Welcome to the January 25, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., February 8, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., February 6, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

Marketing and Online Marketing

Dana Lynn Smith presents Does Your Author Website Need a Makeover? – The Savvy Book Marketer posted at The Savvy Book Marketer.

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: Video Interview Tools and Tips — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Dan Janal presents Tips to Succeed on Reality TV posted at Selling Books saying, “It seems like everyone wants to be a Reality TV star. If that’s in your plan, consider these look-good/feel-good tips to become a reality star and best selling author.”

khaled presents Estimate the Response to Your Internet Marketing posted at internet marketing, saying, “Starting an Internet marketing campaign is only the first step within the battle. Sure it’s a good plan to begin an Internet marketing campaign if members of your audience are doubtless to use the Internet to research or purchase the products you sell or the services you provide however these promoting efforts may turn out to be a whole waste of your time if you’re not diligent concerning evaluating the response to your Internet marketing.”

Sarah Bolme presents eBook Price Trends posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Writing and Publishing

Kathy Stinson presents What organizations have you found helpful to you as a writer? posted at Turning the Pages.

Jason Ward presents My Books – The Word of Ward posted at The Word of Ward, saying, “Hi there, this is a link to the information and blurb about my eBook, ‘The Uneven Passage of Time’. Thanks a lot.”

Welcome to the January 11, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., January 25, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., January 23, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

Marketing and Online Marketing

Dana Lynn Smith presents Simple Ways to Add a “Call to Action” to Blog Posts posted at The Savvy Book Marketer.

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: Where Are the Readers? — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Corinne Liccketto presents 6 Book Publicity Tips for the New Year posted at Selling Books saying, “These six simple book publicity tips will help set you on the path to book promotion in the new year.”

Phil Byrne presents Discovering The Authentic Online You | Coffee Kicks posted at Coffee Kicks – SEO, Link Building.

Joel Friedlander presents Your Author Platform: It’s Not About You! — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Nick Daws presents Why Amazon Authors Should be Promoting Like Gangbusters Right Now! posted at Nick Daws’ Writing Blog.

Dana Lynn Smith presents The Best Way to Market Your Book – The Savvy Book Marketer posted at The Savvy Book Marketer.

Sarah Bolme presents Email Marketing Still Important posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Lindsay presents Tips for Getting Your Self-Published Book into the Library posted at The Irreverent Introvert, saying, “I interviewed a librarian and got the lowdown on getting self-published books into the library.”

Writing and Publishing

Lindsay presents How Many People Can *Really* Make a Living Self-Publishing? posted at The Irreverent Introvert, saying, “A moderately successful indie author shares some of her sales stats and thoughts after almost a year of e-publishing.”

Sarah Bolme presents Doing It Right posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Cathy Stucker presents Quotes About Writing posted at Selling Books saying, “Here are some of my favorite quotations about writing, from writers and others.”

Kathy Stinson presents “An Intimate Examination of Sock Fluff” – Part 1 posted at Turning the Pages: Kathy Stinson’s Blog.

O.C. Heaton presents Do you have a Memory Palace? posted at A Rush of Green, saying, “Here’s a question for all authors out there. Do you ever struggle to remember the characters in your books? What about those incidental characters, created on the hoof?”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of book marketing carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Welcome to the December 14, 2011 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., December 28, 2011. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., November 21, 2011. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

We are also accepting articles for publication here at http://SellingBooks.com/. Check out this information on how to submit your publishing articles, then send us your best!

Marketing and Online Marketing

Joel Friedlander presents Your Author Platform: It’s Not About You! — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Scott Lorenz presents How Amanda Hocking REALLY Did It posted at Selling Books saying, “Amanda Hocking’s talent for both writing and knowing how to market her books has enabled her to become a wildly successful author. ”

Nick Daws presents Why Amazon Authors Should be Promoting Like Gangbusters Right Now! posted at Nick Daws’ Writing Blog.

Dana Lynn Smith presents The Best Way to Market Your Book – The Savvy Book Marketer posted at The Savvy Book Marketer.

Alenka presents The Social Media Marketing Book posted at Free Downloads Marketing eBooks, saying, “Take advantage of the phenomenon that is quickly becoming the most effective way to market brands, products, and services – social media.”

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: Blog Infrastructure — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Jon Rhodes presents Get Paid To Lose Weight! posted at Affiliate Help!, saying, “This article shows you how to get paid for losing weight and writing about it.”

Lindsay presents What the Heck is Author Branding and How Do You Do It Anyway? posted at The Irreverent Introvert, saying, “Some tips for authors looking to establish their brand and sell more books.”
Phil Byrne presents Discovering The Authentic Online You | Coffee Kicks posted at Coffee Kicks – SEO, Link Building.

Sarah Bolme presents Doing It Right posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Phil Byrne presents Connecting Your Google Plus Profile To Your Websites/Blogs/Articles | Coffee Kicks posted at Coffee Kicks – SEO, Link Building.

Chantel Sweeney presents Virtual Book Tours: Book Signings in Cyberspace posted at Freelance Kicker, saying, “Overview of the Virtual Book Tour concept.”

Derek Pryde presents Learning the Basics of RSS posted at Making money on the internet ADVICE.

Writing and Publishing

Kathy Stinson presents One Dickens of a Messy Manuscript posted at Turning the Pages: Kathy Stinson’s Blog.

Lindsay presents Is There a Secret to Self-Publishing Success? posted at Savvy Self-Publishing, saying, “Tips from an indie author making a full time income after her first year of self-publishing.”

Cathy Stucker presents KDP Select – Get Your Share of $6 Million posted at Selling Books saying, “Although it is controversial, the KDP Select program for Amazon Kindle ebooks can be a great opportunity for some authors and some books.”

Lanee’ Blunt presents Write Time Publishing: How to Write a Cover Letter for a Book Proposal posted at Write Time Publishing.

Lindsay presents How Many People Can *Really* Make a Living Self-Publishing? posted at The Irreverent Introvert, saying, “A moderately successful indie author shares some of her sales stats and thoughts after almost a year of e-publishing.”

Sarah Bolme presents Doing It Right posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Lanee’ Blunt presents Write Time Publishing: How to Become a Self-Publisher posted at Write Time Publishing.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of book marketing carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Discover the secrets that successful authors use to market their books online. In “Book Marketing Made Easy” you will learn how to: increase your credibility and be seen as an expert in your field; sell more books to people who will benefit from your message; create multiple sources of income with the content of your book; harness the power of multimedia marketing to reach more people; and use social media to increase your influence and expand your market. “D’vorah Lansky gets it. She understands the importance of perpetual promotion to make a book successful. Book Marketing Made Easy overflows with valuable and do-able information. It contains inside scoop that I have not found anywhere else. A ‘must-have’ for the serious publisher.” Brian Jud, author of “How to Make Real Money Selling Books” and “Beyond the

Read More

Welcome to the November 9, 2011 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., November 23, 2011. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., November 21, 2011. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

We are also accepting articles for publication here at http://SellingBooks.com/. Check out this information on how to submit your publishing articles, then send us your best!

Marketing and Online Marketing

Nick Daws presents An Easy Way to Make a Video Book Trailer posted at Nick Daws’ Writing Blog.

bizauthor presents Why You Should Give Away Free Copies of Your Ebook | authoritypublishing.com posted at Authority Publishing, saying, “Thank you!”

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: 11 Reasons Your Blog Isn’t Working — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Other

Nick Thacker presents How to Make Reading A Habit posted at Nick Thacker, saying, “A somewhat humorous post on the benefits of reading, writing, and the detriment of non-”bookies” to society.”

Writing and Publishing

Doris presents Entrepreneurs as Authors; Savvy Writers & e-Books online posted at Savvy Writers & e-Books online.

Cathy Stucker presents Get Ready for NaNoWriMo posted at Selling Books saying, “National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is the perfect time to stop saying, “I want to write a book,” and get down to writing it.”

Andre Cruz presents How to Publish a Book on Your Own posted at The Word.

Doris presents How to overcome Writer’s Block « Savvy Writers & e-Books online posted at Savvy Writers & e-Books online.

Nick Thacker presents How to Write a Novel in 30 Days posted at Nick Thacker, saying, “Writing a novel can be fun, rewarding, and enjoyable–but it can also be difficult. Here are some tips to help you out.”

George Anglada presents Becoming A Writer posted at Georgesguide, saying, “becoming a writer”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of book marketing carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Welcome to the October 26, 2011 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., November 9, 2011. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., November 7, 2011. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

We are also accepting articles for publication here at http://SellingBooks.com/. Check out this information on how to submit your publishing articles, then send us your best!

Marketing and Online Marketing

Stephanie Chandler presents How authors can break into professional speaking | authoritypublishing.com posted at Authority Publishing.

Sarah Bolme presents The Truth About Marketing Your Book posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Lindsay B presents Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 101 for Authors posted at Savvy Self-Publishing, saying, “Though search engine optimization isn’t the most exciting topic, it can get more people to your site, people who might just go on to check out your books!”

Lindsay presents Should You Add a Forum to Your Author Website? posted at The Irreverent Introvert, saying, “Creating a community where your fans can hang out has it’s perks, but it has it’s downsides too. Read the pros and cons to see if a forum is right for your site.”

Isaac presents Advertise on Twitter to take advantage of this powerful marketing tool posted at Easy Market Solutions.

Other

O.C. Heaton presents Is the path to enlightenment paved with e-books? posted at A Rush of Green, saying, “Michael Hart had a grand vision, which he named Project Gutenberg: e-books for all, for free. He aimed to provide “a million e-books each to a billion people all over the globe”…”

Writing and Publishing

Lanee’ Blunt presents How to Get a Novel Published posted at Write Time Publishing.

Joel Friedlander presents Niche Publishing and the Power of the Few — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Deanna Proach presents Changing Genres? posted at Selling Books saying, “‘Genre’ is what defines a writer, or does it? Should a writer be confined to write in one genre? Is it risky for an author to change the genre that he or she writes in?”

James Moushon presents eBook Authors: Is the New Kindle Library Lending Program a New Opportunity for Self-publishers? posted at The eBook Author’s Corner.

Bobbi Linkemer presents Do You Have What it Takes to be a Ghostwriter? posted at Selling Books saying, “Do you have what it takes? Take this simple test, and find out.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of book marketing carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

If you’re an author, I’m sure you’ve heard by now about the ‘author platform.’ Every book publicist, publisher, distributor, literary agent, etc. will tell you – a book’s success depends largely on the author’s platform. So what is the author platform? And, more importantly, how do you build yours?

The author platform is often the heart of a book publicity campaign. It is, essentially, a list of the author’s credentials in areas that pertain to the content of the book. The author platform may be strengthened by career or life experiences, club and association affiliations, education credentials, and testimonials, among others. An author’s platform establishes credibility for his or her book. You may have the best financial self-help book around but without author credentials, the media and your consumer may not take a second look and your book publicity campaign may suffer. You’ve heard us say it before: “You can’t interview a book.” Thus, the author’s platform, or background, must speak for the book in order to help spark awareness.

So, how do you build your author platform? Here are three tips to get you started:

1) Write what you know: While it might seem like an obvious tip, you’d be surprised how many people step outside of their ‘comfort’ zone to write about things their background doesn’t quite support. Even if it’s a novel, the main themes and plotline should definitely be relevant to your area of expertise! For example, are you an educator? Incorporate an education theme or teacher/student bond into your novel. This will allow your publicist to incorporate ‘real life’ information into your book publicity campaign and position you for interview opportunities.

Writing about what you know helps establish your author platform, incorporate your background into the content of the book and, ultimately, allows your book to reinforce your message because a book simply cannot speak for itself!

2) Pitch to your local media: Local media is most receptive to local authors and their books since coverage of either is relevant and ‘newsworthy’ to their audience. Approach your local media with a copy of your book, a tailored cover letter, and a book release. In your cover letter, make sure you stress that you are a local author and give the editor ideas on how they can incorporate your book/you into their outlet. Perhaps they could run an author profiling story on how you came to write the book. Or they may consider mentioning your book in a local highlights section. Remember, media results build upon themselves and soliciting media runs adds strength to your author platform.

3) Join clubs and organizations: By associating yourself with clubs and organizations that pertain to the content of your book, you’re helping to round out the promotional package. Remember, a book publicity campaign is strongly supported by the author’s credentials. Pull out the main themes in your book – yes, even novels! – and research local clubs and organizations in your area that may tie into them. If your publicist has the opportunity to tie your affiliation with the local SPCA into the promotion for your novel about a family’s beloved dog, your author platform will grow – and so will the appeal for your book.

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

Want more tips on building your author platform? Sign up for Cathy Stucker’s Selling Books newsletter and get her audio with advice on Building an Effective Author Platform. The newsletter and the audio are FREE!

Welcome to the October 12, 2011 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., October 26, 2011. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., October 24, 2011. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

We are also accepting articles for publication here at http://SellingBooks.com/. Check out this information on how to submit your publishing articles, then send us your best!

Marketing and Online Marketing

Cathy Stucker presents How to Tag Your Book on Amazon.com posted at Selling Books saying, “Want to make it easier for customers to find your book or other product on Amazon.com? One simple way to get more visitors to your product page is to use the product tags feature on Amazon. This video shows how to easily add tags to your product.”

Jackie Lapin presents Getting Booked on Radio and TV with a Pitch That Wows Them! posted at Selling Books saying, “Getting one radio show to book you may be just luck. But getting dozens or even hundreds of radio shows to book you means that you must have a compelling pitch letter and subject that are irresistible.”

Sandy Diaz presents The Difference Between Book Publicity and Advertising posted at Selling Books saying, “The best way to explain the difference between publicity and advertising is to pick up a magazine and find a story featuring an author, and in the same issue find an advertisement for a book. The article gives the author and his title credibility as the reader knows the magazine thinks enough of the person to incorporate him or her into the story. The advertisement gives the author exposure; however the reader also knows someone paid for this advertisement. Therein lies the key difference: credibility vs. control.”

Evan Gold presents Earning Income Online What It Takes posted at Internet Income Formula.

Other

Melanie Slaugh presents Old School Networking 101: Before Social Media posted at Internet Service Providers, saying, “Let’s begin with some definitions. What is networking? Well, it’s pretty simple, actually. Networking is nothing more than making and nurturing connections between people. We all do it, though some are more adept at it than others. Usually, a network is defined as a group of connections through which people socialize, share resources, and enhance productivity.”

Writing and Publishing

Kathy Stinson presents So You Want to Write a Children’s Book posted at Turning the Pages: Kathy Stinson’s Blog, saying, “Award-winning children’s book editor and writing teacher Peter Carver has published a handbook on writing for children.”

Joel Friedlander presents The Parable of the Little Book of Stories — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Vikk Simmons presents Is Writing Your True Passion? posted at Down the Writer’s Path, saying, “I’m on a quest to reclaim my passion. When did it leave? Why is it absent? Where did it go? I guess I could spend time and a lot of angst trying to answer those questions but does it matter? What matters is that I am passionless. What matters even more is that I want my passion back.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

So, you’ve written The Great American Novel, and it’s about to be published. What next? The whole point to writing a book is so that someone (or a lot of someones) will read it. However, it’s rare that someone will walk into a bookstore and select a book they’ve heard nothing about. With a little ingenuity and hard work, you can market your work and increase sales. Read on for some tips for marketing your book online.

Create an Audience

This is why it’s important to begin creating your audience as soon as you can. This can start as soon as you have a reasonable idea of what your book will be about and when it will be released. Start describing your writing progress on your personal blog and encourage everyone you know to visit the blog, make comments and tell others about your upcoming book.

Procrastination is not an option here! By letting anyone and everyone know about your book, you increase the possibility that your fans will line up to buy it when it’s published.

Network Your Heart Out

Writers tend to be a cliquish bunch, with poets separating themselves from fiction writers, who in turn isolate themselves from nonfiction writers, and so forth. Thankfully, readers aren’t as finicky, often buying a wide array of writings. With this in mind, it makes sense to promote your work across all genres. Be shameless about this! Not only will you develop contacts who may help you further your writing, but you may gain readers who would have otherwise been clueless about the existence of your book.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

The Internet has made marketing a lot easier than it used to be. Take advantage of technology by creating a website and opening accounts on various social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, DeviantArt, etc. This will increase your fan base exponentially, which will lead to more book sales. Not only can you update your fans about progress on your book, potential publishing dates, and so forth, but you can release “teaser” chapters to hook readers.

Integrate Search Engines into Your Efforts

One of the best ways to increase your fan base is to become visible in search engines. This can be done by incorporating specific keywords on your blog, such as the title of your work and a few descriptive words (e.g., “crime novel” or “young adult fiction”).

Also, visit Google Webmaster Central  to learn how Google crawls, indexes and ranks websites. By using specific keywords and submitting a sitemap of your site, you increase the likelihood that your site (and therefore your work) will be found through search.

Keep at It (But Maintain Balance)

When it comes to marketing your work, it’s important to remember the adage, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Even the most seasoned marketing firms know this is a nuanced process that requires time and patience. Make a habit of doing a little marketing every day, and you will eventually start reaping the benefits of all of your hard work. Be sure not to burn yourself out, though, or your victory will not seem nearly as sweet.

As you can see, marketing is mostly common sense with a little strategy mixed in. Why pay someone to do it when you can do it yourself? Not only will marketing your own work save you money, but it will increase your overall confidence and help you gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to write a great book. Best of luck!

Derrick Cruise is currently writing a book of poetry, and plans to market it himself using various strategies, including email marketing.

As a book publicist working with authors from all walks of life, I’m often asked to explain the difference between book publicity and advertising.

When a book is launched, the goal is to create awareness about the author and his or her title for a variety of reasons including sparking book sales, building the author’s brand, positioning the author as an expert, and attracting professional opportunities for the author such as speaking engagements, professional advancement, and future publishing options.

Publicity and advertising are two strategies employed to create awareness. Most people have a clear understanding of advertising since they’re exposed to it every day as they watch television, read a newspaper or visit an online news site. Publicity, however, is seamless to most consumers as the author, person, product, etc. is part of the news.

Advertising and Publicity: Control and Timing vs. Credibility

In advertising, someone—the publisher or author—pays the media outlet for advertising space or airtime. The buyer has 100% control over what is in the advertisement and when it appears. The primary benefit of advertising is control.

With publicity, it’s the book publicist’s job to convince the media the author will provide readers or listeners with meaningful information—whether entertaining, insightful, educational, inspiring, or controversial—and then to make the author part of the news in some way. Examples of media coverage include feature stories, articles, book reviews, interviews, op-ed pieces, expert commentaries, etc. There is no payment from the author or publicist to the media for this coverage. Each of the parties involved–the media outlet and author–get something they want and need.

Put simply, the role of a book publicist is to make their authors newsworthy. The result gives the author immeasurable credibility. The benefit of being “seen on” or “featured in” well respected media outlets lasts long after a publicity campaign ends. The primary benefit of publicity is credibility, and when it works, it is priceless.

The best way to explain the difference between publicity and advertising is to pick up a magazine and find a story featuring an author, and in the same issue find an advertisement for a book. The article gives the author and his title credibility as the reader knows the magazine thinks enough of the person to incorporate him or her into the story. The advertisement gives the author exposure; however the reader also knows someone paid for this advertisement. Therein lies the key difference: credibility vs. control.

An important point authors should keep in mind is when the media does a story or interview, the publicist and author loses control. Publicists suggest direction for the coverage, but publicists can’t control if they cover the author, how he or she is covered or when. A producer or editor can do whatever they want and go in any direction. They may sing the praises of an author and his or her book, or spin the story in an unforeseen direction, including writing a bad review.
When you want planned, controlled exposure, advertising is the route to explore. If you are considering publicity, know there are no guarantees, but again, when it works, it literally provides coverage you can’t buy.

Sandy Diaz is the President of Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.