The Times Are Changing

I’ve been loving seeing all your comments for my publishing house names – keep them rolling in by adding your comment right here! (Remember, the winner gets a shot at a big time publishing contract (we’re talking the works – distribution through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Amazon Kindle and major bookstores) for you or someone you know.

While I was at the book expo in New York I spent a lot of time with my publisher, Morgan James – putting together some exciting stuff that I’ll be announcing soon – a very big deal that will be great for everyone on my list!

While I was there I learned a lot about traditional publishing – and it appears that the publishing world is being transformed just as much as the marketing world is these days. It’s pretty clear to me that the model for publishing is going to change – illustrated even more deeply by some news I heard while I was there…

Everyone was abuzz about the shock from hearing a huge publisher – 900 years old – the original publisher for Mark Twain, who recently announced that they are something like seven billion dollars in debt.

All of the other publishers looked up to this flourishing house – this monster – and it’s failing was like a bank going down – just something you don’t hear every day!

It’s yet another signal of the changing times, and the importance of moving along with the changes.

Being at the booth in the book expo was a huge thing for me – both Rick Frishman (partner of Morgan James) and David Hancock (CEO) were so down to earth and fun to be around – it’s just a thrill to be able to work with them!

They were making fun of me the whole time because I just couldn’t stop laughing at all the fun – making jokes that I was bringing all kinds of people to their booth because I’m tall and blond – I told them if they wanted me to be their booth babe, they were going to have to pay me more!

Really though, I was shocked at the calibre of people coming up to the booth – people from Time Warner, CBS, Barnes & Noble, Amazon – presidents of these huge well-known companies were coming up to shake hands with Rick and David – they clearly had great relationships with all of these guys, and I was just in awe to be part of all of it!

Mark Victor Hansen came over with his ‘entourage’ of admirers – he loves to network and introduce people, which means he’s always surrounded! He pulled me into the center of his circle and started introducing me to people, shoving me in front of company presidents – and all I could think about was how embarrassed I was to be dressed in jeans and a t-shirt!

It was a very surreal moment – let me tell you – but great fun all around!

I told everyone I met about the Get It Done Today series, of course, and they all loved it! Rick and David want all of their authors to sign on – they recognized it right away as a great opportunity for exposure in the new transformation of marketing!

I also learned a couple of great tips for authors:

• First, be careful of advances! If you are going to huge publishing companies, you’ll want to have an agent – there are just too many ways that you can sign off your rights. I was hearing horror stories of publishers paying advances and then shelfing the material – meaning it just never gets published and there’s nothing the author can do about it!
• You also want to watch for what rights you are giving away in any contract – if you’re not careful, you may not be able to speak on or create any programs based on your topic!

(Of course, that’s one of the reasons I love Morgan James – you get to keep all your rights!)

All in all, it was such a great trip – really eye-opening. I’m getting very excited about the publishing companies industry – I can see that changes are coming that are going to be very positive for authors all around. I’m excited to be a part of that equation soon myself!

I want you to be part of it too – so be sure to suggest some names if you haven’t already! Head over here now to leave your comment for your chance to win!

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RICK FRISHMAN - Author 101

New York News! Need your input…

It has just been a whirlwind of crazy excitement around Hartman Enterprises lately – there is SO much going on – hopefully a lot of it exciting for you!

It’s hard to know where to start but I want to tell you more about my New York trip that was so amazing!

If you didn’t hear about it yet, I went to New York to meet with my publishers and attend Rick Frishman’s Author 101 conference and Book Expo America. It was so great to meet up with all of these people like Rick Frishman and David Hancock – I’ve been friends with them for years now, but this was the first chance to actually meet up in person.

STEFANIE and MARK VICTOR HANSEN

It’s actually one of my favourite things about starting an online business and being in groups like the Private JV Club – when you finally get to meet up with people, you almost don’t even realize that you’ve never met them! I love being part of business that allows you to create these deep, global relationships with people!

I got the chance to catch up with old friends (that I have met) too – some speaker buddies, Mark Victor Hansen – I got a HUGE hug and kiss when I met up with him again!

Meeting up with all of these people seemed to make the connection we’d created over the years even deeper – it’s something I really recommend that if you get the chance to go to a conference or an event somewhere,  be sure to jump on it! Besides getting the chance to learn some great things, the ability to actually meet up with people in person is always priceless.

Just because you’re starting an online business, it doesn’t mean you don’t create awesome relationships both over the Internet and in person!

Even cooler was the chance to meet up with some of the Private JV Club members and even some of the folks from my Mastermind Group – it was like a big reunion!

STEFANIE and RICK FRISHMAN

It was great hearing from people about how much the club means to them and the new connections they’re making – one woman I met up with says she has so many potential new partners that she hasn’t even had the time to get back to them all yet – now that’s a great problem to have!

So much more happened in New York that I’ll be sharing in the blog over the coming days, but I just wanted to connect and show off some pictures in the meantime – giving a big shout out to everyone who was there at the conference – would love to hear some comments about your experience.

AND I can’t go into the details until later in the summer, but I’m going to be starting a publishing company and working with a an award winning well known New York Publisher and world famous distributor.

For that I need a name for my publishing house – and I need your help!

Leave your comments with name suggestions and I will give the person who came up with the winning name a chance at a big time publishing contract (we’re talking the works – distribution through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Amazon Kindle and major bookstores) for you or someone you know.

My tag line is: Publishing books that change lives.

Areas of interest are: business, trends, technology, innovation, entrepreneurial, non-fiction, biography, celebrity, health, some fiction (if it is life changing).

Some names already suggested:

• Hartman Publishing
• Strategic Publishing

Please vote or submit your own – and stop by soon for more updates!

In the meantime, check out some more of my NY Pics!:

The Book Expo in New York City

It Could Happen to you Movie

with David Hancock of Morgan James Publishing

The Literary Agents Panel at Author 101

with Mitch Axelrod of The New Game

New York from the Plane

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Have you ever heard the expression ‘Junk in the Trunk’?

It’s actually a slang term that refers to someone that has a full figured bottom.  You know I’m on the treadmill a couple of times a week to reduce my back end – but in your business, you really need some junk in the trunk!

FACT:  The bigger the back-end of your organization, the bigger your bank account.

If you want to maximize your list, have additional profits centers that bring in money while you sleep and have a system in place that sells to people who already love your stuff, this is stuff you need to know!

FACT: Knowing these common niche marketing myths and understanding those ‘junk in the trunk’ implications is going to make your business easier and much more profitable.

Here’s an example for you:

Think about marketing a book. It’s often the first info-product that people create, and it is one that illustrates a valuable lesson.

FICTION: Once I take my book to Best-Seller status, I’ll be rich and home free!

It’s true – having a best-selling book gives you credibility, helps you to gain publicity and gets you media attention.  It’s also a lovely gold sticker on your book!

But if a marketing person tells you that all you need to do is get your book to number one and you’ll be set, you should run! (Or at least stop paying them!)

Here’s why: Essentially, a book is only a very large business card.  It’s your lead generator, but it should be just one of many. Best-seller status will get you into the press, it will introduce you to new customers and it will let people know who you are and what you’re all about.

Robert Allen sold millions of copies of his first book “Nothing Down”, but after the publisher’s cut and everything else, he was lucky if he got $2 a book!

In his third book (one that he actually considered to be a dismal publishing failure!), he went through and identified about 15 places that where he would give readers a special report, a CD or an audio cassette.

Essentially, all he did was put “You want this?  Contact me here and I’ll give this to you”, in about 15 different places.

Well only 10,000 people called, but 5,000 of those people paid him 5,000 dollars for one of his high-end programs.  Do the math – that’s 25 million dollars!!

Extremely successful book marketing strategy – considered a publishing failure.

So, would you rather position yourself where you have to sell at least a million books to make a million dollars? Or would you rather put your marketing efforts into selling 60,000 books that could make you 25 million dollars?

Are you beginning to see how important having a back-end marketing strategy can be?

FICTION: You need to put thousands of dollars into a marketing campaign before you can see any return.

The only people that are ever going to tell you that are:

• Advertising agencies
• Other entrepreneurs that are still working off a marketing plan that isn’t working for them

You’ve probably noticed this, but advertising in magazines 7 times or more (industry recommended) is not cheap!

There are much easier (and cheaper!) ways to get your name and product out in front. One of the best is through doing Joint Ventures – you “borrow” their database, their customers, and even their website to sell your product – all at no cost to you!

FACT: No cost and low cost strategies are very effective!

FICTION: Once I write my book, my publisher will be in charge of getting my book out there, so I don’t need any marketing strategies.

This is probably the biggest misconception out there among new authors.

In niche marketing, you and you alone are responsible for getting your product out there, creating the sales and determining your own income.

A lot of publishers today won’t even take on new authors unless the author can demonstrate that they understand all this by submitting a marketing plan that describes all the different ways they’re going to get their product out there.

You need to know this.

As the creator of your product, YOU are in charge of:

• Marketing your book, product or service
• Having a big back-end strategy that sells additional product
• Keeping your clients happy and coming back to you

FACT: Being well known or not is not the difference between little money coming in and a lot of money coming in. The truth is, it’s got everything to do with the information you have, your willingness to use it, and the model you are following.

The choice to put it into practice is yours alone.

Think about it – in your investment portfolio, you wouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you wouldn’t invest that way – why would you build your business that way?

Building a back-end strategy is crucial to your business!  And don’t ever let any inexperienced marketer tell you otherwise!

About Stefanie Hartman: Considered one of America’s most influential entrepreneurial mentors to help you get clients, skyrocket sales, and become famous in your niche or field, Stefanie Hartman is known as “The Expert’s Expert”.

CEO of Centaur Strategies, she founded the entrepreneur’s “Millionaires-in-Training Mentorship Program” that literally teaches you how to re-invent yourself, become a published expert and create a six-to-seven-figure annual income from selling information you already have!

You can learn the “behind-the-scenes’ marketing, business & profit secrets from the marketing expert to the guru’s.  Visit: www.mitprogram.com and www.PrivateJVClub.com

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