"Starting Smart!"an online e-zine for newbies and semi-seasoned Internet marketers alike.

Issue: November 7, 2003

"How To Produce The PERFECT Viral Ebook"

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If you're reading "Starting Smart" because a friend sent this issue to you, get your own copy three times a month by clicking either of these addresses.

http://www.9mistakes-online.com

Here's the link to subscribe:
http://startingsmart.9mistakes-online.com

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"Starting Smart"
The Ezine for the Online Marketing Newbie

November 7, 2003
Karl Augustine - Publisher

Subscribe Link:
http://startingsmart.9mistakes-online.com

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*Greetings...I hope all is well with you...
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Hello,

Welcome new subscribers, thanks for being here! Without you, none of this would be worth a hoot.

Lots of things going on in my Internet world, having fun as always. Actually, I am busier than I have ever been in my online career. It just doesn't stop. (Don't ever wonder why you don't get responses right away from people you might contact in this business...it is a whirlwind!)

My new book is out, which has absolutely nothing to do with online marketing. This is great for me because I am applying everything I have learned from my online marketing education to make this book sell.

The book is truly in a small niche, so the traffic to conversion rate is high and that is always good. You can see the "not-quite-finished" sales page at

Deciding on Divorce

In fact, I am about to launch a detailed pay-per-click campaign (several of them actually) and will track every ad, every click, etc. I am excited about this because I know it will only increase my sales. But, it will take lots of split-testing and tweaking...it isn't easy but it is fun stuff nonetheless!

I am digging through the eBook "Google Cash" and will let you know if it is worth the money. Everyone I have asked says it is great which makes me skeptical...I'll let you know if it is worth its weight after I put its principles to use...I'll document results too, so you'll have a case study in a month or so.

Niche marketing is a great thing, it alleviates the guess work. Find your niche...check out the URL below.

http://www.nichemarketresearch.com

On another note...

I am going to Jay Jennings' free Brainstorming Weekend this weekend, gonna powow and see what happens with some fellow Internet marketers. I hope we end up getting some good ideas out of it...it will be great to finally put a name with a face of all the people I have been emailing and talking to on the phone. The event is 10 minutes from my house, so I gotta go!

I will let you know how it turns out.

Switching gears...

Instead of the usual "Write About This", let's 'code it'!

This is code to link to a different portion of a document, a link within a document...like on a FAQ's page. Compliments of my friend Priya!

Dear Karl,

Happy to oblige.

Insert this code where you want the link in the TOC to appear

<a href="#anchor">Link Text</a>

Insert this code just before the section you want it to jump to

<a name="anchor"></a>


Change the name "anchor" for each if the links in the TOC.


You can see how I've done it here:
http://www.1whey2health.com/cancer_glutathione_immunocal.htm


Warm regards,

Priya Shah
EbizWhiz Publishing
http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com

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Highlight of the last 2 weeks: When my wife Heather came home from her business trip...yeah, I missed her...hopeless romantic aren't I?!

Low point of the last 2 weeks: A friend of mine is having medical troubles...tough to take, but we're hopeful.

And last and most importantly...

Thanks for being a subscriber to "Starting Smart!"... if you have any questions, suggestions, ideas, JV opportunities you'd like to discuss, etc., email me directly.

MAILTO:karl@9mistakes-online.com

Thanks for being here and enjoy the rest of the issue!

Karl Augustine

"The Regular Guy"

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In this edition...
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*Viral Marketing
*Products every Internet marketer should have
*Featured Article: "How To Produce The PERFECT Viral Ebook"
*In the news...
*Get Interactive With the Publisher...
* Subscriber Spotlight- New Feature!
*Welcome New Subscribers! Help us grow...
*F*reebie(s) of this issue in the "Starting Smart Community Chest!"
*Copyright and Publisher Info
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*Viral marketing

LOOK: All Publishers and List Owners

Since this Viral eBooks are the subject of this issue, seems fitting to piggyback eh?!

Remember to increase traffic to your site and promote your affiliate links by using 1 of the 2 versions of the min brand-able version of "9 Deadly Mistakes...". One version is for people who have been members of certain affiliate programs for a while and are in programs that have been so successful, that they aren't allowing new applications.

The other version is a trimmed down version that anyone can profit from.

The pdf branding software is fantastic and extremely easy to use, branding the book only takes 1-2 minutes. Send an email now to MAILTO:brand9@9mistakes-online.com to get the 2 brand-able versions and begin increasing traffic to your site and promoting links. In my reply email, you'll receive full instructions and the link to use to brand either book.

Give the pdf branded Mini version of "9 Deadly Mistakes..." away to your list.

MAILTO:brand9@9mistakes-online.com

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***Special Deal from Paul Myers - This is a report you should read, FULL of content...it comes from one of my absolute favorite Internet marketers, one of the best and coolest, by far.

No cost report about consistency in your marketing and the user experience...click below to download.

Viral Study

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*Products every Internet marketer should have...
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*Push Button Leads: It still hasn't lost it's luster! I am still getting tons of subscribers from this service--truly, one of the best list building services around. Get paid to build your list.

Push Button Leads

**Here's another fantastic List Building Service - no cost!

List Inferno - A+!

*Attention "newbies" or new e-zine publishers: My 2nd book is out and I am using PBP auto responder feature! Push Button Publishing has everything you need to start an online business today...I could never describe the total value in this service in this small area, just do yourself a favor and take a look right now...

PushButtonPublishing

*Sean Burns' Rankings Revealed: I still love Sean's newsletter--very informative! And his book is even better...

Sean is a traffic master and makes money just from his rankings on pages that display his product reviews! He has thousands of pages that link to his site and he makes a steady income simply by using his SE ranking skills. This book is a must for those of you who are wanting high rankings and want to learn from someone who does it daily...one of Sean's pages is ranked #1 for the term "Corey Rudl"! Get Rankings Revealed

If you look for the keywords "deciding on divorce" on Google, you'll see my listing as #2

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*Featured Article:
"How To Produce The PERFECT Viral Ebook"

How To Produce The PERFECT Viral Ebook
by Harvey Segal (c) 2003
http://www.supertips.com

Viral marketing is probably the number one method for generating traffic and sales - IF it is set up properly.

Take the case of a viral ebook - which means a book that can be passed from one person to another bringing benefits (profits) for each party in turn.

How is this achieved ?

The basic concept is that the book contains links to affiliate products. When a reader of the book makes a purchase from a link then the affiliate receives the commission.

The creator of such a book will allow some of the links to be 'rebranded' which means a person (who we will refer to as the rebrander) can replace them with his own affiliate codes thus collecting commission. This is the obvious incentive for him to pass the book around and begin the viral progression.

If we want to maximize the benefits for everyone and create the perfect viral ebook we need to have THREE key factors in place.

1) Wide Distribution

There are many permutations in the ways that you can offer an ebook. It can be free or paid, and for either option you can charge for rebranding or offer it free; plus you can have part customization or full customization. On top of that, for a paid book you can offer resale rights and even the right to grant resale rights.

Let's keep it simple.

What we want is the widest possible distribution so that we get the most commission from the affiliate links.

So we will have a FREE book and FREE rebranding rights.

2) Quality Affiliate Links

It goes without saying that your book should contain good content on a topic of interest.

But will readers click on those affiliate links ?

The answer is 'NO' if you copy the poor example of many authors, for instance:

- have you ever opened an ebook and been faced with a barrage of affiliate links ?

- or seen affiliate products which have nothing to do with the theme of the book ? For example in a book about hypnotism you get a link to a web hosting company.

So what is the best way ?

The secret is to have highly relevant links and weave them naturally into the content in a low key style without appearing to push for a sale. So when you discuss a particular topic and want to show where more detail can be found, or how a particular problem can be solved, that's where you can mention the affiliate product as a source of further information. If you want to see really good examples of how to do this read the free book at the end of this article.

See - that last sentence was an ACTUAL working example of how to weave in a link.

3) Maximum Return For Both Parties

You need to get the rebranding balance right.

If you give away an ebook and allow all the affiliate links to be rebranded that is a great deal for the rebrander - but what do you get out of it ? No affiliate commission, just subscribers maybe for your mailing list if you have a sign-up form in the book.

Conversely if you hand out only a few affiliate links for rebranding then that provides little incentive for the rebrander to distribute the book.

Ideally what you want is the maximum motivation for your rebrander which would be

* to allow free rebranding
* to allow ALL the links to be rebranded

but in a way that you can still benefit.

Can that be possible ?

Fortunately it is, using any of 3 different methods

* if the links in the book are for your own products

* If the links are for products for which you have resale rights

* If the links are for 2-tier affiliate programs so that you collect the 2nd tier commission when a rebrander, who has signed up under you, makes a sale

And so, if you use these techniques you can begin a viral marketing campaign which will continue to generate traffic and sales with little on-going effort on your part.

EXCEPT for two issues we need to resolve

1) What happens if everyone rebrands the book and only makes purchases from their own copy ?

Well, I have found that in practise only a minority (say 10%) will take the time to rebrand a book which means that the majority (90%) will be reading your book and purchasing from YOUR links.

So there's no problem here.

2) Suppose you plan to produce a viral book. It's about a popular topic - so it's bound to have a wide circulation - but you can't find any of the three types of suitable links to put in the book, i.e. links to a product of your own, to products with resale rights or for 2-tier affiliate programs.

Is there a solution ?

There is and you can find out the answer in my book "101 SuperTips" - it's actually tip 100.

As you might expect this book is free, with valuable information linking to highly relevant products, and you can rebrand it, again for free.

By all the rules above it's a candidate, I hope you agree, for 'the perfect viral ebook' and a profitable source of revenue for you.

Harvey is the author of several viral ebooks including 101 SuperTips, a collection of unique Internet Marketing tips, which you can collect at http://www.supertips.com/101/

As a further example of viral marketing you can reproduce this article and change the URL to point to your own rebranded
version.

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In the news...

Google to go public?

Google to go public?

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Another Google related article...

http://www.sitepronews.com/archives/2003/nov/5.html

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Note to other online publishers, webmasters:

Feel free to use my previous articles on your website or in your publications. You are required to place the 'resource box' below after the article.**

**NOTE: If you are an affiliate of mine, you may use your affiliate link as well in the dialogue box instead of the http://www.9mistakes-online.com. To become an affiliate visit my affiliate page.

Simply review previous e-zine issues and send email to article1@9mistakes-online.com thru article8@9mistakes-online.com.

e-zine archive

(c) Karl Augustine
http://www.9mistakes-online.com
http://startingsmart.9mistakes-online.com
"9 Deadly Mistakes To Avoid When Starting An Online Business". How much time and money have you wasted? For more time saving and money making tips, get your full copy here => http://www.9mistakes-online.com

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*Write About This!

If you have something you would like me to write about, send me an email and I'll choose the most common theme of the requests and write an article that will be published in upcoming editions of "Starting Smart"!

I will use your name and question in the addition unless you tell me otherwise. If you'd like to remain anonymous, I can do that too.

I place the write up in the intro at the beginning of the issue!

Send an email with your topic choice to: mailto:write-about-this@9mistakes-online.com

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*Subscriber Spotlight- New feature...

If your an e-zine owner and a subscriber to "Starting Smart" and want me to feature your e-zine here, please send me an email (mailto:karl@9mistakes-online.com) with "I'd like to be in the spotlight" in the SUBJECT line and include a link to an issue of your e-zine. I cannot get to everyone, I do apologize.

I'll feature 2 e-zines per issue that will be non-competitive in nature to each other.

I also require that you include in your email to me, one of your online blunders and how much it cost you in time and/or money!

Thanks!

I am only spotlighting only 1 e-zine this issue because this e-zine is just too cool! Wonder Wyant has been publishing "Geeks, Freaks, and Bamboozles" for almost 2 years now and big names like Frank Garon, Joe Robson, and jl scott, ph.d. (Director of iCop), subscribe to this e-zine, which covers a plethora of subjects from someone who used to live "in the carnival!" (Oh yeah, I subscribe too, wouldn't miss an issue!)

Wonder's e-zine, "Geeks, Freaks and Bamboozles!" is an e-zine about what you find on the Net. Mere words can't do it justice...you'll have to see it to believe it!

Take a peek, step right in... http://welcometothefair.com/

Of all the e-zines you get, I know you'll read this one, who could resist?

Subscribe today!

http://welcometothefair.com/

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*Welcome New Subscribers!

For those of you just joining, welcome!

Your time is valuable and I'll do my level best to make this "read" time well spent. I am just a regular guy, just like many of you out there...I stuck with it, and now am having a blast doing what I love to do. Keep a positive attitude and you can do just about anything....seems like old news, but it works and we all can use a little reminding now and then.

Please forward this e-zine in its entirety to any friends or colleagues who you think may find it useful. Or, refer someone by using the button at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for helping us grow!

Here's the link to subscribe:
"Starting Smart" newsletter (http://www.9mistakes-online.com/startingsmartnewsletter.htm)

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*Freebie(s) of this issue

This issue's freebie(s) can be found in the "Starting Smart Community Chest"

Click the link below and use this info to gain access:

*Username is "communitychest" without the quotation marks (" ")
*The password to the Community Chest is in the email I sent to you announcing the online version of the newsletter and in the text version itself.

*The link to access the "Starting Smart Community Chest":

http://www.9mistakes-online.com/members

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*Copyright and Publisher Info
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"Starting Smart" is copyright 2003 by Karl Augustine.
No part of this publication may be reproduced
without consent from the publisher.

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