Online Marketing Success
Secrets Revealed!

March 4th, 2004 Edition
Expert Interview

Power Selling Techniques: An Interview With
Paul Barton!

Welcome back everyone.

What's your strategy for spending less time at work, and more time on the golf course?

Do you suffer from tomorrowitis? You know, that's the common syndrome of always putting off what you really enjoy doing until tomorrow because you are just spending too much time making it paycheck to paycheck.

Well - here's an interview with someone who took action, and now plays more golf than he dreamed possible when he was a high paid IBM Director for Corporate Advertising.

Paul Barton of Sellfire.com takes us through the story of how he built up his own consulting and ebook business that has allowed him to live the life of early retirement.

It's a great story, I'll see you again next week - after I get back from the golf course!

Jeff
http://www.highertrustmarketing.com
http://www.infoproductcreator.com
http://www.creating-infoproducts.com
http://www.infoproductcreator.com/hypnotic.html
Contact Jeff:jeff@infoproductcreator.com

Today's Highly Recommended Resource
*** Where Do Expert Online Product Developers Network? ***
Expert Product Developers Discover New Ideas, Trends, Techniques and the Latest Technologies to create Instant Information Products Right Here...

==> http://www.bmyers.com

Today's Expert Interview

=====================================

"Turning Your Passion Into Your Own Profit Center"

with Paul Barton, author of "How To Be GREAT In Conversation" and "How To Make People WANT To Buy From You"

Did you know...

There have been well over 30 interviews included in our newsletters over the last 2-years!

If you've missed some of our past POWER Interviews with the experts, then you'll want to hear what Joe Vitale, Yanik Silver, Marc Goldman, Damon Zahariades, Willie Crawford and many others are doing to create, and grow their own Infoproduct Empires. Check out our archives right here...

http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/ezinearchives.html

This Week...

Paul Barton used to make big money as Director of Advertising for IBM, all that changed dramatically when he was offered an early retirement package - now he runs his own thriving, successful consulting and infoproduct marketing company.

Find out how he has turned his passions into a successful online business that still gives him the ability to enjoy life to the fullest.

You'll find Paul's story and products at Sellfire.com

Let's get started...

Jeff [Question]

Paul, thanks for joining us today. We look forward to learning from an accomplished professional. You used to be Director of Corporate Advertising Programs at IBM. Can you tell us how you ended up starting your own business and writing e-books?

Paul Barton [Answer]

I always wanted my own business,so when IBM offered a company-wide early retirement program with a great package I took advantage of it. I started out doing marketing consulting for IBM and other large and small companies – even one-person startups.

I saw the Internet and e-books as a natural complement to consulting so I evolved into that, too. Many people aren't in a position to hire a consultant, but some information has very broad application, and putting it in book form lets me expand my marketplace to many more people. Marketing e-books on the Internet has now become a very nice and growing business for me. It’s a business you can run in your pajamas -- or however you sleep -- and still make money 24/7/365.

Jeff [Question]

Your Sellfire.com web site is oriented to selling and you have several e-books on the sales theme. How did you select that and how is it working out?

Paul Barton [Answer]

Well, that flowed from my sales and marketing consulting work. The first book was called How To Be GREAT!! In Conversation. That book is based on the fact that the key factor in face-to-face selling is selling yourself, and good conversation ability is key to that. This book is our overall best-seller, and it's used by all kinds of people, those in sales, as well as ordinary folks wanting to do better in their rapport and relationships with others.

We sell that individually or in combination with my second book, How To Make People WANT!! To Buy From You. This is a book for those involved in personal selling, and all the material in it is devoted to that -- although its principles apply to almost any type of selling or marketing. This book outlines a simple process for making people want to buy.

Another crucial part of the personal selling process is your personal image, so I obtained resale rights to some image books, and we also offer them.

Finally, since so many people are turning to selling on the Internet, we are also offering an Internet "how-to" course.

I think that, by offering several, related solutions, we can do a more complete job of meeting the needs of our customers.

Jeff [Question]

Paul, can you tell us what your goals are for your information products? Is it your intent to earn a living selling information products, or use them as credibility boosters for your consulting services?

Paul Barton [Answer]

As a retiree from the corporate world, I don’t have any pressure on me to do either. But the answer is both.

Frankly, I love to play golf. And it’s a lot easier doing that with an “autopilot” business of a couple of hours a day like Internet marketing can be once you get things up and running -- versus consulting, which is very time and people-intensive, so I do less of that now.

This will be our third full year selling on the Internet, and sales have about tripled, so things are going very well.

But the world is still full of questions for marketing consultants who know their business:

Is there a need for my product? Who will buy it? How much should I charge? How do I market it?

I’m glad to tackle those questions in my consulting role.

Jeff [Question]

One of the questions I get asked the most from people looking to earn a living writing is “How do I find topics to write about that people will buy?” – whether it be articles, books, e-books or special reports. What methods do you use to find subjects and titles that people want to buy?

Paul Barton [Answer]

There’s an old story about a Congressman who says to his assistant, “Quick, tell me where the people are going so I can lead them.”

That’s a good metaphor for creating products people want to buy. Find out what people are interested in and develop a related product. That’s easier than ever, thanks to the Internet.

I’m doing this right now for a new e-book I’m writing. I’m not ready to talk about it yet, but, for the sake of illustrating my point, let’s say it’s a book about chicken recipes.

Before I started writing that book, I had a lot of questions to answer. The Internet let me answer most of them in a couple of hours for zero dollars.

First I downloaded a free program called Good Keywords (GoodKeywords.com) that compiles all the searches each month on Overture and several other search engines. You can get similar information from several individual search engines, themselves.

These are some of the key questions I was able to answer:

--Good Keywords let me answer the question, “Is there a market for a chicken recipe book?”

Answer: Yes. 58,801 people searched on “chicken recipes” last month – just on Overture and its partners. You could probably double or triple that number for Google and others.

--Google, and Overture let me answer the question, “Who is my competition?”

Simply by searching on “chicken recipes” again, I find the listings of all the significant competitors offering chicken recipe books.

--Google and Overture also let me answer the question, “How much can I charge for my chicken recipe book?”

I simply visit the web sites of all of my competitors to find out what they are charging and set my own price accordingly.

(I can also find out everything I need to know about their books, their marketing strategies, their positioning, their marketing messages, etc.)

Regarding titles, that’s more an art than a science. But think about this:

Most people searching for information products on the Internet are trying to find out “How to” something, so I make that a part of my titles. That doesn’t mean you can’t be creative, too – for example, “How To Make Great Chicken Dishes Without Laying An Egg.”

The net is this: While it’s still a taxing process, it’s easier today than ever in history to come up with a product people want – particularly an information product – if you simply take advantage of the research power of the Internet.

Jeff [Question]

Paul, what would you say are the three most important things new e-book writers should know to generate income from their writings?

Paul Barton [Answer]

Number one, write about something you know or are interested in or are willing to devote serious time to finding out about. Then fill the book with good “nuggets.” You can write about fluff and sell a few books but they will come back like a boomerang with refund requests.

Number two, continually test your marketing – everything from the media you use to the price you charge. Particularly important is how you “position” your offering. I have sold twice as much of the same product for the same price, simply by changing the positioning.

Number three, “capture” every prospect who visits your web site, even if just to “kick the tires.” Do this by a signup form for a free offer like a special report. Many people won’t buy the first time. But, if you get their e-mail addresses, you can go back to them again, get them “comfortable” with you and make them “want to buy.”

Jeff [Question]

I really want to thank you for sharing your thoughts with our readers. Any final thoughts you would like to leave us with on the topic of generating income through information products?

Paul Barton [Answer]

There is only one way you will ever earn a nickel on the Internet through Information products: Start selling them.

Paul Barton, principal of W. Paul Barton Associates, is an Internet publisher of “sell yourself” and “sell your products” e-books and a sales and marketing consultant in Baldwinsville, NY. http://www.sellfire.com

WRAPPING IT UP!

Have a super weekend

We'll be back next week with another issue of our newsletter for you.

Feel free to email me comments or questions right here:

mailto:jeff@infoproductcreator.com

Jeff Smith

http://www.highertrustmarketing.com

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Jeff Smith
Editor Online Marketing Secrets Revealed
webmaster@inf oproductcreator.com
http://www.highertrustmarketing.com

Online Marketing Success Secrets Revealed!