How to Create a Results-Driven Author Website
Posted on September 28, 2007
Anyone and everyone has a website these days, but how many of them are actually serving the artist’s platform? A comprehensive look at this topic is beyond the scope of this book; however, you need to at least be aware of the purpose of your website in the first place. Here are a few probable results you’re after:
- Sell more books
- Communicate with more people (i.e., build your mailing list)
- Facilitate more media opportunities
- Generate more speaking engagements
Be sure that your website is serving your objectives. Here are six great ways to drive traffic to your website (each strategy is covered in detail within this e-book):
- Email Marketing
- Article Submissions
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Pay-per-click Advertising (PPC)
- Strategic Alliances
- Affiliate Marketing
We worked with a web development company called Project83 to create the Best-Selling Author website. They have experience working with successful authors and are among the very best in this field.
This post is an excerpt from the FREE Become a Best-Selling Author eBook, 60 Effective Strategies for Selling More Books. Download it here.
Become a Magazine or Newspaper Columnist
Posted on September 26, 2007
A column gives you a continuous platform for communicating with your target audience (and the “about” section at the bottom of your column will promote your book). Sure, this is no easy feat. Or is it?
If you’re a business writer, getting a column in Fast Company magazine may be difficult, but you may be able to find a local or regional publication that would be honored to have your contribution. Start by building a relationship with the publication editor. Submit a few article queries to him. Do some research to help determine a great column topic that will serve the publication (which, it just so happens, you can write). Then pitch your idea.
Become a Reporter: Considering the above strategy, let’s say there isn’t enough compelling information to write about on an ongoing basis (even though you’ve written a book on your subject ☺). Interviewing other authors, experts and industry leaders is a terrific way to develop new content, discover unique insights, and perhaps more importantly, gain access to people who may have been unreachable before. Moreover, it may be easier for you to sell a magazine editor on an article about a higher-profile author/expert than to pitch yourself.
For more information check out Matthew Ricketson’s book, Writing Feature Stories.
This post is an excerpt from the FREE Become a Best-Selling Author eBook, 60 Effective Strategies for Selling More Books. Download it here.
Posted in Writing
Submitting Articles for Publication
Posted on September 21, 2007
Published articles are a terrific way to build your platform. They can introduce a large number of people to your work, directing the readership to you via a contact line at the end of the article. The process for getting an article published is similar to getting a book published (but less involved).
You’ll need to craft a compelling query letter (comparable to your book proposal) targeted to specific magazine editors. Most magazines have different formats for article submissions. These guidelines are generally found on their websites.
Tips on writing an article that makes it to press:
- Be concise and descriptive.
- Create titles that will grab the reader’s attention.
- Explore the unexplored—make your article as fresh and unique as you can.
- Work to create relationships with magazine editors in your market. Find out what they need/want and do your best to serve them.
Marcia Yudkin has a number of useful articles and resources for getting started: www.yudkin.com/publish.htm
This post is an excerpt from the FREE Become a Best-Selling Author eBook, 60 Effective Strategies for Selling More Books. Download it here.
Posted in Writing
How to Draft a Marketing Plan
Posted on September 19, 2007
Let’s start at the very beginning. Before you begin haphazardly trying to sell your book a million different ways, it’s wise to invest some time and thought into cultivating a plan.
There’s a good chance that all the strategies you’ll need for marketing your book are—in one way or another—contained within this e-book. So what do you need to do first? Research. Here are a few of the distinctions you need to make:
- Clearly identify your target market and your secondary market. Who is most likely to buy your book?
- Determine where to find them. What publications do they subscribe to? What networking events do they attend? What websites do they frequent?
- Identify the competition. It’s helpful to know what else is out there, and there’s a good chance, especially if your book is published, that you’ve already scoped out the competition. But dig a little deeper and do a little more research and reconnaissance: What are the best-selling books in your genre? Who are the top experts? What are their websites? (Find the related websites; read their copy and bookmark them.)
- Craft your positioning statement. Your positioning statement is usually a single sentence that clearly states what you do, who you serve, and how you’re different. [If you’re interested in reading more about positioning, you can start with Al Ries and Jack Trout’s classic, Positioning (McGraw-Hill, 2000).]
- Develop your strategy. From the above, compile a detailed list of all appropriate mediums to target, including magazines, newspapers, websites, experts, conferences, events, etc.
This process should lead you to important distinctions on how to most effectively position your book with your target audience:
- What needs do they have?
- Why will they buy your book and other services?
- What makes you and your book different or unique?
- What solutions are you proposing?
- What’s the best way to package your pitch?
- What’s the best “voice” to communicate with?
It’s not necessary for you to view other experts in your field as enemies or even competitors. Instead, consider them as colleagues and potential allies. The purpose of uncovering your positioning statement is merely to highlight your book’s uniqueness in a crowded marketplace.
Next, what’s your budget? There’s no need to get too precise here, but you need a general idea of what things are going to cost so you can prioritize what needs to be done and when. Here are some of the expenses involved in building your platform:
- Website (and all related technologies)
- Media kit (www.inkrockit.com)
- Speaker’s kit
- Manufacturing new product
- Other promotional material
- Packing supplies and shipping expenses
- Business cards and letterhead (www.overnightprints.com and www.vistaprint.com)
Finally, determine your “launch” strategy. (What are the top five strategies you’re going to focus on over the next ninety days?) Then go at it with voracity!
This post is an excerpt from the FREE Become a Best-Selling Author eBook, 60 Effective Strategies for Selling More Books. Download it here.
Posted in Marketing
Book Marketing Basics
Posted on September 14, 2007
Writers need to be marketers. No one really tells us that in the beginning. The glamour of being a published author and the seduction of an unstructured career from home (after all, aren’t most writers introverted?) overshadow the fact that we must become masters at selling our work. In fact, I’d speculate that if most aspiring writers realized how much work was involved in getting published and marketing their work, the multitudes of would-be writers would be whittled down to a brave few.
Who would have known that as authors, we’d have to take on so many different roles: article writer, newsletter editor, discussion board moderator, online content publisher, distance learning program developer, teleseminar conductor, webinar coordinator, radio guest, television guest, magazine columnist, public speaker, seminar/workshop leader, consultant, coach, product developer/manufacturer, promoter, conference attendant, Internet radio host, blogger, specialty market seller, seed planter, grassroots marketer, strategic partner, web marketer, etc. Indeed, the responsibilities of a successful author are very diverse.
A plethora of marketing strategies abound that an author can implement to generate additional exposure for his or her book. Some might seem perfect for your platform. Others may not be applicable to your particular situation. Still others may simply not appeal to you.
To complicate matters, it may be difficult to track the effectiveness of strategies you implement. (There are two exceptions to this rule: (1) accessing BookScan, and (2) on the web, savvy Internet marketers can unlock statistics on just about anything. For instance, when you do a radio interview for Clear Channel, you can go to Amazon.com and observe the sales ranking of your book rise.) Trying different strategies — virtually unguaranteed — is the nature of the book business. Publishers fly blind, too. The only metrics they really have is book sales, and as you know or will soon discover, even these numbers can be deceiving.
The Spark
Your efforts to promote and sell your book are, in effect, attempts to spark a flame by hitting two rocks together. And at the heart of your book project are a bundle of TNT explosives. Although these explosives are highly flammable, starting the fire by striking two rocks together is a formidable task. If only you had the proverbial lighter fluid or golden match!
Unfortunately, a secret match does not exist. If it did, there would be more bestsellers on the market. Alas, the secret is in striking the stones together: Send out a new press release. Smack! Do another radio interview. Bam! Get an article published in a major magazine. Crack! Your book lands in the hands of an influential person. Wham! And one day, God willing, your book makes it into the hands of Oprah Winfrey, Regis Philbin, David Letterman, a CNN producer, or the right New York Times reporter and . . . KABOOM, FIRE!!!
“Overnight,” your book becomes a national bestseller, topping all of the lists. Barnes & Noble dedicates an entire table to your book. Your book hits the top five on Amazon.com and stays there. Book clubs order thousands of units. Magazine editors reference it in their articles. Your book is translated into dozens of languages. Publishing offers flood in for your next project. You’re asked to speak at universities and conventions around the country. Bulk orders for your book are placed from different organizations across varying industries. You reach celebrity status as the author of a best-selling book. And it was all from one spark. That one clash of two rocks created media frenzy and launched you into stardom—creating a seemingly overnight success.
But what went into creating that spark? From the outside, the success seemed “overnight” because of a “big break”; the truth is very different. Shows like Behind the Music reveal that most “overnight” success stories are the result of decades of work. The same is true for authors: The path to success is often maniacal, painful, costly and uncertain. Endless hours, tens of thousands (possibly hundreds of thousands) of dollars, and unwavering persistence can still yield dismal results. Sound promising? You’ll often hear people on the “outside” suggest, “You know, you should go on Oprah.” Or they’ll ask, “Why isn’t your book available in Wal-Mart? Or sold in bulk at Costco or Sam’s Club?”
These well-meaning, though not knowing the business people aren’t aware that Oprah has nine producers who field hundreds of thousand of queries annually, or that the decision makers at Wal-Mart are unpublished, inundated, and usually unreachable. But don’t get discouraged. A select few authors do, in fact, serendipitously find their way through the labyrinth of gatekeepers to their “big break.”
Striking a Chord
Certain books simply resonate with a critical mass of people. These are the books publishing houses generally take credit for marketing, even though there really isn’t any “traditional marketing” driving sales. For example, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code (Doubleday, 2003) resonated with readers around the world. Before Brown’s book sold ten million copies, you could find stacks of The Da Vinci Code in major bookstores like Barnes & Noble and wholesale warehouses like Sam’s Club. You couldn’t walk through a café without hearing at least one conversation about the book and its controversial topic.
The National Geographic Channel even did a documentary on the plausibility of Brown’s account. So what was the secret? What was Brown’s powerful marketing strategy? What did Random House do to ensure The Da Vinci Code was the most talked-about book of the year? Frankly, it’s inconsequential. There may have been a catalyst, a trigger that ignited the sales flame, but sales were ultimately driven by buzz: the all-powerful, word-of-mouth marketing that can’t be bought or manufactured.
Write a book worth talking about. It doesn’t have to become an international sensation; it can simply be a book that moves the reader to pass it on to a coworker, friend, or family member.
This post is an excerpt from the FREE Become a Best-Selling Author eBook, 60 Effective Strategies for Selling More Books. Download it here.
Posted in Marketing
