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Ironically, many of the rules of good blogging apply to this article and the first is: Blog often. If you’re a serious blogger you are likely posting daily, if you’re not, then you probably don’t have much to say. If you want to get your blog noticed, you need to be blogging daily. Why? Because it’ll not only help you look massively articulate, but it’ll really help with your traffic and search ranking, and let’s face it: If no one is finding you, how do you expect a publisher to discover your work?
The following is an excerpt from Penny C. Sansevieri’s e-mail newsletter. Penny also writes for the Huffington Post, and while her focus is primarily on book promotion, she provides a great number of valuable insights that are interesting for each blogger, may they be authors or not. You can sign up for her newsletter at http://www.amarketingexpert.com.
Featured Article: From Blog to Book
In the past few months, I’ve come in contact with numerous bloggers who are ready to take their work from blog to book. Maybe it’s the influence of movies like Julie and Julia, it’s hard to tell, but suffice it to say the idea of selling your blog to a publisher is very appealing to a good many bloggers. But what does it really take to get your blog noticed? Here are some tips if you’re trying to raise the bar on your blog and get it noticed by a publisher:
Ironically, many of the rules of good blogging apply to this article and the first is: Blog often. If you’re a serious blogger you are likely posting daily, if you’re not, then you probably don’t have much to say. If you want to get your blog noticed, you need to be blogging daily. Why? Because it’ll not only help you look massively articulate, but it’ll really help with your traffic and search ranking, and let’s face it: If no one is finding you, how do you expect a publisher to discover your work?
Write great blog posts: OK, I know this is probably another “duh” tip, but here’s the deal: if you’re blogging every day you need to keep your writing strong. Not all your blog posts will be worthy of front page news, but your writing must remain consistently good and your blog posts should be unique, helpful, enlightening, or whatever your goal for the blog is.
Be consistent in your message: in other words, don’t change horses mid-race. If you start a blog on, let’s say, dogs, don’t start talking about guinea pigs three posts into it. You’ll have a boatload of dog people going “huh?” Keep it topical and on message always.
Educate yourself in publishing: if you’re going to compete in this market (meaning publishing) you’re going to want to get to know the industry. Go to (writers) conferences, read some of the trade publications (like Publishers Weekly) and dig into this market. If you find that what you’re blogging on is super-hot, you might want to ramp up the promotion of your blog.
See who’s buying what: there’s a site I highly recommend called publishersmarketplace.com. You can register there for either their free or paid Publishers Lunch newsletter, and with that you’ll also get Lunch Weekly, which shows you who is signing and what they’re buying. If you get a membership on the site you can also dig in and find Editors and Agents that might be interested in your topic.
Tell people you have a blog: do you have a signature file on your email? If you don’t you should, this is the first and one of the best places to promote a blog. Second, get business cards and make sure your blog address is listed there.
Get a unique URL: if you’re going to be a serious blogger get a serious domain name. Yes, you can get sallyauthor.blogspot.com but that’s not your own property. Meaning that Google still owns this. If you’re going to be a real blogger, do you really want someone else owning your blog? I don’t think so. Buy a domain name and make sure your blog is hosted there.
Brand yourself: when you’re ready and you have the budget, find someone who can turn your blog into a custom site. They’re great and super easy to do (read: not that expensive) and make a fantastic first impression.
Do some social networking on blogs: get to know your space, meaning get to know who else is doing what you’re doing and make friends. Unless you’re sitting on the most original idea on the planet, I don’t believe in competition. Get to know who else is out there and start commenting on their blog posts so they know you. There’s a great way to discover the top people in your market. Go to a blog search site like Google blog search, type in your keyword and start following the top five bloggers in your market. See what they do, learn from the pros and then thank them for their knowledge by posting helpful comments on their blog (bloggers love comments, by the way). I have a whole article on social networking on blogs that you can read here: http://amarketingexpert.com/ameblog/marketing/social-networking-on-blogs/. Many of the tips will be helpful to you as you continue to cyber-schmooze online.
Market your blog: now that you have a unique URL and branding, you’re going to want to start marketing it. You can do this by getting a Twitter page and feeding your blog through your account (you can use Twitterfeed.com to do this). You should also consider getting a Facebook Fanpage (again branded to your blog) and feed your blog through that as well. Why do you want to do this? Well, it’s important to get as many access points as possible, right? Social networking sites are feeder sites. Use the content on these sites to help you dig deeper into your markets and gather new readers for your blog.
Make your blog shareable: Make sure that folks can share your blog posts to sites like Twitter, Facebook, and all the social bookmarking sites. It’s an easy widget to add and most blogs come with this pre-installed.
Social bookmarking: it’s good to social bookmark all your posts. Yes, and I do mean all of them. You should bookmark on the major sites like Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, and Social Poster. You can add more to this list but those are the majors.
Keep good track of your stats: this is another reason why you want to have your own site: so you can keep track of your traffic, which you can’t do if someone else owns your domain. You’ll want to keep a close eye on your blog traffic and learn how to read the site analytics (which is a lot easier than it sounds).
Reprinted from “The Book Marketing Expert newsletter,” a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com
Looking at the title of this post, it is okay to ask, “What?” Well, the title is based on tip #55 of Brian Jud’s disturbingly useless book, Get Your Word’s Worth: 555 Tips for Improving Your Book Promotion. Tip #55 states, “Enhance the perception of greater frequency by creating a common look and theme for all communications devices.” While I believe I do understand what the author is trying to convey, I am shocked by the fact that someone in their right mind actually takes the time to come up with further 254 comments of the same moronic nature.
If confusion is the first step to knowledge, I must be a genius.
– Larry Leissner
Looking at the title of this post, it is okay to ask, “What?” Well, the title is based on tip #55 of Brian Jud’s disturbingly useless book, Get Your Word’s Worth: 555 Tips for Improving Your Book Promotion. Tip #55 states, “Enhance the perception of greater frequency by creating a common look and theme for all communications devices.” While I believe I do understand what the author is trying to convey, I am shocked by the fact that someone in their right mind actually takes the time to come up with further 554 comments of the same moronic nature and the same descriptive value of your daily horoscope.
Let me just take a short mental detour and explain how I got to own a copy of this absurd work. And for the record, please excuse my “colorful” language. After re-reading this post I noticed my negative attitude. Nevertheless, I stand to what I publish here on my blog. I am just a regular guy whose blood broils when I smell a foul deal.
555 Tips For Improving Your Book Promotion
Every now and then I indulge myself with a trip into the bizarre world of writing and publishing by browsing the Internet and looking for websites related to the topic. A great number of these websites dedicated to the publishing industry try to create some income by posting Google ads, and, naturally, the ads offered point to other publishing services – just have a look at this very post.
The vast majority of these ads, however, are sponsored by the sharks in the publishing business, preying on the unsuspecting, aspiring writer, who is desperately looking for a chance to get published. One of these sharks is BookSurge.com, a company owned by Amazon.com. While I do applaud Amazon.com for their business sense, I do not approve of the ruthless methods they use to trick potential new clients into submitting their e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
So, I did click on the Google ad sponsored by BookSurge, and thus creating some small income for one of my favorite websites, DailyWritingTips.com. I was just curious what BookSurge had to offer. The hyperlink directed my browser to a dedicated web page that offered a free copy of Brian Jud’s eBook. I am not afraid to submit my e-mail address (it’s spam protected) or my phone number (it’s the phone in my small office at home, and I’m hardly there during day hours). I am sure they will call eventually and leave a message. They also ask for details of your current literature project, and I wrote I was in the process of writing a novel about a young woman who interacts with vampires and werewolves (my wife insisted on watching the New Moon DVD with me).
My expectations weren’t very high when I opened the eBook and, still, I was shocked by the moronic blabbering in the book. This is yet another prime example of a compelling, but grossly misleading title. It also indicates to me that Brian Jud is a very clever, but ruthless business man. Brian Jud is selling an expertise that is solely based on plain and simple bull-shitting. At the end of the book (tip #555) he points to his website at bookmarketing.com. Yes, I did check the site out, and it screams BS! You recognize a scammer’s web site by a few characteristics, the unattractive style, the large blue and red fonts on a white background, and the unusual long pages. Add to this some – nothing short of orgasmic – testimonies by people whose name are presented like you should know them. “I read Brian Jud’s book, and I sold 200,000 books this last month.” (Sorry, I made this up; it’s fairly easy.)
I am sure Brian Jud makes a comfortable income selling his useless books. As I always point out, there is nothing wrong about making a good profit, but it should be done with dignity and integrity. Brian Jud lives by the principle of what is right is not as important than what is profitable.
Plug Your Book reveals the most effective and least expensive tools to promote your titles and to increase your exposure. It’s the best book on online marketing I have ever read, and I read quite a few in the course of my consulting practice with small presses.
Product Description
Get massive exposure for your book, no special computer skills needed — trade published or self published, fiction or nonfiction
Discover why authors fail with paid advertising, pay-per-click, fee-based reviews, and “bestseller” campaigns
Blog to connect with readers, driving them to Amazon and bookstores
Boost your visibility with Google, use MySpace for viral marketing
Ignite word of mouth with Web social networks
Capitalize on peer content and “amateur” book reviews
Here’s what the experts say about this book:
“A wealth of ideas for making your book stand out, including many techniques for Internet buzz you won’t find elsewhere.”
– Jane Corn, Amazon.com Top Reviewer
“I spent two years building up skills to market my books Earthcore and Ancestor online, and I can tell you right now that Plug Your Book would have saved me MONTHS of time. I bought this book just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything, but it blew me away.”
– Scott Sigler, # 1 bestselling author
“An amazingly rich collection of cutting-edge promotional tactics and strategies. Makes most other books about online publicity look sickly.”
– Aaron Shepard, author: Aiming at Amazon
“…The one book every author needs to read. I don’t care if you’re writing a computer book, a science fiction novel or the next great self-help guide, you need to get copy of Steve Weber’s Plug Your Book!”
- Joe Wikert, executive publisher, John Wiley & Sons “Practical, pragmatic, low-cost ideas for promoting the heck out of your own book, whether it’s fiction, nonfiction, technical, business or anything else.”
– Dave Taylor, author: ‘Growing Your Business with Google’
“I’ve worked with most of America’s largest book publishers, helping many of them build online marketing departments. I’ve worked for authors too. Plug Your Book is the new training manual.”
– Steve O’Keefe, author: ‘Publicity on the Internet’
“…Plug Your Book reveals the most effective and least expensive tools to promote your titles and to increase your exposure. It’s the best book on online marketing I have ever read, and I read quite a few in the course of my consulting practice with small presses.”
– Marion Gropen, president, Gropen Associates
Here’s what’s inside the book:
… Taking control of your book sales; Electric word of mouth; Amazon’s `long tail;’ Personalized bookstores; Book recommendation effectiveness
… Amazon Bestseller Campaigns; How Bestseller Campaigns work; Haywired recommendations
… Amateur book reviews; Credibility through peers; Amazon Top Reviewers; Negative reviews; Posting trade reviews on Amazon; Fee-based book reviews
… Building your author Web site; A survey of author Web sites; Your online press kit; Multimedia for books; Podcasting for publicity; When to launch your site
… Blogging for authors; Connecting with readers; Blog comments: pros and cons; Blogging categories; Over the long haul; Blog-to-e-mail service
… Social networking; MySpace: Not just for kids; Facebook; Create your own group; Other places on MySpace; More social-networking sites
… Tag – You’re it!; Personal book tagging; Amazon tags; Amazon Media Library; LibraryThing; Tag-based marketing
… Advanced Amazon tools; Buy X, Get Y; Free paired placement; Single New Product e-mails; Amazon Connect; Listmania; So You’d Like to . . . guides; Search Inside the Book; Statistically Improbable Phrases; Writing book reviews; Amapedia; Customer discussions; BookSurge; Your Amazon profile
My Take
Well, when you read all of the above raving comments… let me say, you are not being misled. What I like about Steve Weber’s approach is the honesty and lack of nonsense. His evaluation of the topic in combination with really helpful tips and recommendations are nothing short of refreshing. This book is a must for any author and self-publisher. I personally have spent a great deal of time researching marketing strategies for my books, but I still learned a lot from Steve Weber’s book.
A research fellow in history at De Montfort University Leicester (U.K.), Cronin offers synopsis with little insight in this overview of Irish history. Starting with ancient Gaelic Ireland, he quickly moves on to the introduction of Christianity, the Viking and Norman-Anglo invasions, and the effects on the Protestant Reformation. With Cromwell’s invasion in the mid-17th century came the redistribution of land from the Catholics to the Protestants. This is the strong point of the book, as Cronin compacts convoluted Irish history into a comprehensive, readable form. He then briefly covers the 1798 Rebellion, Catholic emancipation under Daniel O’Connell and the great famine of the 1840s, all of which set the stage for the Fenian rebellion of 1867. The Fenians, though unsuccessful, would leave their imprint on Parnell and his Land League. Cronin paints a concise, albeit limited, picture of the events of 1914 through 1923
Product Description
A research fellow in history at De Montfort University Leicester (U.K.), Cronin offers synopsis with little insight in this overview of Irish history. Starting with ancient Gaelic Ireland, he quickly moves on to the introduction of Christianity, the Viking and Norman-Anglo invasions, and the effects on the Protestant Reformation. With Cromwell’s invasion in the mid-17th century came the redistribution of land from the Catholics to the Protestants. This is the strong point of the book, as Cronin compacts convoluted Irish history into a comprehensive, readable form. He then briefly covers the 1798 Rebellion, Catholic emancipation under Daniel O’Connell and the great famine of the 1840s, all of which set the stage for the Fenian rebellion of 1867. The Fenians, though unsuccessful, would leave their imprint on Parnell and his Land League. Cronin paints a concise, albeit limited, picture of the events of 1914 through 1923. His portrait of John Redmond, the head of the Irish delegation at Westminster, is telling of the man and his political philosophy. Redmond, who warmly embraced Britain’s entrance into WWI, found himself isolated from his own constituents in the aftermath of the 1916 Rebellion. But the author’s sketchy and incomplete analysis of post-Civil War Ireland and some of his questionable judgments of important figures will leave some readers baffled. He praises the government of William T. Cosgrave (1922-1932) for his post-revolution adaptation of the in-place British systems in many respects returning Ireland to the status quo ante. He also praises Eamon DeValera, whose ascension to power is often viewed as hypocritical, because he renounced everything for which he had fought the Civil War. Cronin’s assessment of the Good Friday Agreement is inadequate: only once does he mention President Clinton, who played the seminal role in brokering the accord. Unfortunately, Cronin sacrifices depth for the sake of brevity; his superficial rendering would best serve as a primer for those who are new to Irish history.
Review
I have to say, I do not agree with the above product description (Amazon.com). The author did a great job of condensing the events of the tumultuous Irish history into less than 300 pages. Any complaint that one particular detail had not been explained to the full extend is simply ridiculous. This book is for everyone looking for a concise, yet very readable description of Irish history. During my intense research for my novel The Bleeding Hills I have been reading extensively, and one of the very few books I can whole-hertedly recommend is A History Of Ireland by Mike Cronin. Reading this book is highly recommended! I like that it is, compared to many other works on Ireland, actually readable and entertaining. If you need a relatively quick overview on the history of Ireland (the tile of the book doesn’t lie!) this is the one I recommend.
Few outside the security services have heard of 14 Company. As deadly as the SAS yet more secret, the Operators of 14 Company are Britain’s most effective weapon against international terrorism. For every bomb that goes off 14 Company prevent twelve. The selection process is the most physically, intellectually and emotionally demanding anywhere in the world. Trained to operate under cover, Operators have at their disposal an arsenal of techniques and weapons unmatched by any other UK government or military agency. This is the true story of one Operator and of some of the most hair-raising military operations ever conducted on the streets of Britain.
Product Description
Few outside the security services have heard of 14 Company. As deadly as the SAS yet more secret, the Operators of 14 Company are Britain’s most effective weapon against international terrorism. For every bomb that goes off 14 Company prevent twelve. The selection process is the most physically, intellectually and emotionally demanding anywhere in the world. Trained to operate under cover, Operators have at their disposal an arsenal of techniques and weapons unmatched by any other UK government or military agency. This is the true story of one Operator and of some of the most hair-raising military operations ever conducted on the streets of Britain.
Review
My reason to buy this book was the hope that it would contribute interesting insights for my research on the Irish Troubles. To put it in a nut-shell: I hope the author didn’t quit his day job over writing this book. What caught my attention was the sub-title “On the streets with Britain’s most secret service,” which proves yet again how important, but also how terribly misleading a title can be.
Little did I know how immature the writer deals with a serious topic like the Irish Troubles. The book starts with “Standby, standby. Zero, Oscar. I have Bravo 1 foxtrot from Alpha 2 towards Charlie 2,” and it doesn’t get much better from there. There is not much to say other than reading this book was a huge waste of my time.
