The Business Of Self-Publishing: Recent Episodes
Joseph C. Kunz, Jr.
Synopsis Here are two fundamental and powerful non-fiction writing techniques that will truly show your reading audience that you understand them and their issues. These two writing techniques, along with a hefty dose of sincerity, honesty, and respect for yourself, your subject matter, and the reader, will go a long way to helping you build an audience of readers, followers, and buyers.
What You Will Learn In This Article 1. You will learn why you need to write in such a way that helps you build an emotional connection with your readers. 2. You will learn how and why you need to talk to your readers, not at them, by using a respectful conversational tone. 3. You will learn how and why you need to convey your enthusiasm to the reader.
Introduction You’re a small business owner or a sole proprietor. And you write a blog aimed at your audience of current customers and prospective customers. You’re using your blog to show the world that you're an expert in your particular field.
And that you’re willing to share the experiences and knowledge that you have gained during your career. You want your customers and prospects to know that you have the solutions and answers to their problems because you understand them and what they are going through.
You're one of them and want to help them succeed. To show your audience that all of this is true and that you're for real, there are some simple but powerful ways to prove this to them in your writing.
I have compiled two of my favorites here that you can immediately apply to your writing and make it more engaging:
Writing Tip # 1. Talk TO Your Readers, Not AT Your Readers Talking to your audience in their words, their terms, their phrases, and at their level, is a very persuasive writing technique. If you indeed are an expert with many years of experience, this should be easy for you to do.
Speak to your audience, your customers, and your prospects in such a way that conveys the fact that you genuinely want to help them solve their problems, and help them become more successful.
You might be an expert, a Ph.D., a professor, a celebrity, and extremely successful. But, you must never, ever talk down to your audience. Don’t try to make yourself sound important by using big or obscure words. You’ll immediately look like an insecure fool if you do this. Your audience will be insulted and never come back.
It’s tough to become successful by alienating your audience. You need them as much as they need you. You wouldn’t be writing if you didn’t need them for whatever personal and professional reasons you might have yourself.
Talking in a helpful, friendly, respectful, conversational way goes a long way to getting people to listen to you and trust you. This is how you build an audience of readers, followers, and buyers.
Writing Tip # 2. Convey Your Enthusiasm Showing your enthusiasm for the subject matter, AND your enthusiasm for sharing and helping your readers is a potent writing technique. This cannot be faked. Readers can detect nonsense from a mile away.
And once they get a whiff of dishonesty, you will lose them forever. If you don’t have this enthusiasm, why are you wasting your time and the reader’s time by writing in the first place?
Enthusiasm, excitement, and passion for a subject and wanting to share it to help people are very compelling. It’ll get every reader excited too. They’ll want to know more about the subject, AND about you. This is how you build an audience of readers, followers, and buyers.
“Speak to your audience, your customers, and your prospects in such a way that conveys the fact that you genuinely want to help them solve their problems, and help them become more successful.” (Tweet)
Conclusion Now you have two easy-to-implement writing techniques that will help you attract, connect, and hold on to your readers. These two writing techniques, along with a hefty dose of sincerity, honesty,
Synopsis Writing in “plain English” is a great way to make a good impression on your audience. This means writing in a way that makes your message easy to read and understand. It doesn’t matter who your audience is or what your subject matter is about. Every audience will benefit from writing that uses plain English. This will help you build a bigger audience and sell more books. Here are my 6 favorite tips to help you start.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how to simplify your non-fiction writing to make it easier to understand and remember. 2. You will learn how and why writing in plain English can help you build and retain a broader readership and following. 3. You will learn how and why writing in plain English will make you look smarter and your writing more powerful. Introduction Writing in "plain English" is a great way to make a good impression on your audience. This means writing in a way that makes your message easy to read and understand. It doesn’t matter who your audience is or what your subject matter is about. Every audience will benefit from writing that uses plain English. And it certainly doesn’t mean talking down to your audience or using baby words. It means writing in a way that gets your message to your intended audience in a respectful and appropriate manner. Your readers will sense this and respect you for it. This is how you build an audience for your work.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of the BookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #121
Here are my 6 favorite tips to help you start writing in plain English: Tip # 1. Write For Your Audience, Not For You In other words, put your reader first. Always. Writing non-fiction is about providing value to the reader and helping them solve their problems. Their needs come first, not yours. You must speak directly to the reader. You do this by using only words and concepts that are appropriate for your audience. If you’re writing to show off how smart you are, you’ll lose them immediately – and they won’t come back.
Tip # 2. Avoid Big And Fancy Words This doesn’t mean that you must use simple words. It means that you must use words that are appropriate for your audience. No matter who your audience is, or what the subject matter is, you’ll look foolish and insecure if you use big, fancy, ornate words. Using these kinds of words is the fastest way to lose your readers. If you sincerely want to help people and be taken seriously as a writer, don’t use them.
Tip # 3. Avoid Slang, Jargon, Abbreviations, And Clichés These types of phrases typically don’t help your reader. If for some reason, you need to use one, you must explain what the term means. Don’t ever assume the reader will know what you’re talking about. It would be unfair and disrespectful of your reader, and they’ll sense that. And you’ll have wasted their time.
Tip # 4. Write Short And Clear Sentences Shorter sentences go a long way to making your writing more comfortable to read and understand. Long sentences tend to be confusing and tiring to read. Writing shorter sentences forces you to cut out all the unnecessary words. Try to keep your sentences under 20 words.
“Writing in “plain English” is a simple but powerful technique that will help you retain more readers and sell more books. Here are 6 tips to help you get started.” (Tweet)
Tip # 5. Use Contractions Yes, contractions. Such as: “can not” becomes “can’t;” “will not” becomes “won’t.” They help you sound natural, not like a robot. Not like an insecure “intellectual” that is trying to impress the reader. But as someone the reader can identify with and believe. Like you’re talking to the reader face-to-face. This goes a long way to getting a reader to stay with you. Don’t be afraid to use them. Your readers will appreciate this.
Tip # 6. Read It Aloud Before Publishing This tip is essential if you ever hope your writing sound natural.
Synopsis All content creators and authors want their work to be shared. But, when you take too much information and content from them, it can become a problem for you and for the original author. Especially if you take credit for someone else’s work, or don’t credit them properly. Here are the basic rules, as I see it, you need to follow.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn my 4 basic rules for sharing another author’s content. 2. You will learn why linking to another author or providing backlinks, is imperative. 3. You will learn some of the fundamental ways that you shouldn't be claiming the work of others as your own.
Introduction If you would like to share, use, or copy, any of an author’s content or work to use on your website, in your article, in your blog post, in your book, or anywhere else, that’s great. It’ll help that author expand their audience, and it will help you and your audience too. Sharing content is expected. The entire internet is about sharing content.
And all content creators and authors want their work to be shared. But, when you take too much information and content from them, it can become a problem for you and for the original author. Especially if you take credit for someone else’s work, or don’t credit them properly.
So, I’ve made a list of some of the ways that my own content is taken and used without giving me any credit, or not the proper credit, for my work. Many of these offenders don’t even include a backlink to my website. I’m sure that many of you have had these same things happen to you too.
Here are the basic rules, as I see it, you need to follow:
Content Sharing Etiquette Rule # 1: Use The Author’s Name As They Use It a. You must use the author’s name, as they use it on their own online and in-print work. If the author’s name is Joseph C. Smith, Jr., don’t re-write it as Joe Smith. Or as Joe Smithjr. The author has a reason to write his name the way he does, and you should respect that.
Content Sharing Etiquette Rule # 2: You Must Include A Backlink To Original Author a. If you're sharing or using another person’s online content, such as you might find on their website or blog, a link back to the author’s website or blog is mandatory. Simply including their name is not enough. Backlinks are a major part of blogging. You want them, and so does the author whose work you are using.
“Sharing content online & in print is expected & appreciated by most authors and readers. But, there is a proper way to do it, & an inappropriate way to do it. And, as an author and content creator, you are expected to know the difference.” (Tweet)
Content Sharing Etiquette Rule # 3: You Must Notify The Original Author a. If you're sharing or using another person’s content in your own book, ebook, or print, notifying the author is mandatory. b. Sending the author an email letting them know that you are using their content in your book is expected because it’s just common courtesy and a sign of respect. c. The original author can then let their own readers see how and where their content is being used, and share and promote your content too. It’s a win-win-win for all involved. This is how you succeed as an author, blogger, and business person.
Content Sharing Etiquette Rule # 4: Don’t Put Your Name On Something That You Didn’t Create a. You cannot re-post an author’s content and then add your name as co-author. b. You cannot re-post an author’s content, then delete their name, and sign your name to it, claiming that it’s your work. c. You cannot re-arrange the paragraphs, and then claim the original author’s work as yours alone. d. You cannot re-post an author’s content, word-for-word, and then claim it as your work, by simply changing the title. e. You cannot re-post an author’s content, word-for-word, and add a few of your own paragraphs, and then claim it as your work.
All of these are outright stealing and copyright ...
Synopsis If you like to help people improve their own lives, careers, businesses, and relationships - by teaching, inspiring, and sharing your own knowledge and experiences - then you should be writing non-fiction. Here is a shortlist of my favorite reasons why you should be writing and selling your own non-fiction books.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn why writing non-fiction is a great way to help satisfy your own needs and wants. 2. You will learn five amazing reasons you should want to start writing non-fiction books. 3. You will learn about some of the stumbling blocks that are no long-standing in your way.
Introduction If you like to entertain people, then you would probably enjoy writing fiction. But, if you like to help people improve their own lives, careers, businesses, and relationships - by teaching, inspiring, and sharing your own knowledge and experiences - then you should be writing non-fiction.
From my perspective, we all have an obligation to do this, especially if we like to communicate by writing. And, in the high-tech world we live in today, there are no more obstacles preventing us from doing this through self-publishing.
Here is a short list of my favorite reasons why you should be writing and selling your own non-fiction books:
Reason # 1. A Non-Fiction Book Can Boost Your Career and Business Even with the huge proliferation of self-publishing, having your name on a published book will still impress most people. One of the main reasons to write a non-fiction book is to boost your credibility in the eyes of your current clients, your prospective clients, your co-workers, and your peers.
Handing a prospective client your signed book is infinitely more impressive than handing them a business card and a brochure. Credibility is one of the main ingredients to building a great career and business. A well-written non-fiction book will help you achieve that.
Reason # 2. More People Buy Non-Fiction Books There will always be a demand for non-fiction books. Just walk into any big book store, look around, and you will immediately see that non-fiction takes up almost the entire store. Non-fiction sales numbers have been rising for many years and outpacing fiction. In addition, many book buyers don’t mind paying a higher price for non-fiction books.
Reason # 3. Non-Fiction Books Help Make The World A Better and More Productive Place You spend your life learning about certain topics. Topics that you have become an expert in. And you get paid for applying that knowledge to help others improve their own lives. A non-fiction book will enable you to help many thousands more than you could realistically help from your own office.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of the BookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #118
Reason # 4. Non-Fiction Books Are Easier To Market And Sell With non-fiction, it's much easier to find and understand your target audience. This is half the battle to building a successful marketing plan. And, it's essential if you have any hope for sales success. And, as an added bonus, non-fiction books generally have a very long shelf life. This means that your book if written properly, will keep making you money for a long time.
Reason # 5. Non-Fiction Books Aren’t Overly Difficult To Write Although there is nothing easy about writing, especially for publication, you’re probably writing about topics that you already have knowledge, understanding, and expertise in. Or, at the very least, a topic that you have a great enthusiasm for and interest in.
And, if you look at writing your non-fiction book not as one gigantic project, but as many little goals that you can achieve one at a time, you're more likely to finish writing it. So, with some planning, some research, an outline, and some perseverance, the process will actually be a great learning experience for you, and an enjoyable one.
This is an easy to read and comprehensive guide on how to republish public domain books to get started as a self-publisher. Heavy emphasis on starting and running a self-publishing company on a very tight budget. Plenty of practical advice and resources for doing this. Nagy also discusses how, what, and why he republished books that are in the public domain.
Synopsis My main goal here is to share with you how I create my book promo videos so that you can see the basic steps involved. With a little bit of research, some patience, some practice, and persistence, you should be able to make your own book promo video without too much hassle. Now get ready, because here is a quick run-down of the 4 main steps I follow in order to make my basic 1-minute book promo videos.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the 4 basic steps to create a simple book promo video for your own book. 2. You will learn exactly how I do it for the books that my wife and I self-publish. 3. You will learn which software I use, and where I post the completed video.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of the BookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #115 Introduction My main goal here is to share with you how I create my book promo videos so that you can see the basic steps involved. For my own sanity, I try to keep the process as simple as possible. My goal is always to take a complicated process, make it as simple as possible, and still produce a quality product. And, with patience and practice, each time I produce one of these little videos, I'll get a little bit better at it. And hopefully, sell a few more books in the process.
Thank you to best-selling author Elizabeth Spann Craig for sharing and linking to my post.
Here is a quick run-down of the 4 main steps I follow in order to make my basic 1-minute book promo videos: Step # 1. Create a PowerPoint deck
Step # 2. Export deck to .jpeg
Step # 3. Import .jpeg’s to iMovie
Step # 4. Convert iMovie to mp4
Done.
Here is a list of the software programs that I utilize to produce my promo videos: 1. Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac, ver. 16
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Apple iMovie, ver. 10
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Adobe Illustrator 2020
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Adobe Photoshop 2020
Google Alerts for Joel Friedlander's Carnival of the Indies #115 Software Notes: a. Microsoft PowerPoint I bought as a package of an entire suite of Microsoft products called Microsoft Office 365 Home, which has an annual fee to use. b. Apple iMovie is a free download from the Mac App Store. c. The Adobe programs are part of Adobe Creative Cloud which I pay a monthly fee to use.
I upload my videos to the following websites: (For this book, it's to my wife’s pages) Website # 1. My YouTube page Website # 2. My book’s webpage (on the book’s main page, and on the Media Kit page for that book) Website # 3. My Twitter page
Website # 4. My Facebook page
Here is a more detailed look at the steps that I follow to create my promo videos: Step # 1. Create slide presentation in PowerPoint The general rule for making PowerPoint slides is to keep them simple, short, and to the point.
ACLS QA book PowerPoint screen shot Step # 2. Add a .jpeg picture of your book’s cover, and your headshot Make sure they are clear, easy to see and read, high quality photos. Step # 3. Add text to each slide Again, don’t overdo it. Keep is simple, with lots of white space. Step # 4. Save as a PowerPoint presentation .pptx This will complete step 1. Step # 5. Export slides as .jpeg Save them in the same folder as the PowerPoint deck/presentation that you just made.
“A successful and profitable non-fiction book promo video must be honest, sincere, short, simple, clean, easy to understand, see, and read, and not pushy or aggressive – a wise strategy to use in all of your book marketing.” (Tweet)
Step # 6. Import/drag/drop all of those .jpeg slides into new iMovie Create a new movie, and drag and drop all of those .jpeg slides you just made into the movie timeline. Step # 7. Drag/drop music/audio onto the timeline iMovie has a small library of music already included. You simple choose which one you like, and drag and drop it onto the movie timeline. And then adjust the length of the music to fit the length of the video.
This post was originally published on March 24, 2011, and updated on March 12, 2020.
Synopsis Understanding the terminology, jargon, terms of art, vocabulary, and slang, of the book publishing industry as a whole, can only help us become better and more successful at self-publishing. Here is a discussion of the terms “strippable” and “non-strippable” as they relate to printed books and their covers.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the physical differences between a book considered strippable and one that is not. 2. You will learn why a particular book is considered strippable, or it isn’t. 3. You will learn who is concerned and affected by these designations.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of the BookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #114
Introduction Most of us involved with self-publishing will never need to deal with books that are strippable or not. But, despite that fact, we still need to understand the book industry in its entirety. Understanding the terminology, jargon, terms of art, vocabulary, and slang, of the book publishing industry as a whole, can only help us become better and more successful at self-publishing.
Here is a discussion of the terms “strippable” and “non-strippable” as they relate to printed books, and their covers.
Strippable Defined “Strippable” means that a book’s cover can be torn off, or stripped off, by the book retailer or distributor and then sent back to the book publisher for a credit or refund. The publisher tells the book retailers and distributors which books it will allow being stripped and which books cannot be stripped.
“Understanding the terminology, jargon, terms-of-art, lingo, and slang, of the book publishing industry as a whole, can only help us become better and more successful at self-publishing.” (Tweet)
Each publisher has its own rules and guidelines about which books can be stripped. Stripping off the cover of a book and sending the cover back to the publisher without the body of the book will significantly reduce postage costs.
It’s much less costly to send back a bunch of book covers than to send back an entire box of books. After the cover is stripped off the book, the rest of the remaining book is supposed to be destroyed by the bookseller.
Title page of a mass-market paperback book. The paragraph in the middle discusses the cover and what happens when a book is stripped.
Non-Strippable Defined “Non-strippable” books are the opposite of “strippable.” “Non-strippable” means that a book cannot be returned to the publisher for a credit or refund unless the book is complete, with the cover intact.
Retail Returns Guidelines for Baker & Taylor
Who Is Involved With, Concerned About, And Affected by, Stripping Books? Stripping books is something self-publishers will never need to be involved in. Strippable and non-strippable books are something that the large publishers, book distributors, and retail bookstores are engaged in.
Strippable BookThe large publishers are forced by the retailers and distributors to accept returns. Retailers feel that it's too risky for them to put a book in their stores without having the option of sending the book back for a credit or refund.
Distributors feel that it's too risky for them to receive many thousands of copies of a book from a publisher without having the option of sending the books back for a credit or refund. The large publishers accept returns because they are dependent on the book retailers and distributors for their financial survival.
As a small self-publisher, we generally don’t want, or shouldn’t want, our books in bookstores. Having your book displayed at a bookstore might be good for your ego but not for your bank account. Once you get involved with self-publishing, you’ll quickly learn that bookstores are the worst place to display and sell your books – and doing so can very promptly bankrupt yo...
This book is an ". . . an anecdotal account of how some of the most well-known book and play titles come to be. It is not meant to be a comprehensive compendium of every catchy title, but rather a lighthearted look at a struggle that has bedeviled writers for centuries.”
Synopsis Memorization is the fixing of information into your memory through sheer repetition. It’s a necessary first step in learning. Memorization of the fundamental terms and concepts of a difficult or new topic will provide a strong foundation for a deeper understanding of the more difficult concepts that will follow with additional study.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You’ll learn what memorization is and why it is important to learning. 2. You’ll learn ten tips that will help you set up an easy-to-follow studying system. 3. You’ll learn about mnemonics and how quickly you can create them.
Introduction Memorization is the fixing of information into your memory through sheer repetition. It’s a necessary first step in learning. Memorization of the fundamental terms and concepts of a difficult or new topic will provide a strong foundation for a deeper understanding of the more difficult concepts that will follow with additional study.
Learning a large, or difficult, or completely new subject, might seem overwhelming at first. We’ve all been there before. And most of us get through it ok. The trick is to just accept the fact that you need to get started as soon as possible, and that you must put in the study time necessary to learn the material.
My wife Michele and I teach thousands of healthcare professionals each year. Most of them are expected to be able to quickly recall hundreds of essential dosages, formulas, and rules – all while under very stressful situations. We've learned that memorization is the fastest and most practical way to get our students started on their path to becoming great at their jobs.
Memorization, along with schooling, self-study, continuing education classes, online training, on-the-job training, in-house classes, and mandatory certifications, all play a part in becoming very successful at almost anything.
Here is a list of our favorite tips to memorize a topic and its essential facts:
Tip # 1. Break The Material Down Into Smaller Parts Smaller bits of information will be much easier for your brain to hold onto. Make several lists. Work on memorizing these lists. Memorize a few facts, and then memorize a few more.
Tip # 2. Study In Short Periods Over A Long Period Of Time Short bursts of study, fifteen or thirty minutes at a time, are much better and more productive than sitting there and studying for sixty or ninety minutes. Whenever you're sitting somewhere, a doctor’s waiting room, for example, take out your study cards and read them. These short bursts of study periods can be very productive. Constantly doing this over many months is the surest way to get the information into your long-term memory.
Tip # 3. Review The Material Frequently To get the new information from your short-term memory into your long-term memory you must review the material frequently. The more difficult the topic, and the less previous knowledge you have for a topic, the more frequently you must review the material. Some nights you should do a full study session on a subject. On the other nights, you can do a quick review. But always try to touch upon that particular subject at least once every twenty-four hours.
Tip # 4. Do Not Cram Cramming is usually useless. Learning a new or difficult topic takes time. Days, weeks, months, and years, not minutes. It takes a lot of time to process information properly.
Tip # 5. Use Mnemonic Devices And Catchy Puns And Phrases Mnemonics are a great memory device to help you memorize difficult information. Here is one I created to remember the stages of shock: “Not His lucky CHARMS”. Neurogenic, Hemorrhagic, Cardiogenic, Hypovolemic, Anaphylactic, Respiratory, Metabolic, Septic. Mnemonics can easily be created from a phrase, rhyme, or sentence.
Tip # 6. Teach The Information To Another Person This is probably one of the surest ways to force yourself to thoroughly learn a topic. Get a family member or friend,
Synopsis Sincerity is crucial to all of us because it helps build trust. And faith is one of the fundamental building blocks to developing a lasting and rewarding relationship. Non-fiction writers need to display sincerity with their words. Readers can sense this and reward writers they trust by following them, reading their articles, and buying their books. Here is a short discussion on the importance of writing with sincerity.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You’ll learn why sincerity is vital to non-fiction writing. 2. You’ll learn how to define and understand sincerity. 3. You’ll learn about the critical connection between sincerity and tone in your writing.
Introduction Sincerity is crucial to all of us because it helps build trust. And faith is one of the fundamental building blocks to developing a lasting and rewarding relationship. Non-fiction writers need to display sincerity with their words. Sincerity, honesty, and respect for the subject matter and the reader are essential to building up a tribe of followers, readers, and buyers.
Share This Image On Your SitePlease include attribution to TheBusinessOfSelfPublishing.com with this graphic.
One of the main ways non-fiction writers display sincerity is by being transparent, straightforward, and honest with their readers. Readers can quickly sense this and reward writers they trust by following them, reading their articles, and buying their books.
Your writing voice, and the connection you make with your reader, are heavily influenced by your sincerity for the subject matter, your sincerity in your desire to help the reader, and the tone you use when you write.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to my blog post from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #113
Here are three terms that you must understand in order to write with sincerity:
Term # 1. Writing voice refers to when your writing reflects your personality and characteristics. The tone you use in your writing helps reveal how you feel about the topic you are writing about and how you think about the reader. Your writing voice will help your readers understand and connect with you emotionally.
Thank you to best-selling author Elizabeth Spann Craig for sharing and linking to my post.
Term # 2. Sincerity means having no pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy. And, for example, being honest, genuine, truthful, open, transparent, and candid with the reader. Sincerity should never be faked or feigned because, for your readers to believe what you’re writing about, they must genuinely believe that you’re being honest with them.
“Sincerity is one of the fundamental building blocks to developing trust between you the writer, and your readers.” (Tweet)
To write with sincerity, you must first respect yourself, the subject matter, and, more importantly, the reader. Once you lose the reader’s respect, they’ll never come back to you to read your articles, or buy your books, ever again. Readers, especially today, can detect phony-baloney (aka hypocrisy – sorry I couldn’t resist - I’ve never written that word in a sentence, and it’s such a fun word) a mile away.
Term # 3. Tone: reflects your attitude toward your subject matter AND your attitude toward the reader and will significantly influence how your readers interpret your message. Tone refers to your perspective, such as formal, informal, ironic, serious, sophisticated, comedic, sarcastic, sad, dark, or cheerful.
Conclusion Sincerity is one of the fundamental building blocks to developing trust between you, the writer, and your readers. One of the main ways non-fiction writers display sincerity is by being transparent, straightforward, and honest with their readers. Your writing voice helps convey your seriousness and attitude for the subject matter and your sincere desire to help the reader. All of this will help you build a following of readers that will respect you and what you do,
Synopsis Why isn’t my non-fiction bookselling more copies? Why is my book a failure? Why don’t I feel successful as a self-publisher? These common questions can sometimes be difficult to answer very quickly. And the answer isn’t always as simple as it might seem at first glance. But there is hope for you and your book to achieve success. Here are 14 reasons your book might not be successful.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You'll learn what steps you can take to fix your book and improve its sales. 2. You'll learn how to start to define what success means for you and your book. 3. You'll learn how and why introspective thinking about your book is essential to its success.
Introduction Why isn’t my non-fiction bookselling more copies? Why is my book a failure? Why don’t I feel successful as a self-publisher? These common questions can sometimes be difficult to answer very quickly. And the answer isn’t always as simple as it might seem at first glance. But there is hope for you and your book to achieve success.
Take A Hard Look At Yourself And Your Book If your book isn't selling any copies or selling very few in comparison to other books in its sales category, there are several powerful changes you can make to help improve your sales. But, they all involve some serious introspective thinking about your book and will involve some hard work on your part.
The Fix Is Within Reach The list of reasons given here will help you to re-evaluate your book, and everything you are doing to sell it. This list covers the most common reasons a non-fiction book isn't selling or gaining any traction with an audience.
Share This Image On Your SitePlease include attribution to Kunz On Publishing with this graphic.
How Do I Define Success? We all have our own way to define success in general. Plus, we can have a personal definition of financial success, and one for personal success, and one for business success, etc. And each one will be a little different. But, I believe that most of us that write non-fiction books are trying to achieve two main, fundamental, overarching, basic goals:
Goal # 1. Financial Return Some amount of financial return for the hard work we put into creating and publishing our books; and,
Goal # 2. Critical Acclaim Critical acclaim for ourselves and for our books, from our peers, co-workers, readers, family, customers, clients, etc.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to my blog post from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #112
The Top Reasons Non-Fiction Books Do NOT Achieve Success
Reason # 1: No market need: Is there an actual need for the information in your book? Is there an actual audience that can benefit from your book? If not, you will not sell any books.
Reason # 2: Weak solutions/value: What special insights do you have that can help others find real solutions to their questions and problems? Standard cookie-cutter solutions won’t help you sell more books.
Reason # 3: Unattractive cover: A cover that looks unprofessional, amateurish, and unthoughtful, will turn-off book buyers. They will lose respect for you even before they open your book. For most books, and most people, the cover is the one thing that should not be skimped on.
Reason # 4: Written for wrong audience: You must understand who your audience is before you write your book. If you don’t, your book will be confusing to read, help no one in particular, and sales will suffer.
“With some honest assessment of your book, and forcing yourself to make hard decisions about your book, you can fix its poor sales. By doing so, you will be creating a book that can help you achieve your personal and financial goals.” (Tweet)
Reason # 5: Not enough marketing: Marketing is more about reaching out to a very particular audience, and showing them that you have the answers and solutions to their particular problems. It’s less about the quantity of money that you spend on adve...
This post was originally published on July 3, 2017, and updated on December 12, 2019.
Synopsis By adding an infographic to your blog, and giving your readers an easy way to share it, is a sure way to help build your network. We can make the infographic easy to share by adding a “share box” immediately below it. This gives other bloggers a fast and simple way to share your infographic. Here are the three simple steps that I follow in order to create and add a “share box” to my own infographics.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You'll learn an easy and fast way to add a “share box” to your infographic. 2. You'll learn why a “share box” is an excellent and painless way to get your readers to share your infographic. 3. You'll learn why an infographic with a share box below it will help you look more like a professional blogger.
Introduction Infographics are a visually compelling way to grab a reader’s attention. They can very quickly help you communicate information in an easy-to-digest format. And, by adding an infographic to your blog, and giving your readers an easy way to share it, is a sure way to help build your network.
We can make the infographic easy to share by adding a “share box” immediately below it. This gives other bloggers a fast and simple way to share your infographic. This share box contains an “html embed code” that other bloggers can copy and paste into their own blog. This will make your infographic appear on their blog, and it also gives your blog a backlink.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to my blog post from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #111
Here are the three simple steps that I follow in order to create and add a “share box” to my own infographics:
Share This Image On Your SitePlease include attribution to "KunzOnPublishing.com" with this graphic.
STEP # 1. Create Your Infographic I typically create my blog post first. Then I design an infographic that can explain the information in my blog post in a simple, fun, and easy-to-understand format. I try to keep it visually appealing by using colors, fonts, and images that will catch the reader’s eyes. I use Adobe Illustrator CC, and then convert the finished Illustrator file into a jpg. Then I simply upload that image to my WordPress media folder.
STEP # 2. Place Infographic Into Your Blog Post I then find a place within my post to place the image, such as between major sections or between paragraphs. Then I click the “Add Media” button and then choose the appropriate image from my blog’s media folder. You must do this from within the “text editing” page, NOT the “visual editing” page.
“By adding an infographic to your blog, and giving your readers an easy way to share it, is a sure way to help build your network.” (Tweet)
STEP # 3. Add A “Share This Image Box” Under The Infographic Start by using an “embed code generator” that will help you create your share box. The best one I’ve been able to find so far is by Siege Media. I didn’t have much luck finding a WordPress plugin that I liked, or that would do what I wanted it to do for me. But this one by Siege Media fits my needs perfectly. All of the fill-in boxes are self-explanatory.
Blank embed code generator form. Form provided by Siege Media.
Filled-in embed code generator form. Form provided by Siege Media.
Here is a sample of the html code that i use to create the share box.
THE VIEW OF THE HTML ON MY BLOG: Here is what the final HTML code looks like on my blog post’s text editing page:
- The first section in the image below is the code for the actual jpg image of the infographic that will appear in my blog post.
- This second section in the image below is the code for the share box that will appear just below my infographic.
Screenshot of the html code that I have placed into my WordPress blog.
THE VIEW FROM MY BLOG: Here is what the finished infographic and share box looks like on my blog...
Synopsis Here is an explanation of the process, or steps, involved in repurposing your blog posts into a saleable, money-making, format. It’s not a quick or easy way to make money from your blog posts. But, it is an interesting and practical way to take your blogging to a whole new level.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You'll learn some easy ways to enhance your blog posts by repurposing content. 2. You'll learn about the “value-added add-ons” that I create from my blog posts. 3. You'll learn how creating quality blog posts can help you build credibility and make money too.
Introduction Here is an explanation of the process, or steps, involved in repurposing your blog posts into a saleable, money-making, format. It’s not a quick or easy way to make money from your blog posts. But, it's an interesting and practical way to take your blogging to a whole new level.
Enhancing your blog posts, and repurposing them into a saleable format, can really help you reach a much larger audience. Reaching a larger audience means that you and your writing can help a lot more people achieve success. This is the real reason that you write in the first place. And, you can make some money doing it too. It’s a win-win situation.
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Step 1. Build An Amazing Blog Post It all starts with one blog post. One beautifully written, well-thought-out, easy-to-read, and very helpful, blog post. And, as long as you're providing high-quality content, you will be building credibility with your reading audience. This is essential if you plan on building an audience that will buy your products and services.
Ok, so now you have a great blog post. There are a few things that you can add to your blog post to help make it more impactful with your readers. These same things will also help make your post stand out from the crowd of other bloggers. I call these things “value-added add-ons.”
They can be such things as a tweetable quote, an infographic, offer a free PDF of the post, provide an audio podcast, and a video. (Many of my posts get these, but the videos are in the works right now.)
“Enhancing your blogs posts, and repurposing them into a saleable format, can really help you reach a much larger audience.” (Tweet)
They are “value-added” because they are enhancing my post by making it easier for my audience to read, understand, and remember it. And, because some people prefer to read the post, some to visualize with an infographic, some to get a free PDF, some to listen to a podcast, and some to watch a video, I provide my audience with these additional sources. I provide all of these “add-ons” to my post to make it more accessible and impactful to a wider audience.
I do this because I think of each and every blog post as a product that I'm selling. But, in this case, not for money, but for credibility with my audience. Essentially, I'm selling myself. I need and want my audience to take my information and use it to their advantage.
I'm also trying to make the information in my blog post as helpful as possible - to as many people as possible. Those “add-ons” are a great way for me to get my point across to my readers. I also enjoy creating those add-ons. They force me to fine-tune my message and make it as clear as possible for my readers. If you can’t get your message across to your readers as quickly and clearly as possible, you risk losing credibility and helping no one.
All of the value-added add-ons I talked about above are being created by repurposing the content within that very same blog post.
So, from one blog post, you will be able to: 1. Create a tweetable quote that can be used on Twitter; 2. Create an infographic that can be shared on your blog as well as on SlideShare; 3. Create a PDF of the post that can be given to readers in exchange for their email address; and, 4.
Synopsis Repurposing your blog post is one of the smartest and easiest ways to spread your message to a wider and more varied audience. The more people that see it and read it, the more that will benefit from it, and you will sell more books. With these 5 steps, you can easily and quickly take that same written post, and change it into an audio podcast.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the quickest and easiest way to repurpose your blog post into a podcast. 2. You will learn what equipment and software you will need to create your podcast. 3. You will learn how to reformat your blog post into a podcast script.
Introduction Repurposing your blog post is one of the smartest and easiest ways to spread your message to a wider and more varied audience, and get your name and work in front of many more people. You worked really hard at creating a high-quality and informative blog post. It probably took you days or weeks to perfect it.
After all that work, you want as many people as possible to see it, and become more familiar with your work. The more people that see it and read it, the more that will benefit from it, and you will sell more books.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to my blog post from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #108
Now, with these 5 steps, you can easily and quickly take that same written post, that is sitting on your blog, and change it into another format - an audio podcast – and share it with an entirely new audience. Here they are:
Step 1. Choose Your Blog Post to Record Not every single blog post is going to be a perfect candidate for an audio podcast. A blog post that is simply a list of items, or simply a few thoughts that you're sharing with your readers, are probably not worthy of a podcast. You might also want to start with one of your better or more popular posts. A post that is truly representative of your blog’s main subject matter is also a great place to start.
Screen Shot Of My Podcast Recording Inside GarageBand (Infographic)
Step 2. Reformat Your Blog Post Into A Script Since your blog posts were probably written for readers, not listeners, you will need to adjust your text to sound more natural when spoken out loud. Begin this process by simply reading your post out loud and listening to how the words flow. The trick is to make the text sound as natural and flowing as conversational speech.
I have realized that writing my blog posts with the idea of using them as an audio podcast recording script, has forced me to write in a more natural-sounding way. This has made my posts easier for my readers to read and understand.
My podcasting equipment set up in my home office.
Step 3. Get A Microphone and Software A. Microphone You must purchase a good microphone. This doesn’t mean an expansive mic. But, it should be a condenser mic with a small stand to hold it steady. Also, get a foam wind-screen / pop-screen for the mic. Start your search for these on Amazon.
B. Software The best place to start is Apple GarageBand. It's very inexpensive, very easy to learn how to use, and comes with music that is free to use for your intro and outro. Apple sells this for Mac and Windows.
“Repurposing your blog post is one of the smartest and easiest ways to spread your message to a wider and more varied audience.” (Tweet)
Step 4. Record Your Podcast and Add Intro and Outro A. Record the Blog Post a. Start your recording in a nice quiet room. Make sure everything around you is turned off. The air-conditioner, the dehumidifier, the ceiling fan, the television in the next room. b. Speak in a relaxed, natural, and conversational fashion. The ends of your sentences should not be a rising or falling volume of your voice. c. Make sure you pause after the commas and periods.
Thank you very much to Sadye Scott-Hainchek of TheFussyLibrarian.com, for sharing my blog post.
B. Record Intro and Outro a.
Synopsis One of the biggest marketing mistakes we non-fiction authors can make is to confuse the benefits and features that a reader will get if they buy our book. And, at first glance, it might seem a little challenging to understand the differences – especially if you’re writing a book for the first time. So, here is a quick explanation to help you understand the fundamental differences between a book’s benefits and a book’s features.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how to define your book’s benefits quickly. 2. You will learn how to define your book’s features quickly. 3. You will learn how and why benefits and features work together to help you sell more books.
Introduction Why You Must Understand the Differences One of the biggest marketing mistakes we non-fiction authors can make is to confuse the benefits and features that a reader will get if they buy our book. And, at first glance, it might seem a little challenging to understand the differences – especially if you’re writing a book for the first time.
And, if you, the author, don’t understand how to explain the benefits and features of your own book, the reader/buyer will undoubtedly be confused – which means that they won’t buy your book. So, here is a quick explanation to help you understand the fundamental differences between a book’s benefits and a book’s features.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to my blog post from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #106
So, here is a quick explanation to help you understand the fundamental differences between a book’s benefits and a book’s features.
A. What Are Benefits? Benefits are what the readers will get out of reading your non-fiction book. In other words, the end results from reading your book. Think about a product (your book) that produces beneficial results that promote a person’s (the reader’s) well-being. Your book’s benefits are the value that the readers will receive by applying your advice to their own problems.
“Your non-fiction book MUST convey your information and advice in such a way that the reader can realistically apply it to their own situation and problems.” (Tweet)
Your book MUST convey your information and advice so that the reader can apply it to their situation and problems. If they can do this, they will view your book as a very significant value. The MONEY they paid for your book, and the TIME they invested into your book, will then be considered well spent – but only if they benefited from reading it.
Some common examples of a non-fiction book’s benefits: 1. They will learn specific steps to solve a problem that they want to fix (the main reason that they bought your book in the first place) 2. They will learn how you, the author, fixed your own problems 3. They will learn how other people with the same problem fixed it and improved their lives, careers, relationships, business, etc. 4. Spend less time on problem-solving, and more time on making money 5. Learn how to lose 30 pounds in 30 days 6. Learn how to get five more clients in the next 30 days 7. Learn how to turn your hobby into a profitable business 8. How to fix your failing business, marriage, partnership, career, etc. 9. How to start a new business 10. How to help a family member that has Alzheimer’s disease
Obviously, this list could go on forever. But you get the idea. And now you can easily define what your book’s benefits are - or should be.
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B. What Are Features? Features are the things that your non-fiction book has in it. In other words, your book's attributes, design, and appearance. Think in terms of a product’s (your book) structure and appearance that a reader (buyer) can look at and compare to other books.
“Your non-fiction book’s features can, and should, if developed properly,
Synopsis Your needs and wants, as an author, can be surprisingly and distinctly different than those of your reader. But, once you realize these differences between you and the reader, you can then focus your attention on truly understanding who your reading audience really is, and what their needs and wants are about. So, here is a short discussion to help you start to define and understand what your reading audience needs and wants in their own life, which is what has led them to you and your non-fiction book.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn that your needs and wants don’t necessarily match those of your readers. 2. You will learn how to begin asking yourself the right questions in order to start better understanding your readers. 3. You will learn how and why understanding the needs and wants of your audience will make you stand out from the crowd.
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Introduction: There Is Great Value In Understanding Your Reader Your needs and wants, as an author, can be surprisingly and distinctly different than those of your reader. What we non-fiction authors need and want within our own life, and what our readers need and want within their own life, can sometimes be a far cry from each other. But, once you realize this difference, you can then focus your attention on understanding who your reading audience really is, and what their needs and wants are about, and what it is that’s motivating your readers.
So, here is a short discussion to help you start to define and understand what your reading audience needs and wants in their own life, which is what has led them to you and your non-fiction book:
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A. NEEDS (Functional Needs) Of Your Readers Your readers (book buyers) have a functional need that they are trying to satisfy when they are looking for a book that can help them improve a quality-of-life issue. This need might include such things as finding out how to start a business, for example. Or, how to solve a business problem, such as how to find more clients.
The list of specific quality-of-life issues that we all need help and guidance with is endless. You, the author, have expertise in a few of these issues. It’s your job to help your readers with one particular quality-of-life issue that they are seeking help with.
Thank you very much to Sylvia Hubbard of the Motown Writer's Network, for sharing my post.
By talking to your own customers and clients, your prospects, your students, your patients, your co-workers, your employees, your friends and family, and doing an in-depth search on Amazon, you will begin to hear and see what the most common quality-of-life issues people are searching answers for. Some issues will be simple and easy to discuss, and others will be much more complicated and difficult to deal with. But, your job as an author is to provide practical and easy-to-understand and implement solutions for the reader.
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B. WANTS (Emotional Needs) Of Your Readers Your readers (book buyers) also have an emotional need, or desire, that they are trying to satisfy. This want might include such things as the feelings of joy that develop after successfully completing a project, or starting a new business, or helping a new client succeed, or helping a student pass an exam, for example.
Thank you very much to Chris Graham for sharing my post on his blog The Story Reading Ape.
The list of emotional needs that people desire is also endless. You, the author, by helping your readers achieve, or satisfy, or find the answers to, the functional need that led them to buy your book in the first place, will also be helping them achieve the wants,
Synopsis Even though empathy and sympathy both involve your “feelings” about your readers, they refer to two distinctly different emotions. As an author, and book marketer, (and as an emotionally mature adult that is trying to help people) you must genuinely understand the difference. Here is a short discussion about the importance of empathy, and how it relates to your book sales.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the difference between empathy and sympathy. 2. You will learn why understanding the difference will help you sell more books. 3. You will learn how and why empathy for your readers will improve your book sales.
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Introduction Do you truly understand who you're writing for? And not in a superficial way. Knowing is the difference between building a devoted audience of followers, readers, and book buyers that you help, and your time, words, and efforts being wasted and helping no one. The difference here is that empathy is a major ingredient to your success as an author.
Successful Non-Fiction Authors Don’t Confuse “Empathy” With “Sympathy” Even though empathy and sympathy both involve your “feelings” about your readers, they refer to two distinctly different emotions. As an author, and book marketer, (and as an emotionally mature adult that is trying to help people) you must genuinely understand the difference.
"Authors: If you learn how to “walk in your reader’s shoes,” you WILL sell more books!" (Tweet)
Therefore, here is a very quick definition of empathy and sympathy to get us started:
Definition # 1. Empathy: refers to your ability to “walk in your reader’s shoes.” You’re trying to get into their heads and understand their reality, feelings, and motivations. The more intimate knowledge, or understanding, that you have about their motivations, their questions, their confusions, and their desires, the more you and your book will be truly able to help them find what they need and want. Deep down, you must know your audience – and you can’t fake it.
Definition # 2. Sympathy: refers to the compassion, sorrow, or pity, that you have for your readers. With sympathy, you might have compassion for your readers, but you don’t know what it’s like to honestly and sincerely “walk in your reader’s shoes.” Empathy and sympathy typically go hand-in-hand.
And, sympathy might have been an initial motivating factor to get you to write your book. But, simply having sympathy with your readers does nothing to help them find answers and solutions. And sympathy alone certainly won’t help you sell more books.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to my blog post from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #99
Now, you might be asking yourself, “How Can Empathy For My Readers Really Improve My Book Sales?”
Empathy can be shown for the readers, and can improve book sales at the same time, in two easily achievable ways:
- Having Empathy Before You Write Developing empathy for your reading audience, before you write your book, also forces you to think about exactly who you are writing for. Who are you trying to help? Who can you relate to? Identifying your reading audience is imperative if you ever hope to build an audience that wants to listen to you, and read your books.
Zeroing in on this specific group of people, and building an audience who knows what you write about, and what you are about personally, and what knowledge you have, and how generous you are with your knowledge, will help you to build an audience that will continue to grow over the long-term. This is how you build a continuous stream of income from your writing.
"Successful Non-Fiction Authors Don’t Confuse “Empathy” With “Sympathy.” (Tweet)
- Having Empathy While You Write When writing non-fiction with the intention to share your knowledge and experiences with the...
Synopsis In order to become, or remain, financially successful as a self-publisher, you must be able to quickly and effectively get your marketing message to your book-buying audience. Your book’s sell sheet is an excellent tool to do this. The sell sheet is a perfect marketing tool for offline AND online marketing – because it’s simple to understand, and gets directly to the point. So, here is a short discussion of five certain ways to make your sell sheet a very powerful marketing tool.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the 5 most important elements that you must incorporate into your book’s sell sheet. 2. You will learn how and why these elements are important for your book’s success. 3. You will learn the 5 most important ways to optimize your sell sheet so that people want to read it.
Introduction In order to become, or remain, financially successful as a self-publisher, you must be able to quickly and effectively get your marketing message to your book-buying audience. Your book’s sell sheet is an excellent tool to do this. The sell sheet is a perfect marketing tool for offline AND online marketing – because it’s simple to understand, and gets directly to the point.
And, as The Professor likes to say, it’s “no fuss, no muss, no waste, no bother,” for you or the buyer. (He has many insightful gems like that. I hear them all the time. He has one for every imaginable situation. But, he’s a very wealthy business genius and he loves us, so we all listen and learn.)
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Synopsis Creating a huge platform with many thousands of followers might seem like the most obvious way to achieve success. But there’s more to it than that. A huge email list, and huge Twitter and Facebook following, are all great, and are always an accomplishment to strive for. But the quality of those followers is what’s really important.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn why a large author platform isn’t always the best or most practical for most self-published authors. 2. You will learn why high-quality email addresses are more important than a large number of email addresses. 3. You will learn what you need to do to start building your author platform.
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Introduction Is a large platform critical for an author’s success? The quick answer is “no.” But, it’s imperative that the platform be well-established. In today’s “new media” world, it’s not necessarily about the numbers anymore. It’s now about “engagement” with the readers. Whether it’s for a large niche audience or a micro-niche audience, it doesn’t matter anymore. Is the author seen as the “go-to person” to that audience? Is the author making an emotional connection with them?
Is the author getting his audience rallied around a particular niche? Is the author selling books and ebooks to that audience? Is that audience commenting on the author’s blog posts? Are they re-posting or re-tweeting those blog posts? All of these questions will help you start to understand what it means to have a strong and well-established platform.
More Is Not Always Better Because Not All Traffic Is Created Equal Creating a huge platform with many thousands of followers might seem like the most obvious way to achieve success. But there’s more to it than that. A huge email list, and huge Twitter and Facebook following, are all great, and are always an accomplishment to strive for. But the quality of those followers is what’s really important. Especially for those of us (99% of all authors) who don’t have the market power and name recognition of really big money authors and mass-media celebrities.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #90
The Active Niche Vs. The Passive Mass For example, if your email list is mostly composed of those who simply downloaded your ebook because it was free if they gave you their email address, and then they never open your emails again, the quality of your email list will be very low. You need to know how to engage with those downloading your free ebook and try to convert them into true followers who are willing to visit your blog again and again.
Give Them A Reason Not To Cut And Run The high-quality followers are the ones that won’t “unsubscribe” after your first email to them. Those who remain on your list and continue to open your emails, will stay with you for the long-term, and be much more willing to share your blog posts and buy books from you. Your blog posts, and your emails, must give them a reason to keep reading and coming back for more.
“A huge author platform might seem like the obvious way to achieve success. And a huge social media following is great and is always an accomplishment to strive for. But the quality of those followers is what’s really important." (Tweet)
It’s Not About The Numbers Anymore You must never forget that in today’s social-media-savvy world, it is more about how the author is interacting with the audience, AND how the audience is interacting with the author. It's not so much about the numbers anymore, but about the quality of the engagement between the author and his audience.
Reach Out And Touch Someone Even if an author has a huge following, but doesn’t know how to sell, or how to talk to his audience, or doesn’t know how to really get that audience rallied around som...
Synopsis Do we write books for profit alone, or to gain favorable approval from others? Or is it a combination of both? Is money more important than fame? Does fame guarantee a stream of income? These questions are a good place to start to understand why we do what we do, and how we can, or should, be defining our own success as self-publishers.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn to look at how you define what success means to you as a self-publisher. 2. You will learn what the difference is between “financial success” and “critical acclaim”. 3. You will learn how and why you can have both at the same time.
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Introduction Do we write books for profit alone, or to gain favorable approval from others? Or is it a combination of both? Is money more important than fame? Does fame guarantee a stream of income? These questions are a good place to start to understand why we do what we do, and how we can, or should, be defining our own success as self-publishers.
How Do I Define Success As A Self-Publisher? I believe that most of us that write and publish books are after two main things. These two can probably be shortened, or simplified, down to “money” and “fame”. I’m sure that you think that there must be countless ways to define success. And, I’m confident there is. We all have our own personal definition of what success means. But, I believe that most of those can be boiled down to the two main categories, or blanket terms, of “money” and “fame.
So, here is a very brief definition of each of them:
Success Ingredient # 1: Money/Financial Success: Some amount of financial return (money) for the hard work we put into creating and publishing our books; and,
Success Ingredient # 2: Fame/Critical Acclaim: Critical-acclaim for ourselves and for our books (fame), from our peers, co-workers, readers, family, etc.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #86
Here are my personal definitions of these two terms, from my perspective as a self-publisher:
Definition # 1. Financial Success: We all want or need more money. And it would be really nice to be able to develop a steady stream of never-ending income from our books. But, unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of self-publishers make little or no money from self-publishing. And only a few make a decent part-time living doing it. Even fewer make a full-time living at it.
But, you must also realize that for most people, making money directly from the book alone is only one of many reasons to get involved with self-publishing. It is not uncommon for a non-fiction book that we have written to help us achieve financial success in other indirect ways.
For example, some of us want to self-publish as a way to promote our own business. Some want to advance their career by gaining credibility in their chosen field – and credibility certainly helps bring and hold onto new business. Some might want to build a nice little side-business to supplement their current career or do during retirement. Many of these reasons might be much more important to a self-publisher than making money directly from the sales of their book on Amazon.
Nowadays, having a book published is an amazing and powerful way to separate you from the crowd. Despite the fact that it's much easier and less expensive now, more than ever before, most people still don’t make the effort to publish a book. Doing so can give you a nice competitive advantage.
Definition # 2. Critical-Acclaim: We all want or need a certain amount of fame. Here I’m using the term “fame” as a blanket term for all types of positive approval, or praise, or good reputation for our professional work, our book, and our ability to help others.
As authors, we greatly desire to be seen as highly credible in our book...
Synopsis In order for a book foreword to give a book a substantial strategic advantage over all the other books competing for the same audience, it must be written by someone with a high level of believable credibility. And this credibility must be backed-up by a combination of objective and subjective characteristics at the same time.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how and why objective and subjective characteristics help a person’s credibility. 2. You will learn about some of these characteristics. 3. You will learn some of the most important traits of a good foreword author.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #84
Introduction In order for a book foreword to give a book a substantial strategic advantage over all the other books competing for the same audience, it must be written by someone with a high level of believable credibility. And this credibility must be backed up by a combination of objective and subjective attributes at the same time. These elements work together, hand-in-hand, to build a person’s credibility persona. We all size up a person by analyzing and weighing all of these characteristics.
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What Characteristics Help Build Credibility? 1. Objective characteristics (provable facts) such as college degrees, job title, books written, achievements and awards, and membership in specific organizations, and so on. 2. Subjective characteristics (gut feelings) such as emotional character and intelligence, how someone dresses and speaks, how likable they are, their optimism, confidence, and how they relate to an audience, and so on.
What Makes A Good Foreword Author? Credibility. A good foreword author is someone who is considered a known, credible expert in the general topic a book is written about. This can be a well-established author in the same genre, a well-established and well-known expert, a professor or speaker teaching the same topic, or someone with significant achievements in their work or private life. And they must understand the important role a book foreword can and must play in the overall success of a book.
“A book foreword written by the right person can give you a strategic advantage over all other authors.” (Tweet)
Established Experts Are In Great Demand Well-established, highly accomplished, and very credible people are in great demand – by the media, other businesses, and by authors like you and me, that need a book foreword. They’re also very busy with their own books, businesses, and projects. In fact, the more established a person or expert is in a field, the more likely they are getting bombarded by requests to write someone’s book foreword or provide a testimonial.
As a result, most of the requests will get turned down. For these reasons, getting one of these credible experts to write your book’s foreword will immediately make you and your book stand out from the crowd.
Conclusion You must never forget that a book foreword is essentially a marketing tool for your non-fiction book. Even if the book is well written, and has an amazingly attractive cover, without credibility, the book will not achieve the critical success or financial success that you're seeking.
Therefore, it's critical that the right person be found and convinced to write the book foreword. Then, both the book’s foreword author, and the book’s author, will benefit in many positive ways.
Questions For Us To Think About And Discuss 1. How were you able to find and convince a “highly credible person” to write your book’s foreword? 2. What advice can you give us about finding a person like this for our book?
• This article also appears in Joel Friedlander’s online publication Carnival of the Indies – Issue #84
The Strategic Advantage Of A Credible Book Foreword...
Synopsis Here is an explanation of the differences between the two main types of paperback books: mass-market paperbacks and trade paperbacks. As a self-publisher, these are the two formats that you’ll be typically dealing with most often. Therefore, you need to be familiar with and understand the similarities and differences. So, here is a quick discussion and explanation of mass-market paperbacks and trade paperbacks.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the significant characteristics of mass-market paperback books and trade paperback books. 2. You will learn how each type of these paperbacks are similar and different. 3. You will learn how British paperback books compare to America’s paperbacks.
Introduction In the USA, the most common formats for fiction and non-fiction printed books fall into three main categories:
- Hardcover;
- Trade paperback; and,
- Mass-market paperback.
Each of them can then get broken down into several more categories. But here, we’re concerned with understanding the differences between the two types of paperbacks. As a self-publisher, these are the two formats that you’ll be typically dealing with most often. Therefore, you need to be familiar with and understand the similarities and differences.
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Here is a quick discussion and explanation of mass-market paperbacks and trade paperbacks:
- Mass-Market Paperback Books Overview For the masses on a budget. A mass-market paperback is a small, usually non-illustrated, less-expensive bookbinding format. The standard size is 6.75” tall x 4.25” wide, and frequently uses a font, leading (pronounced: ledding), and smaller line spacing. When the big publishing companies sell them, they’re often released after the hardcover edition. And they’re most known for being sold in non-traditional bookselling locations such as airports, newsstands, drug stores, supermarkets, etc. Some people refer to them informally as “pocket books.”
And, they’re most known for being sold in non-traditional bookselling locations such as airports, newsstands, drug stores, supermarkets, etc. Some people refer to them informally as “pocketbooks.”
Examples of mass-market fiction and non-fiction paperback books.
A. Sales And Distribution The books in the non-traditional locations are generally within the periodical-distribution industry. These books get distributed by the same companies placing magazines in these locations. Conversely, the trade paperbacks get distributed by book wholesalers and distributors – or trade channels – hence the name “trade paperback.”
Title page of a mass-market paperback book. The paragraph in the middle discusses the cover and what happens when a book is stripped.
B. Strippable Vs. Non-Strippable Mass-market paperbacks are also distinguished from hardcover and trade by the different business practices that publishers and booksellers apply to them. Mass-markets are “strippable.” This means that bookstores can rip off the front cover and return only the cover for full credit from the distributor. The book retailers are supposed to destroy the rest of the book. Inversely, trade paperbacks are not strippable. Therefore, the book retailers must return the entire book, not just the cover.
“Understanding the differences between ‘mass-market paperback’ and ‘trade paperback’ formats will help you start to feel and sound like a real book publisher.” (Tweet)
C. Self-Publishers When self-publishers publish their fiction books, they are typically only released in the mass-market format. This format helps keep the cover price down, making these books more attractive to a broader audience in a very competitive market. These books will most commonly never receive a hardcover printing.
- Trade Paperback Books Overview Trade paperbacks are the less expensive version of the har...
Synopsis Testimonials are a very effective way to get more clients and customers and sell more books. As a businessperson, self-publisher, and author, you must understand what characteristics make up a great testimonial. So here I give you a list of five ingredients and six examples that can help you make a great testimonial, which will help get you more clients and customers, and sell more books:
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the five essential ingredients for making a great testimonial. 2. You will learn what these ingredients might look like when used in an actual testimonial. 3. You will learn that you do not need a lot of testimonials to get new clients.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #83
Introduction Testimonials are a very effective way to get more clients and customers and sell more books. Most business owners do not even bother to get testimonials from their clients and customers. And many that do only get mediocre testimonials. As a businessperson, self-publisher, and author, you must understand what characteristics make up a great testimonial.
HSo here I give you a list of five ingredients and six examples that can help you make a great testimonial, which will help get you more clients and customers, and sell more books:
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Item # 1. It should explain to your buying audience how they will benefit from reading your book. Item # 2. It should speak directly and specifically to your audience’s needs (the reasons they are thinking about buying your book). Item # 3. They are short and get directly to the point in just a few sentences. Item # 4. They are signed with a customer’s name, title, employer, city, and state. Item # 5. The ultimate testimonial will also have the customer’s headshot attached to it.
Here are six examples, with all made-up names and companies, to give you an idea of what a great customer testimonial statement should look like:
Great Customer Testimonials Must Contain The Following Items: Customer Testimonial #1: “Michele’s book helped me finally understand ACLS. Her book made it so clear and easy to understand. Reading Michele’s book and watching her YouTube videos made studying for the exam fun and easy.
It was almost as if I had Michele right next to me, helping me study. Because of her book, I was no longer falling behind in my studies and was finally able to pass the AHA certification exam on my first attempt.” Sandy Squire, RN, ANP, Palm University Hospital, Bikini Bottom, FL, SuperAmazingNurse.com
“Testimonials are a very effective way to get more clients and customers, and sell more books.” Tweet)
Customer Testimonial #2: “Michele’s book is very well done. The minute I started reading it, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. I have studied for and taken the ACLS and BLS certification exam in the past – but I always had trouble memorizing all the essential information – even after the exam is over.
This book is clear and concise and offers much more information than I expected. Thank you and I am looking forward to using your PALS book." Heidi Miller, Meteorite Springs University Memorial Hospital, Meteorite Springs, CO
Customer Testimonial #3: "Michele and Joe - you have no idea how much you have helped me and how much time you have saved me. The question and answer with explanation format is the best way to study and remember the information. Your book made studying for the AHA certification exams a breeze. Thank you very much." Jose MacMillan, RN, Director of Nursing Staff, Perth Surgi-Center, Los Angeles, California
Linkedin - Great Customer Testimonial Statements
Customer Testimonial #4: “I would actually like to take the time to thank you both. I was very pleasantly surprised by the level of detai...
Synopsis Whether your book's dedication is only a few sentences or an entire paragraph, you shouldn’t miss this opportunity to give the reader a small look into your life’s story. Here are a variety of book dedications that will help you to start to formulate your own.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn that a book dedication can become a marketing opportunity when written properly. 2. You will learn that the dedication has the ability to reach out and make an emotional connection with the reader. 3. You will learn that a powerful dedication is not difficult to formulate, and if written with some forethought, can very quickly set you and your book apart from many others.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #83
Introduction I have always been fascinated by book dedications. Unfortunately, most books don’t have them. And many of the books that do have one, the dedication is usually too simple and cryptic to understand. Some lame examples are: “To my wife;” or “To Betty.” But luckily, some dedications will give you a peek into the life of the author. They will give us a slight hint at a personal story or relationship that we will probably never get to learn more about.
Despite that, I always enjoyed finding a book dedication that made an effort to honor someone that had an impact on the author’s life. But, at the same time, it is especially nice to find a dedication that can also reach out to me and make an emotional connection.
Here are a variety of book dedications that will help you to start to formulate your own powerful, insightful, and interesting dedication:
- Dedication (appreciation, hope) We dedicate this book to healthcare professionals everywhere who have dedicated their lives to helping those in need; and, To healthcare students who do not yet realize the potential and importance of the career they have chosen; and, To our students all over Long Island and New York City (and those that have spread out over the 50 states), and our readers all over the world, that work every day at making their career a success and our world a much better place in which to live; and, Finally, we dedicate this book to you all with our love, appreciation, and thanks for allowing us to be a part of your lives.
Linkedin - Book Dedications To Spur Your Imagination
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Dedication (honor, reverence) We dedicate this book to those who lost their life on 9/11/01; and also to those who have given their life in the Global War Against Terrorism.
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Publisher’s Dedication (hope, encouragement) This book is dedicated to every person, young and old, employed and unemployed, educated and uneducated, that dreams of becoming financially independent and building a happy, successful, and rewarding life, but is too intimidated to take that first step.
It is the hope and dream of the Dickson Keanaghan family that this book might be that first step. The Dickson Keanaghan Family Long Island, New York, 2010
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Dedication (predictable, sentimental) I dedicate this book to my wife, Michele, who has been my partner in life and business, since 1984.
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Dedication (sentimental) To my wife Michele – it’s a privilege to share my business, life, and love with you. To my children Eric and Erin – your growth provides a constant source of joy and pride.
“Don’t underestimate the power of the dedication to help you make a connection with your readers.” (Tweet)
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Dedication (explanation, friendship) To Mom, who pushed me to “do”; To Dad, who loved me even when I didn’t; And to Mary, who after 35 years has given me unconditional friendship and love.
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Dedication (general, simple) This book is dedicated to the mentors, friends, and family of Dickson Keanaghan: John Doe, Jane Smith, Bob Squarepants, Jennifer Johnson, and Peter Pickles.
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Dedication (hope) To my children Eric and Erin,
Click here to download this PDF ebook
Synopsis Here is a list of important questions that you should think about to help you make sure that you have written a full and complete foreword. Not all questions here will apply to your foreword. But, these 26 questions should help you to take a critical look at what you have written, and help you fine-tune your foreword.
“This article will act as a review for seasoned writers. For those writing their first foreword, it is a must. I plan to give this (article) to any expert I ask to write a foreword in the future.” Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author HowToDoItFrugally.com
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn what questions you should be asking yourself before writing a book’s foreword. 2. You will learn that the reader’s wants and needs come first - before your need for self-promotion. 3. You will learn what the basic format of a book’s foreword should look like.
Introduction Here is a list of important questions that you should think about to help you make sure that you have written a full and complete foreword. Not all questions here will apply to your foreword. But, these 26 questions should help you to take a critical look at what you have written, and help you fine-tune your foreword.
When answering these questions, you must keep in mind that a book’s foreword is essential for a book’s critical and financial success. The foreword will play an essential role in the marketing of the book. And, as the foreword author, you will also be using this foreword for your own marketing and promotion.
A. The Initial Questions 1. Did you read the book? 2. And understand it?
B. The First Section 3. Does the first section of your foreword explain how you know the author of the book? 4. Do you explain your connection to the book’s author? 5. Do you know the author personally? How and why? 6. Do you introduce yourself to the reader in the first section? 7. Did you tell readers why you are qualified to be writing the foreword? 8. Do you tell the readers what you are famous for?
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #82
C. The Second Section 9. Does the second section show why the author is a credible person to have written this book? 10. Do you explain the contents of the book to the reader? 11. Do you explain the benefits of reading this book? 12. Did you explain why this book should be relevant to the reader? 13. Do you connect the book’s content to experiences or feelings that the reader can identify with? 14. Do you mention some of the good points of the book? 15. Do you give a very brief synopsis of the book? 16. Did you use any anecdotes about the book and the author? 17. Did you use a real-world example that illustrates the theme of the book?
“The foreword will play an essential role in the marketing of your book.” (Tweet)
D. The Conclusion 18. Does the conclusion remind the reader why you are writing the foreword? 19. And why it matters? 20. Do you bring the foreword full circle by referencing something from the first section?
E. Signing Your Name 21. Did you put your name, title, and location at the end of the foreword? 22. Did you include your own book’s title?
Linkedin - How To Write A Book Foreword: A Checklist
F. Additional Questions 23. Throughout the foreword did you keep the tone simple and personal, but keep your writing tight? 24. Did you make sure your foreword has a beginning, middle, and end? 25. Did you make sure that each section has a beginning, middle, and end? 26. Did you spell check several times?
Conclusion At first glance, these questions might appear too simple. And, maybe for a very experienced writer or someone that has written many forewords, they are too obvious. But 99 percent of writers have never written a book’s foreword.
And,
Synopsis Understanding how online and offline marketing channels can work together is essential for your book’s financial success. These channels, if consistently used together, can help you as an author achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It will also help your book build a continuous stream of income. Here is a short discussion and explanation about book marketing channels, and how they can help you become a more successful author.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the differences between marketing channels and sales channels. 2. You will learn the differences and similarities between marketing channels that you control, and the ones that you don’t completely control. 3. You will learn how and why utilizing online and offline marketing channels at the same time is essential in order to build a powerful and profitable marketing plan.
Introduction Understanding how online and offline marketing channels can work together is essential for your book’s financial success. These channels, if consistently used together, can help you as an author achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It will also help your book build a continuous stream of income.
Here is a short discussion and explanation about book marketing channels, and how they can help you become a more successful author:
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #82
What Is A “Marketing Channel”? Here is the quick explanation: A marketing channel simply refers to the places where you can interact with your audience. Each of these places, or channels, allows you to show your audience that you have a love for, and expertise in, your particular micro-niche.
These channels also give you and your audience a direct way to listen to each other and share information. This listening and sharing process is how meaningful, long-lasting, and profitable relationships are built between you and your audience.
How Is A “Marketing Channel” Different From A “Sales Channel”? Here is the quick explanation: A sales channel simply refers to the way your books are brought to, and sold to, the book buyers, or the end consumers. These channels include online bookstores, brick-and-mortar book stores, book distributors, wholesalers, and so on.
These are typically called indirect sales channels. But, if you are selling your book directly from your home or office, you are also part of the sales channel. This would be called a direct sales channel.
There are two major ways to look at the different categories of marketing channels available to book marketers. These are 1. online marketing channels, and 2. offline marketing channels.
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- Online Marketing Channels 1.a. The Online Marketing Channels You Control What online methods, or outlets, are you going to use to talk to your audience? And show them you have something to say? This could, and should, involve your blog, article marketing, guest posting, podcasting, making videos, using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. All of these channels would become part of your social media marketing efforts, also known as your author platform.
1.b. The Online Marketing Channels You Don’t Control Other online marketing channels include those that you don’t have direct control over. Such as blogs and websites that share or repost your blog posts. This also includes reviews of your book that are written and posted on other blogs. Or other bloggers that quote you or your book in their own blog posts. Or they share your infographics, or SlideShare decks, or videos, etc.
“Using online/offline marketing channels together creates a powerful/profitable way to market your books.” (Tweet)
- Offline Marketing Channels Offline channels can also directly affect your online marketing and sales.
Synopsis Helping book shoppers through the 3 stages of the buying cycle can dramatically improve your chances of making more book sales. If you understand what these 3 stages are about, and where the book shoppers are within that cycle, you will be able to fine-tune your marketing efforts and make them more effective and improve your book sales. Here is a quick explanation of the 3 stages of the buying cycle.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the 3 stages of the book-buying cycle. 2. You will learn why you must understand this cycle, and how it can help you sell more books. 3. You will learn ways to help the book buyer to move smoothly through the cycle.
Introduction Helping book shoppers, and your current followers, through the 3 stages of the buying cycle can dramatically improve your chances of making more book sales. If you understand what these 3 stages are about, and where the book shoppers are within that cycle, you will be able to fine-tune your marketing efforts, make them more effective, and improve your book sales.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #80
What Is The Buying Cycle? The buying cycle is simply the thought process, or stages, that shoppers travel through before making a final decision about what they will purchase, who they will purchase it from, and how much they will pay for it. Every shopper goes through these stages. These purchase decisions can take a few minutes, to many months, depending on what is being purchased.
For example, a 99-cent ebook might take a book buyer one minute to make the decision to purchase. But a $25 book might take a few days. But as the author, you can provide information to your readers that will help them through the buying cycle, which will help persuade them that you are the best one to help them with their needs and wants.
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A Buying Cycle Analogy Look at the three stages like the dating process. Think of the book-buyer as someone that you are interested in dating. First, you want them to notice you, and realize that you are looking for a relationship. Secondly, while they are shopping around for a relationship, and checking out other potential people to date, you are doing your best to show that person that you are a trustworthy and likable person to date.
The buyer keeps shopping around, but you keep giving them more proof that you are the best one to choose. You even go so far as to get your friends to give them a review of you and tell them what you are really all about. You try to impress them even more by cooking them fancy dinners, taking them to fancy restaurants, and so on.
And finally, they eventually choose you over all the others that they dated because they realize that you are so much more of a good catch. That you tried harder to impress them and gain their friendship more than anyone else did. They now make the final commitment to you because they believe that you know and understand what they are looking for in a relationship better than anyone else does.
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Here Is An Overview Of The 3-Stages Of The Buying Cycle:
Stage # 1. Brand And Problem Awareness In this initial stage, the consumer might or might not even know about you or your book. They also might, or might not, be aware of a need or problem that they have.
But in this stage, they are starting to realize that they have a need that they might want to fulfill or get help with a problem. They might have even come across your website by chance, and now realize that they have an interest in what you are saying because you and your words have stirred something inside them.
Thank you very much to author Al Galasso, of NABE,
Synopsis Sell sheets have a simple mission. To Sell More Books. They're really just a way to showcase the benefits of your book in a concise and impelling way. And if your sell sheet is created and utilized skillfully, it can become a powerful marketing tool – especially when it’s included as part of your media kit.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the three most important steps to creating an effective sell sheet. 2. You will learn how important it is to your own financial success to study the sell sheets of other books and authors that are successful. 3.You will learn how imperative it is for you to ALWAYS keep the reader in mind.
Introduction Sell sheets have a simple mission. To Sell More Books. They're really just a way to showcase the benefits of your book in a concise and impelling way. And if your sell sheet is created and utilized skillfully, it can become a powerful marketing tool – especially when it’s included as part of your media kit. But in spite of the fact that it has a simple mission, is only 8.5” x 11”, and not overly difficult to create, many sell sheets that I see are still not very good.
So, here’s how to start creating a winning sell sheet for your book:
Step # 1. Look At The Sell Sheets Of Other Books It’s easy to search Google Images to find sell sheets to look at. If your book is non-fiction, for example, find the sell sheets of non-fiction books. Try to find books that are similar to yours.
See what images, and colors, and copy are being used. How are they communicating their message about the book they are selling? How many images are they using? How big are those images on the page? How much white space is on the page? What are the hot points about their book that they are spending the most time on?
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #79
Are they using bullet points? How are they displaying the information? Is the author’s head-shot included? Are there any testimonials? Are they using a one-line benefit statement on the top of the page? How is their contact information displayed? If you answer these questions, you will start to learn the differences between an ineffective sell sheet, and one that has the ability to capture the attention of the reader and sell more books.
Step # 2. Keep The Reader In Mind Identifying and addressing the reader’s needs is the most fundamental concept in book marketing. Your sell sheet will be a complete failure if their needs are not discussed in a convincing way. The reader must truly believe that you have the answers they are looking for. You will not sell books without accomplishing this. Your sell sheet must address these needs quickly and directly. Readers don’t have the time or patience for long-winded and flowery sentences.
“Identifying and addressing the reader’s needs is the most fundamental concept in book marketing.” (Tweet)
And they don’t have any tolerance for ambiguous or deceptive language. Readers are way too sophisticated for this. They want to quickly understand how your book will benefit them. If you genuinely did the research for your book, and indeed understand your topic, you will certainly understand who the readers are for your book.
Therefore, you should easily be able to write copy that shows the readers that you understand them and that you are the one that can help them solve their problems. This will unequivocally help you make an emotional connection with the reader, which will help you sell more books.
Springtime in NYC. Taken from the Manhattan Bridge, showing the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan, by Eric J. Kunz
Step # 3. Include A Great Cover Image Having an eye-catching and pleasant-looking book cover is important for many different reasons. Most of the marketing reasons are probably apparent to you already. But, including an image of your book’s cover can also help to m...
Synopsis Tweetables can be a very practical and powerful way to improve the number of social shares that you can receive for your blog posts. Here I show you what they about, how they are typically used, and what they should look like.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn what a “tweetable” is all about. 2. You will learn some great reasons why you should be using them on your blog posts. 3. You will learn how and why tweetables can and should become a powerful part of your social media marketing plan.
Introduction Many of us have seen tweetables used on blog posts, but not always sure what they are about. I’ve seen them but wasn’t exactly sure what they were used for or how they helped a blog writer. Many times, I’ve found myself afraid to click on them because they looked too much like an advertisement. Because of this belief, I just avoided them, and instead shared any post that I liked by using the regular Twitter share button that was found on the particular blog post.
But after I accidentally found out what they were called, I was able to research them and discover what they were really all about. I have since come to realize just how useful and powerful they can be if used properly. So, I wrote this blog post to share with you some of the information I have learned about tweetables.
A. What Is A Tweetable? It’s a short statement, quote, sentence, or comment that can be embedded into a blog post. It’s designed, or formatted, in such a way that the reader can click on your quote, and it will be immediately shared on that person’s Twitter feed.
B.Why Add Tweetable Links To Your Blog Post? You might typically tweet the title of your blog post, which links back to that specific post. But using a short quote from your blog post can sometimes be more intriguing than your post’s own title. This tweetable quote gives you a second way to share a tweet with your Twitter followers. In addition to this, a tweetable quote makes it painless and fast for your readers to click on the tweetable link in your post, and instantly share your quote on their Twitter timeline.
“Tweetables are a practical and powerful way to improve the number of social shares that you can receive.” (Tweet)
C. It Is Not The Typical Social Share Button Your blog posts most likely already have social share buttons. These are typically made up of little icon buttons that your readers can click on and share your blog post on social media sites. The most common examples of these might be Linkedin, Twitter, Reddit, Google+, Facebook, and Pinterest.
D. It Provides An Additional Way For Readers To Share Your Post What makes the tweetable so attractive is that when it’s embedded into your post, it gives your readers an alternative way to share your post. For example, the reader might like you and therefore share your post using one of the social share buttons. They might like your post’s title or the content, and then share your post for these reasons. But the tweetable quote, or comment, or sentence, gives them an extra reason to share your post.
E. What Is A Simple Easy Strategy For Using Tweetables? A basic easy to accomplish strategy might be to: 1. Tweet your new blog post, using the title of the post in the tweet. You would simply click on your own Twitter social share button that is showing on that blog post. At a minimum, you should send this initial tweet after you post your article on your blog. 2. Then, either later that day, or the next day, click on your own tweetable quote that is embedded in your blog post. 3. Occasionally, re-tweet both again, separated by hours or days.
F. What Does A Tweetable Look Like? Here is how a very basic tweetable might look in your blog post:The completed tweetable as it appears in my blog post.
Conclusion When done properly, and used consistently, tweetables can be a very practical and powerful way to improve the number of social shares that you can receiv...
Synopsis Here are three simple steps that I follow in order to create and embed a tweetable quote into my blog posts. The entire process is fast, easy, and free.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how to add a tweetable to you blog post without a plugin. 2. You will learn how to create a tweetable in 3 easy steps using free websites. 3. You will learn how to create a bitlink, which is essential for every blogger to know about and use.
Introduction I just recently learned about “tweetables.” I’ve seen them before but didn’t know much about them. So, my first step was to research what they are about, and how to use them. And since I use WordPress to manage my blog, my second step was to find a plugin that would help make a tweetable.
But when I tried to add the most popular plugins for this, none of the them would work with my WordPress theme. So I did some more research, took a bunch of notes, and figured out how to create them without using a plugin. I’ve been able to reduce the process down to three fast, easy, and free steps.
Here are three simple steps that I follow in order to create and embed a tweetable quote into my blog posts:
Bitly is a tool to shorten long url's making them easier to share on social media. The shortened link is called a Bitlink.Step # 1. Open Bitly.com Place the full link address of your blog post into Bitly.
Example: Before Bitly, the long version: (Copy and paste your post link into Bitly to create a BitLink) https://kunzonpublishing.co/2016/09/what-is-niche-and-micro-niche-publishing-2/
After Bitly, the short version: (You will need to copy and paste this new link into the text box on ClickToTweet) http://bit.ly/2iDDJamm
ClickToTweet is a tool that is used to create a tweetable, which makes it easier for reader's to share your content.Step # 2. Open ClickToTweet.com
Click “Basic Link,” and paste the following items into the text box on ClickToTweet:
Item # 1. Add the quotation: Book sell sheets are an essential and integral part of a book’s marketing and publicity plans.
Item # 2. Paste the shortened Bitly version of the link address of the post: http://bit.ly/2iDDJamm
Item # 3. Add your Twitter screen name: @jckunzjr
Item # 4. Add hashtags if there is any room left: (Remember, the 140 characters and spaces limit for Twitter)
selfpublishing #bookmarketing
Completed Example: Niche and micro-niche marketing are essential and powerful ingredients for the success of your book. http://bit.ly/2iDDJamm @jckunzjr
Now that this is done, uncheck the box to prove that you are human, and then click “Generate New Link”
ClickToTweet is a tool that is used to create a tweetable, which makes it easier for reader's to share your content.Step # 3. Place Tweetable Into Blog Post
Take the URL code that ClickToTweet gives you, and paste it into your blog post in the appropriate place:
Example: (For the purposes of this blog post that you are reading, I had to slightly change the URL to get it to display properly in this post)
Niche and micro-niche marketing are essential and powerful ingredients for the success of your book. href="http://tt.ec/R8Pml" target="_blank">(CLICK to tweet this quote)
Item # 1. You replace my code: http://tt.ec/R8Pml, with your own that ClickToTweet gives you. Make sure you leave the quotes in. Item # 2. target="_blank" this means that when someone clicks on your link, it will open Twitter in a new tab/page, and leave your blog post open in its own tab/page. Item # 3. (CLICK to tweet this quote) this text can be replaced with whatever you want it to say. You do not need the parenthesis.
The url code for the tweetable placed into my Wordpress blog post.Conclusion That wasn’t so bad, was it? After you do it a few times, you’ll be able to do this very fast. If your WordPress theme accepts the plugins to help you create tweetables, it’ll be even easier and faster.
Synopsis Protecting your computer’s data files is something every self-publisher must know about and deal with before it’s too late. Therefore, it’s essential that you keep the backup process simple and automatic. It's also imperative to create multiple copies, on-site, and off-site. Here’s a run-down of how we do this in our office.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how create a simple and inexpensive way to back-up your computer data. 2. You will learn how make the entire process automatic. 3. You will learn why it is imperative to use multiple methods of back-up.
Introduction Protecting your computer’s data files is something every self-publisher must know about and deal with before it’s too late. And it’s not a complicated or expensive process. It can be as simple as having an external hard drive and using cloud storage.
No special knowledge or fancy equipment is needed. And, the process is very easy to automate. But it’s essential that you keep the backup process simple and automatic. It’s also imperative to create multiple copies, on-site, and off-site.
Here is a run-down of how we manage our data storage in our office:
A. Using An External Hard Drive For Data Backup We started out using one external hard drive in our office. This is the most basic and easiest way to protect your data that's located on your internal hard drive. We currently use several brand-name 2TB external hard drives. Make sure that you purchase a hard drive that can store 50 to 100% more data than is currently on your computer’s internal hard drive.
Purchase only the correct size that you need now, and then upgrade with a newer and larger unit when you need it. We purchased an external USB hard drive that is physically very small in size - about 3" x 4" x 0.5". This gives us an easy way to put the hard drive into our fire-proof safe, or safety deposit box, or take it with us on a working vacation.
B. Using Multiple External Hard Drives For Data Backup We now use multiple external USB hard drives. This way even if one drive fails, we would still have several others still working. All hard drives will eventually fail – and fail when you least expect it. Multiple hard drives help reduce our risk of this type of exposure.
“A small-business data backup-strategy is really about mitigating the risk of losing data, and not a guarantee of total protection.” (Tweet)
C. Using Cloud Storage For Data Backup Storing your data online is called “cloud storage”. You should consider using cloud storage because it’s a safe and simple way to store your files away from your office – where they can’t be stolen from your office, lost or mistakenly deleted by you, or burned up in a fire. And you can access these files that are stored “in the cloud,” whether you are in your home, office, or on vacation. There are many cloud storage companies, and all are easy to find on the internet.
Many offer some basic storage for free. There are also many reviews and comparisons of the different services on the internet. Some companies will even automatically backup your data to an external hard drive and, at the same time, also to the cloud. Play it safe and pick one of the big-name cloud storage companies to deal with for your business.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #77D. Isn't Backing Up To The Cloud Risky? Your data will be stored in an encrypted format when it’s backed up to the cloud at the storage company, which should prevent most hackers from accessing your data. If you require a greater level of security, you can use your own private encryption key to further reduce possible exposure to data intrusion. The likelihood of a server like Apple’s, or Amazon’s, or Google’s going down is far less than the possibility that your own hard drive or local backup will fail.
E. Working Away From Home Or Office
Synopsis Book sell sheets are an essential and integral part of a book’s marketing and publicity plans. For this reason, it is important for you to understand what goes into a great sell sheet. So, to help you get a firm handle on the basics, here is a list of terminology that you will need to know when preparing your sell sheet for your book’s marketing plan.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the terminology of the items that will be included on your sell sheet. 2. You will learn marketing terminology that you need to know when deciding how to use your sell sheet. 3.You will learn printing terminology that you need to know before sending your sell sheet to the printer.
Introduction Book sell sheets are an essential and integral part of a book’s marketing and publicity plans. And having a professional-looking sell sheet can easily and quickly distinguish you and your book from the others. Book retailers, wholesalers, libraries, news outlets, and book reviewers, are all overwhelmed with the number of sell sheets that they receive from authors and publishers.
Thank you very much to author Malcolm R. Campbell for quoting my blog post.
Therefore, you must design your sell sheet to help you stand out from the crowd. For this reason, it's important for you to understand what goes into a great sell sheet. So, to help you get a firm handle on the basics, here is a list of terminology that you will need to know when preparing your sell sheet for your book’s marketing plan.
Here are three short lists of typical and essential items: A. that will be included on your sell sheet; B. some marketing terms that you need to know when deciding how to use your sell sheet; and, C. some printing terminology you need to know before sending your document to the printer:
A. Sell sheet terminology for items that are typically included on the sell sheet:
• Author Name: Your name as it will appear on your book’s cover. • Author Photograph: If you have enough room, include a high-resolution photo; make sure that it is easy to see, and that you look great in it. • Available From: Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Amazon, for example. • Call-To-Action: You must tell the reader what you want them to do, such as telling them to visit your website, or your Amazon author page, or YouTube video page, etc. • Category: List the shelving category (BISG category heading), or subject of your book. • Co-Author Name: If you have one. • Description: A short, but enticing, description about your book. • Foreword Author: This person typically has a well-known name, so if this is true, include it.
“Book sell sheets are an essential and integral part of a book’s marketing and publicity plans.” (Tweet)
• Format: Trade paperback, hardcover, pdf, mobi, etc. • ISBN 13: The standard book number assigned to your book. • Marketing Plans: Retailers need to see how much effort and money you will be putting into your book’s marketing, such as for targeted internet. advertising, direct mail and email marketing, co-operative catalogs and trade show exhibits, social media marketing, and video marketing. • Picture/Image: A high-resolution picture or image of your book. • Pages: The total number of pages between the covers. • Price: The cover price. • Publication Date: The date your book will be available for purchase. • Quotes/Testimonials/Blurbs: This is important, especially if you have great ones to use. • Title: The full title, including the sub-title. • Trim: The dimensions of your book (5.5”x8.5”, 8.5”x11”, 6”x9”).
Linkedin - Sell Sheet Terminology For New Self-PublishersB. Marketing terminology that you will need to know when deciding how to use your sell sheet:
• Co-Operative Catalogs: Some self-publishing industry groups issue co-op catalogs that get sent to book retailers. • Direct Mail: Sending your book’s sell sheet directly to book stores and book reviewers, etc.
Synopsis In order to become a successful self-publisher, you will need to devote a large part of your life to marketing. This will encompass marketing yourself, as well as your book. Understanding these five ingredients will ensure that your book marketing efforts will be a success, and lead to more book sales, more fans, more followers, and more clients.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the five fundamental ingredients of successful book marketing. 2. You will learn why credibility is the most fundamental ingredient for building an audience and selling books. 3. You will learn that all five ingredients working together will help your audience start to trust you.
Introduction In order to become a successful self-publisher, you will need to devote a large part of your life to marketing. This will encompass marketing yourself, as well as your book. Like most self-publishers, you the author, and your brand, go hand-in-hand with that of your book. You will quickly learn that writing your book was only the beginning of a long and interesting journey.
So, with that in mind, always keep these five basic ingredients in your thoughts when you’re marketing and promoting your book. Understanding them will ensure that your book marketing efforts will be a success, and lead to more book sales, more fans, more followers, and more clients.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #76Ingredient # 1. Credibility Credibility is everything for a successful author. You, the author, are the product as much as the book is, so never claim to be what you are not or promise what you can’t deliver. A clever marketing pitch may initially get their attention, but ultimately you must deliver on your promises. Your failure to deliver can alienate your audience.
“In order to become a successful self-publisher, you will need to devote a large part of your life to marketing.” (Tweet)
Ingredient # 2. Emotional Connection Making an emotional connection with the reader is imperative. People want to buy from those that they feel a connection to. All of your marketing materials, media kit, blog, website, videos, articles, etc. will all contribute to helping you make an emotional connection with your audience.
Ingredient # 3. Look Professional Every piece of your marketing material must look like it was designed by a professional. If you want to be taken seriously by your audience and peers, you must look the part. If you look professional, and all of your marketing materials look professional, and your book looks professionally produced, your audience will start to trust you and believe your message. Looking the part is an easy first step to help you build credibility.
Thank you very much to Lynnette Phillips for posting and linking to my article
Ingredient # 4. Understand Audience A successful author must understand the needs and problems of his/her audience. Your audience must believe that you understand their problems and needs, and have the solutions for them. The more that they believe this, the more books you will sell. This goes hand-in-hand with making an emotional connection with your audience.
Linkedin - The 5 Basic Ingredients Of Book MarketingIngredient # 5. Repetition All of your marketing materials must be used to their fullest extent, over and over again. Most prospects don’t respond immediately to a single marketing communication, or perhaps even several of them. Repetition helps build familiarity, which in turn helps build credibility.
“A successful author must understand the needs and problems of his/her audience.” (Tweet)
Some prospects will start to recognize you and your book only after they’ve seen you over and over again. Gradually they come to recognize that you are stable, not just another fly-by-night operation, and will eventually start to develop enough trust to start doing business with...
Synopsis A sell sheet is a one-sheet flyer that gives some detailed information about a book and its author. Here is a short discussion of what a sell sheet is and is not, how to use it, and what information it should include.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. Learn how a sell sheet is defined, and how it compares to a press release. 2. Learn what the basic items are that must be included in a proper sell sheet. 3. Learn how to market your book with a sell sheet.
Introduction What Is A Sell Sheet? A sell sheet (sometimes called a “one-sheet” or a “tip-sheet”) is a one-sheet flyer that gives some detailed information about a book and its author. The major point of a sell sheet is to convey your book’s benefits in a short and concise manner. It's used to help you market your book directly to book buyers.
It's typically used to promote and sell your book to retailers, wholesalers, and even consumers. The sell sheet should always be included in your book’s media kit so that news outlets, book reviewers, and bookstores can have quick access to specific details about your book and your marketing plans.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #76How Does A Press Release Compare To A Sell Sheet? A press release and a sell sheet are two different marketing tools. A press release focuses on the news that you or your book is making. The press release is a way to share news-worthy information and is saying, “Hey, look at me, I have some news-worthy information to share with you.”
Conversely, a sell sheet is more of an announcement that your book is out and available. The sell sheet is saying, “Hey, look at me, I have published a new book and I want you to buy it. Here is all the information that you need to know before buying my book.”
Thank you to Elizabeth Spann Craig for sharing and linking to my post "Sell Sheets: A Guide For New Self-Publishers."What Must A Sell Sheet Include? • Picture/Image: A high-resolution picture or image of your book • Description: A short, but enticing, description about your book • Title: The full title, including the sub-title • Author Name: Your name here, as it appears on your cover, or website • Author Photograph: If you have enough room, include a photo • Co-Author Name: You guessed it, the co-author’s name • Foreword Author: This person typically has a name bigger than your own, so if this is true, include it Sell Sheet Example• Category: List the shelving category (BISG category heading), or subject of your book • ISBN 13: The standard book number assigned to your book • Format: Trade paperback, hardcover, pdf, mobi • Publication Date: The date your book will be available for purchase • Pages: The number of pages of your book • Price: The cover price • Trim: The dimensions of your book (5.5”x8.5”, 8.5”x11”, 6”x9”)
• Available from: Ingram, B&T, Amazon, for example • Marketing Plans: Targeted internet advertising; direct mail and email marketing; co-operative catalogs and trade show exhibits; social media marketing; video marketing • Quotes/Testimonials/Blurbs: This is important, especially if you have great ones to use • Call-To-Action: A statement such as “Visit MyBooksWebsiteDotCom for more info.”
Thank you very much to book publishing expert and author Dr. Judith Briles, of TheBookShepherd.com, for sharing my blog post.
Conclusion How Do You Market Your Book Using A Sell Sheet? When designed properly, the sell sheet will be like having a shortened version of your book’s webpage. You must use your sell sheet to communicate as many useful and informative details as you can about your book – but without overdoing it.
“Sell sheets should communicate as much useful and informative detail as possible – without overdoing it.” (Tweet)
Be sure to put a call-to-action that asks the book buyer to call a phone number, or visit your website,
Synopsis Trying to get bookstores to accept your book and give it shelf space is very time-consuming, difficult to achieve, and can become very costly for the self-publisher. Here are ten good reasons that a new self-publisher should AVOID spending valuable time and money trying to get their book into brick-and-mortar bookstores.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the main reasons that you should avoid selling your books to bookstores. 2. You will learn why most self-publishers will not make money selling through bookstores. 3. You will learn the two biggest reasons that bookstores don’t want to sell self-published books.
Introduction Trying to get bookstores to accept your book and give it shelf space is very time-consuming, difficult to achieve, and can become very costly for the self-publisher. Most bookstores are not anxious to get your book. And to make matters worse, as a small independent publisher, or self-publisher, you would be at the complete mercy of the bookstores. They set all of the terms, whether you like them or not.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #28But even if you do everything they want, and spend lots of time and money in the process to get a bookstore to accept your book, and give it some self-space, there is no guarantee that they will sell your book.
Here are ten practical good reasons that a new self-publisher should avoid spending valuable time and money trying to get their book into brick-and-mortar bookstores:
Reason # 1. Bookstores Only Take Books That They Deem Will Sell More Than A Few Copies They will almost never believe that a self-published book will sell more than a few copies. They know that small publishers don’t have the power, connections, budget, or time to execute a large and sophisticated marketing plan.
Reason # 2. Bookstores Will Typically Order Less Than 10 Copies Even if they accept your book and agree to give it a few inches of shelf space, most bookstores will order less than ten copies at a time. Limited space in the stockroom is one reason. A second reason is that your book will only be given a short time to prove to the bookstore that the book will sell. If it doesn't sell, they will remove it from their shelf.
“Avoid all of the hassles when you are starting as a self-publisher, and stay away from the bookstores.” (Tweet)
Reason # 3. Bookstores Only Accept Books That Can Be Returned And they might return all of your books to you – and you must pay to get them back. Some big bookstore chains know that small publishers cannot afford to buy back the books. They will then offer to buy your books back for almost nothing, and then put your book on their discount table.
Reason # 4. Bookstores Expect The Publisher To Pay For Shipping Both Ways This is a fact of life for the self-publisher that self-distributes. It's also time-consuming to package your books for shipping, and postage is expensive.
Linkedin - 10 Reasons Self-Publishers Should Avoid Selling To BookstoresReason # 5. Bookstores Sell Very Few Books Compared To The Online Retailers This is especially true for self-publishers. Big-name well-established authors, and the biggest publishers, are the ones that get the best displays and locations in the bookstore.
Reason # 6. Bookstores Physically Do Not Have Enough Room To Stock All Titles The small bookstores might stock 5,000 titles. The huge bookstores might stock 140,000 titles. Amazon stocks a few million titles. You will end up spending lots of time and money trying to get your book into bookstores, most of which simply do not have the physical space to store your book.
Reason # 7. Bookstores Will Force You To Take Back All Of The Damaged Copies Your book will sit on the bookstore’s shelf, get handled, bent, banged-up, etc., and then the bookstore will force you to take them back, and expect you pay for the return shipping.
Synopsis Your sell sheet is the equivalent of your book’s resume. And, because of this, it can become a very powerful and profitable marketing tool. The five places on this list are where you can most quickly get your sell sheet to the actual audience for your book. These five are also the preeminent places where you should begin, in order to start utilizing your sell sheet for maximum impact.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about five places to use your book’s sell sheet for maximum impact. 2. You will learn how these five places can all work together to help give you a very powerful marketing plan. 3. You will learn that all five ways are easily within your grasp, and can be utilized almost immediately for a very low cost.
Introduction Your sell sheet is the equivalent of your book’s resume. And, because of this, it can become a very powerful and profitable marketing tool. The whole purpose behind creating a sell sheet is to tell the world about your book. In order to accomplish this, you must get your sell sheet into as many hands as possible.
The five places on this list are where you can most quickly get your sell sheet to the actual audience for your book. These five are also the preeminent places where you should begin, in order to start utilizing your sell sheet for maximum impact.
EzineArticles.com - 5 Profitable Ways To Use Your Book's Sell Sheet1. Media Kit A media kit is often referred to as a press kit. It's a set of promotional and marketing materials that are distributed to the media to create awareness of your new book. A sell sheet is an integral part of this media kit. Each and every book that you publish needs to have its own media kit.
This kit needs to be very well prepared and complete, and viewable as a pdf. You can also have one basic media kit for all of your books, with an individualized sell sheet for each book.
- Website Also include a link to a pdf of the sell sheet for each book that you publish, directly on the webpage for each book. Doing this will allow everyone to be able to easily and quickly find it and view it.
Business2Community.com - 5 Profitable Ways To Use Your Product’s Sell Sheet3. Email Marketing Email marketing is amazingly cheap, quick, and easy to implement. One of the best things about email is that it’s trackable. This data can be used to analyze open rates, clicked links, and conversion details. All of this data can help you fine-tune your email content and message.
Use email to stay in touch, and share your sell sheet with all of your leads, and your current customers. Email bookstore managers, library book-buyers, book reviewers, and print and online media about your new book.
Linkedin - 5 Profitable Ways To Use Your Book's Sell Sheet4. Direct Mail Marketing Direct mail will get your sell sheet directly into the hands of potential book buyers. The very buyers that might not have been able to find you or your book in today’s crowded book market in the first place. The sell sheet is also your chance to lead them to your website.
This is where you must provide more marketing material for your book, and also impress them with information about you. Non-chain bookstores and library mail addresses can easily be found online. And your own customer mail list can also provide a great source of names and addresses.
“Your sell sheet is like a resume and can become a very powerful and profitable marketing tool.” (Tweet)
- Hand-Out Whenever you present at a conference, or have a set-up at a trade show, or teach a class, use the sell sheet as a hand-out. If you have an office that clients and prospects visit, leave the sell sheet at the receptionist’s desk where it can easily be seen by all visitors.
Conclusion If you start out by utilizing these five basic ways to get your sell sheet into the “right hands”, you will quickly make a great impression and increase your chances of selling more books,
Synopsis Anecdotes are an amazing literary device for writers, as well as marketers. They are a deceptively powerful writing and marketing tool. Here is a short discussion about anecdotes, and how to use them in a book’s foreword to help make an emotional connection with the reader, and sell more books.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn what an anecdote is about, and how it can help you sell more books. 2. You will learn how to use anecdotes and how they can turn your book’s foreword into a powerful marketing tool. 3. You will learn why I continually emphasize the fact that each part of your book, including the foreword, if planned out properly, can help you sell more books and get more clients.
Introduction Anecdotes are an amazing literary device for writers, as well as marketers. They are a deceptively powerful writing and marketing tool. Using anecdotes in the foreword will immediately make your book stand out from the crowd. When written properly, they can be very engaging, and grab and hold onto the reader’s attention.
This is what the foreword is all about. Hooking the reader with an interesting story, and then reeling them in to make an emotional connection with the author of the foreword. Then hopefully the reader will want to continue reading the entire book.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #58A. What Is An Anecdote? An anecdote is a very short and interesting personal story from a person's past experiences - that is used to illustrate a point. It can be an experience from the writer, or from someone they know or have heard about. The anecdote, or mini-story, immediately puts the reader directly into the middle of the action.
It usually describes one dramatic moment in time. It’s written as a way to show, or illustrate, a particular point (show, don't tell). It typically involves something that happened such as a business or personal problem, or challenge that had to be overcome, or mistake that had to get fixed, or misunderstanding, etc.
Linkedin - Personalize Your Foreword With Anecdotes To Make It More PowerfulB. How To Use Anecdotes In A Foreword Here is one paragraph from a book foreword that I wrote entirely as a personal essay. I utilize personal anecdotes to show how the book had an effect on me – how I relate the information in the book to my life. I reveal my real-life story to show the reader how I connect with the book.
I use my personal story to illustrate a larger point about the content of the book. My job as the foreword author is to show the reader that I made an emotional connection with the book, and thereby the hope is that the reader will make an emotional connection with me – and then develop the desire to read the entire book. Wallace Wattles wrote the book. You can read the entire foreword on my blog.
“Anecdotes are a deceptively powerful marketing tool that can help you sell more books.” (Tweet)
a. An Example Of An Anecdotal Story Used In A Foreword “But now, looking back at my family life, I have since come to realize that my mother, with almost no formal education, no career skills, no money, and three small children to feed, inherently understood many of the basic concepts in this book. My mother was not as eloquent as Wattles, and she didn’t have much of an opportunity to put Wattles’ principles into practice."
"But me and my brothers were inadvertently living and learning Wattles’ concepts every day – through the actions of our mother. She taught us that even in the worst of times, that by sticking to our single-minded vision to grow and thrive, that we will survive; and acting every day with the purpose to achieve our goals, that our faith in each other and in our dream of creating a successful life will help us succeed; and our gratitude to God for keeping us healthy so that we could keep working and studying, we would eventually be successful.
Synopsis In order to become a financially successful author, you must learn how to differentiate and position yourself and your book as the go-to person and book that will help the readers solve their problems. This is not a difficult or overly sophisticated thing to accomplish. But it's something that most other authors do not bother to achieve. Here is a short discussion about differentiation and positioning, and how they relate to each other.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the definition of “differentiation”. 2. You will learn about “positioning". 3. You will learn how the two work together to help you develop a strategic advantage over other authors.
Introduction The never-ending quest to get more readers, and their hard-earned money, is more competitive now than it has ever been before. And as you might have already surmised from your efforts to sell your own books, in order to become a financially successful author, you must learn how to differentiate and position yourself and your book as the go-to person and book that will help the readers solve their problems.
And fortunately for you and me, this is not a difficult or overly sophisticated thing to accomplish. And luckily for us, it is something that most other authors do not bother to achieve.
Here is a short discussion about differentiation and positioning, and how they relate to each other:
Thank you to Sabrina Ricci of DigitalPubbing.com for featuring my blog post "Differentiation And Positioning For Authors" on her blog.A. What Is “Differentiation”? The definition of “differentiation” is as simple and straightforward as it sounds. What attributes do you and your book have that the readers will see as different and desirable? How are you and your book different from other authors and their books? What makes you a better expert in your subject matter?
Why should the reader believe that you and your book can do a better job of helping them solve their problems? Why should the reader listen to you over the thousands of other authors? You need to take a hard introspective look at yourself and answer these questions as honestly as possible. If there is any hint of dishonesty in your answers, the reader will see right through it, and NEVER trust you again.
“To become a successful author, you must learn how to differentiate yourself and your book from others.” (Tweet)
This is not a time to be slick or boastful – just speak from your heart. Readers will immediately feel and appreciate the sincerity. For example, if you write about nursing, perhaps your unique value is that you have been a nursing instructor and director of nursing education for nurses and nursing students for over thirty-five years. And you have extensive experience in critical care, informatics, and policy-and-procedures.
You have also won several awards for your teaching from different hospitals and nursing organizations. You have been a medical consultant and advisor to a popular video game and movie. You have been teaching nurses about several different aspects of nursing, as well as teaching other nurses how to become nursing teachers. All of this helps differentiate you from the other nursing authors. It shows that you have achieved career and financial success to a level where most in the nursing profession will never reach.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #62B. What Is “Positioning”? The definition of “positioning” is also as simple and straightforward as it sounds. Where are you and your book positioned within your niche? For example, your general subject matter might be nursing, but your particular niche might be “critical-care nursing”.
Then you might also have a “micro-niche” of an even more specific topic within critical care. You might also position yourself as, for example, the author who speaks at those big critical-care nursing conferences,
Synopsis Turning your passion, or passions, into a profitable business takes planning, research, commitment, an honest assessment of your life and your abilities, and a realistic assessment of what the market needs and wants - and is willing to pay for. Here is a discussion of three questions that you might be struggling with if you are trying to decide how to create a profitable business from your passion.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how to decide if your passion can become a profitable business. 2. You will learn what questions you must start to ask yourself that will help you discover your passion. 3. You will learn why you need to understand where your passions, your talents, and the market’s needs intersect.
Introduction Deciding how to create a profitable business based on your passions is not a silly, time-wasting, money-wasting, pie-in-the-sky project. But, it’s also more than dreaming about what you love to do, or simply chasing after any passion that you have, or turning your hobby into a business, or figuring out what job you would do for free.
Turning your passion, or passions, into a profitable business takes planning, research, commitment, an honest assessment of your life and your abilities, and a realistic assessment of what the market needs and wants - and is willing to pay for.
Here are three questions that you might be struggling with if you're trying to decide how to create a profitable business from your passion:
Building A Profitable Business Based On Your Passion Infographic, by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr.
Question # 1. What If Someone Else Is Already Doing It? “But, if someone else is doing the same thing, then I can’t do it!” Wrong. If they’re making a living at it, then it’s a proven concept that makes money. They paved the way for you. This is a good thing. And why should you care whether someone else is already doing the same thing?
It’s your passion, one in which you bring your own personality, abilities, and experiences into. In contrast, if no one’s doing it, then there’s the possibility that there’s no serious money to be made in it.
Business2Community.com - 3 Questions To Help You Decide If Your Passion Can Become A Profitable Business, by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr.Question # 2. What If My Passion Is In Something That Is Very Obscure? The more niche something is, the better you must be at it, and the better you must understand that particular audience - especially if you want to make a good living at it. If a particular niche is extremely small, this most likely means that very few people are interested in it.
But, if those few people are wealthy, for example, and they see you as the expert in that tiny niche, maybe there is money to be made. But, who’s to say that you can’t pursue more than one passion or niche, that all together form one or more businesses?
Job.com - 3 Questions To Help You Decide If Your Passion Can Become A Profitable Business, by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr.Question # 3. How Does My Passion Align With My Talent? In order to make a profit with your passion, your passion must align with your talent. But how does your passion align with your talent? Don’t make this more difficult on yourself than it really needs to be.
This isn’t rocket science. You are just so close to the subject that it seems more difficult than it really is. So, with that said, you should already have a good idea of what you are passionate about in life.
“Turning your passion into a profitable business takes planning, research, commitment, an honest assessment of your life and your abilities, and a realistic assessment of what the market needs and wants - and is willing to pay for.” (Tweet)
And hopefully you’ve done an honest assessment of what your talents are. Now would be a good time to reach out to your family and friends around you and ask for their unbiased help. Ask for their honest advice and guidance.
Synopsis Testimonials from a wide variety of people are a great way to bring credibility, exposure (eyeballs), and higher sales for your book. Here are eleven sources to find free testimonials that you can use to help promote your book on your website, and in all of your marketing materials.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn where to get free and powerful testimonials for your book. 2. You will learn about the power of a testimonial to bring credibility, exposure, and higher sales for your book. 3. You will learn that getting a variety of testimonials from many different types of people will greatly enhance your credibility, and your book sales.
Introduction Testimonials are a great way to bring credibility, wider exposure, and higher sales for your book. Nothing helps to give your book greater and faster attention than a positive quote from a prominent figure or celebrity who is knowledgeable in the field of your book’s subject matter.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #75
But regular people can also be a great source of honest, credible, and powerful testimonials. Using a variety of testimonials from many different types of people, celebrities and non-celebrities, in different professions and industries, will greatly enhance your credibility, and your book sales.
Here are eleven sources to find free testimonials that you can use to help promote your book on your website, and in all of your marketing materials:
Source # 1. Teachers, professors, educators: Think about some of your favorite educators that you had in school, especially the ones that taught a subject similar to your book’s subject. Make sure that you also consider the educators with impressive titles, like “Dean”, and “Chairman”, etc. Many in this group will also have been published, so make sure that their most famous, or most successful, or most recent book title is attached to their name.
Source # 2. Authors, bloggers: If you have already written your non-fiction book, you will already know who these people are. Email them at their publisher or at their blog and very nicely ask for a testimonial.
Source # 3. Industry insiders: Big shots within your industry can be difficult to get testimonials from, but you should try anyway. These will be much easier to get if you are socially active within your industry. But anyone else within your industry that has good accomplishments, or many years on the job, or authored a book, will be just as good for your needs.
Source # 4. Professional organization leaders: This group is worth pursuing. Small local celebrities such as those on local TV news, or successful business owners, newspaper reporters, and anyone with a fancy title. Larger celebrities that appear regularly on national TV shows can be very difficult to get – and sometimes want to get paid for their testimonial. Never pay for a testimonial.
“Testimonials from a wide variety of people are a great way to bring credibility, exposure, and higher book sales.” (Tweet)
Source # 5. Local celebrities: This group is worth pursuing. Small local celebrities such as those on local TV news, or successful business owners, newspaper reporters, and anyone with a fancy title. Larger celebrities that appear regularly on national TV shows can be very difficult to get.
Source # 6. Suppliers, manufacturers: Talk to some of the suppliers or manufacturers that you and your company deal with. The best testimonials will be from anyone at these companies with a professional title. But don’t forget, those without a fancy title can also be good, especially if they have direct knowledge of you and your work.
Source # 7. Charitable organizations: Any charity or religious organization that you belong to, especially if you are actively involved with the group, is a good source of testimonials. Again, try to get someone with a title or impressive ...
Synopsis Amazon provides two very powerful and easy-to-use tools to get our books in front of millions of potential readers and buyers. Together these two tools help form the basic foundation of an author’s marketing plan. So, to help get you to start taking advantage of Amazon’s benefits, here is a quick look at the two best marketing and selling tools on Amazon that can help make your book a financial success.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the two most important Amazon marketing tools that are available to authors. 2. You will learn how to use these tools, in conjunction with your blog and social media accounts, to create a powerful and profitable marketing program. 3. You will learn some of the different aspects of each tool, and how they can work together to make you more money from your books.
Introduction As an author and self-publisher, it’s absolutely essential that you have a presence on Amazon. And luckily for us, Amazon provides a very powerful and easy way to get our books in front of millions of potential readers and buyers. Even if you use a traditional book-publishing company to publish your book, you still need to have a presence on Amazon.
Especially if you expect to sell any books. It’s by far the largest book retailer in the world. Amazon has more market presence, more marketing power, a better website, faster delivery speed, and better customer service than any other big company in America.
So, to help get you to start taking advantage of Amazon’s benefits, here is a quick look at the two best marketing and selling tools on Amazon that can help make your book a financial success:
AMAZON BOOK MARKETING TOOL # 1. Amazon Author Central This is the main page for authors in which Amazon allows you to provide your profile, add a video and photos, and link to your blog’s feed. This powerful feature is like having an extra webpage devoted to you and your book. Here you’ll also be able to track your book sales and see all of your customer reviews.
Using Author Central, in conjunction with your blog, will create a very powerful way to market yourself and your book. Having a blog, and an Author Central account, are the very least that you should have for a basic marketing plan for your book.
Here Are Some Of The Best Features Of This Tool:
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of the BookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #30A. Look-Inside-The-Book This feature allows shoppers to read parts of your book – such as 10%, or 20%, and so on. The reader can see your cover, table of contents, index, foreword, introduction, and parts of different chapters. By applying this feature to your book, a buyer can feel more comfortable when choosing to buy your book over another. If you don’t use this Amazon feature, you’ll dramatically hurt your book sales.
B. Connect Your Blog Feed As an author, it’s absolutely essential that you have a blog. This is where you can discuss your book, and anything related to your particular topic. On your Author Central Page simply type in your blog’s feed (RSS or Atom).
Amazon will display a short portion of your most recent blog postings, which will appear on your Author Page that shoppers can view. By doing this, shoppers will be able to quickly visit your blog and see who you are, and what you care about.
Thank you very much to Washington Romance Writers of DC for posting and linking to my article.C. Customer Reviews It’s imperative that you get reviews posted on Amazon. The more the better. But for the biggest impact, try to get as many positive reviews as possible posted on Amazon during the first few weeks your book initially appears on Amazon. These first weeks can be crucial to help give your book the higher ranking it needs to help attract more buyers early on.
Never stop asking for book reviews from as wide a variety of people as possible. From different demographics,
Synopsis The term “healthcare” will eventually become widely accepted as one word, not two, whether die-hard grammarians, linguists, and editors like it or not. Our language, and any discussions about health, will be greatly improved by ending this battle.
The Battle Over Healthcare In America Today
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn who is to blame for this problem. 2. You will learn what side we have chosen to align with. 3. You will learn what you should do.
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Introduction Is it “health care”? Or “health-care”? Or “healthcare”? The battle over how to properly use these terms has trudged on in America for many years. I have been involved in educating healthcare professionals and students here in New York City and on Long Island for over 31 years.
For that entire time, I have watched the term “healthcare” (all versions of that phrase) get grammatically abused and misused by all – even by the largest book publishing companies, dictionaries, newspaper, and magazine publishers, medical institutions, and government agencies in America.>
EzineArticles.com - The Battle Over “Healthcare” in America Today
Who Is To Blame For The Confusion? These very same publishers and institutions are to blame for the prolonged confusion. Some of them mandate the use of “healthcare” as one word for all grammatical situations.
And some of them still insist on using both “healthcare” and “health care”, depending on the specific topic being discussed, or the context in which it's being used. To make matters much worse, some publications will even switch around the term and the way that it’s used – all within the same publication.
How We Handle It Here at our company, we have consciously chosen to use “healthcare” as one word for our writing guide policy. But we certainly understand both sides of the argument. New compound terms can seem awkward to use for a while. But eventually, we all accept and conform to the change.
Most of us in America have already accepted the change to using “healthcare” as one word for all of its uses. Now it is time for the last few defiant holdouts to accept this change and start using “healthcare” as one word, not two. Our language, and any discussions about health, will be greatly improved by ending this battle.
Linkedin - The Battle Over “Healthcare” in America TodayWhy We Use "Healthcare" Why does my medical training and publishing company embrace “healthcare” as one word? Well, “health care”, “health-care”, and “healthcare” may have grammatically been used in different ways when these terms first came about. But now, in all rational practicality, it should be one word.
The distinction between them was always a fine one – and way too subtle, obviously, to keep up. Before long, writers and editors alike started dropping that confusing extra space, and the hyphen, and transforming what had become a purely semantic nuance into no nuance at all.
The Reader's Needs Come First At my company, our core belief is that we have an obligation to our readers and students to make everything that we publish and teach to be as easy to read and understand as possible. So if this means using one word versus two, or using an unpopular or grammatically incorrect hyphen in a word, or splitting an infinitive, or using extra commas, then we'll do it.
Our first and foremost duty is to our readers and students, not the grammar editors or linguists. Writing in such a way as to make the reading experience clearer and more productive has nothing to do with lazy writing or poor spelling skills. It has to do with clarity and common courtesy for the reader.
Evolution And Refinement Of Our Language But can we blame our language for simplifying and evolving? It’s equally possible that American society, in its infinite semantic wisdom,
Synopsis How a carefully written book foreword can boost the career and book sales of both the author of the book, AND the author of the foreword.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how a carefully written book foreword can boost the career and book sales of both the author of the book AND the author of the foreword. 2. You will learn how and why a foreword helps both authors gain credibility, trust, and respect from the readers. 3. You will learn that a book foreword can give a strategic advantage over other authors who don’t understand how to utilize the marketing power of the foreword.
Introduction A credible book foreword can and should be, a powerful marketing tool for the author of the book, as well as for the author of the foreword. Both of these authors must not underestimate the power of a credible and authentic foreword, and how it can, if done correctly, forever enhance the career, and book sales, of both authors.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #65
- Advantages For The Author Of The Book
a. Credibility The book’s foreword, especially if written by someone who has already developed a stellar reputation, can certainly help the book’s author in countless ways. Not the least of which will be selling more books, helping to bring in new clients, and help build the book author’s credibility within his own market.
"Never underestimate the marketing power of a great book foreword to boost your credibility and book sales." (Tweet)
b. Leverage Basically, the book’s author is hoping that the foreword author’s well-earned and well-known reputation will rub off onto the book’s author. For this reason, the book’s author needs to choose someone very carefully.
The hope is that the book’s author can leverage the foreword author’s reputation into boosting his own reputation and gain additional renown for himself. All of this can translate into a following of more readers and more connections on social media, and eventually more sales.
Thank you very much to best-selling author and podcaster Kim Smith for sharing and linking to my post.
- Advantages For The Author Of The Foreword
a. Gain Trust And Respect The author of the foreword can also benefit in countless ways, especially IF the book is well-written and very credible. No one should write a book foreword for an author that is not very serious about the topic and has not taken the time to create a well-written, well-thought-out, and professional-looking book.
You must understand that as a prominent person in your field, readers and followers are looking to you for guidance, and trust your advice, about a particular subject matter. And by writing the foreword to a book, you are giving your blessing to the book’s author.
You are essentially telling your own audience, and the book author’s audience, that the book is worth reading and trusting. This relationship with the audience is not to be taken lightly or toyed with in the slightest. But if you write an honest and informative foreword, the audience will continue to give you their trust and respect.
How A Book Foreword Can Help An #Author’s Career https://t.co/zGtOo44uvU @jckunzjr #selfpub— Carla Douglas (@CarlaJDouglas) February 12, 2016
How A Book Foreword Can Help An Author’s Career: https://t.co/KJpL7urrHq @jckunzjr— Elizabeth S Craig (@elizabethscraig) June 24, 2016
EzineArticles.com - How A Book Foreword Can Help An Author's Career
b. Solidify Reputation But, once the prominent person decides to write the foreword, writing a believable, unbiased, and honest foreword that can make an emotional connection with the reader, can help further solidify the foreword author’s reputation.
It can help solidify or enhance a reputation because all readers understand that the book foreword is always reserved for a person that plays a prominent role in the book author’s life or withi...
Synopsis How to start the questioning and exploration process that will help you discover your passion. Here are three basic questions that I believe you should ask yourself to help you start your journey to discovering your life’s passion.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the three basic questions you should be asking yourself in order to start discovering your life’s passion. 2. You will learn that these three questions are simply a way to start the process of discovery. 3. You will learn that the process of discovering your passion will help make you a much happier and more productive person.
Introduction Searching for and discovering your passion or mission in life, and building a fulfilling life, can begin by asking yourself certain inward-looking questions. The answers to these questions are unique to each of us. And the learning and discovery process of searching for the answers to these questions will help you begin to formulate what you are passionate about in life. Hopefully, these questions will lead you to more questions and to more self-discovery.
“Each of our lives is a work-in-progress. And this work takes planning and effort. Accept this and embrace it, and you will create a wonderful life with passion.” (Tweet)
Business2Community.com - 3 Questions To Help You Discover Your Passion In Business, by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr.Here are three basic questions that I believe you should ask yourself to help you start to discover your life’s passion:
Passion Discovery Question #1: What Gets You Fired Up? What is your hot button? What gets you excited to jump up out of bed in the morning and immediately start working on? Is it that book idea that you have had for many years? What do your family and friends think your passion is? Why don’t you ask them? What do you have a strong opinion about? Soap-box issue? What gets a lively reaction out of you? These are just some of the most obvious questions that you need to be answering now.
Linkedin - 3 Questions To Help Discover Your PassionPassion Discovery Question #2: What Career Would You Do For Free? Assuming time and money was irrelevant, what would you be willing to do without collecting a paycheck? Answer this question as if you were independently wealthy. What do you think would be a great career fit for you? Would this activity with no pay enhance, or benefit from, your current career?
EzineArticles.com - 3 Questions To Help Discover Your PassionPassion Discovery Question #3: What Do You See That Is Wrong With The World Around You? It doesn’t need to be a huge worldwide problem. It can be something as small or as simple as something related to gardening, or car washing, or whatever is a problem within your own surroundings or daily life. What is in your world that you would like to see improved? What is in your own life that you would like to improve? Maybe something personal about yourself? Maybe something about our society?
AXA - Business Strides - 3 Questions To Help You Discover Your Passion In BusinessConclusion Discovering your passions will help make you a much happier and more productive person. Because once you discover and understand your passions, and what experiences in your life have led you up to this moment, your life can and will begin to build itself around these passions. Each of our lives is a work-in-progress. And this work takes planning and effort. Accept this and embrace it, and you will create a wonderful life with passion.
Questions For Us To Think About And Discuss 1. What paths are you exploring in the hope of finding your passion? 2. How and when did you discover your passion?
• This article is also posted on Business2Community.com • This article is also posted on LinkedIn.com • This article is also posted on EzineArticles.com • This article was also posted on the AXA Equitable Financial Services company website, but not available anymore.
Synopsis An effective call-to-action is the linchpin of a successful sell sheet. If it’s done right it can help generate greater book sales. The sell sheet’s call-to-action will play a pivotal role in making this happen.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn four ways to create a better call-to-action that will improve your response rate. 2. You will learn how to strategically place your CTA for a better response rate. 3. You will learn how and why being aggressive and overselling can hurt your response rate.
Introduction Any sell sheet without an effective call-to-action (CTAs) is missing out on a huge marketing opportunity. These simple yet targeted instructions to the reader are directly responsible for encouraging your audience to take the next step toward becoming a buyer of your book. Without an effective call-to-action, your sell sheet will amount to little more than an unprofitable writing exercise.
Here are some tips that I have developed from my self-publishing experiences that will help you improve the response rate of your sell sheet:
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #74
Tip #1: Place it strategically Put your call-to-action statement in the appropriate place on your sell sheet. On a book’s sell sheet, the CTA will typically be included within the section of the publisher’s company information, and near the physical details of the book. It might be included in a list of items, or in a separate text box, or simply lined-up on the bottom of the page. It could be a short statement, or a button, or a graphic.
Thank you to best-selling author Elizabeth Spann Craig for sharing and linking to my post.
Tip #2: Keep it short, simple, and actionable It doesn’t need to be long or complicated. And keep it as simple as possible. Your readers don’t have time to be wasting trying to figure out what to do to get more information about your book. On the printed version of your sell sheet, make sure that the links are short and easy to follow, and not long or complicated. On the PDF version of your sell sheet, make sure that all of the links are live and clickable.
Linkedin - 4 Tips To Writing Better Calls-To-Action
Tip #3: Don’t just send them to your webpage On my sell sheets, I simply tell them that my books are available from “B&T” and “Ingram”. Every book buyer at every library, university bookstore, and library, and every bookstore retailer knows exactly what this means, and within minutes can order my books.
I also list “Amazon” so that the general public can get more information and buy my books within a few minutes. I also offer an email address for more information, as well as my publisher’s website address. All very direct, simple, and effective.
Meltwater.com - 4 Tips To Writing A Better Call To Action. Thank you to the team at Meltwater.com for posting and sharing my article.
Tip #4: Don’t oversell Don’t appear too aggressive about asking for the sale. You don’t want to scare them away. They already know you want to sell your book to them. Instead, your sell sheet should be trying to convince the book buyer that you have a great product that they can benefit from.
“A sell sheet without an effective 'call-to-action' is missing out on a huge marketing opportunity.” (Tweet)
You can accomplish this by making your sell sheet professional looking and polished, have a great book description, include specific details about your book, show a connection to major book distributors, and give an easy and simple way to get more information and buy your book.
Thank you to best-selling author Elizabeth Spann Craig for sharing and linking to my post.
Conclusion An effective call-to-action is the linchpin of a successful sell sheet. If it’s done right it can help generate greater book sales. Getting the reader interested enough in your book,
Synopsis If your book’s description does not grab the reader by the collar, and quickly convince them that you have the answers that they are looking for, you are going to lose them. This short list of tips can improve how you write your book’s description - and increase your sales.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn nine ways to write a better book description that will improve your sales. 2. You will learn how important it is for your book’s success to grab the reader and hold on. 3. You will learn how addressing the reader’s needs, and making an emotional connection, and sincerity, all work together to make your book’s description a powerful marketing tool.
Introduction If your book’s description doesn't grab the reader by the collar and quickly convince them that you have the answers that they're looking for, you're going to lose them. In a matter of seconds, they'll move on to the next book and continue searching for answers. I discovered this very early on in my quest to become a successful self-publisher.
So, to deal with this, I have developed a shortlist of tips that can improve how you write your book’s description - and hopefully help increase your sales:
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #73Tip #1. Develop an introduction that will grab the reader’s attention You wrote your entire book for a particular audience in mind. You should already know exactly what you need to say to grab their attention. Try to grab them in the first sentence. This introduction is the hook. And once you hook them, they will be more willing to keep reading.
Tip #2. Keep it on the short side If your book description is too long, you risk losing the reader. Get right to the point. As a general rule, you should easily be able to write a very good book description within 100 to 150 words.
Linkedin - 9 Tips On Writing A Great Book DescriptionTip #3. Make an emotional connection Making an emotional connection with the reader is essential if you expect the reader to like you and want to read more of what you have to say.
Tip #4. Don’t oversell by using insincere superlatives All hyperbole that you use must be backed up with real proof. Without believable proof, your reader will very quickly lose all trust in you and your book. Readers can spot insincerity a mile away, and won't tolerate it.
“If your BOOK'S DESCRIPTION doesn’t quickly grab and hold the reader, you are going to lose them.” (Tweet)
Tip #5. Write it in the third person, present tense Whether you are the book’s author or publisher, you should write the book’s description in the third person and in the present tense. This will make the book description much more believable.
Tip #6. Use a quote or testimonial from a third party Testimonials are a very powerful marketing tool, especially if it's from a well-known or very accomplished person.
Tip #7. Explain how the reader will benefit from your book What are the most important things the reader will learn from your book? How will the reader personally benefit from reading your book? They want specific and realistic details here.
Thank you to Elizabeth Spann Craig for sharing and linking to two of my posts "4 Tips To Writing Better Calls-To-Action;" and "9 Tips On Writing A Great Description For A Non-Fiction Book"Tip #8. How will your book help them solve their problems? The answer to this question is crucial to getting the reader to buy your book. This answer is the main reason that the book buyer is looking at your book in the first place. You must explain in detail how your book will help them with their problems.
Tip #9. Add a short call-to-action Subtly ask readers to buy your book, in a non-aggressive way. Ask them to visit your blog to download some free information, or ebook, or free chapter, for example, or your Amazon Author page for more information.
Click here to download this PDF ebook
Synopsis No matter how small your business is, you must still have a data backup plan in place. No one method alone is a guarantee that your data is completely safe. So here are some tips that show you how to protect your business with simple and inexpensive methods.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn eight very specific tips to safeguard your computer data. 2. You will learn why it is imperative for your business’s survival that you have multiple back plans in place. 3. You will learn how to keep make your plan fool-proof and simple to manage.
Introduction No matter how small your business is, you must still have a data backup plan in place. Protecting your computer’s data files is something every small business must know about and deal with before it's too late. And it’s not a complicated, time-consuming, or expensive process.
So here are some tips that show you how to protect your business with simple and inexpensive methods:
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Tip # 1. Use Two External Hard Drives Two is the minimum. This is the most basic and easiest way to protect your data that is located on your internal hard drive. Always keep one of the external hard drives locked up in a heavy-duty, fire-proof safe. If possible, keep another one at an off-site location. Multiple internal hard drives are nice too but are difficult to lock up or take with you.
Tip # 2. Use Backup Software It’s very important to take human error and forgetfulness out of the equation. Use backup software that will automatically and regularly be backing up your data. This software will keep your backup strategy simple and consistent. This can be as simple as using Apple’s Time Machine, for example.
Business2Community.com - Tips For Small-Business Data Backup And StorageTip # 3. Use Cloud Storage Your data will be stored in an encrypted format when it’s backed up to the cloud at the storage company. This should prevent a hacker from easily accessing your information. You will also have easy access to your own data. This can be achieved by simply using something like Apple’s iCloud, for example, or a big-name service like BackBlaze.
Tip # 4. Don’t Use Encryption For Your Hard Drives For most purposes, encryption of your computer or hard drive isn’t necessary. Encryption is only necessary for extremely sensitive data – like patient medical records, for example.
Tip # 5. Don’t Keep Very Sensitive Data On Laptops Keep very sensitive data on flash drives, and external hard drives, not on the laptop’s hard drive. Flash drives, and external hard drives, are easy to lock away or keep safely in your pocket. Use at least two flash drives just as you would use two external hard drives.
Linkedin - 8 Tips For Small-Business Data Backup And StorageTip # 6. Buy Big-Names Only When you buy any hard drive or flash drive, buy the big brand names only. It doesn’t cost any extra money to do this. And when choosing a cloud storage company, only use the biggest, and longest established, company.
Tip # 7. Restrict Access To Your Data This means keeping your kids off of your office computer, or teaching them what they can and cannot do on your computer. If you have people working in your office, you need to restrict which files they can access. Using a password on certain computers and files is a quick and simple solution for this.
Tip # 8. Test Often At least a few times a year, you should access your data that you have stored on each of your flash drives, external hard drives, and on the cloud. Do this from your main computer, as well as from your other computers.
“No matter how small your business is, you still must have a data backup plan in place.” (Tweet)
Conclusion Don’t Put All Your Eggs Into One Basket! Use flash drives, external drives, and cloud storage.
Synopsis A foreword is an essential marketing tool for your non-fiction book. If it’s written properly, and with some understanding and forethought about its role in your book’s success, it can have a substantial impact on your book sales. In order to create this impact, there are two main ingredients that should be part of a great foreword.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the two main ingredients needed to create a powerful book foreword. 2. You will learn that a book foreword if planned out properly, can become a powerful marketing tool for your book. 3. You will learn that the foreword has two main goals: to establish your credibility, and to motivate readers to buy your book.
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Introduction A foreword is an essential marketing tool for your non-fiction book. If it’s written properly, and with some understanding and forethought about its role in your book’s success, it can have a substantial impact on your book sales. In order to create this impact, there are two main ingredients that should be part of a great foreword.
The first is establishing your credibility for the subject. The second is motivating people to buy your book. These two essential ingredients will give you a very tasty foreword.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #57Ingredient # 1. Establish Your Credibility Here is a quick overview of what it takes to establish your credibility with readers: The person that is writing your book’s foreword must understand what needs to be said in order to show the reader why you have the proper credibility to be writing the book. By using anecdotes, stories, and facts, the foreword’s author will show the reader your commitment to the subject, your reputation within the industry, your competence, integrity, values, likeability, and so on.
All of this will showcase your credibility for this subject. This ‘third-party’ endorsement of you is extremely powerful and can become very profitable for you. All of this discussion about you will also help the reader make an emotional connection with you. The deeper this connection becomes, the greater chances you have of selling them a book.
“The foreword has two main goals: to establish your credibility, and to motivate readers to buy your book.” (Tweet)
Ingredient # 2. Motivate People To Read Your Book Here is a quick overview of what it takes to motivate readers to buy your book: The person that’s writing your book’s foreword must also understand what needs to be said about your book in order to motivate the reader to buy your book. This can be accomplished once it’s understood that all people are basically motivated by (1) the need to avoid a loss, and (2) the desire to gain a reward. These motivations can be used to your advantage.
You do this by showing how your book will give the reader what he needs, or how to solve his problem (both avoiding a loss). Or, show her how she can make more money, or get what she wants (both gaining a reward). Many readers already know that they have a need or a problem. But some don’t. Therefore, the foreword must explain the need or problem and show how your book will help get them what they need or fix their problem (both motivations).
Linkedin - 2 Ingredients That Make A Book Foreword GreatConclusion Here is what you must take away from this article: 1. As your credibility increases, the reader begins to trust you more, which also increases the emotional connection the reader makes with you. 2. The more you can satisfy the reader’s desire to get what they need, or fix their problem, or show them how to make more money, or get more of what they want, the more they’ll be motivated to buy your book.
If you understand nothing else about book marketing, but intimately understand these two ingredients,
Synopsis Niche marketing and micro-niche marketing are essential and powerful ingredients in the success of your book and your self-publishing business. Here’s an introduction to some of the terms and ingredients needed to develop and grow your specific niche and make your book and self-publishing business a financial and critical success.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn what the word “niche” means, and how it relates to self-publishing. 2. You will learn what you need to do to become an expert in a particular niche. 3. You will learn why you will become a more successful self-publisher by devoting yourself to your micro-niche.
Introduction Niche marketing and micro-niche marketing (sounds like nitche, not neech) are essential and powerful ingredients in the success of your book and your self-publishing business. With niche and micro-niche marketing, you’ll be primarily concerned with who your tightly defined audience is, what specific problems do they need help with, and where exactly are they to be found.
Here’s an introduction to some of the terms and ingredients needed to develop and grow your specific niche and make your book and self-publishing business a financial and critical success:
- Niche Publishing Defined Niche publishing means publishing to a very specific, tightly defined, focused audience. If, for example, you’ve been living in New York City’s Manhattan for many years, and have become an expert in ‘roof-top gardening in the city’, this would be your niche. Your niche would not be ‘gardening in North America’. It also wouldn’t be ‘gardening in the North East’.
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- Micro-Niche For Super-Expert Status But, if you didn’t want to ever write about gardening in any other city, and wanted to be considered the foremost expert only on New York City roof-top gardening, you could further refine your niche to be ‘roof-top gardening only in New York City’. Nowadays, this very small specific niche would be called a ‘micro-niche’.
Thank you very much to marketing expert and author Neil Patel for sharing my infographic on his blog NeilPatel.com
By focusing only on your micro-niche of New York City roof-top gardening, you don’t waste your time, effort, and money on chasing after the audiences in other cities. You would be devoting all of your efforts to building your personal brand as a passionate expert in this one very narrowly defined micro-niche.
“Niche and micro-niche marketing are essential and powerful ingredients in the success of your book.” (Tweet)
- Become An Expert To promote your books, and give yourself credibility with your readers, you would need to write articles, and a blog, and a website, etc., devoted to ‘roof-top gardening in New York City’ – which is where you live and maintain your roof-top garden. You might expand on this niche to cover all gardening within New York City.
You could then become well known as an expert in this specific subject. Therefore, your readers, and potential customers, would trust that you have very extensive knowledge about this subject or niche, and happily buy the roof-top gardening books that you write.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #664. Publishing With A Mission After you successfully publish your book on your niche, you might decide to grow your self-publishing business into a niche publishing company. To do this you might go out and find other authors to publish, that are experts in city gardening, in each of the other big cities in the U.S. Your company would become known as the publisher that specializes in helping city-dwellers build and maintain a successful garden. This would become your company’s mission.
- The Best Way To Grow Your Self-Publishing Business This expertise,
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Synopsis Your book’s Introduction is a crucial first step for readers. It prepares them for what's to come AND ignites their interest to read on. This makes your book’s Introduction an important marketing tool for your book. Here is a short list of questions that you must think about AND answer BEFORE writing your book’s Introduction.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the five main sections that a great book Introduction must include. 2. You will learn what questions you must ask yourself BEFORE writing your Introduction. 3. You will learn how these questions will help you write a better book, that will help more people, and make you more money.
Introduction Before writing your book’s Introduction, you must put yourself into your reader’s shoes. How will they view your book? What might be their first impression? What’s in it for them?
Your readers will only buy your book if they believe that your book is going to help them resolve a problem or need that they are trying to find answers for. Prospective readers scan the Introduction before making a buying decision. Serious readers are sure to devour it.
And with the Introduction positioned at the beginning, it's logical that most people who pick up your book will start reading there. Remember, your Introduction is a crucial first step for readers. It prepares them for what's to come AND ignites their interest to read on. This makes your book’s Introduction an important marketing tool for your book.
So, to help you get started, and get your creative and marketing juices flowing, I have created this short list of questions that you must think about AND answer before writing your book’s Introduction:
Thank you to Joel Friedlander for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #27Part 1. The Hook
a. Why should the reader buy your book?
b. What is the most telling sentence or paragraph in your book that is about your book?
c. What statement in your book has the ability to grab your reader’s attention?
d. Would that statement grab your attention if you were the reader?
e. What facts and statistics can you use to grab the reader’s attention?
f. What shocking or amazing news headline can you use to grab your reader’s attention?
g. What are the biggest concerns and challenges of the audience for your book?
h. Is your book’s hook big enough to grab the reader?
Publetariat - April Hamilton's website for people who publish
Part 2. The Connection
a. What can you say to make an emotional connection with your reader?
b. What problems, concerns, and issues, can your book help the reader solve?
c. Why is your audience having these issues?
d. Why haven’t they been able to solve them?
e. Why are these issues so hard to fix or solve?
f. How will you explain to your audience why and how you know about these questions?
g. How will you convince them that you are the one with the answers and that you want to share this information with them?
h. Are your credentials on this topic relevant enough to tell the reader about them?
i. Will the reader care about your credentials?
j. How else can you relate to the reader?
Linkedin - Questions To Ask BEFORE Writing Your Book’s IntroductionPart 3. The Benefits
a. How will your book help the reader?
b. Will your book be useful to the reader?
c. Will it inspire or help the reader with a problem?
d. What are the benefits to the reader, if they read your book?
e. What are some of the general benefits?
f. What are some of the specific benefits?
g. What are your book’s most important benefits?
h. Why would your reader buy your book?
i. What kind of results have other readers of your book achieved?
“Your book's Introduction is a crucial first step for readers. And written properly, can help you sell more.” (Tweet)
Part 4. The Format
a.
Synopsis Testimonials need to be one of the key ingredients of your book’s marketing plan. If they’re created and utilized properly, they can have a very positive impact on your sales. This list gives you a quick run-down of a variety of testimonials.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the seven most common types of testimonials. 2. You will learn the essential ingredients that enable a testimonial to help your book sales. 3. You will learn why you must get an assortment of testimonials.
Introduction Testimonials need to be one of the key ingredients of your book’s marketing plan. If they're created and utilized properly, they can have a very positive impact on your sales. This list gives you a quick run-down of a variety of testimonials.
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his blog Carnival Of The Indies #73
By reading this list you will get a good idea of what makes an effective testimonial, a mediocre one, and a useless one. Once you understand the differences, you’ll be better prepared to explain to your readers and fans how to create a testimonial that will help you improve your book sales.
Here is my list of the 7 types of testimonials that you should know about and recognize:
Type # 1. Faked Testimonial I strongly advise against using a fake testimonial. Readers, who are also your customers, are very sophisticated, and very tuned-in to what is real or fake. If there’s even the slightest hint of being contrived, you’ll lose your audience – and they won’t come back. Don’t forget, it’s extremely easy to get legitimate testimonials. So, there’s no practical reason to create fakes.
You must be very careful not to do things like this because it’ll cause you and your book to lose credibility with your audience. And, as a self-publisher, credibility with your audience is absolutely essential if you expect to have any kind of success – financial or critical. Building credibility with your audience can take years to build. Don’t ruin all of your hard work by being too lazy to get legitimate testimonials.
Thank you very much to Heather Woods for posting my article.Type # 2. Real Testimonial, without person’s name, title, and company For example: “Jones’ book was really good.” Zachary S.
This testimonial is a total waste of time, and insulting to your audience. Your audience will automatically assume that these are fake – even if they’re real. And, if by remote chance they’re not perceived as fake, your audience will question why none of your readers would give their full name and title. You’ll lose sales either way. There are plenty of people out there that are willing to use their full name and title – and your buying audience knows this. Your job as a self-publisher and book marketer is to find them.
Type # 3. Real Testimonial, with person’s name, title, and company, talking about your book in generalities For example: “Jones’ book was really fun to read.” Dr. Zachary Smith, associate physics professor, MIB University.
This one is also way too vague to be of much value to your buying audience. But at least this one has a real person with a fancy title attached to it. You’ll need to get back to this person and ask them for a more specific testimonial. Mention to them a few things in your book that they might have noticed or been interested in. Tell them more about what you were trying to accomplish with your book.
Linkedin - 7 Types Of TestimonialsType # 4. Real Testimonial, with person’s name, title, and company, talking about you the author For example: “Jones is an amazing author and teacher. His writing is so clear and concise.” Dr. Zachary Smith, associate professor in physics, MIB University.
This is a nice statement about you, the author, but doesn’t say anything about the book itself. Some of your buying audience might be swayed to purchase your book because it says nice things about you.
Synopsis Although mistakes made can be our greatest teacher, they can be time-consuming and costly. So here I share with you my hard-earned experiences and insights that I gained from creating and building my small business.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about ten time-consuming and costly mistakes that can be avoided. 2. You will learn from my business experiences about understanding these mistakes. 3. You will learn why it is so important to learn from these mistakes, and then figuring out how to fix them.
Introduction What are some of the common mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting out? Here is a list of ten more of the most common mistakes new entrepreneurs make when starting their businesses. Although mistakes made can be our greatest teacher, they can be time-consuming and costly.
So, here I want to share with you my hard-earned experiences and the insight I gained from creating and building my small business, which was started in 1984, and is still going strong today.
Mistake # 1. Making Absurd Forecasts Is it realistic that you can bring in 60 customers in the first 6 months? Or is 6 more likely? Can you realistically sell 3,000 books of your self-published book in the first year? Or is 300 more likely? Maybe 600 in the second year and 900 in your book’s third year is more realistic? How are other books like yours selling on Amazon?
You need to do some serious research and try to come up with realistic forecasts about how your services or products will sell. If you forecast unusually high or overly optimistic sales and profitability, it indicates that you don’t have a realistic understanding of your own business and the market that you're in.
Mistake # 2. Relying On One Client Or One Product That one client or one product might be enough to get your new business off the ground. But having only one certainly won’t be enough to keep your business growing. Therefore, you must constantly be trying to add a variety of new clients, new services, and new products. It's much safer for your business to have many little clients instead of one giant client.
Ideally, you should be striving to bring in a variety of clients of different sizes, industries, and demographics. And you should also be developing a variety of services and products that can be sold to these same clients. This variety is what will save your company when market conditions and consumer behavior changes.
Mistake # 3. Not Having A Unique Selling Point Why will your customers buy your service or product? Why you? Why not someone else? What are you offering that makes your services and your products special? What do you bring to the table that the others don’t? You better have a very good answer to these questions before starting your business.
Too many businesses start up without ever asking these questions. That’s a very big mistake. If you want to build a successful business – one that you can be proud of, and that also gives you a steady stream of income – then you must answer these questions before you start your new business.
Mistake # 4. Not Doing Enough Marketing You can never do enough marketing. Whether it involves social media, email marketing, direct marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, print ads, or whatever works best for your business, it must never end. The different ways to market your services and products are endless. Even if you're on a tight budget, you can still achieve great results if you put enough thought and effort into it. Don’t just simply skip the marketing because of a limited budget.
LinkedIn - 10 More Small-Business Start-Up Mistakes To Avoid
Mistake # 5. Lacking Proper Start-Up Capital You must expect that your start-up costs will be much more than you initially planned on spending. A one-person small business might have little or no start-up costs. This type of business can become profitable immediately. But, if you’re going to need an office,
Synopsis Here are ten more reasons that explain why self-publishing might not be the right thing for you to get into when you are trying to publish your new book.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn some of the major reasons why self-publishing can be a very hard and long process. 2. You will learn about some of the major stumbling blocks that you will need to overcome in order to become a successful self-publisher. 3. You will learn why self-publishing might not be the right path for you to explore.
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Introduction Here are ten more reasons that explain why self-publishing might not be the right thing for you to get into when you are trying to publish your new book. But when reading this list, keep in mind that there is no one right way to get your book published. Therefore, it's important for each writer to consider their own goals, reasons, and resources before choosing to pursue the traditional book publishing route or the self-publishing route.
Con # 1. You Are Responsible For All Editing As a self-publisher, you need to become skilled in all editorial and design areas - or hire and pay for an expert to do it. Editing takes a lot of time to do correctly. And a good editor is not easy to find. If you overlook any editorial mistakes, they could be stuck in your book until the next printing.
“The odds against becoming a successful self-publisher can seem daunting. But, if you’re really serious about seeing yourself in print, and using your writing to help as many people as possible, no amount of negatives can stop you.” (Tweet)
Con # 2. You Must Treat Your Self-Publishing As A Business Managing a business, even a very small one, is very time-consuming. As the owner, you are responsible for every aspect of the business, such as marketing, finance, public relations, design, writing, website design, etc. The list is endless.
Con # 3. Booksellers Will Not Buy Directly From An Author Many booksellers will not buy directly from an author. It's too expensive and time-consuming for them to set up an account to handle only one book. That means you will need to find a distributor, who will insist on a large discount from the cover price. That means that about 70% of your profits gets consumed very quickly. Con # 4. It Can Be Difficult To Get Reviews Most reviewers, especially in the main-stream media, won't review books that are self-published.
Linkedin - 10 More Cons Of Self-PublishingCon # 5. You Must Get A Lot Of Exposure You will discover very quickly that with self-publishing, writing is 5% of the process - marketing is 95% of the process. You might spend twelve months writing your book, and then spend the next sixty months putting all of your time into marketing that one book.
Marketing your book never ends. Going with a traditional publisher puts your book way ahead of the self-published books – right from the start. Traditional publishers have the ability to get your book a huge amount of media exposure very quickly. Con # 6. Self-Publishers Might Not See A Profit For A Long Time Most traditionally published books see a positive return on their investment. Most self-published books never make a profit. So, if positive cash flow is your only motivation to enter self-publishing, you might be making a mistake. Con # 7. There's A Prejudice Against Self-Publishing This is the general perception of the general public, and most of those who work in traditional publishing, the media, and every university and college. These are the same people who believe that unless you have convinced a traditional publisher to publish your book, there must be something wrong with it. If this bothers you, then self-publishing is not for you. Con # 8. All Marketing And Promotion Is Your Responsibility Alone Although this is similar to traditional publishing,
How To Write A Preface That Will Make You Look Like A Pro, AND Get You More Book Sales
Synopsis The preface is one of the important places for you to make an emotional connection with the reader. The more that the reader understands you, and can identify with you, and has formed some emotional connection with you, the more they will enjoy and learn from reading your book. This will translate into more sales, and help give your book a longer life span.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn what a book preface is, and why it's included in a book. 2. You will learn the basic structure of a preface. 3. You will learn why you must use the preface to help you develop an emotional connection with the reader.
Introduction There's considerable confusion among some new authors, and some of the reading public, about what the preface is for, and why it’s included in a book. But, once a writer and reader understand the how, what, when, where, and why about the function of the preface, they will quickly come to understand its pivotal role in making the book a complete finished project.
Here are some questions that will help you better understand this important section of the book, and thereby enable you to write a preface that will help the reader have a better reading experience with your book:
Thank you to Joel Friedlander of the BookDesigner.com for linking to this article from his website Carnival Of The Indies #27Question #1: What Is The Preface? And What's Its Purpose? The book preface (PREF-iss, not PRE-face) is a short explanation about why you wrote your book. The book introduction, on the other hand, is all about the benefits the reader will get from reading your book. The preface is about you, and the introduction is about the reader.
But never forget, both should be written by the book’s author, and that both must show your passion and thereby make an emotional connection with the reader. In contrast to the preface and introduction, the book’s foreword is not written by the book’s author. It's written by a guest author, generally, a person that is well known within a certain industry, that can bring third-party credibility to you, the book’s author.
Publetariat - April Hamilton's website for people who publishQuestion #2: What Is The Structure Of The Preface? The preface discusses the story of how your book came into being, or how the idea for your book was developed by you, the author. In order to be a successful marketing tool, it must be written to show your passion for the subject matter, and your inspiration for writing the book.
Here's your chance to infect the reader with your passion for the topic you've written about. Show the reader that you're a kindred spirit and have a passion in common. Here your aim is to make the reader empathize with you and identify your genuineness in writing the book.
Here You Should Answer Questions Such As: 1. How was the concept of the book born? 2. How did you think of writing the book? 3. Why are you writing about this topic? 4. What are you trying to achieve by writing this book? 5. What are your qualifications to write this book? 6. What other books have you written? 7. Why are you writing this book now? 8. What was your main source of inspiration? 9. Why did you re-write this book?
So What's The Bottom Line? The explanation to these questions can be autobiographical. You can tell the background, the context, and the circumstances that brought you to write this book. The bottom line must be, “Why did you write this book?” Be very clear and honest about this. No exaggeration or puffery. And always write in the first person, and in a friendly manner. Also, use your own voice when writing this way, and speak directly to your audience.
Linkedin - The Preface: Share Your Inner Passion For Better Book SalesQuestion #3: How Do I Close The Preface? The main body of the preface is followed by a statement of thanks and ...
Synopsis Direct mail marketing and email marketing both have their advantages and disadvantages. But, both are an efficient and cost-effective way to find new customers, make new sales, up-sell to current customers, and stay connected with existing customers. And best of all, both of these marketing methods can be easily implemented into the marketing plans of even the smallest business on a very tight budget.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the advantages and disadvantages of direct mail marketing and email marketing. 2. You will learn how you can decide which method is best for your small business. 3. You will learn the benefits of using both methods at the same time.
Introduction Small businesses cannot ignore the power of direct mail marketing and email marketing. Of course, both have their advantages and disadvantages.
But, both are an efficient and cost-effective way to find new customers, make new sales, up-sell to current customers, and stay connected with existing customers.
And best of all, both of these marketing methods can be easily implemented into the marketing plans of even the smallest business on a very tight budget.
Here is a quick overview and comparison of both methods:
A. DIRECT MAIL MARKETING (Using a mail service to physically send your marketing materials) Direct mail marketing is NOT dead. It is still as powerful as it has ever been. One of the best things about direct mail marketing is that it has the ability to get your message into the hands of your prospects. Check out Lynda.com for great online video courses about direct mail.
Yahoo! Small Business Advisor - Direct Mail Marketing Vs. Email Marketing: What’s Best for Your Small Business?1. Direct Mail Marketing Recipients Are More Receptive Many people are still not using email. Plus the fact that people will most likely spend more time reading a postcard or letter than they will an email. Getting a beautiful postcard or envelope into the recipient’s hand can be a powerful tool. As long as you design your marketing material so that it catches the reader’s eye, they will read your message.
So much of the mail marketing pieces that arrive in a person’s mailbox are so poorly designed, that much of them get ignored and quickly shredded. Make your direct mail material stand out from the rest, and they will read your message.
Thank you very much for Joanne Gore for quoting me in her article in Graphics Arts Magazine
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Direct Mail Marketing Can Become Expensive If you are not targeting the correct audience, you'll be wasting time and money. Sending marketing materials directly to specific people at specific addresses will keep your costs way down, and greatly improve your chances of making a sale.
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Direct Mail Marketing Can Be Time Consuming Building a mail list, and designing amazing marketing materials to send out, takes time, thought, and money. But as a small business, you must always be adding to and improving your mail list and marketing materials - right from day one. Many small businesses, home-based businesses, and professional practices can live or die based on how well their mail list and marketing materials are perceived by the recipients.
“Direct mail AND email marketing are a perfect match for each other. Each method makes up for the shortcomings of the other. Used together they create a powerful tool to use in your marketing plan.” (Tweet)
B. EMAIL MARKETING (Using email to electronically send your marketing materials) Email marketing is amazingly cheap, quick, and easy to implement, but it will not be replacing direct mail for a very long time. One of the best things about email is that it is trackable. This data can be used to analyze open rates, clicked links, and conversion details. All of this data can help you fine-tune your email content and message. Check out MailChimp.com, which has twenty free books about email on their website.
1.
Synopsis Among the basic foundations of a thriving profitable business is an active, ongoing, and professional-looking outbound marketing presence. It doesn’t matter if you are a home-based business, or one-person professional office, or a business with many employees. This list doesn't change no matter how small or large your company is now.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the basic differences between “outbound” and “inbound” marketing. 2. You will learn four simple and effective ways to improve your outbound marketing efforts. 3. You will learn just how imperative it is for your success to keep updating and improving your outbound marketing efforts.
Introduction Among the basic foundations of a thriving profitable business is an active, ongoing, and professional-looking outbound marketing presence. It doesn’t matter if you are a home-based business, or one-person professional office, or a business with many employees. This list doesn't change no matter how small or large your company is now.
FYI: Some Quick Definitions Definition # 1. Outbound Marketing: Your marketing efforts that pushes, or helps, customers to find your company. a. Examples: TV and radio ads, direct mail, product catalogs, and trade show displays.
On the other hand, Definition # 2. Inbound Marketing: You create content that pulls, or attracts, or motivates, people to find your company. This is content that is of interest to the consumers. Content with information that consumers will find helpful to their own situation. This content is not about your company, but about the consumer’s needs. a. Examples: article marketing, blogging, free videos, free webinars, and free ebooks.
Obviously, there’s a lot of overlap between the two. And each type helps the other work better. But that was a very simple explanation of the differences.
Now, on to the simple low-cost ways to improve your outbound marketing efforts:
Linkedin - 4 Simple Low-Cost Ways To Improve Your Outbound Marketing Efforts
Improvement #1. Keep Website Current Your website is your most essential marketing tool. It’ll be working for you 24/7/365. It’s the first place that most people will go to learn more about you and your business. You must always make sure that it’s working at its peak performance. Every link must be active, and every picture and graphic must appear as it was meant to.
Make sure that every pdf is working properly, and that the links inside each pdf are also working. Make sure that all of your dates, statistics, and facts are current and accurate. Be certain that your pages are easy to navigate and find. All of these details are very easy to overlook or forget about. But first impressions are extremely important. So, make sure that every detail of your website always looks good and is working properly.
EzineArticles - 4 Simple Low-Cost Ways To Improve Your Outbound Marketing Efforts
Improvement #2. Make An Emotional Connection The most powerful and fundamental part of a successful marketing plan is one that can make an emotional connection with your prospects and your customers. Your company’s very survival and growth depend on it.
The greater this connection, the greater your ability to beat out other companies for the hearts, minds, and dollars of the customers. Too few companies, small or large, bother to try to make an emotional connection with prospects and customers.
But, by showing your customers how much you care about them, and proving to them that you really want to keep them as customers, you can build a base of loyal customers that will not be so quick to leave you for your competition. This could play an important role in your company’s survival during a slow economy, or when trying to beat out the intense competition.
Business2Community - 4 Simple Low-Cost Ways To Improve Your Outbound Marketing Efforts
Improvement #3. Build Your Lists By lists, I mean email list,
Synopsis Understanding the myths and misperceptions that many self-publishers have about the role of their book’s sell sheet can dramatically improve a book’s overall success. Having a well-prepared and professional-looking sell sheet for your book will go a long way to prove to the distributors, wholesalers, and bookstore retailers that you are serious about the success of your book.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the four biggest myths about sell sheets that can harm your book sales. 2. You will learn how these myths can keep your book hidden in obscurity, not helping anyone. 3. You will learn just how important a role the sell sheet can play in the success of your book.
Introduction Do you have a sell sheet for your self-published book? Do you not have one because you believe that it won’t help you sell more books? Understanding the myths and misperceptions that many self-publishers have about the role of their book’s sell sheet can dramatically improve a book’s overall success.
Having a well-prepared and professional-looking sell sheet for your book will go a long way to prove to the distributors, wholesalers, and bookstore retailers that you are serious about the success of your book. If they believe that you have the ability and stamina to market your book like a professional, and for an extended period of time, they will be much more willing to take a chance on you and your book.
In this list, I dispel the most common myths that I hear from other self-publishers:
Sell Sheet Myth #1. I Don’t Need A Sell Sheet Because I Use A Distributor To Sell My Book Having your book with a distributor is great. The distributor will handle many of the challenges of getting your book onto the shelves of bookstores and into libraries. They will contact the stores, negotiate to purchase when possible and lower a lot of the barriers that you would face on your own. Working with distributors can truly be an advantage.
“Having a well-prepared SELL SHEET will help prove that you are serious about the success of your book.” (Tweet)
Even if a distributor is doing much of the heavy lifting for you, the distributor still expects you to be very involved in the marketing of your book. Your sell sheet, which you create, offers your book’s information the way that you want it presented – in the best light possible. Having produced a very professional and well-thought-out looking sell sheet, will help you get a distributor in the first place, and help them sell more of your books
Sell Sheet Myth #2. I Don’t Need A Sell Sheet Because I Don’t Sell My Book Directly To Consumers Ok. You may not sell your book directly to consumers. Your book may only be available on Amazon. Or maybe your book is on Lightning Source, and they manage your sales and distribution to Amazon and to all other retailers. But if you have any hopes of selling more than a handful of books each month, you will need to start taking the marketing of your book more seriously.
A sell sheet is not only read by retailers, wholesalers, and libraries. Consumers will also look at your book’s sell sheet to help them learn more about your book. Retailers and wholesalers need to see your sell sheet to help them decide if they want to carry your book or not. If they do accept your book, their sales team will use your sell sheet to help them sell your book.
They will also need it when they are assembling their catalog. Library purchasing departments will need your book’s sell sheet to also help them decide if your book is appropriate for their patrons. For consumers, and your clients, you must put a PDF of your sell sheet on your website and in your media kit.
Business2Community.com - 4 Myths About Sell SheetsSell Sheet Myth #3. I Don’t Need A Sell Sheet Because I Constantly Promote My Book On Social Media Social networking and media websites are very useful, and they should play an important role in your market...
Synopsis Is your sell sheet driving the results you want or need? If not, it might be time for a makeover. The solution may be to rebrand, adjust your value proposition, or simply modify your existing strategy before these danger signs turn into unavoidable headaches. If you can identify with any of these problems, then it's probably time to rethink your book’s sell sheet. But, don’t stress too much. It can all be fixed with some careful planning.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the five signs that your sell sheet needs to be redesigned, rethought, and rewritten. 2. You will learn how to analyze your sell sheet’s message. 3. You will learn how to recognize if your reading audience has changed, shifted, or grown.
Introduction Your book is rolling along and you think your sell sheet is working hard for you. But is it? Is your sell sheet driving the results you need? If not, it might be time for a makeover. The solution may be to rebrand, adjust your value proposition, or simply modify your existing strategy before these danger signs turn into unavoidable headaches.
If you can identify with any of these problems, then it's probably time to rethink your book’s sell sheet. But, don’t stress too much. It can all be fixed with some careful planning.
Sign #1. Your Sell Sheet’s Message Is Inconsistent For example, is your sell sheet reflecting the content and information of the book, and your blog, and your brand? Is the book’s cover, and title, and subtitle, and back-cover information, all relevant to the book and projecting the correct message to your book’s audience?
Is your sell sheet projecting the same message all of your other marketing material is projecting? Is the content on your blog relevant to the same audience that you wrote your book for? A consistent message across all of your marketing material will make each piece more believable and make them more powerful – and increase your chance of making a sale.
Old Westbury Gardens, Long Island, NY, AACA Meet, Oldsmobile Super 88, 1957
Sign #2. You Don’t Really Understand Your Audience While you were writing your book, you had a very particular audience in mind. And of course, that is the best way to write a book. But now that your book has been selling for several months, and your blog has been up and running for much longer, you start to realize that there are other groups that are buying your book that you didn’t know would be interested in your topic.
For example, you might be getting questions from your blog readers that might relate to an audience, or demographic, that you had not thought about before. You might also be getting questions on your YouTube page altogether from another demographic. All of this new data that you did not have before can help you redesign your sell sheet to better reflect the needs of these new audiences.
This will also enable you to add blog content that will better serve the needs of these new audiences. You must always be willing to change gears in order to better serve your audience. The more you serve their needs, the more books you will sell.
Linkedin - 5 Signs Your Sell Sheet Needs A Makeover
Sign #3. Your Sell Sheet Hasn’t Connected With Any Libraries Your goal should be to send your book’s sell sheet to every library in the country. And you should be getting some feedback from them in the form of book sales or at the very least some email questions from them.
If you are not getting any feedback at all, then you probably need to be rethinking what content should be added or changed on your sell sheet. Start by re-evaluating who your book’s audience really is, and what marketing message you are using to connect with them. Show your sell sheet to a local librarian and ask for their comments and suggestions about it.
“Is your book’s sell sheet driving the results you need? If not, it might be time for a makeover.” (Tweet)
Sign #4.
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Synopsis A sell sheet is not as simplistic as it might first appear. It’s much more than a simple list of physical facts about your book, and a picture of you and your book. It’s a sophisticated and calculated strategic marketing tool that can help you achieve several important goals at once. The following seven questions will help you develop an amazing and powerful sell sheet that will help you start to sell more books.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. 7 questions you must ask yourself that will help you develop a powerful sell sheet. 2. Why you must determine who your audience is for your book’s sell sheet, and why would they buy your book. 3. Why you must calculate what you should say that will grab the reader’s attention so that they will read your entire sell sheet, and still want more information.
Introduction A sell sheet is not as simplistic as it might first appear. It’s much more than a simple list of physical facts about your book, and a picture of you and your book. It’s a sophisticated and calculated strategic marketing tool that can help you achieve several important goals at once. The following seven questions will help you develop an amazing and powerful sell sheet that will help you start to sell more books.
Question # 1. What's Your Objective For This Sell Sheet? What’s your most important goal? Second most important? Third? Answering “selling more books” is too general and simple. So, before you answer, you must understand that a sell sheet is simply a marketing tool.
Its ultimate goal is to help you achieve several business, personal, and financial goals, all of which will eventually lead to more book sales. Now think about it for a few minutes before you answer. For example, do you want it to help position yourself as an expert that’s available for speaking engagements?
Do you want to use it as promotional material to give out to your current and prospective clients, in the hopes that they’ll give you new business? Do you want to impress your colleagues with an impressive sell sheet and media kit? Do you want to use it to convince book retailers and wholesalers to buy your book? Now make your list. And don’t hold back.
Dickson Keanaghan Catalog Sell Sheet For ACLS Zombie Notes
Question # 2. What Information Will Help You Achieve Your Objective? Start by listing everything you might want to include about your book: a. where your book can be purchased, b. what's its shelving category (BISG category), c. who is your co-author, foreword author, d. the format such as paperback, or hardcover, or ebook, e. the ISBN number, your photograph, f. a picture of your book’s cover, g. the number of pages, h. the publication date, i. the size of the book, j. testimonials, k. what are your marketing plans for the book, l. and any other features and physical characteristics that you can think of. Now make your list. And don’t hold back.
EzineArticles.com - 7 Questions To Ask Before Writing Your Sell Sheet
Question # 3. Who's Your Audience For This Sell Sheet? a. Is it the people for who you wrote the book? b. Or the book store manager?
Your book has an audience that it was written for. Your sell sheet also has its own audience. a. Maybe it’s the public-library book buyer? b. Maybe the university-bookstore book buyer? c. Maybe the media reps and book reviewers? d. Maybe the buyers at the national chain bookstores? e. Maybe your own clients? Understanding who will be reading and using your sell sheet will help you when it comes time to write the sales copy for the sell sheet. Now make your list. And don’t hold back.
Question # 4. What Can You Say To Grab The Reader’s Attention? Use the top of the page to grab attention with a headline and a few sentences of copy that cut to the heart of the matter. a. What can you say that will catch the attention of your rea...
Synopsis If you have any hope of having your book achieve financial and critical success, you must understand how your readers, view your book when they first see it. Once you fully understand how your readers will perceive your book when they first see it, you can adjust your book accordingly. It’s not a difficult process, but one you must devote some serious quality time to exploring.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how to improve your book's sales by fully understanding how your readers perceive you and your book. 2. You will learn what specific questions you must ask yourself in order to improve the reader’s perception of you and your book. 3. You will learn what things readers notice first about your book, and how those things can affect their perceptions.
Introduction If you have any hope of having your book achieve financial and critical success, you must understand how your readers (your customers), view your book (your product) when they first see it (online or on a shelf). Once you fully understand how your readers will perceive your book when they first see it, you can adjust your book accordingly.
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Put Yourself In The Shoes Of The Buyer In order to accomplish this, you must separate yourself from your personal feelings about your book, and think as the objective buyer would think. Think about who the audience is for your book, and try to step into their shoes, and then look at your book objectively, and subjectively – through their eyes.
Thank you to Iryna Spica of Spica Book Design for featuring this article on her website.Important Questions To Ask Yourself Question # 1. What would attract you to a book like yours? Question # 2. What would attract people in your audience to a book like yours? Question # 3. Would you as a buyer be more attracted to a handsome cover, or to the cover blurbs? Question # 4. Would you buy a book based on its cover art, or because of the well-known names that are quoted on the cover? Question # 5. Does the book’s page count seem too long, or too short, to cover the topic adequately? Question # 6. Does the subtitle seem to be promising too much for such a topic? Question # 7. How does your book’s attributes compare to other books within your subject category?
Here is a quick look at the first things that readers notice when they first view your book:
Thank you to Nancy and Merritt Barnes of StoriesToTellBooks.com for quoting and linking to my article "7 Things Readers Notice When Picking Up A Book". Also quoted in this article are Chip Kidd, Michael Hyatt, Mark Coker, and Kristen Eckstein.
- Cover Art Having the appropriate graphics, images, photos, illustrations, colors, fonts, etc., are essential if you expect to get noticed by book buyers. Books with a great-looking cover almost always sell better on Amazon than those that have a lame, confusing, or unprofessional-looking cover.
What needs to be on your book’s cover that will draw in, or attract, a reader and a buyer? Are the graphics, colors, and fonts appropriate to the book’s subject matter? Make sure that you design several covers. And don’t be afraid to hire professional help.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.2. Title And Subtitle Your title must grab your buyer as quickly as possible. Generally, it must let the reader know what your book is about in as few words as possible. You can give more specific details in the subtitle. The subtitle is where the author lets the buyer really know what the book is about. When deciding which book to purchase, the buyer will usually give more weight to the subtitle than to the main title.
Thank you very much to author and blogger Kristi Bernard, of KristiBernard.WordPress.com, for sharing my post "7 Things Readers Notice When Picking Up A Book."
Synopsis Your Acknowledgments Page doesn't need to be an exhaustive listing of every last person that helped you. But at the very least, you must include all the people that had an important impact on you and your book. Here is a list to help you get started.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about who should be thanking, and acknowledging, for helping you in some way that was relevant to your book. 2. You will learn which people should be included in the Acknowledgment Section and those who should be in the Dedication Section. 3. You will learn how and why the Acknowledgment Section is an excellent place to make an emotional connection with the reader.
Introduction Here is a guide to help you start building the Acknowledgments Page of your new book. Your Acknowledgments Page doesn't need to be an exhaustive listing of every last person that helped you. But at the very least, you must include all the people that had an important impact on you and your book.
And, of course, the bigger your book, the longer the Acknowledgments Page, or pages, will be. Explain to your readers, in a narrative form, exactly what each person did to help you complete your book.
And don’t forget that the Acknowledgments Page is showing your readers that many people were involved in helping your book come to life. This will make your Acknowledgments Page become a great way for you to not only thank those that helped you but also show your readers that you had many people helping you build a credible book. And don’t forget, the Acknowledgments Page is NOT the same as the Dedication Page.
Here's A List To Get You Started:
Group # 1. Family: Your parents, spouse, children, siblings, and relatives who supported your efforts while writing your book. In my case, my mother does errands for me so that I can stay in front of the computer writing. My kids are experts at finding information on the internet.
My wife helps with editing and freely offers constructive criticism of my work. I generally find extra time to write by getting up in the morning before everyone else, and staying up later at night after everyone has gone to bed. The family plays a very big part in the success of my books.
Group # 2. Sources: Anyone, such as librarians, teachers, professors, or industry experts, that provided data or information that was used in your book. In addition, anyone you interviewed that provided useful information and assistance. Be specific in what each source provided for your book.
APSS-SPAN - Who Should Be Acknowledged In Your Book?
Group # 3. Editors: Make sure that you list any editor that helped you complete your book. Be specific in describing what each editor helped you with.
Group # 4. Researchers: Anyone that took the time to assist you in finding data and information in the library or on the internet, etc. Don’t forget those college interns and librarian assistants. Again, mention what research was found and by whom.
Group # 5. Illustrators/Photographers: These are the people that helped bring your text to life. If you used illustrators and photographers, you will certainly have a lot to tell the reader about them.
Group # 6. Graphic Designers: You should also give the name of those that designed your book’s interior, as well as your book’s cover. Discuss some of the great designs that they gave you to choose from.
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Group # 7. Mentors: These are all the people that taught you the ins and outs of your business and career. These are the people that you credit with helping you move up within your industry.
Group # 8. Writing and Publishing Coaches: If you used a coach, mention in what ways they helped you. These people save you a lot of time and grief. These people have much more experience with writing and publishing, and help you in creating a professional-looking book.
Who Should Be Acknowledged In Your #Book?
Synopsis Here are ten fantastic reasons that explain why self-publishing is a great business to get into. Now, more than ever before, self-publishing can be a fascinating and profitable way to improve your career, your bank account, your self-esteem, and your career prospects, all at the same time. It’s also an amazing way to share your experience and knowledge with people all over the world.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about ten amazing reasons why you should consider self-publishing your own book now. 2. You will learn why it is much easier now to share your experiences and knowledge with the entire world. 3. You will learn how and why the many benefits of self-publishing far outweigh the drawbacks.
Introduction Here are ten fantastic reasons that explain why self-publishing is a great business to get into. Now, more than ever before, self-publishing can be a fascinating and profitable way to improve your career, your bank account, your self-esteem, and your career prospects, all at the same time. It is also an amazing way to share your experience and knowledge with people all over the world.
Reason # 1. You retain control of your own publication: This is probably the most important reason for many of us that consider self-publishing.
Reason # 2. Keep a larger percentage of the profits: You are going to work long hard hours to bring your finished publication to the market. You should benefit financially as much as possible. As a self-publisher, you can easily keep 45% to 80% of the cover price.
B2C - Business 2 Community Website - The 10 Pros Of Self-Publishing
Reason # 3. Get your publication into the market very fast: Traditional publishers can take many, many months to do what a self-publisher can do in a few months – or even weeks.
Reason # 4. Very few entry barriers: A computer, simple software, internet access, a basic business plan, some free time, and a dream, and you are off and running to become a self-published author.
Reason # 5. Be recognized as an authority and boost your career: Very few people in our world will actually publish a book. Doing so will make you stand out from the crowd. Having a published book is a very impressive way to enhance your resume and credibility.
Linkedin - 10 Great Reasons To Self-Publish Now
Reason # 6. Doesn’t eliminate your chances of a traditional publishing deal: If your book sells enough copies, gets enough publicity, and is a timely topic, it is certainly possible to get a traditional deal – but they keep almost all of the income.
Reason # 7. Traditional publishers don’t have the time to deal with you: Typically, their interest in your book will only last several months. Then they will drop you for more profitable publications. Then you must take your book and do all the marketing, sales, and promotion yourself.
Reason # 8. Great side-business: This is how most self-publishers get started. They create one book, hoping to boost their career, or share their experiences, and get the satisfaction of seeing their name on a book. Some enjoy the process of publishing so much that they then produce more books, or start a micro/niche publishing company.
Thank you very much to science fiction author Robert Graham for posting and sharing my blog post.
Reason # 9. Stigma has vanished: In our fast-paced and changing world there is always a big demand for high-quality unadulterated information from authors that know what they are talking about. For this reason, the majority of readers don’t care if the book was published by one person or a big publishing house.
Reason # 10. The Internet makes it easy and fast: Because of the internet we can now market and sell our publications all over the world – in a matter of minutes. We can also create a very sophisticated and successful marketing and promotion program that reaches a worldwide audience. Now, more than ever before,
Synopsis Print-on-demand (POD) publishing is a way to have books immediately printed and bound AFTER a customer places an order for the book. This can be a very efficient, fast, and cost-effective way to get books into the hands of customers and readers. The ability to create and sell books, without having to pay for and take delivery of a large inventory of them, has been a major blessing for small and independent publishers.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the definition of just-in-time production, and how it relates to POD. 2. You will learn how and why POD has transformed the world of self-publishing. 3. You will learn the reasons why POD is beneficial to large and small publishers.
Introduction Print-on-demand (POD) publishing is a way to have books immediately printed and bound AFTER a customer places an order for the book. This can be a very efficient, fast, and cost-effective way to get books into the hands of customers and readers. The ability to create and sell books, without having to pay for and take delivery of a large inventory of them, has been a major blessing for small and independent publishers.
Just-in-Time (JIT) Production Print-on-demand publishing is a form of what is called just-in-time production. This means that when the customer or retailer places an order, the books can be created, within minutes, and sent out – therefore no inventory for the publisher or the author to buy and warehouse.
This process can happen this way because the book printing company has a digital file of the book and its cover in its computerized book-making machine. The book is printed, then a printed cover is glued on, then the book is cut to the appropriate size, and finally, the book is mailed out.
Beneficial to Large Publishers Print-on-demand publishing has revolutionized the entire publishing industry. Many large publishers use it as a cost-effective way to keep their out-of-print titles in print. Very large publishers can very easily have hundreds of out-of-print titles.
Some of which may be very slow sellers. Why warehouse actual copies of these books when the publisher can simply send a digital file of each book to a POD printer? With the POD method, these out-of-print titles can continue to produce income for the publisher.
Linkedin - What Is Print-On-Demand Publishing (POD)?
Beneficial to Self-Publishers Print-on-demand publishing is one of the main reasons self-publishing has become so popular and financially feasible for many authors and would-be authors. The upfront costs of POD are much lower than conventional publishing and printing. The cost per copy is higher with POD. But with POD, there is no inventory involved.
“POD represents a real opportunity for small start-ups in the publishing world. It transforms the economics of publishing and give more power and control to the self-publisher.” (Tweet)
Traditional book printers typically require that a self-publisher order hundreds of copies from the printer. With POD, no initial purchase is required. This represents a real opportunity for small start-ups in the publishing world. This transforms the economics of publishing and gives more power and control to the self-publisher.
It allows books to be published with a very small initial investment and ongoing cost. In addition to this, the publisher, or author, can make changes and additions to the book within minutes simply by uploading the new files to the printing company.
EzineArticles.com - What Is Print-On-Demand (POD) Publishing?
What About the Quality Of POD Books? POD paperback books are printed in a few minutes on computerized copy and binding machines. Traditionally printed paperback books are printed in larger quantities on large-scale printing presses. But today, the print quality is so good that consumers cannot tell the difference between a POD paperback book and a printing press paperback book.
Synopsis If you want to share your book with the world, and thereby help as many people as possible, and make some money doing that, you'll need to treat your book like a product that your business sells. And that means learning about marketing, especially online marketing. But don’t stress out over this. It’s actually an interesting process that can also become a very enlightening learning experience.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the fundamental elements of a successful marketing plan. 2. You will learn how these elements are defined, and how they can help you sell more books. 3. You will learn how and why you must treat your book like a product that your business sells.
How To Build A Better Marketing Plan, And Sell More Books
Introduction If you have any hopes of making money with your self-published book, you'll need to become familiar with online marketing. But, if you self-published your book simply for the sake of seeing your name in print, that's fine too.
But, if you want to share your book with the world, and thereby help as many people as possible, and make some money doing that, you will need to treat your book like a product that your business sells. And that means learning about marketing, especially online marketing. But don’t stress out over this. It’s actually an interesting process.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
So, to get you started, here is an explanation of the five basic elements of a successful online marketing plan:
Element # 1. Credibility Credibility refers to the impression we make on our readers. Credibility is by far the most important part of marketing. Without this trait, our marketing efforts will not work well. With this trait, your readers, your followers, your buyers, and your customers, will listen to your message – and hopefully, look to you for even more information. Your credibility, and your believability, will keep readers hooked. They will then be more likely to take a chance and buy from you.
Element # 2. Usability Usability refers to how well people can use and understand your online marketing. All of your online marketing efforts need to be as user-friendly as possible. This means that your website and blog need to be easy to understand and use. Its navigation buttons need to be easy to see and follow. Your contact information needs to be easy to find.
APSS-SPAN - The Five Elements Of Successful Online Marketing
Element # 3. Visibility Visibility refers to your ability to get noticed. The whole point of marketing is to get you and your book noticed. We do this by utilizing social media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. We can also get interviewed on the radio, or in a magazine, or write a guest blog post, or get our book reviewed, or create a podcast.
The number of ways to get noticed by a specific audience are limitless. Of course, your own website will have links to all of the places that you get mentioned, as well as to all of your social media pages.
“If you want to share your book with the world, and thereby help as many people as possible, and make some money doing that, you will need to treat your book like a product that your business sells.” (Tweet)
Element # 4. Sellability Sellability refers to how well you can show and tell your audience about yourself and your book. People need to understand why your book is worth buying from you. We can help with this process with press releases, videos, and testimonials. Having credibility, usability, and visibility all together makes you and your book much more sellable.
WritersCafe.org - The Five Elements Of Successful Online Marketing
Element # 5. Scalability Scalability refers to the increasing momentum that your marketing efforts will achieve over time. This momentum will happen when you continue to improve your credibility, usability, visibility,
Synopsis Here is a beginner’s list of effective, popular, proven-to-work, and low-cost ways to market your book. The steps to marketing your book, and deciding which avenues are good for you to utilize for this, might take you a few months to figure out. But all of the tips on this list are very easy to set up, are generally very low maintenance, and most of them are low or no cost to you.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about several low-cost and low-maintenance marketing outlets for your book. 2. You will learn how you can develop a strong and easy-to-maintain book marketing plan. 3. You will learn how and why book sales are dependent on using several different marketing avenues at the same time.
Introduction Here is a beginner’s list of effective, popular, proven-to-work, and low-cost ways to market your book. I personally use every one of them, so I know for a fact that they are an effective way to build up your audience and sell more books.
Thank you to the amazing author Maureen Crisp for linking to my blog post.
The steps to marketing your book, and deciding which avenues are good for you to utilize for this, might take you a few months to figure out. But all of the tips on this list are very easy to set up, are generally very low maintenance, and most of them are low or no cost to you.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
Tip # 1. Blog Your Book: Post articles from your book, as well as articles on related topics, on your blog. This is a great way to prove to your audience that you know what you are talking about. Writing on your blog is also a practical way to create content that eventually might go into your current book or next book. The best website for this tip is WordPress.
Tip # 2. Write Guest Posts On Popular Blogs: This is a very effective way to get your name in front of the readers on other blogs that also cover topics similar to yours. You should only post useful content on other blogs that let you include a link back to your blog. If they don’t allow this, don’t waste your time and effort on them.
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Tip # 3. Get Published On A Big-Name Media Website: Try to get an article or two published on the website of a big-media magazine or a newspaper. This will get you a lot of credibility with your audience – and this credibility will eventually help you sell more books. The very big mass-media publications are very difficult to get published in – especially for beginners. So it might be easier to start with industry-specific publications. These smaller publications are always in need of high-quality content from someone that they can trust.
10 Low-Cost Ways To Market Your Book: https://t.co/J1wfDrLoqL @jckunzjr— Elizabeth S Craig (@elizabethscraig) August 14, 2016
Tip # 4. Post Your Profile: Post your profile and picture on the most popular social media websites. This is a great no-cost way of getting very wide exposure on the internet – and, most importantly, in Google searches. At the very least, make sure that your profile is on the most important sites such as LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, Amazon, and most importantly, your own blog. Make sure your profile is always up-to-date and accurate.
Tip # 5. Connect Your Blog: Websites, such as Amazon and GoodReads, will connect your blog to your profile page on their website. This means that every time you post to your own blog, it'll also show up on their website - automatically.
“Successful book marketing happens because of the cumulative effect of using many different marketing efforts over the long-term.” (Tweet)
Tip # 6. Create A Google+ And Pinterest Account: Both of these are very important, popular, and a free way to connect with others. It takes a while to figure out how to use all of their features. Google+ is losing some of its importance and power as a social media tool,
Synopsis Getting a “big-name” to write the foreword for your book is a great way to jump-start bigger sales and get positive publicity for your book. If you're an unknown author, getting a notable leader in your field to write your foreword is essential if you want to get readers to take a chance on you and buy your book. Having your name associated with a VIP will greatly enhance your credibility within your industry and with your readers. Here's a quick introduction to get you started.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how and why getting a VIP to write your book’s foreword will jump-start your sales. 2. You will learn how to explain to the VIP that writing your foreword is a win-win for you and the VIP. 3. You will learn how and why a foreword is similar to a recommendation about you and your book.
A Quick Introduction To Getting A VIP To Write Your Foreword
Introduction Getting a notable VIP, industry guru, or celebrity to write the foreword for your book is a great way to jump-start bigger sales and get positive publicity for your book. If you're an unknown author, getting a notable leader in your field to write your foreword is essential if you want to get readers to take a chance on you and buy your book. Having your name associated with a VIP will greatly enhance your credibility within your industry and with your readers.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
It's A Win-Win Forewords give the VIP another place to demonstrate their skills and knowledge and an opportunity to connect with your audience in a deeper way - a great selling point to consider when you ask someone to write your foreword. You get a foreword for your book that will help improve your sales, and the foreword author gets additional exposure and credibility for their own name. It’s a win-win situation for the book’s author and the foreword’s author.
In addition, you should discuss who the market is that your book is addressing so that the VIP that you have chosen to write your foreword can readily see that you are marketing your book to a similar audience that they serve. Doing this allows them to see the advantages of having their name visible to your network of readers. Also, your network, and your demographic, might not have had any previous exposure to this VIP. This could be a chance for them to pick up a new group of readers for them too.
Thank you to Rochelle Stone for posting this article on her blog BarefootBasics.com/.
It's A Glorified Recommendation The process of getting a foreword written is about the same as with endorsements, but instead of a few sentences like in a short endorsement or blurb, the VIP writes what amounts to a glorified recommendation letter to the reader – which becomes the foreword. It can be as short as several paragraphs or as long as a few pages, and gives, in greater detail, the reasons why the VIP recommends you and your book.
Thank you to Elizabeth Spann Craig for sharing and linking to my two posts "10 Low-Cost Ways To Market Your Book"; and, "Getting A Big-Name To Write Your Book's Foreword."
What's In It For Them? One thing to remember is that you should not be selling the VIP on the greatness of your book. You need to sell them on their own value as a potential endorser of your book. In other words, don't start off by saying how great your book is, start by saying why you admire their opinion and why it's important for you to have it.
“Getting a “big-name” to write the foreword for your book is a great way to jump-start bigger sales and get positive publicity for your book.”(Tweet)
Also share your reasons for writing the book, why you chose this topic, and who the market your book is benefiting from. And then they can readily see that you are marketing to a similar audience that they already serve, or want to serve. Doing this allows them to see the advantages of having their name visible ...
Synopsis There's a learning curve to successful blogging. And it'll take several months to fully learn most aspects of blogging and how to do it successfully. But the benefits that you and your business might gain can be enormous. Here are ten essential basic steps that you must heed in order to properly set up your blog.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the most important and essential steps to setting up your blog. 2. You will learn very specific tips to make your blog look professional. 3. You will learn how and why these steps can help get your readers to appreciate and trust your blog.
Introduction It's absolutely essential that you get your blog up and running as quickly as possible. As soon as you realize what specific topic, or niche, that you want to write about - start writing. This will help you build up a body of work that shows the world that you are an expert in your niche.
But if you already have expertise in a particular topic, and have built up a body of work that you have previously written, you need to break that work down into a format that is blog-friendly.
Here are ten essential basic steps that you must follow in order to properly set-up your blog and quickly get it running smoothly:
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
Step # 1. Open A WordPress Blog As a beginner, you should go directly to WordPress. Do not waste your time on any of the other blogging websites. This one is by far considered the best and most user-friendly one that is available. It's very simple to use, and has many free add-ons, called widgets, are available.
Most bloggers use this site, so there is plenty of help and advice available on the internet. But basically, WordPress.org gives you total control of your blog. WordPress.com is hosted by WordPress and you have less control. But do a search to learn more about the differences and the costs involved.
Step # 2. Write Your Profile And Add A Headshot You must put a lot of thought into creating your profile. Start by using your LinkedIn profile to help you write this. Give some specific information about yourself, but DO NOT exaggerate. And DO NOT oversell yourself by being boastful or arrogant.
Write several sentences giving the essential, but relevant, information that a reader might need to determine that you have the relevant experience to be writing about your blog’s topic. Include a nice photograph of your face.
B2C - Business 2 Community Website - 10 Basic Steps To Setting Up Your Blog
Step # 3. Write Your Blog Posts Your blog posts can be written about anything that you want to write about. Some will be written like a formal essay. Some will be a one-paragraph quick tip. But always remember, that each post must support your niche. Any information that you post on your blog must benefit your readers and your followers. Write your posts in an appropriate and respectful style. Do not exaggerate, or talk down to the readers, or talk over their heads.
Write to them in a way that shows you have respect for the subject matter, and for the readers. I don’t care if you're a big-university intellectual or a wealthy big-shot celebrity. Your job as a blogger is to help the readers by sharing your expertise and experiences in a particular topic.
They won’t mind you tooting your own horn once in a while. But helping the readers should be the main reason you have a blog in the first place. Your personal need to show the world that you're an expert should come second. Remembering this is the key to producing a great blog.
Thank you to Elizabeth Spann Craig for sharing and linking to my post "10 Basic Steps To Setting-Up Your Blog."
Step # 4. Keep Your Posts Short A typical everyday post should generally be at least 400 words, and typically not more than 2,000 words. Each post should be about one specific topic. If your article is longer than this,
Marketplace Or Heart: Where Do The Best Book Ideas Originate?
Synopsis This is one of the initial big questions would-be authors ask when they finally decide that they want to write their first book. The answer isn't as elusive as many might believe. And dealing with this question early in the writing process will help ensure your book will achieve some measure of success. Here's a short discussion to help you figure out where to find the answer.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn why and where the best book ideas originate from. 2. You will learn the difference between what the market wants, and what you want. 3. You will learn where and how to find and develop your book ideas that have a good chance of becoming a success.
Introduction This is one of the initial big questions would-be authors ask when they finally decide that they want to write their first book. The answer isn't as elusive as many might believe. The best book ideas can be developed by looking at what is currently selling well on Amazon, AND matching that with what your heart desires to write about.
Choosing your book idea based completely on one way or the other is certain to make your book a failure. But choosing your book’s subject matter based on a combination of both (marketplace needs and your heart's needs) is certain to make your book a success.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
A. Marketplace Or Heart?
- Marketplace: When it comes to picking an idea for a new book, some authors will base their entire decision on what they think will be popular in the marketplace. Maybe they believe that this will be the easiest way to make a quick buck.
But, if their choice of topics is based solely on what other people are buying on Amazon, then there won’t be enough personal conviction and authority behind the book – and you and the book will lose credibility with readers. This will almost certainly guarantee that the book will be a dud.
Share This Image On Your SitePlease include attribution to https://kunzonpublishing.com with this graphic.
- Heart: Alternatively, some will completely ignore what books the marketplace is buying and solely base their decision to write their book about a topic of interest to themselves only.
This is unfortunate because they will miss out on the most rewarding part of authoring a book, which is the sharing of information with readers that might benefit from your experiences. But, this will also guarantee that the book will be a financial loser, and read by almost no one.
Ezine Articles - Do The Best Book Ideas Originate In The Marketplace Or In The Heart Of The Author?
B. What Is The Answer? In the middle: As you might have already surmised, the answer is somewhere in the middle. This intersection, somewhere in the middle, is the place where the readers’ needs and what your heart desires meet each other.
This is an important spot because this is where financially successful books are made - where your expertise, and the need in the marketplace, meet each other. So, if you are really passionate about an idea, but no one else cares about it, then your book will not be a financial success.
To become a financial success, AND to make sure that as many people as possible read your book, your idea (subject matter) for your book must line up with what the readers need to solve their problems. Up until this point, it is all hoping and guessing, and a lot of wasted conviction on your part.
Linkedin - Marketplace Or Heart: Where Do The Best Book ideas Originate?
C. Where To Start? Blog: Your blog is the first place to start. This is where you have been writing about your subject for the last year or two. This is also where you have been developing your writing voice, and showing your audience that you have a passion for your subject matter. As the writer of your blog,
Synopsis On its surface, the sell sheet might simply look like a static piece of marketing material. But, under the surface, it's actually a practical, useful, and powerful marketing tool. Here's a quick discussion of the 3 key ingredients needed to create a powerful sell sheet that'll help you sell more books.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the three ingredients a sell sheet must possess in order to become a powerful marketing tool. 2. You will learn why a sell sheet must be flexible enough to accomplish several marketing tasks at once. 3.You will learn what it means for your sell sheet to have a clear message and objective.
Introduction On its surface, the sell sheet might simply look like a static piece of marketing material. But, under the surface, it's actually a practical, useful, and powerful marketing tool.
Your sell sheet needs to be: (1) flexible enough to be used in several different situations and for different reasons; (2) have a clear message and objective; and, (3) look like it was designed by a professional.
Here is a quick discussion of the three key ingredients needed to make a great sell sheet:
Linkedin - What Makes A Great Sell Sheet?
Key # 1. Flexibility Of Use The sell sheet needs to accomplish several marketing tasks all at the same time. For example, it needs to be flexible enough to support your sales and marketing efforts in many different situations. Such as being used by the distributor’s sales reps, or left with someone in a face-to-face meeting.
It must be able to give a quick overview of the book and also provide links, email addresses, and telephone numbers that the reader can use to quickly get more in-depth info. It needs to be formatted so that it can easily be sent by email and direct mail. It needs to be included in the book’s media kit, in print, and online.
It can also be used as a conversation starter or left with the prospective buyer for further investigation. This flexibility, and its ability to assist in many important marketing tasks at the same time, make the sell sheet an important and powerful marketing tool.
EzineArticles.com - What Makes A Great Sell Sheet?
Key # 2. Clear Message And Objective The sell sheet also needs to have a clear message and objective that is obvious to the reader and book buyer. All of the information on the sell sheet must answer the basic questions that the buyer will have about the book. Questions such as “How will your book help them? Why should they care about your book? What is in it for them?
Its “call to action” must be easy to find, and offer the reader several options to get more information about the book, or go directly to placing an order. Remember, its ultimate goal is to help you achieve several marketing goals at the same time, all of which will eventually lead to more book sales.
Business2Community - What Makes A Great Sell Sheet?
Key # 3. Professional Design The sell also sheet needs to look like it was professionally designed and printed. It must have a physically appealing design. It must catch the reader’s eye. It must utilize the proper use of colors and fonts, text boxes, bullet points, white space, use of keywords, etc.
The information it provides must flow easily, quickly, and pleasantly across the page. Its design must bring clarity to the sales discussion and cover all the essential information about the book. It must also convey respect for the book buyer and show the author’s credibility for the subject.
“A sell sheet is not static, but actually a practical, useful, and powerful marketing tool.” (Tweet)
Conclusion By creating a sell sheet that is flexible enough to be used for several different marketing purposes, has a clear message and objective, and looks like it was professionally designed, you will have built a great sell sheet that will support your marketing plan, and certainly improve your book sales.
Synopsis Many self-publishers have probably forgotten the power of this marketing strategy – or don’t believe that this method can work for a tech-savvy self-publisher. But, for the authors of non-fiction, especially those that own a business, a book’s marketing plan isn't complete without some use of direct mail.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn why direct marketing can be a good marketing tool for the self-publisher. 2. You will learn why direct marketing is still relevant in today’s fast-paced and high-tech world. 3. You will learn exactly how I continue to build my list of names and addresses.
Introduction When it comes to marketing your self-published book, there are a number of options open to you. But one of the most ignored marketing methods at your disposal is direct mail marketing. For a small cost, you can physically reach your sales prospects in a short space of time.
Many self-publishers have probably forgotten the power of this marketing strategy – or don’t believe that this method can work for a tech-savvy self-publisher.
And, online and social media marketing strategies have, for the most part, replaced what was once viewed as the most effective marketing strategy. But, for the authors of non-fiction, especially those that also own a business, a book’s marketing plan isn't complete without some use of direct mail.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
Isn’t Direct Mail Marketing Dead? Direct mail marketing might be considered ‘old-school’ by many of today’s high-tech marketing people, but it can still be a powerful marketing tool. And because of this, a self-publisher that wants to sell more books needs to be using direct mail marketing as one part of their overall marketing plan. And don’t forget, not all people have an email account.
But everyone has a physical mailbox – that they visit every day – without exception. In contrast to this, most emails do not get opened. This is because it's no longer easy to impress us with a few slick words in the message line. Regular mail has a better chance of getting opened.
It might sit around in a person’s home or office, waiting to be dealt with. But eventually, it will be looked at. You, as a self-publisher and marketer, have an opportunity to design your mail piece to wow the recipient and try to get them to open it.
“A book’s marketing plan is not complete without some use of direct mail.” (Tweet)
What Is Direct Mail Marketing? Direct mail marketing is, as its name implies, a way for you to get your marketing materials directly into the hands of your prospects, by using the mail system. Postcards, flyers, and brochures are the most common marketing materials to be sent. Of course, direct mail has its advantages and disadvantages.
But when used properly, and with proper planning, it can be a powerful and cost-effective way for you to make a direct and personal connection with your prospects. The direct-mail marketing plans that have the most impact are only sent to specific people, at specific addresses, at specific times of the year.
EzineAricles.com - Direct Mail For The Self-Publisher
How Do I Build A Prospect-List Of Names And Addresses?
There are four main ways for a self-publisher to build a list of names and addresses:
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Ask Your Followers: Ask your followers on social media to voluntarily sign-up for your mail list;
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Current And Past Customers: If you already have an existing business and self-publish your book as a way to promote your business’s services, and the book’s subject matter is appropriate for your customers, you already have their home or office address, so add them to your mailing list;
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Find New Names: Develop your own mail list, by using the internet, for example, to find names and addresses. An example of this would be searching for the names and addresses of all the libraries and independent bookstores and ...
Synopsis Citing your sources is a well-respected form of professional courtesy, and also your duty as an author and publisher. You must give credit where credit is due. Therefore, when using another person's words or ideas, citing that person’s work is essential. Here's a short discussion of a few different citation styles.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about some of the major citation styles that you must understand and know which one to use. 2. You will learn exactly why citing your sources is so imperative to your book’s success. 3. You will learn about the relationship between citations, plagiarism, and credibility.
Introduction: Why Is Citing Our Sources So Important? Citing your sources is a well-respected form of professional courtesy, and also your duty as an author and publisher. You must give credit where credit is due. Therefore, when using another person's words or ideas, citing that person’s work is essential.
If your sources are not cited correctly, you could potentially be accused of plagiarism. And plagiarism is a serious offense that can result in a career-ending loss of credibility from your peers and your readers. A loss of credibility would also dampen your current and future book sales.
Here is a short discussion of a few different citation styles:
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
A. MLA Vs. APA: Not Such A Difficult Decision After All These are the two main professional organizations that have developed referencing and citation guidelines to be used within their respective audiences. There are other organizations that do this, but these two are the most well-known. For example, the MLA guidelines are typically used by professionals in the humanities. And the APA guidelines are typically used by professionals in the sciences.
“Citing sources is a well-respected form of professional courtesy and your duty as an author and publisher.” (Tweet)
Whichever profession that you are in, you will already know which format to use. But for our discussion here, if you are writing non-fiction for a general audience, the default citation format for you to apply will be the formatting rules of the MLA. Below I give you the definitions of the most common terms used for citation. But don’t forget, there are subtle differences between them as far as the MLA or APA guidelines are concerned.
B. Works Cited and Works Consulted (MLA) Vs. References and Bibliography (APA) Here are the MLA and APA differences in their simplest terms. Works Cited (MLA), and References (APA), is a bibliographic list of all the works that were cited in your book. This means that every sentence or idea that you quote or use in your book must be put in this section.
Works Consulted (MLA), and Bibliography (APA), is a bibliographic list of all the works that you used, but did not cite in your text. This means that every book, article, and website that you read to prepare yourself to write your book, should be cited in this section.
EzineArticles.com - Citation Styles
C. Additional Reading And Additional Sources This is simply a section that would list sources that you believe that your readers might find interesting. This could include a list of other publications or websites that your readers might want to look into for further research.
D. Annotated Works Cited And Annotated Bibliography Annotated means that it's not only a list of sources, as in a typical work cited or bibliography, but also a summary, evaluation, and discussion of each source's content and purpose for being used in your book. This is a very popular format with readers.
E. Selected Bibliography And Full Bibliography Some books distinguish between ‘selected’ bibliographies and ‘full’ bibliographies. Selected bibliographies only list a few of the most important works cited. Full bibliographies list every work cited,
Synopsis The odds against becoming a successful self-publisher can seem daunting. But, if you're really serious about seeing yourself in print, and using your writing to help as many people as possible, then no number of negatives can stop you from accomplishing your goals. Here are ten reasons that explain why self-publishing might not be the right thing for you to get into when you're trying to publish your new book.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the most common reasons that make self-publishing appear to be a very hard and long process. 2. You will learn about some of the major stumbling blocks that make self-publishing seem too daunting to start. 3. You will learn why self-publishing might not be the right path for you to explore.
Share This Image On Your SitePlease include attribution to "KunzOnPublishing.com" with this graphic.
Introduction The odds against becoming a successful self-publisher can seem daunting to a novice. But, if you’re really serious about seeing yourself in print, and using your writing to help as many people as possible, then no number of negatives can stop you from accomplishing your goals.
However, when reading this list, keep in mind that there is no one right way to get your book published. Therefore, it's important for each writer to consider their own goals, reasons, and resources before choosing to pursue the traditional book publishing route, or the self-publishing route.
Here are ten reasons that explain why self-publishing might not be the right thing for you to get into when you are trying to publish your new book:
Linkedin - 10 Cons Of Self-PublishingCon # 1. No Guarantee Of Success There are no guarantees of any kind of success with self-publishing – or any kind of publishing or business – or in life in general. That’s just how it is. One of your publications that you put all of your efforts into might sell one copy a week. And your next one will sell 100 per week.
You won’t know for certain which of your books will sell well until you write and publish them. And to make the whole process of self-publishing more nerve-racking, you will shoulder 100 percent of the financial risk. If you can’t deal with any of that, then self-publishing is not for you.
Con # 2. High Out-Of-Pocket Expenses Self-publishing start-up costs can be very high if you foolishly purchase and take delivery of a large number of books from a printer. And then spend the next three years trying to sell them. And then get sick of the entire process and sell them to a big bookstore chain for pennies on the dollar. Where do you think some of those expensive coffee-table books on the bookstore discount table come from?
Publetariat.com - 10 Cons Of Self-Publishing, by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr.Con # 3. Choosing A Particular Niche For Your Writing Can Be A Crap-Shoot There is a market and audience for every imaginable niche. But if you expect to make any money writing about your particular micro-niche, you better pick wisely – and really know what you're writing about. A traditional publisher probably won’t accept your book if your micro-nice is too small to be profitable - for them.
But if they actually accept your book, they will help you make your book more marketable to a bigger audience. But if you don’t want that kind of professional help, you can self-publish your book about a very obscure topic that is of interest to you, and not many others, and languish in obscurity.
Con # 4. Revisions Can Get Expensive Revisions can be very expensive if you haven’t yet sold the bulk of your initial inventory of books – that inventory that you foolishly ordered in bulk to lower your per-copy price – and are now stored in your basement.
Con # 5. Distribution Is Limited Distribution can be limited because bookstore chains, for the most part, do not accept self-published books. But eventually, you'll find other sales outlets for your books.
Synopsis Self-publishing is where you, the author, bypass all the intermediaries that are involved in traditional publishing. These intermediaries do the editing, designing, illustrating, marketing, promotion, etc. of your book. As a self-publisher, you get to choose which functions you want to do, and which ones you need to hire someone to help you.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how I define what self-publishing is all about for me. 2. You will learn why I find it important to define self-publishing as a business. 3. You will learn about the 3 main stages that the process of self-publishing can be broken down into.
Introduction: Bypass Intermediaries Self-publishing is where you, the author, bypass all the intermediaries that are involved in traditional publishing. These intermediaries do the editing, designing, illustrating, marketing, promotion, etc. of your book. As a self-publisher, these functions will typically be your job.
Although, you can easily hire people to do these functions for you and still be considered a self-publisher. As a self-publisher, you get to choose which functions you want to do, and which ones you need to hire someone to help you.
SPAN APSS What Is Self-Publishing?It’s A Business In other words, self-publishing means that you manage and finance a business dedicated to producing and selling your book. In most instances, your business’s goal is to make a profit by creating a product that sells enough copies to cover the expense of creating it, marketing it, promoting it, and distributing it.
“By retaining control and ownership of your self-published book, you can profit from it for many years.” (Tweet)
Many enter self-publishing as a means to promote their other business. Some enter self-publishing as a way to capitalize on the many years of experience that they have gathered during their career. By self-publishing, these people can share their experiences by writing about them, and also earn an income from it – thereby extending and enhancing their career. Develop, Produce, Sell The process of self-publishing can be broken down into three broad stages:
• Stage 1: Development: which involves planning, writing, editing, designing, indexing, and illustrating the book;
• Stage 2: Production: which involves preparing the book for printing, and getting it printed; formatting the book as a pdf and also as an ebup, and,
• Stage 3: Selling: which involves marketing, promoting, and selling yourself and the book.
Linkedin - What Is Self-Publishing?
Retain Ownership In the past, many authors chose to self-publish because they could not get a traditional publisher to publish their book. But today, with the help of the computer, some basic software, and the internet, many authors eagerly and gladly choose self-publishing so that they can retain full creative control over their creation – their book.
By retaining control and ownership over their book, they can profit from it for many years. With a big traditional publisher, a book will typically have a very limited lifespan.
Conclusion: Fun And Profitable Self-publishing is a very powerful, exciting, and alluring concept. On its simplest level, it’s a way to get your words and ideas to a worldwide audience. On an artistic level, it’s an extension of the creative process. Self-publishing is a fun, interesting, and profitable way to satisfy your need to create a product, share it with the world in an appealing way, and make money doing it.
Questions For Us To Think About And Discuss 1. As a self-publisher, which functions do you like to do? Which ones do you prefer to hire out? 2. Are you entering self-publishing to share your knowledge with as many people as possible? Or as an artistic outlet? Or simply to make a profit? Or all three?
• This article is also posted on LinkedIn.com • This article is also posted on EzineArticles.com • This article is also posted on SPANnet.org
How To Create Great Content For Your Blog
Synopsis In order to attract readers to your blog, and actually get them to read your writing, you must create compelling content. This means that your content must quickly get the reader’s attention – and hold on to it. But, at the same time, you must make an emotional connection with the reader. Compelling content will help the reader start to believe you and trust you, and will in turn help build an emotional connection with the reader. This is what will make your blog a success.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the most important ingredients necessary in order to create compelling content on your blog. 2. You will learn why compelling content is so important to your blog’s success. 3. You will learn how and why these ingredients work together to help you build a long-lasting and profitable relationship with your readers.
Introduction In order to attract readers to your blog, and actually get them to read your writing, you must create compelling content. This means that your content must quickly get the reader’s attention – and hold on to it. But, at the same time, you must make an emotional connection with the reader. Compelling content will help the reader start to believe you and trust you, and will in turn help build an emotional connection with the reader. This is what will make your blog a success.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.Here is a list of the most essential ingredients needed to achieve this success:
Key Ingredient # 1. Your Title Must Grab The Reader Generally, you want your title to include the essential keywords of the subject that your article discusses. Titles that try to be too cute or too hip will simply confuse the search engines and certainly confuse your audience. Keep the title simple, and right on point. Your article title is the first thing that will grab your reader’s attention. Make it count – but don’t trick them.
Key Ingredient # 2. Use Your Own Voice It is imperative to speak directly to your reader using your own voice, using informal, but appropriate, language. Doing this will allow your personality to show through to the reader. It'll show you to be honest and open. A reader will appreciate this and because of your honesty start to build trust with you. Consistently using the same writing voice will also help the reader start to build an emotional connection with you.
Thank you to author Katherine Lowry Logan for linking to my articles from her blog KatherineLowryLogan.com
Key Ingredient # 3. Keep It Short Blog posts should generally be between 400 and 800 words. Readers want you to give them the information they need as quickly as possible. If your article is any longer, try to break it up into two or three separate postings. Don’t name them using ‘Part 1’, ‘Part 2’, etc. Give each article its own name. Keeping each blog post short will force you to keep your writing very tight and stay on point. Readers will appreciate this, and start to trust you more.
Key Ingredient # 4. Make It Informative And Inspiring Practical, useful, insightful, inspiring, honest, and helpful content, that provides the information that your audience is looking for, is by far the best way to build an audience that will come back for more. Your article’s title initially grabbed the reader’s attention and got them to start reading your blog post.
Now you must present the information that the title promised to deliver. Delivering what you promised will give you credibility with the reader, and help the reader trust and respect you more.
Business2Community.com - 7 Key Ingredients Needed To Create Compelling Blog ContentKey Ingredient # 5. Show Your Passion You should allow your passion for the subject matter to show through to the reader in your writing. If you're not truly passionate about your topic and passionate about sharing your information,
Synopsis Testimonials and endorsements must be an integral part of your self-published-book marketing program. They should be shown and used everywhere and anywhere you have an opportunity to show them. These eight tips will give you a very powerful way to take advantage of your testimonials and endorsements to help you sell many more books.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn eight specific places to use testimonials and endorsements to help promote your book. 2. You will learn exactly why you must get testimonials and endorsements from a wide variety of people. 3. You will learn how and why testimonials and endorsements can give you a powerful advantage over other authors.
Share This Image On Your SitePlease include attribution to https://kunzonpublishing.com/ with this graphic.
Introduction Testimonials and endorsements must be an integral part of your self-published book marketing and promotion program. These testimonials and endorsements should be shown and used everywhere and anywhere you have an opportunity to show them. These eight tips will give you a very powerful way to take advantage of your testimonials and endorsements that you have collected and help you sell many more books.
Here are a few excellent suggestions to get you started:
Tip #1. Front Book Cover: Display one on your book’s front cover if it is very strong, or by a well-known celebrity, or by an industry guru. Also, your book’s foreword is a type of testimonial. Because of this, the author of the book’s foreword should be shown on the front cover – especially if written by a very important or well-known person.
Thank you to Diana Soloman for featuring this post on her website MyVADiana.com/.
Tip #2. Inside the Book: Place the best ones on the first pages of the book. With POD and ebooks, it is very easy to continually add new and better testimonials and endorsements to your book as you get them.
Tip #3. Press Releases: Any press release that you send out should be flaunting your best testimonials and endorsements. Make sure that you include your press releases in your media kit and on your book’s website.
B2C - Business 2 Community Website - Using Testimonials And Endorsements
Tip #4. Website: Put every endorsement and testimonial on your website where you promote yourself and your book. Here you can display all the testimonials and endorsements that you collect – and keep adding to the list as you accumulate more. Highlight the ones that give you and your book the most praise. Also, highlight the ones from the biggest and most well-known names.
Tip #5. Promotional Material: The best testimonials and endorsements must be used in any advertising and promotion for the book. These testimonials and endorsements are essential for higher book sales. These testimonials and endorsements will help make book shoppers take a second look at your promotional material.
The longer you can get a buyer to spend reading your promotional material, the greater chance you have of getting them to jump over to your website or to Amazon to explore what your book is about.
Publetariat.com - Using Testimonials and Endorsements to Promote Your Book, by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr.
Tip #6. Media Kit: They must be used in your media kit, which should be on your website. Your media kit should be on your website/blog as a downloadable PDF. Make sure that you use active/clickable links inside your media kit.
Tip #7. Interviews: The best testimonials and endorsements should be used in any written discussion about yourself and your books. Always try to associate your name with the authors of your best endorsements. Associating your name and book with these big-name people will give you an enormous amount of credibility within your market and in the eyes of the book buyer.
“Testimonials and endorsements can become even more powerful if you get them from a wide variety of people.” (Tweet)
Tip #8.
Here is the title for the US and Canada: 3 Tips To Writing A Great Acknowledgments Page
Synopsis On the surface, the Acknowledgements Page might seem to be an insignificant part of the book. But the competition for authors to gain new readers is very intense. Because of this, we must view every section of the book as an opportunity to reach out and make a connection with the reader – including the Acknowledgments Page. Here are three important and essential tips to help give your book’s Acknowledgements Page some marketing power.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn why and how the Acknowledgements Page plays an important role in the overall success of the book. 2. You will learn what a good Acknowledgements Page should look like and feel like. 3. You will learn why and how the Acknowledgements Page can help make an emotional connection with the reader.
(FUN FACT: The word 'acknowledg(e)ment' is typically spelled with this extra letter e outside of the US and Canada. Inside of the US and Canada, we typically don't use that extra letter e. Not all spellcheck programs will catch this since both are technically correct. -JCK)
Introduction EVERY section of a book is an opportunity to make an emotional connection with the reader, including the Acknowledgements Page. At first glance, this section might seem to be a small and insignificant part of the book. But, you must remember that the competition for authors to gain new readers and followers is very intense.
Thank you to April Hamilton for posting this on her website Publetariat.com
And because of this, we must view EVERY part of the book, every sentence, every word, every picture, and every chart, as an opportunity to reach out and make a connection with the reader.
Here are three important and essential tips to help give your book’s Acknowledgements Page some marketing power:
Tip # 1. Make It The Appropriate Size Your book’s Acknowledgements Page will play an important role in the critical and financial success of your book. Therefore, it is essential that you don't skimp on the quality of the information and the quantity of time that you need to put into this section. Do not listen to those that tell you to keep this section “short and sweet”.
There is no such rule about “keeping it down to one page”, or else you risk “boring your readers”. This is nonsense. If your non-fiction book is on the short side, maybe a few paragraphs are enough. A much longer non-fiction book will almost certainly need a longer acknowledgements section. You need to plan this section with some deliberate and strategic thinking while you are developing, writing, and building your book.
Linkedin - 3 Hot Tips For A Great Acknowledgements PageTip # 2. Find A Good One To Emulate With some research in your library and on the internet, you will be able to find some Acknowledgements Pages that are done correctly and certainly look like they should have a beneficial impact on the book's success. Acknowledgements Pages in too many non-fiction books are poorly planned and not well written. When you see one that is done correctly, you will notice it immediately.
It will look, sound, and feel like it is talking to you with respect, and show you, the reader, how much effort the author put into making his book. It will pull you into the book, and give you an inside look at what went into building that book. As you read it, it will make an emotional connection with you, and you will want to know more about that book and about the author. This is a good acknowledgements page to emulate.
“No section of your book is too small or insignificant that it cannot help improve your book’s credibility." (Tweet)
Tip # 3. Do Not Be Superficial Making superficial statements about your spouse supporting you while you were writing your book, or your hard-working editor, or favorite professor in college, or the famous author you met for thirty seconds,
Synopsis If you have any hope of your book becoming popular and selling, it must look and read like a professionally designed and edited book. This will immediately show your audience that you have respect for yourself, your readers, and your subject matter. All of this will help you build a dedicated audience that will take you and your advice very seriously, and continue to buy and read your publications for a long time to come.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the most common mistakes non-fiction authors make when creating their books. 2. You will learn how to recognize these mistakes, and how to fix them. 3. You will learn how and why avoiding these mistakes in the first place will help you sell more books.
Introduction If you have any hope of your book becoming popular and selling, it must look and read like a professionally designed and edited book. By this, I mean that your book must physically look great, inside and out, and the content must be well presented, easy to follow, and well-thought-out.
All of this might sound obvious at first glance, but it takes a lot of work and planning to make it all come together properly. And, unfortunately, your book might never find an audience because of these fatal mistakes.
Why I Made This List So, with all of that said, if you want your non-fiction book to get noticed and purchased, and impress your clients, then you need to avoid these common mistakes and pitfalls that are listed here. I developed this list from my own reading experiences.
I read a lot of non-fiction books and have realized that these mistakes aren't only limited to small publishers and new authors. I see some of these same problems in the publications of some of the largest publishers.
Just A Simple Reminder And please, never forget, that as a self-publisher, YOU are solely responsible for your book’s success, and your reputation, so you need to be especially attentive to avoiding these mistakes.
Linkedin - 10 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Self-Publishing Your Non-Fiction Book Mistake # 1: Missing Sections Include all of the standard sections of a book. This includes the title page, copyright page, table of contents, and so on. Readers expect your book to look like a real, professionally edited and designed book.
Mistake # 2: Cramming It In Use proper margins. Making your margins too small will make your book difficult and unpleasant to read. Top, bottom, inside, and outside margins are each different, and each needs to be the appropriate size. And always use an easy-to-read font for your text.
Mistake # 3: Bad Cover Change your cover if it's not working. Don't hesitate to hire a professional cover designer for a few hundred dollars. We all know about first impressions, and what they'll do to your sales and your reputation.
Thank you very much to Chris Graham for sharing my post on his blog The Story Reading Ape.
Mistake # 4: Not Enough Proofreading Find every typo and grammatical error in the book. Don't be afraid to hire a professional proofreader. A professional can find mistakes that you have overlooked a hundred times.
Mistake # 5: Missing ISBN Include an ISBN number and barcode on the back cover. Include the ISBN number on your copyright page. No retailer will sell your book without one.
Mistake # 6: Improper Structure Your writing and content must have the proper structure. Every chapter and every paragraph must have a beginning, middle, and end. Your book must progress in such a way that the reader can easily follow along. If it doesn’t, the reader will get confused and quickly tire of reading your book.
“If you have any hope of your book selling well it must look like a professionally designed and edited book.” (Tweet)
Mistake # 7: Not Providing Solutions Never forget, that your reader is reading your book because they want to find a way to solve their own problems.
10 Steps To Self-Publishing Your First Book
Synopsis These ten steps will help you painlessly jump-start your new self-publishing business. Although most of these steps are not difficult to accomplish, I believe that they'll help you quickly lay the foundation for a successful first book. I wrote this as a simple way to show how to overcome the most common objections I hear from would-be authors who fear taking that first step.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how to overcome your fears and objections about self-publishing a book. 2. You will learn how and why self-publishing must be treated like a business. 3. You will learn how and why building a strong business foundation will help you sell many more books.
Introduction These ten steps will help you painlessly jump-start your new self-publishing business. Although most of these steps aren't difficult to accomplish, I believe that they'll help you quickly lay the foundation for a successful first book.
Step 1. Realize that this is a business Self-publishing is a business. It can be your side-business, main business, used to help find new clients for your current business, or even be your hobby. But you still must run it like a business.
That means you will need to learn the basics of management, marketing, sales, public relations, accounting, negotiation, etc. You can look at your new book like it's a product that you market and sell. You can also look at your new book simply as part of your current business’s overall marketing plan.
Step 2. Start your due-diligence You must research what will be involved in self-publishing. Buy several of the most popular books about self-publishing, such as those by Dan Pointer. Visit the most popular self-publishing blogs, such as Joel Friedlander's TheBookDesigner.com. Visit the biggest websites that can sell your books, such as Amazon, SmashWords, and Scribd.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
Step 3. Keep your current job Don’t be so quick to believe all of the hype about self-publishing as a way to make a lot of quick easy money. The reality is that 99% of self-publishers don’t make a full-time living from self-publishing alone.
So, with that said, keeping your job will ensure that you will have a regular paycheck and insurance. It's also very important to keep building your resume. A good resume will help build your credentials and be proof of your accomplishments. This will give you more credibility with your readers.
APSS - Jump-Start Your Self-Publishing Adventure in 10 Steps
Step 4. Discover your niche In today’s terms, this means “micro-niche”. As a self-publisher, you'll most likely find the biggest success by narrowly defining your market niche. It's much easier to become an expert in a very specific market where it's much less crowded with big well-established writers and publishers. If you're already self-employed, your book’s subject matter should be aligned with the niche that your business is already involved with.
Jump-Start Your Self-Publishing Business In 10 Steps https://t.co/9dnA19FCs7 via @jckunzjr— Chris Well (@BuildYourBrandA) August 13, 2016
Step 5. Start with an ebook This is the smartest way to get started. It's fast and inexpensive. It's the perfect way to dip your toes into the water and see how comfortable it is for you. Starting with an ebook allows you to feel out your market.
It also allows you to quickly and easily make any changes or corrections well before sending your book to a print-on-demand printer and distributor – such as Lightning Source
Step 6. Set-up your blog Once you figure out what your niche is, start your free WordPress blog right away. This will get your creative juices flowing. It will also establish an internet home for you where you'll show the world your expertise in your niche.
B2C - Jump-Start Your Self-Publishing Adventure in 10 Steps...
Synopsis Buyers of your book don’t care why you wrote your book. They just want to know how your book can help them improve their life. Your book’s Introduction gives you an opportunity to convince the buyers that your book is the best one out there that can help them. Here are the five essential parts of a powerful Introduction that'll help you achieve that.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the 5 essential parts needed to create a complete and powerful book Introduction. 2. You will learn about how each of those parts will work together to make the Introduction an important marketing tool. 3. You will learn about what information each part must include helping you make an emotional connection with the reader.
Introduction Your book’s Introduction is a quick way for you, the author, to explain how your book is going to help the reader. This explanation is what will make your book’s Introduction a powerful sales tool for you to use to hook the reader into buying your book and reading it. Buyers of your book don’t care why you wrote this book.
Share This Image On Your SitePlease include attribution to https://kunzonpublishing.com/ with this graphic.
They just want to know how your book can help them improve their life. Your book’s Introduction gives you an opportunity to convince the buyers that your book is the best one out there that can help them.
To do this you should include the following five parts in your book’s Introduction:
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
Part # 1. The Hook – Why Should They Buy Your Book? Answer this question properly, and you will sell more books. Here you must compel your potential buyer to read your book, so they will want to buy it. To do this you must grab the reader’s attention.
Grab them with a telling snippet from your book, or a shocking news headline, or dramatic facts and statistics, or a famous quote. What are their concerns or challenges that your book will help them solve? Put yourself into their shoes, and explain why they should buy your book.
SPAN - The 5 Essentials
Part # 2. The Connection – Describe Your Reader’s Problem Here you must make an emotional connection with your reader. You wrote the book, so you must show that you really understand the challenges, problems, and risks, etc., that have caused your audience to seek out your book in the first place. Why is your audience having these issues?
Why haven’t they been able to solve them? Why are these issues so hard to fix or solve? Explain to your audience why and how you know about these questions. Convince them that you are the one with the answers and that you want to share this information with them.
Publetariat - April Hamilton's website for people who publish
Part # 3. The Benefits – How Will Your Book Help The Reader? The benefits to the reader are what will sell your book, so include several of your most important benefits. The reader is only considering buying your book and reading it because of the benefits that the reader believes that they will gain.
Include some general benefits, and several specific benefits to reading your book. Keep explaining why they should buy your book. For example, “You will learn how to . . .”; Discover ways to . . .”; "You will improve your . . .".
Linked - 5 Essentials Of A Powerful Book Introduction
Part # 4. The Format – What Will Happen In The Coming Chapters? Here you will give the reader a quick idea about how your book is arranged. Your book’s table of contents has already given the reader a quick glimpse of how your book is arranged and what it will discuss.
But here you will tell the reader about some of the other features that aren't necessarily reflected in the table of contents. For example, tell the reader about the side-bars, tips, facts, stories, interviews, quotes, pictures, diagrams, appendix, etc.,
Synopsis Here's a quick discussion of some very powerful no-cost “passive marketing” ideas that'll help you achieve never-ending book sales.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how and why passive marketing is so powerful and important for improving your book sales. 2. You will learn just how easy and inexpensive passive marketing can be to implement. 3. You will learn how important repetition of your marketing message is to your book’s long-term success.
Introduction There are two main ways of marketing your books. They are “passive marketing” and “active marketing”. Basically, all marketing efforts fall into one of these two categories:
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Passive marketing generally includes all the seemingly small, static, less expensive, or no-cost, and subtle ways that we get the attention of readers. This involves marketing efforts that reach people whether they realize it or not. A blog with lots of free and informative information is a good example of passive marketing. Appearing on a television show as an expert is also a good example.
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Active marketing generally includes all the larger, splashier, and more expensive ways that we get the attention of readers. This involves marketing efforts that are much more obvious, and people know right away that they're being marketed to. Paid advertisements in print and online are a good example of active marketing. Email marketing is also a good example.
Here is a quick discussion of some very powerful no-cost passive marketing ideas that will help you achieve never-ending books sales:
Thank you very much to author Yesenia Vargas for linking to my article.
Tip # 1. Updating Your Online Content Any online documents that you sell or offer for free must be kept up-to-date and free of errors. Also, make sure that your bio information and book information inside these documents is kept up to date.
Tip # 2. Updating And Adding To Your Blog You can never stop adding relevant content to your blog. Keeping your blog updated with new information will help your blog move up in the search engine rankings. Also make sure that you keep re-reading your older blog content, always looking to improve or fix them. Always fix or eliminate dead links. Dead links might hurt your Google ranking and search results, and they make you look lazy.
“Although passive marketing is simple and low-cost, it can be highly effective, esp. over the long term.” (Tweet)
Tip # 3. Email Signature An email signature should be inserted at the end of every email that you send out. In it you can include a short bio about yourself. You can also include links to your blog, your book’s website, your LinkedIn profile, and your Amazon profile, etc. You can also include your photo, and a picture of your books, etc.
Thank you very much to Lynnette Philips for posting and linking to my article
Tip # 4. Account/Profile Settings At any website that lets you include a personal profile, make sure that you mention your blog and your book. Offer a free download or sample chapter as an inducement to get the reader to check out your blog and book.
Tip # 5. Update/Improve/Change Book Cover A new and updated cover can very quickly give your book a new life. If you're creative and have a good eye, you can do this by yourself for free. But, if you have a few hundred bucks, you should hire someone to do it for you.
Thank you very much to author Al Galasso, of NABE, for publishing two of my marketing articles in "Book Dealers World", the publication of the NABE-National Assoc. of Book Entrepreneurs
Tip # 6. Re-Edit Book Content You must never stop improving the content of your book. Keep searching for grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, and factual mistakes. Mistakes of any kind can hurt your reputation, your brand, and your credibility, in the eyes of your readers.
Tip # 7. Get More/Better Book Blurbs And Quotes Get as many blurbs and quotes that you can get.
Click here to download this PDF ebook
Synopsis Whether you're about to self-publish your first book, or start a micro-niche publishing company, you need to have a business plan in place. A business plan will give you a basic roadmap for your new business. An easy and quick way to do this is to create a one-page business plan. So, here is a list of five questions that you must ask yourself before writing your one-page business plan.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the basic questions that you must ask yourself before you write your plan. 2. You will learn how to determine exactly what micro-niche you should pursue, and why. 3. You will learn how and why these questions will help you create a successful book.
Introduction Whether you're about to self-publish your first book or start a micro-niche publishing company, you need to have a business plan in place. A business plan will give you a basic roadmap for your new business. An easy and quick way to do this is to create a one-page business plan.
This will let you quickly clarify your own thinking about your new business. This short, one-page plan, can also be used as an outline for a longer more in-depth plan. With some research, you should be able to complete this one-page plan in under one week.
So, here is a list of five questions that you must ask yourself before writing your one-page business plan:
Kindle Nation Daily - Writing A One-Page Business Plan
Question 1. WHY do you want to self-publish? Your answer can't only be about the money. It needs something more than that. It also needs to be short, very specific, and very personal. Examples: a. “I want to write a book that will help new nurses be more productive, more effective, and more marketable in today’s tight job market.” b. “I want to write small-business management books so that I can share my knowledge and expertise with others that would like to start their own small business. I gained this knowledge and experience over the last 35 years while starting and managing my own successful small business.” c. “I want to write and self-publish a book to give myself more credibility in the eyes of my peers.”
Thank you to Elizabeth Spann Craig for sharing and linking to my post "Writing A One-Page Business Plan: 5 Questions A Self-Publisher Must Ask."
Question 2. WHAT will you write about? Explain it in one sentence, in very specific detail. You must understand what your writing niche, or specialty, will be.
Examples: a. “I will write and publish books about all aspects of self-publishing for people who have not written a book before.” b. “I'll write a how-to book for experienced nurses who want to advance to become part of nursing management in a hospital.” c. “I'll write a how-to guide for new parents who are raising a deaf child.”
Good to know info! "Writing A One-Page Business Plan" https://t.co/mXbTXIs89O via @jckunzjr #marketing— Chris Kennedy (@ChrisKennedy110) August 7, 2016
Question 3. WHO is your market? You must narrow this down to a very specific group of people. Your answer cannot be “everybody and anybody”. You must know exactly who buys your type of book. You only have a limited amount of time and money for marketing and promotion. You must target your best efforts at those who are most likely to buy your book. Keep your answer down to a few tight sentences.
Example: a. “The market for my book is American nursing students that are in nursing school, or have just graduated as RN’s with an AS or BS degree in nursing and are searching for their first job. They are almost exclusively females between 20 and 26 years of age. Half of them like to read a paperback copy of a book; the other half like to read the ebook version. They are very worried about getting a job after graduation because the nursing shortage has ended.”
B2C - Business 2 Community.com - Writing A One-Page Business Plan
Question 4.
Synopsis What must your book do to convince your audience to ignore the other books and buy your book? I've outlined some crucial questions that you must deal with as a self-publisher if you want the buyer to choose your book over another. By dealing with these questions you'll help the buyer become more confident in their decision to choose your book over the many other books.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about the thinking process that your buyers are going through. 2. You will learn what things you must understand about your buyers in order to convince them to buy your book. 3. You will learn what questions you must ask yourself in order to put yourself into the shoes of your buyers.
Introduction As a self-publisher, you must understand how a potential customer will determine if your book is worth buying or not. Let's assume the buyer has already found your book on Amazon because they're looking for information about a subject that your book covers. They're hoping to find a book that they believe will help them solve a problem, learn something new, and is worth their time and money.
Authors.com Book Buyer's Decision-Making Process
What must your book do to convince this person to ignore the other books and buy your book? I've outlined some crucial questions that you must deal with as a self-publisher if you want the buyer to choose your book over another. By dealing with these questions you'll help the buyer become more confident in their decision to choose your book over the many other books.
You Must Understand Your Buyer Not all buyers will go through every step. Buying or downloading a book is not usually a complicated and drawn-out decision-making process. But some of the steps to making the decision to buy a particular book will be more important to certain buyers. And some steps will be less important, or not considered at all.
But you, as a self-publisher that needs to sell books, must understand what your reader’s decision-making process is going through. The better you understand that thought process, and the better you provide the answers to your buyer’s questions, the more books you will sell.
The Questions You Must Answer Here are some of the most obvious and most essential questions that you as the author and publisher of your book must provide answers to. I am sure, that with a little thoughtful effort, you should be able to develop additional questions that the audience for your particular book will need to be answered before they decide to buy your book. Question # 1. Can the book shopper download a sample of your publication, from Amazon, Scribd, and your own website?
Question # 2. Does your book have a website to support your book? Question # 3. Are there reviews of your book on Amazon for the buyer to read?
Linkedin - The Book Buyer's Decision Process
Question # 4. Is there any discussion of your publication on social reading websites? Question # 5. Who is the publisher? Does this publisher specialize in your book’s topic? Question # 6. Are you the publisher, but with many years of experience in this book’s exact topic? Question # 7. Do you the author/publisher have other related titles? Question # 8. Does your book have a great foreword by an industry guru, expert, insider, or famous author? Question # 9. Does your book’s introduction properly explain what the book is about? Question # 10. Does the design and formatting of your book look professional; and is it easy to follow? Question # 11. Is your book’s cover well designed and look professional? Question # 12. Does your book’s back cover provide all the essential information about your book? Question # 13. What problems will your book help solve for the reader? Question # 14. Is there an editor referenced on the cover or in the credits? Question # 15. Have you, the author, written other related books? And are they available on Amazon? Question # 16.
Synopsis Just as you would make your book’s cover as attractive as possible, your sell sheet must also leave readers with a favorable first impression of you and your new book. Following these key design principles for your book's sell sheet will pay off with higher book sales.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn what design elements your sell sheet must utilize in order to create a favorable first impression. 2. You will learn about the importance of white space, and not overusing color. 3. You will learn how using the appropriate fonts and high-quality images will help make your sell sheet look professionally done.
Introduction Just as you would make your book’s cover as attractive as possible, your sell sheet must also leave readers with a favorable first impression of you and your new book. Unfortunately, very few readers will do any more than skim the sell sheet to find only the information they are searching for.
Share This Image On Your SitePlease include attribution to "KunzOnPublishing.com" with this graphic.
Synopsis You must first realize that a book’s cover is the equivalent of a product’s packaging. You must figure out what needs to be on that cover in order for a buyer to choose your book over the many others that cover the same topic. By utilizing these ten fundamental design tips you will greatly increase your chances of making more sales, and thereby helping more people.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn ten fundamental design tips to help you create a great book cover. 2. You will learn how to determine what needs to be on your cover that will attract your audience. 3. You will learn how to make your cover look good in print, as well as online.
Introduction You must first realize that a book’s cover is the equivalent of a product’s packaging. What's on that cover, or packaging, is advertising, or promotional copy. You must figure out what needs to be on that cover in order for a buyer to choose your book over the many others that cover the same topic. What needs to be on your book’s cover that will draw in, or attract, a buyer?
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
You must separate yourself from your personal feelings about your book, and think as the buyer would think. What would attract you to a book like yours? Your book cover’s ability to attract buyers will have a direct effect on how well your books sell. So, don’t be afraid to design several covers. And don’t be afraid to hire professional help.
By utilizing these ten fundamental design tips you will greatly increase your chances of making more sales, and thereby helping more people:
Design Tip # 1. The Title Should Be Readable From Six Feet Away This is a good general rule for most book covers. This is especially important if you ever plan on having your book on the shelf of a bookstore. This will also help with Design Tip # 3.
“The cover is your chance to make a great impression, and get the attention of those that need your help.” (Tweet)
Design Tip # 2. The Font Should Be Readable And Appropriate If your cover’s font is too fancy or complicated, it will be too difficult for buyers to read your cover. This will also be important when it comes time to reduce the image of your book cover that will be viewed on the internet. Don’t be afraid to use one font for the main title, and another for the subtitle.
Design Tip # 3. The Cover Should Be Recognizable As A Thumbnail Picture This is extremely important in today’s internet world. Most buyers today will only see your book’s cover as a tiny image before they buy it.
Thank you to Iryna Spica of Spica Book Design for featuring this article on her website.
Design Tip # 4. The Cover Images Should Reflect The Theme Of The Book There should generally be some connection - vague, obvious, or somewhere in the middle - to the overall subject matter and theme of your book.
Design Tip # 5. Include Testimonials On The Back Cover Put several short testimonials from big recognizable names on the back of your cover.
Thank you to Ivin Viljoen for posting this article on his website AuthoPublisher.com
Design Tip # 6. Include Really Impressive Testimonial On The Front Cover Put your most impressive short testimonial from the most recognizable person that you can get.
Design Tip # 7. Include The ISBN, The Price, And The Bookland/EAN Bar Code on Back Cover Amazon, and every bookstore in the world, will only accept your book if it has the appropriate ISBN and Bookland/EAN bar code. It's generally a good idea to include the cover price and its accompanying barcode, but it's not always required.
Design Tip # 8. Include Bookstore Shelving Category On Back Cover You put this on your back cover so that the bookstore clerks don’t put your book in the wrong section of the bookstore. It also helps the buyer quickly categorize your book in their own mind.
Linkedin - Top 10 Book Cover Design Tips
Synopsis If you don't include all the basic information that your readers are looking for when they visit your blog, they'll leave your site feeling disappointed, and without making an emotional connection to you, your products, or services. By making sure that your blog has, at the very least, these six items, you'll go a long way to helping your readers to make a positive emotional connection with you and your company.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn about some of the basic items that most readers expect from your blog. 2. You will learn that these fundamentals will really help you understand what blogging is really about. 3. You will learn how and why these fundamentals can make your blog your most powerful marketing and branding tool.
Introduction The blog is now the most basic and essential marketing tool needed for today’s small businesses. Your blog can be a very powerful way for your readers, customers, audience, and market, to connect with you on a practical and emotional level, 24/7.
Share This Image On Your SitePlease include attribution to https://kunzonpublishing.com/ with this graphic.
If you don't include all the basic information that your readers are looking for when they visit your blog, they'll leave your site feeling disappointed, and without making an emotional connection to you, your products, or services. And because of this, many will not return to your blog or buy your products or services.
Here is a quick run-down on the most essential information that you must include in your blog:
Expectation # 1. Quality Content, Not Quantity Content, content, content. Content is king. We've all heard these two phrases before. The problem is that too many blogs still don’t provide quality content. Practical, useful, insightful, honest, and helpful content, that provides the information that your audience is looking for, is by far the best way to build an audience. Quality content is your way to prove to your audience that you know what you are talking about.
“The blog is now the most basic and essential marketing tool needed for today’s small businesses.” (Tweet)
Quality content will also show that you have respect for the subject matter, as well as the audience. Then your audience will begin to trust you, your information, and your blog. Quality content is what will bring them back for more. Hopefully, these same people will then choose your products and services over your competition’s. Always remember: the quality of your content is much more important than the quantity of content.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
Please don’t believe the many websites about blogging that tell us the opposite. Those sites are showing you how little respect they have for you, for themselves, and for their audience. And they give blogging a bad name.
Expectation # 2. Biography / Personal Information This is the place to show your credentials in a positive light. Show how your experiences, education, career, jobs, accomplishments, awards, etc., are proof that you know what you're talking about. Be very careful not to exaggerate.
The instant your readers get the slightest hint that you are exaggerating, or boasting, or lying, you'll lose their respect and trust – forever. They'll never believe you again, and never come back to your blog, and never buy your products and services.
Your readers, customers, and clients will give you some leeway for boasting about your accomplishments. They will usually write this off to pride. But this can be a very fine line to walk on, so be very careful. Error on the side of understatement.
Linkedin - 6 Things Readers Expect From Your Blog
Expectation # 3. Contact Information You must make it as easy as possible for your readers to contact you. For some businesses, an email address is enough. For others, an email and telephone number are essential.
Synopsis Here's a list that my wife Michele and I have created to share with other married business partner couples. We have been learning and practicing how to be good marriage partners, business partners, and writing partners, for the last 31+ years – and hopefully will continue for the rest of our lives. We consider the following advice to be very important to our successful business and marriage. We hope you'll find it useful too.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn several specific tips about how to create a great business partnership with your spouse. 2. You will learn how and why a marriage partnership is the same thing as a business partnership. 3. You will learn why you must put aside your ego, and consider the other spouse’s needs first.
Introduction Here's some advice about working with your spouse as a business partner. I am sure that you can find a zillion more of these tips on the internet. But here is a list that my wife Michele and I have created to share with other married business partner couples.
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We have been learning and practicing how to be good marriage partners, business partners, and writing partners, for the last 31 years – and hopefully will continue for the rest of our lives. We consider the following advice to be very important to our successful business and marriage. We hope you'll find it useful too.
Longevity Tip #1. Each Spouse Should Have Their Duties Spelled Out In Detail Each spouse must know exactly what is expected of them. When working together for so many years, each learns what the strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes of the other are.
If a situation comes up that one spouse doesn’t know how to handle, or is uncomfortable dealing with, they must have enough trust in the other spouse to speak up, ask for help, and work it out together – without hesitation, without harsh judgment, and without criticizing each other.
Publetariat.com - Working With Your Spouse As A Business Partner, By Joseph C. Kunz, Jr.
Longevity Tip #2. You Must Be Able To Let The Other Spouse Do Their Job But at the same time, each spouse must realize that it's in their own best interest to help each other do a great job. This is especially true with a family business. Each person brings their special abilities, knowledge, and experiences to the business and partnership.
Helping each other find that special ability is also one of the joys of owning a business with your spouse. Helping each other flourish in that job makes the business and relationship grow peacefully, happily, and successfully.
LinkedIn - 7 Tips To Working With Your Spouse As A Business Partner
Longevity Tip #3. Each Spouse Must Strive To Be The Best That They Can Be In Their Duty Or Function They must have the desire to be the best they can be – because the family is depending on them to do this. For example, the person that manages all of the websites must constantly show that every effort is being made to make the websites as good as possible, as profitable as possible, as popular as possible, etc.
They prove this by staying up-to-date on everything involving website design, taking classes, writing articles, talking to website consultants (our kids), keeping track of the website statistics, etc.
Longevity Tip #4. Major Decisions About The Business Cannot Be Made Without Consulting With The Other Spouse Even many of the smaller decisions should be discussed or mentioned to the partner. Each spouse must be made to feel that they are part of the business and that their thoughts, ideas, and feelings are important. And because we care about each other, the other spouse’s thoughts, ideas, and feelings are important to each of us.
21st Century Modern Family: Entrepreneurs that gracefully merge marriage, family, and business
Longevity Tip #5.
Synopsis Don't underestimate the power of the foreword, preface, and introduction to help make your book get noticed, purchased, and read. Making money from selling books is a simple numbers game. Sell more books, make more money. Therefore, a lot of time, effort, planning, and designing must be applied to creating the foreword, preface, and introduction. Here's a quick discussion of these three sections, looked at from a marketing perspective.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn why you should never underestimate the marketing power of your book’s foreword, preface, and introduction to help you make more sales. 2. You will learn that making an emotional connection with readers and buyers is a fundamental concept in marketing and selling. 3. You will learn how to help the person that is writing your book’s foreword to understand their role in the success of your book.
Introduction 3 Powerful Marketing Tools It’s imperative that the self-publisher always remembers that a book's foreword, preface, and introduction can be very powerful marketing tools for the author and the book. They each play an important role in the success of the book. And one of these roles is to make an emotional connection with the reader.
They each should help the reader develop an affinity, and intellectual attraction, to the writer. They should build a desire within the reader a need to hear what the author wants to say.
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If written properly, and with a lot of forethought, all three sections can play a major factor in helping the reader to decide whether they should buy the book or not. These sections can also help the reader form a favorable opinion of the book while they're reading it, as well as after they have finished it. Therefore, a lot of time, effort, planning, and designing must be applied to the foreword, preface, and introduction.
The Self-Publisher’s Maxim Yes, a book’s foreword, preface, and introduction are different. And each has a different purpose. But each has the same goal: To . . . 1. Make an emotional connection with the reader, which will . . . 2. Build credibility for the book’s author and the book, which will . . . 3. Sell more books. Period. This is the maxim that we self-publishers must always keep in mind for everything we create. Everything, without exception.
Thank you very much to best selling author Terri Main, editor of the Indie Publishing Daily News, for sharing my post.
When Should Each Section Be Written? The preface and introduction of a book should be written before the book is written. The foreword should be written when the book is almost complete. Creating the preface and introduction beforehand will help the author establish in her own mind what she is trying to accomplish by writing the book.
Therefore, when writing the book, the preface and introduction will help the author stay on course with the book’s mission. Of course, they can be edited and adjusted as the book develops or if the mission changes. But, by writing them before writing the main part of the book, they'll act as a basic guideline for the author as the book develops.
B2C - Business 2 Community Website - Book Marketing
Help And Guidance For The Foreword's Author And don’t forget, the person that writes the book’s foreword will certainly be using and relying on both the preface and introduction to guide them when writing the foreword. Therefore, you not only need the preface and introduction to make an emotional and intellectual connection with your reading audience but with the foreword’s author as well.
You, the book’s author, are trying to convince the foreword’s author that you're the right person to be writing this book in the first place. In the preface and introduction, you're basically telling them how you want the book to be viewed by the reading audie...
Synopsis Here I share with you my favorite reasons for becoming a self-publisher. As I see it, self-publishing can be a great way to enhance your current career and business. But it can, with a lot of work and fortitude, potentially become a career all by itself. So, I hope that this list helps to get your internal capitalist into gear and get you onto a new, exciting, and more profitable path too.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn my personal reasons that I chose to self-publish. 2. You will learn that many of these reasons are also probably intriguing to you also. 3. You will learn that most of these reasons speak directly to the reasons why you started a business, or began writing, in the first place.
Introduction Here I share with you my favorite reasons for becoming a self-publisher. Some reasons on this list might be more important to me than they might be to you. But I'm certain that on this list you'll at least find one reason that is important or intriguing to you too.
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Reason #1. Retain Ownership: As a self-publisher, you retain complete control and ownership of the book – forever. I’m sure that for all of you reading this article, this is a very important reason – as it was for me.
Reason #2. Instant Credibility: The book will instantly give you credibility with your audience and clients – and thereby help boost your career or business. We all want this. The more professional-looking and sounding your book is, the more credibility you'll have with your audience. And with self-publishing, you can easily and quickly make improvements to your book – especially with an ebook.
Reason #3. Control Fate of My Book: As a self-publisher, you control the fate of your book – not some publisher that has no interest in your book or subject other than how much money they can make from you. Self-publishers are writing and publishing books because we love our subject, and want to share our knowledge with others – and hopefully make some money and get new clients with our book.
Reason #4. Speed to Market: Traditional publishers take way too long to bring your book to the market. A big publisher would think that you're a silly fool to believe that you could get your book into a worldwide audience within a few weeks. But of course, we now all know that we can – and do.
Linkedin - The 10 Reasons That I Became A Self-Publisher
Reason #5. Plenty of Help Available: As a self-publisher, you can choose to be involved with as much, or as little, of the creative process. Self-publishing is where you, the author, can bypass all the intermediaries that are involved in traditional publishing. These intermediaries do the editing, designing, illustrating, marketing, promotion, etc., of your book.
As a new self-publisher, these functions will typically be your job. Although, you can easily hire people to do these functions for you and still be considered a self-publisher. As a self-publisher, you get to choose which functions you want to do, and which ones you need to hire someone to help you with.
Reason #6. Keep All Profits: As a self-publisher, you keep all of the profits. A traditional publisher will keep almost all of the profits. Then, after several months, when your book sales start to slow down, they will dump you for someone else that is more profitable for them. Even if your book makes you just a few hundred dollars a year, these profits will come to you year, after year, after year.
The basic formula is simple: the more effort you put into making your book look and sound professional, and into your marketing and sales, the more profit you'll make. You have complete control as to how much success your book will reap.
Thank you very much to science fiction author Robert Graham for posting and sharing my blog post.
Reason #7.
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Synopsis Here's a list of 37 tips to help the person that is going to be writing the foreword for a book. This list is written simply as a way to help the author of the foreword, and the author of the book, to understand the basic elements of a helpful and insightful foreword.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn 37 things that will help you understand the basic elements of a well-written book foreword. 2. You will learn the specific items that must be included in a foreword. 3. You will learn about the fundamental roles the foreword plays in the overall success of the book.
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Introduction Here's a list of 37 tips to help the person that's going to be writing the foreword for a book, also known as the author of the foreword. This list is written simply as a way to help the author of the foreword, and the author of the book, to understand the basic elements of a helpful and insightful foreword.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
It doesn't matter if the foreword’s author is a celebrity, or big-shot, or whatever. They have an obligation to their own readers and followers, also to the readers of this new book that they are writing for a foreword for, and also to the book’s author, to write a helpful and honest foreword.
Tip #1. Read the book. Understand the message. Tip #2. Reading the Table of Contents and one chapter alone is not enough. Tip #3. Take detailed notes throughout the book. Tip #4. Write to the book’s audience. Tip #5. Write in a familiar voice. Tip #6. Be very careful not to talk down to the readers. Tip #7. You should probably write between 750 and 1,500 words. Tip #8. The foreword’s main role is to help give the book’s author credibility. Tip #9. With increased credibility, comes more sales.
Tip #10. Explain how you know the author of the book. Tip #11. If you don’t know the author personally, devote more space to the book’s message. Tip #12. You're trying to make an emotional connection with the reader. Never forget this. Tip #13. You want the reader to like you and your story. Tip #14. Your job is to help get the reader to believe and trust what you have to say about the book’s author and the book itself. Tip #15. Keep the tone simple and personal, but keep your writing tight. Tip #16. Include short anecdotes and real-world examples that illustrate the theme of the book. Linkedin - 37 Tips For Writing A Book’s ForewordTip #17. Anecdotes are an important way to help the reader like you and your story. Tip #18. Discuss why this book is significant or timely. Tip #19. Show why the book’s author is a credible person to have written this book. Tip #20. Tell readers why this book is worth reading. Tip #21. Show how the reader will benefit by reading it. Tip #22. Refer to specific things in the book. Tip #23. Explain why you chose those things to discuss. Tip #24. Connect the book to experiences that a reader might face in everyday life. Tip #25. Mention the good points about the book and what the readers will get out of reading it. Publetariat - 37 Tips For Writing A Book’s ForewordTip #26. Be sure to give a very brief synopsis of the book. Tip #27. Talk to the reader as if you were talking to a friend. Tip #28. Keep it engaging and tell an interesting story. Tip #29. Make sure your foreword has a beginning, middle, and end. Tip #30. Tell readers why you are qualified to write the foreword. Tip #31. Don’t be afraid to name-drop. Tip #32. If readers can recognize any of the names, you will gain credibility and like-ability. Tip #33. Put your name, title, and location at the end. Tip #34. Make sure you mention if you have a fancy title or prestigious award. Tip #35. These things help establish your own credibility and cel...
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Synopsis Creating your first book might seem like a daunting task at first glance. But, by devoting some time and effort to it, you should be able to fearlessly create a quality book that can provide an ongoing stream of income. Keep these ten commandments in mind while you begin to develop your first book, and you'll be well on your way to creating a financially successful self-published book.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the ten most important things you can do to create a financially successful book. 2. You will learn the things to avoid that will destroy your book's financial success. 3. You will learn why writing your book is only a tiny part of your book’s financial success.
Introduction There are now so many companies on the internet devoted to helping you publish your first book. Most will cost you a substantial amount of time and money. But, by researching how to self-publish your book, you should not have any trouble making a quality book that sells on the major book-retailer websites.
So, with that said, here is my list of the ten fundamental truths of self-publishing to help alleviate your first-timer fears about self-publishing. These commandments should help you avoid wasting time and money on your way to publishing your first book.
https://kunzonpublishing.com/2016/05/37-tips-for-writing-a-books-foreword-2/
Commandment #1. Publish Ebook First Start with an ebook (pdf, epub, kindle). Start with an ebook (pdf, epub, kindle). This ebook is the easiest and fastest way to get started. Creating an ebook first (with companies like Smashwords and Scribd) will also allow you to get feedback from your readers and adjust your book accordingly. After you get your ebook online and get all the kinks worked out, add a print-on-demand paperback edition.
Commandment #2. Stick To Your Niche Your book should directly align with your market niche. Success comes from focusing their book and marketing on their particular niche for many self-publishers. Part of sticking to your niche is that you must learn about and understand the subject of branding.
Authors.com - The 10 Commandments To Becoming A Financially Successful Self-Publisher
Commandment #3. Design A Great Cover Spend a lot of time developing and designing a great cover. Design several sample covers for your book. Especially look at books that have a similar topic as yours does. If you are not creative and have the money, pay a professional to do the cover design for you (that you can find on a website like 99Designs).
Commandment #4. Perfect The Contents Spend a lot of time perfecting and editing the contents of your ebook. Having grammar and spelling mistakes will make you look amateurish. Make improvements and corrections even after it is published.
Commandment #5. Get Testimonials Make great efforts to get testimonials and endorsements. You must never stop asking other gurus, celebrities, and readers to write them for you. Keep adding them to your book and your book’s blog. Convince one of these gurus or celebrities to write your book’s foreword.
Linkedin - The 10 Commandments To Successful Self-Publishing
Commandment #6. Set Up Blog Set up a blog to support your book. This blog is not difficult or expensive. The best way to do this is to set up a blog with a big company like WordPress. Their blog software is designed to be user-friendly, and it works very well with search engines like Google. And through your blog, you can start to build up your email list of readers that want to follow you. Use an email marketing service like MailChimp to help you manage and exploit this list.
Commandment #7. Max-Out Third-Party Websites Max out your use of the major websites that list your book. These websites, such as Amazon, allow you to add a large amount of information about yourself and your book.
Synopsis What are some of the common mistakes small businesses make when starting out? Here's a list of what I believe are some common mistakes that should be avoided in order to help ensure a small business's long-term success.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the 10 most common mistakes small businesses make when starting out. 2. You will learn how crucial a one-page business plan is to your success. 3. You will learn the fundamentals of money management for a small business.
Introduction What are some of the common mistakes small businesses make when starting out? Here's a list of what I believe are some common mistakes that should be avoided in order to help ensure a small business's long-term success.
Although mistakes, missteps, blunders, and lapses in judgment can all be our greatest teachers, they can be time-consuming and costly. So here I want to share with you some of my hard-earned insights that I have gained from my own lapses in common-sense business judgment.
Mistake #1. Starting Without A Business Plan If you're serious about making your new business a success, you must have a written plan. It can be as simple as one page to get started. Writing it will force you to think about how you plan on making your business come to life and also become profitable.
“If you are serious about making your new business a success, you must have a written plan.” (Tweet)
Force yourself to honestly answer such questions as “Who will my customers be?”; “Why will they buy from me?”; “How much will I charge for my products and services?”; “How will I get the word out about my new business?”. Be realistic about the costs of running your business. Your business plan will act as an ever-changing and ever-improving guide for you to follow.
B2C - Business 2 Community Website - 10 Small Business Start-Up Mistakes
Mistake #2. Having No Management Experience As the founder of a small business, you'll be directly responsible for all aspects of management – finance, marketing, sales, employee relations, dealing with sub-contractors, and bathroom cleaning, etc.
But, if you're starting your business because you're great at your particular skill or service, and want to devote all of your time and energy to doing this, maybe a family member or partner can handle most of the management of the company. This person must share your vision and goals for the business.
Mistake #3. Hiring Help Too Soon Don't hire employees until it is absolutely necessary. The expense of hiring help can financially drown your small business very quickly. When you do hire someone, make sure that they're hard-working and honest.
Only hire people based on your need, not based on who you like. At our home-based small business, we only hire sub-contractors that we know and trust. And for some of the work, we rely on our family to do some of the smaller jobs.
LinkedIn - 10 Small-Business Start-Up Mistakes To Avoid
Mistake #4. Not Hiring Professional Help Don't skimp on hiring professional advisers like an accountant and attorney. Interview several and find advisers that you're comfortable talking with. Do they understand what you're trying to accomplish? Are they quick to share their experiences and knowledge with you? These professionals can save you many headaches and lots of money.
Mistake #5. Not Using the Cash-Method Of Accounting Under the “cash method”, you record business income when it’s received into your bank account. And you record an expense when it's paid out of your bank account. Most of us use this cash method for our personal finances because it's much simpler and less time-consuming. But this is also the ideal method for small and home-based businesses.
Under the “accrual method”, you would record business income when it’s earned, without regard to when you may get paid for the product or service you sold. And you record an expense when it’s incurred,
Synopsis It's essential for a self-publisher to understand the differences between an endorsement and a testimonial – sometimes lumped together as “blurbs”. Each plays a vital role in the financial success of your book. Therefore, I have laid out some basic definitions of each to help give you a starting point before you begin writing and marketing your book.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the important differences between an endorsement and a testimonial. 2. You will learn how to define what classifies as an endorsement and as a testimonial. 3. You will learn how and why using an assortment of endorsements and testimonials makes them a very powerful marketing tool when used together.
Introduction It is essential for a self-publisher to understand the differences between an endorsement and a testimonial – sometimes lumped together as “blurbs”. Each plays a vital role in the financial success of your book. And they will both play an essential role in a book’s overall marketing plan.
Together they give third-party validation to your book – which is the most powerful sales tool you can use. Without this, your book will struggle for sales. Therefore, I have laid out some basic definitions of each to help give you a starting point before you begin writing and marketing your book.
A. Endorsements There's a fine distinction between endorsements and testimonials. Endorsements, for example, you might get a short endorsement from celebrities, industry insiders, industry gurus, and big-name authors. By providing an endorsement for your book, they are telling the public that they trust what you have to say.
They generally talk about the book alone, and not necessarily about you, the author. They also don't generally discuss how your book helped them with a problem or how it improved their life.
Example: “Author Joe is the foremost authority on his topic.” Dr. Johnny Bigshot, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Business, at Big Fancy University
“The greatest power of using endorsements and testimonials comes when you use them together.” (Tweet)
B. Testimonials Testimonials, on the other hand, generally come from your readers, clients, and ordinary citizens. At first glance, these might seem less desirable than a celebrity endorsement. But thinking this way would be a mistake because they're still essential to your book’s overall marketing plan and success.
A great testimonial will give some in-depth information about how your book helped the reader improve their life in some dramatic way. The reader is “testifying” about how your book helped them solve their problem.
Example: “Author Joe’s book helped give my life a purposeful mission, and helped me fix my business, and make lots of money. His book gives lots of very detailed information that helped me discover my faults, and fix them over a six-month period.” John Smith, a small-business owner
Lindedin - Endorsements Vs. Testimonials
C. The Powerful Impact Of Teamwork The greatest power of using endorsements and testimonials comes when you use them together. Every book buyer likes to see an endorsement from a big-name celebrity or industry guru. But every consumer knows that these “celebrities” have some personal interest in getting their own name in print.
This is why testimonials from regular people also carries weight with the book buyer. A testimonial will appear to be less biassed, and therefore seem more honest. Therefore, the book buyer is looking at both endorsements and testimonials to give them an overall view of your book before they buy it.
Conclusion Don't underestimate the power of endorsements and testimonials to help get your book noticed, purchased, and read. Getting many powerful endorsements and testimonials from a great variety of people will almost guarantee that your book will get purchased.
Always be looking to get more of both types – the more the better.
Synopsis: How to create and write a powerful book Foreword that will help build your credibility and status, AND help the book's author sell more books. Here I show you how to write the book Foreword in four easy steps.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn why the Foreword is an essential selling tool for the book. 2. You will learn how the Foreword helps establish credibility for the author and the book. 3. You will learn to create a book Foreword in four easy steps.
Introduction A. The Foreword Is An Important Selling Tool The Foreword of a book can and should be a vital selling tool for the book. If written correctly and by the appropriate person for the job, you and the book’s author will gain a lot of credibility in the reader’s eyes. I have assembled some information about the Foreword to give you a basic idea about what should typically be included.
It is important to remember that the book's author usually should not write the Foreword. Instead, the book's author can use the Preface and the Introduction to say what needs to be said about the book.
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B. The Foreword Establishes Credibility Forewords introduce the reader to the author and the book itself and attempt to establish credibility for both. A Foreword does not generally provide the reader any extra specific information about the book’s subject but instead serves as a reminder of why the reader should read the book.
Writing a Foreword can be a lot of work, but it can prove beneficial for the author of the Foreword and the author of the book. With the Foreword, you are trying to connect emotionally with the reader. You want the reader to like you and your story. This emotional connection will help the reader to believe and trust what you have to say about the book’s author and the book itself.
“The Foreword of a book can, and should be, a very important selling tool for the book.” (Tweet)
C. The Typical Foreword Is Short And To The Point Typically a Foreword is one to two pages – 750 to 1,500 words. As the author of the Foreword, you can go longer if you have an exciting story to tell about the book’s author or about the book itself. There should be four sections of a Foreword: the introduction, the middle or main body, the conclusion, and then the name of the Foreword’s author.
Thank you very much to book design and book marketing expert C.J. McDaniel, of Adazing.com, for sharing my infographic.
Here are the primary sections of a book’s Foreword, reduced down to four easy steps:
Step 1. Foreword Introduction: The first section should introduce yourself in a few short sentences and then describe your connection with the author and the book. If you don’t know the author personally, explain how important the book's message is for the reader.
Making a Foreword personal also lets the reader make an emotional connection. Remind readers who you are. Tell them why you are famous. Tell them why you are the right person to be writing the Foreword for this book. This explanation provides credibility to the author of the book.
Step 2. Foreword Middle: Discuss the book and why this author is the best one to write this book The middle section should explain the contents and benefits of the book to the reader. The reader should know why the book is relevant to him. Therefore, you should give the reader an intriguing reason why this particular book is unique or meaningful. Connect the text to experiences that a reader might face in everyday life. Mention the good points about the book and what the readers will get from reading it.
Connect the book to experiences that a reader might face in everyday life. Mention the good points about the book and what the readers will get out of reading it. Be sure to give a very brief synopsis of the book. Try to use short anecdotes about the book and the...
Synopsis How you can use your time, experiences, and connections on your current job to greatly improve your chances of success as a new business owner and as a self-published author.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how and why your current job might be the best way for you to prepare for starting or buying your own business. 2. You will learn how to look at your current job as a win-win situation for you and your employer. 3. You will learn several ways to improve your chances of success within your job, and after your leave that job.
Introduction In an ideal world, you'd have at least a year’s salary saved up and you are in a safe position to quit your day job in order to completely focus on your new business. Unfortunately, this is not feasible or practical for many first-time business owners.
But, on the flip-side, keeping your day job will give you access to several key ingredients that are essential to a new business: money, customers, contacts, suppliers, sub-contractors, market research, health insurance, and personnel.
Attitudes4Innnovation.com - 5 Ways To Use Your Job To Prepare For Your Own Business, by Josep C. Kunz, Jr.
And, because of these ingredients, you must look at your job as a blessing, not a time-wasting hassle. Looking at your job as a learning opportunity, a way to build your credibility, build meaningful business relationships, and learn all the wants, needs, and demands of the customers, is priceless.
It doesn’t matter if your new business is related to your current job or not. All the management, finance, negotiating, and marketing skills that you are learning on the job will directly benefit your new business. Learn to love your job, and find a way to make it work to your benefit.
Here are a few smart strategies to use your job to help prepare you for starting your own successful business:
Strategy #1. Network Learn how to network, and then grow your network everywhere, inside and outside the company, as broadly and as diversely as possible. Help your network to get to know you and see how good you are at your job.
Network with your suppliers, contractors, customers, and other employees. There is a good chance that you might need these people after you leave your job and start your own business, possibly as mentors, partners, employees, and customers.
Strategy #2. Take On More Responsibilities If you want to move up, try to take on more responsibilities for the job you want. Demonstrate to management that you're someone who can step in wherever and whenever needed. They will start to see you differently. The entire company, management, and employees will respect you more and come to depend on you and your abilities.
Business2Community - 5 Ways To Use Your Job To Prepare For Your Own BusinessStrategy #3. Help Others Helping others to be successful on the job will also help make you indispensable to the company. The employees will also see you as someone of authority and credibility – as someone who can be trusted and respected.
Linkedin - 5 Ways To Use Your Job To Prepare For Your Own Business
Strategy #4. Be The Expert Figure out how to become THE expert. Be known for something and become the go-to person for that subject. Make sure that you're good at something, and make sure that it's something that you love.
Make it something that's not so simple that someone else can also learn how to do it very quickly. This increases your credibility and will help new opportunities inside and outside the company to come your way.
Strategy #5. Manage Your Career You must have a well-thought-out plan. Think of yourself as a business. Where is it that you want to go? What do you want to accomplish at this job? Are you learning a particular trade that will enable you to start your own business?
Are you working at this job for a particular reason? Is it to make good contacts? Is your job at a prestigious company,
Synopsis Understanding who your readers are, and what they need, and how to hold onto them, is essential for your financial success. Here are three common myths surrounding book-buyer retention that might have been preventing you from implementing a plan to help you retain past and current readers and buyers.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the three major myths about holding onto your past and current readers and buyers. 2. You will learn some of the basic elements required to start building a core of devoted fans. 3. You will learn what is required of you in order to hold onto that core audience.
Introduction The business concept of holding onto, or retaining, past and current customers, is typically not given much thought by many self-publishers. But, building a following of readers that will continue to read and buy what you've published in the past, and will publish in the future, is imperative for your long-term financial success as a self-publisher.
Therefore, implementing a book-buyer retention plan, more commonly a called customer retention plan, must be an essential part of every self-publisher’s marketing plans.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
Myth #1. Book-Buyer Retention Is Not Realistic Or Practical For Self-Publishers One big mistake many self-publishes make is attaching little or no importance to book-buyer retention. Many self-publishers see book-buyer retention as too difficult to accomplish, and as a waste of precious time, to be of any significant value. However, my own research has shown that by simply retaining a small number of committed readers and book-buyers, you can significantly increase your profits now and into the future.
It can take quite a bit of time to build this core audience. But as long as you keep producing quality content that they need and can benefit from, your audience will grow. Therefore, you must take the time to develop that core group of people within your niche that you strive to be the go-to person for if you ever expect to become a financially successful author.
EzineArticles.com - 3 Common Myths About Book-Buyer Retention
Myth #2. Book-Buyers Will Continue To Buy From You If They Like You Being liked or trusted isn't enough in today’s world where it's very easy to find a trustworthy expert in a particular niche. And book buyers can easily get overwhelmed because of the increasing number of new books being published every day by likable and trusted authors.
Therefore, you must never take your followers for granted. The minute that you stop updating your blog with new and relevant content, for example, you're taking the risk that your readers and book-buyers will start to forget about you.
Even the most loyal supporters of your brand can very easily be lured away by other authors that are also writing within your niche and pursuing the same audience that you are pursuing. Therefore, in order to be financially successful as a self-publisher, you must keep reminding your audience with new content and new books, that you're the go-to person within your niche.
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Myth #3. It Is Possible To Hold Onto All Of Your Readers And Buyers Every self-publisher must accept the fact that not all readers and book-buyers will stay with them for the long haul. Despite your continued efforts of producing more blog content, videos, and new books, many consumers will always be searching for the next hot author and quickly stop following you. You can't allow this fickle group to bother you, or slow you down from your mission of producing quality content for your audience.
“Implementing a bookbuyer retention plan must be an essential part of every self-publisher’s marketing plans.” (Tweet)
Nothing you do or say will hold onto this group. Keep focusing your attention and efforts on your core audience.
Synopsis A foreword, preface, and introduction can each play a pivotal in a book’s marketing plan. Understanding the differences and how to use each to your advantage can help propel your book to critical and financial success.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the fundamental differences between a book’s foreword, preface, and introduction. 2. You will learn how these three sections can make your book more impressive than most other books. 3. You will learn how important these three sections can play in your book's financial and critical success.
Introduction A self-publisher needs to understand the foreword, preface, and book introduction differences. Each section plays a vital role in the critical and financial success of the book. Without these three sections, a non-fiction book is incomplete and does not give the readers their money’s worth.
Therefore, I've laid out some basic definitions of each section to help give new self-publishers a starting point before beginning their first book:
Thank you to Danielle de Valera for posting and linking to my post "Foreword v. Preface v. Introduction" on her great blog "The Manuscript Assessor"
Thank you to Barbara Pittman for linking to this article from her website PittmanLettersProject.com
- The Foreword (Why the reader should read the book) The foreword is the place for a guest author to show the reader why they should be reading this book. The foreword of a book is a primary selling tool for the book.
If written correctly and by the appropriate person for the job, the book’s author will gain a lot of credibility in the reader’s eyes. And it is essential to remember that the book's author shouldn’t write the foreword.
Instead, the author can use the book’s preface and the book’s introduction to say what needs to be said about the book. Forewords introduce the reader to the author, as well as the book itself, and attempt to establish credibility for both.
A foreword doesn’t generally provide the reader with any extra specific information about the book’s subject. But instead, it serves as a reminder of why the reader should read the book. The foreword must make an emotional connection with the reader.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
Thank you to Laura Lee for linking to this article from her website StressManagementForWriters.WordPress.com"
- The Preface (How the book came about) The preface is a place for the book’s author to tell the reader how this book came into being and why. It should build credibility for the author AND the book.
The preface is also an essential selling tool for the book. The preface is very similar to the foreword, except that the author wrote the preface. Here the author should explain why they wrote the book and how they came to write it. The author should be showing the reader why they are worth reading.
Thank you very much to Kristan Lukasak of GettingOnTop.WordPress.com for linking to this article.
- The Introduction (About the content of the book) The introduction introduces the material in the book. Here the author can set the stage for the reader and prepare them for what is in the book.
In the introduction, the author can quickly and simply tell the reader what is to be revealed in much greater detail if they continue reading. The introduction is a way for the author to grab the reader, intensify the reader’s desire to find out more, and hopefully devour the entire book.
Conclusion As you can see, it is imperative to understand the fundamental differences in these three book sections to produce a professional-looking and complete self-published book. Each section is different, and each performs a specific function in the book. Therefore, to create a high-quality and well-designed book, a self-publisher will need to put a lot of thought and effort into producing these three vital sections.
"Self-Publish, But Keep Your Day Job"
Synopsis The reality of self-publishing is that most authors make little or no money from self-publishing. You must understand that it's going to take a lot of time and effort on your part to get your publications to start making money. Here are ten great ways to get started, and not drive yourself crazy or upset your family in the process.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn 10 painless ways to get your self-publishing career/business started. 2. You will learn how and why self-publishing can be a great complement to your regular job and career. 3. You will learn how and why your day job might be a major reason that your self-publishing will become a success.
Introduction Anyone can write a few books and easily start self-publishing their own books. The tough part is in becoming a financially successful self-publisher. The reality of publishing is that most authors and self-publishers make little or no money from publishing. You must understand that it's going to take a lot of time and effort on your part to get your publications to start making money.
Here are ten great ways to get started, and not drive yourself crazy or upset your family in the process:
Tip # 1. Keep your current job and think long and hard about what you would like to publish. Do lots of research and soul searching about what subject matter you will be writing about. What will your specialty, or expertise, or niche be? Tip # 2. Keep your current job and write and publish a subject that you love. You are going to be devoting many long hours to your writing, promoting, marketing, and sales, etc. You won't be able to go the distance if you don't have a passion for your subject (niche). Tip # 3. Keep your current job and get your family on board with your plans - especially your spouse. Your spouse, in most circumstances, should be your partner in your new venture. They have as much to gain, or lose, as you do. Therefore, they'll be very motivated to help make it a success.
Tip # 4. Keep your current job and get professional help for your business. This means an accountant (for financial planning and taxes), and an attorney (for copyright, trademark, and business formation). These aren't subjects that you should be trying to do on your own to save a few bucks.
Tip # 5. Keep your current job and keep your new business lean (keep expenses down to a minimum). Using the internet wisely gives you the ability to run an entire business from home - very inexpensively, efficiently, and with no employees. Tip # 6. Keep your current job and become an amazing employee at work. You must continue to perform well at your job; lose it and you could lose everything. Tip # 7. Keep your current job and save your business’ profits - and reinvest them when necessary. Use earnings to set up the business infrastructure (llc, copyrights, computers, etc.) that your business needs.
“It is going to take a lot of time and effort on your part to get your books to start making money.” (Tweet)
Tip # 8. Keep your current job and create a time schedule for your writing, your business, and your personal time. Make lists of things to do, to achieve, to accomplish - to keep yourself and your new business on track to success. And always make time for your family - without exception.
Tip # 9. Keep your current job and do not complain about your challenging work schedule. Co-workers don't want to hear it - and it will hurt your at-work reputation. And never let your family hear you complaining - it will upset everyone. Once your self-publishing business has been running for a while, scheduling and time management is less of a problem.
Linkedin - Self-Publish, But Keep Your Day Job
Tip # 10. Keep your current job and wait longer than you want to quit that job. At the very least until your self-publishing can provide enough income to cover all of your living expenses.
Synopsis When you're trying to figure out what your life’s passion is, there'll be no guarantees that it'll be easy to figure out. The process of searching for your passion is part of the process of life – that’s just how it is. Accept that fact and just get started on the journey of self-discovery. This will naturally lead you to find your passions. Here are three questions to help you begin to understand what passion means to you.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn three basic questions that will help you begin the process of discovering what might be your life’s passion. 2. You will learn how to start to define and understand what passion is and where it comes from. 3. You will learn how to look at and compare “passion” and “mission.”
Introduction Passion is something that will grow and develop from your personal beliefs and experiences, and be enhanced by your skills, and sustained by the value that you're able to provide to the world. It's what makes you want to get up in the morning and put all your efforts into improving, enhancing, sharing, and pursuing every day of your life.
Passion is about changing and improving your life to make it more successful, and helping other people in the process. But don’t forget, when trying to find your passion, the accumulation of money is only one type of success.
Here are three questions to help you begin to understand what passion means to you:
Question # 1. Is It A Hobby Or Source Of Income? I think that when we're trying to discover our passion, we need to differentiate between a passion for something, like a hobby for example, and a passion for something that can become a serious source of steady income.
They can be one and the same, but I think initially that we should look at them each separately. Also, for our purposes in this article, when trying to find your passion, try not to confuse yourself by believing that a fancy job title, or large paycheck, is what should determine what your passion really is that will make you happy.
Linkedin - What Is Passion?
Question # 2. Is It A Mission? I look at passion like a mission. By this, I mean that I consider my passions to be part of my life’s mission. The things that make me want to get up in the morning (passion) and get right to work (mission) are what I consider to be my true calling in life. Everything that has occurred in my life, and every experience that I have had, and everything that I have learned, have led up to this moment in my life – where my passion is now.
EzineArticles.com - What Is Your Passion In Life And How To Find It
Question # 3. Can It Be Multiple Passions? I also believe that you can and should have multiple passions. Some will make you money, and others won't. I believe that you probably need both types of passions, which is what makes life interesting. Life is way too short to live through it without a passion for something – hopefully something that is meaningful and productive, and that helps improve the lives of those around us.
“The process of searching for your passion is part of the process of life.” (Tweet)
Conclusion When you're trying to figure out what your life’s passion is, there will be no guarantees that it will be easy to figure out. The process of searching for your passion is part of the process of life – that’s just how it is. Accept that fact. Now go and get started on your journey of self-discovery to find your passion in life.
Questions For Us To Think About And Discuss 1. Do any of these questions resonate with you? Which ones, and why? 2. Have you been able to develop your passion in relation to your personal skills? And develop it into a money-making business?
• This article is also posted on LinkedIn.com • This article is also posted on EzineArticles.com
Hashtags: #smallbusiness #entrepreneurship
Synopsis This snappy, clever, pithy, succinct, and concise little guide will help you quickly create a great book dedication in four easy steps. The book's dedication, if written properly, can, in its own subtle and understated way, help you cleverly make an emotional connection with the reader.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how and why a book’s dedication can help you make an emotional connection with the reader. 2. You will learn how to decide who to dedicate your book to. 3. You will learn that by simply adding just a few extra words of explanation to your dedication, you can dramatically increase its marketing power.
Introduction Finally, your book is approaching the finish line. And now you may be agonizing over the book’s final title, the cover design, the acknowledgment’s page, and the dedication. And everyone has an opinion about all of that – except for the dreaded dedication.
But don’t worry. With a little bit of planning, the dedication can be one of the easiest things to create for your book. So don't let yourself get stressed over your next dedication. Follow this helpful little guide to creating a great book dedication for your book.
Step # 1. Pick The Right Person Or Persons For Your Book’s Dedication This process isn't as difficult as it might seem at first. You already know who the important people in your life are. Such as family members that had a major impact on your earlier life, or much more recently.
You also know who was instrumental in helping you get your book started and finished – such as with emotional support, financial support, or actual physical help in putting your book together. If this is your first book to be published, you'll most likely want to dedicate it to someone within your immediate family.
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If you have a spouse or partner, and children, you already know the answer to this one. But beyond this, think about an important business partner, colleague, college professor, book editor, research assistant, sibling, or close friend, for example. This is a very personal choice, so there really is no wrong decision.
If there's a second person that's equally important to you and your book, then don’t be afraid to dedicate your book to two people. But you must limit it to no more than a couple of names. If you dedicate your book to more than this, you'll diminish the importance of your dedication.
And don’t forget, you still can list all the other important people who you want to give recognition, within your book’s acknowledgment section. After all, the dedication should be reserved for someone that played an important role in your life and your book.
(FUN FACT: The word 'acknowledg(e)ment' is typically spelled with this extra letter e outside of the US and Canada. Inside of the US and Canada, we typically don't use that extra letter e. Not all spellcheck programs will catch this since both are technically correct. -JCK)
B2C - Business 2 Community - Create A Great Book Dedication In 4 Easy Steps
Step # 2. Use The Appropriate Title For Each Person After you've decided to whom you will dedicate your book, you'll need to decide how you'll identify them. This is also not a difficult process. This step will also be based on your personal preference, based on your relationship with that person.
The title can range from formal to informal, or something in-between. On the formal side, your dedication could be addressed to Dr. James Freeley, or Mr. Deke McClelland, for example. On the informal side, your dedication could be addressed using someone’s nickname such as “Jimbo”, or “Bubba”, for example.
There's also in-between formal and informal in which your dedication could be addressed to Jim Freeley, Mom and Dad, or My good friend Gene, for example.
APSS -SPAN - Create A Great Book Dedication In 4 Easy Steps ...
Synopsis Asking someone to write your foreword is generally a simple process. The difficult part is finding the best person for the job, and then convincing them to write it for you. Here are the basic steps to finding the right person to write your book’s foreword.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the basic steps to finding the best person to write your book’s foreword. 2. You will learn what personal and professional characteristics they should possess before you ask for their help. 3. You will learn how to explain to them how they will benefit by writing your book’s foreword.
Introduction It's very easy to get someone to write your book’s foreword. The difficult part is finding the best person for the job. You need someone with a proven track record, like being a published author, or a successful person in their industry or that has a huge social media following.
Plus, they need to understand what a foreword is about, why a book has a foreword, and what role it plays in the success of your book. That’s a lot to look for in one person. But, if you follow the basic steps that I give you here, you'll be well on your way to finding the right person.
Here are the basic steps to finding the right person to write your book’s foreword:
- Make A List Of Names This list should be a very easy task for you to accomplish. You must have certainly come across all of the “big names” while doing the research for your book. Also, doing a search on Amazon will help you find the names of authors whose books are actually selling.
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And an Amazon search will help you find the authors of newly published books. Also, look at their websites. Ideally, you want a person to write your foreword that has a large social media following, or substantial coverage in the press.
- Start Making Contact Find their email address on the internet – typically at their website or job. If you can’t find their website, you can email their publisher directly. Many authors will provide you their email address somewhere in their book. Making first contact is a two-step process: (1) Send them your first email with a compliment about a book of theirs that you have read and referred to in your writing. Or, in place of that email, you can try to connect with them on LinkedIn, and give them a compliment about their writing or book. (2) Send them a second email within a few weeks asking them to write your book’s foreword.
Chris Well's DIY Author Blog - 5 Steps To Getting A "Big Name" To Write Your Book's Foreword, by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr.
- Make It Easy For Them Making it easy for them to say yes in three easy steps: (1) In that second email, attach a PDF of your book. (2) Make sure that your book is very polished. No typos, no spelling errors, no mistakes. You must include a very professional-looking book cover in your PDF. All of this will help you look like a professional. Like someone they can trust and won’t mind attaching their name to. (3) And finally, keep your request simple and short. Your request must be very honest and sincere. If there's any hint of dishonesty or lack of sincerity in your request, they'll never deal with you again.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.4. Explain The Benefits
Explain the benefits of writing your foreword in three easy steps: (1) The main benefit that they'll get from writing your book’s foreword is exposure or publicity. Make sure that you tell them you'll be including their name on the cover of your book. Celebrities, industry “big shots”, and “big name” authors are just as interested in publicity as the rest of us. We all want to attach our name to someone we believe has a good chance of getting us that exposure.
“It’s easy to get someone to write your book’s foreword.
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Synopsis Are you really ready – not just your manuscript, but you – to self-publish? Here's a list of the ten most important things you must consider before getting into self-publishing.
What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn the 10 most important things you must consider before deciding to self-publish. 2. You will learn just how time-consuming and arduous self-publishing can be. 3. You will learn to re-evaluate your motives and expectations before self-publishing.
Introduction Are you really ready – not just your manuscript, but YOU – to self-publish? Here's a list of the most important things you must consider before getting into self-publishing. So, before you ignore the traditional publishing process, make sure you have the stamina to become your own publisher. Self-publishing isn't a shortcut to seeing yourself in print, or to success. If anything, it’s more arduous and time-consuming than writing the book itself.
Sign # 1. You Believe That “If I Write It They Will Come” Get serious. This thinking might work for a big-time author like Stephen King, but not for you and me. A writer like King already has a very devoted audience of millions of readers and buyers. The rest of us need to work really long hours to make our books sell.
We need to become experts in marketing, sales, SEO, blogging, and all social media. We need to spend every minute possible sitting at our desk and writing. And the writing better be good.
Thank you to author Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com for linking to this article.
Sign # 2. You Haven't Researched Your Market Thoroughly You better know everything there is to know about your market and your audience. Who will be reading and buying your books? What are the hottest topics and trends in your market? What books are actually selling in your industry (on Amazon)? By writing and publishing, you are putting yourself out there as an expert in your niche.
Your audience expects you to sound and act like an expert. If they get the slightest hint that you aren't the expert that you're telling them that you are, you'll lose your audience and they won’t come back to read or buy your books.
Thank you to Eldon Sarte of WordPreneur.com for featuring this article on his website.
Sign # 3. You Don’t Understand What Actually Goes Into A Salable Book This one might seem too obvious, but to some of us, it isn’t. Too many books are getting published that barely look like a finished book. I've seen one too many books missing the table of contents, page numbers, index, ISBN, etc., and even the author’s name!
If you want to be taken seriously as a publisher and author, and gain your audience’s respect, you must create a professional-looking product. Complete in every way that a reader expects a book to be.
Sign # 4. You Haven't Researched Your Niche Thoroughly Read everything that you can get your hands on about your niche. You should know who the big experts are, and have read their books. Read the publications and blogs of those writers and groups within your niche. It's important to remember that in today’s terms, niche now means “micro-niche”.
As a self-publisher, you'll most likely find the biggest success by narrowly defining your market niche. It's much easier to become an expert in a very specific market where it's much less crowded with big well-established writers and publishers.
“Self-publishing is a business. It’ll force you to become a true capitalist. It will take up a lot of your time and money, with no guarantee of success. But, the more effort you put into it, the more you will get out of it.” (Tweet)
Sign # 5. You Hope To Get Famous From Self-Publishing This is possible, but not likely. Fame comes with a lot of hard work and lots of luck. Therefore, it can't be your only motive for self-publishing your...