Will Work for Fun

Will Work for Fun presents a simple three-step process for turning your favorite hobby or interest into a reliable source of income. Why stay trapped in a job you hate, when you could turn your fun into your job? No matter what your interests are, Alan Bechtold will show you how to what you love into a real moneymaking career. Packed with stories, examples, exercises, and links to online resources, Will Work for Fun is the cure for another dull day at the office.

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword Dr. Joe Vitale xi

Prologue “Why Don’t They Stop?” xiii

A Million to One xiv

What Would You Do? xvi

We Can All Be Rock Stars xvii

Introduction The True Nature of Work xix

Round-the-Clock Non-Workaholic xx

Work: A Different View xxi

A Best-Selling Author’s Life—Without Writing a Word xxiii

Publishers Make the Real Money xxvii

About the Author xxix

CHAPTER 1 The Sitcom as Life 1

Why Your Life Never Matches What You See on the Screen—And How Easy It Is to Create a Life That Does 1

Inventorying Your Life Experience 14

Identifying Your Real Passion 17

Where You Are Now—And Why 23

Getting Where You Want to Be—Fast 31

FUN Money Profile: Erik D. Stafford 38

Wrap-Up 40

CHAPTER 2 Which Friend Are You? 43

Jenny Gets Started 44

A Different Definition of Work 46

Rachel, Monica, Chandler, or Ross? 50

What about Phoebe—Or Joey? 52

Discovering the Character You Really Play in Your Life 53

Reinventing the Character You Really Play in Your Life 56

FUN Money Profile: Jorge Arguello 59

Wrap-Up 61

CHAPTER 3 It All Starts with a Book 63

Free Fun Is Great Fun 64

Mail Boxed In 66

Plotting Your New Life 67

Storyboarding Your New Life: It’s like Planning a Screenplay—But a Lot Easier 71

Casting Call: Plugging In Your Character 75

Characters Count 78

Be Your Own Nielsen—Finding Out What Your Prospects Want to Buy before You Spend One Minute
Developing Anything 80

Planning the Happy Ending 84

FUN Money Profile: Lori Steffen and Jeff Wark 86

Wrap-Up 90

CHAPTER 4 Scripting the Pilot 93

A Small Social Experiment 94

If You Can Write—Great! 95

If You Can’t Write or Simply Don’t Want to Write—Great! 98

The Key to FUN Money: Think like a Publisher 100

Finding the Right Resources 104

Preselling the Fall Season 119

Selecting the Right Product/Promotional Mix 120

FUN Money Profile: Don Strinz 139

Wrap-Up 143

CHAPTER 5 The “Pitch” 147

Selling Isn’t Hard When You’re Selling You 147

Setting Your Marketing System Goals 148

You Have to Sell Free, Too 149

How to Create a Marketing Campaign That Will Attract Prospects 150

Mr. Whipple Really Knew His Marketing 151

A Driving Rain—of Prospects, Customers, and Cash 160

An Easy Marketing System for $200 or Less 160

Virtually Lock Out Any Potential Competitors 166

FUN Money Profile: Randy Charach 168

Wrap-Up 173

CHAPTER 6 The Payday That Never Ends 177

Recycling: It’s Not Just for Aluminum Cans 177

How to Repurpose Everything You Do 178

Your Newsletter—The Constant Marketer 180

Continue Developing and Finding New, Profitable Products and Services to Sell to Your Growing List of Fans 182

FUN Money Profile: C. J. Bronstrup 185

Wrap-Up 189

Epilogue 191

FUN Money Profile: Lee and Robin Collins 192

Afterword Mark Joyner 203

Index 205

Alan R. Bechtold is a veteran of more than twenty-three years of on-line publishing and mar-keting. A leading online marketer—known as "The Wise Old Man of the Internet"—he delivers live seminars on online marketing and publishes multiple newsletters read by more than 45,000 subscribers. Alan is also extremely accessible. He can be reached by simply visiting: www.AlanBechtold.com. Most of us think of work as a doleful daily chore we have no choice but to suffer through until we retire. Or, if we're really lucky, maybe we'll win the lottery. But it doesn't have to be that way! You don't have to wait until retirement to start enjoying life. Work can be rewarding, fulfilling, and even fun. The secret is creating a job that pays you to do what you love to do anyway.

In Will Work for Fun, veteran online marketer Alan Bechtold shows you how to generate real, long-lasting income from your hobbies and interests. No matter what you're into—even if it's just flying kites—Bechtold's proven system presents simple steps you can follow to turn your favorite hobby into a fun and exciting career.

Think about the life of your favorite rock star. Sure, musicians make plenty of money. But, more important than the money is the fact that they make a living doing the thing they love doing most. How great must it feel to get paid doing what you love? You can find out too. You won't necessarily make rock star money doing it, but with the right plan, you can turn your interest or hobby into a moneymaking career that makes work fun.

Even better, you don't need any special skills or expensive resources in order to make it happen. All you need is access to a computer, basic understanding of the Internet, and simple word processing skills. With those three ingredients, Will Work for Fun will help you turn whatever it is you love doing into a profit-generating small business that will earn you money and eventually let you quit your regular job.

Bechtold has made an entire career out of pursuing his interests and following his heart. Follow the proven system in Will Work for Fun and you'll be able to turn fun into income too. Why wait any longer to enjoy life? When you work for fun, it's hardly work at all!

Praise for Will Work for Fun:

"Bechtold is the Pied Piper for the New Millennium. Follow him and you will learn to enjoy your life and your work; and you will quickly come to agree that fun really is the best thing to have!"
—TIM KNOX, bestselling author of Everything I Know About Business I Learned from My Mama, www.timknox.com

"Finally . . . the truth is revealed. Work is not a four-letter word when you love what you do. Alan delivers a rollicking good read that gives you a step-by-step blueprint for making money while having fun."
—SHAWN CASEY, founder and CEO of eSpider Squad Franchises,www.shawncasey.com

"This book should be required reading for anyone who hates their job and wants to live a life of their biggest dreams . . . and still make huge sums of money! This is a rare gem your boss does not want you to read."
—T.J. ROHLEDER, President and CEO of M.O.R.E. Inc.

"I've worked with hundreds of CEOs and I always tell them, if it isn't fun—if it's not rewarding and satisfying—don't do it. Now I'm going to make Bechtold's Will Work for Fun required reading, so they have the exact same road map to turn their passions into profits and, as Bechtold says, 'make their play pay.' Give this book to your children. It will help them get a head start on the only sane way to earn a living: doing what you love for money."
—PAUL LEMBERG, CEO of Axcelus Advisors, and bestselling author of Be Unreasonable, www.paullemberg.com

"You simply cannot succeed in a big way unless your work is fun for you. But no one discusses this important topic. At last that's all changed in Alan R. Bechtold's new book. 'Will Work for Fun.' What are the author's qualifications? Perhaps he has enjoyed the longest Internet success, publishing and marketing online for 23 years and averaging more than $1 million in sales per year doing what he loves doing most. Alan reveals three simple steps for turning any hobby or interest into a big cash generating machine for you!" --- Ted Nicholas, author Billion Dollar Marketing Secrets