Copywriting Grab Bag

6 Comments so far

1. Matt on September 22nd, 2007

   Hi Ben:

   Thanks for posting this interview. I think you and I are traveling down the self-publishing path at the same time.

   I just finished reading a very good book about self publishing by a guy named Jack Reed.

   Interestingly enough, Reed argues that you should NOT aspire to have your books in book stores, on Amazon or in libraries.

   I”ll spare you the gory details, but if you are interested here is a link where you can read more about the book.

   (I hope it’s o.k. that I’m posting a link).

   http://www.johntreed.com/HTWP.html

   Matt Marshall

2. Ben Settle on September 22nd, 2007

   Hey Matt,

   Thanks for that link, I haven’t read that book, but I can see why someone would say that.

   Here’s the way I understand it as of now.

   If you get a chance, tell me what you think about this from your readings and experiences:

   If you are just trying to collect names and bring people to into your fold (so you can upsell them other things) then hitting everyone from every angle can be a good thing.

   Like Dan Kennedy with his series of “No B.S.” book series.

   He’s in all the stores, on amazon, libraries, etc etc etc. So is Matt Furey with his Combat Conditioning book.

   BUT… they deliberately fill their books with incentives to go to their sites, so they can capture peoples’ names and sell them other (more expensive) things.

   On the other hand…

   It seems you can only command a limited amount of money from anything in mass retail.

   Sometimes if it even so much as LOOKS like mass retail it severely limits the perceived value of a book.

   I once heard Dan Kennedy tell a story like this about Jeff Paul’s “make money in your underwear” course.

   Something about how when they dolled it up, gave it pretty graphics, and wrapped it up in a neat little package it shot refunds through the roof.

   It looked like something that should have cost $12 in a bookstore, not something that should cost $199 or whatever they were charging.

   But when they sold it as loose leaf photo copied pages stuffed in a binder — with little or no “production” value — they were able to charge tons of money for it and got way less refunds.

   Anyway, maybe it’s all just a matter of overall strategy.

   It’s definitely interesting stuff, to say the least.

   Ben

3. Marketing Atlanta on October 8th, 2007

   Thanks for the generous amount of information you give. There were several very good suggestions on self publishing here that I never heard of before.

   Thanks again

   Frank

4. Ben Settle on October 8th, 2007

   Glad you liked it Frank, I’ll see about doing more self publishing interviews like this in the future.

   Ben

5. James Alenteal on October 22nd, 2007

   I’ve been reading Greg Perry’s stuff for years. He helped me through C , Java, and a whole lot of other things I’m trying to forget. But he is a great writer, with a knack for explaining things.

   Ben, you have a knack for picking out good people to interview. Thanks.

6. Ben Settle on October 22nd, 2007

   Thanks James, and I’m really glad you’re finding value here.

   I’ve got lots more great interviews in the “hopper.”

   Stay tuned…

   Ben