The Savvy Book Marketer

Book Marketing Roundup

Kindle Books Now Available at Libraries

Amazon announced this week that Kindle ebooks are now available at more than 11,000 local libraries.

Library cardholders will use their local library's website to search for books in the library's collection. After choosing an available book, they can select to "Send to Kindle" and will be redirected to Amazon.com to login to their Amazon.com account. The ebook will be delivered to their Kindle or other device via Wi-Fi, or it can be transferred through a USB cable.

Big Changes at Facebook

Facebook is constantly evolving and several big changes have been announced in the past few weeks, including yet another redesign of the profile. Below are links to some recent articles outlining the changes. Keep in mind that Facebook tends to roll out new features gradually, so you may not see these changes right away.
 
F8′s Big Facebook Changes: Timeline, Ticker, News Feed, Apps

Protect Your Privacy with the Facebook Profile Review

Facebook Changes News Feed So You Never Miss Vital Updates

Facebook Launches Subscribe Button for Following Anyone’s Public Updates

Facebook Fan Pages No Longer Require 25 Fans to Get a Customized URL

Facebook Confirms the Launch of Smart Friend Lists

How to Get Your Book Reviewed is Now Available in Paperback

How to Get Your Book Reviewed is now available in paperback on Amazon! Other formats include Kindle, Nook and the PDF version that comes with several bonuses.

A big thank you to all of the tour hosts for my virtual book tour for How to Get Your Book Reviewed, and to everyone who followed the tour. All of the articles and recorded interviews for tour will remain available on the tour page.

To your book publishing success!

Book Marketing Roundup

Wow, what a great call last night – thank you to Terry Whalin for hosting my free teleseminar on how to get book reviews. Get access to the recorded version of the call here.

We had hundreds of book review questions submitted in advance for this Q&A session and I'm going to be addressing some of them on this blog and in my newsletter, so be sure to subscribe to the blog feed and the newsletter if you haven't already.

The virtual book tour for How To Get Your Book Reviewed runs through September 23, and you can follow the tour here. Sign up for the feed on that page to get the link to each day's tour stop delivered to you by email or feed reader.

Here are some other book marketing tips and resources for you:

• I just read a terrific article from Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound, about 9 Ways to Sneak Your Website Address into Media Stories.

• David Wisehart has compiled a list of tips from 10 different authors on how to promote books.

• I'm thrilled to be hosting a series of articles from Smashwords founder Mark Coker over on my Savvy Ebook Publishing blog. The first article will be posted on September 15. Remember, that blog has a separate RSS feed. You can subscribe to get posts delivered by email or feed reader.

• Don't miss this interview with book publicity expert Rick Frishman.

• Recently I wrote about the cult-like book reviews on Amazon for a book called How to Avoid Huge Ships. It's interesting to note that How to Avoid Huge Ships won the 1992 Bookseller/Diagram Prize for "Oddest Book Title of the Year." For a good laugh to brighten your day, scroll down the list of previous winners of the oddest book title, and while you're at it, think about the impact that book titles have on publicity and book sales.

Until next week – keep on promoting!

Book Marketing Roundup

I'm working on lots of new projects, including a virtual book tour on September 8-23 for How to Get Your Book Reviewed, several new products and some training workshops for authors. Stay tuned for more details!

Did you see my new article about how to profit from publishing short ebooks? My ebook publishing blog has a separate RSS feed, so be sure to subscribe there also. Here are several other interesting articles I read this week:

What it Takes to Crack The Bestseller Lists (And Why You Might Not Want To), by Penny Sansevieri

Tips for Marketing a Book through Companies and Organizations, by Lisa Tener

Joe Konrath challenges some tired arguments about ebooks and self publishing

More Google Plus News

In case you missed it, here is Mashable's how-to guide for using Google's new social network, Google Plus.

This article explains how to use Google Plus to consolidate all your social posts and even publish a newsletter.

Once you are signed up for Google Plus, go to this page to create a vanity URL for your profile. Mine is http://gplus.is/DanaLynnSmith.

Find a list of writers who want to connect on Google Plus, along with some tips for using the site, at Galley Cat.

Mashable has written an interesting article about how journalists are using Google Plus.

Until next week – keep on promoting!

Book Marketing Roundup

I live on a ranch near Austin, Texas, but through the magic of the Internet I have friends, followers and customers all over the world. It's amazing to chat with people in England and South Africa, and get book orders from across the U.S. and other countries. But this week I was reminded that sometimes the world really is small.

After working all day on Tuesday to get ready for the launch of my newest ebook, How to Get Your Book Reviewed, I finally sent out the first promotion at 8:30 that night. About 15 minutes later, the first order confirmation popped up in my email, from someone in Austin named Dana. A minute later the next order came, from someone in Austin whose last name is Smith. Now, what are the odds that my first two orders would come from people who share my name AND live just a few miles away?

Anyway, it's been a crazy week with the book launch, but I want to share with you some terrific book marketing resources:

• I ran across this article, 9 Ways to Use Social Media to Launch a Book, on the excellent Social Media Examiner site and I used several of these ideas in my own book launch.

• Don't miss Barbara Techel's new book, Class Act: Sell More Books Through School and Library Author Appearances. It's available in print and Kindle format and it's not just for children's book authors.

• There's a lot of talk these days about using video to promote books, but don't overlook the power of audio promotions. Check out this article from Morgan Barnhart with three creative ways to promote books and ebooks by using short audio clips.

Until next week – keep on promoting!

Book Marketing Roundup

Welcome to my weekly roundup of marketing tips and news for authors. 

Promote Your Book with Freemiums

Everyone loves getting something for free, and free items (known as freemiums) are a great way to promote books. Nonfiction authors can give away free reports, videos or audios related their book's topic or offer free teleseminars to promote the book. Novelists can give away sample chapters, short stories, or prequels to their books. Just make sure that the free item you're giving away includes a promotion for your book.

For more ideas, see this article by Vikram Narayan, 7 Ways to Market Your Book by Giving Away Free Stuff.

In the News

• The Benjamin Franklin Awards program, sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association, is now open for submissions. Books published during 2011 are eligible for entry.

• In a growing trend toward selling ebook reading devices at national retailers, OfficeMax will start selling the All-New Nook and Nook Color on July 30. See more ebook publishing news on my Ebook Publishing and Marketing site.

• My Facebook Guide for Authors is now available for Kindle and on B&N Nook. Next up is Twitter Guide for Authors.

I wish you much success in promoting your books!

Book Marketing Roundup

Welcome to my weekly roundup of news and marketing tips for authors. 

Google Plus

You may have noticed the new Google +1 icon popping up on blogs and websites the past few weeks. When you click the icon seen at the bottom of my blog posts, it tells the Google search engine that you like the article and it also adds the article link to an area on your Google profile that's visible to people in your Google Plus network. Learn more in this comprehensive guide to Google Plus from Mashable.

 Recommended Reading

• This interesting three-part article on book pricing was written by an author of young adult books, who also happens to be an economist. 

• Remember to check out my new Ebook Publishing and Marketing site. This week's feature article was an interview with novelist and book marketing expert Tony Eldridge about the success he's enjoying with his Kindle books.

• I ran across this great article from Lindsay Buroker about How to Help Your Favorite Authors. Be sure to share this with all of your friends!

• This week I updated my Aspiring Authors page and added a link to Terry Whalin's terrific course on how to write a book proposal.

• Publishers Weekly and other media announced this week that Borders is folding and that going out of business sales will begin on July 22 at their remaining stores. See this article on NPR about why Borders failed and Barnes & Noble survived and this article for the latest Border's news from Publishers Weekly.

Savvy News

There's lots going on here at the Savvy Book Marketer. My Facebook Guide for Authors is now available on Kindle and my newest book, How to Get Your Book Reviewed, will be available for sale on August 2. I'm also working on an exciting new project to be unveiled in mid-August, so stay tuned for details.

That's all the news for this week. Remember, do something every day to promote your book. Small steps lead to big progress!

Book Marketing Roundup

Welcome to my weekly roundup of publishing news and marketing tips for authors.

Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner, recently published a new book, Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition. So far, I have only read the first chapter, but the book looks terrific. I encourage all authors to study Michael's book promotion website—it's one of the best ones that I have seen.

Virtual Reader Communities

Several social networks are designed for readers and authors to interact. The largest of these sites are Goodreads and LibraryThing and I recommend that authors join one or both sites. See this article for tips on using Goodreads. I'll be writing more about LibraryThing later.

I read primarily mysteries and marketing/business books, and I welcome connections on my Goodreads page.

News from the Publishing World

• Google announced that they will begin selling a new ebook reading device in Target stores. See this article for more details.

• USA TODAY has created a new online destination for book lovers at http://books.usatoday.com allowing readers to discover, discuss, preview and purchase books. Learn more here.

• Amazon continues to battle with several states over whether they have to collect sales tax. This has implications for authors and publishers because Amazon has dropped their Associates (affiliates) in several states that have passed laws making the presence of affiliates a requirement for collecting sales tax. This article has the best analysis I have seen of the issue and outlines the status state by state.

• Reuters reported that Barnes & Noble seems close to accepting a buyout offer from Liberty Media, the only bidder since the company put itself up for sale nearly a year ago. Despite the popularity of the Nook and NookColor, the company still depends on shrinking book sales at its 717 stores, and analysts feel that investing in the Nook could strain financial performance for years.

Book Marketing Roundup

Welcome to my weekly roundup of publishing news and marketing tips for authors.

Thank you to everyone who participated in my survey on ebook purchasing and reading habits. You can see the results on this page.

By the way, I used this free site to create the graphs for the survey results.

We've got some terrific guest posts coming up on The Savvy Book Marketer in the next few weeks:

• Swedish publisher Sölve Dahlgren shares his creative marketing ideas (hint: one of them involves an airplane!)
• D'vorah Lansky gives us an insider look at her virtual book tour.
• Nick Daws explains the benefits of writing book reviews and how to write great reviews.
• Terry Tracy shares her views on how the stigma of self-publishing is fading.

Subscribe to the blog feed today, so you won't miss any of these posts!

I ran across a wonderful interview, "Making Money With Ebooks," featuring Karen McQuestion and Tony Eldridge on Penny Sansevieri's Blog Talk Radio program. Read a summary of the interview here, or listen to the recording.

Learn how to use audio and video to promote your books in these articles:

• How to Create Audio to Promote Your Writing - by Morgan Barnhart

• Promote Your Books With Video – my guest post on Book Buzzr

• Top 5 Tips to Use Book Trailers to Drive Sales - by Darcy Pattison

Wishing you much success with your books!

Book Marketing Roundup

Wow, it's been another busy week here at The Savvy Book Marketer!

Facebook Guide for Authors is now available on Kindle and Smashwords (epub and other formats available).

I launched my new Ebook Publishing and Marketing website this week. There's so much information to share and I'm excited about the new site.

I got the cover design for How to Get Your Book Reviewed, due out in mid-July. Killer Covers does my ebook covers and website graphics and I highly recommend them to you.   

I noticed this morning that I have exactly 5,000 followers on Twitter – what a nice round number! I invite you to follow BookMarketer for book marketing tips and news.

Here are a few news items and tips for you:

• Once your Facebook fan page has at least 25 "likes" go to http://www.facebook.com/username to get a customized URL for the page. Mine looks like this: www.facebook.com/SavvyBookMarketer. You can also get a customized URL for your personal profile. Use your custom URLs in your email signature, on social networks, on your business cards, in your books – any place you are promoting yourself.

• I read two interesting articles this week explaining that you should not use shortened URLs (such as bit.ly and tinyurl) in your emails because it increases the chances of emails going to the spam folder.It seems that spammers are quite fond of using these short URLs.

• Here's a good article from Clicknewz about how to choose the best subject lines for your promotional emails.

• In the latest in the battle over collecting sales tax on online purchases, Amazon says it plans to cuts ties with California affiliates if a new sales tax law is enacted there.

Book Marketing Roundup

Welcome to my weekly roundup of book marketing news and resources.

Do you have a success story to share about landing a powerful endorsement for your book or getting a review in an influential publication or blog? Please share in the comments section below and you might be featured in my upcoming book, How to Get Your Book Reviewed.

The New York Times ran an article about independent bookstores charging admission for author signings and other events.  What do you think about this practice?

Shelley Hitz has just released a terrific new resource that shows nonfiction authors exactly how to build their platform, promote books and generate revenue through teleseminars. Book Marketing With TeleSeminars includes an ebook, instructional video, and several bonuses.

Thank you to D'vorah Lansky for her review of The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing. Stay tuned for news about the launch of D'vorah's new book, Book Marketing Made Easy: Simple Strategies for Selling Your Nonfiction Book Online.

Book Marketing Roundup

Welcome to my weekly roundup of book marketing news and resources.

First, I want to let you know that I have just added some new bonuses for customers who purchase my Facebook Guide for Authors and Twitter Guide for Authors ebooks in PDF format. Buyers of these books will receive a free audio program as well as free updates to the books.

What about you – do you offer bonuses to customers who purchase your books? Please share in the comment space below.

Ebook Publishing – Quality Matters

Recently I was looking at the page on Amazon.com for my ebook, How to Sell More Books on Amazon, and I noticed this item near the bottom of the page, along with some other customer service links:

     Would you like to report poor quality or formatting in this book? Click here.

Wow, it sounds like Amazon is getting so many customer complaints about poor quality Kindle books that they are making it easy for customers to complain! Remember, Kindle books should be well written, edited and formatted, just like any other book.

See this article to learn more about publishing ebooks. And here's a good article about Kindle publishing by Nancy Fulda.

Writers' Associations Are a Valuable Resource

Writers' associations can be valuable for both networking with other writers and learning more about the craft of writing and the business of publishing. If you're in Texas, I encourage you to join me in supporting the Writers' League of Texas. WLT offers a wide range of educational programs for writers and authors, along with mentoring and critique groups and networking events.

Review of Facebook Guide for Authors

Thank you to Nick Daws who has written a detailed review of Facebook Guide for Authors. Be sure to check out the other posts on the Nick Daws' Writing Blog as well.

Book Marketing Roundup

Here's my weekly roundup of resources for authors and publishers.

The Secret to Successful Blogging for Novelists

Many novelists fail to take full advantage of blogging as a promotional tool because they just aren't sure what to write about. No More Blank Screen: Blogging Ideas for Fiction Authors, a new ebook by novelist Krista Ball, is packed with practical advice to help fiction authors promote their books through blogging.

Facebook Marketing for Authors

It's not too late to register for the free Facebook Marketing for Authors TeleSummit. Sign up now to hear these information-packed sessions:

• June 13: Fans, Followers and Friends: How to Maximize and Monetize Social Media by Penny Sansevieri

• June 15: Secrets to Successful Networking on Facebook by Dana Lynn Smith

• June 20: How to Set-up a Successful Author Facebook Fan Page by Shelley Hitz

• June 22: Including Facebook and Social Media in Your Book Marketing Plan by Tony Eldridge

What's Next for Book Retailing?

The latest issue of Book Business Magazine has an interesting article on the closure of 200+ Borders stores and what lies on the horizon for book retailing. Be sure to read the sidebar about what went wrong with Borders. 

Ebook Publishing

In case you missed my recent series of articles on ebook publishing, here are the links:

• Sales of Ebooks and Reading Devices Soar
  
• 6 Reasons Why You Need to Publish Ebooks
  
• How to Publish an Ebook for Multiple Platforms
  

 

Book Marketing Roundup

Authors and publishers, I hope you are having a great week and selling lots of books!

Facebook Marketing for Authors

TeleSummit Begins on June 6

Shelley Hitz of Self-Publishing-Coach.com is sponsoring a free Facebook Marketing for Authors TeleSummit with six information-packed virtual sessions beginning on June 6.

Join Penny Sansevieri, John Kremer, Tony Eldridge, Shelley Hitz, Phyllis Zimber Miller, and me as we discuss how to leverage Facebook to increase exposure, build your fan base and sell more books. I'll be doing a session on "Secrets to Successful Networking on Facebook."

Author Success Story

Recently I posted an article about how meeting someone on Facebook led to me getting a cover story in a magazine. I was thrilled to read this comment from children's book author Fiona Ingram, who has gotten a movie option as a result of someone reading about her book on Twitter.

"I always found keeping up with social media sites sometimes a bore, and sometimes time-consuming. I wondered if I'd ever get results. However, I persisted and always posted my book reviews on as many sites as possible. Imagine my joy when a movie company read a great review I posted on Twitter, bought my book, and I have just signed a movie option for the first in my children's adventure series, with possibly more options as the series progresses. So, no matter what it is, make sure everyone knows about your achievements."

Congratulations Fiona! If you have a social media success story to share, please leave a comment at the end of this post.

Recommended Reading

• The Future of Publishing by Penny Sansevieri at Author Marketing Experts

• How To Promote Your Novel With Short Stories by M.L. Poncelet

• Press Release Tips and Resources, my guest post on the Self Publishing Coach blog

• 19 Ways to Use Images to Enhance Your Blog by Cindy King on Social Media Examiner

Book Marketing Roundup

Welcome to my weekly roundup of book marketing news and resources. It's been a busy week in the publishing industry, with Book Expo in New York and speculation about the possible sale of Barnes & Noble.

Three new e-readers were introduced this week. Barnes & Noble unveiled the Nook Simple Touch Reader for $139, said to combine the best features of tablets and dedicated e-ink e-readers.  Amazon announced a new lower priced 3G Kindle With Special Offers for $164, and Kobo launched a $130 e-ink touchscreen device.

Ebook Publishing

Sales of ebooks continue to soar, and if you aren't publishing in ebook format you are missing out on potential revenue. I am writing a series of articles to help indie authors and publishers navigate the often confusing path to ebook publishing:

• Ebook Pricing Strategies (May 17 newsletter article)
• Why You Need to Publish Ebooks (May 31 blog post)
• 4 Ways to Prepare Your Ebook File for Publishing (June 1 newsletter article)
• 4 Steps to Publishing Your Ebooks for Multiple Platforms (June 6 blog post)

Remember, subscribers to my Savvy Book Marketer Newsletter have exclusive access to the archive of feature articles from the ezine.

Facebook Group

Today I am converting my Savvy Book Marketing Group on Facebook to the "new" group format. If you are already a member you will be receiving a message from Facebook that the group has been upgraded. If you'd like to adjust your preferences for getting updates from the group, click the group link in that email and then click the Edit Settings button near the top of the page.  

Recommended Reading

• Novelists, check out John Kremer's list of magazines that review fiction.

• Alice Seba at Contentrix  offers a free guide, How to Write Product Reviews that Sell. These tips are ideal for anyone who wants to profit from promoting affiliate products.
  

• Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, is one of the leading experts on generating publicity for authors, speakers, coaches and entrepreneurs. Sign up for her free publicity tutorial and you'll get a daily lesson for the next three months. Joan's practical tips and examples will make you a publicity whiz.

• If you self-publish children's picture books, read Aaron Shepard's article, Why I’ve Switched to CreateSpace for Picture Books.

Book Marketing Roundup

If you missed my book marketing interview with Yvonne Perry, I invite you to listen to the replay. We had a lively session packed with tips for promoting books on Amazon and selling to libraries.

Now I'm hard at work on my newest guide for authors, How to Get Your Book Reviewed. Visit this page to get more details, along with a 20% discount coupon, when the book is available in June.

As you probably know, there have been lots of changes on Facebook and Twitter recently. Last month, I published completely updated editions of Facebook Guide for Authors and Twitter Guide for Authors, and the new edition of The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing will be available on May 21.

News from the Publishing World

Yesterday, Publisher's Weekly reported that in the first quarter of 2011 e-book sales were up 159.8%, to $233.1 million, while sales of printed books fell.

In related news, Amazon announced that their ebook sales are now exceeding sales of paperbacks and hardcovers combined. Since April 1, for every 100 print books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books. 

Ebook Survey

Do you own an ebook reader? Has it changed your reading habits? Where do you buy your ebooks? How should ebooks be priced? I invite you to answer these four quick questions in my ebook survey. If you'd like your comments to be quoted when I report the survey results, just enter your name and the title of your book at the end of the survey.

Recommended Reading

Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, offers excellent advice for doing media pitches in her article, Authors: Don’t Pitch Your Books as Story Ideas.

ProBlogger Darren Rowse has just released a new guide for beginning bloggers, ProBlogger’s Guide to your First Week of Blogging, as a companion to his popular 31 Days to Build a Better Blog ebook.

If you want to publish your books for Apple's iBookstore, you can go through Smashwords.com or if you have a Mac (or a friend who does) you can publish directly to Apple. This ebook publishing article from Claudia Jackson explains how.

In this week's issue of The Savvy Book Marketer Newsletter, I discussed ebook pricing strategies. Subscribe to the newsletter to get more special feature stories like this, along with exclusive access to the archive of feature articles and a free copy of my Top Book Marketing Tips ebook.

Here's to your publishing success!