the e-book throughClickbank so if they promoted the customized version of mye-mail workshop to their subscribers, the publishers earnwhen their subscribers purchase my e-book through their links.
While I was writing my introduction letter and offer, Irealized no matter how hard I promote anything on theInternet, I won't get the kind of results I want unless Iask other people's help.
I'm a shy person by nature. I'm an introvert and I never goto parties or any social gatherings. Other than speaking at(very selected) events and conducting face to face workshopsevery other month or so, you won't catch me out of my homeoffice. Although I do consultancy work for an internationalorganization, I work right from home and only go out whenabsolutely necessary. And when I do go out, the neighborsend up asking my mother about her house guest. My motherwould say, "She isn't a guest. She's my eldest daughter."
The Internet isn't designed for a one-man team. Instead,the Internet thrives on the principles of cooperation andinformation sharing. Partnerships, joint ventures andmutual cooperation are the ideal models for the onlineenvironment.
And in order to develop successful partnership undertakingson the Internet, someone needs to take that first step. Thus,I know that online, my shyness won't get me far. It won'tbring me my desired results. I won't achieve them unless Iget rid of some of my shyness and muster enough courage toapproach people and ask for their help. And it begins witha simple and direct e-mail introduction.
And really, that's all there is to it. I approach people, askthem politely and see if they're receptive and willing towork with me side by side. If they give me a no answer --well, it's a good thing they didn't have to give it straightto my face!
But seriously, approaching someone on the Internet withsincerity and honesty is the only way to be successful online.No, it isn't the best way. It's the *only* way. Show anythingshort of that, and true success is going to be elusive.
Don't Fall Into the Query Letter Quandary
He wrote the book on how to write killer query letters. In thisinterview, author John Wood shares his knowledge based on 17 years of working as an editor. More than 30,000 query letters have landed on his desk. Wood lets us in on the things that make or break query letters, and how you, the writer, can get past the editor's desk and be published.
Specialize... Then Diversify!
When we think about it, many of the things we do seem to'snowball.'
Success: Wear It Like A Second Skin
10, 20 or 30 e-zine subscription requests in one day.500 unique visits to your web site last week.12 fulfilled orders in two days.
