Raise your hand if you love to spend money on marketing. Not so much? Well read on and find out how you can promote your business, generate leads and sell with (almost) no budget. Unfortunately, like everything, no-budget marketing requires some preparation, and you do really need to start with a basic marketing toolkit. If you are running an established business that means tools you probably already have in place. Namely: A powerful website that leads your prospects through a complete sales process Software enabling you to make simple updates to your website (you can of course pay someone else to do this, but then it's not 'no-budget marketing'). Business cards (and by the way: is your business card just a passive vehicle for your contact details? Because something as simple as a tagline or a list of services could turn that valuable piece of real estate into an active selling piece). Business stationery as necessary. Other sales pieces such as brochures or mailing packages, if you have already found that those printed materials are vital for you particular business.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaOPY50zuU4
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If you've read Part 1 of this series and have now decided to move on to Part 2, I'm going to
assume that you are now convinced that writing a book is a unique and powerful way to increase
your status in the marketplace, as well as your bottom line.
So now it is time to roll up the shirtsleeves and get to work. Ready?
One saying that I particularly like is this: "hard thinking early in a project is better than hard work
late in a project."
Here's what I mean: Before we take on the physical task of writing the book, we need to engage in
a few mental tasks. Two "mind" activities need to be completed before we can go to the next step.
1. Decide
2. Create a Plan
Task #1 - Decide
Here's what I mean by decide. The first step in writing your own books is to make some choices
about what you will write about and for whom you are writing. If you own a guitar store, for
example, you could write a book about owning a guitar store. Or you could write about collecting
guitars, or the history of guitars, or how to buy a new guitar, or how to repair an old guitar... there
are unlimited possibilities.
And the audience for each topic is different also. One appeals only to other guitar store owners.
One only to collectors, and so on.
Do you see what we are getting at here? Unless you narrow down your specific topic (the "what"),
and the target market (the "for whom") you will end up with an unfocused and wandering book that
will most likely never get completed.
Deciding on the specifics brings clarity and order to your thoughts, and to your project. So take a
moment right now and clearly state the TOPIC for your book, and the TARGET for your book.
"But," I hear some of you saying, "I don't know which topic to choose!" That's exactly the point of
this step. Decide. Go with your gut and pick something. You can always adjust the situation later,
but without a decision you can't move on to the next task.
Task #2 - Create a Plan

2. Okay, so you've decided on your topic and target. Now we begin our planning stage. To do this,
we're going to - to borrow a phrase from Stephen Covey - begin with the end in mind.
I want you to think about your topic and target, and visualize what you imagine the final product to
be. Will it be a 30 page eBook? A 200-page paperback? A 400-page hardcover book sold at
Barnes & Noble?
Will it have color pictures or fancy graphics? Will it come with a companion CD or a workbook? Do
you imagine a back cover filled with quotes from famous industry professionals?
Really go deep on this until a clear image appears - and sticks - in your mind. This is the image
that will keep you going when things get difficult, and will answer your questions when they come
up.
Please take a moment write now to complete this, and get the planned outcome firmly in your
mind. When you have that task complete, you are ready for Part 3 of this series.
What are some things you can do right now to make your writing clearer? Those are exactly the
questions I've spent the last 10 years researching, and you can find out the answers by visiting me
at http://www.FictionSecrets.com. Enter your first name and email address, and you'll receive set
of articles covering this subject.
Kevin Franz is a successful fiction author and online marketer. For more than twenty years he has
made his living putting words to paper, and he has helped thousands create their first written
works. He is currently showing internet marketers how to incorporate the techniques of great
fiction into their online sales efforts. You can find the details on his blog -
http://www.kevinfranz.wordpress.com.
Article Source:
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Get Marketing Graphics Toolkit v4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaOPY50zuU4
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