Book Marketing Blogs

Enjoy some of the most informative book marketing Tweets from the past week, courtesy of bloggers, marketers, authors and others. The topics include the best time to post content, how to increase your book’s Amazon rank, Facebook marketing tips, and much more. Happy marketing!

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* The New Author Pitch: Show, Don’t Sell

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2012/01/16/the-new-author-pitch-show-don%E2%80%99t-sell/ (more…)

We had a great show on relationship marketing with expert Mari Smith, author of The New Relationship Marketing.

About our guest: Mari Smith is a social media expert and trainer who is considered the queen of Facebook. She was dubbed “the Pied Piper of the Online World” by Fastcompany.com. http://www.marismith.com/books/

People have always done business with people they know, like, and trust. That’s what relationship marketing is all about. In today’s world, thanks to social networking online, there are new, more direct ways of connecting with potential fans, buyers, associates, etc. Mari explains how it all works.

* Traditional marketing focuses on the transaction and closing the sale.

* Relationship marketing focuses on building long-term relationships with customers and clients. Social media makes this kind of relationship building easier than ever.

For example, Facebook has reduced the six degrees of separation to four, Mari says.

That means if you really want to go after specific influencers or potential clients you can court them via social media. You will find all manner of information on them. Do your homework and come into the relationship demonstrating that you care, that you know something about them. (more…)

We’ve rounded up a few of the top book marketing Tweets during the past week, from bloggers, marketers, authors and others. The topics include building an online presence to sell books, promoting your articles with social media, creating a great bio and keeping track of the top publishing trends – and much more. Happy marketing!

* Marketing Your eBook as an Audiobook

Image via Wikipedia

When it comes to your eBook, consider it one of your marketing techniques and offer it in audio format to reach an even larger audience:

http://www.famousbloggers.net/marketing-ebook-audiobook.html (more…)

Today at #BEA11, a bunch of folks gathered round a wide-screen TV to watch the final Oprah show. The event was hosted by a publisher who provided champagne, chocolate and mini-cupcakes. At the end of a long day at BEA, it was a welcome treat. There was quite a crowd gathered round the TV, and as Oprah walked on the screen, the group fell silent. The TV audience stood up and applauded and behind me I heard a woman whisper “Thank God I’ll never again have to hear ‘but can you get me on Oprah?’” (more…)

I had fun on Day 1 checking out book blogs, getting reacquainted with some bloggers and meeting some new people, too.

Have you checked out the giveaways for participating bloggers this year? AME is one of the sponsors, and we’re giving away a Kindle: http://www.armchairbea.com/p/giveaways.html. There are tons of books and other goodies that will be given away this week. Individual bloggers are also conducting some of their own giveaways, and you can find them on Twitter by using the #ArmchairBEA hashtag. (more…)

This is a huge week in the publishing world: Book Expo America. Some of our AME team is in NYC this week where they will meet with publishers, authors and others in the industry. We’ll have plenty of information this week about what’s going on in NYC and online.

For those of us who haven’t hit the road, including yours truly, Armchair BEA is a way for bloggers, particularly book bloggers, to connect online, http://www.armchairbea.com/2011/05/kicking-off-armchair-bea.html . We’ll participate via our blog this week, and on Wednesday we will have a guest post from book blogger Heather at Capricious Reader http://www.capriciousreader.com/. We look forward to having Heather guest post on our blog, and I’m sure she’ll have some great advice for authors! That same day, an interview I did with Star Shadow blog will appear,  http://www.starshadowblog.com/. We encourage you to visit the Armchair BEA website to check out the list of participating bloggers and learn more about this vital piece of the online book world. (more…)

Part 1: What is a Platform and How Can You Identify it?

Image by Intersection Consulting via Flickr

There’s a lot of information out there on the “how” of social media: How to set up a Twitter account, how to tweet, how to build a fan page, etc. But there isn’t a lot of information on why you’d want to use social media. You might say, “Well, everyone is doing it and having great success!” I would observe that not everyone is having great success; in fact, many authors I speak to are still trying to find their way online.

One thing that I’ve noticed when it comes to social media is that most of the time we think that it’s ok to just jump in, and that’s true — up to a point. You’d never think of driving from San Diego to New York without a roadmap or GPS, so why would you endeavor to promote yourself online without first mapping out a strategy and surveying the terrain?

Why does any of this matter? Well, I will tell you that the more work you do in preparation for your campaign, the less of an effort it will seem once you get started. Also, the more work you do now can and should save you considerable wasted expense later. You will know exactly where to spend your time and money and you will have a campaign that will not only feel seamless, but also move more quickly towards your success. Sound good? Then let’s begin!

Image by mediaquell via Flickr

Getting Started

One of the first things you’ll want to do when you start down this path of social media promotion is ask yourself: Why am I doing this? Well, you might say, to promote myself. Exactly! But (other than book sales), what is the motivation behind that promotion? The reason I say “other than book sales” is because you must have a broader scope to your work than just selling a book. If your single focus in promotion is to sell a book, you will be sorely disappointed. Your focus must be larger, such as:

• Expanding my business
• Increasing my speaking gigs
• Growing my platform

Then you’ll have a much better chance of success online and you’ll be ready to dig into online promotion. Let’s first look at growing your platform.

Image via Wikipedia

What’s your platform?

Before we can launch into what your platform is, you must first have a good grasp of what a platform is. A platform is not who you know, but who knows you. It’s your area of influence. Still unclear on this concept? Take heart, most authors leap into marketing without knowing what a platform is or how to grow it. First, let’s look at what might be considered to be a platform:

1. Your business: this is pretty obvious. You have a business and your business is your platform. Your reach and your influence are through your customers.

2. Your speaking: any speaking you do, whether paid or unpaid, is considered a platform.

3. Newsletter subscribers: these are people who want to know what you’re doing; they are your tribe and also part of your platform.

4. Existing fan bases: any connections, whether through speaking, your newsletter, or any other fan base can be considered part of your platform.

5. Associations/groups: do you belong to any type of related association? These people and this affiliation can also be part of your platform. Though perhaps less direct and immediate, I’ll walk you through how to solidify these contacts and bring them into your funnel.

6. Work you’ve done in the past: anything related to what you’ve written about now is part of your platform. Teaching, classes you’ve taken, speaking, or just life experiences as it relates to your topic can also be woven into your platform.

Image via Wikipedia

Identifying your platform

For non-fiction authors, the goal of identifying a platform you either have or wish to grow is pretty easy. But for fiction authors it can be a bit more challenging. Yes, you too must have a platform and generally, it is tied closely to your genre.

Every author, whether fiction or non-fiction needs a reach, and once you define where these folks are and how to get to them, you’ll begin to connect with readers both current and future, who can help you to expand your tribe. First, let’s look at defining those readers.

Image by Angela Tchou via Flickr

Let’s say you’ve written a fiction book and you are new to the industry and perplexed as to how you might go about expanding your readership. I suggest if this is you that you find other, similar authors in your market and research them online. Becoming your own detective is really the quickest way to piece together a platform and learn how their platform might help you build yours. For example, if you have written romance you can research the top 15 authors in your market. If you do this, I suggest looking at the midlist authors, not the top sellers like Danielle Steele, etc. who, through years of publishing, have grandfathered themselves into a mega-platform. Instead you want to look at authors who are likely on their own, meaning without the resources of a personal assistant or staff of a thousand. Research these authors and see where they end up online. Do they have Fan Pages on Facebook? Are they on Twitter? What groups do they participate in, etc.? Now you’ll start to get a sense of how a platform is built and what you need to do to grow yours.

If you’ve written non-fiction and the idea of a platform seems foreign to you then I suggest that you do the same thing, Follow your market, research others who share your specialty and uncover the different ways that they expand their reach via their platform.

Next time, we’re going to dig into your platform even further. We’ll look at the steps necessary to grow a platform and how to break this down into a manageable action plan.

We’re highlighting several of the best book marketing Tweets during the past week to boost your marketing efforts. These tips come from bloggers, marketers, authors and others and cover a variety of topics, such as finding an agent, keeping your readers on your blog longer, creating a Facebook Page, and how to maximize your book revenue. Best of luck with your marketing!

Image via Wikipedia

* 7 Ways to Define Your Blog’s Target Readers, http://dld.bz/98K8.

* Marketing Tips for Authors: 5 Tips In Responding to Criticism, http://dld.bz/Ag7M.

* What to Focus on Once the Book is With the Publisher, http://dld.bz/9AyU.

* How to Build a Solid Social Media Platform, http://dld.bz/Ag8f.

* 7 Habits of Highly Effective Tweets, http://ow.ly/3iGzV.

* Google eBookstore: Your Next Sales Platform? http://dld.bz/Ag89.

Image by stevegarfield via Flickr

* Find an Agent for Your Book, http://dld.bz/AgAt.

* 40 Useful Things You to share on Twitter besides Blog Posts, http://ow.ly/3lMoM.

* Elements of a Successful Marketing Plan, http://dld.bz/AgAU.

* How to Keep Readers on Your Blog Longer, http://bit.ly/hw2uSV.

* Why Twitter is a Better Search Engine Than Google, http://dld.bz/AgBs.

* What Does it Mean to Comment on Blogs – and Why Bother? http://ow.ly/1araXt.

* When (or Why) Social Media Fails to Sell Books, http://dld.bz/AK5S.

* How to Become a Powerhouse Blogger in just 15 Minutes! http://retwt.me/1Q6MS.

Image via CrunchBase

* YouTube Trends – see what’s hot on YouTube Right Now, http://dld.bz/AK6k.

* How To Create A Facebook Fan Page For Your Book Or Author Brand (video), http://bit.ly/ewgTGp.

* Publishing Insiders Wrap-Up: Top Publishing Trends for 2011, http://nblo.gs/bReLW.

* How to Build Your Credibility as an Expert While Blogging, http://dld.bz/AK9d.

* Showing off the Best Material in Your Blog Archive: http://dld.bz/97NM.

Image by pollyalida via Flickr

* 10 Tips to Go From Novice to Noticed on Twitter, http://dld.bz/AK9E.

* Monetize It – JA Konrath Talks About How to Maximize Revenue From Your Books, http://bit.ly/dWi31n.

* How to Write a Press Release That Gets Attention, http://dld.bz/AKBd.

* Conquering Your Fears of Social Media, http://dld.bz/AKBQ.

It’s Labor Day weekend and hopefully you’ll get out, have some fun and enjoy the last hurrah for summer…

Publishing is still in some limbo – Ron Burkle and Len Riggio continue to fight over the future of Barnes and Noble. More and more e-readers are coming onto the market, and there is now an e-reader priced under $100. What will the holidays bring in terms of price wars? It’s bound to be good for consumers. Meanwhile, Borders has had some layoffs and has stopped speaking to the media, apparently. The future of this bookstore chain has also been subject to much speculation, and its foray into selling e-readers and partnership with Build-A-Bear will be interesting to watch to see if it can turn things around.

There’s more back and forth over whether e-readers are the death of publishing or its salvation. Our conventional wisdom is: neither; e-readers represent another way to sell books.

Image via Wikipedia

There’s also a brouhahaha over the New York Times and its supposed love of Jonathan Franzen and other white male authors at the expense of women authors, but it’s hard to put Franzen in the same boat as Jodi Picoult who writes more mainstream, less literary books (as much as we enjoy her work). But we’ll say that any debate involving books (over, say: reality TV “stars,” and the like) is a good thing to take up headlines. For fun, check out Chick Lit versus Dude Lit, http://bit.ly/ah7yDF.

Finally: Knowledge is power: Read a banned book today, in honor of Banned Books Week, September 25-October 2, 2010! http://bit.ly/9KKcsm.

So, let’s look at some highlights of the week that was:

* 12 favorite non-book literary oddities on e-Bay, http://bit.ly/aI3k3P.

* ‘Dora The Explorer Book: Over 50 Million Copies Sold As Series Turns 10,’ http://huff.to/blUSYr.

* PC World looks at the next wave of e-readers coming soon, http://bit.ly/duNKzU.

* ‘To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish’ – very useful breakdown of the pros and cons, http://huff.to/8YJbHf.

Image via Wikipedia

* ‘Ron Charles Takes 60 Seconds to Save Book Reviewing,’ by using video, http://bit.ly/b4qAAW.

* ‘Fall Books 2010 Highlights: Who Made The Cut?’ http://huff.to/bGukuy.

* ‘Next Generation of E-Readers Could Be Flexible,’ http://bit.ly/a2yswY.

* Try the weird words quiz – recognize any of these? http://bit.ly/byUpM7.

* Catchy concepts in kids’ books (love these covers!) http://bit.ly/bxd9n4.

* Staples will start selling Amazon’s Kindle, http://bit.ly/9EQRCy.

* ‘Borders Slashes E-Reader Prices to $99,’ http://bit.ly/acA0Rq.

* ‘10 Facts About Books You Won’t Read in a Book About Books’ – fun video, http://bit.ly/bpSAUC.

* Stephenson and Bear Release ‘social Book’ a digital novel titled The Mongoliad, http://bit.ly/dcbM2z.

Image via Wikipedia

* Does a book’s popularity guarantee its movie’s success? http://bit.ly/dwwUYN.

* ‘Cool fall books: Warm up with these reads,’ http://bit.ly/9G8hev.

* ‘The 11 Worst Memoir Covers Ever,’ Some of these are fun to look at! http://huff.to/9TdeBq.

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• Jodi Picoult Says Book Reviewers Favor “White Male Literary Darlings”: It’s Sexism, Not Sour Grapes (thefrisky.com)
• Randy Susan Meyers: Lit Versus Commercial Fiction: Writer Wars? (huffingtonpost.com)
• Jason Pinter: Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner Speak Out On Franzen Feud: HuffPost Exclusive (huffingtonpost.com)

Round one goes to Random House, which “won” its battle with Wiley Agency’s Odyssey Books over digital rights. Wiley created Odyssey to publish e-books and signed an exclusive deal with Amazon to offer e-books of 20 classic titles, from the likes of Philip Roth, Martin Amis and John Updike, which Random House promptly protested. Since most of the Odyssey authors had print deals with Random House, the publisher claimed the digital rights as well; this week the matter was quietly settled between the two groups. Wiley has not released any statement about the resolution, but Random House announced that it will shortly sell 13 of those 20 Odyssey titles at various online sites (not just Amazon). For more, check out http://on.wsj.com/9DRGkA.

The battle for the future of Barnes & Noble gets ugly, with Len Riggio, chairman of the board, working hard to urge shareholders to reject any offers from Ron Burkle to purchase 30% of the company. Publishers Weekly breaks it down, http://bit.ly/b8tBqf.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention digital books and digital reading devices. Amazon.com was back in the news this week as its newest Kindle (called K3 by customers) started shipping. Reviews of the new device, which is lighter, slimmer, faster and offers better screen resolution, have been uniformly good and the first wave of K3 owners seem quite happy. Meanwhile, additional devices are entering the market at low prices, a color e-reader will be available soon, and everyone is waiting to see the price wars that will develop – especially around the holidays.

In other publishing news:

* The 10 highest-paid authors; James Patterson is at #1 with $70 million, http://bit.ly/cl7uNr.

* CVS will sell a $100 Sylvania netbook and a $179 e-reader this fall – Tylenol not included, http://bit.ly/dcUxDo.

* The words ‘Climate change’ and the ‘vuvuzela’ leave a mark on the Oxford Dictionary of English, http://bit.ly/9NELYm.

* ‘Get Ready for Ads in Books,’ (product placement in TV, movies paves the way), http://bit.ly/cQrQHm.

* ‘Breathtaking Adaptations: 13 Classic Books Transformed Into Graphic Novels,’ http://huff.to/bm7ubg.

* ‘Obama Gets Franzen Novel Early, and Publishing Panic Ensues,’ http://nyti.ms/9qBYTy.

* ‘Booksellers Brace for ‘Mockingjay’ Landing’ (and have high hopes for a bestseller), http://nyti.ms/b8ttOS.

* Check out the e-readers coming soon to Borders, including a tablet, http://bit.ly/92sZHb.

* ‘Medieval Copy Protection – the Book Curse to Keep Thieves at Bay,’ http://bit.ly/aok7PT.

* ‘Fusion: The Synergy of Images and Words,’ (great photos of readers with their books worldwide), http://bit.ly/9f0Xdw.

* ‘Aluratek’s E-reader Cracks the $100 Barrier,’ http://bit.ly/a9cFvX.

* Try the Ray Bradbury quiz in honor of his 90th birthday, http://bit.ly/byaLFQ.

* ‘Homer the Memoir Cat Gets a Comic Book,’ http://bit.ly/aH4Ad8.

* ‘Color Comes to an E-Reader, the Literati,’ http://nyti.ms/cFH36P.

* ’6 ‘Flashlight Worthy’ Children’s Books to Read After You Finish Mockingjay,’ http://huff.to/d9CIdy.

* ‘HarperCollins Releases Kids’ iPhone Apps,’ http://bit.ly/99rEUi.

* ‘The ABCs of E-Reading: People Are Reading More, Even While in a Kayak,’ http://bit.ly/bpJkcp.

* New Laura Lippman thriller sells more e-books than hardcovers, http://bit.ly/aYU5H1.

* ‘Empty Space: 40+ Stunning Minimalistic Book Covers,’ http://bit.ly/aIb4QM.

* ‘Cakes and Cupcakes Inspired by Books,’ (amazing and mouth watering!), http://bit.ly/cU751F.

* ‘Five Books to Read After Checking the Egg Recall List,’ http://bit.ly/bGAY53.

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• Weiner Escalates Feud With Franzen Coverage (huffingtonpost.com)
• Kindle 3 user review compilation (ireaderreview.com)
• Penguin in talks with Wylie over Odyssey titles (teleread.com)

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