Self-publishing is business whether you agree or not. Being independent involves a lot of financial investment. As an entrepreneur and a self-published author, it is necessary that you consider ways to utilize monetary investment and generate a substantial return on your investment.

For most people, budgeting is never an easy task. Money is something that everyone else in the world worries about.

Mistakes, no matter how small, can cost you dearly. You should decisively look at the “big picture”. Decide on how much money should be devoted to what stage of your book’s publication. Learn to organize things according to their priority. Identify the things that are not necessary to fully optimize your budget.

Here are a few suggestions to determine a realistic budget for your pre-publication marketing plan:

(1) Have a list of quotes and estimates for all publication, distribution, marketing, and promotional activities.

Printing

-          book printing (number of finished copies)

-          ISBN numbers (do you have to pay an additional fee?)

-          Advance Reading Copies (are all your recipients interested?)

Distribution

-          list of distribution centers (local, national, or international)

-          postal or online purchasing for booksellers

Marketing

-          bookmarks, flyers, posters, and postcards (design, printing, and distribution)

-          book launching (date, venue, expected number of guests, gimmicks, and reception)

Online Marketing

-          author website (hosting, content, domain, design, and maintenance)

-          ads (banners, e-mail ads, pay-per-click ads, etc.)

-          online bookstore fees

Publicity and Promotion

-          PR (number of copies, type of media outlets and organizations, and distribution)

-          press kits (supplies, shipping and postage fees)

(2) Spend more on interested parties.

Marketing and publicity can be quite a risk, especially when you are new in the industry. It is wise to ask first before sending out your ARCs (Advance Reading Copies). Identify which individuals or media outlets may be interested. This way, your efforts and publicity materials will not most likely to end up in paper shredders.

(3) Take advantage of the Internet.

Blogging will definitely help you disseminate information about your book – at no cost. By joining and participating on social media sites, you can develop reader to writer relationships. You don’t only sell your books; you have to market yourself as an author. Have your author website provide another avenue for getting more readers, online book orders, and link exchanges.
(4) Embrace innovation.

Create a perfect media mix for an effective and extensive marketing campaign. Radio and television appearances can be quite pricey for self-publishers. Print and online publications, on the other hand, are tangible and are perfect for references. Read and take time to adopt what’s new. Learn how to maximize micro blogging and how to keep your prospective readers following you. Technology and innovation have endless marketing and promotional possibilities.

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Source: http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/141474/publishing/a_few_tips_on_how_to_market_and_sell_your_self_published_books.html

By: Helen Hecker

Self publishers need to have a good marketing plan to sell books and should be written prior to writing your book and in place a year prior to publishing your book. It’s one thing to write a book, but an entirely different thing to write one that’s saleable, viable, and marketable. In today’s publishing environment, a book’s success depends greatly on a strong marketing plan.

Mail a press release to all the trade journals in your field over and over again; you can use the same release. Invest in press release submitting software and set aside time every week to send out a press release online to the press directories. Make sure your press release spells out the ‘who, what, where, when, and why.’

Learning to write and use powerful optimized press releases can often drive tons of traffic to your website while providing multiple back links that can lead to increased page rank and numerous top ten search engine rankings for your targeted keywords. Using press releases can be a very effective marketing tool if used properly. Press releases can generate thousands of dollars in sales when picked up by national trade or print media.

Using press releases for marketing or promoting your book or book’s website has become increasingly popular as publishers discover the powerful benefits of using press releases. Make sure you have at least one good press release, written in AP style, which you can send out for the lifetime of your book.

Place free ads periodically for your book’s website on Craigslist in different categories to drive even more traffic to your website. Make five telephone calls a day that relate to marketing your book. Make sure to promote and market your book each and every day, both online and offline.

When you get a nice write up or feature about you and/or your book, have it laminated and set it up on an easel at trade shows. Create an online contest and list it in online contest directories to drive traffic to your website. Every day it’s important to focus on a variety of marketing approaches.

Submit articles to online article directories that focus on your book’s topic to drive customers to your website. Find a non-exclusive distributor with a good reputation to carry your book for the book store trade, as well as for other retailers. Contact non-bookstore booksellers and offer to leave books on consignment.

Offer to trade writing a monthly column in a trade publication in your books’ genre, in trade for display ads on the same page. Contact any companies, corporations or organizations that might use your book for promotions; offer significant discounts for volume orders or for thousands of copies offer a specified amount above book production costs. If your book solves a problem, focus on this in your marketing.

If your book fits a specialty market, find a store that fits the genre and offer to leave books on consignment; many publishers have sold thousands of books this way. Get as many testimonials about your book, as possible, from experts in the field relating to your title, not customers; use on your fliers and back of books.

Remember to make sure your book is listed in Books-in-Print; don’t assume it’s already listed. Make sure your sales letter or flier is first class; this is your formal presentation of your title to the prospective buyer.

Use your book promotion and book marketing dollars wisely; go after the free and cheap resources daily. If you apply yourself every day and you promote your book like crazy, you can achieve that ultimate goal of selling thousands of copies of your book, many self publishers have. Yes you can market and promote your book on a shoestring budget, just be careful about your marketing dollars.

About The Author, Helen Hecker

For more information on book marketing tips and selling more books go to press releases – online, wire service and offline distribution

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Source: http://www.liberalartscolleges.org/blog/2010/10-reasons-why-a-paperback-is-better-than-an-e-reader/

Until recently, nothing has challenged traditional reading quite as much as the introduction of the e-reader, an electronic reading device that displays books in a digital format. E-readers have catered to the changing times and rise of technology with lightweight designs, Internet access and having your own personal electronic library on the go. What e-readers don’t have is the longevity and simplicity of paperbacks that can be read anywhere, anytime. It’s truly hard to replace the feel, smell and beauty of a bound book, but it’s up to the readers to determine the fate of paperback books. Here are 10 reasons why a paperback is better than an e-reader:

* No Wi-Fi needed

With paperbacks, you don’t have to worry about connecting to the Internet to read your favorite romance novel, or download the latest New York Times best sellers. With ebooks, you’ll need a wireless hookup to browse the online libraries and buy or download books. For older e-reader versions, you have to connect to a computer to download ebooks on the Internet, which means more hassle and more reading time taken away for technology purposes.

* No charging necessary

Paperbacks are fully charged and fully functional all the time. There’s no battery included, no charging required and they have an unlimited shelf life. With e-readers, you may have a battery life of two weeks or less before they go kaput during a road trip when you’re halfway through a book. Not to mention, the life span of an e-reader is probably only a couple years.

* Inexpensive

Paperback books are far more economical than e-readers, which can put you out upwards of $400 to $500, not including the cost of downloading ebooks and additional gadgets. Depending on where you shop, you may spend a few dollars or $20 dollars on a book that can be passed on to friends, bought back by a bookstore or donated. Also, there’s always the option of checking out books from the library at no cost to you.

* Travels easily

Traveling with e-readers can be a huge hassle, especially in airports, because you have to remove your device from its case and send it through the security check separately. A book takes no time to scan and can be left in your bag because it doesn’t require a separate check. E-readers can’t be used on the plane when the captain tells passengers to turn off all electronic devices, but paperbacks can be read during any flight time.

* You can recycle, donate and sell back books

Paperbacks can be recycled, donated or sold to a bookstore, resale shop, school, church and anywhere else books are needed. You can sell back books and get more than half of your money back in online marketplaces, bookstores or book sales. Because electronic reading devices are so new and expensive, they won’t be donated or recycled any time soon.

* Read whenever, wherever

Whether you’re in a park, on the subway or floating in a swimming pool, you can safely read a paperback book, without worrying that you’ll be $400 down the drain. The portability of paperbacks far exceeds the portability of ebooks because they are battery-free, durable and don’t require Internet access. Paperbacks can survive coffee spills, days at the beach and being dropped in a puddle, whereas the electronic competitor would be a goner in no time.

* No eye strain or blinding glare

You won’t have to worry about eye strain after reading a paperback, nor will you have a LCD screen blinding you. Sure, you can adjust the brightness of the e-reader’s screen, but there is no backlight included for reading in the dark.

* No technical problems

E-readers can be defective and have annoying software problems that disrupt your reading. Paperbacks don’t experience technical problems, software bugs or crashes. Paperback books are simple and technology-free, which makes them user-friendly for any age.

* Illustrations

Illustrations have an important role in children’s books, cookbooks and how-to books to guide the reader and aid in storytelling. Book illustrations provide a visual representation of what’s happening in the story and it breaks up the monotony of text. Some ebooks don’t contain illustrations or omit images that aren’t referred to at great length in the text. E-readers just don’t have the same artistic elements that books have.

* Unlimited borrowing and lending

Depending on your personal lending policy, there is usually no limit to how long you let a friend borrow your book. With many e-readers, you have a maximum amount of days you can borrow a book before it goes back to its rightful owner or has to be check out again. The ease of borrowing and checking out books from the library makes paperbacks a more convenient process.

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by: Tony Eldridge, creator or Marketing Tips for Authors

Source: http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/2010/09/8-tips-on-starting-your-own-grass-roots.html

In the election season here in the U.S., there is a lot of talk about “Grass-Roots” campaigns. By that, the pundits and candidates are saying that their campaign is not launched by a lot of money, media coverage or the blessing of the “Establishment” leadership. Rather, it’s a campaign where the candidate is ushered in by the local constituents themselves and word-of-mouth becomes a powerful force that thrusts the candidate into prominence.

Similarly, most authors don’t have a lot of money, access to major media coverage or are backed by the “Establishment” (publishers, major reviewers, etc..) Instead, we are like the candidate who is hoping for a grass-roots movement to help news of us and our book spread like wildfire.

Here are 8 tips to help you encourage the start of your own grass-roots movement for your own book:

1. Contact local civic organizations- Groups like the Lion’s Club, Rotary, Kiwanis, and the Chamber of Commerce are names most of us recognize. They are local and they often look for speakers to visit their clubs. But get out the yellow pages and look for other groups as well. Most libraries have “Friends of the Library” and you may be surprised at how many local civic groups are in your community. These groups are made up of your neighbors who will be excited to hear from a local “celebrity” author.

2. Take a local reporter to lunch- Many communities have small newspapers that cover local events almost exclusively. My home town of Forney, TX even has an online newspaper called The Forney Post that has mentioned me and my book many times, as well at the traditionally published Forney Messenger. By meeting with a reporter (who often is the owner of the paper as well), you might be able to help them find multiple angles that get your book into their paper.

3. Speak at your local schools- One of my favorite activities is to speak at local schools. You would be surprised at how many schools would love to have a local author speak to their students about your path to becoming a successful author. Schools want to point at local success stories to help motivate their students to reach for the stars.

5. Approach local businesses about placement- We often spend time trying to get our book into local big-box stores but their decisions often are made across the country at the store’s headquarters. But a local doughnut shop, florist, or gas station may be willing to set a few of your signed books on their counter. Imagine the power of your neighbors seeing the cover of your book many times each month!

6. Drop off your book in waiting rooms- Here’s an idea that I love. I dropped off a copy of my novel, The Samson Effect, in a doctor’s office and the patience would read it while they waited for the doctor. The doctor gave me comments that patients made about the book and I even met one to sell him signed copy! Try this with dentists, doctors, chiropractors, and any other office where patients wait. Of course, you want to get the doctor’s permission first, but most will be happy for free reading material from a local author. Be warned however, most professionals who provide public reading material will want it to be free of offensive devises, especially if children will have access to the book.

7. Volunteer at local charities- By volunteering in your community, you get name recognition and more people will come in contact with your book. People who run these organizations are usually well connected in the community. Of course, the primary relationship is to serve, not to push your book, but my main point is that by volunteering, you will expand your exposure tremendously. You may also be mentioned in the organization’s newsletter as “Tony Eldridge, Forney’s own author of the action/adventure novel, The Samson Effect…”

8. Enlist help from your church- While most churches do not like their membership list to be used as a cold-call sales list, members of your church are usually eager to help other members they have a relationship with. Don’t be shy in letting the membership, preachers, pastors, deacons, and everyone else know that you have written a book. This may lead to speaking engagements within the church and maybe even an invitation to speak at another church that your pastor has a relationship with.

The key with all eight of these ideas is establishing relationships. Remember, people in your community want to support one of their own. They want to see one of their own succeed. If you can establish strong local relationships, you might be surprised at how strong the grass-roots support for your book might help it become known far beyond your own home town.

Tony Eldridge

Forney, TX, United States

Tony Eldridge author of the action/adventure book, The Samson Effect, that Clive Cussler calls a “first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure.” He also share his book marketing tips with fellow authors through his blog and through his free weekly video marketing tips for authors. You can follow him on Twitter @TonyEldridge

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Source: http://www.millermosaicllc.com/cart-before-horse/

Book marketing in the age of the internet provides numerous opportunities for an aspiring nonfiction book author to have a following before he or she submits a nonfiction book proposal.

The typical advice for someone about to write a nonfiction book proposal is that the person must first have a platform – which basically means a huge following (such as host of a national tv show) or a huge mailing list (perhaps amassed from years of doing business).

The reason for this is that publishers want to know there’s already a built-in fan base of people presumably eager to buy the potential author’s book.

And for someone who doesn’t have this huge following or huge mailing list – it’s too bad but agents and publishers probably won’t be interested in that person’s nonfiction book proposal.

In the past it could take years to “grow” a following. Perhaps, for example, starting off with an advice column in your local newspaper, then working up to an advice column syndicated to a few newspapers, and finally achieving a national syndicated column.

Or you could start off as a talk show host on your local station, work up to a talk show on a few local stations, and finally achieve a national talk show.

The good news is that the internet has changed everything. In fact, the internet has completely eliminated most barriers to entry.

Thus today there’s no reason to put the cart before the horse. Don’t write that nonfiction book proposal until you have established a solid online reputation. Why ask to be rejected when, with some targeted work, you can position yourself as someone to whom agents and publishers should say yes?

If you have an expertise – let’s say you’re a relationship expert with a unique spin – and you want to write a book about your relationship advice, here are some of the internet opportunities you can use to get your own platform BEFORE you write that proposal:

• Start a blog that offers your relationship advice.
• Leave insightful comments with the URL to your blog on other relationship blogs.
• Write guest posts for other people’s blogs.
• Start a BlogTalkRadio show giving your relationship advice and interviewing people who need your advice.
• Join Facebook and start a Facebook group for relationship advice.
• Join Twitter and tweet about your BlogTalkRadio shows.
• Join LinkedIn and start a relationship advice group there.
• Join other social media sites that offer the opportunity for you to demonstrate your unique relationship advice.
• Launch a website that includes testimonials to your advice with an irresistible free offer for people to give you their email addresses (building your list).
• Post brief videos on YouTube and other video sites of you giving relationship advice.
• Make podcasts about relationship advice and have the podcasts downloadable from your website.
• Write reports or e-books about specific areas of relationship advice and distribute these for free or for a fee from your website.
• Offer your reports or e-books to others to use for premiums for their projects.
• Do free or fee question-and-answer teleseminars.
• Write relationship articles and post on free article sites such as ezinearticles.com.
• Write press releases about your teleseminars and post on internet press release sites.

Does this take work? Yes, it does. And will you do all of these? Probably not.

But if you start doing some of these activities as a preamble for writing a nonfiction book proposal, you will be much better positioned to convince a book agent and/or a book publisher that you have the required platform to sell your book.

And the added benefit of doing all this work first? With all the advice you’ve dispensed on the web, your book will almost be totally written thanks to all the material you’ve already produced. –P.Z.M.

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is a National Internet Business Examiner at http://www.InternetBizBlogger.com as well as a book author, and her power marketing company http://www.MillerMosaicLLC.com combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

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