Tag: CAN Crown awards

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Marketing Interviews

Interview with C.A.N. Crown Award Winner Carla Hoch

marketing interviews

The Christian Authors Network’s innovative Crown Awards celebrate excellence in Christian Media and Marketing.

Purpose: To recognize, educate, and encourage excellence in marketing and promotion skills of all Christian authors. The awards are given in three categories:

  • Visual Media
  • Broadcasting
  • Web Presence

Carla Hoch is the CAN Marketing Web Presence Media Gold Award Winner for her promotion of her online brand, FightWrite™.

Carla past led to her studying self-defense and training women speaking on emotional abuse, precursors to physical violence, personal and emotional boundaries and tips for staying safe and escaping abusive scenarios. Carla started a blog after teaching about writing fight scenes at conferences.

Tell us about your blog.

FightWrite™ is a writer’s resource for writing fight scenes, action and violence of any kind. It covers all aspects of conflict: technical movement, biological precipitators and aftermath, psychological impact and the craft of putting it all together.

What led you to create it?

I was writing a book with fight scenes in it and didn’t know the first thing about fighting. So, I took a self-defense class. That class was the spark that launched me full throttle into martial arts. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn.

While attending the Realm Makers Writer’s Conference, I was asked to be on a panel regarding fight scenes. A conference coordinator knew a bit about my training and asked me to sit on the panel as a fighting “expert.” Far from expert, I sat on the panel and although there were many questions regarding the craft of writing, more often than not, writers just wanted to know about fighting, how to do it and how it felt.

The next year, at the same conference, the coordinators asked if I could do a live critique of a couple fight scenes. As a former high school teacher, I had plenty of experience teaching rowdy groups so I said, sure, why not? By that time, I had several years of training under my belt.

As I critiqued the fight scenes, I would demonstrate why they did or didn’t work. An editor friend of mine, Ben Wolf, who had some martial arts training assisted me. He let me throw him around and the crowd loved it. If you’ve never seen me, you might not appreciate the spectacle of it. I’m the size of a strapping fifth grade boy, plus, I’m a wee bit long in the tooth. I don’t look like someone who knows how to make a fist, much less what to do with it.

When I got off the stage, Quill Pen Editorial Services approached me about editing fight scenes for them. And it suddenly occurred to me how big a need there was for help in writing fight scenes. So, I got the crazy idea to start a blog. And, here I am, going stronger than ever since 2016.

How does your passion motivate you to promote your blog? What keeps you motivated?

It doesn’t. And, I am seldom motivated to write or promote or train. But that has no bearing on whether or not I work. If I only did what I was motivated to do I’d be in bed eating chocolate and watching reruns.

Motivation is like a fire. Sometimes there are lightning strikes that start the fire. But that is rare. For the most part, you have to create a fire. You can’t just look at the fireplace and think, when there is a fire in the fireplace, I will start the fire in the fireplace. You have to get up, get the ash out, get the wood and kindling in, light the thing and then tend do it.

Motivation is a beautiful thing. And the ugliest excuse.

You don’t have a lot of books, so what else is part of your brand?

I am a regular featured writer for Writer’s Digest and an instructor for Writer’s Digest University. I have a blog, FightWrite.net, to which I post regularly, as well as a podcast, and IG and YouTube channels. I teach at writers’ conferences, do contract mentoring and editing for individuals and publishers. I stay busy.

How has your personal training in fighting helped you develop a brand? What are your special areas of martial arts?

Fight training has toughened my resolve, muzzled my ego and created in me a dogged determination to be better tomorrow than I was today. It has taught me how to take punches, how to fall, and how to get back to my feet and that losing is not the same as being beaten. It has shown me the value of mistakes and that, more often than not, success is a battle of attrition. I don’t have to be the best. I just have to be the best at not giving up. But, above all, fight training has taught me that my greatest opponent is and will always be me. I have to believe in me, I have to be on my side or the battle will never end and without rest, a fighter is as good as dead.

Creating anything, whether it be a brand, book or boat, is a battle. It’s a battle against doubt, distractions and discouragement. It’s a battle against naysayers and those who believe your success lessens their own. Fighting hasn’t helped me develop my brand. It’s the backbone of it.

My fighting experience…ok, let me think here. I call it fight experience because not all falls into a category of martial art. I have training in: aikido, Brazilian jiujitsu, iaido (katana work), judo, MMA, Muay Thai, tae kwon do, Filipino Martial arts (bladework) street defense (self-defense with weaponry) and am learning some wrestling. I’ve also been taught a wee bit of kung fu. Of all I’ve studied, Brazilian jiujitsu is the one I keep coming back to. I train 5-6 days a week and compete every now and then. I’m competing in a world championship next month.

You won gold for your won gold for your brand FightWrite™ and your overhauled website. What made it more professional? What components should writers look at in changing their website?

After my first CAN award, I was interviewed by the wonderful Thomas Umstattd who runs Author Media and is the host of the Novel Marketing Podcast. If readers remember only one thing from this interview, it should be Thomas Umstattd. Seriously.

After the interview he was kind enough to chat with me and give me some hard truths. One of those was that my site needed a major overhaul. At that time, it was still a blogger site and cumbersome to navigate at best.

I took his Author Media classes on building a social media platform, made a million notes and followed every single one. My site looks like it does because of Thomas Umstattd and his classes. I still go back and listen to his podcasts for help in maintaining my site. I’m working on the SEOs right now and have almost doubled page views in one month.

Here are a few things I learned from Thomas:

1. Your site should have a clear purpose. Are you trying to sell more books? Are you building a brand or fan base? Be sure that the home page meets the needs of that purpose.

2. Have a few call-to-action buttons. You can have a million pages on your site. Take out the most important one, two or three and make buttons that send people directly to those pages. Leave the rest in a pull-down menu. I have three call-to-action buttons: Read the Blog, Buy the Book, Contact Me.

3. Do only what you can do. You don’t have to pay money for a professional site. But you need a site that looks professional. If you can do that using YouTube, go, you!

4. Listen to the Novel Marketing Podcast.

Why is it important to use a paid rather than a free website host?

I’m not sure it always is. If you can’t afford a paid host, I think you can still have a site that looks amazing. However, your web address will have the host’s name. Even though I owned the domain fightwrite.net, my actual address was fightingwrite.blogspot. And that was all I needed for the first few years when information was my only product.

Once I began teaching and writing for Writer’s Digest and booking more conferences, I needed more than the free site.

To overhaul my site, I went to Stormhill Media. They specialize in author websites. And, if you use them, tell them I sent you. You might get a wee discount.

It took a while to get traction on your site. What helped?

Thomas Umstattd. Seriously, I owe him a great deal. And, as I said, tweaking my SEOs has doubled my traffic in a month. SEO is Search Engine Optimization. It’s a tool that helps you rank higher on search engines. Whenever anyone Googles “writing fight scenes,” my SEOs help my site to pop up toward the top of the search results.

What incentives did you use to attract followers?

I give them something they need that’s just not out there in the way I present it.

Did you try marketing strategies that did not work for you? What did you learn from them?

First and foremost, I try to make quality blog posts. A problem I had at first was coming up with a blog idea and then trying to create a good SEO to make my post pop up whenever anyone searched for the topic. After listening to the Novel Marketing Podcast, I learned to FIRST look at what people were searching for and THEN create the blog.

Which aspects of marketing do you enjoy the most?

I like making IG posts. I’m kind of artsy.

Which aspects do you find most challenging?

All of it. Marketing myself or my book isn’t something I’m naturally good at. I have to really work at it.

What marketing advice can you give bloggers or podcasters that you wished you had gotten, or that you wish you would have heeded?

Everything happened for me in the time it should have. For others, do your research. Take courses on marketing your book, making a site, optimizing SEO. Take notes and have one goal at the time. And be patient with yourself. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a web site.

How do you come up with new ideas for your podcast and blog?

I ask writers what they are looking for and I use AnswerThePublic.com. It’s a brilliant tool!

What’s involved in getting a trademark and why was that important to you?

The more work I did under the brand, the more aware I was that people could piggyback off my hard work. Getting a ™ is a matter of paperwork and fees. It can take a year or more for the ™ to become ®. A ™ is simply a place holder which announces to the world that you are seeking registration for something. The sticky part is if that ™ is challenged by another entity wanting a similar trademark or if another exists that is too similar.

Please share how you keep your site in the top 100 of Writer’s Digest sites for writers.

I can’t say for sure what WD is looking for in its Top Sites for Writers list. And, I don’t know if I’m on it until the list comes out. What I do know is that my site is the only of its kind.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about your marketing or writing journey?

Don’t give up. Mohammed Ali estimated that over the course of his career he was struck some 29,000 times. Since then, research has shown that number is closer to 200,000. There are two things we can learn from that. One, Ali was more interested in moving forward than keeping up with the punches he took. Two, he never saw himself as less than the greatest of all time even when another fighter was able to tag him. Getting hit was just part of it of the process. He wasn’t the fighter he was despite the punches he took. He was who he was because he took them.

Your work will be criticized. You will be turned down. You will be discouraged. And that is good. It is all part of being a writer. Like Ali, you won’t be the writer you should become despite the punches. You will be the writer you should become because of the punches. Don’t give up. Consider the tough times as simply part of the process. And, there may be tough times when you may have to back away from writing. That is ok. It’s not a race. There’s enough success to go around.

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Marketing Interviews

Marketing Advice from C.A.N. Crown Award Winner Susan Neal

marketing interviews

The Christian Authors Network’s innovative Crown Awards celebrate excellence in Christian Media and Marketing.

Purpose: To recognize, educate, and encourage excellence in marketing and promotion skills of all Christian authors. The awards are given in three categories:

  • Visual Media
  • Broadcasting
  • Web Presence

Susan Neal won the 2020 CAN Crown Award for Outstanding Broadcast Media for her book marketing campaign. She is a trusted advisor for authors and helps many sell more books. Susan is the Director of Christian Indie Publishing Association (CIPA) and Christian Indie Awards.

As a Certified AWSA Writer Coach, Susan Neal RN, MBA, MHS, desires to help others publish and sell their God-given message. She is the author of eight healthy living books. Her self-published, award-winning, best-seller, 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates, won the Selah award and sold over 17,000 copies in three years.

You pulled a few titles together under one brand. How did you do that and why does it help an author in marketing their books?

I wrote a series of the three nonfiction healthy living books:

I combined all three of these books into a mega book, Healthy Living Series: 3 Books in 1. The reader benefit of the megabook is they get three books for the price of two and they have everything under one cover.

Writing a series is always a good idea because if a reader loves your first book, they will buy all the books in your series. Tell the reader about your other books inside of each of your books (about 3–5 times sprinkled links or mentions in the manuscript) and at the end of the book under Other Products. Since I am a self-published author, I edited all of my books and incorporated this information along with my course, 7 Steps to Reclaim Your Health and Optimal Weight. I also explain that I am a Certified Christian Health & Wellness Coach with the American Association of Christian Counselors. As authors, we make more money from coaching and courses than books. Therefore, we need to diversify our portfolio and let our readers know these resources exist.

What led you to write what you do?

Ten years ago, I suffered a health crisis. An abscessed tooth poisoned my body and within fifteen months, I suffered from ten medical diagnoses and two surgeries. Five years after I was healed, I received the calling to write about my experience along with my background as a registered nurse with a masters in health science.

How does your passion motivate you to promote your books? What keeps you motivated?

My books are written from a Christian perspective. If it was easy to change our eating habits, we all would. But it is not. So I incorporate God’s tools into the steps for improving one’s health and weight. My books are not about me, but about improving the health of the body of Christ. As authors, we should not be shy about telling the public about our Christian books, because they help further the kingdom of God.

When I receive Divine-inspired ideas for books, I feel motivated to write them. For my newest release, Eat God’s Food: A Kid’s Guide to Healthy Eating, my motivation is to teach kids in their formative years to eat healthy foods and not be tricked by the food manufacturers to eat junk food.

You won a Crown Award for your broadcast campaign. Tell us a little about your strategy.

My goal was to be interviewed on a podcast or radio show every week for eight months. I queried about 100 shows and was interviewed on twenty-nine during that time. I created a course, How to Book a Podcast Tour, to help other authors obtain interviews. A podcast tour increases your exposure through online influencers who have a large audience. As a show guest, they promote you and your book without paying for advertising. This new audience acquires a taste of who you are during the interview. And the interview lingers in the podcast arena for as long as the show is listed on any platform (iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, PodBean, etc.). I sold over 7000 books during that eight-month period.

What do you include in your query that you send to media outlets?

Before I query a host, I listen to a show and write an iTunes review for it. I recommend including the following in a query letter:

  • Address the host by name
  • What you like about their show
  • Wrote an iTunes review for their show
  • Who you are and why you are an expert
  • Three topics
  • Include a link to your media page or attach a media kit/one-sheet
  • Short—less than 300 words.

How do you craft your pitch and message to various audiences?

You want to be interviewed on podcasts in different categories so more listeners hear your message. After you listen to the show come up with three different topics that would benefit that host’s audience. For example, I was on many podcasts about healthy living but also on a couple writer podcasts and one about starting a new career after the age of fifty.

Changing categories in Amazon helps authors and helped you place in the top 100 in various categories and a number one spot on Amazon. What are the benefits of using several categories and how do you choose the best ones?

A couple years ago, Amazon allowed authors to increase the number of categories that their book is in from three to ten. When I added additional categories, 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates moved from #98 in the diet category to #1 in the healthy diet category. It has remained #1–5 for over a year. If your book ranks from 1 to 100 in any Amazon category, your book is placed in that categories Amazon Best Sellers list. Readers check the Best Sellers list for the best books to buy in their preferred genre.

When you expand your book’s categories, you want to add some smaller categories that only takes a few book sales to get your book in the top ten for that category. Authors need to learn additional tactics to improve book sales. Expanding categories is one of them, so I created the course. Improve Your Books Amazon Rank by Expanding Categories & Strengthening Keywords. You use Publisher Rocket to find your categories.

Self-published authors and traditionally published authors with small presses can usually expand their book’s categories. I checked with my publisher, Elk Lake Publishing, about expanding my book’s categories. I sent the editor my new categories and within a day Eat God’s Food was listed in six Amazon Best Seller lists. A friend checked with New Hope Publishing, and they also expanded her book’s categories.

What are the benefits of placing number one in an Amazon category?

When your book becomes #1 on Amazon in any category, Amazon places a red “Best Seller” sticker under the book’s title. Now that’s advertising at its best!

You also worked on improving Pinterest and hired help that increased your Pinterest views from 2000 monthly to 1.5 million views. What helps authors do better in Pinterest?

Pinterest is the second largest search engine behind Google. Pinterest is a social media platform that can easily drive traffic to your website. In January 2021, my website, SusanUNeal.com, had over 9000 website views. I achieved this through hiring a Pinterest social media expert. She worked on my Pinterest account and made it look visually appealing. She also adds three gorgeous Pinterest pins to the bottom of each of my weekly blog posts. These pins drive traffic from Pinterest to my website, and that is the primary way readers find my website.

When is it beneficial to hire help and how do you choose who to hire?

I am not very tech-savvy, so if it is going to take me a half-day to figure out how to create a landing page or use an email platform, it would save me time to hire someone. I work with a graphic designer, virtual assistant, and webmaster. I use their expertise in creating the best products. My virtual assistant (VA) and I have worked together since 2015. She trains VAs. If you would like to be matched with a VA that will meet your needs, check out her matching services here.

You track your efforts with a spreadsheet. What is important to track and how do you keep good records?

If you don’t measure your marketing tactics, how do you know if they were effective? I created a spreadsheet that includes the marketing effort, three-day website views, book sales, and Amazon rank. When you are ready to launch your next book, you can look at what strategy was most effective.

Where did you start in the planning of your marketing, and did you focus on one main component or area?

After I published 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates, I tried to publish one guest blog and magazine article and be on one podcast or radio show per month. Last year, I focused on the podcast tour. But my marketing strategy primarily remains the same.

Did you try marketing strategies that did not work for you? What did you learn from them?

Yes, publishing a guest blog post on websites that do not receive adequate traffic or have a low domain authority brings your website’s Google rank down. Domain authority is a search engine ranking score that measures the probability that a website will be listed on a search engine result page. You can measure a website’s domain authority at moz.com.

A domain authority between 40 and 50 is considered average and between 50 to 60 is good. I would not write a guest blog for a site with a domain authority below 15, as that can lower your website’s rank on Google. But writing for a site with a domain authority above yours will improve your website’s rank on Google. I teach authors about this in the course, Improve Book Sales by Enhancing Public Relations Through Media, Retailers, & Consumers.

Which aspects of marketing do you enjoy the most?

I like to outsmart the tech giants—Amazon, Facebook, etc. For example, to get Facebook to show my followers my new book, I displayed two versions of Eat God’s Food book covers and asked for their opinion. Within one hour, Facebook showed the post to sixty people. Within two days, the post was shown to over 250 people. Facebook does not like you to include links on your posts because that takes the person off of Facebook; but they like it when you ask for your followers’ opinion.

Which aspects do you find most challenging?

“Pay to play” on social media platforms is a discouraging. If I post a blog link on Facebook, only three to five people see it. That is disappointing.

What marketing advice can you give writers you wished you had gotten, or that you wish you would have heeded?

Don’t give up, and it takes money to make money. The first few years, I put all the money I earned back into publishing more books, marketing, creating audiobooks, etc. My first book was published in 2016. It took five years to accomplish all that I’ve put into place. Take a long-term approach.

What are common marketing mistakes you see writers making?

Not developing a plan for marketing. I created the course, How to Sell 1000 Books in Three Months, to help authors develop a six-month marketing plan. Having an intentional plan in place is key to successful book marketing.

Also, not getting fifty book reviews. I found that is the magic number to achieve. After your book has fifty reviews, more reviews occur organically.

You are the new owner and director of Christian Indie Publishing Association (CIPA) for authors. Please share a little about the benefits for authors who use your services.

Christian Indie Publishing Association (CIPA) was created in 2004 to provide independently published authors, small publishers, and authors published by small presses with resources to publish like a traditional publisher. Learning the publishing industry and how to market your book is challenging. CIPA discounts, educational materials, and marketing tools make your publishing experience easier and more profitable. Why do it alone when you can join CIPA?

The CIPA membership includes over seventy products, including:

  • Monthly 20-page CIPA newsletter with industry trends and marketing tips
  • Courses: How to Book a Podcast Tour, Improve Your Book’s Amazon Rank by Expanding Categories & Keywords, How to Get More Book Reviews/Endorsements, Improve Book Sales by Enhancing Public Relations Through Media, Retailers, & Consumers, branding, content marketing, etc.
  • Guides: Author Media Kit, Media Interviews, Media Pitches, Finding & Using Beta Readers, Book Launch Marketing Checklist, Book Launch Teams, List of Over 125 Podcast & Radio Shows, List of 50+ Book Contests, Tracking Spreadsheets, Press Releases, Online Giveaways, etc.
  • Discounts: Free title setup with IngramSpark, 15% off ISBN, $150 off ProWritingAid, $50 off BookFunnel, 30% Website Domain Authority Boost, 30% off Publisher Rocket, $25 off Reedsy Services, and more
  • Bi-monthly live take-action workshop about marketing

If you use the discounts, you can easily recover the $90 annual membership fee.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about your marketing or writing journey?

I’ve focused on benefiting my reader. First, it was through healthy living tips, now it is through savvy book marketing techniques for authors. Serving my audience is my focus. It is not about profit, but about furthering the kingdom of God and doing what God has called us to do.

You can follow Susan on:

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Marketing Interviews

INTERVIEW WITH C.A.N. CROWN AWARD WINNER Carla Hoch

marketing interviews

The Christian Authors Network’s innovative Crown Awards celebrate excellence in Christian Media and Marketing.

Purpose: To recognize, educate, and encourage excellence in marketing and promotion skills of all Christian authors. The awards are given in three categories:

  • Visual Media
  • Broadcasting
  • Web Presence

Carla Hoch is the CAN Marketing Web Presence Media Gold Award Winner for her promotion of her online brand, FightWrite™.

Carla past led to her studying self-defense and training women speaking on emotional abuse, precursors to physical violence, personal and emotional boundaries and tips for staying safe and escaping abusive scenarios. For example, if you are in danger in your home, did you know that you can call 911 and “order a pizza”? You speak to the 911 operator as if they are a pizza place. They will ask if you are in danger and yes/no questions to help the police come to your aid without people in the room with you knowing you are calling for help. 

Carla started a blog after teaching about writing fight scenes at conferences. She went from a few views to several thousand, and then one post took off to 100,000 hits when Writer’s Digest featured Carla and her blog in their magazine.

FightWrite™.net is now trademarked and features blog posts with video and photo references, detailed information about the biology, psychology, weaponry techniques of combat as well as coaching on the craft of writing great fight scenes. In addition, Carla has a successful Etsy store featuring FightWrite™ products further establishing her popular brand. Her honest desire to teach and expert skills make her fascinating to viewers.

Tell us about your blog.

 FightWrite.net is a writer’s reason for fight scenes, action and violence at every stage from one character’s decision to another’s decomposition. It goes hand-in-hand with my Writer’s Digest book: Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes and my FightWrite podcast. The podcast is available all over the place.

What led you to begin blogging?

I am a trained fighter and writer. I had been using those two skillsets to teach writers how to write fight scenes. The interest from writers was so great that I thought, hmmm, I wonder if anyone would read a blog about this…

How does your passion motivate you to promote your blog? What keeps you motivated?

First and foremost, I completely enjoy it. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have stuck with it since 2016. Now I also have the motivation to promote my book and myself as an instructor.

Where did you start in the planning of your marketing and did you focus on one main component or area?

 For years my blog was my only product so the decision on what to promote was easy! The blog is still my greatest marketing tool. It drives people to my book and to me.

Your past led to your interest in self-defense. Can you share a little of that past and how it led to your writing?

 Sure! About ten years ago I was writing a book with fight scenes and had no idea how to fight. For some fighting reference, I enrolled in a self-defense class. To my surprise, the class had a visceral impact on me. After the first few I cried pretty hard. I had been raised in an unsafe environment and the effects were still with me.

 Kay Arthur once said that if something brings the worst out of you, the worst probably needs to be brought out of you. That’s the approach I took with self-defense. I stayed with it until my fear of attending class became excitement. That class gave me the confidence I needed to go on to many other martial arts.

Sometimes God reaches down and plucks you out of the ocean. Sometimes He makes you swim to shore. Whatever way He chooses is not only for you but for those still swimming who need reassurance that He hasn’t removed the shoreline. I’m proof of that.

You also have a passion to reach out to women coping with and recovering from abuse. How do you reach that audience?

 It’s word of mouth. I don’t advertise it.  

How do you continue to generate new content for your blog that will interest your followers?

Oh, that is a tough one. I often send out a call to writers asking what they’d like me to write about. I also get questions on Twitter. Or, sometimes something comes up in the news and I get to thinking. The recent rush on toilet paper inspired my Judo for the Pandemic post. I have video showing judokas defending their toilet paper with judo throws. It was a lot of fun to make.

What grabbed the attention of Writer’s Digest? Had you pitched to them?

That is quite a story. I have a friend that writes for WD. When I had the idea for the book, I told him about it. He liked it and gave me the name of an editor at Writer’s Digest who might be interested. I sent that acquisitions editor a summary. He got back to me and said he had done the “comps” and there wasn’t a place for the book with WD. Well, I knew that wasn’t true. I had done some looking around for comparable books before I started the project. There were zero like mine! I emailed him back and asked him to reserve judgement and said I would send him the finished product. I think I also promised him donuts. No joke.

 Months later, I sent him the finished work. I got a kick-back email saying he was no longer with the company and that all further business should be sent to… And there it was. Another email address. I sent the new person the MS with a message saying that I had been talking to the previous editor about the book and he was expecting it. None of that was a lie. He wasn’t interested in the book. But he was expecting it again! I also told her that I had offered the other guy donuts and that offer was still valid!

 After I sent the MS, I called my friend Steve Laube, owner of the Steve Laube Literary Agency. He has been in the book industry almost as long as I’ve been alive which is a LONG time! I met him at a conference where I had pitched a book to him – the one that made me get into to self-defense and put me on the path of fight training. Despite not liking the book I had pitched to him, Steve liked me just fine. For nine years he and I had stayed in touch at conferences. We always were happy to see each other and took time out to catch up. I would always ask him when he was going to be my agent. He always replied when I had a book for him.

 Steve laughed when I told him that I had sent the MS to the new editor. He told me I had chutzpah and to stay positive and patient. It would likely take WD six weeks to get back to me. He also said that along with being positive and patient, I should also be realistic. The book had been rejected by a smaller press and Writer’s Digest was the largest publisher of craft books in the world. Me reaching out to them was a shot in the dark. I told him I was ok with that. People get shot in the dark all the time. 

 It didn’t take Writer’s Digest six weeks. They got back to me in six days. After a phone call with them I emailed Steve and asked if he would be interested in agenting a Writer’s Digest author. He was. Steve and I met by virtue of the book that got me into fighting. He is now my agent for a book about writing fight scenes. Now, you tell me miracles aren’t real!

At what point did you start to develop your Etsy products to enlarge your brand?

The Etsy store started last year but I’ve had FightWrite shirts for a while. I had them just for me to wear when I taught but then got requests for them. I sold them or gave them out personally.

You won the CAN Crown Award for outstanding web presence. What elements of a web do you think are the most important for authors to develop?

 Do what you are passionate about first. If you want to do a podcast, do it with all your might. Then, set up other avenues of web presence that point to that podcast. Or, if you are great on IG or Twitter, let that be your jumping off point and go from there. I don’t think you have to have a website immediately.

But, when it comes to web sites, I am a huge fan of Thomas Umstattd and have learned a great deal from him. He says to have three highly visible call out buttons: product, contact info and subscribe. My three are my book, my blog and my contact form. I have smaller buttons at the top of the site for my podcast and Etsy shop. Don’t make your visitors look for what they want. Have it right out in front. He also suggests having a great pic of yourself on the site. It will give people a connection to you and it makes publicity easier since folks have a pic to grab.

Also, years back I learned that if people have to hit more than two buttons to get to what they are looking for, they will leave.

Whatever you want to be great at reach out to somebody who is already great at it. I was hesitant about the Etsy shop then reached out to a jiu-jitsu guy in Canada. I had bought some of his jiu-jitsu gear, followed him on IG and it was clear he knew his stuff. I sent him a message asking him a few business questions and he came back with incredibly helpful advice.

What do you include in a pitch to various media outlets?

 When my agent, Steve Laube, looked over my Writer’s Digest contract he said that I would be poor in money but rich in street cred. He was right on both fronts. Being able to say I am a Writer’s Digest author is a huge blessing. It gets my foot in the door of a lot of places. After that I tell about my training, sends pics if need be. People tend to believe I am a writer before they do a fighter and I am both. At 47, I still compete in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and will for as long as I can.

Any suggestions that might help authors find potential media outlets?

 Well, being a member of CAN helps. That I know for sure. After that, ask around! Explore hashtags on social media. Look for podcasts. We are living in a time when resources are aplenty. Problem with that is it can be overwhelming.

 If you aren’t tech or social media savvy, which I’m truly not, a great place to get your feet wet are guest blog posts and newsletters. Ask to contribute for free and maybe offer to give away a book or whatever product you might have to a reader.

Did you try marketing strategies that did not work for you? What did you learn from them?

None of them worked at first. Seriously. I’m just not good at giving up on whatever it is I want. The blog had very few readers at first. I just kept going with it until I had a following and one particular post went crazy, 5K in a month which is a lot for a brand new blog from an unknown author. Then another on escaping handcuffs went crazy. That post alone gets about 100 views a day. 

How do you craft your pitch and message to each audience?

When I have an audience I’m teaching. That is pretty much my pitch. On my podcast I always tell how to find me on social media.

What do you include in your press release that you send to media?

I’ve never done one. (she looks away in shame)

Can you recommend marketing resources that you have found helpful?

The blog at the Steve Laube Agency

Writer’s Digest Magazine and site

Thomas Umstattd’s podcast: Novel Marketing Podcast.

Which aspects of marketing do you enjoy the most?

I love teaching which I don’t even think of as marketing but it is. 

Which aspects do you find most challenging?

 Social media is a struggle for me. I forget to do hashtags and tag myself. I forget to do posts! Also Google Analytics. Mercy! The info on that thing! I just launched a new site and registered with Google Analytics. I’m drowning in stats!

What marketing advice can you give writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wish you would have heeded?

I think first and foremost you have to love what you’re doing. Love it enough that you want the world to know about it. That will make what can sometimes be an awkward process – letting the world know about it – less awkward.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about your marketing or writing journey?

If you don’t have what it takes to do something, just keep at it until you do! Seriously. If you are going to let every failure, mistake or rejection get you off course, you will never be on course. Get stubborn today. Embrace what doesn’t work because it will help you figure out the things that do.

Writing can be a brutal business. Sometimes it feels like you are a piñata with a keyboard. But, you know what, people love piñatas! When’s the last time you heard anybody say, “I was having fun until they brought out that piñata”? Never. You’ve never heard that. So, just embrace it. It’s all part of the process. A writer who expects to write without rejection is like boxer who expects to never get punched.

To learn more about Carla and her helpful advice for writers, visit her FightWrite™ website or FightWrite™ podcast.

Categories
Marketing Interviews

INTERVIEW WITH C.A.N. CROWN AWARD WINNER Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith

marketing interviews

The Christian Authors Network’s innovative Crown Awards celebrate excellence in Christian Media and Marketing.

Purpose: To recognize, educate, and encourage excellence in marketing and promotion skills of all Christian authors. The awards are given in three categories:

  • Visual Media
  • Broadcasting
  • Web Presence

Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith is the CAN Marketing Broadcasting Media Gold Award winner for her book, Sacred Rest. She landed several TV interviews crafting her message to each show’s audience and their topics of interest. She combined appearances with a unique quiz on her website to discover which of seven types of rest they need. The result of the quiz brings people to the follow up sequence (sales funnel) that meets the specific need.

Over 72,000 people have participated with RestQuiz.com. Dr. Dalton-Smith’s email list has grown from 3,000 at the start of the broadcast campaign to over 25,000. Her book-based online video course is being used in 30 different countries in 10 different languages. Over 10,000 people have completed the YouVersion 5-Day Sacred Rest plan.

Her efforts led to 50+ media interviews including Daystar, Cornerstone TV, Marilyn Hickey Show, The Happy Hour Podcast with Jamie Ivey, God-Centered Mom Podcast, Atlanta Live, Moody Chicago. Media appearances led to speaking invitations with TEDxAtlanta inviting Dr. Dalton-Smith to be the opening speaker at their 2019 event and speaking at the 2020 World Happiness Summit. Her podcast is now supported by numerous financial sponsors. Her expertise, well-spoken demeanor, and beautiful spirit shine to viewers.

Tell us about your book. 

My book is Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity. It was published Dec 19, 2017 by Faithwords/Hachette Book Group. In Sacred Rest, I share my journey from burn-out to a thriving lifestyle and my research findings on the 7 types of rest (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, sensory, social, and creative.) 

What led you to write it?

I am a board-certified internal medicine physician. Within my medical practice, I saw many wanting a pill as a quick fix for problems resulting from their lack of rest. I wanted to share how I found healing with others suffering from burnout. 

How does your passion motivate you to promote your book? What keeps you motivated?

I stay motivated in two ways. One is through the feedback of those who have found Sacred Rest or my rest quiz to be helpful in helping them identify problem areas in their life. The second way I stay motivated is because I know this works so then my goal becomes to be a fisher of men with the good news that rest is not just a commandment but how we can heal areas that have become depleted in our life. 

Where did you start in the planning of your marketing and did you focus on one main component or area?

Planning for marketing began with the book proposal. I purposely tried to weave in quotes that would be great on social media as well as invitations to engage with my lead magnet (restquiz.com). 

Amid all the work of marketing a book and continuing your medical practice, when do you rest?

That’s the thing most people don’t understand. Rest does not mean you have to take a week-long sabbatical or spend hours each day napping.  Rest should be a lifestyle. I constantly engage in different aspects of the 7 types of rest throughout my day. I’ve learned what a healthy work-rest ratio looks like for me.

Any advice for other writers who also balance multiple careers?

Discover which of the 7 types of rest you are missing and spend some time focusing on getting more of that type of rest in your life. The area of your greatest gifting will often be the place you are most depleted and it will cause you to constantly feel exhausted until you learn how to rest in that area. 

What made you develop a quiz?

As a physician, I know diagnosis is the first step to healing. You can’t confront what you don’t know exists. The quiz helps people self-diagnosis the rest deficit they need to confront.  

How did you come up with one that was effective in pinpointing the needs of the person taking it?

Having a solid understanding of the overall topic, the pinpoints of each type of rest, and the characteristics of those suffering from the different rest deficits helped to create the quiz. 

What elements are important in creating an email sequence for people who answer the quiz?

Email sequences should help new subscribers learn more about you and how you can help them. It’s important to always add value in your messages. I feel it’s also important to include ways they can work deeper with you by including links to books and products within each contact.

What led you to begin podcasting?

I love talking! I already do a lot of speaking from stages, so podcasting was a natural progression. 

How do you secure sponsors for your podcast? How do you work with the sponsors so they also benefit?

I include a link in my Instagram bio Linktr.ee account to ways people can work me as a sponsor. I also send emails to contacts directly. I include a link to the sponsor on the podcast page and their information is shared in my email newsletter to my subscribers. Sponsors have included publishing houses, health product companies, and authors.

You won the CAN Crown Award for outstanding broadcast media. What do you find is helpful in creating a broadcast-focused campaign?

A broadcast-focused campaign automatically grows your platform. You leverage the platform of the TV show, radio show, or podcast as a way to help grow your own platform. The more shows you do and do well on, the more opportunities you get. It has a wonderful snowball effect! Some of the biggest shows I’ve had to pleasure to be on were ones I never pitched. They directly reached out to me because they had heard me on another show.

What do you include in a pitch to various media outlets?

The most important thing to include in a pitch is a reason why they should have you on their show. You have to be able to convince them that you will bring valuable information that their listeners/viewers will love consuming. Most authors spend too much time in their pitch talking about their book. Producers don’t care about your book, they want to know how is the content you share on-air going to resonate with their audience.  Once they believe it will be a good fit, they are more than happy to share about the other things you have available that will benefit their tribe.

Any suggestions that might help authors find potential media outlets?

 You can look for other podcasts similar to the ones you already know about or search them out on Google.

Did you try marketing strategies that did not work for you? What did you learn from them?

Paying a lot of money for a publicist was one of the things I found not to be helpful. There are some amazing publicists out there who are very effective and then there are some who take your $2000-5000/mo retainer and never get you booked on anything.  The reality is publicist do not guarantee they can get you any publicity for the retainer fee. It’s a huge financial commitment that most authors can’t afford. This is what lead me to learn how to be my own publicist and create a course to help other authors do the same. 

How do you craft your pitch and message to each audience?

You listen to a few of the podcast you desire pitching to learn about the host and the audience. 

What do you include in your press release that you send to media?

The press release includes a little information about why the topic is relevant and timely. It also includes a brief synopsis of the book and how to connect with me. 

Can you recommend marketing resources that you have found helpful?

Go to my page (mentioned above) on how to be your own publicist.

Which aspects of marketing do you enjoy the most?

I love meeting new people. With each interview opportunity, new professional relationships are built. That alone is priceless. 

Which aspects do you find most challenging?

The most challenging part of marketing is finding the email addressed to connect with producers. It requires dedicating some time to gather the needed information before you pitch. 

What marketing advice can you give writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wish you would have heeded?

My best advice is to start thinking about marketing at the conception of your book idea. If you don’t know how you will get your book into the hands of your ideal reader, you could end up writing a book no one reads. 

What are common marketing mistakes you see writers making?

Most authors focus too much on selling the book in their marketing and should instead focus on sharing a message that helps people see why they need the book. It’ a little tweak in your approach that can make a huge difference.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about your marketing or writing journey?

I think we covered it all. 

Connect with Dr. Dalton-Smith

Her Books

Sacred Rest

Come Empty

Set Free to Live Free

Social Media
Facebook: DrSaundraDaltonSmith

Twitter: DrDaltonSmith

Instagram: drdaltonsmith

LinkedIn:  drdaltonsmith/

Categories
Marketing Interviews

Interview with C.A.N. Crown Award Winner Adria Wilkins

marketing interviews

The Christian Authors Network’s innovative Crown Awards celebrate excellence in Christian Media and Marketing.

Purpose: To recognize, educate, and encourage excellence in marketing and promotion skills of all Christian authors. The awards are given in three categories:

  • Visual Media
  • Broadcasting
  • Web Presence

Adria Wilkins is the Outstanding Visual Media Gold Award winner. She used Facebook Live, television interviews, social media memes, hashtag marketing, and live events to promote her book The Joy Box Journal. Her book shares stories of finding joy in difficult circumstances, including the death of her three-year-old son.

Adria Wilkins, CAN Crown Award winner for the Joy Box

Adria’s Facebook Live videos garnered lots of attention promoting the book release party at her local Chick-fil-A where she sold 200 copies in one evening. Her live events garnered several speaking opportunities and helped her land a number of TV appearances. She’s now able to combine TV appearances with local events and continues successful sales of her book. Adria’s genuine personality is endearing for viewers.

Tell us about your book.

The Joy Box Journal is 40 devotions, questions to journal, and a unique feature is there is a box in the front of the book, and six, small, note pads in the back of the book. A joy box note question is given at the end of each devotion. The reader writes the answer on the note pad and places the note in the box. The box and journal are designed to give to the next generation to let them know what has brought you joy. 

The Joy Box

What led you to write it?

The Joy Box Journal started when my son, Blake, was born with multiple medical problems. I poured my heart out to God and wrote during my journey of grief and trusted God to give me joy during the hardest thing a mother could ever go through.

How does your passion motivate you to promote your book? What keeps you motivated?

My publisher, Hachette Book Group, did such a fantastic job on the cover of my book. The idea for putting a box in the book and the note cards was my idea. I enjoy seeing people’s response of “Oh” when they see the box and note cards at the back of the book. When I tell them, they can leave a legacy with their grandchildren about what has brought them joy their faces light up every time.

Where did you start in the planning of your marketing and did you focus on one main component or area?

I wanted to do my book signing at a bright happy place and I really like Chick-fil-A so I began asking the manager there and everything fell into place. I did lots of research on what marketing tools work best. Writers conferences are a must for authors. You can learn all kinds of marketing techniques and tools at the event. It helps to network with authors at these events and share ideas.

Personal stories are so important. Your own story is tragic, but you chose to respond with joy, and that resonates with your audience. How did you find other stories and how did you select which ones to use?

I often am inspired by things in nature and want to learn about them. God uses these ideas and after research and spending time in God’s Word it becomes a devotion to encourage others. I enjoy watching people and I often get stories just sitting at a local coffee shop or mall.

How have those people helped spread the news about the book?

I try to connect with people everywhere I go. I try to be present in the moment wherever I am. I interact with people and share all the time about my book. If you tell people you are writing a book most people perk up and want to know more. People will show the book to friends and family and then they want a copy.

How did you gather so many people at live events such as ones at Chick-fil-A?

I had a bunch of professional color flyers made and would hand those out as often as possible. I invited several churches around the area. Chick-fil-A also send a mass email out to their clients and they had a flyer made up to promote the Ladies Night Out event.

Amid ordering and eating, how were you able to promote the book to audiences who passed through?

I had a big banner and table area and there was a long line for several hours so anyone that came in would wonder what was going on and would come over and check out the table. Many people from my church came and I had a lot from the community as well. I made sure to publicize as much as possible leading up to the event. I had flyers made that were handed out at some local women’s events.

Once you have a scheduled TV appearance what do you do to set up a live event?

I contact friends or ask if people know of business owners in the area that might like me to do a book signing event while I am in town.

You also had some speaking coaching. How has that aided your marketing efforts?

I met Monica Schmelter, with Christian Television Network, at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. She led a seminar on speaking. She provides coaching and for the past nine months has been a vital part of encouragement and gives me advice as I share my ideas for events. She helps me know if I am on track or need to tweak my speaking topics, videos, or memes.

You won the CAN Crown Award for outstanding visual media. What elements such as memes have helped you promote the book?

I began doing weekly videos leading up to my book release. Videos are vital for authors. It helps our readers find out who we are and if they learn about our stories, they will want to read our books.

How do you develop your visuals?

I use Canva online to create memes and posts for social media.  I hired someone to create my logo. I take lots of pictures in nature to use for memes or future announcements.

How do you craft your pitch and message to each audience?

I pray a lot. If I am speaking to a group, I meet with the leaders to find out who the people are that I will be speaking with and somethings they deal with. My speaking coach has helped me come up with five to seven speaking topics and then we fine tune them for an audience. For my weekly videos I have been trying to come up with some series that would keep people coming back for more each week. Keeping the topics lively and interesting and unusual things I have researched tends to inspire people. I get excited when I learn new things about God’s creation and the intricate details of its design.

What do you include in your press release that you send to media?

My publisher will provide a copy of my book and a one-page information sheet about how to contact me. I provide a bio and any other information they need.

Can you recommend marketing resources that you have found helpful?

Patricia Durgin with Marketers on a Mission has a daily Facebook live five days a week. She provides valuable interviews with top authors and leaders in the writing and marketing world. She has a wealth of knowledge about how to be a better marketer.

Which aspects of marketing do you enjoy the most?

 I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy doing videos. I have always been shy of cameras or videos, but I get energy and enjoy speaking and sharing with my audience about the neat things I am learning.

Which aspects do you find most challenging?

The admin portion of being a marketer is very time consuming.

What marketing advice can you give writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wish you would have heeded?

 I have always tried to learn and listen as much as I can. We don’t have to do everything, nor do we have to do it the same way it has always been done.

What are common marketing mistakes you see writers making?

  • Always have your writing edited.
  • Always get a couple of opinions on artwork or designs, especially when starting out.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about your marketing or writing journey?

  • I have been having fun and enjoying every moment of my journey.
  • Don’t worry if everything doesn’t get done.
  • Don’t rush your writing. God has a plan for the timing of when your writing is ready for the world to read.
  • You don’t have to do everything. Hire out some of your work, such as designing a logo, business cards, or flyers.

Award winning author, Adria Wilkins has an accounting degree from Western Kentucky University. She and her husband, Erik, live in Northern Virginia and have three children Katie, Blake, and Anthony.

She enjoys telling a story, adding sprinkles of joy and a few extra dollops to liven it up.

After suffering the unthinkable – death of three-year-old Blake, she found that Jesus sustains, and evens surprises His followers with joy.

Find her book on Amazon  and  Barnes and Noble 

Website: joyboxstories.com

Social media links:

Facebook: adria.wilkins

Twitter: joyboxstories

Instagram: /joyboxstories