Plot Your Marketing Efforts

Plot Your Marketing Efforts
By Angela Wilson

Marketing is a lot like writing a novel.

With a novel, you start with an idea, then flesh it out, write several drafts, revise them, critique them and revise some more until the final, finished product is ready to send to an agent or publisher.

Marketing takes just as much forethought and planning. Here are some tips to get you started:

Research your audience. Who reads your books? What other authors do they like? What social networks are they on? How old are they? Would they like your book as a gift?

Devise a plan. Sketch out ideas for reaching your readers. Don't hold back; just write down everything you can think of, from book signings to virtual book tours to appearances at virtual writing or reading conferences.

Revise the plan. Once the initial creative marketing spark dwindles, look over your list and pick out the marketing points that are doable based on your time and budget. Don't try to do everything - you will only get overwhelmed and spread yourself so thin none of your efforts will make a ripple. Do focus efforts on marketing tactics that you would enjoy. For example, if you don't like public speaking, but love Facebook, consider hosting a Facebook party instead of booking live engagements.

Execute marketing efforts. Authors spend anywhere from one to three months promoting a new release. It is up to you to decide what type of schedule works for you. Plan out each day with some type of marketing task - and DO it! Writing will take a backseat during the marketing phase, but once marketing is complete, writing can once again be your No. 1 priority.

Take inventory. Keep a record of what marketing efforts worked and which did not.
Don't expect to do everything right the first time. Every marketing strategy has ups and downs. The trick is to keep notes about what works and what doesn't, so the plan can be adjusted for the next book tour.

You may not want to market, but it is a requirement for most authors today who want to continue to sell books - and net contracts. The key to successful marketing is to work smart. Create a plan - just like you create a novel outline - so you have vision and direction. Don't overbook events and don't try to be a super-human marketer. Schedule marketing events around family and work life - the same as you do writing.

Angela Wilson is an author, social media consultant, and online marketing strategist. Visit her blog, http://www.MarketMyNovel.com Click here, to learn more about cost-effective marketing strategies for fiction and nonfiction authors.

Watch What You Say Online - Or Pay the Consequences

Watch What You Say Online - Or Pay the Consequences
By Angela Wilson

Alice Hoffman acted like an idiot when she Tweeted nasty comments about a book reviewer who was just not that into her latest, The Story Sisters.

For those who didn't see it, the author of Practical Magic called the reviewer a "moron" and urged fans to call and email the reviewer to tell her the same thing. Hoffman even went so far as to print the reviewer's telephone number and email address. The author apparently didn't realize the reviewer only echoed things said by readers who commented on the book at Amazon.

Hoffman's chaotic, viscous comments ended up on sites like Gawker.com, and the L.A. Times did a story on her erratic, unprofessional behavior.

(Read more in Alice Hoffman Goes Ballistic on Twitter: http://www.marketmynovel.com/2009/07/alice-hoffman-goes-ballistic-on-twitter.html)

Soon after, Hoffman's Twitter account was deleted. However, her comments live in virtual infamy thanks to technology that allows us to grab screenshots to share with the masses.

The Hoffman episode is part of a growing trend of virtual social media rage, where someone who is insulted uses sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace to get back at those who wounded them.

More and more, I see authors responding hatefully to bad reviews on Amazon, or sending snarky messages with their contempt for reviewers at Pop Syndicate who just didn't like their work.

Face cold, hard facts: Not everyone is going to love your work. Only your parents are going to fawn over every drag of the pencil you make while cultivating the next bestseller.

Hoffman's been around long enough that this may not have an impact on book sales. In the virtual universe, things happen quickly - and are forgotten just as quickly. Devoted fans may not feel the need to stop reading her for being stupid about one lukewarm review; however, some book reviewers tired of getting trampled on by ego-maniac authors have already said they won't bother requesting Hoffman's future works.

Newbie authors who pull a stunt like this could very well derail a promising career in publishing. If you do not have a proven track record with reviewers or fans, your attitude could easily crush any future interest in your work. People are pretty forgiving if you have a bad day and blog about it; they are not nearly as forgiving if you single out one individual and attempt to slaughter them in chat rooms, forums and social networks.

Before you sound off about a lukewarm or bad review, take a deep breath. Call a friend to vent. Write up a text file - NOT in your e-mail compose feature - about how you feel. Journal about it. If you must blog about it, be sure not to mention any specifics about the reviewer or site or publication, but share your feelings with your fans.

Then let it go. Don't waste time getting mad enough to get even. Focus your energies on networking with reviewers and fans that truly enjoyed your work. Build on this positive network to develop a devoted fan base that helps sell books - and keep you swimming in contracts.

Angela Wilson is a social media consultant who blogs about author marketing at Market My Novel (http://www.MarketMyNovel.com). She is the editor of Pop Syndicate's Book Addict Blog (http://www.popsyndicate.com/books) and pens dark paranormal romance when she's not catering to her 27-year old cat.

A Little Sabotage Goes a Long Way Online

A Little Sabotage Goes a Long Way Online
By Angela Wilson

Has your agent ever sabotaged a terrific marketing idea from your publisher?

It happened recently to one author when the agent put the ax on a dynamic Web site project the publisher wanted for promotions.

The publisher approached a well-known author Web site design firm about completely revamping the current site, which was an eyesore in desperate need of cyber love. The author had a three-book series coming out and the publisher was excited - and ready to back it financially with key Internet marketing strategies.

The author's agent had a different idea. Instead of redesigning a hopelessly outdated Web site, this agent felt that the Facebook-only promotions were good enough.

It was like the agent was saying, "I'll trade you this cool, long-term, author-owned Web site for Facebook, a third-party network that may or may not be around in two years."

Obviously, this agent did not thoroughly think through this plan - or its long-term impact to the client.

A dynamic Web site is key to online marketing success in the highly-competitive Web 2.0 environment. The Web has been around long enough that people expect authors to have Web sites that are professional, nicely designed and packed with key information like biographies, photographs, book synopses, cover art and reader group questions.

The fact that the agent turned down money the publisher was willing to pay is ludicrous.

Publishers don't pay for anything these days. If they wanted to pay for a Web redesign and use that site as a portal for online marketing strategies, the agent should have celebrated that little victory with the client instead of sabotaging the much-needed project.
The lack of understanding of online promotions is clear—and frightening, when you think about it.

Authors have limited brand control on social networks like Facebook. Users repeatedly have their Facebook identities stolen; hackers stole the profile of one author from Canada several times in one month. The impostor used her account to send messages to fans and even convinced Facebook that he/she was the "real" author. Imagine if you were a teen Christian author and someone hacked your Facebook page and posted photos of genitalia there, making all the world think you posted it. Your brand would be permanently damaged and likely would never recover.

Recently, Facebook changed its Terms of Service so it could own all content on the network. The recent outrage from Facebook users forced the network to switch back to the old TOS. The fact is, though, Facebook could change it again at any moment to own any content the author posts on their Facebook page, including excerpts, photos, cover art, promotional items and more. With a Web site designed by a professional firm, the author is in control of all content and branding.

The final nail in the agent's Facebook-only idea is this: Social networks are based on popularity. Facebook may or may not be around in a few years. Look at MySpace, formerly the leading place for authors to be. The niche there is so specific now that most authors are unable to use it effectively for marketing. Who says the same thing won't happen to Facebook, which is already seeing demographic shifts?

Here are other points to consider for social networking-only marketing:

*If all of your promotions are tied to a social network, you are at the mercy of that network. Its success is your success. Its failure is your downfall.

*You must play by the network's rules in the network's environment.

*You are restricted to their platform design.

*Your fans may be on this network now, but for how long? Will you need to move your promotions to another social network, recreating static content that would be better served on a Web site?

*What about SEO? If you are only found on a social network, you have limited or no opportunities to improve your search engine rankings, making it even more difficult for fans outside the network to find you.

Your Web site is your portal into the virtual world. It is the place where fans can find out more about you and your work. It is the first place book reviewers and interviewers check for your press kit, book information and more. It is the one stop everyone should make to find you everywhere on the Web. They are especially vital to small press or POD/self published authors, who have to work harder to sell their products.
I'm not saying that using Facebook is a bad idea. In fact, Facebook is an excellent network to integrate into an overall online marketing plan that builds your brand, finds fans and create a long-term Web presence that ultimately leads to sales.

However, dumping the Web site component in favor of the social network is a strategy destined to fail in the long-term.

If your publisher is anxious to pay for a new Web site to help promote your books, do not turn them down. Make sure your agent doesn't turn them down, either. A dynamic Web site is too important to let slide in today's market.

Angela Wilson is an author, social media consultant, and online marketing strategist. Visit her blog, http://www.MarketMyNovel.com, to learn more about cost-effective marketing strategies for fiction and nonfiction authors.

Find Ms. Wilson at:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/angelawilson

http://www.facebook.com/people/Angela_Wilson/775118823

http://www.myspace.com/angelawilson

http://twitter.com/angelawilson

Media Centers Essential for Authors on VBT (Virtual Book Tour)

Media Centers Essential for Authors on VBT (Virtual Book Tour)
By Angela Wilson

One of the most frustrating things about being a virtual book tour host for Pop Syndicate’s Book Addict blog is searching numerous Web sites for author information.

When I book authors for tour spots, I give them a brief paragraph of what we need and attach a PDF with more detailed information. Some authors read it thoroughly and follow through. Other authors are lucky to make their tour stop deadline.

When I pull together Q&As, photographs and book trailers for posts, I have to visit a variety of sites to get the information. It takes a lot of time, effort, and frustrates me when I cannot find what I'm looking for. What makes it even more infuriating is that the authors didn't bother to include that information with their completed Q&A or guest blog.

This is why every author who is serious about their work should have a media center on their Web site.

Your media center should be a one-stop shop of details about you. It should include anything anyone would need to do an interview with you, host you at their blog, write an article about you, include in reviews of your work, pass along to fans and link to from blogs and other sites.

Media centers also make it easy on you. When people ask for details about you, all you have to do is refer them to your media center.

Want to add a media center, but don’t know where to begin? Here is a quick checklist of items to get you started:

▪ Photographs of yourself in JPEG
▪ Cover art in JPEG
▪ News release archive (PDF)
▪ Guest blog appearance list (PDF or links list)
▪ Book tour and virtual book tour stops (PDF or links list)
▪ Links to your social networks
▪ Biography (include one short and one long bio) (PDF)
▪ Publicist contact information
▪ Excerpts (PDF)
▪ Downloadable audio clips
▪ Videos with EMBED codes

Your Web designer can help if you want to add this to your current site. If you don’t have a big budget, consider using a free blog like WordPress or Typepad, which allow you to add pages of information - not just blog posts.

Angela Wilson is an author, freelance author publicist and professional blogger and podcaster. She requests ARCs and manages the book blog for Pop Syndicate, where she hosts authors on virtual book tours. If you have a question about promotions, visit www.askangelawilson.com and fill out the contact form. Your question may be used on that site or in a future newsletter column.

Find Ms. Wilson at:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/angelawilson

http://www.facebook.com/people/Angela_Wilson/775118823

http://www.myspace.com/angelawilson

http://twitter.com/angelawilson