book: พฤศจิกายน 2008

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 30 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2551

Top 10 Tips for Book Titles that Sell Well

A clever title is great if it is clear, but a clear title is always preferable. The best? A clear and clever title. A shorter title is better than a longer one. Your reader will spend only four seconds on the cover. While some long titles have succeeded, usually the shorter, the better.

A title is part of your book's front cover. Busy buyers including bookstore buyers, wholesalers, distributors and your audiences buy mainly because of the cover. Dan Poynter, author of Writing Nonfiction, says, "The package outside sells the product inside." Make your cover sizzle.

Start with a working title before you write your chapters. Include your topic, your subject and use the book's benefits in your sub title if possible. Here's your ten tips for titles that sell:

1. Create impact for your title-check out magizine print and radio ad headlines.

Check out other authors' titles on the bookstore shelves. Your title must compel the reader to buy now. Which title grabs you? Elder Rage or Caregiving for Dad?

2. Include your solution in your title.

Does your title sell your solution? Make sure it answers the question rather than asks one. For instance, Got Minerals?, or Minerals: The Essential Link to Health. Use positive language instead of negative. For instance, Without Minerals You'll Die can be Minerals: The Essential Link to Health.

3. Make it easy for readers to buy.

Readers want a magic pill. They want to follow directions and enjoy the benefits the title promises. For example, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer gives at least 1001 ways for authors and publishers to market their books.

4. Expand your title to other books, products, seminars, and services.

Make sure that your title will work well with the title of your presentations, articles and press releases you'll need to promote the book. Such seminars and teleclasses titled "How to Write and Sell Your Book- Fast!" and "Seven Sure- Fire Ways to Publicize your Business" come under the umbrella "fast book writing, publishing and promoting."

5. Use original expressions--a way of expressing one idea for your book--yours alone.

Sam Horn, author of Tongue F?!, puts her special twist on defusing verbal conflict.

6. Include benefits in your subtitle if your title doesn't have any.

Specific benefits invite sales. For instance, Marilyn and Tom Ross' Jump Start Your Book Sales: A Money-Making Guide for Authors, Independent Publishers and Small Presses.

7. Choose others' book covers in your field as models.

Go to your local bookstore with five-colored felt tips pens and paper. Browse the section your book would be shelved on. Choose five book titles and covers that attract you. Photo copy or sketch those, noting the colors, design, fonts, and sizes of fonts. Add other colors you like. Place the book cover you love near your workstation to inspire you. For the final copy, use professional cover designers if possible.

8. Be outrageous with your book title.

People do judge a book by its title. Your reader will spend only four seconds on the front cover and eight seconds on the back cover. It must be so outstanding and catchy that it compels the reader to either buy on the spot or look further to the back cover. Take a risk. Be a bit crazy, even outlandish.

9. Be your strongest salesperson self.

Choose the strongest words, benefits, and metaphors to move your audience to buy. Titles do sell books.

10. Include your audience in your title. This gives your book a slant.

When your title isn't targeted other famous authors' titles win out. Always make your title clear and make it easy for your audience to recognize they need your book. Your title and front cover is your book's number one sales tool. Short titles are best, say three to six words. John Gray didn't get much attention with his book "What Your Mother Couldn't Tell You and What Your Father Didn't Know." He shortened it to the now famous, "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus."

An outstanding title sells books. Make sure to give this part of your book, the number one essential "Hot-Selling Point," some time and effort.

Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," and "How to Market your Business on the Internet," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says...and Business Tip of the Month at <A target="_new" href="http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml">http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml</a> and over 140 free articles. Email her at <a target="_new" href="mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com">mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com</a>

Top Ten Ways to Promote Your Books Through Flyers

A flyer is an excellent, inexpensive way to promote your book. What makes one flyer so much better than another? Use these top10 tips to make your flyer stand out from the crowd.

1. Include a colored picture of your front cover.

People want to see what your book looks like. Color is great, but not always necessary. Make sure your colored book cover copies well in black and white. If you do use color, make your book cover background white with colored lettering, so you don't go through a $35 ink cartridge too fast.

2. Hook your prospective buyers with the headline in the top line of your flyer just as you do for your back cover.

Here's a few gems: Why Not Publish Yourself? Read About SEX as it Really Is! Imagine Thousands of Readers Buying your Book Next Month! Quadruple your Income in Four Months! Give your audience a reason to buy--Show those benefits.

3. Include some juicy excerpts from your book.

Prospective buyers want to see a sample of your writing, especially if it's fiction. Use an analogy or short story to illustrate your book's main point if non-fiction.

4. Include your picture with a brief biography near it.

People want to see what the author looks like. Place it on the right side of the flyer if possible.

5. Add praise from others.

Testimonials are the most significant way to market your book. The praise doesn't have to be from famous people. Use a man/woman on the street opinion. One client/author added a testimonial from a convict!

6. Put ordering information on a coupon at the flyer's bottom.

Include your book's ISBN number, Web site URL, your email, toll-free number and discount information.

7. Make it easy for your reader to buy.

Offer easy ways to buy: credit cards, checks or money orders. Include your toll-free 800 number. Many prefer a coupon they can fill out and mail or fax.

8. Give your prospective buyers all the ways to stay in touch with you.

Some people will not buy online or use a credit card. While most small business people are ready for these, it's a good idea to include your street address, e-mail, Web Site, local phone and fax number, and 800 number.

9. Carry at least 25 flyers with you in a folder at all times.

Keep them in your car, so that when you pass a place that will post them for you, they are handy. Give one to every person you meet. Remember the "law of seven." After seven exposures, you have a buyer! Flyers are better than a business card because they have more detailed information on them to help the potential buyer make a decision.

10. Use the backside of the flyer.

You really waste this space if you don't put it to use. Multiply buying results with more testimonials on the back. Include a longer excerpt from your book there.

Your flyer is a detailed extension of you and your book, and one of the least expensive ways to market your book through print. Print hundreds, even thousands, so your book buying public can easily purchase your book.

Book Talks: What to Say and How to Say It

Great! The Chamber of Commerce, or a similar group, has asked you to talk about your latest book. Though words are your business, you may terrified of public speaking. What should you say? How should you say it? These tips will help you to give a five-star book talk.

Confirm arrangements. Mistakes happen and you don't want them to happen to you. One or two days before you're slated to speak, confirm the date, time, place, and your audiovisual needs. Toastmaster's International says you should visit the site beforehand. Make sure books will be available if you're autographing after your talk.

Greet the audience. Arrive early and greet audience members as they enter the room or store. This gives you an instant connection with your audience and makes you an approachable person.

Check the audience. According to the Advanced Public Speaking Institute, males and females respond differently to talks. Females laugh more easiily than males and "an all-male audience is more critical to bond [with] . . . especially if you're a famale speaker." Be prepared to make some last minute changes in your talk if you are female.

Say thank you. Audience members have taken the time to come and hear you, so thank them for coming. Your thank you doesn't have to be long, but it does need to be sincere. Thank the person who invited you and other contact people.

Keep your intro short. Eager as they may be to hear you, audience members don't want to listen to a long lead-in, or what a friend of mine calls the "When grandpa headed West in 1935" introduction. (He's very droll.) Get the audience's attention and cut to the chase - the body of your talk.

Make points clear. Speech writers tell their clients to start by "telling them what you're going to tell them." You need to do the same. State the purpose of your talk and summarize your book in one sentence. (This is harder than it sounds.) As you speak you may wish to number your key points.

Cite benefits. Though they may not say it aloud, every audience member is asking, "Why should I buy your book?" You should be able to answer this question quickly and clearly. Refer to your book by title, not "the book" and repeat the title several times.

Tell stories. The audience won't remember statistics, but they will remember stories. Tell stories about being a writer or stories from your book. Keep in mind that story-telling isn't the same as joke-telling. If you're good at telling jokes include them in your talk. Avoid jokes if you can't remember punch lines.

Keep their attention. The Advanced Public Speaking Institute says you should use an "attention gaining device" every two-to-four minutes. These devices include things like movement, showing a prop, distributing handouts, and delivering one-liners. You may also have a Power Point presentation that goes with your book.

Have a strong ending. You want the audience to remember you and your book. So tell a touching story, or ask the audience to take action, or whisper your last line for impact. A change in approach can also be a strong ending. If you're giving a talk about a serious subject, for example, you could close on a humorous note.

Remember, the audience thinks of your book talk as entertainment.

Eddie Albert, the famous Hollywood actor, was a friend of my father-in-law's. I met Eddie several times and he called me once to thank me for a book I'd sent him. During our conversation Eddie said he was giving a talk about conservation that afternoon. The talk was finished, Eddie said, but he was still working on the entertainment aspect. "You have to entertain to educate," he commented. Good advice for us all.

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Her latest book, Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief, written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available on <a target="_new" href="http://www.amazon.com.">http://www.amazon.com.</a> To learn more about her work go to <a target="_new" href="http://www.harriethodgson.com">http://www.harriethodgson.com</a>

Looking to Sell Your Book for a Good Price?

Many self-publishing authors plan on eventually selling their book to a large publisher at a good price. The fast track way to achieve this goal is to push up the market value of a book with a push v. pull strategy. This article shows you how to do exactly that, using a simple Internet strategy that any self-publisher can afford.

PUSH v. PULL EXPLAINED

Books with push like Harry Potter push customers through the doors, and the registers go kachink, kachink. With self- published titles, booksellers must pull customers through the door and that costs money. Put yourself in their shoes. Giving preference to books with built-in push makes sense.

Remember this formula: push stacks chips on your side of the bargaining table and pull sweeps them away. With a transferable Internet presence strategy, you can stack chips to the ceiling just like the big boys do.

WHAT THE BIG BOYS ARE DOING

The push is on with major publishers to build market value for their intellectual properties with the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) system.

A DOI is a permanent Internet address for your book. No matter how many times ownership of a book changes hands, the DOI Internet address is permanently bound to the book, just as tightly as the binding. This is why hundreds of big publishers have registered over 16 million intellectual properties with the DOI system with millions more on the way.

Who fueled the creation of the DOI system? Computer experts? No. From a market asset valuation standpoint, that makes as much as sense as going to a Sushi Chef for a vasectomy. (Better idea ? get the Sushi afterwards!)

Rather, it was senior publishing executives and their financial gurus who pushed for the creation of the DOI system. When you sit down at the bargaining table with a DOI, you'll be talking their language.

PLAYING WITH THE BIG BOYS

The Internet is like an elephant, it remembers everything and it can remember a lot! You can always include your email address or your web site address but these things point to a business identity ? not the work, itself.

Use the same DOI on every web page, ezine article, review, blog post, etc. and it becomes a 24/7 market value builder that follows the work. If something changes, like your email or web site address, one simple update is all it takes. No more annoying "page not found" or "no such e-mail recipient" errors.

Use your DOI the right way, and every little stitch of web presence marketing you've done becomes one more chip on bargaining table. Remember, the big guys speak DOI.

DOI BENEFITS ARE IMMEDIATE

Getting good book reviews is so miserably hard these days, especially for self-published authors. What if your book finally gets that fabulous review you've hoped for long after publication? Will it be orphaned from the book marketing information you've already published on the Internet? No.

One quick update of your DOI and everything that it references on the Internet will immediately begin broadcasting your fabulous review to the online world.

START ADDING MARKET VALUE TODAY

Each day, try to add more market value to your book. A blog post here, an ezine article there. These things cost nothing, and yet they can push huge amounts of sales-generating traffic at your book.

As a self-published author, you've got to keep your eyes on what the big guys are doing, and when you can emulate them on the cheap, you do it!

WHEN TO GET YOUR DOI

The best time to register your DOI is after your books are available for purchase on Amazon.com and other online bookseller sites. This way, you can create menu options in your DOI that link to online bookseller pages for immediate sales results.

Be sure to ask your publisher or vanity press if they offer a DOI service. One that does is Your Own World Books (Yowbooks.com). Their Author Advantage program includes a transferable DOI.

If your publisher does not offer a DOI service, that's OK. As the copyright holder, you can register your DOI with an independent DOI hosting service like DOIeasylink.NET. The annual cost of a DOI is comparable to one-month web site hosting fee. Plus, you get a 1-page Internet response page and descriptive menus with multiple Internet links.

USE A DOI TO HIT CRITICAL MASS

If you remember only one thing from this article, let it be this. Think like the big boys. Use this strategy to add more market value by continually broadcasting information on the Internet with your DOI. Eventually, you'll hit critical mass. People will buy your book, and large publishers will see this and be impressed!

Free Publishing Guidelines: You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

DOIeasylink.NET: We Add Value to Your Book - Learn More: <a target="_new" href="http://doieasylink.net">http://doieasylink.net</a> - <a target="_new" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2122/doieasylink">http://dx.doi.org/10.2122/doieasylink</a> - Marshall Masters, President - <a target="_new" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1572/marshall.masters">http://dx.doi.org/10.1572/marshall.masters</a>

Marshall Masters is a publisher, self-published author, radio personality and Internet technologist. His published titles include Godschild Covenant: Return of Nibiru, Gold Fever, Indigo- E.T. Connection, and Orange Blossom. He founded DOIeasylink.NET to make the DOI system available to self-publishers and small presses. Drawing upon his decades of consulting experience with notable firms such as AT&T, Oracle, HP, Lockheed and Sun Microsystems, he created a simple, affordable DOI solution for self-publishers and small presses.

Sell More Books With an E-mail Newsletter

NOTE: Because many words in this article are likely to trigger sp^m filters, we've disguised them with symbols (e.g. sp^m). This will ensure a higher delivery rate if you use this article in your e-zine.

If you're selling your book online, you're practically guaranteed to increase sales by publishing an e-mail newsletter, or "e-zine."

Why? Well, for a start, it's a super way to give readers a taste of your expertise and style along with samples of your content. This ensures they'll come to be familiar with you, trust you, and hopefully buy your book when they're ready for more information.

Also, it's a great way to *capture prospects* who aren't ready to buy your book when they visit your site, but are still interested in the info you have to share.

Based on my own experiences in marketing my manual, 'Boost Business With Your Own E-zine,' here are 7 ways to help increase book sales using an e-mail newsletter.
<li> First thing: Encourage e-zine SIGNUPS on your Web site where you promote your book.

Before you even begin publishing, start collecting e-mail addresses. Place a signup form in many places on your site to invite visitors to subscribe to your free e-zine. This way, if a visitor isn't interested in buying your book today, she can sign up for your free e-zine. Now you haven't lost her, and she'll learn even *more* about your book from being a subscriber.

E-zine publishers also report GREAT signup results using pop-up and pop-under boxes at their Web sites.

Examples: On my main site, http://www.ezinequeen.com, I feature a signup form on EVERY page, as well as a pop-up box. On my book sales site, http://www.ezinequeen.com/tutorial, I have a pop-under box that appears once you close the main window.

Remember: NEVER sign anyone up without her permission!</li>

<li> Feature EXCERPTS and/or TIPS from your book in your e-zine.

These can be either direct excerpts or short tips that summarize some of your content. Go through your book and highlight individual tips or small sections that could stand well on their own. Just don't give away the whole store! For example, giving your readers a whole chapter of your book in each issue is going overboard.

Besides lifting material directly from your book, try some other spins on your topic such as a list of top 10 tips, a how-to article, a list of resources, or a review of a trend in the industry.

Example: One of my clients, a life coach, has a hard-cover book out right now that features 101 tips on how to attract what you want in life. Each issue of her weekly e-zine features one of those tips, along with a brief explanation of how to implement it.</li>

<li> Directly after your article, give a quick PROMO BLURB that shamelessly plugs your book.

Why right after the article and before anything else? If someone reads your article/tip and says to themselves, "Gee, that was great information," they'll be ready to hear what else you have to share on that subject. Really pump it up and have a good time with it.

Example: "Did you like today's article? If you did, you'll LOVE my new book, 'Double Your Business in Six Months.' It's jammed with more than 257 great ideas to help you grow your business FAST. Learn more and order now at [Web address here]. You can begin using my best tips within minutes!"</li>

<li> In each issue, offer a TESTIMONIAL from one of your book purchasers.

Let your readers know that many other people just like them ARE buying your book and LOVE it. Idea: Create a small section in your e-zine for this purpose. In each issue, feature a short testimonial from one of your readers here.

Example: "What 'Beauty Blastoff' Readers Are Saying: 'I can't tell you how much your book has helped me improve my appearance. Thanks to your tips, I've lost 20 pounds, cleared up my skin, and rid of all my unwanted hair. Now my rich ex-husband even wants me back. You're a saint!'" - Suzy Smitten, Los Angeles, Calif.</li>

<li> Offer your readers a SPECIAL DISCOUNT for a l1mited time.

Make your readers feel special by offering them a special discount on your book when you can. For best response rates, make it a limited time offer to lend a sense of urgency. I did this with my manual when it first came out and got great results.

Example: "For Subscribers Only: Buy my book before midnight this Friday and receive a 20% discount!"

If you can't give your subscribers a discount, offer something else to make them feel special, such as a bonus report or free phone consultation with their purchase.</li>

<li> Mention your book in as many other places as possible in your e-zine.

Bottom line: The more you mention your book, the higher your chances they'll buy. While your opportunities are endless, here are a few ideas to start with:

<ul> <li>in your masthead (This is where you give the reader info about your publication - usually at the very top.)</li> <li>in your editor's or publisher's note (This is where you give a personal note to your readers.)</li> <li>in your article (If you mention a certain point that you cover wonderfully in your book, say so!)</li> </ul> </li>
<li> To attract even more prospects, advertise your e-zine in your everyday e-mail SIGNATURE FILE.

You know what a signature (or "sig") file is, right? It's that little blurb with contact info that you can automatically insert at the end of every e-mail you send. Besides your obvious contact information, give a quick plug for your book AND e-zine.

Why? Well, if you just advertise your book, some people will read your sig file and think, "That's cool, but I don't want to buy anything right now." BUT if you advertise your FREE e-zine, they'll likely take advantage of your offer. THEN you've got them on your list.

Example: Here's what I have at the END of my sig file, after my contact information: "BOOST BUSINESS by publishing your own e-mail newsletter! Learn how now - sign up for fr*ee how-to tips at http://www.ezinequeen.com."</li>
(c) 2000-2003 Alexandria K. Brown. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is author of the award-winning manual, "Boost Business With Your Own E-zine." To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at <a target="_new" href="http://EzineQueenTutorial.com/" onMouseover="window.status='http://EzineQueenTutorial.com/'; return true;" onMouseout="window.status=''; return true;">http://EzineQueenTutorial.com/</a>

Publishing Your Book?What Way is Best For You? - Part 2

Your print or ebook is nearly finished. You wonder if you should try to get an agent to represent you to the publisher. Maybe you've already sent out your query letter to some agents. You dream how great it would be to be taken under the publisher's wings.

You've already read about what traditional publishers can and can't do for you. Now is a time for self-publishers who want a print book to check out Print On Demand or Print Quantity Needed.

On Print Books--Print on Demand Two Ways

1. Hire the Publisher/Printer yourself to just print your book from your word file. In Print Quantity Needed such as <A target="_new" href="http://www.deharts.com">www.deharts.com</A> (similar to POD) you keep all of your book's rights. This method helps you make much more profit from your effort and you will get your book out to the buyers so much faster, making faster profits.

2. Hire Full-Service Print on Demand Publisher/Printers who each charge you an up front fee to set up. They too take your word files and put into Portable Document Format.

The downside? Check to see if you need these services. You don't need an ISBN # if you sell from your own web site. The biggest down to me is no control over my book. Here, you must buy back each book from the printer/publisher at a wholesale price--almost half of what you will sell it for. So, your profits are limited.

List of POD Publishers to Investigate

1. <A target="_new" href="http://www.trafford.com">www.trafford.com</a> 888-232-4444 2. <A target="_new" href="http://www.IUniverse.com">www.IUniverse.com</A> 877-823-9235 3. <A target="_new" href="http://www.XLibris.com">www.XLibris.com</A> 888-795-4274 4. <A target="_new" href="http://www.infinitypublishing.com">www.infinitypublishing.com</A> 877-289-2665

These companies do not offer a good promotion plan. If you want to sell online, you'll have hundreds of thousands of eager book buyers ready to buy when you apply the number one, free way to promote your book--submitting articles to opt-in ezines and web sites. Contact a reliable book coach for this information.

On eBooks

If you sell your book as an eBook on your Web site or link it to other publishing web sites, you will make 100% of the profit.

FACT: In traditional publishing for print books, you must get a distributor, and a wholesaler to get brick and mortar bookstores to carry your book. The bookstore gets a percentage too. Maybe these costs will add up to 85%! What's left for the author, the one who wants to make a difference in people's lives?

Is there a drawback to self-publishing?

If you print it, you must pay for the printing yourself, but remember that could be as low as $300 for 50 plus books. Print on Demand and Print Quantity Needed print short runs from five to 500. Depending on how many that could run from $2-$5 for a book you can sell for $15. You'll only have to make a small investment, you won't have a huge inventory, and you can apply your extra cash to book promotion, the most important part of the book's journey.

If you write an eBook, here are some of the benefits:

Why Write an eBook Fast?

You?Make all the money, can make ongoing, passive profits for life, spend much less time writing and promoting, retain total control, share your unique, important message with 1000's daily, build your client base and credibility, reach your target audience easily and distribute yourself, spend less money and have more cash flow, finish your book within 30 days, make ongoing passive profits for life, can update your book when it needs it, become the expert in your field, gain trust, credibility and friends.

More benefits: you don't have printing or inventory costs, can use word in 8 ? by 11 format and PDF, don't have to travel, don't have to tell or sell, don't have to package and mail books, distribute and sell online from email or a Web site, no packaging, no printing, and no mailing

Promotion is always at least as important, if not more important, than your book. Drawbacks are starting to look like profits and a low cost investment for you. With PQN (you have all control, keep and distribute all the books) or eBooks you won't have hundreds or thousands of unsold books in your garage gathering dust.

Many people feel it's a drawback to have to market and promote their books. Yet, you can learn skills such as the sixty second "tell and sell," the promotional article or power press release, and the sales letter for your Web site from an already successful author-coach. Publicity agents charge a lot of money and tend to overdo the media kit, (media editors and reporters usually throw everything away except the news release).

You need to learn how to talk about your book in a few sentences, a few paragraphs, and a longer sales letter. You need someone who has authored and sold many books, one with long-term copy writing experience. But even if you spend $1000 for coaching, editing and printing, you'll still be able to realize a larger profit than the traditional route.

You the author need to decide what path is best for you. Make sure it's a profitable one.

วันเสาร์ที่ 29 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2551

Interview with Book and Marketing Coach-Judy Cullins - Part 1

To know what to do at the right time in book writing, publishing, or Internet marketing, consult a coaching expert who has lived it all for 20 years--Judy Cullins.

Q 1- Would you say there is a difference in marketing tactics for different genres? If so, what kind of promotion would you suggest for, say, authors of children's books, mystery/romance, or non-fiction? If there is no discernible difference, what do you see as the best method of book promotion?

A 1- The best promotion is a natural promotion--that authors will actually do. They can either write or speak. 20 years ago I was a speaker, thinking I didn't know how to write. When the demand came for my health and personal growth how to books, I stepped up and started writing. Dan Poynter inspired me with his idea we can all write non-fiction by reframing the ideas around us in our own unique format. Since then, I have put out 10 print and eBooks on writing, self-publishing and marketing, especially online.

Do you like to speak? Then schedule at least 4 talks a month. When you speak for organizations, you will get paid and may sell books too. Consider no charge talks such as with libraries, service or business organizations.

But, if you are bashful or don't like to speak to groups, then promote by writing. Write short excerpts from your fiction or mystery, or write short articles to post Online in spam-free opt-in ezines with thousands of ready-made subscribers you don't have to hunt for. If you don't know how and want a first step, try out one of the over 125 free articles on my site <A target="_new" href="http://www.bookcoaching.com">www.bookcoaching.com</A>. Take a teleclass to update your skills. If I can learn the online promotion game, so can you. Three years ago, I knew nothing with low sales of around $200 a month. After a web site face-lift, my sales went from $75 a month to over $4000 consistently.

Q 2- As a book coach for 20 years, guest speaker, and leader at workshops and teleclasses, what do published authors most want to know about promoting their books?

A 3-They want someone else to promote for them.

That's not a reality unless they have a huge budget for a publicist. But, I can offer them hope because I recommend they hire a part time computer assistant who knows the Internet from their local high school. I pay my assistant $9.50 an hour. She comes after school from 3:20-4:50PM three or four days a week. Delegating this work is the reason my books sell so well. When I didn't put promotion time and a little money out, nothing happened.

Q 4- In an article entitled "Book Promotion Myths," you state that bookstores sell only 45% of all books, and you question the "big push" to get a wholesaler or distributor into the bookstores when they represent so many other authors and exact about a 55% fee. You cite libraries, the Internet, foreign markets, seminars, back of the room sales and specialty markets as some non-traditional markets. But with the loss of so many mom and pop shops that carry books, there are fewer venues to carry books. Do you have any suggestions for getting books into large chains - such as Walmart or Petco ? or airport shops?

A 4- I think authors are on the right track to get their books into Walmart, Costco or Petco. If, they are patient, persistent, and willing to wait for their sales. They must do this through a distributor though. One of my associates gets her Bargains in San Diego book into Costco each year. She had to go through many hoops and when she does sell books there, she has to wait always over 90 days, but often up to a year to get paid. That's the way of the bookstores, wholesalers, and chains.

Q 5? You state that if an author doesn't like to travel or speak before groups, then writing articles to promote one's book is the way to go. You mention that this method catapulted you to #1 on Google and 35 other search engines with the key word "Bookcoaching." What does this mean? What are the criteria used and where is it stated that you are #? A 5- The internet changes every day, but even with changes, I'm still on top. You can check by inserting "book coaching" To prove my web site address is listed on 3140 other sites, just put in the two words, "Judy Cullins." The first year I submitted articles I was on 900 sites. Two years later, I'm on 3140 plus. Search engines sweep our web sites looking for key words. The more appropriate key words you have in your articles up on your site, the headlines for your book's sales letter, and the copy on your home page and others, the higher you rank. For help, contact an Internet marketing coach who has done it all.

On the top ten sites, your site will get a lot of traffic. You must set your web site up to sell your book or service. That means creating a powerful sales letter for each book. Check out my book "Create your Web Site with Marketing Pizzazz" and apply before you contact a Web designer. Multiply contacts and sales when you submit articles to the opt-in ezines. If you have an ezine, you will boost subscribers 10-25 each time you submit an article. This is viral marketing at its best.

Getting your questions answered by a pro will save you weeks and months of wasted time going in the wrong direction. Use these answers to catapult your book and business sales. Part two of this article is available at <A target="_new" href="http://www.bookcoaching.com/freearticles/article-128.shtml">http://www.bookcoaching.com/freearticles/article-128.shtml</A>.

Plain Speaking ? 4 Secrets For Getting Your Book Purchased

What can be more infuriating to a potential purchaser of a non-fiction book than chapter headings which give no clue as to their contents? After all, if someone is looking in the non-fiction section of a book store, it implies they want facts, not a fancy and "clever" table of contents! Here are 4 sure-fire ways to make your text grab the reader's attention:

1. Make sure the text on the front and back covers is compelling. It should state plainly and simply what the book is about. For example: "Buy this book, and learn how to master the craft of teaching in 15 lessons".

2. Why should anyone buy the book from YOU? Don't waste limited space on the back cover telling the potential reader about your 3 cats ? unless it's a book about cats, of course! Write something like: "The author has been a practising teacher for 13 years, and writes regularly for the Teaching Times."

3. Organise the table of contents so that the chapters fall into easily-identifiable sections. For example: "Section 1: Before you face your first class; Section 2: The first year" and so on.

4. Make sure that the chapter headings actually MEAN something. You may think it's great to have chapters like "All that glitters" and "Every cloud has a silver lining", but I' have news for you: nobody else is impressed! When people are browsing they want to know right away what they will get for their money if they buy the book. They don't have time to look at each chapter to find out what it's about. The chapter headings should tell them everything they need to know. For example, have chapters like: "Chapter 3: Maintaining order in your classroom; Chapter 4: Where to find excellent resources for your lessons", and so on.

You have just a few seconds to impress a potential buyer. Don't waste them!

Terry Freedman has nearly thirty years experience in education, and nearly 20 years experience as a writer. A member of the UK's Society of Authors, Terry has had around a dozen books published, and over 800 specialist articles in leading newspapers and magazines. His website provides free access to many of his articles, a free newsletter and more, or visit his blog.

Quiz: Will Online Book Marketing Help Sales?

Most authors sigh a sigh of relief when they finish their book. Then comes the awesome task of marketing the masterpiece.

You may choose the traditional route--to give talks, write press releases, or do book signings. While good up to a point, your bigger sales are through Online book marketing. Will you be successful in this arena if you know nothing? A little something?

Use these 10 questions as a guide to know what book you'll want to investigate and invest in to widen your selling success.

1. Do you consider yourself a "newbie" on the net? "non-techie?" If so, are you willing to spend some time and money on learning the best ways to promote your book online from teleclasses, one on one coaching, or group coaching? It takes a few exposures to such skills as writing articles and submitting them to free opt-in ezines.

2. What are your resistances to learning Online book promotion and marketing? Right now, write down some of your resistances to both marketing and marketing on the net. Maybe the time to learn, the cost to learn, and the final cost to implement. Remember that smart people delegate and you can too.

3. Do you know the old adage for business insanity? Keep doing what you are doing and you'll keep getting the same results! While we don't want to change, Bill Gates says there will be two kinds of businesses in the 2000's--The ones who use e-commerce (check the non techie sales letter here for the exact quote.) Write down one or two goals or changes you are willing to make to sell more books Online.

Three years ago your coach knew nothing! Cajoled and coaxed by savvy friends and associates, she leaped over her doubts and created a business so successful, she can travel when she wants as well as remodel her home and buy a new car.

4. Do you write two or three major marketing goals down in the pages of your organizer and look at them each day? Remember the payoff of these goals. You don't just want to make money. You want to make enough money so you can take that needed vacation, send your kids to college, or buy that long needed car.

5. Do you practice at least three "high-level" activities each workday on your main marketing goals? If not, start writing down three each day in your organizer. Don't distract to other projects until these three are finished.

6. Do you write your "high-level" activities down in your organizer the night before, so you can get a running start in the morning? Let your subconscious work on your goals all night while you get your needed rest. No more worrying and by morning, you'll be yelling, "Eureka! I'm stoked on Internet Marketing."

7. How disciplined are you with your book being a success? Remember that discipline is to stop doing what hurts you. How are you wasting your valuable time, not doing what will give you big rewards? Write down one or two self-destructive habits you are willing to stop 2 or 3 days a week. Remember the payoff--you'll be getting your valuable information into the hands of more people who need and want it.

8. Are you easily distracted and keep pushing important to do's to the next day, next week, or next month? Treat your book as a business and know the wonderful rewards of being known by many as the savvy expert, earning the money you deserve, and enjoying an easy path of lifelong income. You'll soon stop talking on the phone to much, and start depositing those many checks and credit card orders.

9. How much time are you willing to put into learning how to do Online marketing each week? Once you learn a little, you'll see the great results and how easy it is to implement this easy and fun way to share with others. Thousands and more Online users are waiting to buy your book. They surf web sites and sign up for free ezines for free information they need. Your book's topic will please them, and it takes so little time!

10. Are you organized? Do you have all the parts you need to market and promote your book in files you can find in a minute? We waste over 150 hours a year looking for important paper. After I hired my low-cost computer assistant from a local school, I reduced my workload over half and can find anything in a minute because Erica does all my computer filing. More time to play--and that's another plus.

Bonus: How's your money, honey? It's best to set aside marketing money and time each month. When lean times come, you can keep going just like the bunny. When you operate a business without this important tool, you'll stay in kindergarten. As soon as I spent marketing money from $200-$700 a month, my book sales skyrocketed far above my investment.

Once you get aware of what needs to be done, and you are willing to take a baby-step, your book will keep on helping others as well as yourself.

Comments From A Book Reviewer

For the past several years I have been reviewing books for my own site, Bookpleasures.com, as well as many other sites. I am also a regular contributor to the Canadian Book Review Annual. As editor of Bookpleasures.com, I would like to make a few comments about book reviewing and what to expect, particularly from Bookpleasures.com.

Today, with the advent of the Internet, there has been a proliferation of book reviewers, whom I shall classify as the good, the bad and the ugly.

Those falling into the last category are those that you have to be particularly on the look out for, as their only interest is to receive complimentary books without bothering to review them, or if they do review them, their reviews are very short and without substance. On the other hand, there are many serious and excellent reviewers who devote a great deal of their time and energy in reading and writing a review.

Sometimes, I admit, the reviews are not exactly very complimentary. However, it is to be noted that it is not the objective of a reviewer to be a salesperson or a public relations representative for the author. If the criticism is constructive, a great deal can be learned from the review, particularly if the reviewer is also an author.

From the point of view of a reviewer, what I find most annoying is receiving a book without first asking me if I would accept to review it. Bookpleasures receives on average about 10-15 email requests per week. Generally, I personally accept a few to review, others, I forward onto Bookpleasures' international team of reviewers.

In all probability, there is a 20%-30% chance that a request to review will be accepted by a reviewer.

The reason why a book is not accepted is wide and varied. Many of our reviewers have a backlog that they would like to clear before accepting new assignments, or the subject matter is not one that interests any of them.

What I like to see in a request is not "hype" but rather a brief resum? of the contents of the book, who the author is, if the book is published by a main stream publisher or is it self-published, and if the book is available on Amazon.

Bookpleasures also conducts e-interviews with some authors, and if the author is open to have himself or herself interviewed, please indicate.

If you are a publicist or publisher, don't be afraid to put Bookpleasures as well as other book reviewing sites on your emailing list. You never know when something catches our eyes. Sometimes you may be publicizing a particular book, and our reviewers will look to your site and see something else that interests them.

As for the time frame, this all depends on the reviewer. Anywhere from one week to three months is the norm. You can ask the reviewer to give you some idea as to his or her time frame. You can also inquire as to his or her credentials. Bookpleasures does provide links to the reviewers' site that should give you some idea as to their experience.

I do hope this is of help to some of you.

Norm Goldman is a free lance travel writer and book reviewer. His articles appear on his own sites, <a target="_new" href="http://bookpleasures.com">bookpleasures.com</a> and <a target="_new" href="http://sketchandtravel.com">sketchandtravel.com</a>, as well as many other Internet sites.

วันศุกร์ที่ 28 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2551

Quiz: Will Online Book Marketing Help Sales?

Top Ten Non-Techie Steps to Market your Book Online

Are you an author who is looking for new ways to promote your book or business? Does the traditional promotion you do take too long and not bring you top results? Are you willing to investigate easy non-techie ways to get more book buyers?

Check out these ten steps within "Ten Non-Techie Ways to Market your Book Online:"

Step1. Ten Steps Preparation and Foundation

When marketing your book Online, you need to attract the right customers to your Web site. Online promotion is cheap, convenient, saves time, and beats traditional ways 10 times over. What costs less works best. Discover 10 ways to get ready to reach your target audience who want your book.

Step 2. Why Use Articles to Market your Book on the Internet

Want to reach 10,000 to 500,000 of your targeted readers each day? And spend nothing? With the largest sales? Discover this number one Online book promotion technique for lasting exposure and thousands of willing visitors will visit your Web site and keep coming back. Solve non-working traditional promotion with Judy's short cut secrets for fun and easy. Get your book into the hands of your best audience--the one on the Internet.

Step 3. How to Write Your Short Article

Get from unknown to known with short articles you share Online with thousands daily. Write short articles in less than an hour, and leverage one article into five to attract new potential book buyers to your Web site. New content seen often by your audience turns lookie loos into buyers.

Step 4. How to Submit Your Articles to Opt-in No Spam Ezines

Millions of ezine subscribers in your field want your free information. They subscribe to ePublishers who distribute your articles. You benefit because you don't have to build your own email list. Judy shows you the steps to join, submit, and increase book sales exponentially. Her delegation tips will help you get listed in the top 20 Websites and quadruple your profits in no time.

Step 5. How to Submit Articles to Top Web Sites

Send your articles to high traffic Web sites related to your book's topic to get well known on the Internet. Judy shows you the seven simples steps to submit new content. Viral marketing like this not only brings new visitors coming to your Web site and keeps repeat visitors. More time on your site equals more book sales.

Step 6. Market Your Books Through Your Own Ezine

To attract trusting, faithful ongoing customers, create your own ezine. Benefit them with tips, announcements, articles, and resources to build your targeted subscriber list. From a few to thousands a year. When you give them reasons to buy, they become your 24/7 sales team to help your readers and sales grow. .

Step 7. Sell Your Books With Your Own Book-Selling Web Site and Blog

Before you call your Web Master, power write your Web site home page. Give your visitors a reason to buy so your book sales will explode. Save yourself time, money, and frustration because not all Web Masters know selling. Judy shows you how to write ad copy for each product or service--that bios and welcome signs don't sell. Try out a blog (Web log) and bring new visitors who will want more. More time on your Web site=more book sales.

Step 8. How to Drive Targeted Traffic to Your Book Site

Promoting your Web site brings book sales. Without it, no one visits your site. Why pay to fail with high effort, expensive, traditional marketing? Learn Judy's High Level Activity approach and proven Online techniques to get known throughout Cyberspace and to keep visitors coming back.

Step 9. Generate Targeted Traffic Through Reciprocal Links

Reciprocal linking with related high traffic Web sites brings multiple traffic to yours. Like testimonials, link exchanges imply approval and recommendation. Apply Judy's six free ways to find linking partners and get seen by your audience through this great viral marketing technique.

Step 10. Online Networking: It's an Adventure, Not a Job!

Know that you are not an island; you are more than your computer. With a friendly note attached to a business exchange, you create not only more book sales, but also more adventures and friendships. Get published in large ezines, exchange ads and shares success stories that can be yours. The Internet playing field has leveled, and people yearn for contact and collaboration. High yield natural marketing means developing relationships. Give and receive to keep this "friendly marketing" going.

Now that you know the steps contact a professional bookcoach who knows Internet marketing and promotion, or another good resource who can help you with the how to's. Books and the Internet--A marriage made in heaven.

Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Judy is author of 10 eBooks including Write your eBook or Other Short Book Fast, Ten Non-Techie Ways to Market Your Book Online, The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Your Targeted Web Traffic, and Power Writing for Web Sites That Sell. She offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, "The BookCoach Says...," "Business Tip of the Month," blog Q & A at <a target="_new" href="http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml">http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml</a> and over 170 free articles.

===============
Email her at <a href="mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com">Judy@bookcoaching.com</a>. Phone: 619/466-0622 -- Orders: 866/200-9743

Increase Book Sales: When a Book is No Longer Just a Book for Sale

Do you have books sitting in your garage that you haven't sold yet and looking for ways to move them? Then you will want to know about these five outrageous ideas that aren't difficult and can be just plain out fun.

Dede Hall, author of The Starving Student's Cookbook had very poor sales for her books. Then one day an outrageously light bulb moment appeared. She added an inexpensive skillet with the book and shrink-wrapped them. Then she took 150 of them to two stores that she thought wouldn't sell them. Yes, to her surprise, all 150 sold in two days. Dede stumbled on an outrageous idea and it worked out big time. She sold over 100,000 copies in a few months. Where did she sell them? Thought you would never ask. Price Clubs and K-marts.

Do you have a book that could be packaged with something else and create outrageous sales for yourself? It's Christmas time and no it isn't too late. But before you dart off to come up with an outrageous idea for your book, continue reading so that you can get all the facts.

Another cookbook was repackaged with a scarlet ribbon and some imported cinnamon sticks and then sold at department stores in the housewares and gift sections. The book couldn't sell at $5.95 but flew off the shelves at $10 and went into second printing in 30 days.

Would your book sell well in a three-ring shrink-wrapped binder? Why not create and audio or CD version of the material. Just read directly from the material. You do not have to be fancy. Add "read by the author" language to the outside in big letters. Or maybe "F-R__E-E Bonus, Limited Time Offer, Free Audio read by the author" in big letters.

Another key is to look for an item that makes the package larger than the book. This requires a larger space and then bigger visibility.

What about a book on money? Add a mug labeled, "Millionaire" and watch it fly off the shelf. Do not forget the second part of the formula -- the place you are going to sell it. When you add the mug, it is now considered a gift item. This opens the doors to more stores and places.

Try all the independent gift shops, especially at the airport. They are always looking for these type of unique combinations.

Have an exercise book? Add a "walking meter" with it. The one that measures how many miles you are walking. Have no clue what they call those things but I have bought three over the past few years. Again, now it is a gift item. How about contacting a sports equipment vendor and selling them copies of your book that would be a freebie for a limited period with a purchase.

Get the store to add a sign, "limited quality" and watch them go even faster. What is great about this angle is that gift stores, department stores and similar stores are much more open to add things to their shelf. They will work with you much better than a bookstore.

Now that you brain is going a mile a minute with ideas, best wishes for selling many more books!

Catherine Franz is a Marketing & Writing Coach, niches, product development, Internet marketing, nonfiction writing and training. Additional Articles: <a target="_new" href="http://www.abundancecenter.com">http://www.abundancecenter.com</a> blog: <a target="_new" href="http://abundance.blogs.com">http://abundance.blogs.com</a>

Ready, Set, Go Sell Your Book In The Real World!

We hear a lot these days about more books actually being sold 'outside' the traditional bookstore. Think about it. When was the last time you actually took time to linger and explore the bookshelves? When did you last impulsively grab a book, flip it over, read the blurbs, and finger through a few chapters? Let's face it, most of us are too hurried.

So What's The Point?

If you don't take the time to browse, why expect your potential customer to do so?

Try This:

Grab about five copies of your book, and head for the "Ma and Pa" stores in your hometown area. Pick a time when you know it won't be too busy. Talk to the owner or manager. Ask him if you may set up a small display on his counter. Offer him a percentage of each sale.

Get Impulsive!

Go for the impulse buyers! Haven't you at one time, while waiting at a cash register, seen a small display of books on the counter? Before it was your turn to get checked out, you grabbed it, became excited, and added it to your other purchases? Maybe it was a novel set in your locale. People love reading tales taking place in their familiar surroundings.

They think, "Oh, I've driven that road! I know where it is!

Where's the next landmark? Have to find out!" They feel they become a "part" of it.

Is your book set in your region? Try your local gift shops, bed and breakfast inns, pharmacies, hair salon, even the little "quick stops." You get the picture.

Is the hero in your book of Italian descent? Is there a lot of ethnicity? Head for the specialty shops like that little corner deli. Pesto. Gnochi. Fresh-baked focaccia. Get your book on that counter!

Maybe kayaking through turbulent river rapids is a large part of your novel. Or sky diving, race car driving, hang gliding, deep sea diving. Head on out to the sporting goods stores.

Whatever, go for it. Take control.

Another Idea

Grab your books and get a booth at the local festivals taking place in and around your area. Maybe share one with an author friend. In my area, there are different festivals every weekend throughout the summer and early fall. In the winter, many craft fairs. Think "thousands of potential customers!"

What Are You Waiting For?

I know you're thinking, "But I only want to write!" That may be so. Promoting is time consuming. But what's the alternative? Your book just sets there and gathers dust. So ease on out of that chair, and head on out. Let people know about your book. Talk it up. Readers who love your book will add another dimension to your promotion - word-of-mouth advertising!

Start Small and Think Big

Some stores you approach may not work! Granted. But you'll get the ball rolling and your mind spinning. "Where else can I sell my book?" You'll find yourself eyeing every little store as a possibility, while driving your car or strolling the sidewalks of your hometown. Who knows, you may even become your hometown's next "celebrity!" Give it a try!

About The Author

Mary Holzrichter

Do you enjoy reading quality fast paced action novels? Do you like to write them? Either way, visit <a target="_new" href="http://ActionTales.com">http://ActionTales.com</a>. We offer some great titles for readers and an unbeatable publishing deal for authors.

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 27 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2551

Distribute Your Self-Published Book - Part 1

Where is your book now? With a distributor? In a book store? Or, did it already die an early death after a few months?

New self-published authors often believe they need a distributor to sell a lot of books. They want to use Ingram or Baker & Taylor because they think they need to get their book into the "brick and mortar" bookstores like Barnes and Noble.

Authors go through many hoops and snags to accomplish this-- what I call the "traditional publishing nightmare" of inefficiency and lack of support for authors. Usually the author only gets around 10% royalties and has to pay back all promotion expenses such as book signings. So many hoops, some give up. So many authors I speak with who have gone this route still have hundreds, even thousands of unsold copies littering up storage space. Talk about discouragement.

Distributors Can be Dangerous to Your Book's Health and Your Wallet

One author wrote, illustrated, and marketed six beautiful children's books. Her books were well reviewed and received. For some time, the profits rolled in until her distributor went bankrupt, owing her $160,000. After she stopped crying, she decided to take her books on the road-to local fairs and talks where she could KEEP all the profits.

Distributors take quite a chunk of money from the author's profits too. They charge the author for storage, and when books are returned, the author loses those sales, and has to pay the distributor too. Authors lose from the bookstores because their payment is late or unreliable. Some authors wait way beyond 90 days. In fact, many just don't get paid. Writers are not always good at collections either. These middlemen not only take most of the author's profits, they cause much stress too.

How Can Self-Published Authors Distribute?

Self-published books include: print books (perfect bound, comb bound, print on demand or print quantity needed, or stapled) or eBooks (sent over Email through Word or Portable Document Files)

Local Distribution.

For each venue, make sure to include ordering information such as your Web site URL, your company address, your toll-free 800 number, your local phone number, and an order page to fill out for fax or phone orders.

1.Distribute through the Press.

-Create a "Power Press Release" (include tips and how-to's) -Get a Feature Story from the Media -Write a how-to article and submit

2. Distribute through a local Talk Show-Radio and TV or guest speak for another person's teleclasses.

Just a phone call away you can reach 100's of people interested in your book's topic. Do some research on <A target="_new" href="http://www.teleclass.com">www.teleclass.com</A>. From my guesting with other experts every 2 months, new clients come; new book and teleclass sales increase to make up half my income.

On the talk shows or the teleclasses, offer the audience a free report to capture their email addresses. You can also send it through your host and she will distribute that information to her large email list. Of course you include your sales-pulling signature file at the end.

3. Distribute at local talks to groups. Sell your print books at the back of the room. Take a clipboard and capture everyone's email at the talk. These people become your dedicated sales force and tell others. Word of mouth takes up to one or two years, so be patient for results. Check your library for Clubs who need free speakers.

Develop a selling two-sided flyer with testimonials, your book cover, excerpts, and an ordering coupon. Take books and flyers with you everywhere. Offer to all you meet, even your dentist!

Authors need to be proactive in book promotion because publishers won't do it for them. (Part 2 of this article is available)

Titles (and Subtitles) Sell Books!

Does a title really sell a book? The short answer is, yes. If a book does not attract a reader initially, it will be overlooked and not purchased. The book title is the element that creates the initial attraction to the book.

Watch people who are browsing in a bookstore. A catchy title grabs their interest and makes them reach for the book out of curiosity. A great title makes browsers think, "Really?" or "What does THAT mean?" or "That's what I need". Think long and hard when choosing your book's title. The title must give some clues about the book's contents in a snappy "one-liner".

Many authors struggle fiercely with the title choice, not realizing that the title is there somewhere in the book's contents. They just haven't recognized it because they are too close to the project. Sometimes it helps to talk to impartial, unbiased persons. Tell them what your book is about, and then listen to their feedback.

Alternately, on the tongue-in-cheek advice of one publishing professional, open a bottle of wine and start writing. Make a list of everything that comes to mind about what you have written in your book. Nothing is too silly, but do try to strike on the central theme or message.

When your list is complete (and the wine is all gone), group your notes into categories. Choose the snappiest, most intriguing words that say something about your book without sounding like a boring explanation.

Perhaps these titles will help you:

<ul>

<li>Woman-Sense Rules!

<li>Fit to Cook

<li>Climb Your Stairway to Heaven

<li>Light the Fire

<li>Spell Success in Your Life

</ul>

If you are planning on a series, your title should be your "brand". Then as you make your brand into a household word, you ensure future sales. As each title in the series is published, you know that people will buy the latest book to complete the series. Think Harry Potter or Nancy Drew.

The subtitle of your book is a great way to increase sales. The subtitle gets to the heart of the book and convinces the reader of the book's benefits. It lets people know that the book is unique and that they really can't live without it. It makes the reader believe that he or she just can't live without it ? and that is your objective.

Check the following subtitles:

<ul>

<li>Woman-Sense Rules! ? The Spiritual Woman's Guide to Finding Yourself When You Didn't Know You Were Missing

<li>Fit to Cook ? Why "Waist" Time in the Kitchen?

<li>Climb Your Stairway to Heaven ? the 9 habits of maximum happiness

<li>Light the Fire ? Fiery Food with a Light New Attitude!

<li>Spell Success in Your Life - A road map for achieving your goals and surviving success

</ul>

In the title and in the subtitle, you can use humor or emotions to sell your book, but avoid clich?s and "corny" expressions, or overly common sayings. They soon become stale and annoying. Keep your title unique, catchy and relevant.

Before making the final decision on your title, conduct a title search (see our home study course, Idea to Book?to Success ? the fast, easy, simple way! for instructions on title searches). Although you cannot copyright a title, duplicating titles only leads to confusion, and you want people to buy your book, not a competitor's book. Make your title one that increases the likelihood of increasing your book sales.

About The Author

Ink Tree Ltd. helps authors publish, market and sell books. From "101 Things You Need to Know About Publishing" to our Ultimate Book Marketing Kit, we will help you make your book a success. <a href="http://www.inktreemarketing.com" target="_new">http://www.inktreemarketing.com</a>

<a href="mailto:info@inktreemarketing.com">info@inktreemarketing.com</a>

Is There a Book Hiding Inside You?

Have you always wanted to write?

Are there ideas churning in your mind waiting for just the right time to get them down on paper? Do you have a unique perspective on a subject or problem facing many people? Do you read a book or article and think, "I could write better than that?" Have you ever said "someday, when I have time, I am going to write a book?"

Perhaps now is the moment for you to put your excuses in the garbage and your fingers on the keys. You will never 'find' time; you simply have to 'make' time to write. It is important to carve out little bits and pieces of your day to organize the information churning in your head to an outline on paper.

Where to begin?

Although I have started thousands of books in the shower or in my dreams, the first book I ever completed was done in half hour segments over a nine-month period. By getting up at six am every morning and writing on my old typewriter in a corner of the bedroom before the children woke up, I was able to finally pull what was hiding in my brain and put it into book form.

We were living in frigid Glasgow, Montana and you can't even imagine how tempting those flannel sheets were every morning. But I knew that my soul was hungry to get the information that I had to share in a format that would reach thousands of people and change lives. The thousands of people, mostly relatives, who bought that book turned out to be numbered in the hundreds or less , but I was now an author and determined to write about what I knew best, parenting.

Fiction or non-fiction?

Since 90% of the books sold are non-fiction and most of those are not sold in bookstores, I knew that if I wanted to reach my particular audience, parents and child care providers, I had to come up with an angle. My goal was to teach, not to entertain but I wanted to write what people would buy. Focus groups told me that young parents want small booklets with narrow subjects, lots of bullet points and stories of other families they could relate to.

They did not want psychobabble from so-called experts, statistics or be laden with guilt. They wanted and needed real life experiences from people they could trust. The main information that came out of the focus groups was that the books had to be "hand-around" size and under $10.00. I knew I could sell my product at my parenting workshops and also through local bookstores.

Long or short?

You don't have to write a 200 hundred page book to be considered an author. How about starting out with an article of 300-750 words on a subject you know about for this magazine? You may want to consider a booklet (6 -50 pages), a special report (3-25 pages) a workbook (7-30 pages), or a book ( 32, 64, 96 or 128 pages). If you want to begin with a personal essay, see my website www.ArtichokePress.com for a free article on how to write an effective "Slice of Your Life."

Another viable option is the e-book, which is rapidly becoming the way information is sold and delivered. When I attended a seminar put on by Mark Victor Hansen of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame, one of the speakers said that e-books typically sell for 4 times what anybody in the right mind would pay for them! The information buyer is impulse driven and ready to pay for a solution to an immediate problem.

What will you write about?

What do you know that I don't? Pretend I am having tea with you and asking you all about raising Icelandic Sheep dogs or whatever your area of expertise is. Write down every question I ask and leave a large space. Go back later and answer the questions and you have your book outline or chapter thesis. When I learned this formula from Judy Cullins at www.bookcoaching.com I was amazed how easy it was to write a short book fast.

Is it worth the effort?

Yes. You have information that people want and need. You know something about a certain niche that only you can teach. This information has been churning in your head and heart long enough. It is time to squeeze out half an hour each morning or evening to put your thoughts on paper. It has never been easier to get your book in print since the advent of self publishing. Wouldn't you just love to be able to say at your twentieth high school reunion, "I live in beautiful Montana and write books that change people's lives?"

Trust me; it doesn't get much better than that.

? Judy H. Wright, www.ArtichokePress.com

_________________________________________________________________________ Judy H. Wright is an author of over 20 books and numerous articles. She works as a parent educator and personal historian. She has just been selected as a regional representative for National Association of Women Writers <a target="_new" href="http://www.NAWW.org">http://www.NAWW.org</a> and would like to establish women writing groups in various areas, either in person or tele-groups. If you are interested, please contact her at <a href="mailto:JudyWright@ArtichokePress.com">JudyWright@ArtichokePress.com</a> or by calling 406-549-9813. The website <a target="_new" href="http://www.ArtichokePress.com">http://www.ArtichokePress.com</a> has many free articles and reports on parenting, wellness, self-publishing and care-giving at end of life. Check it out today.

Dont Sell your Book, Share It

Most authors who aren't used to speaking before a group think, "I'd rather get a root canal than have to 'sell' my book." If you think about how great your book is, how you wrote it because you wanted to help or entertain your audience, you can change this fear to the idea of sharing your book.

Sharing your book works great in person before other people, one-on-one, or Online.

Five Steps to Sharing your Book

1. Know your preferred audience first.

For instance, the book, "Passion at Any Age" is the "Artist's Way" for seniors. Who will your book help the most? Get yourself in front of these people because they will already have open arms and hearts to your boo.

2. Write an audience profile--those who will want to buy your book because you solve their particular challenge.

Include their income, buying habits, values, online savvy, magazines they read, sex, and age among other traits. FACT: Online people buy most kinds of books. Books are still the number one seller on the Internet.

3. Write a "Dear Audience" letter.

Take time and handwrite a short one-half page on why you wrote your book and what your audience will get from it. This puts the human side of your effort forth and also restates benefits your readers will get.

Dear_______, I wrote or am writing this book because you have this particular challenge, or are in this particular place where you'd like some answers on the topic of ____. Its number one message (benefit-thesis) is __________. And, it will also help you do, be, or have ______, _____, and _____. (specific benefits).

4. Share the written message orally in your own words, next time someone asks you about your book, or when you are in front of an audience. Take the information from your "Dear Audience" letter and reduce it a bit to fit your one to two minute allowed time to share.

5. Share your message Online.

If you don't want to communicate to others in person, think Online. All kinds of audiences go Online to look for information. Free information. You can share other tips, excerpts, and stories from your book through submitting them to online spam-free ezines. Thousands of people subscribe to them. Start with visiting www.yahoo.groups.com. Subscribe to one of their groups such as: aageneral-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Watch the word of mouth grow to epic proportions when one subscriber shares your article with others. It's sometimes called viral marketing, but I prefer the idea of putting the "law of attraction" into motion. Best of all, you don't have to sell anything.

Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," "How to Market your Business on the Internet," and "Create your Web Site With Marketing Pizzazz," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, "The Book Coach Says..." and "Business Tip of the Month" at <a target="_new" href="http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml">http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml</a> and over 155 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com.

How To Promote A Book

Nowadays it's no longer a matter of whether or not an author should promote his or her book, but how aggressively one should go about it. The sad truth is that publishers often fail to promote books, and if we, the authors, don't promote your own book then it may be destined to a lifespan between that of butter and yogurt, to paraphrase Calvin Trillan. The author's extra efforts may make all the difference between a book becoming a long-lived seller, and being recycled so that some other author can take advantage of the paper.

What to do then? One cannot concoct a general rule for promoting books. This method obviously has drawbacks, because every book is different and requires its own special approach. So, the primary thing to do is consider your target audience.

And that's a good place to start--your audience. Presumably, your book is aimed at a particular market or markets. Perhaps it is nutrition, parenting, health, travel, mystery fans, or nature. The first thing you should do is to track down the magazines that are read by the people who will be reading your book.

But before sending a press release to the publication, take time out to find the editor who reviews books or who covers the subject that you've written about.

Here are some ways to self-promote your book:

<ul>

<li>Create Your Website

<li>Arranging for an Author Interview

<li>Trade Shows

<li>Teaching

<li>Email Newsletters

<li>Consulting/Training

<li>Reviewers

<li>Magazine Articles

<li>Discussion Groups/NewsGroups

<li>Other PR Resources

</ul>

A large part of promoting your book is promoting yourself and making sure your name is recognizable to your target audience. While you may not reach cult status, you can go a long way to establish yourself as an expert on your subject matter by becoming heavily involved in the community for which you write. To Brand yourself and your work do the following:

Create Your Website

Websites have become crucial marketing tools for authors and are a great calling card. Create a website that provides value to your audience and lets them get to know you and your work. Give people extra tips and tricks they won't find in the book, update any outdated information and provide news and reviews of your books and news that you know of in the community. If you are really ambitious you can create your own community around your website.

Arranging for an Author Interview

Many publishers have done marketing studies showing that authors who provide comments on their books or participates in author interviews on the online bookstores sell more books online. This is a no-brainer as it doesn't take much of your time and is perceived as an added value for your reader. Large websites, such as Borders.com, make a practice of interviewing authors.

Trade Shows

Trade Shows are a fantastic place to promote your book. Every attendee and speaker is a possible book-buyer. Try to arrange with your publisher to do a book signing either at their booth or at the trade show bookstore. Many authors sell thousands of their books at a single trade show. If you can find a chance to speak at a trade show or are invited to speak on one of the panels, the best bet to opt for. Aside from being great book publicity, it's another way to get your name out there in the community.

Teaching

Teaching is a great way to develop your pedagogy. It's also a great way to understand how people learn the technology, what their frequently asked questions are, and how you can best improve your books so that they are most easily understood. If you are not interested in teaching at the local university or community college, you might want to consider teaching online courses. There are numerous online education companies looking for authors to help teach their courses. Most authors find online teaching to be enjoyable, lucrative, and something that can be done almost simultaneously with writing books.

Email Newsletters

Email newsletters are a great direct marketing tool. Though a lot of work, if done right they can lead to huge name recognition and royalty checks from book sales. Several authors have had tremendous success with their email newsletters to the tune of thousands of subscribers. A good example is the Kabalarian Philosophy Electronic Newsletter.

Consulting/Training

Many publishers look first for trainers or consultants to author books on certain topics. To become known as an expert in the community, you need to stay abreast with what is latest in the technology field. It's good to diversify if you can -- if you concentrate only on writing books you can become out of touch with the latest advances. Consulting will keep you on the cutting edge. Also, if you're lucky, the company or companies for which you consult will want to buy a copy of your book for the entire staff.

Reviewers

Positive book reviews are always a great way to sell books. Keep an eye out for bylines of reviewers in magazines and journals particular to your book topic and coordinate with your publisher to make sure that the reviewer receives an early copy of your book. Trumped up reviews on Amazon are easily seen through and don't do much for an author's reputation, but if you get a genuine email from a reader with positive specific comments you might want to ask him or her to post their comments on Amazon.

Magazine Articles

Article bylines have long been good book promoters. Research the major trade journals on your subject matter both in print and online and pitch article ideas tangential to your book topic. Also, you should consider writing for some major websites that serve your topic area. You can often attach excerpts from your books (ask your publisher for permission) to contribute to popular sites, which promotes your book at the same time.

Discussion Groups & Newsgroups

Discussion Groups are a huge part of any community these days. By participating online you are getting your name out in the community, staying current with all of the latest developments, and making crucial contacts that can include book reviewers, magazine editors, book editors and the real gurus of technology.

Newsgroups on the Web, including chat and message forums on proprietary services like AOL and Compuserve, are great places to make yourself known and promote your books, your website, and your career. Many authors have gained prominence on the newsgroups, particularly in the web scripting and programming area. It's important to be helpful, answer questions, and make yourself available without pushing your books too obviously or obnoxiously. If you spam the newsgroups or forums it won't serve you in the long run.

Amazon Corrections

If you have a book listed on Amazon.com and wish to correct erroneous information on their site, here is the person to contact. They respond quickly to author requests to correct information.

Albert Rodriguez, Catalog Department: catalog-dept@amazon.com

Other PR Resources

You can find more information about marketing and promoting your book from John Kremer's Book Market website. John is the author of 1001 Ways to Promote Your Book.

A great resource for adding advertising to online publications is Art.com. They offer free banners and you can add them to your site. Advertisers pay per click, and you receive a percentage of what the advertiser pays. It's an excellent way to create extra income from your out-of-print books or supplementary material on your site.

An interesting way to promote your book is to put your website in search engines like Yahoo! Yahoo generally takes a day to update newly added sites, but there is no absolute surety that your site would be listed.

You can also sign up as an Expert in About.com, which provides a wonderful way to promote your work.

Last but not the least, become a bit philanthropic and with a large heart give away your books for free among critics, friends and family. Also add your website URL in all your outgoing e-mails and correspondence. More mails obviously means more views for your book!

About The Author

Nithya K is a India-based writer who specializes in writing fiction and has tremendous interest in writing non-fiction related to science, technology and other genre. She is also experienced in creating technical documentation. Basically a BE graduate with an MBA degree, her main focus is still writing. Nithya is also interested in Ghost writing of books and articles in the areas of business writing, technical writing, science and technology writing and fiction.

The author can be contacted at <a href="mailto:tutor19us@yahoo.com">tutor19us@yahoo.com</a> and also invites readers to visit her webpage at <a href="http://www.geocities.com/tutor19us/index.html" target="_new">www.geocities.com/tutor19us/index.html</a>

วันพุธที่ 26 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2551

Publicity Through Philanthropy For Writers

I am twenty three years old, have sold over four thousand copies of my first book in a matter of a month after it's release and recently been contacted for contracts with Random House and Harper Collins for two new titles. I think a good deal of my recent success is highly correlated with my Reading for Charity Contest and the attention it has drawn. I'll explain the entire background, but as pre-thought I think it first manifested itself through a combination of my looking for a good way to market my first book, while balancing out my karma a bit. A way to interweave my love of novel writing, increase my book's visibility and provide a benefit to society in some way shape or form. All of these tasks have seemed to be accomplished- although my karma could still probably use some more balancing.

What is the Reading for Charity Contest?: Over sixty organizations, a group of corporate sponsors, and a handful of volunteers are the result of the charity contest. I took my very recently published book and decided to give away a certain percentage of it's profits to charity. There was a catch though, the charity I will give my book profits to is being voted on, by the readers. So once you read my book, you can go to my webpage or find me at one of my book tours and vote for your favorite cause and the highest voted cause receives the profits (Which should be quite a bit). That was the reading for charity contests basic beginning. It's the focal point of everything else that now surrounds the contest and of course my book. The contest was than expanded on by a few different means which, furthered the accomplishment of my goals.

1) Rather than your basic book tours I turned my book tours into a way to highlight the organizations participating in the contest. I have a large stand representing all of the participating organizations with their information and donation cards. Next came along a couple of benefit events- a silent auction, a couple of benefit dinners etc... Things that were really quite easy to put together, but could have a great benefit for the charity groups I was working with. Now this may seem like a good deal of work, which it was, but the benefits for the organizations had been huge, and the benefits for me personally has been equally spectacular.

The benefits all of this had for me: I was able to get involved with over sixty non-profit organizations and use my book and contest as a way to highlight their efforts and eventually provide them with a financial benefit as well. There is no truer statement that giving is a two way street. In return for my help with the organizations the organizations did their best to help out me. I am featured with my book in over fifty non-profit newsletters, on a large number of webpages, as well as postings and fliers from the organizations. Some organizations have newsletters with readers in the ten of thousands. It is equivalent to being featured in fifty newspapers across the country that are targeted directly to the reader.

2) The book tours are not only philanthropic, but also bring in a good deal of people and create a lot of buzz. After some attention a number of companies offered to sponsor the events. I was able to receive all of my marketing material for my book and contest for free from corporate sponsors. T-shirts, fliers, book marks, posters, business cards, mail outs, coffee cups, even mousepads with my book cover on them. My entire marketing plan which is now pretty extensive costs only about five dollars a month to cover the price of my website, that is it and nothing more.

3) When you have a purpose and are providing aid you directly relate with the community you are assisting. Since the organizations I have involved are spread out throughout the entire United States it has proved to be an excellent source of publicity, from radio, to newspapers, to magazines, even a couple of upcoming television shows. It has given my book an unbelievable pr hook in a market where it is difficult to get a story in a paper just because you recently published a book..

4) In basic when people read my book they are doing more than just being entertained, each copy bought goes directly to a great cause. The readers of the book are allowed to interweave their love of reading with a greater purpose in an interactive fashion. Once again a win-win situation.

I would like to expand a bit on the reading for charity contest idea. I think there are a world of ways to further the efforts and provide the joint benefit for some organizations out there, and assist me in my publication and book marketing endeavors. As a model however it has been incredibly successful, I think there are a lot of incredibly creative ways to market a book on a low budget like I originally had and turn it into a success. Once again I will state that giving something always brings in something, and in my case, it brought in an incredible book career.

About The Author

Zachary Weiner is 23 and has been published in numerous magazines and newspapers. He is the author of the recent novel "City at Night" and the upcoming novels "A Simple fate of twists" Ballantine Books "The Experts Speak" Harper Collins.

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 30 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2551

Top 10 Tips for Book Titles that Sell Well

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Book Talks: What to Say and How to Say It

Looking to Sell Your Book for a Good Price?

Sell More Books With an E-mail Newsletter

Publishing Your Book?What Way is Best For You? - Part 2

วันเสาร์ที่ 29 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2551

Interview with Book and Marketing Coach-Judy Cullins - Part 1

Plain Speaking ? 4 Secrets For Getting Your Book Purchased

Quiz: Will Online Book Marketing Help Sales?

Comments From A Book Reviewer

วันศุกร์ที่ 28 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2551

Quiz: Will Online Book Marketing Help Sales?

Top Ten Non-Techie Steps to Market your Book Online

Increase Book Sales: When a Book is No Longer Just a Book for Sale

Ready, Set, Go Sell Your Book In The Real World!

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 27 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2551

Distribute Your Self-Published Book - Part 1

Titles (and Subtitles) Sell Books!

Is There a Book Hiding Inside You?

Dont Sell your Book, Share It

How To Promote A Book

วันพุธที่ 26 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2551

Publicity Through Philanthropy For Writers

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