DOTTIE WALTERS' SPEAK & GROW RICH
Monthly E-News

November 2003

For Professional Speakers, Authors, and Consultants
FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF SHARING IDEAS NEWSMAGAZINE
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In this issue...
1. Creating and Marketing Speakers Products -Dottie Walters, CSP
2. Update Your Audio Products Now! - Kathi Dunn
3. 21 Questions to Ask Before You Buy Any Shopping Cart System -Tom Antion
4. What's Next
5. Upcoming events with Dottie Walters
6. More resources for Speakers, Authors, and Consultants
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"People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success." -Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
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Creating and Marketing Speakers Products
by Dottie Walters, CSP

Many speakers in this exciting business do not realize that a great  deal of their fame,  credibility and  business income emerges from the products they create. What a delightful plethora of speaker products there are!

Some of the most common are:-

Workbooks:- A great product to begin with. Often your workbook  will turn into the outline of your first book!   Workbooks are ideal first products if you present Seminars. There are two sources of income in workbooks:
 
A. You sell the workbooks to your seminar attendees or to the client
promoting the program.
 
B. You sell ads (inside front cover, back outside cover, back inside cover)
to suppliers, or companies who want to reach your audience. The advertising pays your printing expenses, so that the income generated in selling the workbook is clear profit.

Books:- Establish your Credibility. There are  many great cost- effective
opportunities for self publishing today. Print on Demand companies can put your book together for you starting in small lots, and re-print for you very quickly in larger lots as you need them. Since you are the publisher, you receive far more  money than royalties would be.
 
Reports:- Often about 20 pages of expertise on one particular area that you are an expert on.  Example: A report title might be: "10 Serects of Hiring the Right Employee"   Reports are  high Profit and minimal expense. Reports can be sent electronically, (like an E-book)  or in printed form. (In this case -add the cost of shipping) Many shopping cart systems are now able to fill your customers orders instantly when your electronic products are purchased online. 
 
Your information is available globally with money coming into your account 24 Hours a day!

Audio and Video Products:- Since many speakers now offer telephone seminars, they also record the sessions  and  then sell the recorded programs as products on their Websites. Sometimes they sell a set of these different subjects in a package. 

One of the most common myths among speakers and authors:
"My publisher is going to handle all of the PR and marketing for my book."

Your book will be much more successful if you work on the publicity and
marketing yourself. Seek out companies that tie into your topic who will order large quantities of your book or product to offer as a PREMIUM to their clients.

Many different kinds of companies use books as premiums.
Examples:
Magazines, Newspapers and Periodicals:- Many offer a free book or report with a subscription or renewal. Which publications do your products tie into?
 
There are directories which list all of the Magazines in print . Search for the ones whose readers need your information. Often magazines or newspapers will buy many thousand copies of your books or audio products for this purpose. Your books are called "Premiums" when used in this way.

Banking and Financial Institutions:- Offer free information products to new account holders. If your book is about money management, go and talk to the Manager of your bank. Ask the Manager "How many new accounts do you need? 
 
(Remember the Managers’ job is to add new accounts. So do not talk about how many books he or she wants to buy, talk about how many new accounts they need. The bank will then run a picture of you and your book in their advertisements in the newspaper inviting new accounts with your book as the reward.   

Pharmaceutical companies:- Often will purchase large quantities of books related to health and nutrition. Many will tie the book into a specific
medication. For instance: Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Ailments. Could your message benefit patients who suffer from these disorders? Get a list of the Pharmaceutical Companies at the Library.

From a Speakers Bureau's standpoint, many clients come to us seeking the author of a popular book that ties into their industry. When a specific speaker is not requested and the client comes to us with their goals and objectives for the meeting, we suggest several speakers listed with our Bureau. Usually the one chosen is an author of a book on the subject. Why? Credibility. Expertise.
 
Many of these same clients will also purchase a large quantity of your books and product packages to distribute as gifts for their attendees.
 
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale  whose   most famous book was "The Power of Positive Thinking"- created a total of 49 books and many audio albums plus his wonderful Guideposts magazine. When customers like the author, they wait eagerly for the next product to be created.

Successful speakers are always working on a new product. Even though I am the author of a number of regular books, and several  Anthology books, plus many audio albums ,  yes,  I am working  on a new audio album! It is all about the ways Speakers can obtain Commercial Sponsors!   I will let you know when it is ready.  Commercial Sponsors are another great Money Stream source of high income for speakers !
For information on one-on-one career consultations with Dottie please visit:
http://speakandgrowrich.com/dottie_walters_consulting_services.htm
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Update Your Audio Products Now!
By Kathi Dunn
Dunn+Associates Design
http://dunn-design.com

Out with the old, in with the new. Have you recently hopped into your new car and grabbed your inspirational tapes for the long drive, only to discover that your CD player does NOT play your audiocassettes? Or prepared for an energizing walk, decked out with your CD Walkman, to realize your favorite motivational audiotape cannot be played on your CD player? Your customers are all facing the same situations every day when they want to listen to your message that is on audiotape, not on CD. Now is the time to update your product and join the 21st century. Not only do members of your audiences and mailing list want CDs, the news on the street is that major chain bookstores like Barnes & Noble now insist on stocking CD-formatted audio product exclusively. Your old audiotapes will not fit the new smaller CD-sized shelving in B&N's stores. There are
many exciting new CD packages available to suit the mega bookseller
environments. And, even if these retail giants are not your primary sales avenue, there are new innovative CD packages available to enhance your bottom line with products for back-of-room sales, educational materials presales, and your website's store. You can quickly and easily adapt your existing audiocassette design or, better yet, redesign your package for a fresh new look. Consider adding an upsell with a workbook. Or bundle your "new" CD with your book or other CD products. A professionally designed CD product can enhance your image, open doors, expand your exposure, establish you as the expert in your field, and increase your profits.

Kathi Dunn is a featured speaker at Dottie Walters' annual Magnificent
Marketing Symposium. Kathi has been creating award-winning design for speakers, authors and publishers since 1985, for clients like Dottie Walters, Mark Victor Hansen, Tony Robbins, and Ken Blanchard.
Contact Dunn+Associates at 715 634 4857
or info@dunn-design.com.
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21 Questions to Ask Before You Buy Any Shopping Cart System
by Tom Antion
http://antion.com

Once you've decided which product your going to sell online, the next most important decision you'll make is which shopping cart system to buy. It is perhaps the most important single decision you'll make in your online marketing career. This is because:

* You're stuck with the decision for a long time.
* If you buy into a system that isn't adequate, it can cost you money. - BIG money - because it won't maximize the amount of money spent by each visitor.
* There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of off-the-shelf alternative products out there vying for your money, time or both.
* Even if you decide you've made a mistake, switching shopping cart systems is really difficult.

I know. I learned the hard way. When I started in this business I couldn't
find a decent shopping cart program so I rolled my own. What a headache! In the process of living with that monstrosity -- and shopping for a suitable replacement -- over the last couple of years, I've come up with something I think you'll find useful.

Here are 21 questions you absolutely, unfailingly MUST ask anyone trying to sell you a shopping cart - custom or otherwise. If you don't hear good positive answers to the vast majority of these questions, put your wallet back into your pocket and move to the next choice. Don't get stuck with an inadequate shopping cart.

Everything below is very important when it comes to having a quality shopping
system that gets more money out of the same number of visitors.

1. Will it calculate shipping & tax?
2. Does it handle specialized shipping like FedEx and UPS?
3. Will it deliver hard goods and soft goods (ebooks) in the same transaction?
4. Does it offer customizable "Return to Shopping" pages without needing
custom programming?
5. Does it allow you to make special packages?
6. Does it deliver receipt and confirmation emails?
7. Does it allow multiple order and dropship emails?
8. Does it have a Web-Based administration page?
9. Does it use encryption technology?
10. Does it deliver easy output to your accounting software?
11. Does it have its own associate program or is it easily compatible with
other major brands of associate software?
12. Does it have integrated upsell modules?
13. Does it have an integrated sales and prospect database?
14. Does it have broadcast email capability?
15. Does it have mail merge capability?
16. Can it handle coupons and other discounts?
17. Can it work for multiple websites with no extra fees?
18. Does it have unlimited and fully integrated sequential autoresponders?
19. Does it have ad or source tracking tied into actual sales?
20. Does it have a pop-up box builder?
21. Does it have a printable off-line order form?

You may not understand what all the above questions mean right now, but I can assure you they are important in putting more money in your bank account. (If 
you want to know even more about this subject, you can download a free eBook "How to Pick a Shopping Cart System That Makes You Money," from my site at http://www.public-speaking.org/ebook.htm You can even redistribute that book to others if you want to share these insights!)

Tom Antion is an Internet Marketing expert who really makes money on the Internet . . . he's not giving a book report. Tom is the founder of the infamous "ButtCamp" seminars where you learn to make money sitting at home on your rear end, and the only facility of its kind in the world "The Internet Marketing Retreat Center" in Virginia Beach, VA Contact him at mailto: tom@antion.com 
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Next month's Speak and Grow Rich eNews will be full of ideas on different income streams for your speaking career and much MORE.
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Upcoming Events with Dottie Walters
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Next 2 Day Speak and Grow Rich Master Weekends will be held:

December 13-14 Glendora, CA USA (626) 335-8069
January 24-25 Glendora, CA USA (626) 335-8069
http://speakandgrowrich.com/speaking_seminars_master_weekend.htm
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SPECIAL Condensed Speak and Grow Rich Workshops:
January 17 Atlanta, GA - The Knowledge Shop (678) 766-6666
February 7 Los Angeles, CA - The Learning Annex (310) 478-6677
http://speakandgrowrich.com/speaking_seminar_schedule.htm
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More resources for Speakers, Authors and Consultants
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eSpeakers-provides professional speakers with innovative software tools to do more in less time. Our flagship product eVentPRO helps manage your office, while our newest product Marketplace provides an Internet gateway to speaker bureaus. 
Find out more about these tools  eVentPRO: http://www.espeakers.com/eventpro 
Marketplace: http://www.espeakers.com/marketplace/speakers.html
To get your free 30 day trial, use ESPK code during signup.
http://www.espeakers.com/information/30day.html
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Sharing Ideas Newsmagazine-Don't miss all the latest cutting edge information for today's speaking industry! Subscribe to Sharing Ideas the #1 Magazine for Professional Speakers Authors and Consultants. Subscription includes the latest DIRECTORY OF SPEAKERS BUREAUS ON CD!
http://www.speakandgrowrich.com/sharing_ideas_overview.htm
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Technology Marketing Consultants, Inc. - Professional website development for speakers, authors and consultants. Turnkey design, implementation and marketing solutions including search engine optimization and mailing list management.
 
Our sites are fast, friendly and action oriented. Sell your seminars, books, tapes, videos, downloadable materials, and more. New products and related information can be easily added or updated by the site owner from anywhere that there is internet browser access. Call (800) 994-5800 for a F-R-E-E website consultation. 
http://www.tmcla.com/speakers
(Creators of www.Speakandgrowrich.com)
 
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Check out the Yearbook of Experts, Authorities & Spokespersons at
www.Yearbook.com.   They have lots of features including www.NewsReleaseWire.com,  www.RadioTour.com and www.ReviewBook.com,  plus you can download their complete book at www.YearbookPDF.com free of charge.  To be included check on the signup flag at www.Yearbook.com, they have a $100 discount offer right now with free months.
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We want to thank our readers for the wonderful comments and feedback we have received about our eNews. Much appreciated!

Best wishes for your success!
Dottie Walters, CSP
International Speaker, Author, Consultant
Author Highest Rated book In THE Speaking WORLD, SPEAK & GROW RICH
Publisher/Editor: SHARING IDEAS newsmagazine, 25th year of publication
President/CEO, Walters International Speakers Bureau
Publisher, International Directory of Speakers Bureaus
Founder, International Association of Speakers Bureau Owners, IASB
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Don't miss all the latest cutting edge money making information for today's speaking industry!