THE POWER OF A PERSONAL EMAILING LIST FOR AUTHORS

Those authors who are lucky enough to have had a book promotion accepted by BOOKBUB will find their book suddenly promoted to a large number of

email subscribers....... often 200,000 – 300,000. Even though the author may be totally unknown a large number of sales follow based on the credibility

of the 3^rd party promoter (Bookbub). This demonstrates the absolute selling power of a private mailing list.

There are a few well known top authors out there who have developed a private list approaching this size from individuals who have purchased their previous books.

When they release a new book they advise their email list and a massive number of sales happen..... or are pre-ordered. This almost guarantees them a slot in

the top 1000 of Amazon rankings. Which is often why a new release by a top author suddenly appears right at the top of the charts.

Let me give you a little background of how this worked for me ........ and generated a profitable business structure that has lasted me for more than 30 years.

Way back in time (31 years ago) I was working in real estate and had clients who wanted to trade, exchange or barter their properties against others.

I searched around for a book on the subject and the only one I could find was written in 1934.

I started experimenting with this concept and after nearly 3 years had amassed a large amount of knowledge about this subject. So I figured I should write

a lengthy manuscript based on all the notes I had taken and the personal experiences involved. So I typed this manuscript up and had 100 ring-bound

photocopies made. I offered these to clients and took small ads in real estate magazines. To my pleasant surprise the first batch sold out quickly and I

ordered another 200. Same result. I then printed 500 but within 3 months these were sold also. I then offered this manuscript to 8 separate Australian

publishers and they all turned it down. However the 9^th publisher showed some interest and I arranged to do a 50/50 joint cost venture with them.

The book hit the market as a paperback and was an instant hit. Within 3 months it was a top seller in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. I named it

THE MILLIONAIRES MANUAL.

I had included my post box address in the back (this was in the days before email) and suggested that if this subject interested the reader they could contact

me for follow-on information. Within 12 months I had captured 2000 names and addresses which totally stunned me. At that time I had absolutely no idea that

this list would support me for the next 30 years. I wrote follow-up material and started my own small publishing company which eventually turned out to be

quite profitable.

Every time I released a new pen and paper product a couple of hundred members of my mailing list ordered it immediately. Many of these follow-on products

were priced at $99 so I ended up rolling in money.

I then started to expand into products outside the publishing field.

I was able to organize an opal mining expedition to the South Australian opal mining town of Coober Pedy using clients funds supplied on a syndicate basis.

This lasted for about 12 months and we had some successes but it was not a brilliant result. Each client ended up with a bag of cut and polished opal which

exceeded the value of their financial contribution.

The clients participated in this because they had developed a trust in my operation.

I organized various syndicate ventures along other lines and finally syndicated property deals in nearby Vanuatu. Four of these deals were successful but

the fifth one is still pending. This was delayed due to the GFC market collapse. However the first 4 deals basically doubled the client’s money in a relatively

short period of time.

As the years went by clients switched to email addresses and it is interesting to note that I still have 90 of the original 2000 clients on my current emailing list.

That original mailing list has supported me for over 30 years!!

What I’m saying here is that once you develop a private mailing list you can use it for all sorts of ventures..... because the clients trust & believe in you!

This is exactly what Amazon has done. They developed a lot of client trust from book sales so branched out into a multitude of other fields. The owner of

Virgin Airlines did the same. They even got into credit cards.

These days I capture as many new email addresses as I can and use MAILCHIMP on my homepage to capture addresses also.

If you, as an author, can figure a way to capture 500-1000 email addresses to generate a personal list then each new book you market will get off to a head start.

Typically when I release a new book (I have 37 on Amazon so far) I email my list and the book normally starts with a ranking of better than #10,000.

You can generate a private mailing list by using freebies and giveaways and by starting informative blogs. Aim for at least 500 addresses to start with.

Make sure you have your webpage address displayed both at the start of your book (usually under the copyright data) and at the end. The reason for placing it at

the top of the book is because those potential buyers who search the “Look Inside” feature may not buy your book.... but may click on your website to see what

else you are offering. Use an email address collection service such as the free MailChimp to capture addresses from your homepage. If you check my homepage

website below you will see how I have done this. I typically capture 10-20 new addresses each month.

If you want to delve into this a little further I wrote a cheap little book called “THE TRUTH ABOUT MAIL-ORDER & INTERNET SALES”

http://www.amazon.com/TRUTH-MAIL-ORDER-INTERNET-MENTAL-MAGIC-ebook/dp/B004YQBW5S/

I cannot stress too strongly how a decent mailing list will change your rankings, income and satisfaction level in life!

HOMEPAGE - http://www.mindtech.com.vu/