About six years ago the Internet fascinated me. Someone told me that
I could place a billboard on the World Wide Web and forty million
people would go by and see it every day.
I was completely entranced with the idea that my information could be
delivered anywhere in the world in less than a minute!
Immediately dialed the telephone number shown on a vacant billboard
on the freeway and asked how much it would cost to put my face on
that billboard. The reply was "ten thousand dollars a month."
I decided that the Internet was a cheaper option and set out to place
my banner in view of 40 million people. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
In over three months of exposure on the "net" I received only a hand
full of hits. The only e-mail I received was from other people like
me who had shelled out lots of money, only to find that no one was
viewing my home page.
I paid a price but learned a valuable lesson. "The potential of the
Internet in book selling is fantastic, but you have to learn the
tools of Internet marketing or you will never make any money
regardless of the product or service you offer."
Fortunately, the same tool that so entranced me six years ago is the
same tool that I find to be the most effective in selling over the
web.
That tool is called an "autoresponder."
An autoresponder is an e-mail service that works something like a fax-
on-demand. For an author or a publisher, it works like this. You
create an article or sample chapter of your book. You load that
chapter into your autoresponder or e-mail on demand. You publicize
the e-mail address of your autoresponder in your e-mail signature
file, your web site, your business cards, order forms, and in any
printed advertising about your books.
The potential buyer sees that he/she may sample a chapter of your
book. He types in your autoresponder e-mail address or clicks on it
if he is on-line. As soon as the e-mail is sent three things happen.
1. The document is found stored on a web server and delivered
immediately to the potential buyer. The process takes less than one
minute and is operational 24 hours a day. The buyer may read your
article or chapter in e-mail or print it out and read it offline.
He/she may forward the article to other people.
2. You (the author or publisher) get a receipt e-mail that gives you
the name, e-mail address of the potential buyer and any comments that
he/she may have wanted you to see.
3. You collect a valuable e-mail address of a potential purchaser of
your books and other products.
How effective is this tool? I receive a book sale from approximately
one out of every four requests. To compare that with web page hits, I
only receive one or two sales for every 3000 web hits each day!
Why is its so effective?
I think autoresponders give the potential buyer time to read and
absorb what you have published. Most visitors on the Web are looking
for free information. They are not looking to purchase anything. If
they have a chance to download a sample chapter, print it out and
read it while they are away from their computer, they don't feel
pressured to buy. A reader is making a more informed and objective
buying decision.
If you already have a web site, ask your webmaster for
autoresponders. They should be free of charge. You should be able to
add, edit or delete text any time you choose.
If your webmaster's eyes glaze over when you ask about
autoresponders, then you have some free options. I recommend these
options to authors and publishers that have no web site as well. All
you need is an e-mail address to take advantage of the Web's most
effective marketing tool for authors and booksellers.
Try a couple of my autoresponders and check out how easy they are to
use.
For a free relaxation exercise send e-mail to:
mailto:relax@wayneperkins.net
For an excerpt from my new e-book, "A Cheap And Easy Guide To Self-
publishing E-books" published by the 1stbooks Library, send e-mail
the following autoresponder address:
mailto:easy@wayneperkins.net
The following services offer autoresponders at no charge. Whether you
have a website or not, you can take advantage of autoresponders.
http://www.sendfree.com
http://www.fastfacts.net
http://www.getresponse.com
http://www.myreply.com
Once you have set up your autoresponders, you may want to list your
offerings with Autoresponder Central at:
http://www.web-source.net/
This is a website where you can list your autoresponder in an on-line
autoresponder catalog.
I wish you the best in promoting your books on-line with the most
effective Internet marketing tool.
About the Author
Wayne Perkins is an E-book Consultant and author of a new book
titled, "A Cheap And Easy Guide To Self-publishing E-books,"
http://www.wayneperkins.net/ebooks/write.html
mailto:wayne@wayneperkins.net