Tips for Self Promotion, Sales, and Advertising discussion

How many of you have been tempted to or already paid for “Blog Tours”? Did it increase your book sales? Expensive book trailer? Fun but more book sales? When it comes to book sales, the old adage is still true: the best form of advertising is “word of mouth”. The only question is, how do you generate word of mouth without spending a lot of money? Approximately 5,000 new books are released every month and the average author sells only 250 (mostly to family and friends).

I have probably made the same mistakes many of you may be considering making (or have already made.) I threw away my good hard-earned money ($500) on a print advertisement that yielded no book sale results whatsoever. My marketing rep told me that another of her authors spent a lot of money to advertise on the Drudge Report website that gets millions of hits per day. Do you know how many book sales it rendered? Zip-zero-nada.

A study commissioned by Random House in 2008 (available if you email me at thevictorbook@sbcglobal.net) reinforces what I’ve come to learn by my real-world experiences of trial and error in book promotion on what really works. Focus your time and money on getting to know real PEOPLE (i.e., your readers, bloggers, etc.), and avoid the lure of the quick fix gimmick who promise: “we’ll make you a bestseller, buy my secrets to getting on Oprah” promotional teases.

If you don’t know a lot of people and aren’t famous, how do you tell a lot of people about your book and more importantly, how do you make them want to get it? This is where social networking and viral marketing programs come in. You see, regardless of which social networking site you prefer (i.e., , FaceBook, Gather, Goodreads, MySpace, Ning, Shelfari, Twitter, etc.,) here’s what they all have in common: real living breathing people most of whom are interesting, polite, and supportive.

But here’s the key, you don’t mass market to them. You don’t pitch them on your book. Rather you get to know them. Best of all, unlike traditional advertising which runs and then expires, these communication platforms build over time (i.e., 5 friends, 25, 150, 600, 3000, and on and on) month after month and year after year as long as you tend to them (like a garden).

When my book (The Victor) was released last spring, I was looking for a book promo company that had access to a large database of people I could reach out to and contact personally but I didn’t even know how to Google search for them. Fortunately they (Book Candy Studios) found me and not by spamming me, but by a simple personal hello.

They do things very differently. The company was started by the loving husband (and former marketing executive from the world of hi-tech start-ups) of a published author. When he observed the level of competition and “marketing noise” facing authors and the never ending cycle of spend, hope, and spend again, he designed a program around the growing adoption of social networking to help authors build for the long run and get back to basics.

Yes, they do book trailers (great ones) and numerous other things to add sizzle around one’s book, but the most important thing they do is give the author the attention, tools and training to reach out and touch an ever-increasing audience base on an on-going and indefinite basis.

My friends on Facebook increased exponentially from a meager 100 to over 500 in the space of a couple of months as a result of their work and I have made numerous new “friends” who are not only interested in my book but include a gentleman who wants to adapt it into a screenplay and another who has made it his current project to contact several hundred people on his own to tell them about it as a result of the friendship we have formed. As a result of all the networking I have done on behalf of my book, I can honestly say I have made over 40 new good, close friends all over the U.S. through these social media sites who have not only read my book but are rooting for its success and spreading the word because we have developed a relationship.

But what really promoted me to write this piece and share my experience with you is not how many new friends I’ve acquired, but rather this company’s humble personality. You see they don’t claim to be “experts” that know more than me. In fact they admit anyone can do what they do for social networking, they simply provide an extra-pair of hands to help an author offload some of the work so they can focus on their book. Oh and to those who (like me) say “hey social networking sites are free,” I laughed when the owner said “So is sand on the beach, but can you make a sand castle? And if you don’t know how, we’ll tell you how to make one yourself.”

We’ve all heard the saying “give a man a fish and he eats for a day, but teach a man to fish and he eats for life,” I think that best describes my experience. I was even stunned when they took my call on a Saturday night at 11:30PM to discuss some ideas.

No one can guarantee increased book sales (and if they do they are snake oil salesmen) but word of mouth has been a tried and true method for many years; it’s just that now word of mouth is through social media and that is where this company Book Candy Studios can really help. They must know something since I’m sharing my “word of mouth” with you!

If you would like to talk to Book Candy Studios about your book and what they can do to help you promote it, you can contact Sandy Rea at Book Candy Studios (a.k.a. Book candy Sandy) and tell her that Marlayne Giron referred you; she is great and will treat you really well.

Email: sandy@bookcandystudios.com.
Their website is: www.bookcandystudios.com

ok, I sent 'em a mess, but forgot to mention Giron sent me. will do when I hear back, promise. meantime add me so I can keep you posted on how it goes.
Thanks, looks like a good tip.
j

www.jguevaranovels.com

Marlayne wrote: "How many of you have been tempted to or already paid for “Blog Tours”? Did it increase your book sales? Expensive book trailer? Fun but more book sales? When it comes to book sales, the old adage..."

Marlayne,
A very informative post. Thank you. My book, "Finding Your Own Truth: A Consultation to the Journey of Self" is due out of copy editing next week. I've hired someone to help me through the internet social networking landscape and plan to try my hand at brick & mortar marketing doing booksignings, lectures, etc.

Reed wrote: "Marlayne wrote: "How many of you have been tempted to or already paid for “Blog Tours”? Did it increase your book sales? Expensive book trailer? Fun but more book sales? When it comes to book sal..."

Social networking is the place to be. Go to this link: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/g...

Reed wrote: "Marlayne wrote: "How many of you have been tempted to or already paid for “Blog Tours”? Did it increase your book sales? Expensive book trailer? Fun but more book sales? When it comes to book sal..."

sounds like an interesting book,Reed. would luv to take a look. eBook it on smashwords, and scribd. if you need help with the formatting let me know. i can do it or show you in 20 min. easy ...once you learn how. only took me 2 weeks to figure it out. LOL dahhhh...

contact me through www.jguevaranovels.com

j

Very informative and interesting, Marlayne. I hope your book does well. You look like you have been set on the right track. I like the look of your book. It sounds as if it will do well. Laurel

Laurel wrote: "Very informative and interesting, Marlayne. I hope your book does well. You look like you have been set on the right track. I like the look of your book. It sounds as if it will do well. Laurel"


Hi Laura! Isn't that cover gorgeous? I got to help design it. Please feel free to write me directly at thevictorbook@sbcglobal.net. Let's get to know each other better.

Very informative, Marlayne. A friend gave me the following advice:

If you were to ask me my professional opinion, I'd say that you should focus on selling the book in the channels where most of your audience is located (Amazon). Spending all of your money and energy trying to place a book in a few bookstores will not get you to where you want to be. Does it make sense to spend all of your time and energy to please 1% of the market and the prestige that goes with it? Does it not make more sense to sell your book where most of the readers will find it? In the long run, if your book performs well in the market and your readers love your book, do you really care whether or not they purchased it in a bookstore or online?

Hmmm.

Marlayne's post appears to be a very long promo pitch for Book Candy Studios, and a diss-job on professional Blog Tour businesses.

Urenna's is a partisan pitch for Amazon.

I don't work for Book Candy. I paid for their services.

Urenna, I totally agree. Book stores are a great place to start, but the bigger payoff comes later from local presentations to larger groups and finally exposure on the internet. At least that is how it is shaping up for me.

Best, Alice

Alice, If you enjoy talking about your book, your smaller bookstores and the local library can give you a list of the book clubs in your area. You can list yourself as a speaker with these clubs. Just mention that your message will also relate to your own book so they won't see it nothing more than a commercial. Some clubs will want you to talk directly about your book. I just did one like this at the local college. I am sure you have some topics, such as; The Pathway to Successful Writing or something on that order. I also use a lot of social networking and just to give you an example ( http://www.linkedin.com/in/drrobertem... ) Here is one. You will make a lot of contacts from networking and most of those will lead to more sales. Good luck.

Online book tours will work to your advantage if you organize and use them properly. It's just another form of online marketing. (You probably don't want to pimp a sci-fi romance on a Civil War buff's blog, if you catch my drift.)

Online social media is another way to spend hours away from your writing, but hours toward your promotional efforts. By getting more people "on your team," you spread our promotional efforts exponentially. There's a lot to be said for that.

I have used (and still use) both to build my audience, but I agree with Urenna. Get thee to Amazon! During a couple of the blog stops during my most recent online book tour, the hostesses asked me what I'd like to ask of the visitors to the site. I asked where they went to find new books and new authors. Amazon. Amazon was usually the answer. People go to Amazon to find new authors. So guess where I recommend spare marketing time be spent?

From Sandy Lender
"Some days, you just want the dragon to win."

Marlayne wrote: "How many of you have been tempted to or already paid for “Blog Tours”? Did it increase your book sales? Expensive book trailer? Fun but more book sales? When it comes to book sales, the old adage..."

Marlayne, I am so glad I found this post. Thank you. I was initially reminded of what my mother taught me when I owned a small business. She said that the reps would try to sell a big ad package,but the little classified ads were so much less expensive and much more effective. They are like the movie theater message..."Buy popcorn...buy popcorn..."
She was right. I had to learn the hard way and wasted my money on big ads that yielded very few customers. I am thinking that the same idea might be applicable to selling books. Any comments? Malika

Marlayne wrote: "Reed wrote: "Marlayne wrote: "How many of you have been tempted to or already paid for “Blog Tours”? Did it increase your book sales? Expensive book trailer? Fun but more book sales? When it come..."

Once again, thank you Marlane for the great link.
It showed that Face Book had the most activity.
I joined three social networks and found that Twitter was easier for me to navigate than Facebook. I did figure out how to link up my blogs to all three sites.Do you have any suggestion how I can educate myself better about navigating Face Book?
Thank you . Malika

Urenna wrote: "Very informative, Marlayne. A friend gave me the following advice:

If you were to ask me my professional opinion, I'd say that you should focus on selling the book in the channels where most of ..."

Someone's statistics say that 80% of sales come from 20% of the buyers. I wish that I could give credit to who said that.

Malika wrote: "Marlayne, I am so glad I found this post. Thank you. I was initially reminded of what my mother taught me when I owned a small business. She said that the reps would try to sell a big ad package,bu..."

I don't get taken in by all the promises, I rather spend my time developing a list of interested people who refer interested people who add to my list. I have worked this extensive list for thirty years and they love me and I love them. Why pay for love when it is free at home? RM

Great advice spoken from wise experience, I am certain. Malika

I too have noticed some mix ups on facebook. I get a notice that someone I recommended to someone else has been accepted and then when I click to see who it is, there is a strange email address posted. I don't know if it is in the programming or hacking.
Dr M

I really don't get any good out of my facebook acct anyway, it might be time to say adios there. dr m

MMM? Interesting comments.
I found out that I can be Googled. Oh, my! Google sent me a note to fill out profile.Any feed back on this? http://www.google.com/profiles
Mine is http://www.google.com/profiles/angels...
I am extremely private, so I left a lot blank. What I did fill out, I simply expressed my unique self. It could be weird. I want to be who I am and say so. I am concerned, again about privacy.
When you talked about 'hacking', how does that affect people personally?
What precautions should we be taking when our names are in the public eye, such as authors?
Thank you. Malika

I've heard that even if you end your account and delete information you put on it, Facebook still has access to that information.

Rick wrote: "I've heard that even if you end your account and delete information you put on it, Facebook still has access to that information."

I saw on the news that facebook is aware of their many problems and have advised people that they are working on it. The lady news commentator said that she never puts any personal information on any page including the age when it is requested. She just gives them an age over 18 and forgets about it.
Dr M

Malika wrote: "MMM? Interesting comments.
I found out that I can be Googled. Oh, my! Google sent me a note to fill out profile.Any feed back on this? http://www.google.com/profiles
Mine is http://www.google.com..."

First let me say, I went to Google and found you to be very interesting and similar to myself. I have a huge reputation for making a purse out of a sows ear, but why not, I have been working since age seven and owned my own pig farm at about nine. I had over thirty pigs which I fed, cared for and played with. Yes, the older ones had names and were my buddies. Old mama Chester White (breed type) was a real lover, she had three litters during our stay together and gave me more piglets than she had little feeders for each time.

But, all of that aside. As an author, you have to protect yourself in as many ways as possible and then some, but naturally, you also have to get into public view as often as possible. Many of my book readers are former students and even many of the teachers i worked with are interested in my writing because I don't put in words that preacher object to but use occasionally themselves, I don't have any sex situations that preachers preach against, but some practice anyway nor is there any bloodshed in the first book which just had its thirtieth birthday and a fourth edition or any of the ten books and two series later, however, having given that bit of information, I had to put some mayhem into the founding of America because it is true, but I made it as soft as I could and that book is not published yet and is about two years away.

Aside from being able to save money as you do, I cut my own trees, make most of my own furniture from wood cut here and on and on, bragging doesn't hurt me a bit. I am married to the girl of my dreams and it is true, I knew her fifteen years before she was born and we were drawn together by a fortuneteller in her country and my dreams as a child. I too have constant sharing with angels and the flock is led by my grandmother. I rule my family with old fashioned and strict rules and my children have all grown into very successful hard working people who without a doubt will far exceed anything I have done or accomplished. They all were mandated to have a job by age 14 and to get a college education for which they were to pay for by themselves etc, etc. They did as ordered and they too have books in the market.

I attribute my good family and my happy marriage to a woman who puts up with me in all kinds of weather and has never had one single complaint. She never goes to sleep without saying "I love you" and those are her first words in every morning. I am beginning to believe her. I have lived three fourths of a century without a debt, credit card or cell phone and can tie my own snap on shoes. Not bad, even if I do say so myself. I have been accused of being wordy, talking too much and saying too little, but we all have one fault or two.

Life is Good Dr R
If you like to talk about or to angels, my public email address is theparadiseseries@gmail.com

Dear DR R. Lol! I loved you comments. Thanks for taking the time to read my profile. i will e-mail you soon. I use angelspeak144@gmail.com for goodreads relating to our book. Malika

Nanette wrote: "Malika,

The facebook CEO just admitted publically that their privacy settings etc are messed up.

I was sucked into a group email. have no idea how this happened. I did not want it or ask for..."

Nanette, that sounds like a night mare! Thank you for sharing. I am so naive, I know. but I do try to be careful. Malika

I was doing research for an upcoming talk and I found out that, according to a group that tracks pre-release marketing and book sales, a third of the sales of fiction by a new writer are made by way of hand selling at a local bookstore, while only 5% of new fiction is discovered by way of the internet.
I think using social media is fine if you keep the focus on the book rather than yourself; I think physical book tours ought to be attempted only if you have a reasonable expectation that the sales will justify the time and money spent on travel. I do few signings, and most of them are linked to a speaking engagement.
Some of the best opportunities for sales and jump starting word of mouth, IMHO, are local - libraries, book fairs, local radio and print interviews, and offering yourself as a speaker to local civic groups. The worst, IMHO, are print ads, book signings where there is no speaking engagement tied in (unless you are an A lister).
Interestingly enough, I have heard that a lot of people bought our book on the basis of our book trailer.

janetility.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh2UvY...

I'm not sure what to make of FB at this point. I haven't deleted my account yet because I'd like to see how far the controvery over it goes. I only wanted to use it as a friendly (not spam-like) way to promote my books, and I didn't give them any truly personal information about myself. But you never know how much the tiniest bit of info can be used.

Rick wrote: "I'm not sure what to make of FB at this point. I haven't deleted my account yet because I'd like to see how far the controvery over it goes. I only wanted to use it as a friendly (not spam-like) ..."

Harvesters of information don't pick up all that they know about you from one site, they harvest from all of your sites, email, accounts etc. Just for fun, Google your own name using quotation marks at the front and back and see how much stuff you come up with.

These guys make a living from finding all they want to know about people and are good at what they do. Computers have been the best aid to crime since the tommy gun.

Interesting. I had no idea my books were available in countries I had not even heard of.

Rick wrote: "Interesting. I had no idea my books were available in countries I had not even heard of."

And most likely you will find them in languages you and I can't speak either. The market is broad, filled, and growing, each person has to really work hard to keep a book afloat, but that is to be expected in these times. Now not only do we have to work hard in this country, but in places that we have never heard of. Isn't this the most fun you have ever had. Keep working, but keep tying to see where you can find the best results for what you do. Edison claimed to have many failures before being successful. Dr M
PS
When you get invited to the Morning Show, remember the poor old guy that encouraged you to work harder.

I'll do that.

I liked the video. I commented and attached to my social media. Fantastic!
I used to read about that time period all the time. Malika

Oh Nanette, I am so sorry that this has happened to you. Thank you for sharing for experience. Malika

How do you collect royalties from foreign pubs?

You don't. It goes to the International Monetary Fund I think. It's a good cause. :)

I'm working on my 2010-2011 BOOK TOUR. As PALM BEACH CONFIDENTIAL is a local mystery I'm concentrating on So Florida cities, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Palm Beach, Naples, Sarasota, Tampa, St Pete, Stuart Lakeland and Orlando. If you want me to include your city let me know.
Have book will travel.
http:www.RobertMykle.com
RobertMykle@att.net
Robert Mykle