Creative Impressions Press » Marketing

Chat Rooms

Sharyn — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:00:29 +0000

Years ago, probably 1995, I was talking with the man who created my first website and he was telling me how he had sold his first website. He had created a website with tropical fish and had sold the website six months later for $60,000.

I was impressed!

Then about eight months later he sold his wine import website for $90,000. That I had to stop and ask him what in the world he did should be no surprise.

He told me how he had gone on to the chat boards and bulletin boards and started asking questions about the fish then the wine. He used a false identity and answered with another identity, leaving the link to his websites.

It was very clever when you consider it was 17 years ago. And it still works today. But what I prefer to do is go to LinkedIn and join groups that pertain to my websites and answer other people’s questions and include a back link to my site each time.

Occasionally I get someone to reply to my answer and actually look at my website. I’ve even talked live to several people once we started talking several times.

There are many websites you can use to develop conversations including Google and Yahoo groups. But if you’re looking to drive traffic and get new clients, this is one techniques that will yield your more of both with the least of effort. And it will not cost you a fortune in pay per click dollars.

Reviving Titles

Sharyn — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:34:46 +0000

I was in New York a couple of weeks ago and had a chance to catch up with on of my authors from three years ago. His book is on investing in the Real Estate market, so you can imagine how challenging it would be to market his book during the past couple of years.

But I always feel there is a market for the right audience to discover an area they have not yet explored. As an example, with Ken Beasley’s book, The Future of Real Estate, we can speak to realtors and brokers to establish a broader viewpoint on encouraging their clients to investing in income generating properties.

One of the positives is this is a buyer’s market. Homes are selling for close to what they were 20 years ago in some parts of the Bay Area, Houses in San Jose that were a million dollars are still under $500,000 two years after the economic downturn began. And even though 10% of all homes in the US are in foreclosure, it is great news for the next generation of investors and those who can now qualify for a home they couldn’t even dream of two years ago.

We often get caught up in the news and the negativity it presents, but there is always a way of re-purposing our work.

Take a look at your books and see what you can do to get back out into the market place.

Marketing

Sharyn — Wed, 26 May 2010 05:52:08 +0000

An author has to become a speaker. Just as much as a speaker should become an author. Marketing your book or marketing yourself as a speaker is much easier than most people think, especially with a plan.

There are at least 22 individual marketing techniques your can apply to your business and there are combinations of specific marketing techniques that will gain both authors and speakers more visibility and followers than most of the traditional marketing strategies such as newspaper or magazine ads.

I started marketing my business by speaking at the service organizations and after about five years I started speaking at chambers, women’s organizations, unemployed outplacement groups and anywhere else I could find with an audience. I developed a passion for speaking I couldn’t have imagined and the marketing became seamless.

I found groups and events which fit into my topics and began to develop products which would add to my bottom line by having the audience purchase products and hire me for other venues. I have trained more than a hundred speakers in the past twelve years and

I’ve had some amazing success with those speakers. Everything from changing their own belief about themselves to creating massive income increases. Marketing is one of the only ways you will be able to control your income as a speaker. Sign up for our Meetup group on Wednesday if you’re in the Bay Area to get the complete details.

Book Marketing

Sharyn — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 03:25:02 +0000

Book Signings are one of the first stops when new authors finally have their book in their hands. In truth, books signings should be scheduled for only two reasons. You want to announce to all those who know you “I AM an author!” and you want to bask in their admiration of the amazing accomplishment you have achieved.
The second reason to have a book signing is to capture media attention. One of the tactics I use with my authors is to find a well known bookstore and ask if they will sponsor the book signing event. I also mention that we will be on local TV, radio and mentioned in the local papers which will bring the bookstore extra foot traffic. This is always a bonus to them.
The reasoning behind book signings is to gain the media attention. The more the better, the more often the better.
I know most authors droll over shelf space in bookstores, but in reality, bookstores are nothing more than libraries that allow you to take books home and never bring them back. The sad reality is that more people bring books back (23% according to booksellers.com) every year. They can be earmarked, have writing in the margins and missing pages and as long as the consumer has a receipt, the books store is generally likely to give the consumer a refund.
However, author’s marketing has taken a turn for the positive during the past two years. We now have access to several resources such as websites like Amazon, Facebook, Self-Growth and Goodreads just to name just a few, where authors congregate. You can enlist their help in cross promoting each other’s books through an email marketing campaign. It’s very effective.
Another strategy is to interview other authors in your genre. They send a notice to their database proudly proclaiming the interview date and the details in which their loyal audience may listen for free! Yes, free!
The benefit for you as an author is you’ll be able to capture the other author’s database! It comes back to the more people who know who you are, the more sales you’ll make.
One of my favorite marketing tactics is speaking. I will speak to any size audience and sell an average of 25% either books, CD’s or previous recorded teleseminars. Each time you speak, you will want to record the presentation. Every author you interview you’ll record the call. Every teleseminar you conduct, you’ll have another product. Every product you have leads to more sales.
I’ve also managed to create a series of workshops based on my books for organizations and churches. I offer them 50% of the proceeds. They do all of the promotions, I show up and create a new audience of those interested in my topics.
You’d also be amazed at how easy it is to be booked on talk radio programs. I will typically have four interviews a month and sell between 25 and 100 books each interview.
Any author who spends ten to fifteen hours a week marketing their book will realize better than a full time income within a few short months. It takes a plan and then the discipline to follow through with the plan consistently.
Please feel free let me know if you have any questions.