The 4-Hour Workweek (20 page)

It is possible to know all there is to know about a subject—medicine, for example—but if you don’t have M.D. at the end of your name, few will listen. The M.D. is what I term a “credibility indicator.” The so-called expert with the most credibility indicators, whether acronyms or affiliations, is often the most successful in the marketplace, even if other candidates have more in-depth knowledge. This is a matter of superior positioning, not deception.

How, then, do we go about acquiring credibility indicators in the least time possible? Emulating the client-grooming techniques of some of the best PR firms in New York City and Los Angeles isn’t a bad place to start.

It took a friend of mine just three weeks to become a “top relationship expert who, as featured in Glamour and other national media, has counseled executives at Fortune 500 companies on how to improve their relationships in 24 hours or less.” How did she do it?

She followed a few simple steps that created a credibility snowball effect. Here’s how you can do the same.

1. Join two or three related trade organizations with official-sounding names. In her case, she chose the Association for Conflict Resolution (www.acrnet.org) and The International Foundation for Gender Education (www.ifge.org). This can be done online in five minutes with a credit card.

2. Read the three top-selling books on your topic (search historical New York Times bestseller lists online) and summarize each on one page.

3. Give one free one-to-three-hour seminar at the closest well-known university, using posters to advertise. Then do the same at branches of two well-known big companies (AT&T, IBM, etc.) located in the same area. Tell the company that you have given seminars at University X or X College and are a member of those groups from step 1. Emphasize that you are offering it to them for free to get additional speaking experience outside of academics and will not be selling products or services. Record the seminars from two angles for later potential use as a CD/DVD product.

4. Optional: Offer to write one or two articles for trade magazines related to your topics, citing what you have accomplished in steps 1 and 3 for credibility. If they decline, offer to interview a known expert and write the article—it still gets your name listed as a contributor.

5. Join ProfNet, which is a service that journalists use to find experts to quote for articles. Getting PR is simple if you stop shouting and start listening. Use steps 1, 3, and 4 to demonstrate credibility and online research to respond to journalist queries. Done properly, this will get you featured in media ranging from small local publications to the New York Times and ABC News.

Becoming a recognized expert isn’t difficult, so I want to remove that barrier now.

I am not recommending pretending to be something you’re not. I can’t! “Expert” is nebulous media-speak and so overused as to be indefinable. In modern PR terms, proof of expertise in most fields is shown with group affiliations, client lists, writing credentials, and media mentions, not IQ points or Ph.D.s.

Presenting the truth in the best light, but not fabricating it, is the name of the game.

See you on CNN.

Q&A: QUESTIONS AND ACTIONS

For this hands-on chapter, the Q&A is simple. In fact, it’s more like a Q.

The question is, “Did you read the chapter and follow the directions?” If not, do it! Instead of the usual Q&A, the end of this chapter and the following two will feature more extensive resources for taking the action steps described in detail in the text.

COMFORT CHALLENGE

Find Yoda (3 Days)

Call at least one potential superstar mentor per day for three days. E-mail only after attempting a phone call. I recommend calling before 8:30 A.M. or after 6:00 P.M. to reduce run-ins with secretaries and other gatekeepers. Have a single question in mind, one that you have researched but have been unable to answer yourself. Shoot for “A” players—CEOs, ultrasuccessful entrepreneurs, famous authors, etc.—and don’t aim low to make it less frightening. Use www.contactanycelebrity.com if need be, and base your script on the following.

Unknown answerer: This is Acme Inc. [or “the office of Mentor X”].

You: Hi, this is Tim Ferriss calling for John Grisham, please.31

Answerer: May I ask what this is regarding?

You: Sure. I know this might sound a bit odd,32 but I’m a first-time author and just read his interview in Time Out New York.33 I’m a longtime34 fan and have finally built up the courage to35 call him for one specific piece of advice. It wouldn’t take more than two minutes of his time. Is there any way you can help me get through to him?36I really, really appreciate whatever you can do.

Answerer: Hmmm … Just a second. Let me see if he’s available. [two minutes later] Here you go. Good luck. [rings to another line]

John Grisham: John Grisham here.

You: Hi, Mr. Grisham. My name is Tim Ferriss. I know this might sound a bit odd, but I’m a first-time author and a longtime fan. I just read your interview in Time Out New York and finally built up the courage to call. I have wanted to ask you for a specific piece of advice for a long time, and it shouldn’t take more than two minutes of your time. May I?37

John Grisham: Uh … OK. Go ahead. I have to be on a call in a few minutes.

You (at the very end of the call): Thank you so much for being so generous with your time. If I have the occasional tough question—very occasional—is there any chance I could keep in touch via e-mail?38

LIFESTYLE DESIGN IN ACTION OVER THE MOON

My 13-year-old daughter would like to be an astronaut when she grows up. Last year she had an extreme challenge to deal with. The phrase from Apollo 13 “Failure is not an option” sort of became our motto. I got the idea of contacting the commander of Apollo 13, Jim Lovell. It didn’t take much to find him and he sent her a wonderful letter about his ordeal just to get into the Apollo program, not to mention dealing with a crippled spacecraft. His letter made a big difference to my daughter. A couple months later, we were able to take things a little further by getting her VIP access to a shuttle launch.

—ROB

TOOLS AND TRICKS

Confirming Sufficient Market Size

Compete (www.compete.com) and

Quantcast (www.quantcast.com)

Find the number of monthly visitors for most websites, in addition to the search terms that generate the most traffic for them.

Writer’s Market (www.writersmarket.com)

Here you’ll find a listing of thousands of specialty and niche magazines, including circulation and subscription numbers. I prefer the print version.

Spyfu (www.spyfu.com)

Download competitors’ online advertising spending, keywords, and ad-word details. Consistent and repeat spending generally indicates successful advertising ROI.

Standard Rate and Data Services (www.srds.com)

Check out this resource for annual listings of magazine and company customer mailing lists available for rent. If you’re considering creating a how-to video for duck hunting, check out the size of customer lists from hunting gun manufacturers and related magazines first. Use the print version in libraries instead of paying for the somewhat confusing online access.

Finding Products to Resell or Manufacturing

Affiliate Networks: Clickbank (www.clickbank.com),

Commission Junction (www.cj.com), Amazon Associates (www.amazon.com/associates)

No inventory, no invoices. Experimenting with products and categories through affiliate networks such as Clickbank and Commission Junction, which pay you 10–75% of each purchase, is a fast method for doing a proof-of-concept using similar products. It’s often worth setting up accounts at both just to observe how bestselling items are being sold and promoted.

Amazon Associates averages 7–10% commissions, but bestselling books are excellent for testing target markets for more elaborate informational products. For all of the above: Do not get into bidding wars against other affiliates using expensive general keywords or overexposed brand names. Go niche or go broke.

Alibaba (www.alibaba.com)

Based in China, Alibaba is the world’s largest business-to-business marketplace. From MP3 players for $9 each to red wine for $2 per bottle, this site is the source. If someone here doesn’t make it, it probably can’t be made.

Worldwide Brands (www.worldwidebrands.com)

Offers an extensive how-to guide for finding manufacturers willing to dropship product to your customers, which allows you to avoid pre-purchasing inventory. This is where Amazon and eBay power users find not just drop shippers, but also wholesalers and liquidators. Shopster (www.shopster.com) is also a popular option, with more than 1,000,000 dropship products to choose from.

Thomas’s Register of Manufacturers (www.thomasnet.com) (800–699–9822)

Searchable database of contract manufacturers for every conceivable product, from underwear and food products to airplane parts.

Electronics, DVDs, Books (www.ingrambook.com, www.techdata.com)

Housewares and Hardware (www.housewares.org, www.nationalhardwareshow.com) (847–292–4200)

For these product categories and related talent (on-screen demonstrations), also consider attending local or state fairs.

Consumables and Vitamin Products (www.expoeast.com, expowest.com)

Finding Public Domain Information to Repurpose

Be sure to speak with an intellectual property attorney before using apparent public domain material. If someone modifies 20% of a public domain work (through abridging and footnotes, for example), their “new” complete work can be copyrighted. Using it without permission would then be a punishable infringement. The details can get confusing. Do the beginning research yourself, but get a pro to look over your findings before moving ahead with product development.

Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org)

Project Gutenberg is a digital library of more than 15,000 pieces of literature considered to be in the public domain.

LibriVox (www.librivox.org)

LibriVox is a collection of audiobooks from the public domain that are available for free download.

Recording Seminars or Phone Interviews with Experts for CD Downloadable Products

HotRecorder (www.hotrecorder.com) (PC), Call Recorder (http://ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/) (Mac)

Use these programs to record any inbound or outbound phone call via computer using Skype (www.skype.com) and other VoIP programs.

NoCost Conference (www.nocostconference.com)

Provides a free 800-number conference line, as well as free recording and file retrieval. Normal phones can be used for call-in, so no computer or web connection is required for participants. If you’ll have a Q&A, I suggest soliciting attendee questions beforehand to avoid issues with muting/ unmuting of lines.

Jing Project (www.jingproject.com) and DimDim (www.dimdim.com)

If you’d like to record the actions on your screen for video tutorials, both of these free programs will get the job done. If you need advanced editing features, Jing’s big brother Camtasia is the industry standard (www.camtasia.com).

Licensing Ideas to Others for Royalties

InventRight (www.inventright.com) (800–701–7993)

Stephen Key is the most consistently successful inventor I’ve ever met, with millions in royalties from companies like Disney, Nestlé, and Coca-Cola. He is not high-tech but specializes in creating simple products, or improving on existing products, and then licensing (renting) his ideas to large corporations. He comes up with the idea, files a provisional patent for less than $200, and then lets another company do the work while he collects checks. This site introduces his fail-proof process for doing the same. His techniques for cold-calling alone are invaluable. Highly recommended.

Guthy-Renker Corporation (www.guthyrenker.com) (760–773–9022) GRC is the 800-pound infomercial gorilla. It brings in more than $1.3 billion per year in sales with mega-hits like Tony Robbins, Proactiv Solution, and Winsor Pilates. Don’t expect more than a 2–4% royalty if you make the cut, but the numbers are huge enough to make it worth a look. Submit your product online.

Searching Patents for Unexploited Ideas to Turn into Products

United States Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov) (800–786–9199)

Licensable Technologies Developed at Universities (www.autm.net; see “view all listings” under “Technology Transfer Offices”)

Inventors Groups and Associations (call and ask if members have anything to license) (www.uiausa.org/Resources/InventorGroups.htm

Becoming an Expert

Prof Net via PR Leads (www.prleads.com) and HARO (www.helpareporterout.com)

Receive daily leads from journalists and TV and radio producers looking for experts to cite and interview for media ranging from local outlets to CNN and the New York Times. Stop swimming upstream and start responding to stories people are already working on. HARO offers select leads at no cost, and you can mention my name with PR Leads to get two months for the price of one.

PRWeb Press Releases (www.prwebdirect.com) The press release is dead for most purposes, but using this service has some serious search-engine benefits, such as appearing at the top of related Google News and Yahoo! News results.

ExpertClick (www.expertclick.com)

This is another secret of the PR pros. Put up an expert profile for media to see, receive an up-to-date database of top media contacts, and send free press releases to 12,000 journalists, all on one website that gets more than 5 million hits per month. This is how I got on NBC and ended up developing a prime-time TV show. It works. Mention my name on the phone, or use “Tim Ferriss $100” online, to get a $100 discount.

LIFESTYLE DESIGN IN ACTION

Bon Jour Tim,

I was in Barnes & Noble at the help desk this past Saturday, April 25, waiting for an employee to get a book for me (Tropic of Cancer if you must know). While I was waiting, I noticed a copy of 4-Hour Workweek on the counter that someone else had ordered. Not one to be shy, I reached over the counter and started reading their copy. As you might guess, I had the employee go back and get me my own copy. Haven’t finished Tropic of Cancer but finished your book …