Technology Woes? Answering The Question, "How Do You Do That?"

As an author, you are asked to be a jack of all trades when it comes to your book. This is especially true about marketing your book. And many authors don't have the background to market effectively, especially when it comes to some of the web 2.0 marketing. It can be a daunting task when you start to look at things like blogs, Twitter, Facebook and any of the sites that "everyone" says you need to be on.

Then, when you hear that you can automate your posts by automatically having your blog tweet your followers and syndicate to your Facebook page when you post, it can be enough to make your head swim. On top of that, you may have to deal with formatting issues of your blog and adding ways to share your content through social media channels.

Well, I want to share a piece of advice that has helped me tremendously when it comes to answering the question, "How do you do that?"

If you visit YouTube, you will be surprised what you will find. Almost everything you could want to know how to do will be found there. And the time is long past when free video tutorials are offered by amateurs putting out substandard help. Now, you can find professionals sharing rock-solid content as well as professional-grade amateurs doing the same.

And you can expand your search from YouTube by using Google's video search. I usually type in the "how-to" question I need in the search field. For example:

How Do I Create A Favicon?

returns all the instructional videos I could hope for to teach me how to create a favicon (that tiny picture next to the URL in the address bar).

The nice thing about videos, especially compared to written tutorials, is that you can "look over the shoulders of an expert" as he or she walks through the exact steps you need to walk through in order to complete a task. And if you forget something, you just have to rewind the video and watch that part again.

And you will find many videos on any give task you want to complete. That means if one experts is not really helping, you can go on to the next one. Many experts often fly through the steps and assume that you have specific knowledge you don't have; but with a little searching, you will be able to find someone who will be your perfect teacher.

You can also read the comments that viewers make and glance at the ratings. While they are not always accurate, the comments and ratings can give you an idea of which video you might want to watch first.

With me, video tutorials have been my main stop for ideas that allow me to complete a task and move on quickly to the next task. I bet they can become a main source for you to answer that age-old question, "How do you do that?"

Professional Speaking as a Promotional Tool by L. Diane Wolfe

I'm excited to bring back a friend to Marketing Tips For Authors and a professional speaker who has shared her knowledge a number of times here. Today, L. Diane Wolfe will be discussing public speaking as an author. When you read today's post, make sure you check out her earlier post entitled, Touring in a Virtual World.

Now, on to L. Diane Wolfe's post...


Professional Speaking as a Promotional Tool
by L. Diane Wolfe

Public speaking can be an author's greatest marketing tool. It opens up unique promotional opportunities. It can supplement the author's income. It sells books! And in today's market, authors need to employ every possible angle.

At its most basic, speaking places the author in front of real human beings. The lure of the Internet has prompted more and more authors to remain hidden behind a website. While blogs and social sites provide a certain measure of interaction, it cannot replace real-world contact and physical appearances. Readers like to know about the creator behind the book, and meeting an author in person provides a human quality that is lacking online.

Not every writer is destined to be a professional speaker, but learning the craft is vital. For the introverted author too nervous to speak in front of two people, let alone a crowd, training is required. A media coach teaches poise and confidence. An organization such as Toastmasters offers critique sessions in a secure environment. Public speaking courses are available at almost every college. There are ample opportunities to train and prepare for public speaking.

Remember, there is power in the spoken word! Now, how do we use that power?

At the very least, every author should be able to discuss his own book. This will be required for signings, book readings, and library appearances. Book clubs and writer's groups are also open to the author. These opportunities provide more than just a personal touch, as promotional materials distributed by the author can influence later sales.

However, magic happens when an author moves beyond his book and develops a platform around his area of expertise. This should be a natural transition for the non-fiction writer. His education, skills, and experience led to the book's creation, and he can build a platform around this very knowledge. This doesn't preclude the fiction writer, though. Every book requires research, and a level of expertise is required to write fiction as well. Regardless of genre, all authors possess the ability to develop a platform and message.

The author who markets himself as a speaker gains several advantages. Professional speakers usually receive payment for their services. Speaking engagements can supplement their royalties (which are rarely enough to live on) and the income from their day jobs. These events often allow for back of room sales, netting additional income. An author with a platform is also more appealing to the media, as they want experts who can inform and entertain. The author who delivers what the media seeks and desires gains exposure to a far greater audience.

The list of venues for speakers is endless: libraries; businesses; schools; churches; colleges; writer and book festivals; organizations; clubs; conferences; etc. All of these provide an opportunity to reach a wider audience and generate greater books sales. Once established as a professional speaker, the author's reputation will drive the sales of future books as well, thus laying the groundwork for a long career.

And longevity and increased sales make both authors and publishers happy!

- L. Diane Wolfe, Professional Speaker & Author www.spunkonastick.net www.thecircleoffriends.net www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com

Volunteer To Sharpen Your Marketing Skills

In the past, I have talked about how volunteering can increase your visibility while doing good for others. I believe this win-win situation can do wonders to help many people as you use your skills with an organization. But today I want to talk to you about how you can gain marketing skills or sharpen your current skills through volunteering with others.

Before we do, I want to share a request that an author passed on to me where you can do some good for a great cause. Author Michael Balkind is raising money for an 8 year old, Jake "The Snake" Santoriella, who is fighting a huge battle against leukemia. For a $12 purchase from now through October 15th, 50% of the profits go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on behalf of Jake. You will get a book from this sports mystery writer and an entry into a contest to win a huge ESPN Banner signed by sports analysts and anchors. What a great gift idea! Where else will $12 do so much? For more information, read Michael Balkind's LLS fund raising and contest page.

Now, on to the post for today...

I have recently joined a couple of non-profit organizations that I volunteer with. One is the American Red Cross of Dallas. I am trained to be a disaster responder if a terrible thing ever happens, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I could use some of my other skills to help that organization. For example, I found out that they need more people to help conduct the training classes so I am putting the building blocks in place to prepare me to become a trainer for them.

I also found out that they have a social media team and a broader communication team. I was invited to join the social media team as a volunteer and with my background, they asked me to tour their communication offices and see if there is any other area I would like to volunteer with.

Of course, any volunteer opportunity can easily consume your life if you are not careful, but my experiences are opening my eyes to needs that I never knew exited. As a marketer or author, you can think outside the box and find many opportunities to lend your skills to great causes.

It only stands to reason that large organizations need far more help than simply "boots on the ground" so don't assume that you might have nothing to offer. But I will tell you that if you get involved in the core volunteer posts, it will make you a better volunteer for that organization. That's why I made the decision that no matter what I do with the Red Cross through training, social media and communications, disaster relief will also be a part of what I will do for them.

I encourage you to contact an organization that you really believe in, pick up the phone or visit the website, and see what work you can do for them. Not only will you be helping a great cause, but you will have a chance to use and hone your skills on an even greater level.

Post-Publication Book Marketing Activities By Rick Chesler

Back on December 8th, 2009, Rick Chesler did a post for me entitled,Pre-Publication Book Marketing Activities. His novel, Wired Kingdom was scheduled to be released the following May. I thought it would be a great idea for him to do a 2-part post for me, one that focused on marketing his book before publication and a post focusing on his marketing activities after publication.

Well, his new book is out and he has been marketing it. Today, he will share his post-publication marketing activities with us. I hope you enjoy this unique perspective that Rick brings to us by juxtaposing these two marketing plans during the pre and post publication process.

Now, on to Rick's post, Part 2...


Hello again, Tony, and readers of Mr. Eldridge's excellent author marketing blog! Thanks for having me back. As promised, I've returned to discuss my post-publication marketing activities for my new thriller, WIRED KINGDOM, released on May 25 of this year by Variance Publishing / Deviation Books.

For those who may be joining us without having read Part 1 of the post, allow me to give a brief description of the novel:

When a blue whale tagged with a web-cam as part of a television nature program broadcasts a brutal murder at sea, an FBI agent with a fear of water finds herself in a deadly race to reach the animal before an unknown killer can destroy the digital evidence it carries.

So the book's been out almost four months now, and no, I don't yet have actual sales figures by which to evaluate my marketing efforts, but I can talk about how my promotional activities have shifted since the novel's release date. Keep in mind that although my novel has been published, it still doesn't mean that I "know" what works or doesn't work when it comes to marketing it. I'm just learning as I go along and sharing with you what I've actually done so far. You'll have to be your own judge as to how effective these efforts have been, and how they may or may not work for your own projects.

The most obvious change that occurs on that magic day—publication—is that an author goes instantly from saying "I have a book coming out," to "My book is out." This is no small distinction. After talking about something that was going to happen for so long, the change takes a little bit of getting used to. This puppy has been born! For starters in my own situation, all instances of existing online promotional copy had to be tracked down and changed from "pre-order" to "order," the book graduated from "coming soon" to "in stores now," and buy links sprouted up around the net. Once the book released I engaged in a steady stream of activities designed to keep it on the radar, since the early months of a book's life in particular are vitally important. I'll discuss each of these activities briefly below:

Guest blogs / interviews: Since Wired Kingdom released I've engaged in numerous 'guest blog' appearances, where I'm invited to write a post on some topic related to my book that will run on a scheduled day. Another variation on this is the blog interview, where the blogger gives me a set of questions that I answer, and that subsequently appear on the blog (sometimes edited, sometimes not). For a complete list of my blog appearances, see my own "blog" that I put together in order to keep track of my guest appearances and other news items about the book:

http://wiredkingdomnews.blogspot.com/

When it comes to setting up these blog pieces, sometimes I approach the bloggers, and sometimes it's the other way around. I made an effort to schedule them so that they were reasonably spaced out from each other, with not too many crowded into the same time period. Also, although I know that some writers tend to recycle the same answers (there are, after all, only so many ways to answer questions like 'how long did it take you to write the book?', etc.), I do make an effort wherever possible to avoid using 'canned' responses, and I've found that this is warranted since most bloggers do have their own unique approach in presenting guest authors.

Review requests: I made an effort to let some of the major print reviewers as well as book blog reviewers know about Wired Kingdom by sending an email with key info about the book (sometimes a full press release – more on that in a bit), asking if they'd be interested in a review copy. In a few special cases, I sent unsolicited copies of the book to major industry players. Reviews done that I know about are collected on my news blog.

Press releases: I made one of these for the publication of Wired Kingdom and sent them to a list of media outlets including newspapers in areas I had lived and in locales in which the book is set. PR's also went to local TV and radio stations. I had limited, but not zero success with the press releases. The ones that did work tended to contain a personal angle, for example where I pointed out that I had grown up in the same town as the paper, etc.

Media kit: I found out right away that it pays to have some standard items always at the ready. These include author photos and book cover images in different sizes (small, medium, large), buy links to the book, author web links, author bio, ISBN, and publisher info. Most of these things are also available right from my website.

Amazon page: One sweet piece of online real estate I can now lay claim to that I didn't own prior to publication is my Amazon author page. I made my book trailer and author photo available here, as well as an RSS feed of my above-mentioned news blog.

Contest giveaways: I've run a handful of contests to give away signed copies of Wired Kingdom to readers who engaged with the book in some way online. Some of these readers later left online reviews of their own on Amazon or BN.com. You can check out the giveaway I'm currently running in conjunction with social-networking-for-books site Goodreads.com. Don't forget to enter while you're there!

Special activities: These are random things that don't come up too much, but occasionally I either do them or at least consider doing them because they are suggested to me by other people. These include live online chat sessions with writers groups, looking into the feasibility of in-person book signing events at libraries, stores, festivals, etc. I also produced a small number of Wired Kingdom bookmarks to distribute when I'm about and about, as well as custom bookplates. I think the bookplates have been more effective than the bookmarks.

Paid advertising: I have a (pathetically) small budget for paid online ads, but even so I do believe they can be effective. I have taken ad space out on sites that target underwater enthusiasts, for example, since my novel is an underwater thriller. Also, I've purchased some placement from Google / Youtube for my book trailer. They allow you to set daily or monthly spending limits. Also, my web hosting company offered free coupons for advertising on sites such as Facebook, which I took advantage of.

E-books: Wired Kingdom was released in two formats: mass market paperback ($7.99) and Kindle e-book ($6.39). The fact that it's an e-book means that it can be promoted on certain e-book enthusiast sites, such as kindleboards.com and many others.

Publisher efforts: I'm not working completely alone, here. I think it's important to add that that my publisher, Variance / Deviation, has also been actively involved in promoting my book, and we do sometimes work together to brainstorm publicity ideas. Besides the myriad behind-the-scenes publisher's duties they handle, they created the two-chapter preview and made it available on their own web site, as well as giving it to me so that I could make it available; they also formatted the e-book version of the novel for various reader platforms in addition to Kindle, which you can see available here on Smashwords.com, and they continue to host and promote the book trailer they created for Wired Kingdom. It does help to have an "author-friendly" publisher.

Interacting with readers: Last but definitely not least, I continue to develop relationships with readers along the lines of what I outlined in Part 1 of this post. Particularly on Facebook and Twitter, I discuss news items related to the subject matter of my book, current events, other author's books, and publishing industry news and developments.

Well, so far that's been about the extent of my marketing efforts, but I'm always considering new ways to get the word out about Wired Kingdom and my future thrillers. If any of you would like to weigh in in the Comments section of this blog as to how effective or not any of these promotional activities have been for me, and for yourselves as well, please do so. Also, I'd like to hear if you have any ideas that maybe I haven't considered yet at all. There's no one "right" way to market a book, and I continue to be amazed at the ingenuity displayed by some of my fellow authors when it comes to marketing their work. I'm happy to continue the discussion in the Comments. Once again, I thank Mr. Eldridge for having me as a guest author on his blog, and once again, I thank you for reading!

Rick Chesler
http://rickchesler.com

Marketing Tips Around The Net: September 17th

Happy Constitution Day! It was September 17th, 1787 that the U.S. Constitution was signed by the founding fathers of the United States of America. While the US may not be one of the oldest countries in existence, our government is one of the oldest current governments and it's due to the Constitution that has endured centuries of leading We, the people. And tomorrow I celebrate my birthday. But in comparison, I defer to September 17th every time.

Well, it's also Friday and that means it's time for us to look at a few marketing sites around the net that have caught my attention. So sit back and enjoy this edition of Marketing Tips For Authors with your favorite beverage.

1. What on earth do I put in my Media Kit?- Kicking us off today is L. Diane Wolfe who gives some advice on how to create our media kits.

2. What Exactly Are Keywords?- Gotta' have great keywords, right? Phyllis Zimbler Miller explains what those keywords are.

3. How to sell copywriting (or any other) services- In his Profit Tips, Roger C. Parker looks at how to use graphics as well as words to create compelling communication.

4. Sharing with You Best Tips from SharingwithWriters Newsletter- For those who have not subscribed to Carolyn Howard-Johnson's newsletter, you can now get a peek at some of its content as she shares the best tips from it on her blog.

5. What Do The Most Highly Paid Authors Have In Common?- We all dream of being that NY Times bestseller, right? Well, Joanna Penn takes a look at the common threads that run through the best selling authors of our day.

6. Promote Your Book by Becoming a Keynote Speaker- Most authors have thought about speaking to promote their books. Dana Lynn Smith invites Ellen Brazer to show you haw you can do just that.

7. An Example of a Good Book Trailer- Do you have a book trailer? If not, BookBuzzr shows us what makes a great trailer.

8. Bloglines Shuts Down: Export RSS Subscriptions- If you are a fan of the venerable Bloglines, you need to prepare for its retirement. QuickOnlineTips will show you what you need to do.

9. Lori Ruff Explains Seeing Double on LinkedIn- Phyllis Zimbler Miller discusses having duplicate profiles on social networks.

10. What Is Bounce Rate?- Bounce rate is an important measurement of visitor traffic. Daniel Scocco explains what this metric is.

11. 5 Ways Your Blog is Undermining Your Business- Are you unknowingly sabotaging your blog's success? Darren Rowse gives you some things to watch out for.

12. 4 Ways I Compose Posts to Drive Millions of Pageviews to Blogs Through Digg- How much do you know about Digg? Neal Rodriguez has a great post that will teach you some important points on Digg and your blog.

That's it for today's post. I know we have a lot of things to look at, so if you don''t get through all the sites today, sprinkle them through the weekend. And for all you football fans, I hope you enjoy week two of the NFL games. Go Colts!!!

5 Tips To Get Massive Exposure For Your Book With Blog Tours

Perhaps you have been considering a blog tour for your book. If so, it could be a great way to give your book a nice boost as far as exposure. But if done wrong, it can be a waste of time and money. Here are some tips for pulling off a great blog tour:

1. Plan Ahead- Blog tours will work if you put in the time to plan. If you wait until the last minute to pull one off, chances are high that you won't be happy with the results. You need to put in the time to find blogs relevant to your book, contact the people, fit every stop into a schedule, and have time available to handle conflicts that will come up when you deal with a lot of people who are executing in a short time frame.

2. Plan Enough Stops- The power of blog tours is having a lot of people buzzing about your book. It's a lot of work to pull of a great blog tour and the temptation is to stop after you have 8 or 10 blogs lined up. My personal opinion is that you need at least 20 relevant blogs to have a great blog tour. That said, I would much rather have 10 relevant blogs stops than 20 non-relevant ones. More on that in the next point.

3. Plan Relevant Stops- One of the reasons you need time to plan is to help you find relevant blogs for your tour. Relevance encompasses a) strong follower base; and b) blogs that somehow tie in to your book. If your fill your tour with blogs that have no readers then you won't be happy with the exposure you get. Also, if you fill your tour with blogs that have no tie in with your book, most readers will shrug and move on. That said, I would never turn down an opportunity to have a blog on my tour. I just don't count non-relevant stops in my main plan.

4. Ask For Help- If you are putting on a tour, ask people to help you find relevant blogs. You might be surprised at how many blogs your friends know about that would be perfect stops for your blog tour. The more you ask, the more solid stops you will find.

5. Consider Hiring An Expert- Pulling off a great blog tour is not an easy thing. Fortunately, there are people who devote their careers to conducting blog tours. They have a long list of blogs that they can use to find the perfect ones for your tours. They handle the planning and will keep you in the loop throughout the planning and tour stages. One company I have had experience with, as well as many other people I know is Pump Up Your Book Promotion conducted by Dorothy Thompson. While I am sure that there are other great people who conduct tours, here is one I know and I can recommend to get you started.

Remember, if you want to pull off a great tour, you need to put in the work up front. If you do, you can have a great tour that gives you some massive exposure for your book.

8 Tips on Starting Your Own Grass-Roots Campaign For Your Book

In the election season here in the U.S., there is a lot of talk about "Grass-Roots" campaigns. By that, the pundits and candidates are saying that their campaign is not launched by a lot of money, media coverage or the blessing of the "Establishment" leadership. Rather, it's a campaign where the candidate is ushered in by the local constituents themselves and word-of-mouth becomes a powerful force that thrusts the candidate into prominence.

Similarly, most authors don't have a lot of money, access to major media coverage or are backed by the "Establishment" (publishers, major reviewers, etc..) Instead, we are like the candidate who is hoping for a grass-roots movement to help news of us and our book spread like wildfire.

Here are 8 tips to help you encourage the start of your own grass-roots movement for your own book:

1. Contact local civic organizations- Groups like the Lion's Club, Rotary, Kiwanis, and the Chamber of Commerce are names most of us recognize. They are local and they often look for speakers to visit their clubs. But get out the yellow pages and look for other groups as well. Most libraries have "Friends of the Library" and you may be surprised at how many local civic groups are in your community. These groups are made up of your neighbors who will be excited to hear from a local "celebrity" author.

2. Take a local reporter to lunch- Many communities have small newspapers that cover local events almost exclusively. My home town of Forney, TX even has an online newspaper called The Forney Post that has mentioned me and my book many times, as well at the traditionally published Forney Messenger. By meeting with a reporter (who often is the owner of the paper as well), you might be able to help them find multiple angles that get your book into their paper.

3. Speak at your local schools- One of my favorite activities is to speak at local schools. You would be surprised at how many schools would love to have a local author speak to their students about your path to becoming a successful author. Schools want to point at local success stories to help motivate their students to reach for the stars.

5. Approach local businesses about placement- We often spend time trying to get our book into local big-box stores but their decisions often are made across the country at the store's headquarters. But a local doughnut shop, florist, or gas station may be willing to set a few of your signed books on their counter. Imagine the power of your neighbors seeing the cover of your book many times each month!

6. Drop off your book in waiting rooms- Here's an idea that I love. I dropped off a copy of my novel, The Samson Effect, in a doctor's office and the patience would read it while they waited for the doctor. The doctor gave me comments that patients made about the book and I even met one to sell him signed copy! Try this with dentists, doctors, chiropractors, and any other office where patients wait. Of course, you want to get the doctor's permission first, but most will be happy for free reading material from a local author. Be warned however, most professionals who provide public reading material will want it to be free of offensive devises, especially if children will have access to the book.

7. Volunteer at local charities- By volunteering in your community, you get name recognition and more people will come in contact with your book. People who run these organizations are usually well connected in the community. Of course, the primary relationship is to serve, not to push your book, but my main point is that by volunteering, you will expand your exposure tremendously. You may also be mentioned in the organization's newsletter as "Tony Eldridge, Forney's own author of the action/adventure novel, The Samson Effect..."

8. Enlist help from your church- While most churches do not like their membership list to be used as a cold-call sales list, members of your church are usually eager to help other members they have a relationship with. Don't be shy in letting the membership, preachers, pastors, deacons, and everyone else know that you have written a book. This may lead to speaking engagements within the church and maybe even an invitation to speak at another church that your pastor has a relationship with.

The key with all eight of these ideas is establishing relationships. Remember, people in your community want to support one of their own. They want to see one of their own succeed. If you can establish strong local relationships, you might be surprised at how strong the grass-roots support for your book might help it become known far beyond your own home town.

Marketing Tips Around The Net: September 13th

I know, it's Monday and not Friday. But since I was away on Friday and missed the Tips Around The Net feature, I wanted to make sure that I got last week's picks in today. So, sit back and take a look at the marketing tips that caught my eye last week. I hope you enjoy them. (We will also have a Tips Around The Net feature this Friday for this week's site as well).

One new feature I am incorporating into the list is linking the author's name to their Twitter page. I hope this gives readers another easy way to learn more about these experts. Experts, if there is no link to your name, it means that I could not readily find a Twitter ID for you or I simply overlooked it. Just send me a message with your Twitter ID and I will be happy to edit the post to include it.

Before you read today's post, I invite you to check out a recent guest post I did for BookBuzzr. I shared my list of over 30 free toys and downloads for authors there. I hope you enjoy.


1. Building Author Platform by Pitching Yourself to the Media- Dana Lynn Smith invites Nina Amir to her blog to share a great strategy at building your author platform.

2. Build your personal brand, one book at a time- Roger C. Parker discusses 7 elements of personal branding success that you can put to work for you today.

3. Travel Writer Ballou Shares Method to Get Your Book Passed Around!- Carolyn Howard-Johnson invites guest blogger Linda Ballou to share advice on a topic that all authors want to learn more about.

4. A Cautionary Tale Regarding Your Brand and Your Website- Phyllis Zimbler Miller shares a warning from a recent incident that we would all do well to consider.

5. Publishing Options For Your Book- Joanna Penn offers a video post to explain the different publishing options available to authors.

6. Speak So Others Will Listen- Patti Stafford shares some great tips if you find yourself with a public speaking gig and you want to make a lasting impression.

7. Avoid Blogger Burnout: 5 Tips to Save Your Sanity- Georgina Laidlaw shares some great tips on the ProBlogger blog that all bloggers need to read.

8. 10 Things Bloggers Should NOT Do- Onibalusi Bamidele shares some great tips for bloggers on what NOT to do.

9. Check If Your Name Is Available on All Social Media Sites- Daniel Scocco introduces a cool new tool called namechk.com that allows you to see if your name/id is available on around 15 sites with a click of the button.

10. Promote Your Book and Your Publishing Business with Bonus Materials- Dana Lynn Smith again makes this week's list with her post on how to sell books using bonus materials.

That's it for this week's, er, last week's tips around the net. I will see you tomorrow with more Marketing Tips For Authors!

Productivity Tip: Scheduling Busy Work

One of the problems that we all face is trying to cram 25 hours into a 24 hour day. There always seems to be more to do than we have time to do it all. As we struggle to get it all done, we often find ourselves behind and clawing to get out of the pit we seemed to have slipped into.

Well, I can't give you 25 hours a day, but in today's tip I hope to share a technique I use that might help you use your 24 hours a little more efficiently. It's a technique I refer to as "Scheduling Busy Work."

Busy work, as I define it, is work that needs to be done but work that does not have a looming deadline on the horizon. It's also work that can be sacrificed if we must choose it over another, higher priority task. The dilemma is that busy work is often easy to do, so we tend to go at it first thing. Then, hours later, we realize that there are other higher priority tasks that we have to squeeze into the rest of our day.

Here are some tips to help you take control of busy work:

1. Identify Busy Work- Take a few moments to see how you fill your day. What activities should you classify as busy work? Remember, this has nothing to do with importance, it has to do with priority and pending deadlines. And busy work for one person is a high-priority task for another. For example, reading your newspaper can be busy work for me, but for a blogger commenting on current events, it's a high priority task.

2. Start A Time-Limited Routine- Let's say that reading blog posts you subscribe to is in your busy work bucket. Choose the same time of each day to devote to reading these posts. It may be early in the morning or before you go to bed. Give yourself 30 minute, an hour or whatever you feel is needed. The secret is when that time is over, you stop the activity and move on to something else. Be consistent by doing this activity at the same time each day and you will limit the chances that this busy work will eat into the rest of your day.

3. Multi-Task- Busy work can be ideally suited for multi-tasking. For example, I love to skim through blogs I subscribe to while I am eating breakfast. This gives me a way to kill two birds with one stone. I also love to listen to podcasts while diving, jogging, or exercising. With a little thought, I am sure you can find ways to multi-task your busy work into a productive use of your time.

4. Delegate- While there are some busy work tasks that only you can do, there are bound to be some that you can ask others to do for you. For example, only you can read the newspaper to get a handle on items you want to comment on, but an assistant can hand you a newspaper with a list of stories that he has pre-screened as ones you will want to focus on.

Here's another example that I recently used. I saw someone asking a technical question on my blog post about a product I endorse. Rather than going into a detailed answer, I contacted the product creator and asked that they address it. It was a win-win-win for us all and I reclaimed a lot of time I would have certainly lost had I not delegated the task.

5. Just Say No- Often we find that our productivity pit has been caused by over committing to tasks that we should have said no to before we brought them on. We may be at the point where we need to pare back what we are doing or holding off on taking on new busy work tasks until we have the time to commit to them. Remember, we only have 24 hours in a day. By choosing to fill one of those hours with a busy work task, we destroy that hour's ability to be used on something of a higher priority.

I hope these ideas help you. If you are like me, fitting busy work into your schedule efficiently will be on on-going battle. But if you keep at it, you will find yourself controlling your schedule and not have your schedule controlling you.

Marketing Tips Around The Net: September 3rd

It's Friday and that means it's time to fly around the net to find some great posts that can help us us all with our marketing efforts. Sit back, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and let's get started.

1. Emoticons, Book Packaging, ebooks .. what was the future, is now the past?- Kicking us off today is Hilary Melton-Butcher post that takes a look at where books may be going in the future by looking at where they have come from the past.

2. 6 ways authors can profit from their books "after the sale"- Roger C. Parker shows you that once your book is published, it can mean the beginning of the ways to profit from it.

3. Distinguishing Between the URL for Your Website and Your Brand- Phyllis Zimbler Miller shares some great advice on how to, and not to, choose a URL that reinforces your brand.

4. The Secret to Getting Great Book Reviews on Amazon- Todd Rutherford hosts Dana Lynn Smith, who will give you some great points on how to get great reviews for your book on Amazon.com.

5. Create a Facebook Page for Your Book- BookBuzzr invites Phyllis Zimbler Miller to share her tips on creating a Facebook page for your book.

6. Promote Your Book by Becoming a Keynote Speaker- Dana Lynn Smith invites Ellen Brazer to show you how you can become a keynote speaker to promote your book.

7. If Hamlet Doth Tweeted- Every now and then, a post comes along that you just have to share. Hal Brown pens Shakespearean verse with a decidedly 21st century theme. Enjoy!

8. How To Use Book Trailers Effectively. Interview With Darcy Pattison- Joanna Penn has an informative interview with Darcy Pattison in this podcats that will help you use your book trailers effectively.

9. What Starbucks Taught Me About Search Engine Marketing- Penny Sansevieri uses Starbucks as an example of using a marketing principle to make sure people get what they are looking for when they visit sites about you and your book.

10. Who Are You?- L. Diane Wolfe poses what sounds like the easiest question for us to answer. As we close out this week's trip around the net, I thought it would be appropriate for us to consider this question because our answers can have a tremendous effect on how we allow ourselves to be perceived.

That's it for this week's trip around the net. With the beginning of September, the NFL is gearing up. Good luck to you and your favorite team. Being a native Hoosier, I will be pulling for the Indianapolis Colt's. We'll see if they have what it takes to cross the finish line this year. See you on Monday.

Google Has Free Tools For Online Marketers

I really have grown to like Google. They have so many tools for you to use to make your life easier as you manage your online social media marketing and your brand. And their productivity tools can really make your your life easier. Best of all, these tools are free. Below is a sampling of tools offered by Google that you might want to take a look at.

1. Blogger/BlogSpot- When Google acquired Blogger, it had an immediate presence in the blogging world. Since then, Goggle has worked to keep this free blogging platform competitive. This is the platform that Marketing Tips For Authors is on.

2. iGoogle- This is a dashboard page that allows you to have one spot to aggregate all your information into one view. And with new gadgets coming online, iGoogle promises to become even more useful over time. Imagine managing your social media sites, calendars, e-mail, news, and much more from one bird's eye view.

3. Google Analytics- Want to track your website and blog traffic? Look no further than Google's Analytics program. Find out much more than how many people are visiting your site. Learn things like where they are visiting, where they are leaving, how long they are spending on your site and from what states/countries they are visiting from. This just touches the tip of the iceberg for what you will lean with Google Analytics.

4. GMail- This is one of the powerful e-mail programs that you can use for free. It has all the bells and whistles you will need in an e-mail program and you can check it from any computer. You will need a gmail account to use most of the Google gadgets, so you will have a great chance to check it out to see if it works for you.

5. Phone Calls From GMail- One of the new exciting features of Gmail that I wanted to list out separately is the ability to make calls directly from your Gmail account to another phone or another Gmail user. In the US, the calls are free and for international calls, they are low cost. Looks like Google is going after Skype, the undisputed leader in this category.

6. Docs- The ultimate in document collaboration can be found with Google Docs. Upload your spreadsheets, word processor docs, presentations, and much more. You controls who sees the docs and who can make changes. No more sending e-mails back and forth, trying to make sure you are using the most recent edited doc.

7. Talk- Google Talk is a download that will allow you to send instant messages, make free PC to PC calls, audio conference with multiple people, and now have a video chat on your computer.

8. Translate- Ever visited a web page written in a language you don't know? Let Google Translate tell you what is on it. Not only will Google Translate translate entire web sites, you can also input words and phrases into the text box to get a translation. And the drop-down list is a mile long with languages to choose from.

9. GOOG-411- Call 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) from any phone to get local business phone numbers for free. My directory assistance service charges $2 a pop, so GOOG-411 can definitely be a money saver. Now, Google needs to get on the ball and release a residential version as well.

10. Labs- I like to pop into Google Labs from time to time. This is Google's playground for new gadgets. You can try them out before they become "mainstream." Almost all of the gadgets above are graduates from Google Labs. Some things go on to fame while others fade away with little fanfare, but you can get a peek at them while they reside in the lab. If you love to tinker with experiments, then Google Labs will be your playground.

That's it for Google. There are many more gadgets that Google offers that I could make a legitimate argument for inclusion on this list, but these are the 10 that struck my fancy at the time I was writing this post. If you really want to see all that Google offers, you can check out their "Even More" page.