Why Ask Yourself Some Hard Questions

.

Key to Success

.

Writing is an art, publishing a book is a business!
Before you even attempting to write, develop and market an e-book, or paper book for that matter, create yourself a road map.  Research first and build a solid foundation. The problem is that too many people are in a hurry to start writing and don’t lay a foundation for book marketing. They spend all this time writing, and then they have no buyers.  Do the research and find out if your idea is going to make money. If yes, great! Go for it. If not, find another idea, such as freelance writing for magazines or newspapers where you can earn money much faster and without spending money for layout, editing or cover art.
.

Ask yourself some hard questions:

• Who will be your e-book readers?

• Is there a demand for your eBook product?

• Is your e-book a “must have” purchase?

• How much will people pay for your product?

• Does the purchase of your eBook lead to additional e-book sales?

• How much money will you need to fund your project?

• How likely are you to excel among the competition?

• How do you contact and “pitch” your product to your potential buyers?

• How to you get the important book reviews?

• Do you have already lots of followers in your social networks?
.

Writing your book is only 20% of the work, 80% is marketing!  Having a plan on how you intend to market, publicize and sell your book before starting to write it, is crucial for your works success.

• Choose your book content
• Start marketing your book, even before writing it
• Design and format it into a perfect downloadable file
• Create a professional cover for your e-book
• Select the e-book retailers to upload your book (Amazon, Kobo, Apple, B&N, Sony…)
• Continue marketing your book

You are responsible for providing your own ongoing marketing for e-published work – the same as for paper books that are often not very well marketed. A book might be great, but if nobody knows about it, it won’t sell. Authors can’t count on the public seeing their books on shelves or in store windows – they have to find it on the internet.

.

<><><><><>

.

If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 750 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

.
Hyper Smash

Pingates

 

Remember the Time Before Social Media?

.
Even your grandmother is now on Social Media. Do you remember the time before Facebook, Twitter and Google+?  See the steep curve of the user growth rate in all age ranges and demographics, and the continuing pervasiveness of social networking into every facet of work, play and life in general.

Social Media Facts – did you know:

• 53% of all employers research potential job candidates on Social Media?
• 80% of companies use Social Media for Recruitment?
• 43% of companies used blogs in 2012 and growing?
• 33% of companies use YouTube videos for marketing?
  .

Readers are making book purchasing decisions every day based on social media interactions.  Social platforms are a way to connect with your readers. Use it and be social!

.

Source: The Growth of Social Media: An Infographic
.
.

<><><><><>

.

If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 730 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

.
Hyper Smash

Pingates

 

What Every Author Should Know

.

.

When consulting / coaching our clients, helping them with their book marketing, we often have to watch them coming to a screeching hold when they try to organize special sales or free days: authors cannot change prices, text or anything else on their retailers account if they go with a publisher. No matter if it is a traditional big publisher or one of these “vanity” publishers, as only those can go into the retailers account – unless they give their authors the keyword and other details and the permission to do changes on the sales page.
.

Every writer, no matter if they author-publish (really self-publish) or if they have sold their manuscript, they have to do their own marketing. But how can you do it, if you are on the mercy of a publisher – real or vanity? If you don’t own the ISBN and if they have no access to they retailers publishing pages?
.

This is a huge problem (among many others) that authors face after they have given away their work for pittance – or worse, have paid thousands of dollars to a vanity firm. So, what’s the difference between both, beside the fact that they hinder the authors in their marketing efforts?

.
Traditional Publishers

• Accept very few submissions
• Authors receive a small advance and royalties
• They do not use print on demand (single or few books)
• Authors have barely any say to cover image, publishing date etc.
• It takes very long until the book is published
• Publisher pays for printing, editing services and cover image 
• Distribution services are covered by the publisher
• Professional marketing services available – but only for celebrity writers
• They own the ISBN for the book
  .

Vanity Publisher

• Accepts almost all submissions 
• Author never receives any advance 
• Author pays for printing, editing services 
• Quick turnaround and Print on Demand 
• Barely any distribution services
• No professional marketing services 
• Very few royalties – if any at all
• They own the ISBN for the book

.
Why not self-publish?
If an author has all these challenges, waiting times (or costs to cover in the worst scenario) – and cannot even do the necessary marketing without huge problems, what’s the point in having a publisher? Why not author-publish / self-publish in the first place, and be independent when it comes to marketing?

 .

<><><><><>

.

If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 720 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

.
Hyper Smash
.
.

Pingates

 

Must-Read for Every Author!

.

How Writers Outsmart Big New York Publishers

.

Hugh Howey: Self-publishing is the future — and great for writers

“The new top-down approach for authors is to self-publish and retain ownership. The course of last resort would be to sign away your rights for the rest of your life.”

“But I only want to write,” you might say. “I don’t want to be a publisher.”  ”Well, good luck. Even if you land with a major publishing house, the success of your work will depend on you knowing this business and embracing all the challenges that a self-published author faces.”

“Promotion will be up to you anyway. Your publisher will want to see your social media presence before they offer you a book deal.”

“I have been shocked to discover, having worked with major publishers, that many of my self-published friends know more about the current publishing landscape than industry veterans with decades of experience.”

“The more authors learn and the more they keep an open mind, the better their chances for success.”

Read Hugh Howey’s complete article on Salon.com 

Starting on Monday, we will run a series of blog posts how writers can became REAL self-publishers, becoming totally independent and eventually run their own publishing endeavor and maximize their writing  income.

Stay tuned! If you have not already, sign up to not miss any of these articles.

.

.

If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

.
Hyper Smash
.
.

Pingates

 

9 Reasons to Get Help Boosting Your Books Success

.

Author-Publishing looks like a puzzle first, but we will help to set it up

.
Our blog has had now more than 145,000 visitors, over 500 subscribers, on Twitter we have more than 40.000 followers, in our Google+ circles are 5,000 people.  On our Chime.in‘s Writing & Publishing Groups are 2,900 followers, on Goodreads 1,400 friends, plus Pinterest, Facebook with two accounts, StumpleUpon, 111Publishing.com website… and some more …

Why do I list all this? To show you how much visibility your book(s) can get when we help you to built a community / network platform and a brand for you as an author. We show your book constantly on all these sites!
.

9 Reasons (at least!) to Choose our Book Marketing Help:

• Three hours of one-on-one Book Marketing Online Seminar phone-consultations
• Unlimited book marketing consultations by email for up to three months
• Unlimited social media help by email for up to three months
• Instructions / Checklist / Hundreds of links for you to use for your book promotions
• Free e-book: “Book Marketing on a Shoestring” launch in March 2013
• Support & advertising your book on free days with Amazon KDP to hundred thousands 
• Blog posts including cover image/author bio/book description on both, blog and our websites
• NEW: Author interview on our blog website 
• NEW: “Book of the Month” recommendation on a major book lover site
  
• Advertising of your book several times/week for 3 months on all our social media sitesPlus one surprise gift we will reveal once you sign up!

Most important:  the article and the interview we did with you and all the postings on our Social Media sites stay there FOREVER!  This way it will have a long-term effect on your book sales. Compare this with advertisers who might charge you $100/year, just for a single pic of your book cover.
.

As you can see, our Book Marketing Help is customized for you, the author, and we will individually work with you on your book’s success. It all starts with our purchase of your book and then an evaluation of your book’s sales page, your social media presence and your marketing activities so far. We will explain you the benefits of various steps in building the platform for you as an author and how you can establish a brand without incurring extra cost, such as expensive ads or how to avoid costly POD’s.
.

Get Help from Professionals who Have Studied Marketing & E-Publishing!

We do NOT sell publishing / marketing videos, pre-recorded Webinars or DVD’s! We really work one-on-one with you!!!  In some cases we worked up to 20 hours per client – it is not only the time we talk with everyone, it is the research in each case and the amount of time we invest in individual programs we create for each of our clients.

We recently did a search of several dozen book publicity sites and their price for similarly  individual marketing and comparable work would be around $2,500.  We are charging only $98 for 3 months (approx. $1 / day) advertising, coaching and consultations.

Book your first 3-months package securely with PayPal on our website: 111Publishing.com
and let’s start building a professional platform and establish your brand as an author.

.

<><><><><><>

.

.

.
Hyper Smash
.
.

Pingates

 

Have You Got a Marketing Plan for Your Book?

.

.

Marketing possibilities for your book sometimes seem to be overwhelming. Use this article to schedule and divide it into small pieces to execute one at a time – make it a habit to work on it every day.
.
Let’s assume that you, as a self-publishing author have produced an excellent, high-quality book or e-book and now you are going to publish and to market your book.
.
Or take scenario two: you have written the best book and found the best agent possible and she’s made the best deal she can get with the best publisher who’s interested, then you will be surprised to learn about the reality in traditional publishing: Publishers do spend money on advertising, PR and paid placement in bookstores, but they don’t spend the same amount on all books. On average publishers spend less than $2,000 on advertising 90% of their titles—not much to get the word out about your book.

Bookstores will return your unsold books after three months to the publisher, which means almost the end of your book’s “brick & mortar” career. These are the reasons YOU will have to get the word out about your book, no matter if you author-publish or if you go with a big, traditional publisher.
.

You certainly have done your homework before you started writing your book:

• You researched your possible competition and how popular the genre is in which you are writing.
• You have identified your target market and in which time-frame you want to accomplish the introduction for your book.
• You made plans for your writing career, you vision already – and maybe even lined out several books, you know that one book only doesn’t make for a writing career.
• You thought about where you want to be in one, three, or five years from now, and what you want to have accomplished as a writer then.
• You also know that book marketing starts ideally before and while you write your future bestseller.

There are two avenues to market and sell your work, even if you have sold your manuscript to a traditional publisher. Either you:

• will invest lots of money and buy ads / go on book signing tours / attend book fairs – or you
• will invest time into building a platform and an authors brand through the use of social marketing and content marketing, plus you learn some fast and free tricks to spread the word about your book
  .

And then there is 1. the promotional, social part and 2. the “hard-selling” part for your book.
The latter will barely work if you have not laid out the foundation with the first part. Would you likely buy something from an unknown person, no matter if on- or off-line?  Remember that your competition in published books is fierce and there are millions published every year. Readers have to be convinced to buy an unfamiliar book from a totally unknown author…
.

It will be the same for both, fiction or non-fiction: The foundation for your books’ success is in building a community, a social environment and a platform to introduce yourself and your work to readers. How can you accomplish this, even before your book is finished? It takes a year to make yourself known in the book community, so start early in order to have a successful book launch:
.

1. What you can do before your book is ready to go to the beta-reader, copy-editor and final editor:

- Have a professional! photographer taken a portrait to use for your avatar
- Get to know and introduce yourself to potential readers, sign up at Google+
(good for SEO), Twitter, FB, Pinterest, Flickr
- Join several book communities, #1 Goodreads, #2 Wattpad, #3 KindleBoards, BookTalk, Scribd…
- Visit forums in your field, especially if you write non-fiction
- Join HARO (Help a Reporter out) to make yourself a name as an expert in your field
- Start and write regularly (once or twice a week) blog posts
- Create your own (not a free!) author website 
- Send your blog articles to newspapers / magazines and even to e-Zines
- Write guest blogs for other bloggers to get your name out
- Write your “elevator pitch” and practice your “elevator speech” for quick pitch
- Start a spread sheet or list with email addresses of potential readers
- Create an email signature & use it for every email you send out
- Print business cards / book marks
- Get an ISBN number and register your copyright
- Register with Bowker to have your book worldwide listed (free)
- Choose the right genre (category) and keywords for your book
- Gather as many reviews as possible and write a compelling blurb
- Research media contacts and prepare Press Releases
- Invite several thousand! people as followers and friends on your social media sites

.
2. Plan of action, once your book is edited, has an appealing cover – that’s what people see first, is professionally converted (e-book), or got a perfect layout (print) and is ready to launch:
.- Place your book into the right category / genre and sub-genre (important for its success!)

- Create a second, separate BOOK PAGE on Amazon, Goodreads, Google+ and FB
- Submit your book to the Library of Congress (USA only)
- Set up a media press kit on your website with a link to your book trailer
- Plan and create an email campaign to potential readers
- Get customer orders for special (price) pre-launch sale
- Invite more reviewers for your book
- Submit photos of your book cover image to Pinterest, Flickr…
- Create a slide show  and/or video book trailer
- Send copies to book reviewers in various publications and to book bloggers
- Send review copies to book clubs with large distribution
- Automate submissions to and between all your social networks
- Write a blog post about the upcoming launch
- Spruce up your website and blog for your book launch
- Write a compelling press release
- Ask your friends to “Like”, “Thumbs up” & “Listmania” your book on Amazon
- Participate in “Carnival of the Indies” blog carnival to promote your blog URL
- Comment on other blogs and write lots of guest blogs
- Submit your blogs including an URL link to even more e-Zines
- Consider to participate at KDP Select free days, announce your upcoming book for free
- Offer interviews at Radio /TV stations and newspapers or on other blogs
- Try to set you up to become a desirable guest expert on a talk or morning show
- Befriend influential book bloggers for even more reviews and articles
- Donate your book to local libraries and offer to speak
- Contact local bookstores for book signings
- Gather writing friends for cross-promotions and blog tours
- Add press clippings and articles, already published, to your website
- Get a new business card with an image of your book and sales link
- Place the books’ cover image & description daily on your Google+ stream
- Announce your book launch or book signing on Google+ for FREE
- Get even more friends, followers and people in your circles on social media sites
as you need lots of audience to spread the word about your new book!
.

What else can you do to increase your books’ success:
- Become a guest speaker at writers conferences or business seminars
- Sell your book to libraries
- Let your book translate in other languages or sell foreign rights
- Split your (non-fiction) book in pieces and sell single articles to magazines
- Participate in writing contests and book awards

The possibilities are endless… Stay tuned for more tips at http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com
Make sure you have done every one of these steps to have a great start once your book is published. Write for pleasure – publish for profit!

.

<><><><><>

.

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris

.

.
Hyper Smash
.
.

Pingates

 

3 Options for Authors to Sell their Books

.
… the ONLY three options.

.

.

Scenario 1
You worked very hard for a year or two on your books’ manuscript. You even paid for professional help to write a convincing query letter and you got a list of agents to contact. All your friends and family promised to buy your book once it hits the shelves. You write query after query, contact lots of agents and you play the waiting game. Nothing happens. You assure yourself that many famous writers such as Stephen King, John Le Carre, J.K. Rowling, George Orwell, William Faulkner, or John Grisham experienced dozens of rejections

After a year or two, maybe your manuscript is picked up by a (real) publisher, not those POD’s or Vanity Publishers. You are happy to be published and even receive a small advance – in exchange of not owning the book anymore, at least until your contract ends, and to have no or very little influence over the cover and to be forced to make lots of manuscript changes. What the publisher doesn’t tell you is that they will NOT market you book other than list it and distribute it to book stores. They are only delivering your book from where it is ordered.

Actively promoting is the job of the author – unless you are a famous and established author. And even those are marketing their books, just watch the Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook and Google+ pages of bestseller authors.
.
Scenario 2
You are well-off and after many rejections from big publishing houses you decide to invest in your book, spend hundreds for a good editor. Your book cover is fabulous. You found a professional book printer for several thousand dollars and contracted distribution to book stores who might order your book – if someone asks for your title. And you even found a great ebook formatter and uploaded your work to Amazon, Kobo, B&N etc.
You spend a tremendous amount of money in advertisements, printed and online, through an advertisement agency. Barely any sales, and a very poor “ROI”, return of investment.
You decide to go where your readers are: in bookstores and at book faires. You contact stores and even get some book signings, but you have to advertise them, as the stores don’t do anything to promote your event or your book. Same with your presentations at book faires, where you have to pay for your booth or table, electricity and other expenses, such as travel costs. After all these expenses, not much is left from your book sales.
.
Scenario 3
You are not so well-off as the author in scenario 2. You have to find out how to do your marketing on a shoestring. Before you write your book you research the competition, the genre, the potential in readers. You do your research and draft a marketing plan. You expand your already existing Facebook and Twitter presence with Google+, Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr etc. as you learned you can easily connect them all together. You write a blog post at least once a week and “feed” automatically your Social Media posts.  Your next step is a website from where you can sell your book as well, once it is finished.

While you write your book, you make already “friends” and “followers”. You join Goodread and Wattpad or Biblio Connection, interact with readers and writers alike and leave single chapters of your upcoming book for readers to comment on and to “test the waters”. These folks might become even your beta readers and book reviewers, once the manuscript is finished. Once your book is finished and formatted as an e-book you join more reader forums and list it not only there, but also on several dozens of top websites for book lovers.

What else can you do:
To get 5,000 or more followers or thousands of email addresses, social media is invaluable.
Social media provides a good opportunity to reach readers, however, you might consider public speaking e.g. at writers conferences or free workshops at your local library, and publish lots of articles (always with a link to your website, blog or book sales page) at local newspapers and to use for other media, even for TV and Radio shows, or send out regular newsletters to your readers. It doesn’t mean you have to write completely new articles, just spin and re-purpose the ones you already have.

You leverage the power of free: Giving resources away allows skeptical readers to get enough content to talk about your book – and to make it easy for them to share content with their friends. Sample chapters, quizzes, special reports, and how-to articles are all good giveaway possibilities. If you haven’t yet landed on the radar of most people, you need an entirely different strategy. If this is your first work, give away as many books as you can and get your words out there.
A few authors with inexpensive books made even more money on Amazon while on the KDP Select program through Prime Member lending than by way of regular sales.

E-books are a way of “testing the waters” for print books and there are ways to “real self-publish” and to distribute your book(s) worldwide

There are so many ways to do “Book Marketing on a Shoestring” (this book is available soon). If you want to get help and valuable support, sign up now for a Book Marketing online seminar, where you get hundreds of more tips and practical support to market your book for free. 

As an author of hopefully soon several books, you are a brand. Start thinking and acting like one, and create a serious marketing strategy. Seth Godin, Marketing Guru, once said: “Be patient, do good work, keep doing good word and then do more good work… and it will pay off.”

.

<><><><><>

.

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Christmas Gift for You and Your Family

.

It is a long way from being unknown to bestselling author. Sometimes writers think that readers will appear out of the blue, buying their book on mass, seconds after it is published. Others see marketing as an afterthought, as some sort of an unnecessary burden. You got a glimpse already here on this blog how many marketing possibilities are out there to pick from. Book Marketing and interacting with your readers can be a lot of fun. You just need to know how!
.

You might have read already about the sensational low price of $59 for our 3-month Book Marketing package, we offer to those who are signing up in December – our Christmas Gift for you, the reader of this blog and book author.

Taking advantage of this great offer is beneficial for you in three ways, even if you landed a publishing deal:

• You learn a lot about book marketing using free tools, you get links and hands-on-tips and even a copy of our upcoming title: Book Marketing on a Shoestring
• We help you to take out the stress of your publicizing efforts, and support you in every aspect of marketing with advice and practical tasks, such as writing promotional articles and social media marketing – which saves you a LOT of time! Time to write your next manuscript or leisure time.
• And your family? Well, they will appreciate that you have more time and you are more relaxed – a gift for them too. Maybe they were trying to get a Christmas present for you, but did not know what to choose. Let them know about this great one for their favored author. If they sign up at www.111Publishing.com/seminar they will be re-directed to an email link where they can mention it’s a gift and we will email them a gift voucher back.

Or just sign up and give it as a Christmas present to yourself. Let us help you to navigate through the numerous little steps involved in setting up an author brand, establishing your media presence and get the word out for your book.

Enjoy the Holidays and take advantage of this one-time offer!
Merry Christmas

 

Book Marketing Tip of the Day: The Book Report

Author Interviews & Book Reports

.

The Book Report with Host Elaine Charles is a fun, fast-moving, fact-filled show in 10 major markets across the USA.  Listen live on the internet or check their radio stations and show schedules:
http://www.bookreportradio.com/schedule.html

A lively mix of author interviews, audio book previews and chats with those influential in the literary world, The Book Report has become appointment listening for bibliophiles and book clubs alike. It’s a great way to find out who’s hot in the book world and which titles critics and readers are buzzing about.

Like you, Elaine is a voracious reader, book club member in good standing and book lover from the days of Golden Books on.  Elaine received her undergrad degree from Boston University and Master’s from George Washington University. She’s worked overseas, at the Library of Congress and most recently at The Miami Herald.

If you have ideas on books you would like previewed, author interviews you would like to have, or any sort of feedback, contact Elaine directly at: elaine@bookreportradio.com

-

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out previous posts (there are almost 500 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularely by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line – and on “Like” next to it.

Follow us on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr or StumbleUpon – or other social networking sites of your choice) – other people might also enjoy this and find it useful.

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

10 Commands to Boost Your YouTube Book Trailer

.

A fantastic way to promote your book is with video. These videos are called Book Trailers. Book trailers are very similar to a movie trailer. They serve the same purpose of promoting and peaking interest in your potential audience.

1. Attention span of YouTube users is very low.
1-2 minute videos work best for YouTube. Deliver a short but powerful message. If you have something significant to say, break up the video into 2-5 parts and upload them with unique keyword rich titles.

2. Creating infomovies (videos with slides and voiceover) using PowerPoint:
Make sure that you have a custom unique background for your slides. This custom background can contain your website’s URL on the top or bottom right corner. With this technique you can gain visitors even if your video is embedded on other sites.

3. Screencast videos:
Try to record the screen at 640×360 (16:9) so that the videos do not appear fuzzy. If you can’t do it in 360p, you can make it at 480p (854×480).

4. Use annotations in your video.
Have a specific call to action in the annotation. You can link to subscribe page, channel page, another YouTube video or just ask the visitor to visit your URL for more information.

5. Controversial videos attract a lot of attention on YouTube.
Make sure to provide quality content after you attract the viewers using you controversial title. Visit also: YouTube-trends.Blogspot.com to see the latest trending videos.

6. Leave useful comments in related videos.
If your comments are liked, it will be on top and a lot of visitors will click on your username and land on your channel.

7. Every video you upload is eligible to be a video response to other videos.
Find some related videos in your niche and if appropriate, post a video response using one of your videos.

8. Enter a great title.
By default your channel name is also the title of the channel but you can edit it in “channel settings”.

9. Add link(s) to your website(s).
YouTube allows adding more than one link to your website(s) in your channel’s sidebar.

10. Search for keywords from AdWords Keyword tool.
However, use low competing keywords. You can also enter tags from competing videos so that your videos will appear as related videos when those videos are watched.

.
To find free music and images see this former blog: How to Create your Book Trailer?

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/how-to-create-your-book-trailer/ 

.
Watch samples of book trailers:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/04/29/7-brilliant-book-trailers/

http://www.book-trailers.net/

http://bookscreening.com/

There are plenty of options to get your book trailer out. Amazon’s Author Central profile pages let you put your video on Amazon, including on your author profile and on specific book pages, which helps you reach people who are already interested in your work.  You can upload your video to YouTube and a dozen other sites, promote it via Facebook and Twitter. Book trailers are still sufficiently new to get people interested. And certainly add the trailer to your website or blog

.

Excerpt from the brand new e-book: ***** 111 Tips to Create Your Book Trailer ***** featuring valuable tips and links to video tutorials, free music downloads and free images, available on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008Y15YYO

 

<><><><><>.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Why Don’t You Have a Business Card?

Don’t procrastinate it any longer.  Print business cards to advertise yourself as an author and add the web address(es) where your books can be found.

Hand the cards out to everyone you meet and post the cards on community bulletin boards at bookstores and add it to each book you ship out.

Pricing Example from some random Internet sites:
$12.95 – 1,000 cards – 4 color front – or $36.50 for 5,000 cards
$15.00 – 1,000 cards – 4 color front & back – or $39.90 for 5,000 cards

Other inexpensive options include:
http://www.digitalroom.com/secure/products.html
http://print24.com/us-en/product/business-cards/
http://www.veraprint.com/Default.aspx

http://www.vistaprint.ca/  or http://www.eprintfast.com/businesscards.html
(both Canada)

The blogger Robin Sullivan: “Here are some business card recommendations:

• Include a picture of your book(s) – as much important as your name
• Have a tagline that differentiates your book from others, and also the genre
• Include your twitter, Google+, your blog and email – ways to reach you.
• Don’t give out your phone number – as a writer you need to control if, when and how you are interrupted
• Use your publishers logo – even if you’ve made your own publishing company putting a logo on the card, this will give you some added credibility (people won’t know it’s your own company)

If you have several books place them on the back of your business card. With one, put the cover on the front.

Once you have the cards get them out there. Here are some tips:

• Leave your business card in every one of your books that is displayed in a library or a book store.
• If you have any casual conversation and you happen to mention that you write don’t leave without passing out a card
• Are you a speaker at a panel of a conference, tell people to come up afterward and get your card
• Going out to dinner with a friend and a bunch of their friends you don’t know – given them a card when they ask you “what do you do”

For such a small expense, you really need to get yourself business cards. Make them attractive, and use them often. Besides, on those days when you are feeling kind of blue take out a card and remind yourself what you are in this for.”

 

 

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Pro’s and Con’s of e-Publishing

E-publishing is a form of publication especially attractive to new writers.

Some of the advantages of e-publishing include:

• More and more libraries carry e-books for lending.
• Independent authors receive as much as 70% of the profits in royalties when they self-publish.  Writers get a higher percentage of royalties through e-publishing because the initial financial investments for the publisher is lower than for a paper publisher.
• There are no returns from book stores and no paper books ending on landfills.
• Faster publishing time for accepted manuscripts of they go with an e-publisher. Rather than waiting up to eighteen months for a manuscript to see print – e-publishing generally works within a few weeks after acceptance.
• Writers have the ability to update text often and easily at virtually no cost. This is particularly important for e-books related to travel guides or computer technology.
• Unlimited links which are important to guide books and how-to publications, music, video’s, images – all these can be added to e-books.
• E-books are longer available as they can stay infinitive on digital shelves even with slower sales – not like paper books that will be discontinued after some months, if they did not become a bestseller. This gives new writers lots of time to build a following by having their entire e-book available over extended periods of time.
• Negligible investment for self-publishers.

If this looks all too rosy:

• Some people are not aware of e-publishing and others prefer reading a book from print rather than electronically. Good sales so far amount to 500 copies for a successful manuscript.
• Writers are responsible for providing their own ongoing marketing for e-published work – the same as for paper books that are often not very well marketed. A book might be great, but if nobody knows about it, it won’t sell.
• Authors can’t count on the public seeing their books on shelves or in store windows – they have to find it on the internet.
• Writers usually do not receive an advance.

However, e-publishing can be a great way for a new writer to gain a following. Romance, science fiction, murder mystery and fantasy are all possible genres for e-publishing. It is also ideal for How-To books that need to be updated frequently.

Businesses can also save money on employee manuals and training materials by e-publishing them. An added advantage here is that works can be clickable.

Do you have all your books formatted as e-books?  If not, what keeps you from doing so?

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

How Do People Discover New Books And Authors?

Last month I put together a brief survey to find out how people discover new books and authors. One of the biggest challenges new authors are facing, is getting the word out about their work, regardless of whether they are self-published or going with a traditional publisher.  Increasingly, authors have to do a significant amount of legwork in terms of promotion as marketing and advertising budgets are widely slashed.

However, most self-published authors don’t have a particularly detailed understanding of their market. Either they haven’t thought to find out, or simply don’t know where to start. It’s understandable – we didn’t get into writing in order to become expert marketers – but it is something that we just have to get to grips with.  So I thought I’d start my own journey towards understanding by asking people where they find out about new books and authors.

Question 1: What genres of fiction do you enjoy reading?
The most popular genres were Science Fiction and Fantasy; the least popular were Western, Chick Lit, Romance, and Horror.

Question 2: Where do you find about new books and new authors?
The second question asked people to rate how frequently they found new books or authors via different methods. There’s bad news for self-publishers here: The most popular ways to find new authors remains word of mouth, browsing in a bricks and mortar bookshop, browsing in an online bookshop and newspaper reviews.

Now, my sample size was quite small, just 238 responses. But it echoes Verso Digital’s 2011Survey of Book-Buying Behavior, released last month, which polled 2,200 respondents. Verso Digital found that most of their respondents found new books through personal recommendation (49.2%), bookstore staff recommendations (30.8%), advertising (24.4%, and a source I forgot to add in), search engines (21.6% and ditto). 11.8% found new books through social networks and 12.1% via blogs. Book reviews accounted for 18.9%.

There are a lot more interesting nuggets in the report, so it’s well worth a flick through the slides. Conclusions: Personal recommendation most important for self-publishers

The results of this survey are a bit of a mixed bag for self-publishers. For most of us it’s impossible to get our books into prominent positions in bookshops either offline or on, and even harder to get newspaper reviews. The places where it’s easy for us to gain access, such as GoodReads, Twitter, LibraryThing, Facebook and on our own blog simply aren’t that influential. It’s disappointing, because these are places where authors can be very proactive.

So what are we left with? Both my graph and the Verso Digital figures show that self-published authors should focus on encouraging people to make personal recommendations for their work, as that is still the most important way that people find new authors and books. Simply telling your friends that you recently read a book and loved it appears to be the single most important thing one can do to help an author along.

By SUW, re-blogged, first published 24/02/2012
from http://chocolateandvodka.com/2012/02/24/how-do-people-discover-new-books-and-authors/

My Comment:
Roughly 12% social network, 12% blog and 16% Online algorithm recommendation makes up for over 40% of all books sales, which should convince to invest time into these marketing strategies as they are totally free, just the author’s time investment.  Plus: over 65% of avid readers are purchasing their books online.
The Verso Digital Survey also shows where former Border customers went: mostly to online retail stores, such as Amazon or Barnes&Noble.  Amazon makes it easy to send emails to your friends, acquaintances and family about recently purchased books with their form on their checkout page. Ask everyone who buys your book to fill out this window and send it to someone who might purchase your book too.

 

.

.

.

Hyper Smash

 

Why Authors Need Marketing Skills – Lots of Them

The advent of social media has only served to flood the market with content producers. If you want to make it as a writer, you will have to separate yourself from the crowd so your work can be appreciated.

Here are 7 tips for your writing success:

# 1  is to know the industry.
Even after they get a book deal, many authors are surprised to find the majority of the marketing depends on them. Get to know the publishing industry and what kind of writing sells and can be marketed and you will save yourself a lot of time and effort in the long run. Keep up with what’s hot by reading Writer’s Market, Goodreads or Script. Knowing the publishing field also means knowing what rights you have as an author.

Make friends with Google+ and Twitter and network.
As a good writer, you already have the ability to write concise, interesting, and funny prose. That’s all social media is. It should be a breeze for you to build a following of people that includes literary agents and book editors that can assist you in getting the word out about your work, or offer you a deal if you don’t have one. Don’t use this as a chance to hit them over the head with your book, yet demonstrate what a good writer you are and they will want to read it on their own.

Get to know the E-publishing route.
Do it like the pros do and tap into the e-publishing market, because it works.  And for an unknown like you, it might just be the best way to get your work in front of people. E-publishing is one way to get your material into a professional, digital format that can be downloaded. Learn how to use Adobe Acrobat or similar software – or hire an e-book formatter to have your work listed on the Kindle, iPad, Sony Reader etc. – but only after it is well edited!

Create your own website & blog
It shows far more professionalism if you have your blog on your own website. Purchase a copy of “Teach Yourself Dreamweaver” and download a trial version of Adobe software. Consider making chunks of your writing available for free on your site, and don’t sell ads, it just looks plain cheap.  Know how to operate a digital store.  Paypal is the industry standard for accepting payments, but you’ll also need to make arrangements to accept the major credit cards. And to protect your customers, learn how to use https.

Maximize web traffic and sell online.
Since you don’t have a personal SEO (Search Engine Optimization) employee, you will need to learn how to maximize your visibility on search engines by using clear and accurate keywords in your site title, description, and body. The way to move to the top of the search list is to have lots of other sites linking to your page; submit your web pages to various sites that deal with your topic and encourage them to link their readers to you. Tips how to get more inbound-links.

More about Search Engine Optimization:
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/23-questions-google-is-asking-you/
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/thanks-joel/

Create a media kit and videos.*
Microsoft Publisher is all you need to make a professional press kit to send out to newspaper and magazine editors, radio and TV journalists, agents or publishing houses. Include in your materials the market research you have done to show how many readers could profit from your new book, and include the best bits of material from the work. Find the right balance between providing enough pertinent info and overwhelming the audience with data.
Rent or buy an inexpensive camcorder or just use your laptop webcam. Shoot an introductory video  of yourself for your site and your latest book project, or upload a highlight reel to YouTube of key points in your work. Keep it simple. Don’t zoom in and out, don’t use lame screen wipes, and don’t sound like you are reading from a script.

Brand yourself as a writer.
Establishing yourself and your writing as a brand involves knowing what your core strength is. Create your “Elevator Pitch”  to convince readers why they should get your book.  Be available for: an interview for a blog or a neighborhood weekly, a “local authors” day at a small bookstore, or a speaking engagement across the country.  It may not be easy first, but being upbeat and on your game at all times requires work. Traditional media outlets like radio and TV are turning more and more towards the new class of internet writers and bloggers. If a TV show or radio program calls, wanting to interview you, you will need to be prepared to be beamed into millions of homes around the world. Do your homework and watch how other authors and writers handle their interviews.

To get more ideas and inspiration learn about “Book Marketing on a Shoestring” 

With the tools described here, and using social media, your book marketing doesn’t require any financial investment. Depending on your level of involvement, it may demand lots of time commitment, at least in the beginning. Yet, as more you use these marketing tools, as faster you can handle them and as more visitors and buyers you will get.

* Read even more how to create a book trailer in the brand new e-book: ***** 111 Tips to Create Your Book Trailer ***** featuring valuable tips and links to video tutorials, free music downloads and free images, available on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008Y15YYO

Good luck for your book’s success!

And as always, please comment with even more marketing ideas for your book. Thanks.

 

<><><><><>

.

.

.

Hyper Smash

 

5 Tips on How To Write a Blurb For Your Book

.
Imagine you are walking the aisles of a bookstore or a library:  A great cover or a book title catches your eye. What do you do next?  Most likely you will turn to the books’ backside and read the blurb to learn more about the books content. Same when you are browsing online retailers, such as Amazon, B&N, Chapters – you read the books’ description.  

A superb blurb, full of brilliant keywords is the second most important sales pitch for your readers. The most important is certainly the books cover design and a catching title.  Blurbs are not only sales pitches, they give the reader a comprehensive summary what the book is about and whet their appetite to read or buy the book. It should animate the reader to buy your book or at least go to the “Look Inside” section of an e-book or open the paper book and browse through the chapters.

How do you write good blurb?

1. Remember the famous “elevator pitch”, the summary you create to answer agents or publisher you meet in person or on the phone. These two or maximum three sentences which describe your book. Shorten this description even more and you have a blurb.

2. Go to a library or book store and check out the blurbs on books in your genre to get lots of ideas. When you write your own, end with a statement or question to entice the reader to read/buy the book.

3. Use catchy words that brings up images and resonate with readers of the genre. Examples: “packed with information”, “providing strategies” or a “treasure chest of…” for non-fiction and how-to-books. For fiction books “Masonic secrets, hidden esoteric wisdom” (from: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown),

4. And add a hint of the plot. “Marked for death, hired killers after them” (Guardian Angle by Marilynn Byerly). Or: “Secret experiment, tiny island, big mistake.” (Ancestor by Scott Sigler)

5. Don’t forget to let the blurb edit and spell-check like your books’ content. You will never have a second chance to make a good first impression!

Important: Do add a couple of endorsements from reviewers or other authors in your genre to your blurb before publishing the book. Asking others for blurbs needs sometimes a bit of friendly convincing.  Have you ever offered someone else a blurb or a review? Be kind to your fellow writers!

Read more here how to write blurbs for a variety of genres:

http://marilynnbyerly.com/blurb.html

http://romanceuniversity.org/2011/11/23/5-top-tips-for-writing-a-compelling-book-blurb-by-amy-wilkins/

http://adventures-in-creative-writing.blogspot.ca/2009/09/how-to-write-book-blurb.html

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2010/11/16/how-to-write-back-blurb-for-your-book/

http://www.wordclay.com/Resources/MarketYourself.aspx

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts (there are more than 520 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris

.

.

Hyper Smash

Pingates