Plug Your Book!

A few months ago, I was sent a real nifty little book on book promotion to review which was called Plug Your Book by Steve Weber. It sat on top of my desk to grab when I had a few minutes to spare, but I never could grab those few spare minutes with the book tours and promoting The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost, a paranormal that Heide Kaminski, Pam Lawniczak and I wrote which just came out in paperback this month. It was always busy, busy, busy, which left absolutely no time for reading.

Well, today, at work, I found the time. It was extraordinarily slow, so I pulled up a chair, propped my feet up on computer equipment in the back and dived in. Big mistake. I was worthless.

Waiting for my relief to walk in so that I could go home and finish the book, I pulled out my yellow highlighter and started highlighting. It was a treasure trove of information that I wanted to refer to when I sent him my review.

One passage he had in the book that really made me sit up was:

"Many booksellers, publishers, and agents pay close attention to Amazon ranks. So if you manage to pump up (gotta love his buzz words!) the sales rank of your book, it can prompt brick-and-mortar stores to order more copies. Publishers looking for a complementary title might ask you to write the book for them."

What I found interesting about that passage was that it made me wonder, for those published with small press and who lack distribution in major book stores like Barnes & Noble, would sales rankings make a difference as to whether they would stock you?

The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost has held a ranking of 740 or so in B&N online for days. If I mention the ranking to the store manager, would that make a difference? Anyone know?

I'm heading out to the B&N in Salisbury, Maryland, tomorrow just to test the waters. I'm not even sure how I'm going to approach this and I'm sure, by what I've heard, it just isn't going to happen come hell or high water, but what if...I'm a local author? Would that even make a difference in this highly competitive market?

I'll let you know what happens. BTW, as of this writing, the sales rankings at B&N just dipped to 1,030 and my luck, it'll be higher than that when I go in there, but we shall see.

Another thing I liked about Mr. Weber's book is the chapter on how to approach Amazon top reviewers, even down to the sample email you can email them with. Quite a neat little book. I'm only half-way through but I'll be giving it a full review soon.

BTW, his rankings at Amazon isn't anything to sneeze at. For a self-published book, it's standing at 5,351 (it's been out since February 2007).

I'll give you my full evaluation in another day or so of why I believe he's doing so well. Meanwhile, if you want to check out Mr. Weber's blog, go to http://www.weberbooks.com/publish.htm. That's nothing to sneeze at, either. WTG, Mr. Weber. ;o)

Tags: How to Pump UP Your Blog to Sell More Books, online book promotion, author publicity, book promotion, book promotion tips, Plug Your Book!, Steve Weber

Dare to be Different to Make Your Book Trailer Shine Above the Rest

A few days ago, Diana Holquist left a comment in one of my blog posts, wondering about the worth of book trailers and how much their worth would sell books.


So, she says, she decided to make one to find out.

Of course, I'm a big fan of book trailers and since she's one of my daily readers and knows how much I love them, she knew I would be enticed to go look at the very mention of a new book trailer. Smart girl, Diana!

So, I did.

I could not stop laughing. Now THIS is what I'm talking about. Go to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z32GAedt2lw to watch it, if you'd like, but come back because I have a surprise interview you wouldn't want to miss.

We were talking about websites being different and how they are drawing spectators (hence, possible future book buyers)...why not do the same with book trailers? Being different makes a big difference nowadays, doesn't it?

And, I'm thinking, this is all part of the NEW AGE OF PROMOTION.

We've got to learn how to stand out from the pack.

After watching Diana's book trailer, I had to email her and ask her if she would agree to an interview because I had some really interesting questions for her. She agreed, so for your enjoyment, here is the interview:

Dorothy: Diana, this has got to be the coolest trailer I've ever seen. I love your sense of humor! How did you come up with this idea?

Diana: I'm so glad you like it. The idea came from on one of my 4,312 yahoo groups. A famous author was chiding us to always be professional. I thought, hell no. I'm a writer. If I wanted to be professional, I would've been a banker. So I figured, why not be so unprofessional that it's funny? I wanted people to see what this writer was really like, messy hair, cheesecake for breakfast, little white lies, and all. That's what I think readers are interested in. That's what I'm interested in. I'm not interested in people being "professional." Professionals bore me. I also did a "slick" trailer that has jazzy music and quick cuts and the actual content of the book. But even though it's sexy, it's the same as everyone else's. I like different. In my books, and my trailers.

Dorothy: Did this really happen? I mean, did you actually tell your husband you'd put him on the cover?

Diana: As soon as my editor told me they wanted to call the book Sexiest Man Alive, I said, "Fine. But you'll have to put my husband on the cover or he'll be upset." It was our running joke: "Hi Michele (my editor), should my husband come to New York for his cover shoot this week?" Now when I show friends the cover, I say, "of course, that's Peter on the cover," and they do a double take, afraid to say, "um, I don't think so, honey." I love this cover, but it's full of jokes. In fact, the next trailer I'm doing if my publisher doesn't stop me is "The Top Ten Reasons the Sexiest Man Alive Has No Head." Dorothy: What did he think of the trailer after you showed it to him?

Diana: He's got a great sense of humor. Better than my ten year old who said, "Mom, never, ever show me that again."

Dorothy: What does your husband think of having an author in the family?

Diana: My husband is a much bigger author. You must have missed "Making War, Forging Revolution; Russia's Continuum of Crisis, 1914-1921"? Harlequin Blaze wanted it, but Harvard Press outbid them.

Dorothy: Are you this funny all the time?

Diana: Only when I'm drunk. And I hope, when I write. In person, I don't speak. People are terribly disappointed when they meet me.

Dorothy: What prompted you to make a book trailer for your book?

Diana: You. Really. I'm a serious Dorothy disciple. Also, I've learned early on that it's best if I promote my books without leaving the house because I'm insanely shy. Book trailers were a natural way to connect with readers without actually having to talk to them, blush, stutter, get dizzy, and have to go and lie down. In fact, Sexiest Man Alive is dedicated to "everyone who has ever blushed, stuttered, or had their nose twitch like a rabbit's." My personality is good for on-line promotion. I had to run with it.

Dorothy: What has been other people's reactions when they see it?

Diana: Well, my mom loves it : ) I get a lot of people telling me they can't hear it. Sorry. I didn't have a proper mike and I just taught myself how to use iMovie that morning. I thought about going back and cleaning it up now that I'm better on the software, but I like it the way it is---you have to watch it more than once to get it all. Some people think it's hysterical. Others scratch their heads and turn away. Story of my life. I'd rather thrill some people and repulse others than have everyone think I'm just "okay."

Dorothy: Thank you for coming, Diana, and happy promoting to you!

Diana: Thanks for having me, Dorothy. I can't tell you how much I love your blog. It's taught me everything I know about web promoting. I read it religiously. You're my hero. I feel really honored to be here.

Now, that's a woman you gotta love.

Tags: How to Pump UP Your Blog to Sell More Books, online book promotion, author publicity, book promotion, book promotion tips, book trailer, Diana Holquist, Sexiest Man Alive

FREE DIGITAL MARKETING HANDOUT

Digital marketing.

Don't you just love those two words (must make a mental note to use it more often when talking about online book promotion!)?

Pauline B. Jones is captain of a track of workshops called "e-Marking in the New Age" for the upcoming Romantic Times conference in Houston. Twenty-five panelists in eight workshops prepared handouts, which they collected into a digital handout.

It's available FREE for download, in additioin to a couple of other bonus marketing handouts by visiting her website at www.paulinebjones.com/emarketdigHO.htm.

I was very impressed and I encourage everyone who is interested in e-marketing (isn't that everyone in here?) to download this free handout.

Thank you, Pauline!

Tags: Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion, online book promotion, online marketing, Pauline B. Jones, book publicity, digital marketing, Romantic Times Conference, e-marketing

What's Wrong With This Website?

Saturday before last, we played a game called "What's Wrong With This Website?" The website in question was a gimmicky attempt at promoting a new book, but regardless of whether it was gimmicky or not, the website has created quite a buzz. Today's ranking at Amazon? 880.

The author's name is Miranda July and the website for her book, No One Belongs Here More Than You, can be found here.

There are mixed reactions around the blogosphere as to whether this website is brilliant or whether it's committing SEO suicide.

Maud Newton calls it a "wonderful online performance."

M.J. Rose calls it "brilliant creative with no name recognition."

Of those willing to partake of my little game, here are their responses:

Jeni said, "I was bored waiting through each appliance she wrote on, which actually told me nothing about the book, about the author, price, availability, etc."

Jamieson said, "I even visited her other web site and it's as annoyingly vague as the fridge one is."

Vicki M. Taylor said, "It's all flash, no substance."

Manic Mom said, "No times for when she's doing her book tour?"

Gloria Oliver said, "I would say the problem is that for each page, she does not identify herself."

Linda Rucker said, "For me, if I have to bounce all over the web to get the author's bio and pic and info about the tour then I'm bored."

Kathy Holmes said, "While it's rather creative, I got bored paging through and finally just stopped."

Rhonda Stapleton said, "It's all images and no searchable text--how in the world can google help rank it, since it can't search for any terms?"

Kristin said, "You can still be cute, original, and artistic without all the separate pages and loading times. Blech."

Spyscribbler said, "I read the whole thing, but I probably wouldn't read it again."

The Gospel Writer said, "She doesn't have an email sign up for her visitors, readers and fans!!!"

Oopsie Daisy said, "As a former web designer and Marketing director I have to say she is doing everything wrong."

And finally...

John Kremer said, "The key thing missing on her website is any sort of searchable text for ratings on Google, BUT her website has been mentioned a lot. I bet she has had more website visitors that 99% of websites that are searchable by Google, almost all of those visitors sent by bloggers who found the site fun and interesting."

When I originally saw Miranda's website and when I initially started this little game of SEO, I was aghast to be perfectly frank. Everyone's comments were on the mark.

Miranda starts off with a splash page to open her website; in fact, they are all splash pages. Will Google or any of the other search engines find her? Let's do a search for her website now.

As you can see, she has 155,000 links for her book. Her website is third ON THE FIRST PAGE.

In all the years I have been studying SEO (search engine optimization), I am scratching my head. You can put up a website with absolutely no search words that the search engines can pick up because the words are embedded in the graphics; yet not only is she on the third page of search, her rankings at Amazon make my books look really pitiful.

So, how did this happen? You mean adding search words and optimizing our websites and blogs are all in vain?

This is where word of mouth becomes your most powerful weapon. I would not have designed my website or blog in the way she has; but for some odd reason, she has been able to capture everyone's attention by having everyone talk about it.

So, does quirky sell? In Miranda's case, it's working in her favor. Whether another year down the road when her book loses a little steam, will her website pull her through? Highly unlikely. For now, she's comfortable. She has everyone talking about her book on various blogs, but my suggestion to her would be to go back in and add words on top of the graphics for the future.

So, what did we learn here?

Word of mouth is a powerful tool.

A lot of authors (myself included) wonder...how do we get people talking about our books? If you pay close attention, no one is even talking about Miranda's book. They're talking about her website. Look at the cover. Nothing about it strikes you as being something that would stand out...it's quite plain, but it ties into Miranda's whole scheme of things.

All it takes is that one person who finds your website and thinks it's the neatest thing since chopped liver. Miranda's website is different. I've seen lots of author websites and blogs and I have to admit, it is different from the rest. Different sells?

In Miranda's case, it does.

The only drawback is...will her book live up to everyone's expectations?

It's all part of the game. The game of successful book promotion. While Miranda's website is definitely not pumped up, it's drawing people's attention and they're all talking about it.

I don't know about you guys, but I've come to the conclusion that word of mouth is what is going to sell those books. Be different. Be quirky. But, please, remember that no matter how quirky or different it is, I would still recommend adding those vital elements that are necessary for successful book promotion. Don't take that chance.

Meanwhile, never underestimate the power of word of mouth.

Tags: How to Pump UP Your Book Promotion, online book promotion, author publicity, book promotion, book promotion tips, Miranda July

Prayers for the Families of the Student/Faculty Body of VA Tech

My sympathies goes to the family and student/faculty body of VA Tech and hope that they can heal after the horrid massacre that happened yesterday at VA Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Peace, prayers and white light goes to them.

Follow this link to learn more.






Tags: VA Tech

SPECIAL GUEST: Marilyn Celeste Morris, Author of ONCE A BRAT

Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion has another special guest today! I'm proud to have Marilyn Celeste , author of Once a Brat on the 8th stop of her virtual book tour!

Born a Military Brat, Marilyn attended schools overseas, in Seoul Korea, 1946-47 and Linz, Austria (1949-1952) and various schools stateside. From this background, she has crafted her autobiographical Once a Brat, relating her travels with her army officer father from her birth in 1938 to his retirement in 1958.

Her first novel, Sabbath’s Room, was published in 2001, and her most recent work, Diagnosis: Lupus: The Intimate Journal of a Lupus Patient was released in December 2005 by Publish America. She has taught creative writing at Tarrant County College, Fort Worth TX and survived numerous book signings and speaking engagements.

She is co-facilitator for the Fort Worth Lupus Support Group, North Texas Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America and advisor to the Board of Directors. When not writing or editing emerging writers’ manuscripts, she enjoys searching for former classmates and true to her Brat heritage, she has a suitcase packed under the bed, ready to travel at a moment’s notice.

You can visit her blog at www.onceabrat.blogspot.com or visit her virtual tour page at Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours!

PUYOBP: Welcome to Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion blog, Marilyn! Can you tell us what your book is about?

Marilyn: My book, Once a Brat, is based on my travels all over the world with my army officer father, from my birth in 1938 to his (our!) retirement in 1958. I tell the good, the bad, and the ugly. I sometimes describe-it as part travelogue, part therapy session. As one of the first dependents to be deployed overseas after WWII, I had unique experiences that many children would never dream about.

PUYOBP: Can you tell us how you have been promoting your book online?

Marilyn: I really didn't know how to do much publicizing online, until you came along and patiently taught all of us in your The Writers Life group. I had only a pitiful web site; now I have blogs all over the place, and a spiffy new website coming. Interviews are coming at a rapid pace, too.

PUYOBP: What do you believe are the advantages of promoting online versus offline?

Marilyn: I think I'm like most writers -- I would rather write than get out and promote myself. And I can do it in my pajamas at any time of the day or night. I am beginning to see the power of the Internet over a brick and mortar bookstore.

PUYOBP: Have you been able to successfully sell your book offline and can you tell us about it?

Marilyn: I have had four or five booksignings, attended book and craft fairs, all with rather interesting results (one craft fair was populated by guys who were mostly in the market for guns, knives and ammo.) I have also done cable television interviews and three or four radio chats. Locally, I have spoken to the Kiwanis Club and the Chamber of Commerce. The most books I sold was during my 50th high school class reunion in Lawton OK last June, at Hastings Books. As a military town, I thought surely my army brat book would be the best seller, but I sold more of Diagnosis: Lupus: The Intimate Journal of a Lupus Patient. I suppose the age of my classmates had something to do with it, looking for tips on avoiding disease and taking care of oneself.

PUYOBP: I understand your next book,The Women of Camp Sobingo, is going to be published in ebook format first. Do you have any advice for other ebook authors that would help them with their promotional campaigns and is this your first ebook?

Marilyn: It is my first ebook, and I went kicking and screaming into that venue. But it appears to be the next best thing in publishing. New authors should hire this woman as their publicist, to walk them through the new jungle of publishing.

PUYOBP: I thank you for coming, Marilyn. Do you have any final thoughts on book promotion that you would like to share?

Marilyn: I have learned that for every hour you write on your next best seller, you must spend two hours on promoting it. Even before it appears in print. All the old school of thought that a big New York publisher would find you work worth millions of dollars in sales and that you would spend weeks on the road at booksignings and public appearances doesn't exist, except in the general public's imagination. Promotion is blood, sweat and tears, and I'd rather be writing. But that's why I have you, Dorothy, my publicist. I love saying those words!

You can purchase Marilyn's book Once a Brat at Amazon!

Tags: online book promotion, author publicity, book promotion, book promotion tips, virtual book tour, Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours, Marilyn Celeste Morris, Once a Brat, military brats

Let's Play "What's Wrong With This Author's Website?"

On John Kremer's blog yesterday, he commented about an author's website which he says is the best one he's ever seen. Granted, it IS cute, quirky and really a neat way to promote your book. I've never seen anything like it and I love new ways authors come up with to entice the reading public to buy their books. It's actually a great marketing ploy because you really enjoy going through the different pages, not to mention the author has a great sense of humor! This website can be found by clicking here.

However...before you go over there....

We're going to play a game. It's called "What's Wrong With This Author's Website?"

I'm not singling out this website to down it because, truth be known, I love the hell out of it. But, since you are here to learn how to pump up your own websites or book blogs, this website will help explain a point that someone in one of my writing groups brought up the other day.

But, let's see if you can spot it. What is this author doing wrong?

Leave your comments in the comment box and see if you can guess. Tomorrow, I'll give you the answer. Have fun!

(Incidentally, this is a lesson in SEO and not in any way increminating the author because whatever it is that she is not doing does not hurt her Amazon rankings at all ---> 2,835 as of last night.)

Only goes to prove that if you can come up with something quirky and leave a smile on people's faces, it doesn't matter what the hell I think, lol.

Tags: How to Pump UP Your Book Promotion, online book promotion, author publicity, book promotion, book promotion tips