Breakthrough Author Magazine January 2023

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Publisher’s Corner New Year, New You! Juliet Clark is a six- time author, speaker and podcaster who has spent the last twenty years helping authors, coaches, speakers, and small businesses all over the world build expert audiences.

She started out as a mystery novelist and is best known or her books Gypsy, Granny Heist, and Dead by Dawn, and Pitchslapped. At age 46, she received a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is an avid hiker and golfer.

New year is the glittering light to brighten the dreamlined pathway to the future. ~Mubia Khan

Are you ready to embrace your goals? The new year is an opportunity to organize how to achieve all your 2023 goals without overwhelm.

This month brings some new contributors.

Welcome Nina Froriep and Robin Stift. These video gurus are ready to share their experience and cohorts.

We also welcome a new contributor, Jacquie Jordan. Jacquie is a media booking agent who also owns a podcast production and publishing company. If you have media goals in 2023, she is your girl to learn how to get booked.

This month’s authors are ready to shine as well.

Did you drink a little too much over the holidays?

The Grey Drinking Revolution has arrived.

Carrie’s new book The Grey Drinking Reset, will help you support a healthier lifestyle in 2023.

Eme McAnam is also in the spotlight. Her first senior romance novel will be on the market in February. Eme is a pioneer in this emerging genre that addresses aging, dating, and the sexiness of being a senior citizen.

Wishing you love, happiness, and success in the new year.

Love and Gratitude, Juliet

Writing a Book Takes More Than Writing the Book

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ne third of all books published are considered self-published. The average self-published book does not sell more than 250 copies. This is most likely because it takes more than getting your book written and published. To truly break through the statistics and get your book into the hands of more than just your friends and family, you need a bulletproof marketing plan. This is because there are many moving parts that need to be synchronized, and if you wait till your book is written, you will be behind the eight-ball.

So, when do you begin promoting your book? The answer is as soon as you are 100% clear about your title. Once you know the title of your book, even if you have not written a page, it is time to create a compelling front cover. Why so soon? Because your book promotion can begin a year before your book is published. Your book cover should be used in all your social media outreach even if your book is coming out in Fall 2023. The reason for this is that you want the impression in front of as many people as possible. You also want it to lead somewhere where you can get them to subscribe and build a community of those eager to read your book when it is released.

Because we are inundated with junk mail, getting someone to subscribe will require creating an authentically compelling promotional strategy. You want to create a treasure chest of free and valuable branded content to distribute every month before your book is released. It is also recommended that you create interactive events such as webinars, digital quizzes, and contests. One of the best ways to lead folks to your book is through video because 82% of the Internet is now video based and 75% of those scrolling their phones prefer video on mobile devices vs reading text. You want to make videos that are succinct and vibrant, and create a bit of curiosity to get them to click further and become a member of your community.

AUTHOR BIO Jared Rosen is the founder Of DreamSculpt. As an innovator in digital media publishing, he has published over 50 media enhanced e-books for many best-selling authors and filmmakers and has published dozens of books in print.

Jared is the author of three books including the groundbreaking book The Flip. As a thought leader he has presented in venues ranging from TED X Malibu, to McKinsey and Company, Sydney, Australia. In 2000, Jared co-created the Children’s Emotional Literacy Project endorsed by Mayor Richard Riordan and Norman Lear.

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Carrie New Year…

New Drinking Habits Carrie Schell is on a mission. A mission to help women realize their full potential. That includes giving up alcohol.

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Approximately 18% of childbearing age women (18-44) binge drink. This is called grey drinking.

The reasons women drink can run from quelling anxiety to social pressures to drink.

Carrie has been a health and wellness practitioner for years. Her focus in recent years has been drug and alcohol rehab. During COVID, she saw a disturbing trend of more women drinking harder than ever.

Drinking affects women differently than men.

Due to anatomical differences, women often have higher blood-alcohol levels than men who drink the same amount. Liver damage is more prevalent in women than men and brain function has a higher rate of cognitive decline.

Women also experience a higher instance of heart damage and breast cancer risk than men who drink.

Approximately 18% of child-bearing age women (18-44) binge drink. This is called grey drinking. The reasons women drink can run from quelling anxiety to social pressures to drink.

For whatever reason a woman drinks too much, Carrie has created a space where women can acknowledge that they are grey drinking and find a way to stop.

Carrie has worked with many women who realize that there are healthier alternatives to drinking.

Yoga, meditation, and journaling are among the top ways that Carrie works with her clients to build healthier routines.

Carrie has created The Grey Reset: A 30 Day Journey to Wellness and a corresponding course to support women to understand the damage

they are doing to their bodies, relationships, and spiritual growth with their drinking habits.

Part of Carrie’s passion for this project comes from her own experience with alcohol. She describes this on the back cover of her book: Over the years, I have had many times when I thought that I was drinking too much or that I should really take a break from drinking. I tried several times to stop drinking. I have even gone for a couple weeks or months without drinking (although, even during those times of “not drinking,” I would sneak in a glass of wine here and there and feel super proud of myself that I had such restraint).

But sure enough, while on my self-imposed drinking hiatus, I’d think, “Why am I being so restrictive? I don’t need to be so all-or-nothing about alcohol.

I can have a glass of wine with dinner.” Or I’d rationalize my drinking with, “In Europe they have a glass of wine with lunch and dinner. If I were in Europe, I wouldn’t even be second guessing how much wine I drink. Our views on alcohol are so uptight in North America.”

So I’d start drinking again.

Click here to buy The Grey Drinking Reset.

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A Word to Authors Excerpt from The Ultimate On-Camera Guidebook: Hosts*Experts*Influencers by Jacquie Jordan (@TVGuestpert) & Shannon O’Dowd (@theshannonodowd)

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uthors don’t fit into the parameters of breaking news stories, so they need to find other ways to promote their books in the media. Authors don’t often leave themselves at their best advantage when they call our office and say, “My book just came out and I am now ready to promote it.”

When a book is published and the author hasn’t started the promotion at least six months prior to the publishing date, it’s like sending out invitations on the night of a party and wondering, Where are all the guests?

When my first book was published, it was through the conventional literary route.

I spent months on the book proposal, twice as much time landing a deal and an agent in New York, and then I had to write the damn thing! Looking back, I realized I spent nearly two years working on the publisher’s book proposal, answering a lot of sales and marketing questions. Clearly, they were looking to see what I was going to bring to the table.

Specifically, they wanted to know if I was the kind of author who would bring book sales into the bookstores. I just wanted to write my book and I thought the publishers would do the rest. By the time it finally hit bookstores in 2006, it

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had taken four long years to go from idea to bookshelf.

If only I’d known then what I know now. After working as a publisher, I understand that when the books are placed on the bookstore’s shelves, those books are there on consignment. This means that the publisher is financially backing and floating every single store copy. If your book doesn’t sell, the bookstore sends the book back to the publisher as a return. Now your publisher has paid over and then over again for your book: the printing, the shipping, and the return are all on their tab. If you ever wondered why they go through such an intense vetting process when they look at a manuscript and meet an author, or heavily promote their new celebrity book, wonder no more. Before publishers put a book on their release calendars, they want to know what you’re bringing to the table in terms of promotion, sales and marketing, and now influence. Even if you are a whiz at winning publicity through your content, you may not have the support you need from traditional publishers, who are often short on time, money, and staff to reach your target audience. This is especially true if you’re a first-time author.

I’m a big believer in starting at least six months ahead of your book’s publishing date to properly promote your book.

Think of this pre-publicity as building

About 95 percent of the time, authors begin their publicity right as the book is coming out. Publishers, meanwhile, are listing their books through publishing industry catalogs six months to two years in advance. Take advantage of this discrepancy! that everything you’re doing to build your platform is happening while you’re producing, writing, and editing your book.

To do it when the book comes out is too late—it’s like missing your own party. Or the birth of your own child! your media platform by promoting the content of your book as a buildup before a big media launch. That’s been a huge part of our success in getting our clients to hit the New York Times’ bestseller list: generating traffic and buzz before publication.

Building a newsletter database before your book comes out is a key component of pre-release book promotion. It definitely takes some traction to build up a database, which is yet another reason to start early. The efforts are worth it: that database can be transformed into your potential sales list once the book is published. This list also becomes an asset in reassuring national book sales managers who want to know that you can personally increase the traffic of the book.

Think of publishing a book like having a baby. Long before the baby arrives, you need to organize the baby’s room, take a childbirth class, spread the news to your colleagues, organize a birth plan, tour the hospital, search for a pediatrician, buy a car seat, pack your hospital bag, pick up baby announcements, and… whew, I’m sure I’ve missed a few steps along the way. The point is that you don’t start this whole process the day your baby is born. It’s very important

About 95 percent of the time, authors begin their publicity right as the book as coming out. Publishers, meanwhile, are listing their books through publishing industry catalogs six months to two years in advance. Take advantage of this discrepancy! Be on the right side of this particular book ledger. While other authors are planning their book parties, you should get busy building up your television appearances, social media, and database.

Trust me, your party will be a lot more fun if you know you’ve reached all the people necessary to buy your book ahead of time.

Wait! Are you wondering how you promote your book on television before the book even comes out? The answer is simple.

Change your plug to “Upcoming Author of …” and direct traffic to your pre-sale book website, your website, your publisher’s website, or B&N.com and Amazon.

Jacquie is the founder and CEO of the 15-year-old cutting-edge, media and content development, promotions and booking platform, TVGuestpert that offers fullservice promotion, marketing, business strategy and media services for her clients, partners and collaborators, TVGuestpert Publishing - a NY Times Best Selling publishing house, and The Guestpert Academy - an online program offering visibility, media training and TVGuestpert On-Camera Training. She is also a two-time Emmy nominated TV Producer, three-time author and the host of Front & Center with Jacquie Jordan, a broadcast podcast.

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Catering to a Senior Audience An Idea Who’s Time Has Come

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hy senior romance? Seventy is the new fifty and senior citizens are more active than ever. Eme McAnam is a hip senior citizen who loves romance novels. Her biggest complaint about those novels is that they are aimed at men and women who are young to middle- aged. Women who love the Fabio covers and dreamy stories.

Eme writes romance novels for a more mature crowd. A senior citizen crowd that faces different dating and romance problems than younger women.

Senior romance addresses blended families, blended finances, health concerns, retirement, and end- oflife decisions. Love and marriage is different for seniors than it is for a younger audience. This was the idea behind Eme’s dive into what she hopes will become a new genre for readers.

Freefalling, Eme McAnam’s upcoming book is about Charlotte, the owner and operator of a successful five-star hotel, Charlotte had always put her work first. But as she entered the autumn of her life, she realized that her dedication to her career had left a void in her heart - she had never found true love.

Despite the complications that come with finding romance at her age, Charlotte sets out on a journey to fill that emptiness. Through challenges and obstacles, Charlotte discovers that the golden years of her life can still hold happiness and fulfillment.

Senior romance might come with its own set of hurdles, but ultimately it allows Charlotte to experience true contentment for the first time.

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The challenges in Charlotte’s life will be familiar to anyone who has had a mother or father that suffers from dementia, a disease that is painful to acknowledge is happening to many seniors and difficult for their families as well.

Eme McAnam is a first-time novelist coming from a background as a singer/songwriter.

Blessed with time and perspective, she’s enjoyed a successful business career resurfacing into her life as an artist. Currently, she’s a storyteller and a light chaser. Sunsets are the sweet spot of her photography. Characters with years of experience and emotional depth inspire the characters in her stories. Romance, love, and reality blend with life’s messy parts transforming into beautiful stories of love.

Freefalling will be released on Valentine’s Day to commemorate all of the senior citizens looking for love.

How to Prepare for a Radio or TV Interview A

s an author, you may be asked to do a radio or TV interview to promote your latest book. This can be an excellent opportunity to reach a wider audience and increase interest in your work. However, it’s essential to be prepared to make the most of the opportunity. Here are some tips to help you prepare for your next radio or TV interview.

1. Be Prepared One of the most important things you can do to prepare for a radio or TV interview is to gather all of your materials. This includes a press kit with information about you and your book, a list of talking points, and sample questions and answers.

Having everything organized and at your fingertips will help you feel more confident and prepared when it’s time for the interview.

2. Have A Compelling Story Your book is full of stories, but what is the one you want to focus on during the interview? Think about what will capture your audience’s attention, and ensure you have a clear answer ready. Be sure to pause often, so the host has the opportunity to ask more questions and promote your book. A strong story will help keep the conversation focused and on track.

3. Capture Names And Email Addresses If you’re doing a live radio or TV interview, offer something of value to viewers or listeners who provide their contact information. This could be a free chapter of your book, an exclusive video, or access to a private Facebook group. Giveaways are a great way to capture email addresses to build your list while promoting your book simultaneously.

4. Prepare Your Host Once you have confirmed an interview, take some time to prepare your host. Send them a bio, photo, and list of questions in advance so that they can be familiar with you and your work before the show starts.

This will help ensure that the interview runs smoothly and that both you and your host are on the same page.

5. Control The Conversation With Grace Even if you’re well-prepared, there’s always a chance that the conversation will veer off in an unexpected direction.

If this happens, don’t panic! Simply use grace to guide the conversation back to where you want it to go. Thank them for their questions, and then politely bring the conversation back to your original topic.

With practice, this will become easier and more natural over time.

Radio or TV interviews promote you, your book, and reaches a wider audience.

However, it’s essential to be prepared to make the most of the opportunity.

By following these tips, you’ll be sure to give a great interview that leaves a lasting impression on listeners or viewers worldwide! If you want help getting booked for interviews, go to www.

SpeakwithShannon.com and schedule a complimentary discovery session.

Shannon Procise has successfully attained over $3.2M in FREE publicity and is notorious for being the owner of the “Million Dollar Rolodex” and teaching others how to do the same.

She has trained and coached thousands of individuals in marketing, event production, business development, and personal growth.

Shannon is the creator of a magnetic community - the Business Acceleration Network, where she guides businesses to build a successful enterprise while having fun and making lots of money.

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There’s no doubt that networking can give your brand a big boost as an author. It’s important to position yourself within a community that elevates you and refers you to others who support your growth as an author.

Every person we encounter changes the trajectory of our lives. If networking incites anxiety, start with small steps everyday which will lead to creating a habit or routine that expands your professional circle.

TIP: Put a QR code on card that connects to all your links. I use QR CODE GENERATOR to customize my links. It is a great tool to see who is looking at your information.

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Spend part of your week networking and making new contacts with these methods: 1. Examine your current resources. You already know someone that is wellconnected. Think about all of your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. Consider your entire social network.

Maybe you’re a member of a church, patron of a library, or a participant in a local women’s group. Are you leveraging those contacts effectively?

2. The key to effective networking is consistency and persistence. A little each day is more effective than a monumental effort every once in a while. It’s like going to the gym. You need to be consistent in your efforts if you want to see big results. Set aside time to reach out to people each week. If you need to schedule time for networking, block out time on your calendar weekly.

3. Join relevant local and national organizations.

Whether you’re an expert in parenting, chemistry, fitness, or religion, there are organizations that cater to your needs and interests. Do the research and join a new organization. The fresh faces and conversations have the power to lead you in new directions.

4. Make use of social media.

Linkedin.com is great for networking. Utilize social media and make your presence known to the world. Contact a few people regularly via social media. Engaging on these

platforms and following up with Zoom conversations is a great way to expand your brand’s reach.

5. Be proactive. You can’t just stand in the middle of the crowd at a networking event and expect people to line up for the privilege of talking to you. The burden is on you to start conversations. Take the bull by the horns and mingle.

I promise you will get more comfortable with easy breezy conversations the more you do it. Make sure you have your business card with you. Have a card that stands out and will be memorable.

6. Learn to ask open-ended questions. It’s hard to maintain a conversation by asking questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no”.

Ask questions that require a detailed answer. You’ll find it much easier to speak with others when you use openended questions.

7. Follow up religiously.

Communicating with someone one time won’t do much for you. Reach out to the most promising contacts you’ve made and touch base. Stay in touch.

8. You can’t expect to receive more effort and value than you provide. You truly receive what you give when it comes to networking. You won’t get much if you don’t give much.

Make a real effort to help others.

9. Focus on quality over quantity. Passing out your business card like you’re passing out car wash coupons won’t do you a lot of good.

Everyone can see what you’re doing. Make an effort to make a few real connections rather than throwing a 100 darts at the wall. Quality counts.

10. Connect others together. This can be especially powerful.

Bring other people together.

This is especially easy to do and can pay off down the road for your own career. Being a connector is as powerful as networking 1:1.

11. Avoid selling or asking for anything. If every time you reach out to someone you’re trying to get something from them, people will tire of you very quickly. Instead, give them something. “I know you’re interested in the effect of the Trans Pacific Partnership on the trade deficit. Here’s an article I thought you might be interested in.”

Networking can be an effective way to begin the process of building relationships and selling your books. The power of networking increases your net worth and provides you with exponential potential to increase your overall visibility and professional circle!

Julie Lokun Bio Julie Lokun, JD, is the founder of The Mediacasters, a mission-based company that elevates the visibility of entrepreneurs and creatives through podcasting, publishing, and public speaking. Julie is the author of 4 best-selling entrepreneurial books and hosts three podcasts. Julie writes for Entrepreneur Magazine and is a contributor to MindValley.com

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How Do I Use My Book Trailer?

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ook Trailers can be a prime source for a pre-campaign promo. In a world where video is the preferred method of consuming information, a book trailer can be the visual representation of your back cover copy. While back cover copy is designed to be emotional and reel in the reader to purchase and read a book, for a visual learner, the book trailer can be just as powerful if not more powerful to draw readers in.

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When creating a book trailer, the first thing to know is that it needs to be short, ideally less than a minute. Most people have a short attention span, so anything longer will not be engaging.

Also, have a dedicated URL to send people to at the end. You can use the URL to forward into Amazon or any other distributor. The URL is important because it will take people directly to where the book is available for purchase instead of making them search for it. The URL also looks much more professional than a long link from the distributor.

Where Do I Use the Trailer to Promote?

Press Release Want more clicks on your press release? It is a proven fact that including a video in your press release creates more interest. In fact, if you have an entrepreneurial book, 59% of executives will click on the video instead of reading the text.

Upload to YouTube Every author should have a YouTube channel. This is the free and easy place to start. You can use the YouTube link on other social media platforms as well.

Embed the Video on Your Website But only do this in the upper one-third of your site. The upper one-third will ensure that the book is seen. You only have three seconds for a user to decide whether to stay on your site or not.

Make sure that your book is seen in that three seconds!

Add the Trailer to Authorcentral A good publisher will set up and link your Authorcentral profile to your books.

Make sure the trailer is part of the author brand.

Social Media Whether your book is coming soon or already out, you can use your YouTube link to promote on other social media platforms. This can also be where you test the creativity by asking opinions on early trailer drafts.

Newsletters Whether you send out a weekly email to your list or use LinkedIn Newsletter, send out your YouTube link and let your followers be the first to see your new trailer.

Social Media Ads It is a proven fact that social media ads get a higher click rate with video. Why not use your trailer or part of your trailer in a targeted ad?

Author Events Run a loop behind your book signing. If you are out speaking about your book, use it as promo material.

Landing Page Use a landing page for the book. If it is not out yet, use the trailer to form an interest email list.

Whether your book is coming soon or already out, you can use your YouTube link to promote on other social media platforms.

Quizzes Make the book the thank you page.

Potential clients who want to know more about you may click and purchase a book before they upgrade to a service or coaching package.

Free-Shipping Book Funnels A great way to give your book away and provide a low-cost upsell as a companion.

For quizzes, free-shipping book funnels, or anything that uses a landing page, a video at the top of the page will provide instant interest.

Juliet Clark is a six- time author, speaker and podcaster who has spent the last twenty years helping authors, coaches, speakers, and small businesses all over the world build expert audiences.

She started out as a mystery novelist and is best known or her books Gypsy, Granny Heist, and Dead by Dawn, and Pitchslapped. At age 46, she received a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is an avid hiker and golfer.

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A Writer’s Best Friend

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t astounds me, when editing a book, how often I have to change passive voice into active voice. In this article, I’m going to explain what that means, why it’s important, and the effect it has on your readers.

Verbs are the action in your sentences. They give your writing movement, and help the reader go on the journey with you. Take the sentence I just wrote. How much less effective would it be if I had written: They are giving your writing movement and helping the reader to go on the journey with you. See the difference?

What are passive voice verbs? One simple way to determine if you are using active voice or passive voice is by the use of the -ing ending. (Did you notice that this sentence was passive voice? If you did, kudos!).

Let me give you an example: The boy swam across the pond. The verb (or action) is swam. How less effective would it be to write: The boy was swimming across the pond.

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Or even worse: The pond was swum across by the boy. Ugh. Please don’t do that. Keep it simple and stay in active voice as much as possible.

quickly. To go a bit deeper, you will also want to consider the meaning of the verb. Choose more interesting verbs skyrockets your writing.

Let’s do a couple exercises. Identify which is passive and which is active in the pairs below:

Let’s play with that idea.

Check out this passage.

How could you rewrite it using more interesting verbs (it’s okay to rearrange and choose better verbs).

First pair: The horse galloped over the desert.

VS. The horse was galloping over the desert.

Second pair: My parents were drinking wine and throwing heckling comments at the comedian.

VS. My parents drank wine and heckled the comedian.

Why is this important?

How did you feel when you did the above exercise? Tell the truthyou laughed a little, right?

The effect on your readers is subtle, but powerful. Have you ever read a book which felt bogged down, slow, and had the effect of you, as the reader, losing interest? Chances are that author used a lot of passive voice writing.

Active verbs help your writing improve very

Circling the earth, the aliens were planning an invasion.

They were thinking it would be so big that it would be ending civilization as we know it. There was a lot of laughing and planning about how to use Earth’s resources.

Now rewrite. We’ll wait.

Okay, here’s my take: The aliens circled the earth and launched an invasion that wiped out Earth’s population. They laughed as they ripped out the last remaining tree and Earth sighed its last breath.

Remember, while you rewrite, correct as much passive voice as you can.

That simple act elevates your writing and creates interest for your readers.

Kristy Boyd Johnson is an award-winning children’s author, and has ghostwritten over 30 books for entrepreneurs over the years. She is a sought-after developmental editor and transformational book coach. She recently launched Starseed Journey Retreats because she can’t imagine anything better than being a beautiful location with beautiful people who want to reconnect with their deepest selves through writing.

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SEO Matters What is SEO? You’ve likely heard of SEO, but what is it? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving the ranking of a website on search engines. The higher the ranking, the more likely people are to find the website. There are several factors that go into SEO, including the use of keywords, backlinks, and content.

How does SEO work?

When someone types a query into a search engine, the engine uses algorithms to determine which websites should rank highest for that query. Those algorithms take several factors into account, including the use of keywords, backlinks, and content.

One of the most important factors in SEO is keyword usage. Keywords are the words or phrases that people type into

a search engine when they are looking for something.

For example, if someone is looking for a new pair of shoes, they might type “shoes” or “buy shoes.” If you sell shoes on your website and you want to rank highly for those queries, you need to make sure that your website includes those keywords.

In addition to keywords, backlinks are also important.

Backlinks are links from other websites to yours.

The more high-quality backlinks you have pointing to your website, the higher your website will rank.

Google views backlinks as endorsements from other websites; if other websites are linking to yours, it must be because your website is valuable and worth linking to.

Content Always Matters Finally, another important factor in SEO is content.

Your website’s content needs to be well-written and relevant to what people are searching for. If you have a website about dog training and your content is full of spelling errors and irrelevant information, people are not going to want to read it—and Google is not going to want to rank it highly.

SEO is a complex topic with a lot of factors that go into it. However, understanding the basics—such as keyword usage, backlinks, and content—is essential if you want your website to rank highly on search engines.

By taking these factors into account, you can improve your website’s ranking and get more traffic.

International Content Expert Sara Burke is the Founder of HLCC, a content creation firm dedicated to boosting small businesses around the world. Sara has authored three books, and ghostwritten over 100 books, ebooks and workbooks. Sara recently launched The New American Dream, a podcast dedicated to helping business owners understand how our changing business ecosystem can support their success.

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Selling Books with Social Media How do you feel about social media? Well, love it or hate it, social media is a fantastic way to build a community of fans who buy your book and can’t wait to join your programs and watch you speak on stages.

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Picking the right social media platform is vital for success, and the platform you will want to spend most of your time on depends on who your ideal reader is. The so-called marketing gurus say you have to be everywhere, but that is so unnecessary. As you learn the nuances and features of one platform and get really good at using it, you will be much more likely to grow a vibrant community there, instead of being spread thin across multiple platforms.

Posting a photo of your book cover over and over again is a surefire way NOT to get people excited about your book and brand.

When my client Michael, a certified financial advisor and portfolio manager, wrote and published a book as a guide for other financial advisors, we were very strategic about where he spent his valuable time on social media.

He does not need to be dancing on TikTok, posting Reels to Instagram, or getting followers excited in a Facebook group to reach his dream audience.

His ideal reader is on LinkedIn, so we have laser focused our attention on that single platform. And it’s paying off. Because of his messaging about his book, his LinkedIn connections have already begun asking him to speak at their events!

If you’re not sure what social media platform is right for you, a quick Google search of demographic statistics can help you determine you whether you should spend time on Facebook or Pinterest or somewhere entirely different.

Equally as important as choosing the right social media platform is how you utilize it. A big mistake I see authors making is that they believe as long as they post something, they’re doing what’s necessary to sell books.

But if you post on social media and then walk away, you’re not engaging with your audience.

Relationships are made through real connections – responding to comments and chatting in DMs. Think of your social media posts as a way to reach potential readers whom you’d never be able to meet walking down the street.

When you develop a real relationship with them, you create the know, like, and trust factor that inspires them to buy your book and more.

Another problem I often see is a lack of marketing strategy and effective messaging. Posting a photo of your book cover over and over again is a surefire way NOT to get people excited about your book and brand.

Instead, you want to be providing value to your audience. Don’t know where to start? Your book is a treasure trove of amazing content just waiting to be repurposed to your social media.

Once you have the messaging and posting down, it’s important to be consistent. As you continue to show up for your audience, they in turn will do the same for you. If you want more help with creating a marketing strategy for your book, I’d love to connect with you. Book your call at contentstrategycall.com.

Melanie Bio Melanie Herschorn wants to make your book and brand sparkle online. As a content marketing strategist for coaches, consultants, and speakers worldwide, she’s on a mission to support and empower her clients to create clear messaging and content that shines a light on their individual experience, skillset, and books. With her unique combination of entrepreneurship, award-winning journalism and PR experience, Melanie guides her clients to attract and nurture leads and position themselves as industry experts.

She also loves to provide book marketing tips on her show, AUTHORity Marketing LIVE!

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Why Consistent Video is a Winning

Social Media Strategy

We all have heard that people buy from people.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a $20 book, a $40 hand-crafted soap, a $600 course, or a luxury item in the thousands of dollars. We buy from trusted sources and from people who tell us stories that stick.

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Author

Video content creates that trust and familiarity and shows off who you are (and your expertise) much faster than any book can (sorry guys). And by the way: Books and video content in tandem are a brilliant combination.

Social media users (that is humans) are creatures of habit. The best way to create a raving audience of true fans is to get as many people as possible to interact with your content seven+ times.

Why is consistent video important? Because the major benefits of video, trust, familiarity, and established expertise, are all factors that take time to build.

When content comes in small bits and pieces - as it should on social media - then you want LOTS of bits and pieces in regular intervals that together create a bigger narrative – just like your books do. Science tells us (presumably, I’m not a scientist) that a potential customer must see a message at least seven times before they’ll be provoked to take an action (like buy your book).

Social media users (that is humans) are creatures of habit. The best way to create a raving audience of true fans is to get as many people as possible to interact with your content seven+ times. That means putting your content in front of them consistently, on the same day AND same time EVERY week.

The people who follow you - and by virtue of doing so we assume they are interested in what you have to say – are now repeatedly “meeting” you again and again.

Hi! We’re Robin Friend Stift and Nina Froriep of Clock Wise Productions, a New York City based video marketing company.

We teach authors, speakers, business coaches, and consultants to create easy and impactful video content for LinkedIn so they can enlighten, change, and disrupt the status quo of their industry. And we’re super excited that Juliet asked us to be your video marketing experts for 2023.

Over the next 12 months, we plan on giving you a quick overview of all aspects of video marketing to get your creative juices flowing and to get your most burning video marketing questions answered.

AND, to that end we would love to hear from you! Send us a DM on LinkedIn or email Nina: nina@clockwiseproductions. com or DM her on LinkedIn: https://www. linkedin.com/in/nina-froriep/.

It creates familiarity and trust and gives you a chance to spin your narrative beyond a quick sound bite.

It’s simple and it’s brilliant.

So, our question for you today is:

Do you have a consistent posting practice on social media?

Author

19

Book Trailers Promotional Magic

Have you thought about a book trailer as a promotional tool?

Book trailers are short video teasers that introduce your book in the highest converting medium, video. Using a book trailer can improve your visibility as an author and your book to a new potential audience.

Some quick trailer facts:

59% 82% 75%

of executives will click on a video and watch it vs reading text?

of the Internet is now video based

prefer video on mobile devices vs reading text

People remember what they see in a video over any other platform they use.

That is why using a video trailer will pique the interest of potential readers.

There are multiple ways to use a book trailer to promote yourself and your book long before the book is released.

Join us on January 6, 2023 @ 8:00 am PST, 9:00am MST, 10:00am CST, 11:00am EST to find out how to use your book trailer to maximize promotion.

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/861016 88241?pwd=KytpUjVodjNXKzVnTn JIYVBVQUpzUT09