Monday Morning Marketing Tips - February 28, 2011

Rob Eagar's Monday Morning Marketing Tip

is written to help authors, publishers, and organizations

spread their message like wildfire.

This week's focus: Breaking the rules of becoming a bestseller

The publishing industry is going through an incredible amount of chaos and transformation. Some of this change is good, such as new technology, lower prices, and easier ways for people to get access to information. In contrast, some changes are bad, such as Borders Bookstores filing for bankruptcy, publishers working with lower budgets and less staff, and authors finding it harder than ever to land new publishing contracts.

In the midst of this change, the rules for becoming a New York Times bestseller are also getting rewritten. For example, if you asked most publishers 10 years ago to explain their marketing strategy for creating a bestseller, they would probably emphasize the following five activities:

1. Secure numerous national-level TV and radio interviews.

2. Urge the author buy 10,000 - 15,000 of his own book directly from various retailers.

3. Schedule a whirlwind speaking tour in major cities across America.

4. Place expensive advertisements in major magazines and newspapers.

5. Setup as many bookstore signings as possible.

These ideas no longer hold sway. Gone are the days of boring bookstore signings and pricey print ads. In addition, national media has lost much of its power as more programs cater to specific niche audiences. In contrast, we now live in an era where the author has more power than ever before.

For example, I just helped a client hit the New York Times bestseller list for over a month without doing any of the five rules listed above. Instead, she succeeded by breaking the rules, building her own platform, and making personal connections with thousands of readers. Here are the results of the marketing strategy we conducted:

1. Drove over 100,000 unique visitors to the author's website in the first 30 days.

2. Created a free resource that was featured for 21 days on over 350 niche radio stations.

3. Hosted a 6-week online webcast that garnered over 20,000 views per week.

4. Captured exciting success stories and promoted them both online and offline.

5. Utilized the power of viral video to create a catchy book trailer and helpful author videos that received over 25,000 views in 30 days.

By utilizing a modern marketing strategy, the author sold over 100,000 copies in the first 6 weeks of her book's release and landed on the New York Times, USA Today, and CBA bestseller lists. And, all of this success cost a lot less than a publisher's typical marketing budget.

This week's action step:

You may be an author or a business owner. Regardless, what are you doing to build your own customer base? Are you relying on antiquated methods that are outdated and ineffective? Add at least one new marketing activity this week that relies on distributing free value via the Internet. For example, you could develop a free resource, newsletter, product sample, behind-the-scenes video, customer testimonial, webcast, etc. If you have legitimate value to provide people, the old barriers that hindered distribution no longer exist. Take advantage of the new opportunities that are now available.

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© Rob Eagar 2011. All rights reserved.

Monday Morning Marketing Tip - February 21, 2011

Rob Eagar's Monday Morning Marketing Tip

is written to help authors, publishers, and organizations

spread their message like wildfire.

This week's focus:

My wife and I are big fans of the organization, Compassion International, who helps provide food, education, and medical treatment to children who are stuck in poverty around the world. As a supporter of Compassion, we receive their quarterly print newsletter that looks like a first-rate magazine.

However, I'm most impressed with the incredibly emotional success stories that are highlighted in each issue. Compassion doesn't gloss over the awful conditions that so many children face. However, their stories of hope and how they make a difference in individual lives is very powerful. The more I read these success stories, the more I feel a sense of respect for the work that Compassion maintains, and the more excited I feel to give financially to their causes.

How does this apply to marketing? Spreading your message like wildfire is difficult to do when you don't have powerful success stories to share with a skeptical world. If you're having trouble getting attention for your business products or books, then examine if you have adequate success stories that reveal the results you create for others. Examples can include case studies from satisfied customers, testimonials from happy readers, and endorsements from respected leaders. Once you have these elements, use them as a prominent part of your promotional campaigns.

This week's action item:

If you have captivating success stories, look for three new areas to showcase them in your marketing materials, such as your website, newsletter, brochure, social media posts, etc. If you do not have any success stories, then I suggest making that a top priority in your marketing strategy. Contact some of your recent readers or customers, and ask them to describe the results you've helped them experience. Success breeds success, and one person's story of life-change can be the best way to create another.

For an example of how to use success stories in your marketing efforts, take a look at these pages on my website: client success and client videos.

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© Rob Eagar 2011. All rights reserved.

Monday Morning Marketing Tip - February 14, 2011

Rob Eagar's Monday Morning Marketing Tip

is written to help authors, publishers, and organizations

spread their message like wildfire.

This week's focus:

Let's face it...controversy sells. Our society harbors a guilty pleasure towards juicy news, shocking revelations, and scandalous topics. Some of the biggest products and programs in the world are predicated on mocking established traditions and social mores. For example, Dan Brown's bestselling book, "The DaVinci Code," and MTV's top-rated show, "Jersey Shore," created a firestorm of attention, because so many people were intrigued by the controversy they generated. The debate even fueled some religious and political groups to publicly ban the book and TV program from their organizations.

Since controversy works, does it deserve a place in an author's publicity strategy or a company's marketing plan? Here's my take: Controversy just for the sake of shock value can be detrimental. You may get a lot of attention in the short run, but windup sacrificing your reputation in the long run. Once you lose your integrity with the public, it's hard to ever get it back. Instead, I recommend that you focus on a better alternative: Be counterintuitive, rather than controversial. There's a big difference between the two.

Controversy tends to adopt a selfish approach, because the motive is more about gaining attention, rather than providing value. In contrast, a counterintuitive approach centers on helping people by challenging the way they think. You attempt to benefit others by pushing them beyond the status quo and offering an unexpected set of options. At first glance, these two styles may appear the same. But, at their core, there's a fundamental difference in value that most people can sense. Thus, leave controversial marketing to the short-sighted shock-jocks, and let a counterintuitive approach gain you an audience that will respect you in the end.

Action item: Come up with three counterintuitive ideas about your book, product, or company that could garner attention if presented in a press release, blog post, or unique article.

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© Rob Eagar 2011. All rights reserved.

Monday Morning Marketing Tip - February 7, 2011

Rob Eagar's Monday Morning Marketing Tip

is written to help authors, publishers, and organizations

spread their message like wildfire.

This week's focus:

Even though a record 111 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl this past Sunday, consumers have more power than ever to turn-off the advertisements in their life. The audience is in control of what they watch, hear, and read. Any media that people don't like can be quickly deleted and replaced with dozens of other options. This new dynamic doesn't bode well for business advertisers and authors who want to promote their message to a large, generic audience.

Therefore, this new dynamic explains why marketing via a targeted approach is a better way to start a purchasing wildfire. Most people today respond less to advertisements and respond better to word of mouth recommendations and straightforward explanations of value. If you answer the question, "What's in it for me?," then you stand a much better chance of grabbing the public's attention.

The Super Bowl television ads cost companies $3,000,000 per 30 second slot (that's $100,000 per second). I don't know about you, but I rarely saw any advertisers answer the magic question, "What's in it for me?"...which means millions of dollars were wasted. Don't make a similar mistake with your promotional campaigns.

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© Rob Eagar 2011. All rights reserved.