Cathy Stucker - The Idea Lady

Attract Customers and Make Yourself Famous

This Time, It’s Personal

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Is your writing drab and boring, or does your personality shine through? When you create a product, you’re putting a bit of yourself into it (if it’s any good). The personalization that goes into your product line will help endear you to your customers – it makes them want to come back for more.

People don’t just want sterile step-by-step information when they’re reading how-to books and informational products. They want to enjoy the read. You need to have your own style and voice.

If you hire a ghostwriter to create your product, make sure you go back through and use your voice within the text. Let me show you an example from the anti aging niche and you tell me which short paragraph is more interesting:
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10 Reasons Why You Should Do Teleseminars

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teleseminarChances are that you have attended teleseminars and webinars, but have you ever presented one? For many people, the idea of putting on a webinar is intimidating. The technology can seem complicated and you have to prepare visuals, so it might be more than you want to take on, especially if you are not accustomed to presenting.

Although webinars do not have to be as difficult as you may think they are, there is a simpler option: teleseminars. Teleseminars are as easy as talking on the phone. You can do that, right? The technology is simple, and there are no visuals to worry about.

Webinars can be useful when your topic is visual or requires demonstration, but teleseminars are perfect for most topics. Your audience may prefer them because they don’t have to sit in front of their computers for an hour or more to get the information. They can listen on their phones or download the replay to an iPod or phone and listen while they commute or work out.

Most teleseminar platforms allow you to choose connecting over the telephone or with your computer, so there is no special equipment or software required, for you or your audience. The cost ranges from inexpensive to free, and even most free platforms offer a lot of features.

Still not convinced you should be doing teleseminars? Here are ten reasons why you should.
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Profit from Giving Free Speeches

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speakerGiving free speeches to professional and community organizations is an easy way to improve your credibility and build your reputation as an expert. More than that, it is also a way to make money—directly and indirectly.

First, create or obtain products you can sell after your talk. The fastest way to do this is to buy products from someone else. For example, if you are a expert on personal security, you could offer a few security devices (such as hand-held alarms or pepper spray).

You can also develop information products. Put together booklets of personal security tips for women, security for travelers, keeping your home secure, etc. They don’t take long to write, and can be produced in small quantities for less than $1 each. Additional information products would include books, posters, audio CDs, DVDs, t-shirts, etc. An audio program can be created simply by recording one of your talks.

Always provide a handout when you speak. One page is fine. Include some of the important points from your talk, or some tips related to your topic. Make sure you include information about how you can be contacted. On the back, put a brief bio and/or information about your products and services. Include a special offer or coupon, with an expiration date, to encourage the audience to contact you.

Customers often need to see you more than once before they make a buy decision, so keep yourself in front of the audience. Collect names and addresses of the audience members, and mail to them after the talk. Remind them when and where they heard you talk. The organization may give you a list of attendees if you ask. Or, you can collect the information. Offer a drawing for a prize (such as one of your booklets or other products) and collect business cards for the drawing. Or offer to send additional information to those who provide a business card.

Encourage audience members to sign up for your email list. Do not just add people to your email list because you have their email addresses. Make sure you also have their permission to email them. Doing otherwise makes you a spammer.

After you have been speaking for free for a while, you will get asked about your fee to speak. This opens the door to a whole new set of opportunities. If you are asked about your fee for speaking, it means you are ready to become a professional speaker—a professional expert on your topic.

Learn more about creating information products and making your speaking more profitable here.

Profit with Checklists

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checkmark.jpgWho doesn’t love lists? Checklists help you to get organized, buy equipment and supplies, plan an event, get your finances in order and lots more. You can create lots of checklists for your market, no matter what that market is.

I live near the Texas coast, and every hurricane season we get checklists of hurricane supplies  and preparations from local media, grocery and hardware stores and elsewhere. To see some examples of checklists, look at the free lists available at http://www.PrintableChecklists.com/.

Although checklists may be given away as promotional items, you can also sell checklists. What ideas for checklists can you come up with? [Read more…]