Guest Author Series:  Ali Pervez, author of Get Your Black Belt in Marketing

Do you remember when you got that call, e-mail, or letter from the publisher saying that you had been “picked up” as a published author!  I do. In fact, I have the e-mail from Morgan James New York framed and pinned to a wall in my office. It was one of the greatest days in my life. Some days, when things are not going well, I look at that letter, and it reminds me, as it should remind you, that we have something to offer to the world!

As authors, many of us got into this field to share our knowledge, wisdom, and insight about our subject matter. The book is simply the vehicle.

However, at the same time, we must never forget that a book is also a “lead generator.” It is a tool, like any of the other marketing tools: Internet, radio, press releases, social media, etc. It is a tool to help you connect with your audience. Although you may think you are selling books, you’re actually trying to build a business. This means having a long term and sustainable relationship with your clients and fan base.

All of the world’s greatest marketing gurus have known for centuries that the money is not in the list of names and followers that you have. It is in the relationship that you have with them. This is why FiledBy is an incredible site that allows you to do this.

I have come up with three tips to help you move from being a book author to becoming an ENTREPRENEUR who is building a business, and one that makes money by serving others.

1.  Focus on the Picture, not the Pieces

Physical books, social media sites (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) press releases, blogging, etc. are all just “ PIECES OF THE BIG PICTURE.” The real question that you need to ask yourself is “How can all of these components come together to help me build a business?”

“Unless we can put the pieces of the puzzle together, we cannot see the complete picture and build a real business.”

You need to understand how to move…

• Suspects to Prospects
• Prospects to Customers
• Customers to Clients, and finally,
• Clients that refer and come back to buy more of what we sell for life!

Your book, as a lead generator, helps move suspects to prospects and prospects to customers. However, you don’t just want customers, because customers come and go. What you want are clients, folks that refer you to their friends and come back for more!

“What most business owners miss is that a business is like a machine, if one component breaks down, the whole machine malfunctions.”

So you need to see how all the components come together to build a business.

For example, do the social media sites link to your blog? Is that Blog page capturing names? Do you have auto-responders to follow up with the names that were captured? Are you making offers downstream?  If one of these systems breaks down, your business will break down. All the pieces must come together and work together.

2. Put in a “ Back-End”

The most successful companies and marketers in the world make money on the  “back-end,” not the “front-end”.  They understand the concept of the “life time value” of a customer.  Selling a book may not change your financial position, but coaching programs, training programs, continuity programs, referrals, repeat sales over the lifetime of the client, readers, and a fan base certainly will.

Pharmaceutical companies and phone companies are the best examples of marketing masters that understand and leverage the “ back-end”. They give samples at the front end, but make money when people buy their products for life.

You need to continually ask yourself, “What’s next?”

3. Focus on Unpaid (not Paid) Advertising

There are only two types of advertising: Paid and Unpaid.

• Paid:  Conventional T.V. / Print / Radio
• Unpaid:  Public Relations

Which is the most effective?  Unpaid. Your customers know that you don’t pay for it, and thus it has so much more credibility.

You can use tools like PRWeb to put together a press release. This is then sent out across the “wire,” and if your release is picked up, it could appear as an article in a major publication. You can then use this article as a sales tool to get bookings for talks, develop coaching programs, training programs, etc. Eventually you will have started to build a business instead of just selling books.

If you follow these three simple tips, you will start to become an ENTREPRENEUR. As authors, we must never forget that each book is potentially a business in itself.  Good Luck!

Ali Pervez is one of America’s leading marketing experts who passionately believes that marketing is for everyone. His work focuses on helping not only organizations, but also individuals in improving their effectiveness in marketing.

He is the author of the book Marketing is King! and has over 20 years of global marketing experience. Ali has done marketing projects in 22 countries outside of the U.S. Starting as a marketing analyst and rose to the position of Chief Marketing Officer. He has held senior marketing positions at start-ups and major U.S. Fortune 500 Companies, including Abbott Laboratories, Sonoco Products Company, and Robert Half International.

He currently lives with his wife and two children in the San Francisco Bay area. Learn more about Ali at filedby.com and  www.blackbeltinmarketing.com