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.
May is here and everything is growing! In this month’s issue, Marianne Sciucco is sharing her audience-growing techniques through author collaboration. After she published her first book, she connected with other authors for promotion and started a new group. Check out what her group does for a niche group of fiction authors.
Speaking of growth…who wants to be bingeworthy? Nina Froriep and Robin Stift share their plan to creating bingeworthy social media. Your social media starts now, not as an afterthought or after your book is written. Most authors wait until their book is published to start marketing. Melanie Herschorn shares why this is a strategy that makes it harder to sell books.
Lastly, the publishing industry has gone through major changes since 2020. Don’t miss our article on why the cost of books is rising.
Love and Gratitude, Juliet
Happiness is neither a virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing
~William Butler Yates
Human Beings are hardwired to feel emotions and that is why we love to be entertained. Entertainment is all about emotions. Writing a novel, requires the ability to elicit certain feelings, whether laughter, tears, or terror. If you are writing a nonfiction book that is purely didactic such as a ‘how to” book and you neglect to weave into your book emotionally rich storytelling, chances are the reader will be less engaged. You need to build rapport with your readers and give them the opportunity to feel an intimacy with you.
For instance, if you are writing a book about how to heal addiction and your content is solely focused on empirical data and various tactics the reader can implement, it might alienate them further as the writing may seem preachy and clinical. Rather, if you share your intimate details of how you overcame addiction you will give them a contextual framework for the tactics expressed in the book.
In this case, the storytelling will put the reader in the picture. They will relate to your vulnerability, and they will feel an authentic bond with you. This creates trust with you and the reader. Emotional truth fosters empathy.
Entertaining stories hold the attention and can take factual content and make it more tangible and digestible for the reader. The key to successful storytelling is to be able to transmit an embodied experience of the content through somatic writing. Somatic writing is a process of feeling the sensations deep within and writing directly from these feelings. Using the example of the book about healing addiction, your writing might share stories of how drugs or alcohol produced brain fog, persistent sweating, and other somatic sensations. When you describe what it feels like when the sweat dripped off your forehead, the reader may experience a sympathetic resonance with you. They may even sweat while reading.
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.
Whether you are a new author or a reader, you have probably noticed that the wholesale and retail cost of books is rising. The publishing business is facing many of the same pressures that other industries are experiencing. Most of the problems boil down to supply chain issues.
The average person doesn’t realize what happens in the background of publishing. COVID wreaked havoc on three main areas of the publishing industry and now everyone is suffering the consequences.
The first area is staffing. It has become more difficult to find and keep good workers since 2020. Wages on the supply side tend to be lower, and it has become difficult to staff those jobs.
The second problem is shipping delays and the increase in shipping costs. Most of the world’s paper is manufactured in China. This means that paper must be shipped to other countries. According to the Wall Street Journal, shipping prices from Shanghai to Los Angeles increased 50%-75%. This means that paper prices around the world increased since shipping is added to the print/paper equation, which in turn impacts the wholesale cost of printing a book. This is exacerbated by the additional cost to ship books to distributors and consumers. Most
use FedEx or UPS to ship books and both companies increased shipping costs by about 6% in 2022.
The third problem is a shortage of print plants. Many have been shut down, so there are fewer places to print books. Most printers have been given paper allocations from paper mills. Some months the printers receive their full allocation and some months they do not. Without paper, many of these printers have slowed printing and, in some cases, closed plants due to a lack of projects and revenue.
Publishers are working hard to solve these problems. Many publishers are looking at their backlists and determining if digital printing is the best way to go. Traditional and hybrid publishing companies usually create
larger print runs for bookstore availability. These companies are considering reduced upfront printer runs. Reduced printer runs also cut down on warehousing/inventory fees. This solution makes Print-onDemand a better solution but also a more expensive solution. Print runs decrease the wholesale price of books.
While some of these problems may not be long-term, the publishing and printing industries are working hard to make publishing easier and shifting the consumer to more digital products. Will it be possible for readers to decide to read from an e-reader or computer rather than from a physical book in their hands? Education will be helpful, but my gut feeling is that physical books are here to stay.
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.
If you are a professional who wants to create a book (or books) to help build your business and your brand, a developmental editor (DE) can save you time, money, and losing a lot of sleep as you plan out your book and prepare to publish. What are the top three benefits of working with a developmental editor?
Saves You Time. The first thing we do is focus your audience and idea. It’s essential to know your audience. Think of it this way: would you walk out on a stage and start speaking about teaching elementary school students to a group of doctors at a medical conference? Of course not. Clearly knowing who your audience is will help you narrow the focus of your book so you are reaching the people you want to reach. Additionally, your DE can help you choose your chapter headings, figure out what materials to include, such as case studies, exercises, CTAs, and so forth.
Save You Money. It may seem as if the cost
of a developer is high… until you consider a few essential factors:
• The amount of your valuable time wasted on writing drafts that go nowhere. How much time do you actually have to waste on something that doesn’t really benefit you at all?
• The amount of money it costs you if your book isn’t done well. How do you react to a badly written book? I personally just toss it and move on. And I never go back. That’s the kiss of death for you if you want your book to help you build your business and brand.
• The waste of money on editing and publishing a book that fails. It’s discouraging and costs a lot in terms of your self-worth, not to mention your business.
Helps with Organization and Accountability. Every client I work with seems to relax and begin to enjoy the process of writing their book as soon as I begin guiding them through the process. It’s
always helpful to have someone who knows what they’re doing in your corner, right? No more head-spinning. No more freaking out about what to include, or how much, or what to leave out because it doesn’t fit. The selfconfidence I see grow in my authors as they make steady progress to complete their book(s) is wonderful to behold. And when they finish? Pure joy.
My final tip is to be sure you work with a DE who knows your genre. For example, I specialize in nonfiction, particularly expert books for entrepreneurs. I would be the wrong DE for someone writing a, say, romance novel. Be sure you question that before hiring your DE.
If you want more information, feel free to jump on my calendar for a nopressure conversation: https://calendly.com/ livingmycreativity/ chatwithkristy. I’ll even throw in my free Book Development Checklist, straight to your email. Ciao for now, folks.
Boyd Johnson is an awardwinning 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.
Excerpt from The Ultimate On-Camera Guidebook: Hosts*Experts*Influencers
by Jacquie Jordan (@TVGuestpert) & Shannon O’Dowd (@ theshannonodowd)The most important words of your television segment are the first words that come out of your mouth. I call this prime real estate. After all, as one of my favorite clichés goes, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” This impression establishes your relevance and value to the topic being addressed.
Often, the host’s lead-in question (“How are you?”) or lead-in introduction (“Welcome to the show.”) is often not the best setup or lead-in for brand messaging. It’s wasted airtime for you and your segment. Filler words. A loss of real estate value to the expert’s overall goals.
The bold guest expert will recognize this and say, “I’m good, Doug, but really concerned about the opioid crisis that’s killing our country right now. I’ve seen firsthand the wreckage of our policies as an addiction specialist.”
Another opening can be “As a doctor who’s treated hundreds of patients suffering from bipolar disorder …” or “Because of my experience working on the front lines of the eco sustainability movement in the fashion industry …”
Instead, many guests answer with, “Thanks for having me on the show.” Then they pause and wait for the host to lay out their first real question.
Thirty seconds burn up. Viewers have changed the channel. These guests have missed an opportunity to come out with a bang to the audience by contextualizing their expertise and stating a position on the topic at hand.
In response to the host intro, you want to add additional credits that are relevant to the specific topic, reestablish the topic and include why you are qualified to speak on it, then begin your point of view without wasting time. This also assists the viewers at home as to why they want to stay further engaged in the segment as opposed to changing the channel. Get right to it!
For example, a host might say, “To tell us why digital media is here to stay is Jacquie Jordan, a two-time Emmy-nominated television producer and a New York Times bestselling publisher. Welcome, Jacquie.”
My opening sound bite in response to this introduction would be the following: “Thank you, Jim. Ten years ago, when I wrote my first book, Get on TV! The Insider’s Guide to Pitching the Producers and Promoting Yourself, I already knew that television was undergoing a radical change, which started with the DVR and the disruption of commercial advertising as we knew it. Those of us in the business were faced with a clear choice: adapt or slowly become extinct. I chose life, Jim!”
An untrained expert can burn up to thirty seconds of airtime in pleasantries before getting into the segment. On radio, guests often forget that the listener has been listening continuously, and that the guest is the only one who just entered the room. For me, as an advocate for
my experts’ businesses, pleasantries are problematic, as they offer little to no value. No permissions needed here. Forget everything you think about your appearance being an interview. The word “interview” is an erroneous description of your time on camera. It is a wellorchestrated tango. The producer is the choreographer, the host is the dance lead, and the guest is the dance follower. It is structured but allows for organic flow to the timing of the moment.
A contextualized opening sound bite will immediately launch you, the host, and the audience into the heart of your content and get your segment off to a roaring start by reestablishing why viewers should commit the next few minutes of their life to you. This opening sound bite is also a meaningful way to define your expertise, while simultaneously tying it into your branding and delivering the prescribed segment at hand. This is an essential tool to use without becoming a pitch person, which is a big no-no to audiences and, especially, producers!
Longtime guest expert Dr. Carole Lieberman executed a very effective opening sound bite on a FOX affiliate recently after the host used over thirty seconds to introduce both Carole and her book, Bad Girls. That is a lot of TV real estate for the host to eat up for a segment only slotted for six minutes, which is why understanding your content is important for your on-camera appearance. The first words out of Dr. Lieberman’s mouth cut right to the chase: “When I wrote Bad Boys all the guys were asking, ‘When are you going to write Bad Girls?’ Well, here it is.’’
Dr. Carole Lieberman, seasoned TV expert of over twenty years, needed only one sentence to let viewers know who she was, an author with more books to her credit than the one she’d be promoting on the show, and why she was there: to offer the flip side of a gender story. That is the art of an opening sound bite. By taking advantage of the opening sound bite as an opportunity to communicate a brand statement on a relevant hot topic, the expert paves the way for the rest of the segment. It will now be that much easier for the expert to speak with intentional purpose, and for the audience to understand why the expert is participating on the show.
If you watch TV closely, most experts simply answer the questions the host asks. They’re way too literal. Politicians, of course, do the exact opposite, taking the art of dodging a question to the other annoying extreme. At TVGuestpert, we are serving two interests: our B2B and our B2C. We are providing our producing community with camera-ready experts who know how to deliver their content in a right-on-time, agreedupon manner. This is our business to business (aka “B2B”). We are also servicing our clients by supporting their goals or businesses by booking their appearances. This is our business to consumer (“B2C”). In serving both masters, we are there to make sure the choreography of this pre-orchestrated tango comes off flawlessly while delivering entertainment and delight to all participants... especially the viewers at home!
Jacquie is the founder and CEO of the 15-year-old cuttingedge, media and content development, promotions and booking platform, TVGuestpert that offers full-service 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 Academyan 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.
By Marianne Sciucco
In 2013, when I published my first novel, Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s Love Story, I was like most new indie authors: I had no idea how to market it or find readers. My first efforts were disappointing, and I found myself struggling to find footing in an overcrowded book market. The fact that my book was a sort of niche book on a difficult subject added to my frustrations.
In addition to being a writer I am a registered nurse with no formal training, education, or work experience in publishing, business, or marketing. I learned all I could on my own by attending conferences (online and in person), reading books and blogs, and participating in webinars and online classes.
Two years later my studies led me to the concept of Author Collaborations: Symbiotic relationships with authors writing in my genre to cross-promote our books and share each other’s audiences. It sounded interesting, so I decided to seek out authors of books about Alzheimer’s and
dementia to build a marketing platform to serve all of us. Little did I know that seven years later I’d be one of six daughters of dementia at the helm of a global community of 350+ authors known as AlzAuthors.
The first person I contacted was Jean Lee, author of Alzheimer’s Daughter, a memoir. She’d written to me months earlier to tell me how much she loved my book and to ask if I would read hers and give my opinion. I thought her book was excellent and encouraged her publishing endeavors. When I approached her with the idea of working together she jumped at the opportunity. I asked if she knew of anyone else and she recommended Vicki Tapia, author of Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia.
Vicki was a bit skeptical, wondering how it would benefit her to promote other authors’ books. Jean and I reasoned that caregivers need a variety of good
books and other authors are not our competition. There’s strength in numbers, we said, and we could all support each other and our readers. Vicki decided to give us a chance, and the three of us embarked on a month-long campaign in June, 2015 during the Alzheimer’s Association’s Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, piggybacking onto an established, national movement. We posted about it on our blogs and shared it on our social media, primarily Twitter and Facebook. We created our own hashtag, #AlzAuthors.
Our success at this encouraged us to join forces once again during National Caregiver Appreciation Month in November. We called it the “#AlzAuthors: Ending the Isolation of Alzheimer’s” campaign and again posted on our blogs each week, shared on Twitter, and hosted a Facebook event. This campaign also met with success, and we realized we were on to something. Plus, we enjoyed working together,
sharing our stories and helping readers find our books.
Our next endeavor in 2016 was much bolder. We launched our own AlzAuthors blog featuring a new author and book each weekday in June, Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. We also cross-blogged to our own personal blogs. It was a challenge to find 20 authors willing to post with us, an unknown entity, and to get the posts ready each day, but when the month ended we decided to continue, although on a once a week basis. Each new post is promoted on AlzAuthors’ own Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn feeds, and to our audience of authors and Friends of AlzAuthors via personalized emails. To date, we have featured more than 300 authors and are scheduled six months ahead. Authors now seek us out.
Since 2016 our management team has been joined by three more talented authors and daughters of dementia dedicated to Alzheimer’s awareness: Kathryn Harrison (Weeds in Nana’s Garden, children’s’ literature), Ann Campanella (Motherhood Lost and Found, memoir), and Susan Landeis (In Search of Rainbows, memoir). Each of our admins brings special and much needed skills to the organization. Five of us hail from across the United States and Kathryn joins us from Canada. We communicate and manage AlzAuthors using email, Slack, Zoom, text messages, and telephone calls.
As the blog expanded we added the AlzAuthors Bookstore and became
Amazon Affiliates to help raise funds to support our organization. We also developed a resource page of helpful organizations we partner with, and host group book sales once a year. Other ventures include our podcast, Untangling Alzheimer’s and Dementia, virtual events featuring our authors in panel discussions, Custom Caregiver Collections, and more.
wHAT we leARned
Our collaboration has taught us a great deal about cross-promoting, our audience, and our authors. From the start, Jean, Vicki, and I worked well together and were dedicated to our mission, but a few authors who agreed to collaborate with us on those early ventures did not or could not share our enthusiasm or stay active for long because of one reason or another: personal issues, a high-powered job, an author’s own progressing Alzheimer’s. This led to our carrying the full load, and since this was a collaborative effort there was disappointment, and in some cases, hard feelings for those we felt let us down. We learned to choose our partners with care, and made our expectations known before taking on a new admin.
We also came to understand not all our authors are interested in becoming full-time authors or in writing new books (although many have.) Some are still on their caregiving journeys. Others are living with the disease themselves. Most wrote their books long after their dementia journeys ended and are ready to put their dementia years behind them and move on. Yet we maintain a core of authors who continue to write about dementia and caregiving or in
other genres and want to promote their work and raise Alzheimer’s awareness. They are the driving force behind our success.
We also learned every dementia story is different and it’s important to respect those differences and feature books and blogs that speak to the experience of as many caregivers and families as possible. This sometimes leads to interesting discussions as to whether to take on a new book or author. Our authors are our greatest strength because they are not professional writers but ordinary people with compelling stories. Many are self-published. All are worthy of attention and have something of value to impart to readers.
Another important thing we’ve learned is our target audience is more than what we originally envisioned. When we were each living our own dementia stories we hungered for books and blogs to guide us and discovered a startling lack of resources. We each wrote the book we wanted to read. Recognizing that need, our mission has always been to help caregivers find written resources to support their caregiving needs, but our efforts have shown us they are often too consumed with their own daily difficulties and don’t have time to read. Some don’t want to read about a tough situation they are currently living. We shifted our focus to market not to just caregivers – we will never not address them – but to others involved with Alzheimer’s and dementia care: medical and nursing professionals, social workers, elder law attorneys, financial planners, support organizations, and nursing home and assisted living personnel.
When we were each living our own dementia stories we hungered for books and blogs to guide us and discovered a startling lack of resources. We each wrote the book we wanted to read.
In seven years, without realizing it, we created an organization that fills a void, a niche. We are entrepreneurs of a global community of authors writing about the most important disease of our generation. We support each other professionally and personally. I experienced this myself when my stepfather was diagnosed with mixed dementia in late 2015 and I became his medical, legal, and financial representative. The support of my admin team was invaluable and much appreciated.
If you would like to start your own author collaboration here are some tips.
1. Choose your partners with care. You will work closely together on a shared mission.
2. Brand your group. Come up with a catchy name, a mission statement, an easily recognized logo.
3. Stick to your purpose so readers aren’t confused.
4. Set a schedule and keep to it so readers know when to expect to hear from you.
5. Establish a few guidelines for which authors/ books to include. Evaluate books and authors critically. Analyze the writing, the reviews, and the author’s platform. Expect them to promote their involvement with your collaboration.
6. Build social media pages for your group and post to them each day. Monitor and respond to feedback. Create your own hashtags and use them.
7. Offer a convenient, private way for admins to communicate, i.e. Slack, Google Chats, Skype.
8. Offer a convenient, private way for members to communicate, i.e. a Facebook group.
9. Keep it fresh – run group book sales and other special promotions.
10. Develop a mailing list and use it each time a new post or podcast is published. Fill the newsletter with author events and shout outs as well.
11. Reach out to others working in your field, i.e. book bloggers and reviewers, organizations, agencies, and cross-promote with them on their websites, blogs, and social media.
12. Consider becoming an Amazon Affiliate to help raise funds to keep the collaboration alive.
13. Understand it takes time – perhaps years – to build a following.
Marianne Sciucco writes contemporary and YA fiction. She’s not a nurse who writes but a writer who happens to be a nurse. A lover of words and books, she dreamed of becoming an author when she grew up but became a nurse to avoid poverty. She later brought her two passions together and writes about the intricate lives of people struggling with health and family issues.
Her debut novel, Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story (2013), is a Kindle bestseller, IndieReader Approved, a BookWorks featured book, a Library Journal Self-e Selection, and a 5-star Readers Favorite. She recently published a short prequel, Christmas at Blue Hydrangeas, a Cape Cod Bed & Breakfast Story. Marianne’s work with Alzheimer’s led her to help found the organization AlzAuthors, which vets books and blogs about the dementias for those who need to read them.
Marianne has also published a young adult novel, Swim Season, which was chosen as an “Official Selection” in the Young Adult General Fiction category of New Apple’s Annual Book Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing in 2017. Swim Season is based on the author’s 11 years’ experience as a Swim Mom, and the longest book she hopes she’ll ever write.
A native Bostonian, Marianne lives in New York’s Hudson Valley and, when not writing, works as a campus nurse at a community college.
You may follow Marianne’s Adventures in Publishing on her website, Twitter, and Facebook.
www.mariannesciucco.com/ www.twitter.com/MarianneSciucco www.facebook.com/marianne.sciucco.1
COnneCT wITH AlzAUTHORS https://alzauthors.com/ https://twitter.com/AlzAuthors https://www.facebook.com/AlzAuthors/ https://www.instagram.com/alzauthors/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alzauthors/
Many authors get so wrapped up in the writing and publishing process that they do not begin thinking about marketing their book until after it is published.
The unfortunate reality is that if you ignore the need for marketing, you may not see the return on investment with your book that you were hoping for.
Building up an audience of ideal readers takes time. You require clear messaging that resonates with them. You also need a wellthought-out marketing plan to help you engage with and nurture them. Social media and email marketing, lead magnets, and podcast guesting strategies are just some of the marketing that I co-create with my clients over a six or nine-month period. It is not something that can be whipped up overnight after you’ve reached Bestseller status on Amazon.
Once you’ve determined who your ideal reader is, then you want to meet them where they
IF YOU WAIT TO BEGIN MARKETING YOUR BOOK AFTER IT LAUNCHES, WHO WILL YOU SELL IT TO?
are. Business leaders are on LinkedIn. Baby Boomers are on Facebook. New moms are on Instagram and TikTok. If you want to reach people in the C-suite, posting regular Instagram Stories and Reels will not help you grow your readership.
When you know you’re in the right place, then it is time to really nurture your audience. Do not post a few times and expect a miraculous following of raving fans to emerge instantaneously. The magic happens when you begin to engage with them. Acknowledge those who comment on your posts and reply to their comments with questions to spark conversation. Take these conversations into the DMs and build a relationship.
All the while, it is vital to be consistent with your marketing. You can start posting relevant content long before you even know your publish date. I often work with authors when they are in the middle of or near the end of the writing process because then we get to build a customized
marketing campaign that helps them grow an audience of ideal readers who are so excited to buy their book when it’s available for purchase.
That’s how my client David pre-sold 1,200 copies of his book touting the benefits and revealing the secrets Americans don’t know about Olive Oil before his publish date. Together, we began building his readership months in advance on Instagram and Facebook. When he launched, he had a huge party and there was so much excitement about his book. And the buzz continues as he keeps the marketing going.
If you are in the writing process, now is the perfect time to begin thinking about establishing your audience. They will get to know, like, and trust you and be ready to buy your book when you publish. Already published? It’s not too late either. Start marketing your book today.
For marketing support, please book a call with me today at vipdigital.live/clarity-call.
Melanie BioMelanie 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, awardwinning 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!
So, what does a self-published author do? Here are a couple of ideas that can help generate more demand for your book.
Invest in Online Catalogs
If your publisher uses Ingram or Lightning Source, this is an option. Make sure you book is added to the catalog that comes out before your book is on sale. Besides investing in an online catalog, make sure that your book is listed with a 55% discount rate so larger online retailers will pick it up.
Most authors would love to see their books on bookstore shelves. Traditional publishers make that happen. The caveat? You must build an audience that proves your book is in demand. For the majority of authors, this will never happen because they did not build the audience that is waiting for the book.
This can be tricky and needs that 55% discount rate. While most authors do not realize it, their books go into bookstores on a “consignment” basis. This is tricky because you also need to mark Ingram/Lightning Source as returnable. This mean that you will get charged back for books that do not sell.
Traditional and hybrid publishing companies have their own sales teams. The salesperson will take a binder of books and sell the titles to the bookstore chain. You can do this yourself
with a good sales pitch. Your pitch should include the following:
• Awards
• Notable media appearances
• Prominent reviews
• Bestseller list appearances
Leave a copy of your book and any marketing materials you have crafted.
Be a local Superstar
As a local author, you have an advantage: people in the community know you and are interested in supporting you. Go into your local bookstores in person and talk to the management.
If you have a specialty, go into specialty bookstores and offer your book and a workshop on the topic. This is an effective strategy for spiritual books. Often,
smaller, local spiritual bookstores will welcome the book and workshop wo attract more people to their stores.
Bring Your Own Audience
One of the most brilliant strategies I have seen was an author who set up book signings in multiple cities. She was an influencer who had contacts in many major cities and asked people she knew to arrange signing parties. Once they had an accurate count of how many people would be at the party, they bought her books from a local bookstore. Bookstores have access to online purchases and can go in and order the books for the author. Here is an example: in Atlanta, the author’s friend set up a book signing at her golf club. Once she had a headcount and collected money to purchase
the books retail, she ordered the books from the local Barnes and Noble.
Now she had 300 books, ordered from a local bookstore that contributed to her retail numbers. The retail numbers were added to bestseller sales, and she was listed on the BN Top 100. She also made the USA Today and WSJ Bestseller lists. Yes, this took a lot of managing and organizing, but the plan worked.
Use Your Author p latform
By the time you publish your book, you should have your platform built to the point that you can get yourself some media time. Have a book onesheet and a speaker sheet ready. You can guest blog, appear on podcasts, and take part in book promotions to get more demand for your book.
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.
By the time you publish your book, you should have your platform built to the point that you can get yourself some media time.
When you hear the term “binge-worthy,” what comes to mind?
For me, it’s a comedy series like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and that guilty feeling of staying up way past my bedtime to watch just one more episode.
But why am I, a digital video marketer, talking about bingeworthy content to non-fiction authors?
There are two reasons. First, you want your social media content to be binge-worthy, so your audience will eagerly consume it, like their favorite on-demand series. And secondly, to make consistent content creation sustainable, batch-producing* is essential, especially when it comes to videos.
[*Batch-Producing is the art of writing, shooting, and/or editing multiple videos at a time. When properly applied, it can save you tons of time and money.]
So, what exactly makes content binge-worthy? We at Clock Wise Productions define it as content that is:
1. Timely (aka relevant)
2. Educational
3. Engaging
Think about the last time you went down a YouTube rabbit hole because you needed to learn something. The videos you watched might not have been the most exceptional ever created, but they were timely, relevant, educational, and engaging enough
I personally have bInged content on everythIng from how to wrIte compellIng marketIng emaIls to how to doodle Zentangles (If you’re not a doodler, don’t ask.)
to solve your immediate problem and keep you watching.
I personally have binged content on everything from how to write compelling marketing emails to how to doodle Zentangles (if you’re not a doodler, don’t ask.)
How can you start creating bingeworthy content? I’m so glad you asked! It’s easier than most people think to get started.
Look at your content assets and your intellectual property, and make a list of what you have that could turn into a series (anything three videos and more is a series):
- You could create a series based on client FAQs
- You could create a series of favorite quotes, moments, or lessons from your books
- You could create a client testimonial series
The list goes on. Bottom line: start thinking about content to put onto social media in serial form.
If you can address your ideal client’s most burning problems one snack-sized video at a time, you strike gold. Also, creating content in serial form makes your posting schedule more manageable, generates better conversations around your content on social media, and ultimately leads to better engagement with your audience.
Do you have questions about creating binge-worthy video content? Email Nina at nina@clockwiseproductions.com or DM her on LinkedIn: https://www. linkedin.com/in/nina-froriep/
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/
Nina Froriep helps mission-driven entrepreneurs to grow their business with consistent and easyto-implement video marketing through one-onone coaching or peer-learning. I’m a filmmaker, producer and director with 30 years experience and a small business owner of 23 years. I’ve seen it all from the early days on independent features, to big national TV commercials, corporate megashows and many documentary films.
If you can address your Ideal clIent’s most burnIng problems one snack-sIZed vIdeo at a tIme, you strIke gold.
As an author, getting your work noticed by the media is essential to promoting your brand and increasing your readership. One of the best ways to do this is by releasing a press release. A press release is a written communication sent to media members to announce something newsworthy, such as a book launch, author event, or award.
A press release aims to attract media attention and get your story published in newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other news outlets. A press release can generate buzz and increase book sales and author visibility when done correctly.
So, what should you include in a press release? Here are some key elements:
1. Headline. The headline should be attentiongrabbing and concise. It should sum up the main point of the press release in a few words.
2. Introduction. The first paragraph should briefly overview the news you’re announcing. It should answer the questions: Who? What? When? Where? and Why?
3. Body. The body of the press release should provide more details about the news you’re announcing. This is where you can include quotes from the author, information about the book, and any other relevant details.
4. Contact information. Make sure to include your contact information, including your name, phone number, email address, and website. This makes it easy for media members to contact you if they have questions and want to schedule an interview.
5. Boilerplate. A boilerplate is a short paragraph that provides background information about you as an author. This can include a brief bio, information about your previous books, and any awards or accolades you’ve received. You can also include a boilerplate about your company using the same format.
Now that you know what to include in a press release, how do you write one? Here are some tips:
1. Keep it concise. A press release should be one page long at maximum. Sticking to the essential details and avoiding including unnecessary information.
2. Write in the third person. A press release should be journalistic, which means you should write in the third person and avoid using firstperson pronouns.
3. Use quotes. Including quotes from the author or other relevant people can add credibility and interest to your press release.
4. Proofread. Review your press release carefully before sending it out. Errors and typos can make you look unprofessional.
5. Follow up. Be bold and follow up with media members after sending your press release. A quick phone call or email can help you build a relationship and increase your chances of getting coverage.
In conclusion, writing a press release is important to promote your work as an author. By including key elements like a headline, introduction, body, contact information, and boilerplate, you can craft a compelling press release that attracts media attention and helps you reach new readers. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to success! To download free templates and the free book Media Magic: Instantly Get Radio, TV, Print, and Internet Press to Give You Limitless Publicity, go to www. MediaMagicBook.com. Want help doing it yourself or donefor-you PR and press kit services at www.ShannonProcise.com/ superbrand.
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.
Through my podcasting platform, Podetize, one of the things we urge clients to do is batch record their podcast episodes. This is for several reasons and also applies to content creation of any kind.
Maintaining a regular posting schedule for your podcast is essential in attracting a dedicated following of loyal fans. The same is true for your readers and followers on social media.
How do you regularly show up without it being too much? The answer to finding this balance has everything to do with batch recording. Consistency can be tricky. Most content creators are wearing many hats and even though content is one of the most important pieces of your success puzzle, it’s often the thing that gets pushed to the back burner. In podcasting, we call this podfade. A podcaster cannot maintain consistency and eventually just fades out.
When it comes to maintaining your online presence, to really reach the level of engagement and connection you need from your readers, you need to be in front of them constantly. And it can’t be low-level content.
We’ve already established the fact that you’re wearing many hats to keep everything afloat, which might make posting every single day, or multiple times a day (to multiple platforms) difficult, to say the least.
• Choosing Topics. The first thing you need to do is settle on topics. It helps if you can build content
so that it flows through the week and this will help you come up with complete ideas and thoughts to share with your audience.
• Make a list of the topics you want to use for the month ahead of you.
• Expand on each one as many times as you need to for each day you need to post.
• Setting A Schedule: Once your topics are ready, outline which day each topic will post.
• You can print free calendar sheets online, use a scheduler or planner or take advantage of some of the awesome technology out there that is specifically designed to schedule and then post content for you. Hootsuite is a very popular platform many of my clients rely on.
• Put It On Your Calendar. If you plan to post manually, block out time each morning. It only needs to be five or ten minutes because you’ve already got an outline of what you’re posting. If you plan to use technology, block out two hours, on a day with minimal distractions and schedule your posts for the month.
The more you rely on batch scheduling, not only will your content get better but you’ll also grow more and more efficient at batching. It will become less of a task and more of a way that you get to communicate with and connect to your tribe of followers.
Tracy Hazzard is a seasoned media expert with over 2600 interviews from articles in Authority Magazine, BuzzFeed, and her Inc. Magazine column; and from her multiple top-ranked videocasts and podcasts like The Binge Factor and Feed Your Brand – one of CIO’s Top 26 Entrepreneur Podcasts. Tracy brings diverse views from what works and what doesn’t work in marketing, branding and media from thought leaders and industry icons redefining success around the globe. Tracy’s unique gift to the podcasting, marketing, and branding world is being able to identify that unique binge-able factor – the thing that makes people come back again and again, listen actively, share as raving fans, and buy everything you have to sell.
You are not alone.
Most people don’t know where to begin.
Writing a book isn’t as simple as just “sitting down to write a book.”
THeRe ARe MAnY COnSIdeRATIOnS:
• Is your book written in a compelling fashion that engages your readers?
• Who will want to read your book?
• How do I manage the writing process?
• How do you build an audience for your book?
• When do you hire a publisher?
• When is the right time to start marketing your book?
Kristy Boyd Johnson, book developer, and Juliet Clark, founder of Superbrand Publishing, answer all of those questions and more in this hands on, three-hour, interactive workshop.
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
MOdUle 1: JUlIeT ClARk
• Discover the 8 Pillars of Author Platform Building
• Learn why this is ESSENTIAL to building an audience.
• Marketing begins the day you start writing!
MOdUle 2: kRISTY BOYd JOHnSOn
• Learn a simple strategy to prep your book
• Understand the three phases of writing a book and what you can expect at each level
• Discover the huge benefits of working with a book developer
MOdUle 3: JUlIeT ClARk
• Understand the different types of publishing
• Discover when you should hire a publisher
• Learn the two secrets to recognize a scam publisher… and make sure you hire a legitimate one