Kait Neese’s Comments (group member since May 20, 2010)

Kait Neese’s comments from the How to Promote YOUR book on Amazon group.

Alright this should help, I just went through and checked all of the links so please let me know if you have any further issues:


Survey Link (to join the group social directory): https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/social...


Download Link (to get the existing social directory): https://kr222.infusionsoft.com/app/fo...

Hope that helps!

@KaitNeese

Oh no! Thanks for the update. I will get on this and update yall once fixed. My apologies and thanks for catching this!

- Kait

Further Connecting:

A little while back I sent message to all of our members about creating a social directory for our group. We have some great follow trains going throughout the various threads and the hope is this will make connecting with fellow members easier.

That being said, if you haven't yet filled out your social contact info and want to be on the directory go here, https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/social...

If you would like to download the current group social directory go here, https://kr222.infusionsoft.com/app/fo...

Please let me know if you have any questions, as always happy to help in any way I can.

Thanks again everyone for making this group possible.

Best wishes,

Kait Neese (Group Moderator)
@KaitNeese
KaitNeese@KaitNeese.com

Group Social Directory > Updates

A little while back I sent message to all of our members about creating a social directory for our group. We have some great follow trains going throughout the various threads and the hope is this will make connecting with fellow members easier.

That being said, if you haven't yet filled out your social contact info and want to be on the directory go here, https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/social...

If you would like to download the current group social directory go here, https://kr222.infusionsoft.com/app/fo...

Please let me know if you have any questions, as always happy to help in any way I can.

Thanks again everyone for making this group possible.

Best wishes,

Kait Neese (Group Moderator)
@KaitNeese
KaitNeese@KaitNeese.com

Hello everyone!

I had a great question come in from one of our group members, Leon Kastel, about how to use Amazon's Kindle Advertising platform and if it is worth the costs? I figured this would be a great topic to propose to the group and get real time feedback from authors who have used this platform to promote their book.

Here is the original comment from Leon:

=======

I am wondering if you or any other author you that know has used Kindle Amazon's advertising program on Amazon. I'm asking because I would
like to try it but you can only use one book in the ad campaign. I's kind of expensive to test as you must set a minimum campaign budget of $100.00.
So I'm hoping to find out if it's worth the expense to test it.
Best regards, Leon

======

Please comment below if you have any feedback or personal experiences to share with Leon and the group on the subject.

Looking forward to your responses!

- Kait Neese (Group Moderator)
@KaitNeese

Hi everyone!

My name is Kait Neese and I stumbled upon this group through a click here, then there and a few more here, until voilà posting this message.

Got to love the endless cycle of trying to find the end of the Internet.

That being said I am looking for authors to interview and poll for use in an upcoming presentation I am giving to Chinese publishers in Beijing, China.

The hour lecture I am giving in late August is also during the Beijing International Book Fair, which gives this a nice pop for attendance. Hopefully, smile.

I will be speaking at the fair on the topic of "The Future of Digital Publishing & Distribution in a Mobile World".

China is about 5 years behind the US market in regards to anything related to "new-era" publishing. Mainly anything related to POD, indie, Self-Publishing and ebooks.

My hope is to help spread the benefits of digital publishing and the new-era model for which authors find success in the US markets.

If you are interested in taking a quick survey + questionnaire on the above please let me know! I would love any input to help with the data research collection process for my presentation.


Please feel free to get in touch via any of the options below:

Kait Neese
Email: KaitNeese@KaitNeese.com

Digital Footprint:

Website: www.kaitneese.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/kait-neese/20/4b...

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kait.neese

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@KaitNeese

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/KaitNeese/

Goodreads Group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...


Thanks so much and have a great weekend everyone!

- Kait

Here is my digital footprint :) Ping me on the sites below so I can return the favor!

- Kait Neese (Group Moderator)

Digital Footprint:

Website: www.kaitneese.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/kait-neese/20/4b...

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kait.neese

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@KaitNeese

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/KaitNeese/

Goodreads Group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Carl wrote: I personally don't think the hardest part is being found. The hardest part is what you do with the few seconds of attention when you get it. That's where it is important to be remarkable. ..."

Well said Carl!! I very much agree :)

- Kait Neese(Group Moderator)
@KaitNeese

Wes wrote: "I'm a writer. I'm a creative. My job is producing as much quality content as quickly as I can. ANYTHING that doesn't directly related to that, hampers my progress and results in me "Not doing my job...."

Wes,
Thank you for commenting on the below, I really appreciate you taking the time to do that! That being said I quoted the part above as I wanted to ask you a few questions on re this if you dont mind (smile).
Clearly traditional publishers have dropped the ball so to speak with living up to their authors' expectations. I would say I am apart part of the "new-era" publishing side of things and very much support both indie efforts on behalf of authors as well as publishers.
One of the biggest questions I have is “what are authors willing to pay for in regards to after-publishing services to help with the success of their book?”
Given that the "self-publishing" path is more widely accepted than it once was and the fact that there are the first wave of self-publishing success stories out there, what is that perfect equilibrium between writer and service provider?

For instance, I am sure now that you are published you are realizing the amount of work that goes into the marketing, distribution and promotion aspects of actually getting your finished piece into the hands of new readers? If you want to focus on writing full time and let’s say “outsource” some of the after release marketing and PR needs, what is it you look for when choosing a service provider?

Thanks again for your comments! I love learning and talking about all things publishing related. I may be even be a bit obsessed (smile). Looking forward to hearing your feedback on the above!

-Kait Neese
@KaitNeese

this is perfect thanks so much!

Check it out,read the article and then give your opinion. I want to hear from you!

Read the article here: http://kaitneese.com/search-person-op...


I would love to see if we can get a intellectual debate going in this thread about one aspect of the evolving future surrounding digital marketing.

Give the group your opinion below by commenting on which form of optimization you think will grow in importance and popularity in the years to come?

What do you think: #SEO or #SPO ?


Keep on Keeping on...

Kait Neese
(Moderator)

First thanks to everyone who participates in this group. It is such a joy to see you all engaging with one another and helping other authors out.

Now maybe you can help me out (smile)!?

I'm looking for a wordpress plugin that is an automated scheduler for releasing my blog posts on my new site www.kaitneese.com ?

There is so much out there I feel a little overwhelmed with where to begin. So that is why I am coming to you!

Can anyone help me out with some suggestions or names of plugins/services/apps you use for your site?

Thanks so much and I appreciate you taking the time to get back to me...


Happy hump day!

Kait Neese
(Group Moderator)

Honestly I would find them on Twitter. Right now companies know they need Twitter but they dont know how to integrate that role/function into the company or who should be the proper person to do it.

So odds are its usually the CMO, Marketing Director or someone higher up evaluating the channel for whether or not the company should fully integrate this into their 2014 budgets. THUS twitter is being watched right now and if you can impress them or get their information on twitter you can sometimes by pass the traditional gatekeepers and go straight up to the decision makers.

One of our group members kindly suggested that I start participating on our discussions more often. Thanks for reaching out John! So I thought I'd share a quick blog post I sent to my authors last month. Hope this is helpful :)

====

You don’t need to be a PR guru or expert to properly pitch media outlets.

When looking to get exposure for your book, you do however, need to understand how the receiving side (the media outlets) think and operate.

Media outlets get swamped with 100′s of emails and facebook messages every day from authors, musicians and actors just like you. So the question becomes how do you stand out?

Simple. Be simple! A proposal that is short, brief and under one page is what you want to achieve. A pitch that is easily scannable, on topic and professional is a great strategy.

Below are the bullet point items of what to include when pitching your book to media outlets. We continually find that authors who follow this short, simple, but to the point formula get the access they are looking for when approaching media outlets.

Author Formula To Use When Pitching Media Outlets:

1. Open with 2 -3 sentences, introducing who you are, your book(s) and what you want from the person you are contacting (i.e. to be a guest blogger on their site, to get an interview, to be considered for future segments on a podcast, etc.)

2. Add 3 – 5 bullet points about why your book or platform is relevant, compelling, and timely.

3. Add 1-2 sentences about why you’re expertly positioned to be talking about this genre to this specific media outlet.

4. Insert a brief author bio with your high-level accomplishments (to re-enforce you are a legit/less risky solution) and your availability.

5. Close your pitch with the ways for people to reach you. Include your email, phone, skype, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin information and more. More is better as you never know what communication platform that particular person prefers and it is your job to make it as easy as possible for this person to work with you.

Now go forth and pitch those media outlets! I hope this was helpful and feel free to send in your success stories, tips or final drafts to comment on. I love helping authors help themselves and am always standing by for anyone who wants to get in touch. Good luck!


Kait Neese
@KaitNeese

Agreed there is a HUGE market in Asia right now for English e-books, as they are (aka no translations!). Just list/upload and you can hit expats living abroad, english as a second language readers and the Chinese youth/children as it was just mandated that every child in China learns English starting in Kindergarten.

Henry wrote: "Alison wrote: "Self-publishing still suffers from a lack of credibility - and those that do it properly, taking the time to edit and to produce something worth someone else spending money on are be..."

Hey ya'll, Kait here (aka the moderator). This was one of the first times I read a "rant" (smile) all the way through in a long time. So Henry for that I say thank you and want to compliment you on your well thought out and personal comment.

I do love myself a good discussion. One where opinions and observations are not ridiculed and then the authors bullied online. Intellectual discussions, debates really, from opposing sides who can engage in professional, respectful and honest exchanges of ideas related to publishing. That being said I am going to step out on a limb here and give my two cents (for what they are worth)…

I have worked in publishing since my senior year of college. After nearly four and a half years of working this new era publishing world I will never forget my very first experience with the “traditional” side of publishing.

In 2010 at my first book fair ever, Book Expo America, I was a doe eyed girl fresh out of college ready to conquer the world. I loved the energy in the air, I was excited to have a job when so many of my other classmates were not as lucky. I was eager to learn and network. Well let me tell you how that went….

I walked into my first meeting proudly boasting our company and our authors and ready to do business. Little did I know I was about to paint a scarlet letter right smack dab on the middle of my forehead. I went on to describe that we were a Self-Publisher who utilized Print on Demand technology and were a 100% virtual organization that loved the idea/concept of e-books. I will never forget that feeling of being looked down upon for these business model traits for as long as I live. In fact it sparked my mission (and passion) to permanently disrupt this industry and show those who haven’t changed in 100+ years that they are old, I am new and digital is the future.

We are certainly still in that fight but I think it is important to realize that there are major shifts in perception among the B2B side (or professional/traditional publishing professionals) regarding the credibility of self-publishing.

As mentioned above traditional publishers care about profit, marketing potential and advertising. Fact.

However lets use the cliché example of “Fifty Shades of Grey”. That book was profitable, marketable and acquired by Random House at a fraction of the typical acquisition price. Traditional, or the Big 6/5, publishers realize there are gold minds being produced by the self-publishing community and the profit margins are exponential if acquisition occurs just before critical mass.

This year at the Frankfurt Book Fair I saw, first hand, a shift in the perception of self-publishing towards a direction I think we all have hoped for. The B2B side of publishing is coming around and for the first time in this digital revolution being self-published is no longer something to hide, or try to mask. You can lead in with it and to some that is now perceived as a strength. If you are self-published you own your rights and you are the direct decision maker. Distributors and book buyers are realizing they can go direct to authors rather than have to work through the 20 middlemen that the larger more traditional publishers employ as gate keepers. It use to take years to get books published, now you can literally do an e-book overnight. The publishing world is changing and although we may still have a ways to go in regards to mass approval by the B2B side of publishing there is a shift taking place and that my friends is what we are after, isn’t it?

- Kait (Moderator)

Wow awesome thread and so glad to see everyone working together to create viral mass! Author 2 Author networking groups are a powerful resource. Thanks everyone for using this thread! As Kellie wrote I have a lot of liking and following to catch up on!

I am a twitter addict and if you would like to connect follow me at @KaitNeese

Keep on rocking on!

- Kait (Moderator)

This was some great information. Thanks for sharing I would love to know your opinions after the sites run what they've promise and if you see visible traffic increases. Def going to check these out :)

Oh they are you have no idea and its such a beautiful thang!

Thanks for your kind words! It really not me its everyone in this group supporting one another so thank you sir :)

Kait