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At Least We Have the Story…

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Over the years I’ve realized that, when it comes to events in my life, there are several versions of what took place. There is the “How I Remember It” version; the “What I Share with Personal Friends and Family” version; the “Social Media” version; the “Contemplative What Went Right and Wrong” version; the “Other People’s” version and what REALLY happened. I can kid myself into thinking that they are ALL one and the same, but we BOTH know that just isn’t reality.

I CHOOSE what version of the story to tell for any number of reasons. I could share a version of the story to make ME look like the hero…or someone ELSE look like the villain. I could spin the story to make it humorous for laughs or just to vent in a glorious bitchfest. I might downplay my story because I feel embarrassed by what happened or shrug it off as if it doesn’t matter. But in every scenario, I have my reasons for CHOOSING the story I tell, whether those reasons are conscious or sub-conscious. So do YOU!

I’ll give you an example…my recent wedding with Kristen Joy.

The story told on Social Media through Facebook Live video, photos from guests and congratulations from friends, family and customers is the version of the story most are familiar with. Everything shared DID happen and it was both fun and wonderful. But there is another story…one NOT shared much. THIS version of the story includes a fatal accident that occurred on the bridge near our wedding location that prevented most of our guests, including my daughters, from arriving to the ceremony until much later than it was scheduled to begin. It includes strong winds that forced us to, at the last minute, franticly search for a backup venue for the reception because sand was getting into the food and making it impossible to keep wedding decorations on the table. And THIS version includes disappointments and embarrassments that were NOT a part of our plan or expectations.

Both stories are the truth and both stories INCLUDE what mattered most: Kristen Joy and I became husband and wife on the beach in front of family and friends who traveled from all over to support us and love us! A lot went right and a lot went wrong, but in the end, a boy and a girl who love each other got married.

So WHY am I telling you this?

We all have STORIES and choose how we should share them. The truth is that it’s BECAUSE of stories that we connect and interact with one another. Stories matter…they matter in our private lives, they matter in our personal growth, they matter in our interactions with others and they matter in our businesses!

Stories matter and it’s time to tell YOURS!

In business, the challenge at times is how to TELL your story that ENGAGES your audience in a way YOU choose. I’m NOT talking about making stuff up or playing the “pity me” card. No! Your story is meant to inspire and empower your audience. It’s meant to build a bridge between you and your audience so that they feel connected. This is not manipulation in any sense of the word, but rather, it’s people doing what they were meant to do…CONNECT!

Not long ago, I was inspired to share many of these principles in great detail through two courses…”Market with Stories” and “Engage with Stories.” Story is SO powerful that with it, you can “sell ice cubes to Eskimos.” Tell the WRONG story and you get zero sales for the greatest product ever. When I released these trainings and insights initially, many of my customers jumped at the chance to discover the power of story for themselves and both trainings were very powerful…even MORE SO due to the interaction of everyone who attended them live. But now I want to open up the courses to a much larger audience because the message in them matters. I made the decision to temporarily drop the pricing for the courses from the original of $197 to just $47 for BOTH!

Now WHY would I give up $150 with of profit from these courses if they are so powerful? Simple…there are people waiting to hear YOUR story and to discover YOUR products. These trainings will help you develop that story and I REALLY want to see you succeed with it. Stories matter…YOUR story matters. So consider it an investment. I’m investing my time and money into you! Perhaps you’re thinking, “Well if that’s true, Tony, why not just give the courses away for free?” That’s a simple answer…you won’t take it seriously. We all know that anything worthwhile has to cost us something. Honestly, in all the times I DID give training away for free, I cannot point to ONE person who actually did anything with it…NOT ONE! So rather than make it free, I decided to reduced the price to make it an easy no-brainer for you…the cost of dinner for a family of 4…just $47!

There is something else. I want YOUR stories as well. I want to hear about and celebrate your successes! This makes it easier!

To get started with crafting and telling YOUR story and take advantage of the $150 discount for the next few days, click the link below and order your copy. You’ll gain instant access to BOTH courses PLUS bonuses! It’s a great deal…and an awesome story! Here is where to go now:

I Want the Power of Story

Easily Create Professional-Looking Book Covers!

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I’m sure you’ve heard it said, “A book is judged by its cover!” It’s true! And unfortunately, whether you realize it or not, it’s highly likely that YOUR book cover is costing you sales! LOTS of sales!

YES…EVEN your Kindle sales!

I understand why you use sub-standard covers for your books. After all, not everyone can afford to hire a graphic designer and shell out $1,500 for a great book cover design. I mean, seriously…you’re making a buck or two from your Kindle sales (hopefully) so how would that be cost-effective to get your cover professionally designed.

I get it…and that’s why I did something about that problem…something that will help you!

I just partnered together with two Kindle experts to show them (and you) how to increase book royalties by a factor of 2 or 3 (or even higher). You may not know this, but I was a book cover designer for 17 years with nearly 600 book cover designs to my name. Yes…I am one of those guys you would need to pay $1,500 to hire (if I would even do it).

Here is what one of the publishers I’ve worked with had to say about my cover designs:

“‘I’ve had the privilege of knowing and working with Tony Laidig since 2005. He is, by far, one of the best, if not the best, designer on the planet. He is brilliant at seeing what we don’t see and giving us exactly what we want!”

– David L. Hancock, Founder, Morgan James Publishing

Today I have some great news! It’s about how you can get the SAME result as if you had hired me, except that instead of paying $1,500, the investment is a fraction of that! That’s what Kindle Cover Templates 2.0 offers you! You can discover more by clicking the link below:

Kindle Cover Templates 2.0

Public Domain Blueprint

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It was the first day of the new millennium and he greeted it by walking away from a $20 an hour job to start his own business. He had never been in business for himself before and the endless possibilities were exhilarating and exciting. The man had planned well for his departure and began his new business with a few prime clients in place. With hard work and perseverance, he replaced his previous salary within two years. Then the unthinkable happened. Like the orchestrated detonation of a condemned building, his business collapsed in 2002 due to a major shift in his industry. The bottom fell out and there was nothing the man could do to stop it.

His income dropped by 80%, and in spite of 13 attempts to go back to a “real job”, every opportunity fell through. Relying on food stamps to feed his family, his house in active foreclosure, the man knew there had to be another way. In spite of the bleak outlook, he knew he had made the right choice to start his own business. With a renewed commitment to himself and his family to find the answer he was looking for, the man continued to push ahead with a dream of something more.

Slowly, he rebuilt his business, saved his house and got off food stamps. But in spite of all his hard work and effort, the answer the man searched for alluded him. A year later, when a stranger’s comment reminded him of something he had forgotten from ten years previous, a spark of curiosity captured the man’s imagination with an idea of possibility. How could he have so easily forgotten a “miracle” that had saved his family once before? With little outside help and a lot of hard work, the man ventured into a brand-new marketplace with a vision for the future and his first book in hand. That was five years ago and that man was me. The discovery (or rather, re-discovery, was the Public Domain.

In the past five years, Public Domain content has changed my life. Through the products I’ve created from Public Domain content, I’ve been able to generate a consistent six-figure income every year. The reason why that’s so amazing and such good news for you is that the copyright laws haven’t changed and Public Domain content is more accessible now than ever before. And so I have decided that, in honor of my 5-year anniversary in working with Public Domain content, I am going to teach a brand-new series that reveals the blueprints I’ve discovered and developed to create profit-pulling products from Public Domain content.

In “Public Domain Blueprint,” I am going to reveal the best strategies, the best blueprints for turning the proven content from the Public Domain into laser-focused, profit-producing products using every media type available: Books, Serials, Patents, Government, Images, Audio & Video. You might think that I’ve shared all my secrets about the Public Domain, but you would be wrong. In “Public Domain Blueprint”, however, they all come out. I’m holding nothing back.

If you’re ready for the next level of product creation (and you’d like to get in on the fun at an 85% discount), click the link below and get ready to discover the Public Domain like you’ve never seen it before. Because I’m going to tell you what works and what doesn’t. Click below!

Public Domain Blueprint

 

Another Untapped Source of Proven Content?

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Over the past several years, I’ve explored pretty much every type of content available in the Public Domain, from books and magazines to patents, videos and more. In that time, I concluded that I had pretty much seen it all…that there were no new surprises available for me to discover. Recently, I discovered I was wrong.

I put together a two-page report that explains my discovery. Don’t let the small page count fool you…what I’m revealing in these two pages is HUGE! Find out for yourself!

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE!

Discover How to Take Amazing Nature Photos!

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If you LOVE Nature photography and have always wanted to improve your photos to look like the ones in magazines, my “Photo Nature Secrets” training is for you…even if you only have a point-n-shoot! You will even discover how you can profit from those amazing Nature photos you will be taking!

Sign up here: http://photoprofitsecrets.com/photo-nature-secrets/

There is no form of photography that offers an escape from the stresses of life more than Nature Photography. It is my personal favorite form of expression! There is something magical about connecting with the natural world visually. I believe we’re wired that way. Native American traditions even go so far as to refer to the natural world around us as our Mother, and that we’re related to all living things including the trees, animals and everything else. Whether we choose to embrace that world view or not, there is still (and always will be) a curious draw toward the natural beauty we see and experience in our home, Planet Earth. Capturing those experiences and expressions of beauty photographically is a natural, and sometimes compelling, response to remember, but also to share those memories.

If you LOVE photographing the great outdoors, this is the perfect series for you. In this video series, I share my own personal photography techniques for capturing the beauty of nature, drawn from years of experience and enjoyment! Whether your passion is to photograph butterflies and flowers, birds and animals or landscapes and scenics, you will definitely discover new ways to improve your nature photography and take it to the next level in this course! ALL the details are HERE:

Photo Nature Secrets

Physical Product Envy…

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You’re at a conference and you see someone you recognize. Smiles flash and you rush together to exchange hugs and greetings. It’s been a while and you’re excited to see each other. During the course of catching up, your friend asks if you have a copy of their new book. “No,” you respond, “I didn’t even know you wrote a book! I’d love a copy!” They take a book out of their briefcase, open the front cover, and write a special note. You flip through it and express congratulations.

“So have you created any new products, lately?” they ask. You go on to share about your latest webinar series and e-book you created. It’s selling well and they are excited for you. And that’s when the awkwardness begins. You’d love to share it with them, but since it’s digital, you have to e-mail them the login information later, if you remember to.  Even though it’s a great product, sharing a link with your friend feels impersonal. That night, you flip through their book and you think, “I need to create a physical book.”

I LOVE creating digital products…love them. They’re easy for me and can be sold any time of the day or night without my personal involvement at all. It’s the ideal product scenario…almost. Here’s the thing…even though I’m pretty prolific (I’ve created over 60 products), the products I love to show off the most are the physical ones! Why? Because you can actually SHOW them to people and GIVE them away. Of course, you can sell them too! The truth is that, as tactile humans, we “need” to feel the touch of things. It makes them more “real” somehow. And because of the “realness” factor, we assign physical products a greater perceived value.

Let me ask you a question…as a professional photographer, if I were to offer you a high-resolution digital copy of one of my photographs or a framed print, which would you take? You would obviously take the framed print because you can SHARE it easier with others. Visitors to your home would be able to see it hanging in your office or den and comment how amazing it looks. You could then thank them and share how it was a gift from your friend. Physical products establish a connection with your peers and audience that digital products will NEVER create.

I recently attended NAMS6 in Atlanta. David Perdew, the event creator, invited me to join the faculty and this was my first event. Knowing that I would have requests for business cards while there, I decided to do something different. I purchased greeting card blanks and envelopes at the local craft store and had 4” X 6” prints of some of my favorite photographs printed at Target. Using two-sided tape, I attached the photos to the blank cards and signed my name on them. On the back of the card, I pasted a shipping label that included my contact information.

At the conference, when someone requested a business card, I pulled out my 5” X 6.5” greeting cards and let them pick their favorite photo. People loved them! A few people asked for more than one. Now let me ask you…when is the last time someone asked you for multiple copies of your business card? Do you think my card will stand out compared to ALL the other business cards collected given it’s MUCH larger than the others? Sure it will! One last thing…David asked we all put our business cards in a bucket for prize drawings. Do you think mine card was easy for the person drawing the cards to find? You bet! I won a portable drive!

The point I want to make here is that, if you want to truly have an impact on your audience, you HAVE to create physical products! You should have a book at the very least. Now before you start thinking that making physical products is hard, I’m going to stop you right there because it’s just not true! Take my cards, for instance. If you can apply two-sided tape to a photo and position it on a blank card, you can make your own. That’s just one example of many…you get the idea! It’s only hard if you make it hard.

Just like with digital products, creating the “right” physical products requires good market research, the right tools and content! The selling process is also a bit different as well. Fortunately for you, I have demystified the process of creating physical products in my course, “Physical Product Success Secrets.” Over the course of four videos, I share a clear plan of how to create your own physical products. Video #1 covers the Mechanics of creating products. Video #2 dives into Research. Video #3 explores the different type of products you can create (and how), while Video #4 lays out how to market and sell those products. Did you know that with physical products, you can tap into a stream of 175 million “buying” prospects that you don’t have access to with digital products? Yep! I show you how in “Physical Product Success Secrets!”

And…by the way…THIS weekend (Labor Day), you can get started with creating your OWN physical products for less…I’ve discounted the course for the next 4 days! Finally, you won’t have to feel left out when you’re at your next family gathering, conference or event. Think about how good it’s going to feel to jot a note and share your product with a smile, knowing that you’ve just touched another person’s life. How cool is that?!

 Get Started with Physical Products!