“No enterprise worthy of accomplishment would ever begin, if all obstacles were first to be overcome” – Napoleon Hill.
This article narrates a true story about how the foregoing words of wisdom helped me get my books published – and sold – in print as well as digitally, even when I had NO MONEY!
It All Began in Late 2002, My Start-up Year
I’d been delivering my 1 hour flagship talk in different organisations and their branches. And it was very well received everywhere I went. I got back lots of filled feed back forms with rave testimonials.
One day it occurred to me that I needed to find a way to use the web to promote my speaking service and message to more people.
I did not however have the funds I could commit, to paying for web design and hosting (at this time I’d not learnt web design).
Yet I Knew the Web Could Enable Me Get Word Out About My Talks at LOW to Zero Cost
So I began searching online in a café. A few later I discovered “scheduled auto responders” – and www.getresponse.com stood out with a FREE version packed with great features for beginners.
That was when the idea struck me: I could offer a weekly auto responder course without a website!
And it was perfect for my talk which was titled “Ten Ways You Can Use Self-Development to Create the Future You Want”.
Since it had 10 parts, I could make each part go out on a particular week. In effect, I ended up conceiving a 10 week auto responder email course!
Excited, I Quickly Sat Down and Wrote Out The Text of the Talk
I’d up till then delivered it using ONLY a 5 page (2 parts to a page) outline.
So, to write it out, I basically thought back to my outings and recalled the key points I discussed and wrote them down. Within 2 weeks I had written over 100 pages, comprising an introduction, all 10 chapters (or parts) and a conclusion/summary.
Next, I created a FREE account on www.getresponse.com (not sure if they still offer it today though) and setup the course using the content I’d written up.
Each “part” was to be delivered to a subscriber’s inbox weekly. After the 10th week, each person would get a final message thanking him/her. There was a short “blurb” announcing that I was available to speak etc. My phone number, email etc were appended.
I Had Something to Say, & Was Determined to Be Heard!
Looking back I believe I was able to succeed like I did because I focussed on using my experiences.
I drew inspiration by reflecting on the successes I’d achieved both in formal schooling (where I almost got a first class degree despite heavy extracurricular activities), and in paid employment (where rapid career success came via multiple self-taught skills I had).
I wanted my listeners/readers to know they could do what I’d done.
And I also intended to prove my ideas worked, by applying them in my new career as an entrepreneur (my successes since then confirm they do!)
Not surprisingly, my message resonated greatly with the audiences.
But I did not expect it would catch on as quickly as it when I put it online…
Within a week, over 20 people had signed up for the 10 week auto-responder e-course!
And I noticed about 40% of them were non-Nigerian, from the UK and one from the US. All of those “foreigners” indicated they were “referred by a friend”.
As you can imagine, by this time I’d tasted blood.
I began testing offers of different kinds, including training courses, talks, e-book writing services etc.
Guess what?
Some subscribers to the e-course wrote back asking if I could help them create digital versions of books they wanted to write, or already had on paper.
One such person travelled all the way down from Makurdi, Benue State, in the north of Nigeria, to meet with me in Lagos.
He brought with him a beautiful book manuscript which he wanted made into an e-book.
We’ve been friends on Facebook for years now.
But it all clicked for me when three different subscribers, at different times, after reading the latest “part” delivered to them, wrote to me asking:
“Is it possible to get the complete book, instead of having to wait a full week to read the next part?”
I was stunned.
Not once had the thought of writing a book occurred to me!
Then as I read those requests, it occurred to me that I’d ALREADY written THE complete book!
Parts 1 to 10 made up the different chapters.
All I needed was introduction/forewords and possibly a “summary” to end with.
So, once again, I settled down and did just that.
Like I always did when speaking, I made sure I wrote from my heart.
When it came to getting my “book” in print however, I soon discovered traditional publishing could cost an arm and a leg!
As usual, my stubborn attitude made me think there had to be another way.
Persistent searching eventually led me to discover Zero Cost Print On Demand publishing.
To cut the long story short, that book has been selling as a 113 page physical manual that I call the “Self-Development Bible” online since 2005.
And I’ve since added other books, in digital form – including my popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook – which just 2 days ago, recorded yet another sale from my online store.
Final Words: My Advice to You
Stop waiting for a perfect moment, or for everything to fall in place, or for your manuscript or idea to be perfect.
Start with what you have, where you are.
You’ll be surprised that whatever you need to dot your I’s and cross your T’s will spontaneously appear as, and when, you need it.
The key is to GET STARTED first!
PS: In 2004 I taught myself to build websites using Macromedia Dreamweaver, Flash and Photoshop (with the aid of some international professional web design magazines – and CDROM tutorials that came with them).
Apart from building websites for clients, I’ve since built and maintained this multi-disciplinary website – www.spontaneousdevelopment.com – which I launched in June 2005.
Today, I focus my efforts on using Content Management Systems like Joomla! and WordPress, to build and maintain websites, while employing intelligent Web Marketing Systems to create and propagate their content for business promotion.
All of that continues to boost my search engine visibility – leading to more sales of my books and other products (like my Ration Formulator Software)!