Ambassador of Possibility

One of the biggest challenges a self-published author faces is generating awareness and demand for their books.  This struggle is not unlike the struggle that many businesses are facing today.  Chicken Soup for the Soul was born from humble beginnings.  Jack Canfield and I had big dreams for our collection of inspirational and uplifting stories, but unfortunately, we didn’t have a very big budget.  It took two years for the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book to reach the best-seller list.   Jack and I had to be very creative, innovative, and effective in how we marketed.  Our families were depending on us, and we couldn’t afford to fail.

During those two years we experimented with many different forms of marketing and advertising.  These are the top 3 techniques that we used to attract the demand necessary to transform our humble book into a dominating million-dollar business empire:

1.     We spoke-up:  Jack and I were both (and still are) professional speakers and always used Chicken Soup for the Soul stories during our talks to warm up the crowd and reinforce our lessons.  After our talks were over, we would always hear the crowd buzzing about how great the stories were.  Even if you aren’t a professional speaker, you can utilize this subtle, yet powerful approach!  Today, many people use social networking to spread the word, but I still believe that there is nothing more persuasive than an honest referral from a friend.  Be sure to always keep a copy of your book with you.  If someone finds advice the advice you have given, or a story you have told helpful, you can give them a signed copy of your book.  If they enjoy it, they will be sure to tell a friend.

2.     We made key contacts: During those two years Jack and I travelled A LOT.  At the time, I did a lot of coaching for BIG sales departments at BIG companies.  We inevitably met the who’s who within the company.  These key contacts helped us to get more speaking engagements and to gain traction with a more powerful demographic.  When you begin to acquire high-powered fans (or clients) you will gain more credibility, which makes you instantly more in-demand.  If you’re in business, make friends with your top competitors, you never know when you’ll be able to offer something they can’t or vice-versa.   You can also use these relationships to create symbiotic marketing campaigns. (Think: Restaurants offering discounts with a movie stub.)

3.     We never compromised our quality:  Every page in Chicken Soup for the Soul went through a screening process, even the cartoons.  We knew that if we wanted to be in the big leagues, we had to have a big-league quality product.  We had to do more than talk Chicken Soup, we had to be Chicken Soup.  We were consistent and authentic in how we represented our brand and our message in every aspect of our marketing, our lives and ourselves.  Do you use the advice you give in your book?  Does your book (or business) have the quality of your most successful competitors?

The truth is that only a handful of  books reach the best-sellers list, and only a handful of businesses will reach a Forbes list.  This fact doesn’t reduce the importance of every book that is published or any small business.  Hard work, dedication, and passion can take you very far in this world. Don’t give up because you don’t see success immediately.  Remember, it took us two years to reach our goal of best-sellerdom, but today, because of hard work and persistence, we hold the world record for having the most books on a bestsellers list at one time.  Don’t be discouraged if you don’t reach your goal immediately, if you are seeing growth and progress, you will get what you want, just keep working and innovating!  

-Mark

For as many people as there are in a room, there will be as many definitions of the word “success.”  The reason there is such ambiguity surrounding this term can be traced to the fact that what a person considers “successful” is subjective.  Everyone has different values, and as a result we all have different measures of success (and failure). 

To become successful, you must first decide what success means to you.  Success essentially means the achievement of a desirable outcome from a given objective.  It is impossible to become successful if you do not know what you want.  I always teach my audiences to write down at least 101 goals. Writing your greatest goal is the first step in accomplishing it and attaining success!

Because success is subjective, is it important to set your own standards of success and not compare yourself to others.  People find success in many ways. For some it manifests as the ability to peacefully meditate atop a mountaintop.  For others it is a steady job.  If you want to be successful, you must define what success means to you first.

Success comes in stages.  My definition of success has evolved over the years as I reach goals that I set for myself.  Every time I accomplish a goal, I am forced to re-evaluate what the next level of success will look like for me.  You should have a long term plan and goal, but recognize that there is success in every level of the journey. 

Success shows up in different forms.  For a new sales person it may be getting 3 sales today instead of two.  For a lawyer it may be winning a case.  Whatever you are doing, choose to be a success at it.  You have control over how you handle your current situation; identify how you can reach your greatest success in that area! 

I recommend that you write down your top 3 current standards of success and post them in a place where you will see them regularly.  Success is a measurement of self, so why would you use someone else’s measuring cup?  Recognize and set your own standards for success and then you will see how you really measure up!

-Mark