nd up buying your product or service after hearing about it from someone. The key is to give your product to the influencers of this world. By influencers, I mean the “big mouths” of this world who know a lot of other influential people and will recommend your book to everyone they talk to.

If you can’t get word-of-mouth advertising happening after giving a lot of your product away, likely your product is not distinctive enough. Do whatever it takes to make your product m

All things considered, word of mouth is still the most important means of marketing any product or service. Word of mouth is created by getting your product or service in the hands of people who will appreciate it and will talk to friends and associates about it.

The best way to get people talking is to give your product or service to key individuals — talk-show hosts, columnists, celebrities, and chat-line addicts — who are going to mention it to many people, who will mention it to even more people.

With the right product or service, the more you give away, the more you end up selling. I have now spent approximately $40,000 giving away over 12,000 copies of my books. There is no doubt in my mind that this has played a big part in helping me to sell hundreds of thousands of my books.

But let me not dwell on my own case because I have one that is much better. A few years ago, Marlo Morgan self-published a book called Mutant Message Down Under. Three years later, Morgan had sold 270,000 copies.

This is a remarkable figure for any self-published book, but the most extraordinary fact was Morgan had given away over 90,000 copies of her book in three years. She donated the copies to prisons, women’s shelters, and other institutions.

Giving away almost one hundred copies each day for three years straight is not something even major publishers would consider, but it paid off for Morgan. Her impressive sales were a result of the word-of-mouth advertising generated from the copies she gave away. Better still, when the book finally came to the attention of HarperCollins, the publisher paid Morgan a $1.7 million advance to take over publication of Mutant Message Down Under.

Giving away your product or service for free may seem like a silly way to try to make a living. There is no better way to create word of mouth, however, as Marlo Morgan proved. Many people end up buying your product or service after hearing about it from someone. The key is to give your product to the influencers of this world. By influencers, I mean the “big mouths” of this world who know a lot of other influential people and will recommend your book to everyone they talk to.

If you can’t get word-of-mouth advertising happening after giving a lot of your product away, likely your product is not distinctive enough. Do whatever it takes to make your product mo

ntion it to even more people.

With the right product or service, the more you give away, the more you end up selling. I have now spent approximately $40,000 giving away over 12,000 copies of my books. There is no doubt in my mind that this has played a big part in helping me to sell hundreds of thousands of my books.

But let me not dwell on my own case because I have one that is much better. A few years ago, Marlo Morgan self-published a book called Mutant Message Down Under. Three years later, Morgan had sold 270,000 copies.

This is a remarkable figure for any self-published book, but the most extraordinary fact was Morgan had given away over 90,000 copies of her book in three years. She donated the copies to prisons, women’s shelters, and other institutions.

Giving away almost one hundred copies each day for three years straight is not something even major publishers would consider, but it paid off for Morgan. Her impressive sales were a result of the word-of-mouth advertising generated from the copies she gave away. Better still, when the book finally came to the attention of HarperCollins, the publisher paid Morgan a $1.7 million advance to take over publication of Mutant Message Down Under.

Giving away your product or service for free may seem like a silly way to try to make a living. There is no better way to create word of mouth, however, as Marlo Morgan proved. Many people end up buying your product or service after hearing about it from someone. The key is to give your product to the influencers of this world. By influencers, I mean the “big mouths” of this world who know a lot of other influential people and will recommend your book to everyone they talk to.

If you can’t get word-of-mouth advertising happening after giving a lot of your product away, likely your product is not distinctive enough. Do whatever it takes to make your product m

Down Under. Three years later, Morgan had sold 270,000 copies.

This is a remarkable figure for any self-published book, but the most extraordinary fact was Morgan had given away over 90,000 copies of her book in three years. She donated the copies to prisons, women’s shelters, and other institutions.

Giving away almost one hundred copies each day for three years straight is not something even major publishers would consider, but it paid off for Morgan. Her impressive sales were a result of the word-of-mouth advertising generated from the copies she gave away. Better still, when the book finally came to the attention of HarperCollins, the publisher paid Morgan a $1.7 million advance to take over publication of Mutant Message Down Under.

Giving away your product or service for free may seem like a silly way to try to make a living. There is no better way to create word of mouth, however, as Marlo Morgan proved. Many people end up buying your product or service after hearing about it from someone. The key is to give your product to the influencers of this world. By influencers, I mean the “big mouths” of this world who know a lot of other influential people and will recommend your book to everyone they talk to.

If you can’t get word-of-mouth advertising happening after giving a lot of your product away, likely your product is not distinctive enough. Do whatever it takes to make your product m

ssive sales were a result of the word-of-mouth advertising generated from the copies she gave away. Better still, when the book finally came to the attention of HarperCollins, the publisher paid Morgan a $1.7 million advance to take over publication of Mutant Message Down Under.

Giving away your product or service for free may seem like a silly way to try to make a living. There is no better way to create word of mouth, however, as Marlo Morgan proved. Many people end up buying your product or service after hearing about it from someone. The key is to give your product to the influencers of this world. By influencers, I mean the “big mouths” of this world who know a lot of other influential people and will recommend your book to everyone they talk to.

If you can’t get word-of-mouth advertising happening after giving a lot of your product away, likely your product is not distinctive enough. Do whatever it takes to make your product m

nd up buying your product or service after hearing about it from someone. The key is to give your product to the influencers of this world. By influencers, I mean the “big mouths” of this world who know a lot of other influential people and will recommend your book to everyone they talk to.

If you can’t get word-of-mouth advertising happening after giving a lot of your product away, likely your product is not distinctive enough. Do whatever it takes to make your product more distinctive. The subsequent word-of-mouth marketing from giving a lot of it away will do wonders for your bottom line.

NOTE: This article is adapted from the book Real Success Without a Real Job (Ten Speed Press) by Ernie J. Zelinski.