Book Marketing Blogs
by Penny SansevieriFebruary 22, 2012
We had a great show with Arielle Ford, author and publicist, who discussed her latest book as well as what she did to market this book (compared to past books).
The show opened with some industry news from hosts Penny Sansevieri and Paula Krapf.
A lot of publishing news these days is tied to the letter “A” for Amazon. On Feb. 13, author J.A. Konrath wrote a post titled “Amazon Will Destroy You” for his blog, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing. He noted that Amazon is focused on the future – 2018 to be exact. Meanwhile, in his opinion, the New York publishing industry has not changed and is not competitive. Konrath feels the traditional publishing industry has been too slow – too slow to adapt to the Internet, to sell books through their sites, etc. He concluded: “Amazon is going to destroy the Big 6, destroy bookstores, destroy 95% of all agents, destroy distributors (Ingram, Baker & Taylor), and revolutionize the publishing industry by becoming the dominant force.” You can read the entire blog post here: (more…)
February 20, 2012
Building a media list is often tricky. Traditionally PR firms spend a lot of money on yearly subscriptions to online databases that give them access to every media contact in the US and sometimes the world. As a business owner, speaker or author you don’t need to have that big of a media list, you just need a strong set of contacts that you can go to when you have a news item, a launch, or an interesting story to tell.
Google Alert (Photo credit: Anne Helmond)
When we consider our publicity budget, we don’t often take into account the pricey subscriptions to these services. It’s generally not a good idea, or a prudent use of your marketing budget, to sign up for a database such as this. But the problem is that you still need the contacts. There is, however, an alternative that does require some work and planning but will help you build a strong, long-term list.
- Start early: This process, while it will save you money, will take you anywhere from three to six months to pull a good list together. The longer you work this process, the more comprehensive a list you will develop. (more…)
February 17, 2012
Here’s a roundup of some of the best book marketing Tweets from the past week, courtesy of bloggers, marketers, authors and others. The topics include getting the most out of Pinterest, pros and cons of social medial for authors, marketing your business with ebooks, and much more. Happy marketing!
**************
* 10 Tips on Using Pinterest for Your Business
Pinterest has more than 10 million members. Learn how to make this social networking site work for you:
http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2012/01/20/10-tips-to-get-the-most-out-of-pinterest-for-your-business/ (more…)
February 15, 2012
These days it seems everyone is after “social proof,” that elusive number of Likes or Followers that will make you seem part of the “in crowd.” Unfortunately getting someone to like you is only half the battle, you must now get them to stay “in like” with you.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Studies show that the expectation of content does vary by age, but the direction is still the same: it’s more than just getting someone to “Like” your page, you now must learn how to keep them. With all the social media options out there it’s critical to not just build numbers, but maintain them, too. In order to do this, it’s important to know what users want and when they want to see you post new content.
Image via CrunchBase
As I pointed out earlier, content expectations vary by age. For example, Facebook users between the ages of 18-26 have the lowest expectations of receiving something in exchange for their “Like” endorsement. When you go up the next rung, ages 27 to 34, they are more likely to expect something solid delivered in a Facebook update. But the users with the highest expectations, and those you are likely serving, is the 35-51 age group. This is also the group most likely to unlike a brand if it fails to meet expectations. (more…)
February 13, 2012
When Facebook rolled out their latest changes, a lot of longtime users did some major eye-rolling. “Here we go again,” a lot of users thought. At first the changes seemed confusing and a bit of overkill.
Image via Wikipedia
I sat in a session at BlogWorld taught by Amy Porterfield and she began digging into the new changes. She asserts that regarding the “Facebook changes for businesses, the changes are good — if you leverage the new features fully.”
Additionally, she stated that: “The more robust personal Profiles make it possible to combine our business and personal lives intelligently for the first time on Facebook. Plus, Facebook is introducing its most graphically superior layout yet. It doesn’t just look good — content and data are easier to understand. Considering that there are 800 million global users and counting, this puts business owners in a great position to showcase their content, grow their audience and increase exposure.”
First and foremost though, Amy said that the new changes are very, very content driven. So, in order to maximize these, you’ll need to be very content focused. (more…)
February 10, 2012
Enjoy these timely and informative book marketing Tweets from the past week, courtesy of bloggers, marketers, authors and others. The topics include increasing engagement on Facebook, fitting your author life into real life, growing your blog quickly, and much more. Happy marketing!
**************
* 10 Pro Tips for Writers Using Social Media
Image via Wikipedia
Six authors and writers share their strategies for advancing your career via social media:
http://mashable.com/2012/02/02/social-media-writers/ (more…)
February 8, 2012
We had a fantastic show with guest Karen Robertson about what authors need to know to develop a children’s book app.
About our guest: Karen Robertson is a children’s author who turned her book, “Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island,” into a book app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.
The “Treasure Kai” book app launched in 2011 and has won recognition and awards including being a Digital Storytime “Top 25 Most Essential Children’s Book App,” and winning “Best in Category” for apps at the New Media Film Festival in San Francisco.
After launching her first book app, Karen wrote her first eBook, “Author’s Guide to Book Apps.”
What is a book app?
A book app is a software program that runs on a mobile device or phone (iPad, tablet, iPhone, Android phones, etc.). Book apps are an eBook on steroids, offering sound, interactivity and other features. (more…)
February 6, 2012
Guest post by Jessica Wiener
Modern book publishing offers authors more opportunities and a wider array of options than ever before. Innovations such as e-book publishing and POD (print-on-demand) services have allowed authors who are unable to interest a traditional publishing house in their book idea to pursue publication on their own, using either a Web-based publishing platform or a custom printing service. Traditional and self-publishing each offer specific advantages that authors should weigh to determine which arrangement would work better for them, based on their individual needs, goals, circumstances, and skills.
Advantages of Traditional Publishing
Published! (Photo credit: JoshuaDavisPhotography)
1. Compensation: According to WritersServices.com, traditional publishing houses typically pay their writers an advance on the royalties they expect a title to earn, followed by the balance in actual royalties based on sales. Royalties can range anywhere from about 7.5% to about 15% or higher and are usually set by the publisher. Many writers prefer receiving this lump sum up front and consider it one strong advantage of traditional publishing companies. (more…)
February 3, 2012
Get some inspiration from these book marketing Tweets from the past week, courtesy of bloggers, marketers, authors and others. The topics include ways writers can use Pinterest, how to find great content to Tweet, methods to promote your virtual book tour, and much more. Happy marketing!
**************
* Top 10 Ways to Promote Your Virtual Book Tour
A step by step guide to making your Virtual Book Tour a success:
http://blog.publishedandprofitable.com/2011/12/09/top-10-ways-to-promote-your-virtual-book-tour/ (more…)
February 1, 2012
Guest post by Danielle Rodabaugh
If you’re trying to market your published work, chances are you’re using the Internet to promote it in one way or another. If you’re developing the promotional content on your own, understanding a few key rules can help you write for the web more effectively. You’ll benefit from knowing how writing for the web is both similar to and different from traditional writing forms.
How writing for the web is similar to traditional writing
Many traditional writing rules apply when writing copy for online marketing.
- Support your claims with research. Directly linking to outside research makes citing sources online extremely easy.
- Connect to your specific audience. As with traditional writing, well-written and highly informed pieces will go unread if you can’t keep readers’ attention.
- Use action verbs. When telling a story, action verbs drive the storyline. In marketing, action verbs encourage people to buy your product, which, in this case, is your writing.
- Edit with a vengeance. You wouldn’t publish an article or book without having it thoroughly edited. Promotional copy should be no different as errors divert potential customers.
- Be consistent. If you use a blog to promote your work, you need to update it regularly and with a similar style and tone. (more…)
No Comments »