HOME
 
About
	
REQUEST THIS BLOGGER
	
Book Update



A guide for writers with or without published work. A comprehensive resource that every writer should have in their library in order to learn how to publish, promote, and market themselves on the Internet.







Is your book project ready for the next E-Revolution?








Thursday, June 10, 2010

Fw: [Book Marketing Expert] Getting a Head Start on Holiday Sales


[Book Marketing Expert] Getting a Head Start on Holiday Sales

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE BOOK MARKETING EXPERT NEWSLETTER!
A newsletter all about SUCCESSFUL publishing and POWERFUL promotion.
June 10, 2010 Issue #222
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
in this issue
-- Note From The Editor
-- Blogging ideas for June
-- Feature Article: Getting a Head Start on Holiday Sales
-- Make Your Footprint Online
-- You Can Sell A Lot of Books on Amazon
-- 50 Powerful Social Media Tactics to use on Squidoo
-- Book Bits and Bites
-- The Story Behind MASH
-- AME/LULU Webinar University
-- Become a Trendspotter
-- Keeping Up with Penny
-- Hear What The Publishing Insiders Have to Say
-- Topical Tweeting
-- Google Alerts Tip
-- Which Blogs Should You Follow?
-- Three Quick Ways to Get More Sales on Your Website
-- Twitter Tip: TwitterMail
-- Twitter Tip - Twitter Quotient
-- Reader Tip!
-- WHO ARE WE
-- ------------------------------------------------------------

Penny C. Sansevieri, Editor penny@amarketingexpert.com

Welcome to a new issue of THE BOOK MARKETING EXPERT NEWSLETTER.

You are receiving this newsletter compliments of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. To opt out, please scroll down to the bottom of this newsletter.


Note From The Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to another issue of the Book Marketing Expert Newsletter!

Dear Author,

Is it ever too early to start thinking about holiday sales? Not so anymore. In fact, the sooner you can start gearing up for this the better. If you have your eye on December for a lion's share of your sales, I hope you enjoy this week's article.

I have great news! AME is getting a makeover, well, our site that is - We should be launching right around July 4th. Keep an eye out here and on my Twitter page (follow me at @bookgal) for news on prizes and contests we'll be running to celebrate our new website!

We have another packed issue full of great marketing ideas we hope you'll love. We're also offering our 2009 Book Marketing Expert issues in e-book form. Interested in getting caught up with some back issues? Email us at info@amarketingexpert.com.

Wishing you publishing success,

Penny, Paula, Susan, Michelle, Nancy and everyone at Author Marketing Experts, Inc.

P.S. - Become someone who "likes" our AME page on Facebook, and then you'll find articles and tips from Penny, notices about upcoming webinars, Publishing Insider shows, and more: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Author-Marketing-Experts-Inc-AME/43882181670?ref=sgm


Blogging ideas for June
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're at a loss on what to blog on, you'll love this blog worksheet with some great ideas for blogging in June.


Feature Article: Getting a Head Start on Holiday Sales
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You know, I used to laugh at the "Christmas in July" ads until I promoted my first Christmas-related book. We actually started the promotion in July and it was the perfect time. Why? Well, maybe no one is buying or thinking about December in July, but the holiday buying season is tough. In order to make any kind of headway you must start early, not just to capture the December sales but also to get in front of any early shoppers. Once those Christmas in July ads start to hit radio and TV, consumers (those who like to shop early) start to gather ideas for their own shopping lists.

When is it too late to start thinking about the holiday market? November is definitely much too late, October is iffy, but if you're staring September in the face and haven't done a lick of marketing towards holiday sales, that might be your last chance. Better to start early - mid to late summer is always great. Here are some tips to help you get a head start on the holiday buying season.

Events: start early. If you'd like to do events in December I suggest you start calling stores now. Many stores don't do in-store events after Thanksgiving, but if you have local connections or some independent stores they might be open to this. Speaking at non-bookstore venues falls under the same category: start early.

Promos: start planning your promos in the fall. I recommend starting the promo rollout right after Thanksgiving and planning a succession of promotional announcements all the way through late December. If you need to get special pricing on books or if you're going to bundle your book with some other items this will give you plenty of time to plan for that.

Website: now is the time to make sure your website is ready for your holiday marketing. As you begin planning your promos make sure your web designer is ready to go to make any changes your site might need.

Targets: definitely define your target markets as soon as you can, the earlier the better. If you don't have a good, solid idea of who you're marketing to yet don't use your holiday campaign to test this. Test market early. You'll be glad you did. Don't waste a holiday promo if you don't have to. Knowing who you are going after will save you in costly marketing mistakes (and this goes for any time you are marketing).

E-books: I suspect with all the e-readers that have hit the market in the last 12 months, and with both Target and Best Buy carrying e-book readers, you're going to see a lot of promo for this over the holidays. Make sure your book is keyed into this market, what I mean is: if you had planned to get your book converted to an e-book, now is the time. Also, you might want to offer a special promo, if someone buys your e-book have them forward you the receipt for an additional special holiday bonus.

Social media: if you're not on Facebook or Twitter now is the time, and even if you are, this is a great time to maximize your efforts and plan how you'll use your social media to enhance your holiday promos. Will you offer specials to your social media "tribe" only? Will you have exclusives just for them? Consider early on what your social media strategy will be.

Exposure: if your exposure online is minimal, now is the time to ramp it up. Contacting blogs, websites, doing article syndication, participating in blogs, doing guest blogging - all of these are great ways to gain exposure online. Remember, it's not just about the holiday promos, it's about making sure you are searchable online. Meaning that if someone searches on what you're offering you'll come up in the results. This will help you capture holiday shoppers who haven't been exposed to you or your message yet.

The key to a successful holiday promotion is planning, and enough advanced marketing that you're not spinning your wheels in the Fall wondering why you're not making any traction. If you're ready to explode your holiday market, start early, it's the best way to make sure you have a spot waiting for you when the busiest shopping season of the year comes around again!


Make Your Footprint Online
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ready to make your own *big* impression online? We've had a recent *huge* success story I'm dying to share with you. A recent campaign we did got the author on PAGE 1 of Google out of 115 million competing web pages, and the best part? He wasn't even on Google when we started. If you're ready to get found online, consider one of our Red Hot Internet Marketing campaigns. Email us today for more information: info@amarketingexpert.com.


You Can Sell A Lot of Books on Amazon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our New Author's Edge Book Marketing Program

Recently, a number of our clients launched Amazon bestseller email blast campaigns. But the results have been awful.

According to Wall Street Journal online, "Email's reign is over."

Spam filters block a very high percentage of emails. In addition, many readers receive over 300 emails every day and click delete regularly.

More and more people use Google to find the information they want. In addition, social networking sites including Twitter and Facebook are further reducing email's power.

Based on the decline of email marketing and the excellent results our Virtual Author Tour generates, we developed the Author's Edge program.

This system doesn't use email marketing at all.

Author's Edge feeds your book and content into the Internet and draws organic traffic to your website. Namely, readers that love your content and your book.

This proven system combines blogging, SEO, backlinks and social marketing in an exceptional way that sends interested book buyers directly to your web page. We will use keywords to drive targeted traffic to your website for the long-term so you continue to sell books and generate passive income long after the official program ends. Since you control your webpage, as long as you keep it live, you can sell more books.

With this program, we will design your own custom Amazon webpage that's attached to your website and linked to Amazon. Our team will drive traffic to your website via a very aggressive blog campaign. Our copywriters will craft a new sales letter to drive your book sales. We will help you select a package of gift bonuses or you can use bonuses from our library - often buyer behavior is driven by bonus gifts.

Book buyers can click over to Amazon and buy your book. And of course, they get the bonuses too. In addition, we will create your own Amazon affiliate program account so you can track your sales.

We expect that this program will drive boatloads of book sales for you.

In addition, as a special to Book Marketing Expert members, when you invest in this program within the next 11 days, you will receive a one-on-one 30-minute coaching session with Penny Sansevieri, author of Red Hot Internet Publicity and creator of the Virtual Author Tour.

For more information, email info@amarketingexpert.com.


50 Powerful Social Media Tactics to use on Squidoo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Make sure your page on Squidoo looks its absolute best. A polished page gets more results.

2. Don't be afraid to promote and market your business and website through your profile or content.

3. Title your lenses effectively and use keywords to get attention.

4. Make the introduction and description captivating and helpful so people want to read more.

5. Add photos for visual interest in the description.

6. You can set up multiple lenses for multiple keyword phrases. This is highly recommended.

7. Use tags to your advantage, and do so by making the most effective tags possible using powerful wording and linking to the best sites that will get you real results.

8. Understand the link flow on Squidoo, so you know how people find you, and how your links get distributed from the source page.

9. Make a "lens of the day" to keep people interested in your page and they'll want to see what you have to say more often.

10. Find your voice on Squidoo. Think about who you are and what you're trying to accomplish. Brainstorm some content ideas and think about your plans in advance before setting up your profile and lenses.

Want to read the additional 40? Go to: http://www.susangilbert.com/50-powerful-social-media-tactics-for-squidoo/.

Tip offered by Susan Gilbert, AME's Search Engine Marketing Expert and Web 2.0 company owner, http://www.susangilbert.com/, which provides Social Networking websites and services.


Book Bits and Bites
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time to Read: Here are 10 great summer book recommendations from O magazine - with reviews and reading guides: http://ht.ly/1UcUP.

Digital Wars: Borders adds a $120 e-reader to its shelves, and the e-reader market continues to grow: http://ht.ly/1T1Qg.

Bookshelf Porn: An entertaining and visually stunning collection of all the best bookshelf photos for people that *heart* bookshelves: http://bookshelfporn.com/.

Brain Teaser: Summer is no time to slack off. Test your knowledge of hard times in literature with this Guardian UK quiz: http://ht.ly/1Q4ei.


The Story Behind MASH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In publishing, you never know. Such was the case with Richard Hooker's MASH, the novel that spawned an award-winning movie and a TV series that seemed to run forever. It took the author eleven years to write and the literary agent eight years to sell it. When the novel was submitted to me I was an editor at William Morrow. I later learned it had been shown to something like 32 publishers. I did not know there were that many publishing houses and that I was so low on the publishing food chain.

I read it over a weekend and roared and gave it to a colleague who had served as a Marine during the war (WW II) and had landed and invaded several islands in the Pacific and managed to survive. He laughed too. Instead of having a committee of readers consider it, which I believe had been the novel's undoing, I decided to make a princely offer of $5,000. It was eagerly accepted, considering the novel's history.

I sent it to Ring Lardner Jr. who read it, loved it and gave the book a great quote although he said he is not in the business of writing blurbs for a living - but he did write for the movies and eventually wrote the movie script. The novel was then sent by the William Morris Agency to Ingo Preminger who decided it was high time for him to compete with his brother Otto, a successful movie director, who hired Robert Altman to direct it. The TV series followed with Alan Alda playing Hawkeye Pierce, a character based on the author's experiences in Korea. I always wanted to meet Alda and tell him he owed me one.

The novel's timing went against all the rules of sensible publishing. It appeared at the tail end of the Vietnam war, which had become an immensely unpopular conflict and was set during the Korean War, which everyone wanted to forget. The author, a thoracic surgeon, received relatively little money for the movie rights. However, when it was made into a TV series, each time it was aired he received a residual equivalent to the money he earned for a surgical operation. The author's actual name was H. Richard Hornberger, MD. His pseudonym, Richard Hooker, was named after his prowess as a golfer.

The moral: More often than not book publishing is totally unpredictable, like participating in a lottery. So keep pounding those computer keys if you are a writer. You never know.

Tip submitted by Hillel Black, free lance editor of over 20 NY Times best sellers and member of the Consulting Editors Alliance. Visit http://www.hillelblack.com/.


AME/LULU Webinar University
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AME and LULU Publishing have joined forces to present publishing seminars. These free classes are led by Penny Sansevieri and will ramp up your book marketing efforts to the next level!

Webinars are held at 7 pm EST and require computer access. FMI, email lulu@amarketingexpert.com.

Learn more about the Lulu webinars on their Facebook page or at Lulublog.com:

http://www.facebook.com/Luludotcom?v=app_2347471856

http://lulublog.com/2010/05/04/lulu-university-classes/


What they're saying about Lulu University:

You do great work, can't wait for the next webinar. I will have to catch the recording of tomorrow's session because I have appointments that conflict. But I will definitely make it a point not to miss any of yours that I'm aware of.

~Marlene Morris
www.RelevantSpirituality.com

June 14 - Book Signing Gold!

Got a book signing coming up? Want to know how to strike book signing gold, drive crowds of people to your event, sell more books AND get invited back? Then this class is for you! We'll teach you how to plan an exceptional book signing from start to finish!

July 12 - Think Outside the Bookstore Box

10 Super Savvy Ways to Promote Your Book without setting foot in a bookstore!

Bookstores got you down? Take heart! There are lots of things you can do to promote your book even if your book isn't in the bookstores! This class will cover the top 10 super savvy ways you can promote yourself without setting foot in a bookstore. Did you know that only 35% of Americans get their books in bookstores? We'll talk about all of the other places you can sell your book AND we'll also look at creative ways to do non-bookstore signings and events! PLUS we'll also discuss how to promote yourself by hosting your very own virtual tour! Don't miss this exciting class!

August 9 - Media Training Magic!

Are you ready for your close up? If you're not sure then this class is for you. Before you spend valuable marketing dollars to get yourself on radio and TV, you'll want to make sure you know what you're doing when it comes to media exposure. This class will teach you what you need to know about media training. BONUS: We'll also share with you the media mistakes you'll NEVER want to make!

September 13 - Getting on Radio and TV Today!

Are you ready for the big time? Then this class is for you! During our session we'll unveil the secrets of getting on radio and TV - today! We'll teach you how to create a "book hook," how to position yourself onto an ongoing story and how you can get your pitch noticed for immediate results!


Become a Trendspotter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you'd like to become a trendspotter online there's a quick and easy (and free) site you might want to consider: www.trendrr.com - just plug in your data and start tracking results. You can also see what's hotly being discussed on blogs and Twitter by clicking on their "buzz" feature. Very cool site!


Keeping Up with Penny
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Book Designer Blog named AME's blog one of 36 Great Blogs for Self-Publishers: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/05/36-great-blogs-for-self-publishers/.

How to Get Published Blog ran Penny's article, Your 10 Point Website Check Up.

Penny has a series on book marketing underway at BookBuzzr, starting with TGIF Book Marketing Tips: Why Inbound Marketing Makes Sense, http://www.bookbuzzr.com/blog/book-marketing/why-inbound-marketing-makes-sense/.

Penny will be a speaker at the 21st Century Book Marketing Event September 25 and 26 in San Diego, which will focus on all the latest information on publishing and marketing your book. http://www.21stcenturybookmarketing.com/.

Keep up with Penny's latest blog for Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri.


Hear What The Publishing Insiders Have to Say
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be in the know and hear what the publishing insiders: Penny Sansevieri, CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. - and her guests - have to offer in terms of tips and insights into the industry! Listen here. Publishing Insiders is now available on iTunes, so you can keep up with the show wherever you go!

Upcoming shows:

Powerhouse Promotion with Marci Shimoff - June 15, 4 p.m. Pacific

New York Times bestselling author Marci Shimoff will share the secrets to becoming a successful author and discuss what a bestselling author does to stay on top. You won't want to miss these insights from an author who is behind the biggest self-help book phenomenon in history, Chicken Soup for the Soul. Shimoff's six bestselling titles include Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul, which have sold more than 13 million copies worldwide, as well as the bestselling Happy for No Reason. She is also a featured teacher in the publishing and movie phenomenon The Secret.

Why (Some) Authors Fail - June 29, 4 p.m. Pacific

An author can be his or her own worst enemy with self-defeating behavior that can sabotage a career. We'll discuss how to learn from your mistakes in a positive way. Success is not only about hard work, but about making smart, savvy choices and not being so blinded by your ambition, creativity or ego that it undermines your work. We'll help you uncover the successful mix of perseverance, elbow grease and self-confidence to keep you on the track to success! For background, read http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri/why-some-authors-fail_b_534629.html.

Shows available for download include:

It's Getting Hot in Here - erotica equals hot books and even hotter sales!

How to Maximize Book Reviews

Self Publishing Success Story

E-books: the Savior of Publishing or the Foe?

Special Guest Mari Smith, queen of Facebook and dubbed "the Pied Piper of the Online World" by Fastcompany.com, on the hottest new Facebook apps to what's hot and what's not in the world of social media.

Special Guest Seth Godin, marketing guru and author of the upcoming book, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

All Things Twitter! with Warren Whitlock, author of the first book on Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online.


Topical Tweeting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want to stay on top of your market and find stuff to Tweet about? Then go to Alltop.com and search for your category. There are thousands of them up there. Here are a few to consider: socialmedia.alltop.com, twitter.alltop.com, books.alltop.com and publishing.alltop.com.


Google Alerts Tip
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did someone write something good about your book, message, or service? Don't forget to bookmark it through sites like Digg, Delicious, and StumbleUpon, this will help drive more interest to your review and promote the site that reviewed you!


Which Blogs Should You Follow?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're trying to find out which blogs to follow check out: http://www.search4rss.com. This site will let you search keywords and pull up RSS feeds that are talking about your topic! Then you can pick the feeds you want to subscribe to!


Three Quick Ways to Get More Sales on Your Website
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) People like what other people like: we often forget this but reviews do sell books. Make sure and list reviews, blurbs, and/or testimonials on your site and in your store.

2) How tough is it to get to your shopping cart? Now, more than ever, you want to make the experience of getting to your shopping cart quick and easy. Add a buy-now button to your home page if you don't already have one. Don't hide your stuff, especially now.

3) People are really bargain hunting these days so give them a reason to shop on your site: offer specials, incentives, added value. This is especially good if you're trying to lure folks from buying on Amazon and giving Jeff Bezos a big cut of your sales.


Twitter Tip: TwitterMail
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TwitterMail: http://twittermail.com/ - supplies you with a personal email address. If you send an email to that address it will be posted to Twitter.


Twitter Tip - Twitter Quotient
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twitter Quotient: http://web.forret.com/tools/twitter-tq.asp. Find out if you're a Twitter hero or BIG zero


Reader Tip!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you've got a Reader Tip you'd like to share, please send it to penny@amarketingexpert.com with the subject line "reader tip." Submissions should be 75 words or less.


WHO ARE WE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author Marketing Experts, Inc. is a full-service book marketing, promotion, and publicity company. We serve authors at all stages of marketing and promotion. We offer a full range of packages and services to choose from.

To see a price list or schedule a free consultation, send your e-mail to penny@amarketingexpert.com with the subject line "Author Services Info." You can also visit our Web site at www.amarketingexpert.com.

Reprint permission
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
You are welcome to reprint any items from "The Book Marketing Expert Newsletter." However, please credit us as a source with the following paragraph:

Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com


------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like this newsletter? Pass it on!

We never rent or sell subscriber lists to any third party. Your privacy is very important to us. Always.

To subscribe to this newsletter, click here: subscribe@amarketingexpert.com.

--------------------------------------------------- --------- Copyright 2010 Author Marketing Experts, Inc. --------------------------------------------------- ---------



Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts with Thumbnails
Download the book that will help you understand your journey on the Internet. ONLY $5!

IS YOUR LITERARY PROJECT READY FOR THE EBOOK REVOLUTION?






COMING SOON: