The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Marketing Tips

6 Lessons I Learned about Marketing Strategy from Playing Board Games

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When it comes to marketing strategy, I’m a babe barely out of the cradle. What I know today I’ve learned by reading articles and by the mistakes I’ve made marketing my own books.

I wish I could tell you my efforts to market Carried by Grace have been a wild success—they haven’t. What I can tell you is I’ve done everything wrong.

Monopoly boardThankfully, I can start over.

The majority of writers I talk to tell me they dislike marketing. As an introvert, I haven’t particularly enjoyed it either.

Writers want to write. I get that. But the fact is, today’s writers must be engaged in marketing.

If you intend to make any money selling your book, you have to spend time marketing. So, the Marine in me is going to tell you to suck it up and deal with it. Your bad attitude only makes the time you do spend marketing that much more miserable.

I’m still learning the world of marketing strategy, but I’ve finally begun to get a better grasp on it. Today, I’d like to share my latest insights that I hope will not only make my tasks of marketing easier, but yours too. [Read more…] about 6 Lessons I Learned about Marketing Strategy from Playing Board Games

5 Upcoming Writers Conferences

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Debra L. Butterfield
Photo courtesy of Carol J. Sharp

Writers conferences are not only great places to learn, but they are a lot of fun to attend!

I enjoy teaching at conferences as much as I enjoy attending them. That’s me in the pic above, teaching at the Called to Write Conference in Pittsburg, Kansas, this past April.

At conferences, you’ll learn about writing and the world of publishing as well as be able to present your work to agents and editors. You’ll also be able to network with other writers and make new friendships.

Upcoming writers conferences [Read more…] about 5 Upcoming Writers Conferences

ALL comments were removed; I’m livid.

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comments removedYou spend time reading a blog post because the topic strikes a chord. You’re right there experiencing exactly what the blogger is talking about. You leave a comment along with a question that probes deeper into the topic.

The next day you visit the blog to see if anyone has replied to your question. But astoundingly enough, you discover your comment has been removed.

I’ve been reading other blogs and leaving comments for a long time. Sometimes the blogger replies, sometimes not. That doesn’t bother me, but this past week, the above scenario happened to me.

I left a comment with a legitimate question about the post topic. While I hoped for a reply, I was prepared not to receive one. I got worse than no reply. My comment was removed. And it wasn’t just mine; ALL comments were removed. (Tweet this.)

I’m livid. I feel a bit like I’ve been stabbed in the back. The topic of the post struck deep and was about a subject with which I am presently deeply struggling. Further, this blogger’s action makes me question the authenticity of the blogger’s commitment to the Christian principles the blog touts.

I realize this blogger may have a good reason for removing the comments; however, if that blogger prefers not to have comments on his/her blog, then why allow them to begin with?

Don’t alienate your readers by removing their honest comments from your blog. Instead, deactivate comments from your blog or for that particular post.

What does this rant have to do with marketing?

A large part of marketing is building relationships. What kind of relationships can you build if you never respond to or remove your readers’ comments?

Engaging with commenters creates relationship. They become potential buyers.

Certainly not all comments require an answer, and some comments are self-promotional spam. But what about those who resonate with the topic and ask a sincere question?

What’s your take? Has this ever happened to you? How did it make you feel about that blog/blogger?

The blogger in this case has lost my business.

(Did you miss my guest post on Book Marketing Tools.com? Visit here: “Are You Forgetting this Vital Step in Your Book Marketing Plan?”)

How to Make Your Book Marketing Manageable Instead of Overwhelming

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Carried by Grace by author Debra L. Butterfield
It’s launch week for Carried by Grace.

Are you in the process of writing your book?

Or do you have a publishing contract in hand?

No matter the answer, you can begin developing your marketing plan right now.

But there’s so much that goes into marketing it’s overwhelming and time consuming. How do you make it more manageable? [Read more…] about How to Make Your Book Marketing Manageable Instead of Overwhelming

How to Conquer Your Book Marketing Plan

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Marketing. Most writers dread it. Because, after all, we’d rather be writing.

But gone are the days when the publisher handled ALL the marketing of a book for their authors. And the truth of it is, even in the “old days” traditional publishers didn’t allocate equal marketing dollars to every book.

Whether you are traditionally published or self-published, marketing your book is a fact of life—unless you don’t care if anyone ever buys your book.

Marketing isn’t a one time event. Maybe that’s what makes it so overwhelming. Or maybe it’s figuring out how to execute the many elements of marketing that intimidate and overwhelm you.

As I was considering the marketing plan for my new book Carried by Grace, it suddenly struck me how I could make it manageable. [Read more…] about How to Conquer Your Book Marketing Plan

How to Get Radio Interviews

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Do you have a book releasing soon, or one already on the market?

Doing local radio station interviews is a good way to get the word out about your book. These local interviews also help you break into the public speaking arena on a more comfortable level. You’ll gain experience and practice that will help you tackle national interviews later on.

That’s all well and good, but how do you locate possible stations, and what do you do once you’ve found them?

To find radio stations, you can use: http://www.radio-locator.com/

In their words, this website “is the most comprehensive radio station search engine on the Internet. We have links to over 14,100 radio stations’ web pages and over 9600 stations’ audio streams from radio stations in the U.S. and around the world.”

Just as you target your manuscript submissions, you’ll want to target radio stations that are a good fit for you and your book. Study the station’s website before contacting them.

Once you’ve developed your list, the next step is to send a pitch letter.

Sarah Bolme, director of the Christian Small Publishers Association and author of Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace, advises that your pitch letter include

  • “the title of your book,

  • your credentials,

  • how your topic addresses current events, and

  • why it is right for the show’s audience.”

Most interviewers won’t have time to read your book, so develop a list of 10-15 questions with answers that you can provide with your pitch letter.

Bolme also says, “Don’t just rely on your press releases and pitch letters . . . You will need to phone station producers after sending your queries to verbally request a guest interview.”

Have you included radio interviews in your marketing plan? Why or why not?

Top Twitter Tools for Authors

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Social media. Love it or hate it.

Utilizing it is a fact of life for authors. There are a multitude out there, with new ones emerging all the time. I understand how daunting it can be.

Today I have a special guest post for you from Twitter expert Jo Linsdell. Jo is a best selling author, illustrator, and internationally recognized marketing expert based in Italy. She has just launched her latest book How to be Twittertastic.Author Jo Linsdell

Top Twitter Tools for Authors
By Jo Linsdell

Are you ready to be Twittertastic?

Twitter is the most immediate of all social media and allows you to connect with readers and others from the literary industry from all over the world. The fastest growing network with a 44% growth from 2012-2013 Twitter now boasts 255 million monthly active users.

A lot of authors shy away from social media as they think it will eat into their writing time too much. The beauty of Twitter is that everything is bite-sized. Coming up with something of 140 characters or less isn’t going to take away too much of your time.

Today I’m going to share with you some of my favourite tools and why they make my “Top Twitter Tools for Authors” list. [Read more…] about Top Twitter Tools for Authors

11 Free Resources to Improve Your Marketing Skills

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Marketing your books can be time consuming and confusing.

You want to sell your books, right?

But like many of us you don’t have the budget to hire a publicist or marketing expert. That means learning marketing skills for yourself.

I know a whole lot more than I did when I first started freelancing, but I have a lot of room to grow, too. Plus, with today’s advancing technology the landscape is always changing. There will always be something new to learn.

The task of marketing can fast consume our time, so I offer the following resources [Read more…] about 11 Free Resources to Improve Your Marketing Skills