Tradeshows: Essential To Successful Book Promotion


This week I have been communicating with the authors at Nightengale Press, encouraging, cajoling, sweet-talking and pushing them to join with their publisher to rent a half booth at Book Expo America 2007 in New York City, June 1- June 2. We have 32 authors, and 15 have signed up for the event. Perhaps five or six will attend in person, which will allow them a chance to do at least one, if not two booksignings, go to workshops, attend talks and events, and have a great time in the Big Apple. They will get to know each other and their publisher in a completely new way. These authors will get an education they cannot get any other way. They will grapple with the clarity of just how many books, publishers and purveyors of the written word there actually are. They will wrestle with the feeling of smallness and insignificance that attending huge tradeshows can bring on for even the most stalwart of the self-confident personalities who write books. They will discover that their task to rise to a point of visibility is gargantuan.

But, they will be there. They will be promoting their books. They will be rubbing elbows with the literati and glitterati who inevitably arrive on the scene, reminding the rest of us mere mortals who we really are in the scheme of things. Every signed book they give away, every business card they take, every connection they have with others who love books will enrich them as writers and as people.

Will this experience help them sell more books? Hopefully. Will they spend a bunch of money doing this, only to go home with a sack full of handouts and a heart full of dreams overwhelmed by the power of the written word? Possibly. Will they be energized or drained by the realization that their book is only one of 200,000 or more published every year in the United States — that’s more than 500 books published every day? Hard to say.

I recall how it was for me the first time I attended Book Expo in 2004. As I lugged my rolling suitcase filled with my 50 books and handouts across the gravel parking lots and broken walkways leading to McCormick Center in Chicago, not quite sure if I was going the right way, two thirty-something men slowed their long-legged pace to ask if they could help.

“That thing looks heavy, could I help you pull it into the building?” The New York accent punctuated his question, as I welcomed his assistance with, “Yes, if you have an idea where you think I should go once we’re inside.” It turned out these fellows were jobbers, guys who buy back-listed books for resale to the likes of Wal-Mart, Costco and Sam’s Club. The conversation was pretty one-sided as they explained the purpose of their work to be “buying up the books that have been returned unsold from the bookstores, you know, the ones the publishers can’t sell any other way.”

From my limited experience at the time, I didn’t know, and my eyes probably gave that fact away. But they pulled that heavy baggage of mine all the way to the Publisher’s Marketing Association Section of the main floor, smiled, and bid me a good day. Looking back at that moment, I realize now they were helpful in a more than co-incidental way. I had a lot to learn about the business of selling books, and that Expo taught me a lot. I still have connections with people I met that first year. I have come to know some of them well. These associations build trust and credibility, and I hope my authors will all realize this is but one more step in their long journey along the road to recognition. It may not happen there. It may take years more work and persistence to succeed. But, they have the gumption to try, and that is the most essential ingredient in any success.

“What happens to the books of the other authors who have decided not to go to Book Expo?” you may ask. Nothing. And that is the problem.

Under the Radar Tactics for PR Challenged Authors


Some authors find it difficult to call the media to promote their books. Many of us are either introverted, working full-time or, quite frankly, we don’t like to feel like we’re either bothering someone or asking for something. I like to think of it as human nature getting in the way of our book promotion goals.

If you are not a PR professional, then you have two choices to obtain your piece of the PR pie for your book:

• Compete with PR professionals using traditional methods to cultivate media contacts and develop excellent follow up skills, or

• Use technology and under the radar tactics to accomplish both

A Word of Caution
Regardless of which technique you chose to use, you still need to have something of interest to offer the media. Just having written a book may be okay to get some courtesy coverage in your local newspaper, however, unless you are a celebrity or controversial, it will not produce your desired results. You need to spend time upfront determining what you can offer that the media will want to share with their readers, listeners or viewers.

One suggestion is to become an expert on a niche topic that is associated with your book’s theme. For example, if you’ve written a novel about how your main character faced or overcame a particular hardship or illness, you can offer quality information that will help others who are experiencing the same challenges.

Create a content-rich Website that provides valuable information about your niche topic and use your book for credibility. Essentially, do not promote your book – promote yourself as an expert and published author on your niche topic. This approach will attract the media’s attention and your expertise will help you to sell more books, as well as help others.

How to Effectively Use Technology to Accomplish Your Book Marketing and PR Goals

To say that media professionals are inundated with telephone calls and email messages is an understatement. To be effective in this era of information overload, you need to develop both “proactive” and “passive” campaigns. The proactive component is directly contacting the media, while the passive component is having your content-rich Website place in the “Top Ten” of the major search engines. When reporters and producers are searching for information on your niche topic, they need to be able to find your Website.

Under the Radar PR Tactics
When you conduct your PR campaign, you need to use a “rifle,” as well as a “shotgun” to achieve better results. For example, posting your press release on-line or paying to have it mass distributed can produce disappointing results unless you write it for good search engine placement and follow up with the editors and producers that you have contacted.

The PR “Shotgun” Approach


1. Write a Keyword-Rich Media Release
Incorporate one major keyword phrase and two – three secondary related keyword phrases into your release. This helps to ensure that the search engines index it and give your release a good ranking.

2. Post Your Release to the Free Press Release Distribution Websites
Make your release available to reporters and producers by posting it to the free press release distribution Websites including:

PR Web - http://www.prweb.com


MediaSyndicate - http://www.mediasyndicate.com


Free-News-Release - http://www.free-news-release.com


Press Release Spider - http://www.pressreleasespider.com


3. Sign Up for Google Alerts
Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, blogs and groups). By entering your keyword phrases and e-mail address, Google will forward links to the posted items. This will act as your clipping service - http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en – Include your name as one of the keyword phrases.

The PR “Rifle” Approach - Research - Email – FAX – Leave Message after Hours – Email Again If you want to get through the information overload, this tactic will get your release noticed without initially having to talk to a reporter.

1. Research Media Contacts
Create a list of specific media contacts that are interested in your niche - including their email addresses, telephone and fax numbers. For an excellent US media research tool, go to: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media

2. E-mail Your Release
E-mail your media release to each contact. Do not mass mail to your list. Address each contact by name and ensure correct spelling. Have a “catchy” subject line and stress the benefits you are offering their readers, listeners and viewers within the release. To test your release, contact the first five and measure your results. If the response is poor or non-existent, review your release to determine if it is written to stimulate interest. Then send it to the next five, and so on.

2. FAX Your Release
The following day, FAX the release to each editor with the following message preceding the actual release. “Yesterday, date, I e-mailed you the following media release. The subject line is _____________ and my e-mail address is ___________. As I know you are inundated with e-mails, and the SPAM filters can also play a role, I wanted to ensure that you received it. If you did not and would like me to resend an electronic version so you do not have to retype it, please let me know.”

Faxing a copy is a great follow up reminder and provides them with a hard copy version in addition to the electronic version.

3. Call and Leave a Message after Hours


Then, in the later evening or early morning, call and leave a voice message when you know they are not in the office. The message can be as follows:

“Ms. ______, This is _______. I wanted to follow up with you concerning my media release. (Describe your content and why her readers will love it). In addition to e-mailing it on (Date), I also faxed it to you. My phone number is _________. If you have any questions or need more information, please call or e-mail me. Again, my phone number is ___________.”

4. Follow Up E-mail Then wait two days and follow up again by e-mail.

Subject line: Follow up: Your release title. Ms _______, How are you? I am following up to see if you are planning to use my release on_______. I feel that your readers will benefit_______________ (State benefits, solutions, etc.)

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you, Name / Phone number / Media Kit URL

Conclusion
With this technique, you are productively making several media contacts in less time and “surrounding” them with your release to ensure that they read it. You are also creating a content-rich Website that the media can find in the search engines.

When the media does express interest, remember to be professional, friendly and get them to like you.

Author Website Mistakes to Avoid - Part II


A website is an author's chance to make a first impression with the book's readers. It’s design, readability, and ease of use is a reflection of both you and your book. When done well, an effective website can do wonders for an author’s career. Whereas a poorly crafted website can result in lost sales and missed opportunities.

Here are some of the top mistakes that authors should avoid on the website they use to promote books:

7. Irrelevant content

One way or another, the purpose of your website is to advance your writing career. Everything contained on it - especially the home page - should reinforce this objective. The concept to keep in mind with all of your website content is focus, focus, focus. For example, I’ve seen authors promote a friend’s website on their home page with: Click here to view my friend’s new website. Visitors follow your advice and rather than learn about you, they have now left your website and are visiting your friend’s. As another example, avoid announcements like your grandchild’s birthday. While both of these examples are nice statements about who you are, they detract from your objectives and don’t meet your audience’s needs.

8. Too many font colors

Too many, or an inconsistent use of, font colors is both distracting and disorienting to people on the Internet. Your website should always be leading people from one place to another and font colors can play an important role in making that happen. Further, font colors can also contribute to making it easier to scan your website. At most use two or three font colors and use them consistently. For example, make all of your headlines one color, your sub-headlines another, and your body text a third. Be sure you choose a background color that works well (white is usually best—there’s a reason why you see it used most often in professionally designed websites).

9. More than two font sizes in the body of the website

Similar to the use of font colors, you want to create a consistent experience for visitors where they can more readily find the information they want. A person’s eyes will naturally gravitate to larger font sizes. Use this natural instinct to draw attention to important information. If you put less important content in larger fonts you will draw your visitors’ attention from more relevant information.

10. Poor color combinations

Some authors who are designing their own websites will combine colors to create a more artistic and dramatic looking website. However, sometimes readability is sacrificed as a result. For example, yellow or pink on a white background and blue on a black background is very stressful on the eyes. Conservative looking, even somewhat boring, websites often yield better results than dramatic websites.

11. Navigation that is not immediately seen

Put your navigation bar “above the fold.” That is, do not place the navigation bar anywhere where a visitor to your site has to scroll to find it. The more work you require of visitors, the more visitors you will lose. Many authors inadvertently hide their website’s navigation bar. Since the navigation bar is the primary way people get the information they want, it is critical to put the bar in a prominent location.

12. Unclear terminology used in navigation

If people don’t know what something is on a website, they generally will not click on it. Make sure the titles in your navigation are clear. Ask friends what they think they’ll find should they click on the different navigation titles on your page. If they get any wrong try adjusting the terminology a bit to improve clarity and expectations. Don’t forget to have a “Buy the Book” tab in your navigation.

By avoiding these common mistakes you will maximize every visit to your website.

How You Can Grow Your Business By Writing and Marketing Books


We’ve all seen books authored by high-profile business leaders and other professionals. We know authoring a book creates or enhances the aura of prestige surrounding such people. But do we really understand how writing and marketing books can help build a business or career?

Ron Kaufman knows. He has built a business around customer service training and motivation, including two book series. Ron has generously agreed to share his thoughts and experience with us.

Bobette: Thank you for the interview, Ron.

Ron: My pleasure! Let's get started.

Bobette: By my count you have 14 books in the two series. That is quite an accomplishment! What motivates you to keep writing?

Ron: As a consulting professional I speak, teach, write newsletters and articles, and facilitate educational events. Writing books is a natural "next step" to put the experience I have gained over the years into written form.

Book writing also forces me to consolidate and organize my thinking into a coherent body of knowledge. The rigor required to organize each chapter and articulate each page has improved my own thinking, and my ability to serve my clients.

Bobette: Has writing and publishing resulted in an increase in demand for your professional services? In what ways?

Ron: Writing and publishing absolutely increase your credibility. After all, "author" is the foundation of "authority" -- when you write (and write well) people take you more seriously.

Also, I now insist that each person in my corporate audiences receive their own copy of at least one of my 14 books. This adds value to the participants -- they can "take home" and study my writing after the program. But this also increases the number of very influential "Ron Kaufman business cards" out there in the market -- books!

Bobette: The books also create a marketing synergy that works both ways -- your books gain you consulting business and the consulting business increases book sales?

Ron: Yes. Books and live sessions support each other towards the common objectives of learning, improvement and commitment. Attending a session allows for interaction with the instructor and colleagues while reading the book gives more time to reflect and consider each of the key learning points.

Bobette: The books and live sessions "feed" off each other to accelerate your business growth. Are there other cross-marketing tips you can share with us?

Ron: Gladly. My free e-mail newsletter keeps me "top of mind" for decision makers around the world. And every issue has plenty of links taking readers into the website where they will find lots of added value. All my books include references to other books, and to the website. On stage I refer to my books and even read small sections to highlight key points.

One guaranteed way to get people's attention is to give them something free. So I created two special "free gifts" which are now circling the globe as a viral gift, from person to person to person....and back to me.

Bobette: I noticed that in some cases you will customize a book cover and certain pages for an organization. How is this advantageous to marketing your business?

Ron: When you allow a customer to customize for their specific needs, they value your content even more. And they remember where they got it! One unexpected benefit is when someone leaves an organization and brings some of their books and contents along. If your book travels with them, they can introduce you to the new place of work....one step closer to another new client.

Bobette: Another area nonfiction authors often agonize over is whether to approach a traditional, established publisher or publish through their own company. Personally, I like the freedom and control enjoyed through self-publishing. What are your thoughts?

Ron: Self-publishing gives you the freedom and control. It also gives you a tremendous financial advantage. A book in print costs about $2-3 per copy (after the initial editorial and production costs.) When you GIVE a book to a client, it's worth a LOT more in their eyes -- it's the most credible business card/brochure you can imagine. They NEVER throw it away, and if you sign it for them, it's a treasure. Now imagine selling your book in volume to your client -- 100 people in the room, everyone receives a copy of your book. Of course you sell the book to your corporate client at a handsome discount of 40 or 50% (which they consider a great investment), but the book only cost you a few dollars to print. See the economics? Over years and years (and books do last that long!) the financial benefits for the speaker/author are tremendous.

The publicity benefits are endless, too, because EVERY COPY of your book takes on a life of its own -- passed around, loaned to others, moved from office to office. You never know when someone will see your book, go to your Website and call or write to you for an engagement. But the more you put out there, the more often it will definitely happen.

Bobette: Many people forget that price is part of marketing. Can you share some insight about pricing informational nonfiction books?

Ron: Pricing depends on how you want to position your book. If you do heavy research and publish an annual guide or directory you can charge a lot -- and deserve it. If you publish a booklet of simple tips, you may want to charge very low price -- and encourage companies to buy from you in volume. I like my books to be accessible, so I choose a reasonable price, and then offer substantial discounts for my clients when they buy a copy for everyone in the company -- which they very often do.

Bobette: Are there any other words of wisdom you would like to leave us with?

Ron: Two final points: 1) There is something called "the page experience" that authors must reckon with today. The days of simply words on page are over. Readers want images, graphs, charts, illustrations, photographs, cartoons, interesting layouts, etc. Authors should spend time in the bookstore studying the covers of other books (of course), but also the interior designs. Find several that you like and then study them carefully: how does the design add value to the reader? what elements of design do you find most useful or attractive? how can adding design elements to your book improve the reader's "page experience"?

2) I have a personal phrase, which reads like this: "I love writing, I hate to write." What that means is the joy of writing is in the writing. The agony of writing is in knowing that you need to write, but you haven't gotten started. The hard part is getting to the keyboard. The fun part is in bringing out the words.

Bobette: Thank you so much, Ron, for taking the time today to share your expertise!

Ron: My pleasure! To all aspiring writers, speakers, trainers, coaches and consultants everywhere -- you have my encouragement for your efforts, admiration for your passion and respect for your commitment to serving others. Keep it UP!

There are blogs and then, there are blogs. Some blogs are to entertain. Some are to inform. As an author who is looking to pump up her blog to sell more books, your blog needs to be a lot of both to makes sure you get those books sold.

I cannot stress this more: EVERY AUTHOR NEEDS A BLOG.

If you don't, you are missing out on one of the most VITAL elements in successful book promotion.

If you don't, you will NOT see the sales you expect.

If you don't, hop on over to www.blogger.com, or one of the other free blogging services, and set one up today because I am about to tell you some insider secrets on how you can turn your book blog into a money-making machine.

Are you pumped up yet?

Good!

The first place to start is with a blog that is entirely devoted to pumping up your book. Save those everyday conversations (unless they're related exclusively to your book) for other blogs you might have.

Today starts the first day you're going to pay careful attention to what goes up on your blog and how you can make your blog stand out from all those other blogs out there. What you will be doing is creating a powerful online presence, as well as pulling in that audience. After all, what's a book blog good for if it's not going to be noticed?

Surely, you can't have that happen because pumping up your online book promotion is your main goal in successful book promotion any way you look at it.

With that said, if you really want to draw in buyers, make sure you do have a blog pertaining to the subject of your book. Since most blogs are free, it's wise to have a separate blog for this so that the attention will be directed toward your book and not what you had for breakfast, so to speak.

The point I'm trying to make is that in order to pump up your book promotion, you need to center yourself and figure out how you can turn your blog into a great promotional vehicle to sell your book without coming off as one big ad.

What I would like to do is give you some examples of blogs that are directly, and intentionally, geared toward blogging about their books.

Rachel Newstead's book is called “Orphan Toons: Relics of Animation’s Forgotten Past.” It's not published yet, but what she is doing is creating a platform even before the book sees the light of day. A fine example of pumping up your book promotion. If you go to her blog at http://rachel-and-kevin.blogspot.com, you can see what I mean.

Another great example is Kathy Holmes’ blog at http://www.kathyholmes.net where she promotes one published book and another yet-to-be-published book, but she carries them both off very well without being obtrusive. Her published book is titled “Myths of the Fatherless” and I have to tell you, this woman is one of the best promoters I have seen as far as getting the word out about her book, without it looking like one big ad for her book. Her other book is with an agent looking for a home, but it's called “Real Women Wear Red” and she does an excellent job talking about what the main theme of the book is about. Even though it's fiction, it deals with women of a certain age which she blogs about quite often. Now this is a pumped up blog if I've ever seen one.

While Rachelle uses her blog to create buzz for when her book becomes published and Kathy uses her blog to promote an already-published book, some authors even go outside of the box and create blogs for the characters in their books. Quite a neat idea, if you ask me.

One such writer is Jamieson Wolf. I've read many of his other blogs on a daily basis and I have to admit, this guy is going places. If I can only write as much during one day as he does, I'd be set in books for life. What Jamieson has done is started a blog for one of his characters in his upcoming book, Hope Falls, which you can see for yourself at http://www.hidingfromhope.blogspot.com/.

These authors know what it takes to create a buzz for their books, whether they're published or almost-published. Maybe they'll give you ideas on how you can pump up your own blog--or perhaps to start a new one exclusively devoted to your book--to create a powerful online presence not only for your book, but yourself, too. It's all in how much you want it.

How much should you pay to get your book published? I know this question is confusing because I once led a teleclass where a student asked me four times how much I paid to get my novel published. I said, "Nothing!", but the answer didn't make sense to her. She didn't understand why I didn't have to pay anything when she was being "pursued" by publishers offering packages that would cost her thousands of dollars. Welcome to today's publishing world where the old model is often confused with the digital/self-publishing models and writers don't know how or even if they have to spend their own money. Let me clarify. I hope this will help you make the right decisions for your book.

Traditional Publishers

Whether a traditional publishing house is one of the big ones, like Random House or St. Martin's (which published my novel), or moderate to small like a Hay House, one thing remains the same: you pay nothing. When one of these houses is interested in your book, they pay you an advance to write the book and, if the book sells well, they will continue to pay you royalties. Depending on how large your publisher is and how excited they are about your book you may also get a nice marketing push and your own public relations person working to get your book noticed. There's also a level of prestige and acceptance that comes from selling your book to a publishing house--reviewers take notice and it's easier to get the major booksellers to stock your book. Of course, it's also really difficult to get a traditional publisher interested in your book (you'll proba bly need a literary agent), but if this is what you want for your project, you'll do the things you need to do to get noticed.

Print On Demand Publishers

Many new writers think they are getting the attention of a traditional publisher when they are pursued by a POD publisher. Then they're shocked when they find out how much they have to pay. You have to know that most POD publishers are totally reputable, but on a certain level, you're still self-publishing. POD publishers offer a wide range of fee-based options including cover design, editing and marketing. They operate like a traditional publishing house in that the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is owned by the POD, not the author, and the company pays royalties to the author. Going POD can be pricey, but if you have zero experience in putting a book together they can be your best buy. Some of the popular ones include Lulu, Trafford Publishing, Author House, Outskirts Press and iUniverse.

Digital Printers

The most important thing to know about digital printers is that they just manufacture the book. You maintain control. You keep the copyright, you own the ISBN (which you'll have to purchase yourself) and you figure out how to sell the book. You'll also probably have to hire a designer and an editor to help you put the book in tip-top shape before handing it over to the printers. In this process you can ask the printers to send you a price quote or even get several to bid on your project. This could be your best pricing option. Just remember to ask for references and interview the authors to see how satisfied they were with their final product.

As always, do your homework. You can spend as much or as little as you want. Only you will know how close you come to producing the book that's been in your mind forever.