In 2006, we launched a digital initiative to bring
all of our licensees and their intellectual property to
the masses through the burgeoning technology. We
now sell our programs through the top 150 “
e-tail-ers,” i Tunes, Amazon, Audible and eMusic. This
works similar to our physical distribution: We do all
of the work and send a quarterly royalty check to
each speaker who has product sales for that quarter.
What does this information have to do with you?
Good question. Speakers need to develop product.
In today’s world, we are not just “speakers.” We provide information in a variety of ways:
cds and dVds. Since 2002, I have produced nearly
85 of my own CDs, not including other speakers’. I
sell them online and back of room. At one event, I sold
over $110,000 worth of product in one day.
Books. I have written a dozen books, including a
New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller,
The Angel Inside: Michelangelo’s Secrets for Following
Your Passion and Finding the Work You Love. My self-publishing success prompted a six-figure, two-book
deal with one of the world’s largest publishers. Those
two books have sold in 15 languages.
digital audio. My CDs are available digitally. My
last three books are also available as downloadable
audio books.
Ezine. In 1998, I started my Ezine, which is published twice a month and has over 110,000 subscribers worldwide.
facebook. I have a Facebook profile, with a fan
page for myself and a group that sends quotes to its
members twice a week.
twitter. There are many social networking sites,
but I have limited myself to Facebook and Twitter.
The beauty of Twitter is that I can connect instantly
with my “followers.”
With so many options available for delivering
your message, you can be richly rewarded by developing your own product line.
Chris Widener, New York Times, Wall
Street Journal and Amazon.com best-selling
author, is a seasoned businessman and speaker.
For nearly 20 years, Widener has been
involved in leadership in the business
community, the non-profit world, and as a speaker and
author. For more information, visit www.chriswidener.com.
