Blog Feed: Publishing Success Blog

Book Marketing Strategy vs. Tactics

Published on 2012-05-09 18:08:12

It’s one of the most common misconceptions in marketing: that a marketing tactic is the same as a marketing strategy. Not understanding the difference between the two leads to a whole lot of pain and frustration for many authors as well as entrepreneurs, speakers, and other professionals who use the written word to grow their businesses. Have you ever heard someone say “I’m going to use Twitter to market my book,” or “I’m going to use the Internet to market my business?” This sor [..] > read more

Saleswomanship

Published on 2012-05-09 10:45:42

I was decidedly unexcited when Chi Newman told me that she had been asked to do a book signing at Costco here in Tucson. I told Chi that I recommended against doing it. Though I love Chi’s book, Farewell My Beijing, her memoir of fleeing the communist takeover of China and her subsequent life living in countries around the world, I knew that people pushing shopping carts around Costco on a Saturday afternoon aren’t generally shopping for memoirs. They’re looking for new microwaves or twent [..] > read more

An Amazing Resource: HARO

Published on 2012-05-09 08:53:35

Journalists and reporters—members of the media—need new content like you and I need air to breathe. And they need it right away! During our last Authors Academy teleseminar with radio expert Wayne Kelly of OnAirPublicity.com and the subsequent Q&A call, we discussed the importance of you becoming the go-to resource on your topic for your local media outlets. The following resource doesn’t replace the invaluable strategies Wayne discussed during the teleseminar, but I recommend it, especi [..] > read more

How to Create a Strategic Marketing Plan for Your Book

Published on 2012-05-08 12:46:29

It’s one of the most common misconceptions in marketing: that a marketing tactic is the same as a marketing strategy. Not understanding the difference between the two leads to a whole lot of pain and frustration for many authors as well as entrepreneurs, speakers, and other professionals who use the written word to grow their businesses. The blueprint for your book’s marketing strategy is your book’s marketing plan. This is the single most important piece of marketing collateral [..] > read more

Your Are a Marketer of Your Message

Published on 2012-04-17 11:27:23

One of the biggest pitfalls for a published author is to think of herself primarily as an author with a book to sell, and then to behave that way. That usually translates to waking up in the morning and thinking about how she could talk more about her book and sell more copies that day. Not the most fun way to start the day. Instead, what we recommend in the Authors Academy is that you think of yourself as a marketer, a marketer of your message, and not as an author with a book to sell. Let me g [..] > read more

An Amazing Resource: Evernote

Published on 2012-04-16 19:06:12

When you’re sitting at your computer and you have an idea, you may type it into a document … and forget about it. When you’re out and about, you may jot it down on a piece of paper … and misplace it. Or speak your idea into your phone or voice recorder, only to never bother to find the recording again. You’re frustrated because you have four or five different ways of collecting great ideas, depending on where you are at the moment and what type of tool you need to capture your ideas. I [..] > read more

Give Away My Book for Free?

Published on 2012-04-16 18:49:48

Way back in 2000, bestselling author Seth Godin released the digital version of his book Unleashing the Ideavirus for free, giving readers permission, even encouraging them, to post, email, print, and pass the book along to others. At the time Godin had a small but devoted group of fans and followers, what he would call a tribe. With evangelical zeal Godin’s tribe did as encouraged and posted, emailed, and passed along the digital version of the book (just a PDF file) to anyone and everyone wh [..] > read more

Do You Know Why People Buy Your Books?

Published on 2012-03-06 17:26:27

Do you know why people buy your books? It seems like a question that any author should be able to answer in their sleep. Unfortunately many authors and book marketers (one and the same in my view) don’t know the real answer to this question at all. Most authors can tell you in exacting detail what their books have to offer readers, but often don’t have the first clue what actually motivates purchases of their books. Take sports books, for example. My friend Rich Wolfe, the number-one [..] > read more

Do You Know Why People Buy Your Books?

Published on 2012-03-06 17:26:13

Do you know why people buy your books? It seems like a question that any author should be able to answer in their sleep. Unfortunately many authors and book marketers (one and the same in my view) don’t know the real answer to this question at all. Most authors can tell you in exacting detail what their books have to offer readers, but often don’t have the first clue what actually motivates purchases of their books. Take sports books, for example. My friend Rich Wolfe, the number-one [..] > read more

John Kremer’s Book Marketing Seminar

Published on 2012-03-06 17:22:01

If you want to know how to promote and market your books more effectively in 2012, John Kremer will be giving a one-day seminar in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 31. Here are a few of the topics he’ll cover during this power-packed seminar: The top ten things you can do in 2012 to sell more books The key secrets to setting up and carrying out an effective virtual book tour How to have your book, your website, and your brand go viral via the Internet The inside secrets to developing relationsh [..] > read more

John Kremer’s Book Marketing Seminar

Published on 2012-03-06 17:22:01

If you want to know how to promote and market your books more effectively in 2012, John Kremer will be giving a one-day seminar in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 31. Here are a few of the topics he’ll cover during this power-packed seminar: The top ten things you can do in 2012 to sell more books The key secrets to setting up and carrying out an effective virtual book tour How to have your book, your website, and your brand go viral via the Internet The inside secrets to developing relationsh [..] > read more

Get Motivated!

Published on 2012-02-01 14:45:42

Recently, I attended the all-day Get Motivated! seminar when it came to Tucson. I didn’t actually go to get motivated—an entrepreneur for many years now, I’m plenty motivated as it is. I also didn’t go to buy any of the stuff they were selling—they didn’t have anything I need right now. I went to hear the celebrity presenters, and to study one of most successful marketing processes in the world. First, for $2.95 (essentially free) Get Motivated! attracts nearl [..] > read more

Get Motivated!

Published on 2012-02-01 14:45:42

Recently, I attended the all-day Get Motivated! seminar when it came to Tucson. I didn’t actually go to get motivated—an entrepreneur for many years now, I’m plenty motivated as it is. I also didn’t go to buy any of the stuff they were selling—they didn’t have anything I need right now. I went to hear the celebrity presenters, and to study one of most successful marketing processes in the world. First, for $2.95 (essentially free) Get Motivated! attracts nearl [..] > read more

Why You Don’t Want to Delay Your Ebook Any Longer

Published on 2012-01-31 14:53:02

You may remember that a little over three years ago we asked you if now you thought ebooks were going to make a difference to you as an author. That is the time when Amazon released its Kindle reader. I know what your answer is now. But back then, we had spent the previous decade waiting for ebooks to come of age, to no avail. There were multiple formats and substandard readers that few people wanted. The early Kindle could have seemed to some as simply the latest untested entrant into an otherw [..] > read more

Why You Don’t Want to Delay Your Ebook Any Longer

Published on 2012-01-31 14:53:02

You may remember that a little over three years ago we asked you if now you thought ebooks were going to make a difference to you as an author. That is the time when Amazon released its Kindle reader. I know what your answer is now. But back then, we had spent the previous decade waiting for ebooks to come of age, to no avail. There were multiple formats and substandard readers that few people wanted. The early Kindle could have seemed to some as simply the latest untested entrant into an otherw [..] > read more

An Amazing Resource…

Published on 2012-01-26 14:33:16

This month we searched long and hard for a tool or resource that can dramatically increase your productivity as a content-producing author. With all the high-tech gadgets available to us (in most cases, on us) like smartphones and tablet computers with wireless connections, you’d think that we would have figured out how to use them to take control of our productivity. Instead, we let other people get in touch with us when it’s convenient to them. We check our email first thing in the [..] > read more

An Amazing Resource…

Published on 2012-01-26 14:33:16

This month we searched long and hard for a tool or resource that can dramatically increase your productivity as a content-producing author. With all the high-tech gadgets available to us (in most cases, on us) like smartphones and tablet computers with wireless connections, you’d think that we would have figured out how to use them to take control of our productivity. Instead, we let other people get in touch with us when it’s convenient to them. We check our email first thing in the [..] > read more

How to Get More Done

Published on 2012-01-09 15:08:57

Are you ready to reach your goals in 2012? A lot of New Year's resolutions are broken by the first week of January! The single most important reason for this failure is a lack of action. We picture our goals, but make little or no progress in reaching them. Why? Because we don't know which steps to take, and in what order. Or maybe you're already doing a million things to get closer to achieving your goals... and maybe that's the problem! The mechanism to single out that one step you need t [..] > read more

How to Get More Done

Published on 2012-01-09 15:08:57

Are you ready to reach your goals in 2012? A lot of New Year's resolutions are broken by the first week of January! The single most important reason for this failure is a lack of action. We picture our goals, but make little or no progress in reaching them. Why? Because we don't know which steps to take, and in what order. Or maybe you're already doing a million things to get closer to achieving your goals... and maybe that's the problem! The mechanism to single out that one step you need t [..] > read more

Focus: 2012

Published on 2012-01-05 12:09:45

Have you seen the movie 2012? Neither have I. But I know what it’s about: that the world will end in 2012. I’ll bet you $10,000 that it won’t! (What the heck, make that ten million! You see, I’m betting from a position of strength: I won’t have to pay either way ... I think.) Not only do I not think that the world will end in 2012, I’m determined to make it the best year ever for me, my family, and my company. Possibly only to be surpassed by … 2013. Wi [..] > read more

Focus: 2012

Published on 2012-01-05 12:09:45

Have you seen the movie 2012? Neither have I. But I know what it’s about: that the world will end in 2012. I’ll bet you $10,000 that it won’t! (What the heck, make that ten million! You see, I’m betting from a position of strength: I won’t have to pay either way ... I think.) Not only do I not think that the world will end in 2012, I’m determined to make it the best year ever for me, my family, and my company. Possibly only to be surpassed by … 2013. Wi [..] > read more

It’s 4 in the Morning

Published on 2012-01-05 12:02:29

It’s 4 a.m. in the morning, and you are sound asleep. (You’ve slept so soundly since you finished your manuscript and mailed it off to your agent.) Your cell phone rings. It’s your agent, the one it took you so many years to find. She says in a breathless voice, “I’ve been up all night reading your manuscript. I couldn’t put it down. It’s the Eat, Pray, Love of home plumbing guides. You, my friend, are a genius! I have a limo coming to your house to brin [..] > read more

It’s 4 in the Morning

Published on 2012-01-05 12:02:22

It’s 4 a.m. in the morning, and you are sound asleep. (You’ve slept so soundly since you finished your manuscript and mailed it off to your agent.) Your cell phone rings. It’s your agent, the one it took you so many years to find. She says in a breathless voice, “I’ve been up all night reading your manuscript. I couldn’t put it down. It’s the Eat, Pray, Love of home plumbing guides. You, my friend, are a genius! I have a limo coming to your house to brin [..] > read more

An Amazing Resource: 3D Covers!

Published on 2012-01-04 11:54:10

Ever needed a professional-grade shot of your whole book for promotional purposes (such as the one on the right, a whole stack of them with white background), but all you had was the flat cover image? Well, that’s all you need, it turns out! There are a number of online services where you can just upload the front cover of your book, put it in a template, click a button, and you can save your own “3D” picture of your book, complete with pages. One is at http://www.myecovermaker [..] > read more

An Amazing Resource: 3D Covers!

Published on 2012-01-04 11:54:10

Ever needed a professional-grade shot of your whole book for promotional purposes (such as the one on the right, a whole stack of them with white background), but all you had was the flat cover image? Well, that’s all you need, it turns out! There are a number of online services where you can just upload the front cover of your book, put it in a template, click a button, and you can save your own “3D” picture of your book, complete with pages. One is at http://www.myecovermaker [..] > read more

The Latest Word from a Client…

Published on 2011-12-08 13:53:22

We post short testimonials from our authors in a separate area, but I don't think we could have done a good job excerpting from this one. Thanks to one of our newest clients, Joann MacMaster from the Arizona Center for Innovation: "Coming into this process we really had no idea what to expect. I was a little concerned because I felt we were creating something out of the ordinary, and it was hard for us to conceptualize the final product (3 months ago we didn’t even have content).The editor [..] > read more

The Latest Word from a Client…

Published on 2011-12-08 13:53:22

We post short testimonials from our authors in a separate area, but I don't think we could have done a good job excerpting from this one. Thanks to one of our newest clients, Joann MacMaster from the Arizona Center for Innovation: "Coming into this process we really had no idea what to expect. I was a little concerned because I felt we were creating something out of the ordinary, and it was hard for us to conceptualize the final product (3 months ago we didn’t even have content).The editor [..] > read more

An Amazon Holiday Quick Start

Published on 2011-12-06 15:17:22

The holidays are upon us, and Amazon.com is set to sell more gifts than any other online retailer during this season. I hope you’re already taking advantage of this awesomely powerful marketing platform—Amazon—to sell more books. If not, here’s my holiday gift to you: A brief, 7-step procedure to quick-start your book sales on Amazon: Step 1: Get Your Book Listed for Sale on Amazon If you published with Wheatmark, this has already been taken care of for you. All of the me [..] > read more

7 Writing Mistakes Editors Constantly Fix to Make Your Book Saleable

Published on 2011-12-06 14:52:22

Do mistakes that authors commonly make keep your writing from being powerful—and saleable? How can you fix them before you hand over your manuscript for editing? Barbara McNichol presents an hour-long teleclass on Wednesday, December 7 that addresses seven writing problems you might not easily recognize on your own—and how to fix them. By participating in this teleclass, you’ll learn how to avoid these seven writing mistakes so your editor won’t have to fix them: Lo [..] > read more