Interview: Jeffrey Dobkin, Author of How to Market a Product for Under $500
Book Title:
How To Market A Product for Under $500
Website URL:
www.JeffreyDobkin.com
What is your book about?
How To Market a Product For Under $500 is a complete “How-To” marketing course in successful low cost marketing techniques. Almost 400 pages of lean how-to-market information written in a breezy-conversational style. I’ve written a few others, too. About 50 articles can be found for free on my old website – www.danielleadams.com. I’m currently transitioning all my articles to this site.
What inspired you to write your book?
I’d like to give entrepreneurs and business owners the books I needed when I was marketing products. No one really wrote “How-to-Market” books when I needed practical information. My books condense 25 years of marketing knowledge into useful, practical ideas colleagues can trust to create success for their businesses. My books show you plenty of easy to implement direct marketing methods that will INCREASE the response of any campaign and make your phone ring. There’s more lean marketing information in my books than you can get in 4 years of marketing courses in college.
How did you come to do what you’re doing today?
After 25 years of helping clients with their marketing, direct marketing and advertising campaigns I realized I had acquired a tremendous amount of highly skilled and somewhat proprietary knowledge in the direct marketing field. I knew I could tremendously expand the number of people I could help with their marketing with a book. I can only handle a few clients, but thousands of people have read my books. I get a lot of great thank you letters.
Can you describe a typical day in your life?
I spend about 3 hours a day writing, about 2 hours on the phone with clients, a couple of hours client work, and about an hour or two working on the foundation I started just this past December (www.braininjuryfoundation.org). I leave at 3 most days to play racquetball 3-4 days a week. I make dinner for my family when I get back from the gym, and if I have anything left – I go back on the computer from home from 10 to 1 or 2 AM. If I don’t have anything left, I watch TV – I like action movies, MMA and the Phillies.
What do you most enjoy about what you do?
I enjoy writing, especially when it comes out well. I like some of the humor pieces I write (I’ve written about 250 articles and have been featured in over 300 magazines). And of course I like leaving early – one of the advantages of being a writer – I set my own schedule. My office is great – I have 5 windows, overlook a shopping center, and share my space with about 40 houseplants.
Are there any people and/or books that have inspired you along your journey?
My brother has always been a great friend and inspiration. We don’t always see eye to eye on every business issue, but he’s always been there for me. As for books, I like Bob Bly’s stuff pretty much although he’s pretty straight laced; and Denny Hatch quite a bit. John Schulte from the National Mail Order Association is also a great guy and he keeps me involved in mail order.
Can you share some business tips for our readers?
Along with almost 100 pages of direct marketing tips, you can get a free download of our “75-Point Checkpoint for your Direct Mail” on the site as well – and it’s all free. All I write is marketing and direct marketing tips. It’s still a passion after all this time. Go figure. Am I a geek? Hey, that was a rhetorical question.
Can you share something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
I’m kind of a regular guy – I adore my children, still love my wife after 22 years of marriage, and although I talk a lot about drinking in my writings, if I have 2 beers and a glass of wine in a week, that’s about average. I like to inject humor into everything, and find most things are pretty fun and funny – well – at least to me. If you do them right. And you don’t get caught…
Interview by Stephanie Chandler