Tag Archives: book promotion

Optional Ways to Market Your Book

Self publishing has become normal now but that wasn’t always so. There was a time self publishers, POD were considered not professional and were looked down upon and I find that this misconception still holds strength with some people. Which like many other misconceptions needs correction. The more you learn about the process and the marketing and the possibilities available to you the more this misconception can be discounted and a new way of thinking can be developed.

Take a look at amazon.com books if you want to feel more comfortable about writing and publishing a book. POD is a viable solution. AND you are not alone in proceeding down this path to fulfilling your dream.

https://www.ibpa-online.org/Login.aspx is an organization for self publishing authors and indie publishers and anyone interested in fulfilling a dream of making a book.

https://wwwsmashwords.com is a site to visit for information about ebooks production, sales and marketing.

And there are a boat-load of websites that offer different types of information for you to review. https://kindlepreneur.com/courses/  and the website over all offers information that might help you with the journey.

Thats it for now, I’ll be adding to this post as time goes on.

Remember, do something every day towards your book and self promotion.

Wishing you the best on your journey.

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Printed books are alive and doing well — Good Reader

good-reader-ebooks

Sounds a little scary. HOWEVER, printed books have gained!! The article presents some interesting stats…

As a book designer that news makes me happy. The article states “… paperback sales have increased by 8.9% giving further credence that people are switching back to print in greater numbers than originally thought….” And that the brick and mortar might still be there for all to enjoy… might take awhile…. and they are doing better than online sales, and this on the heels of the 20th anniversary of amazon.

“I think e-books are the modern equivalent of a Polaroid camera or LP record. There is a niche market that will always support it, and make it financially viable for publishers to produce digital editions.  The mass market though, experimented with e-books for awhile and decided that print is far more affordable and carries a true sense of ownership.” ~Michael Kozlowski for Good Reader.

I for one am happy to hear and have my feelings confirmed… PRINT IS NOT DEAD!

Remember, do something every day toward the production and promotion of your book, service or company and contact me to help move you faster and effectively. There are several consulting options to choose from. Lets talk!

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Association of American Publishers

aap-banner-for-post-bcdr

The first sub-head is “Adult Books Experience Growth” ….  And then it goes into Trade info and stats for Educational Materials; Professional and Scholarly Publications. Might just seem like a bunch of numbers, but in the end, they are statistics and have meaning.

About AAP

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) is the voice of the U.S. book and journal publishing industry.  AAP represents the industry’s priorities on policy, legislative and regulatory issues regionally, nationally and worldwide.  These include the protection of intellectual property rights and worldwide copyright enforcement, digital and new technology issues, funding for education and libraries, tax and trade, censorship and literacy.  Our four hundred member companies represent major commercial, educational and professional companies as well as independents, non-profits, university presses and scholarly societies.

Find us online at www.publishers.org or on twitter at @AmericanPublish.

Remember, do something every day toward the production and promotion of your book, service or company and contact me to help move you faster and effectively. There are several consulting options to choose from. Lets talk!

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Amazon had an Anniversary July 15th its been 20 years!!

amazon-20th

I know… 20 years! Strange to think that in just that short amount of time all the changes that have happened. Good and Not so good on many levels. I know it changed the way I purchase, and do business.

They hit many markets: bookselling, one-click-purchasing, amazon prime, kindle/ebook creation and sales, publishing with create space, drones and robots still in the works, trunk delivery, dash, and prime day this month.

The article gives a short description of each as a reminder in case we forgot. Continue reading →

The Power of Telling, not showing for book promotion

Tell the story.
Each book has a special audience,  talk to them.

Tell the details.
Remember,  you wrote the book… go back and read it as thought for the first time and see what you find.

Example in words the connection.
Everyone has an emotion that gets touched that makes them pay attention.

Don’t loose sight of what your passion is.
Share.

Tell the tension in a way that the reader wants to know more.

Promotion… create a series of ways to be heard.

  1. create a website
  2. tell stories
  3. postcards, book marks, and posters
  4. get that video on youtube

Contact me to help with your promotion. Start with a consulting session and we’ll build from there. I set up and train you to update your own website. So you can express yourself when the feeling is there. WordPress is pretty easy to comprehend.

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Remember, do something every day toward the production and promotion of your book, service or company and contact me to help move you faster and effectively. There are several consulting options to choose from. Lets talk!

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Karrie Ross is an award winning author of a parenting book and childrens picture book.

Writing Copy for your Book Sales and Promotion

Some things to consider when writing copy for your book sales and promotion. Over the years there has been lots of discussion  on whether a short sales piece with lots of white space and less copy is better or whether long and detailed one that is crowed and lots of copy is the way to go.  I’m thinking to ask…  “What type of buyer are you targeting?”

There are basically 2 kinds of buyers.

1. The Impulsive Buyer
This is the kind of person with very short attention and time… with “places to go and people to see”.  Typically, they’ll skim the headlines and subtopics, glance at the photos and captions, and make a snap decision.

2. The Analytical Buyer
This type of buyer believes that the proof is in the details and so the more details the better.  They’ll read everything, including the fine print.

Hopefully you are skilled and write what we call “successful copy” that address’ the needs of both types of buyers,  regardless of length.  Let’s look at what you need to do to reach these buyers.

Beginning Suggestions on “How to reach each”.

The Impulsive Buyer

1. Use specific, guided headlines and sub headlines.
2. Add attention getting images that enhance your message

–Photos
–Captions
–Varying fonts and font sizes
–Shading
–Use Bold Headlines
–Highlight with shaded areas or bullets

The Analytic Buyer

1. Use the headlines, sub headlines, and graphics for the impulsive buyer as guides.  Add the detailed information the analytic buyer needs under the proper heading, and you’ve got a winning marketing piece that is guaranteed to be successful

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Research and getting to know and find knowledgeable sources of how your potential buyers react is a key to getting their attention. Take note fo the fact that the needs of the impulsive buyer and the analytical buyer overlaps is a bonus for you, the copywriter!

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Remember, do something every day toward the production and promotion of your book, service or company and contact me to help move you faster and effectively. There are several consulting options to choose from. Lets talk!

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Tip: Blogging Happy…not just about the New Year!

Happy New Year! We hear that every year at this time… only 5 more days to go. Do you know what you’ll be doing? Will you start that blog to promote your book, it’s subject, your focus, your sharing with the world the who you are?

Do you have a website… that has a blog? If not, why? This is one of the best tools for beginning your journey in promotion. Next is social media. No, it’s not easy or quick or even fun at times. BUT remember you are on a mission to find a place for your voice, a place to join a community and participate.

Blog is a place like home, somewhere to write your daily thoughts and share the what is on your mind… if you haven’t got one… start it today…if you don’t have a website… call me, I’ll help you set it up so your happy can be shared.

Remember, do something every day toward the production and promotion of your book, service or company and contact me to help move you faster and effectively. There are several consulting options to choose from. Lets talk!

 

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IBPA … a good place to start

ibpa

I took a trip over tot he IBPA website to search out their mailings to libraries since so many of the authors I’ve been working with are interested in library distribution.

I found a couple pages you might not know are there.

The IBPA has a page and special marketing offers I’ve used Continue reading →

Writing Articles For Your Book, Service or Business

I’d like to say it’s tough out there, but then, it’s always been a challenge to promote a business… that’s what advertising and networking are for…and today the action of attracting targeted traffic to your website cannot be overemphasized. Fortunately, there are many different website promotion strategies you can use to drive traffic to your website. With all the new concepts, seo, spiders, and algorithms in use, directing internet traffic to your website can be your number one means of survival, especially in the world of ecommerce. Getting a high search engine ranking can be very tedious and time consuming.

There is a wide variety of strategies you can put into place—ranging from paid advertising to affiliate marketing. However, most of these techniques require payment. Nevertheless, there are ways to promote your website and increase your web traffic without spending anything. Writing articles is one of the best web site promotion strategies besides commenting on other peoples related blog posts, that you can use, and they can be very effective. How, you may ask, can writing articles help improve your web traffic? Here are the top seven ways in which it can help expand your business.

1. More people get to see what you are doing

Be sure you are writing articles for informative on-topic subjects, you want to share them. By posting  these articles to your website or online sites such as e-zine articles and other online e-publishers, you are exposing not only your ideas but also access to your website. By the simple action of including a link back to your site you get exposure and free advertising as well.  Remember that most people are looking for information online and by filling this need with your quality articles, you will reap the benefit of more exposure and higher web traffic.

2. Increases your chance of your website being raked higher on the search results seo

Create a post page for your article, and optimize it with appropriate keywords and content that are search-engine friendly. As soon as you publish the post, search engines will review it with their spiders. Remember that search engine optimized content is a very effective strategy to gain a high ranking in search results.

3. Optimizes your site for improved search engine ranking

By making your site keyword relevant, you can greatly improve the search engine ranking of your site. Remember that search engines are looking for keywords that match your site description and content.  Always provide current, useful and targeted information.  Relevance and quality is still the most important things to consider when writing articles and it will be doubly useful to your site when they pay attention to search-engine optimization.

4. Increases Link Popularity using other websites

Research how to submit your articles to other sites, both ones that are related to your subject and article libraries. Be sure to remember to include a link to your book website in your bio box. When other websites pick up and publish the article, you automatically get a link partner. Try to get as many link partners as you can. Link popularity is one of the factors used by search engines in determining search engine rankings. Make your article especially useful and appealing, so that more websites will be encouraged to publish it.

5. Seeing your name, book title,  or company name is just more Free Advertising

Submitting your articles to other websites is another form of advertising by way of using your name, book title or business name. Avoid heavy marketing language and make the article informative and useful. In addition, by making your article relevant and helpful you are making a good impression for your book or company, which could ultimately lead to a visit and hopefully a purchase. Good quality content in an article is far better and more effective than a few lines of ad space. You have a very special opportunity to presell your book, product or service to your prospective customer.

6. Establishes You as a professional and your book content as important

By writing comprehensive, original and relevant articles, you not only give your site exposure, you are also creating a good impression on your concepts and services. Encourage more people to visit your site and do business with you by establishing an impressive reputation through your articles. Be seen as an expert in the field and your will ultimately gain more customers eager to do business with you.

Remember, do something every day toward the production and promotion of your book, service or company and contact me to help move you faster and effectively. There are several consulting options to choose from. Lets talk!

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Where and how to begin your book promotion.

Book Promotion, or marketing can probably be said to be at least 90% of your job once you’ve decided to write a book and self publish it. But don’t feel overwhelmed just yet. You begin this process early on so by the time the book is written and designed you have a system created that works for you.

Here are some things you can think about setting up:
1.    I had an author that contacted schools like the ones she taught at
2.    Libraries
3.    Readers Groups
4.    Special Interest Clubs and Organizations
5.    Friends and family for suggestions… never know when a 6 year old will open your eyes
6.    Begin Local
7.    Small Business Associations
8.    National Assoc. for the Self Employed
9.    Local Seniors Assoc
10.    Any place that your target audience will go to
11.    Social Media
12.    Magazines and newspapers
13.    Do extensive internet searches
14.    Think, where would I look if I wanted this information or help
15.    lots more…. just think

That all being listed, seems like it’s just a matter of putting together another outline and mapping out the sequence you want to start with. Watch how every place you research for content development can turn into a place to promote.

Remember, do something every day  toward the production and promotion of your book, service, product or company and contact me to help you move it forward faster.

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Time to publish my book, as well as market, promote, review, award shows and and and…

It is time again, to get back to the business at hand, which of course is to publish my book. You remember what that is right? The action that you take when you have a thought that just has to be shared, in words only you can relate. The words that keep you up at night and fill you with a great passion and fulfillment. The one and only action you want to do always and forever…without writers block to hold you back ….

Well, that sounds good in theory but after you’ve written your book out to manuscript form, proofed and double checked editied… now what? Who will design the cover. Who will layout the interior? Who will promote it to media outlets? Who will post daily to social media sites and converse with them…. who I ask … WHO? Kinda sounds like a Henny Penny nursery rhyme doesn’t it. Well, its not to far from that.

You realize, you will be the one unless you have an assistant or army of people who will do it for you. Most of us are the ones who pick up the next item on the checklist and start the learning process again. NOTE: once this new information is learned and actions are achieved… you will most likely move through it faster and happier and probably begin it even while you are writing your next book. YES, there will be a next one! YAY!

The best beginning is with what you know, but not always the best place to begin. Have I confused you yet? Think about it, say you really understand media, but without a cover design any work you put towards getting the news out there will be wasted since you really don’t have a product yet. Yes, your book is a product.

That’s why there are people like the book consultant, coach, designer, promotion and branding expert out there to help you through the tough “What’s next?” question and action to get and stay on the right course to creating a presence for you, your book and your concepts. There are many lists out there that can tell you what to do, I have lots here on my website. I have a list of award shows, a list of categories, a list of tips that will aide in your social media and blogging tips lists that will boggle your mind of all the options to do. In fact, that might be the reason you are here on my website, to check out all my services. Feel free to call me if there is a question not answered. We can set up a time for a 15 min. free discussion.

Knowing where you can go off the path can help you get to the end sooner, realizing that there are still several choices to make to even get there. Having another person list and guide the progress can be a time saving event.

As a self publishing author many skills are acquired along the way that will benefit you in all you do. Think about when you will be in front of an audience interested in your concepts, think of how empowered you’ll feel when you can answer any question about the how you did what you did that you are inspiring them to do.

This is how you can do that.

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Remember do something every day toward the production and promotion of your book, service, product or company. Contact me to set up a consulting session and get on the direct path.

 

Book Promotion: Getting your articles to magazines on target and on time…

It’s not like we as business owners don’t have enough to do with actually producing a book, product or service, but often we are the only one doing the work. Here are a few ideas to get you started on your years plan for PR.

1. Articles are almost a must in today’s world of instant information. Write an article that is on target with what you are selling and you will get hits.

2. Make the keywords the best type of natural search sentence structure you can and catch more of your target audience.

3. Check out local magazines, find out what their editorial calendar is all about, what stories are they going to cover. Then be sure to not only post like-minded ones to your website but also send to the magazine as an article or letter to the editor. Know that all business likes attention and participation.

4. Do a search for a yearly calendar that spotlights holidays… write about how what you have fits to the holiday. This needs to be done at least 3-4 months before the actual holiday. Start now its the beginning of the year.

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Remember, do something every day toward the production and promotion of your book, product, service or company. Contact me to set up a consultation toward moving it forward more effectively.

 

 

Promotion: Upholding the Promise of your Book

I’ve seen it happen over and over. Not only in the book world but in business in general. You know those networking meetings or conferences you go to where everyone mingles and talks about what they do or how they came to be at the event. Well, ever notice when the attention goes away when talking to someone who all-of-a-sudden realizes you are not “part of their planned audience?”

Some thoughts to keep in mind if you are going to invest your time and money into a book/product/service:

1. The $$$$  phone call when an individual or company calls for info on your book and services?

Always pay attention to the person on the other end of the line, you never know who they know or what their real reason is for calling. I recently answered a call from a person asking about my Feng Shui only to end up with a spot on a radio show about my book design. Pay attention.

2. When a situation you find yourself in is exactly what your book/services are about… what then…

Keep in mind, this person might have no idea what they are saying or projecting. Your introduction sets a tone for relating. Be sure you are exacting YET not pushy in tone or language this might be your next client. I once was in line at the grocery store when the person behind me commented on something I was buying. I almost didn’t respond when the little bell in my head when ding-ding. I turned and started with a funny statement to break the ice and then went into a full conversation about how I do feng shui and how the product fit into a solution. They took my business card.

3. When a new referral shows up, all that time and effort into the initial phone calls getting to know what they are looking for only to get a “Thank You” email that they went with another service/product. 

I like to look at these instances as learning experiences, and review them, make note of where the conversation might have gotten off-track and then move on. The next call will be a commitment. Keep the balance of forward movement, once you get stuck might bring this to a stop. Remember to send a thank you response back to them, that way they are left with a positive memory to the experience with you.

4.  When your question is met with neither a pleasant nor interested response from the so called “expert?”

Hey, it’s their loss. Make a mental note not to do the same when it’s your turn in the front of the room and it is your book and your passion and your subject being discussed. This is what you are waiting for.

Hope these helped put a little into your thinking cap, awareness helps open doors. AND that once you do have a book and start promoting it… this is YOUR LIFE now… the passion you share.

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Remember, do something every day toward the production, promotion, marketing and branding for your book, service, product or company. Contact me to set up a consultation on moving forward.

We all know it's not JUST about writing the book… right?

1. Make / write your statement, book, tips, whatever…

2. Get it out there, blog, post, tweet, video, radio, articles, conferences, seminars, events

3. Do what you have to do so that as many people see your work as possible

4. Prove that you’re a going concern, timely, motivated, aware of the world, benefits

5. That you’re in this for the duration, this is who you are, your focus, goals, gift

6. You’re committed, this is what you think about all the time… your love affair

7. You’re not going to give up… hello… as though this would ever happen

8.  that nothing will stop you… you can be trusted, that you offer safety

AND

Sooner or later, others will begin believing in you just like you believe in yourself, and that’s when good things start happening.

Book Design: Does my eBook Need to be Protected?

Do you have a Kindle? I’ve been told that the fate of the printed book might be in danger!

I’m not sure I believe that, but, as a self publisher we need to be on top of the newest trends… and one of those trends is making our books available in eBook form to be read on the computer or other devices.

Then the question arises, do I protect it with a password? And is that password buyer specific or book specific? Should I be concerned about thieft and multiple reproductions?

My answer is only from my personal experience, please always be sure to research your answers on your own as well. When I make eBooks for my book design clients, I make sure they are locked in every way except for being able to print, but I don’t usually install a password for them to be accessed.
Continue reading →

Case Study: needs a teleseminar line that will do a pre-set broadcast.

Case Study:

Client looking for as teleseminar/ conferencing service that will allow them to pre-tape a hour-long interview and then schedule it and play instead of doing a live interview. There logic was that a live interview has lots of unnecessary chatter that they wanted to edit out and give their listeners only the “good stuff.”

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Solution:
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