To Attract A Larger Audience And Sell More Books, Consider Becoming An Online Book Reviewer
Topics: writing, business books, online marketing, publicity, speaking, interviews, promotion
Fame! In the best of cases, a misunderstanding.
–Albert Camus
Like most first-time authors, I spent a lot of time promoting my first book. I did everything that anyone recommended . . . and what I had seen others do.
In the process, some of the ideas seemed far-fetched, but some of those paid off quite well, compared to the ideas the “experts” had shared with me. Exploring the online world turned out to be one of those areas that didn’t appear to make much sense, but did.
Because the young people on my staff had insisted we put up a Web site for our book, the site was up and working early in the promotional process. Feeling generous, I suggested we post free access for all but two key chapters. Jason Breyan got busy telling people about the site, and hits on our site began to climb. Soon we were attracting thousands of visitors a month. Some of them were clicking on our link to buy the book on various online book sellers.
Everyone told me I could expect to get slammed by “know-nothings” who would write “ignorant” reviews about our book online. Young people encouraged me to ask clients and friends to write and post reviews there to balance out that expected arbitrary negativity.
Pretty soon, the sales started to climb as people read those positive reviews. Some of our more enthusiastic supporters also began to write reviews of other peoples’ books and mention our book. Sales climbed even faster.
Soon we hit the top 200 list and kept climbing until we were a best seller on the online sites. We were excited.
I kept waiting for the deluge of negative reviews, but hardly any appeared.
A key lesson was that online book sellers provide a better place to communicate with prospective customers than the bulk of what we had been encouraged to do. We continued to think about what else could be done.
The next step was for me to become a book reviewer as well. In that capacity, millions of people became aware of my writing . . . and substantial numbers were encouraged by what they read to buy our book. That felt good!
In the process, I learned an unintended lesson: far more people read what you write online than you will ever attract through writing a book alone. I had had the cart trying to pull the horse.
Donald Mitchell is an author of seven books including Adventures of an Optimist and The 2,000 Percent Squared Solution about business model innovation. Read about creating breakthroughs and receive tips by e-mail by registering for free at
Previous Articles Highlighter:
Article Submission And Related Services (1)
Topics: article writing, article Marketing, article submission This is more targeted at those who utilize the article submission process on a daily basis, normally submitting hundreds of articles on a regular basis.
Mastering The Art Of Article Writing (2)
Use your main keywords in your titles and sub-headings when possible. Use keywords at or near the beginning of the first sentence in paragraphs. This makes it easier to "sniff" them out in a quick scan for the "information scent." The rules for numbers are different online than offline.
Learn The German Language (3)
German is one of the leading languages nowadays and there are a lot of reasons why you should learn it. Most of the people are doing business with german companies or they want to go on vacation in good old germany.
Is Your Article A Winner Or Not (4)
Topics: article writing, article Marketing, article submission, article directory When you decide to commence with your article writing activity, do you merely engage in writing what comes into your head or do you give it some thought as to the structure and overall composition of the article?
How To Use Effective Communication Skills To Get What You Want (5)
Communication is vital to all of us, for without this skill we will be quite helpless and the world around us would be blank. After all, every person, be they a worker, manager or a teenager, has interactions with other people throughout their life.
Increase Sales With An Easy-To-Navigate Web Site (6)
Put your URL and email address on every page. 9. Turn links into benefit-oriented headlines and include action verbs to motivate potential buyers to click on your links.
5 Irresistible Reasons To Write A Short Book First (7)
Topics: write a short book first, write a book Have you given up on writing your book this year? Don't give up; you can do it. I know there are lots of discouraging reasons to just throw in the towel.
Ensuring Your Article Submission Strategy Evolves (8)
The reasons for this is that the editors and the software of article directories have stipulated certain rules, to maintain the credibility of the directory as well as the overall integrity, which is generally a positive development.
3 Ways To Keep MS Word From Killing Your SEO Strategy (9)
Pasting into the HTML tab eliminates all of this sloppy extra code that can severely dilute your keyword density and make it more difficult for search engine spiders to crawl your content and decipher the primary topic of the article.
5 Ways To Brain Storm Non-Fiction Book Title Ideas For Your Book (10)
Here are 5 common ways anyone can use to get uncommon book titles: 1. Best Seller List Use the Best Seller list to brainstorm ideas for your non-fiction book title.
Article Submissions - Learn Some Tips On Getting Your Article Submitted To The World (11)
For those you will have to submit one by one. 5. Some sites require registration. Even for the free ones, the registration comes with a profile page.
Copywriting Tip: Do Your Client A Favor And Ask For The Order (12)
We're bombarded with all kinds of information. Two minutes after we see a sales letter, we've forgotten it. So you have to create interest, enthusiasm and maybe anxiety.
Marketing In A Recession: Why You Won't Survive If You Stop! (13)
Because if it was, then they'd realise it was actually making them money and not costing them a cent (or they'd realise it wasn't working and change it until it was).
Article Marketing - Five Top Tips For Successful Article Marketing (14)
Identify your audience Knowing your audience is probably the most important aspect of article marketing. Identifying exactly what potential readers are looking for will allow you to generate content aimed precisely at that market.
SEO Copywriting Essentials - Calculating Keyword Density (15)
With web content, I typically shoot for a keyword density of 2.0% to 3.0% - or 2 to 3 times per every 100 words. Using Live Keyword Analysis There's an easier way to figure out your keyword density rather than counting your keywords by hand.
7 Special Holiday Gifts For Writers (16)
If your loved one is one of those wonderful wacky writers, they would probably enjoy a creative looking case with lots of color. Of course, if their personality is on the conservative side then a more professional black or brown brief case would best fit.
SEO Copywriting: How To Choose Article Marketing Topics To Achieve Maximum Exposure (17)
However, after discovering how complicated or involved the process can be, they may decide just to hire a professional. And hey - there's a link to an expert right at the bottom of the article!
Whatever Your Business, Printing Deserves Some Attention (18)
When things are not going too well and a business looks at ways to improve it is often too little too late and does no good, sometimes even having the opposite effect.
How To Write A Book That Pulls Readers In Like A Magnet (19)
For example, there's a Chicken Soup for Teen-agers, Chicken Soup for Mothers, and so on. 5. Write a book like a PRO. All it takes is a little know how to write your book like a pro.
Trash Your Newspaper! Real News Will Be Online (20)
But these drawbacks are minor, and the online media truly is the wave of the future. So, when you retire someday, and you're sitting in your beach home in Wailea or Makena, wanting to find out about the happenings of the world, make sure you have a laptop and wireless Internet, because soon there may be no newspapers for you to curl up with on your front porch.
Newer Articles Highlighter:
The Article Directory Explained (1)
As long as there is a subject and a writer you will most likely find an article on whichever subject you are interested in, in an article directory. The function of the article directory has a multidimensional role, in that it can be used to host the regular article writers works for people to use and refer to when required.
The Role Of A Proper Press Release In Your SEO Services (2)
Your press release writers or the press release writing services that you hire should develop the content with the target keywords of the landing page from which you can link to your website from the PR sites.
Take Time To Submit An Article (3)
The internet, well the users really, have created a huge database of information relating to all sorts of things that affect everybody and everything in life. One of these phenomena are the article directories which enable writers to submit an article or many articles to be stored and viewed within these directories.
How To Use Ebooks To Start A Viral Marketing Campaign (4)
Topics: ebooks, ebook writing, viral marketing Viral marketing. It sounds like some kind of disease, but it's really not. Viral marketing is really word of mouth marketing. Word of mouth marketing is where your customers like your product so much that they tell others about it, others try your product and then tell others about it, and so on.
Writing An Article Aligned With Your Passion (5)
By piquing the readers interest sufficiently you will hopefully encourage the reader to click through to your site and then purchase the service or product that you have on offer, related to you article writing subject and story line.
Get The Results You Desire With Effective Communication (6)
1. Establish rapport with the other person 2. Have your own ideas clear before attempting to communicate them 3. Be clear about the purpose of the communication e.g.
Ignore The Experts . . . If You Want To Make Foolish Business Mistakes (7)
The writing always seemed so rewarding to me that I really didn't care if anyone read the work. Even writing the first book (which had become painful at the end) became a happy memory in the rosy glow of postpublication applause.
The Power Of Writing Articles (8)
First, you can promote your business by submitting articles on your blog site. Nowadays, people use the Internet to seek information and if you provide Net users with articles that are informative, accurate, and useful they will surely consider what you have to say.
Tips To Guarantee Effective Communication (9)
Have you ever intended to say something pleasant to someone yet be surprised with a negative response from them? Perhaps you've told your spouse you love them, yet instead of being happy they get upset.
How To Increase Sales, Subscriptions, And Traffic With Action Words (10)
Enter your name and email address in the form below. - Ten hand-drawn copy doodles to increase your Web sales immediately. Sign up now to get this $39 value FREE!
Ignore What People Care About . . . If You Want To Hear The Sounds Of Silence (11)
Favorable reviews didn't exactly pour in either. Speaking with Peter Drucker about the modest interest in the book, he was full of explanations. In addition to not following his advice about waiting until the market further developed for our first book, we had written a very sophisticated book that would not appeal to everyone.
5 Keys To Effective Content Writing (12)
Start by writing an article that solves a problem that a potential customer might have. Then consider turning that article into an ebook that potential customers might be willing to download.
How To Use Twitter To Build Business Relationships (13)
Each Tweet can be viewed as a line of copywriting. Do you want to tell the world you had tuna fish for lunch? Or share the gory details of your latest visit to the doctor?
Increase Your Traffic By Writing Articles (14)
I'm not talking here about working for a magazine or website but the wonderful world of free articles. If you are short on cash and can't afford to promote your business then this technique is especially suited to you.
When Good Social Marketing Gets Wasted (And How Good Copywriting Can Save It) (15)
So we need to learn as much as possible from your website. Sure, visitors could email or call, but most likely they'll just click away to the next name on the list.
Effective Website Marketing Tips: Forget What You Love And Focus On Your Market (16)
I will teach my clients how to think about motivation the way I do." But your website visitors don't have time to learn special definitions and special words. They bring their own meanings and their own contexts to a page.
7 Top Tips For Writing Blog Articles (17)
Find an expert in your market niche and see if she is willing to be interviewed via email. Read other interviews to glean interesting and timely questions, and then ask her those.
Copywriting Tip: Effective Website Content Positioning Begins At The Top (18)
Copywriters like to say, "The most valuable real estate on the Internet is the top of your page -- what you see before you scroll down." Your top-of-page copy is what visitors -- and search engines -- read first.
Article Marketing - A Great Way To Promote And Market Your Online Business (19)
Your newsletter can consist of two or three additional articles that will further convince people that you are an expert. You can also use your ezine or newsletter to directly sell your products or services.
5 Essential Copywriting Tips To Improve Your Sales Copy (20)
Use these copywriting tips to your advantage. "Become an Expert" - When taking on an assignment, always do your research. The fourth of the copywriting tips, involves "Due Diligence" in research.