Where Authors Get Successful
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!
Shel Horowitz – Green Marketing: Reaching the Environmentally Aware Customers
Jul 24th
On July 22nd, 2010 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Shel Horowitz, author, marketing consultant and copywriter who works with authors and publishers. A veteran of the 1977 Seabrook occupation, his first book, written when he was only 22, was about why nuclear power makes no sense. He visited with us to share some secrets from his 8th book Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet (John Wiley & Sons, 2010, co-authored with Mr. Guerrilla Marketing himself, Jay Conrad Levinson). Specifically, Shel informed us on:
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| In 1972, at age 15, Shel Horowitz was involved in a community group that opposed a nuclear power plant proposed for two miles north of New York City (a proposal that the utility company quickly withdrew). Shel is also the author of the e-book, Painless Green: 111 Tips to Help the Environment, Lower Your Carbon Footprint, Cut Your Budget, and Improve Your Quality of Life-With No Negative Impact on Your Lifestyle. He is directly responsible for the first nonsmokers’ rights regulations in Northampton, Massachusetts, and for the defeat of a large and inappropriate mountaintop development in his current home town of Hadley, Mass. His Down to Business webzine was one of the first business publications to have a regular section on sustainability.Shel now offers not only copywriting and strategic marketing planning based in Green principles, but also helps unpublished writers become published authors. Five of his eight books have won awards and/or been republished in other countries, including his most recent, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet (John Wiley & Sons, 2010, co-authored with Mr. Guerrilla Marketing himself, Jay Conrad Levinson).
This new book states that honesty, integrity, and a commitment to environmental sustainability are important—but market share is often the wrong metric entirely…that long-term relationships are better than a one-time sale…and that competitors can be among your best allies. The book provides dozens of examples of companies large and small that have succeeded by putting people first: familiar names like Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Southwest Airlines as well as numerous entrepreneurs who are successful in their own niches, even if not widely known. |
 Guerilla Marketing Goes Green |
Jim and Linda O’Connor – Developing Comprehensive Campaigns to Sell Your Books
Jul 10th
On July 7th, 2010 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with book marketing and publicity specialists James V. O’Connor and Linda O’Connor about how to develop a marketing campaign tailored to your personal skills and your book’s target market. O’Connor Communications, Inc is a public relations firm that has specialized in book publicity since 2000 when Jim and his wife won three national awards for the successful promotion of his first book, “CUSS CONTROL, The Complete Book on How to Curb Your Cursing.” O’Connor Communications gets people into the news through radio and TV interviews, newspaper and magazine article placement, blog, social media and internet marketing, and media campaigns. In our wide-ranging discussion we covered the following points in detail:
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 Jim and Linda O'Connor |
| Jim’s first-hand experience includes appearances on more than 312 TV programs (including Oprah), interviews on more than 750 radio stations, and features in over 400 newspapers and magazines. Jim and Lynda represent 23 authors, organizing national and regional book campaigns, book tours, media interviews, speaking engagements, and press materials. Authors Lynda has represented describe her as knowledgeable, professional, tireless, tenacious, creative, enthusiastic and dedicated. She works closely with her clients and makes sure they get the attention that they deserve.
Together they have spoken in Richmond, VA at the James River Writers Conference, Clarksville, TN at the Clarksville Writers Conference, and Chicago at the Lawyers for Creative Arts book conference. 2010 will take them to Seeley Lake, MT to the Northwest Outdoor Writers Association Book Conference, The San Francisco Writers Conference, the University of Wisconsin Writers Conference where they will share their knowledge on how to get into the news |
 Cuss Control |
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Roundtable – Choosing the Right Book Contest
Jul 3rd
In this special Roundtable episode, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman discuss book contests and how to make the most of your marketing dollars. Irene Watson is the managing editor of Reader Views, a book review and author publicity service located in Austin, Texas. Irene is well versed in today’s topic Choosing the Right Book Contest as this is her 5th year in running an awards program. Victor R. Volkman is the owner of Loving Healing Press, Modern History Press, and the newest imprint Marvelous Spirit Press. Together, these imprints have produced more than 100 titles in five years in paperback, hardcover, and eBook editions of same. This evening we chatted about the how and why of book contests including:
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| Irene Watson started Reader Views in 2005 when she published her first book and realized a need wasn’t filled. Listening to authors she continues to create online sites to fulfill their needs. The latest being First Chapter Plus, an e-Catalog of self-published and small publisher books targeted at libraries and independent book stores. Ger first authored book won an IPPY Honorable Mention. She is the author of several books including The Sitting Swing: Finding Wisdom to Know the Difference, Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers, and most recently co-author of Rewriting Life Scripts: Transformational Recovery for Families of Addicts |  |
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Kim McDougall – Creating Sizzling Book Video Trailers
Jun 4th
On June 3rd, 2010 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with artist, author, and book video director/producer Kim McDougall of Blazing Trailers. Kim has produced more than 100 book video trailers and hosts more than a thousand of them on BlazingTrailers. She shared her hard won experience in producing and also critiquing these latest promotional marketing tools. Her laser-sharp focus in marketing really showed us what does and doesn’t work for videos. Some talking points included:
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 Kim McDougall
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| Kim McDougall is an fantasy author, fiber artist and photographer. She writes children’s and YA fiction under her married name, Kim Chatel. Some of her books include Angel Venom, the Twisted Tails series and Luminari, She has a bachelors degree in English literature from Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec. She was born in Montreal and has lived in Nice, France, Toronto, Long Island, New York and now beautiful Pennsylvania.
She is also the founder of Blazing Trailers a site designed to showcase video book previews. After creating 100+ trailers she has picked up some tricks for promoting with this hot multimedia tool. |
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