Monday, January 5, 2015

Kindle Launch Plan: $1400 in 30 Days & an Amazon Bestseller -- Nick Loper


RATING

  • 34
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AVERAGE RATING
NUMBER OF RATINGS
34

REVIEWS

  • Kc Tan
    Clear and concise!
    I would like to applaud Nick for his generous sharing on these valuable information! There are not many courses out there that are recorded in such clear manner. In addition, Nick also share some cool hacks on how to make your Kindle book rank high and cause people to buy. These are amazing tips that I would never thought of myself! I highly recommend Nick's course if you are looking for the ONE course to learn how to make a profit from kindle publishing! Thank you, Nick!
  • Jose Guevara
    Excellent Kindle Launch course!
    Step-by-step instructions with practical tips and secret hacks that give you a HUGE advantage over other authors.
  • Lisa Griffiths
    A Great Kindle Course!
    This is a really helpful course. It is very thorough and covered all the topics I expected plus more. Nick is great and answered all the questions I had particularly helpful were those related to my own book. I found it easy to complete the whole course as it was a very enjoyable way to learn. I learnt new things, for example, what information to put into KDP which I didn't have a clue about before. I will use this course as a reference to go back to again and again. And have already been referring back to certain areas where I needed a reminder of what to do next. I highly recommend this course.
  • Ted Begnoche
    Review Of Kindle Launch Plan
    Nick, I just wanted to send a note to say how much I enjoyed your Kindle Launch Plan Course on Udemy.com The course covers everything you need to get started with Kindle publishing, nothing is left out. And the quality of information is superb. Thank you for creating this course. I have proof it works, because my Kindle book is now live!!! Thanks again, Sincerely, Ted Begnoche
  • Mike Coday
    Excellent Book Marketing Ideas
    Although the production quality was very good, and the basics of launching were informative, the real value is in the additional book marketing ideas that Nick shares along the way. If you have a good, quality book that you've written, it would be worth your time and money to invest in this course for the marketing ideas alone. Well done, Nick.
  • Sean K
    Excellent laser-focused Amazon course Delivers the Goods!
    I loved this class which is jam-packed with Marketing techniques , hacks and strategies that will help me tremendously RANK my book HIGHLY in AMAZON and become a Bestseller! Kudos to Nick for over delivering with downloadable special report and worksheets plus plenty of sites to market my book. All ready to apply. Thank you for the thoroughness.
  • Lise Cartwright
    Solid information backed up by experience
    This course was excellent because of the way Nick delivered the information and because he backed up everything he did with his own results. This course is best suited to someone who has not had much success with their own launches on Amazon and is looking for unique ways (that are generally free) to get their book out there. Thanks Nick - I learned a few new tricks!
  • Douglas Clark
    Excellent value and insights
    Learned a lot here. Brought me up to date on Createspace, which I've ignored too long, and overall had practical and creative tips for giving my book -- and yours -- every chance to succeed.
  • Bonnie Foster
    great tips
    directions, ideas, possibilities, and much more was included in this course. instructor was engaging and positive without being over the top. gave realistic advice that can be followed up on.
  • Anita Sølver
    Great course
    Lots of valuable information, and hands-on approach to all of it, with examples of how to do the different things. You can pick the tactics that works for you, and if you want to experiment, try them all out, and you'll be wiser for your next book launch :) The instructor was doing a great job presenting the various ideas, and the overall quality of the course was nice too. Thumbs up.
  • Meredith
    Great Course with lots of good info
    Nick was engaging, with lots of great tips and insights. Thanks
  • Ernest Dempsey
    Terrific Course for Beginners and Veterans Alike
    At the time of taking this course, I'd written and published 12 books. Even for someone like me, there are some great takeaways and things I'd never considered before. I wish I'd had this course when I was just starting out because it would have saved me a ton of headache. If you have never published a book before, this course is definitely a must. Nick Loper gives incredible value throughout.
  • Zach Lonis
    Launch process laid out Barney style
    The videos were incredibly helpful and laid out in a way that was extremely easy to understand and put into action. The best part is, these steps aren't just for launching a Kindle Book. They will work with any type of product you want to sell, especially on Amazon!
  • Sean Sumner
    Excellent course, easy to follow with great tips
    I have tried a few different courses on publishing a book on Kindle. This course has been the best by far. It is easy to follow. Great video and audio quality. I have gotten great tips and plan on referring back to it as I go
  • Cary Richards
    Outstanding information
    Nick Loper really knows his stuff! I would not hesitate to recommend this course to anyone looking to increase their e-book sales rankings and income. The course was easy to follow and Nick was obviously very prepared to deliver the information.
  • Joseph Archibald
    Excellent!
    Nick Loper's course is for anyone who is intent on publishing on Kindle, or for those who have already published but perhaps are struggling to witness the kind of results they'd like to experience, such as myself. Nick presents the course in a very approachable way and he tackles everything from market research to cover design to then publishing your works on the Kindle database (and much more besides). Furthermore, if you do have queries, Nick replies in a very timely manner, which in my 'book' is always a good thing! As such, Mr Loper's course scores an unquestionable 5 star rating from me!
  • Scott Bowes
    A SOLID, STEP-BY-STEP TUTORIAL FOR AMAZON SUCCESS!
    The course created by Nick Loper offers a step-by-step approach for taking your book from original idea to publishing to following up with a marketing plan after you hit the "publish" button. The course features easy-to-follow concepts for new authors just starting out supported by discussions posted by other students and authors.
  • Annie Clayton
    Authentic!
    Nick is great to learn from. This course supports everything I have been learning on other courses and gives loads of tips and information - I totally recommend it.
  • Sue Antinoro
    Love the course, great for newbies as well as the more experienced
    This my first Udemy course and I was pleasantly surprised. I had some knowledge of Kindle publishing but I like Nick's approach and style of teaching. Plus there were are some real gems of knowledge and some a-ha moments that I didn't realize before, that I know will help me with long term goals. I love the format, and think its a great soup to nuts course that I definitely recommend. There's definitely a lot of steps that, if you are a beginner, you should take note of, if you want to publish quality content and be successful in the long term, especially about marketing, which many authors need help with
  • Peter Ralph
    Very beneficial
    After three lectures I didn't think this course was for me. It is slanted to self-help, DIY and Nick talks about books helping readers. I predominantly write fiction, so other than enjoyment (hopefully), readers get nothing from my books. As it turned out the marketing lectures, which can be applied to fiction, more than justified the cost of the course. I found Nick very easy to watch and listen too and his presentation and the quality of the material delivered was first rate. For my purposes there are lectures that I could delete but there are others I'll be watching many times.
  • Ryan Arba
    Enroll in this course if you want a massive launch for your Kindle Book
    This course provides a step-by-step guide on how to utilize the world's largest bookstore to get your message out. I'm eager to finish up my book so I can get started on the launch. I'll be coming back to this course very soon to hit my goal of becoming an Amazon bestseller. Thanks Nick for putting this great course together! PS - Nick runs a great podcast, too. Check it out at sidehustlenation.com
  • Rob Cubbon
    Advice from someone who walks the walk
    I have been publishing on Kindle for over a year with multiple titles and I have learned loads from this course. Nick had a hugely successful launch and subsequent ongoing sales with a Kindle book recently and this course tells you all his secrets. He gives us actionable step we can apply in our Kindle books now. A hugely valuable course. Thank you, Nick!
  • Jasper Ribbers
    Excellent! Very comprehensive and resourceful
    Having published an Amazon best seller myself, I wasn't sure if this course could offer me many new insights, but it definitely did. The content is very detailed and Nick's way of explaining is very clear and intuitive. This course is really a must for anyone who's looking to write a book and publish on Amazon, even those who've already done so in the past.
  • Jaywant Bisma
    Everything an Amazon author needs to know to get published and more
    I've been thru a few Amazon Kindle tutorials and think Nick's is probably the most helpful. It includes everything I needed to know to successfully launch a new book in a concise but thorough manner, a lot of it that I would not be aware of if not for this course.
  • Elly LifeProbabilities
    Practical and useful
    The course is packed with practical actions, which will help newbie self-published authors promote and sell their books. It is a very nice starting point in the journey of becoming an author. I highly recommend!
  • Chandler Bolt
    Advice from someone who's done it
    This course is great. Nick walks step by step through how to execute a successful launch on Kindle. My favorite part of the course is that he's done everything he teaches. He gives case studies from his books and also gives examples from other authors.
  • Steve Scott
    THE Launch Strategy for Authors with No Platforms
    I’ve done pretty well with Kindle publishing for the last two years. So I can honestly say that the biggest challenge for new authors is launching a successful book when you don’t have an established platform. Nick Loper’s course is a great solution to this problem. First off, I know he walks the walk. I witnessed how his recent launch netted him over 20,000 downloads. Even better—months later—this book is still a strong seller. What’s interesting is did all this with a lot of hustle and smart marketing. What I appreciate about this course is how much Nick talks about laying the foundation for a successful book. In my opinion, this the real “secret sauce” for a best-seller. After that, he details how you can create a killer launch, even if you don’t have a large audience. For most students, this will be the most useful section because it teaches you the right way to connect with people to promote your book and readers who want your content. If you don’t have a large platform and need that extra edge to create a powerful launch, then you definitely want to check out this course.
  • Alex Harris
    Create a Best Selling Book on Amazon!
    Thank you for putting this together. Loved all the marketing hacks. I followed this exact formula from Nick and my book was listed #1 in three categories for FREE. Then when I put it for sale, it was immediately at #1 again in the Best Sellers section of Direct Marketing. Now my downloads are sky rocketing and I have over 50 reviews. This course is easy to follow to Write, Launch and Market your new book!
  • Nancy Hendrickson
    Masterful and Authoratative
    Nick Loper is the master of the book launch, and this course proves it. As an author, I only wish I had a course like this before launching my first book - but using the information here I can guarantee my future launches will be far better (and more effective). There's absolutely nothing missing here - for anyone who writes, this is definitely the real deal.
  • Janis Bryden
    A must for anyone planning to launch their book on Amazon
    This course is jam packed with information, ideas and tips on writing, planning and launching your book. Nick has a captivating way of presenting the course and because he shows you exactly what and how to do it, I came away with a wealth of information on how to avoid the pitfalls and how to achieve a professional and successful book launch.
  • Eric Payne
    Great Course For Both Sales Strategy & Technical Details!
    This course is a great outline. I have listened through once, and will go step by step when I write my first Kindle book. I like how Nick walked me through the details of getting a book published (showing his computer screen as he does the work) He also has really good insight on how to make the book get some exposure and get some traction on amazon. Very happy with this course.
  • Alex Genadinik
    Fantastic
    I have been promoting my books for a while now, and I was looking for more strategies, and this course delivers! I am excited to start implementing the strategies suggested in this course.
  • Kunta
    Super Amazing!
    Nick goes in great detail of how to publish on Amazon. I had to pause just to go start my own book! Great information that you will never find anywhere else!
  • Haviv Tarazi
    Great Course
    Very helpfull tips.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Why isn't Singapore as entrepreneurial as Israel?

Over the next few days, I hope to publish a 4-part series on answering the question: Why isn't Singapore as entrepreneurial as Israel?
It is a mystery, especially for a Singaporean like me. Both nations have limited natural resources, rely heavily on its manpower for its growth. Yet, why is it that the Singapore government is struggling to make its citizen create its own jobs?
Back in May 2010, I had the opportunity to embark on a 10-days trip to Israel, to investigate the reasons behind its entrepreneurial economy.
Introduction:
From my internship stint at the Singapore's Ministry of Trade, I learnt about successful Israels Yozma fund, and unsuccessful TIF Ventures in Singapore. Ever since then, I realized that the Singapore government has been mimicking what the Israeli government does. I signed up for Israel BSM to find out the real reasons behind Israels booming entrepreneurship ecosystem and why Singapore is not on par. On the 26th April, as I boarded the plane to Tel Aviv, all geared up to answer two main questions (1) What were the historical differences that led to the todays difference in entrepreneurship culture; (2) Is Singapore on the right track on becoming where Israel is today. As identified by Asaf Barnea, CEO of Kinrot Ventures, apart from funding, there are three main factors that make a start-up technology, market needs and people. In reflection of the historical differences between Israel and Singapore, I will be structuring my thoughts around these four main factors.
Innovation & Education
As we visited the biblical and historical sites, I realized that the Israelis ability to innovate and cater to underserved markets was a result of necessity. Agriculture and water technologies were developed in response to daily survival consumption needs. For example, during the Canaanites inhabitation, an extensive water tunnel was built to access water from the faraway Gihon Spring. In addition, being the geographical land bridge between Africa, Europe and Asia, and the centre of religious conflicts, the nation was constantly attacked. These military threats and pivotal moments such as the French embargo on Israel caused the nation to kick-start its own defence technologies. Singapore on the other hand, had a less pressing need to innovate for self-sustenance. During the starting years, our homeland was fortunate to have a tropical climate for fruits and access to seawater for water and fish. Singapore has also been far less experienced in warfare. Even in times of war, it was the British government who provided majority of the weapons and manpower needed.
There are however, two traits that are similar for both Israel and Singapore. Firstly, both countries placed high importance of education. Due to the Jewish religious purposes, traditionally, boys were made to study religious text in a comprehensive manner from a very young age. This practice is still present in modern times. Even David, our tour guide, has ever brought his son up to the mountains to study the bible together. This attitude towards education has its immense impact on entrepreneurship in modern times. In Technion University, we were introduced to the president of the entrepreneurship club who at only 28 years old has over 10 years of experience in start-ups. His secret was that at 6 years old, he was already reading his fathers computer programming books. Singapore, being an Asia country, had also placed strong emphasis on education in their children. However, unlike the Israelis, during the 1940s to 1960s, prior to entering formal school, parents emphasized on their children hands-on skills to work or help at the family business.
Talent pool
Last but not least, both countries had an influx of foreigners. During the fifth Aliyah movement, many Diasporas returned from Germany and Austria as professionals in the field of medicine, science, finance and arts. This propelled the agriculture and high-tech industry in Israel. Singapores immigrants however, were mostly uneducated, with backgrounds in commerce, textiles and labour-intensive industries. There could have been insufficient individuals with technical know-how to spin off a high-tech industry even if they wanted to.

Friday, January 2, 2015

Before You Start Your White Paper Project, Ask These Questions

Before You Start Your White Paper Project, Ask These Questions 

This post is part 1 of a series on the homework you need to do before you start on a white paper project for your organization. First: What message do we want to convey?

Have you ever painted anything: a door, a bedroom, a house? Did you keep track of your time? Did you notice that you spent most of your time in preparation, and that the process of applying paint actually went pretty quickly?
White papers are not much different. Organizations that have done all the prep work and established a rhythm and process for marketing content can keep white paper projects rolling without much ado.
But companies still getting their feet wet with this type of persuasive, informative content should do the prep work so that the process of writing, reviewing and approving the paper goes smoothly.
This is a series on the questions to pose and the answers to get when starting a white paper project.

1. Do we agree on what we want the white paper to convey?

Not “What will the white paper convey?” but “Do we agree on what we want it to convey?”
In the case of a technical benefits paper, this is usually easy. Our paper needs to:
  • describe our new approach to trapping spam at e-mail gateways.
  • explain the advantages of electro-hydraulic over electro-mechanical motion control.
  • show our technique for evaluating both bond and derivative strategies in a single framework.
Even if three of us are reviewing the drafts, it will be obvious to us whether the paper accomplishes that goal.
With a business benefits paper, however, this is not always so clear, because the writer must align the paper with other landmarks around the company (some of which we haven’t gotten around to putting in place yet):
  • What’s our unique value proposition: that we’re cheap or that we’re effective?
  • Do we have messaging in place that the paper will support? Which shall we emphasize: our benefits to franchisors or to franchisees?
  • Is our sales team trained in the kind of sell that will make the best use of a white paper? Or are we just going to hang it out on the Website and hope people grab it?
Finally, in the case of a white paper designed to convey an organizational transformation or demonstrate thought-leadership (see my scoffing about that elsewhere), all bets are off. Opinions will vary from one end of our C-suite to the other:
  • How much should we tell people? Do we show them warts and all?
  • What do we want the moral of the story to be?
  • Who is the final arbiter of what goes into the paper (i.e., who’s the boss)?
Reaching agreement will take some time and work, but it helps ensure that the paper meets the needs of the greatest number of stakeholders. You don’t usually need to undertake this soul-search every time you want to start a paper, but you should weather it at least once the first time, and canonize your answers for future projects.
What are your thoughts?
Next: Who is the ideal reader for this white paper?

Comment: "One question I like to use with new clients interested in a 'business benefits' white paper is: "Based on what you've shared with me so far, what would you do differently if you could."
That sometimes helps people 'rewind' what they've been through and offer information that might rarely come to mind in a "hiring a writer" kind of conversation.
It's more fun doing this in person over a coffee than by phone or email, in my experience."

Too many companies underestimate the importance of this step in the white paper process—determining the ideal reader. When this step is skipped, the result is a white paper that tries to do too much for too many people and ends up boring most of them. Don’t let that fate befall your white paper project.
Do some homework on your ideal readers and be sure that your paper floats their boat. This kind of homework is akin to developing a buyer persona, which David Meerman Scott describes as
a distinct group of potential customers, an archetypal person whom you want your marketing to reach. Creating [content] based on buyer personas gets you away from an egotistical site based on your products and services (which nobody really cares about, after all). What people do care about are themselves and answers to their problems, which is why buyer personas are so critical for marketing success.
Your white paper needs to be valuable content. For that to happen, you need to think about what’s valuable to your reader. You can’t just publish a few thousand words of text that make you feel good and assume it will be read.

Characteristics of Your Ideal Reader

You can dissect your notion of the ideal reader with a few different knives:
Which hat are they wearing? Your company always has a variety of audiences with a range of priorities you may not be able to accommodate in a single paper:
  • Investors want to see that you have studied, understood and addressed the business problems in your industry.
  • Engineers need to integrate your product, so you need to convince them that it won’t blow up in their face.
  • Prospective buyers want to know what you’re promising them, and how you’ll make good on that promise.
  • Existing customers will buy more from you if you’re demonstrating technical advances.
  • Journalists race against deadlines and appreciate content that fits their publications.
  • Analysts want to know how your products fit in the industry landscape so they can describe it to their own audiences.
Where are they in the sales cycle? A white paper, or similar non-promotional content, is a good tool at any given point in the sales cycle, but it’s hard to write a paper that will work at all points in the sales cycle. Papers that comprehensive tend to buckle under their own weight, so consider different flavors of white paper:
  • Market introduction – I’ve spent jillions of dollars on travel for my sales managers, and now I’m thinking about moving more customer contact to the Web. The right paper will arm me with the vocabulary and concepts I need to figure out whether it’s a sensible move.
  • Business benefits – I’m ready to make a business case to my execs and to my customers, and this paper will arm me with a cogent rationale.
  • Technical benefits – My IT department needs to weigh in on the security and infrastructure around this change, and they have an entire set of their own questions that need answers.
  • Thought leadership – I want to work (and keep working) with smart people, so that I look smart. Tell me what your crystal ball tells you.
Which questions are they asking? This is your stepping stone into the meat of the white paper, because the paper must offer some kind of answer.
  • “You mean that’s possible?” In the early 1990s, I worked for a software company that doubled disk capacity using software. We spent a lot of time answering exactly this question, as people were trying to get another year out of their 30MB hard drives and didn’t want to have to upgrade hardware.
  • “How much will it cost/save me?” The paper that answers this question is probably the most useful sales tool. Help your ideal readers make their own calculations. And don’t fib.
  • “How did you do it?” Once I interviewed a room full of engineers about a project to convert a hydraulic application to an electromechanical one. “If you were reading a paper like this,” I asked, “what would you want to know?” Without missing a beat, the lead engineer replied, “I’d want to know how we did it.” While you have to be careful of what you put into such a paper, it goes a long way toward your technical credibility.
  • “What’s the Next Big Thing?” Speaking of credibility, a good thought-leadership paper answers this question and gives readers insight they can use to impress their boss.

Weld the Ideal Reader to the Paper

Once you have identified your ideal readers, put their job title into the title of your paper. For example:
  • 5 Things Non-Profit Marketing Managers Need to Know about Social Media
  • 3 Ways Wireless Operators Can Use Personalization to Give Customers What They Want on the Mobile Internet
  • How Translation Managers in Retail Keep Up

How do you profile your ideal reader? Next: What do we want readers to do once they’ve read the white paper?

This is part 3 of a series on your internal preparation for a white paper project. Third: What is your paper’s call to action?
A good white paper is like a diving board.
  • You promote and preface it so that your ideal readers see the benefit in getting onto it.
  • You inform AND persuade, so that readers feel that they are drawing their own conclusions as they move down it.
  • You set it up so that those conclusions lead in one specific direction – to your category of product or service.
Once you’ve done all of this, and your readers are at the end of the diving board, what do you need to do next?

Tell Them How to Jump In

The last step in a strong white paper is a strong call to action. Just as it’s obvious what you need to do when you’re standing on the end of a diving board, you need to make it obvious to your readers what their next steps are. Since these can vary widely, the question to answer before you begin the project is:
What do we want readers to do once they’ve read the white paper?
Examples:
  • Click here to register for our webinar on IT service management
  • Forward to a colleague via e-mail
  • Subscribe to our green energy newsletter or blog
  • Tweet/Digg this
  • Use our template to write to your congressman
  • Disagree vehemently with the author and post a comment
  • Agree vehemently with the author and post a comment
  • Rate the white paper with 1-5 stars
  • Do your own research on telemedicine reimbursement at these links

An Integral Part of the White Paper

Don’t just regurgitate your press release boilerplate on the last page of the white paper or give an info@ e-mail address. This is an opportunity to use your valuable content to cultivate a following and generate momentum.
Also, this call to action should be integrated to the white paper and to the rest of your marketing landscape. It should reflect your messaging platform or creative brief, and it should hitch the white paper firmly to the surrounding campaign.
“For more information, contact Sales” need not apply. Tell your readers how and why to follow you, and give them a good reason to do so.
How do you get your readers to dive in?

Next: Is the writer up to it?

This is part 4 of a series on your internal preparation for a white paper project. Fourth: Who is going to write the white paper?
Once you have decided on the message you want your paper to convey, fleshed out your ideal reader, and determined your paper’s call to action, it’s time to find someone to start writing it.
Before you start banging out tweets in a writer cattle-call, stop and think about four factors in selecting your writer:

  1. Who will write the white paper?Internal vs. External – “We write our papers in house because we can’t find external people who know enough about what we do.”I hear this often from technology companies who know that the knowledge they want to publish is locked in the heads of key employees, and the only practical way for them to tell their story is with internal talent.This makes sense in some academic and research circles, and when a company is first getting its marketing act together, but who is more likely to notice (and tell you) that the emperor has no clothes: an insider or an outsider?
  2. Industry expertise vs. writing skill – “Have you ever written white papers on mobile eCommerce widgets before? Can you send me a sample?” The answer will almost surely be “no.”This is a good question if you’re looking for ways to disqualify a writer, but if you really need the paper written, you had better ask a different one: “Can you describe a project in which the subject matter was new to you, and you delivered a paper that made the customer happy?” We all want both industry expertise and writing skill – and sometimes think that our technical writers are ideal for generating marketing content – but if you can’t have both, buy skill and let the writer learn your industry. (See Will Kenny for more on this.)
  3. Content vs. layout – Do you want the writer to deliver the content alone, or the content plus layout?Most of the time, you’ll move white paper outlines and drafts around in a Microsoft Word or Google Docs file because it’s easy for reviewers to edit them. But a paper done in Word usually looks like a paper done in Word, so most companies want the final draft laid out in an application like Quark Xpress or Adobe InDesign. If you want that extra touch, you need to decide whether you or the writer will be responsible for it.
  4. Scribe vs. project manager/owner – “This project could go on for a couple of months, so we need somebody who can work independently and stick with it until the very end.”If that’s your case, you want more than just a scribe. A lot of ancillary work will go into the project, and while you may not see it coming, often your writer will. The most sensitive areas are contact with your customers and follow-up with internal reviewers; your comfort-level with letting somebody else handle these will determine whether you need a scribe or a project manager.

What factors do you apply in deciding who will write your white paper?