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Case Study:
Vantagepoints on Learning and Life
by Kevin Eikenberry

The Real Value of Writing A Book…

When people find out a written a book they asked me two questions:

How long did it take you to write it?
Why did you write it?

The answers to both questions are not what people generally expect.

Question #1 - Vantagepoints on Learning and Life was actually written over a number of years as the chapters were selected from the best issues of an e-mail newsletter I written for a long time. So on one hand, the book took eight or nine years to write, on the other hand, I wrote only one chapter specifically for the book itself!

Question #2 -
I didn't write the book to have my name in print though there's nothing wrong with that. I wrote the book for two very specific business reasons - to build my credibility (and therefore increase my fees) and as a way to generate leads for our products and services.

When you approach your book with those very specific business goals, it allows you to make very specific decisions on how you will, create, publish, and market the book. What our goals in mind, we wanted to get the book into as many hands as we could (as a lead generator) and do all we could to raise the credibility beyond “just having a book” to making it a bestseller.

Given those dual goals, we embarked on a process to make the book an online bestseller. We did this through a variety of joint venture partners that allowed us to sell a large number of copies in its short period of time. In short, this strategy allowed us to reach #12 on the BarnesandNoble.com best-seller list!

Now that we can truly say I'm a best-selling author, we have raised my speaking fees by 50% and because the book has gotten in so many hands around the world in a relatively short period of time, we know that additional opportunities for speaking consulting and training are just around the corner.

Since our initial online bestseller experience, we are planning a second campaign with a goal of reaching the online pinnacle - #1 on Amazon.com. We'll keep you posted on our success!

Kevin Eikenberry
Chief Potential Officer
The Kevin Eikenberry Group
7035 Bluffridge Way
Indianapolis, IN 46278
www.kevineikenberry.com

Book Marketing 101 - Guerilla Marketing Case Study

Kevin and his team aren't long time publishing experts, and they've never published a book before, let alone marketed one...

But they created a bestseller -

Without spending a dime on bookstore placement fees or coop. Actually, without having a single book on a bookstore shelf pretty much ANYWHERE! Kevin studied the market for his book, analyzed what had worked for other authors, created a plan, corralled his resources and launched a tremendously successful internet marketing campaign.

It was all about planning and preparation. It took knowing his target market intimately. The campaign was focused. Kevin created measurable goals and tracked his success.

And it all cost less than a single end cap display in a chain bookstore.

Every author can follow the path Kevin took - all you need is planning, a little foresight, a bit of creativity and a willingness to try new ideas.

This isn't to say we always get it completely right - as a matter of fact an old saying goes "if you aren't making mistakes you aren't learning" and there are plenty of things we all learned through Kevin's promotional efforts. And each of those things will make the next campaign more effective and more successful.

Here's what you need to do to create a successful opportunity for your book like Kevin did (click the link to see an article on each topic):

Understand your target market - you've got to know who will buy your book.
Create a marketing plan -
Identify each promotional outlet - Press Releases, Blogs, Search Marketing and Direct Mail (such as postcards) can all drive significant sales and awareness - where do they fit in your marketing plan?

Then promote your book - build awareness, focus on the opportunities that reach the greatest numbers of potential readers without spending tons of your money!

We are here to help - let us know if you have any questions.

As always - thanks for reading -

Ray

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