Sarah R. Yoffa's Blog: -sry's Goodreads Blogosphere, page 12

TUESDAY TIP I hate spiders but I'd suffer the buggy for this iPhone! #techtoys (via @mashable + Ciccarese Design))

Okay, anyone who's known me more than 5 minutes knows I have a cheapo Android smartphone from Cricket and I hate it, despite being practically surgically connected to it like it's my virtual lifeline. You know, like this:


Okay, not exactly like that but would that I could! More to the point, would that my smartphone was smart enough to grab my wrist and hang on by itself...then again, the spider factor is kind of yuck. (Browse through all of Ciccarese's spidery iPhone visualizations here.) People who've met me in real life know, any bug that crawls into my pervue for more than 2.5 seconds is dead meat. Any bug. Any time. I am as fast (or arguably, faster) than your average housecat--and just as lethal. I hate bugs. Spiders included.

I would tolerate the spider-ness here because I have lusted after an iPhone since they first came out. I mean, I got a Droid from Cricket (another foul bug) so obviously the bug aspect is something I can get over to enjoy my techtoys. Of course I only opted for the Cricketphone because it was cheap cheap cheap (like me). This imaginary iPhone would not be cheap - hey, it'd be from Apple, let's not forget. They don't know how to spell cheeeep.

Federico Ciccarese has a lot of eloquent Apple design ideas here. It's fun just to browse through his mind on that blog. For instance, it's rumored (here on MacRumors) that Apple will actually come out with this smaller 7.85" iPad Ciccarese visualized to battle Amazon's Kindle Fire. Federico thought it first ^)^  Which would you prefer? An Amazon/Google/Droid tablet you get pre-configured to do Amazon and only Amazon OR a lightweight iPad that can do Amazon and everyone else, too? Uh, yeah, I'm gonna have to go with the iPad. My all-time favorite eToy EH-VAH!

I especially like the OneMoreFace project (Ciccarese's Intellectual Property design is for sale)




What's Next....
Next Monday we'll have a new entry in the Immutable Laws of Branding (for Indie Authors) series. Be sure to stop by. Don't forget to

MONDAY MARKETING Branding Law 8 (for Indie Authors) Category #strategy #positioning #branding #promo #indie #pubtip #myWANA

  some image rights reserved by Paulo BrandãIt's been a couple of weeks and I am all moved, though far from settled into the new digs. I wish I could have a couple more weeks "off" to catch up (LOL) but no. Welcome back to my marketing series on Branding (for Indie Authors). Over the course of this series, I've tried to help you understand what branding is but let me repeat the definition of branding since we've been away a little while.

A brand is an idea in the mind of the consumer which has the power to influence purchasing decisions.

After reading that definition, you might think a brand is merely a book cover--or series of book cover designs tied together by a theme. It's far more powerful than that, though I'll grant you, a themed book cover will, in fact, "influence purchasing decisions" and create "an idea in the mind of the consumer."

The question is, do you want your brand to be the one, individual book (or series of books) with that specific book cover design or do you want your brand to be an idea which encompasses all of the stories you write, collectively, as though they are a unique category of book called "books by you"? We'll look at the latter in today's discussion of Immutable Law of Branding 8 (for Indie Authors): Law of Category. Click through to get started if you have written--or want to write--more than one book.


What is a category?
Understanding the difference between a product and a category is critical to grasping today's discussion. I'll explain by way of example and, because it's pretty certain you've heard of this guy, I'll use Stephen King as my example ^)^

King's novel The Stand is a suspenseful thriller written about an apocalyptic event--and the aftermath. Or, in today's terms, it's a post-apocalyptic saga. It happens to be a great story that was written in the 1970s when King was first starting out (yeah, in that dark age before he was famous) and it's actually still a solid example of what is the essence of a "Stephen King novel." That is, you probably have an idea in your mind that it's a book that tells a thriller or horror story.

The Stand is, in fact, a novel which revived the then-stalled-out category of "post-apocalyptic" horror stories. The post-apocalyptic books are all en vogue right now (to wit: see Hunger Games and the myriad of vampires-take-over-the-world-then-what books out there) but for a while there (10-20 years in the middle of the 20th century), the public had lost interest. The category is a "fad" not a trend (horror is a trend; thriller is a trend). Had Stephen King not revived the post-apocalyptic category and continually worked to expand it, Suzanne Collins might not have been able to establish her YA Dystopia genre hit. Believe it.

King could have pushed the horror factor of The Stand and maybe he, personally, wanted to; I don't know. What happened instead was that the book and then later, the TV mini-series movie made based on the book, became an "overnight" hit in a "new" genre called post-apocalyptic stories. I recall when it came out how the SF/F community debated whether or not King had ripped off Richard Matheson's The Omega Man (a 1955 novel that was, essentially, the same story and was later made into a movie starring none other than SciFi superstar of the 70s, Charlton Heston, though the movie decidedly did not focus on the vampire idea and instead, highlighted the "deadly strain of disease wipes out human race" headline).

It was around that time that King was talking to the media, openly praising Richard Matheson for founding the (then) new genre of suspense thriller and "end of the world" stories (the tag "post-apocalyptic" was not yet in common usage). King said repeatedly how he would not have been able to write the books he does and plans to write into the future had it not been for Richard Matheson establishing this new genre. King was promoting the category when he said that it was only because Matheson laid the groundwork, pioneering a new genre (category), that new and emerging authors such as himself were even able to write new and exciting stories.

This sounds very humble of King and not to discount his amazingly generous character, but this is in fact a hallmark of King's brilliance as a marketing strategist. He's kind of a smart guy, you know?  This distinction King applied is the key to Immutable Law of Branding (for Indie Authors) 8: narrow the focus of your brand sufficiently to leave nothing but a new category--then advertise the category, not your brand.

Stephen King still dominates the horror category--and still actively promotes the category, not himself--while he's recreated himself over and over in other categories. He actually has been writing urban fantasy and paranormals for some years now. Did you know that or did you still think of him as a horror and suspense writer?




Dominance Is Death--And Not in the Murdery Mystery Way
Competition is healthy. You've heard that before, I'm sure, but do you really know why killing the competition will kill yourself with it? By killing the competition and dominating the category, you actually give yourself nothing by which your potential customers can measure your greatness. You can no longer be compared to lesser products if you've put them out of business.

People make subjective decisions--especially purchasing decisions--and our subjectivity is based on comparisons. By establishing a new category, and inviting others to join you in it, you establish a system of comparison for your potential customers. If you then promote the category, not your brand, you actually strengthen the system by which your customers will choose you over your competition by broadening the field of players. You make the "pie" larger and your slice grows with it, right? Proportionally, yes, it does.

The more competition in your category, the better--if you're the leader, anyway. If you're the one who established the category, then you are the original, the leader, the first. Use one of these words to promote your brand but focus on promoting your brand as first in the category.

Leaders should continue to promote the category even after it has begun to grow on its own. Does Stephen King promote horror and suspense stories (the category) or just the fact that he writes some of them (okay, most of them *haha*)? Of course, he promotes the entire category. In fact, Stephen King was one of the first proponents of the Indie Author community, rallying for eBooks over five (5) years ago. He has always been a man ahead of his time and a brilliant marketing strategist. If you want to follow someone's lead, King is a great leader to follow.



Leaders Should Never Own More Than 50% of the Pie
This probably sounds off to you. Most of you are probably watching your sales rank and worrying if you got up to #1 and then see it drop down to 90% and 80% and even (gasp) 70% but don't worry, be happy ^)^  A market leader should never own more than 50% market share. If you do, then you haven't invited enough competitors into your category to make your category thrive over the long term. If you see your market share rising too high--say to 75%--then you probably will see a drop in overall sales numbers. That's right, market share rising will result in sales dropping. Take the increased market share as a sign that you need to find and invite more competition to your category to drive your sales up again.



Case in Point: Coke vs. Pepsi
Let me take a classic example that was taken to the max (and no pun intended but it's a riot that it does fit so perfectly.) Coca-Cola company established the cola market and themselves as the leader. Immediately, competition sprang up and Coke became "The Real Thing" to reassert itself as the leader, the original, the "one." But in sales, remember, the attitude that there can be only one means the category is dying. Pepsi Cola Company understood this and came out with a truly legendary advertisement in 1995 which actually promoted the cola category, not just Pepsi's primary product. Watch the original advert here and then I'll discuss how this works.


1995 Super Bowl Pepsi Comparative Advertisement      
      At this point in time (for those of you either not yet born or too young to remember this) Coca-Cola had launched their "Coke Classic" as a rebuff to their failed "New Coke" campaign. Pepsi Cola had responded to public's outrage of Coke now being "undiscernable" from Pepsi by launching this commercial showing that even the Coke delivery guy prefers Pepsi over Coke. It wasn't just a product war; it was Pepsi strengthening their brand--and Coke's "real thing"--by promoting both in this "competition" advertising campaign. It worked brilliantly. The public really responded favorably to the idea of Coke and Pepsi sitting down together. Of course, Coke had also revived this 1960s commercial (the one which launched The Real Thing campaign) with the song about the world sitting down together. It ran on television (again) in the 1990s. The timing of both Coke and Pepsi's "togetherness" ads wasn't actually coordinated--as far as anyone will admit anyway. LOL! To this day, I'd more believe it was coordinated than it was not.
 


   The end result was that soft drink sales skyrocketed. People stopped seeing them as something "bad for you" and went out in droves to buy the cola of their choice (and both Coke and Pepsi continued to have a neck-and-neck horse race, dominating the cola category together). In 2000s, however, reports came in on how terrible these sugary colas are for you and how the caffeine is poisoning our children, and guess what? Yep, both Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola came out with caffeine free, zero-calorie drinks. Coke Zero launched in 2006. Pepsi Max claims to have launched in 1993 but no one noticed it until it showed up in this commercial from 2010 with a new package and more importantly, a new compaign, comparing it to Coke Zero and of course, reviving the classic 1995 Super Bowl spot (updated for the era of smartphones, YouTube and well, the original Pepsi guy is now behind the counter nodding instead of getting caught drinking the competition's cola).
      Coke Zero vs. Pepsi Max (2010)       In case you're wondering, 2010/2011 actually saw a rise in Pepsi Max and Coke Zero sales.  Competition is healthy and promoting the category instead of your own brand always invited more ardent competition (though these Coke and Pepsi guys take it to a  whole new level LOL)
         What's Next.... Tomorrow I'll have another Tuesday Tip and next Monday we'll look at Immutable Law of Branding 9 (for Indie Authors): Law of the Name, which I'll combine with Immutable Law of Branding 10 (for Indie Authors): Law of Extensions. Look forward to seeing you then. Thanks for stopping by!

TUESDAY TIP: Guest Carrie @PeevishPenman Bailey on Zombies at #Goodreads #promo #marketing #indie #pubtip #myWANA #goodreads

The Webbiegrrl Blizzard is still held at bay by Webbiegrrl's real life and I'll return with Immutable Law 8 of Branding (for Indie Authors) next Monday, July 9, 2012. However, today I have the pleasure to sharing with you a guest post by a wise Kiwi I ran across on Goodreads. Carrie Bailey (aka one half of @PeevishPenman) shares with us this Tuesday some tips on how to avoid joining the Zombie Army of Spammers on Goodreads who are alienating the 9 million readers, sending them running to the hills for their shotguns at the first sign of a shelf-promoting Indie Author.

It hurts everyone when a small group behaves badly, so please click through and read this very good advice on how to attract, not repel, readers to the Indie Author community. I've edited slightly for Americanized English and to flow it here on the blog, but this is from Carrie, even if it looks just like what I've been saying all along. (There's gotta be a reason for that!) I've added my notes in ((-webbiegrrl)) style after her enumerated tips. Be sure to tweet @PeevishPenman to let Carrie know what you think of her ideas.


Are Zombies Selling Books on GoodReads?
By Carrie Bailey


My eyes glazed over and I took a quick mental break while deleting the contents of my inbox in Goodreads today. Did I leave the iron on? No. Was I going to check the notifications on the new threads? No. It’s just been too much lately.

When I first opened my account a few months ago, I was excited to talk to people about post-apocalyptic and dystopian books. Like a lot of bibliophiles, I’m also an author and I want to know everything about my genre and the people who read it. With my account open and my friends added, it briefly crossed my mind that Goodreads might be somewhere to promote my work when I actually finish it. After I a few weeks, that idea was buried alive and so was a small part of my faith in humanity. Why?

When asked for book recommendations in a thread, you’ll see a lot of self-promotion, a lot of "me, too!" posts.

“I also wanted to add my book which is still at 99 cents.” –random user

While it wouldn’t hurt for this author to provide the title of their work, doing more might be what leads to the Zombie Apocalyps of Indie Authors. What often happens is that once one author starts posting a full-length synopsis, others write longer ones. Once an author promotes in one thread, others start promoting in all threads. These Zombie Authors scan discussions and mindlessly post links everywhere, like the good little zombies they have become. Untargeted, senseless self-promotion is a highly contagious disease that can easily affect the culture of an otherwise awesome site like GoodReads.

These Zombies Authors aren’t even aware that they’re driving readers away. They’re just imitating other authors who are convincing us we should never read their book.

They aren’t aware that the soft sell approach is 30 percent more likely to succeed according to a study released by New Century Media in 2007. Yes, that is 2007, the year before the recession started and if anything, I believe readers are even more inclined to respond to a soft sell vs. a hard sell. There is just too much desperation in the air.

So how do you avoid becoming a member of this Zombie Army of Authors shamelessly shelf-promoting everywhere they go? Here are a few ideas.



1) Mention that you’re an author. Say nothing more. Curiosity will drive some readers to view your profile and if they like what they see, you may have a new reader even if your work has barely been reviewed. But read the group guidelines, stay within them and keep your profile updated. ((Be sure to "advertise" your book in your profile/bio. If nothing else, mention the title and genre -webbiegrrl))


2) Join in the discussion. Treat a forum like you would a dinner party. When was the last time you walked into a room, smiled at the hostess who was wearing too much lipstick and the same black cocktail dress she wore to your BBQ last month, pushed her aside, stared down her guests and shouted, “Hey, I’ve written a book everybody! Here’s the title and here’s where you can buy it. I know you’ll enjoy it, because it’s cheap!” You haven’t. I haven’t. At least, I hope you haven't. If you’ve seen someone do it, let me know. ((This is straight out of my Twitter Series. In fact, it's in the very first entry I posted on the basics of how to Join the Conversation on Twitter and the second entry on how to be authentic. It's not rocket science, folks! -webbiegrrl))


3) Be memorable. You can be unforgettable in more than one way. If you’re humorous, use that to your advantage. If you’re experienced, share your knowledge. If you’ve crafted an author brand involving your obsession with skin diseases, discuss it. Don’t tell people to buy your book. Just be memorable.
Build relationships. Make some friends. Zombies are particularly bad at this. I’m sure it goes along with the intense desire for cracking open everyone’s cranium, but this is what distinguishes one author from another. ((Be sure to be memorable in a positive way *grin* but also be sure to repeat the strongest method, often and everywhere you go, as this is how you build yourself into a brand. Think of brand-building as "having your own style." -webbiegrrl))


4) Don’t underestimate readers. You’re not the only author who wants to buy their own yacht with the sales from their first novel. If you can keep that in mind, you’ll understand why some readers aren’t interested what authors have to say about their own work. ((This is the basic thesis of branding "A brand is an idea in the mind of the consumer." Don't make it a negative idea. You never get to make a second first impression. -webbiegrrl))

Social media does sell books, but you must use the tools correctly. I’ve got three authors on my Goodreads to-read list, because I met them through Twitter and they all have one thing in common. It’s not their genre. None of them write the genres I normally read. While one of them does occasionally does go for the hard sell, all them were people first and authors second.


Carrie Bailey is a writer of post-apocalyptic fiction,
a rare book enthusiast and obsessive coffee drinker,
as well as a regular pineapple fritter eater.

Carrie blogs with her sister, Winonah Drake, at Peevish Penman and is on Twitter @PeevishPenman. Find her
on Goodreads here.





What's Next....
Next Monday at the Webbiegrrl Blog we'll return to our regularly scheduled Monday Marketing  series on Branding (for Indie Authors). The above guest post is a great example of advice on how to put branding into action. Be original, be unique, be you. See you next week, my special snowflake ^)^

TUESDAY TIP @Smashwords Ketchup + Beans: Of Images + ISBNs #pubtip #selfpub #indie #apple #ipad @markcoker

Mark Coker's recent announcements about changes coming to Smashwords (effective July 14th) are reposted here as a Public Service Announcement :)

Also, please note, the Webbiegrrl Blog shall be on hiatus (closed) while Webbiegrrl moves her real-life residence. The Webbiegrrl Blizzard shall resume on or about Monday, July 9th, with another chapter in the Immutable Laws of Branding (for Indie Authors) series.

Book Cover Image Requirements

Mark Coker, Founder of Smashwords, blogged about this upcoming change here.

The gist of it is you're going to have to start making your cover images bigger and better. If you want to "fix" your existing image files, you'll have to do a little work (or hire a professional << advised).  Here's a quote from Mark's blog (with a few typos corrected and sentences rearranged / edited for clarity but generally verbatim from the link above).

Starting in August, Apple will require that your cover image be at least 1400 pixels wide. Apple previously required a minimum height of 600 pixels. Since Smashwords requires vertical rectangle (height greater than width) images, please start planning accordingly. A new recommended ebook cover might be about 1600 pixels wide by 2400 pixels tall, which means your height is about 50% more than your width. Pull out a ruler and measure just about any print book and you'll get a ratio close to that.

A few months ago, I noticed Amazon started recommending larger covers too. They recommend a 1.6 ratio (height 60% more than width), and their recommended height is 2,500 pixels. Some of this is personal preference. If you aim for the height to be 30% to 60% greater than your width, it should look good. Do what you think looks best, but aim for the width to be greater than 1400 pixels.

Why is Apple making this change? We can only speculate, but it's probably safe to assume we can expect iPad, iPhone and Mac screens will continue to enjoy higher and higher resolutions in the future. Since we think the Apple and Amazon guidelines are reasonable, Smashwords will adopt Apple's requirements as our new minimum standards for cover images.

What happens next?

Apple's new requirement applies to new books, and cover updates made from July 15th forward. If your book is already in the Apple iBookstore with a smaller cover image, you're grandfathered in--unless or until you want to update your cover image, at which point, you'll need to make the new cover update conform with the new standard.

Smashwords will make the 1400-pixel minimum width a Premium Catalog requirement starting on or around July 15, 2012.

Like Apple, we'll apply the standard to new books and cover image updates. The Smashwords FAQ is now updated to reflect the new recommendations and requirements and I'll update the Smashwords Style Guide in the near future, so one month from now this won't come as a shock to people.

If we previously shipped your smaller cover to retailers, we won't require a new cover image be provided unless you want to update the content of the image.

NOTE: The minimum dimensions do not apply to the cover image (or other images) inside your ePub file. The cover image you insert into your Word doc should actualy be as small a file (low a resolution) as you can manage without losing visual quality. Every pixel takes away words from the length of your free sample.

CAUTION: Don't simply use a photo or image editing program to "stretch" out the size of your image. Changing "image size" without correctly increasing the image depth and resolution, will cause pixelation (blur).

Let me just add that hiring a professional graphics designer to take your original image source file and "adapt" it to the new size requirement is quick, easy and probably won't cost much more than $10 per image. It's totally worth paying a small fee to not have the hassle, isn't it?

If you don't find any of the designers on Mark's list to your liking, I can recommend a few--or I can do the job for you myself! I'll take the image and after you send $10 to my paypal, I'll send it back to you via email. If you prefer, I can even log into your Smashwords (and Goodreads) book page and update the image file there. I have Librarian status on Goodreads but for Smashwords, you'll have to reset your password to give me temporary access to your book page but then you can reset it once the image update is done. Minutes of effort that keeps it quick and easy, guaranteed.

Just email webbiegrrlwriter at the gmail dot com account and attach the highest resolution image (JPG) you've got to the message. I can turn an image around if not same day, within 24 hours (probably depends more on paypal sending me your $10 payment than anything else! LOL) I'll reply via email once I have your image and tell you where to paypal the fee. I'm not thinking I'll make oodles of money at this, just so you don't think I'm trying to drum up business. I just don't see myself working for free with my multiple plates as full as they already are but this is an easy thing to do and IMO a community service to help expedite it! High-res eBook covers are going to help us all sell more books!



ISBNs at Smashwords
Mark said: ISBNs are now listed on Smashwords book pages.
To which I say, About freakin time!

Yeah, I've been waiting for this one. So glad it's here at long last. Most consumers don't search for books via ISBN, but most book sellers do! In addition, your book might come up in Google search results for an ISBN. Here are some of the tricks and observations Mark made in his newsletter on this subject (quoted but edited  again):

1. If you enter your ISBN into the Smashwords search box and click search, it'll jump to your book page.

2. Your book page URL (web address) can also be constructed using your ISBN. Enter http://www.smashwords.com/isbn/[your book's ISBN here] and you'll get the book page. For example, my RomCom/Jewish Inspirational Dicky's Story has an ISBN (9781458062734) so its web address is http://www.smashwords.com/isbn/9781458062734

Try it out yourself with your own books. The ISBN shows up on the book page right underneath the word count and language.

3. This will be useful for a new distribution partner Mark / Smashwords is negotiating with because (as Mark noted) all he has to do is supply them ISBNs and they can create buy links to these pages (or the pages of our retail partners who make ISBNs searchable). Yet another reason to get your free ISBN from Smashwords.

If you aren't already using this free service, (a) you're not eligible for distribution to the Apple Store / iTunes and missing out on those sales and (b) your book won't be eligible for the Premium Catalog so (c) you won't be included in all of the new distribution opportunities Mark's negotiating all the time.

You can get a free ISBN by visiting your ISBN Manager. Go to Smashwords and log into your account. Click "Dashboard" and on the left side of the screen, click "ISBN Manager" then Click "Assign ISBN" to get a number assigned. After you assign an ISBN to a book, you will receive an email confirmation.

After Smashwords "ships" your ISBN to retailers, it cannot be changed. The free ISBN you get from the ISBN Manager is not to be used for the print edition of your book--nor can it be the same number as the one you may have gotten elsewhere. It's a unique number that identifies this as an eBook being distributed by Smashwords.





What's Next....
I am shutting down the blog for 2 weeks so that I can move my residence in real life with a lower level of stress than I'm currently piling on trying to "do it all" at once. The regular blog entries will resume on Monday, July 9th with the next entry in the Immutable Laws of Branding (for Indie Authors) Law 8: The Law of Category. Hope to see you then!

During the interim, please

MONDAY MARKETING Branding Law 7 (for Indie Authors) Quality - Perception is STILL everything! #pubtip #branding #indie #promo #selfpub

  some image rights reserved by Paulo Brandã
Welcome back to my marketing series on Branding (for Indie Authors). Over the course of this series, I'm helping you understand what branding is (especially that it is not a book cover).

We're discussing how to choose that one word that best describes your brand in that special, unique way that makes you you instead of like every other one of the millions of Indie Authors trying to break out of the pack.

Today, we're focusing on quality--or the perception of quality--because remember the saying, perception is everything rings all the more true when we discuss "worth" or "value" of a product. Your brand must be perceived as a quality brand before your products will have worth.  Click through the jump-break to see how you can build this perception in the minds of your potential customers.



Perception is Everything
As an engineer who abides by the Philip Crosby School of Quality (read Quality is Free if you haven't already!) Law 7 of the Immutable Laws of Branding (for Indie Authors) is particularly difficult for me to discuss without grinding my teeth. I have to switch off the engineer inside--who knows that the true meaning of quality is not "perceived goodness" but rather "conformance to requirements"--and instead turn on the marketing maven who knows Perception is everything!

According to Law 7, brands are not built by "quality" alone--where Ries is using the word "quality" to mean only "perceived goodness." According to Law 7, you can "build quality into your product" but that will have little to do with its success (or failure) in the marketplace. This discussion goes completely against the Crosby Concepts of Quality, but again, it is because the definition of the term "quality" is at the crux of understanding the discussion at all. But there is a point of convergence--and I'm thrilled to bring this to light.


Ries School of Quality
Ries points out that the definition of quality resides in the minds of the consumer. True. According to Ries's definition of "positioning" and discussion of "perception" as it influences a consumer's buying decisions, how the consumer perceives you and your brand or your brand's products is definitely more important than who or what you or your brand think you are! The entire purchasing process of evaluation and decision-making occurs in the minds of the consumer. Therefore, their perception of truth matters more than truth itself.


Crosby School of Quality
Okay, with me so far? Let's step over to the pragmatic side of "quality." Crosby points out that no matter what the consumer perceives about a product, it is only a "quality product" if it conforms to the requirements set out for its existence. If you define the requirements of an automobile to be that it "has a steering wheel and pedals for a guidance and navigation system and has four tires" -- and you don't define anything else -- a "quality car" would be one that has no doors or windows or seats! It would conform to the requirements you set forth without these things; therefore, it would be a quality product. Obviously, consumers would perceive this as a product lacking in quality as it is not the product they want . Again, perception of truth matters more than truth itself.


Marketing School of Quality
So how to merge Crosby's truth approach with Ries's perception slant to make a "real" school of quality you can apply to branding your Indie Author self and your books? It's a subtle blending, let me warn you right now, but it probably rings more true than any other Law of Branding I've discussed so far.

When your reader finishes one of your books, will they feel they got everything they were promised? Did it live up to its reputation? The first question pertains to the "conformance to requirements" definition of quality; the second, to the goodness factor. Both are going to be questions a consumer will ask themself when they read The End. It is in that instant of time that they determine whether or not they had a Satisfying Reader Experience--and whether or not your brand delivered a quality product.

Consumers aren't reviewing the pitch blurb on the book page to determine, point by point, if your book "conformed to requirements" and even if it did, that won't make them "feel good" about it when they get to The End. They have a perception of what to expect when they pick up the book and start reading. When the consumer gets to The End they want to feel that you have fulfilled your silent Contract with Reader and delivered to them what they expected. Not, please notice, what you said you would on the book page, but rather, what they expected you would when they began reading.


Contract with Reader
Because perception really is everything in the marketing world, you only need to make sure that your readers "expect" to receive whatever your products deliver so that your conformance to the terms of your Contract with Reader are completely fulfilled at The End. If you do that, then you have a quality product--even if the writing sucks and the book wasn't edited and the cover art is done by a ten-year-old in PowerPoint. Okay, not completely true. You have to edit and create professional cover art. Your writing, however, only has to deliver what they expect. "Suckage" is a relative term that is part of their perception. You can "suck" at writing and still have a very-high quality product!

This is the sticking point aggravating a lot of Indie Authors right now who are squeezing their sour grapes over 50 Shades of Grey and The Hunger Games to make vinegar remarks about the quality of writing--or lack thereof. It doesn't matter. The books deliver what people are expecting them to deliver. They are a quality product in their respective niche brand. That is why these two series have succeeded so dramatically. They are narrowly-focused brands, (Law of Contraction) and they are delivering on Law 7: Quality.


Building a Perception of Quality
In the case of these two series, the quality perception was built on buzz, hype, publicity that branded them strongly and narrowly. There are other ways to build a perception of quality--or to destroy it. Hopefully, the number one way that pops into most of your minds is price. Given the 99c market debate in Indie Publishing, I should hope you have sufficient evidence to see how pricing truly impacts perception of quality. Plenty of people will download a 99c book but their remarks about the 99c book  -- if any commen is made at all -- is usually couched with the phrase "for 99 cents" as though that explains what the book is. It could be anything--even a new entry in The Hunger Games--but if it's priced at 99c, it's "one of those" 99c books. Period.

Attaching a bargain-basement price to a book locks the book in the basement, down at the bottom of the Product Ladder. You can sell a lot of books down there in the basement, don't get me wrong, but if you want to climb the ladder, you'll need to change the consumer's perception of you from "one of those 99c books" to a "quality product."

High-priced products deliver a measure of psychic satisfaction to an affluent customer. They feel good about making the purchase and consuming a high-end brand. In widget-sales, they even get a rush showing off their new high-end purchase in public because they know others who see it will know "this is a quality product and they own it." Think Rolex, Mercedes, and who doesn't remember the rush for Herman Miller Aeron desk chairs after Christian Bale made them famous in American Psycho ?

Well, okay, half of you are probably too young to remember this but these chairs were "it" back then and the talk was they were "high quality" and "worth the price." They're just chairs. At least today they're reasonably priced chairs ($500 for a fully-adjustable desk chair is what I call "reasonably priced" okay? And yes, I want one - if you want to send me a birthday present, I accept all gifts. My birthday is November 7th *haha*)


This question of a high-priced product being a quality product is not just about snobbiness or status symbols. It's perception actually changing enjoyment of a product. Take this example. You go into an expensive restaurant and after discussion with the Sommelier decide on a bottle of wine that costs $200. Do you think the Sommelier will suggest the $20 alternative that tastes just as good?


[image error] Even if the restaurant had a $20 alternative that tastes just as good and even if the Sommelier (snotty as he might be) could even believe such a bottle could taste "just as good" and oh yeah, even if the customer asked for less-expensive alternatives, no way, no how is the customer ever going to believe that the $20 bottle tastes as good as the $200 bottle. Perception is everything. The Sommelier has recommended the "good" wine and the cheaper one will automatically be "less good" in the mind of the customer--even if it's the same wine!

That taste test was actually performed in a real restaurant in New York in the 1980s, if I recall correctly. The customer insisted the exact same wine--labeled with a higher-priced label so neither the customer nor the Sommelier knew it was the same wine--wasn't as good as the "expensive" one. It was a huge piece of publicity for the marketing firm that had arranged it. I don't remember exactly who the firm was but I think the lead was a guy named "Al" whose last name started with an "R" and rhymes with "piece." Yeah, he might've had something to do with it! ^)^

Quality writing and quality editing and quality artwork are all good things--but they are your "wine bottle label." They won't sell your brand and it is your brand that sells your Indie Author career (rather than just one book to ten people that you happened to speak with personally).

To build a "quality brand" that can accompany your quality writing, quality editing and quality artwork, you need to narrow your focus (use the Law of Contraction), use the right name, and set a quality price. You can still reach those non-affluent customers who shy away from a high-priced book. Don't lower your price and thereby, your perceived value. Instaed, leave your regular price set high and mark it down--better yet, give it away, FREE. Just leave the regular price on the book to make sure perceived value is still there.



What's Next....
I am shutting down the blog for 2 weeks so that I can move my residence in real life with a lower level of stress than I'm currently piling on trying to "do it all" at once. I've got a Tuesday Tip prepared for you for tomorrow (collecting Mark's announcements of recent changes at Smashwords) but the regular blog entries won't resume until Monday, July 9th. Hope to see you then!

During the interim, please

TUESDAY TIP Breaking the Block (Writer's Block) i am #writing r u #reading?

I was planning to talk about so-called Writer's Block even before I saw Al "threecifer" Boudreau's post on Facebook yesterday, but then I replied there (extensively) as my SciFi self. I'll rehash what I said here for those who missed it (or are not on Facebook). Click through to read it now.

Last year I wrote an article on Writer's Block where I noted I have never experienced this phenom (sorry!) and then I went onto detail a lot of tactics you could try to figure out why you're having writer's block and how to break it.

Today, I'm going to be a little more concise--I know! Prolific me, concise? Hard to believe! I have over 20 novels "in the drawer" as they say and about 12 short stories, 5 or 6 novellas. I probably have 8 new / unwritten books in my head as well. I am never at a loss for words and literally cannot fathom how any writer could ever be at a loss for words. Despite all this, I am very aware that many writers are struggling everytime they sit down to figure out how to do this thing I just do without thinking.

Tip #1 Stop Thinking So Much
I believe a lot of the writer's block issues out there are based in over-analyzing a situation. Just sit down and write. If you need to outline first, fine. Do it. Just make sure that when you sit down to write, you aren't rigidly or forcibly adhering to an outline at the cost of squelching creative flow. If your creative juices are flowing and you knowingly squelch the flow, you are creating writer's block. Do your thinking before you sit down to write and when you sit down to write, just write.



Tip #2 Start Writing More
The more I write, the more I learn about what I've been doing wrong--the more I do right, the easier it gets to write :) I know I'm on the right track when the writing flows and I know I'm writing in an effective manner when I go back to read it and still think it flows beautifully.

I know everyone's heard this tip, just keep writing, write everyday, the more you write, the easier it gets, but the thing is, it's true. The biggest thing you can do for yourself to unlock the block is give yourself permission to write badly. That doesn't mean you can get lazy and not bother to write well; rather, it means you shouldn't be afraid to write something that isn't quite "ready for prime time."

The most-powerful thing you can do to start yourself down the path of "freedom to write whatever comes out," is to learn how to edit. Then, when you're disgorging the first draft in an organic way, your backbrain won't be so worried about whether or not it's "good enough." You'll be able to let go and feel secure (subconsciously) that you can always fix it later. This seems obvious to those who are able to edit. However, for writers who have not yet learned how to edit, this subconscious concern can actually prevent you from writing. This segues nicely into Tip #3.


Tip #3 Learn to Edit
I feel writing is creative while editing is destructive--but not in a negative way, just in that deletion is one of the most powerful editing tools around. Most writers will add words to "improve" on something. Instead, try deleting it and writing it again from scratch--the right way this time. You'll get a much more powerful Big Picture. If you feel worried about writing something down "quickly, before you forget that perfect wording," consider the idea that maybe it's not a stroke of genius so much as a phrase of the moment. It might not be the best phrasing for you entire book, but rather, for your moment right here and now. Those are the pet phrases new and inexperienced writers desperately try to "save" and avoid "murdering."

If you think that "editing" means checking spelling, punctuation and grammar, in a way, you're right. That's called "line editing" because all it actually does is "fix" a single line. When you want to edit the entire book, however, you need to do more than tweaking words and checking spelling. You're not "polishing" a sentence when you're editing. You're modifying the entire book--paragraphs and pages at a time.

Now this is important: learning to edit is not necessarily about your finished product. It's about releasing your creativity. You can still hire an editor and have an objective third-party take care of editing your book after you've written it. Learning how to edit, however, frees you to just write. It elminates the worry and subconscious "self-censoring" that might be going on and resulting in what you're calling "writer's block."


Tip #4 Start Reading More
I think the #1 thing a writer needs to know even beyond learning the power of destruction (editing) is to learn the power of being a reader. If you don't read, you really can't expand your breadth and scope. You never see or learn how to use new "literary tools" if you never expose yourself to them. Reading others' work is how you expose yourself to new things you've never conceived of before. It's a way to find inspiration without ever deliberately seeking it out.

Just a word of caution: reading others' work for enjoyment, not necessarily for critical review, I have to confess, I often find my backbrain dissecting and analyzing how an exceptional author managed to get me, as a reader, into a certain mindset or mood. Especially if it's an author whose work I re-read. I'll analyze it the second or third time through, almost definitely. I'm still reading for the pleasure of it but now I'm learning from it as well.

This is how I actually learned to write multiple POV in the second person limited voice. I had no idea what any of that even meant let alone how to do it, before 2005. I happened upon two incredibly gifted authors (each with about 20 years worth of books in their body of work at that time) and I learned by their example--by reading their work multiple times.

The first was Suzanne Brockmann (a Romantic Suspense author who specialized for over 20 years in "stories about US Navy SEALs) and the second was Lois McMaster Bujold (a Science Fiction/Fantasy genre author whose "Vorkosigan Saga" has to be one of my all-time favorite series due to its literary artistry. Lois really illustrates how to use every last tool in the toolbox. Suz teaches by example how an author's voice can completely change the telling of a story--by using various "voices" more effectively than a ventriloquist!

I think going to a classroom to learn spelling and grammar and basic writing tools is a good thing but people who take a course in "Creative Writing" are misguided if they think that's going to turn them into a literary genius. That's going to turn them into a stagnant copycat. One has to read to expand and one has to write to implement what one has learned.

A writer writes. A writer who has only written one book is not a writer. A writer cannot stop at one. A writer writes (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, emails, whatever outlets they can find) and if they're not writing, they're thinking about writing.



What's Next....
Next week's Monday Marketing will be Immutable Law of Branding 7 (for Indie Authors): Law of Quality and then I'll be taking a week or two off while I move (not sure how all the dust will ultimately settle or when I'll be back online exactly) We'll talk quality next week and then I'll be back after July 4th.

MONDAY MARKETING Branding 6 (for Indie Authors) Credentials are ur Brand Collateral #pubtip #indie #publishing #myWANA #selfpub

  some image rights reserved by Paulo Brandã
Welcome back to my marketing series on Branding (for Indie Authors). Over the course of this series, I'm helping you understand what branding is (and that it's not a book cover). We're discussing how to choose that one word that best describes your brand in that special, unique way that makes you you instead of like every other one of the millions of Indie Authors trying to break out of the pack.

Today, we're focusing on the credentials, or collateral, you bring to the table to support your brand's claim to existence. Click through the jump-break to get started.



Branding Collateral
Immutable Law of Branding 6 (for Indie Authors): the Law of Credentials is what will make sense of your one word in the customer's mind. It states "The crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity." Your credentials make your words ring true in your customers' minds instead of just being buzzy-marketingspeak or sales-pitchy. This is the important point to take away as you start trying to compose the slogan or catch-phrase that will become your brand's credentials.

Credentials are what your publicity efforts build so that your marketing materials can establish your brand's position in the customer's mind. Credentials are what makes your one word yours and not mine. It's the connection between your product and your brand. Branding credentials are your own claim to your own fame. Declare yourself and then make it true.

So what are credentials? In short, a slogan, a catch phrase, a saying that immediately makes me think of your one word that is your brand. Some examples:

Coca-Cola is "the real thing" in a customer's mind; everyone else is an imitation. A Polaroid is an "instant photo" in a customer's mind; every other photo is created by some other method. A pair of Levi's are "American jeans" in everyone's minds; every other pair of denim slacks are just trousers, not Levi's.
Leadership is the most direct way to claim a brand's credentials. You can be the "leading .... [fill in your category here]" but what if you don't already have leadership? What if there's already a leader in your category? If you write horror, you're not really likely to displace (or even reposition) the likes of Stephen King, right?

Not a problem. I kid you not - it is not a problem. Why? Because the best way to claim leadership is to create a new category, as discussed here. In the process of doing so, you'll be creating your new credentials. As the legendary Ron Popeil said (creating his own credentials by saying it 10,000 times over) But wait, there's more!  Don't go running off to create your snappy new slogan just yet. For the same low price, you'll also get to consider this: authenticity can make or break you.



Authenticity
Meaningless slogans and over-used catch-phrases are not going to build your brand's credentials. "Gripping!" or "Suspenseful!" or "Unputdownable!" are what pretty much any and all of us who want to think we write "page-turners" are going to claim. These words are so over-used, they are now meaningless to consumers who just think "Yeah, sure. That's what they all say!"

Using a set of credentials every other thriller or suspense writer uses won't differentiate you from every other thriller or suspense writer out there. You have to actually do something different to get different results ^)^

Even the truth about your book won't authenticate your credentials. Yeah, read, that again. It's not about your book. It doesn't matter what the truth is or what your book is or isn't. What matters is what your customers perceive about your book and ultimately, your brand. Even if your book is, in fact, unputdownable, what matters is how the consumer perceives your brand. The consumer determines how--or whether--they assign authenticity to your claimed credentials. Remember, perception is everything.

You deal with the power of perception and authenticity of credentials every day. Think about the last time you were walking around on one of those streets where there are a lot of little restaurants, sidewalk cafes, eateries. Every city all over the world has little areas where places to eat seem to congregate. You tend to walk past the one that's empty and consider waiting in line at the one that's busy because, in your mind, your perception is that the busy one has better credentials. All those people can't be wrong!

The one time there's a difference is when you are first, when you're the leader. Then no one has judged, no one perceives you as anything at all. No one has sat down in your restaurant yet but you don't have to be the roomful of empty tables either. You can claim your own credentials and then let your branding, publicity and ultimately, your products, validate your authenticity. You can only do that when you're first. Leadership has its privileges.



What's Next....
Tomorrow's Tuesday Tip - I'll dare to tackle that much-loathed idea of Writer's Block again. And yeah, sorry, I still have no clue what that is. Maybe that's why I'm trying to blog about it again, to figure it out?

TUESDAY TIP How to Digitally Autograph Your Ebooks -- In Native Format!! #pubtip #howto #ebooks #indie

I've been searching and experimenting and wracking my webbie-tech brains for a way to digitally autograph an eBook without losing the native format -- that is how to open a Mobi or ePub file, sign it and save it as the same kind of file without having to go through the process of "faking" a publication. I needed a tool to reformat the eBook after I'd signed the cover and Calibre is it! Now that I have all the pieces, let's get started.


The Old Way to Sign an eBook

[image error] In June of 2009, The New York Times ran an amusing article about people going to book-signings and asking authors to autograph their Kindle ebook readers. This is what people were -- and still are -- doing!  I gotta say, to get a Jeff Bezos autograph like the one shown, I'd deface a Kindle in a heart beat :-) and defacing an eToy is actually a lot more popular than you might think, but really, there's a better way. Save the hardware - sign the software instead!



The New Way to Sign an eBook
The goal of today's tip is to get you to the point where you can actually write on the cover of the book and give it to a customer for them to open on their eReader of choice. You can definitely do this with several formats of eBook--not just Kindles. In fact, it works a little better with ePub eBooks but I might be biased.





Let's use my Jewish Inspirational / RomCom, Coming Home (Dicky's Story), as a test subject (that's why I created and released this book, believe it or not, to be a test subject). Currently, the cover is this gawdawful "window" image (at left).





When we're done, however, I'll have replaced that cover with the one I'm in the process of cartooning - the cartoon is here and the eBook cover will look like this after we're finished (see image at right) with my scribbles written across it.




Step 1: Tools You'll Need
You will need to get 2 tools to do this nifty trick. First, you'll need some kind of image-editing software. If you have a Mac or PC, you probably have something basic that came with your computer (a Paint program, forex). If you want to get something a little more sophisticated, try GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program). It's free and available for all platforms. The second tool you'll need is Calibre, an eBook conversion program. Download Calibre now - it's free, too!



Step 2: Sign Your Book Cover
First of all, you need to open your image editing software, open the file you used when you uploaded your eBook to sell it (a JPG file probably), and using your mouse other input device (Tablet/Pen works great but you can do this with a mouse) and the pencil or paintbrush tool, sign your name or other inscription across the image. Just like I did across my cartoon of Dicky. Write whatever you like. I suggest, if your image editor supports layers, you create a new layer on which to write. That way, if you don't like it, you can easily delete the writing and not touch the image. You can also quit without saving and start again but that's a PITA and it's easier to just create a layer on which to write ^_^

Save the JPG file somewhere you can find it again but be sure to change the file name (don't overwrite your original file) putting some kind of indication like "signed" into the file name. You can put the file anywhere you like, so long as you know how to find it again.



Step 3: Open the Original eBook
If you haven't already saved local copies of your eBook after it's been published, browse to your author account on your distributor's site and save the book now. For example, if you're using Smashwords, you just choose a format and click "Save As..." to download the file. If you're only using KDP, you can get a copy of your book from your KDP Dashboard. Save the Mobi file and open that in Calibre.

Start Calibre by double clicking on its icon (if you installed it with the default options, it put an icon on your desktop; if you changed the installation options, just browse to wherever you put it).

Now click the "Add" button to import the copy of your eBook you saved locally. Remember, ePub format works best but you can choose to import the Mobi file if that's what you've got. The file format you "Add" does NOT have to be the one you're going to export. I advise you to use ePub whenever possible. I added the ePub of Dicky's Story here:



Notice the ugly "window" cover appears in thumbnail now and all kinds of text is in the "Metadata" beneath the thumbnail. That's all been extracted by Calibre from my ePub file. I didn't enter it here. I entered it on my book page at Smashwords. Kewel, huh?



Step 4: Setup the Conversion Options
Click "Convert books" and choose the "individually" option.




Step 5: Choose Output Format
You can maintain or change the format of the eBook. It makes no difference, but you have to select the output format from the right-side pull-down menu.





Step 6: Be Sure to Override the Source Image File
All those things listed in a column on the left side of the screen are called submenus. The first one is called Metadata. You can fill in all kinds of stuff that'll get attached to your output eBook but more relevant to our discussion today is that you can choose a new cover image file to use for the cover of the ouput.

You'll need to scroll down a little to see that option like in the following screen shot. Just be sure the checkbox on the left is not ticked and then click to browse to your newly-signed cover image (from Step 2 above):





Step 7: Choose a New Cover Image File

This is pretty straightforward. Just be sure the new image file being displayed is the one you want before you move on.





Step 8: Set the Output Options
If you're using the ePub format for your output (not required but I'm doing that for my example), you'll need to tick a few extra boxes. In the left-side column of submenus, click on EPUB OUTPUT and you'll see the following screenshot:



Be sure to tick the checkbox next to "preserve cover aspect ratio" or the ePub output will have a stretched image for a cover and it'll look all funky. If you leave the "no default cover" unticked (like in my example screen above), the output ePub file will have a cover image on the "outside" and a cover image inside the book where you placed it in your Word file. You can opt to only have the latter but I like having them both so that the image shows up on the eReader main menu (like when you view your books by thumbnail) so I leave this un ticked.

Just in case you decide to output a Mobi (for Kindles) instead of an ePub (for iBooks, Kobo, Nook and everyone else), don't worry if you can't find this aspect ratio box. The options in the submenu column in Calibre change depending on what output format you choose. For Mobi, you cannot alter the aspect ratio of the cover image. You'll just see the following kind of screen shot:





Step 9: Convert the New eBook
When you click "OK" the book will be converted. The bottom right of the Calibre window will display "Jobs: 1" and when it's done, that'll change to "Jobs: 0" (see screen shot below).

Calibre will automatically create a folder with the same name that appeared in the "Author Name" field of the Metadata (see Step 3 above). Calibre will save a copy of your original eBook with the word "original" appended to it, and a copy of your new eBook with the name assembled from the Metadata fields.

Calibre won't open your file manager / explorer but I opened mine to show you that there's a folder now with the Author's name. Wherever you put your Calibre software when you installed it, the new author's folder will be there, too, and the new eBook files will be inside that folder.



10: Open Your New eBook
If you don't already have a copy of Adobe Digital Editions (ADE), it's also free and you should get a copy so you can use it to open your ePub-formatted eBooks to check them for correctness. This is especially important if you're using the Smashwords Meatgrinder to convert your books for sale.

Between MS Word and Meatgrinder, all kinds of weird errors get introduced, so you should make it a habit to open ePub files in ADE for error-checks you might not see if you open your book in say, iBooks or Stanza. Knowing the error is there doesn't help you find the source or fix it but thinking your file's fine when it's not is worse.



As you can see from the above screen shot, when I open Dicky's Story in ADE now, I have a new cover but the rest of the book is still intact. All I did was replace the cover image. Yay Calibre! Could this be easier? I think not.

If you'd like to check this out, you can download a FREE copy of this "signed" version of Dicky's Story in ePub format by
Next Monday's Marketing will be another entry in the Branding (for Indie Authors) series. Be sure to tune in! Thanks for stopping by!

-sry
@webbiegrrl

MONDAY MARKETING Branding Law 5 (for Indie Authors) The Word #pubtip #indie #branding #calibre

  some image rights reserved by Paulo Brandã


Welcome back to my marketing series on Branding (for Indie Authors). Over the course of this series, I'm helping you understand what branding is (and that it's not a book cover theme). We're discussing how to choose that one word that best describes your brand.

Click through the jump-break to get started.




Because it's so important to understand what branding is before you consider how to apply the concept to your own Indie Author career, let me repeat the definition of branding yet again.

A brand is an idea in the mind of the consumer.

The power of a brand lies in its ability to influence purchasing decisions. Remember, it is your brand that influences your customers, not your promotional tweets or advertising budgets.

Interestingly enough, Immutable Law of Branding (for Indie Authors) Law 5: The Word, discusses the same concept as Immutable Law of Marketing Law 5: Focus, which is also repeated in Positioning (For Indie Authors) series as Positioning 8: One Word. There's a reason this one word concept shows up again and again in all three of these marketing series. It's just that important. Today I'll rehash the idea with a slant on branding but be sure to read the other articles for a different perspective. The more you think about "focus" as the goal, the more successful you'll be at achieving it.




One Word
Because you're an Author, you're no doubt balking at the very idea of defining your book in "one word," let alone defining yourself in just one! Okay, you do not have to choose literally one word but close. In the first entry of this series, Laws 1+2: Expansion and Contraction, I gave you the example of Kleenex brand tissues. Their "one word" concept was a "pocket tissue." So, two words - but it was a single, compact idea that entered the minds of the consumers quickly and easily. It was a simple idea (disposable pocket tissues) and virtually replaced the cloth handkerchiefs that were the norm before the arrival of Kimberly-Clark's product. Read here how Kimberly-Clark did that with Kleenex brand.

Most of us don't know the company name "Kimberly-Clark," but when someone looks across the room and sees a box of Scott brand facial tissues, they might be likely to say "Would you please pass me those Kleenex?" The brand name has become the generic name for the product. It is now the "noun" defining the "thing" people want. That's strong branding.

The Kleenex brand not only eliminated another product (cloth handkerchiefs) from the market but they also went on to completely replace the idea of a disposable pocket tissue in the minds of consumers with their "one word" - their brand. Kleenex did this by establishing their brand saying "Don't put a cold into your pocket." This phrasing was not accidental. By saying this, Kimberly-Clark brilliantly applied the Law of the Opposite (we are not our competition or we are what our competition is not).

Without ever suggesting to their Depression-era, economy-minded customers that they spend hard-earned money to buy a product and intentionally throw it away after one use, Kleenex brand of sanitary disposable pocket tissues exploited the influenza epidemics and turned "waste" into something positive--protection against infection. It wasn't quite an application of the Law of Candor (Law 15), but rather one of the Law of Attributes (Law 14). It was a brilliant strategy--and it was very focused.


Kimberly-Clark looked at their market--and marketplace and consumer attitudes and consumer's minds--and created a brand strategy that would establish them in a leadership position. For their effort, the term "Kleenex" is now a generic "noun" meaning facial tissues. Other brands who've claimed a generic noun for their products include Jell-O brand (owns "gelatin dessert"), Band-Aid brand (owns "adhesive bandages"), Saran Wrap brand (owns "plastic food wrap"). These are strong brands because they are focused brands. You can't become generic, become "the thing," by overtaking the competition. You have to be the first brand and establish the category.



Indie Author Categories and Brands 
So how do we Indie Authors do that with our books? It's not easy because to do so is counter-intuitive to our creative nature. To focus one's brand, one has to eliminate all the verbal flourishes and simplify. Don't use eloquent, special words. Use a simple, easy-to-remember word. Don't try to write in every genre, narrow your focus and write in one genre--or create a new one! Immutable Law of Marketing (for Indie Authors) Law 6: Exclusivity, reminds us that it can be done!

The secret to creating your brand's one word is to think in terms of a new category, not of your one book. Don't think about defining just what you write; think of defining what you write in terms that others will relate to--and join you in writing. You want to focus your brand--but you want to expand the new category. I'll be discussing expansion of the category in a later entry of this series, so stay tuned!



What's Next....
Next week's Monday Marketing will be Branding (for Indie Authors) Law 6: Credentials. It's all about authenticity.

Tomorrow's Tuesday Tip will be an extra-special treat for me. I've been searching and experimenting and wracking my webbie-tech brains for a way to digitally autograph an eBook without losing the native format -- that is how to open a Mobi or ePub file, sign it and save it as the same kind of file without having to go through the process of "faking" a publication. I needed a tool to reformat. Calibre is it!

Tune in tomorrow to read more. Download Calibre today - it's free! - to get a head start.  See you at 10:00 am ET/USA tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

My Goodreads Friends

You know I just noticed I have over 200 friends here on Goodreads, but honestly, I can tell you I've gone off to click the "add as friend" button less than 2 dozen times.

Okay, I accept 99% of all friend requests and don't really pay attention to anything other than UNticking the "Top Friend" box (so I won't have to see everyone's updates on everything in the world in my home feed). But how the heck did I accumulate over 200 friends in just over 2 years of lurking?

I'm on the site sporadically, more involved in groups and commenting on others' activities than I am in providing any real content of my own. I feed my Blogger posts through here but this has to be the first manual blog post on Goodreads in a year! I don't have any books for sale or to promote...well, one tossaway, I guess.

I mean, I published Coming Home (Dicky's Story) as a means to an end--not to sell books but to have an object with which to test and learn the system. I didn't even think of it as a book I could sell. Erm, wait, that's not quite true. I did, but I quickly decided not to bother, to just give it away. I should probably enter it into the Amazon KDP Select program so I can learn that system, too!

I'm just stumped as to how over 200 people found and chose to friend me. I don't know 200 people on this site. I'm thinking 90% of them must be other authors who are just friending everyone, huh? Tsk tsk, gives us ALL a bad name.

Interesting stat, though. Now I'll have to pay attention to what I'm doing here ((grin))

-sry
@webbiegrrl