The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Marketing Tips

What Is a Content Calendar? The Beginner’s Guide

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Savannah Cordova explains what is a content calendarToday’s post comes from Savannah Cordova. Savannah is a writer and content marketer with Reedsy, a platform that connects authors and publishers with the world’s best editors, designers, and marketers. In her spare time, Savannah enjoys reading contemporary fiction and writing short stories.

What Is a Content Calendar? The Beginner’s Guide

If you’re a writer looking to expand your audience, there are certain tips you’ll hear over and over again: Start a blog. Get on social media. Ask people to subscribe to your mailing list. They’re so oft-repeated because they work: when it comes to growing your audience, there’s simply no better tactic than building personal relationships.

But these tips are also useless if you don’t actually offer your readers any content. What’s the point of following a Twitter account that never tweets, or a blog that never updates? [Read more…] about What Is a Content Calendar? The Beginner’s Guide

The Email List and Why You Should Develop One

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building an email list

Developing your own email list is the smartest marketing move with the greatest return on investment (ROI) you can make. Why?

In 2017,

  • 3.7 billion people used email.
  • 269 billion business and consumer emails were sent and received per day — and that number is expected to continue to grow at an average annual rate of 4.4% over the next four years.
  • 65 percent of email users worldwide accessed email on their mobile devices.

(source: The Radicati Group, Inc., 2017)

In fact, sixty-six percent of online consumers made a purchase after receiving an email marketing message — which is more than social media and direct mail, according to the Data & Marketing Association.

And transactions from email are three times more profitable than those made on social media, reports the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. [Read more…] about The Email List and Why You Should Develop One

Marketing, Keywords, and Publisher Rocket, Oh My!

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digital marketing, using keywordsMarketing is a task many writers struggle with, including me. However, without it, our books don’t get much notice.

There are plenty of platforms where we can use either paid or free advertising. So far, I’ve only used one paid platform and that’s Amazon Marketing Services (AMS).

One thing I’ve learned about marketing is the importance of keywords and keyword phrases.

What Is a Keyword?

A Google search provided this definition: [Read more…] about Marketing, Keywords, and Publisher Rocket, Oh My!

Marketing Your Book to Local and Regional Businesses

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Last summer I interviewed children’s book author Melody Schaefer here on the blog. She was in the process of preparing for the 2017 total solar eclipse that was to occur, and St. Joseph was a major city for viewing. Using her Penny the Parakeet children’s book series, Melody created a book specifically for and about the eclipse.

Today’s post is a follow up to what she did and the level of success in her endeavors. I hope you can glean ideas for your own books and regional/national events that can tie into your topics. [Read more…] about Marketing Your Book to Local and Regional Businesses

Mind-Map Marketing – Guest Post by Jean Wise

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Guest post by Jean Wise

I love the freedom and creativity of brainstorming. I get excited with new ideas and energized with the positive spirit of possibilities. Most writers enjoy playing with words and crafting delightful sentences.

I collect ideas all the time, but these notions gathered on my desk in a mass pile of sticky notes and scraps of paper. My good intentions and great story concepts often didn’t get organized, developed, and implemented.

Then I discovered mind mapping. [Read more…] about Mind-Map Marketing – Guest Post by Jean Wise

Karyn Almendarez – Reaching Amazon Best Seller Status

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Best selling author Karyn AlmendarezI’m trying something new today: a recorded interview with Amazon best seller Karyn Almendarez. We’ll be talking about her book, Tragedy’s Treasures: A Mom’s Journey Through Grief and what Karyn did to reach the Amazon #1 best seller spot for her book.

You can view the video or read the post that follows. The post is not a verbatim transcript, but the highlights of our interview.

Karyn Almendarez is a second-grade teacher, writer, and blogger. She lives in Colorado with her husband, Albert. When she is not teaching or writing, [Read more…] about Karyn Almendarez – Reaching Amazon Best Seller Status

So You Want to Make the Bestseller List, But Do You Know What It Takes?

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New York Times Bestseller List

Lately, I’ve been reading Tim Grahl’s Book Launch Blueprint: The Step-by-Step Guide to Launching a Bestseller. Making a bestseller list woos authors like the cry of the mythical Siren. It carries status and puts oomph behind the sales of future books.

But do you have a true understanding of what it takes to make those lists?

Bestselling author Tim Ferriss explains in “How Bestseller Lists Work…and Introducing the Amazon Monthly 100” that the NYT has “20 weekly and 3 monthly lists.”

Wow! There’s also the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Washington Post. That’s a lot of opportunities to make a bestseller list. And let’s not forget Amazon.

If making bestseller status is your goal, then it’s important to know the criteria used to make the determination. Otherwise how can you [Read more…] about So You Want to Make the Bestseller List, But Do You Know What It Takes?

How to Engage Your Audience

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Today’s post is by award-winning author Kathy Nickerson, author of 4 books and counting. This year she released The Secret of Serendipity and Rose Hill Cottage, each a different genre. Her debut novel, Thirty Days to Glory, won the 2014 CSPA Book of the Year. Her books are engaging, fun, and always have a twist at the end.

Author Kathy NickersonHow to Engage Your Audience
by Kathy Nickerson

“Name one job you could do that does not require reading or writing.” This challenge is dangerous, and I throw it out like candy when [Read more…] about How to Engage Your Audience