Category Archives: Marketing - Page 2
On September 15th, 2011 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with children’s author, publisher, and marketing guru Barbara Techel. She is the award-winning author of the Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog book series. She has shared her story of hope and inspiration about her dachshund, Frankie, who is in a wheelchair, with thousands of children and adults since 2007. To date they have made over 300 appearances in Wisconsin and many more via Skype to classrooms across the US and Canada. Barbara is also a speaker and publisher. She appeared on our show to help all authors who may be having trouble getting started in speaking at schools and libraries some ideas and inspiration. A few topics we covered include:
- What to include in your presentation.
- Types of presentations
- Ideas for what fiction authors can speak about
- Pitfalls to avoid in pitching classroom appearances
- Appropriate length for various ages
- Managing the sales appropriately
- Where to speak: In-person and via Skype
- What to charge for classroom appearances
- Marketing your message and appearances to schools
|
 Barbara Techel (and Frankie) |
| Barbara and Frankie are avid volunteers as a therapy dog team. They routinely visit a local hospice community, hospital and senior assisted living facility, where they “walk their talk” about the inspirational nature of perseverance in the face of challenge.Since before her first book was published, Barbara has worked tirelessly to promote her books and the positive message they embody. She has garnered coverage for her story from local, regional and national media through these efforts, and continues to develop and refine her marketing message and approach. Class Act: Sell More Books Through School and Library Author Appearances is her first book about what she’s learned, but not likely her last. |
 Class Act: Sell More Books Through School and Library Author Appearances |
On September 1, 2011 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author and marketing guru Irene Watsonon how authors can generate their marketing platform with a minimum of effort. Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books. She spoke with us and addressed the following points:
- What is an author platform?
- Why does an author need a platform?
- What’s the first thing to do to create a platform? (Define Audience)
- What is the next step after I define my audience?
- Basics of the platform (Brand, Reputation, Connections)
- What is the foundation of a platform?
- 7 steps in creating an author platform.
|
 Irene Watson |
Among the many destinations Irene Watson runs includes ReaderViews, First Chapter Plus, Inside Scoop Live, and Review The book Dot Com. Her team produces press releases, media interviews, and book videos just to name a few.
Irene is also author of The Sitting Swing: Finding Wisdom to Know the Difference , co-author of Rewriting Life Scripts: Transformational Recovery for Families of Addicts, and co-author of Authors Access: 36 Secrets for Authors and Publishers. |
 The Sitting Swing: Finding Wisdom to Know the Difference |
| On August 19th, 2011 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with publishing and marketing guru Paul McNeese. Paul spent 27 years writing for radio, TV, newspapers, magazines and in corporate America before retiring to create his own organization. Paul’s new company, OPA Author Services, helps both first-time authors and seasoned professionals to self-publish their materials—in other words, to become their own publishers. In this session of Authors Access, Paul McNeese is with us to offer some thoughts – and perhaps a little advice – on a vital aspect of “branding” for writers and authors |
 Paul McNeese |
| In 2008 Paul McNeese re-focused his work and began guiding authors only through the development and production of books and E-books — and then turning his clients over to a consortium of trusted experts he gathered over the years specifically to handle marketing, promotion, publicity and distribution. Even though he limits his personal work to operations that end with the printing or electronic publication of a book, Paul knows that the marketing plan is a vital component of the consultant/client relationship and essential to the success of both books and authors, so he keeps up with all of the new approaches to book marketing and starts every new project by building a plan with each client that will make the transformation from concept to cash register a seamless one. |
 OPA Author Services |
On June 16th, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with legendary punk rocker Bill See about publishing and marketing his own memoir. Bill See was the lead singer for critically acclaimed Los Angeles indie rock band Divine Weeks before continuing on as a solo artist.He shared his D.I.Y. know-how from his band days now to promote and market his own book and covered several topics:
- How the music industry was revolutionized and is still trying to adjust to the changes and speak to the theories and similarities to the literary world.
- The pros and cons of self publishing vs. traditional publishing.
- Marketing/promoting: Traditional media vs. underground, blogging and social media, etc.
- Pros and cons of hiring a publicist as a self published author. What is money well spent in promotion.
- Most important aspects of promotion before actually starting the campaign (i.e. title, keywords, metadata, keywords, social media, book trailers)
|
 Bill See, from the band Divine Weeks |
| Bill See has just released his first book “33 Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream,” a memoir about breaking away from a turbulent upbringing and going on tour in a tiny van across the U.S. and Canada in the summer of 1987. Bill has a unique perspective having watched the music industry revolutionized by the internet, and with the advent of self publishing hitting the literary world, he sees a lot of similarities. |
 33 Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream |
