Shameless Promoter - Book Marketing Coach: March 2009

"I can help you!"

I NO LONGER WORK AS A BOOK MARKETING COACH; I'M THE PUBLISHER AT IMAJIN BOOKS.

I've worked for over 25 years in advertising, promotions and sales, and spent nearly 2 years as a motivational speaker for a major international company. Currently a bestselling novelist and 'shameless' promoter, I've shared my experiences and techniques as a Book Marketing Coach for nearly a decade.

Whether you're published or unpublished, I can help. My last publisher called me a "marketing guru" and "whiz", although I prefer to think of what I do as teaching, or coaching.

"Dare to Dream...and Dream BIG!"

Friday, March 27, 2009

SP Tip #4 Book Video Trailers

Book video trailers are increasing in popularity. Even the major publishers are using them to promote their authors. A video is more exciting than straight sales pitch or book description. People prefer visuals and sound.

You can either make your own book video trailer, have your publisher make one or hire a company that specializes in them. You can find book videos with simple graphics, text and music, or special effects, or live action (actors) videos. You must choose which best suits your book and your budget.

It's very important to keep the time/length of your video under 3 minutes. Any longer and your viewers might stray. Highlight the most important points and use music that fits the mood of your book.

*24-7PressRelease.com offers press release distribution with video.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

SP Tip #3 - Tweet on Twitter

Twitter is a form of blogging called micro-blogging. You have 140 characters to get a message across, usually answering the question: What are you doing?

However, people with products and services to market or promote can also "tweet" a short piece of sales copy or ad copy. But don't use hard sales tactics.

Since this is a social network, make sure you intersperse your sales tweets with more personal ones. Let people get to know you.

Hope you'll follow me on Twitter!

SP Tip #2 - Create a solid internet identity

Creating a strong internet identity or web presence is not as simple as starting a blog or designing a website. People have to be able to find you through search engines like Google or Yahoo.

You'll know you're "strong" in your internet identity when a search of your name gives you at least 30 pages of results--the first 30 pages, or more.

Keep in mind, these pages should be about you, not someone else with the same name.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

SP Tip #1 - "Bounce" when you're doing a book signing

Of course I don't mean bounce like a beach ball in your chair, or jump up and down continuously like a bad impression of Richard Simmons.

By "bounce" I mean, don't sit the entire time behind your table. And don't stand the whole time either.

Alternate your position based on who's around you. Try to stand when you have potential customers and sit when things are slow.

Have fun "bouncing"!!!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Book signing and book launches...oh my!

Recently, a writer friend had some questions regarding advertising book signings and launches. She asked if she should have had the store put up posters and showcase her book in the front window prior to her book launch. I gave her some advice, things I wish someone had told me at the very beginning.

In the beginning, I was bold...yet I didn't have a clue what to do either.

To find out what I told her and how I've helped other authors achieve success at signings and launches, hire me as your personal Book Marketing Coach.

Hire me as your personal Book Marketing Coach and learn how to best promote you and your books at signings and launches. Please contact me via GumboWriters at gumbomarketing@gmail.com.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Hot Trends, Hot Markets - Part 4: Optimizing True Social Networks Like MySpace, Facebook & Ning

I recently spoke about marketing books via online social networking at the CanWrite! Conference in Edmonton, Alberta, on the Hot Trends, Hot Markets panel. It was a popular topic and I was bombarded (happily) with questions afterward. If you're a writer who is looking for innovative ways to market yourself and your books, please keep reading. :)

Hire me as your personal Book Marketing Coach and learn how to properly use social networking to promote you and your books. Please contact me via GumboWriters at gumbomarketing@gmail.com.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Hot Trends, Hot Markets - Part 3: Using AmazonConnect & Chapters Community

Last summer I spoke at the CanWrite! Conference in Edmonton, Alberta, on the Hot Trends, Hot Markets panel. I wish I'd had more time to talk, and since so many writers came up to me throughout the weekend, saying that they'd liked to have heard more about book promotion.

That's one of the reasons why I decided to offer my services as a Book Marketing Coach.

Part 3:

In Part 2 I discussed book collection or catalog networks like Shelfari. The next category of social networks is "bookseller networks", primarily AmazonConnect for US consumers and readers, and Chapters Community for Canadian consumers and readers.

Anyone, writer or not, can join Amazon.com and have a profile page, but they'll be slightly different with AmazonConnect. AmazonConnect is for authors of books sold on Amazon. Authors must apply by filling out the AmazonConnect request form. So if you're a writer with books available on Amazon.com, the first step is to sign up with AmazonConnect.

The Chapters Community works in a similar way. And I know a number of strategies to optimize your experience on either of these platforms and turn your time spent there into sales.

Hire me as your personal Book Marketing Coach and learn how to best use Amazon and Chapters to promote you and your books. Please contact me via GumboWriters at gumbomarketing@gmail.com.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
Canadian suspense author
http://www.cherylktardif.com/

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Hot Trends, Hot Markets - Part 2: How to use book collection or catalog networks

Recently, I spoke at the CanWrite! Conference in Edmonton, Alberta, on the Hot Trends, Hot Markets panel. I had a great time and I hope that attendees left with a better understanding of how they can market themselves online through the use of social networks.

Part 2:

Today, I want to talk about one of the three main categories of social networking--'book collection or catalog networks'. These are social networks that invite users/members to catalog their personal book collection, recommend books to fellow members/friends, discuss books and authors with others, and to send notes and virtually "meet" people from all over the world who love books.

Hire me as your personal Book Marketing Coach and learn how to properly use social networking to promote you and your books. Please contact me via GumboWriters at gumbomarketing@gmail.com.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author of Whale Song
http://www.cherylktardif.com/

Monday, March 2, 2009

Looking for writer's resources?

If you're an aspiring or published author looking for some great resources, I highly recommend the following books. Some will be genre specific as this comprises a large part of my own library.

General writing resources:

Writer's Market (the holy grail for writers)
The Canadian Writer's Market (ditto for Canadian writers)
The Canadian Writer's Guide
The Writer's Digest Guide to Manuscript Formats
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
The Writer's Guide to Character Traits (excellent for building your characters)
Characters and Viewpoint (great for improving POV) - published by Writer's Digest
Writing Dialogue - published by Writer's Digest
Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things
How to Write a Children's Book and Get Published
Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel
Forensics for Dummies (no dead bodies included)

Book marketing books:

What Writers Need to Know About Publishing (by Jerry D. Simmons, a great friend of mine)
The Book Publisher's Handbook (Eric Kampmann)
How to Sell What You Write
Beyond the Bookstore (Brian Jud)
Plug Your Book (Steve Weber, another friend)
1001 Ways to Market Your Books (John Kremer, another author friend)
Web Site WOW (Jeniffer Thompson)

Like any craft or skill, you have to learn it first, then take the time to hone and perfect it. These books will only help you become that much better and even more attractive to an agent or publisher.

I invite my fellow writers to add to this list and share their favorite writer's resources.

All the best in your writing endeavors. :)

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,

bestselling author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Hot Trends, Hot Markets - Part 1: Social Networking

Last summer, I spoke on a panel at the 2008 CanWrite! Conference in Edmonton, Alberta. The topic of my panel was Hot Trends, Hot Markets, and it was the only panel that ran separately as a main feature. As an author, I looked at this topic from the perspective of aspiring and published authors.

As someone who's been nicknamed "Shameless Promoter" because I promote my books with everything I've got, utilizing everything I can think of or learn about, I want to share what
I've learned. This information will help writers and authors connect with readers and fans, which can lead to sales once a book has been published.

The question I asked myself was: "Which hot trend or market is really on fire today, one that actually benefits writers and authors?"

The answer I came up with?

SOCIAL NETWORKING!

To learn how to properly use social networking to promote you and your books, please contact me via GumboWriters at gumbomarketing@gmail.com.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
author of Whale Song
http://www.cherylktardif.com/

Endorsements

"I have been watching you for the last couple of years and you have become quite a force to be reckoned with your excellent advice and guidance. I love both of your sites. I send people to them all the time. Your author site is one of the best designs I've seen in a while and you teach very well."
--Karen Syed, Echelon Press

"Cheryl Tardif knows the publishing industry inside out. She’s that great mix of professionalism and encouragement writers need. She takes the time to teach, explain, and lay out a solid plan any writer can follow. Marketing can seem overwhelming for most “creative” types, and Cheryl demystifies it—and even makes it a fun challenge. You’ll be surprised what all you accomplish within days—or weeks of working with Cheryl."
--Carol D. O'Dell, Author of Mothering Mother

"Cheryl is not only a first-rate wordsmith, she also knows the ins-and-outs of marketing better than anyone I know. She seems to be everywhere on the Net and has shared some invaluable resources to promote my own books. She's bright, personable and extremely resourceful."
--Betty Dravis, Author/Career Journalist

"Cheryl Kaye Tardif taught me how to increase my internet presence. From the beginning of our friendship, she has advised me on how to market myself, and her experience and expertise have been invaluable in launching my career as an author. I highly recommend Cheryl to novice and veteran authors alike: she knows what she's doing."
--Beth Fehlbaum, Author of Courage in Patience

"Cheryl is an expert when it comes to virtual book tours. She not only understands and sends what her virtual book tour hosts need for a great tour stop, she shares her experiences with other authors..."
--Angela Wilson, Book Blog Editor, Reviewer, PopSyndicate.com

"Cheryl has given me numerous valuable advice on how to market fiction to readers worldwide using the internet. I found her tips and advice very helpful and useful, and her knowledge of marketing strategies for this particular market up-to-date."
--Ivana Hruba, Author of A Decent Ransom

"I was the General Manger at Indigo Books and Music for 5 years...Cheryl was a pleasure to work with professionally...She takes her job as an entrepreneur, writer, and sales rep very seriously and she stands out in many ways from most of the authors I had the opportunity to work with. She looks the part, and is consistently prepared for signings...I found working with Cheryl Tardif a great inspiration."
--Alexia Melnychuk, Former General Manager, Indigo Books and Music #290, and now Singer, Songwriter and Music Artist

"Cheryl Tardif is one of the best book marketing promoters that I know. She helped me in my marketing efforts with three of my novels: Paradise Acres, (released 2005 and a best seller for 5 weeks) Lost Paradise (2007) and the last of the trilogy, Return to Paradise (2008). All three books were Governor General Literary Award nominees. Chery set-up the Authors' Row where authors were invited to market their books to thousands of women attending...I highly recommend her as a top notch marketing consultant."
--Molly Anne Warring, Author

"She's an expert in her field and delivers her material with spontaniety and passion. It's a pleasure working with her."
--Lillian Cauldwell, CEO/President, Passionate Internet Voices Talk Radio

"Cheryl Tardif knows the intricacies of online marketing as well as anyone, how to blog, how to promote and get significant press releases, how to orchestrate book tours. Her expertise can help the budding or already established author focus their efforts in what can otherwise be a confusing and overwhelming array of choices."
--Peter Clenott, author of Hunting the King

"Cheryl Kaye Tardif is professional as an author and in working with other authors...I have also found Cheryl professional and timely when I contacted her as a PR Coordinator...Cheryl is hard working, self-motivated, dependable, friendly, creative."
--Christina Francine Whitcher, Independent Writer of Fiction, Non-Fiction, Book Reviews, and Interviews

"As a debut author, I was new to the book promotion scene in every way. Cheryl shared her creative insights on how, and more importantly, why, to organize a successful virtual blog tour. She is a model of what savvy authors should do to promote themselves."
--Karen Harrington, Author of Janeology

"Cheryl's a doll! I give her total credit for my website and blog design. I knew nothing about such things until she stepped in to help. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to improve their cyberspace presence."
--Eileen Schuh, Author

Meet 'Shameless Promoter'

I picked up the nickname 'Shameless Promoter' a few years ago. I don't recall who called me that first, but I do know that the name stuck and spread. Even bookstore managers have called me that, and most of my author friends.

I started using the expression freely because I am a 'Shameless Promoter'. As a novelist competing with hundreds of thousands of other novelists, I must find creative ways to promote myself and my books that are not the ordinary, run-of-the-mill methods. Frankly, an author in today's world has to be bold, persistent and definitely shameless.

I'm not talking about beating potential readers over the head with your book, or stalking them through a bookstore. I'm talking about being a creative marketer by taking advantage of certain situations and finding other ways--better ways--to market your books.

I don't profess to be the world's #1 book promoter, but I can tell you this: I have learned some creative ways to market books and I am quite happy to share this knowledge.

Books don't sell themselves! It's up to every author to take an active role in marketing.

I'm the bestselling author of 4 novels: Whale Song (2003), Divine Intervention, The River, and Whale Song (2007), which is now in negotiations with a respected US film producer/director for a feature film and a possible 3rd print edition.

I speak regularly at writers' conferences on the topics of book signings, online marketing, promotional ideas and using social networks to promote books--the 'write' way. My articles on book promotion have appeared in various magazines and online writers' resources. I've been interviewed and profiled on TV and radio stations, and in newspapers and magazines.

To read more about me, check out my official site:
http://www.cherylktardif.com/

~Shameless Promoter
aka Cheryl Tardif, bestselling author