Writing and Marketing your Books

1. Writing and Marketing your Books Marketing 101 By Diane Adams Taylor

2. Writing a book • My inspiration point comes from creating a title first. I develop my complete story in my head including: characters, plot, sub story, transitions and more. • People ask me ‘how long does it take to write a book?’ It depends on how engaged I am in the writing process. I write, edit, write, edit until the story begins to flow. Once I am in the writing zone, I do no corrections until the book is finished. I always start at the beginning and let my ideas flow from there. • How do you like to write?

3. Build a promotion foundation • Start building a mailing list from your email contacts. • Review your social media networks to reflect your target audience. • Connect with bloggers. • Put together a list of influential people with your book’s target audience. • Create your book launch media list. • Update your website. • Learn as much as you can about book marketing, promotion and publicity.

4. Book Marketing • 5 % writing • 95% book marketing • Do you have a plan? Is it working? Could you use some different approaches? Are you spending a majority of time on this venture with little to show for the time spent?

5. How to build sales and reach readers • Create your Author Profile • Create a blog – or pay someone to help you get started. • Build your profile on Amazon Author Central at http://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/landing • Build your Goodreads Author Profile at http://www.goodreads.com/autor/program • Build your profile on Linked In at http://www.linkedin.com • Build your profile on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com

6. How to build sales and reach readers (continued) • Build your SEO (search engine optimization) or ask a friend who is technologically savvy to help you. • Build a Facebook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com and link it to Twitter. • Build your Social Media Network by interconnecting all of your sites, including Pinterest, Google+Circles, Tumblr and Flickr.

7. On-line interview opportunities to use for publicity purposes • First Author Interviews at http://ww38.1stauthorinterviews.com • Rachael Dixon at http://rachaelhdixon.webs.com • Words by William at http://www.wordsbywilliams.blogspot.com • Nandini Speaks at http://nandinispeaks.blogspot.com • The Smart Weiters Blog #2 at http://smartweiters2.blogspot.com • Thomas D. Taylor at http://thomasdtaylor.wordpress.com

8. Create a strong presence on social media sites. • Submit your book to AskDavid.com (free book promotion site) at http://www.askdavid.com • Submit your book to AuthorsDen.com (free book promotion site) at http://www.authorsden.com • Submit your book to BiblioConnection (free book promotion site) at http://www.biblioconnection.com/Resources/Guidelinesforauthors.aspx • Submit your book to IndependentAuthorsNetwork (small annual fee) at http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/index/html

9. Other marketing ideas • Ask for reviews of your work from friends and other authors. Post these reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads and other literary sites. • Attend book conferences to stay up with trends. • Join various groups such as business referral groups and author marketing groups on-line and in person. • Ask libraries, schools and book stores to allow you to discuss your work through book signings and speaking engagements. • Find a hook. What makes your work unique and different from the millions of other books. • Make a book trailer or have one made. • Offer book giveaways or chapter giveaways on Goodreads and/or your own website. • Need help with social marketing? A local company can help – website is www.wordsandwriters.com and membership cost includes a greatly reduced fee for website design and assistance. • Get free tips and subscribe to book marketing e-zine Build Book Buzz at http://buildbookbuzz.com

10. Professional book reviewers (to request a review for posting) • Elementary V Watson at http://www.elementaryvwatson.wordpress.com • Book Tweeting and Reviews at http://www.booktweetingservice.com/p/like-free-review.html • Sassy Cassie’s Reviews at http://cassiesreviewsde-la-mazing.blogspot.com • R & M Fab Book Reviews at http://www.rmfabbookreviews.blogspot.com

11. Consider a book launch (or a re-launch) • A book launch is a way to create excitement about your work and increase sales. The idea of a book launch or a book re-launch is to get venture partners to help you increase your email list of possible book buyers. It is an all out effort to try to sell enough books so that you may reach the best-sellers list. Becoming a best-seller is an excellent way to increase the sales of your future books as well. • Use this opportunity as a means to create massive advertising for your work, the work of your bonus gift providers and the work of your venture partners (a win-win situation for all involved).

12. Book launch materials needed • Press releases • Well written sales letter to approach business venture partners (personalized)as well as bonus gift providers. • Brief, descriptive email written in a personalized manner to remind partners of their agreement • Bonus gifts needed for launch day. • Intriguing offer which gets customers attention immediately (caters to the “what’s in it for me?” attitude). • The objective is to sell a lot of books, not just email many people. Think of a creative way for a high traffic website business owner to help you in this quest to sell books.

13. Book launch on website • On launch day have books ready for distribution • Only allow access to one selling site (Amazon or Barnes & Noble) to ensure all sales are calculated at one location for placement on best-seller’s list. • Free bonus gifts are delivered electronically over the internet, by email or by phone and they are not associated with the book sellers site. • A book launch is twenty-four hours long to determine sales completed in that time frame for the rating of best seller.

14. Campaign steps for a book launch • Choose a date for your campaign, ensuring that your book will be ready for distribution. • Create a database of potential partners. • Track everything, stay organized. • Ensure all correspondence is personalized. • Gather bonus gifts. • Write the copy – sales letter, short ads, press releases, announcements. • Have your web pages prepared – sales page, landing page and bonus page. • Send out copy to all partners and ask for confirmation. • Remind partners of date. • Test the launch.

15. Parting thoughts • Join an independent writers support group and advertise on their site. Sign up for the service at http://www.indiewritersupport.org/wp-content/plugins/oiopub-direct/purchase.php?do=custom&item=1 • Get help through internet marketing sites. • Make your search engines count – not tech savvy – then hire someone with a good reputation to help spread the word about your work.

16. And then after all this work, we will all need a cruise.

17. For more information contact: • Diane Adams Taylor, author , writer and owner, CEO of Aishling Publishing House • Email: dianeadamstaylor94@gmail.com • Website: http://www.dianeadamstaylor.com • Twitter: DAdamsTaylor • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dianeadamstaylor • https://www.facebook.com/CirclesinTimehttps://www.facebook.com/thehealerofwoundedsouls • Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=171598060&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic • Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6085527.Diane_Adams_Taylor • Amazon Author Page: http://smile.amazon.com/Diane-Adams-Taylor/e/B007ZSWK76/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1404747796&sr=1-2-ent • Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/dianeadamstaylor/ • Goggle.com/+DianeAdamsTaylor • YouTube: Diane AdamsTaylor