OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
Thank you, thank you, thank you all for your participation in my survey for Author 2.0!
I decided to give 3 places away because of the great information these people provided. It was very hard because many people gave me much valuable information. For everyone else, I will be contacting you with your free Author 2.0 Blueprint coming soon!
Congratulations to Lisa Selow, Shannon Johnson and J.Munoz who have all won a free place on the Author 2.0 program, which is launching 1 June 2009.
Here is a wrap-up of the results (based on 141 responses):
People are very interested in learning about:
- Making money as an author online 87.1%
- Ebooks 75%
- Blogging 70.8%
- Ways of writing online 69.9%
- Out of the list that I gave over 92% of you were very interested or somewhat interested in learning about all of them! This is fantastic as the list I gave are the modules contained within the Author 2.0 course.
If you were interested in buying the Author 2.0 course, which contains PDF documents, audio and video, would you like it all delivered online through a secure logon? Or would you prefer to be able to buy it as a physical product with DVDs, CDs and print documents?
- 65.9% said online delivery was their preference. Fantastic, as currently Author 2.0 will only be available as a an online product with downloadable resources (in order to have a global reach). I will consider making it into a physical CD/DVD course later on if there is demand but will have to work out production and postage etc costs.
Some people commented about the need for a backup of the information if they move computers etc. I can answer that by saying you will have a password to a secret site and you can use the materials online/listen and watch video online or download to your computer. So you don't need a backup – you can just log on and get the material again.
Would you be interested in making money by promoting the course to other writers and authors for a 50% commission? (this is called affiliate marketing)
- 84.4 % are interested in affiliate marketing, but over 2/3 of those people will need help doing it.
This is great feedback and I am going to include an Affiliate Marketing Handbook for the Author 2.0 product that includes all sorts of ways you can market the course so you can make more money.
Do you think US$297 is a fair price for the Author 2.0 program? It contains 12 modules with substantial written course material, audios per module from industry experts and how-to videos on each topic.
- 66% considered $297 a fair price for the product. This is good news, especially as many products sell for thousands of dollars and this program has a 50% affiliate commission!
Several people mentioned pricing packages so I will look at that i.g. paying over 3 months.
Others mentioned purchasing by module (at $25USD) which I will definitely look at ; for example, Author Entrepreneur sounds like the most popular module (making money online).
I will be providing for free an Author 2.0 Blueprint which will demonstrate the materials, as well as segments of the audio interviews with experts, plus an inventory of what is included.
There will also be a money-back guarantee – if you don't think the course is valuable to you, I will refund 100%. I am passionate about providing value!
A couple of people mentioned that they could get all this online for free. Well, perhaps that's true but you would have to spend a whole lot more time finding it and working it out for yourself! This course is the result of over a year's investigation and research by me, and also features 12 experts in their fields who will share their knowledge within each module.
Here are some comments from the survey that I will use to improve the course and also use to create new blog posts.
My aim is to help you!
- Which is the most effective online tool to reach agents & publishers to interest them in your book?
- I don't know what tools are available to me to help with my writing, so the most burning question for me is just what is out there for me to use?
- I believe web 2.0 will help open doors that have been previously closed (or just hard to find the door knob). So, my most burning question is really a request: Tell me how.
- How to send Press Releases out for your book and the most inexpensive places to do it?
- How to set up a viable “tree” to direct potential customers and soft sell books, etc….
- How do I track the impact of my promotions?
- How to write and deliver my books to people in a secure manner that protects my ip (intellectual property).
- Writing seems to be a self promotion is there any way it doesn't have to be such a salesman world for the suthors trying to get into the craft.
- How can I promote my book without having to sacrifice my entire life doing it?
- How to keep your independence and yet benefice from the general publishing world. In other words, I am looking for a way to overcome the drawbacks of self-publishing online, and yet keep my independence
- How can I, sitting and working in New Zealand, market my novels, especially since they only exist on my hard drive at the moment?
- How to create a campaign to become an Amazon bestseller
- How do I find the yahoo groups and other locations where *readers* are, rather than other writers.
- What do I do if I am not tech savvy but want to take advantage of WEB2.0 tools to publish, sell and promote my book?
- What's the best way to get interactive feedback and participation from your readers or listeners.
- How to kick the viral effect in so readers get readers
- Quick down and dirty site production-non geeky software
- How do I to promote myself and stand out amongst a sea of other writers? Or better yet, how do I develop promotion techniques like Scott Sigler or J.C. Hutchins?
- What is the most effective way to use online tools to help me get my manuscript seen by publishers?
- How to monetize my social networking time/effort?
- How do you balance writing books with managing all the online tools, without wasting tons of time?
- How to sell your POD book once published
- As a First Timer it would be the How to do, or How to get started as I feel their is not alot of good solid information out their for people just starting out writing like myself.
- How can I e-mpower my work to catch like wildfire, become an international phenomenon, and make heaps of money?
- wish someone could do it all for me!!!!!!!
- Can we pursue these Author 2.0 options when we also have a traditional print publisher, and aim to appear in offline media, events, etc? I want to be progressive, but not antagonistic toward media and publishing professionals I intend to build and maintain relationships with.
- How to sell!
- My book's written and self published. It's selling slowly. How do I kick start sales?
- I think that my may concern is how safe my work/writing is when being placed in the hands of unknown and unseen individuals.
- Where to start, I get very overwhelmed.
- I need to know the gritty how-tos it takes to use the software and technologies necessary.
THANKS AGAIN !
Steve - Make Money Online says
Congratulations to those who won. Writing on the internet nowadays is all about blogging and building content rich websites with ebooks harder to sell these days as visitors expect these free in exchange for their email address!