Hall of Fame Profile: Joe Vitale: Copywriter, Promoter and Marketing Consultant

Joe Vitale is an explosive marketing consultant who has helped over 200 authors and publishers write, publish and promote their books. Joe's clients include small presses to large publishing houses, such as Doubleday Books in New York. He has also helped large companies, from The American Red Cross to Hermann Children's Hospital in Houston.

Joe is the author of Spiritual Marketing, which he made an Amazon bestseller through creative online strategic alliances. The following excerpt comes from the "The Slightly Famous Web Site" chapter in Get Slightly Famous. Here, Vitale discusses the Internet marketing strategies he used to make Spiritual Marketing a major online success.

Real-World Success Story
Joe Vitale on the Power of E-mail Marketing

Joe Vitale is President of Hypnotic Marketing, Inc., and author of Spiritual Marketing. As a writer and marketing consultant, he's moved much of his business online. He uses the Internet in a variety of ways to sell his products and services. "The Internet is my home these days. Over 90 percent of my business comes from the Internet," says Vitale.

Vitale was once told that if he could create a mailing list of his own with 10,000 names on it, he'd never have to work again. He began to believe this advice when he made $25,000 in one week with one e-mail sent to a list of 8,000 names.

When Vitale determined to make his book Spiritual Marketing a bestseller, he contacted other Internet entrepreneurs and offered to split profits from book sales if they sent an e-mail offer for the book to their subscribers. Vitale sent 8,000 e-mail messages asking people to buy his book from Amazon.com on either of two specified days. In return, he offered free access to marketing articles posted at his Web site that were normally available only for a fee.

With the help of his online friends, Vitale's online marketing tactics paid off. He sold 5,000 copies on his two specified days, plus an additional 2,500 to date. "I was easily able to drive people to Amazon.com, and by becoming the best-selling book for two days, I got a lot of attention."

The undiscovered gold, according to Vitale, isn't in merely putting up a Web site, but in using e-mail to connect with people and exploit opportunities. "My best advice is to start befriending people online," says Vitale. "Build your list, make friends, offer fair deals, and prosper. You might try Web seminars, e-consulting, e-products, and who knows what else."

"E-mail levels the playing field. You can reach anyone with a simple e-mail and a little searching. I've managed to get testimonials from celebrities, start relationships with famous people who are now my friends, make win-win deals, create entire products, and much more, all with simple e-mail. The Net is new. We don't know the rules, and in most cases there aren't any. Think big!"