Niche is a New Better Sales/Less Work Technique

Niche Write and Niche Edit and Niche Marketing for Your Book?
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I learn amazing things by reading advertising, especially the ones known as advertorials. Advertorials are usually written by experts in their fields and are sometimes a bit arcane, but they can make me rethink what I am doing with my books. You can find them in your local newspaper of in respected magazines like Time. Most media marks them clearly as "advertising" but the headlines usually feel more like great nonfiction topics.

The one I found in December was in a slick magazine called BookBusiness. It was paid for by a short-run printing company called Canon Solutions America. In it they talk about book for niche markets and niche markets have always fascinated me. I write for two of them—writers and retailers.

My point is that this is not a topic that is new to me. But this article made me think. The author (unknown) said “ . . . today you can get the same book with a different cover based on your preference. That’s only going to increase.” The idea of the same book with only one tweak—the book cover—may be slightly overstated, but it fits with what I’ve always said about marketing when I encourage people to read my The Frugal Book Promoter and just substitute the words “books” and “author” for whatever is appropriate in the world of that particular reader. I tell them, “Marketing is marketing is marketing.”

So, I should probably go back and replace those words with something appropriate to almost any niche market instead of expecting my faithful readers to do it for themselves. That might be the ticket to having a whole series of books—very nearly like the Dummy books that have done so well. After making those tweaks, I could slap on a new cover and reword the title and suddenly my “marketing is marketing” mantra makes more sense (and is easier) for a whole range—a whole new niche-- of readers!

The idea sure fits with my advice to plan your marketing campaign so the work you can do can be recycled. We authors are not islands. We can only do so much on our own. After that, it’s either get more mileage out of what we do or start outsourcing like crazy. Actually, I kind of like both ideas.

CHJ

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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 .

Author Examines Cross-Genre Proclivity

I liked this essay because it shows the struggle we writers often have with identity and with balancing what we're told "should be" with what "is" in terms of our careers. I also enjoyed that it subtly alludes to the beauty of cross-genre writing--that is, we have more than one audience we might appeal to with any given work.

The Accidental Niche

By Dawn Colclasure

 

For a long time, writers have been encouraged to write in only one genre or specialize in only one topic. The thinking was that a writer who writes in only one genre, for one type of audience or on one topic would become a writer known for that particular kind of writing. Yet many writers, especially freelancers, have made it a point that writing on a variety of topics is what helps them keep food on the table. For a writer of books, however, is it really better to write on only one thing? Some seasoned authors think so, but for a long time, I prided myself on being a ‘writer of all trades.” Sure I wrote a lot of articles on the paranormal topic and, yes, I did write for a newspaper for the deaf, but when it came to books, I couldn’t write on only one topic or for one audience. That changed with the publication of my new poetry book, Touched by Fire, and all it took for me to realize this was a bookmark.

Soon after 9/11, I wrote a poem about this tragedy titled “They Were Our Neighbors.” Years later, I came across a website featuring poems and pictures in memory of that sad day, so I submitted my poem to be included. After the poem went live on the website, I figured that was the end of that.

Fast forward some years more. I got an email from a young girl who was a Girl Scout. She’d read the poem and liked it so much that she wanted to put it on a bookmark to enter in a contest for her troop to receive an award. They were dedicating a bench at a park in honor of the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 and wanted the bookmarks to be a part of their event. I gave her permission to use my poem and what a touching moment it was when she later wrote to me about how the bookmarks were such a hit at the event. The pictures she included were lovely, as well.

 

When I put together Touched by Fire, I wanted to include this poem in the book since it’s one of my personal favorites. By doing so, I had to keep in mind that maybe, by some chance, the girls in that Girl Scout troop would read the poems if they knew the poem they used was in there. With this realization, I made it a point to be sure that a majority of the poems in the book sent young readers a positive, inspirational message. My own preteen daughter reads all my books, so of course I hope to pass on to her something that will build her self-confidence and self-esteem. While the poetry book is about being a burn survivor and that, as a burn survivor, I have had a lot of negative experiences with teasing from classmates, it is also about how I moved past all of those things, all the stares and looks because of my burn scars, and became a person comfortable with myself and my scars. This, too, I realized, was also a good message to send to young readers.

 

After Touched by Fire was published, I started thinking about the time I had available to promote it before my next book comes out. My next book is a novel called Shadow of Samhain, and while it could fall under the genre of “dark fantasy,” it could very well fall under another: New Adult (commonly referred to as NA). I realized that the poetry book from September and the novel for October could actually be in the same category: Both books would be ideal for young readers.

 

In fact, my last book was a middle grade novel called The GHOST Group: Book One (The Ghosts of Sarah Travers and The Crying Valentine). And come to think of it, I have also written quite a few children’s books, as well.

 

This was a moment akin to waking up from a deep sleep. It was as though I shook myself and realized, wait a minute! I’m writing in a niche! The fiction books I am writing are for the young crowd!

 

No longer am I the “writer of all trades” when it comes to fiction. From now on, I’ll be writing children’s books and middle-grade novels – at least until the whole GHOST Group series has run its course. The poetry books will continue to have different themes and the nonfiction books may be more enticing to older readers, but for fiction, I’ve got my sights set on children and teenagers. I only hope that I won’t disappoint them.

 

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Dawn Colclasure is a writer who lives in Oregon. Her articles, essays, poems and short stories have appeared in several newspapers, anthologies, magazines and E-zines. She is the author of fourteen books, among them BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents; 365 TIPS FOR WRITERS: Inspiration, Writing Prompts and Beat The Block Tips to Turbo Charge Your Creativity; Love is Like a Rainbow: Poems of Love and Devotion; On the Wings of Pink Angels: Triumph, Struggle and Courage Against Breast Cancer; and the children’s book The Yellow Rose. She co-wrote the nonfiction book, TOTALLY SCARED: The Complete Book on Haunted Houses with Canadian author Martha Jette, as well as the poetry book, DOGS FOREVER: Poems for the Dog Person, with her daughter, Jennifer Wilson. Her recent poetry book, Touched by Fire, was released in September 2013. Her website is at http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/.

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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 .

Jennifer Akers Shares Squidooing Secrets

Big Buzz on Social Networking with Squidoo

At the recommendation of StumbleUpon.com and others, I am trying more social networking. Jennifer Akers has Squidooed longer than anyone else I know and has several lenses. This is our dialogue on that subject:

Jennifer says:

The secret to lensbuilding [on Squidoo] is to find a narrow topic, include unique content and then tell everyone about it. ;-) Niche topics seem to do well. Make sure to add phrases to your tags -- things that people would search for to find your lens.

My lenses have done okay. I've gotten a little cash. Better than that (did I really say that?) is that my work on Squidoo shows up higher in Google searches than work on my website.

Carolyn says:

Cash? I didn't know about the cash. Too funny. Based on visits?

Jennifer says:

Yep, cash, paid monthly. When you sign up at Squidoo, you decide if you want cash or to donate to charity. Your payment is figured from a portion of the purchases from your lens and a portion of everyone's sales, based on your lenses' performance and quantity. Only Squidoo knows the exact formula. To find out your answer to cash or charity, check out your profile.

Carolyn says:

Oh, I must have signed for charity. Hope they really use it for that. Ha! So about those getting ratings?

Jennifer says:

Better ratings means more people see your lens, and more visitors increase your sales.

Another way to earn money is by referrals. If a friend uses your referral URL to create their first lens, then both of you will earn money. When the friend earns her first $15, each of you will earn $5. If you find yourself talking about Squidoo to everyone, then use the URL and make money for you and your friends. I list my referral URL at the bottom on my Freelance lens.

Carolyn says:

So, tell me. Do you see any results of any kind from having a Squidoo lens? (-:

Jennifer says:

I've been contacted to write articles on another site, do a podcast interview, and join a Squidoo marketer for a new product based on one of my topic lenses. Just a few things off the top of my head, besides the small checks.

Carolyn says:

So what's this voting business? Send me your address and I'll go vote!

Jennifer says:

Definitely vote. You've got to be logged in to vote. (Sorry, can't vote on your own lenses,) Your lens rank increases with votes and visits. Here's my address: http://www.squidoo.com/JenniferAkers

This is the main lens, Carolyn. On the left, under Explore More, look for Lenses by Jennifer Akers for the rest of my lenses. I have 7, I think. :-)

Carolyn says:

Mmmm. I imagine that would be a good example of how people might focus their own lenses.

Jennifer says:

I'm taking you to that page for a reason. ;-) Every lens has that link, which takes visitors to your profile listing all your Squidoo lenses and Fan photos.

Carolyn says:

So how do you drive traffic?

Jennifer says:

Squidoo works like other social networks -- be social. Join groups, lensroll similar or complimentary lenses on your lens, make comments. They recently started members as "Fans" of other lensmasters. I joined as your fan today -- make sure you join on your own lens too!

Visit your Lenses by Carolyn link and you'll find your profile. Under your name/bio, you'll find the link for Join this Fan Club.

Carolyn says:

I just visited. Wow! I have two fans. You and Maggie Ball who is co-author of an e-chapbook of poetry I did. Anyone can do it here http://www.squidoo.com/member/join_fan_club/Carolyn. This could get fun!

Jennifer says:

From that page you can also email your lens, or submit it to other social networks like StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, reddit, etc.

Carolyn says:

I haven't quite figured out how to do use this del.icio.us stuff. I started trying to use them on my blogs and got hung up. I'm still working on it, though. Ha!

Jennifer says:

Carolyn, you're fabulous at marketing and making social contacts. I get more contacts from Squidoo when my lenses are built from my passions with substantial content. Your goal is to inform and also drive visitors to your other sites.

It doesn't have to be a cold, unfeeling job. I love being able to help others and share new information. That's the heart of social networks. It's helpful to define your topic and your lens purpose when you start. It will grow from there.

My warning is for people not to use it to spam others or to leave random messages on lenses or groups solely to leave their 'lens-print'. Join groups and make comments on lenses, but do so because you're interested in the topic and want your lens-print there.

Carolyn says:

Aha! Lensprint. Sort of like leaving a comment on a blog. I'm sure one tries to make a useful comment and to always include their website or Squidoo URL.

Jennifer says:

I joined StumbleUpon and del.icio.us a few weeks ago. When you find something worth saving or sharing online, click on the social network's icon (which is downloaded to your browser window). I use mine like a favorites page only better because you tag each site you save. That makes it easy to search for similar topics in your own file or others'.

Carolyn says:

Yes, StumbleUpon is certainly touting these social networks and talks about these additions to one's toolbars to make networking easier.

Jennifer says:

I'm not an expert, and I neglected mine for a few months last year. I know others who do very well -- both income and marketing. Like I said, it's superb in Google searches. I recently read a marketing study, which shows social networks rank higher than traditional sites.

Carolyn says:

I got a sense from something that you said that one could add articles to their Squidoo lenses. I'll search around for a way to do that, if that is true.

Jennifer says:

Squidoo lets you build your page with sections called modules. They always add new modules, so I'm always learning new things. I found out how to use them simply by playing with different kinds. Modules can always be deleted if you're not happy with the results.

So, you use a text/write module to add articles. I've written my own articles on my lenses. You can also use basic HTML in Text/Write and add URLS to articles and sites. Try Amazon Plexo, which is good for visitor interaction, as they vote on your links and can add their own.

Carolyn says:

Ahem! What is Amazon Plexo?

Jennifer says:

Squidoo has modules (or sections) that you add to your webpage. You want to add some modules that encourage interaction from visitors.

Using the Amazon Plexo module, you add links to whatever products you want under Amazon. Visitors can add their own links, which they cannot do under the basic Amazon list module. Visitors vote on their favorites, moving items up or down the list. Visitors can also add your entire list to their lens. Does that sound like copying? On Squidoo, it not only drives traffic back to your lens, but also your work is seen by more people.

Squidoo has "Plexo" on other modules, like Links Voting (links from any site), Text List Voting (your written lists), YouTube Voting and Flickr Voting.

A new interactive module called Duel is for the brave and smart user. You set up a debate, and visitors 'duel' by commenting on their side of the argument.

Carolyn says:

OK. To see a beginner's lens go to mine: http://www.squidoo.com/HowToDoItFrugallyforAuthors. The only value of mine is just to show you that you can do it and then, when you visit Jennifer's, you can pick up ideas to grow yours bigger and better.

To see an expert's go to Jennifer's. http://www.squidoo.com/JenniferAkers,And don't forget to explore her different lenses.
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Jennifer Akers is a freelance writer and book reviewer with a social networking addiction. Her relationship articles focus on strengthening families, nurturing children, and ending domestic violence. Jennifer helps businesses and individuals connect with their audience through copywriting and editing. She Squidoos.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author 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.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.