What's Advertising??

Sorry for the late IWSG post--I'm in the process of moving and still don't have internet hooked up, ugh! But I think you'll find this post was worth it...

Advertising: It's torture! It's annoying to watch and painful to produce. But some special ads are fun to watch and/or memorable--the unicorns: Mayhem, "Where's the Beef?" "Tastes Great. Less Filling" "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" and jingles that get stuck in your head. Advertising is the best way to sell things, and it's the basis of how entertainment is paid for--including books!

For an author, advertising can be a daunting task. Many of us don't know where to begin. So I've compiled a list of Advertising Tips from a few experienced professionals (see links below). We can use these techniques to reach the right audience and sell books.

Tips for Effective Advertising:

1. Know Your Audience - This is on every list--must be important! You may think you know your audience, but here are some ways to REALLY know you know them.
• Research - what other books does your audience read? which book could you say "If you like ____, you'll love my book!"
• Make your book appealing - Can you say your book is a mashup of which two popular books/movies?
• Optimize for searches - choose great key words that will make your book appear before your readers on Google!
• Get personal - share, relate, be accessible, answer questions
2. Be Creative - Authors know all about being creative. Yes, you do. You have created worlds, in-depth personalities, and complex plots. Don't sell yourself short. Now use your creativity in a different way--Author hisses as she steps out into sun to peddle books...
• Have a Hook! Condense your book into one tantalizing sentence, no details, just a twisty, tasty tease!
• Stand out - What makes your book different than the rest of the books on the same shelf??
• Inspire action - Once you read the first chapter, you won't be able to put it down!
• Your ads need to be Memorable, Short, Relevant
3. More Intense Targeting - repeat customers and fans are the goal... 
• These key points are from World Stream
• Behavior and interest targeting: These are the people interested in your stuff.
• Remarketing: These are the people who have recently checked our your stuff.
• Demographic targeting: These are the people who can afford to buy your stuff.
• Geo-fencing targets more specifically by location (Blue Fountain Media) 
4. Visual Stimulation - still or video, an ad has to be eye-catching
• Image association/Branding - your images must convey the mood of your book and possibly go deeper to show your "brand"
• Great graphics - you get what you pay for - don't be just another pic that gets passed by
• Videos need to portray message with or without sound - many people watch videos without turning on the volume (I am one) Talk about "Show Don't Tell!"
5. Variety of Media - social is the way to go, but be smart and spend wisely. Here's some advice on who, how, and why or why not...
• Facebook - good for small business, but some say not. Personally, I've tried these and they give feedback. Not sure if it helps, but I think exposure is helpful.
• Twitter - better to tweet with key words tailored to your audience than tweet "engagements"
• More--Medium, Hacker News, Reddit, Digg, Linked In--some I know, some I don't, but I'm going to look into these further
• Test your ads - ask friends, relatives, blog/newsletter readers, etc for their first impressions of your ad
6. Have a Consistent Message - Know what you want to say. What's your theme?
• Why should people read your book?
• Testimonials of reviewers and readers work

So, when you're ready to publish, keep these tips in mind for ways to advertise your book. And keep writing--once you hook readers, they will want more!

Source articles: Blue Fountain Media, Target Public, All Business, World Stream, Entrepreneur

With my moving still in progress, I may or may not get another post out this month... Hope all is well with you and yours this holiday season--peace and love to you!

Try Something New - #Writers do more than write

I write adventure stories. I like action, suspense, and surprises. I encourage people to go out and do, to make life an adventure!

I also say: "the way to get noticed is to put yourself out there," which I know most of us hate doing.

So here's my advice, Take Baby Steps.
Trying new things might seem intimidating. So dip your toes in and test the water to see if you like it. Then, gradually go deeper... Or dive right in and make a splash. It's up to you!

Here's a list of things I encourage writers to try with small starts:

• Make a Video - Don't worry. You don't have to be a star or an actress.
• Starting Small - a slide show is easy to convert to a video. Experiment with easy, free movie making apps with captions and transitions, free/royalty free images and music. Before you know it, you have a book trailer! You might enjoy it and move on to bigger things...
• Film yourself reading an excerpt (TIP: be aware of your background!)
• Do a book review for a friend
• Make a scripted advice video
• More things to try: a Podcast or Vlog
• Self Publishing - This takes a lot of work and money, but if done right can be very profitable.
• Starting Small - there are many free publishing venues to try. Short stories and novellas are a great place to start with trying out the process. Two things you should splurge on: Cover and Editing (unless you are friends with an editor and you can trade services) Once you've experimented with a small publication, you can...
• Try a novel!
• Collaborate on an Anthology
• Compile some short stories
• Book Events - I always encourage authors to get out and represent your books.
• Starting Small - First, attend an event as a reader and see what it's all about, get ideas, meet authors, and get advice--build up confidence. Then try local libraries, bookstores, and free book fairs. Work your way up to...
• Bigger Book Festivals
• Book Conferences
• Vendor Events
• Conventions
• You'll be talking on an author panel before you know it!

So get out there and try stuff! Been there, done that? Share some of your advice!

And here's one of my adventurous friends for my Shout Out of the Week!

Patricia Lynne/Patricia Josephine

Patricia is a Michigander and transplant Yooper––that means she can hold her hands up and point to where she lives in the upper peninsula of Michigan. She's always been creative--starting with wanting to be a dancer, then an artist, and also a musician, in band all through school.

While at Grand Valley State College, she found out being an Art major wasn't for her, but she did learn a ton in her classes and met her hubby in an anime chat room, DragonBall Z. PS, she's a big anime geek.

She loves to cook, makes jewelry and knits--she even sold her wares at local craft shows. And add decorating to her list of talents. But once she tried writing a story she'd been daydreaming about, she never looked back. She even ventured into self-publishing. This woman isn't afraid to try new things!

You can find links to Patricia's books here.

And connect with her...

AND HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

10 Places Writers Should Go

Writers are explorers.
We go places both physical and psychological. And we take readers along for the ride! Readers depend on authors to transport them to foreign countries, fictional towns, other worlds, back in time or into the future, and even just down the street. So we need to create settings that are as real as possible.

For my IWSG post this month, I challenge writers to go to these ten places, or as many as possible:

1. Visit another country
2. Take a trip to a different state/climate
3. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or other opportunity
4. Offer to speak at a school
5. Spend the night in a strange place out of your comfort zone ==> if you live in the city, go to the country and vice versa. Never been camping? Try it.
6. Try a new mode of transportation
7. Explore an antique store, or grandma's attic
8. Dare to try something exciting that you wouldn't normally do--skydiving, spelunking, scuba diving
9. You can go online to experience some of the above when travel isn't feasible and immerse yourself in facts and photos
10. Put yourself in someone else's shoes! This is the best thing to do when writing a character, but also in life.

The challenge is to broaden your perspective. The more knowledge you gain, the richer the experience, the deeper your characters, and the better your story will be. Have you already crossed a few of these off? I'd love to hear about it!




I also have a very well-traveled friend for my SHOUT OUT OF THE WEEK...

RHONDA ALBOM!

Rhonda lives in New Zealand, and I hope to visit her some day. She and her family recently returned home after a 51 day adventure to visit relatives in the US, and then sailed back from LA to Auckland. After spending about a month at home, they leave for 9 weeks to South America. And she documents her journeys with amazing photographs and stories. You really need to check them out! She's truly an inspiration for going out to see the world.

More about Rhonda--
Expat Rhonda Albom takes you on a vicarious adventure as she captures the essence of travel through photography, stories, tips, and humour. Along with her husband and her two teenage daughters, they have collectively visited 54 countries on six continents.

Rhonda is the owner, primary author, and chief travel photographer at the award-winning expat/travel blog AlbomAdventures.com.  Her background includes the journalism school at the University of Missouri, a BS from the University of Illinois,  and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago. Rhonda homeschooled her girls, is a crew member of a women’s yacht racing team, and she leads a Girl Guiding Pippins group (ages 5-6). Rhonda is currently editing her first creative non-fiction book, due out in 2018.


So, where would you suggest a writer go? And do you know Rhonda? You should!
Happy November!