Do you have any idea just how many aspiring entrepreneurs have written books on practically every subject imaginable?
And did you know that according to a recent survey by Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest, the vast majority of the unsold copies get shredded?
A staggering 77% of the 9,200+ survey participants readily admitted that they barely earn more than $1,000 dollars gross profit a year!
Some earn even less. And yes, these numbers include the “self-published” authors category as well. Ladies and gentlemen, a staggering amount of published authors simply have the vast majority of their unsold books shredded.
However, what if savvy authors and entrepreneurs could take most of their unsold books and convert them into reliable, mega profit centers?
Instead of experiencing a staggering loss, entrepreneurs could be looking at some major, long-term gross profits. Is that not interesting?
How Do Savvy Entrepreneurs Do This?
So let’s take one of my favorite categories: how to make money through real estate investing. And let’s say an aspiring author self-publishes 30,000+ copies of his masterpiece, which is on that very subject.
A handful of best-selling authors (such as Robert G. Allen) have literally made several fortunes. And they’ve made them initially by publishing several best-selling books.
They have then generated another fortune by marketing and promoting various high-end, offline seminars. Such authors have also marketed five-day boot camps and courses over the last 30 years, and all of their products have been on the subjects about which they originally wrote.
Most aspiring authors and their publishers will end up with quite a few unsold books. If the authors have taken the self-publishing route, those unsold books are a huge drain on their already stretched-to-the-max budgets.
And unless they find a creative use for those books (i.e., dead assets), they’ve literally got a ton of capital tied up in their unsold inventory. It’s sort of like having money that you can’t readily access!
Use Your Dead Assets for Lead Generation
There are at least three potential strategies savvy, self-publishing entrepreneurs can use to convert some of their previously dead inventory into profitable marketing opportunities.
Remember, the aspiring author and publisher can and should inexpensively test these non-conventional marketing strategies before going all in.
Strategy 1:
Still using our real estate example, the very first tactic an aspiring author or publisher could test is contacting several national, real estate investment club associations. The purpose for doing so would be to see about arranging for the club presidents to offer the author’s book as a free bonus gift, valued at X, to members who pay their annual dues using either cash or credit only.
Members could call the publisher’s nationwide, toll-free number to order their books. They would just pay the shipping and handling fees, and the books would be shipped directly to their doorsteps.
Strategy 2:
Next, authors could let these real estate investment clubs (and their affiliates) buy their books directly from the author’s WordPress blog.
Members could also buy the books directly from the publisher’s website at their actual cost. The author and publisher would let these organizations earn a slight profit while selling the book at a slightly lower competitive price than the one at which most retail bookstores originally sold it.
Strategy 3:
The publisher can look around and let fulfillment companies sell the author’s book while keeping 100% of the gross front-end profits. The companies could also give the books away to their first-time customers as a powerful, free bonus, valued at X.
And the key to this type of long-term marketing strategy is the aspiring entrepreneurial author will be steadily building a list of semi-qualified buyers of his future books, newsletters, webinars, seminars, etc.
He can also turn over the names on his list to a few different reputable list brokers and rent the names out for so much per thousand.
Or the author might test offering one-on-one personalized consulting/coaching programs to any of the prospects who end up with a copy of his book.
Also, with any orders the publisher has fulfilled, the author can add a market-tested “bounce back” flyer. The fliers would be included in the offers where the prospects are promoting a paid monthly membership site of some kind. The site would teach various real estate investment strategies.
And because the author is a registered affiliate or a joint venture (JV) partner of the paid membership site owners, he earns anywhere from 25-50% of the monthly fee that participants pay to be active members.
Or the author could only allow potential prospects to buy the unsold books at the author’s or publisher’s actual cost. The stipulation would be that these potential buyers are active subscribers on at least one of the author’s VIP opt in email/mobile marketing lists. Otherwise, all non-subscribers pay retail like everybody else.
Who Says Lead Generation Can’t Be Both Creative and Profitable?
Hopefully, this small example of untapped marketing possibilities has opened your mind to how some savvy entrepreneurs convert some of their previously dead assets into long-term profit centers.
Any questions?
In the comments section below, please share your extremely valuable advice that people can apply to their businesses, products or services in the next 30 days or less.
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