Author Archives: Deborah H. Bateman

For Book Marketing Research, Authors Can Use a Nifty New Tool Called TitleZ

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Effective book marketing begins long before the book is actually written and the more diligence paid to pre-publishing efforts the better the author’s chance of success. Before hiring a book publicist to garner book publicity for you, get a cup of coffee and get ready for a little online research on book marketing.

A key strategy in any marketing program is to know your competition and successful authors will research competitors before investing time in writing, editing, re-writing, and publishing. How many others have written on the same topic? How have those topics sold? What similar books have done the best? And what made these books successful?

This may sound like a daunting task but it is now as easy as sipping iced tea on a hot, humid day, thanks to a new website called TitleZ – TitleZ allows users to instantly retrieve historic and current Amazon rankings on competitors’ books and create reports with 7-, 30-,90- day and lifetime averages. More importantly, you can use this tool to research your next book or create a marketing plan using the information furnished.

By visiting TitleZ you can compile a list of related books, comparing and contrasting sales figures and rankings. You will want to hurry and check it out now while it’s free in its beta testing stage. After the beta testing period expires the service will be available by paying a monthly subscription fee.

As a book marketing specialist, I have found TitleZ to be very useful in offering book marketing advice to my clients. Authors will find this tool helpful in coming up with book publicity and book publishing strategies.

Visit their web site to learn how a specific book or a group of books has performed over time relative to other books on the market. All you have to do is enter a book title, a subject, author or publisher and TitleZ within seconds comes up with a comprehensive list of books from Amazon plus historical sales ranking data. This information allows authors to see how topics and specific books perform over time and to appreciate what’s hot and what’s not.

Among the advantages TitleZ cites when using its tool are:

· Identify trends with book-buying consumers beyond the top ten lists to see within a given topic which books are gaining in interest and which are declining.

· Quickly and easily uncover best-selling and up-and-coming authors on a specific topic.

· Review renderings of book covers, along with sales ranking data, to see what design features are working in the current marketplace.

· By examining prices of competitors’ books you can make a better informed decision on what to charge for your book.

· Find out how effective promotional appearances, tours, book signings, and marketing activities are in driving sales.

If you aren’t totally convinced yet that TitleZ is worth a cup of coffee’s time to try out, than just visit the site, point and click two or three times, enter just one subject, and examine the data returned. You’ll then become convinced. For more information about book marketing visit: http://www.book-marketing-expert.com.

About Scott Lorenz
Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with individuals and entrepreneurs to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz has handled public relations and marketing for numerous authors, doctors, lawyers, inventors and entrepreneurs. As a book marketing expert Lorenz is called upon by top execs and bestselling authors to promote their books. Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at http://www.westwindcos.com/book or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090.

Author: Scott Lorenz
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Money Making Social Media Tips

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One of the distinguishing factors between highly successful businesses and those that are simply afloat in the marketplace is whether or not they have included a social element in their business model. If you want your business to be truly successful then you’ve got to come down from the ivory tower and mingle with the groundlings. Today’s social media tools such as Google Buzz and Twitter enable companies to establish a comprehensive business experience for their customers. And the greater the degree of interaction, the more you’ll fortify your business against changing market trends and stiffening competition. Think of it in terms of building a bunker around your business-each element that you incorporate into your business which supports a more inclusive experience for your customers adds another brick to your bunker, creating a bust-proof business. Read through these money making social media tips to see how you can achieve lucrative longevity for your business.

Create Interaction

The more people get involved with something, the stronger their beliefs will be regarding that particular subject. Think of it this way: Are you more likely to spend money on something you are barely acquainted with or on something that you are highly involved with? Your prospects are much likelier to reach for their wallets when they’ve been actively involved in something. With so much competition on the Web these days, you really need to establish a much stronger connection with your audience in order to make it clear that you are the one that they can truly trust and that spending money with you is the best option.

What’s a great way to create interaction using social media tools? Pique your audience’s attention with a quick post (Buzz or Tweet) regarding a very unique topic that relates to your industry or area of business. But don’t stop there! Actively ask them for their feedback, comments and opinions. People love the ability to have a platform for their thoughts and opinions and they’ll appreciate the opportunity that you provide.

Grease the Wheels

And while your topics should be interesting enough to encourage a good deal of interaction on their own, some people may not feel that it’s worth their time to contribute. But since every person who contacts you or comments on your posts equals a golden nugget of a lead for you to follow up with and market to, it’s important that you don’t simply give up on them. Provide incentives for people to get involved with your social media microcosm. Offer free gifts that will encourage involvement. “I don’t have enough money in my budget to do that!” Nonsense! You can always whip up a quick e-book that provides valuable information regarding your industry (just be sure that it doesn’t include content that is overpowered by sales speak-keep it useful and value based), and give that away to all those who leave a comment.

Copy Cat

When in doubt, there is no shame in looking at what other successful websites and social marketers are doing. You can always stand on the shoulders of a few giants in order to get the best view of the most direct path to success for your business. And if maintaining originality is a true point of pride for you, you can simply use those success points that you observed from other successful social marketers and then use those as touch points to build off of and innovate your own ideas from.

Andrew Rossillo is the primary copywriter and co-owner of Business Resources Daily; a comprehensive business resource website. We’re all about helping as many people as possible, so please feel free to post our article on your website. We simply ask that you don’t alter the content and that you leave our link to Business Resources Daily intact ( http://www.businessresourcesdaily.com/ ).

Author: Andrew Rossillo
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Learning to Write – Including Chapters in Your Book

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Learning to write is an ongoing process. Those that have the desire to write have usually been writing for years. Scribbling on the back of scrap paper or writing reminders on restaurant napkins is the life of the budding writer. With a story to be told, words, phrases and characters begin to take place as the writer carefully directs these into a plot. When you learn to write for children or young adults you will notice some distinct characteristics that separate them. A clear understanding of their differences will be the deciding point between writing a picture book or including chapters in your book.

Authors usually have an idea of what type of book will best tell their story. As they expand their knowledge about the form and style, they will become proficient in the guidelines for different types of books. For example, picture books have a distinct form that sets them off as books unlike any other. Primarily written for children of preschool age to around second grade, picture books have a limited number of words and pages. They do not have chapters.

The very short attention span and the early cognitive development of this age group, eliminates the need for chapters.Children learn to read at very different rates. Beginning readers need the pictures to help them figure out the words. In the early stages of reading, the pictures are designed to provide reading cues. As their reading skills increase, they no longer need these cues to finish the page. It is at this stage in the child’s development that they start to look for books that are longer, have fewer pictures and have the appearance of adult reading material. It is around the second or third grade that beginning chapter books are introduced.

Understanding the purpose of chapters, will enable the beginning author to learn to write age appropriate chapters for this age group. Children who are used to reading picture books need to feel good about finishing a chapter book. If it is too hard for them, or it looks too hard for them, they will quickly be discouraged. To create a book this age group will read willingly, learn to write by dividing your book into chapters that are short. Each short chapter should create enough interest that the early reader will want to continue reading the rest of the book. Sometimes children will fan through the pages and seeing all the words, decide it is too hard for them.

Books for early readers have chapters that divide the book into small, understandable pieces. Learning to write for this age group will become easier with practice. Try writing short paragraphs that have no more than two or three sentences. As the child is able to finish the paragraphs, they will see themselves finishing the book. Wider spaces between paragraphs and sentences, will give the book the appearance of an adult book. At this age, children are proud to be able to read a book with “lots of pages.”

Learn to write books about any topic or style on the web or in book stores and libraries. Use this information to write books that any publisher would be glad to receive.

Learn to write a children’s book by finding free writing tips at http://www.learntowriteachildrensbook.com Get started writing your children’s book today and meet a successful author of over seventy children’s books. She wants to share her mistakes with you so you don’t end up doing the same thing! Everything falls into place once you have a solid foundation to work from and you will find one here!

Author: Lisa Brunel
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Book Marketing – How to Publish a Book That Your Audience Wants to Buy

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Authors often get extremely frustrated with they receive scores of rejection letters. It’s not uncommon to get 50, 100 or even several hundred rejections before a book proposal gets accepted. Many best-selling books had to battle to see the light of day.

Along the way, authors sometimes wonder, “Should I give up on this book? Or should I self-publish and sell the book myself?”

The question really isn’t, “When should I self-publish?” Instead, you can ask, “Can I create a book that readers will be eager to buy? Will my book have the ingredients that lead to 5-star reviews? And do I have a marketing plan as well as a good editor?”

(1) Review your rejections. Do you get rejections with no explanation? Or are you getting responses that give you insight into what is going on?

If you are not getting comments, consider attending a writers’ conference, where you can meet editors and agents. Of course they won’t read your book but they will give you tips about topics and trends.

Trends often are based solely on the publishers’ beliefs about what makes a book sell. Twenty years ago, the rule was, “Cats sell books. Dogs don’t.” Today we seem to be seeing a reverse. Books about dogs are talking the lead.

(2) Plan your marketing campaign, whether or not you self- publish.

These days even a “big” publisher will offer you limited funds for marketing. You have to find ways to market yourself, even if you get a limited live book tour.

Therefore, before finishing your book, write out a marketing plan. When you write a nonfiction book, you need this plan as part of your proposal. Therefore, you can begin to create your own book marketing campaign before you finish the book.

In fact, you will write a stronger, more marketable book when you write your game plan before you write the actual book. Once the book is written, your marketing materials will be restricted to what you have completed. You cannot promise more than you deliver. You cannot change the chapter headings to be more inviting.

(3) Write a few marketing materials for your book.

Write the sales letter, emphasizing features and benefits, for your nonfiction self-help book. Write the blurb for novels and memoirs. Write imaginary reviews that you would like to see in the online bookstores.

Many authors spend huge sums on packaging and design. They hire editors to make sure they write in simple, clear language. However, the ultimate challenge for your book is appealing to a target audience.

A critical component of book marketing involves getting online book reviews. When you begin with a good book, you will have no trouble getting reviews from experienced, qualified reviewers.. if you apply just a few easy strategies. For more tips on making sure your book is marketable and will attract positive reviews, Dr. Cathy Goodwin, a prolific reviewer and published author, has written a guide to increase your odds of getting reviews. Download your FREE tips to getting online book reviews.
http://www.BookMarketingWeb.com

Author: Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Social Media Tips – 4 Top Tactics For Increasing Contacts and Online Influence

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Are you a small business with desires of growing big quickly? Using simple social media tips, techniques and strategies you can do it with relative ease. Here is an example of one of my small business coaching clients who followed some easy to follow practical advice I shared with them:

With a daily advertising budget of less than $5, you can grow your site to:

1. 29,000 members, then to over 46,000 members within a matter of a few months using a combination of Search Engine Optimization (SEO),

2. Starting a LinkedIn group (currently has over 3,000 members)

3. Twitter announcements of leads (2,000 followers and growing),

4. A corporate blog.

Using these simple approaches, anyone can do it. However, it takes persistence on a daily basis. By following these steps you will see your revenue increase matching or exceeding your growth in membership. Not only that, but in the process you will quickly become known in your industry as an invaluable source of leads as well as being incredibly inexpensive.

In addition to these strategies, your business can be as easy as a pure B2B Web 2.0 endeavor in that all of your content is supplied by your members. Lots of your projects may come from issuing agencies and organizations, but the vast majority will come from your members that are participating in your exchange program. This social gathering of content will keep your site fresh and exceptionally active as more and more members join on a daily basis.

If you are out to attract prospective customers and develop your online presence and exposure, you owe it to yourself and the financial future of your business to learn everything you can about social media.

Do you want to learn more about Social Media?

If so, read about and download my brand new free industry research white paper Social Media: A Primer [http://drdavehaleonline.com/blog/new-social-media-research-white-paper/]

Are you searching for the secrets to building a big online subscriber list fast using social networks? If so, check out my site for more free information at [http://drdavehaleonline.com/blog/social-network-traffic-tactics/]

Dr. Dave Hale, specializes in the integration of Web 2.0 strategies into corporate marketing and HR management systems.

Author: David Hale
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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