Brainstorming Non-bookstore Sales By Joel Friedlander

Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to a top expert in the indie publishing world, Joel Friedlander. Joel is the creator of the The Book Designer blog and he has a new book out, A Self-Publisher's Companion: Expert Advice for Authors Who Want to Publish, that will no-doubt be a staple resource for all indie authors. Today, Joel will share his ideas on why and how authors should consider non-bookstore sales.

Before we get to Joel's post, I have one quick in-house announcement. I will be announcing a new Twitter contest next month with prizes from book marketing experts from all over the world. Already, I have some great prizes lined up. Tomorrow is the last day that my Call For Sponsors is open. If you have a book marketing prize you want to make available for the contests, visit my post, New Spring Twitter Contest: Call For Sponsors and fill out the form on the post. I will get back with everyone who submits a prize within a week with details on the contest.

Now, on to Joel's post...


Brainstorming Non-bookstore Sales
Joel Friedlander


When it comes to book marketing there's an old saying that the worst place to sell indie-published books is in a bookstore.

Why? Bookstore distribution is set up to work for large publishers with a national reach, an on-the-field sales force, national advertising and the ability to place a book in thousands of bookstores at launch.

This is a bad match for most indie authors and self-publishers, who don't have the distribution, the sales force, the staff to monitor and track shipments and invoices, and who could be severely affected by massive returns if their books don't sell through in the time the bookstores will give them on the shelf.

We already know that a really great way to sell our books is online, through online book retailers like Amazon, BN.com and others. And for e-book publishers, the online world is just about the only world for book sales.

But there are many other ways for self-publishers to sell their books, particularly nonfiction authors. Generally we call all these non-bookstores sales "special sales" and they can be a godsend for a small publisher.


Advantages of Special Sales Channels

Here are some of the advantages of making special sales to augment your other sales efforts. While some of these points require a book that's offset printed, others can be handled by print runs at digital, print on demand suppliers, too.

1. Books sold to non-bookstore buyers are not returnable.
   
   
2. By extending your print run, a special sale will reduce the cost of your own books, since the unit cost will go down as the quantity ordered goes up.
   
   
3. Special sales will require payment on delivery, usually at 50% of retail. This can help pay your printing costs.
   
   
4. If you agree to print books with the buyer's branding, like for a corporate sale, you'll get the benefit of associating with a larger company or foundation.
   
   
5. A partner's access to your potential buyers can help you to grow your own list for direct marketing.
   

How are you going to find these opportunities? This is where the brainstorming comes in. Part of this process borrows from demographics, in which we try to model the typical buyer of your book and then use that information to find other likely book buyers.  


Finding Opportunities for Special Sales

As an example, let's say you have a book about family bicycling adventures in northern California.

Your brainstorming would start with looking at who would buy your book, and then going deeper into who those people are, where they buy, and where they hang out. Here are some ideas.

--Think about where they buy their bicycling gear. Bike stores sell lots of books, and that would be the first opportunity you could look at.

--But what about larger outdoor equipment retailers? Stores like REI have substantial book departments and would likely be interested in your book.

--Visitors centers at many parks carry books related to activities you can pursue nearby. This would be a natural throughout the area your book covers.

--Families who cycle together are likely to also camp together, since they are closely related activities. Camping supply stores, whether they sell bike gear or not, would be another venue for your book.

--Tie-ins represent lots of opportunities. For instance, a company that sells kid trailers that you pull with your bike might be interested in making a bulk purchase of your book and using it as a giveaway or premium for their own sales efforts.

--You could also tie-in with a travel planning company that specializes in family adventure trips in the area your book covers.

--Corporations looking to encourage employees to get healthy could use your book as an incentive in their wellness program, and might buy a large quantity of books printed with their own corporate logo on them.

--We're obviously dealing with a family with small children. Perhaps there's a local chain of children's clothing stores that would like the book on their counter, or branded as a premium?

If some of these ideas remind you of long-tail marketing, there's a good reason for that. We're drilling down into the demographic to find affiliations in this group.

Finding groups of your target buyers will lead to all kinds of sales opportunities where you're free, outside the confines of book distribution, to negotiate sales to your benefit with your book as your product.

 

Joel Friedlander is the proprietor of Marin Bookworks in San Rafael, California, a publishing services company where he's helped launch many self-publishers. He blogs about book design, writing and self-publishing at www.TheBookDesigner.com. Joel is also the author of the newly-published A Self-Publisher's Companion: Expert Advice for Authors Who Want to Publish.


 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

7 Tips For Writing Titles That Will Cause Readers To Click On Your Post

When you write a blog post, the title may be the single most important factor in whether people will click on it and read it or not. That makes titles worth spending a little time thinking about before we slap one on and go. Here are some tips on choosing effective post titles that will work for you.

1. Use Keyword Rich Titles- Titles play an important role when search engines return results, so you want to use them as much as possible. While I have been known to write titles for other purposes, I generally try to use keywords when possible. For this reason, I also recommend that you use keywords in your blog's permalink settings rather than a post number.

2. Use Titles That Communicate A Benefit- Writing titles for search engines is important, but you also want to write for the reader who sees your post link and has a split second to decide whether to click it or move on. Benefit statements tell the reader what they will get if they read your post. For example, you could say:

7 Tips For Writing Great Post Titles
or
7 Tips For Writing Titles That Will Cause Readers To Click On Your Post

The second option has a benefit that helps the reader decide to click on the link and read what you have to say.

3. Use Lists- I love lists and apparently so do a lot of people. There is a marked improvement of my traffic when I incorporate lists into my post titles. "10 reasons to...", "5 Ways You Can..." "Top 10 Reasons Why You Need To..."

Lists are perfectly suited for blog readers who often have many blogs they look at each day. They help readers quickly scan the content and make it easy for them to digest your information. They help break down long blocks of text into easily read bits and pieces, which means your post gets a boost when looking to engage readers.

4. Ask Questions- Asking questions in your post title serves the same purpose that using lists serves. It piques the interest of the reader and promises specific answers in your post. Questions in your titles can also be a great catalyst for people to leave comments. "Which is better, Nook or Kindle?" can give you fertile material to blog about while stirring the passions of your readers. Question titles also generally do a good job in engaging Twitter followers.

5. Play On Words- Using a play on words can cause people to jump on your title or avoid it like the plague, so be careful when you employ this strategy. You have to use this title strategy in a way that legitimately ties in with your content, or readers will be disappointed. Consider these "hit" and "misses" for me with this strategy:

Hit: Marketing Lesson I Learned From My Infidelity- This post talks about creating customer loyalty by illustrating how I felt when a barista from my local Starbucks walked into a neighboring store and found me sitting there. This posts still draws in healthy traffic even though it was written in September, 2009.

Miss: Borrow Other People's Mailing List For Extended Reach- This posts has great advice for people who have no audience to tap into by giving tips on how you can get in front of other people's readers. "Borrowing" a list in this context means getting the list owner to write about you to their followers. But the title backfired on me because the play on words was not easily seen and because the play on words was on the practice of taking someone's list and sending out your own content to it (which I strongly discourage). This title generates so much negative feedback on Twitter without causing anyone to actually click on the post to read it, that I no longer actively use it. In fact, I will probably change the title soon and resubmit it, but I like it as an illustration of a poorly designed title.

6. Commentate On Current Events- You can capitalize on current media buzz by writing a post title that inserts yourself into the debate. A few week's ago, I read everything I could about Amanda Hocking, so when I saw a title with her name, I clicked on it. The downside to using this technique is that when the buzz wears off, so do the clicks. While I will use this technique once in a while, I generally opt for a long-term approach to using titles that will have timeless appeal.

7. Generate Controversy- Few things can engage people like controversy, and many use this technique to generate readers for their blog. "Why Publishing An e-Book Will Scuttle Your Author Career" may raise a few eyebrows and cause people to see what you have to say. Be ready for a healthy debate on your post if you choose this title strategy.

Before you publish your next blog post, take a look at your title. What is it doing to encourage (or discourage) people from clicking on it? What promise is it making and are you delivering on its promises? You'll find it difficult to use all of these strategies to create the perfect title, so settle on employing one or two to work for you. After a little testing, you'll find the titles that reach out to the most people and keep them coming back for more.

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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Top 10 Marketing Tips For Authors Posts Of All Time

As I was getting ready for some changes to the blog, I ran a Google Analytics report to find out what my all-time most visited posts were. I have them listed below for you to see what everyone keeps coming back to read.

I noticed that these posts are all from 2009, the first year my blog was in existence. Even though they've had longer to draw page views than my newer posts, it's still a testament that people keep returning to read them.

That said, I am calling on Google Analytic experts for some help. I'd like to find these two stats in GA, but I have not been able to figure out how yet. I'd appreciate any guidance you can give. Here are the stats I'm looking for:

1. Rank pages by all-time single day hits.
2. Rank pages by average page views per day. Some pages will be live for more days than others, so a simple division by days in a date range used in a search will not work.

Okay, enough techie talk, now on to the list of the all-time most visited posts on this blog, starting with the number 1 visited post on my blog...

1. BookBuzzr: How to Market Your Book on Facebook, MySpace and Other Social Networks- Vikram Narayan, creator of BookBuzzr, talks about promoting your book on social networks.

2. Promote Your Book with a Facebook Group by Dana Lynn Smith- Dana Lynn Smith shares her experience on using Facebook groups to promote your book.

3. 7 Book Marketing Lessons from Virgin's Richard Branson By Joanna Penn- Joanna Penn looks at a business icon for book marketing lessons.

4. 10 Tips For Overcoming Stage Fright- Learn 10 practical tips you can use to overcome stage fright.

5. What You Should Know About Web Design for Books By Yael Miller- Yael Miller gives advice to authors about designing a specific web presence for your book.

6. 15 Commandments for Getting FREE Publicity By Carolyn Howard-Johnson- Carolyn Howard-Johnson gives 15 tips on how you can find free publicity for your book.

7. Automatically Format Your Book Professionally In Word- Formatting your book for print can be a tricky task. I share a tool that has made this a breeze for me.

8. Free Toys and Downloads For Authors- We all love free toys to help us do our jobs as authors. This is the list that kicked off my posts containing free resources that I find and share with you.

9. 8 Tips on Creating An Army Of People To Market Your Book- In this post, I share advice on how you can create an army of people willing and ready to help promote your book.

10. Developing a Platform For Nonfiction Writers By Robert Rummel-Hudson- Robert Rummel-Hudson gives advice on developing a platform for non-fiction authors.

Well, there they are, the top visited post on this blog of all time. Even though they are older posts, their continued popularity is a testament to their timeless advice. My thanks to all the readers who find value in these, and other posts found on this blog.



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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Managing Realistic Expectations For Your Online Book Marketing by Phyllis Zimbler Miller

I'm thrilled to bring back a guest today that has been very generous with her knowledge to the readers of Marketing Tips For Authors. Phyllis Zimbler Miller, co-founder of the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic, is back today with an timely post about managing realistic expectations for your online book marketing efforts.

Phyllis also has a special 3 part webinar starting tomorrow and has offered my readers a generous value if you use the discount code she's created. Take a look at the end of the post for details on taking her up on her offer. I've taken her webinars before and I highly recommend them to you. (For full disclosure, I have no affiliate relationship for this webinar.)

Now, on to Phyllis's post...


Managing Realistic Expectations For Your Online Book Marketing
by Phyllis Zimbler Miller


Effectively using Internet opportunities to reach prospective fans of your fiction or nonfiction book is an excellent book marketing strategy in today’s world.

But before you jump right into harnessing the online social media opportunities offered by Twitter, Facebook Pages, LinkedIn groups, blogging, YouTube videos, BookBuzzr and numerous other book marketing sites, you should sit down with yourself and answer these questions:

1. Do I have the determination, patience, commitment (whatever you want to call this ability) to spend at least an hour four or five times a week engaging in social media participation or can I afford to hire someone to do this engagement for me?
2. Do I like to engage with my book fans or potential fans on a one-to-one basis or do I want to stay hidden behind the cover of my book?
3. Do I want to help other authors by sharing my hard-learned wisdom or do I want other authors to have to reinvent the wheel as I may have had to do?

If you do have the determination, like to engage, and want to help other authors, then you are at the starting gate for creating a healthy online marketing strategy for your book.

But to ensure that your strategy stays healthy, you need to be able to truly manage realistic expectations. And here’s the most important expectation to get a handle on:

You may spend months effectively participating on social media sites by engaging with your fans and potential fans while sharing information with other authors and still NOT SELL A SINGLE BOOK.

Now that you have picked yourself up off the floor from the shock of this last statement, let's look at this more specifically:

Why did you write your book?

If you wrote the book to help build credibility for your coaching business, your goal may not be to sell books but to get known as the author of this book. In this scenario, you can do very well using effective social media marketing even if you don't sell a single copy of your book.

Perhaps in this scenario you may want to give your entire book away (or make the entire contents readable online at BookBuzzr.com) in order to attract coaching clients.

If you wrote the book to get attention for a related project, again you may not be that concerned about actual sales. It's the exposure the book brings you that is your primary goal.

In these scenarios the recognition factor is the end goal, and you can realistically expect effective participation on social media sites to help you reach this goal.

But what if you really, really want to sell your book?

First, consider whether you must only sell the book in its entirety in physical form, or can you sell your book in individual chapters as downloadable ebooks from your website?

Nowadays people are inundated with information. Reading a book on a specific topic may seem too much; but reading the one book chapter about which you particularly want to know may seem quite reasonable.

Second, are you going to integrate your online marketing plans with offline plans? Are you going to do live book signings? Sell books at your children's school events and donate a percentage to the school?

While you may have better odds of actually selling books offline than online, what you do online can help encourage book sales. For example, people who already follow you on Twitter may have a stronger allegiance to you at a book signing than people who only came to the signing because free food was advertised.

If the person who follows you on Twitter buys a book at a signing, is that sale the result of your online or offline activity?

In conclusion, if you are willing to invest the time and effort in social media to get out the word about your book by connecting with potential readers and helping other authors, you won't be set up for disappointment if you don't sell any books. You'll have participated in activities that you find worthwhile and enjoyable.

And then there's always the serendipity factor. Someone who saw your book online may tell someone who may tell someone and...

If you're active in social media, an optimistic person, wholeheartedly believe in your book, and take the long view, who can say what might happen that never would have occurred if you had only remained in the offline marketing arena?

-------

Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, is the co-founder of the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic, and has a company blog at www.MillerMosaicSocialMediaMarketing.com



On Tuesday (March 29) Phyllis and co-founder Yael K. Miller (@MillerMosaicLLC on Twitter) are launching a three-part social media webinar series on LinkedIn, Facebook Pages and Twitter. For fans of Tony Eldridge there’s a special 33% off discount – the webinar series is $50 instead of $75. Use the coupon TONY when you access the shopping cart link through www.millermosaicllc.com/3-part-series



 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Resource Of The Week: Incometech- Truly Royalty-Free Music

This week's Resource Of The Week is truly a gift to those of us who need access to music for our projects. Whether you are creating a book trailer or videos for your blog/site, Incometech is one of those site's that will have you drooling over what is available.

Incometech is the creation of Kevin MacLeod, a very talented and generous music composer. Here are the bullets for why I think you should bookmark this site now:

• When Kevin says his music is free to use, that's what he means. He only asks for attribution, rightly so. Check out his FAQs for yourself.
  
  
• He is talented- very talented; and he creates all the music on his site himself. Check out this sample I downloaded from his site: Clenched Teeth, Action category
  
  
  
  
• His library of music is vast, but well organized.
  
  
• You can search by "Genre" and by "Feel" (Click on the screenshot in the pic to see his simple search engine interface.
  
  
• While he is very generous with his talent, he does accept donations on his site. All he asks for is $5 and you will get what others might charge hundreds of dollars for. And the donations are voluntary.
  
  
• Yes, he takes requests! In the unlikely event that you can't find the perfect score for your project, Kevin does have a service where he will write the piece you are looking for. Of course, this is a premium service, but it's nice to have this option.
  

If you're looking for music, or think you will ever need to, then check out Incometech and look around. I bet you'll thank me for introducing Kevin and his site to you.

Oh, and one other thing... for the record, I don't know Kevin, nor am I an affiliate of his. I'm just a fan who is blown away by his talent and generosity, a fan who wants to share this resource with you.

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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Marketing Tips Around The Net: March 25th

It's Friday and that means it's time for another trip around the net with a list of book marketing posts that have caught my eye. This week, there were so many great ones, that I added more than normal. If you're looking for industry news, tutorials, colorful commentary or awesome tools, I'm confident you'll find what you're looking for in today's post. So sit back with your favorite beverage and enjoy!

*Before we get started, I have one quick announcement* There is one week left before I close the call for sponsors for my spring 2011 Twitter contest. The last day for you to let me know if you want to participate is Thursday, March 31st. If you have a book, product or service that can help an author market his or her book, then I invite you to check out the call for sponsors post. You must let me know via the form on the page if you are interested in being a sponsor. For everyone else, the exciting news is that our spring contest is just a few weeks away! More details coming soon.

Now, on to our trip around the net...


1. 10 Reasons Why Authors Love Ebooks- Joanna Penn starts us off with 10 reasons why authors love e-books.

2. Bestselling Author Turns Down $500K Deal to Self-Publish- Jane Friedman highlights a conversation between JA Konrath and Barry Eisler, after Barry turned down a $500K deal from St. Martin's to self-publish his next book.

3. Why would JA Konrath recommend spam for ebook marketing?- Steven Lewis gives great advice on making sure your e-book marketing is not spam.

4. Book Marketing: Your Online Press Kit- Joel Friedlander gives you all you need to know about creating an online press kit.

5. How I Shot to the Top of Google with Keywords in the News- MaAnna Stephenson discusses how keywords in her blog post title affected the traffic to her blog.

6. Create Custom Facebook Content with iFrames- Dana Lynn Smith will show you how you can do a lot more with your content on Facebook by using iFrames.

7. How NOT to Write A Query Letter: Comparing Your Book to a Mega Bestseller- Penny Sansevieri invites Jeff Rivera to share why this tip is a big mistake and how you can still tie in your book with a best-selling author.

8. Consistently Adding Original Content to Your Website Can Pay Off- Phyllis Zimbler Miller discusses why it is so important for you to consistently add new content to your website.

9. Another Take on Where Ebooks Are Headed- Walt Shiel enters the discussion on the future of e-books.

10. Blog Tours Part 1: A Primer for Authors- The team of DuoLit gives you a great road map to help you plan your next blog tour.

11. 5 Things You Need To Be Prepared For When Starting A Blog- Daniel Scocco invites Mark Riddix to give a reality check to new bloggers who want to be in it for the long haul.

12. 200+ Free Book Marketing and Author Tools! Shelley Hitz shares an amazing list of author tools just free for the taking.

13. 4 ways to turn your mobile phone into an e-reader- Piotr Kowalczyk shows you how you can turn your phone into an e-reader (Which the Kindle version of my book, The Samson Effect, would read great on :) )

14. Tim Ferriss: "Book titles are just about getting people's attention"- Just how important are titles to books? Roger C. Parker takes another look at best selling author, Tim Ferriss, to find out.

15. Book Promotion Without Getting Out from Behind Your Computer- Carolyn Howard-Johnson shows how even the most shy writers can become a social butterfly by using Facebook.

16. E-Books, Downloadable Audio Books Continue Growth Based on AAP Publishers January 2011 Sales Report- If you're into industry statistics, then you'll love this report summary on Publetariat. It talks about the huge growth of e-book sales.

17. The Better Blogging Formula: Think, Do, Write- Darren Rowse invites Tyler Tervooren to share his formula for a successful blog.

18. Does Your Ebook Need Its Own ISBN?- BookBuzzr invites Sue Collier to discuss whether your e-book needs its own ISBN number. And while you're there, check out my guest post that just came out today on BookBuzzr, 5 Tips On Setting E-Books Prices.


That's it for this week's trip around the net. I'll look forward to seeing you bright and early on Monday with a new post from a returning guest, Phyllis Zimbler Miller.



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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

The New Method of Marketing: Having Conversations By Jody Hedlund

I'm thrilled to introduce you to our guest author today. Jody Hedlund is the award winning author of The Preacher's Bride and the upcoming novel, The Doctor's Lady. She is also the creator of a blog where she chronicles her journey to publication and gives advice on the craft and business of writing. In today's post, Jody will discuss the heart of what social networking is all about: Having great conversations with our readers.

Before we get to Jody's post, I have one quick announcement. The workshop Marketing Your Book And You, that was scheduled for this Saturday, March 26th in Richardson, TX, has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 30th. I will give the link to the new registration page on the Writer's Guild Of Texas site when the information for the new date is updated.

Now, on to Jody's post...


The New Method of Marketing: Having Conversations
By Jody Hedlund


Social media is defined as "people having conversations online."

Conversations.

As writers, if we're using social media as a marketing tool, then it stands to reason we need to join in having online conversations.

However, in my experience, I see too many authors who are online having monologues rather than dialogues. They're promoting themselves and their books with the old, antiquated marketing method of SHOW & TELL. And what they're finding out is that no one is LOOKING or LISTENING.

No one really cares about an author who tosses out posts and tweets that showcase them and their books. In fact, many (myself included) find it downright annoying when authors only use social media sites as billboards for their latest news. That's not to say we can't ever talk about our books, but too many authors make it their main focus.

If authors hope to have success with online marketing, then we have to abandon the old marketing mind-set of having a monologue. And we have to embrace the new method of having dialogues.

Conversations.

One of my blog readers recently said: "One of the reasons I bought your book was because... you respond to your readers through your blog and Facebook, which makes you seem more real, down-to- earth, and genuine, and I like that. It makes me want to get to know you and the type of stories you write."

Yes, readers want to connect with us in real, down-to-earth, genuine ways. In order to make those kinds of online connections, we need to ask ourselves 2 questions:

1. What are some specific ways we can engage with our readers?
   
   Listen: Pay attention to what they're saying on our blogs, Facebook, and twitter. Make sure we answer personal emails and messages. Try to respond to questions left within the comments of blog posts. Thank people who review our books on their blogs. Answer handwritten notes from readers with cards of our own.
   
   Participate: Don't stand on the sidelines. Instead jump into social media conversations. Ask questions on Facebook or Twitter. Find out what people think or how they feel about issues. End blog posts with questions that will entice readers to want to respond. And then once the conversation is going, join in from time to time.
   
   
2. How can we get readers talking about us and our books with each other?
   
   Give them a quality product: First, we have to give them something to talk about. As writers, that means we have to write a book worthy of promotion. Take the time to study writing techniques. Learn all we can. Then practice what we're learning. Like any other profession, developing our writing skills takes times and effort. There are no short-cuts to success.
   
   Offer resources that can facilitate conversations: Provide free discussion questions about our books and have them readily available. Make sure we have "reader" pages on our websites, a place devoted to them, where they can find fun links or games. Invite them to share pictures of themselves and post them on our websites. Offer to Skype with book groups.
   

My Summary: There are a thousand different creative ways we can use social media to market by having dialogues rather than monologues. Ultimately, we need to throw off the old ways of thinking about marketing online and we need to embrace the new.

It's all about conversations.  

Questions For You: Which authors are more appealing to you—the ones using social media as a billboard or the authors who use social media to relate? Which do you think is more effective? What other creative ideas do you have for engaging in conversations with readers?

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Jody Hedlund is a historical romance novelist who was a double finalist in the 2009 ACFW Genesis Contest. She received a bachelor's degree from Taylor University and a master's from the University of Wisconsin, both in Social Work. Currently she makes her home in Midland, Michigan, with her husband and five busy children.

She's represented by agent Rachelle Gardner and her debut book, The Preacher's Bride, released in Oct. 2010 and is available online and in most bookstores. Stop by her blog, Author, Jody Hedlund, where she chronicles her journey to publication and dispenses more of her two-cent writing wisdom. You can connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.



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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Establishing An Author Presence on Social Networking Sites

If you've been online long, you've heard a chorus of experts say how important it is to create an online presence. When you start, you'll see that it's easy to set up many individual sites, but it takes a little more work to tie these sites together into a single unit that works as one. If you don't do this, then you will create an online presence that is hard to manage.

Some authors choose to have a social networking site as their "hub". This, however, is not my preferred method. I'd recommend that your social networking sites be the spokes that feed into your main blog or website. For more on this concept, read a post that I wrote for BookBuzzr called, Creating A Marketing Hub.

Social networking sites ebb and flow with popularity, so what we discuss now may not be the same thing we might discuss tomorrow. That said, let's look at a few sites that authors should consider joining as well as some general principles to keep in mind as we interact with others on these sites.

Tony's List Of Top Social Networking Sites For Authors (And Why)

• Twitter.com
• Facebook.com
• Goodreads.com
• Shelfari.com
• AuthorCentral.Amazon.com
• AuthorsDen.com
• For a more exhaustive list, check out http://www.squidoo.com/socialnetworkingforwriters

Twitter and Facebook round out my top two recommendations by far. This is where people are right now and if you learn to use these two sites effectively, you can find a lot of readers for your book.

GoodReads and Shelfari are two sites devoted to books. They are reader driven sites that give authors a great platform to interact with readers.

Author Central is Amazon's site where authors can build out more information for people who are browsing for books. Why wouldn't you carve out your spot on the biggest book-buying place on the planet?

Author's Den is an author driven site where you can network with other authors as well as find readers for your book.

I'll admit that there are other great sites for authors to join. Many of these are niche sites that will be perfect for the book you wrote. For example, if you wrote a gardening book, then it makes sense for you to look for social networking sites devoted to gardening.

Once you decide to create a social networking presence, here are some things to remember:

• These sites are created to build relationships, not to advertise on. Don't spam your readers or you will be shunned.
• These sites can help you build a reputation as an expert in your field. Find ways to enter the conversations on them.
• Keep it professional. While sharing some personal news can help you connect with your followers, too much will turn people off.
• Give more value than you ask for and people will listen to what you have to say.
• Don't get ugly. While some people love to watch a fight, most are turned off by rude bickering. A "troll" is someone who gets his or her kicks from publicly fighting. Don't fall into their trap by taking their bait.
• For more great ideas on this topic, read
• Dana Lynn Smith's post on my blog called, The 7 Deadly Sins of Online Networking
• Joanna Penn's post called, Social Networking and Web 2.0 sites for Writers and Authors
• John Kremer's list of Social Networking Websites.

I also recommend that you choose one or two social networking sites to start off with. A mistake many authors make is by trying to do too much too quickly and getting overwhelmed. If you want more than an online billboard, then you'll need to spend a little time developing your presence on these sites. Add more once you can handle the few you start off with.

Here are some other posts that will help you with your social networking activities:

• You Have A New Twitter Account With No Followers: Now What?
• Tips For Using Twitter by Penny Sansevieri
• Twitter Lists: A Power Tool for Authors by Freya
• Top Ten Ways Authors Can Use Twitter by Dana Lynn Smith
• Optimize Your Twitter Profile to Attract Fans for Your Book By Phyllis Zimbler Miller
• BookBuzzr: How to Market Your Book on Facebook, MySpace and Other Social Networks
• Facebook Fundamentals for Authors- 10 articles compiled by BookBuzzr on Facebook marketing, including one from myself.

I hope this post helps you get started on the social networking part of your book marketing plan. There are a lot of resources out there to help. What I've shared barely scratches the surface. With a little planning, a little research, and taking things one step at a time, you can build an online presence with social networking sites that definitely bring value to you, your books, and to all the people you connect with.


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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Create and Sell an Audio Book Using These 5 Simple Steps By Shelley Hitz

Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to our guest today, Shelley Hitz. Shelley is the creator of www.Self-Publishing-Coach.com and the author of 5 books and many audio CDs. In fact, Shelley will be sharing her experiences by walking us through the 5 steps of creating your own audio book CD. If you have ever entertained the idea of creating an audio book of your own title, you don't want to miss the great tips in this post.



Create and Sell an Audio Book Using These 5 Simple Steps
By Shelley Hitz

Once you finish your first book, there is a huge sense of accomplishment. Wow... it's really done. I'll never forget the feeling of holding my first proof copy in my hands. My idea had finally become a reality!

However, these days, authors publish their books in many various formats: print, electronic and audio.


Create an Audio Book and Diversify Your Income

Have you thought about creating an audio version of your book? Some people prefer listening to books rather than reading them. Therefore, you may be missing out on additional profits from your book by not offering an audio version.

After I published my first book, "Mirror Mirror...Am I Beautiful?" I decided to create additional formats, including an audio book. Today, I'm going to share with you the five steps I took to publishing my first audio book.


Five Steps to Publishing Your Audio Book

Step #1: Decide who will record your audio book.

You can do it yourself or you can hire someone to do it for you. Personally, I decided to do it myself. It's more personal and allows your readers to connect with your voice and personality. Plus, it can be very expensive to hire someone.

Step #2: Gather your equipment - audio software and a microphone.

I used the free audio recording and editing software called, Audacity. You can download it for free here. It truly is amazing what you can do with this software.

I also used a Plantronics headset which cost me between $30-40. It works well for me and gets the job done.

However, I will eventually upgrade to a higher quality microphone like the Blue Yeti USB Microphone. If you have the money to pay $99-150 for the Blue Yeti USB microphone, it will be worth it to go ahead and make the investment now. You can use it for your audio book, podcasts and much more.

Listen to a sample of my audio book recorded on Audacity with a Plantronics headset:

Step #3: Record your audio files.

I found a quiet space, configured my microphone, pressed record on Audacity and started reading. Pretty simple. You can view a short tutorial I recorded for you below:



(or you can link to this page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_EN_ICNKsE)


Step #4: Decide how to sell your audio book.

I recently interviewed Tim Hampton who has had success selling his audio books on CDBaby.com. I personally haven't used CD Baby, but it looks easy to use and get started right away selling both MP3's and CD's. They also get you on iTunes, Amazon MP3 and other channels.

Personally, I used Clickbank to sell my MP3 downloads and Kunaki to sell my CD's. With Kunaki, you can order copies of your CD for as little as $1 + shipping to sell in person. I take both my books and the audio book CD's to my speaking events and this was the cheapest I could find to order CD's to sell.

Step #5: Start selling your audio book!

I sell my book from my website and although I'm not getting rich selling the audio book, I am selling enough to make the investment of my time worth it.

You can see my sales page here.


That's it! Now, it's time for you to go and record yours!




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Shelley Hitz is an entrepreneur, speaker, author and consultant to organizations, individuals and businesses who want to multiply their impact through self publishing. She teaches from personal experience. Over a two year span, while working full-time, she self published five books, multiple audio CDs, authored two websites that attract thousands of visitors each month, and created multiple products that she sells through her website and at her speaking engagements.

www.Self-Publishing-Coach.com also offers a monthly newsletter, tele-classes, special reports, e-books, webinars, podcasts, videos as well as book marketing resources to help individuals, small organizations, and businesses achieve their goals and multiply their impact through self publishing.


 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Would Jesus Write An E-Book?

Being the Son of God is a pretty demanding job, I suppose. But Jesus did it in spectacular fashion, especially when it came to publishing a best seller.

A perennial best seller.

This made me stop and think to myself, "What would it have been like if Jesus had lived during the age of e-books?"

Now, before you get the comment fingers gearing up, let me say that this is not a post on religion. This is not a post on theological truths. This is simply a post on how modern communications have changed since the BC/AD switchover some 2000 years ago and wondering how our new technology may have changed the final output and popularity of the Holy Bible.

I admit that an all-powerful, all-knowing being can make any of his plans work with any technology, so let's remove that from the mix and look at the Bible as a very good book written by a very good man. So, supernatural elements removed, what would happen had Jesus wrote the Bible as an e-book today?

Here are some intriguing thoughts...


It took centuries for all the books of the Bible to come together, and as far as we know, the historical Jesus didn't actually pen anything himself. Perhaps, he would have occupied the role of an editor today, taking submissions and reaching out to authors to collaborate on this project.

Perhaps he would have set up a Google Docs account or a BaseCamp account to help him manage the project and the timeline for publication. I supposed he could have shaved off a few centuries that it took for the original one to complete. 

While the original Bible was written by individuals, many of whom never spoke to each other, the 21st century Jesus could have set up online video conferences to bring everyone together. Certainly, that could have streamlined things, right?

Of course, market research would have stressed how important the cover on his final book would be. I don't recall what the original cover looked like on the single best-selling book of all time, but if it had been produced in the 21st century, you know it would be cool... and colorful. And not too much text.

About 40 men wrote the original Bible. Back then, I suppose they could have written it in a way that was truly unique as each piece was released. I wonder, if they had worked on the Bible today, would they be able to keep from having any of it leaked to the press prematurely? I mean, probably both St. Paul and St. Mark would have their own blogs. How easy would it have been for them to let a little of the work slip out to their readers? And with Julian Assange lurking, the whole project could easily have been leaked way before it was in the final draft.

One thing that made the original so powerful was that it traveled across the world and was translated into everyone's native tongue, even when some powerful men tried to prevent that from happening. Of course, the 21st century Jesus would have had Google Translate to help automate the process. And with the Internet, his 21st century version could be available on Amazon.com for immediate download almost instantly. No ships, no horses, no chariots. The woman at the well could get her copy instantly on her Kindle and for only $2.99. And yes, our modern technology could still make his words available in red.

Now, there's one thing that the 21st century Jesus would have to deal with that the original did not. Yep, Amazon ratings and reviews. Of course, the original Holy Bible didn't always get rave reviews, so maybe modern technology wouldn't help or hurt that one way or the other.

Finally, the 21st century Jesus would have to decide whether to pursue the traditional publishing route or the self-publishing route. Granted, the traditional route carries with it some prestige, but it all depends on timing. Will books on founding a new religion be hot when the 21st century Jesus is ready to publish? At over a thousand pages, will it be too much of a risk for a publisher to take on? Will an agent even show an interest in it?

With a lot going against it already, I bet the 21st Jesus would have to opt for the self-publishing route, especially if he wanted to get it to market quickly. But then, e-books can overcome a lot of the perceived problems for the 21st century project. And even at a thousand plus pages, the low overhead of publishing an e-book can make a 40 way royalty split doable.

I suppose writing a Holy Bible today would still be a lot of work. Who knows if it would have reached the same success as the original one? Who knows how blogging, reviews, and technology would have impacted its success?

Maybe I've been looking at this all wrong. Maybe it's not the technology that makes a book sell or not  sell. Maybe it's not the cover or the distribution. Maybe what makes a book sell today is the same thing that made the Holy Bible a perennial best seller.

Fans. Raving fans. People who love the book so much, they can't wait to share it with someone else.

I suppose that all the technologies, the cover design, and the distribution are important, even key, considerations in the success of any book. But as we consider those things, let's not forget the most important one of all: writing a great book. Writing a book that leaves an impression on our readers, a book that brings value to them. Spending time with our craft to know what is good writing.

So, would Jesus write an e-book? I suppose he has, just 2000 years after the first edition. In fact, I read it on my Android every week.




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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Marketing Tips Around The Net: March 20th

No, it's not Friday, but it's still time to go around the net to see book marketing posts that have caught my eye last week. Grab your favorite beverage and settle into some great reading.

Before we get into today's reading, here are a couple of quick announcements.

1. Thanks to everyone who has purchased the Kindle version of The Samson Effect. You are quickly making this Kindle edition the best selling edition of the book that New York Times best selling author calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure."

2. Kat Smith and I will be will be in Richardson, TX. on Saturday, March 26th from 9 am to 1 pm to conduct a workshop entitled, "How To Market Your Book And You." You can register at the Writer's Guild of Texas site. You can also read Kat's guest post this week titled, 20 Tips For Performing Best Selling Interviews.


Now, on to our trip around the net...

1. 30 Ways to Help a Book Author You Love- John Kremer starts us off with a wonderful list of how readers can help promote and market their favorite author.

2. 4 Key Categories of Self-Publishing- Jane Friedman gives a great post on the ever-changing landscape of the self-publishing industry. If publishing your book is confusing confusing, this is a must-read.

3. Four iPhone apps for writers- Steven Lewis shares 4 tools that writers will find useful if they own an iPhone.

4. Book Launch Media Kit—Using Your Testimonials- Joel Friedlander discusses how you can use testimonials in your media kit.

5. Baby Boomers Can Learn Social Media Starting With LinkedIn- Phyllis Zimbler Miller explains how Linked-In might be the the social networking site to help people who are procrastinating when it comes to getting connected online take the first step.

6. Super Simple Online Promotion- Penny Sansevieri has a great post to give authors the "bottom line basics" of how to get started marketing their book.

7. Book Marketing: Understand Amazon Kindle Before You Go- Joanna Penn invites Steven Lewis to discuss Kindle's newest feature called, Before You Go.

8. Use Twitter Replies the Right Way- Dana Lynn Smith gives a great explanation on using Twitter replies. I make a cameo in this piece, so make sure you check it out :)

9. Go 3 Steps beyond Marketing for Online Success- MaAnna Stephenson gives some great marketing advice that I have been an evangelist of for years.

10. Advice from Tim Ferriss on choosing the right book title- Roger C. Parker discusses the importance of spending time choosing a great book title by looking at Tim Ferriss's advice.

That's it for this week's trip around the net. I hope you have a fabulous weekend. I look forward to seeing you on Monday for more Marketing Tips For Authors.


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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Resource Of The Week: Prezi

Today, I want to introduce you to an alternative presentation tool for PowerPoint called Prezi.

Prezi allows you to build a presentation that uses an alternative concept to traditional PowerPoint slides. Your presentation is placed on an infinite canvas and then you connect the elements in a non-linear presentation. This allows you to do some things that PowerPoint cannot do.

Whew, it's pretty tough to explain, but they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the official 69 second presentation for Prezi. When you open your Prezi account, you'll have the option to have a free account or upgrade to paid services for more storage and features. You can even download your finished Prezi from the free account so you can use it offline on your Windows or Mac computer.

Enjoy the video!

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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Friday's Round Up Moved To Sunday

Just a quick note to let you know that my Friday Tips Around The Net will come out this Sunday. Today is my 11th wedding anniversary and I am giving my wife my undivided attention and making good on some past-due honey-do list items.

But I do want to make a couple of quick announcements...

1. Thanks to everyone who has purchased the Kindle version of The Samson Effect. You are quickly making this Kindle edition the best selling edition of the book that New York Times best selling author calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure."

2. Kat Smith and I will be will be in Richardson, TX. on Saturday, March 26th from 9 am to 1 pm to conduct a workshop entitled, "How To Market Your Book And You." You can register at the Writer's Guild of Texas site. You can also read Kat's guest post this week titled, 20 Tips For Performing Best Selling Interviews.

Happy 11th wedding anniversary to my beautiful wife, Emily.


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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Online Networking by Dana Lynn Smith

It's my pleasure to welcome back a returning guest to Marketing Tips For Authors, Dana Lynn Smith. Dana is a talented author and book marketer with a diverse and deep knowledge base when it comes to helping authors market their books. Today, she is going to discuss the 7 Deadly Sins of Online Networking.

For more great posts from our guest today, make sure you enter her name in the search bar at the top of blog and then visit her site, www.TheSavvyBookMarketer.com. Dana has also agreed to be a sponsor for my contest this spring, but more on that and her awesome prizes that she's donating in a couple of weeks.

Now, on to Dana's post...


The 7 Deadly Sins of Online Networking
by Dana Lynn Smith

Online networking is a wonderful way to meet people who share your interests, develop relationships with peers and potential customers, and ultimately increase book sales.

But there's sometimes a fine line between letting your contacts know about your book and being overly promotional. If you're too passive, you may not get much benefit from networking, but if you're too aggressive you may turn people off.

Here are seven common mistakes that authors make in online networking, along with tips on how to avoid them:

1. No book information or website links on social network profiles.

I'm amazed at how many authors don't even mention their books on their social profiles, or make it easy for people to find information about the book.

On your Facebook profile and fan page, include information about your book and a link to your book sales page and websites on the Info section. See this article for tips.

On Twitter, be sure to mention your book in the description on your profile page. You only have 160 characters to work with, so if you have several books you could say something like "author of four romantic suspense novels."

On LinkedIn, take full advantage of the "title" field. This space is designed for job titles, but you can use it to showcase your expertise and status as an author. For example: "Parenting expert and author of "Raising Happy Kids in a Crazy World." Your title will appear along with your photo any place that you interact on LinkedIn. Be sure to include a link to your book's sales page and your website in the web links section of your profile.

See this article for tips on choosing the best photo to use on your social networks.

2. Not mentioning your book in your status updates.

It's fine to talk about your book in the status updates that you post on social networks, as long as that's not your main focus and you're not too pushy. Be sure to intersperse your book messages with other types of messages (personal notes, tips, links to helpful resources, thoughts on a new book you just read, etc.)

I recommend that no more than 10% to 20% of your status updates be promotional or self-serving. No one wants to read a constant stream of "buy my book" messages.

One way to talk about your book without seeming too promotional is to discuss your marketing activities. Here are some examples:

• I just received the preliminary cover designs for my new book – what do you think of these?
  
  
• Today I'm contacting bookstores about setting up signings for my new novel, BOOKTITLE. It's available at www.booktitle.com.
  
  
• I'm so excited! Just received word that my book, BOOKTITLE, has received an award . . .
  
  
• I just scheduled a radio interview on KWTX to discuss tips from my book, BOOKTITLE. www.booktitle.com
  
  
• Today I launched the redesign of my website for BOOKTITLE – what do you think? www.booktitle.com
  

And you can always mention events and special promotions:

• If you're in the Seattle area, please join me at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday at . . . for a free presentation based on my book, BOOKTITLE. www.booktitle.com
  
  
• The Kindle version of BOOKTITLE has just been released! You can find it at www.booktitle.com. If you don't have a Kindle, remember you can download the Kindle app and read ebooks right from your computer.
  
  
• Monday Madness Sale! Spread the word -- today only, all of my parenting books are on sale for 30% off. Go to www.booktitle.com to order.
  

3. Sending blank friend requests on social networks.

More than 90% of the network friend requests that I receive have no introduction at all, and most of the others have generic notes like "let's be friends." The trouble is, I don't know who most of these people are.

Don't make this mistake when you send friend invitations. Be sure to introduce yourself—tell the other person who you are and why you want to connect. What interests do you share in common? If you know something specific about the person, say so. On Facebook and many other networks, you can click the "add a personal message" button in the "add as a friend" box, and type in a personalized greeting.

4. Posting promotional messages on other people's profiles or pages.

It's just bad manners to post promotional messages on other people's social network profiles or pages, especially those of your competitors. I delete any such posts from my own pages.

You usually have more leeway in posting messages on group pages. You can get a feel for the group's etiquette by observing that others are doing, but usually it's acceptable to make a wall post introducing yourself and your book, and also to share good news or resources with the group occasionally (see #2 above for ideas).

On my Savvy Book Marketing group on Facebook, I encourage authors to introduce themselves and their books (and post their book covers), but I don't allow repeated blatant promotional messages.  

5. Getting too personal.

It's great to tell your online friends something about your interests, but if you're using social networks for business, you probably shouldn't be discussing your health issues, your mother-in-law, or your kid's problems. (Too much information!) It's also a good idea to be cautious about posting things like the dates you are gone on vacation.

If you actively use your Facebook profile to network with family and friends, you might want to reserve your profile for personal use and use your fan page for business.  

6. Sending sales pitches to new people that you meet.

It's nice to do a wall post or send a message to new friends with a greeting (great to meet you, have a wonderful day), a compliment (your website is really terrific) or a note about something that you have in common. You can even invite them to visit your website, if you're subtle about it and include other things in the message. Just be careful that your message doesn't come across as a sales pitch – that's not the way to make a good impression on a new contact.  

7. Abusing direct messages.

Many social networks let you send messages to your contacts or members of groups that you belong to. Unfortunately, some people abuse this feature.

On Facebook, the use of direct messages to send promotional pitches has become so prevalent that many people simply tune out their messages. On LinkedIn, someone in a group that I belong to sent me several sales pitches for her products by direct message. I've never heard of this woman and she's not on my list of connections.

If you use direct messages, do so sparingly and be cautious about annoying people – remember that they can "unfriend" you if they get tired of hearing from you. One way to use direct messages is to send a newsletter type of message that contains some helpful tips or resources, along with a link to your book at the end. You can also use direct messages occasionally to announce "news" such as your book launch.  

Remember the golden rule of networking: treat others as you would like to be treated.  

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Want to learn more about promoting through social networks? Check out The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing by Dana Lynn Smith. For more tips, follow @BookMarketer on Twitter, visit Dana's blog at www.TheSavvyBookMarketer.com, and get a copy of the Top Book Marketing Tips ebook when you sign up for her free newsletter at www.BookMarketingNewsletter.com.





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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.