JOINT VENTURES

Here is a common questions that we receive:

What is a joint venture?

A joint venture is an agreement between two companies to sell a product for mutual profit. So, you could go to a company to say, if you sell my book, I will give you x% of the profits. Or you could go to a company to say, I will give you a discount on my books if you buy x number of them and here is how the book will help you to increase your profits or it will attract new customers to you, or it will show your good will to your customers.

The company is not likely to give you their mailing list as that is confidential information but the company could send out an offer for your book to help them increse their own sales, elg., buy $x of my product and you will receive a free cook book.

Keep in mind that the company will be interested ONLY if you can demonstrate to them the benefits they will receive by using your cook book.

Make a list of companies that are compatible with your book, call the company and ask to speak to the director of marketing. Have your information ready in case they request a proposal: sell sheet, discount schedule, benefits to them.

Denise

www.inktreemarketing.com

FOLLOW UP TO WRITING MY STORY

Last month I wrote about writing my story (see copy of my blog below). Let me tell you, it was a struggle!

As my acupuncturist recently remarked, "You bottle things up. When something worries you, you keep it to yourself. You need to stop that." Well, writing my story was a difficult task, since I rarely talk about myself. Overall, the writing was a good experience. It opened my eyes to what I really think about life in general and how I handle issues.

Here is an exercise for you. Write about an event or an experience that has changed your life, but if like me you couldn't think of one outstanding event, write about what you have learned up to your current age. It's great therapy!

When the book is published, I will let you know.

Cheers,

Denise

http://www.inktreemarketing.com/




WRITING MY STORY write a chapter, writing my story
WRITING MY STORY I have been invited to write about myself in someone else's book - actually, a 3000 to 4000 word chapter that tells about my life experiences. O.K. Where do I start? It's one thing to coach other people about writing but having the tables turned is another story, literally. Here is the kicker - they have given me only six weeks. Many days I have writer's block just doing this blog so nothing gets posted. Now I have to write an entire chapter of a book. Yikes! Stay tuned, and if you have suggestions, please don't feel shy about letting me know. Denise http://www.inktreemarketing.com/
Labels: write a chapter, writing my story

READING CONTRACTS

Contracts are legal documents. It is vital that you read and understand a contract before signing it. By signing, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions in the contract. You are legally bound to abide by those terms and conditions.

Here is a case in point: we are having a few issues with a client who did not read the terms of a contract before signing the contract and now she is in a huff. The points of dispute are minor but they can create negative feelings which we like to avoid. Certainly it is not our intention to make anyone unhappy but we have to remain firm or we will be breaking the terms of the contract and that can have repercussions.

Diplomacy is now required to pacify the client yet hold her to the terms to which she agreed. There will be a lot of energy required and time wasted before everything settles down.

All of this could have been avoided if the client had just read the contract and asked questions up front. She is now annoyed, not justifiably so, which places her in a defensive frame of mind. We, of course, do not wish to reply in a negative tone. What good will hard feelings accomplish in the long run? We'd rather make friends than enemies.

Just be sure that you avoid all of this turmoil. Before you sign ANY contract, read it and most importantly UNDERSTAND it. You will save yourself a lot of frustration in the long run.

Denise

www.inktreemarketing.com

BOOK MARKETING MATERIALS

It was a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Time spent with family is invaluable and precious. Grandchildren grow at an alarmingly rapid pace as did their parents before them. I hope that all you mothers had as nice a day as I did.

Now, on to book matters. Recently, clients have sent me their marketing materials to review. While they might look pretty, the message is frequently being missed - buy the book.

All marketing materials are part of your sales team, speaking for you when you are not there. There are essential elements that must be included:

• Title


• Photo of the book if possible


• Benefits of the book


• Description of the physical book (price, size, number of pages, graphics, photos, etc.)


• Availability - where do readers buy the book?


• Contact information


• Ordering information


• Call to order (offer deals if you can)


• Endorsement or two


• Very short author bio

Your goal is to entice people to want, no NEED, your book. All of the information in the marketing materials must be kept brief - very brief. If people want more information they can visit your website.

Denise

www.inktreemarketing.com

ELECTION AND OTHER STUFF

Canada has just gone through another general election, with great and positive results. For a few years now, there has been some political power-playing among some of the lesser Parties but they have now been trounced and we can all get back to business as usual. Whew! Talk about "one for the books" as the saying goes. Amazingly, in spite of it all, Canada has fared best economically of all the G8 countries. We were doing something right all along and will now have the mandate to do even better. Watch out world. :-)

Now is a good time to talk about the business of books. Be sure that you research the book business before you jump in with both feet. One publisher with whom I am working is having to re-design his entire book because he did not take the time to research what sells. He just thought that he could print in any format and that book stores would accept his product. Not so, as he is learning.

If you think that the cost of education is high, think of the price of the lack of education.

Denise

www.inktreemarketing.com