Top Ten Ways to Promote Your Books Through Flyers

A flyer is an excellent, inexpensive way to promote your book. What makes one flyer so much better than another? Use these top10 tips to make your flyer stand out from the crowd.
1. Include a colored picture of your front cover.
People want to see what your book looks like. Color is great, but not always necessary. Make sure your colored book cover copies well in black and white. If you do use color, make your book cover background white with colored lettering, so you don't go through a $35 ink cartridge too fast.
2. Hook your prospective buyers with the headline in the top line of your flyer just as you do for your back cover.
Here's a few gems: Why Not Publish Yourself? Read About SEX as it Really Is! Imagine Thousands of Readers Buying your Book Next Month! Quadruple your Income in Four Months! Give your audience a reason to buy--Show those benefits.
3. Include some juicy excerpts from your book.
Prospective buyers want to see a sample of your writing, especially if it's fiction. Use an analogy or short story to illustrate your book's main point if non-fiction.
4. Include your picture with a brief biography near it.
People want to see what the author looks like. Place it on the right side of the flyer if possible.
5. Add praise from others.
Testimonials are the most significant way to market your book. The praise doesn't have to be from famous people. Use a man/woman on the street opinion. One client/author added a testimonial from a convict!
6. Put ordering information on a coupon at the flyer's bottom.
Include your book's ISBN number, Web site URL, your email, toll-free number and discount information.
7. Make it easy for your reader to buy.
Offer easy ways to buy: credit cards, checks or money orders. Include your toll-free 800 number. Many prefer a coupon they can fill out and mail or fax.
8. Give your prospective buyers all the ways to stay in touch with you.
Some people will not buy online or use a credit card. While most small business people are ready for these, it's a good idea to include your street address, e-mail, Web Site, local phone and fax number, and 800 number.
9. Carry at least 25 flyers with you in a folder at all times.
Keep them in your car, so that when you pass a place that will post them for you, they are handy. Give one to every person you meet. Remember the "law of seven." After seven exposures, you have a buyer! Flyers are better than a business card because they have more detailed information on them to help the potential buyer make a decision.
10. Use the backside of the flyer.
You really waste this space if you don't put it to use. Multiply buying results with more testimonials on the back. Include a longer excerpt from your book there.
Your flyer is a detailed extension of you and your book, and one of the least expensive ways to market your book through print. Print hundreds, even thousands, so your book buying public can easily purchase your book.

Networking Gold

Whether you’re trying to find an editor for your book, or a producer to pitch your story to, sometimes it’s all about networking. If you still have 999 of the 1,000 business cards you ordered, you’re not getting out there enough. It’s time to step out from behind that computer and strike networking gold. One of the first laws of networking is that you want to get to know the people you’re networking with. If you’re at a writers conference or networking luncheon, don’t just pass out business cards, take the time to get to know people. When you meet industry partners, jot down a few notes on the back of their business cards so you don’t lost this potentially valuable information.When you’re building your network, be generous with your help and information. The people you’re networking with will remember and appreciate your generosity. Next, you’ll want to stay on their radar screen. If I don’t regularly dialog with a particular contact, I try to send them a note or set up a lunch at least once every six months (more when I can). When you’re staying in touch with people, let them know if you’re offering a new service or product and always remember to send thank you notes whenever you get a referral from them. If your objective is to join some networking groups, remember that these are not all created equal. Some groups and events are better than others and some are just straight out time wasters. When you first start pursuing networking events, you’ll find that many are just “luncheons” meaning that a few entrepreneurs get together and hash out their difficulties/ideas/challenges over lunch. If this is what you’re after, great! But more than likely you’ll want to attend events that can sell you books, get you new business or a combination of both. Keep in mind also that some networking events cost money to join, weigh the benefits of membership before you plunk down some cash, the better organizations don’t always need to cost a lot, often you can find networking organizations that only charge a small fee at the door to cover room expenses, etc. The next thing you’ll want to look at when attending a networking meeting is supply and demand. If you’re promoting your business and looking for leads, you probably won’t want to go to a meeting where there are a number of people doing the same thing you are. Unless it’s an association (which are great too) you’ll want to look for meetings that have a good balance in attendees. The other obvious choice for writers is writers conferences. But much like networking meetings they are not all created equal. Once you determine that you want to attend a conference, start “shopping” for the right one to attend. You’ll need to find a conference that fits your writing needs right now. For example if you’re still in the throes of getting into the craft of writing, perhaps a writing retreat is more suited to your needs. If you’ve already written a book and are deciding what to do with it, then a more advanced conference will work better for you. In either case, peruse their web sites carefully. Recommendations are great but remember, attending the wrong conference can be a waste of your time and money. Spend both of these commodities wisely! Whether you’re meeting a producer for coffee, attending a networking event or going to your first writers conference there are a few tips that you’ll want to keep in mind. First, whenever you collect business cards, take a few minutes to jot down some notes on the back before proceeding onto your next prospect. You can note some of the discussion you had or what your follow up action might be. Next, you’ll want to follow up while the contact is still fresh. Especially if you’re at a writers conference or some other big event where there’s a lot of networking. There’s nothing like networking to build your business or sell books, remember that much like marketing networking is all about relationships. Building them, supporting them, and, ultimately, benefiting from them. Like anything, becoming a good networker takes time and effort, but when done correctly, it’s worth all the work you put into it because you never know, networking gold today might mean a spot on Oprah tomorrow.

Publicity Through Philanthropy For Writers

I am twenty three years old, have sold over four thousand copies of my first book in a matter of a month after it's release and recently been contacted for contracts with Random House and Harper Collins for two new titles. I think a good deal of my recent success is highly correlated with my Reading for Charity Contest and the attention it has drawn. I'll explain the entire background, but as pre-thought I think it first manifested itself through a combination of my looking for a good way to market my first book, while balancing out my karma a bit. A way to interweave my love of novel writing, increase my book's visibility and provide a benefit to society in some way shape or form. All of these tasks have seemed to be accomplished- although my karma could still probably use some more balancing.
What is the Reading for Charity Contest?: Over sixty organizations, a group of corporate sponsors, and a handful of volunteers are the result of the charity contest. I took my very recently published book and decided to give away a certain percentage of it's profits to charity. There was a catch though, the charity I will give my book profits to is being voted on, by the readers. So once you read my book, you can go to my webpage or find me at one of my book tours and vote for your favorite cause and the highest voted cause receives the profits (Which should be quite a bit). That was the reading for charity contests basic beginning. It's the focal point of everything else that now surrounds the contest and of course my book. The contest was than expanded on by a few different means which, furthered the accomplishment of my goals.
1) Rather than your basic book tours I turned my book tours into a way to highlight the organizations participating in the contest. I have a large stand representing all of the participating organizations with their information and donation cards. Next came along a couple of benefit events- a silent auction, a couple of benefit dinners etc... Things that were really quite easy to put together, but could have a great benefit for the charity groups I was working with. Now this may seem like a good deal of work, which it was, but the benefits for the organizations had been huge, and the benefits for me personally has been equally spectacular.
The benefits all of this had for me: I was able to get involved with over sixty non-profit organizations and use my book and contest as a way to highlight their efforts and eventually provide them with a financial benefit as well. There is no truer statement that giving is a two way street. In return for my help with the organizations the organizations did their best to help out me. I am featured with my book in over fifty non-profit newsletters, on a large number of webpages, as well as postings and fliers from the organizations. Some organizations have newsletters with readers in the ten of thousands. It is equivalent to being featured in fifty newspapers across the country that are targeted directly to the reader.
2) The book tours are not only philanthropic, but also bring in a good deal of people and create a lot of buzz. After some attention a number of companies offered to sponsor the events. I was able to receive all of my marketing material for my book and contest for free from corporate sponsors. T-shirts, fliers, book marks, posters, business cards, mail outs, coffee cups, even mousepads with my book cover on them. My entire marketing plan which is now pretty extensive costs only about five dollars a month to cover the price of my website, that is it and nothing more.
3) When you have a purpose and are providing aid you directly relate with the community you are assisting. Since the organizations I have involved are spread out throughout the entire United States it has proved to be an excellent source of publicity, from radio, to newspapers, to magazines, even a couple of upcoming television shows. It has given my book an unbelievable pr hook in a market where it is difficult to get a story in a paper just because you recently published a book..
4) In basic when people read my book they are doing more than just being entertained, each copy bought goes directly to a great cause. The readers of the book are allowed to interweave their love of reading with a greater purpose in an interactive fashion. Once again a win-win situation.
I would like to expand a bit on the reading for charity contest idea. I think there are a world of ways to further the efforts and provide the joint benefit for some organizations out there, and assist me in my publication and book marketing endeavors. As a model however it has been incredibly successful, I think there are a lot of incredibly creative ways to market a book on a low budget like I originally had and turn it into a success. Once again I will state that giving something always brings in something, and in my case, it brought in an incredible book career.

Cover Yourself

One of your biggest sales tools is your books cover. Did you know that if someone sees your book on the shelf, you have less than thirty seconds to sell it? Remember too that your book cover will not only be on your book, but it will more than likely grace most or all of your marketing materials as well and a heavily funded PR campaign can not make up for a poorly designed book cover.If you’re stumped for cover ideas, try spending an afternoon perusing your genre of books in a bookstore and decide what works and what does not. Then have a cover designed that fits your audience. Also, remember when titling your book it’s all about the “WIIFM” factor, or “what’s in it for me.” Your audience will want to know why they should buy your book instead of someone else’s and I find more often than not that authors designing their cover often want to incorporate symbols or hidden messages. This is usually a very bad idea mostly because the only person who will get it is the author. You don’t want a cover you have to explain to your audience unless you plan on hand-selling every copy of your book. In fact, you want a cover that’s so self-explanatory even someone who isn’t your reader will get it. That’s why I suggest that while the author should offer suggestions to the cover designer, they should never be the one to do the final design. Why? Because honestly you want someone who’s never read your book to design the cover. Why? Well, your reader won’t read the book before they buy it so as I indicated earlier, the cover needs to explain itself. My graphic designer, Leeza Hernandez-Stetzler of ConkerTree Design has done several marketing pieces for me as well as assisting me with several cover designs. Leeza says: “Think about color and shade; rich golds work well with saturated blues, Deep green and ivory have a very sophisticated business-like feel and navy works well with ivory also. Purples and mid-tone blues have a more spiritual or meditative tone while sage green is calming and so is lavender; rustic earth tones give a feeling of warmth and comfort. Soft pinks and pastels are good for romance or softer type subjects, whereas hot pinks and deep purples have a bit more spice. Grays tend to be more subdued, sometimes bordering on depressive. Black has a more serious association which is good when used in books that offer information and business, like 'how-to's advice.” She does caution, however, to use the boldness of bright red with care because too much of it and the effect will be lost. A touch of red, however, tailored with black and white makes a very powerful statement. Just make sure your book has the content to back it up. When it comes to red, Leeza says, “Think 'Schindlers List,' where the entire movie is filmed in black and white except that one scene where the little girl runs across the screen and she is dressed in red. How powerful was that? Would you remember the scene if she was dressed in blue, or if the movie was color, probably not.”Here are some cover tips to help you create an outstanding cover for your book! Front cover · Contrast is important. Draw attention to your book by using a lighter background with darker color type or vice versa. Also, avoid choosing a color for your title that merges into the background.· Make sure that the title and subtitle are in different fonts to draw a distinction between the two.· Don’t use all caps; it can give a very angry impression. Instead, use both upper and lower-case letters.· As a rule of thumb, the title should be visible from about 12 feet away, which means letters no smaller than 24 pt (1/3 inch) and preferably 36 pt (½ inch). Back cover · The back cover should list the benefits of the book. Promise health, wealth, entertainment or a better life. Make it catchy and thought provoking. Again, visiting a bookstore will help you decide what draws you to a book and what’s a real turn off.· If you’re fortunate enough to have garnered preproduction blurbs or endorsements from reviewers or specialists in your topic, don’t overuse them. I know you’re thrilled to have so many people praising your book, but don’t fill your back cover with every single one you’ve ever gotten. Use the most significant one on the cover, put one or two on the back and if you have more, use the first few pages of your book.· The blurb about yourself should be no more than three sentences. I know, I know, you have so much to say, so much talent and so many other books waiting in the wings. But try to limit this; trust me, they may love your book, but they really don’t want to hear all about you. Spine · Make sure that your name and the title of the book are prominent and easy to read.· Don’t use a complicated font. Keep it simple and easy to read.

Publicity from Thirty-Thousand Feet

We all know that marketing a book is a process. But sometimes the process takes longer than we’d anticipated. That’s why it’s nice every now and again to hop aboard the publicity jet and get a look-see at what you’ve been doing from the thirty-thousand foot level. Why? Well, first off this birds-eye view will revel to you areas you might be overlooking or other options for marketing you hadn’t considered. To accomplish this bird-eye view you’ll want to get yourself a big white board, or something else big enough to chart your flight plan on. Then, once you’ve gotten that start charting the course you’ve taken so far. Don’t leave a single thing out; it doesn’t matter what it is. What you want to end up with is a serious list of everything you’ve done from the time you held your first proof book in your hands. One of the things this type of a project will do is give you a new perspective on what you’re doing. It will show you areas that you’ve possibly been spending too much time on or potential holes in your campaign. Sketching out your marketing campaign will also give you a chance to see what’s been leveraging you results and what hasn’t. Keep in mind that some things like bulk sales and national media might take longer than other items so you’ll want to keep putting forth effort towards those long term goals. But let’s say you’ve been spending tons of time doing radio but nothing really seems to be happening in that area. You then look over to your speaking engagement section and realize you haven’t done a lot with that recently. Perhaps it’s time to pull back on radio and start pushing speaking event. Once you’ve spent a good long time in this birds-eye view mode, start developing a to-do list of items or add to an existing list to help reinvigorate your campaign. One of the many things you’ll learn from doing this thirty-thousand foot perspective is that we often because myopic in our campaigns, focusing too hard in one area and not hard enough in another. Stepping back from your work will allow you the breathing room you need to regroup and reset your goals. Then you can focus in on particular areas or tasks that might need a boost. It’s been said that a plane flying from Hawaii to Los Angeles is always off by three percent. If left to fly without any adjustments to the course, however slight, the plane would land up in Seattle instead (a difference of almost 1,200 miles!). But through corrections and readjustments the pilot eventually reaches his destination. As you pilot your own campaign, remember: don’t leave your marketing on autopilot. Realign, readjust, and refocus and eventually you too will reach your destination, wherever that might be. Happy flying!

Maximizing Your Book’s Earning Potential

Everything in life is worth writing about if you have the guts to do it and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. - Sylvia PlathIf you're going to put out tons of effort writing a book, you should also invest the extra time and energy into creating some strategic components that can really help leverage your promotional options. Building marketing into your book is one way to help maximize your book's earning potential. If done correctly, you could shave hundreds, if not thousands of dollars off of your marketing and publicity budget.So, how do you get started? Well, it’s easier than you might think. First you'll want to do a little brainstorming and really begin to focus on your reader. A good analysis of who will be reading your book will help you determine which components need to be included in this book to enhance its marketability. Through this, you can add those things you might have not otherwise considered. Let’s say, for example, you are writing a book on relationships or great places to meet your significant other. You might decide to include those places to assist your readers in their search and in so doing have now opened the door to the possibility of offering this book to those sites or singles programs. When it works for your topic, incorporating companies, websites, or other helpful resources is a great way to extend the growth of your book beyond the initial reader, turning it into a "one-stop-shop" and thereby enhancing your marketing avenues. If you're a fiction writer, consider the setting for your book and if possible, why not set it in a real place? This could potentially lead to signings and events where the book is set. Does your book have a handy resource guide? If it doesn't you should consider adding one. Then you can also offer this same resource guide (and the updates) on your website as well. From this, you can also consider offering special reports that readers can subscribe to; or even a newsletter or mailing list with periodic updates works well. The key here is: you don't want your relationship to end after the reader puts the book down. You want to continue to stay on their radar screen as long as you can. As you begin to focus on your reader, take a moment to consider what they'd really love to see in your book – as opposed to what you'd like to see in it. There is a big difference. When I was putting together my most recent book: From Book to Bestseller (due out this fall), I realized that timelines and check-off lists were big deals to my readers, so I incorporated them. These lists now can also be offered on my website as a downloadable product. In an ideal marketing world, your book should be its own marketing machine, offering not only the potential for spin-off products (as discussed in our last issue) but also a means to market, market, market and maximize its earning potential. Ideally, you want to capitalize on your book for as long as you can, and turning it into a marketing machine will go a long way toward extending the life and reach of your book, increasing your bottom line and getting you that Chateau in France you always dreamed of.

Making the Most of Amazon.com

Besides being a great place to shop, Amazon also offers considerable marketing opportunities for anyone willing to take the time to explore them. Here are just a few you might want to consider. Keep in mind that Amazon's site is not static, meaning that they are in a constant state of change. If any of these items aren’t available on the site, keep checking back because Amazon will often shuffle features to gauge their individual popularity. Tell Amazon Who You AreOne of the first things you’ll want to do is register yourself on Amazon. Once you do you’ll be sent to a "Friends & Favorites" page (or you can click through to there by clicking on your name i.e. "Jack’s Page" on the top tabs), when you get there you’ll see a space to add info on yourself. You can add bio information, your website, email and also a picture. I highly recommend you do this as this information will follow any reviews you should make on the Amazon site.Have people review your book Very few people buy a "naked" book - meaning that they won’t buy a book that has no reviews on it. Have people review your book and add any reviews that you’ve gotten from other sources!The Publishers PageA page on Amazon will allow you to upload content related to your book to their site. This will allow you to add reviews, descriptive text, bio info and much more. The link for this page is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/partners/publishers/publishers.html/102-5354958-1668109Amazon.com ReviewersTake a look at other books similar to yours and see who’s reviewed them. If they are Amazon.com reviewers you might want to go after them. Especially if they are one of the top 10 reviewers, these reviewers carry a certain amount of "clout" on the site and with other readers, and many times reviewers like Harriet Klauser (Amazon's #1 reviewer) will send your review out to other sites as well! Reviewing BooksIt’s always a good idea to review other books in your genre. When you do this, don’t just review from the perspective of a reader, review from the perspective of an expert and make sure to add your contact info (or your website) in the review area! Make a recommendation! Recommend an item on Amazon.com similar to yours! This is a great thing to do whenever a new book comes out in your genre. So You’d Like To... (SYLT) Guides! This is another great place to promote any articles you’ve written. You can load your advice/articles/book excerpts onto the So You’d Like To... Guides at Amazon.com by clicking on the "Friends and Favorites" link at the top of the Amazon site, then look for "Write a So You’d Like To..." Guide and start the process. They key here is to make sure you have a list of books you recommend to go with your SYLT guide (including yours!). The links to your article will be featured on each of your recommended book pages.Using Amazon as an additional promotion tool is a savvy way to make sure your presence on the net doesn’t end with your web site. Go where the readers go and in so doing, you’ll lead them right to your book. Happy Selling!

Are You Ready When the Media Calls?

Are you prepared for the media to call you? If you're not, you should be. Pitching is great, but if you're not ready when the call finally comes in, it is really just a wasted effort. Most authors go about their routine of sending press releases, e-mailing pitches or mailing books, but they're unprepared for the caller that says, "Yes, I'd like to interview you for a story I'm doing." Most likely the interviewer is calling several people; being prepared will give you a leg up on the competition. As thorough as you're being in your pitch to them, you'll need to be equally thorough when they call you. The first step is to keep a file close at hand with a list of places you've pitched and the angle you've given them. Most reporters won't take the time to reconfirm the slant you took or the ideas you offered; having this handy will give the impression of someone who is on top of their media campaign. Taking the time to dig or reconstruct this information is unprofessional and will reflect badly on you.Next, have all your tip sheets handy. If you didn't submit tips to the media in your pitch (and even if you did), you'll want to offer these to the person interviewing you. It’s also important to keep up with current events that might add a new twist to your topic. When relevant to your industry, it's also a good idea to stay up to date with new research that might shed some additional light on your subject matter. Also, keep a list of other experts in your field to help the reporter or producer flesh out a story. If you do your homework, they won't need to call anyone else, but in case they do, have this information handy, especially if they can offer a different perspective than yours. Remember, it's the media’s job to offer all sides of the story. Keep in mind that this is not just about getting them the information they need, but also ingratiating yourself to the media and becoming their No. 1 contact for this particular topic. Be generous. The more you can help them do their job, the better an interview will go, and the chances are very likely you'll get called on again. Be courteous of their time and be aware of their deadlines. If they need to see a copy of your book and they're local, offer to drop it off. If they aren't local, do whatever you can to get the book to them on time, even if this means incurring overnight mailing fees. The more you can help them enhance their segment or print piece, the more time or "ink" you might get. Also, if there are pictures or digital files related to your subject matter, make sure you have them handy and can e-mail them with a few clicks of a mouse. It's tedious and time-consuming to have to scan these first (or have them scanned) before they are in a format that can be quickly transferred from interviewee to the reporter. I tested these ideas a couple of years ago when the San Diego Union Tribune contacted me to ask me one question about my topic. Because I had everything ready and was able to update them on new developments, this one question turned into a front-page story. When it comes to the media, be a Boy Scout: Be prepared, or be prepared to give up a story to someone who is.

When Old News is Good News

Sometimes when you’re pitching your topic or learning the art of the media pitch all you will hear is “your topic must be newsworthy, it must be trendy AND it must tie into a current/relevant topic.” So let’s say you have a great pitch, the only thing is it’s from last year. Is old news good news? Sometimes, yes it is. If your pitch ties into something current and relevant then it’s what we can an “evergreen.” In fact I have pitches that I’ve used several times over, they are seasonal pitches that become relevant when that particular season rolls around. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you have a book on relationships and Valentine’s Day is looming on the horizon. Well, you might create a pitch or two for this holiday and strike media gold when it comes to their interest in your topic. But once the holiday is history you can still file away your pitch, providing it wasn’t pivotal to a news-topic that won’t be coming around again. Several years ago I created a topic for Valentine’s Day called: “The one thing people DON’T do that screws up their marriages.” Now since divorce rates aren’t getting any better for the foreseeable future, this topic will continue to remain fresh year after year. Certainly I might tweak a sentence or two or offer a fresh set of tips or questions, but the pitch itself remains consistent. So, how do you go about creating evergreen hooks for your book? Well, start this as you would any campaign and open a calendar to map out the next twelve months of your marketing efforts. During those twelve months you will no doubt find a pitch or two that you can recycle the next time this date comes around. Or, alternatively, you might find a topic that isn’t date sensitive meaning that it can be used over and over again with a few minor changes. Health, relationship, and diet issues all tend to have this “evergreen” component to them. We’re equally interested in this topic no matter what the season so for example when the holidays come around people are talking about family issues, dieting issues, etc. And while they might have a different twist to them, they pitch is essentially the same. This also holds true for a book you are promoting year after year. Let’s say you have a health book, and while you keep updating the book with current trends and relative information the content is essentially the same. Save for a few references to the low-carb craze your pitches might be quite similar year after year. Or better still a book on personal finance or relationships. These are the staples of our life and barring any new research, remain fairly static throughout our lives. Creating evergreens for your topic will allow you the freedom and flexibility you need to keep the momentum going on your campaign without siphoning off an overwhelming amount of creativity every time an appropriate seasonal angle comes along. Knowing when to craft a fresh release and when to recycle an old one will go a long way to keeping your media campaign strong and perhaps a tad less time-consuming.

Looking To Sell Your Book For A Good Price?

Many self-publishing authors plan on eventually selling their book to a large publisher at a good price. The fast track way to achieve this goal is to push up the market value of a book with a push v. pull strategy. This article shows you how to do exactly that, using a simple Internet strategy that any self-publisher can afford. PUSH v. PULL EXPLAINED Books with push like Harry Potter push customers through the doors, and the registers go kachink, kachink. With self-published titles, booksellers must pull customers through the door and that costs money. Put yourself in their shoes. Giving preference to books with built-in push makes sense. Remember this formula: push stacks chips on your side of the bargaining table and pull sweeps them away. With a transferable Internet presence strategy, you can stack chips to the ceiling just like the big boys do. WHAT THE BIG BOYS ARE DOING The push is on with major publishers to build market value for their intellectual properties with the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) system. A DOI is a permanent Internet address for your book. No matter how many times ownership of a book changes hands, the DOI Internet address is permanently bound to the book, just as tightly as the binding. This is why hundreds of big publishers have registered over 16 million intellectual properties with the DOI system with millions more on the way. Who fueled the creation of the DOI system? Computer experts? No. From a market asset valuation standpoint, that makes as much as sense as going to a Sushi Chef for a vasectomy. (Better idea - get the Sushi afterwards!) Rather, it was senior publishing executives and their financial gurus who pushed for the creation of the DOI system. When you sit down at the bargaining table with a DOI, you'll be talking their language. PLAYING WITH THE BIG BOYS The Internet is like an elephant, it remembers everything and it can remember a lot! You can always include your email address or your web site address but these things point to a business identity - not the work, itself. Use the same DOI on every web page, ezine article, review, blog post, etc. and it becomes a 24/7 market value builder that follows the work. If something changes, like your email or web site address, one simple update is all it takes. No more annoying "page not found" or "no such e-mail recipient" errors. Use your DOI the right way, and every little stitch of web presence marketing you've done becomes one more chip on bargaining table. Remember, the big guys speak DOI. DOI BENEFITS ARE IMMEDIATE Getting good book reviews is so miserably hard these days, especially for self-published authors. What if your book finally gets that fabulous review you've hoped for long after publication? Will it be orphaned from the book marketing information you've already published on the Internet? No. One quick update of your DOI and everything that it references on the Internet will immediately begin broadcasting your fabulous review to the online world. START ADDING MARKET VALUE TODAY Each day, try to add more market value to your book. A blog post here, an ezine article there. These things cost nothing, and yet they can push huge amounts of sales-generating traffic at your book. As a self-published author, you've got to keep your eyes on what the big guys are doing, and when you can emulate them on the cheap, you do it! WHEN TO GET YOUR DOI The best time to register your DOI is after your books are available for purchase on Amazon.com and other online bookseller sites. This way, you can create menu options in your DOI that link to online bookseller pages for immediate sales results. Be sure to ask your publisher or vanity press if they offer a DOI service. One that does is Your Own World Books (Yowbooks.com). Their Author Advantage program includes a transferable DOI. If your publisher does not offer a DOI service, that's OK. As the copyright holder, you can register your DOI with an independent DOI hosting service like DOIeasylink.NET. The annual cost of a DOI is comparable to one-month web site hosting fee. Plus, you get a 1-page Internet response page and descriptive menus with multiple Internet links. USE A DOI TO HIT CRITICAL MASS If you remember only one thing from this article, let it be this. Think like the big boys. Use this strategy to add more market value by continually broadcasting information on the Internet with your DOI. Eventually, you'll hit critical mass. People will buy your book, and large publishers will see this and be impressed!

How to harness the power of ebooks

Ebooks can be a powerful tool when it comes to promoting and profiting from your website. To be able to benefit from ebooks, it is important to know how to use them to their full potential.There are two big ways in which ebooks can be used to benefit you and your site:1.Promotion2.ProfitingBoth of these are extremely important. Without promoting your site and receiving enough visitors, it is impossible to profit, which is the ultimate aim of a successful internet business.Promotion:Ebooks are especially good for advertising your website. They cost almost nothing to produce and can be easily distributed via an email. You can either use an ebook which you have created yourself, or you can use another author’s ebook, provided you have permission. Here is how to advertise your site to unknown levels using an ebook:- Use an ebook with a broad appeal, so as to achieve a maximum range of interest from many people. However, try to keep the ebook relevant to your site’s subject matter. This way, those who travel to your site through the ebook will find more that interests them on your site. This is how to turn browsers of your ebook into buyers on your site.- Once you have chosen your ebook’s subject try to write the content similarly to your site. Add a link to the site you want to promote at the beginning and end of every page in the ebook. Make sure that these links are visible, and that it is made clear to the viewer where these links go to. Within the content of the ebook, while talking about something which can be found directly at your site, a link can also be added. However, make sure not to clutter your ebook with links and ads. This looks unprofessional and gives viewers a bad impression.- Having finished the ebook’s content, check furiously for spelling mistakes or missing punctuation. These mistakes lead the viewer to believe that the author is unprofessional and even that the site may be insecure and badly run.- Now comes a crucial part. Make sure on the very front of the ebook, or somewhere where everyone will be able to see, that you have put a statement such as this:“You may redistribute this ebook freely so long as the content inside remains the same”This will mean that anyone you receives your ebook will be able to pass it on, so long as they don’t change it. Given the fact that ebooks are a very popular form of displaying information nowadays, people are very likely to give your ebook away, whether it be a freebie on their site or a gift to newcomers. More and more people will have a copy of your ebook, with your link which goes straight back to your site. People are bound to click on your link if they’re interested.- Now with your completed ebook, you can start distributing. Give it to all your friends and family and anyone else who you know. Tell them to distribute it everyone in their email address book. Do not be afraid to contact a site which sells or gives away ebooks and ask them if they will distribute it. The chances are that they will. Big ebook sites need new ebooks to keep going. Contact sites which have a similar subject matter as the subject of your ebook and ask them if they will distribute it. Don’t forget to distribute your ebook freely on your own site, because this will gain your site popularity. If you need help distributing your ebook, my site http://www.info-ebooks.co.uk would be happy to distribute it for you.Once you have distributed a number of copies, if you have distributed it well to many sets of people, your ebook will soon do its work. People will start clicking on your links from all over the web and in addition, you have also made a small name for yourself on the web. This will increase the popularity and trust in your site.Profiting:Obviously through the promoting of your website using ebooks, the profits will increase. However, there are other ways in which to profit using ebooks:- The most obvious way to make money through ebooks is by selling them. However, there are already many huge companies doing this and it is hard for little companies and websites to keep up. Nevertheless, try to offer just that little bit extra on your ebook deal compared to everyone else’s. You have to try and make your deal seem special. Add a couple of bonuses and maybe a useful bit of software too.- Profit through ebooks by offering them as a bonus with another, more expensive product you are selling on your website. You would be surprised at how a browser will choose your product over others, just because your product has an ebook free with it. If you can make this ebook relevant to the item you are coupling it with, or you could make the ebook yourself, then more people will buy from you and people will be prepared to pay more. The ebook costs you nothing either so it is a perfect give-away.- Affiliate links can also be posted in ebooks you create yourself. Earn yourself money by placing these links in relevant places in the content of the ebook. For example if your ebook talks about music, then include a link to a popular music website which you know will give you a slice of the profits if a sale is made. If your ebook is distributed correctly, your affiliate link could be viewed by thousands of people per week. The site I recommend for affiliate marketing is http://www.clickbank.com.- Also think about putting a very limited amount of ads in your ebook. Many companies will pay you to put an ad in your ebook. However, there is a very fine line between making money through ads and losing money due to too many unprofessional ads. Try to make your ads blend into your ebook and make them relevant to the subject matter too.Most importantly with ebooks, always be thinking of new ways in which you think you could distribute them or use them to profit. Creativity is a key part of a successful ebook marketing campaign.

How to Get Great Testimonials and Endorsements for Your Book

Whether you are selling a book or a product, testimonials and endorsements are a necessary and vital part of your marketing plan. Whether you need one endorsement to accent a particular feature of your book or product, or whether you need several endorsements to create credibility – you do NEED them. Endorsements and testimonials (which we will call endorsements for the sake of simplicity) create the push that prospective customers need in order to become buyers. Endorsements provide credibility to your claims about the quality of your product and they affirm your expertise and product knowledge. Even if you are not professionally trained in your area of expertise, endorsements from professionals or well known individuals in your field indicate that you can provide value to the buyer. The simple fact that you have created your product gives you expert status: after all, you could not have produced your product without extensive research, commitment and passion. You become the expert. The purpose of endorsements is to thoroughly impress your customers, causing them to believe that their lives just will not be complete without your product. Make them short and powerful, and don’t be afraid of a little humor. People need to feel good about purchasing your product. The time to request endorsements is before your product hits the market. You want the opportunity to add endorsements to your media kit and news releases, and you want to print them on your product and in your advertisements. Send requests for endorsements, along with a sample of your product, well before the product is available for sale. Aim for the stars when requesting endorsements – ask people who are recognizable in your field and who are as well known and widely known as possible. Keep in mind that granting endorsements is also of great benefit to the persons providing them, so don’t be afraid to ask. Free publicity is always a bonus. When you implement your marketing plan, the persons providing your endorsements will piggy-back on your media and advertising campaign. To learn more about how to obtain free media reviews and how to obtain media attention: Click HerePeople must hear the name of your product at least seven times before it becomes familiar enough for them to develop trust and a need to buy. The same is true for the person lending their name to create your credibility – they also need to be in people’s faces every day. Have you noticed how often you see the name of Mark Victor Hansen, author of the Chicken Soup book series? He endorses many products and in so doing he has become a household name. It is acceptable to provide endorsers with the list of names of other persons from whom you are requesting endorsements. Often the endorsers will be pleased to be included in good company. Conversely, they may be flattered to be included in the list of celebrities. Be very respectful of the time of the people that you are approaching for endorsements. Value their hectic schedules and understand that you are not their utmost priority. Busy people may not have time to thoroughly investigate your product or service, or read your book from cover to cover, so do the work for them. Send them a few versions of endorsements that you would like, allowing them to merely choose one and do some minor editing. Pre-writing the endorsements greatly increases your chances of success and it allows you to emphasize the points you want to make in order to impress your potential buyers. Write endorsements that are specific to your product and that are relevant to the expertise of the endorser. Don’t ask an author of gardening books to endorse your novel, your widget or your health food product. Keep the endorsements relevant and exciting. Writing “This is a great product” just won’t do. Your endorsements must make buyers feel good or solve a problem for them. For instance, if you are selling a healthy lifestyle book, avoid writing “I loved this book”. So what? Instead, create solutions for your customers. Try something like: “This book gives you all you need to tighten your sagging bottom and make your heart happy without fad diets and expensive gym memberships”. Keep endorsements short and relevant, with one to three sentences being sufficient. Buyers don’t want to read an essay about your product – you have only a few seconds of their time to attract their attention and relay your message. Hit them fast and hit them good! As your product gains in popularity, you will receive unsolicited endorsements from happy customers. Be sure to keep a file of them for future reference and for future inclusion in your marketing campaign. Marketing must continue forever, if you want to increase sales, and there is no better way to increase those sales than by the recommendations of satisfied buyers. Endorsements are part of your sales team. Placed on your product or book cover, they create the justification and urgency that buyers need to part with their money. Go get them!

Planning an Exceptional Book Signing from Start to Finish

So what do you do when you have a book signing and no one shows up? Sure that may sound like the beginning of a great joke but for many of us, it’s our worst nightmare. One of the scariest moments in my life was my first book signing. Even more frightening than having my first signing was the fact that I was doing it out of town and wouldn’t have my support group of friends to stop by and play the role of excited fans. But I had done everything by the book so to speak. First, I sent some advance copies of the book to the storeowner, I mailed him the book cover posters, I made up bag stuffers and sent the proper press releases to local media. To my chagrin when I arrived there, the box containing my marketing materials was still sealed. Not one poster was out, not one bag stuffer had been used. Worst of all, it poured rain that day. So there I sat, my dreams of crowds lining up outside the little shop vanished with each passing second. When one person did show up, I nearly jumped out of my chair to embrace them. Thankfully, I managed to contain myself. About an hour after the book signing started, I noticed several people in the store, none of them paying attention to me. So, I got up and began to walk around the store. I carried my book with me and each time I came across someone perusing romance, I would engage them in conversation. Often, I would hand them a copy of my book and tell them I was in there for a book signing. The mere act of holding my book in their hand induced ownership and often, a sale would follow. But it wasn’t so much about the sale. In the end it was about selling myself. It was about becoming a memorable author. If the person I was speaking to wasn’t interested in romance, perhaps they had a friend who was. After that first signing, I realized that a successful book signing isn’t having people lined up out the door, although if that were to happen, I’d be in book signing heaven! It’s about getting your books in the store, having a place to sit and maybe, if you’re lucky, having one person show up. That first book signing really helped to put this into perspective for me.The Buddy SystemSome authors like to have another person there signing with them so they don’t have to sit there looking lost and lonely. I’ve done it both ways and they each have their merits. First of all, the buddy system will probably bring in more people since you are essentially doubling your publicizing efforts (or at least you should be). You can turn a simple book signing into an event. One of you can be having a book discussion or workshop, while the other author is signing. It’s a great way to draw a crowd and keep a crowd. Also, often it’s easier to get publicity when there’s more than one author present. Unless, of course, you’re Nora Roberts, in which case you can probably ignore the buddy system altogether. This type of book signing works well for unknown authors if you have a specific program or want to have a book signing that lasts all day.No Sitting On The JobAs I mentioned previously, don’t just sit there and smile. Get up, move around and engage people in conversation. Would you believe I’ve been told that some shoppers are actually intimidated to just walk up and talk to an author? But, if you speak to them first you’re breaking the ice and maybe, making a sale. Take your focus off of yourself and your stack of books and put it on the people in the store. As with anything in marketing you’re really selling yourself and trying to focus on people in the process. Try getting up from your chair to greet people as they enter the store. I usually have a small flyer made up with the cover of my book, a blurb about it and I tell people I’m signing books today. Smile and talk to them and hand them a book. Begin to tell them about your novel. Get them excited about it—let your passion shine through. Passion is a very contagious thing. People want to feel that same passion and folks love being around passionate people. Go See What the Competition is DoingHave you ever visited someone else’s book signing? I did once and I felt like everyone there knew what I was up to. I wanted to see what it was about, to see what other authors did. Some of your best ideas or taboos will come from watching other people. I remember the first one I went to, I entered the store and there she was, the smiling author, pen ready and stack of books looming over the table. I wondered if I were just a customer that happened into the store, what would make me walk up to her unless my specific purpose had been to attend this signing? Then, I wondered what I could do to draw that traffic. Face it, no matter how much publicizing you do, unless you’ve got a spot on Good Morning America to talk up your signing, most of your foot traffic will probably just be shoppers. If you’re really lucky you’ll see some frantic people in search of last minute gifts, autographed books make great presents!If you want to pick up tips from the pros, you might try visiting a celebrity signing or two. Check out the Publisher’s Weekly Web site at www.publishersweekly.com for a listing of upcoming signings. Also the book section of your local newspaper is another great resource. Also, if you’re going on the road for any reason, check out these sites and see if there’s an event you can attend while you’re away.Be Unique!If your book involves anything that you can tie in with a theme or a prop, all the better. I went to a book signing for an author who specialized in period romance. This particular novel was set during the 1600’s and she dressed in a gown fitting to the time. She also had a castle backdrop that a neighbor painted for her. Her neighbor was an aspiring artist, so not only was she doing the author a favor but the neighbor got to showcase her work as well. People really love this kind of a thing. I mean anyone can sit at a table and smile, but sitting there in a corset for four hours takes real passion. So give some thought to what you can do to tie in a theme or prop into your signing. You don’t necessarily have to show up in costume, but try to do what you can to set yourself apart from the rest. The important thing here is that while it’s good to learn from the competition, you don’t necessarily want to be exactly like them either.Stuff To Do Before Your Book Signing· See if you can get a copy of the store’s media list. More than likely the bookstore will send out press releases but it’s important for you to do the same. Not only will you be able to target the same people twice, but the store manager will also know that you are actively involved in promoting your event.· Send a confirmation of your signing to the bookstore. It will make you look professional and show the store manager that you are a professional and that you take your book signings very seriously. A sample of the form I use follows this chapter.· Start tapping into that media list you’ve been creating and begin contacting local media to promote your event.· Post your book signing information on the Author Appearances section of your Web site. Get invitations made up or make them yourself and send everyone on your contact list an invitation to your signing.· If you haven’t already done so, get those bookmarks and postcards printed up. Don’t forget to include the ISBN of your book, include a few review blurbs if you have them. Get the cover of your book enlarged to poster size. Then, get it laminated and mounted. I had three of them printed up. I will usually drop one or two off at the store prior to the event so they can set them out and I’ll bring the third one with me that day. Prop a sign up on an easel by the front door where you will be standing and greeting people. If you have the time and the budget, get a set of colorful pens made up with the title of the book and author’s name imprinted on it then when you sign the book, give the reader the pen. It’s another great way to spread the word about your book!· Get signs made that say: “Book Signing Today” or “Author Appearance” both of these will help to draw crowds to your table. Things To Bring To Your Book Signing· Bookmarks – I try to hand these out like crazy. Sometimes I’ll even hand them out with the flyer when people enter the store. I’ve even autographed one or two when people hesitate to buy a book. More often than not, they return at a later time to buy a copy just because I gave them a bookmark.· Postcards – bring postcards with your book cover on them. I always say you can never have too many marketing materials.· Chocolate – I like to fill an attractive jar with Hershey’s kisses or some other small chocolate. Food attracts people and may even keep them lingering a bit longer. · Guest book – I always have people sign in at the event. If they give you their e-mail address, inquire as to whether you can add them to your mailing list. This is a great way to build a “fan club” and continue spreading the word about your book as well as future novels. If you don’t feel comfortable with a guest book, try putting together a free drawing. Tell them they don’t have to be present to win. People hate that; I know I do. I mean who wants to stick around a book signing for four hours? Well, okay, except for the author. You should do what you can to keep a log of people that purchased your book. It’s a great way to build your mailing list and customer base.· Make up a small flyer to hand to people who enter the store. They may not even know about your signing but you’ll be sure to tell them. Keep in mind that heavy promotion of your book signing does not just benefit you, it also benefits the store and sends a strong message that you know how to move your books.· Your favorite pen.During Your Signing · Don’t sit down unless you have to. · Smile, talk and most of all have fun! This is no time to be shy. · If no one shows up, remember, that’s okay. It has happened to all of us at one time or another. · Get people to enter your contest or sign your guest book. · Tell the store manager that you’d like to sign the remaining books before you leave the store and see if they have “Autographed by Author” stickers for them. If they don’t, you might want to think about ordering some from the American Booksellers Association (www.bookWeb.org). You can get these and a variety of other book stickers for $5 a roll. These stickers will really help to move your book. · Don’t feel confined to stay just a few hours. Stay as long as there is an interest in the book. Once, I booked a signing for two hours; I ended up staying for five.What To Do After Your Book Signing Send a thank you note to the person in charge of coordinating your signing. Don’t send an e-mail. Send a handwritten note. It will go a lot further!A Few Final Notes on Book SigningsBe cautious of pay periods when scheduling a date for your signing. For example, I will always try to schedule mine around the 15th or 30th of the month. I live in a Navy town and since they never fail to get paid on those dates, it really helps to boost my sales. Also, check to see if the store has a newsletter. If it does, offer to write a short article on your book or discussion topic that will draw more attention to your signing. Keep the article interesting and helpful without giving away everything you plan to share with your guests. Or, if your book is fiction, share an interesting excerpt from it. Sometimes bookstore newsletters are printed by their corporate offices but generally they print them in-house and are always in need of “filler” items.Also, contact your local TV stations and speak to the producer. Call the day before (if your signing is on Sunday call them on Friday) and let him know you’ve sent a press release regarding your signing (you have haven’t you?). If they need a sixty-second filler, you can offer their viewers some helpful tips on XYZ. Or, if your book is fiction, play up the “local author makes big” angle. Local stations love that. Speaking of media, if you can get yourself booked on a radio show the day before or preferably the morning of your signing you’ll really help to boost interest. If you get some on-air time, consider giving away a few of your books during the show. And remember to tie your book and event into something topical and relevant! Check the book section of your local newspaper. Many times they will announce author events. If they do, you want to make sure yours is included! Be sure to send them a notice of your event at least a month out. Finally, have fun! It's your big day and you've earned every glorious minute of it!

The Business of Publishing

Congratulations, you're published! But what exactly does it mean to be "published"? Besides the fact that your work is finally in print and your college alumni has asked to interview you for their newsletter it also means fame and fortune, right? Well, ok, maybe not on the level of J. K. Rowling, but at the very least you can expect a call from Oprah, right? I hate to be the one to break it to you but you're probably not even on her radar screen. The truth about publishing is really stranger than fiction and the truth is: getting published is only half the battle. The other half is to keep your reality check in balance so it doesn't bounce. While publishing is all about creative expression, it's also about business and it's those business savvy authors who will succeed in the end. Now you don't have to be an MBA to be a keen business person, you simply have to understand that the choices you make relative to your books future should be based on strategies that will enhance sales not just drain your pocketbook. So, how do you do this? First, take a long, hard look at your reader. At Author Marketing Experts, we always create a reader profile for each book we promote. This reader profile will tell us where to find buyers for the books we represent. Taking this first step helps us sort through our choices when it comes to book promotion and make decisions on behalf of our authors that are sound and will help leverage sales. There are times when it's a waste of resources to do a nationwide radio or TV promotion. In fact, some of our programs don't include any outreach to broadcast media. Why? Because as alluring as it might seem to appear on the Today Show, what's the point if your audience doesn't watch morning TV? And, if your audience isn't watching this show, the chances are slim they'll even consider you anyway. What? More rejection? Who needs it! As you embark on or continue your campaign, ask yourself a few tough questions. First, what's your ultimate goal for this book? If it's just to give away at family reunions, that's great! But then you'll probably want to nix any marketing. If your book is an arm of your business and you have speaking engagements lined up through the end of the year. You probably don't need to spend a lot on marketing since most of your sales will come from your speaking engagements (i.e. back of the room sales). On the other hand, if you wrote this book to grow your business or to leverage your credibility then you will probably want to dial yourself into your industry through enhanced media exposure. For fiction authors this area becomes a little tricky. First, you need to determine your long term goals. By long term we mean: do you want to stay in this business or was this book just "something you wanted to do." If it's a hobby, then treat it as such but if this is going to be your career, then you need to keep your message out there on a continual basis, through venues such as author events, talks, signings, print and broadcast media. Make sure the choices you make, make sense for your book and aren't just made because you've always dreamt of being on Oprah. I've known authors lured into inappropriate marketing plans by big, flashy names and promises of stardom, wasting thousands of valuable marketing dollars and heading in a direction that wasn't right for them. If you're serious about your work, ready to let go of your muse and face the task at hand with some business savvy, then you're really ready to get published. Below are some guidelines that will help further your success!1) Reader profile: create one of these at the beginning of your marketing campaign and keep refining it as you move through the process. Refine and redefine who and where your audience is and how to get to them. 2) Time commitment: determine what you can and can't reasonably do. If you have a full time job it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to commit yourself to forty hours of marketing a week unless your boss is on vacation. 3) Investment: how much are you willing to invest in your future? Are you willing to invest money without seeing much in return knowing that you are building a foundation or do you want to see immediate monetary results? Most authors don't see a return on their investment for a year or more. Are you committed enough to yourself or your project to keep this investment going? 4) Reality check: what's realistic for the industry you're in? Are you latching onto a fad or something with more longevity? Are you getting into a brand new market that will require lots of reader education? Or are you trying to go mainstream with a non-mainstream topic? While this is an admirable goal, it can be like swimming upstream.5) Budget: while we encourage authors to invest in their future, we've also seen a number of people go into heavy debt, quit their jobs and even sell their homes just to promote their book. While that kind of dedication is certainly admirable, remember that although you have the potential to make a great deal of money it's not going to be overnight. The lure here is of course that "If I stick with it, this next sale will make me famous." Well, maybe or maybe not. If you've been plugging away for a while without any significant success get a professional to give you some honest, constructive feedback about your plan, your market, and your book. It might be that a poorly designed cover is the reason you're not making sales, or a topic that's fallen off of the public's radar screen. In the meantime as you're waiting to hit the big time you'll still need a place to sleep and Uncle Vinnie's couch will get old real quick. 6) Burnout: we hear this term often, even to the point of being overused. What we're really talking about here is author burnout. We've found that the average author only markets their book for ninety days. That means ninety days of day and night marketing, radio interviews at 3am and a book signing every weekend. On day ninety-one they are so tired, so discouraged and so broke they quit. You can avoid this by giving yourself realistic goals and a realistic timeframe in which to complete them. There's nothing in the world like seeing your book in print. If approached realistically, objectively and with sound business sense, it can be one of the most exciting times in your life.

Fatal PR: Mistakes Authors Make on Their Campaigns

Any author who is driving their own PR campaign knows that often times marketing and media can be an uphill battle. Many times authors are pitching and promoting themselves with minimal results. It can be tedious and frustrating and sometimes lead them to make fatal PR mistakes that can cost them their campaign. One of the first, and potentially most fatal, is thinking that one or two media appearances are going to wing your book into the bestseller spotlight. Media works when it’s done consistently and often it takes months, and in some cases years, for you to reach your own "PR payoff." The most important part of a campaign is the author’s ability to stick with it. Most of the interviews you see nationally on shows like Good Morning America and Oprah, started with a regional buzz. Build your base (or buzz) in your own back yard first and then start getting your message out on a national level. And this leads us to our second PR mistake: ignoring regional or trade media. Sometimes when you’re promoting yourself it’s easy to get caught up in going after the big fish, but don’t ignore the smaller regional and niche publications, they can be a gold mine of PR and really help to get the buzz going.Next on our list of fatal PR mistakes is the technique with which authors pitch themselves. First and foremost you want to make sure you’re pitching the right people, don’t just go after a "producer," find the producer that’s right for the story. And be cautious of when you pitch, before you start calling the media, turn on your TV or radio and see if there’s a breaking news story. There’s no quicker way to offend your media target then pitching them a story when they’re scrambling to cover a plane crash or some other major disaster. As you’re navigating through your PR campaign you’ll also want to make sure your pitches are focused and relevant. It’s much easier to get the attention of the media when you’re pitching them something that’s already on their radar screen. For example remember when you’re putting together your campaign to keep an eye out for seasonal or news spins to your topic. If, let’s say, you are discussing the topic of depression, you might want to pitch it around a nationally designated "depression awareness day" or, perhaps, given all the buzz around college kids and depression, you might want to tackle this as a back-to-school issue. Targeted, focused pitches are the best way to get the media to notice you, so open that calendar or read your local newspaper to find out what’s hot and top of mind. Also, respect their time when you’re pitching. Get to the point, don’t ramble and remember that this is not about you, it’s about the benefits to their readers, viewers, or listeners and mo! st of all, never, ever, ever sell your book. You should always sell yourself and your expertise. Producers and editors will be looking for the WIIFM factor behind your pitch (what’s in it for me) not how they can showcase your book. Finally there’s no quicker way to end your campaign than to over promise, stretching the truth, or not being reliable. If you miss an interview or over promise on a commitment one time, you can kiss any further media goodbye. Word travels fast in the industry and bad news travels even faster. Remember be patient, be persistent, and be professional and you’re bound to get the media you deserve and keep your campaign alive and well!

The Blog Factor: Everything you need to know to start bloggiNG

So what is this "blog factor"? Well, what a few thought was a novel idea some years ago has now morphed into something no one expected. There are currently nine million blogs out there with 40,000 new ones being added everyday. Some are informative and some are just downright a waste of your time. And while we hear a lot about blogging these days, what is blogging *really*? Blogging in its simplest term is like an online journal but much, much more powerful. Blogs (short for Web log) is a place where surfers can get up to the minute information on a topic or voyeur into someone's life. Some blogs are nothing more than a daily glimpse into someone's life, while others are so sophisticated, it's hard to tell them apart from an online news service. Why Blogs Matter Google, the #1 search engine on the net, loves blogs. So much so that if you do it right Google will spider the heck out of your site. What does it mean to "spider"? Well spidering is when Google, or the like, searches your sites content to establish ranking, the more content you have (i.e. fresh content) the more Google will do its magic and push your site up the search engine. Another reason blogs matter is that they are interactive and, if you blog on your books topic, it will help to further your expert status on a particular issue. When we plan "Virtual Tours" for our authors, we include as many blogs as we can into a tour. Why? Because if you can get into a good blog that's seeing a lot of traffic, you can really start to gain some exposure for your book. What Would You Talk About? This is the question we get asked most often. "If I start a blog, what on earth would I talk about?" Well if your book is non-fiction it's pretty easy to figure out what your topic would be, but if your book is fiction it could get a bit tricky - but not impossible. An author I work with has a series of books starring one character - a private detective. I recommended that he "blog" this character, meaning that the character (not the author) would have the blog. It could be the character's diary or adventures and stories - a glimpse into the life of a private detective. This would give the reader (and fans of this character) a reason to return to the blog for an update on this ongoing adventure or story. In another instance, I work with an author who wrote a fiction book about right and wrong with a new age/spirituality spin. I advised him to blog on issues related to that - right and wrong in our society and his own personal "spin" on these issues. Some of his blogs might be controversial but that's okay, you want to create your own "voice," your own take on a certain issue and if that opinion is controversial, all the better for exposure and for getting people to interact on your blog. Getting readers to respond to your posts is a great way to gain interest and momentum for your blog and (more importantly) getting people to talk about it will grow your blog like nothing else! How to Start a Blog Starting a blog is super easy. All you have to do is register at a blog site (like www.blogger.com) and get started. It's that easy. The blog service will link to your site; you'll need to ask your Webmaster to add a button to your home page so people can find your blog. How to Blog Effectively The best bloggers know that the more you add to your blog, the more traffic you'll drive there. Some bloggers I know post daily, sometimes even multiple times a day while others post weekly. How much you post will probably depend on how much time you have to dedicate to this, the challenge will be that if you want to keep driving people to your blog, you'll want fresh content. This doesn't mean you have to create this all yourself, in fact you can invite people onto your blog and interview them, or you can just post a one paragraph "thought" on your topic. It doesn't have to be complicated or long, it just has to be fresh. Also be innovative, as we discussed earlier, be different with your blog, have fun with it. It might seem complicated at first but once you get the hang of it, you'll quickly become a blog expert!

A New Way to Publish

These days, there are several ways to get your book published. You can get an agent and go the traditional route, you can self-publish, or you can take advantage of a new form of publishing called "print-on-demand" or POD. What exactly is print-on-demand publishing? Think of it as self-publishing with a twist. It used to be, if you wanted to circumvent the traditional publishing houses, you had to tackle everything from printers to cover designers, ISBNs (International Standard Book Number) to distribution. Feeling dizzy yet? Sure, there were also self-publishing houses called vanity presses. They churned out about 6,000 titles per year and the author paid anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 to publish his or her book. Cost alone was usually enough to discourage anyone who had not spent a great deal of time in the industry. Options were pretty limited, until the Internet explosion occurred. Enter the on-demand publisher. Now, for a minimal fee (usually from $159 to $1,500), you can see your book in print. Essentially, what you're doing is hiring a publisher to publish your book. They take care of the cover, the book interior, the ISBN, and the distribution. They are compensated for this by receiving a portion of the profits every time you sell a book. You are compensated through royalties and while these do vary, they typically fall somewhere in the 18-20 percent range per book. The great part about POD publishing is that the "on-demand" part enables them to print books as they are needed, meaning that someone (probably you) won't get stuck with a garage full of books you can't get rid of. If you only sell 100 books, that's what they'll print. There are no minimum orders, and your book will always stay in print. To give you an idea of the scope of the on-demand publishing industry, consider this: the typical big New York publisher prints about eight hundred new titles a year. At last count, some of the print-on-demand publishers were doing five hundred a month. Early estimates indicate that POD publishers printed around half a million books in 2001. This year, there are indications that this industry will hit the $78 billion market. These indicators tell us that the POD industry is growing at a pace no one anticipated. Why? Because the traditional publishing field is narrowing. Only one percent of books published each year are by unpublished authors. Does this low number tell us that there are fewer new authors out there? Absolutely not. What it tells us is that publishing houses are cutting back, merging and no longer willing to take chances on untested material.The challenge with this industry is that you can't get published unless you're published it's a cycle from which we all aspire to escape. Now, we can. If you publish your book through a POD press, you are no longer considered a first-time published author. That is, if you sell the book. You still have to market your book. But take heart. With shrinking publishing budgets, you have to market your own book, no matter who publishes you. The hefty marketing budgets that used to accompany new releases are dwindling quickly. So, let's say you publish your book through a POD publisher and you market it. You market it so well that you begin to garner interest from bigger publishing houses. How many books you need to sell is anyone's guess. Traditionally, the range has been between 5,000 and 8,000. Recently, however, Kensington Books (an imprint of Citadel Press) formed an alliance with POD giant iUniverse (www.iuniverse.com) to consider any book that sold over five hundred copies. By "consider," they mean they will consider publishing it. At five hundred copies, this levels the playing field considerably. If you've written a good book and you market it effectively, you'll sell five hundred copies in the blink of an eye. Publishers I've spoken to at some of the biggest houses in the industry (Time Warner, Simon & Schuster) readily admit they watch these books very carefully to see what's selling. By picking a book that is selling moderately well, the publisher knows two things: the book has found an audience, and the author knows how to market it. Even if you don't get picked up traditionally, there's still hope. If you sell a reasonable amount of books and you still aspire to a bigger publishing house, you can include this first publishing experience in your query letter. How do you find these on-demand publishers? A list of some I've worked with follows this article, but who you pick will depend entirely on you and the needs of your book. For some, it’s the turnaround time; for others, it’s whether or not they can print in hardcover. Generally, though, the final product should be your first consideration; distribution or shipping time should be second. Once you've narrowed your publishers down to two or three, a good idea would be to order a book from each of them. This will tell you two things. First, you'll get a sense for their ordering process and how quickly they ship the book to you, and second, you'll get a firsthand look at the quality of their books. What about the selection process? Do these publishers accept anything that's sent to them? The answer is no. While the approval process is far less restrictive than traditional publishers and you don't need an agent, some POD publishers still have guidelines as to what they will and won't consider. These guidelines vary from publisher to publisher, so you'll need to check their individual sites or contracts for specifics. Also, some publishers will even read the manuscript to determine the quality; if they feel the work is so poor it's unmarketable, they will turn it down. While you're in the selection process, download the publishing company's publishing contract and look it over carefully. You'll want to make sure a few things are in place before you sign on the dotted line. First off, be certain you're able to retain all the rights to your book (foreign, film, audio, hard cover, paperback, and ebook). This is extremely important. Never give or sell any of the rights away to a book you're publishing through the POD process. Second, determine how quickly you can cancel this agreement. Ideally, cancellation should be immediate. Cancellation clauses will benefit you if your book should get picked up by a traditional house or if you decide to switch publishing companies. Your time to market, meaning the time it takes them to format your manuscript into a book and get it ready for sale, will vary. Generally, you should see a completed book within ninety days, or in some cases, even less. This turnaround is incredible when you consider it takes a traditional house about twelve to eighteen months to get a new title ready for sale. As with anything, there are drawbacks to this form of publishing. One of the biggest issues with print-on-demand is that there is a no-return policy in place for these books. Returns are a crucial part of doing retail business in the U.S. In fact, a whopping 35 percent of merchandise purchased is returned. Still, authors are finding ways around this issue. Some place books in specialty shops because these stores have a lower return factor. Others sell books on-line. Some bookstores will even carry a non-returnable book if the demand exists. Secondly, this form of printing is more expensive than the traditional trade paperback model. Generally, POD books will be priced higher. Their price is often determined by the page count. As print-on-demand machines become more efficient and the per-page printing costs decline, POD book prices will drop. Many have already decreased considerably from where they were a year ago. Despite the obstacles, there are many success stories emerging from this industry and many more are finding their way to success everyday. Here are a few titles you might recognize that were (or are) POD books: · "Legally Blond" (AuthorHouse.com) · "The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club" (iUniverse) currently on the New York Times bestseller list· "The Pearls of the Stone Man" (Xlibris.com) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 With on-demand publishing, what was once a dream can now be a reality. In an industry that is saturated with exceptional talent, the advent of these publishers has afforded authors an opportunity that might otherwise not be available to them. It is an opportunity millions are taking advantage of. For some, it's a way to finally see their book in print. For others it's a road to publishing success.Print-On-Demand Publishers:http://www.iuniverse.com/http://www.infinitypublishing.comhttp://www.traffordpublishing.comhttp://www.xlibris.com

One Minute Marketing

So, you say you're too busy to market your book? Well, welcome to the club. Most of the authors I work with or coach work day jobs and try to cram in as much marketing as they can after they come home from an exhausting day at the office. Working this way can be completely overwhelming. It’s no wonder mot authors only market their books for ninety days. Who could stand to keep up this pace any longer than that? There were so many things authors need to do, most simply don’t know where to start. Enter the one minute marketer. As tempting as it is, we can’t do everything. It’s just not realistic. Instead, try doing just three things a day. I found that authors are not only more focused this way but tend to be a hundred times more effective. If you're marketing your own book and you're becoming overwhelmed by the magnitude of the work ahead of you, try doing just three things a day. Some of these will only take you a minute and in one week alone you'll have promoted your book in fifteen new ways. And remember, your three things don't have to be earth shattering, they can be as simple as sending a thank you note. Here are a few ideas you can implement today:1. Call your local library and sign up to do a talk. You won't get paid for this, but they will let you sell your book (for a 10% commission back to the library). 2. Want to drive more attention to your book? How about creating a contest! Contests are great promotional tools. Design one around the topic of your book. For example, I'll be holding a contest soon asking people for the top ten things NOT to do when you're marketing your book. Get the idea? 3. Pitch your story to a local radio and/or tv station. 4. How's your web site these days? Remember, it's your 24/7 marketing tool so make sure it's up to date. 5. And while you're updating your web site, why not list it on search engines like Google, Alta Vista. Or go over to http://www.addme.com and let them do it for you…for free!6. Have you thought about submitting an article to a topic-related ezine? Ezine publishers are always looking for content! If you currently subscribe to an email newsletter that you'd like to contribute to, email the editor and ask them what their guidelines are. Or, you can submit your article by registering at the following yahoo group: Publish In Yours (PublishInYours-subscribe@yahoogroups.com). 7. Have you started calling bookstores for signings? Why not start that today. 8. Send your thank you notes! Whether it's to a news person who did a feature on you or to the book store manager who recently hosted your book signing, saying "thank you" is a great marketing tool! 9. Magazine articles are a great way to get exposure. Why not submit an article (or book excerpt) to a topic-related magazine today?10. Are a member of all the pertinent organizations in your field of writing? If not, you should be. For example, if you wrote a mystery novel you should think about joining a mystery writing group in your area. Not only will you be able to promote your book at meetings but most groups are always looking for speakers. Happy Marketing!

Refining Your Elevator Pitch

Imagine this: You're in the elevator with the producer of your favorite show. The program you've been trying to get on for years. What would you say to this person? Would you comment on the weather? Perhaps lament about the price of gas? Or would you take the opportunity to pitch your story as you glide up three floors? Now, this might not actually ever happen but it's still a good idea to be prepared. That's what I call your elevator pitch. So, how do you get to your elevator pitch? How do you refine your topic down in such a way that it grabs the attention of someone in a matter of a few seconds? Getting to the heart of your story is the first part to this. The "heart" of your story is what everything else is built around. A couple of weeks ago, I taught a class on writer focus. The single objective of this class was to pare down a story until it was so refined, and so focused that a 250 page book could be described in one minute. To some, this type of manuscript refinement might seem unrealistic and counter intuitive to everything they've ever learned about writing. But whether you are querying literary agents or trying to get into the media, you'll need to know your elevator pitch. But an elevator pitch doesn't just serve you in the media, having a refined focus of your book is a necessity to a tight manuscript. If your book is unfocused, you'll find yourself struggling to finish it, chapters won't follow a particular order and the general objective of the book won't be met. So... how do you get to your elevator pitch? Start by focusing on the core of your book. What's the one thread that carries through your manuscript, the one topic or story that everything else circles around? If your response to that is: "Well there are actually five things that go on in this book." I'd say that's fine, but keep in mind that without that one thing, the rest of the book wouldn't exist. Another way to get to this "core" is to ask yourself (or have someone help you with this) "what are the benefits to the reader" or "what will my reader learn?" That is the answer to your question. That is the core of your book. Again, your reader will probably walk away from your tome with many other benefits, but there is one that is paramount over all others. That's your focus, that's what your book is about. So let creativity and your muse be your guide but always remember to focus, focus, focus!

7 Steps to Successful Publishing

The decision to publish a book is very exciting! It causes the creative juices to flow and the eyes to light up. But wait – before you begin the publishing process, know about the seven most important steps you need to know before publishing your book. Make sure that you take every step into careful consideration so that your road to success is an easy one:
1. Know why you are writing a book. Are you writing your memoirs for the family, are you writing a community cookbook, are you writing a book of regional interest or are you writing a national bestseller? All of these goals are valid, but each goal has different implications for your business plan. Know why you are writing and know that you can create that bestseller if that is your goal.
2. Treat publishing as a business. You are passing beyond the realm of author into the exciting world of publishing. You are not just a writer, you are about to become a publisher who wants to produce a profitable book, and you want to keep the profits for yourself.
3. Write a business plan. Being aware of the business aspect of publishing is not an end in itself – you need to formally write your plan. It does not need to be a fifty page document with every accounting possibility recorded, but it should outline all of the costs that you will encounter from obtaining the necessary funds to knowing the price of mailing a book. The business plan needs to account for future expenses as well as pre-publication expenses.
4. Plan for publicity and marketing. You must plan for the publicity and marketing of your book. You can have the best book in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it. You don’t want to print books that sit in your garage. You want to print books that will sell, sell, sell!
5. Write about a subject that you know well. Don’t write about something that you can’t talk about without effort. Write about a subject with which you are very familiar and that excites you. Writing the book will establish you as an expert in your field, so choose the topic that causes everyone you know to come to you for advice. The publicity will then be so easy that you will love being the “star”.
6. Know who will buy your book. So many authors think that “everyone” needs and should buy their books. Not so. Perhaps “everyone” needs their books, but not “everyone” will want to buy. Research and know WHO will actually WANT your book and market, market to them. They will buy!
7. Look for non-bookstore markets and do not be afraid of the large discounts. Bookstores are a hugely important market for most authors, but they are far from being the only place to sell books. There are many non-traditional markets that buy books in large quantities with no returns. This is a great market – sales made are guaranteed sales not consignment sales. Do not be afraid of the larger discounts when you make those large volume sales. The books you sell are actually SOLD.
Think how much more pleasant a journey is if you know which fork in the road will lead you to smooth driving and which fork in the road will lead you through potholes. Knowing the most effective publishing steps before you print will make your publishing career fun and profitable.

19 Ways to Secure Non-Returnable Book Sales

Surprisingly, book stores are not always your greatest source of book sales. Most authors and publishers do want their books to be available in all of the book stores, and rightly so. You want your book to be there, too. You want your book to be a “household name” – a topic of conversation in coffee rooms and at dinner tables everywhere. Your publicity campaign is designed to create interest in your book, and to drive buyers to the book store market.Unfortunately, those traditional book store sales aren’t always “sold”. The books might be returned over and over again. That’s the sad reality of the book retail industry.Your book’s fame, however, can help you to acquire nonreturnable sales in the nontraditional market where a sale actually is a sale – where sales of 25,000 copies and more are not uncommon. Here are 19 strategies that will help you acquire those sales:1. Write your book for a very broad market – nonfiction works best.2. Write a book that people will be happy to give as a gift.3. Add as many photos and illustrations as you can afford.4. Keep the topic light – avoid heavy social commentaries, controversial topics, scientific theories and other “heavy” subjects.5. Have your book professionally designed.6. Have your book professionally edited.7. Give your book a catchy name – avoid boring titles such as How to Have a Happy, Fulfilling Life.8. Make sure that the cover design is appealing, appears three dimensional and can compete with all of the major publishing houses. Hire a professional designer.9. Sell the benefits of your book on the back cover. That is where you will sell buyers on the reasons why they just can’t live without your book.10. Price the book competitively in your genre.11. Make your book look like it is good value for the price – it’s all about perceived value in the minds of the buyers.12. Don’t write for yourself – write for the end buyer. Fulfill a need for them or make them feel better.13. Think of the corporate market when you are writing. Make a list of corporations that can benefit from your book, and then contact them.14. Submit your book to the book clubs at least six months before you publish.15. Find an agent who sells to the gift market.16. Find an agent who sells foreign rights.17. Find an agent who sells to the display market.18. Don’t be afraid to offer large discounts on nonreturnable sales.19. Seek licensing agreements – they are a great source of income for no work on your part. A professionally designed book opens many doors while an amateurish appearance closes many doors. It is vitally important that you invest in your book at the beginning to create sales in the long term. Plan for publicity and marketing before you print your books – printing is not the final expense in your marketing plan. It is the beginning. You can have the best book in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it. Create a book that buyers just can’t resist.

A Profitable Idea for Writers

To say that I read a lot is perhaps one of the greatest understatements of all time. I read chronically, obsessively. Articles, books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters--you name it. Whenever I am alone, if I'm not actually writing something, I make certain I have something to read with me. I carry a large purse precisely for this purpose; my partner, John, calls the one I hoist on my shoulder these days "carryon luggage," which should give you some idea of its size :-).Although I have a great love for novels, most of my recent reading involves topics that inform and/or inspire. Of special interest to me is anything that can show me new ways (or new slants on old ways) for writers to make a comfortable living using their skills, things that I can share with the readers of my ezine, WriteSuccess. One area that continues to look especially promising and profitable for writers is ebook writing and publishing. For readers, the convenience of ebooks can't be beat; you can purchase your book and be reading it moments later without getting up from your PC or Mac. For writers, benefits abound. Ebooks are relatively inexpensive and easy to publish. You don't need to shop around for an agent. There's no yearlong wait between having your manuscript accepted and seeing it in print. And you can do some neat things with ebooks that you can't with the traditional print variety--include your own clip art and graphics, add hypertext links right in the pages of your book that take you readers to related Web sites, and other fun online stuff.You can't just slap an ebook together and expect to find an instant road to riches, however. Finding and developing a book on a topic that people care about, and will pay for, is key. You will also need to decide whether to self-publish, or go through an ebook publisher. And the success of your ebook lies in how willingly, and how well, you market it.Probably the most sought-after type of ebooks, and hence the mostprofitable avenue you can pursue, are the ones that contain information.These run the gamut as far as content, from how to develop a gorgeousperennial garden to how to balance one's work and family life. If peopleare passionate about the topic, and feel it will enhance their lives, theywill buy a book about it.You say that this information is already readily available for free? You'reright, much of it is. But if you write engagingly and well, and if you cansave people hours of searching and sifting through useless information inorder to find what will help them, then you can sell your ebook. Do theresearch for them, include the best links in your ebook, and you havesomething of great value to offer.Let's take a look at a real life example: Matthew Lesko. For those who haven't heard of him, he has put together over 70 books on how individualsand businesses can find free US government money, grants and cash loansto finance nearly any venture you can imagine. His books sell like hotcakes,and I daresay he lives comfortably because of that.Could people have found this information on their own? Absolutely. But arethey willing to buy Mr. Lesko's books if it will save them hours and hours of trial and error research? You bet they will.If the idea of writing ebooks for fun and profit appeals to you, the absolutebest guide on the Web for how to create, publish and sell your own ebookis "Make Your Knowledge Sell!" This ebook is so packed with information,you'll be biting at the bit to start writing before you're even a quarter of theway through it. Even visiting the product's Web site alone will provide youwith ideas. You can check out "MYKS!" here: http://myks.sitesell.com/writeangles.html Another *excellent* resource on this topic is Neil Shearing's "Internet Success Blueprint." Written for Internet marketers, it is a superb step-by-step guide to developing and writing ebooks that we non-marketing type writers could definitely learn from. From selecting topics to choosing an electronic publishing format for your books--plus guiding you through the ebook marketing process--this one's about as complete as you'll find online. Plus, it's a fun read. Read more about Neil's book here: http://scamfreezone.com .cgi/176198 If you love to write and want to make your living from it, I strongly believe that ebooks are a fantastic way to go. Here's to your writing success!

What Makes Ebook Marketing So Promising?

Ebook marketing becomes more and more popular. Commercial web sites as well as non commercial web sites offer ebooks. Skilled people earn money online by writing and marketing of ebooks. Even people without writing experience can join this promising business.What are the ingredients of success?1. Finding a bestseller issueThe precondition of success is to find an issue that boosts the sale of an ebook. The most popular issues among ebooks are information “how to” solve a certain problem or how to acquire specialised knowledge. Popular issues are internet marketing, home business tips, financial advice, stock market tips, life style, health, weight watching. Issues of public interest also can be found among the most popular keywords and phrases in the internet. 2. You can make it or buy it! It is very convenient to write an ebook, if a person owns the needed expertise in a certain field and enjoys writing. People without experience also can sell ebooks. They can sell popular ebooks as affiliates. There are offers, where persons can acquire and customize an already made ebook and propagate it under their names. 3. Quick access to the marketIt always takes a certain time span to prepare a book, offline or online: An issue has to be researched and compiled, the book has to be written and enriched with pictures and graphics. This process can last between weeks and years. The great advantage of an ebook to a conventional offline book is: Everybody can publish it immediately, if the needed equipment is available: computer, internet access, publishing software. An author does not rely on editors who decide about a publication. 4. Cross selling opportunityAn author cannot only earn money by selling an ebook, he or she also can display advertisements or affiliate links in an ebook. This is a striking advantage of an ebook. If an ebook deals with diets and weight watching, an author can place affiliate links to the related products and participate on sales through the ebook. 5. High profit marginsThe profit margins of ebooks are high. There is no publishing and printing company needed. No paper and shipping costs have to be covered. An ebook can be sent directly by email as downloadable PDF-format to the end-user. Marketing costs, however, are needed. The audience has to know about the ebook. The efforts to market an ebook might be similar to the efforts to promote a web site. A special marketing web site with an appetizing description about the content, some testimonials, and an authors bio has to be displayed. Advertising and mailings are inevitable to spread out the edition of a new ebook.