There are tons of Twitter resources out there. And in a few days I will post a mini Twitter tutorial about some of the applications I use, some I don’t but would still recommend and a few really good articles, webcasts and whatnot.

But, in the meantime, how can you use Twitter to promote your ebook? Here are several ways:

1) Tweet about your ebook, with a link to the sales or opt-in page. Make sure you shorten your url and also think about how to shorten your whole tweet so it will be re-tweetable. You want to make it easy for others to retweet the link, gaining more notice from more tweeps. Do not, I repeat: Do not keep tweeting about it over and over and over again. Seeing the same thing being pimped out via Twitter multiple times a day is a big turn off. Yes, you can mention it a few times, but space the tweets apart and have other interaction on your Twitter account.

Don’t forget to think of ways to change up how you tweet about your ebook. For example, I thanked contributors to my ebook and mentioned what page their quote was on, along with a link to the opt-in page of the ebook. That way, they got some recognition and could re-tweet if they wanted and others would know about the free ebook…in a less salesy, annoying way.

2) Ask for testimonials using the @ (vs. the DM). This can be before you launch or after. Doing it before you launch helps build buzz. And then you can add the testimonials to your ebook. But doing it after works as well. You can always whip up a blog post that incorporates the testimonials, further extending the ebook love on your site. Now…to build the buzz you need to use the @ so that your Twitter followers will actually see your tweets. If you use the DM (direct message) feature then only the person you sent the DM to will know about your ebook. Sort of defeats the purpose of promotion, huh?

3) Already got testimonials? Tweet them! Obviously you will have to shorten them up, or you may have to say something like “Guess what? @TinaMc loves my new ebook! Chk out what she says: <link>.” People feel better about checking things out when someone else has already done the checking for them. Especially someone they trust, like, etc.

4) Tweet the countdown to ebook launch. If it’s 21 days ’til you launch your ebook, you may not want to tweet about it every. single. day. But, you can tweet “3 weeks until “Best Sales Tactics For Home Bizs EVER” is available” and then update intermittently. The last few days up to launch, remind your followers about the launch. Again, don’t be annoying. Make sure you tweet about other stuff too. And if the book has already launched, but you plan on taking it off the market for some reason, you can countdown that too. Think “Only 2 days left for you to grab the free ebook before page goes down! <link>”

5) Make sure you stay aware of any reviews or blog posts that are written about your ebook. Then tweet about any internet coverage your ebook has received. Again, people like to see what others have to say before they dive right in, especially if we’re talking about an ebook you are selling for $$. So any reviews, mentions, ANYTHING on the web, tweet about it and add the link.

6) Ask tweeps what they think about your ebook. No, not every one of your followers will have picked up your ebook – even if it’s free – but you can still invite commentary by asking what people think and whether they have any questions. It still generates interest and buzz around your ebook.

7) Create a giveaway or contest ONLY on Twitter. Reward your followers and other tweeps with a giveaway of a certain number of your ebooks. Or offer it up as a prize (this works obviously for $$ ebooks, not freebies) to some other tweep holding a contest. People like to win stuff. And people like to re-tweet about the possibility of winning stuff.

8 ) Mention any discounts via Twitter. Better yet, offer a Twitter-only discount. If people can’t win something (see #7) they at least like to feel they are getting a sweet deal. So offering a discount is something that you can tweet about that will likely get retweeted…more promo for your ebook!!

Can you think of other ways to promote your ebook via Twitter? If so, send me an @!!

So…I was asked: Should I blog? Or should I write articles? Should I do both? And if both, then what constitutes an article versus a post?

My take?

Typically, blog posts are seen as more superficial, less in-depth as compared to an article. However, you’ll find many comprehensive blog posts out there…so the short answer is that an article is typically longer and typically more in-depth with the information that it provides – but it’s not a hard and fast rule.

Articles are also usually presented in a more objective manner, while a blog post can be very personal. For example,  “While I was drinking my coffee this morning it hit me that I use French Vanilla creamer each and every day. I’m comfortable with that and I know it tastes good. But if we only try the vanilla and nothing else…(and then tie it into blog post message for readers to understand).

But really, you don’t HAVE to have any articles. (shocker!!)

Unless you plan on using article marketing.

But even in the case of article marketing, you can use blog posts to disseminate all the information you want. You can have really in-depth posts or a series of posts on a particular subject. You can post your heart out and never have a need for a separate article. Because to a certain extent, they are interchangeable.  A less personal blog post (more objective) with a minimum of 400 words can be submitted to article directories. I’ve done that and have had clients do that – taking blog posts and submitting them to Ezinearticles, Goarticles and so on. So then your blog posts are doing double work.

So, if you are promoting your ebook (or your business as a whole, for that matter) you can write short, sweet blog posts and then separate articles that are longer and more objective to submit to the directories. However, I would post those articles on your own site as well. The more content, the better. And you should have those articles doing their fair share of the work…maybe even creating a whole ‘nother ebook around a series of articles…

But you can make your blog posts serve multiple purposes. Still whip up those personal posts and let your target market know who you are as a person. But also write posts that are longer and more informative and suitable to submit to article directories.

And it’s FREE!

Over 50 pages of marketing tips specifically for the work at home professional, with tips from some of your colleagues sprinkled throughout!

There’s even a bonus section written just for the parents who run home businesses!

Download it today! Free!

Just fill in the form, click on the “Subscribe” button and you will get sent a confirmation email (gotta weed out the nasty spammers) and then you will get the link to the ebook. Yes, it’s that easy!!

I also knew that my parents wouldn’t stop at the pink spoon sample. I knew it was the little nudge they needed to go full out and get a couple of scoops, some hot fudge and whipped cream. Yum!

Baskin Robbins must’ve known that suckers like me and my parents would be drawn in by the pink spoon. Who can stop at a little taste?

So…what does this have to do with ebooks?

A whole helluva lot, actually. Because even if you don’t plan on using ebooks as a passive income strategy, you can certainly use them as your pink spoon, no matter what your business.

People like samples. People like a little taste of what you got to give. And you need a way to suck them in, leaving them wanting more.

Or, at the least, letting them know that you are the authority in your field…so no reason to seek out anyone else (or any other pink spoons).

Here are a few ideas:

• - An author can provide a chapter of her latest book
• - A jewelry designer can give tips on how to care for handmade jewelry
• - A business coach can provide guidance on starting a business
• - A quiltmaker can explain how to properly wash a quilt
• - A daycare operator can provide worksheets to prepare children for school
• - A photographer can pass along the tricks of the trade on taking pictures on the fly
• - A real estate agent can help prospective homebuyers understand the financing process

Starting to get the idea? Any ebook can be written that will provide more information about you and your business, or show the expertise you have in your field. It’s a little taste of your work…it’s your little pink spoon. Okay, maybe not as tasty as Baskin Robbins…but you get the idea. Set up your sample bar, give people a little taste and they’ll come back for more.

]]> http://tinamcallister.com/http:/tinamcallister.com/does-your-business-have-a-pink-spoon/feed/ 0 http://tinamcallister.com/http:/tinamcallister.com/whipping-up-a-little-controversy-with-the-wahm-agent/ http://tinamcallister.com/http:/tinamcallister.com/whipping-up-a-little-controversy-with-the-wahm-agent/#comments Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:09:02 +0000 Tina http://tinamcallister.com/?p=113 So…some of the best press releases whip up a bit of controversy as opposed to just blatantly promoting a new product or service (or some other “average” reason for a press release in the first place). So when I was writing up my press release for my new ebook series, this is what I came up with. But of course, this is the “tame” version.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Current Real Estate Market Perfect Time for Work At Home Moms to Become Real Estate Agents

While most experts are hyping the depressed real estate market across the United States, there are a few optimistic real estate professionals who look at this time as an exciting chance to get back to basics and cull the competition as the less dedicated real estate agents flock to other careers. Author of The WAHM Agent, Tina McAllister, claims that moms who have ever considered entering the real estate industry should do so now. “There is no better time,” Ms. McAllister states. “Instead of the real estate frenzy of a couple years ago where everyone and their uncle became licensed and had clients fall into their laps, this current market is the perfect time to learn the real estate market from the ground up.”

In her WAHM Agent series, Ms. McAllister helps guide moms who want to work from home as real estate agents navigate their way through becoming licensed and finding a broker. Logical appointment tips are balanced out with marketing ideas specifically geared for Mommy real estate agents. The books also provide samples of sales letters and other marketing materials from the author’s real estate career.

Why a book targeting Mommy real estate agents? Ms. McAllister says, “Many mothers look to real estate as a career where they can make a decent income and have a fairly flexible schedule. They want to have a healthy balance between family and work. And I truly believe that a Mom real estate agent can build a successful real estate business while raising her family.” She points out that there are still plenty of buyers looking for homes to purchase and that there are foreclosures and short sales for a new agent to cut her teeth on. “It really is an excellent time for a woman who truly wants to build a successful real estate business over time to enter the industry and learn the ins and outs of real estate.”

Packed with real-life examples of Ms. McAllister’s own struggle to balance family and real estate, the WAHM Agent ebooks provide a unique insight into how working from home and prospecting for clients as a “Mommy Agent” can be fun and integrated into every-day life. “I took my baby to appointments and my clients loved him!” Ms. McAllister states. “But just going through each day as a Mommy, I was finding clients and building my business without even realizing it. I never even thought of children playdates as a way to network…but it is…and a great way at that!”

Tina McAllister is owner of Beyond The Pen LLC, a full service writing company. While Ms. McAllister is actively licensed as a real estate agent working with exclusive clients, she is expanding her writing business and specializing in ghostwriting books for busy professionals. She also runs WAHM Biz Tips, a website providing business and marketing tips to work at home moms.

For more information on The WAHM Agent ebook series, visit www.TheWAHMAgent.com.

###

My less-tame version of this controversial stance on entering the real estate industry? Here goes:

1)  Moms make great agents. Especially moms who have a partner bringing a steady income into the home. That way the mom can concentrate on building her real estate business without stressing out too much about that first golden commission check.

2) In the current real estate industry, the fly-by-night real estate agents who swooped in during the market frenzy and had clients drop in their laps? Most of those have flown the coop. They can’t hack the cyclical nature of the real estate market (and it is cyclical…always has been) and haven’t developed the skills necessary to build a successful business for the long haul. Translation: competition between agents is down.

3) There are things to be learned, and time enough to learn! In a down cycle, yeah, you’ll work hard. But you learn the basics of prospecting, marketing and building a LONG TERM real estate business. You learn how to truly find clients and KEEP them. You learn the business inside and out as you really work (oh my gosh, actual work! gasp!) to earn your money.

4) Many of the successful women in real estate have been at it for YEARS. They started when the kids were young and kept at it. Over time, they built a successful business. None will say it was easy. But I bet you that 99%  (or more) will say it was worth it.

Don’t believe me? Think I’m full of crap?  Bring it!

Want to see what I wrote? I won’t pretend it’s a masterpiece. Because it’s not. But it gets the point across.

Here it is:

As a real estate professional, you know how important it is to establish credibility with your prospects. In this age of information, you want to be on top of your game! You want to be the one who people turn to as the authority within your real estate niche.

Whether you work with investors, first-time buyers or another specific niche, you need to establish your expertise! And there is no better way to do so than to author an ebook!

An ebook is…

 - A fantastic marketing tool

 - A terrific way to establish your expertise

 - Easy to update as information changes

From 5-page e-reports to 100-page ebooks, you can market your real estate business and present yourself as a top-notch Real Estate Professional and Author.

How does it work?

 - Determine your topic based on your real estate niche

 - Create an outline

 - Compile your information (notes, urls, research)

 - Hire a professional ghostwriter who understands the industry and can produce quality  ebooks  

Who am I? 

I am Tina McAllister.  My professional writing, editing and ghostwriting skills have served several other professionals in the industry. I specialize in writing ebooks for busy real estate professionals such as yourself. I have ghostwritten books on everything from mortgage professional profiles to HUD homes. I have edited articles for professionals submitting to REALTOR Magazine and written marketing copy for both web and print.

Email me today and take a step closer to becoming an author and expert in your niche!

info@beyondthepen.com

P.S. For a short period of time, I am offering a discount from my rate of $20 per page. Contact me about your project and mention this email and you will receive the discount rate of $15 per page!

www.BeyondThePen.com

www.TinaMcAllister.com

*If you would rather not receive an email from me, no problem! Just hit the reply button and type “unsubscribe” in the subject line* 

By all means, rip it to shreds if you like. Or, make suggestions for the next email I send out (which will be in a few weeks). I’m listening…

Yes, I did my research. I looked into Contant Contact and iContact and a few other online services that produce email marketing campaigns with beautiful html messages with all the bells and whistles. They are also FREAKIN’ EXPENSIVE.

If I had a smaller list, then maybe, just maybe I would consider one of these services. But I already knew that I had a list of 50,000+ emails for real estate professionals in Arizona alone. With that amount, I’d be looking at a few hundred dollars a month for a service. No thanks.

So instead, I used a software. It’s called Atomic Mail Sender and the site looks so much cooler than the interface of the actual program. But it was easy enough to set up, import the email addresses and then get the message typed up and all that.

What I went with is bare bones, people. And depending on your business, this may or may not work for you. HTML messages are pretty. They have color and graphics and snappy taglines. Me likey.

But I don’t need all the bells and whistles. I’m a writer. And really, my writing needs to speak for itself. No amount of html prettiness can clean up sloppy grammar and piss-poor writing.

So we’re talking a text message. Yep…a plain ol’ text email with a little about me and what I can do.

And I didn’t track the emails. You can pick your jaw up off the floor now.

I really don’t care about conversion rates and who opened what and how long they looked at it and all that crap. What it boils down to is that some people will look at my email and come up with one (or several conclusions:

- What the hell is this crap? And why did I get it? (hitting delete button)

- I don’t even work in real estate anymore. The market sucks! (hitting delete button)

- Well, this is one ugly piece o’ crap email. Boring! (hitting delete button)

- I don’t need this. My marketing ROCKS! (hitting delete button)

- Well, that’s a good idea…providing informational products and establishing my expertise in my niche…but I 1) don’t want to spend money on that, 2) don’t have any money to spend on that, 3) can do it myself (setting the email aside to think about it)

- Holy crap! You know, that could really work for my business. I should look more into this… (hitting the reply button and asking for more information)

Obviously, I am most interested in those Holy Crappers. I can help them. I can help grow their business. I can make them authors and experts. Yes, it can be done!

But I also want to get to know those Good Ideaers…because at some point, if they truly realize how great providing detailed information to prospects and establishing one’s self as an authority  can be for their business, well, they’re probably going to want my help at some point because they will come to the realization that 1) they need to spend some money on marketing materials and they want that money spent WISELY, 2) they are going to realize that in order to build their business they MUST spend money on marketing and 3) they are going to realize that even if they do have an innate writing ability, they won’t have the time.

So, no, I didn’t track emails and such…but again, I don’t need all those stats and junk. I just want to my peeps – my future clients!!

Wanna know what my email said?? Check in tomorrow!

I want new clients. I need new clients. I, of course, am my favorite client. But I don’t pay myself nearly what I’m worth.

Besides, new clients are fun! They have new ideas. It’s fun to help them with their business. I get a kick out of working with clients and creating products for them that promote their business, perpetuate their brand, establish them as authorities in their respective fields.

Email marketing is much like direct mail. Though for some reason people seem to take it MUCH MORE personally when you send them an email than if you sent them something to their home. To me, that’s weird. Got my address? I’m freaked. Got my email address? You and Lord knows who else!

But hey, I probably bit off a little more than I could chew anyway. Since I’ve been having a run of real estate writing (ebooks, web copy and such) I figured I would market myself to real estate professionals. And where better to start the campaign than here in Arizona where almost everyone’s sibling is a real estate agent?

So I emailed the 50,000+ agents in my spreadsheet. Yes, you read that correctly. 50 freakin’ thousand emails.

It has taken over 7 days to email them all out. And the program has crashed twice.

About 20% (maybe a bit more) of the emails are useless. Completely undeliverable. So that leaves 35-40,000 deliverable emails.

Then you’ve got your spam filters with their auto-respond features. When I could, I would actually respond so I could show that yes, I am a human being. But many wanted you to fill out information that make it clear that you should be a personal buddy of the recipient or something. Those I deleted.

And so far I have about 260 people who have asked to be taken off the list. (Don’t worry, my friends, you will be off the list this week!!)

As for leads? I’ve had about 15 people contact me. Some are warmer leads than others.

Where to go from here?

Work the current leads.

Create another message for Arizona real estate professionals that provides some information and a call to action…and generate another weeklong email campaign. But not for about 4-6 weeks. Email marketing (much like direct mail marketing) is about getting your message in front of the prospect on a consistent basis.

Without ticking them off.

Which I really, really don’t want to do. Because, like I said, I want new clients. New clients = FUN.

The whole idea behind HARO is that there are journalists out there looking for anything from an expert physicist to your average Joe. The journalists contact HARO and explain what they’re looking for. Then the request gets sent out to all the “sources” on the email list.

Are you a “source” or a journalist? Perhaps you’re both!

If you have a blog or write on any sort of level…depending on what you’re writing on, you just may need to find some people who can provide the expertise or first-hand knowledge of what you’re writing about.

And as a source, you may stumble upon a request to interview people who have just gone through the same exact predicament as you! So you contact the journalist, make your pitch as to why you can be of help and then go from there. The possible link love and publicity you can get off of something like that is what you’re hoping for here.

I haven’t seen anything yet that fits me personally as a source, but I have passed it along to some of my clients when I saw the need for experts in my clients’ respective niches. (yes, a little “thinking of you” marketing via email)

And I know I’ll be using it in the near future as a journalist – looking for people to interview on WAHMBizTips…when I do that, I’ll be sure to post about the experience from the journalist’s perspective.

So what are you waiting for? Go check it out…

So…I’m at a point with a series of ebooks I am writing called testimonial time. I’m still tweaking the books but plan on having them completely ready for the purchasing public in two weeks or less.

So imagine my feeling of fate as I came across Copyblogger’s multiple posts on testimonials. And then another one at The Golden Pencil.

A co-inky-dink? I think not.

By the way, if you’d like a draft of one ebook (or the collection of three!) I’d love to send you one (or three!) in exchange for a testimonial. Translation: You read my ebooks, whip up a lovely (but sincere) testimonial and I’ll throw your testimonial, your name, link and a thumbnail of your pic or logo on the sales page.

The ebooks are aimed at work-at-home moms (“WAHMs” for those of us in the know) who are thinking of a real estate career (or perhaps are newly licensed).

The titles:

- The WAHM Agent: Marketing Your Real Estate Business

The books will be sold individually and also as a complete set at a discount.

So…wanna review a book and get your testimonial, name, link and logo on my web page: TheWAHMAgent.com?

Send me an email at words at tinamcallister dot com and you got yourself a deal!