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Here’s another concept that I’ve included in my book, “Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More.” I’m also touching on it in the new freebie I’ll be posting at my website soon.

Did you know that I offer a free ebooklet at my site: http://www.patriciafry.com Right now the ebooklet is “50 Ways to Prepare for Publishing Success.” I’ll announce the new one once it is posted. Here is an excerpt from the new one:

If you are speaking before an organized group such as a civic club with regular meetings or at a conference or convention, the organizer/program director will promote your presentation. But you’ll want to promote it, too. Let everyone on your email list know when and where you will be speaking. Some might not live in the area, but they may know someone who does and who would like to attend. So one reason for promoting your presentations is to entice people to come, but also to remind everyone on your list that you are credible in your field and available to speak.

Post your list of speaking engagements and other activities related to promoting your book at your website. Blog about upcoming events. Post this information at your FaceBook, LinkedIn, etc. pages. Mention it in your newsletter.

Stay in close communication with the program director or organizer to make sure they are doing the publicity they promised. In fact, you’re going to want to know exactly what they plan so you can make up the difference. If you learn in the beginning that the organizers aren’t going to promote, in order to get good attendance, you need to pick up the slack. Send press releases and notices to appropriate newspapers, newsletters, blog site and websites, for example.

If you are doing a signing or demonstration at a place of business that doesn’t generally have this sort of event, discuss publicity with the owner/manager. Perhaps they can promote your signing in their regular monthly advertisements. Suggest they make posters to put in their window or you do this for them. Create flyers and ask the clerks to place them in bags with purchases.

For added publicity for your speaking engagement, post the press release at your blog site, at your website, on your facebook page, etc. Make small posters and get permission to post them at the library, bookstores and other places related to the theme of your talk. If your presentation will be on model airplanes and held at a local hobby shop, by all means put posters on the hobby shop window, at any local small airports, at craft stores and other places where model airplane hobbyists shop or hangout. You get the picture.

Many authors neglect to take into consideration the exposure at hand. You might be surprised at the type of publicity available if you would just reach out a little farther. While many authors focus on those who will attend the activity and buy books, you should also consider the dozens to hundreds of others who will become aware of you, your book and the presentation through these publicity efforts. Don’t discount this opportunity. While these dozens or hundreds of people may not be able to attend the event, some may go to Amazon and purchase a copy of the book. They might see you later at a book festival and buy the book. They might stumble across it on your website and purchase it. When you promote a book, always, always keep in mind the residual effect as well as the immediate effect. This is what we call exposure. Honor it, create it, rely on it.

Order your copy of Talk Up Your Book at amazon.com or any other online or downtown bookstore. It will teach you volumes about how to promote your book using the most effective tool in your toolkit—your personality.

This is excerpted from my latest ebooklet which I will offer for free as soon as I get it finished (maybe today). It’s called, “50 Ways to Sell Your Book Through Your Personality.”

If you have a book to promote, you’ll probably be out doing some public speaking to bring attention to it. This is highly recommended. Well, you’ll most likely be more warmly welcomed and your programs more well-attended when you speak locally, where you are known. But if you have a trip planned or your book is connected in some way to another city or state, I urge you to consider traveling and speaking. Maybe you live in Mississippi, but your novel is set in Connecticut. See about speaking to residents at various venues in this state. If you’re planning to visit family in another city, set up radio interviews, book signings and speaking engagements while there.

I often combine pleasure and business when I travel. Once when I visited a friend in Arizona, I arranged to speak to a group of writers at a local library. We took a trip to Nashville and I met with a group of writers in a large bookstore there. I find that it helps to have the assistance and support of locals to help you set up these out-of-town events. This is just another reason why it is important that you spend time researching organizations online and connecting with others in your field, industry, interest or genre.

In my situation, I am already known through many channels related to publishing and book promotion because of my longtime and ongoing article contributions to industry publications, my appearances at so many writing conferences, my high-profile status as executive director of SPAWN, my eight-year-old daily blog and so forth. So when I plan a trip out of town, I do an Internet search for writers’ groups in the area. I contact group leaders as far in advance as I can—a year or several months is ideal—and try to set something up. In this case, the writers’ group leader already has venues in mind, she or he has access to their groups’ email list. They do the promo. All I have to do is show up.

But keep in mind, that I may not have been invited if I hadn’t taken the initiative and made the contact. Here’s another reminder that YOU need to think of yourself as the CEO of your book—foremost and always.

This ebooklet will cover 50 types of promotion you can do personally and many tips for participating in them. Watch for this valuable freebie to come to Patriciafry.com. In the meantime, you can still download 50 Ways to Prepare for Publishing Success. FREE. http://www.patriciafry.com

If you missed my other two ebooklets which I offered for free for a period, you can still order them for $3.95 here: http://www.matilijapress.com They are “50 Ways to Sell Your Ebooks.” (You’ll be amazed at some of the ideas) and “50 Reasons Why You Should Publish That Book.” (This ebooklet will let you know if you are ready to publish or not.)

Most mornings I have no problem coming up with a message to share via this blog. Other times, I don’t feel so inspired. Well, how many of you have written 1,749 posts or articles over a period of 7 ½ years? Yes, this is post number 1,750. At this rate, I will reach number 2,000 by the end of the year.

Some people think it is amazing that someone could maintain a blog at this pace. Others think it’s rather crazy. Why do I do it? Why do I suggest that other authors take time out of their day or week to post blogs pertinent to their book topic or genre? It’s another good way to get exposure for your book(s), to gain credibility in your field or genre, to attract customers/readers and to give something of value to your potential readers.

It may seem daunting to be responsible for writing a blog post every day or even every week. But think about it, if you could write a whole book, if you can write promotion copy, if you can write articles/stories for publication and speeches, you can probably come up with topics to maintain a valuable and/or entertaining blog.

Here are some tips to help you get started and that will also serve to give you more confidence as a blogger:

• Dissect your book and see how many subjects and sub-topics you can list.

• Dissect these subjects even more, slice and dice them into miniscule topics.

• Study other books and articles on your topic and come up with even more ideas.

• Study other blogs to see what others are talking about. Read their comments to learn what their readers are interested in.

• Learn to take small topics and write big about them.

• Practice creating several posts on one sub-topic.

• Ask friends to help you come up with blog topics. Bring together a group of good friends, a little wine, a few snacks and just watch the ideas flow.

Learn more about starting and maintaining a blog as well as article/story-writing as a way to build your platform—your credibility—and get more exposure for your books in my books: Publish Your Book, Promote Your Book and Talk Up Your Book. All three books are at Amazon.com available in print, kindle and audio.

How do you entice people to your website? Do you have something there that your audience wants? Why do people stop by your site? You know, they aren’t coming there just because they want to support you and your book project—well, not very many people will do that.

If you want to lure potential customers to your website in hopes of them buying your book, you need a reason for them to come—I mean a reason beyond the fact that they want to buy your book. They’ll probably go to Amazon to buy it if they want it, anyway. It’s cheaper and they already have an account there, so it’s easy to make the purchase.

If you have books or services to sell and you put up a website in order to showcase these things, you want visitors. And if you want visitors, you had better have a reason for them to come by.

Here’s what I suggest you add to your website:
• Create a resource list related to the topic or genre of your book.
• Provide a list of other books on the topic or in the genre.
• Post informative articles or interesting stories on the topic or in the genre of your book.
• Run a contest or game where visitors can participate.
• Offer something for free—a downloadable ebook, for example.

Of course, there’s more to this great idea. Once you have something worth showing at your website, you must promote it through every avenue available to you. Just as with a book, no one is going to visit your website if they don’t know it exists or that you have something there of value to them.
I’m working on a new ebook for my website as we speak. So far, I have offered “50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book” and “50 Ways to Promote Your Ebook.” I currently offer “50 Ways to Prepare for Publishing Success.” Download your free ebook here: http://www.patriciafry.com

The two ebooks I retired are now for sale at my website for $3.95 each. And this is an exclusive offer—they are not available at Amazon or anywhere else. Order them here: http://www.matilijapress.com

Okay, so what sort of free ebook could you offer your readers? You notice that I write freebies for authors. That’s because my books are designed for authors. Let’s say that yours is a self-help book featuring a particular disorder. You might prepare a pamphlet offering tips for helping a loved one understand your disorder, ideas for how to take one day at a time when suffering from this disorder, a list of case histories from people who have learned to live with the disorder, little known facts about the disorder, etc.

If it is a memoir focusing on an ancestor who left a journal, consider writing an ebooklet with facts about the country this person hailed from, pointing up the history of a particular period involving your ancestor or noting other books one could read to learn more about an event or time period in this country.

For a novel, a collection of short stories or a novella might be perfect freebies you could offer in order to entice readers to purchase your book in the same genre.

There are hundreds of ideas for spin-off books, booklets, pamphlets and brochures you could produce in order to promote your book. If you have a book and are clueless as to ideas for freebie ebooklets, let me know. Maybe I can help. Maybe some of my followers can help. Leave your comment here. It would be refreshing to receive a real comment rather than so many from spam.

Remember, to order “50 Ways to Sell Your Ebook,” or “50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book,” http://www.matilijapress.com They are $3.95 each.

To download my current freebie, “50 Ways to Prepare for Publishing Success,” go here: http://www.patriciafry.com

Yesterday, I received an email from someone who bought a book from me nearly a year ago at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. SPAWN typically has a booth at this huge event. And this woman visited the booth. Not only did she buy my book on publishing, she also picked up some information about SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). Since I met and spoke with her nearly a year ago, she has completed her own book and it is currently with a publisher. Yesterday, she also joined SPAWN.

Yes, a year later. So many of us, when we attempt to transform ourselves from avid writer with a passion for our topic or story to bookseller (marketing agent, promotions manager), we focus on the immediate sale and neglect to look beyond the moment. We may hear the term exposure. We are told that it takes some people seeing the book seven times before they will actually purchase it. We perceive signings and other events where we sell fewer books than we expected as failures. But I am here to tell you that when we do this, we are peering through a narrow focus—we are not looking at the larger picture. And this can be detrimental to our bookselling experience.

Recently I drove 300 miles and spoke to a large group of writers. I sold fewer books than I expected that day. But since then, I have had two editing clients from that group and I’ve sold books to some of those who didn’t purchase books that day. I can share numerous similar stories. And if you get out among your readers at all, you are having similar experiences whether you’re aware of it or not.

Sure, it’s good to have goals. And you should have a marketing plan, good handouts, a succinct spiel. You need to practice some promotional techniques. And, if you want to sell books, you have to put yourself out there—go where your audience is, understand what they want and how they want it presented. You should know how to locate and how to set up opportunities to promote your book to your specific audience. And this is where many authors fail.

First, they don’t understand that it is their responsibility to promote their own books. Then they don’t know what it takes when they accept this responsibility.

For new and struggling authors who want or need help getting out and making live appearances, landing radio gigs, talking more successfully to visitors at book festivals and so forth, I highly recommend that you read my latest book, “Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More.” It’s available now at Amazon.com in print, on Kindle and now on audio. Or purchase it at http://www.matilijapress.com

Promoting a book is not a one-time event. It shouldn’t be considered an afterthought. It is a mindset that should be factored in early in the book writing/publishing process. In fact, as soon as you decide you are going to write a book, you should be planning your marketing program.

First begin establishing or adding to your platform—your reach and connections related to the topic, field or genre of your book. You need to develop a following—define, locate and connect with your readers. And do this early on. It can take years to establish recognition and reputation in any field or interest. What many new authors neglect to understand is that just because they wrote a book doesn’t mean people will clamor to buy it.

Think about it, we want to read books by authors we know. We buy novels by authors whose work we have read and enjoyed. We choose how-to and other nonfiction books on our perceived merit or reputation of the author. This is why it is so very important that your reputation precedes your book.

One way to build on your platform is to write articles or stories for your audience and get them published in the magazines, newsletters and websites they read. When your book is published and word reaches those who have enjoyed or learned from reading your articles or stories, they will be more apt to buy your book. The more articles or stories you have published and the more publications they appear in, the more potential readers will recognize your name. Think about it, how many people know about you now? How many would be interested enough or curious enough to purchase your book? If you do this one simple thing and start submitting articles or stories related to the genre/topic of your book now in five different publications that are circulated to a total of 3,000 people, you may have just added another 3,000 people to your list of potential customers.

Likewise, if you go out and start speaking to groups and conducting workshops before your book is a book, you will be adding tremendously to your platform. This is also a great opportunity to build on your mailing list. Never leave a speaking gig without circulating a sign-up sheet. You want to stay in contact with these people. You want to remind them from time to time of who you are, the books, services and other items you offer and the future programs you may be presenting.

These are just a few of the activities you can pursue before your book is a book in order to experience a much greater sales success rate when it is published. If you wait to start doing these things after your book is published, expect it to take more time to develop that following. I can tell you that book sales for an author without a platform, without a following, without a reputation in his or her field/interest/genre, will be sluggish. Most authors find this terribly disappointing. They find it next to impossible to get the results they hoped for when they do venture out to promote their book at a signing or a book festival, for example. And they soon quit promoting at all—rolling over in defeat.

Don’t let this happen to you. For more about how to more successfully navigate the highly competitive publishing field, be sure to read “Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author.”

For more about creating a marketing plan for your book, order “Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author.”

For the expertise you need in order to arrange for and effectively manage those speaking engagements, interviews, signings and so forth, order “Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More.”

All three books available at Amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores. Or order it here: http://www.matilijapress.com

Announcement, “Promote Your Book” and “Talk Up Your Book” are both now available at Amazon.com in print, Kindle and audio.

I learn over and over that you never know if and when a gesture or a contact will result in a book sale.

A few weeks ago someone I met briefly at a book festival ten months ago contacted me about editing her manuscript. She had saved the brochure she picked up that day at my booth. Yesterday, I received a book order from a former classmate that I reconnected with at a reunion last year. She said she was going through her purse and my business card fell out. That’s when she remembered she wanted to order one of my books. She visited my website, however, and ended up ordering two.

I once got an email from a new author from Wisconsin asking if I’d work with her on her book project. I had met her in at a writers’ conference nearly three years earlier. She had purchased one of my books for authors at that time.

We’ve had a rash of new people signing up for SPAWN membership these past two months. Several have said they heard about SPAWN from me. Some of them, I don’t recognize their names and don’t recall having done presentations anywhere near where they live. I can only guess that they discovered this blog and read about SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) here or at Twitter or in one of my articles…

I’m not telling you this to brag. NO! I’m sharing these examples with you so you’ll understand the importance of exposure…putting yourself and your book out there everywhere and constantly. Diligently hand out business cards, promo material and/or brochures. Post at your blog often. Maintain a useful website. Use social media. Show up at various activities and events and talk to people. Get involved to enlarge upon your profile. Seek out opportunities to connect, mingle and support others. Become expert at recognizing opportunities when they occur.

And most of all, don’t become a gloomy Gus when you sell fewer books than you expected at the events you attend or during your push to make seasonal sales. Look at all efforts and all appearances as great opportunities to become known to more potential customers/readers. Keep in mind that there’s more to simply making on-the-spot sales when you go out and speak on your topic or when you talk to visitors at book signings or book festivals. If you’re doing your job, you are promoting these activities before the date through your blog, your website, press releases, newspaper and newsletter articles, announcements to your online and real time groups, word of mouth and so forth before the event. AND, if you are on the ball, you are getting even more publicity after the event by mentioning it again in your blog, in thank you emails to your list, through your groups and etc.

For much more on how to get the most out of your publicity and how to create, organize and perform a variety of appearances and other live and recorded events and activities, read “Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More.” It’s available at amazon.com in print and on Kindle and at most other online and downtown bookstores. http://amzn.to/ZMJndK