~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE BOOK MARKETING EXPERT NEWSLETTER!

A newsletter all about SUCCESSFUL publishing

and POWERFUL promotion.

January 20, 2011 Issue #238

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

in this issue

— Note From The Editor

— Buy an AME Program and Win a Kindle!

— Feature Article: 50 Things to Tweet About

— Build Traffic with Facebook and Twitter

— See What’s New at AME’s Book Marketing Channel on YouTube!

— Book Bits and Bites

— Everyone Wants Easy Buttons

— Learn How to Start a Blog

— How to Share Web Content

— Become a Better Blog Commenter

— Penny in the News!

— Hear What The Publishing Insiders Have to Say

— Reader Tip: Self Promote at Successimo

— How Popular is Your Topic?

— Easy Screen Capture

— National Indie Excellence Awards Seeks Submissions

— Twitter Tip: Keep Pace With VIPs

— Twitter Tip – Try Twellow

— Reader Tip!

— WHO ARE WE

— ————————————————————

Penny C. Sansevieri, Editor penny@amarketingexpert.com

Welcome to a new issue of THE BOOK MARKETING EXPERT NEWSLETTER.

You are receiving this newsletter compliments of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. To opt out, please scroll down to the bottom of this newsletter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to another issue of the Book Marketing Expert Newsletter!

Dear Author,

Welcome back to another issue of The Book Marketing Expert! Hey, did you see it? I was quoted in the Wall Street Journal this week and I am officially impossible to live with, check it out: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703583404576079851516339200.html.

I’m on the road, headed to Digital Book World. I can’t wait to attend this event, it’s going to be fantastic! And speaking of the digital world – have you gotten your eBook reader yet? If not, we’re giving away a brand spanking new Kindle. Check out our newsletter for details.

If your New Year’s resolution was to get on Twitter but you’re now perplexed on what to Twitter about, take heart! Many of us are! This week we’re going to break down “50 Things to Tweet About.” This should get you started!

We hope 2011 is treating you well so far! We’re grateful you’re back with us and wish you continued rockin’ success in 2011!

Wishing you publishing success,

Penny, Paula, Susan, Sherrie, Yoonmi and everyone at Author Marketing Experts, Inc.

P.S. – “Like” our AME Facebook Page and you’ll find marketing articles and tips, YouTube videos from our book marketing channel, notices about upcoming webinars, Publishing Insider shows, and more: http://www.facebook.com/bookmarketingame?ref=sgm

P.P.S. – Complimentary Book Marketing Content: Visit the articles page on our AME website and you’ll find a range of articles by Penny, which may be used along with her byline (provided at the top of the page) at no cost. The complete list is at http://amarketingexpert.com/articles/.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To kick off 2011, we’re offering a FREE Kindle with the purchase of any AME marketing campaign service from January 20-31, 2011.*

Contract and payment/deposit must be received by January 31, 2011 at Midnight PST. This offer is good on both paid in full orders and with our payment plan options.

The Kindle will be shipped to the billing address provided on the AME contract at the time of the order. The Kindle will not be shipped to the client until the payment in full is received and all campaign paperwork is processed.

In the event the campaign is canceled for any reason, standard terms and conditions apply PLUS there will be an additional charge to recover the cost of the Kindle, plus shipping and handling charges and any administrative fees. Please write on your paperwork “KINDLE” at time of submission.

*DIY programs not included.

To take advantage of this offer, email sherrie@amarketingexpert.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twitter is a great way to meet people, develop relationships, and promote yourself and your book or business. But it’s important to avoid being seen as someone who just self promotes.

Most of your tweets should be about helping others, but you also need to inject some personality, to put the “social” into social networking and help people get to know you. Here are 50 ideas for tweeting or promoting:

1. Teach stuff – teach a little mini-lesson on Twitter. Delve into your area of expertise or just talk about book publishing and how to get published.

2. Share sites or blogs that your followers would be interested in. Be their “filter” to new and exciting information.

3. Use SocialOomph.com to schedule tweets to your account for later posting so you don’t have to be sitting on top of Twitter every minute of the day.

4. Use Twitter as a news source: you can easily announce news both from your world (as long as it relates to your topic) and from the world of your expertise. For example, I’ve done tweets on book industry stuff, breaking news, etc.

5. Widen your network – follow other Twitter folk, this will not only give you some ideas for your own “tweets” but it’s a great way to network with other writers or professionals.

6. Offer advice: use Tweetdeck.com or Twitter Search (search.twitter.com) to see who’s asking for info on your area of expertise and then offer them some help/insight. This is a great way to build relationships.

7. It’s ok to market yourself but be careful about pimping your stuff too much.

8. Be original, useful and helpful.

9. If you’re on tour with your book or doing an event, tweet on that and invite your local followers to attend.

10. Tweet any good reviews your book gets, it’s always fun to share the good stuff!

11. Every Tweet counts (don’t tell people you’re washing your cat); don’t just tweet on useless stuff or you’ll lose followers.

12. It’s not all about you (again, back to the cat) people want to know useful stuff, I know, it’s getting repetitive but there’s a reason: it’s important.

13. Promote your Twitter account in your email signature line and on your blog.

14. Network: don’t expect your followers to grow if you’re not following other people. Network, search for others in your area and follow them.

15. Personal is ok. Even though I said not to post useless information it’s still not a bad idea to (from time to time) post a personal Tweet or two. Provide value and twitter-followers will beat a path to your door.

16. Follow everyone who follows you. You can use sites like Socialtoo.com and SocialOomph to autofollow everyone who follows you. These services can also send a nice welcome message to your new followers.

17. There is a lot of noise on Twitter, and the sooner you get comfortable with that the better. It’s like being at one massive cocktail party; you have to find ways to filter out the noise. Sites like SocialOomph can help you do that.

18. Embed a link or some other sign-up in your welcome message; this is another great way to capture emails for your newsletter (assuming you have one).

19. Use sites like SocialOomph or Twitter Search to see who’s talking about you and then follow them, too, or comment on their tweet.

20. It’s ok to repeat your tweets. With the volume of messages people get your followers will often miss some of your posts.

21. Feed your blog through Twitter using Twitterfeed.com.

22. Join Help a Reporter Out: @petershankman for tweets on media leads (it’s a great service!).

23. Don’t feel like you have to respond to every tweet, but I generally try to respond to all tweets that are replies to mine (you can find these under @replies on your Twitter home page).

24. Want to stay on top of your market and find stuff to Tweet about? Then go to Alltop.com and search for your category. There are thousands of them up there. Here are a few to consider: socialmedia.alltop.com, twitter.alltop.com and publishing.alltop.com.

25. Review a product or book on Twitter.

26. Follow big names in your market on Twitter: this will often bring in their followers too, and you want to see what the “big guys” are up to.

27. Get a good picture: don’t leave your avatar blank. Personalize your page if you can, but a good Twitter picture is a must.

28. Tweetbeep.com is a lot like Google alerts. You can plug in your keywords and you’re pinged each time they are used.

29. Are you ready to add pictures to your Tweets? Then head on over to Twitpic.com, this site will let you upload pictures and tweet to them.

30. Use YouTube to share helpful videos you think your followers will love.

31. Music on Twitter is also possible thanks to TwittyTunes (http://www.foxytunes.com/twittytunes/). This site is great for sharing music and it has a simple Firefox add-on that lets you Twitter on music you’re currently listening to!

32. Invite people to subscribe to your ezine and offer an incentive.

33. Introduce other authors or experts to each other or to your Twitter followers (they should also be on Twitter).

34. Participate in Follow Fridays #FF and Writer Wednesdays #WW. Recommend your favorite tweeters by using the #followfriday or #FF hashtag along with their user names.

35. Link to your own articles and blog posts. Shorten the URL using bit.ly so you can track the number of clicks you get.

36. Link to great videos.

37. Ask for advice or ask questions that encourage responses.

38. Comment on someone’s interesting Twitter background or clever bio.

39. Offer a free downloadable ebook or sample chapter, with no strings attached.

40. Thank others for mentioning you on Twitter.

41. Link to an interesting Wikipedia entry on your topic or specialty.

42. Link to a transcript from an interesting Twitter chat.

43. Post an inspirational quote or message.

44. Link to other blogs, helpful articles.

45. Reply to someone else’s Twitter post.

46. Run a contest.

47. Promote a special offer exclusively to your Twitter tribe.

48. Retweet (RT) someone else’s posts, it’s a great way to network!

49. Thank someone for RTing your post; it’s always great to acknowledge someone for doing that!

50. Talk about the latest trends in your industry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Technorati survey revealed that when it’s time to promote blog content, there are two main sources: Facebook and Twitter. Check it out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A new series, How to Succeed Online and Sell More Books, is now available on AME’s YouTube channel; new videos are added regularly to keep you up to date on all things book marketing! http://www.youtube.com/user/BookmarketingAME.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Sit on It: Amazing stuff made with books, http://ow.ly/3ETs7.

* Look and Drool: Libraries of the rich and famous – awesome! http://ow.ly/3D6JL.

* Million-Seller’s Club: Nora Roberts is the third author – after Stieg Larsson and James Patterson – to sell 1 million Kindle books, http://ow.ly/3GGTx .

* Reading List: ’10 Great Works of Literature for America’s 10 Most Literate Cities,’ http://ow.ly/3BMbj.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is the one thing that can help you increase sales and leads in 2011? The one thing you can provide that guarantees your target audience will buy from you and love you?

Answer: An Easy Button

When customers have a problem, whatever it is, they need it solved. They come online and look for a solution. Most of them go to Google. In other words: Google is a big giant easy button. Many people are using social media to find solutions and they look on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Wherever a prospect is looking, you want to have your solution visible, available and easily understandable.

What are you doing to make easy buttons for your customers? You’re not doing anything like that? Well, then you’re simply not selling as much as you possibly can.

Here are a couple of points to consider:

* People don’t buy “more work to reach a solution,” they buy instant solutions.

* Everybody wants their pain taken away, fast, and if you can do that for them “with a click of a button,” you win. That “click” is them moving from a prospect to a paying customer.

Your challenge in 2011 is to think about how to take your product or services and make them into an easy button solution.

Tip offered by Susan Gilbert, AME’s Search Engine Marketing Expert and Web 2.0 company owner, http://www.susangilbert.com/, which provides Social Networking websites and services.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Authors are always told to start a blog if they don’t already have one, but many find the prospect overwhelming. Here are “18 Blogging Tips to Create and Maintain a Successful Blog:” http://www.jmorganmarketing.com/blogging-tips-create-maintain-blog/.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you’re reading online, there’s a new and easier way to share articles and blog posts on Twitter or Facebook. Go to: http://bit.ly/pages/tools and simply drag the bit.ly sidebar up to your toolbar to get started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Commenting on blogs is a great way to build your online presence and contacts. But it’s important to do it right; avoid the blatant self promotion and offer insightful and useful information. Learn how.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Did you catch Penny in the Wall Street Journal? Here’s the scoop: How Authors Move Their Own Merchandise.

* Penny was a guest blogger for Blog Paws, the gathering place for pet bloggers: http://www.blogpaws.com/2011/01/beyond-the-bookstore-guest-post-by-penny-sansevieri.html.

* Penny has a series on book marketing underway at BookBuzzr, http://www.bookbuzzr.com/blog/?s=Penny+Sansevieri&x=0&y=0.

* Keep up with Penny’s latest blog for Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be in the know and hear what the publishing insiders: Penny Sansevieri, CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. – and her guests – have to offer in terms of tips and insights into the industry! Listen here. Publishing Insiders is now available on iTunes, so you can keep up with the show wherever you go!

Upcoming show:

Smart Self Publishing, Part 1: Print on Demand, Jan. 25, 4 p.m. Pacific

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2011/01/26/smart-self-publishing-series-part-1-print-on-deman

These days, there are more choices than ever to get published, but publishing – like any industry – is full of scams. Most publishers are not unethical but how can you avoid predators with pie-in-the-sky promises that can’t be fulfilled? Our special guests, Grael Norton, acquisitions manager for Wheatmark, Inc., and Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, will show us how to see through the hype and discuss the how-to’s of contracts, publication costs, royalty statements, book covers and much, much more.

Shows available for download at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders include:

* Secrets to Getting Your Book Into Libraries

* Getting Your Book into Bookstores with Elaine Wilkes

* This Book Will Make You Money with special guest Jim Kukral

* Blogging Ideas the Whole Year Through

* How to Make Money on Twitter

* A Self Publishing Success Story

* From Blog to Book

* What Van Halen Can Teach You About Book Marketing

* The Digital Book Revolution

* Powerhouse Promotion with Marci Shimoff

* It’s Getting Hot in Here – erotica equals hot books and even hotter sales!

* How to Maximize Book Reviews

* E-books: the Savior of Publishing or the Foe? with Joe Konrath

* Special Guest Mari Smith, queen of Facebook

* Special Guest Seth Godin

* All Things Twitter! with Warren Whitlock

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Successimo http://www.successimo.com is a free site seeking content providers (authors, speakers, and life coaches) for this informational and inspirational site that allows you to have another presence on the Internet highlighting you and your products.

Tip from January Jones, author, radio host, speaker, humorist, reality TV golfer, expert whine tester & wine taster. Learn more at http://www.januaryjones.com/.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One way to find out is to track it on Google Alerts. Try plugging in your keyword to see what comes up. Alerts are free and a really easy way to track what’s happening in your market. Keeping track of what’s being said, featured, and written about your brand is a good way to know how popular it is and who is saying what in your market.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you’ve ever tried to screen capture a full webpage you know it’s not always easy. Until now! Check out Capture Full Page http://capturefullpage.com. Just go to this URL, enter in the website you want to capture and it will pop up a JPG of the page which is easy to download. Great tool, I love it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 5th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards® announces a call for submissions. NIEA recognizes excellence in independent- and self-published books, a category that accounts for a rapidly growing segment of a publishing industry going through almost constant transformation.

Books published from 2008 to the present by self-published authors, small press, and independent publishers can be submitted for consideration in the categories of their choice.

Winners and Finalists will be announced nationally in mid May 2011.

All winners and finalists receive extensive media coverage and top award recipients are eligible to win prizes valued in excess of $12,000. These include sessions with outstanding media and PR consultants, marketing experts, and others in a position to assist authors and publishers in creating greater success with their books.

For information about the contest, including how to submit books, please visit www.indieexcellence.com. The deadline for entries is April 10, 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Learn how to keep up with important people on Twitter so you can be in the know (and network!) http://dld.bz/FAfR.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you checked out the Twitter directory Twellow? Here are some powerful ways to use it, http://dld.bz/E4CZ.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you’ve got a Reader Tip you’d like to share, please send it to penny@amarketingexpert.com with the subject line “reader tip.” Submissions should be 75 words or less.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Marketing Experts, Inc. is a full-service book marketing, promotion, and publicity company. We serve authors at all stages of marketing and promotion. We offer a full range of packages and services to choose from.

To see a price list or schedule a free consultation, send your e-mail to penny@amarketingexpert.com with the subject line “Author Services Info.” You can also visit our website at www.amarketingexpert.com.

Reprint permission
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
You are welcome to reprint any items from “The Book Marketing Expert Newsletter.” However, please credit us as a source with the following paragraph:

Reprinted from “The Book Marketing Expert newsletter,” a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://amarketingexpert.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like this newsletter? Pass it on!

We never rent or sell subscriber lists to any third party. Your privacy is very important to us. Always.

To subscribe to this newsletter, click here: subscribe@amarketingexpert.com.
—– Copyright 2011 Author Marketing Experts, Inc. —–
Follow us on Twitter

Keep up with the AME blog

Join our Facebook Page

Contact Information

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

email: penny@amarketingexpert.com

web: http://amarketingexpert.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~