Selling over 500,000 copies of an informational tips booklet, '110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life,' and earning a quarter of a million dollars in the process is not at all where I thought I would end up when I started writing a tips booklet in 1991. Putting it bluntly, I was broke. I was desperate. I was trying to use the booklet as a marketing tool to breathe some new life -- any life -- into my speaking and consulting business. Not only did that happen, but the process spurred an entire new business along the way. And I did it without spending a penny on advertising. Or PR people. And, '110 Ideas' is now in three languages, other booklet and guide formats, and an audio tape program.

August 1994 was the magical turning point: I went online, signing up with CompuServe, solely for the purpose of marketing my business. Little did I know what doors I was opening. I was like a kid in a candy store, roaming around the forums, reading the postings, and chatting with people online. I saw opportunities to market everywhere I looked.

The third day online, I exchanged email with a man in Milan, Italy, who has a marketing company. I read his post in a forum. I asked who his client base was. When he said small business and vendors to small business, I told him I had something he might find useful. I asked his permission to send him a sample of my tips booklet. Eighteen months later, he wired me several thousand dollars for royalties on the first sale of the Italian version of my booklet. We had struck a deal for him to translate, edit, produce, and market my booklet contents in Italy. The first sale was 105,000 copies to a magazine. To this day, we have communicated solely by email, fax, earth mail, and electronic funds transfer. I have no idea what the Italian version says, although my former hairdresser said it's a great translation. What I do know is that the deal was a good one.

I am currently talking with others to translate my publication into other languages,again from connections made online, connections I doubt would have happened any other way. Those connections happened by others seeing posts I placed, and by my responding to things I saw posted. Another language happened after the Italian version. It is now also in Spanish...all from online contacts.

The results I've had come from my using a buffet of basic online formats:

Email * Submit articles and queries to online and hardcopy publications * Send promotional information to media and prospects * Answer questions from prospects and clients * Process orders directly

Seminars * In real time * Post in forums * Participate in others' seminars

Listservs and Discussion Boards * My own discussion board * Initiate postings * Responses

Web site * My own web site * Linked to others * Articles posted to other people's sites

Online newsletters * Write an article * Be written about

This happened much the same way I networked offline. To get online seminar and conference bookings, I developed a presence and relationships with the decision makers of those areas. They are always looking for interesting programming for their audience. My story about writing and marketing booklets for cash has been an interesting one for audiences in several online forums.

I posted questions seeking suggestions to all kinds of additional opportunities. 'Does anyone know who, how, where...?' That brought many new connections, one after the other. In some cases, it also brought new ideas I hadn't considered. Asking for information or suggestions is one of the best-accepted forms of marketing yourself online. It's a more benign way of publicizing yourself that a blantant sales approach.

Reading the postings in the forums, newsgroups, listservs, discussion boards, and anywhere else is like mining for gold. Responding to other people's posts allows for a soft sell of your own products and services while being helpful and providing solutions to their concerns. I often gently make reference to my publications or services. You'd be amazed how often that generates at least an inquiry, if not a direct sale. It might seem to take a little longer. It is a very effective way to go much further, though. Referrals come when and from where you least expect them, I have noticed.

Online newsletters are like hard-copy newsletters. The two differences I am finding are that online newsletters appear more willing to accept articles and that the decision-making process on acceptance seems faster. The online newsletters often have a larger subscriber base than many hard copy newsletters. For me, this has also been like trying to eat only one potato chip. The emergence of online newsletters is huge. Finding one generally leads to more.

I view my technological capability. savvy, understanding, and certainly equipment at the lower end of the scale. In spite of this, my results have included:

> Direct sales of my booklet, audio tape, and manuals (about 150,000 booklets solely through online efforts)

> Translations into two languages.

> Speaking engagements around the country and the world

> Consulting clients, served by phone, fax, and online

> Interviews in other media (in print, online, radio and television)

> Saving time and money in communications (greatly satisfying that instant gratification urge)

> Writing assignments (small, medium and large assignments)

> Reseller relationships to distribute my products throughout the world Consider this: I have never taken a business course. (I used to be a music teacher.) I did the copy and original design on a primitive computer with no hard drive (it's amazing what you can do with floppy disks). Every day brings new possibilities and opportunities to this booklet journey. I have had a web site for a few years now, and, like every web site, it is forever evolving. The latest addition has been an e-booklet catalog which sells other people's booklets as digitally as fully automated downloads.

I can hardly imagine what results will show up next!