Plan, Prepare, Promote, Prosper

     Published or soon-to-be published authors, do you have a plan for promotion?

You must  plan, prepare, and promote to prosper.

 

     Plan Goal-setting is important for any endeavor. A writing career qualifies. Without a goal, we might, as my mother always told me, “Throw a lot of dirt on the wall, and some of it will stick.” Yes, it might, but an author will sell more books and be more efficient with a goal.

 

     Your goal should be 1)specific 2)written, and 3)forgivable.

 

Specific  Not, I want to sell a lot of books in the first few months

          But, I want to sell 500 books in three months

 

Written   No, it’s not enough to keep it in your head.

          Write down: pre-order – exact goal

                      1^st 3 months -exact goal

                      1^st year

                      In 5 years, where do you want to be?

                      In 10 years, how many books do you want to have published?

 

Forgivable Shoot for the limits of outer space

           But, forgive yourself if you only hit earth’s moon

 

 

****After setting that goal, break it down into small chunks of how to do what you planned.

 

 

If I want to sell 100 books in the first three months, what do you have to do?

 

     Schedule in-person events?

     Get up a website?

     Arrange a blog tour?

     Send out press releases?

 

Decide what you’re prepared to do to make your goal. Do you need to revise the goal? Decision time.

    

Then

 

 

Prepare Get down to the nitty-gritty

 

The dreaded to-do list

 

1.     Make a list of blogging friends that would do a promo post for you.

2.     Contact the librarian in a nearby small town.

3.     Contact the Friends of the Library group in a city.

4.     Go talk with a book store manager.

5.     Set up and schedule tweets about your book launch.

6.     Fix a promo page to send to media.

7.     Make a list of radio stations or newspapers to contact.

 

Whatever your to-do list consists of, keep in mind your goal and what you are prepared to actually do.

 

Promote

Start marking things off of your to-do list. When you think of a new avenue or you’re asked to do something such as speak for a book club, add that to your to-do list, and keep on working.

 

Remember

 

Planning and preparation mean nothing unless you put action to the goal. Take a deep breath, swallow your fear, and expose you and your book to possible rejection.

 

Maybe, just maybe, you’ll

 

Prosper

 

The first e-mail you get thanking you for a good book will make it worth all you’ve done. I guarantee it.

 

 

In honor of July 4, I wish to express my appreciation to all those who have served and fought to keep our country free.

 

America, the land of the brave and the home of the free.

 

Find me on http://www.janetkbrown.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Janet-K-Brown-Author/143915285641707?ref=br_tf
Twitter: https://twitter.com/janetkbrowntx

Social Media: Putting together an effective blog

By: Stephanie Burkhart 

Social media has brought the world closer and opened up markets along with promo opportunities not available before. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other media are excellent marketing tools. Today, I wanted to touch on blogging, discuss its benefits and how to be an effective blogger.

As I was researching this topic, two important points stuck out to me: #1 Blogging helps you build a network and #2 it allows you to help others.

Networking

A blog is a great way to reach out to others, especially since being on the web has a global reach. So how to you appeal to the global audience? Find those topics that are valuable and interesting to you. Don't just talk about your writing all the time. What draws readers to you are the valuable and interesting topics you present.

Helping Others

A hook to your blog should include a way to help others. After all, the power of the blog is to inspire, educate, and bring people together. People and readers are attracted to those posts that talk about the challenge of weight loss, raising kids, and how others face life's adversities.

As a writer, using blogging as a marking/networking/promo tool, you've got to find balance. I'm learning it's 80% being interesting/inspirational/helping others, and 20% promo.

Some items to consider:

Blogging is a great way to ask for feedback. Don't forget to end your post with a question that your readers will feel compelled to answer.

Share ideas – what I like about Pinterest is how easy and fun it is to share ideas – especially recipes.

Post regularly. This can be a challenge, but one worth mastering. You don't have to post every day. I would suggest 2-3 times a week. I know people who post once on Mondays, but their topics are so interesting, readers always visit.

Remember:

Facebook and Twitter are blogging-like platforms, too. Ask questions. These platforms are great for feedback.

Expression

Blogging allows the blogger to expand their creativity and imagination. Go for it!

What you need:

A pound of passion, a gallon of purpose and a tablespoon of focus. Without these motivating factors your recipe for blogging will never reach its full potential.

Suggestions:

Before you blog or if you're in a blogging rut, make a list of your outside interests. (apart from writing) some ideas include: dancing, reading, being outdoors, traveling, scouting, swimming, Olympics, everyday challenges, breast cancer, football, etiquette, or music. Pick a few you want to explore on your blog. Research them. Write from the heart. Remember you have 200-300 words to keep their attention. End with a question and, depending, a small promo about your writing projects. Smaller is effective. Trust me. Use a one line hook., one buy link., and one review quote. Don't bang people over the head with how good your book is. Get their interest and inspire them to investigate.

Blogging ultimately comes back to inspiring and the more passionate you are, the more you'll attract readers.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.  What's your balance with blogging ? How much is promo and how much is other material that interests you? Do you have any tips/suggestions to share?

Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. Her book, "The Giving Meadow" is published with 4RV Publishing.

About "The Giving Meadow:" Caterpillar learns the value of caring and sharing as he travels through a meadow.

"A heartwarming story." – 5 Stars, Midwest Book Reviews

Publishers Buy Link: http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/burkhart.php

Marketing Tip: Having a Good Internet Presence

By: Stephanie Burkhart

If you rely on the Internet for most of your networking/social media/ marketing endeavors, then it's important to establish a good Internet presence.

A couple of things to consider:

When requesting blog interviews, guest visits, don't demand, ask. If you can, offer an exchange. Use a calendar to keep track of your commitments.

Be timely. If you're running a contest, or returning material (a guest blog, edit, etc.,) be on time. If you're going to be late due to real life commitments, send an email.

Be polite. Manners go a long way. Please, thank you, and you're welcome help demonstrate honesty and sincerity.

Update often. Keep people informed and up to date. Readers look forward to contests, trivia challenges, reviews, etc.

Be classy. I know our stories are our "babies," so when we get a review that's a bit critical, the classy thing to do is simply not reply at all, or if you must, a simple thank would suffice. If you argue or negatively engage a reader, it's usually you who looks bad.

Be organized. Try to budget a certain amount of time each day to marketing be it 30 minutes, 1 hours, but no more than 2 hours. (you still have to write, after all) Update your website, newsletter, facebook, emails, look for new review sites, etc., I like to use a calendar, but some use Excel, or develop their own system to keep track of their endeavors.

I'd love to hear your thoughts/tips on establishing a good Internet presence. For me, since I'm not face-to-face, it's important to show off my personality in a good light so I always try to be courteous. People can't tell the way you mean something on the Internet because they can't see your facial expressions or hear the tone/inflection of your voice, so words carry a lot of weight.

Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 Dispatcher for LAPD. Her 4RV Books include The Giving Meadow and First Flag of New Hampshire. She's married with two young sons.

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:

WEBSITE:
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

GOOD READS:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

YOU TUBE CHANNEL:
http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee

PINTEREST:
http://pinterest.com/sgburkhart/

Creating Websites or Blogs - Plan First

You would think that creating websites and blogs wouldn't have any consequences, but if they're not properly thought out, they may.

I have to admit that I do everything fast. Well, not like I use to when young and healthy, but old habits die hard.

What I mean is I get an idea and instead of taking my time and thoroughly thinking it through . . . carefully planning and thinking of future endeavors and how this decision will factor into all aspects of my writing, I jump in. I quickly choose a domain name and throw up a website or blog.

Now, you may say, “So what's the big deal.” Well, in the visibility and marketing world it's a HUGE deal.

Suppose you start out with one book, or write in one specific genre. You know you have to create a website to get your visibility started so you go to Blogger or WordPress and create a free site. Or, maybe, you go to BlueHost or GoDaddy and pay for hosting.

Whichever you choose you’ll need a domain name. You’re in a rush, so without thinking of any possible consequences to this seemingly innocent move, you choose a domain name.

Maybe you chose: I'm Learning to Write, or Jane Doe Writes for Children. Or, maybe your first writing venture has you teamed up with a co-author or contributor, and you create a joint site.

See where this is heading?

You decide on the domain name "Ann and Jill Just for Children." You’re starting out so this seems reasonable. But, a year or two later, Jill has nothing to do with your current writing life. And, you've authored another children's book along with a couple of writing and marketing e-books. Not only that, but you’ve diversified and write articles in multiple genres.

Now what do you do? Your traffic and subscribers are all connected with Ann and Jill Just for Children.

A light goes off . . . you'll simply create another site. And, you’ll create a third site because you now offer writing services and ecourses.

But, what about the traffic you’ve built up that’s going to the Ann and Jill site?

Not a problem, or so you think.  You cleverly decide to link all your sites together.

This is an option, but before you know it, you’ll end up stretching yourself thin trying to add content to all your sites. Not to mention working to drive traffic to multiple sites. This will end up limiting the time and effort you can put into your own publication goals, following your groups and social networks, and doing research. And, it will cause a dilution in focused traffic.

Ah, the 'webs' we weave...

So, the moral of the story is don’t box yourself in. THINK BIG from the get-go and take possible future endeavors into consideration when choosing a domain name and creating your website and blog. A 'safe bet' domain name for your first site is Your Name.com.

Rule 1 in writing and marketing is to create a writing and marketing plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ignite your writing and marketing efforts with Karen Cioffi and A Writer’s World ezine. Get weekly tips and guidance, plus updates on free webinars, and TWO FREE ebooks! Sign-up today.