Tag: marketing for writers

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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 Sense

Evolution of a Lead Magnet Title (with example)

Marketing sense

What Is a Lead Magnet and Why Is the Title Such a Big Deal?

Lead Magnets are the overlooked heroes of online marketing. Unassuming, they stand like sentries on your Home page and social media accounts, ready to serve at a moment’s notice.

We want ours to be so obviously helpful that readers can’t resist signing up to read it (trading their name and email to have access to it).

In their most basic format, Lead Magnets are 3-10 pages long and in PDF format. They include a great cover image, an enticing title (bonus points for an equally interesting sub-title), with images, graphics, or infographics to support the content.

They also include lots of “white space,” a designer term meaning empty space with no words or images. White space breaks up content and gives the reader a chance to pause and absorb your content.

Few people read page after page text with nothing to separate them—that’s like reading a clinical report—and who wants to do that?

The goal of a Lead Magnet is to answer a single question or solve a single problem the reader is dealing with now. It’s not about what you know they need; it’s about what they’re searching for today.

Titling your Lead Magnet is everything. Potential readers sign-up for it, or not, based entirely upon that single piece of information. Does your title promise it can help your readers in the specific way they want to be helped? If not, keep working on it. It’s that important.

The Process in Action

I helped a friend develop her Lead Magnet title recently. Her ministry serves Christian women dedicated to praying for their children. Here’s how our conversation went (I changed her name for privacy).

Becca: I’m working on a new Lead Magnet.

Me: Great! What’s your working title?

Becca: 10 Truths About Prayer

Me: Now add a promise…

Becca: 10 Truths About Prayer That Will Change Your Prayer Life

Me: Are your readers praying for themselves or their children?

Becca: 10 Truths About Prayer That Will Transform Your Prayers for Your Child

Me: A bit wordy. Make it tighter (reducing the number of words while keeping the primary idea = stronger title).

Becca: Prayer Can Transform Your Child’s Life

Me: Better but informational. What’s the end result your readers desire for their children?

Becca: Transform Your Child’s Life Through Prayer

*** YESSSS!!! ***

See how that title “plants a flag”? Do “this” and you’ll get “that.”

Your readers (and mine) don’t want more information. They want to experience a change. They’re looking for someone who’ll stand up in the crowd and proclaim, “Do this (our message) and you’ll experience that (the change they want).”

Your CONTENT may be phenomenal, but if your TITLE is not clear, action-oriented, reader-focused, with a promised result that readers want, your Lead Magnet will not help as many people as it could. What. A. Shame.

Sound marketing connects you to your audience and grows your platform, but it’s not intuitive.

Fortunately, it’s not a gift you inherit (or don’t). It’s a skill. And skills can be learned. 

Hallelujah! 

Shape Your Content to Fit Your Title

Becca had specific content in mind to match her former title, 10 Truths About Prayer.

As we continued chatting, I mentioned that if she’d add a number that fits her content (or if she adjusts her content to coordinate with a number), her title could be:

10 Prayers to Transform Your Child’s Life.

I suggested a content plan for the title above:

  • 5 Traits to Pray “In” + 5 Traits to Pray “Out”
  • 10 Scriptures with Promises in Those Areas and
  • 10 Prayer Prompts with Suggested Words

Compare her first title (10 Truths About Prayer) to this one. See how this last one is action-oriented, it makes a promise (IF readers apply her message), and it tells readers what info they’ll receive?

There is no “magic title.” Work the process. Refine. Tighten. Focus on the result your title promises. Make it clear. More readers will sign up and their lives will change (in this case) as they pray for their children, which is the goal of Becca’s ministry! BOOM!

Patricia Durgin

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Website: marketersonamission.com
Facebook: MarketersOnAMission

Categories
Guest Posts

Blog Strategy for Sustainable Content Marketing Success

Guest posts

The foundation of today’s marketing campaign for brands is content marketing. The kinds of content that can effectively reach the target audience online include emails, case studies, infographics, white papers, articles, and blog posts. 

Blogs account for a large portion of content used on digital marketing today because they are relatively affordable. Using content for sustainable content marketing success is viable as long as you use the right approach. This article highlights processes and steps that can guarantee marketing success. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Blog marketing is built on SEO and so to attract the audience, you need to create informative and SEO-optimized blogs. One of the ways to achieve this is by having killer blog intros that can prompt the audience to read and minimize bounce rates. SEO is a way of boosting the volume and quality of your web traffic. 

An effective process and area to boost SEO include the keyword usage of the blog content. Keyword usage offers a system of allowing blog content writers to include particular relevant words in the blog posts. Since the keywords are relevant to the blog topics, it will be easier for the readers to find the posts by simply conducting an internet search.

SEO is sustainable because it is an effective kind of digital marketing that increases traffic and promotes brand awareness. The ability of SEO to yield tangible results is what makes it an ideal digital marketing strategy. There is also an increased demand for SEO as many brands are appreciating its value.

One of the brands that have successfully used SEO is Etsy. Etsy has focused on creating a strong content strategy to drive organic traffic to its site. The company’s marketplace for dealing with hand-made goods is known for its content and it lures people to keep on coming back. 

typing on laptop

Set clear goals

Goal setting is an important aspect of any project. It is important to define your direction and track progress as you move towards goal achievement. Have a specific and measurable target when designing and implementing a blog content strategy.

Avoid value goals such as wanting to make sales but instead specify how much your sales target is. Having specific content marketing goals can allow you to plan well and increase the chances of success.

Your content marketing goals could be to boost brand awareness and web traffic, grow your email list, get more followers on social media, or boost conversion rates. 

Your value as a marketer is gauged on results and not productivity or activities. For your content marketing initiatives to be meaningful, they should be in line with the measurable business objectives. 

Aligning content marketing goals with business goals entails talking to relevant executives to clarify the goals. When you know what your business is set to achieve, it will be easier to plan for content that can facilitate the achievement of those goals. 

Wistia, a professional video hosting provider, has been successful in creating marketing content. 

The company embarked on a campaign aimed at driving quality leads to its site. They used a TV series referred to as the Brandwagon with humorous content to provide insights into the brand growth. 

Know the target audience

The purpose of content marketing is to gather leads and make them long-term buyers. To achieve this, you need to understand the buyer persona well. Developing and identifying a buyer persona offers the benefits of lead identification, exceptional brand experience, good customer segmentation, and cross-marketing alignment.

Creating a buyer persona entails getting data from the existing customers and gathering the persona data based on research. It also requires aligning the buyer’s personal data with the appropriate marketing approaches. Knowing your target audience is a big step to creating a blog strategy that can lead to continuous lead generation and conversion.

Initially, MySpace directed its marketing efforts to every person who desired to be connected on Facebook. After Facebook offered a useful and robust tool for reaching the target audience, MySpace created a better strategy by starting with the target buyer persona and started focusing on the most ideal persona; the musicians. MySpace got a reprieve after the musicians started posting songs on MySpace. 

pen and paper

Publish premium posts only

A well-planned blogging strategy may not guarantee content marketing success. You need to regularly create and publish quality articles. Readers are interested in educational, stylish, and informative articles all the time. Extremely short blogs may not impress an online audience and so you need to publish comprehensive content with well-analyzed topics.

Try to enrich the blog posts with alternative formats like animations, images, GIFs, and more. This is a good approach because people are more attracted to content backed by visual elements. Visuals enable the audiences to enjoy modern content experiences because the blogs are well-structured to boost readability. 

Deciding on an appropriate way to deliver valuable content to your target audience should be a top priority. Brainstorm the various ways to add value to the readers and don’t be discouraged if you are not professionally trained in a given niche. The kind of content that is likely to be more attractive to the audience depends on the unique characteristics of that audience. 

Instead of identifying the audience by general demographics such as income, gender and age, you could focus on how knowledgeable the audience is in a topic. HubSpot has strongly leveraged the quality of content for its blogs.

The company has built an excellent customer journey to help convert prospects into buyers as soon as they are ready. HubSpot uses a variety of funnels to create blog articles for broad and attractive topics. After every post, they have CTA to test their free software and this attracts readers to collect emails with popups. 

Promote your content

Famous and influential blogs regularly promote their content to maintain some level of popularity. Explore various ways of promoting your content online, such as sending new content digests and posts to subscribers’ emails. 

Since social media boasts millions of daily users, it is one of the most effective tools for content promotion. Add icons for social sharing to your posts to encourage the readers to share the posts on their accounts.

Another promotion tactic is to create guest posts for other websites. By doing so, you will attract a new audience and encourage people to follow your blog. Q/A websites can also be great blog promotion platforms to boost online authority and place you as an industry leader. Promoting content is important in the following ways:

  • It is a way of attracting new clients and increasing web traffic
  • Promoting a blog can build your brand reputation in a particular niche
  • It can help you to advertise more effectively in a modern business environment
  • It boosts your trustworthiness in the eyes of clients
  • Promoting a blog can help to maintain a marketing strategy and create well-structured content.

Boohoo Group has managed to thrive amid the coronavirus pandemic. One of the factors that have led to the company’s success is the social media strategy. Boohoo Group has been promoting its content on social media using the influencer marketing strategy. The influencer endorsements have helped the brand to reach out to the young audience on Instagram, where it has many followers. 

Conclusion     

Developing a blog strategy for sustainable marketing success should be a priority for every digital marketer. Blog content can yield positive results for your brand if you follow the above processes and guidelines. You need to be persistent and patient to see the results of your content marketing efforts, including conversions.  

About the author:

Tiffany Harper is a training guru who’s been working in the corporate sector as the technology expert for several years now. She is a management graduate and loves to share her experience through blogs and expert articles. For her love of writing, she provided online consultations for the dissertation writing service department, while working with EssayMama. Please do not hesitate to contact her on LinkedIn.

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Marketing Sense

Why Your Podcast Pitch Isn’t Working and What to Do Instead

Marketing sense

No matter how dignified we are, holding our just-published book in our hands for the first time makes us squeal with glee, and rightly so.

We’ve heard that the fastest way to “get the word out” is via interviews, so we visit social media groups and share our availability. Here’s where our momentum often stops cold.

Our approach is, shall we say…lacking? Isn’t it enough to reveal that we’re ready to be interviewed? Uh, no.

Recently I read a Facebook post by Max, “My book is hot off the presses! I’m ready to be interviewed. My topic is XYZ. I look forward to hearing from you.” That was his entire ‘pitch.’

Experienced podcasters won’t reach out to Max, and he’ll never know why.

Though he didn’t realize it, Max practiced passive marketing…an announcement to the world at large that he was available for interviews, expecting that same world to run to his door, eager to help him reach his goals. This is an easy trap to fall into for anyone.

The world isn’t trying to help us reach our goals. They’re busy trying to reach their own goals. They’re on the lookout for guests who will help them.

It helps to remember that hosts who interview us give us a GIFT…access to their audience. They’ve built that audience by serving them well, developing deep relationships and thus earning their listeners’ trust. Wise hosts do not take that trust lightly.

We must help potential podcast hosts see how we can help them serve their audience.

3 Steps to Significantly Increase Your Pitch’s Odds

Make a list of 10-20 podcasts: Research podcasts that serve the same / similar audience as yours OR who discuss the same / similar topic as yours. Do they host guests? Who have they recently interviewed? How might you be able to add to that discussion by offering a deeper perspective, an opposing view, or different (yet still helpful) information?

Analyze the podcast: Listen to 3-8 full episodes. More if necessary. Is the host well-prepared, or do they work best off-the-cuff? Is their program live or recorded (and which fits your communication style best)? Does the audience participate, and if so, is the feedback live?

How long is the program, and do guests stay on the entire time, or only for a segment? You want to be knowledgeable about the program, who’s in their audience, and the host’s goals for the program.

Write your pitch: Keep it short and on point. If you’re pitching via email, be clear. Podcast Guest Pitch is a wise title. Bonus points for adding a short value phrase or keywords.

Don’t be vague. Tie your message into the program’s main topic. What can you add to the conversation, and how will your contribution benefit the audience? You’re there to help the podcast host serve his or her audience. How can you do that, specifically?

Add your website link. If you’ve been interviewed before, add those links (within reason). This helps the podcaster know what to expect if they invite you.

 Above All, Keep Pitching!

Repeat the steps above often. As potential hosts respond (not all will), make a note of their questions or comments.

Questions can mean you’ve left out information they want before deciding, or they’re intrigued and want to confirm you’ll be a good fit. Respond professionally, don’t over-promise, and if you’re not sure about something, simply say so.

If their answer is “no,” decide whether to keep them on your list. Today’s “no” might mean “never,” but it could also be tomorrow’s “yes.” BIG difference.

And if you sense you’re a natural fit but the host doesn’t see it yet, follow up without harassing them. They may have a bad day when you originally contacted them.

Podcasters are human, too, or so I’m told. 🙂

Patricia Durgin

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Website: marketersonamission.com
Facebook: MarketersOnAMission

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Guest Posts

9 Tips For Video Marketing Your First Book

Guest posts

As a book author, you must be able to market your book. It may be hard for you if it’s your first book because you don’t have previous experience, but it is not impossible. Authors either go through the route of a traditional publisher to get their books out, or they self-publish. 

Self-publishing is a viable option for many authors who don’t have the resources to work with traditional publishers. Thankfully, it’s easier to self-market your book now with the internet and social media, and one effective tool to use is videos. Video marketing works like magic to market your book, even if it’s the first one. You need to know what to do and how video marketing works which is what we’ll be discussing now.

In this article, we’ll be dishing out tips for video marketing your first book. 

1. Run social media video campaign 

One of the best ways to get people on your video is to offer them something for free. According to some essays help online, the best way to accomplish this is through social media. This is because you’ll get people willing to share your post and put the word out about you and your giveaway. This will invite more people to you, and you’ll have a lot of traffic on your video. 

2. Add a smile to your video thumbnail.

You may not take this seriously, but your video thumbnail is essential too. It’s one thing that can make people either play your video or pass it by. So it’d be best if you used a thumbnail that is appropriate for your video. Use a compelling image that makes the video play-worthy, and the best way to do this is by using a smiling image, especially one that makes direct eye contact. This is because humans relate to other humans. 

3. Make sure your video has a share button.

Knowing how powerful social media can be and how quickly information spreads, it’s a wise decision to enable the share button on your video. Making it possible for others to share the video means that it’ll get to more people quickly. The more people get to watch the video ad about your book, the more buyers you’re likely to get. 

4. Prompt people to share the video

Adding a share button is sometimes not enough for people to share the video. They could watch the video, get the information that you’re passing and then move on from it. That’s why it’s important to prompt your video watchers. Also, don’t leave out your friends and families. Stick your video to their faces and ask them to share it with their network of friends. 

5. Use email marketing

Email marketing remains one of the cheapest and most effective marketing strategies. It doesn’t matter that you’re trying to market a book and not some commerce items. Combining email marketing and video marketing makes both even more effective. Create an email list, and be sure to send your book marketing videos to them. 

6. Put your money where your heart is

It’s okay not to want to spend a lot of money marketing your first book. You probably made a DIY video for marketing and have spent very little in your marketing. However, according to professional essay writers, if you want to reach many people and have a higher chance of making many sales, you need to spend some money. Your best bet would be to promote your video on social media. This ensures that it reaches multiple times more people, and you have a higher chance of selling your book and making your money back. 

7. Pin the video on your Twitter feed

Twitter allows its users to pin a tweet to their feed. The reason for this is so that the tweet isn’t lost in the sea of several others on your feed. The fact that you’re constantly tweeting and sharing other tweets makes it easy to lose an unpinned tweet. Pinning means, it’ll always be at the top of your feed and will help you drive more engagement to the video. 

8. Post the video to online communities platforms

There are many platforms with online communities composed of people of like minds. If you’re on these platforms, then it’s likely that these people are on the same frequency as you and are likely to resonate with your book. So you’ll be doing yourself a disservice not to post your video on such platforms. It doesn’t matter if it’s a LinkedIn group, Twitter Chat, Reddit, etc. They’ll be more open to your book than you think they are. 

9. Play it at events 

If you have your first book to market and you’re speaking at an event, then you have the perfect opportunity to get your work out to people and convince them first hand. At events like this, playing your video is beneficial to both you and the audience. They get a break from listening to you give a long (probably boring) speech, and you also get to market your book and get the word out. It’s a win-win situation. 

Conclusion 

Video marketing is an effective marketing technique, especially if you’re a first-time author and are marketing your book. However, it’d be best if you found your way around it. The tips in this article will help you do this effectively. Remember that the more people that see your video, the more sales you can make.

Eliza Sadler

Eliza Sadler is a professional journalist with extensive experience for four years. She also works as a freelancer, writes a lot of articles, and provides the best dissertation help. She always focused on doing quality work to achieve her goals and objectives. Eliza is fascinated by the ability to create original works that meet high standards. Feel free to connect with her by email. 

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Guest Posts

5 Tips for Running Your Author Business

Guest posts

You’ve dreamed of becoming an author for years, and now, you’re preparing to submit your first manuscript to agents and start offering additional writing services through your new small business. And while you’re excited, you might also feel overwhelmed; after all, you have a lot to learn about being an author and an entrepreneur! The following resources can guide you through everything from tackling writer’s block to marketing your book, and these tips will help you master the best practices for managing a thriving writing business.

Shift Your Mindset

It’s important to shift from thinking of yourself as a freelance creative to thinking of yourself as a small business owner. This means that you need to uphold professional standards in all of your communications, set up organized systems that help you stay productive, and make decisions with your future reputation in mind. Have confidence in your writing abilities!

Establish a Payroll System

Eventually, your business might grow to the point where you need a couple of employees to keep everything running smoothly. When that time comes, it’s best to set up an organized payroll system so that you can manage your 2021 payroll calendar and make sure everyone receives their paychecks on time. Using a payroll template can be a good choice if your business is too small for an automated payroll system. Payroll template software can also include helpful functions like time tracking, invoicing capabilities, and employee scheduling.

Paying Taxes

You will need to pay taxes on the earnings that you make through your writing business. Yes, this means setting aside a chunk of your income from book sales and any other services you offer through your business! Paying your taxes late — or neglecting to pay them at all – can have serious consequences down the road. It can be a good idea to work with an accountant for guidance in this area. Wealthfront recommends looking for an accountant who has relevant experience working with businesses similar to yours, so see if you can get any recommendations from other writers you know!

Join Your Chamber of Commerce

As an author, you want to spend lots of time networking. You never know when those connections with other authors will come in handy! If you have a writing business, you could consider joining your local chamber of commerce. Founder’s Guide recommends joining your chamber because it allows you to have a voice in your business community, make new contacts with people in your industry, and promote your business. You’ll be able to attend events with entrepreneurs you might not have met otherwise!

Ongoing Marketing

Naturally, you’ll want to spend most of your time writing and editing, but you also need to leave room in your schedule for marketing. Even if you’re working with a publisher, maintaining a public presence and letting your readers know where they can find your book is important! And if you provide other writing services, you have to make an effort to get the word out. When you’re busy, it’s all too easy to put marketing on the backburner, so automating social media posts is one simple way to ensure that you’re always promoting your business.

Starting your journey as an author can be difficult. Every author’s career is unique, and building your professional writing business will involve lots of highs and lows. But with these tips, you’ll start taking your business seriously from day one so that you can invest in your future success.

Are you ready to become an author and publish your first book? Almost An Author can help you navigate your new career path. Check out our resources for aspiring and new authors today!

As a former banker, Jim McKinley uses his background and skills to provide advice and valuable resources to anyone who needs help with their financial literacy. In his spare time, Jim spends time with his family and his dogs and he maintains his website Money with Jim.  

Photo via Pexels

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Marketing Sense

How to Reactivate A Dormant Email List

Marketing sense

You never thought it would happen to you. One minute, you were ecstatic to hear that special “bing!” when a new reader signed up for your email list. Hooray! The next minute, it’s been months since you sent them an email, so that “list” has gone silent. Dormant. Almost dead.

What to do? Should you delete all those names and email addresses and begin from scratch again? Heavens, no!

Instead, reactivate that list. (An e-mail “list” is a collection of names and email addresses of readers interested in a specific topic within your message.)

When sending their first email after being silent for a while, some people fall on their sword, crying, “Mea culpa!” repeatedly. Multiple apologies are unnecessary and make readers uncomfortable.

Others simply begin sending emails again, without acknowledging they’ve been gone for weeks or months. Readers find that insulting, suggesting, perhaps, that they’ve been taken for granted.

Find a balance between the two extremes above. Acknowledge your absence, assure your readers you value them, and move on, offering them great resources or content in that “reactivation” email. (Of course, don’t use that marketing term in your email.)

Won’t It Feel A Bit Awkward to Reach Out After All That Time?

Highly likely. But it must be done. Email readers are too hard to get, and keep, to simply let them go. Prove yourself worthy of their time. You did it before. Now do it again.

Approach the conversation just as you would with any friend with whom you’ve lost touch. Be yourself. Be honest about your absence without sharing too many details. Apologize once. Don’t ramble on.

Then dive right into the good part…what’s in it for them. Serve them well, sharing content they’ll find irresistible. What did they sign up to learn? Choose a great teaching point and share that. Simple. Easy. Done!

What to Say Before Segueing Into “Regular” Email Content

Like other difficult tasks, getting started is the hard part. Here are three idea prompts to spur your imagination as you consider the title and first paragraph of your reactivation email. Write with your voice, your personality, and your words.

Option #1

Title: The rumors aren’t true!

First paragraph: I have not enrolled in the Witness Protection Program. It just felt like it, due to (identify the issue in a short phrase). Has your world turned upside down, too? Let’s start over…together.

Then move directly into your teaching content.

Option #2

Title: I’m baaaack! or I apologize (choose one of those two-word phrases).

First paragraph: You haven’t heard from me in a while. I apologize. Life interrupted my regular schedule. That issue has passed. I’m able—and eager—to serve you again. Let’s get busy…

Then move directly into your teaching content.

Option #3

Title: Still want to learn about (fill-in-the-blank)?

First paragraph: I took an unscheduled break, had a slight meltdown (not really!) and now I’m back, rarin’ to go! I’m sorry it’s been a while since you heard from me. Let’s dive into (topic) again, shall we?

Then move directly into your teaching content.

What Response Should You Expect?

Some readers will undoubtedly unsubscribe, depending upon how long you were silent or how valuable your content was before you went missing-in-action.

Others will be glad to see your name in their Inbox again. That’s what we work toward.

Remember to include fantastic content in your reconnection email. That will help readers remember why they subscribed in the first place.

They took a chance on you when they signed up. Take a chance on them by sending this reactivation email. You’ll be glad you did!

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Website: https://marketersonamission.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketersOnAMission

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Marketing Sense

Your Facebook Live’s Schedule, Length, and Location Will Form Your Strong Foundation

Marketing sense

Taking the focus off of ourselves and placing it on our audience changes everything. Everything. That’s exactly what a Facebook Live program does. You already focus on others as you serve in your community, church, and at work. Take that same caring spirit and passion to serve online with Facebook Live, and watch your audience grow!

Since I’ve hosted over 500 60-minute Facebook Live programs, I’m often asked a broad range of questions about it. Here are three regarding the schedule and length of a live program:

#1: Can I hop on a Facebook Live whenever I feel like it?

#2: What’s the ideal length for a Facebook Live?

#3: I don’t have a Facebook page yet, so can I go live on my profile?

#1: Can I Hop On A Facebook Live Whenever I Feel Like It?

Uh, nooooo. Well, technically you can, but you’d miss the main reason for using Facebook Live: your audience. Without knowing when you’ll be live, viewers can’t add your program to their schedule, and without them, you’re simply a talking head, speaking into an empty space. Ugh!

Choose a specific day and time for your program. This allows more viewers to join because they’ll know when you’ll be on. Dependability is a hallmark of a professional.

Some think, “I’ll just hop on for a few minutes, say what I want to say, and get off,” but your audience needs time to 1) remember your program is coming up, 2) disengage from whatever project they’re working on, 3) pour their favorite beverage, and 4) get their notepad (assuming your previous programs offered worthwhile content).

If your program only lasts a few minutes, you’ll be offline before they’ve gotten themselves together. A few go rounds like that and they won’t be back.

Choose a day and time and commit to it, just as you would any other “can’t miss this!” appointment.

Most people go live once a week. Less often and people tend to forget you, which means you’ll have to attract a brand-new audience over and over, instead of building a program with regular viewers, plus occasional new faces that stumble upon you, like what they hear, and come back for more.

#2: What’s The Ideal Length For A Facebook Live?

I suggest a minimum of 15 minutes, though 30 is better. Thirty minutes gives your audience time to join you before you deliver the heart of your message. That allows them to participate in the conversation. (You know that Facebook Live is a two-way conversation between your viewers and you, right? That’s why people love it so.)

Thirty minutes also gives Facebook’s algorithm time to notify those chosen few viewers mentioned above. Plus, it allows you to dig into a single point without rushing. Cramming 30 minutes of content into 15 minutes is no fun for you or your audience.

Facebook loves organic video (video recorded live on Facebook). They give it “artificial reach,” meaning that they notify a small, random percentage of your followers each time you go live, so those followers can join you quickly. It’s only a small percentage, and you have no control over who’s notified. Still, it’s a nice perk. And it’s only available if your program lasts long enough for it to kick in.

#3: I Don’t Have A Facebook Page Yet, So Can I Go Live On My Profile?

It seems like a no-brainer to present your Facebook live program on your Facebook profile. After all, that’s where all your friends are. But I caution against it, for two reasons.

One, while your family and friends support you, it’s highly unlikely that they’re in your God-given target market. So you won’t attract the audience that needs your book, and vice-versa.

Two, sooner or later you’ll want to invite viewers to purchase your book, pay for your online speaking event, or something else. But that’s not allowed on profiles, according to Facebook’s Terms of Service.

You’re better off to start where you can grow long-term, which, on Facebook, is your page.

Everyone I’ve known who’s gone “live” has been surprised how much they enjoy it. Yes, there’s tech to learn, but once you’ve learned it, it becomes automatic. Yes, there’s content to create, but haven’t you been longing for a group who’s hungry for your message?

The most delightful surprise? The people on the other side of the camera. They’re the ones you’ve been trying so hard to reach, and there they are, eager to improve their lives…and you can tell them how. There’s nothing like that feeling, is there?

And it’s free for everyone! Unbelievable!

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Website: https://marketersonamission.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketersOnAMission

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Marketing Sense

How to Grow a Loyal Facebook Live Audience: Focus On Your Audience and Content

Marketing sense

Growing a loyal Facebook Live audience—whether you’re a beginner or established writer—doesn’t happen overnight. You have to earn it. And it is, oh, so worth the effort!

Every program is a new opportunity to prove you’re a valuable resource to your audience. They’ll know, like, and trust you faster because of your consistent interaction with them. Relationships will spring up between you and your viewers. They’ll connect with each other as well. You’ll build an online community, all for free.

The #1 way to grow your audience is to offer them the content they want while also delivering the content they need. This two-pronged approach will help them discover you in the crowded online marketplace.

Your programs can become a springboard for products, services, and events, all while continuing to provide new messages via your Facebook Live program.

Two foundational elements need to be consistently marketed: your program’s audience and its content.

Who Will Your Program Serve?

If you’re like me, you’ve been serving your audience for years, perhaps decades. So you already know how to describe them.

If not, consider these questions: Who responds to your message at work, church, in your community, and on social media?

What are their common traits? Are they mostly female? Male? What’s their age range and ethnicity? Important as those elements are, they’re external.

Their internal commonalities are more valuable to you as a content creator. What problems or pains do they share? What words do they use to express those issues?

Or are they striving to reach a goal instead? If so, what challenges do they face? What’s keeping them from moving forward? And how do they articulate those obstacles?

These are the people who will be drawn to you online, just like they’ve been drawn to you in real life for years. Market to them. Serve them, and they’ll reward you with their loyalty.

What Content Do They Want?

Review the questions listed above again. When you know the pains, challenges, obstacles, and problems your ideal target market has, you can create content just for them. This is no time to be generic! They want content that applies directly to them, and well they should. And you’re just the one to offer it…because you know them so well.

When they describe their problems, what words do they use…exactly? How do they explain their struggles…specifically? The answers to those questions lead directly to your content. Themed programs hold a myriad of additional topics. Unpack them and share one point or principle per Facebook Live program.

Let Your Audience Be Your Content Partner

Without realizing it, your audience will suggest new content ideas as they engage during your live programs.

The single biggest advantage of hosting a regular Facebook Live program is that your viewers will tell you when your content is on target. And…they’ll tell you in real time. How? By asking follow-up questions. When they ask how to apply your message to their unique situation, you’ll know you’re “hitting the mark.”

Allowing them (inviting them!) to participate in the conversation isn’t an interruption. Their input broadens your message, making it richer, fuller, and more helpful.

The more you talk about what your audience wants to talk about—while still focusing on your message—the longer they’ll watch, which will strengthen your connection with them. You want them to connect with both you and with each other. A regular Facebook Live program is designed specifically for that type of interaction.

As writers, we might go weeks or months without any feedback from our audience. But when we serve them via Facebook Live, we hear their questions, comments, and gratitude immediately. This is a sweet reward!

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Website: https://marketersonamission.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketersOnAMission

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Guest Posts

Top 7 Email Marketing Strategies for Self-Published Authors

Guest posts

Emails and newsletters are the most effective digital marketing tools to promote books by self-published authors. Sending an email is much cheaper than many other marketing tools, and yet it is more effective.

Campaign Monitor reported that for the past decade, email marketing has generated the highest ROI for businesses worldwide. In fact, for every 1$ marketers spend on email marketing, they receive $38 back.

 Given its affordability and its effectiveness, Email marketing is the best promotional tool at the disposal of self-published authors. Let’s take a look at 7 tried and tested strategies to help you get more bang for your buck through email marketing:

1. Segment your Email List

First things first, you must divide your email list into small segments based on geographic, behavioral, psychographic, and demographic factors. Your subscribers and potential readers will hardly be a homogenous bunch.

They will differ from each other in terms of preferences, interests, personalities, behaviors, and other features. Therefore, it makes sense to divide them into smaller groups and design email content specifically for each segment.

Geographic Area

Sort your email list based on their geographic location. Why? Research suggests that people are more likely to open emails at certain times of the day. Marketers consider midweek, between 1 – 3 PM, the ideal time for sending emails.

However, 1 PM in one part of the world means midnight at another place. If you send one email to all subscribers, only those in your time zone will end up opening it. Hence, it’s better to divide the subscriber list according to geographic area and send emails at the appropriate time.

Open rate, purchase history, and user status (new/old) are some other segments to consider when dividing your email list.

2. Develop an Email Sequence

Next comes the sequence of Emails. Are you bombarding the reader with information in the first go? If yes, then try a different tactic for more success. Make use of Drip marketing, a strategy in which you send multiple emails to your subscribers at certain times and dates in order.

What does this do? Instead of an in-your-face sales pitchy approach, the email sequence prepares the reader for purchase by providing them the information they will find useful and interesting.

Here is a sequence that you can try:

  1. A welcome email to new subscribers.
  2. Email containing an excerpt from your book based on the reader’s previous reading history with a CTA button.
  3. Email containing an incentive such as sale price, reward, bundle pricing, etc., with a CTA.
  4. Email containing a limited time only offer with a CTA.

You will need an email automation tool to set up this sequential email marketing strategy, which brings us to our next step.

3. Get a Reliable Email Service Provider

You may be thinking that johndoe_01@gmail.com is a good enough address for your email marketing campaign, but rest assured it’s not! ESP accounts are more likely to end up unread in the spam folder.

Hence, you should get an official email account such as Gmail business suite, MailChimp, MailLite, and more. If you have an official website, you can even install a plugin, which will allow you to create emails from your own server.

Secondly, you will need email automation tools. Mailchimp and MailLite have their own automation tools. You can also use third-party software for email automation, such as software from Hubstaff or Moosend.

Email automation will help you keep track of your emails, what has been sent, what is scheduled, and so forth.

4. Focus on your Strength

Many self-published authors bog themselves down by worrying about email design. They end up wasting a lot of time on the perfect font, image, and style, that they forget the essence of the email.

Yes, it is true that emails with multimedia are more likely to succeed. However, it is not a given. You can simply write to your readers in a natural way to get a conversion. If you want to add design, you can use premade templates from your email marketing software instead of wasting hours designing the perfect layout.

5. Be As Natural As Possible

You are a writer, so do what you do best; write. Write the content of the email from your heart rather than adopting a corporate-esque stoicism. You readers, the ones who subscribed to your website because they love your writing, are more likely to respond to your words than some formal, template-style email.

Here are a few tips that you can keep in mind:

  • Use a friendly tone and talk to the subscribers as though you are familiar with them. It will invite them to continue reading your email to learn more.
  • Use simple language; resist the urge to add hard to read, fancy words. People connect with what they understand and what feels real to them.
  • Speak to them like you are speaking to a friend. If you are sending emails to old readers, share an inside joke, catchphrase, quote, or poem from your previous book to make them feel like they are a part of an exclusive club.

6. Freebies do Work

Take a hint from Software as a Service model and offer free previews to hook your readers. If you are selling e-books, then you can include a free preview for the first few chapters to entice the reader into buying.

Similarly, you can offer discounts, additional perks like buy 1 book and get the audiobook free, and so on. Perks and rewards never fail to convert if done in a classy way.

7. Include a CTA

Always include a clear and visible Call To Action (CTA) button in your email. What do you want to achieve with the email? Do you want the reader to subscribe? Purchase? View? Download?

Whatever your intended result, include a CTA to drive action. You can include the CTA at the end of your email and highlight it, so it pops up.

A few examples of popular CTA are:

  1. Subscribe Today
  2. Download Now
  3. Purchase Here

You can experiment with the CTAs and see what works for you.

Arslan Hassan is an electrical engineer with a passion for writing, designing, and anything tech-related. His educational background in the technical field has given him the edge to write on many topics. He occasionally writes blog articles for Dynamologic Solutions.

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Marketing Sense

Email Marketing: Your Most Powerful Promotional Tool

Marketing sense

As a professional writer you aren’t satisfied writing grocery lists. You long to deliver God’s message and see lives turned around. That will never happen until you have an audience, a group of people interested in your message. This includes people you haven’t met yet. They’re not looking for you; they don’t yet know how your message can help them. You must regularly reach beyond your family and friends to help new people discover you.

Once connected with them, you want to build a relationship, serving them consistently, becoming a valued resource. This is best done through email, not through social media. Why?

Imagine moving to Texas during the summer, into a neighborhood filled with walkers. Eager to make new friends, you sit on your front porch, offering first this and then that person a cool drink.

Some wave and thank you but move on. You might see them every day for years, but they rarely if ever accept your offer to chat one-on-one. These people represent your social media followers. Friendly from a distance but no solid connection.

Other walkers slow their pace and join you. As you visit, a seed of friendship is planted. Some will become dear friends. Even if they move away, the connection will remain strong because it’s deep. These people represent your email subscribers, those who have said by their actions, “I want to hear more from you. Please stay in touch via email.”

Years ago, a potential client said she didn’t have an email list and saw no reason to bother, because she had over 10,000 Twitter followers. I asked how many of those followers she could contact directly by email, to share her message or promote her book. “None,” she replied. Oh.

She used the “spray and pray” marketing approach, sharing her message with as many (in her case) Twitter followers as possible, praying that somewhere, somehow, some of those random people would purchase her book. Oy!

If you only invest in one marketing outreach, develop your email list. It’s the foundation of your platform. Social media followers are the whipped cream on top of your sundae.

What is an “email list”?

It’s a collection of names and email addresses. Ideally, each represents a human being interested in 1) you, 2) your topic, or 3) both. By “signing up” (voluntarily sharing their name and email address with you), they’re giving you permission to serve them AND promote your message, book, or event to them anytime you want (within reason).

Doesn’t an email list cost money?

Yes. You’ll need an account with an email marketing service, which is a company that stores or houses the names and email addresses of those who sign-up or “opt-in” to receive—by email—your newsletter, devotions, book launch promotions, podcast replay links…whatever you promised to share with them when they signed up.

It’s not possible to send out separate emails to each individual on your list from your personal computer, so companies such as Aweber, Active Campaign, MailChimp, and others do that for you. Many offer a low or no cost offer to start. As your list grows, they charge on a sliding scale, based upon the number of names in your account.

Myth: You don’t need an email service if you use WordPress.com.

When readers sign up to receive your latest blog post, WordPress.com stores their name and email address. You never have access to that information. So, you might have 5,000 readers (hooray!) but no way to contact them directly (boo!).

In that case, bypass WordPress.com’s sign-up box and share a link to one on your email provider’s site. Contact them to find out how.

Email marketing is targeted marketing.

If your email list is a hodgepodge of email addresses from old college roommates, people you met at a conference five years ago, and your second cousin twice-removed, it’s of no value. (Sorry, but somebody’s gotta tell you.)

But if the majority of your readers are people who’ve read your content elsewhere or heard you on a podcast interview and then digitally raised their hands to say, “I want to hear more from you!” you’re on your way.

Create content exclusively for your ideal audience and your email list will grow. These are the people God has gifted you to serve. Focus your content on them. Offer solutions to their problems. Answer their questions. Engage with them everywhere you can, always inviting them (never badgering them!) to sign up for whatever free resource you’re offering at that moment.

It takes time to build an email list (add more names to it). It takes more time to maintain it (stay connected to your readers). You’ll always be glad you did, for this is how your email list can be your most powerful promotional tool.

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Website: https://marketersonamission.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketersOnAMission

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Guest Posts

5 Ways Content Marketing Affects Your Book Sales

Guest posts

Perhaps, among all the ways to promote your book, content marketing is the most powerful tool since it allows you to instantly reach out to your target audience online and start your conversation with them. Here is how content marketing can be helpful in your book promotion directly affecting the level of sales and the number of engaged fans.

#1 Content Marketing Improves Your Landing Page’s Conversions

First and foremost, consider creating a dedicated landing page for your book. Landing pages have been effective for ages and are still widely being used by all kinds of sellers. Fortunately, they are particularly useful for promoting and selling a particular product instead of focusing on a wide variety of products which means selling your book with the help of a landing page will be the perfect route to go for you.

That being said, it’s important to understand that what you place on the landing page is what really will help you sell your book. You might be directing a lot of traffic to the page, but without good content, it won’t work the way you want it to. For example, some key characteristics of your book, a synopsis, reader and critic reviews, and a sample from the book can be placed throughout the page as well as a button for purchasing the book. This way, you will keep all the attention only on the book itself while promoting it.

#2 Content Marketing Allows Your Readers to Stay in Touch with You Via Social Media

Social media marketing is known to be one of the most effective types of online marketing – and it’s a part of content marketing. Indeed, all the content you create for social media as a part of your campaigns will actually fall into the category of content marketing. This means that you can tie social media into your campaigns seamlessly and integrate them or attach them to other platforms you use for promoting your book (e.g. email marketing).

The best thing about social media platforms is that they help authors stay in touch with their readers at any time from any place. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or any other platforms you decide to use as a writer will help you connect with your audience better while providing some kind of insight into your life to your most dedicated fans. Having an online social media following will also help you maintain a base of readers that will always come back to get more content from you – and more books.

#3 Content Marketing Boosts Your SEO Results

SEO or search engine optimization has been a major part of all digital marketing campaigns for ages now. In addition to that, SEO is needed both on your website and on your social media which means it is crucial for your content marketing as well. Optimizing your images and videos, adding keywords to your articles and blog posts, using hashtags on social media – all of this is a part of SEO just as much as it is a part of content marketing.

As Jocelyn Fry from the essay writing service reviews site Writing Judge puts it, “Content marketing and SEO go hand-in-hand. If you don’t adjust your content correctly, it won’t be discovered organically by search engines and your website won’t rank in search results. Likewise, it will be harder for you to get discovered on social media if you don’t use hashtags and tags. Many people who are just starting out forget just how important SEO is, so if you remember about it and you do everything right, you will have a big advantage.”

#4 Content Marketing Establishes Authority with The Help of Your Reader’s Testimonials

It’s easy to forget that content marketing is not just about the content you create – it’s also about the content your readers create that you can then share with your audience. No matter how much you try to persuade your potential readers to try to buy your book – other readers will be able to do it much better which is exactly why UGC or user-generated content is so important for the success of your content marketing and digital marketing campaigns. Here are just some examples of UGC that you can use:

  • Reader Testimonials: Reader testimonials or reviews help you establish authority and show that you are a good author writing good books. In other words, it’s a way to attract more potential customers and persuade them to actually buy your book.
  • Fan Content: Fan content such as fanfiction, fan art, cosplays, etc. helps you get more exposure, especially on social media, and attracts even more potential readers to check out your book. Such content can also help you create a stronger bond with your audience and create a lasting relationship with returning readers.

#5 Content Marketing Helps Leverage Your Efforts with Paid Ads

Last but not least, content marketing can help you improve the results achieved by your paid ad campaigns. Paid ads are usually used to generate more traffic (to your website, your landing page, or your social media page), but the content is what actually helps you sell your book once the paid ad has taken your reader to the place you want them to be. Moreover, knowing how to create good content will also help you write better ads that will be more efficient and effective.

If you aren’t so sure about your marketing abilities, it’s definitely worth checking out some books about marketing your own book before you launch any digital marketing campaigns. After all, if you want to achieve success, you need to be ready to have to learn some new tricks and techniques that will help you promote your book the right way.

Final Thoughts

All in all, content marketing is definitely an amazing tool that will help you improve your digital marketing campaigns and will help you best the sales of your book. Use the tips in this article to improve your content marketing strategy and start promoting your book more effectively.

John Edwards is a writing specialist who is looking for ways of self-development in the field of writing and blogging. New horizons in his beloved business always attract with their varieties of opportunities. Therefore, it is so important for him to do the writing.

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Marketing Sense

Can A Facebook Live Program Grow Your Author Platform in 2021?

Marketing sense

New authors often call me. They want my help to build their platform in time for their book’s release the following month. I ask, “What have you been doing to serve your audience this past year?”

They reply, “Nothing. I’ve been writing my book.”

Me: “Who do you expect to buy your book?”

Them: “My family and friends.”

Me: “Eventually, those people will be saturated with your message. Once that happens, who will buy your book?”

Them: “Hmm…I never thought about that.”

The hard truth is that no one can build a platform in a month, especially not from scratch. And what does that phrase even mean, really?

What is an “Author Platform”?

Your author platform is your ability to sell books to people you’ve never met. Celebrities, politicians, and megachurch pastors do this effortlessly because they developed a loyal following long before they became an author.

How can you get that same result? Reaching people beyond your family and friends comes first.

Offering your message for free via a Facebook Live program comes second. As you serve your audience with excellence, more audience members—who don’t yet know you—will be drawn to you, growing your audience base. Staying in touch with them comes third.

What does it take to start?

You don’t need any followers in the beginning, because you earn them as you help them. You will need a computer, camera, and microphone. Plus the message you’ve been sharing for years, formally or informally. That’s it!

As you “go live,” the Holy Spirit will draw the very people who need your message.

They’ll return. Some will bring their friends. And your platform will grow deeper. When you serve your audience well, it builds naturally. And supernaturally.

What if I need to polish my message a bit more?

Even if you’ve been delivering your message for decades, hosting a Facebook Live program will refine it. How? Your audience will ask follow-up questions during the program, bringing up points you haven’t considered before. Two-way conversations with a live audience are so much better than writing to unseen readers who don’t respond!

The flexible, back-and-forth flow of a Facebook Live allows the conversation to take unexpected and delightful turns, making your message richer, fuller, and more effective.

Don’t I have to be an expert to host a Facebook Live program?

Even if you don’t start out as an expert, you’ll become one, and be recognized as such. This will open doors you never dreamt of, expanding your audience reach even further and creating opportunities for new personal and professional relationships.

Many Christian communicators balk at “going live,” preferring to write blog posts and share memes instead. And those are good ways to get your message out.

But if you want to develop solid relationships with your audience so they’ll become loyal followers, advocates, and buyers for years, Facebook Live is the faster choice. Though, like any worthwhile project, it doesn’t happen overnight.

When should you begin?

No matter when your next book will be published, I encourage you to begin building your audience base now. Intentionally reach beyond your family and friends.

Some writers worry they’ll give away everything they know, then their audience won’t want their book. On the contrary, sharing your best in 15-30 minute segments via Facebook Live showcases your message, making your audience hungry for more.

First one viewer, then another, then still others will recognize not only the value of your message but they’ll get to know YOU: your personality, your laughter, and your wisdom. You’ll be in relationship with them. These are the people who will be first in line when your book is released. They’ll become your advocates, encouraging their friends to purchase everything you create, helping your platform grow without any extra effort from you. And all because of the connection created as you serve them.

Will 2021 be your year to build a strong author platform using a Facebook Live program?

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Website: https://marketersonamission.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketersOnAMission

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Guest Posts

The Top 3 Easiest Ways to Market Your Book on a Budget

You’ve written a book and published, and that felt like the hard part. But marketing your book is one of the most important items on an author’s to-do list. Or at least it should be. After all, how can you expect any sales if you don’t get your book out there, in front of the hungry readers who want to dive into your story?

In this article, we’ll look at three easy ways you can market your book on a budget. 

1. Newsletter Swaps 

The first step to building a great author platform and making your marketing efforts easier is growing a mailing list of your readers. You can do this by: 

  1. Writing a reader magnet (this is a short, free book or resource that you give away to your readers to get them to sign up for your list). 
  2. Signing up for a mailing list service. I suggest MailerLite because you get so much with your free account and you can have up to 1,000 contacts. It’s also super easy to set up. 
  3. Put a link to your reader magnet in the back of your books, asking readers to sign up. 
  4. Distribute your reader magnet using either BookFunnel or StoryOrigin (StoryOrigin is free). 

With that out of the way, let’s talk about newsletter swaps. 

Newsletter swaps are when authors who have mailing lists take turns sharing each other’s books. So, Author A shares Author B’s book and vice versa. 

It’s important for both authors to be in similar genres. For instance, if you write sci fi, you probably wouldn’t benefit too much from a romantic mystery books author promoting you to their readers. And you should make sure any books you choose to promote are books your own readers will enjoy. 

But how do you find these other authors? Well, that’s where StoryOrigin comes in. 

It’s a completely free service authors can sign up for, and they facilitate author swaps by connecting you with other authors in your genre. It’s pretty neat. 

2. Revamp Your Cover and Blurb 

This might not be the most obvious marketing step you take, but it is probably the more important one. 

If your cover isn’t right for your genre, readers simply won’t click on it or buy your book, because they have expectations that match what they’re used to. So, if you’re writing sci-fi military books, your cover should probably look something like the bestsellers in the genre. 

It’s safe to say that readers in this genre would expect your cover to be similar if your book was a military sci-fi. And the same can be said for your title and your blurbs. 

Follow these steps to make your book more appealing to your target customers: 

  1. Check out the top 20 books in your category (independently published ones) and note down what their covers look like. 
  2. Note down what keywords the books are using in their titles, subtitles, and book descriptions. 
  3. Rewrite your blurb to better suit the genre. Check out Bryan Cohen’s book, How to Write a Sizzling Synopsisfor more direction on how to do this. 
  4. Redesign your cover (either yourself or with a cover designer). For DIY cover redesign at a low-cost price, I suggest checking out BookBrush. They’re an author friendly service that can help you redesign your cover quickly and professionally. 

3. Change Your Kindle Keywords

This might not be the most obvious way to market your book, but it’s a big one. If you’ve ever set up a book in your KDP Dashboard before, you’ll have seen 7 boxes on the first page of setup.

Basically, your goal is to enter keywords into these boxes that help Amazon present your books to readers browsing the Kindle Store. But how do you find those keywords? 

Well, you can follow this method: 

  1. Open Amazon in your browser’s incognito mode and select ‘Kindle Store’ from the dropdown menu. 
  2. Type in a keyword that best suits your book ‘military sci-fi’ for instance. Type in ‘military sci-fi a’, ‘military sci-fi b’ etc. and note down all the auto-fill keyword phrases that Amazon gives you. These are all search terms that readers have typed into Amazon before. 
  3. Check out the competition for these keywords by looking at the top 3 books and working out how many books they sold to get there. You can do this by noting their ABSR then heading over to my Amazon Sales Rank Calculator and working it out. If they’re not selling many books, the keyword might be no good. 
  4. Once you have your list of keywords, make sure they’re ‘allowed’ by Amazon by checking out their keyword requirements here.
  5. Now you have your list of keywords, input them into the boxes. 

If you already have these keywords boxes filled, start by changing only two of them (and write down the original keywords you had in there before you change them). Then, wait 5-7 days to see if your sales go up. If they don’t, change back to the old keywords, if they do, keep the new ones and consider performing more experiments. Here’s a full guide on changing your keywords. 

Final Thoughts

Publishing a book can definitely cost money, but marketing your book doesn’t have to be super expensive. That’s why I recommend the above three methods for getting the most bang for your buck. 

Cheers! 

Dave Chesson is the creator of Kindlepreneur.com, a website devoted to teaching advanced book Marketing which even Amazon KDP acknowledge as one of the best by telling users to “Gain insight from Kindlepreneur on how you can optimize marketing for your books.” Having worked with such authors as Orson Scott Card, Ted Dekker and more, his tactics help both Fiction and Nonfiction authors of all levels get their books discovered by the right readers.

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Guest Posts

How Authors Can Market a Book with No Budget

The biggest misconception that most authors have is that they need to have hundreds or thousands of dollars to market their work. This is not true. Spending a lot of money on marketing is not a guarantee that people will buy your book. In our world today, there are lots of opportunities for authors to connect with their readers and make more sales.

You need not be a marketing expert to connect with your audience. Marketing is all about connecting with people who share similar interests with you. With this fact in mind, marketing becomes a simple puzzle. The best thing about marketing is you can connect with anyone in the world. If you don’t have enough money to market your book, here are a few tips that will help you make rapid progress.

1. Start immediately

Don’t wait to complete your book to start marketing it. If you do, it might be too late. When you start marketing the book while writing it, you’ll have enough time to build relationships and bond with your readers. According to best custom essay, connecting with your readers will help you know their needs and expectations. You can also put yourself in their shoes while writing the book. Knowing your target market and their interests in advance will make it easier for you to market the book.

2. Focus on a few promotions

To market your book effectively, you need to pick a few promotions and focus on them. When you spread yourself too thin, you’ll have a hard time marketing your book effectively. Focus is a key ingredient of success. Picking lots of promotions will not only affect your performance but also lead to stress and anxiety.

3. Small audiences are great

When you compare yourself to famous writers, you might think that you have a small audience. However, a small audience is good. Remember, we all start with nothing. According to essay writing service, every person who signs up or buys a book plays an important role in your success. You should treat them like royalty. Find out where they buy their books, how they find new books, and which blogs they visit frequently to name a few. A small audience will help you discover more details and insights that will help you reach other people.

4. Make plans

Don’t just throw everything together and expect great results. You need to think things through before acting. Think about your goals and how your book can help you accomplish them. Create a clear strategy that will help you reach your destination. People who write down their plans and goals are 42 percent more likely to realize them.

No matter how small your budget is, the one thing you should do to make your book a success is to invest in time. Set aside at least two to three hours every week to focus on your book and marketing.

5. Know your reader

I cannot emphasize enough on the importance of knowing your ideal reader. When you write your book with your ideal reader in mind, marketing will be a simple puzzle to solve. Remember, you are not writing for yourself but for your readers. As assignment writing service reports, failing to know your ideal reader will make marketing extremely difficult. No reader wants to invest in a book that he or she will never read.

6. Focus on opportunities in your area

In most cases, writers tend to focus on the big opportunities that they’ll find in cities and international libraries whilst ignoring their own backyard. There are lots of opportunities around you that will help you generate money without having to spend a fortune. Think of the local bookstores, libraries, schools, festivals, breakfast, and literary organizations around you. These institutions will not only provide local support but also help you connect with other bigger merchants.

7. Contact publications and local news outlets

Writers often overlook local news when it comes to attracting the attention of the public. This is the best place for writers to start if they want their efforts to pay off in the long run. A Google search will help you get contact info for the local newspapers, talk shows, websites, and blogs to name a few. Remember to look at their requirements before making your submission.

8. Use your hobbies

How do you spend your free time? Do you draw, knit, garden or paint? You can use your hobbies to connect with other people. According to the essay writers, the more people you connect with; the more people will be aware of your work.

9. Create amazing visuals

Human beings are visual creatures. We all love looking at beautiful pictures. The first thing people look at before buying a book is the cover. A great book with poorly designed visuals will not sell. You need to take your time to design a book cover and your posters to market your book easily. Apps such as Adobe Spark will make your work easy. And the best part is, most of these great apps are free!

10. Don’t forget family and friends

One of the biggest challenges most writers encounter is getting book reviews, particularly on Amazon. Your family and friends can help you with this. Most of the time, our loved ones are ready and willing to help. However, they have no idea what they should do. Give them a copy of your book and ask them to review it.

11. Connect with other authors

According to custom essay help, you shouldn’t see other authors as the competition but allies. Connecting with other authors will allow you to get mentored and also promote your work. You can help each other progress and grow your audience.

Conclusion

Effective marketing is all about creativity. You need to know the strategies that other successful authors are using and adapt them to get similar results. Always start simple. Start by knowing your ideal reader and using the opportunities in your own backyard. In the end, your book will sell without having to spend a fortune.

“Kurt Walker is a skilled freelancer and editor at a professional writer service and resume writer review service in London. He is one of the many UK essay writers specialized in essay writing and assignment help. In his spare time, Kurt plays the guitar and takes his dog Shay for a walk.”

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Guest Posts

Writing to Market

We think of writing a book as an act of creative inspiration. The muse strikes and we strive to get the story down, get it right, and out to an audience.

If only it was that easy. Writing a good book is challenging. Most successful writers will tell you that selling a good book is even harder. 

On-line bookstores have opened the doors. The market is filled with diverse books from unique voices, offering a cornucopia of great writing to readers. The time has never been better to get your work out.

Getting your book out there requires know-how. While self-publishing authors have boundless opportunities, they undertake the journey alone. Back in traditional publishing days, it was a guided tour, aided by an agent and publisher. Without professionals in your corner, what is a self-publishing author to do? The answer is deceptively simple. The savvy self-publishing author gets informed and uses that knowledge to navigate the strange seas of on-line publishing.

“Writing to market” is a concept self-publishing authors need to understand. What does it mean? Finding out what books readers want to read and focusing on writing those. 

The idea might restrain an author’s freedom. It sounds like focusing on writing books that sell. Writing to market translates to increased sales. But there is more to it than that. 

These are five writing to market realities you need to understand before embarking on your self-publishing journey.

Do Your Homework

Have you been on Amazon lately? 

Do you know what book covers in your genre look like? Do you know how to price a novel? Have you read the book descriptions? This is a baseline of writing to market. You have to know the genre your books are competing in.

If you write science-fiction, you probably read a lot of that genre. The conventions should be familiar. Most authors don’t scrutinize deep enough. Just because you read in a genre doesn’t mean you understand what readers are looking for. Your reading habits can be deceptive. Perhaps you read more classic science-fiction. Perhaps your taste focuses primarily in one sub-genre.

Sampling a range of books in your genre is critical. Don’t rely on your reading habits. Discover the nuanced reading habits of your readers.

It’s About Reaching Readers

Forget sales or a moment. Translate a sale and positive review into what they really mean: signs of a satisfied reader.

I had a hard time understanding this. I believed a sale was the end goal. It’s not though. A sale and a positive review tells you the complete story. It says that the reader liked your cover and description enough to buy it. The review says they were happy. 

Authors need fans. I don’t just mean to boost ego, either. Authors need fans because when you do your job right, they go to bat for you. They like your posts, talk about your books to their friends. 

You want that.

Wait… I stand corrected. You need that. 

Ignoring Market Signals Leads To Frustration

Jumping into a publishing market that you know little about leads to a cycle of frustration. 

I thought of my first series, The Strange Air, as “paranormal mystery”. I liked to say it was a small town X-Files with a little horror thrown in for good measure.

But as I began marketing, I realized something. While “paranormal” and “mystery” were the accurate descriptions in my head they were ar from what the market thought. I ended up marketing my books with others that were not similar in any way. I promoted mine with books resembling Twilight with covers featuring naughty witches. 

While these are great books, they were nothing like mine. It took me a year (and a gigantic dent in my advertising budget) to figure out two things I could have learned earlier: my genre was limited and I didn’t know what to call it.

Writing To Market Saves Authors Money and Time

Marketing a book is expensive. If an author isn’t careful, they can spend thousands of dollars on the wrong cover, counter-intuitive marketing, and worthless reviews.

Once your book is out, you have crossed the first sea. Congratulations. Now comes the second, more dangerous stretch of water. Selling it. 

In today’s book market, in order to make money you need to spend money. These require investments of time and, of course, capital. Yes, you can sell books without a huge advertising budget. If that’s the case, however, you need a lot of time.

Advertising without knowing your book’s market like throwing darts… blindfolded… on the deck of a ship… in a storm. Your odds of hitting your target are slim.

The savvy self-publisher knows their market. They possess key data like who their readers are, where they gather, and how to give them what they want. 

Translation: they have a shortcut to effective book marketing.

Writing To Market Can Be Easy

Looking back on my first foray into self-publishing, I can see the forest for the trees. Success in any market will be as easy (or as difficult) as you choose to make it.

Spend time in the Kindle Store. Consider a wide range of successful, recently published books that look like yours. Look at what those authors did and emulate it. Yes, it’s OK. Really. Especially when it comes to marketing. Save breaking new ground for the page. Otherwise, do what works.

Read blogs and articles. Network with writers. Keep up with your genre on social media. Readers gather in tribes. They love talking about what they love. Meet them where they are.

Writing is hard enough on its own. Don’t make the business of writing any more frustrating or expensive than necessary. Before writing your book, or perhaps before publishing it, look at the market. Find out what readers want in your genre and be sure your book gives it to them.

Eric Mertz, writer

Erick Mertz is a ghostwriter and editor from Portland, Oregon. You can read more of his thoughts about the craft and business of writing at www.erickmertzwriting.com/. In addition to his role as a professional ghostwriter, he is also an author, self-publishing The Strange Air series of paranormal mysteries, a story world that blends elements of the X-Files and Unsolved Mysteries. When he is not writing, he enjoys a nice cold craft beer and a baseball game, a bit of travel, dungeon crawling with his board game group, and spending quality time with his wife and son.

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Guest Posts

10 Best Marketing Books For Authors Ever Written

There are a lot of talented authors on the Best Writers Online and Online Writers Rating custom writing reviews platforms. There are a lot of talented authors we even don’t know about since they are not willing to show their creative results to the world.

However, do you know what is the difference between a talented writer and a successful writer? The successful writer does his best to market his creative offspring. Surely, you want to be successful and talented at the same time, so here is the list of the best marketing books that will help you with this task.

Online Marketing for Busy Authors: A Step-By-Step Guide by Fauzia Burke

According to the author, technology is the best thing available to authors in our time. Promotion and advertising have never been so easy and effective, unless, of course, you know what you are doing. The author of this book knows how to make you a popular online author, and is happy to share tips on creating landing pages, developing a social presence, and sending effective email newsletters. Plus, the book contains great time management tips to finish your new book on time.

● Rating on Amazon – 4.6 out of 5

Real Artists Don’t Starve by Jeff Goins

A well-known saying states that the artist must be constantly hungry so that thoughts about how to earn his living stimulate creative impulses. The author of this book destroys this theory and proves that the best artist is the artist whose work is highly paid.

Regardless of whether you are painting in oil or writing a book, your work must be paid. And well paid. The author helps to accept this idea within oneself and find the first promotion strategies.

● Rating on Amazon – 4.6 out of 5

Sell Your Book Like Wildfire by Rob Eagar

This book one of the best marketing books that can be called a strategy for developing your brand. Each page is a step-by-step explanation of what you need to do to start a stream of conversations about you, and most importantly, what you need to do so that your book starts to be sold both in physical stores and online. The author offers a comprehensive strategy for your popularization, which will work under the main condition – your book should be really interesting and sought-after.

● Rating on Amazon – 4.5 out of 5

I Must Write My Book by Honoree Corder

How is this book interconnected with the marketing of your own one? Here is the most direct connection. In this book, the author teaches you to write consistently, purposefully, not to lose inspiration and motivation, to maintain clarity of thought and, moreover, to do it easily. As a result, you get a better product, and the better the product, the easier it is to market it.

● Rating on Amazon – 4.9 out of 5

Reader Magnets: Build Your Author Platform and Sell more Books on Kindle by Nick Stephenson

In this book, the author proposes a strategy that successfully mixes a creative approach, technology, and relationship management. Its formula for success is simple – give readers a lot of cool content for free, and at some point, they themselves will want to pay for your book. No false advertising and misleading marketing – only value, value and one more value.

● Rating on Amazon – 4.6 out of 5

Your First 1000 Copies by Tim Grahl

This book received many rave reviews from writers who became best selling New York Times authors, and with the help of this book as well. The author puts your reader at the forefront and teaches you how to start a relationship, engage, build trust, and sell without causing feelings of irritation and imposition.

● Rating on Amazon – 4.5 out of 5

Write. Publish. Repeat. (The No-Luck-Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success) by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant

This book teaches writing and selling at the same time. Moreover, the authors prove that publication is not the most difficult part as many authors consider. Using the techniques described in this book, you can create a work for which publishers will fight with each other.

● Rating on Amazon – 4.7 out of 5

Write To Market by Chris Fox

This book is a pure marketing approach to writing yours. No, the author does not deny the need for creativity and an artistic approach but insists that before you write something, you need to analyze the market or the preferences of readers. This is the only way to create a sought after product and sell it.

● Rating on Amazon – 4.7 out of 5

How to Make a Living As a Writer by James Scott Bell

In this book, the author suggests turning your writing into a business because technology has given the best opportunity for this. This book is a collection of secrets on how to write well, not to lose inspiration, to sing more in less time, organize your business, and receive passive income from writing.

● Rating on Amazon – 4.7 out of 5

How to Write Copy That Sells: The Step-By-Step System for More Sales, to More Customers, More Often by Ray Edwards

This is a great book for those who not only make money by writing but also help others earn and sell more. If you are a freelance copywriter or owner of a business, open this book now. It will teach you how to write so that the sales of your product grow organically.

● Rating on Amazon – 4.6 out of 5

Do you know more books on authors’ marketing? We will kindly appreciate your suggestions, so feel free to post a comment and share it!

Frank Hamilton is a blogger and translator from Manchester. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.

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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

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Writers Chat

Writers Chat Recap for November Part 1

Writers Chat, hosted by Jean Wise, Johnnie Alexander, and Bethany Jett, is the show where we talk about all things writing, by writers and for writers!

“Because talking about writing is more fun than actually doing it.”

The Writer’s Toolbox with Rhonda Dragomir

Buckle your seat belts for a high speed episode of Writers Chat. Rhonda Dragomir puts the pedal to the medal in order to get through her long list of tools writers should have in their toolbox. Just as racecar drivers need pit crews with the right tools, writers need the right tools, too. Not only does Rhonda share resources with us, but she takes us to several websites and shows us how to use that site. Rhonda has won numerous awards for her writing including Serious Writers Writer of Year. Don’t let this episode pass you by.

Watch the October 29th replay.

For resources check out this week’s Show Notes and Live Discussion.

Content Creation: Become a Publishing Group with Bethany Jett

In this episode, Bethany shares how three big companies reach people by having a people focused, instead of company focused, marketing strategy. The companies are Red Bull, with a small target niche; L’Oreal, has a higher end target with great community outreach; and Wendy’s, with a fun snarky campaign. While sharing the great marketing strategies of these companies Bethany also discusses content six. If you need a little help with content, marketing, or both, this is the episode for you.

Watch the November 5th replay.

For more information check out this week’s Show Notes and Live Discussion.

JOIN US!

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET on Zoom. Here’s the permanent Zoom room link. 

Participants mute their audio and video during the filming then we open up the room for anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.

Additionally, you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our Writers Chat Facebook Group.

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Writers Chat

Writers Chat Recap for February, Part 2

Writers Chat, hosted by Jean Wise, Johnnie Alexander, and Bethany Jett, is the show where we talk about all things writing, by writers, and for writers!

“Because talking about writing is more fun than actually doing it!”

Evernote with Joyce Glass

Are you tired of looking for that piece of paper you wrote an important note on? Have you wanted to get input on something you’re writing, but Word isn’t cooperating? Well this episode is for you. Check out the amazing way to get organized using Evernote as Joyce Glass, the Write Coach, shares some basic tips on how to use this multi-faceted app. 

In this episode,

Watch the February 9th replay

For more information on Evernote, check out this week’s Show Notes and Live Chat Discussions.

 Joyce Glass is the Managing editor at Middle Georgia Christian Voice, founder and owner at The WRITE Coach, and founder at Joyce Glass, Writer & Speaker. She writes, speaks, coaches, and shares her chocolates on occasion.

Social Media Savvy, with Bethany Turner

In this episode, Bethany discusses her unique and creative marketing strategies, as well as her writing journey. Bethany loves to “Tackle the Thorny Issues of Life with Humor and Insight.” including bad reviews. Come on over and check this week’s fun episode of Writers Chat.

Watch the February 5th replay

  Bethany Turner is the award-winning author of The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, which was a finalist for The Christy Award. When she’s not writing (and even when she is), she serves as the director of administration for Rock Springs Church in Southwest Colorado. She lives with her husband and their two sons in Colorado, where she writes for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight. Her next novel, Wooing Cadie McCaffrey, will be available May 21, 2019. For more, visit www.seebethanywrite.com.

JOIN US!

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET on Zoom. Here’s the permanent Zoom room link. 

Participants mute their audio and video during the filming, then we open up
the room for anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.

Additionally, you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our Writers Chat Facebook Group.

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Writer Encouragement

Shades of Darkness

Elaine Marie Cooper

I walked in my house the other day after a long car trip, and was surprised how dark everything looked. I stared directly at the light fixture over the table and was shocked by the dimness. Had my husband put in new light bulbs of a lower wattage?

But then I noticed everything looked darker. What was going on?

It took me a moment for the light bulb in my head to come on: I was still wearing my sunglasses.

Continue reading “Shades of Darkness”