How to Reinvent Your Merchandising Postcards, bookmarks, business cards and flyers have all been consistent elements in book promotion for several years. Together they make a standard part of a publisher’s marketing plan and an asset to an author’s promotion toolbox. And yet, they are just so… old. Marketing is about creating a splash and catching someone’s attention. More than that, our industry requires marketing campaigns to build relationships with readers. Merchandising pieces have traditionally offered a take-away that not only catch attention but also give the reader something to look at later to remind them of a book’s title,…
Category: Marketing
This is our archive pageMaking the Most of Small Talk with Editors
Aloha from Karen Next week I’ll be teaching at the Florida Christian Writers Conference. Preparing to go is also a time I reflect on all that happened over the years of attending conferences. Amazingly, it’s been short, quick chats that led to many books.That’s a good reminder to connect with anyone, and make the most of every opportunity. Let me share a few of those past chats and what happened.
How to Send a Press Release
Dear Fellow CANers: I’m Ann Byle, a CAN member from way back. I’m a freelance writer for The Grand Rapids Press in Grand Rapids, Mich., as well as other publications including Kyria.com and Publishers Weekly. Before turning freelance 13 years ago, I was the book review editor at The Press. I received many press releases then; as a freelancer I have often done stories based on hard copy or email press releases. There is a fine line between sending a press release too early and sending it too late. Too early and the assigning editor loses it in the pile…
Getting Your Book Reviewed Online by Jill Williamson
Your publisher will likely submit your book for review to some people and magazines. Just because they do doesn’t mean everyone will review it. It also doesn’t mean every review posted will be a positive one. That’s the nature of book reviews. So why bother? Because people notice. Maybe some people read online reviews. Maybe they don’t. But most people notice whether a book has 0, 15, or 400 book reviews. And that tells a potential reader something right away. It tells them whether or not people are reading the book.
Little Things Mean A Lot
Hi, all – Ava Pennington here. Happy New Year, everyone! New year, new calendar. I love the potential of a brand new calendar, don’t you? All those pristine pages with their empty little boxes…well, they started out pristine when I unwrapped the cellophane. But they’re filling up quickly! As I look back on the past year, I had so many thoughts about how to market my book. I had planned certain tasks for six months before publication, three months before, the month before, the week of…you get the idea. Unfortunately, the calendar got away from me, and many of those…
Using Christmas Marketing All Year Long
Merry Christmas From Cheri Cowell Now don’t turn me off before hearing me out. I’m not talking about the annoying and sometimes over-the-top commercial marketing all of us are tired of by now. I’m referring to the marketing God did that first Christmas to tell the world about His great gift. What do I mean by calling God’s work marketing? Marketing in the positive sense means sharing the good news about something so as to entice others to [join, buy, get, receive or] desire to have. There are three things we can learn from God’s marketing plan—three things you and…
The Right Balance in Promotion
Aloha from Karen, CAN Treasurer A friend who is a promoter mentioned that people can easily do damage when promoting themselves. They may talk too long, push too hard, or sound like a carnaval barker. Listen to ads and what turns you off, as well as what piques your interest in a product. And our talk, as Scripture reminds us, should be seasoned with salt (lightly not forceful selling).
Ode to the Christmas newsletter!
Tricia Goyer here: I don’t often use the word “promotion.” Instead I like to think of my efforts as “sharing the good news” of what has been happening with my writing. During the holiday season there’s no better way to do this than through a Christmas newsletter. Below is my newsletter. There was a lot of good news to share, including good news about my book releases and my up-coming projects. I’ve found that my friends and family like to celebrate with me …. and they often share my books with friends. Yeah! Goyer Christmas Letter 2010 There…
What’s An Endorfluencer?
Hey all, Greetings from Cat and Kregel Publications! When I came to work this morning, I was planning on writing this post about a completely different topic. But when I sat down at my desk, I did what every marketing manager does when she first arrives in the office—I opened my email. In hindsight, that probably wasn’t the best thing to do because I spent the next hour answering queries from ad reps, questions from coworkers, and quandaries from authors. One email in particular took me by surprise. Written by a first-time author, the email was only a few sentences…
Marketing on Amazon.com by Jill Williamson
Amazon Author Central Once your book is listed on Amazon.com, you can set up and Amazon Author Central page, which is a page Amazon customers can click on to learn more about you and your books. Author Central pages will be linked to all your product pages on Amazon.com. First, go to this link and log in to Amazon.com. http://tinyurl.com/2ats3cp. An information page will come up. At the bottom is the option to “Join Now.” Click on that. Accept their terms and agreements, then follow the steps to set up your page. You’ll have to select your books from the…
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