Using Viral Marketing to Market My Retirement Books

I have been using a bit of viral marketing and it seems to have helped a lot.

One of the viral marketing tools I use is giving away over half — the top half only — of my book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free. (The top half is available as a PDF at Creative Free E-books).

Today if anyone types in "retirement" into Amazon.com's search engine, How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free comes in the number 1 position — out of over 175,000 books that Amazon puts in the retirement category.

Given that over 95 percent of the 190,000 books published in North America every year will never sell more than 5,000 copies, my book has done very well.Although largely ignored by the media, and rejected by over 35 American and British publishers, How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free has now sold over 85,000 copies.

Of course, word-of-mouth is still the most powerful advertising for any product or service. A great product or service creates its own viral marketing.

My latest viral marketing tool to promote How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free is giving away my e-book The 237 Best Things Ever Said about Retirement on the The Retirement Quotes Cafe

Retirement Income for Canadian Retirees Maintained at 80 Percent of Pre-Retirement Income

Based on income levels, most Canadians are maintaining their lifestyles during retirement years, according to figures released by Statistics Canada in early March 2008.

Statistics Canada found that on average, a Canadian at the age of 75 received 80 per cent of the income they were earning at the working age of 55.

The study also found that retire income varied based on level of income during the individual's working years.

The lowest income individuals maintained nearly 100 per cent of their disposable income in their retirement years, mostly because of income from government programs.

"Lower income workers (those in the bottom 20 per cent of the income distribution) experienced little change in income as they moved from the age of 55 through the retirement years. This was largely because of the income maintenance impact of the public pension system," said the study.

"Better-off workers in the top 20 per cent of the income distribution experienced substantial declines in income by time they were 75."

The figures showed that on average, the more disposable income a person had at 55, the lower the portion of income that was replaced in retirement. For those in the top 20 per cent of income distribution at 55, on average, 70 per cent of their income was replaced during their 70s.

See Retirement Quotes about Money

and:

Retirement Planning on Squidoo

Top-10 Reasons to Purchase and Read How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdon That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor

Top 10 Reasons to Buy and Read How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

1. You are ready to claim your freedom from corporate life.

2. You want to follow your retirement dreams instead of someone else's.

3. As a spiritually and highly evolved human being you know that how to enjoy life to its fullest is much more important for creating an active, satisfying, and happy retirement than how much money you have saved.

4. Many retirement columnists and retirement seminar presenters have ranted and raved about this book. For instance, retirement columnist Nancy Paradis of the St. Petersburg Times in Florida advises, "Get this book if you look forward to a retirement with 'zing.' "

5. With it's great title and the inspirational subtile, this book makes the perfect gift for the soon-to-be retired friend or for the person retiring at the office.

6. You agree that "Retirement is the beginning of life, not the end."

7. You have put money in proper perspective so that you don't need a million dollars to retire.

8. You want to generate great purpose in your entire retirement life with meaningful, creative pursuits.

9. You like finding extremely useful information about retirement such as The Get-a-Life Tree that you won't find in any other book, but which is acclaimed by people who have read How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free.

10. Above all, you want to make your retirement years the best years of your life.

Check out These Links:

• Squidoo - Free Retirement Speech
• Squidoo - Retirement Letters
• Squidoo - The Best Places to Retire
• Squidoo - The Best Retirement Gifts
  

Best Places to Retire - What to Look For!

What to Look for When Choosing The Best Places to Retire in the World

According to International Living, "Once you allow yourself to look beyond U.S. shores for a place to retire, the choices get downright exciting. Mexico, sure. But how about Panama? Or France? Or Romania? The right spot can allow you to live the life you'd only dreamed of: crashing surf, mountain air, bustling cities. You can comb beaches to your heart's content, or you can find a place to learn. You can relax, or you can find new opportunities."

If you are thinking of relocating to one of the best places to retire in the world, but don't know where, the question that arises is, "Where to Retire? What makes a good place to retire?" You must examine your priorities: What type of climate do you want to live in? What activities do you like, and are they available in your list of possible cities or countries to relocate to? Do you care more about a low cost of living or health care? What about safety?

The following checklist for the best places to retire in the world may provide some help.

10 of the Top-22 Things to Look For When Choosing Where to Retire:

* The climate is exactly what you are looking for.
* The people are friendly - warm smiles and hometown hospitality have never gone out of style.
* Whether it's the hills, rocky outcrops, thick forests, breathtaking mountains, pristine lakes, or raging rivers, the beautiful scenery beckons you to reside there.
* Regardless of whether you intend to rent or buy, the housing is affordable.
* There are a variety of housing options to suit your needs - from a stately house to a smart new apartment, a townhouse, or a gracious bungalow with the right-sized garden to look after.
* Many cultural amenities - such as museums, theaters, and concerts - are available either locally or in a nearby city.
* Just out your back door - either a short drive or a healthy walk from your home - you can participate in outdoor activities such as skiing, tennis, golf, fly-fishing, and hiking.
* You can depend on excellent transportation facilities, including a modern transit system.* Neighborhoods are peaceful and the crime rate is low.
* A variety of clubs and non-profit organizations welcome your participation and talents. You can eventually be part of a community of friends with similar interests.

Note: For the last 12 items on this list of The Top 22 Things to Look For and Enjoy in the Best Places to Retire that will help you choose where to retire, see Chapter 8: Relocate to Where Retirement Living Is Best in the bestselling retirement book on Amazon.com called How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free.

Retirement Living Made Easy - Live Gloriously, Live Happily, and Live Dangerously!

After I wrote a magazine article on how people can be creatively alive in their later years, I received several calls from readers. One caller was June Robertson, who was six months away from her ninetieth birthday. The enthusiasm and energy that she expressed on the telephone was overwhelming. I know people in their twenties and thirties who probably haven't shown that much enthusiasm and energy for more than one minute in their lives.

I learned some very interesting things about June. After her husband passed away many years ago, she never married again. Her income has been below the poverty line on occasion, yet she has managed to travel to Russia, Africa, Europe, and India, as well as several other countries. Unfortunately, she had to cancel a visit to China when she became ill, but she still intended to go at a later date.

June became a public speaker in her seventies. She didn't know she could do it until she appeared as a guest on a radio talk show. The people at the radio station liked her so much that they asked her to take over the show for a week. She was paid twenty dollars a day and enjoyed it immensely. She would have done it for nothing. Showing her love for adventure, June went up in a hot air balloon when she was seventy-eight.

All you television junkies, take heed! When I mentioned television to June, she told me that she watches very little TV and called it the "dumb box." Incidentally, she does have an addiction: books. I would say that if anyone is going to have an addiction, this is a rather good one to have.

When I asked June what advice she would give to us on how to live life to the fullest as we get older, she said that first we must not let our spirits down. Then she added, "We also must live gloriously, live happily, and live dangerously."

Note: This article is adapted from the book 1001 Ways to Enjoy Your Retirement (Published in Spanish, Korean, and French but not in English).