Great Book Marketing Strategies for Authors

I am currently in Las Vegas, NV for Author 101 this weekend. The event goes until Sunday October 27, 2013, so far I have had a great time speaking and connecting with other authors, publishers, and entrepreneurs. 

It is a known fact that many people want to write a book but few get past writing the first chapter. There are common struggles associated with authors that took the leap and have a book out. A common obstacle many authors face is how to market their book. Finding a way to share your unique words with the world does not have to be a mystery. There are many techniques that many top selling authors follow and I found this cool infograpic that covers common strategies authors use the market their book. Check it out below! 

 

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

Hashtags, They are Your Friend

Hashtags are everywhere! Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, and Google+ all use hashtags. Do you completely understand how they can help your business? 

Hashtags help Internet marketers communicate online. It is very important you know how to implement hashtags into your social media marketing strategy. Hashtags allow you to join conversations about anything that is relevant to your industry with real time public conversations being displayed. Think of keywords, use targeted keywords to get the best results. You should use this feature to engage with consumers and stay current with the news in your industry. A marketer can also add hashtags in an advertising campaigns to amplify your reach over multiple social networks. 

Hashtags are a great way to organize content and be active on the current trends. I have seen some hashtag abuse so I am offering a few suggestions to make sure you are getting the most bang for your efforts. 

Hashtag Etiquette 


1. Make sure your hashtag relates to your message. Do not add hashtags to a message if it has nothing to do with the message, that is considered hashtag spamming. It will also make you look like you don't know what you are doing. Consumers don't want to search #Dogs and end up seeing a picture of a bird in the results. 

2. Keep your hashtags short and to the point. Three words should be the maximum for a single hashtag. Anything longer becomes really hard to read and your message may be lost in translation. For example; #HashtagsThatTurnIntoSentencesAndGoesOnForALongTimeAreAnnoying. 

3. Use hashtags to help build brand awareness. By creating a unique hashtag for your business you are starting a new real-time feed with that particular hashtag. So when a consumer clicks on your unique hashtag they will pull up your businesses messages, pictures, or links. An unique hashtag will also help you get noticed and bring attention back to your business. 

4. Do not hashtag every word in your message. A message with a lot of hashtags is hard for the consumer to read, so focus on the subject of your message and add your hashtags at the end. 

5. No spaces between words. If you want to make your hashtag easier to read use capital letters #SocialMediaMarketing will pull up the same results as #socialmediamarketing 

6. Punctuation marks and special characters are not supported. 

7. Search using hashtags you will be amazed to find out all the valuable info that is hiding behind some of the most used hashtag in social media. 

Hashtags are great tool for marketers and now that all the major social networks are supporting clickable hashtags this will be very helpful when trying to engage with the consumer. 

Popular Hashtags for Professional Speakers 

#Speakers 
#Coaches 
#Consultants 
#Authors 
#entrepreneurs 
#innovation 
#business 
#Keynote

Effective Linking Strategies for 2014

Are you trying to get high rankings in Google without getting in trouble?

Backlinking is critical to search engine positioning. Many strategies that worked in the past are not effective anymore. I put on an educational webinar that covers the best link building techniques to get your site ranking better in Google.

“Linking Strategies 2014: How to Get High Rankings in Google without Getting in Trouble”

This powerful webinar replay is available for download now.

You will learn:

=> The major change announcements by Google that could hurt your site  terribly if you continue to use old link building techniques.

=> “Link Schemes” . . . do one of these and you may get a manual review by Google…And believe me you don’t want that.

=> Why link building by itself isn’t the holy grail of high Google rankings . . . you must add one specific thing to your site or Google doesn’t trust you.

=> How even if you do things perfectly, one simple, yet little known new technique could sink your site.

=> 3 Things I used to teach that used to be good, but will now kill your chances of success . . . sorry about that, but if there’s one  thing for sure about the net…it’s going to change and you must
change with it.

=> The most current ways to get “natural” links that will never get you in trouble with Google . . .Even though they’re current, I’ve been doing them for years.

=> What you can continue doing safely in your link building efforts.

=> How to keep Google from thinking that your site is part of a ”Bad Neighborhood” of sites.
And like all my teleclasses, you’ll get much, much more.

 Download the Linking Strategy  webinar here!

Digital Media: Knock, Knock Newspapers Are You There?

Digital media is changing everything about traditional advertising. All business owners should have a social media strategy, so that they can capitalize on this fast changing medium. Make sure you know where to put your advertising dollars so you can reach your target market. The numbers below may surprise you.

Facebook Hashtags

Facebook is finally on board and they have added support for the #hashtag. Users will be able to search and click on hashtags to see other status updates, pictures, and links that are using the same hashtag. Hashtags are basically the subject of the messages, and it makes it easier for users to find content on Facebook. Hastags are also now live on the iOS native app. Facebook users can engage with hashtags the way they do on their desktop via the iOS mobile app.

Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram have already been using the hashtag to organize content. When you click on a hashtag in Facebook you will see a feed of what other people and business pages are saying about that particular event or topic. Hashtags do not override the current Facebook privacy settings, you can only search public posts and content posted by your friends.

This is great news for Internet marketers because you will be able to join conversations about anything that is relevant to your industry with real time public conversations being displayed. Think of keywords, targeted keywords are great to use for a hashtag search. You should use this feature to engage with consumers and stay current with the news in your industry. A marketer can also add hashtags in an advertising campaigns to amplify your reach over multiple social networks.

Hashtags are a great way to organize content but there are a few suggestions that an Internet marketer should know to make sure you are getting the most bang for your efforts.

Hashtag Etiquette 

1. Make sure your hashtag relates to your message. Do not add hashtags to a message if it has nothing to do with the message, that is considered hashtag spamming. It will also make you look like you don't know what you are doing. Consumers don't want to search #Dogs and end up seeing a picture of a bird in the results. 

2. Keep your hashtags short and to the point. Three words should be the maximum for a single hashtag. Anything longer becomes really hard to read and your message may be lost in translation. For example; #HashtagsThatTurnIntoSentencesAndGoesOnForALongTimeAreAnnoying.

3. Use hashtags to help build brand awareness. By creating a unique hashtag for your business you are starting a new real-time feed with that particular hashtag. So when a consumer clicks on your unique hashtag they will pull up your businesses messages, pictures, or links. An unique hashtag will also help you get noticed and bring attention back to your business.

4. Do not hashtag every word in your message. A message with a lot of hashtags is hard for the consumer to read, so focus on the subject of your message and add your hashtags at the end.

Hashtags are great tool for marketers and now that all the major social networks are supporting clickable hashtags this will be very helpful when trying to engage with the consumer. 

How Authors use Publicity to Make Massive Book Sales

I have a complementary teleclass tonight with Rick Frishman Thursday, August 8th, 2013  9:00 PM Eastern Time that authors, speakers, entrepreneurs, and consultants can benefit from if you are serious about taking your business to the next level. 

Rick Frishman is the founder of Planned Television Arts, and has been one of the leading book publicists in America for over 30 years. He's worked with many of the top book editors, literary agents and publishers in America, including Simon and Schuster, Random House, Wiley, Harper Collins, Pocket Books, Penguin Putnam, and Hyperion Books. Join us tonight for: 

"How Authors use Publicity to Make Massive Book Sales"

You will discover:

• How to become an author in 5 easy steps and in less than 90 days.
• Real life stories about the "legends" in the business and what you can learn from them.
• Understanding the differences between retainers and "pay for placement" PR and why it's important to you.
• What does a publicity department do for you at a publishing firm and what that means for you. Designing a press release that will generate results and get the media to pick up the phone and call you. How to get published in the traditional manner and not get taken advantage of.
• Tips and techniques to generating "back of the room sales" to maximize your revenue at speaking engagements.

YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN ONE OF 16 FREE TICKETS TO AUTHOR 101 UNIVERSITY

Register and view the details HERE! 

One Stop Shop with the New Facebook for Business Hub

Facebook has launched a brand new Facebook for Business hub, which will grow into their one stop shop for all of the different marketing and advertising resources available on the platform. Facebook wants to make it easier for businesses to advertise and market themselves so they are offering helpful tips, techniques, case studies, and video that any online marketer can use to grow their business all in one spot.

Facebook for Business offers the Facebook Basics section which is a beginners guide for setting up a business page. Any business looking to set up a page, find their target market, and advertise on the platform will find this section helpful. The tips and techniques on the site break down how online marketers can monetize their network by building brand awareness and launching a new product.

Facebook offers business owners different marketing approaches based on their predetermined goals. The options include drive in store sales, increase online sales, launch a new product, build awareness, and promote your app.

If you already know the basics for managing your Facebook page, the new site offers a great list of case studies that you can filter through   and use for inspiration. If you are new to the social platform the new Facebook for Business page can definitely streamline the process for you.Take some time out of your day and check out the Facebook for Business page, you may learn something new.