Tony Eldridge's Blog, page 28

4 Tips On Crafting A Title That Will Get People To Read Your Post

Sometimes you just need to hit the reset button and start over. That's what I am doing now. Over the last few days, my cell phone died (right after I made the decision to do away with my land line), my car spent two days in the shop, I left my laptop in a restaurant and spend a half day trying to retrieve it, and my back went out on me for the first time in my life, keeping me down for three days. Thank goodness my brother-in-law is a chiropractor! Anyone in the DFW area who needs a great chiropractor needs to see Dr. Tom Pledger at First Care Wellness.



But let's get back on track. Today, I want to talk about choosing a blog post title that attracts readers. We often put a great deal of time into creating a post with outstanding content, but we slap on a title that fizzles or will cause a reader to pass by our great content.



The title should tell the reader what to expect in the post. Sometimes we get cute with our titles and miss the opportunity to tell readers what to expect in our post. For example, "Riding The Wave" may sound like a great post title, but how will people know that your post is about creating viral marketing for your blog? Well, they can't. But if this is your post title- "Tips On Creating A Viral Wave To Promote Your Blog"- you will have more people take the important step of opening your post to read the first paragraph.



Here are some tips that I find valuable when I create titles for my blog posts:

Tell Readers What Is In The Post- As stated in my example above, readers should have a good idea what you will be talking about in the post by reading the title. If they don't then it's time to rework your title.



Add Keywords To Your Title- If you can put the words in your title that people are using in the search engines, you will lay bread crumbs for them to your post. If your post is about viral marketing, then use that phrase in your title.



Use Numbers In Your Titles- If you have 5 tips in your post, them tell people you have 5 tips. People love lists. So a title that says, "5 Tips On Creating A Viral Wave To Promote Your Blog" will help encourage people to check out your blog.



Use "How To" In Your Title- As an alternative to using numbers in your title, you may want to start your title off with "How To..." For example, "How To Create A Viral Wave To Promote Your Blog" will garner a lot of attention with people looking for a tutorial oriented post. Just make sure that your post answers the "How To" that you advertise in your title.

I hope these tips on creating titles will help you choose titles that will entice people to click on your post and start reading. If you have other ideas for choosing post titles, please share them with us in the comment below.

10 Ways To Find Material To Blog About

If you are a blogger, there probably comes a time when you hit the wall and run out of things to say. This can be especially true if you blog 5 days a week or more. In this post, we will look at ways to find fresh blogging material week after week, year after year.



Here are two other resources that may help you as well:



1. Take a look at my blog post entitled, 6 Ways To Cure Blogger Writer's Block, to give you more ideas on blogging material.



2. Mark your calendar for tomorrow, Tuesday, October 19th. I will be a guest on the Blog Talk Radio program, "The Publishing Insiders." The show will focus on "Blogging Ideas the Whole Year Through."



Now, here are some ideas on where you can go to find bogging material year round:

Breaking News- Keep up with current events in your industry. As a blogger, you are in a great position not only report news to your readers, but to comment on it as well.



Google Alerts- There are a lot of people blogging on topics you blog about as well. By setting up Google alerts with highly relevant keywords, Google will let you know when someone else is mentioning your topic. That will give you a chance to see what he or she is saying and give you ideas that flow from those posts.



Books, Conferences, and Seminars- While you don't want to plagiarize someone's work, these sources of information will lead to a wealth of ideas to blog on. Whether you roll the information out as a review or whether you use the information yourself and then share your experience with your readers, you will find ample ideas to keep you busy writing for a long time.



Listen To Your Readers- By following reader comments on your blog, or e-mails sent to you by readers, you will find questions that you inspire from your blogging posts. These reader questions are fertile material for new posts and are probably the most relevant material you can post on.



Interviews- Interviewing an expert in your field is a great way to find material for your blog. Most experts will love to sit down for an interview and it will not only lead to material for that post, but rich material for future posts.



Carnivals- Carnivals are posts that lists links to other posts on a subject. On this blog, I do a carnival every Friday I call, Marketing Tips Around The Net. Each week, I list 10 posts that catches my eye that week and share them with my readers.



Make Lists- People love to scan lists. 6 ways to... 8 steps for better..., etc). By collecting and sharing ideas in the form of lists, you have a great way to catch the attention of readers. In my experience, listing the actual number in the blog title almost always pulls in more readers than blog titles without numbers. I have even rewritten posts titles to include lists and have seen increased attention to the blog post.



Case Studies- Case studies can be wonderful material for a blog. By breaking down the merits of an event and looking at the steps the person has taken to roll out their event, you can highlight the pros and cons of their execution. If you do this in a productive way, then you will have valuable information to share with your readers.



Complain/Praise- There are a plethora of ideas here. Whether it's Google, Twitter, Firefox or any other technology that your readers find relevant, you can easily find material to last a lifetime by praising or complaining about things.



Define- In our ever-changing world, you can be a champion of your readers by defining buzz words for them. What is web 2.0, geotargeting, or a niche? Whatever the buzz words are in your industry, you will find plenty of words to fuel many posts.


These are just a few ideas that I hope will have you blogging long into the future. For a more intimate discussion of blogging ideas, make sure you join us tomorrow night on the Blog Talk Radio program, "The Publishing Insiders." The show will focus on "Blogging Ideas the Whole Year Through."

Marketing Tips Around The Net: October 15th

It's Friday and that means it's time to take a trip around the net to look at marketing posts that have caught my eye. So grab a cup of Joe and snuggle into to a comfy sofa as we pick up some tips and tricks from experts around the world.



1. 10 Simple Ways to Become a Powerhouse Blogger- Penny Sansevieri kicks us off with a great post packed with tips and tricks that will make blogging a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. As a bonus, check out my guest post on her blog, 6 Ways To Cure Blogger Writer's Block. And mark your calendar for next Tuesday, October 19th. I will be a guest on her Blog Talk Radio program, "The Publishing Insiders." The show will focus on "Blogging Ideas the Whole Year Through."



2. How Does Participating on Social Media Translate Into Business?- Phyllis Zimbler Miller discusses the business link between your marketing plan and your social media presence.



3. Choose the right title for a business or advice book- Roger C. Parker gives 7 tips on choosing the right title for your book.



4. Promote Your Book on the Goodreads Network- Dana Lynn Smith tackles book marketing on a social networking site created specifically for authors and readers.



5. The Most Useful Book on a Writer's Desk!- Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares a grammar guide that she says should replace your Stunk and White!



6. Successful Interview Or Bust- Todd Rutherford invites guest poster L. Diane Wolfe to discuss how you can prepare for the all-important live author interview.



7. Ten Ways to Know if Your (Internet) Marketing is Paying Off- BookBuzzr invites Penny C. Sansevieri to discuss how you can make sure your internet marketing is on track. As a bonus read, check out my guest post on BookBuzzr this month entitled, "Tools To Help You Create Videos For Your Blog/Website."



8. How Authors And Writers Can Build An Email List For Marketing- Joanna Penn gives some great tips on building up your e-mail list.



9. Google's URL Shortener Is Here, And I Like It- Daniel Scocco discusses Google's new URL shortening service and why he really likes it when compared with other services.



10. Creating an Author Page on Amazon.com- Sylvia Hubbard walks you through the process of creating your Amazon author page.



That's it for this trip around the net. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. As for me, my Indianapolis Colts are gearing up for the Washington Redskins. It should be a fun day.

Should You Mention Your Competition In Your Marketing Message?

I will be the first to tell you that there are a lot of ideas regarding this question. Undoubtedly, there will be some out there who disagree with me. That said, here are a few things to consider before you decide to mention your competition in your marketing message.



Reasons Not To Mention Your Competition

Make Sure You Are Honest- Only in politics can the opposition throw out lies and the people fall for it (as witnessed by movement in the polls almost always in favor of the one who lies). But in business, you are more likely to be the target of a lawsuit if you lie about your competition and lose credibility from your prospects. Lying about your competition is a recipe for disaster.



You May Be Giving Free Advertising For Your Competition- If you are not sure of your marketing strategy, you may be gratuitous to a fault by giving undue attention to your competition rather than focusing on your own company. Be careful how you mention your competition.



You May Start A Mini War You Are Not Prepared For- It may sound like a good idea to mentioned your completion, but if you are negative in any way, you may be waking a sleeping giant. It is unwise to take on a successful competitor in a head-to-head battle that you invite if you don't know your competition's marketing savvy.

Reasons To Mention Your Competition
Coattails Can Be A Powerful Force- If you have little or no name recognition, a strategically placed name of a well-known competitor may do more to help define your product in the public's eye than anything else you can do. If you use this strategy, be prepared to get the good and the bad with the name recognition.



Create Synergy Via Joint Ventures- Rarely is the playing field so small that there is room for only one player in any given market. If you are thoughtful and respectful of your competitor, it may return to you many times over if you can work out a mutually beneficial relationship that helps you both penetrate deeper into your market than you could have done alone.



Respond To A Competitor Mentioning You. Often, the best thing to do if you are attacked is to move on and not fall into the trap of giving your accuser what they are really after: exposure. On the other hand, if your competitor does mention you, it opens the door for you to legitimately respond to what they say. If you keep it as positive as possible, you may come out as the bigger person to your prospects.

Mentioning your competitor can be a risky strategy, but it can also pay dividends if you do it right. Be careful and thoughtful if you opt to engage in this strategy and always remember that an ill-executed marketing plan can be a hard thing to undo.

Content Creation is Vital in Successful SEO by R. Kyle Michael

All good things must come to an end, and so does my vacation to Sea World with my family. It was awesome to see my 4 year old twin boys feed the dolphins and ride their first kiddie roller coaster. But the highlight for them was the 45 second trolley ride from the restaurant to our hotel. Go figure...

Well, I am back in the saddle again today, staring at a few hundred e-mails and reading a to-do list that's a mile long. Fortunately, Kyle Michael, SEO expert from Seota is back with another guest post to help us learn a little more about the power of Search Engine Optimization. And while you check out his wisdom, I will be knocking off a few items on my to-do list.

Content Creation is Vital in Successful SEO
by R. Kyle Michael

As you may already know Search Engine Optimization can increase the organic traffic to your website. Once you get people to your page, you want to keep them there. The purpose behind search engine optimization is to drive traffic but without a useful, interesting site you may lose some potential customers. After all, you have put all this work into sending traffic to your site, but you want to persuade the traffic once it arrives to take action. So check your site content and give your visitors a reason to stay and a reason to return. Ask yourself what you want your visitors to take away from your site.

Site Content:
Content can be anything from a daily or weekly blog post, a widget, videos, photos, etc. When you are developing your site content, think like your target audience. By offering content on your site that is informational, humorous, useful you give your visitors a reason to return and more importantly share your site within their own personal network.

This is where your creativity comes in. Start a blog, upload your photos and videos. Integrate your content into your site. By proactively creating content that engages your audience you allow Google to index your pages and return to your site. Sites with a greater number of pages in Google typically rank higher in search engine results. Your content also gives you opportunities for links from other sites. Writing a useful article on your blog, creating a how-to video or uploading photos of an event are all great ways to get links back to your website. These sites may want to use your article, video, etc. and send a link back to your website.

Sharing Content:
Bookmarking sites and social networking sites are great tools when it comes to getting the word out about your website. Make your content as sharable as possible, use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, and social bookmarking sites like Digg and Delicious to share and bookmark your website. Place social networking and social bookmarking buttons and badges on your pages so your readers can share your pages with friends. With a little time and the right execution, your customers can end up promoting your site for you.


Where to Start?
A great place to start is with a personal blog about your business. Use a site like Blogger or Wordpress to create your blog and stick to updating it regularly. A blog also gives you a forum to talk about new trends in your area of business and upcoming events or promotions. Tell your current customers about your blog and have them spread the word for you. Developing a blog gives you the opportunity to get some feedback from your customers and open up lines of communication directly with your audience.

The benefit to content creation is significant for a few reasons. First, you give your visitors a reason to return to the site and allow them to interact and explore. Second, it allows you communicate with your audience and gives them a vessel to share and promote your site through your content.

When Should You Stop Marketing Your Book?

So, you've written and published your book. You have bought into the importance of self-marketing, knowing that if you want something done, you can't wait for others to do it for you. Sure, you may employ other to help you, but it's up to you to plan, instigate, and execute the marketing plan for your book.



Then a year goes by and you can no longer say, "Just out!" Then two years, then five...



Soon, you begin to ask yourself, "When should I stop marketing my book?" After all, the shelf life of many books in a bookstore is 2-3 months, unless you are a perennial best seller. Even if you are an author who has beaten the odds and have a publisher who is paying and planning your marketing, it will be a fleeting experience at best.



In my humble opinion, an author never truly stops marketing their book. Sure, the activities and frequency may change, and if you have a new book out, your marketing activities will focus on that book. Still, you should never stop marketing your book.



Remember these tips when marketing a mature book:

Books Rarely Age: Even though your book may sport a publishing date from a few years ago, to a reader who has never heard of it, it's brand new. Unless your material is dated by content (example: How To Get Your Friends To Vote In The 2010 Elections or The Wonderful World Of Windows 95), then chances are your book still contains relevant material. And if you are a fiction author, your stories are timeless.



The Internet Is Eternal: Once you put information about your book on a blog, a web site, or a social media site, it's there for good. The search engines will continue to lead people to it and you will always have a way to send people information about it.



New Generations Mean New Readers: Did you know that Disney releases every cartoon they have every 7 years? After that, it's back in the vault for another 7 years. Why? Because every 7 years, there is a new batch off kiddos to market to. But you don't have to vault your book for 7 years. Each year, you will have new people who have never heard of your book. That's why you never stop marketing. You will never get to the point where everyone will have heard of your book.



Relaunches Can Be Exciting: Based on the principles above, you can plan relaunches of your book every few years and still capture the excitement of the original launch. Some authors revise their book and do a relaunch. Others schedule a new blog tour to help build buzz about their book. And one of the benefits you will have this time around is a whole lot of readers who can give great testimonials for your book.



Dripping On People Is Just As Important As Making A Splash: You don't have to plan a major event to market a mature book. You can do small things like inserting a link to the book in your newsletter, tweeting about your book every now and then, making sure a link to your book is in your e-mail signature, and writing a blog post that mentions your book. Dripping can still do wonders in keeping your book in the public's mind.



Speak To Local Groups About Your Writing Journey: As authors, we are fortunate that people seem genuinely interested in hearing about our journey to publication. Whether it's because there are elements of conquering mountains, or David and Goliath battles represented in our struggles, it's easy to deliver an inspirational and motivating story around our journey to publication. And it doesn't matter that our book was published a few years ago. I know authors who still speak about books they published over 10 years ago.



These are just a few thoughts that should help you as you ponder the question, "When Should You Stop Marketing Your Book?" You put a lot of yourself and your time into the book. It will always have life as long as you are willing to breathe into it the breath it needs. And that breath comes from the continual activities you engage in to keep it in the public's mind.

A Positive Letter from Hilary- Guest Post by Hilary Melton-Butcher

One of the things I love about being a blogger is meeting great people I would have never otherwise met. Such is the case with today's guest blogger. Hilary Melton-Butcher is a follower of this blog from across the Atlantic. It still amazes me that we can have casual conversations with people living anywhere in the world.



I approached Hilary to write a guest blog post here based on the comments I had been reading by her on my blog. That led me to visit her sites to learn more about her. In today's post, she will take you through the process she went through in developing her own blog. If you are apprehensive about blogging or if you want to gain perspective through another person's eyes, then you will want to read her fascinating journey at becoming a successful blogger.







A Positive Letter from Hilary-

by Hilary Melton-Butcher





In the autumn of 2008 I became part of a small group, mostly from the States, who were each going to start a blog, learn the strategy, set the blog up, start writing, get some tips and keywords strategies, start the traffic coming in - initially from the group comments, then branching out and commenting on other blogs, having that daily commitment and culture.



We needed a passion .. what are we blogging for, why are we doing it .. blogging is telling a story - and in fact perhaps that's where I fit - though at the beginning I had no idea. My first choice of blog was just was not me - so I pulled the plug .. it wasn't a subject I wished to pursue .. nor could I see where it would lead me.



In January 2009 I had the opportunity to join with the others in San Diego and learn some blog craft - writing, being creative, search engine optimisation strategy, tips and tricks, social media and by being part of a group to build a rapport from meeting everyone.



Over the Autumn and Christmas 2008 I mulled and mentally struggled for another name - a two word name - that would embody a passion and become (perhaps) a brand. I am a generalist by nature .... but having been looking after my stroked mother, who could still communicate at an intelligent level, I realised that the input which stimulated her was something I could turn into a series of blog posts.



I had been writing letters out to family and friends about my mother's situation and had had cards and letters back ... saying please don't stop these letters - they are so uplifting, so positive and so interesting - so from others' words was born Positive Letters.



Each member of the group posted and commented, and replied on each others' blogs - building the traffic; some of the bloggers fell away ... but once home I realised that my posts interested people - so I was on the right track; I also realised that I needed to go beyond the group and so started commenting on a few blogs that interested me.



We'd been guided re the etiquette, really common sense, we needed to build relationships with other bloggers by making salient comments to their posts, be loyal and in due time they would come across and comment and see what we were about.



Initially on each comment it was suggested we sign off with our name and our brand, so that that recognition would be there ... I still do it occasionally. I added Inspirational Stories to the name Positive Letters - because it was felt that positive letters, albeit is a good description, would not inspire people to actually visit the blog.



I was lucky - Daphne wrote a post entitled "Who is your Ideal Reader?" - a very good question for an aspiring blogger .. my reply about my mother triggered Daphne (as she couldn't contact me via email) to write a whole post to me "A Positive Letter for Hilary" - amazing .. I was stunned. I had only been blogging 3 months .. but I had made those connections.



From there .. I branched out, some of the original bloggers fell away, and my readership started to grow ... more importantly I continued to realise that my content interested people sufficiently for them to keep coming back and keep commenting - some extremely positively.



My life has been pretty stretched - my mother in the Nursing Centre but needing and wanting my visits every day or twice a day .. and my uncle needed my support after a fall, and relishing the input I was able to give him - particularly my visits and in between my letters - yes - a positive letter, exactly as it was intended, via the post: he was enthralled and couldn't wait for the next one!



So I have concentrated on the blog, without doing any marketing at all, other than building relationships with people whose blogs I enjoy or whose input I respect - Tony's - and realised that my blog is my asset base - all 250+ posts.



I have quite a lot of ideas for ways of developing the blog, but I need the emotional energy and time to build and develop these thoughts. This year my mother has been quite ill .. but now she is a little better and able to converse again .. so I will take things slowly.



My readership has grown - it is not enormous by any manner of means .. with 50+ followers - but the amazing thing (to me that is!) I'm getting a 33%+ ratio of commenters. My replies to comments are pertinent, and the comments I post on others' blogs I make relevant to their post (their blog and to them .. as the rapport between us grows). However there are one or two blogs I post on - where I don't expect to get a comment back ... but then suddenly .. Tony's "Hilary could you do a guest post for me on Getting Started?" question came via an unpublished comment!. Whooo - what an honour!



The other advantage I've realised is .. that I'm telling various stories all the time - about life, getting you all to think differently, to look at our past in a different light - actually educating myself all the time .. but I'm also giving a running commentary, through the 'Dear Mr Postman' postscript at the end of each post as to how my mother is .. what's she's feeling & how she's reacting etc



This gives me another string to my bow - as I have experienced a great deal about the health service, health, patients and their relatives, strokes, hospitals, nursing centres etc etc and can turn that knowledge into another way to attract readers - or as has happened write another guest post on healing.



So completely inadvertently ... because I haven't been agitating about numbers, SEO, social media (I tried .. but simply couldn't cope - I know what to do from San Diego & watching and listening ever since), advertising of any sort, marketing in any direction .. I've just been consistently blogging about subjects that interest and attract people - for which I'm very grateful - but I seem to have a brand.



So in simple terms and point format I'd say:

Keep it simple ... get a feel




Choose your platform - Blogger or Wordpress or your own dot.com (or preferably your own dot.com even if you use Blogger as I do - I will be changing to Wordpress sometime)




Set the platform up - so that it does what you want, again keep it simple to start with - have a "profile" note, the "about" can wait for a while, I like "comment moderation on"- you can always change it later, try one or two of the tools - see what others use




Select your name - preferably two words .. that will act as keywords now or later on




Choose your niche - your passion, your business, or your area of expertise - you can see from my blog .. my niche is very different - in fact to be perfectly honest .. I'm not sure where it falls & when I come to do some marketing then I will need to drill down some more to find the appropriate focus.




Write 300 - 600 words for each post - every day (I am now posting only twice a week or so, while I have so much going on & as the blog is established .. and my posts have become longer - but contain a lot of information). Add a signature at the bottom of each post and the blog title




Find/choose some blogs to comment on - ones you enjoy and/or have relevance - write positive salient posts




Add a few blogs to your Reader - ensuring you know when to comment




Be patient, be consistent - you're building a community niche




Readers and commenters will come - as long as you have something of value




Watch what others do ... learn from their approach




Add a picture to your blog posts




Add a link within your blog post - for your picture or another article of interest




I put links in for videos .. because if you print off a post with a video in it - it comes up black - wasting ink!




Essentially write a blog post every day, comment every day on other blogs, publish and reply to comments that will come to your blog.


Blogging is story telling, a journal .. it is allowing us to market ourselves to the world... once we have a small core base of followers then we can progress outwards - develop a business idea, write a book, look at other net-based opportunities, or local off-line opportunities.



Work out your business strategy, or blogging strategy and work your blog as you would if you were opening a small store - you want your customers .. offer them what they want - be loyal, be polite, be thoughtful .. most things take time and they don't happen overnight.



Enjoy the process .. I am now loving it - and as someone commented recently "Hilary - you're writing these stories for others .. but you wouldn't stop now would you?" And that is so true - the idea started from the conversations I had with my Mother, the updates I sent out as letters to friends and families, the positive letter I sent to my Uncle .. but now I love what I write and the blog has a degree of success ...



I have much to learn about social media and marketing my ideas .. but my asset base is there and my genre is established ... so although each post takes quite a lot of work I am educating myself about all sorts of subjects all the time ... and it gives me something positive to work with - when I've had a difficult and challenging few years - and something to move forward with ...



Enjoy the process .. don't try and do too much or stress yourself out, it's better to do it properly .. either do it .. or don't.



Be positive .. go forward step by step .. none of us go from zero to hero overnight .. have fun as you move along .. enjoy the success as it comes .. from the positive comments, from watching your followers grow - but 'look before you leap' .. otherwise your castle will come crashing down ... and you'll be stressed out of sight and sound!



Enjoy, smile, be happy and live life .. see you out on the blogosphere .. and I would dearly love to see you over at my blog with some thoughts .. let me know what you think!



Thank you Tony .. really grateful for this opportunity to write for your excellent blog with all its tips and tricks - you're such a generous blogger - another essential .. give it away = be generous.



Hilary Melton-Butcher Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Technology Woes? Answering The Question, "How Do You Do That?"

As an author, you are asked to be a jack of all trades when it comes to your book. This is especially true about marketing your book. And many authors don't have the background to market effectively, especially when it comes to some of the web 2.0 marketing. It can be a daunting task when you start to look at things like blogs, Twitter, Facebook and any of the sites that "everyone" says you need to be on.



Then, when you hear that you can automate your posts by automatically having your blog tweet your followers and syndicate to your Facebook page when you post, it can be enough to make your head swim. On top of that, you may have to deal with formatting issues of your blog and adding ways to share your content through social media channels.



Well, I want to share a piece of advice that has helped me tremendously when it comes to answering the question, "How do you do that?"



If you visit YouTube, you will be surprised what you will find. Almost everything you could want to know how to do will be found there. And the time is long past when free video tutorials are offered by amateurs putting out substandard help. Now, you can find professionals sharing rock-solid content as well as professional-grade amateurs doing the same.



And you can expand your search from YouTube by using Google's video search. I usually type in the "how-to" question I need in the search field. For example:



How Do I Create A Favicon?



returns all the instructional videos I could hope for to teach me how to create a favicon (that tiny picture next to the URL in the address bar).



The nice thing about videos, especially compared to written tutorials, is that you can "look over the shoulders of an expert" as he or she walks through the exact steps you need to walk through in order to complete a task. And if you forget something, you just have to rewind the video and watch that part again.



And you will find many videos on any give task you want to complete. That means if one experts is not really helping, you can go on to the next one. Many experts often fly through the steps and assume that you have specific knowledge you don't have; but with a little searching, you will be able too find someone who will be your perfect teacher.



You can also read the comments that viewers make and glance at the ratings. While they are not always accurate, the comments and ratings can give you an idea of which video you might want to watch first.



With me, video tutorials have been my main stop for ideas that allow me to complete a task and move on quickly to the next task. I bet they can become a main source for you to answer that age-old question, "How do you do that?"

Professional Speaking as a Promotional Tool by L. Diane Wolfe

I'm excited to bring back a friend to Marketing Tips For Authors and a professional speaker who has shared her knowledge a number of times here. Today, L. Diane Wolfe will be discussing public speaking as an author. When you read today's post, make sure you check out her earlier post entitled, Touring in a Virtual World.



Now, on to L. Diane Wolfe's post...





Professional Speaking as a Promotional Tool

by L. Diane Wolfe



Public speaking can be an author's greatest marketing tool. It opens up unique promotional opportunities. It can supplement the author's income. It sells books! And in today's market, authors need to employ every possible angle.



At its most basic, speaking places the author in front of real human beings. The lure of the Internet has prompted more and more authors to remain hidden behind a website. While blogs and social sites provide a certain measure of interaction, it cannot replace real-world contact and physical appearances. Readers like to know about the creator behind the book, and meeting an author in person provides a human quality that is lacking online.



Not every writer is destined to be a professional speaker, but learning the craft is vital. For the introverted author too nervous to speak in front of two people, let alone a crowd, training is required. A media coach teaches poise and confidence. An organization such as Toastmasters offers critique sessions in a secure environment. Public speaking courses are available at almost every college. There are ample opportunities to train and prepare for public speaking.



Remember, there is power in the spoken word! Now, how do we use that power?



At the very least, every author should be able to discuss his own book. This will be required for signings, book readings, and library appearances. Book clubs and writer's groups are also open to the author. These opportunities provide more than just a personal touch, as promotional materials distributed by the author can influence later sales.



However, magic happens when an author moves beyond his book and develops a platform around his area of expertise. This should be a natural transition for the non-fiction writer. His education, skills, and experience led to the book's creation, and he can build a platform around this very knowledge. This doesn't preclude the fiction writer, though. Every book requires research, and a level of expertise is required to write fiction as well. Regardless of genre, all authors possess the ability to develop a platform and message.



The author who markets himself as a speaker gains several advantages. Professional speakers usually receive payment for their services. Speaking engagements can supplement their royalties (which are rarely enough to live on) and the income from their day jobs. These events often allow for back of room sales, netting additional income. An author with a platform is also more appealing to the media, as they want experts who can inform and entertain. The author who delivers what the media seeks and desires gains exposure to a far greater audience.



The list of venues for speakers is endless: libraries; businesses; schools; churches; colleges; writer and book festivals; organizations; clubs; conferences; etc. All of these provide an opportunity to reach a wider audience and generate greater books sales. Once established as a professional speaker, the author's reputation will drive the sales of future books as well, thus laying the groundwork for a long career.



And longevity and increased sales make both authors and publishers happy!



- L. Diane Wolfe, Professional Speaker & Author www.spunkonastick.net www.thecircleoffriends.net www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com

Volunteer To Sharpen Your Marketing Skills

In the past, I have talked about how volunteering can increase your visibility while doing good for others. I believe this win-win situation can do wonders to help many people as you use your skills with an organization. But today I want to talk to you about how you can gain marketing skills or sharpen your current skills through volunteering with others.



Before we do, I want to share a request that an author passed on to me where you can do some good for a great cause. Author Michael Balki...