Author Archives: Jodi Kaplan

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Earn More Money by Giving Free Gifts

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Publishers, including The New York Times, Hachette, and Penguin) are panicking over e-books.  They’re resisting the Kindle, trying to force DRM, and retain end-to-end control over pricing.

However, according (ironically) to an article published in The Times itself on Jan. 22, 2010, other publishers have decided to embrace e-books – and find ways to make money by actually giving books away.

It’s part of what Seth Godin calls the “gift” culture in his new book, Linchpin (plain old link).  Gifts bring us closer, and free can actually earn more money.

How does this work?

HarperCollins and Scholastic, among others, are offering free downloads of books by new or little-known authors for a limited time.  The idea is that if the readers like the free book, they’ll want to come back and buy more books by the same writer.

Earn money with free

For example, Samhain publishing offered free digital versions of a romance novel.  It was downloading 26,897 times.  Meanwhile, sales of the author’s two other books went from 97 and 119  to 2,666 and 3,297 respectively.  Not huge numbers, true, but found money for both publisher and author.

You can do it too

This works in other businesses too.  Give away the information and posts in your blog for free.  Offer e-books, newsletters, free articles, and white papers as downloads.  Let them spread.  Give readers permission to re-post them and share them (with credit).  Spread your ideas.

Then, add paid how-to workbooks, bundle posts with extra information and create paid e-books, add video or audio and you’ve got a workshop.  The more specific, personal, and unique the service, the higher the value, and the more it costs.

Are you using free information to make money?  Share your stories in the comments.

Image: mydogsighs

When is it Smarter To Have Two Web Sites?

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round niche and square nicheWhy do you have a web site anyway?

Once, they were somewhat exotic, but now most businesses consider them as necessary as lights and telephones.

Why?

Your web site is your introduction to your customers. Your web site should reflect your niche(s) and appeal to “your people,” (the kinds of clients you want to attract) rather than trying to appeal to everyone.

Are multiple niches OK?

It’s OK if you have more than one business niche, or more than one business, as long as they fit together. You can start with marketing to brides and expand to new moms. Or work with both elementary schools and law firms. Elementary schools and law firms have little in common, but it works if you’re providing the same service to both (say, IT consulting or graphic design work).

However, there are some things that just don’t belong on the same web page (or even the same web site).

Divorce lawyer and bait shop?

Do not offer your services as both divorce lawyer and bait shop on the same web site.

Sauerkraut and ice cream are both great. Just don’t mix them together and expect the result to taste good.

People seeking a divorce have different problems and questions on their minds than people who want to go fishing. One needs to know about separating assets, possibly alimony or child custody. The other is interested in fishing line, rods, reels, and which bait attracts a particular kind of fish.

If you’ve got two wildly different businesses, separate them. Have one site for the bait shop, and another for the legal services. It’s not only confusing to put them together, it’s poor marketing.

Domains are cheap. You can buy one for $10. Hosting is cheap too. Try Hostgator (use this link and I get a reward).

Get an opinion

Think  you need two sites?  Not sure?  Post your niches in the comments and find out.  I’ll answer your questions there.

Photo:swanksalot

What a Giant Squid Can Teach the New York Times About Publishing

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giant squidThere’s a big fuss about the NY Times’s decision to start charging for access to its Web site.  Many people, including me, are upset.

We started out paying for the paper (through a subscription or newsstand), then it went on the web, the price dropped, and now we’ve been trained to expect it for free.

The paper version is losing money – and so the online version must earn extra in order to cover the costs of printing and distributing the dead-tree paper. The bandwidth isn’t the problem.  The paper and distribution is the problem.

Build a Community

The giant squids I’m talking about aren’t actual squids; it’s the nickname for the leaders of Squidoo (an online free publishing platform).  Squidoo gives people the chance to share their passions, make money for charity, or run a business – for free.  You make a page, called a lens, and connect to  selected affiliate sites or your own.  If someone buys something,  you make money.  Or, it goes to your favorite charity. There’s a community to answer questions, show you the ropes, and welcome you.

Add Free Prizes

Squidoo has “free prizes” – badges for people with great lenses, awards for best lens in different categories, and angels who bless lenses they like.  They’re called Giant Squids, Squid Angels, and Squid Greeters.  They get extra options and first crack at new tools for building lenses.

How about a badge system for newspaper readers to reward and highlight frequent viewers or commenters?  Articles with more comments or comments by higher level people would be worth more to advertisers.

Reward Extra Effort

What if the paid version had no ads?  Or, if visitors got points for viewing ads (and credit toward access).  The more people “paid” to view the ad, the more the Times could charge the advertiser.

More points could get more prestige (and more incentive to return and see ads). Different point levels could entitle readers to extra services or goodies, such as access to restaurant reviews before they’re published, or inside tips on sales, or rights to free Kindle access.

What if they gave stuff away, but in a way that brought people in?  Grew their tribe, encouraged communities of New York Times readers generally.  They could if they wanted to.  And, their readers would embrace them (rather than crying foul).

What are you doing in your business to build a community?  What’s working?  What fell flat?  Share your experiences in the comments.

Image:  wikimedia

Secrets of Successful Niche Marketing

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I’ve been writing quite a few posts about niches, and important it is to concentrate your focus (rather than scattering your efforts and your money). Here are some of the best posts, gathered all in one place.

Is Your Marketing Missing Its Target?

How to Find Your Ideal Client

How to Pull Your Marketing Out of the Mud

Earn More Money Marketing to Fewer People

Can You Have More Than One Niche Market?

Image Tyler Bell

Who Else Wants a Great 2010? Here’s How

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here's how ebookThree weeks ago, Seth Godin released a new ebook called “What Matters Now.” The book had short essays by big names such as Tom Peters, Jackie Huba, and Seth himself (70 in all).

Inspired by this, the members of triiibes decided to get together and create our own version.

They took months. We took weeks (because we’re crazy like that).

It’s called What You Can Do Now…Here’s How: A Manual for Action in 2010.

Sure, Tom Bentley, Joel Canfield, and Bolaji Oyejide, aren’t household names. They should be. They’re brilliant, funny, and they’ll get your blood racing and your brain ready to go to make a difference in 2010.

P.S. We were also inspired by Seth’s new book (Linchpin) and his launch event, to get together and start our own conference. A team of planners (spanning 10 time zones) put in a lot of hard work to make it a reality.

The conference starts tomorrow, followed by a Triiibes dinner (hosted by Seth – he says the food is weird – should I be worried when a vegetarian says the food is weird?), the Linchpin event, and more conference fun. Then, there’s the foodie tour!

I’ll tell you all about it on Monday!

UPDATE: New and improved version now shipping! Download the new version.