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Profitable Content Marketing – Do I Need a Call to Action at the End of My Content? (Really?)

Guest post by Jeff Herring
Q: Do I need a Call to Action at the end of my article content?

A: I must admit, I was a little surprised by this question. It came from someone who had purchased an entry level resource from me, and the purchase came with a bonus strategy session.

In the book “Made to Stick” authors Chip and Dan Heath talk about the “curse of knowledge” – thinking that just because you know something means every one else knows it too.

So this question was another gentle reminder to always carry somewhere within you a “beginner’s mind” so you can make the most difference with your students.

On to the answer

So the answer is absolutely yes, you always want to have a call to action at the end of your article content. Here are some reasons to back up my absolute yes:

1) Even if you are creating content and/or articles just to see your name in print, you are doing your readers a disservice by not showing them a way to get more from you. Why? Because if you are creating content in the most powerful way, then your reader is going to be attracted to the way you approach and solve problems. The natural result of this is that they are going to want more from you. So why leave them hanging?

2) If one of the goals of your content creation is to create traffic, then of course you want a call to action. Asking the reader to go to one of your profit sites (opt-in page, sales page, blog, etc) is still a great way to generate endless waves of traffic from your articles.

3) If one of the goals of your content creation is to build a list, then of course you want a call to action. In world full of options for paid traffic, (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more) [pullquote position=”right”]I still believe new list members who are earned instead of bought make the absolute best lists.[/pullquote]

4) And I’ve saved the most surprising reason for last: If you create content that helps someone to take the next success steps, and do not offer a way for them to go further with you, then you are simply working for your competition.

Why?

Because your reader will learn from and move forward with you, but then you leave them hanging. So then, when they read something on the same topic from one of your competitors, who offer them a way to go further, they will choose to invest with your competitors.

And you don’t really want to do that, do you?

I’ll show you step-by-step exactly how to create a profitable Call to Action on this Results Now Webinar: “How to Create a Profitable Call to Action: The Secret to Getting Your Prospects to Do What You Want Them to Do” on Thursday July 11th at 4 pm EDT – Join us here => http://JeffHerring.com/denise

9 Questions to Answer Before You Approach a New Joint Venture Partner

By Denise Wakeman 8 Comments

Joint venture partners and affiliates are a great way to boost your visibility, attract new clients and customers, and make more money. However, there is some etiquette involved in how you approach a potential joint venture partner.

A few days ago I was asked by my colleague Kathleen Gage to contribute some tips and advice about how to deal with an overwhelming number of joint venture requests. What I sent her is the list of 9 questions you see below. Kathleen's post, Leading Experts Share Top Reasons Why They Won’t Promote for Others, also includes excellent tips by Ellen Britt, David Perdew and Susan Lassiter-Lyons. As you'll see, we all share Kathleen's frustration about the number of promotion requests we get that are from people we don't know, have no relationship with, and are for products that are not a good fit for our communities.

Whether you're new to affiliate marketing or a seasoned marketer, I urge you to read Kathleen's post. The advice and tips are excellent. I especially like how Susan rewards her top ten affiliates at the end of the year!

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What's been your experience both receiving joint venture requests and asking others to be a joint venture partner? What has worked for you in building partnerships?

Ignoring the Small Sales? Here’s How They Can Lead to Big Sales

By Denise Wakeman 21 Comments

Are you ignoring the small sales, thinking they aren't worth pursuing?

On my recent webinar "From Blog to Kindle eBook: How to Create New Revenue Streams with Amazon's Kindle eBook Program"** I shared a screenshot from my July sales to date for my Kindle eBooks. The total was about $20. Doesn't sound like much, does it? Why would I spend my time creating ebooks if I'm only making a few bucks a month?

That tiny number that's circled on the lower right is $20.13

Talking with a colleague who attended the webinar, he gave me some feedback about showing such a small revenue number for my sales. He had a good point, that it may have discouraged some people to think they may make only a few dollars from their Kindle ebooks. I could have found a screenshot with higher numbers.

But, here's the point I was making on the webinar…this is an additional revenue stream, not my sole income. If I wanted to make thousands of dollars a month on Kindle, which some authors do, I'd have to be doing more than compiling blog posts as ebooks. I'd also have to be marketing full time to drive traffic to my books.

This goes directly to the purpose of your ebooks. For me, they are lead generators. And, as I pointed out to my friend, I'm actually getting paid for my leads, when someone buys an ebook and then signs up for a free gift that's offered in the ebook, they have paid me to get on my list. Not bad.

Now, here's the true story that may change the way you think about the small sales…

During an intake session with a new client, she told me exactly how she found me.

She was doing a Google search for how to add images to a blog post. One of the search results was a Kindle ebook I offered on Amazon. She bought the ebook for 99 cents. Next she checked out some of the resources I recommended and opted in to a free webinar which added her on my email list. Then, about 30 days later, when I offered a group coaching program, she knew it was the right program at the right time and I was the right person for her to study with.

So, that $.99 ebook became a $500 sale.

That's why I do it. Not to get rich on Kindle ebooks, but to attract the right people to my site and my community and then make an offer that can solve a problem for them.

Does it make sense now, why I'm not worried about whether I make $10 or $100 dollars on Kindle? It's passive revenue and frankly, a dollar is a dollar and all those little sales do add up! It's all good and also helps me build my visibility, credibility and business.

That's what I want for you, too, and I know you can do it too. I appreciate that my friend brought up the issue so I could share the story with you. While I can't promise you the same results, I can promise that if you don't leverage the tools at your finger tips – like easy publishing on the biggest ecommerce site on the web – you may struggle a little more to build your business.

Do you have story about how a small sale led to a big sale? I'd love to hear about your success, and your challenges in the comments below.

** The replay for the Blog to Kindle eBook webinar + resources is currently available for a limited time at the original registration price. It will be going up soon.

How to Make Your Kindle Ebook Stand Out on Amazon

By Denise Wakeman 10 Comments

You're about to publish your fabulous Kindle ebook…will it stand out from the hundreds of thousands of other ebooks featured on Amazon?

Ebook Cover Image

One of the most important elements you need to add to your ebook is a cover image. While it may not be quite as important as your content, it is the first thing people will see, before they even read a description or review of your ebook.

You need to create a cover image and virtual book images of your cover you can use to promote your ebook.

There are a few ways to create your cover:

Hire a graphic designer – if you have the budget, then I recommend going with a professial designer vs. doing it yourself
Use Fiverr or elance and request bids for design services
Create it yourself with royalty free images

I'm frugal so I like to do it myself for low cost products like a Kindle ebook. When I create high fee products , I hire a designer (I highly recommend Heidi Frieder of ArtHead).

Back to ebooks.

For my $.99 ebooks I usually buy a royalty free image and create a simple cover. Make sure to choose a large image that is colorful so it stands out on the page. My favorite source of royalty free images is BigStockPhoto. I buy credits in bulk and buy images for blog posts, reports, and PowerPoint presentations.

You can see I'm not much of a designer. I create a simple cover with the image I purchased, title, my name and the URL for my website. The next step is to use the two dimensional cover image to create three dimensional images to promote your ebook. Take a screenshot of the cover image you've recreated so you have a jpg you'll need to create three dimensional promo images.

Kindle Fire, Virtual Book and Kindle Reader

Over the years I've bought several software programs to create 3D product images. They all required you to download software and then install it on your server. And, the results were not that great. Then, a few months ago I was introduced to a great online program called BoxShot King. Nothing to download, easy to use and more than 40 types of product images you can create in about 1 minute. Love it! The image above is a "package" of three product images I created with BoxShot King in five minutes.

BoxShot King also includes many extra graphics you can add to your image. In two of the images above, I added an badge that says "Free Bonus" since I offer access to free videos when people buy the ebook. Ellen Britt did a beautiful job on her ebook cover for The Littlest Angel, with an gold ribbon on the cover annoucing a bonus.

Product Images You Can Create with BoxShot King

Why is this important? The image reassures your buyer that your content is a "real" book and that they can consume it on their Kindle device. They don't have to imagine it, they can see it as it will appear on their reader. The 3D product image can be used on Amazon, your blog, social media sites and sales pages if you also sell your ebook on your own site.

While writing this post, I realize I need to update my ebook pages on Amazon to include the 3D images. I think they are more compelling and interesting than flate 2D images.

Would love to get your comments about using images to promote your ebooks. Do you create 3D images for your ebooks and digital products?

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