Becky Robinson's Blog, page 10

January 2023 Leadership Development Carnival

Weaving Influence has the privilege of hosting the January 2023 Leadership Development Carnival! We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of communication, development, engagement, motivation, productivity, team building, and more.

Communication

Jennifer V. Miller writes 6 Phrases to Get a Derailed Conversation Back on Track. Jennifer summarizes: “Conversation gone off the rails? Communication snafus? Get back on track with one of these six statements.” Find Jennifer on Twitter at @JenniferVMiller.

Diana Peterson-More shared Communication Resolutions for 2023: Five Key Tips. Diana explains: “Each year, many of us make New Year’s Resolutions. Since communication is something, we do 24×7, whether we want to or not, and whether we intend to or not, why not take a quote from an admired historical figure that informs communication? Read four of my favorite quotes that inform five key communication tips.” Find Diana on Twitter at @DianaPMAuthor.

Robyn McLeod provided Eight Ways to Avoid Blowing Up at Work. Robyn summarizes: “Here are eight essential ways to productively and safely blow off steam and identify relief valves to get back on track and keep you moving in the right direction.” Find Robyn on Twitter at @ThoughtfulLdrs. 

Eileen McDargh contributed The Secret Leadership Skill: Connection. Eileen explains: “Research now concludes that most Americans report having fewer friends and colleagues with whom they feel close. There’s a sense of aloneness and disconnection despite the growth of instant messages and chat rooms. What is missing is REAL human interaction: conversation!” Connect with Eileen on Twitter at @macdarling.

Paula Kiger of Big Green Pen shared What to Do After Someone’s Dream Dies. Paula writes: “The people you lead may have either neglected to define or update their goals. As leaders, we can help them find alignment with what they want to do (and can do) again, even if that means making changes.” Connect with Paula on Twitter @biggreenpen.

Development

Frank Sonnenberg contributed Why Are People So Surprised When Someone’s Polite? Frank explains: “Are you surprised when folks have good manners? While common courtesy was expected years ago, courteous behavior is scarce today.” Follow Frank on Twitter at @fsonnenberg.

Lorrie Coffey of Horizon Point Consulting shared Leading with Emotional Intelligence. Lorrie writes: “Leading with emotional intelligence isn’t just for those times of crisis, it’s for those everyday moments. It’s knowing that an employee who made a mistake is beating themselves up enough and needs a leader who will use the opportunity as a teaching moment instead of as an opportunity to rake them over the coals.” Follow Lorrie on Twitter at @ohmyHR. 

Marcella Bremer of Positive Culture contributed Active Hope for Positive Organizations. Marcella considers: “Discouraged about global crises? The Active Hope process helps people and organizations unleash their strengths. Check the story, start from gratitude, acknowledge pain, see with new eyes and take action. Start here with 7 ‘sentence starters.'” Follow Marcella on Twitter at @MarcellaBremer.

Priscilla Archangel of Archangel & Associates provided Authentic Leadership: Will the Real You Please Stand Up? Priscilla writes: “Does your team know your core values and personality style? Is your behavior consistent in all your interactions with your colleagues? As a leader, if you’ve ever reflected on any of these questions, you’re thinking about how to behave authentically in the situations in which you find yourself. Learn more about how to be an authentic leader!” Follow Priscilla on Twitter at @PrisArchangel. 

Julie Winkle Giulioni shared Learn-gevity: The Top Skill You’ll Need in 2023 and Beyond. Julie explains: “Lifelong learning has long been understood to be a critical success factor. But today, it’s taken on even greater importance. Consider these actions to enhance your own learn-gevity in 2023.” Julie on Twitter at @julie_wg.

S. Chris Edmonds of The Purposeful Culture Group provided Culture Leadership Charge: Build a Culture of Respect. In this video post, Chris shares: “Most business leaders see their job as managing results. Results are important, but they’re only half the leaders’ job. The other half? Managing respect.” Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Jon Verbeck provided Great, Good, So-So, or Bad Year? Jon writes: “Great. Good. So-So. Bad. It’s been quite a year for all of us. As I look back on this year and think about my clients’ results – determining wins and losses with hard, comparable data on sales, margins, efficiency, and profitability – it is sometimes still hard to quantify a year as a great year, good year, so-so year, or bad year. Or perhaps a combination of all of these. Let’s look at a fictitious, but very possible scenario, for a business experiencing all four.” Follow Jon on Twitter at @jonverbeck1. 

Ken Byler of Higher Ground Consulting Group contributed Graciously Receiving. Ken writes: “In a world where work-life balance describes our over-stimulated lifestyles, it should come as no surprise that we try to give without learning how to receive. Gaining insights about the value of graciously receiving will likely require a willingness to slow our pace and open our spirits to something different.”

Dana Theus of InPower Coaching writes Year End: The Psychology of Closure. Dana explains: “This year, leverage the psychology of closure to declutter the year behind you and set yourself up for success in the year ahead. You’ll feel refreshed with an updated story to tell about who you are and where you’re going.” Find Dana on Twitter at @DanaTheus. 

Art Petty provided The Old Model of Manager is Broken—It’s Time to Start Fresh. Art shares: “It’s time to replace the tired, outdated model we have for identifying, developing, and tasking managers. Given the complexity of our environment today and the myriad existential issues facing organizations, industries, and even humanity, we need to find new ways to harness the creative and productive power of inspired people, not send them running out the door or leave them idling in place.” Follow Art on Twitter at @artpetty.

ENGAGEMENT

David Grossman of The Grossman Group provided The Top 10 Things Every Employee Wants From Their Leader. David shares: “What do employees really want from their managers? Big picture, it’s less BS and more humanity. From our research and decades of experience in this area, here are some of the most common employee wishes and those that come up most often as unmet.” Follow David on Twitter at @ThoughtPartner.

Randy Conley of Leading with Trust shared The #1 Strategy for Improving the Employee Experience in 2023. Randy shares: “To attract and keep top talent, organizations are taking a close look at how their employee experience can set them apart from the crowd. In a recent survey, over 700 leadership, learning, and talent development professionals shared their top strategies for improving the employee experience and there was one that stood out from the others. Can you guess what it is?” Connect with Randy on Twitter at @RandyConley.

team building

Ken Downer of Rapid Start Leadership provided The Law of Slow Leaks – Why Important Things Fail and What We Can Do About It. Ken shares: “The law of slow leaks governs everything from team building to goals to relationships. If we ignore its impact on our lives, we can expect that things that are important to us may not work as we expect when we need them. Here’s what the law is, and how to counteract its effect.” Follow Ken on Twitter @RapidStartLdr.

Creativity/Inspiration

Marcia Reynolds of Covisioning Transformational Leadership provided Stepping Into a New You in the New Year. Marcia shares: “Your brain doesn’t discern between what you don’t want and what you envision is possible. Get clear on what you want the next year to be for you to keep your brain forward-focused.” Connect with Marcia on Twitter at @marciareynolds.

Brenda Yoho writes One Little Spark and Curiosity. Brenda explains: “It takes one little spark and a little curiosity to discover solutions and celebrate accomplishments. How many attributes do you or your organization have that compare to the checklist created to spark the start for 2023?” Find Brenda on Twitter at @BrendaYoho. 

Productivity

Neal Burgis of Successful Solutions contributed Reflections as You Welcome 2023. Neal explains: “Challenge yourself in 2023 to think differently, be open to opportunities, and move forward with your ideas even during a possible upcoming recession. Don’t stop due to economic climate changes. You will succeed after it’s gone.” Follow Neal on Twitter at @exec_solutions.

Bill Treasurer of Giant Leap Consulting contributed Taking a Moment to Pause. Bill explains: “During this time of year, we are often overwhelmed. Schedules are full and there are never enough hours in the day. But while you are busy rushing from one thing to the next, I offer this reminder from my book Leadership to Words at a Time, to pause, breathe and reflect.” Follow Bill on Twitter at @btreasurer.

Sean Glaze of Great Results Team Building shared How to Set More Effective Collaboration Expectations on Remote or Hybrid Teams. Sean writes: “Ensuring that people share information is a key element of effective leadership. But the reality is that, according to many of the coaching conversations I’ve had with executives and managers, even in-person collaboration has been imperfect at best. So, how do you improve collaboration across departments and within teams for hybrid and remote workers? Well, it starts with recognizing what exactly collaboration is…” Find Sean on Twitter at @leadyourteam.

Thank you to everyone who submitted articles for this month’s carnival! If you would like to be added to the distribution list for submission calls, please fill out this form and we’ll be happy to add you to the list.

The post January 2023 Leadership Development Carnival appeared first on Weaving Influence.

Episode 105: Best of Season 3

Click here to listen on your device and subscribe! 

Welcome to Season 3 of The Book Marketing Action Podcast with Becky Robinson, where we give you information that you can immediately implement to increase your influence and market your books more successfully. 

This episode is a culmination of some of the best moments from Season 3, featuring a few of the guests who made it so impactful. 

Featured Episodes

#76: How Authors Can Use Cross-Promotion to Reach More Readers https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-76-how-authors-can-use-cross-promotion-to-reach-more-readers/ 

#78: Showing Up As Your Authentic Self https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-78-showing-up-as-your-authentic-self/ 

#81: Exploring Book Trailers https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-81-exploring-book-trailers/ 

#83: The Four Commitments of Reach https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-83-the-four-commitments-of-reach/ 

#90: Giving to Others Through Your Online Presence with Bob Burg https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-90-giving-to-others-through-your-online-presence-with-bob-burg/ 

#92: Current Social Trends and TikTok with Christy Kirk https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-92-current-social-trends-and-tiktok-with-christy-kirk/ 

#94: Longevity with Dorie Clark https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-94-longevity-with-dorie-clark/ 

#96 Sponsorships for Authors with Stephanie Chandler https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-96-sponsorships-with-stephanie-chandler/ 

#98: The Power of Storytelling with Steven James https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-98-the-power-of-storytelling/ 

#100: Something Special https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-100-something-special/ 

#103: Fiction Book Marketing Strategies for Nonfiction Authors: https://weavinginfluence.com/podcast/episode-103-fiction-book-marketing-strategies/ 

Stay tuned for Season 4, coming in the new year.

If you found value in today’s episode, we hope you’ll take a moment to share it with someone else who might benefit from it. If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to cover, please email Becky Robinson here.

Buy a copy of Reach: Create the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and don’t forget to leave an Amazon review.

Click here for our free resources. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review. 

Click here to tweet about this episode!

The post Episode 105: Best of Season 3 appeared first on Weaving Influence.

Bestseller Status Is (not only) About Ego

I had an email from a potential client overnight. In response to an article I sent him about Amazon and bestseller status, he replied that working to get bestseller status on Amazon seems like an ego play. While there is certainly some element of ego involved when people set a goal to make their books a bestseller, there are other, less obvious reasons you may want to work to become a bestseller, on Amazon or elsewhere. 

Discoverability. When your book is new, Amazon’s algorithms have not yet fully incorporated it into their search engines. I’ve noticed this with authors whose books are on Amazon long before their launch dates. In those early weeks, before they’ve announced their books to their networks and sent direct traffic to their books, searching for the book with the title may not be sufficient to find the page. We teach Amazon’s algorithms, by activity on our book pages, that our books are interesting and sought after. A campaign to send lots of activity to your page in a short amount of time can make it easier for people searching for your book (or a book like yours) to find it. 

There’s an added discoverability factor: ranking as a hot new release in a category means that your book is also cataloged with those other hot new releases in your category. That hot new release page is another place people can discover your book. The more categories you select and rank in, the more places people may discover your book. Momentum. Launching a book successfully is challenging. Selling books is harder than anyone anticipates. If you are able to rank as a bestseller, on Amazon or elsewhere, that early success builds momentum. Success creates more success. People may want to be a New York Times bestseller for the bragging rights, but it is also about the exposure afforded books once they land on that list. Credibility. While you may think bestseller status is about ego, I would argue that the real desire for most authors is to create credibility for their books. By ranking as a bestseller, you send a signal that your book is worthwhile and important. When you tell others that your book is a bestseller, they confer status on your book and your ideas. Conversation. Gaining bestseller status gives you something to talk about as you continue to share your book with the world during your launch week and beyond. It gives you something to share when people ask you how it’s going with your launch. You can capture screenshots of your book as a bestseller in its category to share across your social channels. If you’ve asked people for support, your ranking as a bestseller is an obvious indicator that the help they’ve given you has been worthwhile. 

I’m curious, what other reasons do you see for seeking bestseller status on Amazon or elsewhere? Which of the above reasons are most important to you?

The post Bestseller Status Is (not only) About Ego appeared first on Weaving Influence.

Episode 104: Building a Thriving Community with Dennis Pitocco

Photo by Somsak Sudthangtum / 123rf.com

Click here to listen on your device and subscribe! 

Welcome to Season 3 of The Book Marketing Action Podcast with Becky Robinson, where we give you information that you can immediately implement to increase your influence and market your books more successfully. 

This episode is about building thriving communities, both online and in person. Becky is joined by Dennis Pitocco—Chief Reimaginator at 360° Nation. He and his wife have built an incredible community of writers and nonprofit leaders and generously share their time, energy, and passion to make the world a better place. 

Key Points From This Episode

[00:41] Dennis introduces himself and talks about his work in the world.

[04:08] Dennis also has a website called GoodWorks 360 where he helps nonprofits for free. He reveals what kind of help he is giving to those nonprofits. 

[08:22] 360° Nation has a massive audience and an ever-growing community. Dennis shares the story of how he started building that online presence with his wife. 

[16:40] Dennis shares how authors can connect with him and start writing for 360° Nation.

[17:49] What article topics is 360° Nation known for? Dennis reveals the answer.

[21:34] Dennis discusses the secrets of success to build a thriving online community. 

[24:03] Discover more of Dennis’ secrets to success.

[28:24] Dennis shares which of the four commitments of Reach has been most critical to 360° Nation’s success. 

[30:47] All of the value that Dennis offers to writers is completely free, and there’s no catch. Dennis elaborates on the generosity of 360° Nation.

[32:58] Dennis shares what inspired this amazing generosity. 

Action Steps:If you’re a nonfiction author who’s looking for new audiences for your book or your writing, connect with Dennis on LinkedIn. Find out how you can join 360° Nation.Think about if there is someone in your local area that you could collaborate with to share value, build community, and make a bigger difference. Overcome the inertia of sitting at home or being on Zoom calls and schedule an in-person coffee, walk in the park, or lunch outing.Resources:Participate in The Friendship Bench, a weekly Zoom call to bring people together and build community. Connect with Dennis on LinkedIn, especially if you’re interested in joining the 360° Nation community. Explore the 360° Nation website. Tweetables and quotes:

If you choose to share on Twitter, don’t forget to tag @beckyrbnsn and @bizcatalyst360 so they know you enjoyed this episode!

We do everything we do for good.  —Dennis Pitocco

I cannot tell you how much work we did with nonprofits when the pandemic hit because, unlike a number of businesses, they didn’t really have a crisis management team or a plan, or a backup. —Dennis Pitocco

We didn’t want somebody else to build our website because it would look like what everybody else was doing. —Dennis Pitocco

What happened is we kept reacting to our audience because we didn’t have a model. We just kept going where the audience was going. —Dennis Pitocco

You don’t build a community just by sharing articles or liking something. —Dennis Pitocco

Take advantage of the work you’ve already done and all the hours that you put into writing your book and give it new life. —Dennis Pitocco

We are purposely meeting with our writers to rediscover that magic that we kind of lost through isolation. —Dennis Pitocco

If you found value in today’s episode, we hope you’ll take a moment to share it with someone else who might benefit from it. If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to cover, please email Becky Robinson here.

Buy a copy of Reach: Create the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and don’t forget to leave an Amazon review.

Click here for our free resources. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review. 

Click here to tweet about this episode!

The post Episode 104: Building a Thriving Community with Dennis Pitocco appeared first on Weaving Influence.

Learning the importance of Amazon Reviews: A Look at Bestsellers

On any given day, when you visit the bestselling books on Amazon, you’ll observe a few trends: 

Many of the top 20 bestselling books are fiction. As I am writing this, 6 of the top 20 are fiction. TikTok sensation Colleen Hoover holds three of those bestsellers including #1. Also often in the top 20: cookbooks and childrens’ books. While the top 20 also contains a high percentage of nonfiction titles, most of those are celebrity-driven biographies. On most any day over the last several months, only one business book is listed among the top 20 bestsellers: Atomic Habits by James Clear. This book has nearly 87,000 reviews. Of the books on the top 20 listing that are not in pre-order status or recent releases, all have a minimum of 1,200 Amazon reviews with most having reviews numbering in the 10s of thousands. 

Even though business books rarely rise to the level of commercial success enjoyed by Clear for Atomic Habits, what is obvious to me is that the number of reviews is an important barometer of a book’s success. If enough copies of your book are in the world, and if your book is well-received, Amazon reviews amass organically. An author’s work early on provides a foundation upon which those later organic reviews can be added. Those of us who are fortunate enough to expand our work to growing audiences will see our review count grow, but it takes time. 

Of the books I’ve been watching this year, Whitney Johnson’s January release of Smart Growth, a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller, has 220 reviews. Dorie Clark’s The Long Game, released a few months earlier in September 2021, also a WSJ bestseller, has over 600 reviews. Michael Bungay Stanier’s January release, How to Begin, has over 300 reviews, compared to his earlier book, The Coaching Habit, a perennial bestseller, which has a whopping 8,500 — but over 8 years.

I have been watching The Coaching Habit since it launched in 2016, when someone on the team of the author Michael Bungay Stanier offered me a free review copy. I accepted! Six years later, it has an astounding number of reviews. Every author— at the beginning —must proactively fight for every Amazon review.

It’s overwhelming to worry about reaching the huge number of reviews that bestsellers amass over years. If you’re just getting started, it can be helpful to set and work toward modest goals. Aim for 25, then 50. Once you get to 50, you can work toward 75, and then 100 and beyond. 

When I launched my book in April, it took 73 days to get to 100 reviews. I am nearly to 120. My next goal is to reach 150. I know that the more books I sell and give away, the more potential reviewers I will have. 

Getting reviews from the beginning is critical — and harder than any author imagines. 

Amazon reviews provide social proof about a title. That’s why seeking early Amazon reviews is very important for any author. The first reviews added on a book almost always come at the request of the author, who is strategically sharing advance copies of their books in order to obtain those early reviews.

Informed buyers notice and read a book’s reviews before purchasing. Many times, they will see the reviews as more important than your book’s description and will look at the reviews to find out if the book sounds like it is for them. So, getting a respectable number of reviews in the early months after your book is released is helpful for increasing the sales of your book. 

If you want to be a perennial seller, you will eventually have hundreds, if not thousands of reviews, but the hard work for the initial reviews is something you can influence and lead.

A critical mass of early reviews can lead to more buzz for your book. More buzz leads to more sales, and as your book sells more, the number of reviews will increase as well. 

To receive a review, you need to ask for a review. 

Asking for Amazon reviews can feel uncomfortable for some authors, but few people will remember to leave a review unless you ask.

If people give you feedback about your book, verbally or in an email, it’s the perfect time to follow up to ask for a review. Try this: 

Thank you so much for that feedback. Would you be willing to share those thoughts with a brief review on Amazon? 

If you know someone has read your book and hasn’t left a review, it may be helpful to share why reviews matter: 

Would you be willing to leave an Amazon review to help other readers know about the value my book offers? A few simple sentences will help others learn what’s helpful in my book.

For additional learning on the topic of Amazon reviews:

Read Why Amazon Reviews Matter, How to Get 100 Amazon Reviews in One Day

Listen to “Why Are Amazon Reviews Important?  On The Book Marketing Action Podcast. 

Watch “The Most Important Book Marketing Investment” 

The post Learning the importance of Amazon Reviews: A Look at Bestsellers appeared first on Weaving Influence.

Episode 103: Fiction Book Marketing Strategies for Nonfiction Authors

Photo by Cesar Fernandez Dominguez / 123rf.com

Click here to listen on your device and subscribe! 

Welcome to Season 3 of The Book Marketing Action Podcast with Becky Robinson, where we give you information that you can immediately implement to increase your influence and market your books more successfully. 

This episode is about the creative ways fiction authors are marketing their books and how nonfiction authors can utilize the same strategies. Becky is joined by Christina Kann—Co-Owner and Communications Director for Wildling Press—who discusses her work in the world, the mission of Wildling Press, the best marketing approaches that fiction authors are using, the challenges most authors face when it comes to marketing their books, and the importance of having an authentic social media presence. 

Key Points From This Episode

[02:20] Christina shares about herself and the work of Wildling Press.

[03:36] Learn about the types of books that are acquired and published at Wildling Press.

[04:55] Christina elaborates on the convergence between people with marginalized voices and the types of stories they can tell through Science Fiction and Fantasy novels. 

[05:50] What are some of the best book marketing approaches that authors of Science Fiction and Fantasy are using? Christina shares.

[08:22] Christina explains what authors can do to get more creative with video, even if they don’t like being on camera.

[10:19] Learn more about the challenges that fiction—and nonfiction—authors are facing as they think about marketing. 

[11:34] Christina shares her message for authors who refuse to market their work. 

[12:49] Christina talks about other best practices that authors can try out on social media.

[15:00] Curious about which authors do a good job of showing up authentically on social media? Christina gives an example.

[17:30] Let’s talk about Taylor Swift. How can an author who isn’t as famous still engage their followers in anticipation of their next novel?

[19:19] Authenticity is one of Christina’s passions, and she reveals how it has played a role in her own journey. 

[22:11] Christina explains how her posts “stay real.”

Action Steps:Make a genuine ask of your communities. Think about what you need in terms of getting your book to a broader audience and then go to your network with a genuine ask. If you’re having a hard time engaging authentically on social media, go to Instagram or Twitter and look up the hashtag of the last book you read. Hop into those conversations that people are already having in the social media book community.Resources:Listen to Becky’s appearance on the How Do I Book? podcast from Wildling Press. Learn more about Wildling Press.Follow Wildling Press on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Follow Christina on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.Tweetables and quotes:

If you choose to share on Twitter, don’t forget to tag @beckyrbnsn and @christinakann_ so they know you enjoyed this episode!

I think that people who are trying to explore really heavy themes can find a home doing that in Science Fiction and Fantasy.  —Christina Kann

It’s important to remember that your videos don’t have to be of you talking. —Christina Kann 

Authors just absolutely have to self-market these days. —Christina Kann

People value transparency so much on social media right now.  —Christina Kann

As you’re working on your book, you’ll always have something new to say. —Christina Kann

People who use social media respect transparency and authenticity—they respect your hustle. —Christina Kann

If you found value in today’s episode, we hope you’ll take a moment to share it with someone else who might benefit from it. If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to cover, please email Becky Robinson here.

Click here for our free resources. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review. 

Click here to tweet about this episode!

The post Episode 103: Fiction Book Marketing Strategies for Nonfiction Authors appeared first on Weaving Influence.

Use the Calendar to Inspire Creative Book Marketing Ideas

Earlier this week, my book, Reach: Create the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, passed its 6-month mark. I used this as a motivation to reach out to my list for additional support in reaching more readers. I got a fantastic response, including a bump in sales and at least one new Amazon review.

The calendar can provide ongoing inspiration as you seek to bring your book’s value to the world over time. 

Anniversaries of your book’s release (like my book’s half-birthday), and other holidays or special days, can provide a space for you to talk about your book. 

With the end-of-year gift-giving holidays coming more quickly than you think, NOW is the perfect time to plan some book promotion for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and Hanukkah. 

Authors of business books may also want to be thinking about bulk sales to organizations for end-of-year gifts as some small business owners may be looking for expenses to offset tax liability.

Here is an example to give you an idea of how this works. 

Our client Karen Baum Gordon wrote a memoir called The Last Letter, which focuses on her father’s story and the traumatic effects of living through the Holocaust reverberating in his life and to other generations of her family. Eventually, this led to her father’s suicide attempt. 

Based on her book’s themes, Karen can share value from her book at nationally and internationally recognized holidays:

Mental Health Awareness Month (October)National Suicide Prevention Month (September)Holocaust Remembrance Day International Holocaust Remembrance Day Father’s DayRelevant Jewish holidays 

Karen can also use calendar events like her father’s birthday or the anniversary of his death to share her journey with potential readers of her book.

There are also lots of book-related times Karen (and any author!) could promote their book:

Independent Bookstore day (the last Saturday of April)D.E.A.R. Day – Drop Everything and Read DayNational Read a Book Day (next one is September 6, 2023)International Literacy DayNational Book Lovers Day National Library Day

Try these steps: 

Brainstorm a list of dates and ideas for marketing your book.Add those dates to your calendar as appointments. Week by week, as you are planning your content, look ahead for any dates so you can create relevant, valuable content to share related to those dates.Add these dates as recurring so that you can reuse and repurpose your ideas in different ways next year, too. 

Share a comment below or send me an email to let me know what ideas you plan to try! 

For additional learning: 

Listen: Holiday Book Promotions with Barb Roose

Listen:  Holiday Letters with David Greer

Watch: Holiday Book Ideas 

Read:  Five Ways to Promote Your Book During the Holidays and Boost Sales 

The post Use the Calendar to Inspire Creative Book Marketing Ideas appeared first on Weaving Influence.

Episode 102: Sustaining the Energy to Write with Martha Anne Toll

Photo by nanastudio / 123rf.com

Click here to listen on your device and subscribe! 

Welcome to Season 3 of The Book Marketing Action Podcast with Becky Robinson, where we give you information that you can immediately implement to increase your influence and market your books more successfully. 

This episode is about sustaining the energy to write and market your work, no matter how long it takes. Becky is joined by Martha Anne Toll—Novelist, Book Reviewer, Essayist, and Social Justice Advocate—who discusses her author journey, the challenges that come with trying to publish a novel, and how she has remained confident in herself and her work despite the setbacks. 

Key Points From This Episode

[01:44] Martha talks about her background and how she’s gotten to this point as an author. 

[06:15] Martha reveals how she sustained the energy and confidence in her book, Three Muses, across a 10-year period of revising, resubmitting, and waiting. 

[08:55] Discover what Martha has done to market her book since its launch.

[10:46] Martha shares difficult barriers that she had to overcome when it came time to grow her online presence. 

[14:24] When Martha talks about herself, she calls herself a writer more than she calls herself an author. Discover why. 

[16:11] Martha reflects on her book launch experience.

[18:51] Curious about what’s working well for Martha when it comes to getting the word out about her novel? She shares her strategies. 

[22:29] Martha discusses the feeling of not knowing what is working well—and what isn’t—once you have launched a book. 

[30:00] Martha talks about the importance of lifting up the work of other authors and not being afraid to ask people to read your book.

[34:12] Get some out-of-the-box book marketing ideas from Martha.

Action Steps:If you are a reader of the types of novels that Martha has written, log into your library’s website and request that they buy her book, Three Muses . Also, make sure to request Becky’s book, Reach . Build long-term relationships. You never know who is willing to help you share your work with the world.Put love out into the world. Be a good literary citizen and lift other people’s work up.Get out of your comfort zone. Do the things that you’re afraid of, like asking people to buy your book.Think outside of the box. Get creative with events, social media content, asking for reviews, and more. Check out these books recommended by Martha: They’re Going to Love You by Meg Howrey, O Beautiful by Jung Yun, What Disappears by Barbara Quick, Loving the Dead and Gone by Judith Turner-Yamamoto, and Circa by Devi Laskar. Resources:Buy Martha’s new book, Three Muses .Sign up for Martha’s newsletter.Register for one or more of Martha’s upcoming events. Explore Martha’s website to reach her directly, read her book reviews, listen to podcast appearances, and more.Follow Martha on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Tweetables and quotes:

If you choose to share on Twitter, don’t forget to tag @beckyrbnsn and @marthaannetoll so they know you enjoyed this episode!

If we have any fiction writers listening, you will know that this is a field full of rejections.  —Martha Anne Toll

For my mental health, it was incredibly important to be getting published somewhere, even though I couldn’t get my fiction published. —Martha Anne Toll 

In today’s world, an author should present as an authentic person. We live in a time when we can talk about our whole selves, which is, of course, what we bring to our writing. —Martha Anne Toll

We all hear about the toxic parts of Twitter—and that is certainly true—but it’s kind of a writer’s paradise.  —Martha Anne Toll

Anything that you can continue to say yes to that allows you to show up with new audiences will help you sustain momentum. —Becky Robinson

I just want to encourage the folks who are listening to be creative. —Martha Anne Toll

If you found value in today’s episode, we hope you’ll take a moment to share it with someone else who might benefit from it. If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to cover, please email Becky Robinson here.

Click here for our free resources. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review. 

Click here to tweet about this episode!

The post Episode 102: Sustaining the Energy to Write with Martha Anne Toll appeared first on Weaving Influence.

If You Want to Play Amazon’s Games, You Need to Know the Rules

Tuesday is my favorite work day, especially when my team and I have a book to launch. But whether it’s Tuesday or any other day of the week, I love watching what authors are doing during the week their books debut. I also enjoy diving into book data, especially sales ranks and Amazon reviews.

This week, I’m watching our client Gena Cox’s book, Leading Inclusion, and I’m watching six-time bestselling author Laura Vanderkam’s release of her latest time management book, Tranquility by Tuesday. I don’t know Laura personally, but I’ve subscribed to her newsletter for a number of years. What I’m seeing in comparing the results of these two books may be helpful to other authors who are planning for upcoming book releases.

Every author I’ve ever met wants the social proof and bragging rights of being a bestseller. We write books to make a difference and the way to make a difference is to share our content with the widest audiences possible. Launching and marketing a  book can be a challenging and time-consuming endeavor, so it’s important to celebrate the wins you have. There is a definite psychic boost when you see your book with a bestseller banner. 

During the launch of my book, Reach, one of my favorite moments was when my various editions were ranked #1, #2, and #3 in the category Public Relations. While it may be a momentary win, since ranks can change hourly, the category bestseller achievement can energize an author to showing up more effectively to continue to share their book’s value with the world.

While many authors aspire to become New York Times bestsellers, making this prestigious and curated list may require years of work (unless you’re already famous.) 

For most independent or first-time authors, the Amazon bestseller banner as a new release in the category is the most attainable. Depending on your category selection, getting the new release banner may only require selling 10-20 books in any hour, while landing on other more renowned lists requires thousands of sales in a week. 

Garnering the bestseller banner gives credibility to the title and increases the book’s discoverability.  Once you’ve gained the banner, you can claim bestseller status.

Here is a quick overview to increase your chances of reaching bestseller status in your category on Amazon:

Step 1 – Strategically select and apply 10 relevant categories for each edition of your book. My team uses Publisher Rocket to research and select these categories. 

Step 2 – Ignite strategies to drive pre-orders for your book.

Step 3 – Concentrate launch week sales by hosting a webinar or live event with strong calls to buy the book. 

Step 4 – Through your email list and social channels, ask as many people as you can to buy your book on launch day. 

Here are the details you need to know:
1. Gaining the Bestseller Banner During the New Release Period

From the time your book is available on Amazon for pre-order, through 30 days after your publication date, your book has the best opportunity to gain the bestseller banner as a new release in its categories. The strategic work to gain the social proof of a bestseller banner can begin far in advance of launch but it does require that you intermittently look at your product pages to see how your book is ranking. You can also view your book’s rank over time through your Amazon Author Central Account but there’s no way to know when your book has the banner except by looking at your individual product pages for the various editions of your book. 

2. Automated and Strategic Category Selection Process

Automated Process 

Whether you are self-published or traditionally published, Amazon relies on metadata to put your book into categories. The categories are designed to help people find the book and topics they’re interested in, so putting your book into appropriate categories is important. The category selection is partially fueled by metadata including keywords and BISAC codes. If you are traditionally published, your publishing team selects two BISAC codes that lead to Amazon’s automated selection and placement of your book into categories. Typically, this results in accurate categorization. You will see up to 3 categories for your book on your product page at any time, and your rank is determined, in your categories, by how many books you are selling compared to the other books in your categories. 

Strategic Process

What many authors don’t know is that you can also strategically select categories and manually add them to each of your book’s products (Kindle, print, and audiobook). You can do this through Amazon Author Central. Each product can have up to 10 categories selected and whatever categories you are performing best in will be the ones that show up on your book listing at any given time.

It can take some time for the categories to appear so the earlier you can research and apply strategic categories, the better. Be sure to drill down as far as possible into subcategories because the more niche the subcategory, the fewer books you are competing against. 

During Bill Treasurer’s recent launch of Leadership Two Words at a Time, we saw his book and the three editions rank into 5 different categories throughout the campaign. All of these new release bestseller banners, captured as screenshots, gave Bill the ability to talk about his book’s success in a tangible way. The excitement is contagious. Success fuels more success. 

3. BULK ORDERS WILL NOT HELP YOUR RANK ON AMAZON

Amazon ranking is driven by orders NOT sales, so actual sales of more than one or two books at a time influence the sales rank the SAME as larger bulk orders. For this reason, it’s not advantageous to ask people to buy multiple copies of your book from Amazon to drive more sales and increase your rank. Instead, ask people to buy in bulk through a bulk retailer like Porchlight, which could land you bestseller status there.

4. Ranking Details 

Amazon ranks compare your book to all books on Amazon (overall rank) and to books in your categories. These are updated as often as hourly but are sometimes delayed. I’ve noticed that it can take several hours for Amazon’s ranks to catch up. 

Because the category rankings represent competition with other books in the category, it’s possible for a book to rank very strongly overall on Amazon, representing more robust sales, while NOT gaining the bestseller banner in a category. 

If you have multiple products in the same category, like I did with Reach and Laura Vanderkam does with Tranquility by Tuesday, your products may be in competition with each other. This won’t cause a problem unless for some reason, the other categories into which your book lands are extremely competitive. Increasing the number of categories to the limit of 10 will increase the likelihood that a high overall rank lands you the new release category banner. 

5. Balancing Pre-Orders with Launch Week Sales 

While pre-orders ultimately provide great value to authors and signal retailers to order the book, a robust pre-order campaign may limit the momentum of your launch week rank, as you may cut into the launch week sales because people pre-ordered the book. When I interviewed Laura Vanderkam, she mentioned she reached an overall rank of 700 on Amazon on the day she sent out her first pre-order email to her 50K person list. The people who bought the book that day are likely not also ordering the book during launch week. As you plan your book marketing strategy, you need to balance the need for pre-orders with a desire to also achieve strong launch week sales. 

6. Price Drops on Amazon are a Great Sign!

While your publisher sets a retail price for your book, Amazon ultimately controls any discounting of your print book. If you see your book discounted below the retail price in the days after your book launches, take it as another win! 

Amazon discounts bestselling books more steeply than other books to drive additional sales. The price drop is a gift you can use to fuel even more momentum. This is especially helpful for authors whose books are released in hardcover because the gap between the hardcover (nearly $30) and the other editions (often significantly lower) may nudge someone to buy the ebook or audiobook even if they’d prefer the hardcover. When Amazon drops the price of the hardcover, the price gap decreases, which may result in more sales to the hardcover.

A book marketing trick to try: post a screenshot of the price reduction and share it with your online communities. Frame it as good news: My book is doing so well that Amazon has just dropped the price. Order an extra copy at the lower price to share with a friend. Or if you haven’t ordered yet, now is the perfect time! 

Leading Inclusion vs Tranquility by Tuesday 

Here are some insights from a moment in time with both of these new releases. 

On Tuesday evening of launch day (10/11/2022), Gena’s book had bestseller banners on both her Kindle and her hardcover, with an overall rank of around 64,000. As a first-time author, Gena has frequently had the bestseller banner in a wide range of categories. This early momentum is helping to fuel the excitement of her launch. 

Laura had a bestseller banner with both her audiobook and her Kindle, with no bestseller banner on the hardcover. All three editions of her book, ranked #1, #2, and #3 in her most relevant category of Time Management as a hot new release. Incidentally, the time management category is highly competitive, with the top slot held by a NYT bestselling book from 2013. 

While marketing a book is a long-term endeavor, I’m curious about the category selection process that Laura’s publisher, Penguin Random House, applied. It’s possible her book has been manually added to only a handful of categories. Ultimately, this is a minor detail in what will likely be a very successful campaign. From what I can see, Laura is getting a lot of social media and traditional media attention from her book. She may go on to land a big list with this book and fuel ongoing attention and sales. 

BUT, as a book marketer, I want her to have the psychic boost of the banner on her audiobook, Kindle, and hardcover during launch week, along with the bragging rights that come with it. It’s possible that selecting and applying new categories could allow her to gain that banner within the 30-day new release period. Because most people will only look at the top of the Amazon page, they might never see Laura’s overall strong rank. 

Regarding pricing, just one day after the release of Tranquility by Tuesday, Amazon has dropped the price nearly 20%. Leading Inclusion’s price is also reduced, but by a smaller percentage. Both authors could draw attention to the lower hardcover price to drive additional sales as their launch weeks continue. 

Key takeaway: if your book is already selling well, as evidenced by your overall ranking on Amazon, a bit of strategic behind-the-scenes adjusting could be all you need for an extra win to celebrate. 

The post If You Want to Play Amazon’s Games, You Need to Know the Rules appeared first on Weaving Influence.

Episode 100: Something Special

Click here to listen on your device and subscribe! 

Welcome to Season 3 of The Book Marketing Action Podcast with Becky Robinson, where we give you information that you can immediately implement to increase your influence and market your books more successfully. 

This episode is special because we’re celebrating 100 podcast episodes and a decade in business! Across 10 years of marketing books, Becky and the Weaving Influence team have taken the lead on more than 160 launches. 

Listen as Becky shares the top 10 lessons of book marketing, curated from the Weaving Influence team and a few friends who shared their ideas on social media. 

10 Lessons Over 10 Years:When it comes to sharing the message of your book, say yes to every single opportunity that comes your way.

“Say yes to everything. Do as much as you can, when you can, for as long as you can!”   — Nikki Groom

Start sooner than you think you need to.

“Successful marketing starts before you’ve written a single word: Who’s the book for, how will they be better off for having read it?”  — David Dye

Give away as many books as you can.

“Getting your book into people’s hands is a great way for them to get a sense of what you stand for, and can be an excellent way to open doors for any future engagements.” —Nikki Groom

“Mail one copy of your book every day to a client, prospect, referral source, or thought leader.” — Jon Lokhorst

Your network is your most important secret weapon.

“Tap into your natural networks! You meet lots of kindred spirits as you progress in your career journey. Keep doing right by others, and when it comes time to promote your book, ask friends and colleagues to do you a solid by helping promote your book in any way that feels right to them. For one, it might be writing a great endorsement. For another, it might be having you on their podcast or introducing you to a media source. Friends help friends who have helped friends!” — Bill Treasurer

“Help others first. Often.” — Phil Gerbyshak

Have a long-term plan.

“Book marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Love your book, so you access the energy you need to do everything you need to get it out in the world!” — Alain Hunkins

“Don’t feel like your book has a shelf life and you have to stop promoting it at a certain point.” —Nikki Groom

“Books have a LONG shelf life! So you need to take the long view… if your book is applicable across time, then ALL of your marketing should be designed to run over the long haul. Making an impact is a marathon, not a sprint.” — David Taylor-Klaus

“Your book is not egg salad. It does not go bad in the eyes of the Media because it’s been out a while!” — Mary O’Donohue  

Be willing to outsource some of the work of your book marketing journey. Hire someone who is a professional and trust their expertise.

“Plan your launch and launch your plan with a team.” — Jackie Stavros  

Selling books is hard. If it was easy, everyone would be a New York Times bestselling author.

“Authors do well when they have high hopes, but reasonable expectations.” — Kristen Frantz

Own your role in the process.

“Best tip is to understand that you as the author are responsible for SELLING YOUR BOOK.” — John Baldoni

“Set yourself up for success by scheduling marketing activities into your calendar.” —Nikki Groom

The more proactively you build relationships with your audiences, the more successful you will be. 

“Think through the less obvious places where your message can help others in meaningful ways. Remember it is always about your reader, not about the book–or at least it is about how your book can meet a need in the reader, not only about the book.” — Shannon Huffman Polson   

“Really think about who needs your book right now.” — Fauzia Burke

“Know who your book is for and how you can help them.” — Karin Hurt

“Do one thing a day to bring value to your readers.” —Jackie Stavros                       

Bringing people together on your launch day drives amazing momentum.Bonus Tips:Know when your book’s peak sales periods are or when people will be looking for your book. 

“I’m a nonfiction author and both my books make great graduation gifts. I always schedule a couple of signings at local shops around peak ‘need’ times (graduation, back-to-school, Christmas). It alerts local folks who might attend, but it also gives me a fresh opportunity to push it out on social media.” — Nora Bradbury-Haehl  

Write multiple books.

“This is one of the most underrated pieces of advice I heard from a publisher a long time ago. Often it takes until the 3rd, 4th, or 5th title to really get that traction you want.” — Sara Jensen

Appreciate the long-term value that you are creating.

“Keep working and growing your ideas. Invite people in and make your readers and audiences ‘insiders.’” — Mike Horne  

If you found value in today’s episode, we hope you’ll take a moment to share it with someone else who might benefit from it. If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to cover, please email Becky Robinson here—and don’t forget to tell her which lesson is the most meaningful to you!

Click here for our free resources. 

Register for one of the “Reach More Readers” workshops. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review. 

Click here to tweet about this episode!

The post Episode 100: Something Special appeared first on Weaving Influence.