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Book Marketing Tips Contributed By Jo-Anne Vandermeulen to Bookpleasures.com
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Jo-Anne Vandermeulen

Jo-Anne Vandermeulen is a Canadian author, expert blogger (offering free marketing tips), producer and hostess of Authors Articulating on Blogtalkradio, founder and marketer of the online marketing business—Premium Promotional Services, and appears  on many major social media sites (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Goodreads, etc.)...as a professional support network for writers. With two books out (including a suspense/romance novel) and a soon to be released nonfiction Internet Marketing Made Easy, Jo-Anne has overcome her own obstacles to follow her dreams. An English major, graduated from the University of Saskatchewan (Canada), in 2006 she had to give up teaching when she was diagnosed with an illness that forced her to get out of the classroom. Now, with the novel Conquer All Obstacles, and the non-fiction resource books Premium Promotional Tips for Writers and Internet Marketing Made Easy, Jo-Anne  is an inspiration for many.


 
By Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Published on October 26, 2010
 
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen contributes her valuable thoughts concerning book marketing to Bookpleasures.com


Positive Attitude Increases Book Sales

Since the release of my first two books (4 months ago), a women’s fiction Conquer All Obstacles and a nonfiction Premium Promotional Tips for Writers, I’ve had the most amazing experience to feel I’ve *conquered ALL obstacles* by witnessing only 5-star Amazon reviews. I knew of no other  than THE BEST—UNTIL LAST WEEK…

Surfing the net, checking on my registered media sites, I clicked on a new review for Premium Promotional Tips for Writers. Immediately, my heart sank. There, right in front of me, was a rating that seemed to scream from the screen…my first 4-star review! And a horrific comment that I reacted as a personal attack to my ‘babies’:

I had a slight problem with the frequency with which she toots her own horn, however, doing so seems to be in vogue. (Keith Myers)

Like rejections from agents after viewing my previous queries, I had a mixture of emotion erupt…disbelief, anger, blame or excuses, and finally acceptance.

Kinda sounds like the stages of grieving, doesn’t it?

How did the feelings of rejections finally change to relief or acceptance?

I read an interesting post: “…author clients with a high self-esteem tended to be more creative with their marketing plans and actually sold more books. Rob Eager on “The Self-Confidence To Sell More Books

Now, I had to reread Mr. Myer’s review over again. This time (and surprisingly) I interpreted the words in a much brighter light. I even read further into his other comments, “She offers a practical and detailed outline to the web that, if followed, would certainly enhance one’s sales.”

As if read for the first time(and now delayed attention), I grasped the content of the review as a comment worth sharing with my friends/followers/fans.

Reading more of Rob Eager’s post, he quoted a Global management consultant by the name of Alan Weiss- “There is no music if you don’t blow your own horn.”

I smiled, but the laughter didn’t come forth until I read further:

This statement is profoundly true for book marketing, at both the author and publisher levels. Writers, editors, and marketing staff must believe strongly enough in a message to promote that book above the noise of all the competition. Yet, this can only happen when there’s an ardent belief in a manuscript accompanied by the enthusiasm to tell people about it.” (Rob Eager on “The Self-Confidence To Sell More Books”)

Can a writer post articles that come across as supercilious?

You bet, and is why I’m conscious to create a balance. I write my brand *conquer all obstacles* in the context of a belief…a slogan for other authors, marketers, coaches, and the general public to use as a visual tool as they can see themselves hurdling over the many barricades that often interfere with  their own personal journey toward their objective or even their life-long dream. A slogan of strength.

“…readers appreciate authors who believe in their ability to provide answers, inspiration, or entertainment.” (Rob Eager on “The Self-Confidence To Sell More Books”)

How can you become successful?

You can *conquer all obstacles* by abolishing your fears. This is the main reason why I’ve told my story…and shared my personal journey. As an inspiration, I believe I can provide concrete examples for others. Perhaps my readers will be able to grab onto hope, strengthen their own beliefs, and increase their determination to pursue their attainable goals.

How do you create more book sales?

***Believe in yourself.

Lean on a crutch, use a tool, or turn to someone else’s success story for  inspiration. I say—take it, run with it, and prove to the world that YOU CAN CONQUER ALL OBSTACLES…oh, and go ahead and toot your own horn, if others don’t like your music, they can always wear earplugs…:).

~Aside Note: All reviews (regardless of the rating) are subjective to the reader. I do not have expectations for perfection…gosh, I’d go crazy if this were the case…lol.~

***Blogging – Building Your Author Platform –

How to Become a Blogging Expert Overnight”

With age comes wisdom…but, not when we’re talking about blogging.

It doesn’t take years to become an expert blogger. You can *conquer all obstacles* and become a professional as early as…tomorrow. Yes, I said tomorrow. To become a blogging expert, all you need to do is:

-         Define Your Niche – Mental blocks will be unheard of. Never will you tire for what you’re passionate about. Mental juices will flow. The articles will ring true—with an honest voice. The reader will devour your post.

-         Carefully Proof-Read - Checking for the usual punctuation and grammar is a given. Beginners can ask someone to look over their article. Swapping articles—having a critique partner is an excellent idea.

-         Content Must Give - Producing valuable content will attract new readers and have viewers coming back for more.

Now you’re ready to attract a LARGE NUMBER OF READERS, but the competition is fierce. Tons of blogs are out in the Internet.

FACT: “The Internet is a vast wasteland of thoughts and ideas. According to Technorati, someone creates a new blog every 1.4 seconds. If blogging was a crime, and in some cases it very much should be, it would be the number one source of criminal activity in the land.” (Adam Brown, FreeLanceSwitch Site, 01/07/09)

A lot of these blogs are filled with valuable content….so how does a blogger stand out from the rest?

Before pushing the submit button, to have your post published, ask yourself these questions:

1) Who are my readers? My words and expressions are going to be different depending on my audience. A title for a majority ‘male’ audience will likely be different than if targeted for a ‘female’ audience.

For example:

Male – Sex, Battle

Female – Love, Solve

*Can you think of other words that are used depending on the gender use?

Even think about the audience’s age. If I’m writing for my daughters, my style will be a lot different than if I’m posting for a senior-age audience.

*Check the Feedburner, stats, and now Facebook Fan Pages even gives the author a complete profile of whether their audience is male or female, ages, geographical locations, and the number of views over the week.

If I’m not happy with the facts, then it’s time to change my vocabulary and style.

2)  Am I writing for my viewers or am I hung-up on the Search Engine stats? Check the title— Every now and then I’ll write an eye catching title rather than words only termed with key phrases.

LOL…I’m still getting comments from the post titled – “Who Likes To Get Naked?” (http://bit.ly/4X9esf). I’m pretty sure the search engines didn’t pick this title up, but I sure attracted the readers.

Whereas, the title: “8 Tips To Successful Blogging” (http://bit.ly/ctSvGb ) was successfully picked up by the webcrawlers but would have easily been skimmed by those uninterested in improving their blogging skills.

3) What is the main purpose for my blog? I must be honest with myself, and clear to my audience. I create the title and article to reflect my purpose. Whether I’ve decided my posts are for interaction, to help or inspire others, build friendships, or sell products, I have to keep my promise by staying on task and resolving the questions before the end of each article.

You can *conquer all obstacles* and become an expert blogger, but you have to follow some guidelines that have proven successful when publishing posts. There are many blogs that supply tips and techniques to assist bloggers to become stronger. Research and read what has worked for other experts. Toss that fear out the window, write the posts, and then check the stats…you never know…a new vocabulary and style of writing may be a better way to go…and the answer as to how YOU CAN BECOME AN EXPERT BLOGGER OVERNIGHT.

A Perfect Pitch – A Sure Strike-Out

Short, sweet with an amazing hook…and I’m not talking about a curve-ball.

To create a platform that stands out from the rest and *conquer all obstacles* you must learn how to ‘pitch’.

At first, creating a pitch will be awkward. Writing a page, condensing it to a paragraph, then finally to a sentence all takes cognitive thinking. Yet, you can feed off this process and soon turn it into a cheering victory! Attitude is the answer. Creating a pitch is NOT drooling work, it is a challenge—a win with even more opportunities—your reward worth the effort!

As a writer, we’ve heard the term ‘elevator pitch’ as a short yet remarkable synopsis of our book in the time it would take to meet someone in an elevator on the main floor and manage to hook the audience before we reached the top.

As a marketer, we need to stand out from the rest and prove we are the best as the competition is fierce.

As a blogger, we need to create valuable content in a short article that will leave the reader in awe and have them coming back for more.

Creating a pitch is difficult. Perhaps even more work than writing the article or even an entire book. A lot is on the line. Your audience, followers, fans and even the door to open for your next opportunity may be at stake.

Developing or presenting a pitch may come as written content or in the form of verbal conversation. Some may be planned, but many will be unexpected ‘moments’ when chatting with a stranger, an acquaintance, or even a dear friend.

Prepare Your Pitch

Be Ready – Always be aware of these prime-time opportunities. Blend your pitch into conversation when the subject becomes available. As a teacher, we call these unexpected opportunities as ‘teachable moments’.

Have Your Pitch Polished and Rehearsed – Often your pitch will not be planned and yet has to be polished and rehearsed. Observe your viewer. How’s the eye contact? Are you keeping them interested?

Know When You’ve Said Enough – Again, through observation, you must read their body language. Usually, you’ll have less than a minute. Be ready to add your own ‘stories’ or examples to hold their interest.

But, fear no more…simply:

1)  Begin with Action – Leave the ‘fluff’ or back story out.

2) Revise – Cut, cut, and cut some more. Take the time to rehearse verbally.

3) Think – Astonishing words that attract, hook  and even shock the reader.

Now here’s the good news…

Creating A Perfect Pitch Becomes Easier With Practice. Overtime and with more experience, your pitch will become automatic. No work at all! You’ll receive unbelievable rewards as the new opportunities begin to take over.

No matter if you’re an author, blogger, or marketer your record for strike-outs will remain intact. To throw a perfect game and *conquer all obstacles*  is to  perfect your pitch.

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