Category Archives: Marketing

Marketing is probably the one thing that authors hate the most (except perhaps possibly accounting). However, it is crucial that you take the reins early and often in order to make the world know about your book. With more than 200,000 new titles released in the USA yearly, you HAVE to have a strategy to rise above the noise and confusion. And yes, it’s a DAILY task!

Richard Boes Memorial 2012 Award winner

Leave a reply
Deadly Lode

Deadly Lode

The 2012 Richard Boes Memorial Award goes to Randall Reneau for his book  Deadly Lode ISBN 978-147913179-2).  The award is a $200 cash prize for best debut book by a veteran (fiction or memoir) and is sponsored by Modern History Press. An excerpt from Renau’s book will appear in an upcoming issue of Recovering The Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing. The contest is administered by Reader Views Inc., which includes a general book award contest as well.

Daryn Watson’s review at Reader Views noted: “Deadly Lode is a great fiction novel and a very easy, enjoyable and quick read.”

Richard Boes (R.I.P.)

Richard Boes (R.I.P.)

Richard Boes enlisted into the US Army and served in Vietnam in 1969 – 1970 with the First Air Cav. He is the author of two books, The Last Dead Soldier Left Alive (2007) a firsthand inquiry into why thousands of Vietnam veterans have committed suicide and Last Train Out (2008). Right up to his death Richard was writing a third, In the Valley of Dry Bones. He passed away on Feb 21st, 2009 at the VA Hospital in Albany, NY.

Past winners of the Richard Boes Memorial Award

Deltina Hay – Book Marketing on the Mobile Web

Leave a reply
 On December 22nd, 2012 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke withDeltina Hay, author of The Bootstrapper’s Guide to the Mobile Web and The Social Media Survival Guide, is a web developer, publisher, and small business owner. She is the founder of Plumb Web Solutions, helping small businesses and publishers with website creation; search and social media optimization; and content marketing.  Deltina informed us on several points of interest including

  • How is the mobile web different than the regular Internet?
  • Why do I need a mobile version of my website?
  • Mobile apps are all the rage, but do I need one?
  • I hear some people are offering their books as mobile apps. How can I do that?
  • What should I do differently when marketing to smartphone users?
  • What are QR codes, and how can I leverage them to sell my books?
  • How can I leverage location-based services like foursquare and Google places?
  • What should I know about the future of mobile marketing – such as augmented reality and NFC chips
  • How do I choose platforms: Android or iOS (iPad/iPhone)

Deltina Hay

Deltina Hay
 Hay presently teaches the graduate level Social Media Certificate program for Drury University, and teaches classes on Udemy.com. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), and the International Marketing Standards Board.  /

The Bootstrapper's Guide to the Mobile Web: Practical Plans to Get Your Business Mobile in Just a Few Days for Just a Few Bucks

The Bootstrapper’s Guide to the Mobile Web
Listen to the PodCast!
PupuPlayer PRO

Be the first to find out when the next episode is posted!
Join our email notification list. We respect your privacy.
First Name * Last Name *
Email *

 

Social Media & Marketing Funnel Consultation Case Study

Leave a reply

Social media marketing is the 800 pound gorilla in the room nowadays. The trend is so widespread that it is one of the most popular ways to market a business or profession on the internet besides using Google to be findable.

Of all social media platforms, Facebook is the most used. With over 1 billion users as of September 12, 2012, businesses, professionals, and every day folks are riding the wave with no end in sight.

Interestingly, Google recognizes the significance of this trend and they count the importance of social media platforms when ranking websites for search engine optimization. In layman’s terms that simply means if you’re popular on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., Google will know it and will reward your website with higher ranking if you correctly set up linking between your site and the social platforms.

Lastly, businesses and professionals are urged to create a marketing funnel using social media platforms and search engine marketing. Combined, it is powerful marketing.

 

Gretchen Preston – Writing as a Blind Author: Challenges and Opportunities

Leave a reply
On September 13th, 2012 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with self-published  author and entrepreneur Gretchen Preston about the challenges and opportunities of living every day as a legally blind, visually-impaired person. Gretchen Preston is a children’s book author who lives near Marquette, Michigan. Legally blind since the fifth grade she writes her books on a laptop computer equipped with talking software. She shared with us some important aspects of her work life and success including:

  • Educate us about your visual problem and the assistive technology you use to write your books.
  • Your books are beautifully illustrated; share with us how a blind author produces such a nicely illustrated book.
  • Writing for vision impaired readers — what should people know?
  • How do you keep organized at book signings and sales events?
  • How does your low vision contribute to your books?
  • You have a totally blind character in your second book, what motivated you to create Winslow the blind professor?

Gretchen Preston

Gretchen Preston
Originally from Portland, Oregon Gretchen Preston is one of five children. She went to college at the University of Oregon and went on to graduate school at Arizona State University. Trained as a medical social worker, Gretchen worked on an organ transplant team in Denver, Colorado.Her interest in writing came early. She wrote her first book when she was seventeen. The Idiot Cookbook: The Complete Cookbook for the Complete Idiot was an unpublished work patterned after Peg Bracken’s I Hate To Cookbook. In her job as a medical social worker she wrote newsletter articles and patient education manuals.Gretchen is married. She lives with her husband Tim, their old dog, Rosie and Buddy Boy the cat. Her Valley Cat series of children’s books are set on their rural dirt road near the south shore of Lake Superior. Currently, she is working on the third book in the Valley Cat series and several adult books.Gretchen Preston is the author of the Valley Cat series of children’s books. Jam-packed with local fun and adventure, Valley Cats: The Adventures of Boonie and River and More Valley Cats: Fun, Games and New Friends can be purchased via her website. For more information including a list of stores carrying her books visit, www.prestonhillpress.com.

Watch for her upcoming book Valley of the Cats: Earth, Wind and sky 

More Valley Cats: Fun, Games and New Friends

More Valley Cats: Fun, Games and New Friends
Listen to the PodCast!
PupuPlayer PRO

Be the first to find out when the next episode is posted!
Join our email notification list. We respect your privacy.
First Name * Last Name *
Email *

 

Maryann Reid – How to Position Yourself as an Expert to the Media

Leave a reply
 On July 9th, 2012 Susan Violante and Victor R. Volkman spoke with bestselling author and media guru Maryann Reid about how to go from author to media sensation. Maryann Reid is an Award-winning author and entrepreneur who has been featured by countless media outlets including USA Today, Essence, Glamour, The CBS Early Show, and The Wendy Williams Experience. Maryann’s first book Sex and the Single Sister: 5 Novellas was published by St. Martins Press when she was just 25 years old. At that time, Maryann had no idea that a few stories she wrote in her journal would become characters and later become a book. But she quickly learned the power of the media and pop culture influence on publishers and their decision-making.
What is your most popular book and why?
• Do you have advice for authors who have trouble publicizing or marketing fiction?
• How do you coach clients to increase their visibility and attract opportunities?
• Who is your ideal client?
• What are some things authors are doing wrong?
• What is the difference between a buyer and an audience?
• Why should authors work with a coach and what should they look out for?

Maryann Reid

Maryann Reid
Because of the popularity of HBO’s Sex and The City, Maryann Reid hit the zeitgeist she sold her first book without it being finished. She signed her first book deal with St. Martins and the strong support of a stellar agent.Several books later, Maryann teaches others how they can sell their own books, attract agents and publicity in half the time they would on their own.When her third novel Marry Your Baby Daddy was published, Maryann was able to address a social issue that she cared deeply about and rally a new movement. As a result, she and her books have been profiled in The New Yorker, Newsweek, Oprah.com, NBC Nightly News, etc. for her innovative approach to life and solving its complex issues.

Marry Your Baby Daddy

Marry Your Baby Daddy
Listen to the PodCast!
PupuPlayer PRO

Be the first to find out when the next episode is posted!
Join our email notification list. We respect your privacy.
First Name * Last Name *
Email *