August Turak is a successful entrepreneur, corporate executive, and author of Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO's Quest for Meaning and Authenticity.
Alfred Poor, author of 7 Success Secrets That Startups Can Learn from Breaking Bad.
The Internet has changed everything. You don´t really have subscribers, you just want to have as many articles as possible so that when somebody is searching for something the chances are better that you show up.
With the Internet, you pay as little as you possibly can so you can get as much money for your content as possible.
How to become successful at writing, speaking or any other position!
Baby boomers should have a presence online. Social media is the way to do that. Have a LinkedIn profile that describes you and what you are looking for. When filling out your Job Title, aim for what it is you want to do. The same with the bio.
Join groups of the topic you are interested in and participate.
Beyond that, you also want to be on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.
Baby boomers should establish themselves as someone knowledgeable in their field.
There are two very distinct aspects to making a living this way, they are equally important. You need to have both in order to succeed. They are:
You need to have the skills and the ability to command the content. So if it´s writing, you need to be a good writer, if it´s speaking, you need to be persuasive, bring energy into your presentations, etc...
Being able to run a business.
Alfred recommends Speak and Grow Rich written by Dottie Walters and Lillet "Lilly" Walters. It discusses the basic principles of having a speaking business.
If you are just starting out speaking, you want to set your fees at $2,000 to $2,500. Once you start getting 50 or more bookings a year, you can start raising your rates.
For baby boomer speakers that are just starting out, an important thing is for them to recognize when there is other value available to you; practice your speaking. Remember people buy from people they know, like and trust. People don't want to take a risk when they are buying. Have video posts of you speaking.
Techniques: "I am willing to waive my speaking fee in exchange for ..... This can be testimonial letters, video testimonials, audio recordings, sell products at the back of the room, referral, opportunities to audition for your market etc....
Write a book. It gives you credentials.
Writing a book is not going to generate a lot of money in itself. However, combining to sell a book and giving a speech is tremendous.
Write a book that has value. Get your message out.
This is all part of how to run a business.
When doing speaking engagements, consider cost and value. So for example, if some says, "we want you to come speak for free and no you can't sell anything” that is when the business part kicks in. That is when you say, “I don't see value here for me to make it worth my while to come and speak. Thank you for thinking of me. "
To go after the event planners; direct mail, postcard or large padded envelope and make a lumpy mailing, start locally, local targets of opportunities as there is less travel and it more affordable.
Telephone combined with email. Do it in a couple of steps; First call, all you are doing is getting information. Next step is calling and finding out the contact person in charge of hiring the speakers. You can hire a virtual assistant to do this work for you.
Do your homework, research, identify your target population.
Alfred Poor Contact Information:
Websites
www.alfredpoor.com
Career Success Programs: www.alfredpoorspeaker.com
Small Business Marketing: www.tcfsb.com
Twitter, Facebook and Google+
Alfred Poor
Email Address
apoor@verizon.net
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