Speaking Tips to Promote Your Book

For an author, using email, social media, the web and traditional broadcast outlets are all fantastic ways to get the word out about your book. Beyond the previously mentioned mediums one that is often overlooked is speaking. Perhaps its because most people are intimidated by public speaking, after all, it can be daunting to get up in front of crowd and then start talking about yourself or your brand.

On the other hand, public speaking carries a great deal of clout because it allows people to get a true sense of who’s behind the book and how an author has pulled together concept, characters and plot. If you’re heart palpitates and your skin prickles at the very thought speaking then read on for some tips on overcoming the fear.

Get Prepared

Before you step out in front of a hundred pairs of eyes, give yourself a game plan. Build an outline and break down what you want to say into small chunks. Share a brief introduction on you and your background, talk about other books you’ve published and then give a brief synopsis of your latest endeavor. Focus on a particular aspect of your book and share some hidden nuggets that readers would be intrigued to know. Planning ahead will give you the confidence to speak.

Be The Expert

People want someone who’s genuine so speak from your heart. Take a deep breath and go with your gut. Keep this in mind, your audience is there because they value what you’ve created ad see you as a leader. Be authentic in your delivery and feel confident about your topic and you audience will embrace what you have to say.

Respond To The Audience

Once you begin speaking it will be easy to gauge the mood and energy level of your audience. Spice things up with an anecdotal story, voice inflection and even body language to keep people engaged with you. Standing in one spot and speaking softly in a monotone voice won’t win you any new fans. Be your own cheerleader and inspire your readers.

Make A Sale

As you’re concluding your speaking engagement don’t forget to let your audience know where you’ll be for upcoming book signings and most importantly, let them know that you’ve brought plenty of inventory with you as well. Offer to autograph copies and you’re sure to be a hit.

4 Must Read Books To Help You Market Your Own

There are an enormous amount of books available on the book marketing for authors. Just like most products and brands, some are great and some are not so great. The one thing that holds true for all of them is that you can always glean at least a useful tidbit or two from each of them. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with choices these selections will make a great starting point for your collection. 

Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, Book Publicity Through Social Networking, by  Steve Weber.

Because marketing in general has shifted from traditional to technical it’s imperative to understand how to navigate the static online and focus your promotional efforts accordingly. Weber unveils a bundle of excellent tips and strategies that make it easy to learn about syndication, pay per click, social networking and much more. There’s a reason why this book has received stellar reviews, but you’ll have to buy a copy if you want to find out why for yourself. 

1001 Ways To Market Your Books: For Authors And Publishers, by John Kremer.

Kremer is the owner of Open Horizons and editor-at-large of Book Marketing Update newsletter. Using his success as a consultant and publisher of more than 1,000 titles, as well a list of clients who have achieved multi-million dollar book sales, Kremer pulls together a collection of ideas and suggestions to help you market your book. What makes this book unique is that real-life author examples have been used to demonstrate how to successfully apply Kremer’s practices. 

Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual, by Dan Poynter.

Often referred to as the bible on self-publishing, this book is essential to have for any author who is interested in producing a commercially-successful book. In essence, Poynter has compiled a book publishing course that walks the reader through writing, publishing, marketing, promoting and distributing their book. An overview of the industry and publishing techniques are revealed for an in-depth look at what to do and what to avoid. 

Also, The Frugal Book Promoter by Carolyn Howard Johnson has some great ideas too.

Who are your favorites? Any dog-eared marketing manuals that you can’t live without?

Self Publishing: The Good, The Bad & The Straight-Up

One of the biggest challenges when you’re an author or writer is getting your book published. If you pursue a traditional route and try to land a deal with a literary agent and a publishing house you’ll quickly discover that the idea is much easier than the chances of it actually happening. Fortunately, technology has made it much simpler to produce and distribute a book without having to depend on conventional methods.

The Good

Self-publishing is very appealing because you have complete control over the process from start to finish. You get to decide what to print, when to print and how to print. Plus, you can distribute the final product through a variety of mediums, such as ebooks, audio or print.

Another bonus to self-publishing is that at the end of the process there’s more money in your pocket because you’ve eliminated the bevy of middle men and you also own all rights to your material.

The Bad

Maybe self-publishing isn’t so much ‘bad’ as it is demanding. For instance, all costs need to be paid up front to cover actual production and distribution. Depending on how extensive your public relations campaign is you’ll need to also factor in costs associated with publicity to get the word out and create some buzz about your new publication.

Without the backing of a major literary establishment you’ll be doing a tremendous amount of work to create momentum, including marketing, interviewing, coordinating inventory, managing budget, monitoring reviews and feedback, as well as processing order fulfillment. Be prepared to wear many hats and to get down and dirty if you decide to self-publish.

The Straight-Up

The truth is that it really doesn’t matter what pathway you choose to get your book published. Whether it’s traditional or self-publishing, each has it’s own set of pros and cons. The bottom line is that it takes hard work, patience and resourcefulness. Setting yourself apart from the masses is key to being stand out in front of literary agents and also your audience. Remember that both groups have thousands of choices so it’s important to demonstrate why you’re the best one.

Decide what you want to do and stick with it. Think like a business professional and you’ll be on your way to getting what you need to get your book into the hands of readers.

Turn Your Book Into A Money Making Machine

The vast majority of authors aren’t creating content and experiencing levels of success that transform them into overnight phenomenons with multi-million dollar book deals. For this reason it’s a good idea to consider other avenues that you can use to expand the reach and profitability of your book. Making your book available in other formats and through other outlets can make a positive contribution to your bottom line. Here are some additional ways to transform your book into a bag-o-cash.

Electronic formatting is the way to go if you’re an author. Print is great, but don’t forget to create digital versions and audio version of your book too. People want access to instant information and ebooks and podcasts are the perfect way to fulfill that need. With products like the iPad, Kindle and Nook, you have an opportunity to instantaneously reach thousands of readers and receive a generous royalty rate in the process.

Another way to generate revenue is through merchandise. This might not be a mainstream approach, but that in itself is advantageous to an author. By selling book branded t-shirts to your fans you’ll be pulling in some extra greenbacks and you’ll also turn your readers into your own army of walking marketers. Every time someone wears your shirt out in public they’re becoming a human outdoor board that promotes you and your publication.

One of the most simple way to build your income is through speaking and seminars. If you’re a published author you have something that non-published authors don’t have – experience. Sharing your challenges, successes and tips is a fantastic way to give others a leg up on in the book world. People appreciate honesty and how to from credible resources and by showcasing that you’re a blend of both is a win for you as an author.

A bonus to speaking and coaching is that you can show-off and sell your existing product. Bring copies of your books to sell and autograph. People who know who you are and enjoy your previous work will have no problem shelling out for copy of your latest. They also won’t mind paying for your services to gain insight into learning more about tackling the industry from author’s perspective.

Web 2.0 Publishing

The advent of the web has completely revolutionized the way that books are printed, published, promoted and sold. Technology has made each of these components more accessible for the average person to use and benefit from. Instead of relying upon a publisher many authors now have the ability to do it all on their own and for a fraction of the price.

Let’s take a look at printing. Print-on-demand (POD) is a process where authors are able to upload a print-ready file to a POD publisher and when an order arrives for your book, the book is printed on the spot and delivered to your customer. Much cheaper than batch printing which include inventory storage and shipping costs. Another plus to POD publishing is that you’re not limited to just one. Use a group to determine the most affordable for you.

POD publishing transfers easily to large online retailers like Amazon.com and BN.com. As an author you can create your own page on these sites and as orders are requested you can have them fulfilled via your POD group. The general public will never know the difference and it gives writers a tremendous amount of control over the production of their books. Furthermore, you can also sell and promote through ClickBank, Kindle and on iPhone’s Smashwords – all are excellent tools and purchase points to boost your sales.

There’s been a lot said about promoting your book, but with web 2.0 the empowerment for authors continues. Instead of traditional book-signings and tours, writers can engage readers through podcasts, blogs, Google Book Search and social media. No matter how you slice it, promoting your book using various online tools and resources is a sure fire way to boost sales and build awareness about what you’ve written. That equates to exposure and more revenue for you.

In a nutshell, think of web 2.0 as a term that describes how writers can become more self-sufficient. Being able to do things on your own shouldn’t be viewed as a burden, but as a way to guide readers to your book and keep them engaged beyond the writing.

Book Marketing Plan: Create One In 5 Steps

Developing a marketing plan for your book can be frustrating if you don’t know exactly where to start. Fortunately, whether you’re creating a marketing plan for a restaurant, a new skincare cream or a roofing company, the core elements of the plan will never change. As long as you have some of the basics down, you’ll be able to assemble a solid plan that will help you market your book and help you achieve amazing results. Here’s a summary of what you need to consider before putting pen to paper.

1.  Research Your Consumers

You need to know what people are buying, where they’re buying and how they’re buying. Selling what people want is what will get them to purchase. Hit the web and look at historical trends for books in your niche. Look for commonalities among them like simple plot line, memorable characters or outstanding publicity blitzes. Use what you learn and apply it to your own plan.

2.  Make It Easy to Distribute

Even though you’re an author who’s created something tangible that you can touch, hold and keep, most of the world is electronic based. This means you’ll need to come to your audience and make your book searchable, portable and shareable. Do this well and your book has the potential of becoming a viral phenomenon.

3.  Create a Sense of Urgency

As your gathering and researching for your marketing plan, consider creative ways to make your book a stand out from others. There’s quite a bit of competition so start getting clever about how you’ll sell your product. Think about promoting a limited quantity available or only allowing people to purchase if they buy two at the same time. There are many unique ways to get consumers excited and compel them to act.

4.  Set A Budget

Once you get your creative juices flowing you may find yourself with an arsenal of great marketing  ideas and strategies for your plan. Unfortunately, they’ll all probably come with a price tag. Decide what you can afford to do and what you can’t and get realistic about costs. Your book needs a website, but anyone who’s offering to build you one for less than $500 highly questionable. This is an instance where you get what you pay for.

5.  Don’t Be Afraid To Ask

Whether this is your first book or your fifth, it doesn’t hurt to connect with a successful peer and ask them for advice and insight. People love to teach and share with others. Send an email or pick up the phone and ask others what made their marketing plans a success. Use what you learn to focus your own book marketing plan.

Difference Between Book Marketing Strategy & Book Marketing Plan

The terms marketing strategy and marketing plan may sound similar, but the truth is that they’ve quite different. Many people often mistake the two for one another and that can sometimes lead to ineffective marketing, especially when it comes to your book. A marketing strategy is shaped by your goals and is more of a summary that illustrates your position compared to the competition. In contrast, a marketing plan is the actual application of what your strategy is. The marketing plan is your roadmap that takes you from point a to point b.

The first step in developing a marketing strategy is to decide what you want your promotional efforts to accomplish. Do you want to sell more books in Texas? Are you interested in increasing your audience base to include auto-biography fans? Create a detailed list of what your short-term and long-term objectives are and they will become the foundation that your marketing plan is built upon.

Your marketing plan will include in-depth details such as budget, sales forecasting, strengths and weaknesses and market data such as, market growth rate, consumer trends and competitive information. The combination of all marketing plan components will provide you with a working document that can be used to focus your efforts and measure their outcomes. This is important because it illustrates success and failures and allows for fine tuning your plan if needed.

You can’t have a marketing plan without a strategy and a strategy without a plan is worthless. They both are needed in order for your marketing efforts to work effectively. Think of these two pieces like a pair of legs – they’re both required if you want your marketing to stand on its own.

The nice thing about a marketing strategy and plan is that they aren’t set in stone. If you’re headed down a path that doesn’t seem to be producing the outcomes that you had hoped to achieve all you have to do is sit down and re-focus. Because these are working documents, they’ll grow as you grow.