Instant Pitch Letters
A collection of real letters and emails written by people using The eBook Without Writing System to convince best-selling authors to write an eBook for them… For Free!
By: Dan Lok & Todd Lance
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Introduction This report contains actual letters to and from potential co-authors. Feel free to use these to help you secure enough commitments for your own eBook. I have included emails from a wide variety of situations. Although, you might not use every single one, it will give you a good idea of what type of dialogue leads to a partnership. And if you run into the same situations I did, it will give you examples and templates for your responses. In order to keep them straight, my emails will be in white and the responses I have shown will be in yellow. Proposal Letter This is the letter I started out with. I found potential co-author’s email addresses online, and customized this email to send to each one.
Dear (Potential co-author): As one of the top instructors today, I would like to offer you an opportunity to contribute to a current project of mine. It will provide your company with free exposure to clientele that you haven’t previously reached and most importantly you will be given an opportunity to share equally in the profits. I am writing an eBook about _____________________. A portion of the book will contain chapters/articles written by the top instructors working today. I have been have been a big fan of your work and ideas, and would love for you to be one of the contributors. You can write new material or just release old material that was made for a previous book, newsletter, message board, etc. The subject can cover anything you choose within the framework of ______________________. Your submission can be from 1000 - 10,000 words. Now the part that I’m sure you are ready to hear, how this benefits you and your company. First, you will be given a free platform to promote your company along with a select group of top instructors. This book will be sold to different groups, many of which are out side of your current client base. At the bottom of your article, there will be a description/advertisement for your company and the services you offer, with a link to your website. Second, once the book is released, you will be given an affiliate link for any advertisement or email campaign that you wish to run and you will be sent a check for 50% of the purchases. So basically, all you have to do is release some old message board posts and you will be given free advertising within the book and 50% of the profits! Granted, the better the article, the better the response will be to your company.
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I am only offering spots to a select group of contributors, and so far the responses have been amazing. Because of your reputation, I will guarantee you a spot in the book if you respond with your submission within 20 days. Further, if you have any instructors/coaches that you would like to submit separate articles, I will review them for possible inclusion. If selected, it will give your company twice the exposure. I look forward to creating a very profitable situation for both of us, and a product that will benefit many people. Just reply to this email with either an attachment of your submission, or a link to material previously released that you wish to submit. If you have any questions feel free to contact me any time. Sincerely, Todd Lance (phone #) (address)
Proposal Letter Breakdown In order to give you a look at why I wrote certain things, I have included a paragraph by paragraph breakdown of the proposal letter below:
Dear (Potential co-author): As one of the top instructors today, I would like to offer you an opportunity to contribute to a current project of mine. It will provide your company with free exposure to clientele that you haven’t previously reached and most importantly you will be given an opportunity to share equally in the profits.
This first paragraph is used as attention getter and legitimacy builder. It is important to put their name on the email. This will get their attention, and let them know that you at least know a little about them. Notice I am complimentary of their business and immediately go into the benefits that they will be receiving by working with you. The purpose of this is to get them hooked into reading further.
I am writing an eBook about _____________________. A portion of the book will contain chapters/articles written by the top instructors working today. I have been have been a big fan of your work and ideas, and would love for you to be one of the contributors. You can write new material or just release old material that was made for a previous book, newsletter, message board, etc. The subject can cover anything you choose within the framework of ______________________. Your submission can be from 1000 - 10,000 words.
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The obvious purpose of this paragraph is to briefly explain what your project is. The last part is to show them how easy it will be to contribute. So now they know there is some benefit to them, and it won’t be a big hassle.
Now the part that I’m sure you are ready to hear, how this benefits you and your company. First, you will be given a free platform to promote your company along with a select group of top instructors. This book will be sold to different groups, many of which are out side of your current client base. At the bottom of your article, there will be a description/advertisement for your company and the services you offer, with a link to your website. Second, once the book is released, you will be given an affiliate link for any advertisement or email campaign that you wish to run and you will be sent a check for 50% of the purchases. So basically, all you have to do is release some old message board posts and you will be given free advertising within the book and 50% of the profits! Granted, the better the article, the better the response will be to your company.
Now this is the nuts and bolts of your proposal. You have to describe to them how they will benefit from contributing. It’s always good to add specific ways their company will benefit in addition to the generic ones in this paragraph. That will get inside their head and let them know you have done your homework.
I am only offering spots to a select group of contributors, and so far the responses have been amazing. Because of your reputation, I will guarantee you a spot in the book if you respond with your submission within 20 days. Further, if you have any instructors/coaches that you would like to submit separate articles, I will review them for possible inclusion. If selected, it will give your company twice the exposure.
The purpose of this paragraph is to create a feeling of exclusivity. People are more likely to agree to something is they feel like it puts them in an elite class. The guarantee is to speed the process. Granted, you would probably wait on them, but it creates a call to action, so they don’t put your proposal on the back burner.
I look forward to creating a very profitable situation for both of us, and a product that will benefit many people. Just reply to this email with either an attachment of your submission, or a link to material previously released that you wish to submit. If you have any questions feel free to contact me any time. Sincerely, Todd Lance (phone #) (address)
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Finally, you end your proposal with another brief mention of the benefits that you are offering. Then you give them an easy way to accept your offer. And be sure to include all of your contact information. This makes it much easier to gain their trust. Proposal Responses
Sounds good. I'm sure I have something to contribute - I'll also check we my instructors. We have a lot of great writers on the team who are interested in that subject so we may have a lot to contribute. Let's keep in touch on this. Thanks, XXXXXXXX
This is a typical acceptance response. Be sure to follow up and continue following up until you have your submission. Here is an example of what you will send back to an acceptance, nothing fancy just a short thank you:
Sounds good, thanks for your expedient response. I look forward to seeing your submissions. Todd Lance
Now here is a typical response where the potential contributor is looking for more information.
Sounds interesting, Todd. Can you give me more details on how this would be marketed and distributed? What are the rights of the material itself? How would my sites and programs be promoted in this context?
Obviously you will have to give a more detailed response to this type of inquiry. But you can just emphasize the points in the original proposal, with a little more detail:
XXXXXXX, Thanks for your expedient response. We will be marketing the ebook toward those who are currently involved in the _______________ community. Within that community, I believe there is a substantial group who are interested in _____________________. The book will embrace the teachings of the mainstream ______________community while at the same time expanding to a new subject area. I believe this is an area of _____________ that has yet to be thoroughly
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analyzed. It will be distributed through my website (currently under construction). Once the book has been edited and completed, I will send you a link to my website that will track all purchases made through your referrals. Then you will receive a check for 50% of the profits. Also, we will be marketing the book directly from our website. If you choose to contribute, your article/chapter will be one of a select few top instructors. Those reading the book will have a chance to see your style and ideas. Then immediately following your chapter, there will be a brief description of your company and the products/services that you offer with a link to your website. It will look something like this: XXXXXXXXXX is the founder of XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, he has been teaching people how to ____________________ for over 10 years. If you would like to learn more about the exciting oppostunities available at XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, check out his website at www.hiswebsite.com If you wish, you can even mention a specific program/product that you offer within your article or in the description. By contributing material to the project, you would be giving your rights for the use and sale of that limited article. If you wish to submit a new article, or just copy some old material that is in the public domain already (e.g. message board posts, newsletters) that is fine. Thanks again for your response, and I look forward to working with you. If you have any more questions please contact me any time. Sincerely, Todd Lance
Here is an example of a memorable rejection I received:
Never heard of you
Short and to the point..haha. A little side note, when I told some of my eventual contributors about this email, they laughed and said that I wouldn’t want him on the project anyways. Nevertheless, I didn’t know that at the time so I followed up with this email in an attempt to win him over:
Thank you for your expedient response. I am a full time XXXXXXX so my involvement in the "community" has been only as a student up to this point, so you would not have heard of me. I had the idea to offer this opportunity to a select group of instructors and obviously your name is one that came to my mind first. If you wish to contribute to the book, and the profits, we would
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love to have you. If not, I understand. Thanks for your time and good luck with your future endeavors. Sincerely, Todd Lance
Acceptance with ideas: You need to establish relationships with your contributors, so you can use their experience and resources. Below is an example of an offer to collaborate on a product launch I received from one of my contributors:
I should be able to make that timeline. I'll get started soon on this. My topic will be "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" I'll probably re-use this info in audio format later on in my relationship program that I want to put out next year. We could collaborate on a product launch for that. Are you starting with an existing list, or will you be attempting to affiliate through everyone else's?
After receiving this offer, I immediately accepted and it gave me the idea to send this email out to the rest of my contributors:
Hey XXXXXXXXXX I just wanted to check with you and see if you were planning any upcoming product launches? I would love to work with you on your release and the release of this book. I think it could generate some added excitement. Let me know what you think Todd
Referrals If you find yourself in the position of not having enough contributors, your best option is to ask the commitments you already have for referrals.
XXXXXXXXXX I have been very impressed with your work so far. And I wanted to tell you that if you have any people in mind, or any recommendations for other contributors, I would definitely
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consider them based on your recommendation. Let me know if anyone comes to mind. Thanks, Todd
After you get some referrals, you can just add the following sentence to your standard proposal letter:
XXXXXX: I was referred to you by XXXXXXXXXX, and I would like to offer you an opportunity to contribute to a current project of mine. It will provide your company with free exposure to clientele that you haven’t previously reached and most importantly you will be given an opportunity to share equally in the profits. I am writing an eBook about how to. . .
After I asked for some referrals, some of the guys just forwarded my email on to their friends and I started getting inquiries like below:
Hi Todd, I was sent a copy of your email from XXXXXXXXXXXXXX. I'm the VP of Development for XXXXXXXX. I'd be interested in speaking with you about what you're up to and how we can support you. Please send me and email or just give me a call. Best, XXXXXXXX
And My response:
XXXXXXXX, Thank you for your response. I would love to speak with you about the project. I'll try and reach you by phone tomorrow. I definitely think you guys would be a valuable addition to the book. I especially like your focus on ____________. So far we have accepted commitments from XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX, and several others. So Im very excited about the potential of the book. As you have read in the email, it is a book about _____________________. I think there is a substantial group of guys in the community that have an interest in learning more about this. From a business standpoint, I believe the thing that has attracted so many potential contributors is the exposure it will give to your company. You will have a chance to have your material in
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front of new clients. And the shared profits certainly doesnt hurt. If you have any specific questions feel free to email me anytime. If not, I'll just try and reach you on the phone sometime within the next week. Thanks again for your response, and I look forward to working with you guys, Todd Lance
Updates You need to give updates for several reasons. First, you need to develop relationships with your contributors, second you need to motivate people, and third you need to win over hesitant contributors. Below is an update I sent to a committed contributor that I hadn’t heard from in a couple of weeks:
XXXXXXX, I just want to give you a quick update on the other people who are contributing to the book so far. XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX, and several others have already committed and Im talking with several more that are likely to commit in the next few days, all of whom are very impressive. I started sending out invitations this week, so many more are likely to commit soon. If you have any ideas or recommendations, feel free to bounce them off of me. I am very excited about working with you and the XXXXXXXXXXX team, I think your chapters will be some of the best. Talk to you soon, Todd This is just a general update that I sent out almost every time I got a new contributor. I sent it to all the commitments and the prospects. XXXXX, I just wanted to wish you the best of luck in this new year. And I wanted to give you a tentative list of the contributors for the book. There might be one or two additions, but these are guys, most of which have already submitted their material. Contributor 1 Contributor 2 Contributor 3 Contributor 4 Contributor 5 Contributor 6 Contributor 7 I look forward to seeing what you guys come up with, as I am a big fan of your work. Thanks for
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being a part of this exciting collaboration, and I'll be in touch with any new details. Todd Lance
Questions You will get a lot of questions, your job is to just keep emphasizing the ease and benefits of being a contributor. Also, hammer who all you have commitments from.
Hi Todd, Who is 100% confirmed to be in the book so far? Regards, XXXXXXXX XXXXXX, Thank you for the response. I started sending out invitations just a few days ago and the response has been tremendous. So far we have 100% commitments from XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX and a few others. I am talking closely with a few more that I expect to commit including XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX, and XXXXXXXXXX. Those are the ones that I can safely say will be a part of the project, these guys alone have huge client bases and will provide great exposure to your company. There are several other big names that I hope to come to an agreement with very soon, but like I said, I only started sending out invitations a few days ago. If things continue like I expect, and as they have so far, I will probably finalize all of the contributors by the first of the year. I think the thing that has sparked so much interest in this project is the chance to have your material in front of everyone else's client bases with minimal effort and no expense. And the profit sharing doesn't hurt either. I think XXXXXXXXXX would be a great addition to the book, and I believe it will be a very profitable situation for your company. Thanks again for your interest, and if you have any more questions feel free to contact me anytime, Todd Lance Todd, I have a couple of articles I might be willing to contribute. Can you offer more details? Thanks for the response. We only started sending out invitations a week ago and so far the response has been tremendous.
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The target market will be _______________________ It will focus on people who________________________________ that are interested in______________________. There information that is out there barely skims this topic, and I believe there is a substantial market for this. I will be contributing a couple of chapters within the book and the framing (i.e. the introduction and conclusion). The number of other contributors is not set, but I will probably not include any more than 20. The book will be distributed through my website with the contributors getting an affiliate link to include in whatever advertising/promotion they wish to run, for 50% of the profits. I obviously want to give enough financial incentive for the contributors to offer the book to their own client bases. Also, I will be building my own client list through a newsletter and other techniques in order to directly market the book from my site. So far we have firm commitments from XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX, and Im sure Im forgetting a couple. Further I have calls scheduled with XXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXXXX today. I look forward to hearing from you and possibly working with you on this project. If you have any more questions feel free to contact me anytime. Todd Lance Todd Hey I had a few ideas - can you forward me some of what the other guys have submitted so I can see the sort of thing you want?
Attached is the chapters from Carlos Xuma and Sean Messenger. You'll have to excuse the formatting and mistakes, I havent sent them to my editor yet. But it will give you an idea of what some of the other guys are doing. If you can have something to me by the end of next week, I can probably get it in the book. Thanks again, Todd
From Start to Finish This is a great example from start to finish of someone that is interested but has reservations, who eventually commits and helps me find other commitments:
XXXXXX:
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I was referred to you by XXXXXXXXXX, and I would like to offer you an opportunity to contribute to a current project of mine. It will provide your company with free exposure to clientele that you haven’t previously reached and most importantly you will be given an opportunity to share equally in the profits. I am writing an eBook about how to________________________. A portion of the book will contain chapters/articles written by the top instructors working today. I have been have been a big fan of your work and ideas, and would love for you to be one of the contributors. You can write new material or just release old material that was made for a previous book, newsletter, message board, etc. The subject can cover anything you choose within the framework of ______________________. Your submission can be from 1000 - 10,000 words. Now the part that I’m sure you are ready to hear, how this benefits you and your company. First, you will be given a free platform to promote your company along with a select group of top instructors. This book will be sold to different groups, many of which are out side of your current client base. At the bottom of your article, there will be a description/advertisement for your company and the services you offer, with a link to your website. Second, once the book is released, you will be given an affiliate link for any advertisement or email campaign that you wish to run and you will be sent a check for 50% of the purchases. So basically, all you have to do is release some old message board posts and you will be given free advertising within the book and 50% of the profits! Granted, the better the article, the better the response will be to your company. I am only offering spots to a select group of contributors, and so far the responses have been amazing. Because of your reputation, I will guarantee you a spot in the book if you respond with your submission within 20 days. Further, if you have any instructors/coaches that you would like to submit separate articles, I will review them for possible inclusion. If selected, it will give your company twice the exposure. I look forward to creating a very profitable situation for both of us, and a product that will benefit many people. Just reply to this email with either an attachment of your submission, or a link to material previously released that you wish to submit. If you have any questions feel free to contact me any time. Sincerely, Todd Lance (phone #) (address) Todd, I'm very interested in this project. Do you have a site up, or a spec for the book (TOC, other authors, etc?) I'm very picky about who I work with, as I'm sure you can understand, so I want to make sure it's a good fit.
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Peace, XXXX XXXXXX, I just wanted to give you a quick update with a couple of new names to add to the list of contributors. XXXXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXXXXXXX of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXx submitted a great chapter, and XXXXXXXXXXXX of XXXXXXXXXXXXXX has committed. I hope you and your loved ones are haveing a great holiday season, and I look forward to hearing from you soon, Todd Todd, Thanks for the list. I see a lot of guys I've worked with and taught, and I'm happy to be in such great company. I'm in. I'll get together some material for you in the next two weeks. I also know a few more guys I work with who would be excellent additions to your list, most notably my friend Hristiyan. Here's a link to one of his podclasses that explains his unique take on relationships. You should definitely also contact my friend XXXXXXXXXXXX. No one knows more about open relationships than him. Peace, XXXXXX XXXXXXX, That sounds great. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. If your friend XXXXXXX is interested, feel free to give him my contact info. I would definitely consider him based on your recommendation. Several people have mentioned XXXXXXXXXX, so I will email him tonight. It would be great to get his take on _____________. Thanks again, I'll be in touch with any updates. Todd
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Todd, I talked to XXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXX, and they are both interested. When do you need material? Should I put everything together in one chapter with foreword and marketing info? Peace, XXXX XXXXXX, Yeah I spoke to XXXXXXX, he is definitely in. Thanks for the recommendations. I had planned on getting everything to my editor by Feb. 1, but it looks like it will be a little later than that. So anytime in the next 2-3 weeks will be fine. Yes, just make it one chapter, with your bio/advertisement following. It can be whatever you like, something like: "XXXXXXXXXXXXXX is the founder of _______________. He specializes in helping people________________. For free coaching check out his website at www.XXXXXXXXXX.com blah blah blah." I look forward to seeing what you write, if you have any more questions just hit me up. Todd
Other Offers Some guys will come up with different ideas for your eBook. It’s always good to listen to them, because they certainly know how to sell to their customers. Below is an offer I got from a guy that wanted to sell a hard copy version of my eBook.
Thanks Todd, I will have a look and let you know. When do you plan to release it, AND are you still up for me selling it on LULU.com as part of my collection? What do you want in terms of royalties? -Frank XXXXXX, I am trying to have everything done except the editing and compiling by Feb. 1. Thereafter I
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hope to get everything set up in 5-10 days. Then I will organize the release with all the contributors. However, it depends on how fast some of the stragglers are at getting their submissions in..haha. Yes, I would be interested in letting you sell it as part of your collection. I would be willing to give you a non-exclusive license for 50% of the profits. Does that sound fair? Let me know what you think! Todd
Different Types of Contributions Some guys will be working on a project and it is easy to convince them to give you a chapter/excerpt for your new book. Below is an example of someone who gave me an excerpt from their new book.
Hi Todd, Enclosed is an excerpt from our new ebook. I don't know how appropriate it will be for your book, you will have to make that determination for yourself. You have permission to use it as long as you credit us and mention our website with the article. Thank you! XXXXXXX XXXXXXX, Thanks for the excerpt. I definitely think we will be able to use it. I will keep you posted on the release which will hopefully be in the next 3-4 weeks.
Looking for Bonuses In order to make your offer more attractive to customers, you will need to include bonuses. You can ask your contributors if they would like to give you a bonus to include, or you can ask them individually. I went to the contributors websites and looked for things they were giving away, then sent individual emails asking them if I could include it as a bonus:
XXXXXXX,
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I finally have all the submissions and I will be preparing the book and the website for the release sometime next week. I wanted to ask you if it was alright to give away your "XXXXXXXXX" eBook as a bonus? I asked for bonuses a few weeks back and only a couple of guys responded. I didnt figure you would mind, but I always like to make sure. I'll be in touch this weekend with details about the release. Thanks for everything, Todd
Lazy Contributors: Sometimes your contributors are lazy, or sometimes as in the case below, they are just super busy. So you will need to include them in all the updates and eventually you will have to ask them directly if their submission is finished: XXXXX, I didnt hear anything from you yesterday, so I just wanted to see if you were finished. Let me know if I can help in any way. Later, Todd His response surprised me, in that he not only had been working on the project, he offered me a spot in his convention to promote the eBook. It pays to develop relationships:
Thank you for checking in Todd, I have the core concept, which is truly unique. innovative and very rich! It's a model I created and refined for over 10 years! You'll be very pleased. The move took a little more effort and time than expected, so I probably need 10 days to finalize. I hope you are well, and I was also wondering, where are you located Todd, and out of curiosity and interest, what has been your own journey in the XXXXX world, if you don't mind me asking? Also, the Summit is May 24-25, do you think you'll have the final product by then? I want to help on my side with promoting, and we certainly can use
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that weekend for that! How could I best support you in doing so? Do you want a booth then? A brief stage spot? If you want, here is my cell phone # XXXXXXXXXXX, perhaps we could briefly chat, what do you think? Early next week would be best for me. XXXXXXX
Final Updates Eventually you will have to set a time and move forward with the release. So your updates will start giving them the info they will need to market the eBook:
What's up guys, I just wanted to touch base with everyone and give you a couple of updates on the project. After a little stall, everything is coming along nicely and we should have our release date in the next 2-3 weeks. My technical person is setting up the website today, you can check out the framework at www.relationshipmastery101.com. That is the title of the book/series. I will be finishing up the sales copy in the next couple of days, so if you haven't given me your bio or pics, then I will just do something for you and we can always change it later. I am waiting on a couple of guys to finish up their submissions, then I will be editing the text and converting it to pdf form. Before the release date I will send the completed product to each of you for final approval. Once it is finalized I will email you a clickbank link to sign up for your affiliate link. Then we will schedule the release. Also, attached is the cover files so you can be ready to use them in whatever sales promotions you wish to run. This has been a lot of fun to work on with each of you and I'm getting very excited the closer we get to the release date. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, as always feel free to contact me anytime. Talk to you soon, Todd Lance
Release Information Then when everything is ready, you will need to schedule the release date:
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Hey, Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on where we are with the release. Everything is set up and ready to go. I am just waiting on clickbank approval before we can start selling. Anyways, I thought I would get the marketing info out to you so you will have time to write your emails and promotions. I have attached the header and cover that is on the website. Feel free to use these however you wish. You can check out the website at www.relationshipmastery101.com and see the sales copy that is on it. If you notice I refer to it as a "series" and not an eBook. I think this gives it a little more value. Also, I have used a hook in the "Special Introductory Offer" where I say that we are going to split up the chapters after I receive enough testimonials. I think It will create a stronger sense of urgency if you let people know that since they are a client of one of the authors, they have a chance to buy the entire series at a discount before anyone else. Of course, you all know your clients better than anyone else so I'll just leave it up to you. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, just give me a shout. Hopefully I will be getting in touch with you tomorrow with the clickbank info and we can go ahead with the release. If not, then we will just push it back a few days. Talk to you soon, Todd
Final Email And finally, you can give the affiliate and release information. Then you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor:
Well gentlemen, It's finally upon us. The release date is here. Although we will be making a couple of minor adjustments to the website and the book over the next couple of days (mainly the corrections and revisions that were requested), it is ready to be sold. Feel free to start running any promotions you wish. The clickbank hoplink is: http://AFFILIATE.tgrimmett.hop.clickbank.net Just replace AFFILIATE with your clickbank nickname. If you dont have a clickbank account, you can sign up for one in just a couple of seconds at: http://www.clickbank.com/affiliateAccountSignup.htm?key= I have attached a couple of sample emails for you to use if you wish. They are pretty generic sales letters, but I think they will be effective if you add your own flavor into them. If you need or
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want anything else ust let me know and I'll be happy to put something together. Although I will be in touch with you guys a lot over the next few weeks, I just wanted to tell everyone that it has been a pleasure working with each of you. Ive thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and I hope we can work together again in the future. On that note, if theres any contribution I can ever make to any of your companies, feel free to hit me up. I'm sure I've forgotten to tell you something important, If you have any questions just shoot me an email. Talk to you soon, Todd