Carolyn Howard-Johnson Shares a Highly Effective Ads and Tells a Little PR Story, Too~

Today I am sharing an ad with you done by Adam at @WinningWriters.com, something I’ve never done before. I’m doing it because the different rates of response ranged from 6% to above 12%. Those of you who know me well, know that I prefer almost any kind of book promotion that’s free to paid advertising which by definition is paid for!! But with results like this there are several features here that might be responsible for such great results that you can emulate in all kinds of different promotions you are doing currently or are planning.

So where did I get those statistics. From one of the classes I took for my BA degree at the University of Southern California taught by the former president who had just resigned from Western Airlines. He told us he was teaching Public Relations 10--which wasn’t the usual custom for a department head-- because he wanted to get to know the most promising students on a personal basis so he could talk to them about the importance of PR and other marketing classes for near guaranteed success in the business world!!  He was fantastic and I can specifically name things I did with our retail stores (which is what my husband and I were doing back than) because of demands he made on his students. Fun demands, but demands none-the-less!   

  This may be the best of all the ads the owner of WinningWriters and I have done together in terms of results. (He carefully measures statistics on them and we have been doing that for several years now.  So, behold! It includes lots of free stuff and that helps, but other things, too. Some of it can be adapted for you to use and you’ll find more detail across the spectrum of book promotion in my multi award-winning The Frugal Book Promoter.  

PS: I love the idea of including icons of awards and related organizations in ads--its a powerful way to set any book apart of thousands of other great books on the same subject--no exaggeration! 

MORE ABOUT YOUR BLOGGER

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including "The Frugal Book Promoter" (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and "The Frugal Editor" both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. Others in that series are "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically," and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "Great First Impression Book Proposals" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor "(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers. 

 Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is "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" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). 

In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at "The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor" (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.

Everyone's Business: Investigative Journalism Political Star of 2017--And It's FREE

Thanks to networking and a new young lawyer friend, "Michele with One L," I learned about this timely free presentation.

Save the Date: April 5, 2017 Investigative Journalism in the Era of Facebook and “Fake News” Can investigative journalism survive in the era of Facebook and “fake news?” Pubic interest in investigative reporting got a bump in late 2015 with the release of the movie called “Spotlight,” about the team at the Boston Globe that exposed sexual abuse by priests in the Boston Catholic Diocese. The film depicted the reality of the task faced by the reporters and the care they took in pursuing the story. Fast forward to 2017 and we have entered an era where the president of the United States daily berates journalists for reporting “fake news” — generating widespread mistrust of journalists — and digital giants like Facebook and Google are selecting news based on algorithms instead of trained editors, and swallowing up advertising revenue once coveted by traditional media. Where is this going? Why should young men and women want to become journalists and how can sorely needed investigative reporting thrive in the decades ahead? Is investigative reporting falling off? Is it shifting to other journalism organizations? Has data crunching replaced shoe leather reporting? The Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists invites you to attend a panel discussion focused on these questions and more on April 5, 2017. WHAT: SPJ/LA’s panel discussion on investigative journalism in the era of Facebook and “fake news” WHO: The panel moderated by SPJ/LA board member Joel Bellman includes: Matt Doig, Los Angeles Times assistant managing editor for investigations Joel Grover, NBC4 investigative reporter Alexandra Berzon, Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Vince Gonzales, professor of professional practice and coordinator of masters programs, USC Annenberg School of Journalism WHEN: Wednesday, April 5, 2017 Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Panel discussion begins at 7 p.m. WHERE: University of Southern California Wallis Annenberg Hall Room 106 3502 Watt Way Los Angeles, CA 90089 COST: Free and open to the public. RSVP: Please RSVP at spjlosangeles@gmail.com PARKING: Enter Gate 6 on Vermont Avenue at 36th Place to park in Lot A (a parking structure). Parking is $12. CONTACT: Richard D. Hendrickson, Ph.D. (323) 806-1427 newsprof@mac.com For more information about SPJ/LA, visit www.spjla.org The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation’s largest and most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to promoting high standards of ethical behavior and encouraging the free practice of journalism. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. The Greater Los Angeles professional chapter celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009.

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER


 Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is  How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is 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. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com )

Mentor or Mentee and Mentoring

I believe in mentoring. Not just young people but big people, too.

One of my favorite mentees is Dallas Woodburn. She is a junior at my alma mater, USC(University of Southern California). Trouble is, I don't know which one of us is mentor and which is mentee. Which, as it happens--is nearly always the case.


Dallas is majoring in Creative Writing. She has published two books of short stories (her latest, 3 a.m., is available at Amazon.com). She has also published nearly 60 feature stories in magazines including Writer's Digest, The Writer, Family Circle, Justine, Cicada, Listen, and CO-ED. She has been published in four "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books including Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul IV and was recently honored as one of seven national Jim Murray Scholars for her biweekly column for the USC student newspaper The Daily Trojan.

Dallas launched a nonprofit foundation “Write On!” in 2000 to encourage kids to find joy, confidence, and a means of self-expression through writing and reading. Today, Write On's writing contests receive entries from all over the US and Canada. Dallas awards scholarships each year for young writers to attend the Santa Barbara Writers Conference Young Writers Program and the USC Summer Seminars Program. Her Write On Holiday Book Drive has collected and distributed 9,142 new books to underprivileged youth in just six years. Check out Dallas’s website at www.zest.net/writeon and her blog at http://dallaswoodburn.blogspot.com.

Dallas is my idea of what Sharing with Writers is all about. Won't you visit her site, donate to her causes, or simply leave a note of encouragement on her blog. Think of what we can all do together.

By the way, this picture of Dallas is great but she is most proud that the typewriter is Jim Murray's. I like that little yellow band she's wearing on her left wrist, too, don't you? (-:

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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.