Book Marketing Tip of the Week
March 24, 2009: Black Actors Day, Global Shut Down Day, Making the Band Day, Roman Day of Blood, World TB Day, Sports Alcohol Reduction DayDetails on these days — and 18,500 others! — can be found in
John Kremer's Celebrate Today Special Events Data Files.In this issue . . .
-- Twitter website boosts -- how-to
-- Amazon.com & BN.com Bestseller Campaigns
-- neat keyword search tool
-- updated newspaper and magazine book reviewers
-- Are You Taking Online Media Seriously, Yet? article
-- specialty retailersTwitter website boosts -- how-to
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BookMarket.com's website Alexa rank up 2,000 more in just three days. Now ranked at 121,241. Again, due to my Twitter activity. If you have not yet joined Twitter, do it today. And be sure to follow me there via http://www.twitter.com/johnkremer.Here are a few of the things that I've been doing on Twitter:
1. I actively sought to follow interesting people, especially authors, publishers, publicists, and Internet marketers. Many of them, in turn, followed me. I now have over 5,000 followers.
2. I welcome every follower with a link to my Twitter tools pages:
http://www.bookmarket.com/twitter.htm.3. I post at least 10 tweets per day. I always try to include some useful tips.
4. I include three or four great quotations each day. These get retweeted more than anything else. People like to retweet quotes.
5. I retweet other people. That's one of the ways to build relationships via Twitter.
6. I actually read the tweets of other people. I don't spend a lot of time doing that, but whenever I scan the tweets of the people I'm following, I always discover interesting websites and blogs to visit.
7. I visit those websites and blog posts. I've written about 20 or 30 comments in the past month.
8. I answer people's DM and @johnkremer questions and concerns. Participating in such conversations is essential to good relationships.
9. About one in ten posts might point to a blog post or web page update at BookMarket.com.
That's the essence of my Twitter activity. It takes about 30 minutes per day to manage my Twitter profiles. The key benefit of this activity has been the incredible jump in the Alexa rank for BookMarket.com -- from 169,421 to 121,241 -- a 48,000 jump in two months.
Now, if you don't regularly check Alexa rankings, you might not know how incredible that jump is. A 48,000 jump when your site ranks in the millions is nothing, but such a jump in the top 200,000 is unusual.
Alexa ranks reflect how many people are visiting a website. A jump like BookMarket.com has seen is incredibly dramatic. It means many more people are visiting BookMarket.com. Prior to my renewed Twitter activity in late January, BookMarket.com was hovering in the 160,000s for many months. No significant movement despite my other online marketing activities. The 48,000 jump has occurred over the past two months with the only change in online activity being the points noted above regarding my Twitter activity.
This is why I've been encouraging people to join Twitter and get involved. I don't know if you'll get the same results, but I provide you with all the tools at http://www.bookmarket.com/twitter.htm and linked pages. Why not take a 30-day Twitter challenge. Join, spend a little time each day on Twitter, follow interesting people, make some new friends, grow your business (or reputation as an author).
Amazon Bestseller Campaigns -- and BN.com as well!
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I just created an incredible video describing how to create and operate an Amazon Bestseller Campaign that produces real results: book sales that catapult your book to the top of Amazon.com -- or BN.com! The video is part of my Ten Million Eyeballs online marketing course. This one video reveals more in one hour than other courses that charge $500 to $3,000 and take weeks to deliver enough information so you can act.You can have this one video plus a whole lot more as part of the Ten Million Eyeballs online marketing course (still available in $500 and $700 packages for at least another few weeks). Or you can order the new Amazon Bestseller Campaign program for only $297. Your choice.
Amazon Bestseller Campaign: http://www.bookmarket.com/amazon.htm
Ten Million Eyeballs: http://www.tenmillioneyeballs.com
neat keyword search tool - update correct name
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Soovle: http://www.soovle.com — A really easy-to-use keyword tool that suggests long-tail keyword extensions based on searches on Wikipedia, Answers.com, YouTube, Ask.cocm, Yahoo!, Amazon.com, and Google.Note the correction of the URL and name in the above search tool. My apologies for the typo.
Author 101 University
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My friend Rick Frishman and Mark Victor Hansen, Brendon Burchard, Alex Carroll, Jill Lublin, John Willig, and John Kremer will all be speaking at the upcoming Author 101 University on May 28th in New York City (the day before BookExpo America).To find out more about the Author 101 University, check out
http://www.webmarketingmagic.com/app/?af=261581updated newspaper and magazine book reviewers
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I've recently updated my list of newspaper book reviewers (with the help of a few good authors and publishers who have used the list). You can find the update newspaper book reviewer list at:
http://www.bookmarket.com/newspapers.htmAlso, with the help of Ascot Media Group, I now have a list of some book reviewers at major magazines. Check this list out here:
http://www.bookmarket.com/magazines.htmAre You Taking Online Media Seriously, Yet? article
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I would like to take this opportunity to give you my “2 cents” on print vs. online media, as it currently stands. The landscape of print vs. online media changes monthly, believe it or not. A year ago, we didn’t view online media as equal to print media. It’s become blatantly clear to me, over the past several months, that online media exposure is just as valuable (if not extremely more) valuable than its print counterpart. I don’t want to come across naïve in any way; I know that online media outlets have been gaining speed for several years now. This is not a new thing. However, I felt like it was time to discuss the state of the issue now.The latest obituaries from the print media, as of mid-March 2009, are:
Rodale has closed Best Life, the Men’s Health spin-off which was aimed at older men.
The Seattle Post Intelligencer, the 161 year old Hearst newspaper, has printed its final edition, and from now on will be a Web only newspaper. Seattle follows Denver (Rocky Mountain News) in being the second major US city to lose a daily newspaper.
The Tucson Citizen will close after 138 years of publishing.
I’ve been convinced by a few trends/facts lately:
1. It’s a fact that many people ONLY get their news and features online now and no longer subscribe or take the time to read a printed page. It’s more convenient, more accessible, quicker and less expensive to get your news online. Sad, but ideal, examples are the closures of many long-running publications across the country. We’re hearing of print publications closing shop nearly every week. It’s really boiling down to advertising dollars and subscriptions: fewer people subscribe to the printed version because they can get the same copy for free online. Therefore, why spend the money? And, advertisers see just as high numbers with online readership as the printed version (or higher) so that’s where they are putting their advertising dollars.
2. Online versions of newspapers and magazines can run a “tighter ship” by only producing an online version. They can exist with fewer staff, less overhead, and, of course, save a great deal on printing and mailing costs. When budgets are getting cinched up everywhere we look, these are sobering facts for those who have produced a printed version for so long.
3. Consumers who didn’t bother to get their news and information via the Internet a year, or even six months ago, are doing so now. Even those who were Internet-phobic when it comes to trusting Internet retail are coming around and buying books online and doing more and more purchasing from their computer. Some explanations are: quicker, easier, less hassle than a brick-and-mortar store, finding sales online, saving gas, and the list goes on. I have to admit I’m one of these people! I didn’t shop online for purchases such as books, gift certificates, etc a year ago and I do now.
At PR by the Book we noticed this trend toward online media about a year ago and began a very aggressive plan to increase our online media relationships and media exposure for clients. What did we do to prepare for this shift in media? Here are some of the steps we took in 2008:
1. We hired an online publicist to focus her time on getting only online media exposure for our clients. We didn’t want the online media to be an afterthought, but the bread and butter for this publicist.
2. We worked to organize our data for online media. We developed our “hot lists” for online media contacts, those who we have already built relationships with and that trust us as a resource. We made sure we were reaching out to these journalists on a regular basis.
3. We merged our online media database with that of a friendly competitor; updated the list by making sure all records were accurate; used our resources to incorporate all pertinent information and make sure our database was as current as possible for these online media contacts.
4. We organized our online outreach plan, making sure we have a system for pitching online media each month.
5. As a team, we have focused more attention on bloggers, podcasters and online journalists than ever before. We are researching their blogs, their Internet radio shows and the online magazines so we know what they are writing about, their style of writing, their formats and their likes/dislikes.
And, it’s working! We are now landing more online media exposure for our clients than ever before, and, in some months, we obtain more online media exposure for our clients than all other forms combined (radio, TV, print). Our clients are seeing a difference in book sales as it relates to online media. Reasons for this might include: easy click-through ordering from an online story/review/interview, more loyal readers with certain online media outlets (for instance, those that read CNN.com every day or several times a day for their up-to-the-minute news); more space for a story/review/interview than on the printed page which results in a more in-depth feature.
A few recent examples from the past few weeks include:
A feature on the Food & Wine magazine blog for a chef client and his cookbook: http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/mouthing-off/2009/03/
13/Lost-Your-Job-Listen-UpThe same cookbook author featured on the DailyCandy Kids feed.
A story about one of our nonprofit clients, Advocate Aime, on the CNBC
website: http://www.cnbc.com/id/29595747One of our business clients featured in a story on the Money magazine/
CNN site: http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/11/news/economy/introverts.
fortune/?postversion=2009021304This is just from the past few weeks! I’m very excited about where our company is in terms of online media exposure. These are exciting times to be a book publicist and we’re enjoying this new ride. So, as you can see, now is the time to embrace online media exposure if you haven’t already. 2009 has already brought about many new wrinkles and facets for our industry and I’m looking forward to seeing how this year will change what we all do to promote books.
Marika Flatt is the owner of PR by the Book, a leading book publicity firm, http://www.prbythebook.com. Email: marika@prbythebook.com.
specialty retailers
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Here are a few more specialty retailers who feature books:Benson Family Nature Store, Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, Prescott AZ 86303; 928-776-9559; Fax: 928-776-9530. Email: highlands@cableone.net. Web: http://www.highlandscenter.org.
Features educational books, puppets, toys, and puzzles focused on nature.Samadhi Cushions, 30 Church Street, Barnet VT 05821; 800-331-7751.
Web: http://www.samadhicushions.com. Features medication cushions,
supplies, and books.J. Tuttle Maritime Books, 1806 Laurel Crest, Madison WI 53705-1065;
608-238-SAIL; Fax: 608-238-7249. Email: tuttlemaritime@charter.net.
Web: http://www.tuttlemaritime.com. Books about the sea and ships.Quotable Books
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If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
— Emily Dickinson, poet
Click on the above book cover to order this great collection as a Word ebook for only $7.00.
More great quotes and quotable books at http://www.quotablebooks.com
Index: http://www.bookmarket.com/tipsindex.htm
Next: Amazon Gets Stupid
Copyright © 2009 by book marketing expert John Kremer
Email: JohnKremer@bookmarket.com
Open Horizons, P O Box 2887, Taos NM 87571
