Giveaway Best Practices!

Mary E. Martin's Virtual Tour is Set to Launch 

Tuesday August 25, 2015!

As a highlight to her tour Mary is running an Amazon Boost Purchase Incentive. The campaign is offering a $200 Amazon gift card giveaway, with valid proof of purchase. Giveaway details, purchase carousels, and an entry form can be accessed from Mary's Virtual Tour page on her website. 

Did you know, more giveaway submissions are entered on Monday nights between 8:00 PM and Midnight EST than at any other time of the week; and that a quarter to a third of the total accumulated entries occur during the final 24 hours? ~ according to blogRafflecopter "5 Effective Promotion Tips For Your Ending Giveaway"

http://maryemartintrilogies.com/virtual-tour/

If you are investing in a promotional giveaway, that would be important information you will want to consider when selecting dates for your campaign. Ending your campaign with a count down to finish on a Monday night at Midnight EST, is the best practice for a successful giveaway.  According to Rafflecopter's Market research "Tuesdays and Wednesdays work as well. Thursdays are alright. But Friday, Saturday, & Sunday — are days to avoid."

Anyone self promoting these days needs to glean information about marketing best practices where they can find them. There are no absolute methods for marketing success.  Every audience is different. It may take multiple promotional campaigns, trial and error attempts, data collection, and  incentive offers for you to discover the best formula for engaging the audience you've attracted. 

Selling is never easy and the entertainment market is saturated with marvelous recreational outlets. Readers are also movie enthusiasts and video gamers. You have to give them an incentive to choose your book over a plethora of other pleasing diversions and entertainments. That is where knowing how to use behavioral patterns and human psychology, in regard to purchasing habits, can be of benefit. It is rare for someone investing in self promotion to have access to marketing information of this kind. So, when you run across it, make a mental note and pass the info on to your networks.

See you Tuesday August 25, 2015 for the @MartinTrilogies Virtual Tour Launch.

Entries in the $200 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway are being accepted through Midnight EST, Monday August 31, 2015. Click here to see details about the bonus reward package of free e-books and coupons from tour host sponsors.

Enter Below To Gain Access to the Rewards Package Without Entering The $200 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tip Tuesday: “Above the Fold”

It is Tip Tuesday!

Expand your online marketing reach by developing effective strategies, SEO best practices and knowledge.

Tuesday's Tip for 11/25/2014  “Above the Fold”

The term “above the fold” refers to the contents of a website which are visible to the user without having to scroll down on their browser.

"Above the Fold"

Did you know the less work people have to do in order to see your offer, announcement, or incentive, the more likely they are to respond to it.

Marketing research shows that the upper right-hand corner is the most effective spot for an opt-in offer.

You can use this knowledge to your advantage.  If the sign-up form for your news letter, the like/share button, the purchase incentive, or that advertisement for your book/music cd/products are not already located above the fold, moving them to a more visible spot will often increase your conversion rate.

Tip Tuesdays, because the more you know . . . the better you do.

Marketing Doesn't Have to Kill Your Creative Joy

The writing and publishing worlds have been going through a deconstruction of their traditional roles and relationships ever since authors envisioned using the Internet to self promote, and market their own work. The role of traditional publishers is still being re-framed.

As publishers have less and less to offer aspiring writers, more and more authors choose self publishing. Gone are the days when publishers had budgets to give fat advance checks, or to invest in marketing for their authors. Even their best selling authors are feeling neglected in the pinch, forget marketing for the mid list picks. Within the traditional publishing houses the majority of promotions and marketing efforts are being left squarely in the author's lap. Traditionally published or self published, we are all in the same boat when it comes to getting our books in front of readers. Now is the time to re-imagine how we are going to bring marketing into our creative writing processes.

Don't Separate Marketing from your Creative Writing Process . . . Use it! 

As an author you have to know your target audience. You have to anticipate and plan for your reader's desires. You have to engage them if you are going to keep them reading. You should ask the same questions when choosing your audience, theme, and plot influences, as you would for marketing your book.

What is my audience looking for? What are they going to get from my book?

Are they looking for answers or seeking entertainment? What is it that will attract them to my book and my website over the books and websites of other authors? Is it my themes? Am I teaching a skill, proselytizing an ideal, or prophesying a dire warning? Am I making a political comment or a spiritual declaration? Does my book hold expert or life knowledge? Do I have more to offer than just this book? Can I hook my audience into purchasing and reading my book through a shared interest, a cause, or sentiment?

These may be questions that both influence who an author is writing for or even about, plot devices, and theme development, as well as where and how they might market a book in the future.

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Creative Process and Marketing Innovation

Starting a marketing strategy before the book is written can benefit the creative process.

• Plan to meet your target audience's needs from the start.
• Build interest and plot themed hooks into your story or material, usable themes which will open up marketing angles in the future.
• Is your book of a self help nature, or does it have an element or theme that could be used to attract related interest groups? 
• Knowing your audience wants may lead you to write in or material suggestive of marketing venues and purchase incentive opportunities. 
• It allows you to bring your audience into the creative process, through blogging, "chat"-ter, forum activity, collaborative challenges and competitions.
• Having an interested reader base before you go to print can encourage creative output, and editorial excellence.

Write down marketing ideas as you go. They will feed your creative process and may help you develop new plot elements, as easily as creative marketing strategies.  

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Time to Think Outside the Book

To stand out in the book market you have to think outside the book, beyond the story you are writing.

Do you as an author bring any added value, knowledge, or expertise to the world in addition to your book? If you do, that is a marketing tool in your bag. Any aspect of your interests, experiences, profession, or life outside of and within the writing world could lead to audience exposure and interested markets.

It's Time to Think Outside the Book 

Your book is an extension of yourself, a form of self expression. It can transmit your skill, your interests, dreams, traditions, education, point of view, loyalties, ideals, values, bias, ideas, hopes, agenda, convictions, frustrations, loves, curiosities, anger, illusion, temptations and fears. Every character has grown from thoughts and experiences that you have had. Every plot twist and turn first wound through your imagination.  Loyal fan bases are often eager to interact with and curious about the life, mind, and/or interests of their favorite authors. Use that to tendency to your advantage.

Marketing research reveals that it takes on average three visits to a website before any purchases will be made. You have a book ready to market. How will you get reader attention? How are you going to entice people to visit your website repeatedly, until they decide to buy your book?

Books do not have the same value to readers as they did in eras of the past. Gone are the days when wealth was determined by the size of your library. Books have competition as suppliers of news, entertainment, education, and inspiration. Audiences have a thousand distractions and options to choose from in the form of the Internet, TV, Film, Theater, Sports. . . need I go on? Bringing audiences back to your site is gong to be an important focus for your online marketing activities. This is guerrilla marketing we are talking about. You have to be able to stretch your reach beyond what has worked in the past and try new tactics.

Once a book is published it isn't changing. The story is over, it isn't going anywhere and your audience knows it. Where as, your life is still growing, and that is where things get interesting. Find a way to interact with or engage your audience further than the immediate entertainment value of your book. Attach your book to a cause, or an interest group you belong to.  Use your website to promote what you have to offer the world in addition to your book.

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When Should I Start Thinking About Marketing My Book?

Marketing anything can be hard and books are a static product. They have a lot of competition from TV, film, and other entertainment and information industries. If you want your book to compete well and attract readers, you will be thinking about marketing from the beginning of your writing process.

Ask Yourself Tough Questions

• Why am I writing this book? 
• Do I have something to say that is worth listening to?
• Why will/does my book deserve to be read?
• What will make my book idea different from other books of it's genre?
• What value will/does my book provide readers?

The best answers often have nothing to do with making money, but could be future selling points or lead to creative marketing strategies.

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Have You Heard . . . Hungry Moon - Jodi is out!

I would like to give a great big shout out to the Paranormal Romance Audience!

My favorite sizzling romance author Claudy Conn has just released a series third, Hungry Moon-Jodi.

HungryMoon-Jodi, by Claudy Conn

I bring this up because, I would like to do two things in today's blog; promote Claudy's work, which is deserving and excellent; and point out her excellent promotions strategy. Claudy is accessing more readers and selling more books by publishing her works as Kindle download-ables, e-books, than if she only formatted her books for print sales.

Now authors, don't wrinkle your noses at the sight of "e-books." Just because they don't have that nostalgic paper smell, and we can't lounge dramatically about, turning their pages, doesn't mean they are less valuable to readers or as book sales.

e-Books have become the fastest growing book market, helped along by mobile technology and yes, social networking -- word of mouth. Which, not so incidentally, is the reason why websites like Wattpad, Twitter and Facebook are so popular in marketing strategies. Wattpad is the most author friendly because it was designed and created for the purpose of sharing books and writing, to encourage reader reviews/sharing, and to help authors build fan bases, all using mobile/smart apps for e-reading, e-books.  Every promotions expert knows and will tell you "The best marketing boost an author can get comes through word of mouth referrals." Combining social networking, mobile phones and e-book app tools, like kindle and other e-readers, was a genius stroke in helping authors like Claudy Conn dominate the reading market.

I believe that part of Claudy's success lies in her ability to quickly move from one plot and idea to the next. She is the most prolific and zesty writer I know. I have read many of her books and she never bores me. Claudy keeps her material fresh by changing sub-genres, which expands her creativity and the appeal of her many series. She has developed her ability to write quality (and steamy) romance in several genres, on a level that keeps her fans in constant supply and demand. The fact that e-books are more affordable and cost nothing in trees is only a minor factor in allowing Claudy's avid fans to keep purchasing.

Congratulations to Claudy Conn and to any other author who takes advantage of the shifting and changing technological advances which are shaping the landscape of book marketing and enjoyment.

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Class Act, Selling More Books Through School and Library Author Appearances

Join me in this video interview with author Barbara Techel as she shares her book, Class Act: Selling More Books Through School and Library Author Appearances.

We had a great time using Skype to create this video interview for a Writers In The Sky Podcast. The video format allowed us to add visual elements, slides and URL information, to create a dynamic and engaging experience. Video is a new direction for my interviews and I hope that you will both benefit and enjoy what I have put together.

Barbara Techel is a wonderful author, with an engaging interview personality. She is every blog host's dream, offering clear information and advice with ease and experience. Her book, Class Act, is chuck full of valuable tips for making author appearances profitable and effective as a marketing strategy.

I highly recommend Barbara's book to every author as an excellent marketing how to. Barbara shares information on how to pitch a presentation to schools and libraries. Class Act includes her tips on, how to determine what to charge for an appearance, covering elements of presentation and technology use that are invaluable.

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