Book Marketing Strategy vs. Tactics

May 09, 2012 by Grael Norton, Acquisitions Manager

book marketing strategy It’s one of the most common misconceptions in marketing: that a marketing tactic is the same as a marketing strategy. Not understanding the difference between the two leads to a whole lot of pain and frustration for many authors as well as entrepreneurs, speakers, and other professionals who use the written word to grow their businesses.

Have you ever heard someone say “I’m going to use Twitter to market my book,” or “I’m going to use the Internet to market my business?”

This sort of statement rarely leads to success.

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Saleswomanship

May 09, 2012 by Sam Henrie, President

Author Chi Newman I was decidedly unexcited when Chi Newman told me that she had been asked to do a book signing at Costco here in Tucson. I told Chi that I recommended against doing it. Though I love Chi’s book, Farewell My Beijing, her memoir of fleeing the communist takeover of China and her subsequent life living in countries around the world, I knew that people pushing shopping carts around Costco on a Saturday afternoon aren’t generally shopping for memoirs. They’re looking for new microwaves or twenty-gallon jars of maraschino cherries. In short, they are not Chi’s target audience. Also, Costco and other big discounters offer the worst financial terms of any book retailers out there. They insist on 55% off of the retail price, the publisher pays all shipping, the publisher must put Costco’s price stickers on the books, the returns rates are usually very high, and, because of the stickers, sometimes the returns can’t be resold.

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An Amazing Resource: HARO

May 09, 2012 by Atilla Vekony, Publishing Information Manager

Journalists and reporters—members of the media—need new content like you and I need air to breathe. And they need it right away!

During our last Authors Academy teleseminar with radio expert Wayne Kelly of OnAirPublicity.com and the subsequent Q&A call, we discussed the importance of you becoming the go-to resource on your topic for your local media outlets.

The following resource doesn’t replace the invaluable strategies Wayne discussed during the teleseminar, but I recommend it, especially if you’re just starting out.

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How to Create a Strategic Marketing Plan for Your Book

May 08, 2012 by Grael Norton, Acquisitions Manager

It’s one of the most common misconceptions in marketing: that a marketing tactic is the same as a marketing strategy.

Not understanding the difference between the two leads to a whole lot of pain and frustration for many authors as well as entrepreneurs, speakers, and other professionals who use the written word to grow their businesses.

The blueprint for your book’s marketing strategy is your book’s marketing plan.

This is the single most important piece of marketing collateral for your book you will create - besides the actual book itself!

Join us on Friday, May 11 as marketing plan expert Echo Surina walks us through “How to Create a Strategic Marketing Plan for Your Book.”

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You Are a Marketer of Your Message

April 17, 2012 by Sam Henrie, President

One of the biggest pitfalls for a published author is to think of herself primarily as an author with a book to sell, and then to behave that way. That usually translates to waking up in the morning and thinking about how she could talk more about her book and sell more copies that day. Not the most fun way to start the day. Instead, what we recommend in the Authors Academy is that you think of yourself as a marketer, a marketer of your message, and not as an author with a book to sell. Let me give you a couple of recent examples: » Continue Reading This Article...

An Amazing Resource: Evernote

April 16, 2012 by Atilla Vekony, Publishing Information Manager

When you’re sitting at your computer and you have an idea, you may type it into a document … and forget about it. When you’re out and about, you may jot it down on a piece of paper … and misplace it. Or speak your idea into your phone or voice recorder, only to never bother to find the recording again. You’re frustrated because you have four or five different ways of collecting great ideas, depending on where you are at the moment and what type of tool you need to capture your ideas. If only there were a magic bullet! » Continue Reading This Article...

Give Away My Book for Free?

April 16, 2012 by Sam Henrie, President

Way back in 2000, bestselling author Seth Godin released the digital version of his book Unleashing the Ideavirus for free, giving readers permission, even encouraging them, to post, email, print, and pass the book along to others. At the time Godin had a small but devoted group of fans and followers, what he would call a tribe. With evangelical zeal Godin’s tribe did as encouraged and posted, emailed, and passed along the digital version of the book (just a PDF file) to anyone and everyone who might be interested. Unleashing the Ideavirus quickly became one of the most widely read books on marketing in the world. Within four weeks of the release of the free digital version, the $40 hardcover version of the book hit #4 on The New York Times bestsellers list. Offering the digital version for free was the key to turning the not-free print version of Unleashing the Ideavirus into a bestseller. Eleven bestsellers later Godin has one of the largest tribes of any marketing guru on the planet. » Continue Reading This Article...

Do You Know Why People Buy Your Books?

March 06, 2012 by Sam Henrie, President

sports books Do you know why people buy your books? It seems like a question that any author should be able to answer in their sleep. Unfortunately many authors and book marketers (one and the same in my view) don’t know the real answer to this question at all. Most authors can tell you in exacting detail what their books have to offer readers, but often don’t have the first clue what actually motivates purchases of their books.

Take sports books, for example. My friend Rich Wolfe, the number-one selling sports book author over the last decade, once told me that that the majority of his books were purchased by women, even though the majority of rabid sports fans are men.

Counterintutive, huh?

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John Kremer’s Book Marketing Seminar

March 06, 2012 by Wheatmark, Admin

If you want to know how to promote and market your books more effectively in 2012, John Kremer will be giving a one-day seminar in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 31.

Here are a few of the topics he’ll cover during this power-packed seminar:

The top ten things you can do in 2012 to sell more books
The key secrets to setting up and carrying out an effective virtual book tour
How to have your book, your website, and your brand go viral via the Internet
The inside secrets to developing relationships that will help you sell a lot more books
And much more ...

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Get Motivated!

February 01, 2012 by Sam Henrie, President

Terry Bradshaw Recently, I attended the all-day Get Motivated! seminar when it came to Tucson. I didn’t actually go to get motivated—an entrepreneur for many years now, I’m plenty motivated as it is. I also didn’t go to buy any of the stuff they were selling—they didn’t have anything I need right now. I went to hear the celebrity presenters, and to study one of most successful marketing processes in the world. First, for $2.95 (essentially free) Get Motivated! attracts nearly 10,000 attendees with the promise of seeing celebrity presenters like Colin Powell, Terry Bradshaw, Steve Forbes, Rudy Giuliani, Kurt Warner, and many more. (Pictured: Terry Bradshaw getting ready to motivate.)