The Savvy Book Marketer

Book Talk: How to Fill a Room

In today's guest post, author Ellen Cassedy shares her excellent advice on planning a successful book reading or signing event. Many of these tips will work well for other types of events as well.

One of the great pleasures of being an author is reading from and signing your book at a bookstore, library, or other community venue. But unless you’re famous, even a bookstore (in fact, especially a bookstore) is just an empty room – and it’s your job to fill it.

Here’s my checklist for how to fill an empty room, based on what I did when I read and signed at Porter Square Books, a wonderful independent bookstore in Cambridge, MA.

At least eight weeks ahead:

Set a goal. Given the size of the room, I set a goal of 40 attendees, of whom I hoped 15-25 would buy books. In the end, 100 people came – standing room only – and the store sold its entire stack of pre-ordered books.

Make your contact list. Wrack your brain for every single person you can think of. I haven’t lived in the Boston area for decades, but I was able to draw up a list of 100 names, including my friend Mimi from when I was nine, high school friends, old roommates, and former coworkers. It took me a couple of hours to sleuth out all their email addresses.

Send the venue your headshot, cover photo, and a brief description of your book. I also sent (and later also brought with me, in big print) a one-paragraph introduction for the staff to use on the night of the event.

Learn How to Promote Your Novel and Sell More Books

There are similarities between promoting fiction and nonfiction, but there are also some real differences in what's most effective for selling novels. Wouldn't it be great if you could learn how the most successful novelists promote their books?

After writing several nonfiction books and establishing herself as a leading book marketing expert, Joanna Penn sold more than 18,000 copies of her novels, Pentecost and Prophecy, in just one year.

As you probably know, that's quite an accomplishment for an independently published author. And it certainly didn't happen by accident.

I have invited Joanna to share her fiction marketing expertise in an educational webinar, How to Promote Your Novel:  21 Ways to Sell More Books Online, and that program is now available in video format.

In this practical training program you will get a wealth of actionable ideas for promoting fiction and you'll cut your learning curve by discovering what works and what doesn't.

Visit this page to learn more about Joanna's webinar, How to Promote Your Novel:  21 Ways to Sell More Books Online.

To get a taste of Joanna's expertise in promoting fiction, I invite you to read her excellent article about writing effective sales copy for novels.

7 Tactics of Master Book Marketer Amanda Hocking

In today's guest post I'm delighted to welcome back book marketing expert Jan Bear to talk about what we can all learn from the stunning success of novelist Amanda Hocking, who sold nearly a million Kindle books on her own before signing with a major publisher.

7 Tactics of Master Book Marketer Amanda Hocking 

by Jan Bear

When the world noticed that then-26-year-old Amanda Hocking had made nearly a million dollars in a year selling self-published ebooks, there was quite a media stir. They asked about her new house, about her friends, about how she was dealing with fame. But there wasn't enough coverage of the valuable lessons she can teach any author about how to successfully market fiction. Here are seven important marketing tactics that helped create her success as a novelist:

1. Write Good Stories

Amanda Hocking's "overnight success" was years in the making. She wrote many novels before she published the first one and spent years polishing her craft. She focused on writing a great story. Her fans read one book after another and tell their friends about them.

2. Write in a Popular Genre

She did choose a genre, YA paranormal romance, with avid fans. It wasn't a matter of saying, "Trolls are hot now," but studying trends, researching the market and writing what she enjoyed that fit into those trends. There's a fine line between smart marketing and following the "next big thing." Unless you write really fast, the next big thing could be yesterday's news by the time the book is finished. But if you choose a target audience and write to people, your great idea may be the next big thing.

3. Build Up Your Backlist

When a reader finishes one of Amanda Hocking's books, there's another one waiting to be read. Independent publishing advocate Joe Konrath observes that if you're a fiction writer, your books are the best marketing tool for your books. Amanda Hocking blazes through the writing. She finished her second vampire novel in 15 days. If you're thinking of going independent, it's a good idea to be a lightning-fast writer or have a backlist on hand before you start to market your books.

7 Proven Techniques for Promoting Fiction

In today's guest post, I am happy to have publicity expert Sandra Beckwith share her advice on how to effectively promote fiction.

7 Proven Techniques for Promoting Fiction
by Sandra Beckwith

Let’s just put it out there right now: It’s harder to promote fiction than nonfiction. It just is. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Plenty of novelists have enjoyed impressive publicity and promotion success – including self-published authors. Just ask Paul Harrington, self-published author of Epiphany: The untold epic journey of the magi, whose publicity success included a bylined article in the Washington Post.

Here’s the secret that Harrington and other successful fiction authors know: Novelists and authors of other types of fiction need to embrace many of the tools, tactics, and techniques that nonfiction authors use. I know, I know. You think that they don’t apply to fiction, but many of them do. The truth is, much of what works for nonfiction also works for fiction. Why not give one or two of these seven suggestions a try and see where it takes you? You have nothing to lose, and much to gain.

1.  Think beyond book reviews.

Book reviews are valuable and securing them should be on any author or publisher's book promotion to-do list, but your novel deserves more widespread, long-term, and ongoing exposure than it can get through reviews alone. (Dana Lynn Smith’s new How to Get Your Book Reviewed is a valuable resource for this!) You want the press to talk about your book for as long as it’s available for purchase.

2.  Stretch past reviews by using the nonfiction nuggets in your manuscript to create newsworthy material for media outlets.

Is your heroine a jilted wife starting over in the workforce as – let’s say – an account executive at a high-flying packaging design firm who finds love with her client at a consumer products company? You've got publicity opportunities with the packaging and marketing trade magazines. Is he a radio jock? The morning drive time personalities would love to interview you by phone. What about locations, products, or services in your novel? A story with a convenience store backdrop gives you news pegs for exposure in the relevant trade magazines. A character's obsession with a little known beverage brand could get your book into that company's employee newsletter. If you're writing your novel now, work in some nonfiction nuggets you can capitalize on later.

3.  Use your content to identify promotion allies.

Because Camille Noe Pagán’s novel, The Art of Forgetting, tells the story of what happens to a friendship when one of the friends suffers a traumatic brain injury, Pagán partnered with the Bob Woodruff Foundation (Woodruff suffered a brain injury while covering the Iraq war for ABC-TV). Pagán donated $1 of every pre-sale book to the foundation; in exchange, the organization promoted it through social networking. Look, too, at your characters’ professions – there’s an association for just about every occupation. But don't just send them a note that says, “I've written a book your members will love.” Send a copy of the book with a letter outlining promotional possibilities and what's in it for them. You might offer to speak at their national meeting, write for their member publication, or offer a discount to members.

4.    Leverage what you uncovered while writing your book.

Did you learn about a period in history or a specific region? Use this knowledge as a springboard for publicity. The author of a historical romance novel set in South Carolina, for example, can write and distribute a news release announcing the top romantic attractions in that state or pitch local newspapers or regional magazines on an article about the state’s most romantic date destinations. Your goal is to be quoted as an expert source because this requires using your book title as one of your credentials.

5.    Support your book with a good Web site designed by a professional.

Your Web site has to be as good as your writing. It also has to contain information that convinces us that your books are worth buying and reading. It doesn't have to be slick, but it does need to be well-written, attractive, useful, and enticing. Mystery writer Libby Fischer Hellman’s site helps us get to know her better by including video interviews and links to other media exposure. Remember: We will assess your ability to tell a good story by your ability to communicate on your Web site, so the writing is crucial.

6.    Show us your stuff.

Help us connect with you by blogging about your writing process and experiences. Put book excerpts on your Web site and read portions to us via podcasts so we can get a feel for your writing and decide if the story is appealing. Give us enough online to convince us we'd like how you tell your story.

7.    Get social.

Focus on one or two social networking sites and master the most effective and appropriate ways to use them to promote your book. Rachel Simon, author of the New York Times bestseller The Story of Beautiful Girl, suspects that her book’s Twitter visibility had a lot to do with Jennifer Weiner’s selection of the book as a top “Today Show” beach read. “Using Twitter effectively really got that book a higher level of visibility,” Simon says. 

Please don’t limit your fiction promotion to reviews and Twitter contests. There’s so much more you can do to get your book media exposure – and your book deserves it!

To learn more about the best ways to promote fiction, listen to 9 Novel Ways to Promote Fiction, my interview with veteran book publicist Sandra Poirier Diaz, president of Smith Publicity.

About the Author

Sandra Beckwith teaches authors how to be their own book publicists. Subscribe to her free Build Book Buzz e-zine at http://buildbookbuzz.com.

Levels of Engagement, or Why Authors Need an Email List

In today’s guest post, book designer and self-publishing expert Joel Friedlander addresses a common question about the benefits of email lists for all types of authors.

I'm often asked why authors, particularly novelists, should bother with an email list. Aren't email lists just for nonfiction writers or Internet marketers with something to sell? Novelists are trying to get readers involved with the worlds that they create and care about the characters who populate those worlds. In other words, they really want people to get engaged with their writing.

This gives you a hint about why email lists can be really effective for writers who are trying to find readers. It's all related to the level of engagement that exists with your readers.

In the book business readers sometimes become fans, anxious for more involvement with the author of a book that's made a big impression on them and looking forward to more books from the same author.

Online, it's also common for fans to become readers. Someone who encounters you on Twitter or by reading your blog may become sufficiently intrigued by your writing to buy your book. So this process goes both ways.

Since you are marketing online, your aim is twofold:

    1.   Attract people who may be interested in your ideas, your writing, or your solutions to problems.

    2.   Inspire enough trust and interest in a percentage of those people that they are moved to buy your book, your service or your product.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?

How To Write a Back Blurb For Your Book

In today's guest post, I'm delighted to have author and publishing expert Joanna Penn share her tips for writing effective back cover copy for novels. What I love about these tips is the specific examples she gives—guaranteed to start your creative juices flowing. And keep in mind that this same copy can be used in other promotional materials, including web pages and sell sheets.

You pick up a book because the cover or title looks interesting. The next thing you do is read the back blurb, or if you are online, you read the first excerpt which is usually the same thing.

At basics, the back blurb is a sales pitch. It has to be almost an exaggeration of your story that entices the reader to buy, or at least download a sample to their Kindle or iPad.

How do you write good back blurb?

This is a list of what featured most often from a number of bestselling thrillers reviewed as research from my bookshelf. The principles hold true for any genre although the details change for each.

• A hint of the plot. “Secret experiment. Tiny island. Big mistake.” (Scott Sigler, Ancestor); “must fight their way past traps, labyrinths and a host of deadly enemies” (Matthew Reilly. Six Sacred Stones);

• Use of words that evoke images and resonate with readers of the genre. Examples, “ancient monastery” (Raymond Khoury, The Sign), “hidden esoteric wisdom, Masonic secrets” (Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol), “the secret behind Noah’s Ark” (Boyd Morrison, The Ark), “Druidic pagan cross” (James Rollins, The Doomsday Key); “A buried Egyptian temple. A secret kept for 6000 years. A race for life worth killing for.” (Andy McDermott, The Pyramid of Doom)

•  Main characters are named and characterized. “TV news reporter Gracie Logan. Matt Sherwood, reformed car thief” (The Sign); “Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon: (Lost Symbol); “Trapped inside a paralyzed body, Rhyme’s brilliant mind is channeled through his partner, policewoman Amelia Sachs” (Jeffrey Deaver, The Twelfth Card); “Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force” (James Rollins, Doomsday Key)

Promote Your Book on the Goodreads Network

With more than 3 million members, Goodreads is the largest social network for readers. The site is a terrific way for authors (especially fiction authors) to interact with their target audiences through the Goodreads Author Program.

Like other social networks, members join and set up a profile. But the emphasis of this site is on discussing books and sharing book recommendations with others. Members can create a catalog of the books they have read, are currently reading, and plan to read in the future; post reviews; create lists of books; start a book club; join a discussion group; or even contact an author.

To sign up for this free reader network, just enter your name, email, and a password on this page. I recommend setting up your own profile and book catalog and becoming familiar with the site before you get started with the author program.

See this page for details on how to upgrade your account to "author" status. Here are some of the things you can do to promote yourself and your books on Goodreads:

• Post a picture and bio.
• Share your list of favorite books and recent reads with your fans.
• Start a blog or import a feed of your existing blog.
• Publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and speaking engagements.
• Share book excerpts and other writing.
• Write a quiz about your book or a related topic.
• Post videos.

Book Marketing Resources for Children's Book Authors

Most of the book marketing advice that you'll find on The Savvy Book Marketer is applicable to all types of books, but sometimes it's helpful to zero in on specific tactics for certain kinds of books. Below are some tips and resources especially for the authors and publishers of children's and young adult books.

Although young adults often choose their own reading material, books for younger children are usually purchased by parents, grandparents and other friends and family. Teachers, home schoolers, librarians, youth program leaders and others who work with children also recommend or purchase books.

When seeking reviews for children's books, look for publications and websites geared toward parenting and childhood education, in addition to book review sites.

Virtual reader communities are a specialized type of social networking site where readers and authors network, and readers recommend books to others. Check out these two communities designed especially for children's books:

JacketFlap focuses on children's and young adult books

Big Universe is devoted to children's picture books.

Here are some other helpful book marketing resources for children's books:

Use the Calendar to Promote Yourself and Your Book

In today's guest post, publishing coach Robin Hoffman shows authors how to capitalize on seasonal events and holidays to gain valuable book and author publicity.

As Valentine’s Day approached, I encouraged my client, America’s love expert Debra Berndt to send out a press release to the local TV news stations. That weekend, she appeared on two local news shows, and Denver’s ABC affiliate loved her so much, they had her on monthly as a regular expert guest. This breakthrough helped Debra send her platform into a hyper-growth pattern that later led her to get a book deal with Wiley.

You might be thinking, “Well, that won’t apply to me, because my topic has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day or any other holiday!”

Think again. In any given calendar month, literally dozens of notable, yet mostly little-known, dates are lined up just waiting to lend a hook where you can hang your story.

For example, did you know that May is, among other things, “date your mate” month, national bike month, and older American’s month? And aside from Cinco de Mayo, May 5th is also Oyster Day, and May 6th is my favorite, No Diet Day!

Promote Your Book with Value-Added Content

In today's guest post, book marketing expert Angela Wilson shares some creative tips for using freebies and value-added content to promote fiction. Many of these techniques are also effective for promoting nonfiction books.

If you populate your website or blog with fun, free content on a regular basis, fans will continue to visit your sites - and remember your work when they take their cash to the bookstore.

Free short stories written by Untold creators, as well as fans of the role-playing card game, sent hits to the game website skyrocketing and sales figures soaring.

Author Brannon Hollingsworth - who is also one of the creators of the game - says empowering fans to take ownership of the site generated more enthusiasm for the game. Not only that, but the content generated was so great, they decided to create a fictional anthology with stories based on the game.

What Untold creators learned is a universal lesson for all authors: Free stuff nets sales and increases website hits. 

Wondering what type of content is best to reach readers? Check out these examples and suggestions:

• Short stories. Authors Jaci Burton and Ilona Andrews offer up free short stories for readers online.

Book Publicity Tips for Fiction Authors

In today's guest post Tolly Moseley shares some terrific tips to help fiction authors get publicity for themselves and their books.

It's a common complaint among fiction authors and book publicists alike.

“Fiction is too hard to publicize! Fun to read, but . . . HARD to spread the word.”

I hear you, friends. This is why Oprah has been the bane of every publicist's existence for the past decade or so, because authors think that Oprah is the only way to sell your fiction book.

I've got two things to add to that point, the second of which I'll be discussing at length. Those are:

1) Huge national shows (Oprah, TODAY, etc.) tend to pluck their guests from smaller media outlets, and

2) Smaller media outlets like books that get people talking. I'm going to show you how to pitch them.

When publicizing a fiction book, the biggest thing to keep in mind is relevance. Sadly, media members just don't care if your book is beautifully written. I wish that weren't the case, but it's true. Over one hundred thousand books are published each year, many with heart-achingly gorgeous prose. But the ones that sell are those that – prior to being opened – already have some immediate relevance to a person's life. So let's talk about five ways to accomplish that.

Book Marketing Lessons from the World of Retail – Finding Niche Markets for Your Books

In today's guest post, I'm delighted to have novelist Tracy Higley discuss how to target your books to niche markets. Tracy shares insights gained from her successful niche retail businesses and explains how she uses those same principles in marketing her books.

While writing fiction is my passion, I also have another side of life – an online retail business selling craft and hobby supplies. There are a number of lessons I’ve learned in my non-writing marketing efforts that can translate to marketing fiction, and I’ll share one with you in this post.  If you’d like to read more, you can find a series of posts on the topic here.

One of the best things you can do to spread the word about your novel is to find a tightly focused group of people who would love it.  In other words, a niche.
 
Entrepreneur magazine defines a niche as “A portion of a market that you've identified as having some special characteristic and that's worth marketing to.” Quite frankly, I have built my entire retail business on this principle. In this article, I’ll give examples from both my writing and my retail business, with links provided to give you a better feel for what I’m explaining. Here’s how niche marketing works, and how it can work for your books:
 
1. Identify a specific segment of people whom you think would be especially interested in your books. Be very specific. Don’t worry about “leaving out” a large portion of your readers from this niche. That’s the point. You’re going to market to this niche in special ways that don’t apply to all of your target readers.

Book Promotion Tips for Skittish Sellers

In today's guest post, mystery writer Elizabeth Craig shares book promotion tips for authors who are shy about selling.

My children are both in Scouts. It’s been a great experience for them—they get to try new things and build self-confidence and self-reliance.

The only thing I dislike about it? The selling.

I’m sure the other parents out there know what I mean. In October, my son sells barbeque for his troop. And in January/February, my daughter sells Girl Scout cookies for hers.

And they have a mom who absolutely hates selling things.

This means that I end up buying whatever they’ve got to sell. Yes, I will buy $100 worth of BBQ and $100 worth of Girl Scout cookies just to keep from hovering anxiously behind my children as they sell door to door.

This, however, isn’t such a great idea for books. We’d go broke pretty fast if I had to buy every book I’ve got out, or coming out, on the market.

Virtual Book Tours for Fiction Authors

On a virtual book tour, authors visit a series of blogs, websites, radio shows or other virtual venues during a certain time frame – usually one to three weeks – to promote their book. Most tour stops involve making guest posts on blogs (either by writing an article or being interviewed by the blog owner) or having the blog owner review the book.

Virtual book tours can be a good way to promote fiction. When planning your tour, look for book blogs related to your genre, general book review websites, and blogs that cater to the specific target audience for your book. Here's an example of an interview-style tour stop on a highly targeted blog, Suburban Vampire.

It's best to create a web page with a schedule listing the stops for your tour. Here's a great example for the tour for TimeSplash by Graham Storrs.

For best results, seek out sites with good traffic. You can estimate website traffic by comparing the Google Page Rank or Alexa ranking of different websites.

What kinds of topics can fiction authors talk about on their blog tour? Of course, you can talk about the characters and plot in the book you are promoting. But, many people are fascinated by the writing and publishing process, so you can also cover topics such as these:

 

What Do You Talk About On Your Blog If You Write Fiction?

In today's guest post, I'm delighted to have novelist and book marketing expert Carolyn Howard-Johnson share her creative blogging tips for fiction authors.

It's harder to promote fiction on a blog (or about anything else) than nonfiction, but it's not impossible. Here are some ideas. Note that sometimes you have to make your own news.

1. Review others' books and post the review. Choose ones in the same genre as yours or related to your book in other ways, like setting. Ask the author to promote your review post. If you need more information on this process, read the section on how to promote with your writing in my book, The Frugal Book Promoter, and for everything you need to know on the subject read Mayra Calvani's The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing.

2. Use the voice of your protagonist (or villain) in your post and let him or her tell some new stories, stories not found in your book. Be sure she or he mentions your book during the little story-telling spree.

3. Let your readers endorse your book. Ask them to. Post pictures of them and your book cover and talk about more than the book, make it about them. It could be a feature story of some interesting aspect of their lives or an interview. But interviews are common and if you wrote a feature story, you might end up selling the article to a print periodical or some other media.