On Time Magazine, Humorists, and Creative Marketing

I have lots of favorite humorists and I’ve added a new one. I may be behind the times but I read my first humor column by Kristin van Ogtrop in Time magazine recently. Other than a killer (and funny!) voice, she talked a bit about marketing, specifically about book marketing!

                                

It seems the three British guys who have day jobs in advertising are promoting what she calls “personalized books”—whatever those are—and they’re doing it with a Web site (http://3pregnantdads.com). Seems part of their gimmick is to strap on 33 1/2 pounds of belly and boobs to their bods so they can better relate to what their pregnant wives are going through.

33½ Pounds? Really? These guys are British and they measure their money in pounds, not the weight they gain—or lose!)

They didn’t remove their load until March 15, UK’s equivalent to Mother’s Day in the US. Kristin (the Time humorist) doesn’t tell her readers how many books they sold with this ploy or even how well their Web site was trafficked, but, hey! They landed in Time with a whole column dedicated to this gimmick. So, it seems that achieved at least some of what they were after.

The question is, would you—perhaps a less exuberant author—want to do something this crazy? Well, sure. It wouldn’t hurt to have the knowhow of an advertising or marketing executive and power of your firm behind your shenanigans, should you choose to do it. But the real trick to success is that the scheme you cook up must be something that will catch the attention of the media and that fits well with the book you’re selling. And, oh yeah. Be sure you have plenty of time, money, and/or expertise to do the Web site right. In other words, you must coordinate your site with you chosen visually fun or smart or interesting trick and the media releases you send out.

Just so you know, I’m feeling a little less self-conscious about my idea to cover my ancient (1989) Volvo station wagon with 350,000 miles on it with decals advertising my HowToDoItFrugally books. Unlike most who use similar ideas, I want acrylic pockets on the side that will hold brochures or bookmarks that people can just help themselves to. I could send before and after pictures of the automobile to Kristin at Time.

On the other hand, maybe not. I think these guys with their pregnant tummies make my idea look…well, hardly newsworthy.

And therein lies the best lesson of all. Your gambit has to be newsworthy—with an emphasis on “new.”

 

 

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The multi award-winning second edition of The Frugal Editor; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Memories, Your Videos and Making Some Moolah

 

Memories lead to memories lead to, yeah, something I'd like to remind you about. In this case, I was answering questions for an online interview to promote the SouthernUtah Book Expo and I mentioned my high school newspaper and yearbook and recalled that getting sponsorship ads for those things was as vital to their being as the photos, writing, and layout of those parts of high school life we all value.

That reminded me that authors can do the same kind of thing with their Web sites, their marketing materials and, yes, even their books. I am a sometimes actor and occasionally I notice how carefully a director will place a picture on a wall or a can of Coke on the table in the shot he's taking. That's placement advertising and we—as consumers of both the Coke and the ad itself—hardly notice. It's subliminal. It's natural to see them there. And besides, this country lauds capitalism and monetary independence. In fact, many metaphorically wave the flags of commerce in our politics (though some suddenly become shy about doing so for their own books!)

Just as I'm thinking about that, I ran across a related article in the business section of the LA Times. Of course! It's about product placement in videos and how it's growing. And how it's making some smart video companies and producers some really big dollars. Why am I not surprised? Here's why. The Love Boat, the TV series from several decades ago, was one giant product placement sitcom! This kind of marketing is not new—nor is it unacceptable.

For any author to do it and make large quantities of money requires an audience (we authors call it a platform). But it can be done on a small scale—perhaps out of the goodness of your heart or perhaps in trade with other authors who are out there making videos and otherwise promoting and building their platforms like crazy.

The video entrepreneurs featured in that article remind others that audience is "more important than any brand deal." They say that if they love a product it feels good to do something with it commercially.

Some advice for successful product inclusion:

1. Don't interrupt the story (the arc or thread) with an "unrelated product message." I'd extend that and say at its best it should never feel like an interruption at all.
2. A product or its logo might work best if it doesn't appear until half way through the video. If you should decide to use an actual ad, put it at the end of the video (or end of a book) because if a person has hung in long enough to see that final frame, they probably will be more open to a product than if it's flashed up front where it might discourage a person from watching at all.
3. Try a title card. Entrepreneurs McLaughlin and Link Neal use product placement well into their cat video and then a brand name "title card" at the end. I'm thinking even the title card could add something more than just an ad. Perhaps it could look like a cross-stitched "Kitty Snoozing" sign hanging from a doorknob. It could be designed with Friskies colors, a logo, and little kitty-food-can tassels hanging from the corners. The question now is, what would the title card on your video look like—beyond just your bookcover image and a Web site address.

In past articles for this newsletter, I've also mentioned that when the ad is both pertinent to the story being told and also offers something special—something that will help with a career, project, or pocketbook—that can only make it more satisfying for everyone.

So what are the guidelines for success—whether it is a paid-for project, a bartered one, or from the goodness of your heart?

1. Passion
2. Appropriateness
3. Perceived Benefit
4. A Promotion Partner so you can share both real expenses and the time it takes to promote it.

On that latter point, one of my subscribers, Reno Lovison, once made a slide-show video for me without even asking. He sent it to me as a gift with suggestions of how I might promote it. It was an interesting turn around because his own promotional materials and video business were the product placements within the ad he made for me. Talk about partnerships! His Web site is http://authorsbroadcast.com/ and if you look at the books on his Web site, you'll also see the cover of one of my retail books for which he made a more traditional sales video several years ago (and which I still use in multiple spots on my Web site).

If you'd like to read more check the LA Times story by Madeline O'Leary, Tuesday, July 29, Business Section (B3).

Happy Writing, Editing, and Promoting,

Carolyn

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  Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Writing and Publisher Chris Meeks Shares Coordinated Advertising Technique

Over the last month, short story writer, novelist, and one of my students in the very first class I taught for UCLA Extension Writers’ Program Christopher Meeks saw his first two collections of short stories hit the top of the Amazon bestseller lists. This comes a few years after their launch. His first collection, The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea was in the Top Ten for short stories for half of December, often in the #1 spot. Now his second collection, Months and Seasons, is there. Both were my Noble (Not Nobel!) Prize winners in 2006 and 2008 respectively, and Months and Seasons was a finalist in 2008 for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, the single biggest prize in the world for a collection of short stories. That year the €25,000 and award went to Jhumpa Lahiri for Unaccustomed Earth.

I asked Chris what he attributed this success to. I mean, short story collections are not generally known for stellar sales. Here’s what he said.

I used what is perhaps good old-fashioned advertising coordination. Last year I started taking out single-day ads in a variety of places, such as BookBub, BookBlast, Kindle Nation Daily, EReader News Today (ENT), and a couple others. They would cost between $10 a day, often $25, and up to $220. Most places know the kind of sales you will get, so they charge appropriately. If they think you might sell 100 books at 99 cents, they might charge $30, meaning you'll make about $33, minus their $30 fee, leaving you $3. Still, if you come out in the black and your ranking goes up, which brings more sales over the next week, so much the better. Anyway, I started combining ads, bringing ads together on the same day or same couple of days. In that way, I'm not discounting my book often to 99 cents. (If I'm going to take out an ad, I want the most sales possible, and 99 cents draws people if they understand it's only for a day or two.) 

Anyway, for my two short story collections, it worked. There are other factors, too, especially the number of traditional and customer reviews there are and how a book's page looks on Amazon. While everything is aimed at Kindle sales on Amazon, I found " about a quarter of my sales were on Nook for the second collection Months and Seasons.. A few advertisers are now including links to Nook as well as Amazon.

Last, advertisers have gotten picky. Most of the places I've listed require an average customer review of at least 3.8 stars if not four stars (out of five). You also need a dozen or more reviews, which means they won't advertise new books. I can't advertise "Iron City" by David Scott Milton anymore because after we sold about a thousand copies, the resulting customer reviews were mostly three-star, bringing down the average to 3.7 stars. [Note: Meeks is also a publisher of literary works. His imprint is White Whiskers Books.]

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More About Christopher Meeks
Christopher is author of Blood Drama.The novel is available in print and as an eBook on many platforms.
Web site: http://www.chrismeeks.com
Blog: http://www.redroom.com/author/christopher-meeks
Publisher site: http://WhiteWhiskerBooks.com
Media release link: http://www.prlog.org/12273290-christopher-meekss-short-stories-are-bestsellersjust-took-few-years.html

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Business Cards Are Mini Advertisements for Writers

Business Cards for the Age of Tech and You
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By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

The LA Times just headed an article "Business cards get filed under obsolete.'" I'm hoping none of my author friends read it, but just in case, here is my rant. They said that young people especially think that now we have e-mail (and, yes, I presume e-mail signatures!) business cards are redundant.

I remember back in the 70s (hippie days, remember?) when my husband and I opened our retail shops. We thought business cards were too, well—hoity toity. We were wrong then and whoever these "young people" are—well, they're wrong now.

Yes, more business is being done by e-mail. And yes we do have e-mail signatures (though most business correspondence I see doesn't do a good job with branding or information in their signatures. In fact they don't do as well as most business cards I see!).

Yes, people can easily punch details into their iPhones when they want to keep information. But business cards can be (should be as far as I'm concerned!) more than a way to exchange phone numbers. They should be mini advertisements. That phone number in someone's iPhone will not sell a book, but a business card with your book cover, a blurb, and maybe even a little award logo on it sure can. And it can do it more than once. It can remind people of you now and every time they run across that card in the future.

I am so convinced, I've included a little section on designing effective business cards and ideas for how to use them in The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo). Here's but one quick example:

I spoke at the Book Publicists of Southern California meeting  last month. There are usually 50 to 100 people at these meetings. What a shame if I let that kind of opportunity pass by just speaking and then saying "See you all later." Of course! Business cards! They will appear magically near each attendee's dinner plate. And yes, they have my book cover, an endorsement from Dan Poynter, and a USA Book News award-winner logo on them. And essential ordering information, of course.

 (By the way, there is a list of my appearances--most of them free--in my Sharing with Writers newsletter. Anyone who would like to sign up need only send me an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line and I'll do it for them.) 

I use business cards when I travel, too. They are crucial for those doing business in China, as an example, and yes people there still respect them enough to present them with both hands. People who think everyone lives and breathes by their smartphones are just as out of touch as those who ignore them in their marketing plans. Business cards are complementary to apps and other digital marketing, not an anachronism.

Some of you may remember when everyone thought that TV would make radio obsolete. It didn't. Radio just evolved. So will business cards. And in the meantime, I hope you won't let the opportunities they offer pass you by.

To for resources on business cards and you may want to subscribe to Reno Lovison's blog, www.businesscardtobusiness.com/blog. 

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second ediction of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

Opportunity and Idea for Financing Your Book

I have suggested using advertising in our books in past SharingwithWriters posts. Many books—especially free promotional booklets and e-books—are perfect for paid ads and ads-in-barter, especially when the ads are focused on the book’s target audience. I have a couple in my The Great First Impression Book Proposal booklet, and Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips booklet.

 Now the LA Times reports that Amazon will sell ads and place them in some Kindle readers and that they will then sell those readers at 18% less than the ad-free device ($114.00).  So ads will help Amazon and help subsidize the cost of the Kindle for readers, too! And their customers will be able to choose frugality over valuable ads and offers--if they're that foolish. (I just bought a Kindle and wish I’d waited. You know how frugal I am. I want those deals!)

So, if you decide to put ads into your books, how would you do it?
~Put the ads in the backmatter of your book.

~Accept only professionally produced ads.

~Accept only ads that would interest your target audience. Be prepared to refuse some with the “not quite right” phrase that literary journals use to reject submissions.

~Limit the number of adds to just a few.

~Encourage ads that give discounts or freebies so that the ads are seen as an added value by your readers. When utilized, they may even end up making up for the cost of the book (yours!) the reader just bought.

PS: Anyone with a product (yes, we hate to think of them that way but books are products!) or a service that would appeal to readers of The Frugal Book Promoter may e-mail me for details of how we might partner on something like this in the future. There are more books in HowToDoItFrugally series coming. Spaces are limited.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

After You've Gotten a Great Blurb, Then What?

I met Gregory Kompes when we was director of the Las Vegas Writers' Conference and he asked me to speak. He is also a coach and teacher. He has a couple of books published but this is his first specifically for the benefit of writers' careers. Learn more about endorsements from his book, The Quest for Endorsements, or from the segment of The Frugal Book Promoter on endorsements (also called blurbs and several other things! (-: ) Use the index to find it. Today Greg is my guest blogger:

10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Book Endorsements
By Gregory A. Kompes


Endorsements, sometimes called "Blurbs," are wonderful and often witty comments about your book provided by respected authors, journalists, entertainers, and industry experts connected to your topic. They're also one of the strongest sales tools an author has in their book sales toolbox. These short quotes should be gathered both before and after your book is published. Once you've gathered your endorsements what do you do with them? Here's a list of ten ways to get the most out of your well earned endorsements:

1. Book Cover. Readers respect the opinion of others, especially respected authors and industry experts. Endorsements gathered before production should be included on your book cover. In addition to placing your blurbs on the back cover, a great, short endorsement on the front will increase your sales.

2. Inside Your Book. Place pre-publication endorsements on a page or two just inside the front cover of your book. If you don't have pre-publication blurbs, consider adding your blurbs on your next printing.

3. "What Others Are Saying" Page. Collect your best endorsements and reviews on a single page and include it in your media kit. Positive endorsements will increase your press coverage.

4. Promotional Materials. When creating postcards, bookmarks, flyers, brochures and other give-a-way items, include an endorsement. They send the message, "Don't take my word for it, this is what others think of my book."

5. Tip Sheets: Create a tip sheet to include in your media kit and as a handout. Tip sheets, sometimes called a "One Page," include four basic elements: About the Book, About the Author, Book Statistics, and Order Information. A callout box or sidebar with a blurb about your book is an excellent addition.

6. Website. Include call out boxes or sidebars on your website that contain your endorsement quotes. Boxes add interest to your website. Your site visitors will view them as testimonials from others adding a level of trust.

7. Email Signature. Endorsements included with a link to your website draw interest and attention to your email signature.

8. Advertisements. Include a quality endorsement quote or two in all your print and online advertisements.

9. Query Letters. Include an endorsement or two in query letters when selling editors on stories connected to your book.

10. Press Releases. Use endorsements as quotes in your press releases. This will add interest and value to your book related news items. Additionally, a great endorsement from a recognized name is press release worthy on its own.

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Want to learn how to obtain endorsements for your book? Gregory A. Kompes is the author of The Endorsement Quest (www.EndorsementQuest.com). This e-Book outlines an easy to follow and affordable way to obtain those all important endorsements. "A beautiful, professional piece—and much needed" --Carolyn-Howard Johnson, author of The Frugal Book Promoter. "Well done. Smart Idea." --Eva Shaw, author, writing coach, mentor.


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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal." Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.