Publisher Vs Author?

For the longest time there was only one route for authors to get published, it wasn't an easy route as there have been many stories of manuscripts not being read and being returned was something that I have heard throughout my life. As Bob Dylan said "the times they are a changin".

Today it is possible to "publish" fairly easily, without having to submit work to a publisher, you can, do it yourself. Well from an ego point that is good. Ah but then how should you publish and how should you distribute?

The avenues are now growing, purely electronically? Should you do it in print? Do it yourself? Use an agency to help you self-publish? Do you write it all yourself or outsource some of the work? Use Amazon? The list is now becoming endless.

You should explore the options, the choice is yours. Do you want your book on the shelves or available on an electronic one?

The once god-like shine of the publisher as we have known it now has lost much of its radiance. There are some successful e-book authors who would denounce the once traditional methods. They would say that the publisher doesn't really support them, or care, the commission structure is low and they may go on to say they are outdated.

There are of course more lucrative and quicker options available and that is a golden carrot to a lot of authors. There are some very prolific authors that I personally know of, who can produce an e-book every other week; there are a few who can produce even quicker than that.

However there is still a romantic ideal of being published by one of the "big boys" and now those "big boys" have woken (or are waking) up to the notion that the author is actually their biggest asset. The experience that can be given to a new author is invaluable, to someone who is already established less so.

Would there come a time when a traditional publisher makes an approach to a successful e-book author? That is hard to imagine, but one thing that is changing is the usual stance of sitting in an office waiting for unknown authors to send in their work is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

While all of this is great for debate there is one point that is paramount, book sales. You may have written your "magnum opus" but if no-one knows you have done it, well that's not good? There are many books and e-books that haven't sold a copy; this is the most important part of the process, surely?

Traditional publishers have a system of marketing a book, how much effort they put into a new author is debatable, for self-publishers, well they are on their own. They will need to get up to date about networking and using the most effective social media to try and achieve sales. It is not enough to swing wildly at creating an account with Facebook or Twitter and simply hoping for the best, the efforts need to be continuous and sustained.

Alongside this I am sure many of you will have seen many random WSO's and had strange emails from individuals telling you that they will (for a fee of course) guide you to Olympian size sales of your book if you follow their "well proven methods". I think if they were as good as their claims then they wouldn't need to 'cold email' you.

How best to engage the potential readership?

From a marketing aspect you have to have an idea of who your reader is likely to be, where they are located and how many times they need to see/know about your book before they buy?

Would an active discussion in a forum be better than having a website? There are a lot of marketers that swear by list building, could an agreement be reached with a successful author in asking him to mail his list with a recommendation about your book/e-book prove more successful, they will naturally want to be rewarded, maybe via a fee or an affiliate arrangement?

Traditional authors need to rethink how they 'serve' their authors, taking a look at the business through the eyes of a new author and how they might bring the expectation level expected to the fore, self-publishers need to find ways of marketing and generating sales, they can't just "Amazon" their e-book sit back and wait for the rewards to roll in. Could creating a collective be the answer perhaps?

Book sales are not always instant, sometimes various books can at certain times do great sales when "something" is triggered, like a book could be mentioned in a movie or program and thereby sparks sales.

A book may not sell much today, but books don't really go out of date, so gathering knowledge and crafting strategies could prove fruitful in the long run.

Only time will tell.

EBWB

Publisher Vs Author?   

Cross Selling Final Expense Leads

The cost of direct mail final expense leads will run anywhere from $300 to $600 per 1,000 pieces mailed. At this price it wouldn't take very long for an agent to go broke it he or she doesn't make sales. For years agents have mailed these leads to the low income individuals in hopes of receiving a high number of leads to be returned. The truth is, that the individuals who receive these mailers get the same mailer in some fashion on a weekly basis. Therefore the response rate for these types of leads is a measly 1% on average.

What about Medicare Supplements?

Many of these same individuals who receive these final expense lead cards also qualify for a medicare supplement. If you have an individual who is 65 or older, ask a question "who do you have your health insurance with"? Many individuals will tell you and also be interested to find out if they can get coverage for a lower price. Whether the prospect has a medicare supplement or a Medicare Advantage plan, it doesn't matter. Give them a quote. Many times you will be able to pull an extra sale out of the house to increase your profit margin.

What about a hospital indemnity plan?

Many seniors who have medicar advantage plans have no idea as to how they are going to pay the deductibles on these plans if they have a hospital stay. Show them a hospital indemnity plan that will pay these deductibles for them.

What about Dental Insurance?

This is a subject that doesn't come up very often but many seniors are interested in some sort of dental coverage.

What about Cancer insurance?

When cancer strikes, people need money! Even though Medicare and most medicare supplements will pick up the bulk of the medical bills, there are still expenses that aren't thought of such as travel and food expenses. Selling just one cancer plan per week can substantially increase your bottom line.

A Service?

Let me ask a question? Does the product that you cross sell have to be and insurance product or can it be a service? What if you could sell a free service that would result in referrals. I'm not talking about just a referral here and there, but rather a service that would get your clients to open up their address books and refer you to all of there friends and family members. Is it possible that such a service could exist. I do it every day of the week, and my lead cost are virtually nothing and your could be too! Find the right kind of service and use it to get referrals like never before. I offer a FREE REPORT on my website and you can optain your own copy by visiting and requesting it. Check out the Author's section for this information.

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Where Can I Get Direct Mail Final Expense Leads

Direct mail final expense leads will deliver a simple message directly related to funeral cost and/or the shortfalls of the current government death benefit of $255. These burial insurance leads can also focus on the fact that seniors who have life insurance coverage will be able to pass on tax-free income to their loved ones in the event of their death. The current cost of a funeral is much more than the $255 government benefit, so you will find that many seniors will respond inquiring about extra insurance to cover the difference in cost.

In most cases, you will send out 1000 mailers a week and receive between 15-20 leads back. This will make it so you can get out on the field and sell funeral insurance to these interested seniors. However, if you don't know how to sell final expense, you will definitely struggle to make sales so it's strongly advised that you get some sales training.

For those who don't already know this business, it's simple:

You will need your leads for final expense insurance, your GPS, your sales presentation, your insurance companies, a few applications, your rate sheets and your keys to your car. Most agents will try to do between 5-7 appointments a day, 3 days a week, starting at 10:30am and ending at 7pm. This is 3 full days of appointments, starting on Tuesday and ending on Thursday. If you are really aggressive, you will take either Monday, Friday or Saturday and visit the prospects that wouldn't answer the phone or who did not show up for your earlier appointment with them.

If you send out mailers regularly, they will build up and give you enough prospects to call each week, generating about 20 final expense appointments each week. However, this greatly depends on your ability to pre-set final expense insurance appointments over the phone. Most of us fail miserably at this, leaving us with a handful of leads and no one to see. If this is the case, you should consider hiring a company or an employ to do the appointments for you.

If your budget does not allow this, then you will need to just go knock on their door, show them the mailer and let them know you are there because they sent the card in. In most cases, they will remember or be reminded by seeing their own signature. At this point, you can ask to come in for a minute or make an appointment for the next day or so.

Once in the home, you just follow deliver your sales presentation and you will be on your way to a six figure income.

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Planning For Your Personal Effects

When we think of "assets" to consider during estate planning, we often think of cars and homes and our best diamonds.

But sometimes, the things that have the most value aren't really worth anything at all. In fact, it's a loved ones personal effects that often cause family disputes and how you plan for these effects can make all the difference in the world.

First and foremost, make a list of your various items owned by you. This will make the distribution process easier and help ensure that you don't overlook something by mistake.

Once you've got that list, give some careful consideration to the obvious heirlooms. They may not be antique per se, but leaving something as irreplaceable as your grandmother's quilt should be given some serious thought.

After you've got a rough idea of how you'd like to distribute your personal effects, talk to your loved ones. Ask them if there's a specific item that they'd really like to have. This can be an uncomfortable conversation at first because frankly, no one wants to talk about your death.

But if you explain how important it is to you, your family will typically come around. Invite some discussion because you'd be surprised at who wants what. In addition, it gives you the opportunity to see (in advance) if there's going to be some conflict over a particular belonging.

This is your chance to work things out with your family members - waiting until your Will is probated will be too late. Acting now gives you the ability to talk to your loved ones about your decisions and help them accept the idea of sharing your belongings with each other after you're gone.

This also helps avoid the free-for-all that often happens after a family member has died. All the surviving loved ones are looking for something to hold onto and the result is often a heated frenzy as family members scramble to find something of yours they can claim as their own.

It's not a pretty picture, but it's driven by grief and loss. Give them the comfort of knowing you've already set certain items aside and it can alleviate some of the urgency to claim a piece of your past.

Once you've decided how items will be distributed, mark your list accordingly and give it to your estate planning attorney to include in your Will or Trust. Be sure to update your list on a regular basis and should some of your heirs pass away, you'll want to redistribute that property accordingly.

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Three Cheers for Cheerleading

Cheerleading has been growing in popularity ever since undergraduate Johnny Campbell stood up at a football game and yelled "Rah, Rah, Rah..." one day in 1898. It has gained a lot of recognition and respect since its humble beginnings.

Cheerleading has many fascinating qualities. Being a cheerleader shows leadership abilities and positive attitudes. It is a great way to build self confidence. Cheerleaders work together as a team with no particular person standing out. The whole team works together to create the impression they give others.

Cheerleaders uses their cheers and chants combined with routines to reach out and grab the crowd's attention. They can take a boring game with little excitement and make it interesting and fun. They can add to the enthusiasm of a great game. Everyone expects cheerleaders to be on the sidelines of their favorite sport.

The use of gymnastics plays an important role in cheerleading. Combine this with song and dance and you have everyone's attention. At times cheerleading has been considered a dangerous activity, even though when compared to sports like football and basketball; far fewer injuries have been recorded. With all the safety guidelines that are in place today cheerleading has been able to overcome these worries.

Every cheerleading squad has a signature cheer that is specifically for their team. This is a tradition that will probably last as long as cheerleading itself will be with us. Most of the time it includes the name of the school or organization that the team is affiliated with.

All-star or competitive cheerleading can consist of a small or large group of men and women performing their best stunts and routines. They only have a few minutes to perform but what they can accomplish in that time can be quite amazing. Cheerleading is an exciting and fascinating profession.

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Indemnity Long Term Care Insurance, Is It For You?

What is indemnity long term care insurance? While LTC becomes a popular insurance option, it is still quite undeniable that a large percentage of Americans still don't have enough information about it. New buyers even existing policy holders experience confusion in understanding the existing various types of policies. Answer sites and health or insurance forums are also bombarded with questions on this, that is why we will try to answer that here and we will determine if it is right for you.

Defining Indemnity LTC

An indemnity policy is a type of insurance plan wherein the insured is paid the full daily benefit amount contingent. The advantage here lies in the fact that the insured can reclaim the benefits covered by his policy. If compared to other types of LTC plans, it is quite the same as the others in a way that it also requires qualifications or eligibility to receive benefits. But an additional pro is that this LTC plan allows the policy holder to have control of the money for his maximum allowable daily benefit amount. One can choose to use it on incurred expenses or save it up and there's no need to file a claim or submit receipts.

More Great Things About Indemnity LTC

While this is more expensive than a reimbursement policy, the advantages you can get from it are better than the latter. With it, a fixed daily, weekly, or monthly amount can be received by the insured not considering how much is the cost of your bill. An example would be, if your policy pays $400 a day but your in-home caregiver only costs $300, you can still get the maximum allowable daily benefit amount which is $400.

After comparing indemnity long term care insurance to reimbursement policy, it is time to differentiate indemnity from expense incurred. It is given that both terms point out the means policies handle the total amount of LTCI benefits. As mentioned earlier, indemnity pays a fixed amount while expense incurred will only reimburse a particular amount as discussed and decided during the acquisition of the policy.

Is It Right For You? Most agents and carriers will suggest this type of policy for those receiving care at home provided by family and friends. It is simpler as compared to others as there will be no need to track medical bills and approved caregivers.

However, it is also important to take note of its flaws. First, it is quite more expensive at offset. Second, is that it will not pay for more than the max benefit amount stated in the policy. If your limit is $5,000 and you went over it, you have to pay for the additional costs from out of your pocket.

You can seek the expertise and advice of agents, from your preferred insurance carriers, a financial planner or a lawyer, if an indemnity long term care insurance will work for you and provide your required coverage.

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