Book Marketing Tip of the Week
May 28, 2010: Spy Novels Are Splendid Day, Ngali Nut Day, Indoor Swimming Pool Birthday, Sierra Club Birthday, Amnesty International Birthday, Love Language DayDetails on these days — and 18,800 others! — can be found in
John Kremer's Celebrate Today Special Events Data Files.
In this issue . . .
-- Ten Million Eyeballs in Carlsbad, California
-- Book Marketing Magic
-- Working with bloggers
-- Tweets you can use
-- Reality TV sells books. Do you want in?
-- Selling your online columnsTen Million Eyeballs in Carlsbad, California
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I'd like to do a Ten Million Eyeballs live two-day seminar in Carlsbad, California on Saturday, June 26th, and Sunday, June 27th. If you'd like to take part in this seminar, please let me know. You can read about the content for this seminar at http://www.tenmillioneyeballs.com.I will be offering a special price on this seminar. If you are interested, please email JohnKremer@BookMarket.com before June 4th. I'll let you know the details on the seminar if enough people are interested.
Book Marketing Magic
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Two weeks ago, I sent out a sales letter describing my new multi-media program on how to sell more books - like a pro. I've decided to give the program a new name: Book Marketing Magic: How to Sell Your Novel,
Children's Book, Memoir, or Nonfiction Book Like a Pro. You can read more about it at http://www.bookmarket.com/novelmarketing.htm.On Thursday, May 27th, I did a teleseminar where I described the top 9 ways to market a novel, plus two key ways to market children's books. All eleven points also apply to most other books, both fiction and nonfiction. Are you ready to take your marketing to the next level? You can, if you listen to this teleseminar.
Note: To get the special $497 New York Times bestseller bonus, you must act by June 1st.
Working with bloggers
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The following note was posted by J. Steve Miller, author of Enjoy Your Money, on a discussion group at the Book Marketing Network:
http://bookmarket.ning.com.About a month ago, I started contacting the top (Alexa rankings, etc.) 200 personal finance blogs about reviewing my personal finance book and/or hosting a giveaway. Leading up to graduation season, I felt that this would make a timely post for them to recommend the book as a graduation gift. 45 bloggers requested copies and have committed to do reviews.
Nobody acted like I was bothering them. In fact, most seemed truly appreciative. (Hey, these are people who are passionate about the subject and desperately need more ideas to blog about.)
I think it also helped that I titled the e-mail "Idea for Timely Post and Giveaway". They're always looking for ideas for posts and with graduation season here, they'd like to recommend something as gifts for grads and newlyweds.
If you want to do something similar to market your book, here's the first review to come in, and you can see how the blogger is setting up the giveaway so that readers are encouraged to spread the word through Facebook, Twitter, etc.: http://bit.ly/c9aCAJ
It's easy to see how this can lead to sales, since it's not me writing about myself, but the blogger herself recommending it, and her followers getting the word out.
I commented on his post, providing a reminder:
Don't forget to follow up again with the 3/4 that didn't respond the first time. People are busy. They miss things they really want to respond to. A second offer helps to remind them that they intended to follow up.
The best intentions to follow up often go astray because we are all busy. Something set aside to act on later, unfortunately, rarely gets acted upon. It's too easy to forget something when you set it aside.
Steve responded by saying:
I'm also planning to follow up later with the ones who do write reviews. If they liked my book, then their fans who'd likely be up for me doing a guest blog or doing another giveaway before graduation next year.
And I responded with this comment:
Yes, always follow up with people who have done something with your book. That's how you create relationships that bear fruit for many years. Offering to do a guest blog post is a great follow-up to a review.
Note: Steve's idea to contact the top bloggers covering his subject is one of the most effective ways to promote a book online. You should do the same with the top bloggers covering your area.
Tweets you can use
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Here are a few more tweets from John Kremer you might find of value:=> Looking for a good book printer? Check out
http://www.bookmarket.com/101print.htm. Good book printers there.=> Twitter Top Site for Movie Referrals - http://bit.ly/bHKjmD - I wonder where it ranks for book referrals.
=> Looking for a book publisher for your novel? Check out
http://www.bookmarket.com/newnovels.htm=> How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg. - Abraham Lincoln
=> Book Marketing Magic: How to Sell Your Novel, Children's Book, Memoir, or Nonfiction Book Like a Pro: http://bit.ly/dwqJUp
=> What have you done today to change your life? To change the lives of others? Change is always a challenge.
=> Video Capture (like Camtasia but works as Firefox add-on):
http://www.capturefox.comFollow more of John's tweets at http://twitter.com/johnkremer
Reality TV sells books. Do you want in?
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Does reality TV sell books? Yes, it does. Read on . . .Eight months after debuting on Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle went from lowly church choir member to a bestselling multimillionaire singer. Her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, sold more than 3 million copies in its first two weeks.
The Real Housewives of New York have all written books. None of them would ever have gotten a book contract or even the notice of an editor before they appeared on this reality show.
Many other reality show participants and hosts have gone on to write bestselling books. Lauren Conrad of The Hills topped the New York Times bestseller list with her second novel, Sweet Little Lies.
At least 20% of the stories in People Weekly, Star, In Touch, OK!, and many other gossip magazines, entertainment TV shows, and celebrity websites are about reality TV show stars. If you want to be famous, if you want to generate buzz, reality TV is a great place to start.
Read more about the upcoming Reality TV Summit where you will learn how to create, pitch, and produce a reality TV show based on your book, you website, your ideas, or your cause. This Hollywood summit will feature meetings with top reality TV production companies. Read more: http://www.RealityTVSummit.com.
Selling your online columns
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Curtis Seltzer, author of How to Be a Dirt-Smart Buyer of Country Property, post regular columns on his website (that are also repurposed as email newsletter content).With each article, he also grants permission to reprint his articles or repost them to websites, provided the users pay for his columns. Here's his payment schedule and author credit info:
Independent broker newsletters...............................$15
Brokerage chains for distribution to affiliates...............$40
Developers............................................................$25
Blogs....................................................................$10
Online buy/sell site.................................................$25
News services for paying clients...............................$40
News services for non-profits...................................$10
Corporate newsletters............................................$25
Newsletters from non-profits...................................$10
Print weeklies........................................................$10
Print dailies, under 25,000 daily circulation..................$15
Print dailies, over 25,000.........................................$25
Magazines, under 25,000.........................................$15
Magazines, over 25,000..........................................$40
Educational..........................................................$ 0Author credit should be included at the end of each column. Editing for length is permitted. Copyright remains with Curtis Seltzer and applies to the column’s use.
John's Comments: His approach is interesting. It sets a value for his words. But one that is affordable for most media and some bloggers. One caveat: He sets way too many price points. He should have four at most. Four categories, four prices. Keep it simple.
You might want to follow Curtis's example by setting prices for reprints or reposts of some or all of your articles (or book excerpts). It's a strategy worth testing.
Quotable Books
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If you want a kitten, start out by asking for a horse.
- Naomi, age 15, Kid’s Instructions for Smart Living
More great quotes and quotable books at http://www.quotablebooks.com
Index: http://www.bookmarket.com/tipsindex.htm
Copyright © 2010 by book promotion expert John Kremer
Email: JohnKremer@bookmarket.com
Open Horizons, P O Box 2887, Taos NM 87571