S U M M E R 2 0 1 1 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 1AuthorAdvantageMag.com

A publication of

The Name Game:Sam Horn on the

importance of raising eyebrows

Connect Three:A trio of tips for

reaching your speech’s entire audience

Red Hot Appeal:How a book

can boost your brand equity

The Market ing Magaz ine For Entrepreneurs , Bus ine s s Leaders and Idea -Makers

Summer 2011$4.99

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E N T R E P R E N E U R S L I B R A R Y . T V

Entrepreneurs’ Library TV is the internet’s hottest show for entrepreneurs and small business owners that want to better their business. Adam Witty’s weekly 10-minute business book review is entertaining, informative, and provides key insights that really make a di� erence.

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Author Advantage TV is the only weekly show dedicated to helping entrepreneurs, business leaders, and idea makers market their business and book. The show teaches unique marketing, publishing, and technology tips for authors.

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S U M M E R 2 0 1 1 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 3Advantage Magazine Issue 15 Summer 2011 © 2011 Advantage Media Group. All rights reserved. Trademarks used by permission.

In this Issue...

7 Let 's Talk About YouDon’t take your title lightly; it might just be the differ-ence between bust and bestseller. By Brooke White

12 Title RoleSam Horn knows a thing or two about naming books.

In fact, she’s perfected a process that has helped her

and her clients dream up the kind of memorable mon-

ickers that capture a niche. Sam lays out the techniques

that have earned her the title of Intrigue Expert.

6 Speaking VolumesDon’t lose your back row: three tips that are crucial to keeping your audience engaged. By Yolanda Harris

7 Cover StoriesFrom preparation to press, what you can do to get the most out of your designer. By George Stevens

Publishers of Business, Motivation, and Self-Help Media

ADVANTAGE MEDIA GROUP

CEO

Adam WittyEditor & Ar t Director

George Stevens

Creative Director

Kim HallAd Director

Alison Morse

8 A Heart Filled With Hope45 years ago, Nido Qubein spoke very little English, and his pockets were almost empty. He was either facing his first big defeat–or looking at his first great opportunity. What happened next is the stuff of Melting Pot Patriotism. Advantage Q&A

Contr ibut ing Editor

Yolanda HarrisWeb Editor

Seth Rubenstein

Marketing Manager

Brooke WhiteEditor ial Director

Denis Boyles

“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there,

written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.” Vladimir Nabakov

Authors On Books | Something from nothing...

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Follow:

New episode every other Wednesday EntrepreneursLibrary.tv

Entrepreneurs’ Library™

New episode every other Wednesday AuthorAdvantage.tv

authorADVANTAGEweekly

INTERNET TELEVISION

Adam’s Advantage: 4 No matter how daunting the challenge, the right tools might be all around you.

Advantage Activity: 5 New releases, best sellers. Author Spotlight: Sid Fuchs

Your Advantage: 11 Giddy-up: brand equity may be worth a few dollars more.

Advantage People: 14 From Discovery Days to book launches, the Advantage family continues to grow.

DEPARTMENTS

4 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | W W W . A U T H O R A D V A N T A G E M A G . C O M

Adam’sAdvantage

Recently I had dinner with Advan-tage author Pat Williams. Many of you know of Pat for his incredible accomplishments: as the Founder

of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, as the author of over 65 books, as a motivational speaker, renowned sports executive, and, gulp, the fa-ther of 19 kids! Pat has spoken at our Market-ing Summit, has graced the cover of this mag-azine, and has been an inspiration to many.

I first met Pat when I was in college at Clem-son, some 12 years ago. Pat agreed, much to my pleasant surprise, to mentor me. He ac-cepted a seat on the Board of the company I was running at the time, TicketAdvantage. A sports fanatic, my dream was to run an NBA basketball team. Why not learn from the guy that brought NBA basketball to Central Flor-ida? Over the years, Pat and I have had hun-dreds of meetings, phone calls, e-mails, and voice messages. Aside from my own father, I can think of no other person that has taught me more about business and leadership. I owe a great deal to Pat.

In February, Pat was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, Multiple Myeloma. I remember speaking with Pat two days after the diagnosis. I said “Pat, if anyone can beat this, it is you. Second, you are going to beat this.” As we had dinner, I asked how treatment was going and what his doctors were saying.

“My doctor says I have five big advantages in fighting this disease” said Pat. I knew it was time to get out my notepad.

1. Family. The doctors say that having a loving family is the first critical ingredi-ent to overcoming a serious health chal-lenge. With 19 kids and a loving wife, Pat certainly gets a big check mark on that one!

2. Faith. Believing in someone bigger than yourself cannot be underestimated. Having a relationship with God gives patients peace, equanimity, and solid

footing. Being comfortable with any outcome actually gives the body energy to recover. A devoted Christian, Pat is a Sunday school teacher, and openly talks about his faith.

3. Attitude. As Pat Williams told me many years ago, “Attitudes come in two fla-vors, Positive and Negative. You choose the quality of your life by choosing what attitude you have when the going gets tough.” Pat is Mr. Positive, from his 65 motivational books, to the famous mo-tivational quotes on his voice mail, Pat “drinks the positive Kool-Aid” 24/7!

4. Fitness. A former college baseball play-er, Pat has always been a fitness buff. He has run in over 50 marathons, he exercis-es at least 1 hour every single day. When I traveled with him to Detroit to launch our book on Coach Chuck Daly, Pat was doing wind sprints in the hallway of the hotel. Seriously. Pat has always eaten a sensible diet. His overall state of good health gives him a huge advantage when fighting cancer.

5. Professional Network. Just as hav-ing strong support from your family is important, so is having strong support from colleagues and business associates. There are few organizations as fine as the Orlando Magic. The level of support Pat has received from co-workers and the current owner of the club, Rich DeVos, is unparalleled.

As Pat shared all of this with me, I thought, “Gee, it would sure be nice to be Pat Williams if you ever got sick.” But as I reflected further, I realized that these five so called “advantages” that Pat has are purely of his own creation. He has worked his tail off over a lifetime to prepare for this day. Pat’s hard work has been a giant insurance policy. Upon further reflec-tion, I realize that you don’t have to be the author of 65 books, the father of 19 kids, or a renowned sports executive to have the exact

same insurance policy for your own life. All it takes is hard work.

Although it is still too early to tell the exact progress of Pat’s treatment, I can tell you this: you would never think the man has cancer. He was upbeat, full of energy, and executing on all aspects of his life, without missing a beat.

When I was in Boy Scouts, we had a motto, “be prepared.” What are you doing today, to prepare yourself for tomorrow? If cancer or any other challenge strikes, are you giving yourself the best fighting chance to win? A good question for all of us.

Words of support can be sent directly to Pat at pwilliams@orlandomagic.com or by snail mail: Pat Williams, c/o Orlando Magic, 8701 Mait-land Summit Blvd., Orlando, FL 32810.

Adam D. Witty, Chief Executive Officerawitty@advantageww.com

Facing a challenge, confronting the odds |

Five keys to a fighting chance, and why preparation is adversity’s worst enemy

Pat Williams poses with a framed print of his Advantage Magazine cover.

S U M M E R 2 0 1 1 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 5

AdvantageActivity

Advantage Best Seller List: June 2011Title Author Price Format

1 Fitness Model Diet Jennifer Nicole Lee $26.99 Hardcover

2 Man Shoes Tom Watson $21.99 Hardcover

3 Warrior Sales Monk Todd Zaugg $24.99 Paperback

4 Life...Don’t Miss It Gary Kunath $14.99 Paperback

5 Mind, Body & Soul Diet Jennifer Nicole Lee $26.99 Hardcover

6 Broke Robert Phelan $11.99 Paperback

7 Jolt! James Billmaier $22.99 Hardcover

8 Enjoy the Ride Steve Gilliland $19.99 Hardcover

9 Now Is Your Time Robert Lemon $19.99 Paperback

10 Charleston From Above Frank Glenn $39.99 Hardcover

Get Off the BenchSid FuchsAre you someone who realizes

the value and importance of

people and networking, or do

you avoid or don’t understand

the network altogether?

Strategic networking will help

you meet new people and make

new friends, create powerful

relationships, achieve goals,

and most importantly, give you

the opportunity to help those

who need it. Get Off the Bench

takes you through concepts,

techniques, and numerous

examples of how strategic

networking is accomplished,

what is to be avoided, and how

value is created for everyone

involved. As technology and

world events continually drive for

and demand more connectivity,

building and maintaining a powerful network is more important than it has ever been.

Sid Fuchs is a leading executive with more than 25 years experience in Intelligence, National Security, Aerospace and Defense, Commercial IT Services, and Private Equity.A

UTH

OR

SP

OTL

IGH

T

Lies Salon Owners Believe and the Truth That Sets Them FreeDan Lok DJ Richoux196 pp.; hardcover; $21.99

Holding PowerBuilding Long Lasting Customer Relationships With the Push of a ButtonPeter Turpel146 pp.; paperback; $14.99

Protecting and Growing Your Money in Any Market 5 Powerful Strategies to Reduce Risk and Create Income For Life

Patrick Began Darin Bornemann144 pp.; paperback; $14.99

No Regrets? No Regrets! A Compelling and Deeply Moving Memoir from the 1950’sPlus Hall384 pp.; paperback; $18.99

New Releasesfrom Advantage Authors

The Spirit of Outreach 2nd Edition 34 Inspiring Stories from YESCarolina and the Mark Elliott Motley Foundation

Jimmy Bailey108 pp.; paperback; $9.99

6 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | W W W . A U T H O R A D V A N T A G E M A G . C O M

Let's Talk About You with Brooke White

Choosing the right title for your book is, in many ways, as important as what lies within. Your book, no mat-ter how well written, needs compel-

ling promotional copy to make anyone who sees your book, decide on the spot, that they need to read it. The consumer will spend, at most, four seconds scanning and process-ing your book title on the shelves. That’s how long you have to make them want to pick it up and learn more.

The most effective titles that pack a punch are short, yet descriptive, and accurately reflect what the reader can expect to find inside. Choose your words wisely. Choose clarity over cleverness. You don’t want to alienate potential readers because they don’t get the joke.

Start by brainstorming and make a list. Prac-tice your elevator speech. What one sentence summarizes your entire book? Enlist your friends, family, colleagues and advisors. You

What’s in a Name? | The power of a book titlemight be surprised where an original idea will come from.

Aside from grabbing the reader’s attention, you want to be sure to keep your audience in mind. Who is this book for and what are they going to respond to?

In nonfiction, readers are seeking solutions. What are you going to give them? What “fix” can they expect to find? It’s okay to make a promise, but be wary of over-promising. Words such as “cure” and “guarantee” can lead to legal trouble down the road. Let people know what you are thinking and offer

it to them up front.

Of course, every author wants their book to stand out from the crowd and to be unique. Copyright law does not apply to book titles, however, and it is common for there to be more than one book published with the same name. To ensure a distinct and memorable title specific to your field, do your research.

Be sure to do an Amazon and Google search for the title you have in mind. Peruse the bestseller list.

Some favorites of mine include: The 4-Hour Work Week (sounds good! Now how do I do that?), The 17-Day Diet (who doesn’t want to lose weight is just 17 days?), 20 Years Young-er (sign me up), and The Secret (ooo, what is it? I want to know).

Don’t forget to evaluate how the title sits with YOU. Practice saying, “Check out my new book, Book Titles that Sell: How to Reach Your Target Audience with a Few Choice Words.” Now how does that sound? Trust your instincts–this is your book!

Brooke White is Advantage’s Senior Editor and Marketing and Publicity Manager.

Digital magazines can deliver interac-

tive-rich content that paper magazines

just cant. You can engage your custom-

ers and readers in ways never before possible. And if

your magazine is on the Apple AppStore, there’s no

better digital marketing venue right now. Get on the

AppStore and your product or business will be in front of

millions upon millions of potential buyers–with credit cards

attached to their accounts and itchy trigger fingers. Advan-

tage is in the process of converting Advantage Magazine

into an iPad magazine. Look for it in the fourth quarter!

A note from Seth Advantage’s in-house tech guru

What one sentence summarizes your book? Enlist your friends, family, colleagues and advisors.

You might be surprised where an original idea will come from.

To learn more about developing a book title, turn to page 12 for an article by Sam Horn.

Sam, author of Pop!, is an authority on book titling. She’ll be the keynote speaker at the 4th Annual Advantage Marketing Summit, taking place in Charleston on October 14-16, 2011.

S U M M E R 2 0 1 1 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 7

SpeakingVolumes with Yolanda Harris

CoverStories with George Stevens

One of the benefits of working with a customer-intimate publisher is your direct involvement in all phases of the process. But as Spiderman

taught us, “With great power must also come great responsibility.” This means design is a two-way street. We, the designers, need you, the author, to work with us in order to arrive at the perfect concept for your book. Here are a few tips to help make the process as smooth as can be.

Come prepared. The first step is to have a design consultation, either in person or on the phone. The goal here is not to walk out of the meeting with a firm concept. Rather, it’s exploratory in nature. The designers want to learn about you, your motives, your tastes

The speaking business is all about con-necting. To deliver a successful keynote, you must master the art of grabbing the attention of your audience within

the first few minutes, and keep them engaged throughout the entire presentation.

I recently worked with one of my clients to zero in on specific speaking skill training for an upcoming presentation. Bill, who is both very humorous and personable, believed that he was connecting with his audience through various gestures. What Bill discovered after our training was a whole new level of connection.

Three Tips to Connect with Your Audience on a new level:

and your demographic. These factors will help guide your designer’s decisions and allow them to arrive at a concept that’s right for you.

To prepare for a consultation, do some home-work. Print out or bookmark covers that ap-peal to you. Observe what other published professionals in your field have done.

Be responsive. When you receive cover mock-ups, you need to give your designer feedback. As with any project or professional relationship, communication is the key ele-ment to yielding a successful product. Thor-ough, reasoned responses will help the de-signer fine-tune a concept.

Keep an open mind. We designers expect that you might have some ideas for your cov-

1. Pre-Keynote Meet and Greet: If possible, arrive early or attend any available social events prior to your scheduled keynote. Finding time to meet a handful of audience members prior to speaking is a great way to build rapport, and also provides you with a better understanding of the group you will be speaking to.

2. Eye Contact: Maintaining positive eye con-tact with audience members is a key element for connecting with them. A mistake many speak-ers make is to focus their attention only on the front of the room. No matter the size, the trick is to designate spots throughout the space to ap-pear you are covering the entire audience. The back of the room is the hardest to connect with and often audience members feel left out. When you do an audience interaction, do not be afraid to specially target the back rows by shouting out to them. By doing this once or twice you will keep them feeling involved and connected.

er, and we welcome it. By the same token, we may draw up some concepts that hadn’t crossed your mind. Be sure to give them a fair shake. Who knows? One of them could be the design of your dreams.

Don’t write-off entire designs. Just because you don’t like one aspect of a concept (say, the color or the font) doesn’t mean it’s useless. Like the color on concept A but the font on concept B? Your designer can pull these ele-ments together to salvage an existing design or create a new composite that’s right for you.

You don’t have to lift a finger when it comes to actually laying out your book. But remember: your level of preparedness and mindset will have a profound effect on the end product.As staff designer at Advantage Media Group, George Stevens has designed dozens of successful books and oth-er publications. He’s also the art director of Author AdvAntAge magazine.

3. Audience Shout Out: Bill, who specialized in marketing and branding, began his keynote with a back-and-forth dialogue between himself and the audience. To prove the effectiveness of appropriate branding, Bill began his keynote by announcing the first part of a popular tagline, allowing the audience to finish the second half. For example, Bill began with “What happens in Vegas,” allowing time for the audience to com-plete the sentence with “…stays in Vegas.” By inviting the audience to be a part of the pre-sentation, you are creating a fun and connected environment, and also sending your message in an interactive and memorable environment.

Often presentations become so routine that we forget the little things that make a big impact on the success of a keynote. What makes someone memorable is their ability to connect and make the audience feel connected right back. The ba-sic formula for a successful keynote is getting the attention of the audience, meeting their ex-pectations for your presentation, and presenting your message in a clear and memorable manner. Yolanda Harris is President of The Keynote Group (thekeynotegroup.com) and The Business of Speaking. We would like to hear from you! E-mail us your questions at speaking@thekeynotegroup.com

Get what you give | Don’t leave your designer guessing–what you can do to add to the creative process

A new level of connecting | Three simple tips for speakers to grab the attention of their audience

Designers need the author to work with them in order to arrive at the perfect concept.

8 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | W W W . A U T H O R A D V A N T A G E M A G . C O M

Dr. Nido Qubein’s version of the Ameri-can dream started in 1966, when he first arrived fresh from Lebanon -- a nation most Americans today associate with sau-

sage, civil wars, and Danny Thomas. Sixteen-year-old Nido spoke very little English, and his pockets were almost empty. He was either facing his first big defeat–or looking at his first great opportunity. What happened next is the stuff of Melting Pot Patriotism.

Advantage Magazine caught up with Dr. Qubein for this two-part Author Advantage Q&A.

AM: So you came to America barely able to speak a lick of English with less than $50 in your pocket and you have become the president of an important university, the CEO of a flourishing company, you sit on the board of major corporations, and you’re

one of the most successful entrepreneurs, speakers and business leaders that I’ve ever encountered. The first question is the simplest to ask: how?

NQ: Well, you know, in life if we want to get really good results we must not focus on our behaviors as much as we must focus on our be-liefs. What we believe tends to lead us to how we behave and that of course leads to whatever results we get. And so in my view I believe that America’s the land of opportunity. I believe that if you work hard enough and smart enough you can make something of your life.

I came here with a few dollars in my pocket, a few English words on my tongue but a heart filled with hope and a soul overflowing with de-sire to make something of my life. My mother would say things to me like, “Who you spend

time with is who you become,” or she’d say, “You know, Nido, what you choose is what you get.” In other words, the person you become is dependent almost entirely on the choices that you make in life.

Listen, I landed in a small town in eastern North Carolina and worked really hard, went to school and worked my way through school. Transferred to what was then High Point Col-lege. Worked hard again, went on to graduate school at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, came out of there and began my very first business. I had assembled by then some $500 in savings.

And with this $500 I began a business and I worked 17 hours a day, 7 days a week publish-ing leadership materials and paying people to

Everything America has to offer. Just ask Dr. Nido Qubein.

What will $50 and a

Filled With

Buy You?

HeartHope

AdvantageQ&A

S U M M E R 2 0 1 1 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 9

write some of these materials and selling them by direct mail. And before you know it, some-body wanted me to come give a little speech. Somebody else heard this speech, invited me and by 1977 or ’78 I was one of the busier speakers in America even though I was only in my 20s. But somehow somebody thought I was a breath of fresh air and somehow somebody wanted to hear what I have to say.

Then somebody heard me speak and said, “Hey, will you do some consulting with us?” And by 1980 I had a consulting business and that consulting business went on to generate a lot of revenue -- enough to help me start a bank with a couple of other guys in the mid-‘80s which we then sold in the late ‘80s. And then in the year 2000 I bought a large share of Great Harvest Bread Company. Today, we have 240 stores in 44 or 45 states today, and today I’m the seventh president of High Point Uni-versity. Two weeks ago, High Point University announced that we have received eight gifts of $10 million dollars each. I was one of the eight who gave the $10 million. And so if you make smart choices, $50 can lead to $10 million dol-lars and that’s how.

AM: Is there a principle that guides your deci-sion making? How do you see which choices to make?

NQ: I think you do it in a number of ways. You have desire, you have belief and maybe you have belief first and then you have desire. You have a strategy of how you’re going to travel down the path. Where am I today? Where do I want to be? How do I get there? And then you employ practical systems. The reason a lot of people don’t achieve their goals is because they dream big but their dreams are not practical, they’re not realistic, they’re not as likely to hap-pen. And then of course consistent execution. And when you do these things and do them with vigor and with zest, sooner or later you achieve some of your goals and people get ex-cited about it and, you know, everybody wants to be on the side of the winner, so when you succeed why you find that that success gives birth to more success.

AM: Let me switch the topic for a minute to speaking. Most people that have heard you speak, I think, would all agree that you’re one of the most eloquent and powerful speakers they’ve ever heard. I certainly speak for myself in saying that. And what’s amazing to me is that English is not your native language. How did you overcome the initial obstacles to be-come the gifted orator that you are today?

NQ: Well thank you for this very nice compli-ment, I appreciate it. Let me tell you my secret: 3x5 cards. Every day, I put ten English words on a card and learned them and at the end of the year, I had 3650 words in my vocabulary. The average American has a speaking vocabulary of something like 5000 words. People could have called me disadvantaged, linguistically speak-ing, or handicapped vocabulary-wise, and yet I went on to write 15 books in a language not my own and recorded well over 100 CD and DVD programs that have been translated into 20-plus languages and sold in over 70 countries around the world. And along the path of life,

ity and with conviction. Because people like to listen to someone whose messages are pregnant with solid information and framed with mean-ingful knowledge. Otherwise, you know, it’s just a waste of our time.

And so I did it the hard way. I mean, you know, it takes time. You begin, you speak, you’re not that good. You remember that it’s never ok to be dis-couraged. It’s ok to be disappointed. And so I was disappointed more than once at my delivery, at my content whatever. But I kept working at it.

I believe that I am an authentic speaker who speaks from the heart. I do not memorize any

presentations. I don’t really even prepare them thoroughly. I have evolved into a speaker who has used his experiences, I hope wisely. Not just in the speaking business, but in business generally. I not only own several companies, I own pieces of several more companies and I serve on the boards of a number of compa-nies including three New York Stock Exchange companies. So by sheer fact that I live in that world obviously I’m going to appeal to busi-ness people because I speak their language and I understand the message. But I think when you speak from your heart you tend to do be-yond communicating a message with an audi-ence and you begin to connect with the heart of the individual in the audience. And some-thing magical happens when someone listening to you in the audience hears you, understands you and feels connected to you. Somehow they begin to believe your message more, they see greater value in it, they remember it longer,

“When you speak from the heart...you begin to connect

with the heart of the individual in the audience.” –NQ

I’ve given some 6000 presentations. I started out making $100 or $200. Today, I’m paid $30,000 or more for a presentation and I get tons of invitations.

AM: We both know that 95% of the money in the speaking business is probably made by the top 5% of the speakers. You are clearly in the top 5% if not the top 1% of the 5%. What’s the secret or secrets to getting there?

NQ: There are really two parts to your question, you know. How do you get there and why do you get there.

I think how you get there is you work hard at it; you make it a priority in your life. I understood that if I want to live in America I must learn the English language. More importantly I must commit myself to speak it in a fluid, flowing and fluent manner. In other words I have to think quickly and the words must formulate in my mouth quickly and I must speak with clar-

10 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | W W W . A U T H O R A D V A N T A G E M A G . C O M

they’re more likely to act upon your advice and they have a sense of gratitude for your sharing.

And so for me I put authenticity above cha-risma any day of the week. When I am speak-ing to an audience I give it everything I’ve got. And whatever I do, I do it wholeheartedly. Au-diences today are so smart. They can see you coming a mile away and they can distinguish clearly and thoughtfully and swiftly whether you’re giving a book report or whether you truly understand what you’re speaking about.

Now, I don’t know that there are any secrets but there are certainly some systems to getting there and I’ll give them to you -- not necessar-ily in the right order but as they come to me.

Obviously number one: you must be someone who renders value, solid value. In other words people will pay you more if what you deliver is solid, is something I can use, something that will save me time, save me money, build my business, et cetera. So value is number one.

Second, the really smartest speakers that I know are not just value deliverers but they’re value interpreters. So they deliver a lot of value but they also interpret that value in a way that the audience immediately relates to and finds useful and meaningful. So they begin to tell you why this is useful, how this is going to help you, and not just lay it out there as if the whole world will recognize its value.

Third, I think, is a question of longevity. Most people will not stick to something long enough for it to really produce its best results. Most people give up way before they get to the end of the game. And so perseverance has a lot to do with it, I think.

Fourth, I do believe that life is about who you spend time with and I have really been very fortunate to know and to have as some of my best friends some of America’s best CEOs and some of America’s top business leaders. I’m a member of the Horatio Alger Association for Distinguished Americans. There are 280 of us -- people like Henry Kissinger and Colin Pow-ell and Oprah Winfrey and Michael Bloom-berg and Leonardo Di Caprio and people like that who are really excellent at what they do. So when you are in that kind of an environ-ment, when you live some of your time in that kind of a zone, it penetrates who you are and it affects and influences the person that you become – and especially what you have to say.

Finally, you be the best speaker on the plat-form and you don’t necessarily make the most

money in the field. It depends how you add up that money. If you do it with fees alone or you do it with fees and products. You know, the best and most successful speakers do it with fees, with consulting, with products -- all the little pieces that are intentionally congruent with the primary service or services that one renders. And I have been very, very effective in my own ca-reer to connect synergistically all of these pieces in such a way that every one of them fed into all the others and created for me a very significant return on my invest-ment of time, energy and talent.

AM: It sounds as though most of your success is the result of being very intentional as to what you want to accomplish in your life. Can you talk about the strategic planning that you go through for your own life and for your busi-nesses and what kind of approach do you take to planning things out?

NQ: Well, I’m a highly focused per-son. So when I have a goal or a plan to work, I focus on it wholeheart-edly, I give it all that I’ve got. I’m also a very disciplined person. So I don’t waiver and I don’t get scared quickly and I don’t give up easily and I don’t become disappointed or discouraged. And those are all very important points. I do think that these are sort of the foundation. I have faith and I have courage and when I put them together you got faithful cour-age and that’s a pretty strong combination.

As for planning, I use “zero base planning.” A sheet of paper and a plan and questions you begin to write down the answers to those ques-tions. If we were starting High Point University from scratch and there were no hindrances, no obstacles in the way and there were no limi-tations on resources, if anything were possible, what would it look like? And then we ask the next question: what would keep us really from getting what we just said we would have if there were no limitations. That kind of planning un-locks your mind, unlocks your potential and resources. You move onwards with strength and with power of conviction.

I’m a risk manager. I’m a paranoid optimist so I don’t like people who say, “Don’t worry

about it -- it’s going to work out.” I don’t be-lieve in that. I believe that proper preparations prevents poor performance and therefore what we must do is really assume the worst and plan for it. And if something better than that hap-pens, so be it. And so I try to manage my risks by asking several questions. What is the best thing that can happen as a result of taking this action? What is the worst thing that can hap-pen as a result of taking this action and what is the most likely thing to happen as a result of taking this action?

And if the most likely thing will get me closer to my goals and if I’m willing to deal with the worst thing that can happen, then I go for it. I try to keep my feet solidly on the ground as with my arms stretched out I try to reach out to the stars.

“I try to keep my feet solidly

on the ground, as with my

arms stretched out I try to

reach out to the stars.” –NQ

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YourAdvantage Adam Witty’s 1001 Best Reasons to Publish a Book

No. 372: Use a Book the Way a Cowpoke Uses Hot Iron | If you want your brand to stand out of the herd, you need a book, partnerHave you heard of Starbucks Coffee

Company? Do you have a cup of

Starbucks’ best joe in your hand right

now while you’re sitting around the

campfire singing cowboy songs? (Or

while you’re sitting around your office

reading this magazine?) If you said,

“yup,” here’s why: In 1999, Starbuck’s

chairman and CEO, Howard Schultz,

wrote a book titled Pour Your Heart

Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company

One Cup at a Time. It corralled me as a

‘bucks brew-addict.

Before reading the book, I had never

stepped foot into a Starbucks store.

However, as an entrepreneur, I was

very interested in the subject matter

of building a company and thought I

could benefit by reading the book. After

finishing the book, I was so moved by

Starbucks’ corporate values and way

it treated its employees, vendors and

suppliers, I became a regular customer.

Do you think the CEO of Starbucks

wrote his book as a networking tool or

business card? Maybe not. But, Howard

Schultz did write the book to create

goodwill for the Starbucks brand and

drive new people into the stores. And

it worked with me, and thousands of

other readers. In 1999, when the book

was published, Starbucks had 2,500

store locations. In 2008, Starbucks

had more than 17,000 store locations.

That’s a stampede.

Here’s another: It’s the story of John

Wood, the founder of Room to Read,

a nonprofit organization that builds

Use your book to make your brand Red Hot:

If you want your product to succeed, you have to mark it for the market.

libraries for children in third-world

countries. John has a fascinating

personal story (as most of us do), and

decided to put that story into book

form. John’s book, Leaving Microsoft to

Change the World, was recommended

to me by a friend. After reading the

book, I was so excited about John’s

organization that I immediately made a

financial contribution.

Since there were thousands of other

readers who had the same positive

reaction I did, John’s book has brought

thousands of new volunteers and contributors to his nonprofit.

How can you leverage a book to build brand recognition and brand equity for your company or nonprofit organization? Use your book to make your brand red hot. If you want your product to succeed, you have to mark it for the market. And nothing marks your business for success like a book. Come on! Saddle up! If John Wood and Howard Schultz can do it, why can’t you?

Adam Witty is Advantage’s CEO and the author of 21 Ways to Build Your Business with a Book.

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I’ll always remember the first year of the Maui Writers Conference. We were proud to give authors from around the world an unprecedented opportunity to pitch direct-

ly to publishing decision-makers. One woman emerged from her 10 minute meeting with tears in her eyes. I asked, “What happened?”

“I gave the editor my 300 page manuscript. He took one look at it and said, ‘I don’t have time to read all that. Tell me what your book is about and why people would want to read it.’ My mind went blank. I thought it was his job to sell it. I just tried to write the best book I could.”

Over the next few days, I discovered she wasn’t the only one who thought the quality of her work would speak for itself. There are thou-sands of well-written books. The point is, how

is yours different? Why is it worth trying and buying?

Contrary to the promise of Field of Dreams, if we write it, readers won’t necessarily come. Our book needs to have an intriguing title and eleva-tor pitch so people are motivated to say, “Tell me more.”

You may be thinking, “You’re preaching to the choir. I know it’s important to stand out; I just don’t know how to do it.” You’re in luck. I’ve created a step-by-step methodology for getting people interested in what you have to say.

It’s called POP! and it can help you craft a title, Table of Contents and page-turning material that helps your book POP! off the shelf. The good news is, I’ll be sharing these techniques at the Advantage Marketing Summit in October in beautiful Charleston, SC.

Here are examples of two of the POP! tech-niques you’ll be learning at the summit.

Corner a Niche by Coining a Brand New Word

“Let’s give ‘em something to talk about.” – Bonnie Raitt song

Question: would you run right out and buy the latest book on economics? Probably not, unless you’re a finance geek.

That was the challenge Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner faced when wondering what to call their new book that compared the eco-nomic equivalent of apples to oranges (i.e., “What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?”)

What to do?

Want Your Book To POP! Off the Shelf? It’s all in the name. by Sam Horn, The Intrigue Expert and author of POP!

S U M M E R 2 0 1 1 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 1 3

Well, use a POP! technique called “alphabetiz-ing” in which you run your core word through the alphabet – and change the sound of the first syllable to match the corresponding letter. For example:

Aeconomics, Beconomics. Ceconomics, Deconcomics, Economics, Feconomics...

Wait a minute. You’ve heard of spell check? Let’s try to spell chuck. Chuck the normal spelling and come up with your own unique spelling. How about Freakonomics?

Now, that’s original. And when you coin an orig-inal word, chances are you’ll be able to get the domain name, which is crucial since you want to wrap a website around your book title. Chances are, you’ll be able to trademark that word which means you have a proprietary phrase that can be merchandised and monetized in perpetuity.

I’m speaking from experience. My first book was on how to deal with difficult people – with-out becoming one yourself. The problem was, there are a lot of experts who write and speak about “conflict resolution.” It’s a crowded genre and topic. So, what did I call my book to help it stand out?

Tongue Fu!®

And yes, I’ve trademarked that phrase and prof-ited from it for more than 15 years by certify-ing instructors around the world and teaching it to hundreds of organizations ranging from Hewlett-Packard to NASA to Boeing. Its title has also helped it attract international media and it has been featured in Readers Digest, The Washington Post and Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.

Would that have happened without the clever title? Probably not. When it comes to a suc-cessful book, quality content isn’t enough. You have to be able to POP! it if you want to break out instead of blend in.

Create the Next New Thing

“Remember, you’re more interested in what you have to say than anyone else is.”

– Andy Rooney

The good news is, there are ways to get people interested in what you have to say.

One way is to create a word they haven’t heard before. It’s one of the quickest ways to get peo-ple’s eyebrows up.

(By the way, the “Eyebrow Test” is a quick way to test how intriguing your title is. Just tell your title to someone and watch their eyebrows. If

their eyebrows knit or furrow, it means they’re confused. It means they didn’t get it. And if they don’t get it – you won’t get it because con-fused people don’t buy books. You want people’s eyebrows to go up. Try it right now. Lift your eyebrows. Do you feel intrigued, curious – like you want to know more? That’s good. It means we just got our book in your mental door.)

For example, Dr. Francine Kaufman was con-cerned about a health issue she feels is reaching epidemic proportions. “Ten years ago, if a child had walked into my office diagnosed with Type II diabetes, it would have been so rare, I would have written it up in a medical journal. Now, such children fill my clinic at Children’s Hospi-tal in Los Angeles.”

The challenge? To come up with a name for this cultural phenomenon to help it get the atten-tion it deserved in the press and from the pub-lic. Let’s use a POP! technique called Half and Half. Get a fresh piece of paper and divide it in half with a vertical line down the center. Now, start describing your topic or book, putting some of the words in the left hand column and some of the words in the right hand column.

Now, take the first syllable of a word on the left and starting fusing it with the last half of the words on the right. Let’s see, we’re talking about DIAbetes, and some of its contributing factors include obesity. Now combine those and you have: DIABESITY.

Voila. That first-of-its-kind phrase landed Dr. Francine Kaufman a book deal, many media appearances and turned her into a respected spokesperson on this important issue. Want

one more example of how a creative title can save your book from obscurity and help get it noticed...for all the right reasons?

A few years ago, my sons Tom and Andrew and I were having dinner. Andrew said, “Hey Mom, I ran into Ryan last night. I had been thinking about him, wondering what he was up to, and there he was...out of the blue.”

I said, “Oh Andrew, that wasn’t out of the blue. That’s called Serendipity. Some people call these coincidences happy accidents, but I don’t think they’re accidents. Your paths crossed for a reason. You’re supposed to figure out why. Maybe you’re meant to collaborate with Ryan on something.” Andrew was intrigued and came up to me later and said, “Mom, I really love that concept of...SerenDestiny.”

Ah, out of the mouths of 20-somethings.

Guess what the title of my next book is? That’s right: SerenDestiny: How to Lead a Life that Keeps the Light on in Your Eyes.

If you’d like 25 more innovative ways to cre-ate one-of-a-kind titles, tell n’ sell descriptions and page-turning content that helps your book POP! plan on being in Charleston for my key-note on this topic in October. And plan on bringing plenty of paper as we’ll be brainstorm-ing and strategizing your book. I look forward to meeting you there. Sam Horn, The Intrigue Expert and author of POP!, Tongue Fu! and the upcoming SerenDestiny, has been featured on NPR, MSNBC, BusinessWeek.com and in The New York Times. She helps clients create signa-ture messages on the page and stage – and is thanked in the Acknowledgments of hundreds of books from grate-ful authors who say, “I couldn’t have done it without you.” www.SamHorn.com • www.SamHornPOP.com

Who: Sam Horn, The Intrigue Expert

What: Speaker at the fourth annual Advantage Marketing Summit.

Where: Charleston, SC

When: October 14-16, 2011

Why: “Innovative ways to create one-of-a-kind titles, tell’n’sell descriptions and page-turning content.”

For more information, visit:www.advantagemarketingsummit.com

Intrigued? You should be! Let Sam tell you more in person:

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AdvantagePeople

1. Advantage author Tom Watson celebrated the release of his first book, Man Shoes, with

a Western-themed launch party. Advantage CEO Adam Witty, Keynote Group president

Yolanda Harris and assistant Rachel Mackles traveled to Vancouver, Canada for the occasion.

2. Watson, with sons by his side, speaks to the crowd of 400 attendees. 3. Watson and Witty

pose in front of a custom-made ice sculpture–one that ably captures what a Western-themed

Canadian book launch party is all “a-boot.” 4. Back home in Charleston, the Advantage team

recently played host to a number of clients. Advantage author Tonya Shadoan (left) spent two

days with the team, including her Talk Your Book™ session and Author Immersion Workday™.

5. Dr. Moore Hislop attended Advantage’s inaugural Discovery Day. Dr. Hislop will publish

his book with Advantage. 6. Advantage author Cathy Newton spent a day in the Advantage

Television studio recording material for her custom online education courses.

You’ve been through the editorial wringer, powered through production and let the presses roll. The fruits of your labor finally in hand, now’s the time to celebrate with a launch party.

uReady to Launch

Join Adam Witty and the Advantage Media Group team for the...

4th Annual

Choose your own adventure, and attend the sessions that interest you:• HowtoPuttheMarketingofYourBusinessonAutopilot• HowtoGetPaidtoSpeak• HowtoWriteforMaximumInfluence• HowtoBenefitfromtheLatestTrendsinOnlineMarketingandSocialMedia• HowtoPrepareYourBusinessfortheFutureofSellingInformation• HowtoBuildaMulti-MillionDollarBrandonaBudget• HowtoMakeCustomersApproachYou,theSciencebehindGravitationalMarketing

• PLUS,don’tmissourBusinessMakeoverHotSeats,ExpertRoundTableDiscussions,andBestoftheBestCompetition

Early Bird Discounts and “Bring a Guest for Free” Until August 15.SeethefullconferenceagendaatAdvantageMarketingSummit.comorcallDebat843.300.4980

And, join our Celebrity Speakers:Mike VeeckAuthor of Fun is Good!Owner of 5 Minor League Baseball TeamsThe man behind world famouspromotions like Tonya HardingMiniBatNight,VasectomyNight,

NobodyNight, and EnronNightwill teach youhowto make your marketing fun, how to delight yourcustomers,andkeepthemcomingbackformore!

Sam HornAuthor of POP!The highest rated speaker ofthe 2010 Summit is back! Samwill teach you how to takeyour expert status to the nextlevel by creating a remarkable

andmemorable brand. Samwill share her 7P’s ofstrategicpositioningthatwillincreaseyourinfluence,authority,andrespect.

100% Raving Fan Guarantee:BeThrilledorReceiveAllYourMoneyBack+$500TowardTravel

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