Tag: book marketing

By Posted on Posted in Activism, Branding, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, Networking, Publishing, Shel's Personal Life Tagged with , , , , ,
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Despite many commitments around the holidays, several client projects, and all the time-consuming organizing work I’ve been putting in since the election, I’ve been constantly, actively promoting, promoting, promoting both my personal brand and my latest book, Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World (published in April).

Learn more about the powerful new book Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World
Learn more about the powerful new book Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World

I will keep promoting it for a long time, but right now as its life as a “new” book (current-year copyright) is ending, I’ve been pushing especially hard. This is some of what I’ve been up to:

  • Wrote and distributed a press release November 9 (as soon as I knew the election results) on how social entrepreneurs can still thrive under a Trump presidency
  • Wrote a letter to his campaign making the business case for keeping the Paris climate accord (no answer from his people, but I modified it slightly and got it published on GreenBiz.com)
  • Arranged to submit a guest blog and started writing it
  • Got myself cited/quoted in at least five other published articles in November and December, including Entrepreneur, Realtor.com, and Huffington Post—most of these because I actively go after journalists looking for story sources; I pitched 32 journalists in December and 20 (a more typical number) in November
  • Secured two new reviews and one minor award (the first for this book—making it the 7th of my 10 books to win at least one award and/or be republished in a foreign country)
  • Scheduled interviews on a telesummit and four more podcasts in the next few weeks
  • Continued fleshing out my role as co-host of a new weekly radio/podcast show, which I expect to get rolling in the spring
  • Applied for several speaking gigs and am on the shortlist for at least two
  • Expanded my personal network with several get-acquainted calls
  • Finished the 3rd (and likely final) draft of a corporate sponsorship proposal I’ve been working on all fall, and began looking for a researcher to generate the email addresses I need to distribute it to about 200 companies mentioned favorably in Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World

 

And how have you been building your career this holiday season?

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By Posted on Posted in Marketing Techniques and Philosophies Tagged with , , , ,

Guest post by Michelle Drucker, manager of marketing, BookPal (www.book-pal.com)

When was the last time you bought a book because you saw it in the window of a bookstore? Now, when was the last time you purchased a book because you read about it online? I’m guessing it was more recent than the last time you even stepped foot in a bookstore!

As stated by marketer David Meerman Scott, “The old rules of marketing and PR are ineffective in an online world” (The New Rules of Marketing & PR, p. 15). The Internet has transformed the world of book marketing just as it has for many other industries. Traditional book-marketing strategies, such as bookstore window placement and book signings, are dead. Sure, these strategies will result in a few small sales, but they are not nearly as cost-effective and efficient as online marketing.

Here are a few simple tricks to get your book noticed and boost sales without breaking the bank:

Create visuals and produce dynamic content.

Forget about the cover! Now people are judging a book by its trailer. The only type of media that outperforms images online is video. Visualize the reading experience by creating a compelling video. Book trailers don’t need to have high production value, but make sure they are professional and straightforward. Post them to YouTube and Vimeo — these sites allow others to share your video content all over the web.

In order to stay top-of-mind, dynamic content is key. Hundreds of thousands of books are published every year. What makes your book stand out? What information does your book contain that people need to know? This is content you should be sharing online.

A blog is a great place to share tidbits of content and direct consumers to buy the book. On a blog, you can share unique information that will help you connect with potential readers on a personal level. Consistent, focused blogging also helps improve keyword rankings if you optimize your blog for search engines.

Establish a strong social media presence.

Does your book have a Facebook page? Does it have a Twitter handle? Its own hashtag? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, then you have your work cut out for you. The best way to spread awareness for a new book is through word-of-mouth. In today’s modern era, social media is the perfect medium for spreading the word.

Now that you’ve created all this amazing content for your blog, use social media as a sharing tool. Link your posts back to your blog in order to boost traffic. With the right targeting and use of keywords, millions of people can potentially see your content.

Leverage industry influencers.

If you are a new author, you probably don’t have a gigantic following on social media or thousands of people viewing your blog every day. The good news is that there are plenty of people that do.

Before you start sending an advance reading copy (ARC) of your book to every blogger on the planet, identify influencers with followers who you can convert into readers. For example, if you are writing a book on leadership, you should send an ARC to business leaders with a significant online presence. Once you’ve found the right influencers, encourage them to review your book and provide their honest feedback. If they like your book, the word will spread like wildfire.

About Michelle Drucker: Michelle manages the Marketing department at BookPal, an e-commerce company that sells books to corporations, school districts, nonprofits and government agencies. Michelle brings strategic focus to the firm’s email, social media and lead generation campaigns. She also oversees paid advertising and website development initiatives.

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By Posted on Posted in Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, Publishing Tagged with , , , ,

Guest post by D’vorah Lansky

Video is the most effective way to connect with your online audience because they can both see and hear you. This medium permits viewers to get to know you and find out more about your book. Adding video to your website and marketing campaign is one of the smartest things you can do. Video captivates your visitors, provides them with a warm welcome and keeps them on your site longer, so they are much more likely to take action.

Creating Web video might seem intimidating but the truth is that it can be easy, affordable, and even free. Creating Web video can also be a great deal of fun. You can either record your message with the camera facing you or you can create a screen capture video, using a free software program such as JingProject.com, and record something that is displayed on your computer screen. The technology has advanced to the point where it is easy to record a video, even if you are not a technology expert.

How Authors Can Use Video to Market Their Books

There are unlimited possibilities as far as what you can create videos of. Here are a few suggestions for you to draw from:

Create a video book trailer. Market your book by creating a video book trailer which you can post on YouTube and on your website. A video book trailer is a short video or multimedia presentation that helps to promote your book. Typically, it is less than two minutes, and a thirty-second to one-minute video can have even more impact, as people are more likely to watch it all the way through. The goal of your video trailer is to get people emotionally involved in your book by identifying a pain or a challenge and sharing a solution.

The simplest way to create a video trailer is through the use of images, PowerPoint slides, video clips, voiceover, music, and sound effects that paint a story that invites your viewers to get emotionally involved in your book. An extremely simple way to create a video trailer is with an online program at Animoto.com. Simply upload images, select an audio track from a wide selection available on the site, click a few buttons and upload your video to YouTube.

Read a chapter of your book aloud. This is a wonderful way to connect with your audience as authors have been doing readings in person at bookstores for decades. You are simply keeping up with these technological times to reach a much larger audience of prospective buyers. You can either face your webcam or you can narrate while displaying PowerPoint slides to create a delightful presentation.

Record a video interview. Have someone else ask you a series of questions related to your book. Create a webcam video or a PowerPoint video of you sharing an aspect of the book, why you wrote the book, and how people can benefit from the content in your book.

Create a video book. We’ve all heard of audio books. What about creating a video book? You can create an abbreviated, separate video for each chapter and take your reader on an audio-visual journey through your book. This also provides you with an upsell product and/or a special give-away for those who purchase your book during your book launch or through a special promotion. At the same time, it is a teaser opportunity to get them to buy and read the entire book.

What ideas do you have?

Hopefully these ideas have stimulated some ideas of your own. What ways can you see yourself using video to share the message of your book? 

 

About the Author

D’vorah is the bestselling author of Book Marketing Made Easy: Simple Strategies for Selling Your Nonfiction Book Online – Visit her book blog and check out the full virtual book tour schedule at: www.BookMarketingMadeEasy.com.

D’vorah offers programs for nonfiction authors interested in growing their brand and their book sales through online book marketing practices and strategies. You can purchase her book on Amazon at: www.BookMarketingMadeEasy.com/amazon

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By Posted on Posted in Entrepreneurship, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, Networking Tagged with , , ,

I read a lot of business books, and too many of them are so dry you could use them for sawdust.

Last year, I happened to meet Kevin Daum at a dinner party Sam Horn threw in Washington, DC (where neither of us live) and we connected quickly and personally. Kevin is a sales and marketing guy who has a similar approach to mine, and he’s also someone who can write. He’s even working on a book about Green business!

Kevin’s latest book, Roar! Get Heard in The Sales and Marketing Jungle, is a classic business parable of the sort popularized by Ken Blanchard. I’ve read a lot of these. What’s especially interesting about this one, in addition to the quality of the writing is what he calls the “3500-year-old sales process,” rooted in, of all things, the metaphor of the Four Sons from the Passover Seder.

And it’s impossible NOT to get the message that every company employee needs to know how to highlight the company’s strengths and points of differentiation, both in general and to specific types of buyers with specific concerns.

As a marketer, you can learn a lot just by watching this book launch. Kevin is doing something very smart: he’s building his preorder list months in advance. And he’s built in lots of try-before-you-buy (something else I recommend). He’s even managed to find a bcouple of independent bookshops to do discount coupons. So you can go visit https://www.awesomeroar.com/index.htmand see a brief video, grab a couple of sample chapters, and read dozens of blurbs (including one from me). and of course order your advance copy, if you’re so moved. You can also read Kevin’s wonderfully transparent blog about his “Quest for the Jewish Super Bowl Ring”: to launch as a New York Times bestseller (where he’s not afraid to discuss failures in the campaign as well as successes).

Not a big surprise either that Kevin is a master networker who’s asked a lot of important people to help out. I’m glad to be in that category, and happy to alert you to what he’s doing.

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