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POP!
by Sam Horn /
info@samhorn.com
John Carter addresses a seminar
at the Maui Writers Conference
with advice on how to take a
concept and capitalize on the
Internet marketing
possibilities.
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IdeaPreneur
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A consultant offers tips to
turn anyone's expertise into a profitable Web venture
By Katherine Nichols
knichols@starbulletin.com
Personal coach, consultant and author Sam Horn stood in
front of the small but packed room at the Ala Moana
Hotel at the Maui Writers Conference over the holiday
weekend and told the story of a man who became an expert
in stock trading, wrote a financial book called
"Mastering the Trade" and made about $45,000 from his
advance and royalties. He even hired a publicist for
$25,000 to help promote his book.
POP!
by Sam Horn /
info@samhorn.com
Books written by Carter and Sam
Horn, including "Mastering the
Trade," Carter's first.
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But the results left him
dissatisfied. So he started a membership Web site to
share his aptitude with people who were willing to pay
for what he knew about the financial market. Within a
couple of years, he made more than $1 million from
subscriptions alone, and $879,000 in product sales.
That man is John Carter, who
teamed with Horn at the Maui Writers Conference this
year to lead the six sessions of
IDEApreneur, a new seminar track
at the conference geared toward writers and business
people.
"What I like about what (Horn)
is doing is that she's hitting the idea that writing is
wonderful ... but you need money, too, and it's not a
bad thing to think about that," said Anupy Singla, a
business journalist from Chicago who attended graduate
school at the University of Hawaii and is working on an
Indian cuisine cookbook and a pilot for a cooking show.
Furthermore, Horn promotes the
concept that "it's not presumptuous to call yourself an
expert if you're presenting your material in an honest
way," Singla said. "Don't sell yourself short by giving
away your talents for free. It's amazing how much need
there is out there for your knowledge."
Horn and Carter presented
strategies about how to market yourself and your
expertise - whatever it might be - in practical detail:
Find something you know
a lot about "that makes a difference for others
and a prosperous living for you," Horn said. Then hone
that message. What are the three most startling points?
What takes exception to current knowledge? Would people
buy this new wisdom because it's not already in their
bank? Many will pay for value and tangible information
online, because they want it right now. They don't want
to spend time searching for it. She also detailed the
potential value of e-books and special reports sold
online.
Look for a niche.
Carter's book continues to sell about 10,000
copies a year because of his Web site,
www.tradethemarkets.com. Those aren't huge numbers, but
in the genre of online trading, for instance, the book
is No. 1. "In my little pond, my book is out there and
people are reading it," he told the group. But the topic
doesn't have to be so serious: A friend of Carter's
makes more than $600,000 per year running a membership
Web site for Texas Longhorns fans. There's even a
needlepoint site that generates $90,000 to $120,000 per
month in revenues.
Be innovative.
Carter and his wife wrote and videotaped a woman singing
a parody of Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats." The
song, titled "Before He Trades" - hilarious to traders
who understand the inside jokes and lingo - garnered
attention on YouTube and drove traffic to Carter's Web
site.
Construct your Web site
carefully. Carter said it's "completely
useless" to run a site that doesn't capture names. That
means requiring people to sign in before they can access
your material - even when it's free. But it's not about
amassing millions of people. "I don't want the biggest
list," he said. "I want the most focused list. If
they're not willing to provide their e-mail address
(which is not shared with other companies), then good
riddance." He also discussed methods for verifying those
addresses so people don't provide fake ones.
Provide solid content
with integrity. If you charge people to access
your Web site, it shouldn't contain advertising. They're
paying for the information and the freedom from annoying
pop-ups. If you have quality material and a site worth
perusing, it works. Carter's collected $135,000 in
subscription fees for the month of August. "I've done
the math, and I've found that you can live on that," he
joked. "Whatever you think you can make in a year, you
can make in a month."
Forget fancy sound and
movies. People want simple, straightforward
information. Besides, you might want to research how
well search engines detect sites that launch with such
embellishments. Carter reports that the results aren't
good.
Create new ways to
present your material. Rather than speaking in
person at seminars, Carter has started offering
Webinars. He charges $500 per person. For some of these
workshops, up to 600 people have signed up. He incurs no
cost or strenuous travel, and gets to stay home for
dinner with his family.
Include discussion
forums. Previously, Carter spent several hours
each day answering individual e-mails from subscribers.
Now he withholds his e-mail address. Instead, he asks
subscribers to post their questions on the forum. When
he answers, he often takes care of many inquiries
simultaneously, and at times his loyal subscribers beat
him to it, offering a solution before he even gets to
it. This takes about 20 minutes per day.
You can make a good
living with the right material and strategy.
But that's only part of the picture. Making a difference
is essential. As Horn reminded the audience, "You can
change a life in one page."
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