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I just listened to Steve Harrison interviewing Dr. John Gray, author of the best-selling (over 30,000,000 copies) Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. It's worth a listen for any author. Here some of my takeaways:
1) There's value in sharing your ideas in seminars before sharing them in books. Typically, authors think the other way around - "I'll write this book and then sell it at my seminars." But Dr. Gray started with counseling and seminars. For him, this was valuable in that over time he could observe the audience response and discover what connected and what didn't. It also gave him time to develop key analogies, such as "Mars and Venus."
Here's how it happened:
He'd been teaching relationship seminars about how understanding gender differences can improve relationships. Another seminar leader used a striking analogy which compared the man-woman relationship to a cross-cultural experience. (Dr. Gray knows he's hearing a great point when the hair on his arms stands up.)
But he knew he needed an analogy of his own. So one day he began to imagine what it would be like if men were Martians, but were unhappy, and contacted the inhabitants of Venus to try to find happiness. Then, they move together to earth. Since Martians and Venusians do things differently, they must come to understand those differences to get along and thrive.
The point: Sometimes your seminal points and analogies can come out of years of working with people and leading seminars. "To be successful you need a perspective that has been honed and sanded down." (None of my quotes may not be exact.)
2) Dream up a unique perspective. If it's just another book on relationships, with chapters on each of the main points that everyone else lists, that's not news. Why would radio stations want to interview you? But Mars and Venus presents a fresh perspective. The media is all about fresh perspectives.
3) Utilize your life experiences. For nine years, Dr. Gray lived as a celibate monk. There, he learned to be content and happy on his own. Thus, he could relate very differently than people who were hoping to find purpose and happiness through a mate.
"It's your life experiences that give you the power to pull people in."
4) If you're wanting to educate and inspire others, don't depend on selling books to them for your revenue. Support yourself in other ways, so that you can get out and share your ideas. Supporting himself as a computer programmer gave him the time to write and promote his book, without having to depend upon them for income.
5) Don't be discouraged if your early books aren't great successes. Publishers didn't want his first book, so he self-published. His second book was with a small publisher, so small that it took him a year to get a distributor.
6) Smaller books can often communicate better than bigger books. After writing a large book on relationships that said everything he wanted to say, he honed it down to ten concepts for his Mars and Venus book. Most people read only the first two chapters of self-help books.
7) Make it fun and lighthearted. This was another change he made from the larger book.
8) It's okay if it's not an immediate success. Some authors feel that if their books are good enough, that reviewers will instantly rave and word of mouth will immediately take effect. Not for Venus and Mars. He went on a book tour, which indeed landed him on Oprah. Yet, he was relegated to the last three minutes of the program, and it didn't produce sales. After that, his publisher gave up on publicity for his book, saying, "Well, that was our chance and it didn't work out."
9) Keep pressing forward with your own marketing strategy. After his publisher quit publicizing, he took it upon himself to advertise in the Radio-Television Interview Report (RTIR) and did radio interview after radio interview. After doing those for a year, he got best-seller status. Then, he wrote Oprah again and she devoted an entire show to him. After that, his book stayed on the New York Times Bestseller List for seven years.
What struck you about this interview? Anything I missed? Anything you'd like to add from your own experience or knowledge to my nine takeaways?
Showing posts with label book marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book marketing. Show all posts
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Getting Reviews on Blogs
Book marketing guru's all speak highly of getting book reviews, even to the tune of sending out 500 or so books to get the word out.
I've found the top 500 blogs in my subject area (I write nonfiction) and am spending a couple of months going to each one and asking if they'd like to do a review and a giveaway. Some don't reply. Some say they've got too many books beside their bed, or they don't do reviews. But about 1 in 6 request a copy for review. (I'll tabulate later just how many come through. Some need reminders.)
Nobody acts like I'm bothering them. It's a win/win and they're grateful for getting a free book on a subject area they're passionate about. And some of these blogs get major traffic. One that reviewed my book yesterday gets 80,000 visitors per month, has 250 incoming links, an Alexa rank of 94,000 and 900+ subscribed RSS readers.
Again, I'll tabulate results later (like how many came through with reviews and how many of my books actually sold as a result), but it seems at this point to be a good campaign.
btw, I do take the time to read some posts on each blog, and read the "About" section so that I can see if we're indeed a match and I can personalize my request to each one. I think it's better to take a slow, personal approach than just try to see how many blogs I can hit in a day. A couple of the bloggers mentioned how much they appreciated that I took the time to check out their blog before suggesting a review.
Has anyone else had success/failures in getting reviews from bloggers?
I've found the top 500 blogs in my subject area (I write nonfiction) and am spending a couple of months going to each one and asking if they'd like to do a review and a giveaway. Some don't reply. Some say they've got too many books beside their bed, or they don't do reviews. But about 1 in 6 request a copy for review. (I'll tabulate later just how many come through. Some need reminders.)
Nobody acts like I'm bothering them. It's a win/win and they're grateful for getting a free book on a subject area they're passionate about. And some of these blogs get major traffic. One that reviewed my book yesterday gets 80,000 visitors per month, has 250 incoming links, an Alexa rank of 94,000 and 900+ subscribed RSS readers.
Again, I'll tabulate results later (like how many came through with reviews and how many of my books actually sold as a result), but it seems at this point to be a good campaign.
btw, I do take the time to read some posts on each blog, and read the "About" section so that I can see if we're indeed a match and I can personalize my request to each one. I think it's better to take a slow, personal approach than just try to see how many blogs I can hit in a day. A couple of the bloggers mentioned how much they appreciated that I took the time to check out their blog before suggesting a review.
Has anyone else had success/failures in getting reviews from bloggers?
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Learning From a Successful Teen Novelist
As a 10-year-old, Christopher Paolini started reading fantasy books, but became frustrated because he didn’t feel they were good enough. So at 14 he began writing his own book, but quickly found out he didn’t know what he was doing, so he began reading everything he could get his hands on about how to write.
At fifteen he wrote his first draft, which took him about a year. Then he took about a year to re-write it. His parents read it and thought he should publish it. They took a third year to prepare it for publication (proofing, typesetting, etc.) and self-published it through print on demand with Lightning Source. It’s name: Eragon (he took the word “dragon” and substituted an “e” for the “d”).
Here's the writing process in a bit more detail from Christopher:
In the summer of 2002, American novelist Carl Hiaasen was on vacation in one of the cities that Paolini gave a talk in. While there, his stepson bought a copy of Eragon that he "immediately loved".[1] He showed it to his stepfather, who brought the book to the attention of the publishing house Alfred A. Knopf. Michelle Frey, executive editor at Knopf, contacted Paolini and his family to ask if they were interested in having Knopf publish Eragon.” Knopf re-edited it and published it in 2003.
He got two big-time reviews, but they were both rather mediocre, calling it formulaic, not that well-written, but hey, not bad for a young person. But the public voted with their dollars and Eragon placed on the New York Times Best Seller list for 121 weeks.
Then the movie came out in 2006. It tended to get lousy reviews by the critics, but I’m sure Paolini and the publishing company cried all the way to the bank since “the film’s $249 million total worldwide gross was the sixteenth highest for 2006.”
Today Paoloni continues to write books.
Takeaways for authors:
1) Take your time in writing your book. Writing is rewriting. Get input from professionals.
2) Writers without platforms can make it.
3) Market your book. I don’t think any of this would have happened had Paolini never contacted his first school to see if he could do a presentation.
(References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eragon, http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-paolini-christopher.asp , http://inheritance.wikia.com/wiki/Christopher_Paolini)
At fifteen he wrote his first draft, which took him about a year. Then he took about a year to re-write it. His parents read it and thought he should publish it. They took a third year to prepare it for publication (proofing, typesetting, etc.) and self-published it through print on demand with Lightning Source. It’s name: Eragon (he took the word “dragon” and substituted an “e” for the “d”).
Here's the writing process in a bit more detail from Christopher:
“By the end of 1999, I had completed the first draft of ERAGON. At last I was able to read my own book from start to finish ... and I was dismayed by how amateurish it seemed. The story was fine, but it was mired in atrocious language and grammar. I was like a musician who has composed his first aria, only to discover that he can’t perform it because he has not yet learned to sing. I set out to rewrite ERAGON with the goal of raising the language to a professional level.But here’s where he deviated from most authors. Instead of sitting around waiting to see if anyone would discover his book, he went out and started selling it. I don’t get the impression that he did 1001 different things to market his book. He found one method that suited him and worked for him: doing a presentation in schools. And he worked hard at it.
I did not entirely succeed. My second draft—which took a second year (2000)—was larger than the first and bloated with far too many words. At that point, I turned the manuscript over to my parents, both of whom are published authors.
Finally, I began to benefit from real editing. Editing and revision are two of the most important tools for forging a great book. With my parents’ advice, I was able to clarify my descriptions, streamline my logic, and quicken the pace of the story so that ERAGON read the way that I had intended it to. This consumed the bulk of 2001.
My parents and I had decided to self-publish ERAGON for financial and creative reasons.” ( http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-paolini-christopher.asp )
“We started by doing book signings in bookstores, but quickly learned that no one shows up for an author they have never heard of. I was very determined, and would stay for eight hours straight and talk to every person who came in the store and try to sell them a book. On a good day, I might sell forty books. That’s not bad for a signing, but it’s a lot of work.”He did most presentations dressed in a medieval costume.
I then learned that if I went into a school and did a presentation, in one day we could sell 300 books or more, and inspire students to read and write, so I concentrated on that. We also started charging a fee for the presentation, to help cover travel expenses.
"My dad and I made two trips to Houston, where my grandmother lives. I called numerous school librarians and spoke to them about my book and presentation. They didn’t know who I was, so it took a bit of persuading, but I managed to arrange to visit several schools, along with a few bookstores, that first trip. One of the librarians posted an enthusiastic recommendation of my presentation to an online teachers’ forum (pop quiz: so what does getting on this forum do for him? sm – that’s called a platform for other schools), so by the time we returned home to Montana, my mom already had a second trip to Texas planned, and I didn’t have to do any cold calls. That second trip was a solid month long, with three or four hour-long presentations every single day.”He and his family ended up doing over 135 talks.
In the summer of 2002, American novelist Carl Hiaasen was on vacation in one of the cities that Paolini gave a talk in. While there, his stepson bought a copy of Eragon that he "immediately loved".[1] He showed it to his stepfather, who brought the book to the attention of the publishing house Alfred A. Knopf. Michelle Frey, executive editor at Knopf, contacted Paolini and his family to ask if they were interested in having Knopf publish Eragon.” Knopf re-edited it and published it in 2003.
He got two big-time reviews, but they were both rather mediocre, calling it formulaic, not that well-written, but hey, not bad for a young person. But the public voted with their dollars and Eragon placed on the New York Times Best Seller list for 121 weeks.
Then the movie came out in 2006. It tended to get lousy reviews by the critics, but I’m sure Paolini and the publishing company cried all the way to the bank since “the film’s $249 million total worldwide gross was the sixteenth highest for 2006.”
Today Paoloni continues to write books.
Takeaways for authors:
1) Take your time in writing your book. Writing is rewriting. Get input from professionals.
2) Writers without platforms can make it.
3) Market your book. I don’t think any of this would have happened had Paolini never contacted his first school to see if he could do a presentation.
(References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eragon, http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-paolini-christopher.asp , http://inheritance.wikia.com/wiki/Christopher_Paolini)
Friday, March 12, 2010
Author Shares Guerilla Marketing Tips that Work
Danny Kofke doesn't have a big platform, nor does he have a lot of time. He teaches full time in a public school (special education) and is raising two young children. Yet, he's selling far more books than your typical author, largely through his own publicity efforts. On his media page, I find four radio shows and one book signing that are booked for the next couple of months. And it's not a brand new book. It's been out over two years. It's called How to Survive (And Perhaps Thrive) on a Teacher's Salary.
Here are some tips I picked up from him in a phone conversation this morning:
1) Face it, it takes time and effort to sell books. They don't sell themselves.
2) Book marketing is fun! He's been at this for over two years and still gets a charge out of doing radio interviews, TV and other media. He still fondly recalls the excitement of doing his first radio interview.
3) He takes advantage of both large and small opportunities. You never know what might pay off. He had one interview he did for Bank Rate that got picked up by the FOX site. Another went secondarily to AOL's home page. The point? Just get out there and do something, even if it's small. Do something enough and cool things start to happen.
4) His main method is to research viable media and send e-mails to them.
As you can imagine, good record-keeping is vital. He calendars items that he needs to do at a later time. He keeps a notebook as to who he's e-mailed, how they responded, and when to follow-up. If someone declines and wants no further pitches, he notes that as well.
Example: He contacted the "700 Club" early in his marketing. They declined to interview him. But recently he e-mailed again, telling them what other events he's done and linking them to his author site so that they can see his other interviews. This time, they booked him!
6) Interest can build over time. The media isn't just interested in new books. Once you get one interview and put it on your media site, this can leverage more reviews. Now the media has something to judge whether or not you're a fit for their program. The more interviews you get, the more impressive you look. It's called building a platform from scratch. It's called leveraging one opportunity to get other opportunities.
Danny sent 10 e-mails over time to CBS about getting on their early show. Finally, he could say in an e-mail, "Hey, I was just on CNN." This time, they replied and asked to see his interview from CNN. That's progress! Hopefully, he'll let us know if it comes through!
7) Danny uses HARO (Help a Reporter Out) to give his expertise to journalists who need to interview experts, or regular people with specialized experiences. Responding to a HARO request got him into the Wall Street Journal.
8) Set up your media page. We've already mentioned how he's using it. I like it for two reasons:
Follow-Up Interview
Out of 20 first contacts that you make, how many do you estimate end up
actually booking you?
Danny -I would say maybe 4-5 even replied to my message and maybe 2 would book me.
SM - Now that you've got interviews on your press page that they can look at
and realize that you've been in major media, is it easier to book interviews? If so, how many out of 20 responded at first and how many out of 20 now?
Danny - Yes, it's easier to book interviews now. Most producers want to see how you can fit into their show and help their listeners/viewers out. It is not about you or your book most of the time - it is about your message. Since I have been on numerous TV and radio shows, producers can take a look at these and see if I would be a good fit for them. They no longer have to guess what I would sound/look like since they can see first-hand. I would say I now get 5-6 responses (still not half) from the pitches I send out.
SM - Is 90% of what you're doing going after radio?
Danny - No, I would say about 60% radio, 30% television and the rest various print outlets. At first, before I had any television exposure, I was mainly going after radio but now, since I have had exposure in all three areas I mentioned, I pitch appropriate people in all of these areas.
SM - How many contacts (new and followup) do you think you average each week?
Danny - I would estimate 100 or so. Some weeks it is more and some less but, overall, I would say that is the average.
SM - How much time do you think you average marketing your book each week?
Danny - It is an endless job since there are so many ways to market. I have come up with a balance to be the best husband, father, teacher and marketer I can so I limit myself since I could probably work on marketing 10 hours a day! I would say I spend an average of 15-20 hours a week working on book related stuff.
Thanks Danny! That's great information. Thanks for being so generous with us!
Here are some tips I picked up from him in a phone conversation this morning:
1) Face it, it takes time and effort to sell books. They don't sell themselves.
2) Book marketing is fun! He's been at this for over two years and still gets a charge out of doing radio interviews, TV and other media. He still fondly recalls the excitement of doing his first radio interview.
3) He takes advantage of both large and small opportunities. You never know what might pay off. He had one interview he did for Bank Rate that got picked up by the FOX site. Another went secondarily to AOL's home page. The point? Just get out there and do something, even if it's small. Do something enough and cool things start to happen.
4) His main method is to research viable media and send e-mails to them.
- He starts with a Google search for such topics as "radio stations about teachers", "financial radio shows," etc. Then, he finds them on the Web and studies the show. If it's all about, for example, recommending stocks to buy, he doesn't pursue it.
- Next, he finds the contact person on the site. E-mail them a pitch. The pitch must be powerful. Remember, it's not about your book, it's about their audience. With the first paragraph, share a startling statistic or something to grab them, demonstrating that their audience wants to hear what you have to say. If you've gotten publicity before, link them to your media page so that they can see or hear past interviews.
As you can imagine, good record-keeping is vital. He calendars items that he needs to do at a later time. He keeps a notebook as to who he's e-mailed, how they responded, and when to follow-up. If someone declines and wants no further pitches, he notes that as well.
Example: He contacted the "700 Club" early in his marketing. They declined to interview him. But recently he e-mailed again, telling them what other events he's done and linking them to his author site so that they can see his other interviews. This time, they booked him!
6) Interest can build over time. The media isn't just interested in new books. Once you get one interview and put it on your media site, this can leverage more reviews. Now the media has something to judge whether or not you're a fit for their program. The more interviews you get, the more impressive you look. It's called building a platform from scratch. It's called leveraging one opportunity to get other opportunities.
Danny sent 10 e-mails over time to CBS about getting on their early show. Finally, he could say in an e-mail, "Hey, I was just on CNN." This time, they replied and asked to see his interview from CNN. That's progress! Hopefully, he'll let us know if it comes through!
7) Danny uses HARO (Help a Reporter Out) to give his expertise to journalists who need to interview experts, or regular people with specialized experiences. Responding to a HARO request got him into the Wall Street Journal.
8) Set up your media page. We've already mentioned how he's using it. I like it for two reasons:
- It gives the media exactly what they want to know, all there on one page where they don't have to waste time searching for information. They can click on both articles and interviews and see that Danny can handle himself well on interviews.
- It's free and takes minimal time to maintain. I can hear marketing experts saying, "You need to post a blog every day, or at least a few times a week. You need to get links from other prominent sites. You need to post on other people's blogs." To which I'd respond, "Danny doesn't have time for all that crap. He's got something that works for him. Why ruin it?"
Danny's blog is free and functions well for his purpose. He set it up on blogspot.com and didn't even bother to buy a distinct url. Apparently, he doesn't need a url, so why pay $10 a year to get one? That goes along with his book on how to live on a teacher's salary. You don't buy things you neither want nor need. - It's easily up-datable. You don't have to use DreamWeaver or ExpressionWeb or have to hire a webmaster. Blogspot gives you all the basic tools you need.
Follow-Up Interview
Out of 20 first contacts that you make, how many do you estimate end up
actually booking you?
Danny -I would say maybe 4-5 even replied to my message and maybe 2 would book me.
SM - Now that you've got interviews on your press page that they can look at
and realize that you've been in major media, is it easier to book interviews? If so, how many out of 20 responded at first and how many out of 20 now?
Danny - Yes, it's easier to book interviews now. Most producers want to see how you can fit into their show and help their listeners/viewers out. It is not about you or your book most of the time - it is about your message. Since I have been on numerous TV and radio shows, producers can take a look at these and see if I would be a good fit for them. They no longer have to guess what I would sound/look like since they can see first-hand. I would say I now get 5-6 responses (still not half) from the pitches I send out.
SM - Is 90% of what you're doing going after radio?
Danny - No, I would say about 60% radio, 30% television and the rest various print outlets. At first, before I had any television exposure, I was mainly going after radio but now, since I have had exposure in all three areas I mentioned, I pitch appropriate people in all of these areas.
SM - How many contacts (new and followup) do you think you average each week?
Danny - I would estimate 100 or so. Some weeks it is more and some less but, overall, I would say that is the average.
SM - How much time do you think you average marketing your book each week?
Danny - It is an endless job since there are so many ways to market. I have come up with a balance to be the best husband, father, teacher and marketer I can so I limit myself since I could probably work on marketing 10 hours a day! I would say I spend an average of 15-20 hours a week working on book related stuff.
Thanks Danny! That's great information. Thanks for being so generous with us!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Bookstores vs. Amazon for Sales: Part II
The New York Times article on James Patterson (James Patterson, Inc.), was instructive regarding how publishers, and thus bookstores, cater to the big-time authors. A couple of paragraphs told about how the big publishers now put most of their marketing efforts behind their best selling authors, much more so now than the past. The result is that best-selling authors sell even more books, but the mid-list authors get very little marketing dollars. Publisher pay thousands of dollars to reserve top-placement sections of bookstores for their best-selling authors. Thus, the best-selling authors keep selling more copies while the rest of us may initially get into a bookstore, but will soon be sent back to publisher if we fail to sell, never to return.
Thus, even if the smaller authors get into the bookstores, if there isn't a strong marketing campaign (either by the author or the publisher), then people won't come to the bookstore looking for the book, and it will get returned.
I'm a small-time author, and am glad that my books are offered through Baker & Taylor and Ingram, but the bulk of my sales come through Amazon. And yes, in a sense, Amazon is just passive, but isn't that the current revolution in marketing - from "interruption marketing" to "I'll help you find me marketing"?
By optimizing my Amazon pages, posting articles on popular sites and blogs, getting reviews on popular sites and newspapers, and by having all these linked back to my Amazon page, I get regular sales. And I get 35% of each sale on Amazon - much, much better than the percentage of my sales to bookstores through the big wholesalers.
So for me it's both/and, but Amazon is becoming the bigger and bigger player for me.
J. Steve Miller
President, Legacy Educational Resources
Author of Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It
"The money book for people who hate money books."
http://wisdomcreekpress.com/press_kits.html
Thus, even if the smaller authors get into the bookstores, if there isn't a strong marketing campaign (either by the author or the publisher), then people won't come to the bookstore looking for the book, and it will get returned.
I'm a small-time author, and am glad that my books are offered through Baker & Taylor and Ingram, but the bulk of my sales come through Amazon. And yes, in a sense, Amazon is just passive, but isn't that the current revolution in marketing - from "interruption marketing" to "I'll help you find me marketing"?
By optimizing my Amazon pages, posting articles on popular sites and blogs, getting reviews on popular sites and newspapers, and by having all these linked back to my Amazon page, I get regular sales. And I get 35% of each sale on Amazon - much, much better than the percentage of my sales to bookstores through the big wholesalers.
So for me it's both/and, but Amazon is becoming the bigger and bigger player for me.
J. Steve Miller
President, Legacy Educational Resources
Author of Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It
"The money book for people who hate money books."
http://wisdomcreekpress.com/press_kits.html
Brick and Mortar Bookstores vs. Amazon for Authors
An experience, a stat and a reflection on brick and mortar vs. Amazon:
An Experience
I write resources for those teaching character and life skills in public schools. When the two Superbowl contenders are decided, I immediately find out who the highest profile athletes are so that I can research them for character stories (what led them to such a high level of success.)
So Kurt Warner was quarterbacking in the Superbowl a couple of years ago and I decided to read his autobiography. He'd led his team to the Superbowl several years earlier in a spectacular bag-boy to Superbowl hero story and I thought, "This is as high a profile person as you can get. The Superbowl's a week away, the most watched media event of the year; so I'm sure his autobiography will be in my local bookstores."
I called Barnes & Noble, Borders and Books a Million. None carried it. One said they couldn't even order it. I ordered from Amazon.
A Stat
A few experiences like this one and people begin defaulting to Amazon. Here are the stats from 2008:
Barnes and Noble.com = $466 million
Borders/ Waldenbooks = $3.11 billion
Barnes & Nobel/ B. Dalton = $4.52 billion
Amazon.com = $5.35 billion (book sales only)
More importantly in 2008, Amazon’s sales grew by 16% while each of the other bookstore chains lost money. If this trend continues, Amazon will rapidly become a bigger and bigger player for authors, and bookstores will become less and less - particularly for small-time authors who can't be guaranteed to get into bookstores and be continually stocked there.
A Reflection
Don't get me wrong; I love bookstores! But after a couple of experiences like that, I began defaulting to Amazon. I support bookstores. I hang out at bookstores. But I depend on Amazon. It's a time issue. A local bookstore can carry only a small percentage of the millions of books in print, even of books that are recognized classics in their fields - like a Psychology text on "Persuasion" I couldn't find locally. After signing up for Amazon Prime, we never pay postage. And books come quickly to our door.
If you're a major selling author like Sue Grafton for novels or David McCullough for biographies, traditional brick and mortar bookstores, Walmart, etc. are wonderful sales outlets. For the rest of us, they are a useful outlet that people can order from, but not likely to carry us long-term.
If a person with as high a profile as Kurt Warner's (incredibly "high platform", which all publishers are looking to publish) can't keep his autobiography in the bookstores several years after it was written (and it was truly a well-written, inspiring book), then what chance do us low-profile authors have of keeping our books in bookstores over the years? At best, for low-profile authors, I'd suggest that brick and mortar bookstores are typically a short-term rather than long-term strategy.
I have a book on church music, published 17 years ago with a traditional publisher, with no marketing done for it in the past 15 years, that still sells steadily on Amazon. It probably lasted only a couple of years in bookstores.
An Experience
I write resources for those teaching character and life skills in public schools. When the two Superbowl contenders are decided, I immediately find out who the highest profile athletes are so that I can research them for character stories (what led them to such a high level of success.)
So Kurt Warner was quarterbacking in the Superbowl a couple of years ago and I decided to read his autobiography. He'd led his team to the Superbowl several years earlier in a spectacular bag-boy to Superbowl hero story and I thought, "This is as high a profile person as you can get. The Superbowl's a week away, the most watched media event of the year; so I'm sure his autobiography will be in my local bookstores."
I called Barnes & Noble, Borders and Books a Million. None carried it. One said they couldn't even order it. I ordered from Amazon.
A Stat
A few experiences like this one and people begin defaulting to Amazon. Here are the stats from 2008:
Barnes and Noble.com = $466 million
Borders/ Waldenbooks = $3.11 billion
Barnes & Nobel/ B. Dalton = $4.52 billion
Amazon.com = $5.35 billion (book sales only)
More importantly in 2008, Amazon’s sales grew by 16% while each of the other bookstore chains lost money. If this trend continues, Amazon will rapidly become a bigger and bigger player for authors, and bookstores will become less and less - particularly for small-time authors who can't be guaranteed to get into bookstores and be continually stocked there.
A Reflection
Don't get me wrong; I love bookstores! But after a couple of experiences like that, I began defaulting to Amazon. I support bookstores. I hang out at bookstores. But I depend on Amazon. It's a time issue. A local bookstore can carry only a small percentage of the millions of books in print, even of books that are recognized classics in their fields - like a Psychology text on "Persuasion" I couldn't find locally. After signing up for Amazon Prime, we never pay postage. And books come quickly to our door.
If you're a major selling author like Sue Grafton for novels or David McCullough for biographies, traditional brick and mortar bookstores, Walmart, etc. are wonderful sales outlets. For the rest of us, they are a useful outlet that people can order from, but not likely to carry us long-term.
If a person with as high a profile as Kurt Warner's (incredibly "high platform", which all publishers are looking to publish) can't keep his autobiography in the bookstores several years after it was written (and it was truly a well-written, inspiring book), then what chance do us low-profile authors have of keeping our books in bookstores over the years? At best, for low-profile authors, I'd suggest that brick and mortar bookstores are typically a short-term rather than long-term strategy.
I have a book on church music, published 17 years ago with a traditional publisher, with no marketing done for it in the past 15 years, that still sells steadily on Amazon. It probably lasted only a couple of years in bookstores.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Networking Miracle
Get out there. Keep meeting new people. Take an interest by asking what they do. Offer your assistance or help. It's called networking, and there's something very mysterious about it.
So last night I almost skipped a networking event - a local alumni gathering for the university my wife attended. But I went because I always seem to meet someone I need to meet at these type meetings. Also, they offer free food.
So the first few people I met were interesting, nice, and I felt like I was able to encourage or offer some direction in their pursuits. We exchanged business cards. It's always fun to be useful to someone.
The fourth and last person I met was a financial planner, so we naturally hit it off - my latest book is on personal finances. He mentioned that he was raising two boys, trying to help them toward independence, so I mentioned that getting my own 7 boys independent inspired my recent research and writing. Finally, I offered him a free copy, thinking he might find it useful. And, who knows, he might could recommend it to clients or when he teaches seminars or something.
So he says, "Hey, my wife works with a textbook distributor to schools. I'll let her see it."
I thought, "A textbook distributor to schools? A TEXTBOOK DISTRIBUTOR TO SCHOOLS!!!"
It just happens that my top marketing goal for this year is to figure out how to get my book into schools. I don't have a distributor to schools. I need one.
This is so bizarre that it almost defies imagination. On the way home, after giving him a copy (always, always, keep copies of your books in your car), I looked at all the lights of stores in Kennesaw and thought, "Out of the 30,000 people in Kennesaw, Georgia tonight, what are the odds that one of them works for a book distributor to schools? And what are the odds that I would meet that person's husband at a random event that had nothing to do with book marketing, and that the meeting would occur in the very month I was prioritizing marketing to schools?"
Coincidence? Because of my faith, I have to believe that this was a God thing. As someone once said, "a coincidence is when God works a miracle and decides to remain anonymous."
On the other hand, there tends to be a human part in miracles - someone prays, someone is out helping the needy, then God shows up. Networking gurus would say that miracles tend to happen more around people who are out there doing something, rather than to people who are sitting on the couch eating nachos and watching TV.
Whatever you make of this, I think it pays to get out there and meet people. I help them; they help me. That's when miracles happen.
J. Steve Miller
President, Legacy Educational Resources
Author of Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It
"The money book for people who hate money books."
http://wisdomcreekpress.com/press_kits.html
So last night I almost skipped a networking event - a local alumni gathering for the university my wife attended. But I went because I always seem to meet someone I need to meet at these type meetings. Also, they offer free food.
So the first few people I met were interesting, nice, and I felt like I was able to encourage or offer some direction in their pursuits. We exchanged business cards. It's always fun to be useful to someone.
The fourth and last person I met was a financial planner, so we naturally hit it off - my latest book is on personal finances. He mentioned that he was raising two boys, trying to help them toward independence, so I mentioned that getting my own 7 boys independent inspired my recent research and writing. Finally, I offered him a free copy, thinking he might find it useful. And, who knows, he might could recommend it to clients or when he teaches seminars or something.
So he says, "Hey, my wife works with a textbook distributor to schools. I'll let her see it."
I thought, "A textbook distributor to schools? A TEXTBOOK DISTRIBUTOR TO SCHOOLS!!!"
It just happens that my top marketing goal for this year is to figure out how to get my book into schools. I don't have a distributor to schools. I need one.
This is so bizarre that it almost defies imagination. On the way home, after giving him a copy (always, always, keep copies of your books in your car), I looked at all the lights of stores in Kennesaw and thought, "Out of the 30,000 people in Kennesaw, Georgia tonight, what are the odds that one of them works for a book distributor to schools? And what are the odds that I would meet that person's husband at a random event that had nothing to do with book marketing, and that the meeting would occur in the very month I was prioritizing marketing to schools?"
Coincidence? Because of my faith, I have to believe that this was a God thing. As someone once said, "a coincidence is when God works a miracle and decides to remain anonymous."
On the other hand, there tends to be a human part in miracles - someone prays, someone is out helping the needy, then God shows up. Networking gurus would say that miracles tend to happen more around people who are out there doing something, rather than to people who are sitting on the couch eating nachos and watching TV.
Whatever you make of this, I think it pays to get out there and meet people. I help them; they help me. That's when miracles happen.
J. Steve Miller
President, Legacy Educational Resources
Author of Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It
"The money book for people who hate money books."
http://wisdomcreekpress.com/press_kits.html
Friday, January 15, 2010
Pursue Niche Reviewers
Keep pursuing reviews beyond the big-time reviewers!
About 8 months after my book came out, I sent my book to VOYA Magazine, a niche publication that librarians consult for their young adult collections. They did a nice review, and within a month, I received a request from the Follett Corporation (http://www.follett.com/about.cfm), saying they'd received requests for the book and wanted to distribute it to school libraries. I looked up Follett in my book marketing books to find that they were indeed a respected (founded in 1873!), large distributor who actively market their books to libraries. They're starting to order my books and so far appear very professional. I give them a 55% discount off retail, but they provide free shipping through their Fed Ex account.
I've wanted to get my book into libraries, but I'm sure it would have been a long, arduous task for me to pull off personally. Since libraries are used to working with Follett and respect them, this should be a wonderful opportunity!
So, if you think your book might be valuable for school libraries or the youth collections of other libraries, consider sending a copy to VOYA magazine. Here's some of their information:
VOYA Magazine, Voice of Youth Advocates, "The Library Magazine Serving Those Who Serve Young Adults" "VOYA is the only magazine that matters for librarians working with young adults. . . . Simply the best there is."—Patrick Jones, public librarian and author of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, 2nd Ed. (Neal-Schuman, 1998). Founded in 1978. http://www.voya.com/aboutus/index.shtml#history
J. Steve Miller
Author of Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It
"The money book for people who hate money books"
http://wisdomcreekpress.com/press_kits.html
About 8 months after my book came out, I sent my book to VOYA Magazine, a niche publication that librarians consult for their young adult collections. They did a nice review, and within a month, I received a request from the Follett Corporation (http://www.follett.com/about.cfm), saying they'd received requests for the book and wanted to distribute it to school libraries. I looked up Follett in my book marketing books to find that they were indeed a respected (founded in 1873!), large distributor who actively market their books to libraries. They're starting to order my books and so far appear very professional. I give them a 55% discount off retail, but they provide free shipping through their Fed Ex account.
I've wanted to get my book into libraries, but I'm sure it would have been a long, arduous task for me to pull off personally. Since libraries are used to working with Follett and respect them, this should be a wonderful opportunity!
So, if you think your book might be valuable for school libraries or the youth collections of other libraries, consider sending a copy to VOYA magazine. Here's some of their information:
VOYA Magazine, Voice of Youth Advocates, "The Library Magazine Serving Those Who Serve Young Adults" "VOYA is the only magazine that matters for librarians working with young adults. . . . Simply the best there is."—Patrick Jones, public librarian and author of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, 2nd Ed. (Neal-Schuman, 1998). Founded in 1978. http://www.voya.com/aboutus/index.shtml#history
J. Steve Miller
Author of Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It
"The money book for people who hate money books"
http://wisdomcreekpress.com/press_kits.html
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Book Marketing: Think and Think Different
IBM's motto is "Think." Apple Computer's motto is "Think Different." Authors would do well to adopt both mottoes in their marketing strategies.
So far over the past year, I've read about 15 books on book marketing. I've found the lack of redundancy striking. Each book shares fresh ideas, new experiences and recommends new tools and resources just begging to be explored. As a result, I have a much better handle on how to sell my books - what's most likely to work and what will most likely be a waste of time.
But beyond learning from the pros, I find the need to do my own thinking. After all, no book is exactly like my book. Isn't it likely that the marketing of my book should be just as unique?
Yesterday a chance encounter showed me the need to keep thinking and learning. I walked into the gym to see Henry walking toward me. Now Henry's hard to not notice - he's built like a tank, with arms the size of my legs. He tells me excitedly that he's been selling my personal finance books (Enjoy Your Money!) at his video game store.
(Why did I put it on consignment in a video game store? Well, the owner of our local SOHO HERO, a home office printing and mailing shop, told me that a local author sells children's books at her store because parents come in with their kids, who start reading the books while their parents make their copies, and then they want their parents to buy the book. I thought, "Since parents are more likely to buy my book, I need to find a store where the kids are doing stuff and the parents have the time on their hands to pick up a book and check it out. Thus, a video game store.)
I responded, "Wow! I was ready to collect all my books from local stores. I'd concluded that, although Amazon sales were great, that people simply wouldn't buy my book from stores." Henry said, "Here's how it works. People are waiting in line and pick up the book. I tell them that I respect the author and like what I see in the way he's training his kids. Then they want to buy it. Here's the secret to your store sales: the person at the cash register has to believe in the book and be willing to sell it."
So my conclusion about sales in local stores was apparently all wrong. They could sell. But I'd missed one little component that was sabotaging my sales: make sure that I sell the owner on the book and give them enough information to be able to encourage people to buy it. If someone asks the store owner about the book and the response is, "I don't really know anything about it. It's just a book by some local author" then why would anyone buy it?
It's just one little trick. But perhaps there are 50 subtle tricks to getting my books sold in local, non-bookstore outlets. Odds are, reading all the marketing books in the world wouldn't tell me all the tricks that would work for my book. That's why we need to keep trying new things, keep listening, keep thinking, and keep thinking different.
So far over the past year, I've read about 15 books on book marketing. I've found the lack of redundancy striking. Each book shares fresh ideas, new experiences and recommends new tools and resources just begging to be explored. As a result, I have a much better handle on how to sell my books - what's most likely to work and what will most likely be a waste of time.
But beyond learning from the pros, I find the need to do my own thinking. After all, no book is exactly like my book. Isn't it likely that the marketing of my book should be just as unique?
Yesterday a chance encounter showed me the need to keep thinking and learning. I walked into the gym to see Henry walking toward me. Now Henry's hard to not notice - he's built like a tank, with arms the size of my legs. He tells me excitedly that he's been selling my personal finance books (Enjoy Your Money!) at his video game store.
(Why did I put it on consignment in a video game store? Well, the owner of our local SOHO HERO, a home office printing and mailing shop, told me that a local author sells children's books at her store because parents come in with their kids, who start reading the books while their parents make their copies, and then they want their parents to buy the book. I thought, "Since parents are more likely to buy my book, I need to find a store where the kids are doing stuff and the parents have the time on their hands to pick up a book and check it out. Thus, a video game store.)
I responded, "Wow! I was ready to collect all my books from local stores. I'd concluded that, although Amazon sales were great, that people simply wouldn't buy my book from stores." Henry said, "Here's how it works. People are waiting in line and pick up the book. I tell them that I respect the author and like what I see in the way he's training his kids. Then they want to buy it. Here's the secret to your store sales: the person at the cash register has to believe in the book and be willing to sell it."
So my conclusion about sales in local stores was apparently all wrong. They could sell. But I'd missed one little component that was sabotaging my sales: make sure that I sell the owner on the book and give them enough information to be able to encourage people to buy it. If someone asks the store owner about the book and the response is, "I don't really know anything about it. It's just a book by some local author" then why would anyone buy it?
It's just one little trick. But perhaps there are 50 subtle tricks to getting my books sold in local, non-bookstore outlets. Odds are, reading all the marketing books in the world wouldn't tell me all the tricks that would work for my book. That's why we need to keep trying new things, keep listening, keep thinking, and keep thinking different.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
When Marketing Meets Magic
I'm sure some low-profile authors, by some inexplicable stroke of fortune, publish their books, get a phone call from Oprah within the first month, become instant media darlings, and watch their books quickly climb to best-seller status. It's like magic, but a magic that graces far less than one in a million authors.
The more typical magic comes as a complete surprise in the midst of an author doing the daily, mundane tasks to get her book noticed. Sadly, the great majority of authors will never experience the tap of the fairy's wand, not because their books suck, but because they failed to create the context frequented by fairies. Fairies quickly lose interest in authors who hope that their mother and brother will start an unstoppable word-of-mouth campaign. Soon, they flutter off to visit a more worthy author - the one passionately speaking at an obscure school to a bunch of half-interested students, wondering how in the world her life came to this. But then, quite unexpectedly, the fairy arrives with her wand. A teacher recommends the presentation on a popular teachers' forum, and you arrive home to find school after school begging you to speak at their schools and sell your books.
In broad strokes, that's how young author Christopher Paolini was touched by the magic. He tried doing the book signing thing in bookstores, but soon discovered that it didn't work very well for unknown, first-time authors. So he tried doing school presentations. He called school librarians in Houston and several of them allowed him to speak. Then the first fairy appeared, in the form of a librarian who posted an enthusiastic recommendation on a teachers' forum. That one recommendation allowed him to book a solid month of school talks in Houston.
He ended up doing over 135 presentations. In the summer of 2002, the second fairy appeared, in the form of novelist Carl Hiaasen, who was vacationing in a city where Paolini was speaking. Hiaasen's stepson showed the book to his stepdad, who recommended it to his publishing house. They signed Paolini and his book placed on the New York Times Best Seller list for 121 weeks.
You might wonder, "How lucky was it that one of those librarians frequented such a forum?" Or, "What are the odds that a novelist with connections just happened to find Paolini's book?"
Well, I'd argue that, although the odds of either of those specific events happening may be quite remote, the odds of something happening, given his 135 presentations, was almost certain.
At first, I didn't understand the magic. I thought that if one of my marketing efforts didn't produce immediate sales, it was just one more failure. But just getting out there and trying stirs things up. Fairies notice. Eventually, wands come out tapping and truly extraordinary stuff happens.
During my first few months of book marketing, I felt much like the pastor who went to watch the train go by every day. When someone inquired about his unusual habit, he said, "I just love to see something that moves without my having to push it." For the first few months, my book sold only when I was out there doing something. If I let up for a day, nothing happened. And 90% of what I tried seemed to have no impact at all.
But somehow, all that cumulative publicity made things start to happen. Some may call it word of mouth. Others may call it reaching a tipping point. Some may say I was touched by an angel. Whatever you call it, it certainly appears to be magic.
The more typical magic comes as a complete surprise in the midst of an author doing the daily, mundane tasks to get her book noticed. Sadly, the great majority of authors will never experience the tap of the fairy's wand, not because their books suck, but because they failed to create the context frequented by fairies. Fairies quickly lose interest in authors who hope that their mother and brother will start an unstoppable word-of-mouth campaign. Soon, they flutter off to visit a more worthy author - the one passionately speaking at an obscure school to a bunch of half-interested students, wondering how in the world her life came to this. But then, quite unexpectedly, the fairy arrives with her wand. A teacher recommends the presentation on a popular teachers' forum, and you arrive home to find school after school begging you to speak at their schools and sell your books.
In broad strokes, that's how young author Christopher Paolini was touched by the magic. He tried doing the book signing thing in bookstores, but soon discovered that it didn't work very well for unknown, first-time authors. So he tried doing school presentations. He called school librarians in Houston and several of them allowed him to speak. Then the first fairy appeared, in the form of a librarian who posted an enthusiastic recommendation on a teachers' forum. That one recommendation allowed him to book a solid month of school talks in Houston.
He ended up doing over 135 presentations. In the summer of 2002, the second fairy appeared, in the form of novelist Carl Hiaasen, who was vacationing in a city where Paolini was speaking. Hiaasen's stepson showed the book to his stepdad, who recommended it to his publishing house. They signed Paolini and his book placed on the New York Times Best Seller list for 121 weeks.
You might wonder, "How lucky was it that one of those librarians frequented such a forum?" Or, "What are the odds that a novelist with connections just happened to find Paolini's book?"
Well, I'd argue that, although the odds of either of those specific events happening may be quite remote, the odds of something happening, given his 135 presentations, was almost certain.
At first, I didn't understand the magic. I thought that if one of my marketing efforts didn't produce immediate sales, it was just one more failure. But just getting out there and trying stirs things up. Fairies notice. Eventually, wands come out tapping and truly extraordinary stuff happens.
During my first few months of book marketing, I felt much like the pastor who went to watch the train go by every day. When someone inquired about his unusual habit, he said, "I just love to see something that moves without my having to push it." For the first few months, my book sold only when I was out there doing something. If I let up for a day, nothing happened. And 90% of what I tried seemed to have no impact at all.
But somehow, all that cumulative publicity made things start to happen. Some may call it word of mouth. Others may call it reaching a tipping point. Some may say I was touched by an angel. Whatever you call it, it certainly appears to be magic.
- A book reviewer to school libraries wrote a positive review.
- A respected distributor to school libraries started getting orders and requested a contract.
- Twice as many sold on Amazon last month, without any promotion on my part.
- Today, someone at the gym told me how he was successfully selling my book at his video store. Someone else found my website and said he's moving a branch of his organization to Atlanta and was interested in partnering. Yet another e-mailed to say he'd love to read my book, review it in his blog, and write an article for a popular youth-leaders publication.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Dirty Little Secret of Getting Published
Many authors seem to think that, if their writing is good enough, a major literary agent (and ultimately, a major publisher) will sign them up. If they get turned down repeatedly, they assume that their writing isn't good enough. According to this interview, that attitude can show a misunderstanding of the publishing industry.
Today, I listened to Steve Harrison interviewing literary agent Jeff Herman, who's seen over 500 clients get published (primarily nonfiction). His insider insights reveal a lot about the publishing industry. (This isn't word for word. I'm just summarizing and editorializing.)
First, the quality of your writing is just one part of the puzzle. Countless excellent writers aren't getting published, and they don't even understand why. Other writers, not nearly as talented as the excellent ones, are getting published repeatedly and experiencing good sales. So what's the difference?
According to Herman, it's all about platform and marketing. Successful writers (those who get published and sell their books) see their books as products. Without letting people know about these products, they simply won't sell. They see the authors' job as to get the word out about their books.
The authors who don't get signed think that writers write and publishing companies market. After all, don't major publishers have marketing and sales departments? True, but these departments don't work like the marketing of, say, a Proctor & Gamble product. From that standpoint, they're rather anemic. Rather, they focus on coming up with materials to sell it to the bookstores. (They also give you a lot of credibility, since they're very selective.)
But getting it into bookstores doesn't mean that readers will actually walk into the store and buy it. If you're not out there, making yourself and your book visible, why would anyone buy your book? (And if nobody buys it, the bookstore will probably return it to the publisher for a refund.)
So here's the dirty little secret that many authors don't get: publishers aren't just looking for good writing. They're looking for authors who understand marketing and have a strategy for marketing their books.
Says Herman:
"Most of your bestsellers, especially in the nonfiction area, are really being generated by the authors themselves."
These authors have created platforms, such as a busy website, or a significant presence on other well-traveled websites. Or, for example, they build a seminar business, selling books after the seminar. Successful authors don't just bring their content, they offer their own marketing machine.
Herman gets 100 to 300 book proposals per week from people he doesn't know. To set yourself apart, try to meet literary agents personally at places they show up, and convince them that you can market your book.
What do you think? Feel free to comment.
Today, I listened to Steve Harrison interviewing literary agent Jeff Herman, who's seen over 500 clients get published (primarily nonfiction). His insider insights reveal a lot about the publishing industry. (This isn't word for word. I'm just summarizing and editorializing.)
First, the quality of your writing is just one part of the puzzle. Countless excellent writers aren't getting published, and they don't even understand why. Other writers, not nearly as talented as the excellent ones, are getting published repeatedly and experiencing good sales. So what's the difference?
According to Herman, it's all about platform and marketing. Successful writers (those who get published and sell their books) see their books as products. Without letting people know about these products, they simply won't sell. They see the authors' job as to get the word out about their books.
The authors who don't get signed think that writers write and publishing companies market. After all, don't major publishers have marketing and sales departments? True, but these departments don't work like the marketing of, say, a Proctor & Gamble product. From that standpoint, they're rather anemic. Rather, they focus on coming up with materials to sell it to the bookstores. (They also give you a lot of credibility, since they're very selective.)
But getting it into bookstores doesn't mean that readers will actually walk into the store and buy it. If you're not out there, making yourself and your book visible, why would anyone buy your book? (And if nobody buys it, the bookstore will probably return it to the publisher for a refund.)
So here's the dirty little secret that many authors don't get: publishers aren't just looking for good writing. They're looking for authors who understand marketing and have a strategy for marketing their books.
Says Herman:
"Most of your bestsellers, especially in the nonfiction area, are really being generated by the authors themselves."
These authors have created platforms, such as a busy website, or a significant presence on other well-traveled websites. Or, for example, they build a seminar business, selling books after the seminar. Successful authors don't just bring their content, they offer their own marketing machine.
Herman gets 100 to 300 book proposals per week from people he doesn't know. To set yourself apart, try to meet literary agents personally at places they show up, and convince them that you can market your book.
What do you think? Feel free to comment.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Virtual Book Tours
What is a virtual book tour and how can it help authors publicize their books?
What Is a Virtual Book Tour?
Basically, during a time period, say, a month, an author gives interviews, receives book reviews and posts on relevant blogs. It's analogous to the traditional author tour, where you flit about the country doing book signings. But instead of physically traveling, you travel virtually, sitting in front of your computer, surfing from blog to blog.
Radio interviews and podcasts, if done from home, would also qualify as virtual, although I'll concentrate here on the virtual blog tour.
Does It Work?
For some authors, yes. I recall one author who rallied interested bloggers around his book before publication. When it came out, the bloggers made enough noise to make it into a major seller. I'm hearing other authors and experts saying that it's one of their favorite tactics for book publicity.
Would it work for all authors? I'd suggest that it's always good to get out there, making comments on blogs and asking for reviews on relevant, high traffic blogs. Since people blog about every topic imaginable, this should be one of the easiest ways to let people who are already fascinated with your topic find your book. The outcome will probably be dependent on the appeal of the book to bloggers, the author's skill at finding the right blogs, and the diligence of the author in contacting enough blogs to make it work.
Not only should this stir up interest for your tour dates, but since your interviews/reviews/guest posts/comments remain on the blogs with links to your book, surfers may find the posts months or years later and find your book as a result. If you do it right and get enough posts linking back to your book, then your book may become highly ranked in Google for key phrases that multitudes of people search.
According to virtual tour expert Dorothy Thompson, "The key to making your tour successful is to get on as many blogs as you possibly can."
How Much Time Does It Take?
Again, quoting Thompson, "The authors themselves put in an incredible amount of time answering questions and writing guest posts. If you do a month's worth of tours, you have approximately twenty interviews and guest posts to get done."
How to Do a Virtual Book Tour
1) Decide if you want to do it by yourself, or hire a professional. If you do the latter, you'll still need to put time and effort into the initiative. One author who's done both ways told me, "There are definite advantages to going with a PR firm (i.e., hitting hi-traffic blogs and getting the reviews), but if you have a strong network and are not afraid to get out there and ask for guest spots, it's absolutely doable."
2) Brainstorm the types of blogs you want to target. They may be:
First, go to Google's tool for finding key words and phrases in Google Ad Words. (If the url has changed do a Google search for a phrase such as "find key words". Several sites have tended to offer these tools.) For my financial book, I did two searches, one on "money" and another on "finances."
I discovered, for example, that the phrase "earn money" was searched 368,000 times last month.
4) Find the most popular blogs in your subject areas. Here are several ways:
3) Incorporate videos and podcasts
4) Make the most of accompanying publicity
Kristin Callender wrote a great article about how she did her virtual tour. Looks like she did it right and has left us with the specifics of how to pull one off ourselves.
http://kcsbooks.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-do-your-own-virtual-book-tour.html
Helpful Tools
1) Is there really any significance to packing a tour into a month or so? Is it just a way to help authors keep concentrated, or is there some reason that it's actually more effective done over a few weeks than spread out over a year?
2) Any other tips or questions concerning virtual tours?
What Is a Virtual Book Tour?
Basically, during a time period, say, a month, an author gives interviews, receives book reviews and posts on relevant blogs. It's analogous to the traditional author tour, where you flit about the country doing book signings. But instead of physically traveling, you travel virtually, sitting in front of your computer, surfing from blog to blog.
Radio interviews and podcasts, if done from home, would also qualify as virtual, although I'll concentrate here on the virtual blog tour.
Does It Work?
For some authors, yes. I recall one author who rallied interested bloggers around his book before publication. When it came out, the bloggers made enough noise to make it into a major seller. I'm hearing other authors and experts saying that it's one of their favorite tactics for book publicity.
Would it work for all authors? I'd suggest that it's always good to get out there, making comments on blogs and asking for reviews on relevant, high traffic blogs. Since people blog about every topic imaginable, this should be one of the easiest ways to let people who are already fascinated with your topic find your book. The outcome will probably be dependent on the appeal of the book to bloggers, the author's skill at finding the right blogs, and the diligence of the author in contacting enough blogs to make it work.
Not only should this stir up interest for your tour dates, but since your interviews/reviews/guest posts/comments remain on the blogs with links to your book, surfers may find the posts months or years later and find your book as a result. If you do it right and get enough posts linking back to your book, then your book may become highly ranked in Google for key phrases that multitudes of people search.
According to virtual tour expert Dorothy Thompson, "The key to making your tour successful is to get on as many blogs as you possibly can."
How Much Time Does It Take?
Again, quoting Thompson, "The authors themselves put in an incredible amount of time answering questions and writing guest posts. If you do a month's worth of tours, you have approximately twenty interviews and guest posts to get done."
How to Do a Virtual Book Tour
1) Decide if you want to do it by yourself, or hire a professional. If you do the latter, you'll still need to put time and effort into the initiative. One author who's done both ways told me, "There are definite advantages to going with a PR firm (i.e., hitting hi-traffic blogs and getting the reviews), but if you have a strong network and are not afraid to get out there and ask for guest spots, it's absolutely doable."
2) Brainstorm the types of blogs you want to target. They may be:
- Book blogs that target your genre.
- Blogs on the topic(s) covered in your book. Examples: financial blogs for a personal finance book, pet blogs for a dog book, etc.
- Blogs that aren't on your particular topic, but might include your topic: parenting blogs for a personal finance book, family magazine blog for your dog book.
First, go to Google's tool for finding key words and phrases in Google Ad Words. (If the url has changed do a Google search for a phrase such as "find key words". Several sites have tended to offer these tools.) For my financial book, I did two searches, one on "money" and another on "finances."
I discovered, for example, that the phrase "earn money" was searched 368,000 times last month.
4) Find the most popular blogs in your subject areas. Here are several ways:
- Visit Technorati , the most popular search engine for blogs. Search some of the key words and phrases you discovered. You'll notice that Technorati tells you the "authority" of each blog, according to how many other sites/blogs have linked to the blog.
- See if one of Technorati's categories fits your subject matter. Click on the category and you'll find blogs listed according to their "authority."
- Set up Google Alerts to e-mail you when someone has posted a blog or article on your subject matter.
- Subscribe (with RSS) to the most popular blogs, so that you'll know immediately when they've posted something new. You'll need a free RSS reader, like Google Reader.
3) Incorporate videos and podcasts
4) Make the most of accompanying publicity
- Send out press releases about your book and the tour.
- Announce each stop on writer’s boards and social networking sites.
- Submit the interviews to other publications that might use them.
Kristin Callender wrote a great article about how she did her virtual tour. Looks like she did it right and has left us with the specifics of how to pull one off ourselves.
http://kcsbooks.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-do-your-own-virtual-book-tour.html
Helpful Tools
- Is a blog getting enough traffic to make it worth your time to pursue or comment on? To find out how much traffic it gets, download (free of charge) Alexa's "Sparky" . This toolbar lets you see the popularity of any blog or site that you're viewing. Warning: if the blogger didn't buy her own url, but instead has an ending like .blogspot.com or .blogger.com, then don't get all excited if you see an Alexa rank of #1 to #10. In that case, it's ranking Blogspot or Blogger, not that specific blog.
To give some indication of how many visits a blog or site might be getting, Alexa ranks my character education site as #741,000. That site gets from 500 to 600 unique visitors ("sessions" rather than "hits") per day. - Want to have new blog posts and relevant articles come to one, easy-to-view place? I use igoogle as my opening page in my web browser (Firefox). If you download it, click the "x" on every feature you don't like. Then, click "add stuff" on the right top of your screen to find free applications. Search for "Google News" and then customize it to send you news related to your topic. Download Google Reader so that all your RSS feeds all come to your browser page. Now you're alerted to new articles and blog posts on your topic, all together in one place - the place you first go to when you search the web!
1) Is there really any significance to packing a tour into a month or so? Is it just a way to help authors keep concentrated, or is there some reason that it's actually more effective done over a few weeks than spread out over a year?
2) Any other tips or questions concerning virtual tours?
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Book Marketing Takeaways from Ning Discussion
I've been following Ning discussion in their Book Marketing Network entitled "What's the Biggest Challenge with Your Book?" Many excellent ideas have been shared over the last couple of years. I decided to try to consolidate the ideas, which come from authors and book marketing experts and publishers.
1. My book won't sell itself. I, the author, need to alert the world to it's existence and show them a way to purchase it.
2. I need a distribution system (e.g., through Amazon, traditional distributors, etc.). Typically, people won't turn out in droves to buy from my website.
3. Get with a major wholesaler, like Ingram or Baker and Taylor. Bookstores tend to order through them. I need a return policy with the wholesaler, since book stores expect it.
4. Try lots of things to discover what works for me and my book. Every author is different; every book is different. Thus, what flops for one book may fly for another. When I find something that works, keep pursuing it.
5. Expect lots of failures and dead ends. It's part of the business. If one bookstore turns me down, learn from it and proceed to the next store. Ask what distribution channels they use. Ask what kinds of books they like to stock. The next manager might be delighted to take my book. "In 'The Last Lecture', Randy Pausch reminds us that brick walls are made to separate those of us who really want it from those of us who don't want it enough."
6. Reviews sell books. Get lots of them. Sending out books for review is one of the cheapest and most productive ways to promote books. Example: The MidWest Book Review welcomes small publishers and self-published books. Find other reviewers, particularly by finding publications (like trade journals) and columnists who write on my topic.
7. Do five things every day to promote my book. Most of those efforts will come to nothing, but cumulatively, that's 35 initiatives each week, 140 per month, over 1800 per year. With those numbers, people will take notice and channels will open. In a real sense, it's a numbers game, so do the numbers. It's okay to stumble a lot. It's okay to do things that produce absolutely no sales at all. But doing something trumps doing nothing.
8. Have a Website and/or a blog. There needs to be a place for people to come, meet me, hang out, and find out more about my books. When I send press releases, curious media will check my online press kit to find other reviews, interviews, topics for discussion, etc. Over time, I just might build a following. If I provide a way for them to leave me their e-mail address (to get a newsletter, etc.) then I can alert them to my next book.
9. Book signings aren't dead. The ones that work tend to be the ones where I go to talk about a felt need - some authors might talk about how to deal with an alcoholic family member or how to manage their money. Even if I don't sell many books, I'm likely to meet valuable connectors. One person does signings with a group of authors, which makes it easier for people to walk up and start a conversation.
10. Speak at meetings where people are already gathered. Rather than trying to gather a crowd, speak at civic organizations and to university organizations. They do their own advertising and have their regulars who show up every week. If you're terrified to speak before groups, that's pretty normal. Start small, learn from each outing, and see if it works for you. You might surprise yourself and end up enjoying it.
11. Consider doing a "virtual book tour." Get help from someone experienced in these. "You may want to contact Penny Sansevieri at AMarketingExpert.com or Chris Anderson (editor of Wired Magazine). Both have companies that help with virtual book tours." - Bill Frank
12. Participate in web-based discussions where people already gather.
13. Think outside of the bookstore. In non-bookstores, I'm not competing with other books. See if they will sell my books on consignment. "Leave fliers or bookmarks in hospital emergency rooms, doctors offices, dentist, etc. Hotels even let you advertise your book."
14. Give yourself time. Some say it takes as much as three years for a book to catch on. If my book isn't selling well after a year, welcome to the club. Am I still doing my five marketing thingies per day? Conversations start and die if not tended. It's my responsibility to keep the word of mouth going.
15. Keep learning! Read books (Bill Frank's recommended list is here.) Participate in these discussion groups. Readers don't choose books simply because they are well-written. If I want my books to sell, I need to study the industry, which means to learn, learn, learn. "Being knowledgeable about the book business is the best way to be successful in the book business. Armed with knowledge, you can determine what is the best way to go for you and your book." - Bill Frank, Aug. 27.
16. Nominate Bill Frank for any appropriate rewards. He's developed the best conversation I've seen about this topic. The content of this discussion is invaluable and should be read by all authors. If he writes a book on book marketing, I want it. He's humble, knowledgeable and patient with our questions. One practical way we can help him is to go to his recommended book list and check it as helpful (Note: "Rate It" in the right column of his Listmania List).
Bill, if you're reading this, we'd like to know any other way we can assist you.
1. My book won't sell itself. I, the author, need to alert the world to it's existence and show them a way to purchase it.
2. I need a distribution system (e.g., through Amazon, traditional distributors, etc.). Typically, people won't turn out in droves to buy from my website.
3. Get with a major wholesaler, like Ingram or Baker and Taylor. Bookstores tend to order through them. I need a return policy with the wholesaler, since book stores expect it.
4. Try lots of things to discover what works for me and my book. Every author is different; every book is different. Thus, what flops for one book may fly for another. When I find something that works, keep pursuing it.
5. Expect lots of failures and dead ends. It's part of the business. If one bookstore turns me down, learn from it and proceed to the next store. Ask what distribution channels they use. Ask what kinds of books they like to stock. The next manager might be delighted to take my book. "In 'The Last Lecture', Randy Pausch reminds us that brick walls are made to separate those of us who really want it from those of us who don't want it enough."
6. Reviews sell books. Get lots of them. Sending out books for review is one of the cheapest and most productive ways to promote books. Example: The MidWest Book Review welcomes small publishers and self-published books. Find other reviewers, particularly by finding publications (like trade journals) and columnists who write on my topic.
7. Do five things every day to promote my book. Most of those efforts will come to nothing, but cumulatively, that's 35 initiatives each week, 140 per month, over 1800 per year. With those numbers, people will take notice and channels will open. In a real sense, it's a numbers game, so do the numbers. It's okay to stumble a lot. It's okay to do things that produce absolutely no sales at all. But doing something trumps doing nothing.
8. Have a Website and/or a blog. There needs to be a place for people to come, meet me, hang out, and find out more about my books. When I send press releases, curious media will check my online press kit to find other reviews, interviews, topics for discussion, etc. Over time, I just might build a following. If I provide a way for them to leave me their e-mail address (to get a newsletter, etc.) then I can alert them to my next book.
9. Book signings aren't dead. The ones that work tend to be the ones where I go to talk about a felt need - some authors might talk about how to deal with an alcoholic family member or how to manage their money. Even if I don't sell many books, I'm likely to meet valuable connectors. One person does signings with a group of authors, which makes it easier for people to walk up and start a conversation.
10. Speak at meetings where people are already gathered. Rather than trying to gather a crowd, speak at civic organizations and to university organizations. They do their own advertising and have their regulars who show up every week. If you're terrified to speak before groups, that's pretty normal. Start small, learn from each outing, and see if it works for you. You might surprise yourself and end up enjoying it.
11. Consider doing a "virtual book tour." Get help from someone experienced in these. "You may want to contact Penny Sansevieri at AMarketingExpert.com or Chris Anderson (editor of Wired Magazine). Both have companies that help with virtual book tours." - Bill Frank
12. Participate in web-based discussions where people already gather.
- Go to Google Ad Words Keywords Tool https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal to find many phrases that people search concerning my topic.
- Sign up for Google Alerts about your topic. Experiment with several of the key words/phrases I discovered. When it alerts me to an interesting article or blog that speaks on my topic, thank the writer for the article and add a comment, signing off with my name, the name of my book, and a link to my book on Amazon.
- Go to Technorati. Use my key words/phrases to find the top-ranked (most incoming links) blogs about my topic. Lots of people typically read and participate in these blogs. Start interacting and sign off as above. On some popular blogs, I may want to ask the administrators if they'd like a free copy of your book to review. (They may ask for another copy as a give-away.)
13. Think outside of the bookstore. In non-bookstores, I'm not competing with other books. See if they will sell my books on consignment. "Leave fliers or bookmarks in hospital emergency rooms, doctors offices, dentist, etc. Hotels even let you advertise your book."
14. Give yourself time. Some say it takes as much as three years for a book to catch on. If my book isn't selling well after a year, welcome to the club. Am I still doing my five marketing thingies per day? Conversations start and die if not tended. It's my responsibility to keep the word of mouth going.
15. Keep learning! Read books (Bill Frank's recommended list is here.) Participate in these discussion groups. Readers don't choose books simply because they are well-written. If I want my books to sell, I need to study the industry, which means to learn, learn, learn. "Being knowledgeable about the book business is the best way to be successful in the book business. Armed with knowledge, you can determine what is the best way to go for you and your book." - Bill Frank, Aug. 27.
16. Nominate Bill Frank for any appropriate rewards. He's developed the best conversation I've seen about this topic. The content of this discussion is invaluable and should be read by all authors. If he writes a book on book marketing, I want it. He's humble, knowledgeable and patient with our questions. One practical way we can help him is to go to his recommended book list and check it as helpful (Note: "Rate It" in the right column of his Listmania List).
Bill, if you're reading this, we'd like to know any other way we can assist you.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Getting Your Book to Top Bloggers and Top Sites
Want to get your book in front of people? One way is to find the most popular sites and blogs that speak about the subjects you write on. Send an e-mail to the main writers for the blog or site to see if they're interested in reviewing your book.
And how then do you find those popular sites and blogs?
1) Technorati ranks blogs according to number of incoming links, assuming that a blog is more respected and visited if more people link to it. Click "blogs" on their site to find their blog directory.
Now find the subjects that most closely match your topic and click on them to find the most popular blogs that talk about those subjects.
2) Download the free Alexa toolbar to discover how many people visit any given site. Click "Download the Alexa Toolbar" to start the process.
3) Search key words or phrases in Google Blog Search to find more blogs.
4) Of course, search Google to find other popular sites besides blogs.
Other ideas?
And how then do you find those popular sites and blogs?
1) Technorati ranks blogs according to number of incoming links, assuming that a blog is more respected and visited if more people link to it. Click "blogs" on their site to find their blog directory.
Now find the subjects that most closely match your topic and click on them to find the most popular blogs that talk about those subjects.
2) Download the free Alexa toolbar to discover how many people visit any given site. Click "Download the Alexa Toolbar" to start the process.
3) Search key words or phrases in Google Blog Search to find more blogs.
4) Of course, search Google to find other popular sites besides blogs.
Other ideas?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Using Press Releases to Promote Books (Part 2)
Considering doing a press release to promote your book? Perhaps my experiences can help. Here's what I've done and the results:
1) I sent a release through several free press release organizations. To see what I did and what organizations I used, click here to my former blog post. This was a general release about the publication of my book, but put in a newsy way that showed how it addressed some of today's issues. I didn't get any response, but did find the release posted on an Atlanta business site.
2) A month later, I sent exactly the same release through a paid service ($175) that claimed to have a targeted list. The company is Bostick Communications, who intrigued me with an e-mail advertising their services. Within 24 hours, I received over 20 responses, including a TV request, a radio opportunity, and requests from newspaper columnists and bloggers who review books.
My contact at Bostick answered my questions promptly and thoroughly prior to taking my money. Then, he approved my release and told me that they'd wait until Monday to send it, since they get less response toward the end of the week. Following the press release, Bostick alerts me via e-mail when and where my book has been reviewed.
Why the Difference?
I'm assuming that media folks don't have all day to read thousands of press releases. Thus, they ignore the stuff coming from free services and pay attention to the services they've learned to rely upon for helpful, targetted stories. That's the service that companies like Bostwick provide authors. If you wrote a book on childrearing, your press release wouldn't go to the editors at Popular Mechanics. That makes sense.
Tips from the Trenches
1. Make your press release newsworthy. Thousands of new books come out each year. Another book isn't news. "Steve Miller's Money Book Was Just Published" makes a bad headline. Try to connect your book with something newsworthy, like "New Money Book Helps Generation Y Avoid Baby Boomer's Mistakes."
2. Choose a company that can target the niche you want to reach.
3. Have an online press kit that compels the media to take you seriously (blurbs and reviews), gives them example questions and answers, and - if you're shooting for radio or TV - demonstrates that you can handle yourself in that arena. Link the news release to your online press kit. (Example: Here's my press kit.)
4. Realize that sending out review copies can be expensive. If someone half-way around the world offers to review the book, make sure it's worth it to you. It may cost $14 or so. If you're limited by a budget, you could almost send 5 copies via media mail within the USA for that amount.
5. Make the most of your results. I got a book request from two book review bloggers who had a very little traffic to their blogs. (An Alexa application tells me a site's Google Ranking as I view any site.) Was it worth sending her a book? Well, I looked at each profile to discover one worked in the legal industry and another was a home schooler. I sent each a copy for review, suggesting that the book would make a neat gift to lawyer clients and a great home school text (would she give me a blurb on the book's value to home schoolers?). Give these opportunities some creative thought to get more benefits out of each reviewer.
Any helpful advice or questions about press releases?
1) I sent a release through several free press release organizations. To see what I did and what organizations I used, click here to my former blog post. This was a general release about the publication of my book, but put in a newsy way that showed how it addressed some of today's issues. I didn't get any response, but did find the release posted on an Atlanta business site.
2) A month later, I sent exactly the same release through a paid service ($175) that claimed to have a targeted list. The company is Bostick Communications, who intrigued me with an e-mail advertising their services. Within 24 hours, I received over 20 responses, including a TV request, a radio opportunity, and requests from newspaper columnists and bloggers who review books.
My contact at Bostick answered my questions promptly and thoroughly prior to taking my money. Then, he approved my release and told me that they'd wait until Monday to send it, since they get less response toward the end of the week. Following the press release, Bostick alerts me via e-mail when and where my book has been reviewed.
Why the Difference?
I'm assuming that media folks don't have all day to read thousands of press releases. Thus, they ignore the stuff coming from free services and pay attention to the services they've learned to rely upon for helpful, targetted stories. That's the service that companies like Bostwick provide authors. If you wrote a book on childrearing, your press release wouldn't go to the editors at Popular Mechanics. That makes sense.
Tips from the Trenches
1. Make your press release newsworthy. Thousands of new books come out each year. Another book isn't news. "Steve Miller's Money Book Was Just Published" makes a bad headline. Try to connect your book with something newsworthy, like "New Money Book Helps Generation Y Avoid Baby Boomer's Mistakes."
2. Choose a company that can target the niche you want to reach.
3. Have an online press kit that compels the media to take you seriously (blurbs and reviews), gives them example questions and answers, and - if you're shooting for radio or TV - demonstrates that you can handle yourself in that arena. Link the news release to your online press kit. (Example: Here's my press kit.)
4. Realize that sending out review copies can be expensive. If someone half-way around the world offers to review the book, make sure it's worth it to you. It may cost $14 or so. If you're limited by a budget, you could almost send 5 copies via media mail within the USA for that amount.
5. Make the most of your results. I got a book request from two book review bloggers who had a very little traffic to their blogs. (An Alexa application tells me a site's Google Ranking as I view any site.) Was it worth sending her a book? Well, I looked at each profile to discover one worked in the legal industry and another was a home schooler. I sent each a copy for review, suggesting that the book would make a neat gift to lawyer clients and a great home school text (would she give me a blurb on the book's value to home schoolers?). Give these opportunities some creative thought to get more benefits out of each reviewer.
Any helpful advice or questions about press releases?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Updated List of Nonfiction Book Reviewers
Where do you send copies of adult nonfiction books for review? (Many of these places also review fiction.) I decided to blog this process to save other authors time, since these reviewers change policies, consolidate, and otherwise change over time. Old lists may be dated.
Why send books out to these reviewers?
1) You can use the review in your online press information and various other places.
2) Some submit their reviews to other review sites, giving you links and recommendations from many other sites. (Example: Dead Trees Review sends the review to 17 review sites, including Amazon.com.)
3) Since many of these people review many books and put their reviews on Amazon, Amazon ranks them highly as reviewers. (For example: one prides himself on being a top 500 Amazon reviewer. This not only means that he's reviewed a lot of books, but additionally that many people checked that his reviews were helpful.) I assume that if a top Amazon reviewer positively reviewed my book, that this would figure into how highly Amazon would rank my book in a search.
Three months prior to publication, I sent galleys to each of these reviewers after reading each of their sites to make sure I knew what each expected (e.g., some want two copies, some want them sent to a specific person, some tell how to contact them to make sure they received copies). I got this list by comparing recommendations from books such as Kremer's 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual, and Bowerman's The Well-Fed Self-Publisher. Unfortunately for small publishers and self-publishers, from what I read, these tend to review only books by major publishers. But the payoff can be so great, I went ahead and sent galleys.
Booklist (American Library Association)
BookPage
ForeWord Magazine
Kirkus Reviews
Library Journal
Publishers Weekly
SLJ Book Review (School Library Journal)
New York Times
LA Times
After publication, I'm e-mailing the following review companies to see if they will review my book. Basically, I went through the list of "Other Reviewers" at MidWest Book Review, which claimed to list the best of the reviewers (140 of them). It took a couple of weeks to visit each site, see what kinds of reviews they did, and narrow it down to about 25 reviewers appropriate for my book. Each site tells how to submit.
I took a list of 140 reviewers and culled it down to 25 worth submitting to. Another list of 32 reviewers yielded me only two potential reviewers.
I eliminated those reviewers who:
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/links/othr_rev.htm - Midwest Book Review's list of other reviewers. This is the list of 140 reviewers that I culled from.
http://www.aldaily.com/#bookreviews - Links to Big-time reviewers like the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.
http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/tela/ - Big-time newspapers that review books.
http://www.newpages.com/NPGuides/reviews.htm - List of reviewers from Newpages.
http://www.dirk-wyle.com/newsl.htm - Short list of one reviewer's favorite review sites.
Wikipedia Book Review Magazines
Why send books out to these reviewers?
1) You can use the review in your online press information and various other places.
2) Some submit their reviews to other review sites, giving you links and recommendations from many other sites. (Example: Dead Trees Review sends the review to 17 review sites, including Amazon.com.)
3) Since many of these people review many books and put their reviews on Amazon, Amazon ranks them highly as reviewers. (For example: one prides himself on being a top 500 Amazon reviewer. This not only means that he's reviewed a lot of books, but additionally that many people checked that his reviews were helpful.) I assume that if a top Amazon reviewer positively reviewed my book, that this would figure into how highly Amazon would rank my book in a search.
Three months prior to publication, I sent galleys to each of these reviewers after reading each of their sites to make sure I knew what each expected (e.g., some want two copies, some want them sent to a specific person, some tell how to contact them to make sure they received copies). I got this list by comparing recommendations from books such as Kremer's 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual, and Bowerman's The Well-Fed Self-Publisher. Unfortunately for small publishers and self-publishers, from what I read, these tend to review only books by major publishers. But the payoff can be so great, I went ahead and sent galleys.
Booklist (American Library Association)
BookPage
ForeWord Magazine
Kirkus Reviews
Library Journal
Publishers Weekly
SLJ Book Review (School Library Journal)
New York Times
LA Times
After publication, I'm e-mailing the following review companies to see if they will review my book. Basically, I went through the list of "Other Reviewers" at MidWest Book Review, which claimed to list the best of the reviewers (140 of them). It took a couple of weeks to visit each site, see what kinds of reviews they did, and narrow it down to about 25 reviewers appropriate for my book. Each site tells how to submit.
I took a list of 140 reviewers and culled it down to 25 worth submitting to. Another list of 32 reviewers yielded me only two potential reviewers.
I eliminated those reviewers who:
- reviewed only fiction
- were apparently no longer in business
- would only review for money
- wouldn't review American books
- reviewed only books by major publishers
- AllBooks Review
- AMAZON.COM - Yes, they do their own reviews.
- Armchair Interviews
- The Best Reviews
- BestsellersWorld.com
- Blue Rectangle (reviews on video)
- Book Room Reviews
- BookPleasures.com
- Bookviews
- Books in Review
- broken pencil
- California Literary Review
- Christian Library Journal
- Compulsive Reader
- Curled Up With A Good Book
- Dead Trees Review (Paul Lappen)
- Get Book Reviews
- Independent Publisher
- INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER ONLINE
- January Magazine: Book Reviews
- Kaye Trout's Book Reviews
- Midwest Book Reviews - Update: When I called to check on the status of my book, they said, "So far, so good, but just to let you know what you're up against, we're receiving 2300 books per month." Update: July 12. They reviewed it with a five star review on July 7! I sold about four books the next day on Amazon.com (I'm assuming because of that review) but haven't sold any the four days following. They'll put the review in their publications, so hopefully this will result in library and other sales. Update: July 14. Received a nice letter from Midwest Book Review, alerting me to their review, and letting me know that it will appear in 1) their online review magazine, Small Press Bookwatch. 2) Cengage Learning 3) Gale interactive CD-ROM series Book Review Index (published four times yearly for academic, corporate, and public library systems). 4) the review databases of LexisNexis and Goliath 4) Archived on the Midwest Book Review site for 5 years. This looks like a first class organization.
- My Shelf
- NewPages Book Reviews Index
- NewPages Guide to Review Sources
- Reader Views (book reviews, author publicity, & more)
- Rebecca Review
- Seeker Book Reviews
- VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/links/othr_rev.htm - Midwest Book Review's list of other reviewers. This is the list of 140 reviewers that I culled from.
http://www.aldaily.com/#bookreviews - Links to Big-time reviewers like the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.
http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/tela/ - Big-time newspapers that review books.
http://www.newpages.com/NPGuides/reviews.htm - List of reviewers from Newpages.
http://www.dirk-wyle.com/newsl.htm - Short list of one reviewer's favorite review sites.
Wikipedia Book Review Magazines
Niche Book Reviewers
If your book falls in an area that may attract its own reviewers, search that in Google. For example, if your book is distinctively Christian, search "Christian Book Reviews" in Google to find many reviewers of Christian books. Similarly, some sites/publications may review only financial books or regional books. So search the topic of your book for book reviewers, such as "financial book reviews" or "scientific book reviews."
Other ideas on getting book reviews? Please comment below!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Using News Releases to Promote Books
Today I start my news release campaign for my book, so I'm reviewing David Meerman Scott's recommendations for press releases in his book, "The New Rules of Marketing and PR" (pp. 167-177).
In the past, news releases were sent to the media to try to get articles in newspapers and magazines and spots on radio. Today, there are added benefits:
1) Send them regularly - not just when you have big news.
2) Make good use of key words that people would use to search for your topic/book.
3) Appeal to buyers - their problems and needs - not just journalists.
4) Encourage them to respond in some way.
5) Include links to appropriate landing pages on your site or blog.
6) Add social media tags (e.g., Technorati, DIGG, del.icio.us) to help people find it.
7) Post it simultaneously on your website (e.g., in the "media room" or press section of your author or publisher site). Keep it there as long as it's still appropriate.
8) Send it via a news release distribution service so that you reach hundreds of Websites (including news services like Yahoo!, Google and Lycos) with each release.
9) Topics to write releases about: new takes on old problems, interesting information, award received, speaking at an event, product feature added, white paper published, etc.
Recommended (by Scott) news release distribution services:
I've decided to send the first press release of my book to only free press release services, since I don't think the release of a book is something that the media is interested in (unless it was the latest Harry Potter book). As a guerilla marketer, I don't want to spend money that I'm not reasonably sure will have a pay-off. Thus, I'm primarily doing it for the other reasons listed above, which might not require paid releases.
For free press releases, my publicist, Stephanie Richards, recommends sending each release to all of the following:
Offers a free and paid ($25 per release) option. Free press release contains ads. Paid has premium distribution and claims to increase your website traffic (I assume this means that the release will be posted on sites with a live link back to my site.)
Quotes from their site: "the Nations leading Internet provider of local business intelligence, including news, e-commerce services, business tools, and investment and research resources for small businesses.... "...the nation's only comprehensive business resource tool for large, medium and small businesses."
The Librarian's News Wire targets librarians.
News Wire Today - "a free press releases & news wire distribution service to corporations, PR agencies, market research, business journalists, freelance writers, news content providers."
I have to sign up for a free subscription to use most of them. I'll post another blog with more specifics, including a link to the press release itself.
[Update: within 3 days of sending the press releases, I've sold 7 books on Amazon. But it's getting hard to know if these sales are due to my latest initiative, or to past initiatives starting to pay off. Last week I also put up three videos on YouTube from my TV appearances and linked them to my book. Perhaps that's paying off as well. Or, perhaps a review came out that I haven't found yet. Harder to say now, as opposed to just after the initial publication three months ago, what's contributing to sales.]
What is your experience with press releases? Any suggestions?
In the past, news releases were sent to the media to try to get articles in newspapers and magazines and spots on radio. Today, there are added benefits:
- anyone searching the web for key phrases contained in your release might find you.
- people who requested alerts to these phrases may automatically receive notice of your release.
- "Each time your news release is posted on another site, such as an online news site, the inbound link from the online news site to your Web site helps to increase the search engine ranking of your site, because the search engines use inbound links as one of the important criteria for their page-ranking algorithms."
- Having multiple press releases out there lets journalists know that you're active - things are happening with you and your book.
1) Send them regularly - not just when you have big news.
2) Make good use of key words that people would use to search for your topic/book.
3) Appeal to buyers - their problems and needs - not just journalists.
4) Encourage them to respond in some way.
5) Include links to appropriate landing pages on your site or blog.
6) Add social media tags (e.g., Technorati, DIGG, del.icio.us) to help people find it.
7) Post it simultaneously on your website (e.g., in the "media room" or press section of your author or publisher site). Keep it there as long as it's still appropriate.
8) Send it via a news release distribution service so that you reach hundreds of Websites (including news services like Yahoo!, Google and Lycos) with each release.
9) Topics to write releases about: new takes on old problems, interesting information, award received, speaking at an event, product feature added, white paper published, etc.
Recommended (by Scott) news release distribution services:
- Business Wire: www.businesswire.com
- Market Wire: www.marketwire.com
- PrimeNewswire: www.primezone.com
- PR Newswire: www.prnewswire.com
- PRWeb: www.prweb.com
I've decided to send the first press release of my book to only free press release services, since I don't think the release of a book is something that the media is interested in (unless it was the latest Harry Potter book). As a guerilla marketer, I don't want to spend money that I'm not reasonably sure will have a pay-off. Thus, I'm primarily doing it for the other reasons listed above, which might not require paid releases.
For free press releases, my publicist, Stephanie Richards, recommends sending each release to all of the following:
Offers a free and paid ($25 per release) option. Free press release contains ads. Paid has premium distribution and claims to increase your website traffic (I assume this means that the release will be posted on sites with a live link back to my site.)
Quotes from their site: "the Nations leading Internet provider of local business intelligence, including news, e-commerce services, business tools, and investment and research resources for small businesses.... "...the nation's only comprehensive business resource tool for large, medium and small businesses."
"dBusinessNews is delivered by email every business morning to a large and affluent readership base made up of over 700,000 subscribers. It has rapidly become the news source of choice for professionals, executives, managers, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, government officials, and an extensive network of reporters and news outlets.
dBusinessNews' XML newsfeeds is carried by major news distribution services including the Associated Press, Yahoo, Google, Altavista Moreover.com and 2000+ business web sites."
The Librarian's News Wire targets librarians.
News Wire Today - "a free press releases & news wire distribution service to corporations, PR agencies, market research, business journalists, freelance writers, news content providers."
I have to sign up for a free subscription to use most of them. I'll post another blog with more specifics, including a link to the press release itself.
[Update: within 3 days of sending the press releases, I've sold 7 books on Amazon. But it's getting hard to know if these sales are due to my latest initiative, or to past initiatives starting to pay off. Last week I also put up three videos on YouTube from my TV appearances and linked them to my book. Perhaps that's paying off as well. Or, perhaps a review came out that I haven't found yet. Harder to say now, as opposed to just after the initial publication three months ago, what's contributing to sales.]
What is your experience with press releases? Any suggestions?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Is Your Book Marketing Working? Maybe It's Just a Matter of Time
Two marketing books I was re-reading this week (with nonfiction books, I initially read do a thorough read, underlining extensively. Later, I tend to re-read just my underlinings for review.) urged readers to give marketing time - a lot of time. I didn't remember this from my first read of each book, but it came at a good time for me.
Some of my marketing for Enjoy Your Money has paid off immediately (like the nice review in the Oakland Tribune), but other things I've done seem to go nowhere (like adding all those search terms to my Amazon page.) I suppose I expected that most of my marketing efforts would have some kind of immediate payoff. Bad expectation. Marketing takes time. Here's what some experts are saying:
But today I searched Amazon under the popular search phrase Personal Money Management and was shocked to find my book coming up #4 of over 3,000 results! How could it be? Perhaps Amazon prioritizes books that
As Levinson urges, great marketing isn't in the huge things (like hoping for a spot on Oprah); it's simply doing the little things right, consistently over time.
So if you get easily discouraged, don't give up! Some things don't make a difference immediately. Give them time.
Do you have experience with failure over the short-haul but success over time? Please let us know!
Some of my marketing for Enjoy Your Money has paid off immediately (like the nice review in the Oakland Tribune), but other things I've done seem to go nowhere (like adding all those search terms to my Amazon page.) I suppose I expected that most of my marketing efforts would have some kind of immediate payoff. Bad expectation. Marketing takes time. Here's what some experts are saying:
- "When you aim at Amazon, you need a certain amount of patience. Though a well-written and well-published book should start selling almost at once, it will generally take about a year to reach its full potential. That's because, as the book begins to succeed, its success feeds more success. Amazon's sales mechanisms and dynamics gradually lift a winner toward the top. It just takes a while." (Aiming At Amazon, by Aaron Shepard, p. 135)
- "Generally, your book's rise on lists and in other Amazon features is very gradual, and that's why reaching full potential takes a book about a year. So, take a deep breath, sit tight, and enjoy the very...slow...ride." (Shepard, p. 141)
- "Patience is another way of saying commitment. My advice to you is to create a sensible plan, then stick with it until it proves itself to you. How long might that take? Maybe three months, if you're lucky. Probably six months. And maybe even as long as a year. But you will never, never, never know whether the plan is working within the first sixty days. Commitment is directly related to time." (Guerrilla Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson, p. 17)
But today I searched Amazon under the popular search phrase Personal Money Management and was shocked to find my book coming up #4 of over 3,000 results! How could it be? Perhaps Amazon prioritizes books that
- sell consistently, even if it averages just about one per day.
- get lots of 5-star reviews.
- have people who've taken the time to type in search terms for the book on Amazon.
- have a blog connected to the Amazon page.
- have several sites and blogs linking to the Amazon book page.
As Levinson urges, great marketing isn't in the huge things (like hoping for a spot on Oprah); it's simply doing the little things right, consistently over time.
So if you get easily discouraged, don't give up! Some things don't make a difference immediately. Give them time.
Do you have experience with failure over the short-haul but success over time? Please let us know!
Friday, May 22, 2009
A Solution to the "Need More Time to Market" Issue
Publishing consultant John Mark Schuster just gave me an idea I thought was worthy to pass on. I'll print it here in its entirety:
"I recently spoke to an author who "hired" a college student to do
marketing/promotions for his book project.
He approached the Marketing Department at a local university and asked about
hiring a student to assist with his book promotional efforts. He was
surprised how much the college embraced him and shared that a student could
actually earn "credit hours" through an Internship program if set up
properly.
Benefits for the author:
-Having a college student assist with your book's marketing plan is a great
option for authors that do not have a lot of time or money to spare.
-You can interview a suitable candidate and pick a marketing student who is
well-suited for your needs.
-A college student knows how to effectively utilize the internet for both
marketing and research.
Perks for the student:
-College credit is earned and real world experience is a resume builder for
the student in this tough job market.
-They build a relationship with an author who may be able to help them
further develop in their professional life.
It is important to note that it will be your responsibility to provide the
student with your publishing or marketing goals. You will probably need to
complete a course credit form and outline your project in great detail to
the college's standards but in the end it could be a big payoff.
It will be your responsibility to further explore this option and complete
necessary forms/work but I hope this proves to be effective."
I might add that occasionally marketing classes like to take real businesses and suggest marketing plans for them. We did it last year with our not for profit and gleaned some great ideas.
"I recently spoke to an author who "hired" a college student to do
marketing/promotions for his book project.
He approached the Marketing Department at a local university and asked about
hiring a student to assist with his book promotional efforts. He was
surprised how much the college embraced him and shared that a student could
actually earn "credit hours" through an Internship program if set up
properly.
Benefits for the author:
-Having a college student assist with your book's marketing plan is a great
option for authors that do not have a lot of time or money to spare.
-You can interview a suitable candidate and pick a marketing student who is
well-suited for your needs.
-A college student knows how to effectively utilize the internet for both
marketing and research.
Perks for the student:
-College credit is earned and real world experience is a resume builder for
the student in this tough job market.
-They build a relationship with an author who may be able to help them
further develop in their professional life.
It is important to note that it will be your responsibility to provide the
student with your publishing or marketing goals. You will probably need to
complete a course credit form and outline your project in great detail to
the college's standards but in the end it could be a big payoff.
It will be your responsibility to further explore this option and complete
necessary forms/work but I hope this proves to be effective."
I might add that occasionally marketing classes like to take real businesses and suggest marketing plans for them. We did it last year with our not for profit and gleaned some great ideas.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
When "What Makes Sense" Keeps us from "What Works"
Need to sell more of your books? If marketing methods that make sense aren't working, try methods that don't make sense. This kind of thinking isn't unusual in the business world.
So what are some of the things that "everybody who's anybody knows for certain" about selling books, that we might want to question?
Assumption #1: The best places to sell books are in bookstores.
Assumption #2: Businesses that don't currently sell books are the worst prospects for selling my book.
Assumption #3: The larger the bookstore, the better.
Assumption #4: Go for the large cities since more people are there.
Assumption #5: Go for reviews only in the largest newspapers.
Assumption #6: The ultimate is to get on TV.
Why I Question These Assumptions
I now question all these assumptions:
1. If you're a best-selling author with a traditional publisher, bookstores are great places to sell books. Although, after distributors, wholesalers, and bookstores take their cut, you won't get much money for each sale, people know they can find your books there. But if you're not that well-known, or not with a traditional publisher, you'll probably have trouble getting into the bookstore. And if it doesn't sell within a few months, it may be returned to the distributor and never re-ordered.
That's why Dan Poynter is fond of saying something like, "Bookstores are lousy places to sell books." Great places to buy books, just lousy places to sell them. And it makes sense, once you think about it. If my book is one of 100 personal finance books in a large bookstore, why would someone choose mine over the high profile Dave Ramsey's and Suze Ormans? But if they find it in a smaller, non-bookstore setting, there's no competition.
Since my current book is self-published, I'm encountering hurdle after hurdle to getting into bookstores. I've got it into some locally owned bookstores, but chains are much tougher.
2. Businesses that don't currently sell books at all might take some initial convincing to sell my book, but if they take it on consignment, with no risk, they might like the idea of finding a new source of income. That's how my friend David sold 200 books in a local restaurant in about 6 months. I've currently got my book in a consignment clothing and furniture store, and a video rental store. I'll keep you posted as to how these go.
3. Larger bookstores mean more competition for similar books. Amazon means the most competition. If you have a niche book, like my Contemporary Christian Music Debate, Amazon's a great place to sell a book. People searching for "Christian Rock" or "Contemporary Christian Music" find it at the top of their search. But my book on personal finances, Enjoy Your Money!, competes against thousands of books on the same subject. It's unlikely that anyone would find it searching the term "personal finances". (However, once readers hear about the book from other sources, Amazon's a wonderful place to sell my financial book.)
4. While big-time authors should do well signing books in large cities, where they already have followings, I doubt they'd come out for small-time authors. But since most big-time authors go for the large cities, why not go for the smaller cities? People in smaller, established cities actually read their newspapers to get local news. Hearing that an author's in town, they might be delighted to come to the library and hear you talk about your topic and your book.
5. It's great to get coverage in big-time papers that have a large circulation. Three days ago a financial columnist reviewed my book in the Oakland (California) Tribune. I sold 11 books that first day, five the second day, and four the third day. (One personal actually called to order from me, so that I'm reasonably sure where the other orders came from. For the few days prior to the article, none sold at all.) But if you can't get the big papers, realize that several small ones may net you just as many sales.
6. TV is cool, but can be frightening as well. I was on Fox 5's Good Day Atlanta last Thursday. Great potential, but what if I froze up like the Psychiatrist's interview in "What About Bob?". Everything went great, however. Everyone raved about how relaxed I seemed, how I gave great information, how the station highlighted my book and gave great contact information, how they linked to my book information from their Website, etc. Yet, on the day of the broadcast, I sold exactly 0 books. That's not a typo. The next day I sold a few, but I suspect the sales came from my wife telling her facebook friends about the interview.
Am I glad I did the interview? Sure!
So don't put all your eggs into a few massive events, seeing them as your silver bullets. In the long run, the little, local stuff might be your biggest hit.
What are your experiences with what works and what doesn't concerning selling books? Are you questioning some common assumptions? Post a response and let's learn from each other!
- Who'd have thought that people would pay $3.50 for a cup of coffee? Starbucks did the nonsensical and built a great company.
- Who'd have thought you could make money by selling products so cheap that real businessmen "just knew" you couldn't make a profit? Wal-Mart did the nonsensical and built the largest retailing outfit in the world.
- Times were when people "just knew" that the universe revolved around the earth, that the earth was flat, and that time wasn't relative. But thinkers who entertained nonsensical thoughts discovered otherwise.
So what are some of the things that "everybody who's anybody knows for certain" about selling books, that we might want to question?
Assumption #1: The best places to sell books are in bookstores.
Assumption #2: Businesses that don't currently sell books are the worst prospects for selling my book.
Assumption #3: The larger the bookstore, the better.
Assumption #4: Go for the large cities since more people are there.
Assumption #5: Go for reviews only in the largest newspapers.
Assumption #6: The ultimate is to get on TV.
Why I Question These Assumptions
I now question all these assumptions:
1. If you're a best-selling author with a traditional publisher, bookstores are great places to sell books. Although, after distributors, wholesalers, and bookstores take their cut, you won't get much money for each sale, people know they can find your books there. But if you're not that well-known, or not with a traditional publisher, you'll probably have trouble getting into the bookstore. And if it doesn't sell within a few months, it may be returned to the distributor and never re-ordered.
That's why Dan Poynter is fond of saying something like, "Bookstores are lousy places to sell books." Great places to buy books, just lousy places to sell them. And it makes sense, once you think about it. If my book is one of 100 personal finance books in a large bookstore, why would someone choose mine over the high profile Dave Ramsey's and Suze Ormans? But if they find it in a smaller, non-bookstore setting, there's no competition.
Since my current book is self-published, I'm encountering hurdle after hurdle to getting into bookstores. I've got it into some locally owned bookstores, but chains are much tougher.
2. Businesses that don't currently sell books at all might take some initial convincing to sell my book, but if they take it on consignment, with no risk, they might like the idea of finding a new source of income. That's how my friend David sold 200 books in a local restaurant in about 6 months. I've currently got my book in a consignment clothing and furniture store, and a video rental store. I'll keep you posted as to how these go.
3. Larger bookstores mean more competition for similar books. Amazon means the most competition. If you have a niche book, like my Contemporary Christian Music Debate, Amazon's a great place to sell a book. People searching for "Christian Rock" or "Contemporary Christian Music" find it at the top of their search. But my book on personal finances, Enjoy Your Money!, competes against thousands of books on the same subject. It's unlikely that anyone would find it searching the term "personal finances". (However, once readers hear about the book from other sources, Amazon's a wonderful place to sell my financial book.)
4. While big-time authors should do well signing books in large cities, where they already have followings, I doubt they'd come out for small-time authors. But since most big-time authors go for the large cities, why not go for the smaller cities? People in smaller, established cities actually read their newspapers to get local news. Hearing that an author's in town, they might be delighted to come to the library and hear you talk about your topic and your book.
5. It's great to get coverage in big-time papers that have a large circulation. Three days ago a financial columnist reviewed my book in the Oakland (California) Tribune. I sold 11 books that first day, five the second day, and four the third day. (One personal actually called to order from me, so that I'm reasonably sure where the other orders came from. For the few days prior to the article, none sold at all.) But if you can't get the big papers, realize that several small ones may net you just as many sales.
6. TV is cool, but can be frightening as well. I was on Fox 5's Good Day Atlanta last Thursday. Great potential, but what if I froze up like the Psychiatrist's interview in "What About Bob?". Everything went great, however. Everyone raved about how relaxed I seemed, how I gave great information, how the station highlighted my book and gave great contact information, how they linked to my book information from their Website, etc. Yet, on the day of the broadcast, I sold exactly 0 books. That's not a typo. The next day I sold a few, but I suspect the sales came from my wife telling her facebook friends about the interview.
Am I glad I did the interview? Sure!
- It exposed a lot of people to the book who may buy it later.
- People often need to be exposed to a product several times before they purchase.
- I can purchase the video and use it on www.youtube.com and link to it from our publisher's Web page to show other potential media that I can handle interviews.
So don't put all your eggs into a few massive events, seeing them as your silver bullets. In the long run, the little, local stuff might be your biggest hit.
What are your experiences with what works and what doesn't concerning selling books? Are you questioning some common assumptions? Post a response and let's learn from each other!
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