Initially, I was going to do this Marketing School review like my others. Usually I pull out of favourite  quotes, talk about how it helped me and then rave about why I love the product author so much. I was half way through this review and was getting annoyed because I wanted to do the assignments as I was writing it.

So - this is a combination review. I will be raving about Naomi Dunford as usual, but I will also be reviewing my own Ittybiz.

Part 1: Marketing Concepts

I really liked how she talked about the concepts before the strategies. I've often gotten the two confused and this prevented me from getting anywhere with my marketing strategy. Her informal way of explaining things really helped understand things in the broader marketing sense.

Definition of Marketing

 Naomi kindly defined marketing in typical Ittybiz style:

The stuff you do that makes people buy your stuff.

Now, based on my experience, the first step is helping people find your stuff. The second is finding out why people buyer your stuff. She explained this in the next chaper.

 People buy stuff because they want it.

People don’t buy stuff because they don’t trust it.

Figuring Out the Goal of Your Marketing

The goal of your marketing is conversions and there are three ones you should be considering.

• Short term conversions are what you want them to do right now.
• Medium term conversions are what you want them to do later.
• Long term conversions are what you want them to do in the future.

Assignment: List five conversion goals for each time frame

Short

• Get people to download one of my free ebooks
• Get them to sign up to a mailing list
• Get them to connect with me on a social media site
• Get them to sign up for free e-course
• Get them to sign up for my RSS feed

Medium

• Get them to hire me for my lower priced consulting package
• Get them to buy one of my entry level products
• Get them to join a membership site
• Get them to participate in a teleconference
• Get them to sign up for someone elses expensive program through my link

Long

• Get them to sign up for my offline seminar
• Get them to order a consulting package
• Get them to order an offline product
• Get them to order a print book
• Get them to join a year long course

My thoughts:

This assignment was really useful. I knew what my all my goals were and had them listed, but had no organization beyond this. Now I can change how I structure my information, and improve the usability of my site according to certain conversion goals.

Figuring Out What Rocks and What Sucks

Good marketing is about finding what’s good for your customers and your business. That’s it. 

She suggested that the best way to do this, was to do a SWOT Analysis of your business. This section was quite comprehensive and really helped me understand this in a small business setting.

Strengths:

• I have connections to a number of high profile friends
• I am familiar with many of the infoproducts, and creators, in this niche
• I have an established social media presence
• I know the right people to help me 

Weaknesses:

• I am recovering from anxiety which limits the amount of time I can devote to projects
• I have a pretty severe family situation that is consuming most of my free time
• I only have the bare bones of a website/email list up due to time constraints
• I'm poor. This limits the amount of money to invest in business
• I have no practical business experience. This may impact on how businesses perceive me

Opportunities:

• Many of my friends would be willing to promote me and my work should I ask
• I meet a lot of small business people at networking events who seem genuinely impressed with my knowledge
• Their is no-one that is offering the service I'm looking at specializing in.
• I know there is a defininite need locally for my social media services

Threats:

•  There are a lot of people in a similar situation as me without the time constraints.
• There are a lot of people establishing themselves as social media consultants local
• Now that I'm getting a profile, some of my actions are being copied

Unique Selling Proposition

Your USP is the answer to the question, “Why should I buy from you?” The problem most people have when planning their marketing strategy is that they answer the first part of that question – “why should I buy?” – without addressing the second part – “from you?”

Assignment: Create 20 potential USP you could use in your specific business

1. I focus on promoting other people more than myself
2. I target smaller businesses
3. I provide pdf reports that you can keep and refer to later
4. I have to take some time off from my business for travelling
5. I am very involved in charities
6. I have anxiety - which leads to my thought processes being really creative at times
7. I got my job through twitter
8. I provide solutions that you can DIY
9. I write really long posts
10. I get my blog posts professionally edited by someone else
11. I would be one of the only people offering one of my services
12. I provide free DIY solutions on my site, but its not customized to individuals circumstances
13. I used to be more, so I understand how to make an impression on a really tight budget
14. I'll be able to explain business concepts in simple terms, as I built it up myself
15. I have a tourism blog so could target that industry
16. I could specifically target Australian small business
17. I could be one of the few people advertising offline
18. I would be one of the few bloggers offering an online media room
19. If I cant do something, I know the person who can.
20. I deliver my reports within a week of ordering

Identifying Your Target Market

Your target demographic is your version of perfection. These are the people who are begging for your product or service. They have money to spend and they want to spend it on you. Maybe they don’t know it yet, but you do, and that’s all that counts.

Naomi gave three parts of this assignment. The first was describing your perfect customer. I did this elsewhere, as I didn't want to clutter up this analysis. T. he second was providing 12 values. Again, I'd rather not clutter. The final was decided on ideal locations to find your audience.

Target locations:

• Geelong
• Melbourne
• Sydney
• Twitter
• Problogger community

Branding

Things to consider as part of your branding:

• The logo of your site
• Your workflow (specifically, the order process
• The language you use
• How you act on your social media presence

So - I want to brand myself as someone who makes social media, simple. This means I want my branding to be very simple and very usable.

So - I need to figure out how to brand my following online hangouts:

• Twitter
• Facebook Fan Page
• Flickr
• My blog
• My email newsletters
• The emails I send out
• Youtube
• Linked in
• Online chat platforms
• Forums

I also have to brand the follow offline sources:

• Business cards
• Stationary
• My phone message

These are the aspects that need to be consistent across multiple sources:

• The logo
• The tagline
• The colours
• The minimalist, simple concepts

So - I have identified the following tasks to do:

• Buy a nice font and create a graphic for relevant sidebar headings. Rather than go with a cool, grungy font get something simple.
• Redo my Logo. Do it in lowercase black text, and have a simple image. Find this image on graphicriver.net
• Create a simple tagline
• Have very short, but sharp, sales pages.
• Create systems to simplify the order process. This means I will create paypal instant payment options or allow payments  to be processed via e-junkie. That means I can automatically give them an opportunity to put people on advance discount lists as well as send out the relevant questions/kits. I'll give them instructions on where to send it and will email them throughout the process with an ETA of one week.

Part 2: Marketing Strategies

Advertising

I didn't understand the difference between marketing strategies. I got advertising confused with PR and word of mouth. Naomi pointed the three

• You pay for advertising. If someone just says nice things about you on their blog, they’re just saying nice things about you on their blog.
• Advertising involves a concrete, tangible ad. Whether it’s paper or radio script or a jpg of a banner ad, advertising involves a THING, as opposed to a concept. (This is often called a creative in print and web media.) Nonconcrete stuff falls under the purview of public relations or word of mouth.
• There are as many different kinds of advertising as there are media, plus about 3000 more.

In this chapter, she covered three kinds of advertising:

• PayPer Click
• Banner adds
• Print

It wouldn't be fair on Naomi to talk about the other important informati on covered in this chapter. If you are spending more than $50 on advertising, then this chapter alone could save you a bucketload of money. Its that good. I learnt so much and can't wait to start testing.

Emails, E-Newsletters, Newsletter

In this section, she shared 2 pages of tips on how to create a really awesome campaign. I can't do an in depth  lest I reveal everything in Marketing School, but there was one concept that really stood out for me.

Make it very clear what people get.

 Most people don't bother to do this. They'll tell you to sign up for your list and they'll even provide a killer incentive, but they don't give an actual reason for you to do so. This is so obvious and makes segmentation so much easier. Some ideas of what to give:

• Offer them discounts on future products.
• Offer regular tips, which may include the occasional promotional offer

I put up an email list the day I read this. It is very simple and has a simple call to action - sign up to hear when I release a free product. So far, I have two subcribers. Not bad when I'm not doing any active marketing efforts.

PR

Naomi talked about how, with PR, any press release you issue should be newsworthy

Newsworthy means “worthy of news”. It means that whatever you’re trying to convince the press to cover is interesting or important enough that people should. be reading about it with their morning latte. So the first test to put your PR piece to be through is the have-I-read-about-anything-like-this-in-the-press test. If nothing like this is in the press, it’s not worth going in the press.

 Now, this is the bit where I disagreed slightly. I'm a huge fan of David Meerman Scott and found this quote about online media rooms:

So I want you to do something that many traditional PR people think is nuts. I want you to design your online media room for your buyers. By building a media room that targets buyers, you will not only enhance those pages as a powerful marketing tool, you will also make a better media site for journalists.

Its up to you where you stand. I believe it is worth providing a mixture of newsworthy items as well as information that purely interest your buyers.

I plan to outsource the writing of press releases to my friends. I will be going with one person because she promotes a lot of the releases she writes via social media channels.

Sponsorship

Naomi gave three cautions regarding sponsorship:

• Be very, very careful about who or what you sponsor.
• Be very, very careful about why you’re sponsoring.
• Be very, very careful about what you get.

This is very practical information. I have other motivations for sponsorship though:

• Brand alignment. You may want to be seen at the same level as other brands
• For PR purposes.

I would recommend you read this chapter very careful and also look up other information regarding this.

Word of Mouth

In an ittybiz sized business, word of mouth is the easiest, cheapest, most effective, and most efficient way to get new customers and clients, hands down. It is the winner.

She gives simple tips on how you can encourage word of mouth. Here are some ideas I came up with based on this chapter

• Publicly thank people. This is something I do often. I will credit someone for inspiring me with an idea and frequently link out to others. 
• Do something worth talking about. For me, this could be promoting my best articles on twitter and linking specific friends to them.

Social Media

Naomi didn't share any secret goal to help you make your riches via social media. She did say this:

Well, there’s no hard and fast rule, and there’s no guarantee of success and you have to work at it for a really, really long time. But if you do it right, you don’t have to invest any money.

I've had some considerable success on social media sites. My main suggestion is to provide as much help to others as possible. This encourages word of mouth and, because most people are very social media savvy, they know how to share the story with as many people as possible.

She did share one tip, however, that will make me reconsider my use of twitter:

Watch out for too much private interchange

This is a problem I have, but I never really considered it before. I don't like adding people to chat messengers as I only use those for select friends. I check email infrequently and that would interrupt the flow of conversation.

It made me realize that I have to come up with a solution for my excessive private interchange. I try to DM where possible, but sometimes the other person isn't following me. I would really appreciate any suggestions on this.

Blogging

She spoke about how blogging is overated for most business and that it can be a big time suck. She did explain the benefits. I like blogging more for the community rather than business aspect.

The biggest mistake I see ittybiz owners make with their blogs is putting all of their energy into the free samples, and none into bactually making and selling cool stuff.

I agree with this as free samples will be a major part of my strategy. But I have two other motives:

• develop social proof. I want to be able to report that my products were downloaded x amount of times when I release paid products
• I will be including affiliate links in each one, so will still be earning an income.

Part 3: 100 Ways to get people to buy your shit instead of someone elses shit

Naomi gave 100 tips that expanded on some of the stuff she previously spoke about. I'll be sharing four of the tips that really resonated with me.

Be a fun person at a networking event. Talk to people like a real human being.

Usually when I meet people at networking events, I don't talk about my business unless prompted. I'll tell them that I'm a freelance blogger and that I work at Think Tank Media, but I rarely dive in and talk about what I do. I've sometimes told people that I'm just here to meet cool people. This alienates the schmoozer, but has led to me making a lot of friends.

This has accidentally led to me getting promoted a fair bit via word of mouth. This suits me, as it means I can let others do the promoting in the right context.

Promote other people

This is something I always do. Most of my guest posts are raving about someone else. On twitter, I'm usually referring people to someone else. This has helped me get a reputation of someone that is able to help. It also has the benefit of having people promote me in return. It creates a very community atmosphere and again, can lead to more word of mouth promotion.

Brand everything you own

Well, not everything. Close, though. Make sure that your Twitter page, facebook, LinkedIn, and any other online tools you use are consistent with your online brand.

I've brainstormed branding ideas earlier in this post but I really underestimated the amount of places that I'd need to be branding myself. 

Bring business cards everywhere.

I've yet to even get business cards, but this is something I'd definitely agree with. I meet a lot of people when bushwalking and travelling via public transport and this is a great way to get additional leads with no effort.

My Verdict

Marketing School is seriously under priced for the amount of value you get out of it. I've read dozens of marketing books and Marketing School helped me so much more. It has the potential to save small business thousands of dollars, and earn them considerably more.

Click here to buy it today

Fair warning - my reviews are kinda different. I pull out the bits I LOVED from each module, analyze them, then talk about why they are so cool.

This doesn't suit all people - and nor will Naomi's products. But don't ignore Online Business School based on your perception of my review. If you'd rather a traditional type, check out the one by Ali Hale. She loved it as much as I did.

What is Online Business School

Online Business School is a course by marketing expert, Naomi Dunford. It consists of  modules that are designed to give you a broad overview of the main methods of creating a real business online.

The modules are:

• Affilliate Marketing
• Ebooks and downloads
• Coaching and Consulting
• Physical Products
• Niche Sites
• Service Business.

 Each module consists of two seperate points of information. Naomi provides an audio talking about the main concepts. This is accompanied by a transcript for people like me. The videos were by her husband Jamie and elaborated on the main ideas. Some of my friends found this too basic but they were very high quality.

I only listened to the audios or rather, read the transcripts. I don't watch videos and found that the audios more than sufficed. However, I do like having the option to watch the videos at a later date.

 Affiliate Module

For all practical purposes, affiliate marketing is an online version of commission sales. I find something cool, I tell you about it. If you buy it, I get a cut of the price. This can be an extremely lucrative way to make money on the internet if you know how to do it right.

I love Naomis explanation of this. When I try to explain to people how I'm making so much money via affiliate marketing, they look at me as if I'm doing something wrong. It took me a long time to get over the guilt of getting a commission from reccomending products to others. I've since learnt that its not unethical at all.

This is my favourite module - hence this portion of the review is very indepth. The other modules have just as much information, but they didn't resonate with my at this stage of my business.

Naomi made the comparision between one store that sells on a commission, and one that doesn't. She said that it was best to find a method that fit between the two extremes - don't be pushy just to get a cut, but don't be indifferent either.

I've found a place between them and its comfortable. Most of my money is made via email - people will come to me asking my honest opinion for their situation and I'll give it. I've made a couple of thousand this way and I know I'm helping people in the process.

Know if you’re writing a review or a recommendation. A review is where you’re giving an in-depth analysis of the pros. and the cons. A recommendation is “I bought this and you should, too.

This was the concept that really confused me when I first started reviewing products. I checked out a lot of 'product reviews' on other leading blogs, but it didn't seem like a review at all. You could tell the blogger - even the really trustworthy ones - were basing their recommendations on how well they knew the person, rather than the content itself. There is nothing wrong with that method but it means that you are relying on how much your readership trusts you. This may not work as well if you are a beginner blogger.

Based on my experience, a recommendation often converts better. However this is because those that provide a simple recommendation are usually busy bloggers with a decent audience.

I prefer to do comprehensive reviews. I find people seek out my blog when they are really confused about a decision. I also get a lot of traffic, and sales, when the product creator is having some kind of promotion.

Knowing the difference between a review and a recommendation is vital. Its also important that you study the methods that are working well for people who are successful at both types of promotion.

Email converts 5-6 times better than a blog.

I am not the best person to ask about this. I don't have an email list and I don't include affiliate links in emails unless they are requested. People will ask my advice and I will tell them that a certain product will be able to help them more than I could. Alternately, I will go out of my way to let someone know when I think a new product release would help them improve their business.

Rarely, I get replies asking me for an affiliate link. I don't mind - but its really teaching me the power of email.

If your product is very, very cheap – say, less than $20 – you’ll attract the kind of people who buy info products that cost less than $20, and this is a very demanding group of people. If you’re thinking of making your product roughly ten bucks you might as well making it free and potentially going viral.

I've put up with some of the demanding people when I've done reviews on other sites. Its frustrating and just not worth it. I am doing some entry level products and am going to give them away for free rather than deal with the demands. I'll be pricing the majority of my products above $50 because I find the business audience is more appreciative.

Ebooks and downloads

If you see your product showing up on torrent sites, be flattered that somebody thought it was so good that lots of people would want it and move on. It’s not really worth the administrative hassle.

Here is a little secret - the filesharing industry has moved far beyond torrents. People now upload the content to sites like rapidshare and megaupload and share the content via private communities. Whenever you try and delete the content, it just spreads wider. People will upload it to more sources. People will realize that its popular and spread it across more sites.

It takes more time to report the link than it would take for someone to reupload it. Just let it me. There are a bunch of reasons why people download illegally. They may become your true fans down the track when their circumstances change.

I wouldn’t try to make my entire business model based on ebooks. At the same time, an entire business model based on ebooks, audio downloads, teleseminars and video tutorials probably has a pretty good chance of success. But you can make a decent amount of money at this, as long as you pay attention and treat it like a business.

I now work with a number of high profile product creators. People do read ebooks, but they like consuming the information in the method that suits them both. Just look at this - I didn't watch the videos and I just read the transcripts. The transcripts are about 10 pages long - so thats 60  pages of information. But, by making it so darn convenient, Naomi improved the value and the price she can charge.

I have several friends that are making big money. They do this by having a business model based off a variety of information products delivered using different methods.

Coaching and consulting

While there isn’t too big of a difference, generally speaking, coaching is something that is done for customers – as in, real people – and consulting is something done for businesses.

I wasn't aware of this distinction - it will help me when it comes to marketing my services. I appreciated learning this and is it will help me phrase my sales page better.

Remember, coaching is a business and any business that is based on selling your time for an hourly rate is a recipe for burnout. I would NEVER recommend someone becomes a coach and just a coach. It’s simply not sustainable.

I agree with this. I'm feeling burnt out simply by focusing of services. I much prefer charging by task.

In my own business, I try to set my prices at a point where I can comfortably discount services under certain circumstances.

I know this works for her. Many people I know will wait until one of her cool sales to book her for marketing advice. She is totally worth her current rate, but holding a promotion makes her more accessible to those with financial constraints.

Service business

A service business is one in which people pay you for your time. Sometimes there’s a product that comes out at the end, sometimes there isn’t, but essentially you’re hiring yourself and your skills out.

This was an important distinction for me to make. I thought that services basically revolved around consulting via different methods. Knowing this helped me to change my service range and target the prospective buyers in a more effective manner.

Answer questions on LinkedIn, Yahoo Answers and so on. You’d be surprised by how often this can get you on someone’s radar, even if they’re not currently interested in your service.

Two useful methods for me have been providing help on twitter and by commenting on peoples facebook pages. I liken it to leaving a lot of little breadcrumbs - those who like the taste will hunt you down to get the bread.

Get involved in offline networking.

Offline networking has been the most effective method for me. I get a lot of leads, a lot of people talking about me and a lot of feedback on what I'm doing. Many of the great opportunities I've had have directly come from offline networking. Its underestimated but it also has the side benefit of leading to great friendships.

Physical Products

This section had little relevance to me. I have no intention of selling physical products and if I did, I would most likely market them via offline methods. However, I did pick up a number of tips in this module that I could apply to my online business.

Add a personal note that says thank you.

This works awesomely offline. I know because it always turns me into a real evangliest of their product. Paul included a short note when I bought a pair of Injinji socks. I already raved about these (they DO stop blisters) but I now feel emotionally connected to the brand.

This worked similar when I got a review copy of Brand New Day. The assistant sent a nice little note. It was on branded stationary and told me to let her know if she could help. This took no effort from the author but it made me

Here are a few ways you can apply this online:

• Send a personal thank you card in the mail. This may require some hunting to get their address, but is something that
• Send a personal message after point of sale
• Find a way to thank them via their favourite social media platform. This may take more effort, but its also seen by a lot more people.

Take as many form of payments as you can.

This also applies to selling your products and services.

I love paypal. Many times, I will refuse to purchase something because it doesn't have a paypal option. I get paid a lot via paypal and it can be a hassle transferring it back to my bank, only to just transfer it out again.

Make it easy

I buy most things online. There have been many times though when I've been in the shopping cart and gave up because there was too many steps. I don't like creating an account. I don't want to do more then 3 or 4 steps. If you make it difficult, I will take my money to a physical store where the transaction is easier.

Niche sites

I don't dabble in niche sites. There was a lot of useful information, but it just wasn't relevant to my current business goals. This is the module I can see being the most useful to those new to creating an online business.

Most of us - including myself - start out in niche starts. This is where we learn the basics. We figure what we like, what resonates with us and  figure out what direction we want to go in. It is an important part of our learning transition.

Naomi suggested four types of content for niche sites:

• Affiliate marketing
• Contextual advertising, most commonly Google AdSense
• Paid advertising
• Info products and physical products

If you want further information about niche sites, I recommend checking out Cloud Living. This resource is far more comprehensive. However, Online Business School provides a solid overview, as well as really useful information, to compliment what you'll be learning in other modules.

Who is this for?

This is for anyone who is interested in earning an income online. I was worried that I was too advanced, but I was gladly mistaken. I learnt so much.

If the idea of spending $400 on a product scares you, this product is not for you. You may not be in the right mindset to implement many of the things she recommends. I was like this and it is perfectly fine. She has other entry level products as well as a lot of free information. She also does consulting which may provide you with information targeted towards your situation.

Is it worth the price?

I understand that $397 is a lot of money to pay. I've been so broke that I could barely afford to feed myself, so I understand the fear.

I've spent a lot of money online. This could have saved me a lot more then $400 because of the mistakes I've made. Naomi will give you the rights tips on how to market on a budget. She is really cool like that. Her advice wont lead you astray, nor will it involve spending a lot more money.

The skills you learn will earn considerably more than $400. The material is top notch. It is hard to find information this comprehensive within this price range. Trust me - I've bought and reviewed a lot of products.

Don't hesitate - this product will help you create a thriving online business. 

If you want to make more money, check out Online Business School.

This is the book that pretty much launched my career. I've yet to release a product but I've made thousands of dollars thanks to the information. This book is that good that I had a review of it on Problogger within a week of purchasing. It is, by far, the best resource on successfully writing and launching an ebook.

In this review, I'll be discussing some of my favourite quotes about each of the five modules. If you already know you want to buy, go here to launch the **** out of your ebook.

Module 1: Analyzing the market for your ebook

"I don’t want to search and click and read and try to filter what’s good as opposed to what’s total crap. I want someone who has done this stuff before to organize it and lay it out so I can just get to the good stuff and run with it. I want convenience."

It took me a long time to change my mindset regarding this. I'm now at the stage where I'll just buy something from a select group of product creators.

I prefer to target this market. Its very hard to convince broke bloggers to part with their money, especially when they don't see the ROI potential. I like targeting those who are already willing to spend money on quality products as I just have to figure out how to best target them.

There isn't much I can really talk about regarding this unit without giving all the content away. I didn't get that much out of it but I'm in the (incorrect) mindset of just releasing a product and seeing what happens. I'm here to learn, not profit.

Module 2: Finding and wooing ebook buyers

Finding specific, individual buyers should happen far in advance of your product going on sale.

The main strategy they recommended was creating a blog and this is something I totally agree with. My blog has led to so many opportunities - some of which have been high profile and/or paid. I would recommend consulting with someone regarding setting up your blog if you are unfamiliar with certain concepts as this will decrease the amount of time needed to learn the unspoken rules.

My favourite section was about driving new, targeted readers to your existing blog. My two favourite tips were:

• Guest posting - but also do it on topics one step away from your niche
• Comment prior to making a pitch - this way both the author and the audience will see you as someone with authority

I also enjoy using twitter to make a connection prior to asking for help. I use private methods of communication to show my knowledge to certain people. I thought this unit was also practical for those seeking traffic for their other online projects.

Module 3: Setting up your mailing list

Ok - I'm not going to analyse this. Dave's advice is dependent on you taking all the steps listed in this chapter and I would have trouble writing about it without giving the whole lot away. I will say this.

I found the idea of email marketing daunting before I discovered this ebook. Now, I know exactly how I can use it to launch a product, even if I don't use email marketing for anything else. I've been told that Dave will go going into email marketing more in future products but this is a really solid, actionable primer.

Module 4: Writing your ebook

Keep your outline nearby at all times to write notes on.

I now do outlines of all my work - guest posts, interviews and my own blog posts. I keep it open beside me. I've gotten so many ideas from this and it has allowed me to brainstrom further ideas. This can give me ideas for future posts or products as well as promotional material.

Write more casually

Write like you’re talking, and just let it all come out. Just start a conversation with your readers. Your words will flow more naturally and you’ll be a lot happier with your progress. Your readers will, too.

This was one of my main problems with my early blog posts. It also appears when I try to write ebooks. I call it 'stick-up-the-arse' syndrome where the message is lost due to the excessive formality.

This is something you will naturally have to work on. You'll get there with lots of practice. You have to avoid the other end of the extreme where you are so casual that you alienate readers.

Module 5: Launching it

Getting attention from the blogging superstars

Work your way up through their friends.

If you feel like it’s just too difficult to get a particular person to give you the time of day, find out who their online friends are and focus some attention on building them up. As you do this, you leave the door open to the possibility that person will give you a warm, fuzzy introduction to the reviewer you’re really after.

This may sound sleazy but its totally not. I recognized that to a degree, Dave was doing this with me but I was fine with it because

• I'd endorse anything he developed because its crazy awesome quality for a reasonable price
• He put a lot of effort into the relationship and we've since become good friends.

It didn't really take much effort on his behalf. He would give me review copies of his products. Occasionally DM me words of support on twitter or provide advice on situations. Now I'll do anything for him, which includes connecting him with prominent bloggers and other rising stars. Its a win win situation and helps both of our profiles.

Interview them.

This is another tip that has gotten a lot of attention for me - it has also worked to build my profile in the meantime. It means I now have a small, loyal group of friends ready to promote for me should I ask.

I will be writing about interview tips in future blog posts. If you want any tips in the meantime, feel free to contact me via twitter or the contact form.

Getting people to take the time to review your book.

Recognize their heavy schedule.

Something most people dont know on the internet right now is that I'm really busy. Its nothing we can control - offline, there is a lot of family stuff to deal with and if its not consuming my free time, its consuming my thinking space. As such - my online stuff has suffered. I haven't been able to meet commitments. I'm well behind on product reviews.

One of the people that is on the top of my list is Barbara Ling. She has sent gentle reminders, words of support and well wishes. She has made sure I stayed in her mind and by no means has she pressured me. I'll be willing to work with her in the future due to the respect she has earned in the past month.

Go after the up‐and‐comers.

Getting a review from a blogger with 10,000 subscribers may be tough – but the ones with 500‐1000 may be easier (and may actually have a more responsive audience). Consider targeting a number of up‐and‐comers who are kind of a big deal, but not too big to give you some TLC.

Many people are recognizing me as an up-and-comer. They know that I have a lot of sway in several niches. The benefit of targeting people like me is that I'm able to devote more time into reviewing products and supporting people because I don't have the huge time constraints. I'll give a lot of TLC to those who take the initiative. I also continue to support Dave as my blog expands.

Have a considerable discount during pre launch sales

I accidentally stumbled across this product. Someone tweeted an article on The Launch Coach and I was that impressed, I checked out his sales page. I had no intention of buying it at $97 but I clicked on the buy button to see if he offered an affiliate program.

It was there that I saw the price was $47. I later found out that this was due to a promotion he was running with Naomi from Ittybiz, but I didn't know who either person was at the time. I assumed it was a mistake and wanted to make a decision as soon as possible.

The day that I bought it I was staying at my mums. I'd phoned up the night before, severely depressed, and was staying for a break. I'd just earned a decent affiliate commision. I couldn't sleep as I was tormenting myself over the decision to buy. I woke up at, bought it, and haven't looked back since. I've earned Dave thousands of dollars and its all because of one prelaunch sale.

So - who is this for?

If you intend to release an ebook, free or paid, you should check out this ebook. Its THAT good. It will give you the skills needed to spread the ideas a lot further than you could do by yourself.

I particularly recommend this to businesses looking at creating promotional ebooks. This is something that many people have spoken to me about and they really appreciated the resources shared in this book.

Advanced bloggers may not get as much out of it but Navarro has a product line that allows you to make a lot of money regardless of your status.