Tag: marketing

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Marketing Sense

How to Grow Your Audience Using Online Workshops: Part Six

Marketing sense

We’ve almost finished preparations for our online workshop! If you’re just joining us, you may wonder…

“Why bother with a live webinar? Can’t I just send that information in an email series?”

Yes, you can, but a live webinar is about more than transferring information. It’s about new and established audience members engaging not only with you…live…but with each other.

And in this, our final segment, we’ll talk about when and what to send in both your pre-launch and post-webinar email series.

Here’s our breakdown of this series so far…

In Part One, we chose our topic.

In Part Two, we identified and researched various title resources.

In Part Three, we chose our title (it’s a dandy!).

In Part Four, we discussed priming our audience for our upcoming webinar using what’s called “pre-launch” emails.

In Part Five, we confirmed our goal and our plan to reach it.

This “live” component is more powerful than it appears. Your readers will also experience community. YOUR community. While learning information they have sought from YOU. Boom!

They’ll learn. They’ll laugh. They’ll value you. They’ll want more. Voila! Your audience has just grown! Now, serve them well, and as Christ leads, periodically promote a paid product or service. Do that once a month or once a year–whatever your marketing plan is–and you’ll have a larger, loyal following. (Hint: That’s a good thing.) 🙂

The last step before our online webinar is our launch email series.

This is a group of emails (usually) created ahead of time and scheduled for release pre-webinar. It’s imperative that readers understand the benefit your free webinar offers, as that will help them choose to attend. It’s up to you to tell them in both your title (Survive These 3 Treacherous Ice-Fishing Dangers) and your email’s content (below).

First email: Send your Webinar Announcement email 14-30 days out.

You want to give your audience time to adjust their schedule if necessary. Better yet, sharing the date early will prevent conflicts altogether. Include all the normal information: date, time, location, topic, and your event’s URL, along with a clear benefit.  

These days most of us present on Zoom. You can set your webinar up in your Zoom account weeks in advance and share the details in your announcement email.

You don’t have to include your Zoom link in this first email, but it’s a good idea because some readers are meticulous about details. You don’t know who those readers are, so go ahead and send the full details in this email and plan to add them to subsequent emails as well, for those readers who’ll wait till the last minute to take note of them. It happens. 🙂

Second email: Send a Webinar Reminder email 7 days out.

Simple. Clear.Almost a duplicate of your Announcement email, adding another benefit for those who attend. Consider placing your webinar’s URL, date, day, time, and so on in your postscript instead of the body this time, as scanners will read a postscript (a P.S.) when they won’t read anything else.

Third and Fourth emails:

One day before your webinar begins, and a final reminder email 30 minutes before your webinar begins. Isn’t that too many? No. We all get busy and miss important meetings without gentle reminders. You’ll be doing them a favor with these last two emails. Add one more benefit, please, or repeat the benefits you mentioned in your previous emails.

Fifth email:

Send a Thanks for Joining Me! email within two hours after the webinar is over. (Another  reason you want to create this simple email series ahead of time.)

Share a recap of the webinar’s content and its benefits. Offer a limited-time replay link if that’s part of your marketing strategy.  

It’s over! Serve your new readers as well as you’ve served your current readers. Offer them life-changing content that will draw them to your message and to Christ.

Create new webinars as you desire, and watch your audience grow. Offer your knowledge for free or via paid products or services and reach more people for Christ around the world!

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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Marketing Sense

How to Grow Your Audience Using Online Workshops: Part Five

Marketing sense

Online workshops are a great marketing tool. But we don’t want to just hop online and yell, “I’m going live in 10 minutes! Join me!” Uh, noooo, that’s not how we do it.

Instead, we want to invest time “warming up” our audience via email so that when it’s time to promote our free workshop, readers aren’t taken unawares. Once we deliver it, we can develop it into a paid product next time. But right now, our goal is to grow our email list through free service. We’ll use our online workshop (often called a webinar) to do that.

For this series, we’ve chosen an unusual topic: ice fishing. What??? If we can learn the process for a topic unfamiliar to us, we’ll know how to adapt it for our current and future topics.

Here’s our breakdown of this series so far…

In Part One, we chose our topic.

In Part Two, we identified and researched various title resources.  

In Part Three, we chose our title (it’s a dandy!).

In Part Four, we discussed priming our audience for our upcoming webinar using what’s called “pre-launch” emails.

Part Five

It’s time to invite them to take an action. We’ll do that within a series of “launch emails.” We’ll discuss that task next month in part six.

Today, let’s double-check the goal we set for this workshop. Why? It’s so easy to get off track! It’s good to regularly confirm we’re on course before getting too far afield.

We’re still committed to our initial goal…to grow our audience. And we’re still planning to offer our workshop for free. Consider both decisions as two sides of the same marketing coin. 🙂

Note that we could always change our goal and charge for our workshop instead. Free and paid are both valid options. Either way, now’s the time for a final decision. After today, it will be too late to change our goal. Why? Because once we begin marketing the workshop, our marketing message must be clear and consistent.

Let’s continue with our initial goal of offering our knowledge for free so we can grow our audience base. This will show us not only IF our audience is interested in this topic, but WHICH readers are interested in it, and since workshop attendees need to give us their name and email address, we’ll have MORE readers after the workshop than before, which was our plan from the beginning.

Some marketers are discouraged when offering free content; they want to be paid for it instead. Understandable. But remember…

We ARE “paid” for free webinars. Just not in dollars.

Each time a new or current subscriber enters their first name and email address in those little magic “opt-in boxes,” they’re giving us something of value. How so?

They’re raising their hands and saying, “I want to know more about this subject!” That information, my friend, is gold. Once we know who in our audience wants which parts of our message, we can offer them more of what they want and when we’re ready to, create a paid product that they’re more likely to buy. YES!!!

So onward we go!

Let’s talk more specifically about the content for our launch email series next month.

Patricia Durgin
Categories
Book Proposals

How to Beef Up Your Proposal Marketing Section

When writers take personality tests, the majority are introverts. They prefer to write more articles or books instead of marketing their books. Yet the marketing section of your proposal can be the difference between rejection and acceptance. Every writer must learn these marketing skills.

The great circus promoter, PT Barnum said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens. Nothing.” Publishers create well-designed and well-edited books that they distribute to bookstores. These companies make large financial investments in the production of these books to get them out to bookstores. Every book inside your brick and mortar bookstore is 100% returnable to that publisher—for the lifetime of the book. It’s a long-standing practice in bookselling since the Great Depression. The returned books are not put out on the used market but destroyed.

What many authors don’t understand is it is up to them to drive their readers to the bookstore to buy those books. If you self-publish, then you have 100% of this marketing responsibility.

When you pitch your book to agents and publishers, I’ve found many publishing professionals will read the marketing section of your proposal before they read your writing. Every publisher is looking for authors who take action and know how to reach their readers to sell books.

Studies have shown people need to hear about your book repeatedly before they will decide to buy your book and take it home from that bookstore or buy it online. Most authors do nothing so if you are actively talking about your book, your efforts will pay off. As marketing expert Sarah Bolem says, “Consumers generally need to be exposed to a new product seven to twelve times before they will purchase it.” What are you doing as an author to stir that awareness and entice readers to purchase your book? There is not just one way but dozens of possible paths in this process.

beef up marketing

The marketing section of your book proposal is where you explain your various ideas. As you write it:

  • Show your passion in actions. Successful authors will continue to market and promote their book long after others have given up. For example, I’m still doing radio interviews to promote my Billy Graham biography even though it was released five years ago. The book continues to sell and reach people as long as the author is engaged in the marketing process. I also continue to tell people about this book every day. Selling books is not a sprint but a marathon—a long term process.
  • Create a practical plan which you can execute on your own timetable. From my biography, I pulled 10 Facts about Billy Graham into an infographic. These facts became a bookmark on one side and the other side includes the book cover and a brief endorsement. Can you create this type of practical tool for your book then distribute the bookmark to bookstores for bag stuffers? Booksellers will appreciate your author activity to help them sell books.
  • Read book marketing books like 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer or The Book Marketing Coach by Brent Sampson or then apply what you are learning to the marketing section of your proposal.

Build these types of marketing plans into your proposal for it to shine for editors and agents. Every author needs to make their marketing section in their book proposal standout.

Terry Whalin

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s newest book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. The revised and updated edition will release October 5th. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Categories
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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Guest Posts

How to Build a Career in Marketing Copywriting

Guest posts

To put it simply, a marketing copywriter is a person who creates texts to sell products. It can be email messages texts to send them to probable customers, materials for advertising, articles for company websites, or short slogans for TV or radio. In other words, it does not matter what kind of text marketing copywriter delivers, but it does matter how it impacts the company sales volume.

The need for marketing copywriting specialists is huge: there are 3,406 Marketing Copywriter jobs on the Glassdoor site with an average salary of $25-200K per year.

Where to Start

The main must-have skill for a marketing copywriter is the competence to create in readers the desire to act. For instance, to click the Buy button right after reading the text in the company blog, or to visit the company website after hearing the advertising slogan on TV. Therefore, a proficient marketing copywriter knows how to make entertaining content and understands how it will impact readers.

So, if you are interested in a marketing copywriting career, you should find out more about marketing strategies and PR. It will be not enough just to catch the main trends or tricks for marketing copy. Still, since selling is very connected with human emotions and behavior, it will be incredibly useful to study a bit of psychology.

Also, you must not forget about writing skills themselves. Although a marketing copywriter sells products, his or her tool for doing so is words. That means, your materials must be easy to read, informative, catchy, and entice customers first read till the end and then react in accordance with your marketing intentions, whether it is purchasing, checking the website, or something else.

Additional knowledge can enhance your copywriting CV. For instance, if you want to get a marketing copywriter job in an IT company, a degree in Computer Science will look like a strong advantage.

Steps to Become a Marketing Copywriter

Step 1. Defining your current skills

Now, when you know where you want to be, you need to define where you are at this moment. Maybe you are an experienced freelance writer; then you have to improve your skills in marketing. Or maybe you have just started your way, but you have already successfully participated in some volunteering projects. Explore your potential: sometimes, it is not apparent what heights you can reach.

Step 2. Boosting your skills if needed

Once you have defined where you have a gap in knowledge or experience, fill it with training or practice.

Step 3. Create a portfolio (you can get some freelance orders for that at low price)

It is essential for the copywriter to tell potential employees about the quantity of your experience and showcase the examples of what you can do. So, your portfolio becomes as important as your CV or even has more weight.

How to create a marketing copywriter portfolio:

●      Find a task at the freelance exchange, from your friends in the field, or even create it on your own. But the first two options are preferable. Why? The explanation is below.

●      Fulfill the task and measure its results. The master in marketing copywriting creates not just grammatically correct and interesting copy, but copy that helps to achieve some marketing goals. So you need to show this to potential employees. That is why it is much better to take a real task than to come up with it on your own. This is not always easy without experience, so just do the best you can.

Step 4. Finding an internship or full-time jobs

The path really begins on this step. Many newbies think that the hardest part is getting a job, but actually, you have to work even harder once you get it.

How to Make Progress at Work

While working as a marketing copywriter, you need to continue improving your writing and marketing skills. To do it effectively, you must learn to take an example from other people’s work, ask the right questions, and critically evaluate yourself. Specific marketing metrics will significantly help you with this last point: checking whether the copy achieved its goal with conversions, a percentage that shows how many customers read the text and how many of them did desirable action (buy, click, etc.).

You will also find the following tips helpful:

●      Read more. The more you read examples of other people’s good work, the more you understand what to strive for, and the faster you notice your own mistakes. For writing skills, any text is fine, but only marketing samples are useful for mastering your selling techniques.

●      Determine for whom and for what you write. It’s essential to do this every time before you start working on a new piece. Always keep in mind that your text must accomplish the task. Draw in your head a portrait of your potential reader and answer the questions: what he or she wants, what he or she is interested in, and, most importantly, how to hook them.

●      Follow the trends. Marketing is a very changeable area, so it’s important to know what is essential and relevant now or you will be hopelessly outdated. You can find out what’s trending on Medium from the blogs of the top experts.

How to Grow

A specialist in marketing copywriting can work on enhancing one’s skills in the niche or move into related areas. The first option might involve career growth to becoming the head of the department. The position will require writing articles, building strategies for development, and giving subordinates tasks. The second option is possible due to the fact that marketing copywriting already combines two specialties. So you can grow in the direction of pure marketing, up to the creation of your own agency.

Marie Barnes is a Marketing Communication Manager at Adsy, where you can write as a guest blogger. She is an enthusiastic blogger interested in writing about technology, social media, work, travel, lifestyle, and current affairs.

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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.

Categories
Platform and Branding

How to Market Your Book in 2020

The difference between filing your carefully edited pages on your computer and readers reading those pages, is marketing.

Books come alive when readers read them, but in order to read them, they must know it exists. It’s the imagination that puts skin on characters and personalities in dialogue. Without readers, your book is a black and white stack of words.

One of my writing friends once said: “The brutal truth is you may have the greatest book ever written, but if you cannot pitch it, no one may ever know.”

Swap the word pitch with market, and you get a similar result.

So, how do you market your book, especially when life looks quite different now than it did a year ago?

Start with your pitch.

Online marketing can help you so much right now. You can do it from home, but still reach hundreds if not thousands of potential readers. However, just as every word counts in writing, every word counts in marketing. For someone to be willing to stop their scroll, it’s important to be succinct and catch their attention.

If you’re on Twitter, try formatting your pitch to target potential readers (and don’t forget to hashtag #WritingCommunity!). This will hopefully pique interest and if you leave it with a question, opens the door for comments.

Market your protagonist’s character arc.

Readers connect with the human side of characters, and often the humanity of characters means they have flaws. You want to keep the ending a surprise, but give enough to engage their desire to find out what happens. What’s your inciting incident, how does your protagonist respond, and what does this say about him? These can be good questions to ask when considering how to portray character arc.

Note: Keep your target audience in mind, because you want to remember not just what you’re pitching, but who you’re pitching to.

Shine a spotlight on your theme

              Your theme is what holds your book together. It’s the current that carries your protagonist, and your readers, from the first page to the last. It’s what makes them pick up your book instead of the one next to it on the shelf, or add your book to the cart instead of one in the customers-also-bought list on Amazon.

Let your passion for your book overflow as you market, but remember readers often purchase not just because of the genre, but because of the story in the genre. Your theme is what sets your story apart and your character arc helps hold up your theme, whatever it is.

Best wishes as you spread the word on your project!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
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.”

Categories
Devotional/Christian Living

Spreadsheets: Organizing Wisdom from Author Karen Whiting

I am one of those writers who sits among piles of stuff. That piece of information I need? I know I have it written on a piece of paper…somewhere. When it comes to writing, organizing one small devotion is not hard. Hook, Bible point, application. But now that I am writing devotional books, I’ve been wondering how to organize my writing. How can I be sure that my topics aren’t repetitive? How can I see my writing progress without having to scroll through a long Word document? Where can I jot ideas down so they don’t get lost?

With these questions simmering in the back of my mind, I attended Karen Whiting’s class at Montrose Christian Writer’s Conference in Montrose, PA. Karen Whiting is the award winning author of 26 books including The One Year My Princess Devotions, 52 Weekly Devotions for Families Called to Serve, and The Gift of Bread. Although the title of Karen’s class was Marketing Your Book, she generously shared additional ideas pertaining to organizing all aspects of being a writer. What is her secret?

Spreadsheets.

It sounds like a simple thing, but the idea has changed my writing life. Here’s how Karen uses spreadsheets:

Spreadsheets to Outline a Devotional Book

Rather than a traditional outline, Karen organizes her devotional book writing on a spreadsheet so she can see all the elements of the book at a glance. On her spreadsheet she includes a column for each element in the devotion including the title of each devotion, scripture passage, key verse, quote, and (most importantly) the need of the reader each particular devotion meets. For her upcoming devotional book for moms, she included needs like affirmation, love, and assurance. This way she can make sure that the book as a whole is meeting a range of the spiritual and emotional needs of the reader. She can also see that she does not write towards one need too often while ignoring others. She also uses spreadsheets to outline her parenting, craft, and Christian life books.

Spreadsheets to Organize the Marketing Plan

When I create a marketing plan for a book proposal, I use a bullet point list to brainstorm my marketing ideas. Karen uses a spreadsheet and groups similar marketing together. One section for radio interviews, one for television interviews, one for social media marketing, another for blog post and article ideas. She includes contact information for each radio station or magazine publisher. Then when she is ready to market, she has all the information she needs in one place. She can just go down the spreadsheet like a to-do list and make notes on her progress for each task. When an interview or article is complete, she adds the link on her spreadsheet.

Spreadsheets for the Launch Team

Leading up to the book release, the launch team will read advance copies of the book and generate excitement on social media and other places. Karen said it’s wise to have about 30-40 people on the launch team, but be prepared to see only 20-25% follow through. She uses a spreadsheet to keep track of members of her launch team, their addresses, and ideas for the gifts she will send to them. During the marketing class, Karen offered personalized suggestions to each author in the room by giving ideas for gifts for our launch team members. I was amazed at how creative Karen is on the spot! For my upcoming book Take It to Heart: 30 Days through Revelation, a Devotional Workbook, Karen gave ideas like squishy stress ball hearts and heart shaped candy. Yum! She also encouraged me to create speaking topics about truth since I encourage Christians to find simple truth in Scripture. Such helpful ideas!

I’m so grateful to Karen Whiting for sharing her wisdom with us at Montrose Christian Writer’s Conference. I came home energized and equipped to organize my devotional writing in an effective way.

Do you have any tips for organizing your writing life? Do you use spreadsheets? Comment below!

Rachel Schmoyer is a pastor’s wife who is loving her church life. She writes about the hard parts of Scripture at readthehardparts.com. She has had devotionals published in the past, but now she is looking forward to getting her first Christian Living book published. You can connect with Rachel on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.

Categories
Embrace the Wait

Survival Tips for the Waiting Part of Writing Tip #17 – Prepare a successful launch

I think writers must contemplate individual words much more than the average person. If that weren’t true, I’m convinced we would see hordes of people staring into space much more often. The word launch conjures up everything from ships sailing to teens leaving for college. But for a writer, the word launch encompasses those same concepts and so much more. The day a book launches is the day a dream becomes reality. But to give that dream the best chance to reach its full potential, just like an adept captain or a diligent parent, we must prepare in advance for the big event. Here are a few tips to get your book ready for launch.

1) Rally your tribe. Enlist as many launch team volunteers as you can. As the clock ticks closer to your release date, keep your team engaged through emails and/or by forming a private group, through social media, just for them. Use group posts to generate excitement and to remind your team about important tasks. You can do this in fun ways, like offering weekly giveaways or posting teaser excerpts or illustrations from your upcoming book.

2) Get the word out. It’s likely that you have potential readers out there who have never heard of you or your book. One way to find them is to use your launch team and other connections to introduce yourself. Social media is a great tool for this kind of word of mouth exposure. When a reader first sees a friend’s post about your book, they take casual notice. Then they hear about your amazing book from another source—and it cues their mental radar. But when the potential reader hears about the book a third time, it puts them into action mode.

3) Consider a virtual launch party. Covid has made face-to-face book signings and launch parties almost impossible. But no fear, there are multiple resources available to help you engage with your anxiously awaiting public—via the internet. Online social gatherings and conferences are becoming the norm, and fortunately, we can glean from the experiences of others who have gone before us. Facebook Live, Zoom, and StreamYard are great forums for a launch party. The first place to start is by doing a Google search for online launch parties, specific to your genera. Notice the platforms used, check for what worked and what did not with other parties, then steal your favorite ideas and create the party of your dreams to celebrate the birth of your book baby.

Technology has become the bridge between writers and their audience during this social distancing season. If you find yourself lacking in the tech skill to prepare your book for launch, know that you are not alone. But don’t let that intimidate you. Network with other authors for information and take full advantage of YouTube tutorials to educate yourself. Together, we can do it! Check out the link in the resources below for more information.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1

Fun Fact or Helpful Resource:
How Do Writers Create Book Launch Content?

How to Throw a Virtual Book Launch Using Facebook Live:

https://www.janefriedman.com/how-to-throw-a-virtual-book-launch-using-facebook-live/

My FB Author Page and My Launch Party Invite:

Annette Marie Griffin is a award-winning writer who speaks at local women’s group meetings and women’s retreats on the topic of biblical womanhood and finding our identity in Christ. She is the Operations and Events Coordinator at a private school for special needs students and is the editor of their quarterly newsletter. She has written custom curriculum for women’s retreats and children’s church curriculum for Gateway Church in San Antonio, Texas where she served as Children’s Ministry Director and Family Program Director for over twenty years. She and her husband John have five amazing children and two adorable grands. She’s a member of Word Weavers International, ACFW, SCBWI, and serves on the Board of Directors for The Creative Writing Institute.

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Writers Chat

Writers Chat Recap for June, 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.”

Book Chat: Called to Create by Jordan Raynor

Hosts Jean Wise, Bethany Jett, and Johnnie Alexander share insights from Called to Create: A Biblical Invitation to Create, Innovate. From the back cover: THE WORK YOU DO TODAY MATTERS FOR ETERNITY. We were created by an infinitely creative God to reflect his love and character to the world. One way we do that is by continuing his creative work. In this energizing book, serial entrepreneur and bestselling author Jordan Raynor helps artists, entrepreneurs, writers, and other creatives reimagine our work as service to God and others.

Watch the June 2nd replay

Creating Effective Media Images with Rhonda Dragomir and Kathleen Sweeney 

Rhonda Dragomir, writer and graphics/web designer, provides a detailed tutorial on creating stunning social media images. The best images, Rhonda advises, tell a story and evoke emotion. She talks about lighting, saturation, cropping, the rule of three, and other elements that go into creating a compelling image.

Kathleen Sweeney, Manager of Marketing and Customer Service at Book Brush, is also our guest. As Rhonda demonstrates how she uses Book Brush to create her own social media images, Kathleen provides additional tips and info.

Book Brush is an amazing app designed to help authors promote their books via social media by using the backgrounds, community templates, and mockups provided on the site. https://youtu.be/zw9Radc8Jcc

Watch the June 9th replay.

Rhonda Dragomir and her husband live in Kentucky. She is an award winning writer with published works in Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies and Spark magazine. Rhonda is a pastor’s wife, Bible teacher, and speaker. She and her husband formed The Dragomir Group which offers services for writers. You can find Rhonda on social media or visit her website at www.rhondadragomir.com

Kathleen Sweeney loves creating images. She brings over 17 years of client service experience, business assurance, strategy and problem solving to Book Brush.

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.

Categories
Guest Posts

Four Things Book Marketing Bloggers Aren’t Telling You

On its surface, the internet is a wonderful resource to learn about how to sell your book. With a huge variety of book marketers sharing their tips and winning strategies, alongside a sparkling resume of accomplishments, it can be easy to be sucked into their rhetoric and believe that they have all the keys to book marketing success. The issue is, they don’t. More often than not, knowingly or unknowingly, they are leaving out important realities about book marketing and trying to convince you that, like the Jackson 5, it’s as easy as one two three. Sorry to say, but it’s not, so next time you read a top ten list of tips and strategies, bear in mind these four things they’ll often ignore.

Specificity

The internet is awash with recommendations on book marketing strategy, but how detailed are they? Smartauthorslab.com ran a survey of authors and book marketers and found that the number one frustration behind selling books is not knowing where to focus time, effort and resources. While marketing bloggers are great at suggesting tips and tricks, when it comes down to numbers they’re falling short.

How many social media posts a day? When is the best time to advertise? How much money should I spend on targetted ads? Questions like these are rarely answered in these short form blogs, and it’s because the answers are more complicated than they’d like to let you believe.

What perseverance really means

Read any book marketing blog and they’ll likely mention that marketing a book is all about perseverance. Keep at it, and you’ll get there eventually. While this is certainly true, they rarely talk specifically about what this perseverance means, and how long you may need to keep it up to get your book out there.

Many marketing bloggers will gloss over the sheer amount of time they take to implement their ‘tips’. For example, when a blog tells you to test your market, they rarely mention the authors that take years learning about their audience, testing their ads, and drafting and redrafting book covers before making a sale. Much like requesting reviews: this is something every blogger will recommend, but few will acknowledge that you might have to send your book to hundreds of reviewers before they even read them, let alone give you a collection marketable favourable reviews.

“This is the problem with success stories. So many bloggers focus on the ones who made it, often despite seemingly insurmountable odds. What they seem to overlook is that, for every champion, there are thousands of similar cases that ran out of time, money or patience,” warns Camilla Vitali, a marketer at Big Assignments and UKWritings.

The Luck Factor

Part of the reason so many book marketers don’t succeed is that they were simply unlucky, another part of book marketing most bloggers won’t mention. Now, marketing a book isn’t just about luck. Putting more effort into the marketing process certainly will make it more likely to sell than if you didn’t work at it at all, that’s obvious. But not every great book becomes a classic, or even a bestseller. When it comes down to it, there’s a lot of luck in book marketing.

“There are countless examples from the classics of literature that prove the importance of luck time and again. The Great Gatsby only sold 20,000 copies when it was first released, 50,000 fewer than expected,” says Tom Barry, a business writer at Via Writing and Essay Writing Service.

There is no winning strategy

Probably the biggest lapse in book marketing blogs is that there is no winning strategy to get your book sold. At the end of the day, no matter how respectable and accomplished a marketing writer is, all they can do is suggest strategies that can point you in the right direction.

They can tell you to open up social media accounts, they can implore you to learn about targeted advertising, they can give you reams and reams of lists of book reviewers to approach. But when it comes down to it, none of that will actually sell your book. You will sell your book, in your own particular way.

Beatrice Potter is a professional copywriter at Best Writing Services and Academized review. She specializes in all kinds of topics from marketing to business to social pursuits. She is always open to sharing her personal experience at Boomessays Review and likes to give advice to beginner writers on innovative ways to create content that sells.

Categories
A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

From Almost to Real

lighter look at a writer's life

What if you write for a website called “Almost An Author” and then you actually get a book contract? And that book is ready to be published? Are you no longer Almost An Author? Do look for a new website to write for—“Real Author Now” or something like that?

That’s the predicament I find myself in as the dream has become reality. I co-authored a book with fellow A3 writer Holland Webb, and Adventures in Fatherhood, a 60-day devotional, releases April 7 (If you’re reading this post on the day it publishes, that’s TOMORROW).

EEEK!!!!

That’s a squeal of excitement and fear. Birthing a book and getting it out there is a wild ride, and, to paraphrase, “I don’t know nothing ‘bout birthin’ no books.” But I am learning.

Having a dream is a wonderful thing, especially if it’s a God-given dream. This book represents that for me, and my co-author and I have frequently said to each other, “I can’t believe this is really happening!” I pinch myself on a regular basis.

In honor of my transition from “Almost” to “Real,” I want to share some thoughts:

  1. To make the transition, you must do the work and pay your dues. There’s no shortcut, no substitute, no magic formula.
  2. Writing the book usually comes easy, or at least it did for me when I got a deadline. We are inspired writers, aren’t we? We panic at deadlines, don’t we? I learned I am much more motivated to the butt-in-chair time when a due date is looming.
  3. Marketing is scary—but not as scary as you think. I have been taught that writers have to market, market, market themselves and build platform, platform, platform. While true, I have found that publishers are more than willing to do their part and to help with your part. My co-author and I have received nothing but support and encouragement for this piece of the process.
  4. Platform is important but ever-changing. If you have noticed, I don’t have a blog with a kajillion followers. The Pioneer Woman has no need to worry. What I do have is a loyal number of supporters on this blog and other group blogs I contribute to, as well as tons of friends on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and (shocking, I know) in person. I’m still building the platform and it’s not as rickety as before, and my publisher understands that.
  5. God is good.
  6. If you don’t give up, the dream will come true—probably not in the way you envisioned. I did not set out to be a devotional writer, but “Surprise!” God is like that.
  7. I really want you to buy a copy of the book. Or twelve.

Just kidding on that last one. Sort of.

Here’s to all of you who are still on the “Almost” path. May your journey to “Real” be focused and blessed.

Now, quit reading here and get that butt in the chair. You have writing to do!

Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate–all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb.

Categories
Authorpreneur

Supercharge your Reach: Part 2—Reviews

Every indie author knows that standing out from the crowd is an uphill battle. And, like most battles, it  won’t be won by sheers numbers of dollars or manhours. Instead, authors are most likely to succeed if they implement effective marketing strategies.

When I mention marketing, many authors immediately think of digital advertising—Facebook, Google or Amazon ads to name a few. While these may still generate some sales, unless you have hundreds of dollars to pump into the system daily, the return on your investment is likely to be minimal. Believe me, I’ve been there.

The truth is, as most of us in the marketing industry recognize, digital advertising is no longer as effective as it was in previous years. According to a December 2019 article from Statista, about sixty percent of U.S. based internet users disliked ads in video clips while forty percent indicated the same for ads on websites (Guttmann, 2019). Online advertising can actually turn people away from your product or service. Especially if it pops up on their screen while they’re enjoying what they’re watching.

So how can indie authors hope to gain a foothold in this challenging climate?

One way is to focus on gaining favorable reviews from professional journals and industry leaders.

While I realize some authors may think that getting a positive review from organizations such as Publisher’s Weekly or Library Journal is impossible, I would counter that argument with a single question—why is it out of reach? If you believe in your book and the finished product has a professional look, and feel, it should be worthy of being submitted to industry leaders.

Many trade publications are open to submissions from indie authors, with some going so far as to create dedicated channels through which they can submit their work. As the publishing industry continues to rapidly evolve, industry leaders are recognizing the value in critiquing and, in some cases, making a profit from indie authors by charging them for a review.

Now, to be clear, I am not advocating paying for a review from a trade organization. That is a personal  decision that each author must make after weighing the pros and possible cons. While a paid review is certainly an option, many journals such as Publisher’s Weekly do accept submissions from indie authors for unpaid reviews. While there is no guarantee that a trade journal will accept your work for review unless it has been purchased, the potential gain that can come from a free review definitely justifies the time and expense in submitting your work for their consideration.

So, how can a positive review help indie authors supercharge their reach?

One of the most obvious ways is by an increase in sales. When Publisher’s Weekly praised In the Shadow of Your Wings by calling it “ . . . an immersive beginning to a series that will appeal to fans of war dramas,” I immediately noticed a huge uptick in sales and overall readership that lasted well beyond the initial publication date of the review. I did not pay for it but, as I urged other authors to do previously, I submitted the novel for PW’s free consideration. The results spoke for themselves.

Moving beyond immediate sales, a review from a trade journal increases your credibility as an author. This credibility is invaluable. Libraries often use an endorsement from a trade journal when deciding whether or not to add your book to their collection. But in addition, favorable reviews can pave the way

for public speaking engagements which, as I’m sure you’re aware if you’ve read my previous article on winning stages, is worth its weight in royalties.

What trade journals should an author target?

When deciding which journals might be most beneficial, look at the works that they have already reviewed. Many of the larger publications cover a range of topics/genres but, if your work is aligned to a more specific audience, you may benefit from a smaller journal that reaches a solid targeted group.

Also keep in mind the respective deadlines of your journals. Some require submissions several months ahead of the publication date, so be sure to plan accordingly.

While the changing mechanics of the publishing world may seem daunting, persistent authors can turn these changes to their advantage, using them to supercharge their reach.

If you want help identifying a useful trade journal or would like to discuss your overall strategic marketing plan, book a call with me online. I’d love to help.

JP Robinson gained experience in the marketing field doing promotional work for multi-million dollar medical facilities and non-profit groups over the past decade. He is an international speaker, educator, and prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction.

JP also conducts writing seminars in various parts of the country and heads Logos Publications, LLC, an emerging publishing and book marketing team.

When he isn’t writing or teaching, JP loves spending time with his wonderful wife and children.

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

Categories
Authorpreneur

Supercharge Your Reach, Part One

 “Ah! I’ve had too many sales!” said no author ever. The truth is, sales are directly tied to what marketers call your reach. Your reach is basically your sphere of influence. Whether traditionally or indie published, authors must consistently strive to increase their reach in order to maintain or boost sales. Reach has become even more important as sales have become more difficult to obtain from paid online advertising. The big question is, why should consumers buy from you and not someone else? As the number of consistent readers continues to decrease in the United States and the number of authors continues to increase, committed writers need to be prepared to devote more time and effort to increasing their reach.

Over the next few articles, I’ll focus on free or low-cost ways that authors can increase their reach. In our first post on this topic, we will focus on the power of stages. What are stages? Why are they essential and how can you get them?

What are stages?

Now, when I say “stages”, I mean a physical or virtual space where you can get an audience. This can be as informal as a gathering of friends, a tuxedo-worthy event or anything in-between. Speaking at conferences, leading workshops, representing a cause are all good examples. But a stage can also be a virtual experience. Podcasts, “going-live” on social media, or broadcasting digital content on channels like YouTube are great examples of a virtual stage. However you do it, once you have a stage, you are taking the next step to growing your reach—and that’s a good thing.

Why are stages important?

If you think about it, humans have been influenced by stages for millennia. From the old oracles of the ancient world to our televised national debates, stages are an opportunity to influence your audience and to build relationships. Research indicates that most people purchase books if they have a relationship with the author—heard the author speak, follow the author’s social media—or if they have a friend who has a relationship with the author and speaks highly of his/her book.

 Why is this?

Well, the answer may lie in our subconscious. According to Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman, most purchasing decisions are made based on emotion (Chierotti, 2018). Therefore, as you speak to audiences and make emotional connections, or relationships, you increase the likelihood of a sale.

Stages also serve to boost the credibility of the speaker by association. We humans are hardwired to learn by association. If we see a certain author on stage with someone we already respect or trust, we are likely to extend a certain measure of trust to that author. By developing key relationships and earning a place on stage with people who already have the respect of their audience, you dramatically increase your own chances of success.

Finally, stages give you an opportunity to bring happiness, because the heart of sales is the pursuit of happiness. I’ll explain what I mean in a moment but first, let’s talk about why people buy. The truth is, no matter what you’re selling, if the consumer does not think it will make him or her happy, there will be no deal. The key to selling anything is simply finding out what people want and giving it to them. As word spreads, consumers will come to you because you have what they think they need in order to be happy. Without your product, they’re missing out.

I know that might sound rather cold, and I’m sorry if that’s the case, but it is a core business principle. Let’s take an example that’s not related to books to make this a little more clear. Consider pocketbooks for a moment. Why do shoppers pay more for luxury brands of pocketbooks simply because it has the name of the manufacturer printed all over it? In reality, you’re paying to advertise someone’s brand. But it makes consumers happy to do so. Perhaps they want others to notice that they can afford a luxury item. Perhaps they simply think it’s a great product. Regardless of the reason, the consumer is willing to give money up for the pocketbook because she believes it will make her happy.

Now what does this have to do with stages?

Everything.

When you’re on stage, you have the unique opportunity to present a problem and share how your book presents information that can help the audience solve the problem. You don’t want to present your book as being the solution—your book is there to help the audience solve the problem. This is true for fiction as well as non-fiction. You just have to develop your message in a way that will speak to your audience.

How can you win stages?

Start by thinking about what the core message is in your book. What did you want people to learn? Then move from that point to identify a few groups in your town or nationally that might benefit from the themes you discuss.

For example, if your book discusses domestic abuse, racism, or forgotten veterans (even slightly), you might be able to connect with a group that has an interest in those topics. If your book is geared toward a Christian audience, try speaking to small church groups that might benefit from its themes.

But think bigger than your direct audience. Can you partner up with a local charity and speak at their event while donating a portion of your proceeds to their cause? The publicity you gain can make it worth your time.

In short, stages are a great way to increase your reach, ultimately boosting sales. For personalized information, or to identify stage opportunities for your work, connect with me online at JPRobinsonBooks.com.

JP Robinson gained experience in the marketing field doing promotional work for multi-million dollar medical facilities and non-profit groups over the past decade. He is an international speaker, educator, and prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction.

JP also conducts writing seminars in various parts of the country and heads Logos Publications, LLC, an emerging publishing and book marketing team.

When he isn’t writing or teaching, JP loves spending time with his wonderful wife and children.

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Writers Chat

Writers Chat Recap for January

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.”

Ten Steps to Integrative Marketing with Bethany Jett

Bethany shares ten integrative marketing strategies for writers. These strategies include marketing ideas for letter campaigns, social media and much more. As writers we should be thinking of marketing from the beginning of our projects. This episode is full of great information to help. Bethany is the co-owner of Serious Writer, Inc. and has recently co-authored two books that have won awards for marketing. Check out this week’s episode and get started on marketing strategies for you WIP.

Watch the January 14th replay.

Contest Savvy: Enter and Win! With Rhonda Dragomir

In this informative episode, Rhonda, the winner of the Serious Writer’s 2019 Writer of the Year contest, shares her secrets for entering and winning contests. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction there are basic things you can do to increase your chances to win contests. Rhonda shares tips like following the contest guidelines, properly formatting your manuscript entry and so much more. With conference and contest season upon us, this episode is a great way to prepare.

Watch the January 21streplay.

Dancing on the Head of a Pen

Writers Chat turned into book chat today as Johnnie Alexander, Bethany Jett, Melissa Stroh, and Jean Wise read their favorite sections of Robert Benson’s book, Dancing on the Head of a Pen. Benson gives great writing advice, uses amazing imagery and light humor to encourage writers at every level. Some of the favorite sections included; his bookshelf with a lamp top that is always lit; his three hats (the artist, the craftsman, and the businessman); and his jury of twelve. This episode is a must see regardless of where you are on your writing journey.

Watch the January 28th replay.

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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Book Proposals

Why Every Author Needs A Proposal—Even If You Self-publish

A New Year always brings a chance to start over and begin in a new direction. This year (2020) is especially different because everyone begins a new decade. Self-publishing is growing in leaps and bounds with 1.6 million self-published books last year. What is often NOT said about these books is that on average they sell 100-200 copies during the lifetime of the book.         

            Many people wrongly assume book proposals are only written to find a literary agent and go the traditional publishing route. From my experience after years in publishing, every author needs to create a book proposal—whether they are writing fiction or nonfiction—whether they are going to a traditional publisher or going to self-publish.

            I understand self-publishing is throughout the publishing community. Authors can take action with no screening or review process. Nor do you have to create a book proposal or find a literary agent. Yet the average self-published book is competing for attention with thousands of other authors. Penny Sansevieri, CEO and Founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. in San Diego, said, “Remember there are over 4,500 new books published every day.” She got this number from several sources including R.R. Bowker (that issue ISBNs for books).

            Even if you self-publish, you need a book proposal to create the business plan for your book. As you write the various proposal elements, you will pinpoint the audience for your book, your marketing strategy how you will reach them, and why you are the best to write such a book. There are more details to a proposal included in my free Book Proposal Checklist. I write about this aspect in much more detail in my new book, 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed. In fact, self-publishing is one of my chapters in the book: Myth: Self Publishing Is the Best Way to Get My Book Out into the Market. You can get a taste of the book and the 11th Publishing Myth (not in the book) at this link.   

Many writers resist the hard work to craft an excellent proposal. I’ve written many proposals and understand the hard work that goes into creating each one. When completed, you will have a solid plan for your book and a path to success. If you do the work, you will be equipped with your plan to write and sell your book to a specific hungry audience.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. He answers to your proposal questions at: www.AskAboutProposals.com.

Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Guest Posts

Suggestions for Choosing the Perfect Cover for Your Book

You spent a lot of time and work writing your book, but now comes the hard part. Picking a cover. People often do judge books by their covers, unfortunately, so you want to make sure you have the right one – a face, an object, a landscape, a representation of your work, the right font, and more. There’s so much to think about, so to help you out, here are some great suggestions.

1. Brainstorm ideas

Every major project needs to start with a brainstorm. Think about the first impression you want your book to make. It’s hard to sum up the concept of your book in just one page, but this is where you think about whether you want words only, images, headshots, or more. According to Nancy McKenney, a book blogger at Assignment Service and Ox Essays, “your choices are mostly between gripping – something visually interesting that will grab people – or explanatory, which will tell people what the book is about. If you can combine both, that’s perfect.”

2. The details

At this point, you need to think about the steps that will make it look like a book. What shape, size and font will you use? Where will the title, subtitle, and author’s name be on the cover? This is also the step where you think about the colors you want. This will involve a lot of back and forth with editors and publishers.

3. Refine the draft

If you’re doing a headshot, you’ll need a photographer and set up the look. You might end up going back on the details like colors if you see that the image or face you chose doesn’t work as well with the initial colors as you thought it would. If you’re taking a self-portrait for the cover of the book, think about the clothes you’re wearing because the best option is a solid, dark color. It makes it a lot easier to place the author’s name in legible color.

4. Social proof helps

Once you’ve come up with the mock-up, you want to get external feedback from people who haven’t been staring at the same cover for a while. Send it to some trusted people, friends and colleagues, and ask for honest, frank opinions. Ask if it’s a book they’d pick out, or if the content makes sense, and strange things you might not have though of.

5. Don’t be afraid to change it

Don’t be afraid to change the image based on the feedback you get. That’s the whole point of getting feedback. It’s also normal that people within the team will disagree and have their own favorites. At this point, you can do a data check and survey different options (it helps if the publisher is willing to back this option).

Janet Frasier, a writer at Academized and Boomessays, suggests that you “ask readers what kind of books they’re into and what kind of covers speak to them more, their demographics, and more. The results you get might surprise you, but they’ll definitely be very helpful, and a cover that looks great may not be the most appealing.”

6. Go with your gut

You also want to follow your instincts if you feel like something is wrong with the current cover or you’re not convinced with the most popular option. That’s why if it doesn’t resonate with you, you shouldn’t go with it. It’s important that the cover is important to you as well, even if your brain is telling you to go with it.

By following these tips, it should make it a bit easier for you to choose the perfect cover for your book.


Aimee Laurence, a tutor with UK Writing Services and StateOfWriting, gives advice to her readers about different writing, editing, and publishing tips. She is passionate about helping people self-publish their works. She also works as a freelance editor for the company NSW Writing Services.

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Guest Posts

8 Ways to Market Your Book and Get Reviews

Book reviews are critical as a social buy-in for your book and to market your book through higher placement online, for getting ad copy quotes, and for boosting your author brand. It can be daunting starting out as an author and trying to get reviews. These are 8 different ways to market your book and get good reviews.

1. Use a Call to Action (CTA) in your book.

This is a simple, easy, and effective way to get some reviews because you just need to include it once and then move on. On the last page of your book once published, include a short CTA requesting that if they liked the book, readers leave an honest review on their favourite online reading site or store.

2. Have a free ebook online.

The best way to get a lot of reviews is obviously to have more people read it. If you have a free copy of the ebook online, you’re more likely to get downloads and therefore reviews. If you publish it with certain companies, you can make ebooks free for only certain days of the month as a promotion. You can also make it permanently free on Kobo or iBook sites and Amazon will eventually price match it.

3. Email your mailing list.

You should have a mailing list with all of your readers’ email addresses. As Penelope Ludlum, a marketer at Writinity and Last Minute Writingexplains, “once you have it set up, you can email them and ask for honest reviews of your book. You can set this up so they go out automatically, even when a new person joins your mailing list.”

4. Have a street team read in advance.

Once you have a big enough group of readers and followers, you can ask your readers if any want to be a part of your advance reader team. These people would receive the book early, read it, then review once published. For this option, you have to be clear that you want their own opinion without anything offered in exchange or you’ll be violating some online platforms’ terms of service.

To set this up, send out regular emails asking for volunteers, perhaps as one of your automated messages. You can name the team with a special name to create a sense of camaraderie and community. This team is also great at doing a final review of the book for anything that the editors may have missed.

5. Reach out to book bloggers in your genre.

This strategy is free to follow but it can be time consuming. Many book blogs have reviews of books in a specific genre, so you can research to find the right bloggers for your genre and who accept books for review. Once accepted, book bloggers will review your book on their own platform in addition to Goodreads and Amazon. Be sure to review the site’s submission requirements so you’re not wasting your time submitting somewhere that won’t accept your novel.

6. Research Amazon reviewers.

Similar to the previous point, you can research book reviewers on Amazon and reach out to them and ask them to review your book. To do this, find books that are similar to yours and then read through the review section and each reviewer’s profile to see if they’ve provided their contact info or website. Then, send a polite and personalized email asking if they would be interested in reviewing your book and explain how you found out about them.

7. Use social media.

Pick a couple of social media platforms and become familiar with them, without trying to use them all. Then, Robert Woods, a blogger at Draft Beyond and Research Papers UK, says to “engage in conversations with followers, asking them what they’re up to, or asking their opinion on something unrelated. As part of these posts, you can ask for reviews with a link to your book’s page, but you certainly don’t want to be only posting about that.”

8. Join a Goodreads group.

Some Goodreads groups allow for contributions from authors whereas others are for readers only. Look for one that meets your criteria and your genre, and get used to the culture before diving in and asking for reviews.


Ashley Halsey, a professional writer at Lucky Assignments  and Gumessays.com, is involved in many marketing and professional projects. She enjoys helping entrepreneurs and small businesses develop their customer base and increase customer loyalty. She attends business training classes and travels in her spare time. 

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Writers Chat

Writers chat Recap for October, 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.”

Marketing Strategy Sessions Part 2 with Bethany Jett and Michelle Medlock Adams

These PlatLit partners were to partner up again to give us another round of mini strategy sessions. Life happens and schedules have last minute changes, as was the case here. Our dynamic duo was cut down to a dynamic uno. Do not be discouraged, Bethany brought her A game (as she always does). She brought power packed ideas for proposal or ideas of three guests—Annette Whipple with her children’s nonfiction work, Marlene Houk with her woman’s Bible study, and Stephanie L. Robertson with her dystopian YA fiction. If you need marketing ideas, come watch Part 2 of Marketing Strategy Sessions and get your creative marketing juices going.

Watch the October 1st replay.

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

NaNoWriMo Preptober with Johnnie Alexander

“What in the heck is NaNowhatever you call it,” you may be asking. Well, the full name is Nation Novel Writing Month (often shortened to NaNo) and the goal is to write 50k unedited words in the month of November. (Rebels who write nonfiction can join in the fun and frenzy as well.) This is a tall order; not for the faint at heart. However, there are ways to make the process easier with preparation…the reason October is called, “preptober” by NaNo enthusiasts. In this episode, Johnnie Alexander will share tips and strategies on preparing to write a novel in one month. She is no stranger to NaNo, Johnnie has participated a few times before and two of her stories birthed in NaNo went on to be traditionally published. Come check out the episode with a strange name. Who knows maybe your next (or first) published book is waiting to be birthed in Nation Novel Writing Month!

Watch the October 8th replay.

For tips and resources on NaNoWriMo, 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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Screenwriting

Treatments

Now that summer is coming to an end, I feel it’s time to get serious about the business of writing. For the last two months, I’ve talked about how the art of dialogue is more than just simple conversation between characters, it establishes a few things.

  • Personalities.
  • Conflict.
  • Action.

As I’ve learned myself, the heart of dialogue isn’t about what we say or don’t say, dialogue is all about story. Knowing the story we want to tell helps shape the dialogue throughout our screenplays.

This month I want to look at a tool that is unique to screenwriting, whether you’re a panster or outliner, you need to know why treatments are so important in this industry and why many find it so confusing or even downright scary.

Treatments!

Treatments are important because they serve many functions in the life of a screenwriter—each of which is imperative to the writing process.

Before we begin crafting our story we must understand our characters:  Their goals, their worlds, their struggles.

Once we get the pieces of the puzzle, we have to figure out how all of them fit together to create our narrative. Thus, the first function of your treatment is a working outline of your story.

You don’t have to have all the answers, just the basics plus your story’s endgame—the message you’re trying to get out. So before you even begin writing a screenplay, you should know:

  1. Who the main characters are.
  2. Their world.
  3. The conflict.
  4. Their desires.

I view these four elements as the basics of our story. Around them, we can build a narrative that expresses a theme or plot we want to share.

And that brings me to the second purpose of writing a treatment.

In the writing business, your first audience is an agent. They are the first and most crucial readers you need to impress. While authors send book proposals to essentially market their book to potential agents, screenwriters send treatments to both agents and studios. Both book proposals and treatments function in similar capacities, although they are different.

It’s important to note that like book proposals, every agent has a different preference on length and content for treatments, so be sure to check out the guidelines on their agency’s website.

Your treatment should give the basic elements I mentioned above as well as provide a tease of your story without telling all of the specific details. David Trotter explains, “A treatment is a long synopsis—a written pitch… It emphasizes crucial moments, the key events of the story, and the emotional highs and lows of your characters.”[i] Again this function of the treatment is for marketing and potential sales.

Selling points?

I like to think of treatments as written movie trailers: in a few brief moments we see the characters, their world, and conflict. They not only create interest in going to the theater and getting the rest of the story. Trailers also reveal a movie’s selling points. Below are a few movies I’m looking forward to seeing, I am sold on the stories within a few minutes.

Gemini Man

Artemis Fowl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXlBep9uFjI&feature=youtu.be

The Chosen

 This is why many screenwriters are terrified by the process of writing treatments: They know if they don’t nail them, they may lose a potential sale. However, if you stick to your treatment during the writing process you will come out with the key points of the story you’ve created.

  • Characters.
  • Emotions.
  • Resolutions.

Keep these elements of your story in mind as you recraft your treatment into a marketing tool for your story to ensure it gets the best treatment.

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at Spiritual Perspectives of Da Single Guy and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

[i] Trotter, David Screenwriters  Bible. Beverly Hills, CA:Silman-James Press (1998) pg258.

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Writers Chat

Writers Chat Recap for July, Part Two

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.

Mid-Year Goal Review

The Writers Chat team and community discuss the progress of our goals for 2019. We shared our successes, setbacks, the unexpected, and things we learned. We also talked about the ebb and flow of the writing journey. If you’ve experienced setbacks in your goals this year, watch the replay and be encouraged.

Watch the July 16th replay.

For encouragement in the ebb and flow of writing, check out this week’s Show Notes and Live Discussion.

More on Marketing with Bethany Jett

Bethany Jett—author, entrepreneur, and marketing grad student—shares ideas on marketing for fiction and nonfiction. She also tells what she learned at the Book Expo in New York. This episode is full of great ideas and inspiration to help you with marketing.

Watch the July 23rd replay.

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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Book Proposals

A Simple Proposal Formula

I wrote about fifty books with traditional publishers, including two proposals that got six figure advances—before I began working inside publishing houses over sixteen years ago. At this point, I’m acquiring books for my third publishing house and I have reviewed thousands of proposals and manuscripts (no exaggeration). There are many different templates and models to create a book proposal. Yet there are some consistent elements that need to be in every proposal to capture attention and get published.

After reviewing this wide variety of proposals and manuscripts, I’ve decided attractive proposals boil down to a simple formula. Your proposal needs to contain the standard sections detailed in my free book proposal checklist This formula works no matter what you are writing (nonfiction or fiction).

 Passion + Sales = book contract

Every writer must have a passion about their story or their subject. Possibly you are passionate about the life-changes from people reading your book. Or maybe the story is in the forefront of your mind and you are driven every day to write more pages. Whatever the topic you, will be thinking about it not only during the writing but the marketing process–and without passion you will not be motivated to complete the writing or work on the marketing of the book.

Maybe you’ve specialized in a certain skill or topic that you are writing about. This expertise is something you are ready to tell others about and it’s key to your success. An editor or skilled professional can improve the writing but passion can’t be instilled and must be in the heart and mind of the author.

Sales or potential sales is the second key ingredient for your proposal. Who will buy this book and do you have a reach to this reader? If not, can you create this reach? Whether you have a large or small publisher, in today’s market the author carries 80% of the marketing responsibility. Your publisher can sell your book into the bookstore but without the author’s marketing activity, every retailer can return the books for a full refund. You must have this reach, or the ability to generate this reach, or you will not have sales. Thousands of books (no exaggeration) are published every day.

To get a book contract, you must have these crucial elements.

W. Terry Whalin is a writer and editor who  lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Writers Chat

Writers Chat Recap for July 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.”

Featuring Book Campaign Marketing with Bethany Jett

In this episode of Bethany shares with us the latest in marketing trends and discusses the gift of social media, which is a wonderful way to share book content with your audience. As always, Bethany brings lots of energy and a wealth of information. This is an episode you don’t want to miss. 

Watch the July 9th replay.

For more insight into campaign marketing trends and great resources, 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.