The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

marketing

Linda Rooks’ Perseverance Leads to Success

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I’m visiting today with author Linda Rooks who writes books for adults and children. Linda has a lot to share, so we’ll dive right in.

Linda, give us a bit of background on yourself.

Author Linda RooksMy writing journey began when I was in 6th grade. My teacher gave a writing assignment to the class. She liked what I wrote, had me read it to the class, and everyone laughed at the right places. I also read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott that year and loved it. I identified with Jo’s love of writing. At the end of the school year, when my teacher wrote in my autograph book that one day I would be a famous author, it clinched my life goal of wanting to be a writer.

My actual writing career didn’t begin until [Read more…] about Linda Rooks’ Perseverance Leads to Success

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

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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social media icons
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

How to Use Customized Product to Market Your Book

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Customized products for marketing businesses have been around for a long time. The problem was you had to bulk order. I don’t have the budget for that. Do you?

Maybe you don’t even think of yourself as a business, but as an author you are in the business of selling your books. Unless one book is all you intend to write, now is the time to make that paradigm shift. If you are a writer, you are a business.

I’ll get down off my soap box now and back to today’s topic. [Read more…] about How to Use Customized Product to Market Your Book

3 Tools for Creating Attention Grabbing Graphics

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All the gurus say it: “Include a quality image with your blog post.”

And with the rapidly growing popularity of Pinterest, many authors have created a Pinterest business account. They pin attention grabbing, irresistible graphics that drive traffic to their blogs, market their books, and build their platform.

I agree, but I am neither artistic nor versed in Photoshop. What’s a person to do?

Keep reading because I’ve found an answer. [Read more…] about 3 Tools for Creating Attention Grabbing Graphics