Si vous n'êtes pas à l'aise avec l'anglais, utilisez ceci :
Cet outil vous fournit une traduction automatisée en français.
Milking Your Book Ideas For All They Re Worth
My latest book How to Earn Money in Retirement (How To Books ISBN 1845281128) has just been published and hits the bookstores in early May 2006.
As I was writing the mss about nine months ago it occurred to me that there might be another book lurking right there in the text. Accordingly I took notes; mentally deleting a chapter here and adding a few more there, expanding on a topic, sketching out another, and so on.
As a result of this dual tasking I started writing a new book immediately after finishing the project in hand and decided to submit a proposal sooner rather than later.
Next up I received an email from one Nick Hutchins, the freelance reader reviewing the text for How to Earn Money in Retirement. Nicks message simply read, Do you realize you have another book here? To which I equally succinctly responded, Yes, I know, and Ive just submitted a proposal.
Now it just so happened that Nick had a meeting scheduled with the publishing house a few days hence at which he raised the subject of two books in one.
In the mail today I received a contract for the second book, How to Grow Your Small Business Rapidly Online with a publication date of April 2007.
The point to this dissertation is: always be on lookout for additional niche markets for the book you are currently writing and milk your idea for all its worth.
The first book is aimed at active retirees and the second at go-ahead small business owners in all categories. I might dig deeper to ascertain whether other niche opportunities lie dormant in the original text.
The majority of niche non-fiction topics are capable of this sort of clinical analysis and it is worth pursuing because if you get a proposal accepted for one specific niche, you will more often than not get another proposal similarly accepted if your subject matter is in similar vein.
If youd like to learn more on how to milk your books for all theyre worth, visit the website featured in the resource box below
BONUS : Most Newsletters Don't Work - Part One: Success And How To Monitor It
Some people think newsletters dont work. Often, theyre right. In a world where most newsletters dont work, it is common to be confused about how to define newsletter success.
Whats it good for?
Over the past ten years, I have paid attention to newsletters. I can tell you why most dont work. It starts with confusion about what newsletters are good for. Confusion about how to monitor success comes from that.
How many next-day phone calls?
Many marketers expect a newsletter to generate results as soon as it arrives. Most newsletters do. However, when the results expected are new sales and referrals following each issue, most newsletter issuers eventually conclude that newsletters dont work. By the way they gauge success, theyre right.
Check your perspective.
From a sales perspective, an ineffective newsletter should be canned. But first, consider other perspectives. For example, think from the perspective of the impression left on readers. What impression would it make on you to receive two or three newsletters, then none at all, from your accountant? your lawyer? your investment advisor?
What newsletters do
Because of mismatched expectations, many who issue newsletters conclude either that newsletter success is harder to achieve than they imagined, or that newsletters just dont work. Yet, I see something in these situations that often escapes people struggling with an unsuccessful newsletter: A newsletter shapes peoples perceptions of you.
Four Brand Effects
It can do other things, such as announce news and complement advertising; still, every newsletter is a reputation-shaping instrument of brand management. Any newsletter will:
*leave a first impression, or
*mould an already-formative impression, or
*validate a formed impression, or
*confuse a formed impression.
A newsletter makes an impression.
How does this fit into a context where more sales and good referrals are wanted now? Consider the following example.
Maintain meaningful contact.
There are people who receive newsletters from their credit union who would never attend a competing banks grand opening in their own neighbourhood. Theyre so loyal to the credit union that they dont want the banks cupcakes or door prizes. The credit unions newsletter refreshes their loyalty every three months. It maintains meaningful contact with them. Its a tool of client retention.
Effective at what?
The problems solved by the credit union newsletter in the example include:
*competition of extrinsic incentives (e.g. Free gift when you sign up!).
*vulnerability to client attrition.
*the cost of acquiring new clients.
*the opportunity cost of losing profitable clients future business.
Watch the numbers.
Watch-the-books managers should direct attention to:
*business per client segmented by profitability per client.
*referrals per client with a profile of clients providing referrals.
*client attrition with a profile of clients lost and why.
*net increase in clientele (including clients gained and lost by all means).
Monitor over time.
Review these metrics on a quarterly basis and compare each quarter. Use this review to set newsletter performance goals in tandem with business performance goals (even if your newsletter is not a quarterly). Why not measure newsletter success this way?
Steady, no spikes.
A good newsletter might not cause a spike in sales. It can prevent losing a client who is being wooed by competitors, though. What business problems do you want to solve? Is it reasonable to expect a newsletter to help solve them?
Client relations success
Newsletters shape market perception, first and foremost, and can help to maintain hundreds of business relationships with meaningful engagement. Those who accept this and apply it wisely can find great success with newsletters. Those who expect each issue to boost sales or to bring new customers are wise to consider other methods. A good newsletter as a client-relations tool improves business measurably over time.
Some people think newsletters dont work. Often, theyre right. In a world where most newsletters dont work, it is common to be confused about how to define newsletter success.
Whats it good for?
Over the past ten years, I have paid attention to newsletters. I can tell you why most dont work. It starts with confusion about what newsletters are good for. Confusion about how to monitor success comes from that.
How many next-day phone calls?
Many marketers expect a newsletter to generate results as soon as it arrives. Most newsletters do. However, when the results expected are new sales and referrals following each issue, most newsletter issuers eventually conclude that newsletters dont work. By the way they gauge success, theyre right.
Check your perspective.
From a sales perspective, an ineffective newsletter should be canned. But first, consider other perspectives. For example, think from the perspective of the impression left on readers. What impression would it make on you to receive two or three newsletters, then none at all, from your accountant? your lawyer? your investment advisor?
What newsletters do
Because of mismatched expectations, many who issue newsletters conclude either that newsletter success is harder to achieve than they imagined, or that newsletters just dont work. Yet, I see something in these situations that often escapes people struggling with an unsuccessful newsletter: A newsletter shapes peoples perceptions of you.
Four Brand Effects
It can do other things, such as announce news and complement advertising; still, every newsletter is a reputation-shaping instrument of brand management. Any newsletter will:
*leave a first impression, or
*mould an already-formative impression, or
*validate a formed impression, or
*confuse a formed impression.
A newsletter makes an impression.
How does this fit into a context where more sales and good referrals are wanted now? Consider the following example.
Maintain meaningful contact.
There are people who receive newsletters from their credit union who would never attend a competing banks grand opening in their own neighbourhood. Theyre so loyal to the credit union that they dont want the banks cupcakes or door prizes. The credit unions newsletter refreshes their loyalty every three months. It maintains meaningful contact with them. Its a tool of client retention.
Effective at what?
The problems solved by the credit union newsletter in the example include:
*competition of extrinsic incentives (e.g. Free gift when you sign up!).
*vulnerability to client attrition.
*the cost of acquiring new clients.
*the opportunity cost of losing profitable clients future business.
Watch the numbers.
Watch-the-books managers should direct attention to:
*business per client segmented by profitability per client.
*referrals per client with a profile of clients providing referrals.
*client attrition with a profile of clients lost and why.
*net increase in clientele (including clients gained and lost by all means).
Monitor over time.
Review these metrics on a quarterly basis and compare each quarter. Use this review to set newsletter performance goals in tandem with business performance goals (even if your newsletter is not a quarterly). Why not measure newsletter success this way?
Steady, no spikes.
A good newsletter might not cause a spike in sales. It can prevent losing a client who is being wooed by competitors, though. What business problems do you want to solve? Is it reasonable to expect a newsletter to help solve them?
Client relations success
Newsletters shape market perception, first and foremost, and can help to maintain hundreds of business relationships with meaningful engagement. Those who accept this and apply it wisely can find great success with newsletters. Those who expect each issue to boost sales or to bring new customers are wise to consider other methods. A good newsletter as a client-relations tool improves business measurably over time.
