Monday Morning Marketing Tip - July 26, 2010

Rob Eagar's Monday Morning Marketing Tip is written to help authors, publishers, and organizations spread their message like wildfire.

This week's focus:

If you want to sell books through public speaking, usually someone of influence has to invite you to address their organization. For example, leaders of businesses, non-profits, trade shows, churches, book clubs, and universities frequently request authors to speak to their groups. But, in order to get a leader interested in the first place, you must understand how the booking process works.

Most leaders make their booking decisions based on one simple factor - trust. The reality is that leaders aren't really interested in booking speakers. Instead, they want to book experts who happen to speak. By positioning yourself as an expert, rather than an author, you increase a leader's ability to trust you.

Chew on this:

"People who address audiences have the potential to create tremendous value or create tremendous harm. The only reason to hire a speaker - no matter what his or her specialty - is to improve the condition of the audience and, frequently, the organization which they represent."
Alan Weiss, author of Money Talks

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© Rob Eagar 2010. All rights reserved.

Monday Morning Marketing Tip - July 19, 2010

Rob Eagar's Monday Morning Marketing Tip is written to help authors, publishers, and organizations spread their message like wildfire.

This week's focus:

If you're a sports fan, you've no doubt followed the drama of NBA basketball star, LeBron James, leaving his hometown team in Cleveland to join the Miami Heat. The interesting part, however, is that James stated his primary reason for defecting was to join two of his closest friends, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and create their own mini dream team. He believes that they have a greater chance of winning a championship by joining forces and relishing the camaraderie.

This same idea can benefit you as an author. Writing and marketing your book can be a lonely business. Pulling the weight all alone gets exhausting. So, why not copy LeBron's motive and join forces with other authors to help boost your platform. For example, you could partner with small group of similar writers and:

· Go out on a book tour together or conduct a local book-signing as a group.
· Share free resources or special content as prizes to give away to your readers.
· Trade or combine your personal databases of media contacts or influential leaders to send out newsletters and press releases.
· Meet regularly as a support group to discuss best practices of book marketing.

There's strength in numbers. Take advantage of the potential friendships and marketing power of working together with your fellow authors.
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If you have a personal example of generating success by working together with other authors, email it to me at Rob@StartaWildFire.com and I'll share it with everyone here.

Here's a good tip from Diana Cosby:

"Rob, I enjoy your newsletters and always read them for valuable insight. Joining with other authors to share idea, tips, or do book signings is a great idea. To me, you take this sharing to another level when you make the venture one that matters on a personal level. My goal in life is to make a positive difference in others lives. One way I do this is to donate 10% of my royalties to a charity of my choice. One of my charities is Habitat For Humanity, with one of my life goals to sponsor an entire home. In addition to donating to Habitat For Humanity, when a new home is under construction, I organize a group of romance writers for one of the build's days. I also contact local media to let them know the details, which often is covered in press and on local TV. In the end, everyone wins, more so as it's so personal. To me, that a needy family will receive a home is such a blessing, and to know that however small, that I've made a difference in their lives is something you can't buy."

Chew on this:
"By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped." - Ecclesiastes 4:12

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© Rob Eagar 2010. All rights reserved.

Monday Morning Marketing Tip - July 12, 2010

Rob Eagar's Monday Morning Marketing Tip is written to help authors, publishers, and organizations spread their message like wildfire.

This week's focus:

During the recent housing crash that devastated our economy, a lot of builders built homes based on "spec." With spec homes, the house is planned, designed, and built before a prospective buyer has been found. Spec home building has the benefit of speedy construction. But, it comes with the risk that once the home is built there may not be a buyer. This exposed risk eventually put a lot of builders out of business and left a lot of new homes sitting dormant.

Sometimes, authors and publishers make a similar mistake. They produce books assuming people will buy them. Yet, the author never seeks critical feedback from focus groups during the manuscript phase. Or, the publisher never conducts a true buyer analysis. Books are published in quantity hoping that enough succeed to sustain the business.

Avoid writing a book based on speculation or assuming that people will buy it. Instead, take time early in the process to test your ideas on enough people who qualified to give you beneficial feedback - even if it's negative.

For example, when I wrote my first book, I assembled three separate focus groups that covered the main demographic segments of my intended reading audience. I gave my manuscript to these individuals and asked them to honestly critique my content. Their feedback caused me to rewrite every chapter three times each and my first chapter nine times! You can imagine how frustrated I felt when their criticism was negative. But, once the process was completed, I knew I had a dynamite book because my intended readers told me so. Today, that book is still selling in most Barnes & Noble across America.

As you work on your next book, consider these points:

· Do I know the exact kind of results my book can produce for the reader - because I tested it first?

· Have I experienced these results in my own life?

Take a lesson from the housing crash. Don't publish a book unless you can guarantee a buyer.

Chew on this:
"80% of all word-of-mouth still happens offline. The Internet just helps it move faster."
Andy Sernovitz

Author of Word of Mouth Marketing


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© Rob Eagar 2010. All rights reserved.

Monday Morning Marketing Tip - July 5, 2010

Rob Eagar's Monday Morning Marketing Tip is written to help authors, publishers, and organizations spread their message like wildfire.

Happy July 4th Holiday!

This week's focus:
God created humans to be responsible individuals. We know this is true, because we're usually happiest when we have responsibility and take care of it, such as handling our job well or being a loving parent. In contrast, irresponsibility usually leads to blame, which leads to conflict by blaming others or blaming ourselves. Where there's blame, there's shame. And, shame shuts people down in addition to destroying their future. Thus, a person will never reach his or her full potential by shirking responsibility. Excusing and blaming is like running in place - you wind up exhausted and you've gone nowhere.

This universal principle applies to you and me as authors. How? Responsible authors realize that the success of their books lies primarily in their own hands, rather than in their publisher, agent, or publicist. For instance, irresponsible authors tend to blame their publishers for low book sales. Similarly, these authors don't stay up-to-date on new trends or technology that can help market their books. The problems they face are everyone else's fault.

Avoid falling into the mental trap of blaming others. You will be a happier author if you take responsibility for your book sales and platform growth. Try looking at your writing career as the responsibility to help other people, regardless of whether you write fiction or non-fiction. Are you holding yourself accountable to teach, inspire, and satisfy your readers?

If you're dissatisfied with your book sales, listen to any blame talk that's running through your thoughts. Be honest and identify how much of the problem is attributed to you. Then, make a conscious effort to take ownership for your part of the issue and take responsibility for making progress.


Chew on this:
"Are you hiding behind your prayers to avoid taking responsibility?"
Andy Stanley
Senior Pastor, North Point Community Church
(Never thought you'd hear a pastor say that!)


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© Rob Eagar 2010. All rights reserved.