Thanks to the internet, it’s easier now than ever to put your name (or your company name) out there, using a well-designed self-published book.

But in terms of profitability, it’s important to remember an old sales technique called “cross-selling”. (Break out that dusty copy of Brian Tracy’s Psychology of Selling for the definition. Nothing new about the concept: this book was written when his hair was black.)

In other words, if you were to calculate all the hours you put into your book, you’d need to sell it for roughly $150 a copy to make your desired hourly wage. Since it’s highly unlikely you’d get any takers at that price, you need to offer additional products with higher profit margins to your existing book customers. When your book clients purchase the book, you offer them another product that they can cross-over to, which also suits their needs. It’s the equivalent to selling someone a fancy garment bag when they buy a new suit.

Creating these additional products does not have to be complicated or expensive. Building and selling audio and video content, plus your book, and any other gadgets you have working for you, is part of the service offering that my company has expanded to include. I’ve recently partnered with Total Marketing Systems Inc., which will make it much easier for authors to do the thing they all hate the most: sell stuff . Even though this company is run by Canadian partners, it is based in Las Vegas. And if there’s anything they know how to do in Vegas, it’s sell.

Try this on for size: imagine you are the author I’m working with on a new project for release this coming autumn, a website entitled CookSexy.com. Amateur chef / guy guru Matt Richardson’s first cookbook will teach mortal men just enough about cooking sexy food to make beautiful women fall in love with them. An interesting niche, non? Matt has all the makings of a major star that guys will listen to: he’s just a regular guy who has this cooking-for-hot-women thing all figured out.

What he didn’t have figured out was the production, website, downloading technology, affiliate marketing, publishing and publicity. No problem – enter Peggy, and my entourage of specialists in the area of audio and video creatives, post-production, web technology, graphic design, and even hair and makeup. Sprinkle in a world-class affiliate marketing system courtesy of Total Marketing Systems, and you have a concrete plan that offers all the makings of the next Martha-like cooking and media empire.

But what I really want to know is: do I have to be a 20-something single hottie to get him to make me his signature poached sole with creamy dill sauce?