Multiple Sources of Income through Technology
I love gadgets and technology and it has completely changed the
way that I think and work. It also enables me to choose only the
speaking engagements that I want to do while maintaining my
earnings. It provides me with income while I sleep, an exit
strategy and future pension for my business. Over the last
eighteen months I have invested a great deal of time and money
to discover what it takes to make technology really work and I
would like to share some of these with you.
Digital voice recorder - I bought my first digital recorder when
they first appeared on the market and now use the Olympus DS4000
which is superb. I use it to record my talks which I can then
turn into saleable products. I also interview top personalities
and insert these recordings into my talks and products.
Voice Recognition Software. - A few years ago I spoke one
language and the recognition typed another. With a bit of
training, Dragon 8 has 95% accuracy and saves me time. All my
emails and documents are now dictated and my new book is being
written using it. Thank goodness the one finger typing days are
a thing of the past.
Audio CDs -I now have 13 audio products, mostly triple CD
series. By the end of April I will have another eight, including
two super products that will sell for 500 each. My first audio
product was recorded on a 100 minidisk and resulted in a
35,000 order. With today's technology, all my recordings are
done at home using a Rode NT1000 microphone, Focus Trackmaster
preamp and Adobe Audition software. I can now do all my
recordings and editing when I want to and produce a massive
amount of product. With a small amount of practice, this is not
difficult to do, anyone can master it.
DVDs - I have 3 DVDs. Two were the results of being videoed at
presentations I gave and one was where I hired a crew to film
me. It cost me a small fortune to have these turned into DVDs.
Now using Adobe Premier or Pinnacle Pro (70), I can do this
myself.
Websites - I have a great website, but it is a bit confusing.
I'm trying to sell speaking, training, consultancy and products.
I am setting up one page websites for each of these areas as
well as a website for each product. I am not a 'techie' and
don't know much about HTML, but using 'Header Generator' and '60
second sales letter' software, I can produce these websites that
bring in sales while I sleep.
Sales Copy - One of the most interesting things I have learned
is the importance of having catchy headers and having the right
sales copy. Once again, I use software that through wizards
enables me to get copy that sells.
Lists - Last year I spoke in Hollywood with an Internet
superstar, Joel Christopher. I became friendly with him and
bought his programme on list building. I now have nearly 10,000
subscribers from all over the world and this is what sells
product. You must start to build your lists immediately.
Ezine - I avoided having an electronic newsletter (ezine) for
ages. My first newsletter last year resulted in 10 International
bookings from people that I had never met, but my newsletter was
passed on to them by my other subscribers. With so many
newsletters circulating, content is king and is going to be the
one differentiator between getting your newsletter read or
deleted. I use a company called Constant Contact
(www.constantcontact.com) for my newsletter. It is easily
constructed and provides statistics on clickthroughs and
resultant sales of products on my website. I use another piece
of software called 'Ezineannouncer' to spread my newsletter
globally and bring in a ton of new subscribers. Get your
newsletters going now, even if it's only being sent to ten
people.
Affiliates - How would you like to have sales representatives
all around the world selling your products? Well, this is fairly
easy to do on an affiliate programme. I sell other peoples
products and have people all over the world selling mine
(including Dottie Walters in the USA, take a look at her website
and you will see some of my products)
Teleseminars - How do you keep in touch with all your past and
future clients and delegates that have attended your talks? The
easiest way is to run teleseminars. Once again this is easy to
do. I normally use three way calling and have an overseas guest.
You can mute your listeners; have question and answer sessions
and immediately afterwards have a CD product to sell.
Computer Recording Equipment - I have bought a programme that
will record any telephone conversations that I have. This is
great for interviews as well as recording briefs that I conduct
with clients before I speak.
Websites - With today's technology, you can add video and audio
to your website. I use a company called Advenzia
(www.advenzia.com) for my website as they have built in an
affiliate programme and allow me to make my own changes whenever
and wherever I want to. My last webmasters made a fortune from
me by charging every time I wanted to make any small change. You
must have the ability to make changes on your website.
Interactive Marketing CD - Most glossy brochures go straight
into the bin. For a number of years I have been using an
interactive CD that I send to potential clients and enquiries.
This has resulted in a 95% close rate as it can contain so much
information: videos and audio of you presenting, TV and radio
interviews, information on all your programmes, clients,
testimonials and a lot more. With today's technology, this is
affordable and provides a great return on investment.
Video for PowerPoint - How would you like to be speaking at a
convention, do a video interview with the CEO and have it as
part of your presentation? This is easy to do with a simple
video camera and software (I use Pinnacle Pro). Think about how
you can use this type of technology to differentiate yourself
from the other speakers and trainers. Even more impressive, how
would you like it if the day after your talk, all your delegates
can go in to your website and listen to the presentation and see
photos and watch a video of the talk. Amazing and doable with a
small amount of training.
Photos - This is the easiest thing to do. With digital cameras
nowadays, you can easily insert photographs into your
presentations.
All of these are just a few of the things you can do to enhance
your business and provide multiple sources of income. Having
spent eighteen months studying all this, I have mountains of
information. To get your free eBook where I share some of this
information, please download it from
www.frankfurness.com/internet.cfm Also, take a look at my one
day seminar on 'Multiple Sources of Income' on my website or
call me on +44 (0)1923 248200 or email me at
frank@frankfurness.com Frank Furness CSP FPSA speaks and
presents globally and is the past president of the Professional
Speakers Association of Europe
About the author:
Frank Furness CSP FPSA speaks and presents globally and is the
past president of the Professional Speakers Association of
Europe