Author's Platform

“I Can’t Get Published”: Oh, Yes, You Can. Here’s How to Get Published

February 3, 2014 by Lisa Tener

book writing coach — Your Book Writing Coach

I recently received an e-mail that began, “I have worked so tenaciously to find the right traditional book publisher to publish my memoir…”

The author was starting to give up, lamenting that if she were rich and famous her book would be published. “There is no support for first time authors.”

I waited to respond to the author because the whole dis-empowered tone of it irritated me. I knew I shouldn’t answer an e-mail in that state. So, let’s look at this as an opportunity:

Here’s the truth. Publishers do publish first time authors–their memoirs, how-to books and even novels! They’re on the hunt for the next huge hit–and it’s likely not a celebrity memoir. So, that’s good news for her–and for you, whether you are writing a memoir or self-help book or other nonfiction: You can get published.

If your book is fresh, if the writing is outstanding and your book will likely speak to a large– or strong niche–audience, publishers are interested. But imagine yourself as an acquisitions editor for a moment. Perhaps ten or twenty years ago when you first started, you took several chances on authors who didn’t have a following. Maybe some really followed through with their marketing plans. Likely some did not.

In this market, publishers can’t afford to take such risks. They’re publishing fewer books. They need to know that there’s an audience out there already waiting to buy your book. That audience is your tribe and maybe they read your blog or come to your workshops or they follow you on twitter. They will buy your book. And if you don’t have a following like that, then why not start now? Otherwise, how will you reach people to buy your book anyway?

Now, if you were a publisher and someone came to you and said, “I have this great book; you should publish it, but I don’t have any following or platform,” don’t you think you might ask, “Why not?”

Interestingly, this author did not want to self-publish. Again, “Why not?” If she doesn’t believe enough in her book to publish it herself, why would a publishing company?

The internet offers zillions (count them) of ways to connect with the people you want to reach through your book and start to impact their lives now–before your book is ever published–maybe even before it’s fully written. If your writing resonates for these readers, they’ll likely recommend your book, review it, some will even give it as gifts–and you’ll reach more people, make more of an impact.

What this e-mail writer saw as a dead end was really a huge opportunity–to understand that no one is going to invest in her dream if she’s not invested–and part of that investment is developing a community, a tribe, connecting with people who resonate with her message.

So, how you can you get started? Here are 3 ideas to start developing your author platform and 3 ideas to educate yourself about your publishing options so you can get published:

1. Read this just posted interview on Social Media for Writers with Frances Caballo, author of Social Media Just for Writers and Avoid Social Media Time Suck. You’ll learn some ways to use social media to connect with your budding (or new) tribe of fans and colleagues.

2. Consider blogging to develop a fan base. For now, just start brainstorming what you might write about and a theme for your blog. How might it resonate with the subject of your book.

3. Can you teach a workshop, webinar or teleseminar on your subject? Begin to jot down ideas of how you might take material from your book and teach it to others.

4. If you really want to learn how the publishing industry works so you can get published, join me at the San Francisco Writers Conference mid-month where you can learn all about developing that following–or author platform–to empower you so you can become a published author and not an e-mail writer who laments that the cards are stacked against her! You can also meet acquisitions editors (publishers) and literary agents and ask them directly what they’re looking for in your book proposal and pitch. And if you have a blind spot about writing and publishing (as this writer did), you will have the opportunity to see the light!

5. If late March suits you better and you happen to be writing a health or well-being related book, consider joining me at Harvard Medical School’s CME publishing course. March 31-April 2. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet and get feedback from acquisitions editors (publishers) and literary agents, as well as attend classes on how to write a book proposal, get published and other relevant subjects.

6. If you want to get the low-down on how to write a book proposal to get published, join me and Julia McCutchen, founder of the International Association of Conscious and Creative Writers (IACCW), when she interviews me on How to Write a Book Proposal –a topic that Julia also has much experience to contribute to. And this Friday, you can catch Julia interviewing Michelle Pilley, managing director and publisher of Hay House UK who will speak about the Inside Story of Independent Publishing (same link as above).

So, no excuses. The publishing industry is not conspiring against you–I promise. In fact, it’s offering you more paths to success than ever. All you need to do is explore, evaluate and take strategic, inspired action.

What to Put on an Author Website: My Popular Post Revised!

January 11, 2014 by Lisa Tener

Book writing coach lisa tener — Your Book Writing Coach

Do I Need an Author Website?

Nowadays, every author needs a website. Agents and publishers expect an author website before you ever contact them. And your website may well be a top way readers find you and your book.

And, so, many of my clients find themselves asking me, “What do I need? Can you look at my author website and tell me what’s missing?”

I’ve answered these questions so frequently lately, I figured it’s time for a post on the subject:

What to Put on an Author Website: 12 “Must Haves”

1. Your Name: Okay, obvious that your name should be on your page. Make it prominent. Generally, it’s best for your URL (the website address) to be your name. That way the website name will always be relevant, even if you start writing different types of books. If your name is just too common, you may need to get creative—add a middle initial, middle name, “MD,” or other qualifier. Actually, if you’re an MD, put that in the url no matter what!

2. Contact information: If you want lots of calls, make your phone number big and place it in the upper right corner above the banner. On the other hand, if you prefer to screen your phone interactions, use a “contact” button or tab on the navigation bar instead, and have the primary mode of contact be by e-mail. Should provide your email address on the “contact” page? Only if you like getting spam emails. Use a contact form to avoid spammers.

your book writing coach — This is the head shot I use for my author website. A big Shout out to Seth Jacobson, my favorite photographer, who took this shot.

3. An Inviting Photo of You: If you’re a nonfiction author, potential readers want to connect with you and get a sense of who you are, whether they trust you, and, if you are providing other services in addition to your books, whether they want to hire you. Your author photo says a good deal about the kind of person you are. Find a photographer who makes you feel comfortable. Just by relaxing, you take years off your projected age! Plus, relaxing makes you look approachable. Your photo can be in the banner (an image at or near the top of the page that goes the width of the screen) or it can appear below the banner.

What to Put on the Navigation Bar of Your Website

The Next 5 elements should all be part of the Navigation Bar—that collection of tabs or buttons that visitors can click on to get to another page—or to get a drop down menu with sub-categories:

4. About Tab: This gives visitors a sense of what you do and why they should explore some more. It can include separate drop down tabs for things such as your personal bio or company mission.

5. Services: If you offer services such as consulting, coaching, healing, teaching, this tab or drop down menu can provide the details. You can name the tab more specifically based upon the services you are offering, such as “Coaching,” “Editing” or “Book Writing Classes.”

6. Media or Press: This page should accomplish 4 things: a) Journalists or show producers should get a sense of your expertise, TV presence and/or how articulate you are, in order to help them decide to interview you or feature you in their article or on their show. b) Potential clients should get the sense that you are an expert in the area they are seeking help. c) Conference organizers and other people who hire speakers should also be impressed by your media credentials. d) If you are seeking to traditionally publish, this page should demonstrate to publishers that you have a “platform” to reach readers and that you will be an attractive candidate for media interviews (i.e. you are well spoken, entertaining and knowledgeable in interviews).

Include links to online media and videos. It’s also a good idea to include a press release visitors can download. Do make sure the press release is media-savvy and not just about your book. The book should be a credential, not the focus.

At the suggestion of my Virtual Assistant, Geri Lafferty, I added this media banner to my media page (it’s bigger in real life):

Logos can add instant pizazz. You can find designers at Fiverr to create inexpensive banners that look professional.

7. Speaking: If you do any public speaking, a speaking tab will help conference organizers and others find the information easily. Include a bio, head shot, list of speaking subjects or titles, list of venues where you’ve spoken, and overall description of your style, skills and subjects. This is a great place to include testimonials.

8. Blog: If you don’t blog, consider blogging. Search engines like Google LOVE websites with relevant content and every time you blog you are adding relevant content to your website. Blogs also offer a way for prospective readers and clients to get to know you, a way for people to find you through social media and a way for you to get to know your readers. Through your blog, you create community and long term relationships. You will find out what subjects most engage your readers, which can help you in writing your book. You may even get some great stories from readers of your blog—stories you can include in your book with their permission.

More Must Haves to Put on an Author Website

9. Social Media Share buttons: Give people the opportunity to follow you on Twitter, Google+, YouTube, and Instagram, like your Facebook page and find you on any social media that’s most relevant to your particular audience/market. Social media is rarely optional for authors anymore.

In fact, a publisher recently offered a client of mine a book deal under the one condition that she focus on developing an engaged social media following well before her publishing date. She did so, especially on Twitter, and it helped her book sales substantially.

Your Lead Magnet or Opt-in Gift

10. A Juicy Opt-in: “Opt-in” refers to the idea that you want visitors to opt-in to receiving e-mails from you. You may also hear it called “lead magnet” because it helps you attract sales leads, “free offer” or “freebie.”

In the “old days” when the internet was young, a newsletter provided enough incentive for visitors to share their e-mail with you, but now it’s usually not compelling enough in these days of crowded inboxes.

author support kit — The Inspired Author Support Kit: My friend and colleague Linda Joy urged me to develop a representative graphic for this kit.

What can you provide visitors that will truly be of benefit and help visitors to your website solve an immediate problem or challenge they face? Your vehicle can be a tip list, quiz, special report, audio, mini-course or e-book.

More importantly, the benefits of the opt-in gift should be indicated in the name or a few short bullet points in the sign up box.

Nowadays, many people offer more than one opt-in gift or lead magnet. You may offer one or more on your home page and others on pages specific to certain audiences or their needs.

For example. on my home page, I offer the Inspired Author Support Kit, which includes two worksheets that help people get started on their books and get over self-doubt or overwhelm. The core of the support kit is a 7+ day ecourse to get them started and asking the right questions, so they write the “right book.” And the Inspired Author Support Kit includes a subscription to my newsletter which is full of valuable articles and tips as well as information on webinars and other seminars that can help my subscribers write the best book possible and make it successful.

But people come to me for a variety of reasons and with different needs. So, I offer other opt-in gifts on particular pages. For instance, on my How to Write a Book Proposal page, I offer 10 Tips to a Book Proposal Publishers Will Love. The gift is offered in the right hand column and on a pop-up that appears on the page after a minute of browsing. On my Find an Editor page, visistors are invited to sign up for 7 Questions to Ask an Editor Before You Hire Yours. Ask yourself whether you have visitors with different needs and whether you can tailor your gifts to the specific pages. You can repeat relevant opt-in gifts on related blog posts, as well.

While an opt-in gift in the upper right corner of the page, below the navigation bar, is still effective, some website owners use a bar below their banner or navigation bar or even just a large portion of the screen below the banner or navigation bar. And many of us use pop-ups. If you use a pop-up, give users some time before the pop-up shows up, at least 10 seconds. Also, try to make the pop-up easy to close. You don’t want to annoy your visitors.

If pop ups sound annoying to you, this excellent and well-researched article on opt-in pop-ups may convince you to try them.

Most visitors who do not sign up for an opt-in gift will never return again, even if they bookmark your page and love it. On the other hand, your opt-in allows you to gather their e-mail address and grants you permission to continue to contact them with relevant information. Now you can develop a relationship with this prospective customer over time. I tend to ask for first name and primary e-mail address. The more information you ask for, the less likely they are to sign up, so keep it simple.

I like to showcase my authors and their books in their testimonials.

11. Testimonials: I don’t know about you, but I don’t like having to “sell” anything. I love that people visit my home page, read the testimonials and often contact me already knowing I’m the book coach for them, because the testimonials gave them all they needed to know about the results my clients have gotten and the things they love about working with me.

Don’t be shy in asking for testimonials. And ask for headshots or high quality photos of each person. A picture of a happy client says it all!

12. Your Book: Be sure to prominently display an image of your book (or books) and links to buy! This helps brand you, provides credibility and sells more books, too!

There’s so much more one can say about designing an author website and what to put on an author website. The upshot, though is to answer these questions before you start:

5 Questions to Answer Before Designing Your Author Website

1. Who are the different groups of people who will be visiting (potential book buyers/readers, potential clients, current clients, journalists, conference organizers, etc.)?

2. What is each of those constituents looking for?

3. What action would you like each of these groups to take?

4. What would make their experience ideal?

5. What is consistent with your brand (include colors, wording, images, etc.)?

Let’s Hear from You!

Anything I left out that you think is crucial? Any questions on this important subject of what to put on an author website? I’d love to hear from you—please share your comments or questions below.

Brave New Blogs (and Blog Transformations) of 2013

December 19, 2013 by Lisa Tener

Every once in a while, an emerging author in my Bring Your Book to Life Program(R) will start a new blog, or change the focus of his or her blog, based on the book they’re working on. It’s a bold step.

With an existing blog, the topic may or may not be of interest to current readers. In the case of a new blog, the step can be especially bold when your book reveals something about yourself that you’ve kept hidden or only spoken about with an intimate few. So, I want to acknowledge those brave souls who have started on a new path–sometimes with a fair amount of trepidation:

Marla O’Brien wrote her first revelatory post on her intimate relationship with wine, followed by a sneak peek from her second chapter from Wine Within Your Comfort Zone. For any woman wondering, “Am I drinking too much?” but feeling that the label “alcoholic” doesn’t quite fit…you’ll want to visit Marla’s blog.

Lorraine Giordano began blogging about taboo nether female body parts helping women to better understand “what’s gong on down there.” She brings humor and knowledge to the subject, as evidence by a favorite post of mine about the mixology of female hormones.

Dylan Klempner made changes to his blog, becoming more of a curator of news related to Arts in Medicine and, more broadly, Creativity. He’s included more images and videos–let him know what you think!

Dr. Patricia Hoy started her blog Arts Awareness on May 16 when I suggested it would help her in her publishing endeavors. Anyone interested in writing will find great nourishment in this blog that encourages creative thinking, dreaming and valuing all endeavors, activities and even non-activities (stillness) that support your creative process. I find it a powerful counter-voice to that incessant “be productive” mentality I have to get over to prioritize my writing and other soul-serving activities.

Katie Allen is blogging about writing through physical pain. And she’s blogging while writing her memoir. One of her posts was published by the Spondylitis Association.

Micaela Cook Karlsen undertook the Herculean task of creating an online narrative review of peer-reviewed, scientific research papers and educational resources that are relevant to plant-based nutrition.

gingerheadshot — Ginger Moran blogs on writing and memoir

My colleague Ginger Moran gave a mini memoir-writing class on her blog, giving away some of her best advice on how to write a memoir.

Where can such blogging lead? Two of my clients were recently contacted directly by publishers because of their blogs–one of whom ended up with a six figure book deal and the other has two offers on the table.

Not only does your blog show publishers what you can do as a writer, publishers know that successful blogs create an engaged community who are likely to buy your book and share it with others. As you may have read on the this blog before, a blog can also provide a feedback mechanism with your community–so you know which posts engage their interest (by the depth and number of comments ) and you learn what questions they have about the material. You may even hear interesting stories from your readers that might fit in your book (with their permission).

So, if you’ve been wondering whether you should start a blog–or make some big changes to the one you have–I heartily encourage you to explore.

And, I must admit, the safe thing would be not to publish this post. I’m certain I’ve left people out since I’m not very organized about blog-following. In the interest of practicing what I preach, here’s my post. If your name and blog should be on this page, please give me a shout out and we’ll add you to this post!

Oh, and I’m trying something new: This writer cares about typos. If you find one, click here to be part of the EditMob – it’s anonymous.

Comments? Questions? I’d love to hear form you below.

Reflections on Passion and Platform

September 3, 2013 by Lisa Tener

Lisa Tener book coach — Your Book Writing Coach

I just received this in my inbox from a client who wanted to set up a call about platform building:

“I’m so immersed in my book, at the moment. I spent the day editing, from your suggestions, the first four chapters. I’ve fallen in love with my book, once again. ”

Developing a platform as an author is important, especially if you want a traditional publisher to publish your book, or if your goal is to reach a large number of people.

However, many times people go about building their following or author platform by doing what everyone tells them–“You have to be on Twitter.” “Blog, for heaven’s sake.” “Speak.” “Get some good SEO for your website.” “Get a website.” The list goes on.

The truth is that it takes the same kind of passion this author found in her book to create an author platform from which to reach readers. Sure, learn about what’s out there, but rather than feel pressured to DO EVERYTHING, allow yourself to experiment and find out what you ENJOY.

Do experiment. You may find that something which intimidated you or seemed artificial actually turns you on. This happened to Pat Hastings, author of Simply a Woman of Faith, who first told me, “I can’t market my book. I know nothing about marketing. I don’t think I’d like it.”

She found out that reaching people was something she loved–speaking, blogging, writing a newsletter, answering e-mails–she loved these activities. She even hosted her own radio show for a while and loved that too. And a presentation at a church about the topic of her book led to an invitation to visit and teach in Hawaii. Two years later, she lives in Hawaii full time. So, try new things out, see what you love, but always ask yourself, “Is this feeding me?”

If the author who e-mailed me today discovers the passion in certain methods of reaching potential readers that she rediscovered in her book, she’s much more likely to reach her goals when it comes to publishing her book, having an impact for large numbers of people and making an excellent living at the work she loves.

This writer cares about typos. If you find one, click here to be part of the EditMob – it’s anonymous.

The Truth About Author Platform

August 19, 2013 by Lisa Tener

Sometimes people feel demoralized when they hear they need a huge platform to get the interest of a large traditional publisher. So I thought I’d provide some myth-busting, clarity and hope on the subject.

Are publishers looking for big platforms in general? Yes. But…

1. There are always exceptions to the rules: don’t rule your book out if you don’t have the platform.

2. Get creative: I’ve helped clients think creatively about leveraging other businesses, connections or opportunities they hadn’t considered, helping them attract an agent and clinch a book deal, even as a first time author with what looked like a meager platform to begin with. Think creatively and you may have more platform than you initially thought.

3. Invest time and money strategically: With the right kind of expertise, you may be able to interest a large national news source or blogging platform, like Psychology Today or the Huffington Post. If you write fabulous posts and network, your blogs may even be featured prominently on page one and promoted by those same sites.

4. Consider mid-size publishers. You may be able to contact these presses directly. Several of my clients signed book deals with mid-sized publishers this summer including ABC-CLIO / Praeger and New World Library. In such cases, a modest platform is often enough, especially if the publisher is looking specifically for a book on your subject, which happened to one client this summer! The acquisitions editor actually told me, “I’ve slated a book on that subject for 2015 or 2016!” Credentials, market analysis and freshness of the book were all important to the publisher, but platform was not as much of an issue at all.

5. Consider self-publishing. There are many advantages–you’ll have your book sooner, you have control, you can make changes more easily, you make more money per book–and the list goes on. Platform never has to stop you from publishing your book. Maybe you don’t even need to sell a huge number of books for your book to make the kind of impact on your life, business and other people’s lives that you are looking for. Bring Your Book to Life Program graduate Martha Rhodes self-published her book, 3,000 Pulses Later. Being self published didn’t stop her from getting interviewed by the New York Times and she’s in talks with a Japanese publisher who does want to traditionally publish in Japan (and they’re talking a 10,000 copy first print run–a very healthy number)!

These are only 5 possibilities–there are many more. In fact, feel free to share your own platform and publishing tips and success stories here–or ask a question.

This writer cares about typos. If you find one, click here to be part of the EditMob – it’s anonymous.

The Secret to Selling Books

August 6, 2013 by Lisa Tener

If you missed my call with MaestroConference Founder and CEO Brian Burt, Building a Global Community Around Your Work in the World, listen here:

Week 1: April 23, 2013 [Download MP3]

When it comes down to it, selling books is pretty simple, really:

– Write a great book–one you’re passionate about and get professional help to make it shine. Work on it until it does.

– Connect with readers–to do that you need to know who they are and where they hang out. You need to truly connect–by being you, being real and leading meaningful conversations. And you can do that before the book is even written.

– Leverage technology in a way that works for you. If you hate twitter and facebook, find another way. If you do the things you enjoy, you’ll find more ease–and you can be more effective.

On August 8, I interviewed Brian Burt, Founder and CEO of MaestroConference. I interviewed Brian because he is such an expert at how to connect with your community or tribe (or potential readers)–whether your book is published or you’re just starting to write. Brian and his team have taught me how to connect deeply with people in a noisy world. I’m a much better teacher because of all the things I learned from my friends at MaestroConference–and I’m super excited to share these insights with you.

Brian shared ideas on how to build your community, how to engage them for meaningful conversations, how to encourage people to show up for your offerings and much more. He also helped people on the call brainstorm how they can apply this to their own businesses and books in a way that helped get everyone’s ideas flowing. You can listen to the recording at the top of this post.

This writer cares about typos. If you find one, click here to be part of the EditMob – it’s anonymous.

Join Me for These Exciting Book Industry and Writing Events in Boston, NY and RI.

May 15, 2013 by Lisa Tener

The virtual world is quite amazing. After all, two people who have hugely impacted my life and business, I’ve never even met in person: my super Virtual Assistant, Geri Lafferty and my good friend and teleseminar conductor/mentor Joshua Home Edwards.

Still, there’s something important about going to live events and meeting people in person and I’m excited to have several of these opportunities coming up. Perhaps I’ll see you at one of these upcoming events:

May 18: “The Next Step- Boston”–a program with Bestselling Author Cheryl Richardson and Hay House President Reid Tracy. This Saturday, I’ll be working in an intimate group of 10 or 12 author/speakers with Reid and Cheryl as our guides in helping us focus on one area of business growth.

For me, the training will help me with developing the platform for my own books and help my clients, so it’s a double blessing! In addition, the opportunity to connect with Reid and Cheryl in this setting feels particularly exciting.

May 28: Book Expo America (BEA): If you’ve never been to BEA, it’s worth the trip. You”ll meet publishers, see what books they’re promoting heavily, meet authors and get zillions of free books, tote bags from your favorite publishers and other biblio-swag. I’m looking forward to connecting with agent colleagues, as well as some of the people I met last year!

May 29 is BEA Bloggers–a fabulous event for connecting with book bloggers, authors and others in the book industry. You’ll get inspired and make wonderful connections. And I have a special surprise that I’ll be soft-launching at this event–I’m almost ready to tell you about it–stay tuned…

May 30: Providence Business News 2013 Business Women Awards, I’ll be rushing back to Providence to receive an award at the Providence Business News 6th Annual Business Women Awards Ceremony/Luncheon. And Friday it’s back to BEA for more schmoozing, connecting with colleagues and I plan to check out UPublishU on Saturday.

If you plan to attend BEA, please let me know. I love to meet my blog-readers and newsletter subscribers in person!

June 20-22 Ocean State Summer Writing Conference at URI: I’d also love to see you at this intimate conference that is fast gaining a reputation for picking Pulitzer Prize-winning keynote speakers. You can come for the hands-on workshops, the shorter craft sessions, the free keynoters, and the panels, including the publishing options panel where I’ll be participating as a panelist.

So, will I see you?

Book Covers on Websites: Should I Create a Book Cover for My Website Before I Find a Publisher?

April 29, 2013 by Lisa Tener

book writing coach and publishing coachLisa Tener — Your Book Writing Coach

A client recently sent me a nice looking book cover for her website and asked my opinion of it. I liked it, but had she decided to self publish?

No, she said. A seasoned publicist had recommended she post the book cover to gain interest in the subject of her book and help grow her following, perhaps even gain some interviews.

I know the publicist had good reasons for the book cover, but I was concerned that agents and potential publishers would assume she’d self published the book. It could be confusing to them.

Was I over-reacting? I asked my literary agent, Jeanne Fredericks her opinion. This is her response:

“I would advise most authors not to create a book cover for their unpublished work since it might lead a potential editor to assume that the book has been self-published or previously published. That would, in turn, lead the editor to a fruitless search for sales figures on Bookscan that would confuse and frustrate.

“Moreover, an editor might be led to assume that the author considers herself/himself an expert in design and marketing. Unless the jacket looks professional and is well suited to the work, the editor may think that the author is unrealistic about her/his talents and this could sway the editor the wrong way. Editors like authors who understand that a team of professionals who respect each other’s talents and experience is what is essential to a book’s success.”

While in this case, the cover looked lovely, the first concern still held. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen an author grapple with the occasional conflict between platform-building and publishing. Often, we have to consider whether getting publicity now for a central tenet of the book will make it too easy for someone else to take an author’s ideas before the book comes out. Or whether publicity now could make the topic less fresh, particularly for an extraordinary story/memoir.

So, there’s not one right or wrong, but be sure to consider all angles before you make a final decision. Sometimes what’s good for publicity and building a following is good for publishing, but sometimes they can be at odds.

Do you have a question about a website, publicity or publishing decision? Ask away!

No Book Clarity? No Audience? No Platform? Do Not Overlook Your Gifts!

April 27, 2013 by Lisa Tener

A strong theme this week has been clients bemoaning their lack of…

* Platform

* A catchy title

* Clarity on tone or direction

…only to realize the incredible potential that lay beneath the surface—and in each case, the amazing foundation they had in place to build upon:

* The client who bemoaned she had no platform and sent me a mock up for a website unlikely to draw many fans due to a lack of focus: I discovered that she had a 20,000 person mailing list for her “other business” and pointed out a way to merge an event focused around her book theme that was a natural for her business. We also came up with some BIG name celebrities to invite to the event. Oh and did I mention the 200 businesses across the US that she helped get started in a business like hers? Hmm, the ability to duplicate this great event across the country…and, oh, yeah, she’d gotten her home-grown business lots of national PR–from the front page of the New York Times Travel Section to the Disney Channel. Just maybe that is a platform–and an amazing foundation from which to launch this new, seemingly unrelated new passion.

* Another client who’d been struggling for months with a title: I just suggested the two words that he’s all about and voila–perfect title. Neither of us could believe it when we found there wasn’t another book with this title already. He even backordered the URL!

* A client who had no business plan for her potential book and saw her topic as interesting to only a very small audience who lived on the remote island she writes about:

I asked her if she would consider holding retreats on this island paradise as a way to expand her work around the book topic and begin to build a following and she lit up.

So, what gifts are you discounting? What might be obvious to someone else about how you can reach people with your message–whether your book is out there already or you’re just beginning to write it or pitch it to agents?

Whatever feels like your most vulnerable weakness may actually be your greatest strength. Ask yourself these questions:

1. If x were truly a gift, what would it be?

2. What am I not seeing about this situation that I see as a weakness, daunting or an insurmountable challenge?

3. What are my gifts? Is there a creative way to leverage them in this situation?

4. Can I build upon a past success in a non-linear way?

Please share any insights here–or ways you’ve already reinvented yourself to leverage your gifts.

How to Write a Book: Conquering Your Fears: an Interview with Kate Beeders

January 15, 2013 by Lisa Tener

My colleague, Success Coach Kate Beeders is a genius at helping people break through blocks—something that can plague aspiring authors. If you’ve read my posts from last year, you may have seen my interview with her on making money as an author. Here, I interview Kate about the main fears that stop aspiring authors in their tracks—even those who have already published.

Lisa: Many people are stopped by fear of failure. How might you work with someone like that?

Kate: I’d like to break that down into 3 steps:

First, it’s important for a person to get clarity and understand why you’re writing a book: To educate people? To grow your business? To get publicity? To share your story? Someone, like a coach, told you to do this?
The second step is to uncover what you’re afraid could happen if you write your book. Sometimes people are very aware of their fears and sometimes we uncover such fears through our work together. These fears are typically from past experiences or things people are taught as children. These fears can often be so overpowering (especially on a subconscious level) that a person would rather stay in their comfort zone than risk trying something new and failing. Examples of some fears are: What if no one reads my book? What if my book isn’t any good? What if people laugh at my book and me? I’ve failed in the past and don’t want to fail again
The third step would be to clear out these fears so the person is able to move forward and write their book. The technique that I am an expert in and that I highly recommend is called “tapping.”

Lisa: Many bestselling authors use tapping. I’ve heard Jack Canfield recommend it. Can you explain tapping for those who are unfamiliar with it?

Kate: Tapping is a powerful technique where people “tap” on parts of their face and upper body with their finger tips while saying certain phrases that I give them. It sounds goofy, and having come from Corporate America, I definitely thought it looked silly, but I’ve never seen anything or heard of anything that gets the results that this technique does. Every time someone tries it and sees their changes, there’s another convert into the world of tapping. It’s been used with hundreds of thousands of people worldwide to help them release all sorts of fears. This technique is able to work very quickly, powerfully and gently and get lasting results. Once the fears are released, I help people replace those negative thoughts with positive ones, and my clients are quickly able to get into action and achieve the success they want.

Lisa: Thanks for breaking that down into such a detailed answer. Kate, often, the same people who fear failure also fear success. How do you help people overcome that?

Kate: It would be the same process as the fear of failure except that the fears would be different, such as:

What if I lose my privacy?

What if others start to want/expect too much from me?

Who will I be if I become a successful author?

I encourage readers of this blog to ask themselves, “What are all of the good things that will happen once I write my book?” Some wonderful results, would be:

You can help so many more people than you can now working 1-1
Profits from the book can be used for personal use, savings, or a charitable foundation
This will elevate you to a whole new level providing you with all sorts of wonderful experiences

Lisa: I can attest to that. Just one example, a recent Bring Your Book to Life Program graduate just published her book this fall and within weeks was invited to be keynote speaker at a dance therapy conference in Hawaii. But go on. Before benefits we were talking about fears…

Kate: Our subconscious mind is very powerful and it holds all sorts of fears, some real and some perceived. These fears will cause a person to procrastinate, which is why many people start to author books and can’t get past “Chapter 3.”

Lisa: How about someone who’s specifically experienced an authority figure–parent, teacher or other–who told them they can’t write or “children should be seen not heard” or who somehow taught them not to express themselves. How do you help people break through that kind of block?

Kate: Lisa, I’m so glad you mentioned that. I’ve helped so many clients that heard things like that as a child and now find it very difficult to “shine their light” and put themselves out there. As a child, to be good, meant to be quiet, well-behaved, basically blend-in to the scenery, so it’s a huge conflict now as an adult, to write a book and then promote it. By doing that, the author would make themselves very visible, the opposite of being “seen and not heard.” Through tapping and other mindset techniques, I help my clients reprogram their subconscious beliefs, since what they were told as a 4-year old child does not apply to them now as a 30-40-50 year old adult. If they stay quiet and keep that book inside of them, they won’t be able to get their message out to all of the people that need to hear it.

Lisa: Kate, thanks for sharing these tips. And for our readers, Kate has a workshop coming up: Quick Cash Infusion Workshop: 3 KEYS to ACCELERATE Your CASH, CONFIDENCE and RESULTS on Friday, Feb 22 3-5pm in Newton, MA Click here for more info!

Blogging Tips for Authors: How to Use Photos on a Blog

November 30, 2012 by Lisa Tener

Guest post by Rachel Horwitz

Lisa is a big proponent of blogging for authors. Blogging helps you build a following, engage with your readers—making them loyal and supportive–and it’s a great way to improve your SEO for your entire website and get more visitors.

Lisa’s even had a client contacted by a top 10 publisher just because they saw his blog!

Here’s a tip for increasing readership and viewers: Add pictures to your posts.

Pictures help readers connect with your written content instantly. A picture can be bright and eye catching or can be more topical picture to help readers them understand the subject matter. People love pictures. Here are some tips about how to get the most from your images:

blogging tip: use photos — Photo Courtesy of David Donahue

Pin the images on pinterest, bringing a direct link back to your blog (engaging new readers and links help with search engines).
A picture post on facebook with a link to your blog can get more people clicking through.
On Twitter, images are more likely to get clicked than a regular link.
60% of readers are visual learners. (Hubspot)
Photos help to convey the tone of post.
Photos help viewers understand metaphors or examples explained in your post.

target — Target Blog Readers with visual content

Photos send you on the fast track to gaining more blog followers and increasing your traffic. Returning blog readers will be continuously engaged by the visual content and new blog visitors will stick to your page and possibly even subscribe to your posts if your visual content draws their interest.

The more photos in your blog post that are relevant, interesting and can make your audience smile, the better.

On a related subject, gifs or short and snappy videos can also help convey your message to readers in a way that they can understand faster than reading through your post. Gifs are a short clip of an image that replays, whereas videos can be used as a call to action.

Any subject can be sparked to life by images, and for any author with a blog, adding and using visual content will grow the reach, virality and popularity of your blog.

Here are some incredible stats courtesy of Hubspot:

90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text. (Sources: 3M Corporation and Zabisco )
40% of people will respond better to visual information than plain text. (Source: Zabisco )
On Facebook, photos perform best for likes, comments, and shares as compared to text, video, and links. (Source: Dan Zarrella )
Pinterest drives sales directly from its website — of people with Pinterest accounts, 21% have purchased an item after seeing it on Pinterest. (Source: PriceGrabber )
Viewers spend 100% more time on pages with videos on them. (Source: MarketingSherpa )

Ask your questions about blogging here or share your own experience of using images in your blog posts.

Book Publicity Advice from PR Guru Dan Janal

July 23, 2012 by Lisa Tener

Lisa: How has the internet changed how we publicize books and reach the media with our message?

Dan: There are many more ways to reach your audience because of the Internet. In the old days, you had to pitch reporters at traditional media outlets and hope they wrote about you. You still need to do that, but you have so many other ways to reach your audience with bloggers, social media, articles and press releases. Also a reporter today has more options to write about books. In the past, they might have a limited amount of space in the print publication. But today, she can write her story, add a blog post and perhaps even do a podcast of video chat with the author.

Lisa: How are press releases working differently from in the past?

Dan: Press releases can still get the attention of reporters and get them to write news articles and features about the author, or prompt them to write about the book and do reviews. However, press releases aren’t just for reporters any longer. Search engines will index press releases from you website or if you use legitimate press release distribution services like PR Newswire or PR WEB. That opens up all sorts of possibilities of being found on search engines. We frequently get our clients listed on page one of Google for key search terms because of this tactic through Press Release Sender. My earlier interview with you offers more details.

Lisa: Can you say a bit about PR Leads (what it is and how it’s different from the free services out there?

Dan: With ProfNet, PR LEADS started the whole idea of matching reporters and authors. For many years we were the only game in town and our clients got fantastic results in top tier media. Now there are several competitors. We’re still the best because we charge for our service. That means we get a higher level of expert and authors. Reporters realize that difference, so we get top tier reporters using our service. We’ve had clients who used the other services and they return to PRLEADS because of the quality and the likelihood they will get quoted more often because they aren’t competing with 500 other people.

Also, we’re the only service that actually provides training and support. I personally review any message my clients want feedback on. I also provide telephone training. Our clients get a comprehensive 90-day training system that is all part of the service – no extra fees.

Lisa: I had a client who had never responded to a reporter query before joining PR Leads. Your training made him an expert and his platform is so impressive that a major publisher just asked him about writing a book for them! Dan, what’s your advice on responding to reporter queries? How to be effective?

Dan: Offer 2-3 tips that are 2-3 sentences long. That way reporters can copy and paste your info into their articles. It saves them time and makes you stand out. I share about 100 other tips in my book, “Reporters Are Looking for YOU!” I priced it at only $10 so it is affordable for anyone – even people who use free services!

Lisa: Any pitfalls to avoid in responding to reporter queries?

Dan: Not really. Reporters aren’t out to “get you” as some people might think. They just want good, unique answers to their questions. If you don’t have anything to say on point, then you probably shouldn’t waste your time or the reporter’s time. Being a pest would be a pitfall.

Lisa: Any other advice for authors in growing their platforms before book launch or promoting their books?

Dan: Make sure you know your book’s hook. I’ve heard too many authors talk for four minutes and not say anything about the topic. They’ll tell you how hard they worked and who’s publishing it and the problems they had. But they didn’t tell you if it is about leadership, romance or self-help! They don’t see the forest for the trees.

Dan Janal is one of the Founding Fathers and thought leaders of Internet Publicity. His latest book is “Reporters Are Looking for YOU!” Go to PR LEADS for more information on this fast, easy, economical way for small businesses and authors to get publicity in major media. Note: I am proud to be an affiliate of PR Leads and do receive a commission on sales.

Publishing Your Essays Online: An Interview with Patrick Madden

July 11, 2012 by Lisa Tener

Not everyone begins their writing career with a book. In fact, it can really help your book to have established some online readership before the book comes out. The opportunities for writing online and reaching an audience continue to expand. Have you written essays you’d like to publish online to reach a large audience? Or have you thought of writing essays for online publication?

I recently attending an inspiring workshop at the URI’s Ocean State Summer Writing Conference with essayist Patrick Madden, author of Quotidiana, a collection of essays and a website by the same name. Patrick’s somewhat ADD-style was the jolt I needed to get out of my box and think more creatively. The class sparked a breakthrough in a story for an anthology I’d been struggling to write previously.

I asked Patrick to share with my readers some advice on publishing essays online (and offline, too).

Lisa: Where have you published your essays online?

Patrick: My first online essay was in Mississippi Review, which is now called Blip Magazine. Others have been in Brevity, Superstition Review, and the Huffington Post (the latter being an essay on the viability of essays). One essay that was in the Normal School is available from their website. Same thing with pieces in The Pedestrian and BYU Magazine.

And I’ve done two essays on eBay (auctioning a real bit of essay memorabilia, having friends write in to “Ask This Seller a Question,” and answering those questions in odd ways), though eBay purges old auctions after 90 days, so these are no longer viewable. When I began publishing, there weren’t many online venues, and most were seen as inferior to print, so my habit has been to submit to print journals. But in the past decade, online journals have come up very quickly in terms of quality and readership, so I’ve reversed my earlier position and am submitting more often now to online places.

Lisa: I loved that e-bay auction essay–you had the entire audience laughing so hard at the URI Summer Writing Conference when you shared it.

Do you generally write the essay and then figure out where to place it? Or do you often have a specific audience (and platform) in mind?

Patrick: I typically write without considering where I’ll publish it, but I do try to write for “the educated lay reader,” the kind of person who reads literary journals, and probably the kind of person who knows and loves personal essays, maybe has some sense of the tradition going back to Montaigne. And as I’ve honed my skill, I’ve also narrowed my focus. I know fairly well which journals might be interested in something I’ve written and which will never be (because what I’ve read in them is so different from my style and/or because they’ve rejected me several times in the past). So I don’t waste submissions on places that simply don’t publish the kind of thing I’m writing.

Lisa: What’s your advice to authors about where to submit essays? What are some of the best places to consider starting out?

Patrick: I always read the Best American Essays each year, and I look through the list of “notable essays” in the back, to get a sense of the journals that they’re pulled from. I also subscribe to about a dozen journals, and I have my favorite authors, so I track the places they’re publishing.

One of my favorite sites, where I do research and where I send my students, is www.newpages.com, which lists thousands of publications, many of them (probably more than half) online. It can be a bit daunting when you’re confronted with thousands of journals all at once, but you might do some searches for venues that publish your particular type of thing (say, “nature writing”) and then read some of what they have online, so you can decide if they’d be a good fit.

Lisa: Do you advise writers to work with an editor? If so, any advice on choosing someone specifically for essays?

Patrick: I’ve never worked with an editor before submission, though I’ve worked with editors from particular journals once they’ve accepted my work. On the other hand, I’ve always worked with fellow writers to get their feedback on my writing, so I can know how best to revise. So if you don’t have that kind of group, then perhaps working with a professional editor from the early stages would be beneficial.

Lisa: Once published, what do you do to get the word out? Do you do anything specific to elicit comments?

Patrick: I don’t really do anything special, but I do post information to Facebook, where my friends can see it. This includes a Facebook group for my first book, so that means people who’ve already expressed interest in my writing. The comments on Facebook tend to be quick “congratulations,” so I haven’t yet figured out a good way to elicit more substantive comments.

Lisa: What’s the process for submitting essays in most cases?

Patrick: As I’ve mentioned, you want to research each journal to know what kind of work they publish. If you like it and think it’s similar to yours, then look up their editor’s name and submission guidelines. For online venues, this most often means using some online submission form, which you fill out with your basic contact information and to which you attach a Word document of your piece. Sometimes you might write a brief cover letter, introducing yourself and thanking the editor for reading.

I recommend against cluttering up your cover letter with any “teasers” about the piece you’re submitting, and stay away from anything that could be construed as bragging. You might mildly praise the journal you’re submitting to, mentioning that you’ve liked such-and-such piece by so-and-so. But don’t overdo that, either.

After you’ve clicked “submit,” you sit back and wait, sometimes for several months, and hope for the best. Note that most journals allow simultaneous submissions, so you can send the same piece to several journals and hope one of them will take it. Once it’s accepted somewhere, remember to withdraw it from all other venues.

Lisa: Any other advice for writers who want to submit essays online?

quotidiana essays — I've been going to bed late because of Patrick Madden's Quotidiana. I tell myself "I'll just read a page or two..."

Patrick: I’ll just repeat: read widely, so you won’t be submitting blindly to journals that don’t fit your work. This will take a lot of time, and if you think of it only as “research” so you can publish your work, you may not enjoy it, but if you think of it as enjoying good literature, then you’ll gain two benefits.

Note that there are many journals that have come and gone. With the ease of online publishing, lots of people get excited to start a new journal, but their enthusiasm dies off very quickly, and so does their journal. Try to get a sense of the dedication of the editors (has the journal been published for more than two years? Have they published any writers you’ve heard of? etc.), so you can know whether they’ll still be around in a year, when they’d publish your piece.

And, finally, don’t get discouraged with a bit of rejection. Most writers get rejected most of the time. This can be formative, if you take it with the right attitude (humility, undampened optimism). Good luck!

Patrick Madden is the author of Quotidiana, finalist for the PEN Center USA award for creative nonfiction and winner of Independent Publisher and ForeWord Reviews book of the year awards. His essays have appeared recently in Fourth Genre, The Iowa Review, The Normal School, and in the Best American Spiritual Writing and Best Creative Nonfiction anthologies. He teaches at Brigham Young University and Vermont College, and curates www.quotidiana.org, an online anthology of classical essays.

Lisa: Have any questions for Patrick? Please share them below. And feel free to share your advice on writing essays and share links to your favorite essays here as well.

Win Tickets to a Hay House Event!

June 20, 2012 by Lisa Tener

New addition to my post How the Pros Promote Books: An Interview with Hay House Digital Marketing/PR Specialist Wioleta Gramek

Wioleta and Hay House have generously offered a free pass to 2 winners to their choice of either the Speak, Write & Promote: Become a Mover & Shaker in New York City or The Writer’s Workshop in New York events.

Just add your insightful comment or ask your question here–the most interesting comment and question will win the tickets.

Good Luck!

How the Pros Promote Books: An Interview with Hay House Digital Marketing/PR Specialist Wioleta Gramek

June 19, 2012 by Lisa Tener

New addition to this post: Enter the contest below to win a free ticket to a Hay House Event!

I met Wioleta Gramek, Digital Marketing/PR Specialist for Hay House, on the first day of Book Expo America (BEA) and was immediately drawn to her warm smile. When she mentioned how much book promotion is changing and that some of the things that worked a year ago aren’t working anymore, I became curious. What is working? What new things are they trying?

Here’s what Wioleta shared with me:

Lisa: What are some of the things that make it easiest to market an author’s work?

Wioleta: Already having a website which includes an email sign up page, additional valuable content, and an image of their book cover with pre-order buttons. An author should have a facebook fan page where they are already interacting with their audience, and a newsletter or periodic email where the author is providing their audience valuable information.

Lisa: Can you give an example of a Hay House author who uses digital media particularly effectively and what they do, resulting in highly successful book sales? Perhaps someone our readers should watch as a great example online?

cheryl richardson life coach — Cheryl Richardson provides a powerful example of connecting with–and reaching–a large audience online

Wioleta: Cheryl Richardson speaks with her audience through her newsletters, Facebook and twitter. She is very active in all of her online communities, making it a point to answer Facebook posts and tweets.

I would also take a look at Dave Carroll, whose new book United Breaks Guitars, is the direct result of his involvement on YouTube. You can take a look at his Facebook page as well.

Lisa: I love how much Cheryl offers to her community, though her social media and her Hay House appearances which I’ve been fortunate enough to attend. Cheryl Richardson coached me to a breakthrough in front of the whole audience in Boston. And my son and I LOVE Dave’s videos. So, those are great examples of authors connecting far and wide.

How long have you been at Hay House and how much of that time have you been focusing on digital marketing/pr?

Wioleta: I’ve been at Hay House close to 3 1/2 years now. I’ve focused on marketing in the online realm in one form or another since I started working here. I worked with and managed our affiliate program, worked on the planning and implementation of our online campaigns for book launches and also dabbled in our blogger outreach.

Earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to focus primarily on our blogger community with the launch of our new site: Hay House Book Nook.

Lisa: What are the primary changes in book marketing and PR that you’ve seen in your time at Hay House?

Wioleta: Authors are now asked to build an audience/community early on in the publishing process, really finding and communicating with the people that resonate with their message. Although traditional media for the book can do wonders, a lot of the promotion really needs to come from the author a lot earlier than it used to.

Even though social media sites have been around for quite some time, some authors still have not set up a presence on social media sites, we encourage them to do so and coach them in the best ways to use them.

Lisa: What strategies are not working anymore or not working as well as they used to?

Wioleta: I came in when “partner campaigns” for non-fiction books were at their prime. Although they still have a place in non-fiction book marketing, the strategies and the expectations from all parties involved have changed quite a bit.

Lisa: What strategies are a must-have?

Wioleta: Making sure to cover all of the avenues you know your audience participates in. Be it video, Facebook, newsletters, Twitter, everything centers on conversations and building yourself as a credible brand. An author can’t just speak to and sell to their audience; the conversation has to go both ways.

At this point it is very important for your audience to not only get value from purchasing your book, but also finding value in whatever other content you are willing to share. The question really becomes, how can you make your audience a part of your community and your message? “What can I give my audience that will be of value to them and how can I serve their needs?”

Lisa: Which is really exciting. When you think about a book being about making a difference in people’s lives and in the world, there’s more opportunity to do that with your book and other offerings–free and paid. What strategies do you see as developing in the future?

Wioleta: I think continuing to deepen relationships between authors and readers will still be the case in the future. As to exact strategies, there is so much continuously changing in the digital sphere that it is really hard to say what exactly will and won’t work.

Lisa: What are some of the mistakes authors make in their digital strategies?

Wioleta: If an author has a Facebook page or a Twitter account, they need to respond to as many questions as they can and engage their audience in actual conversations. Also, there are still authors out there who don’t have websites.

Lisa: I’m always surprised when I see authors who barely use their Facebook or Twitter and I think if they’re not on social media at all it often impedes their sales. I recently saw an author who wrote a book specifically about social media but hadn’t blogged in months except for one post announcing her book. It’s challenging to be writing a book, getting out in the world and connecting with readers at the same time, but I think you can’t afford not to. In the case of that blogger/author her sporadic blogging affected my impression of her as an expert–walking the talk.

Any other advice to authors who are either building their platform or promoting their books?

Wioleta: Start early and be of service to your audience. Connect with and support those around you both online and off, don’t use social media only to brag about your own accomplishments, share the amazing things your audience has done.

Lisa: That’s a big one. While it’s always been the case that fostering relationships builds your business, the web has turned business into a Karma club–the more good you do for others, the more it comes back to you. And you can’t afford to sit that one out, locking yourself in a room to write the book. Thank you, Wioleta. I invite readers of this blog to ask their questions of Wioleta below as a comment and feel free to share your book promotion successes as well.

Wioleta and Hay House have generously offered a free pass to 2 winners to their choice of either Speak, Write & Promote: Become a Mover & Shaker in New York City or The Writer’s Workshop in New York events. Just add your insightful comment or ask your question–the most interesting comment and question will win the tickets.

This writer cares about typos. If you find one, click here to be part of the EditMob – it’s anonymous.

Build Your List: An Interview with Louise Crooks

May 8, 2012 by Lisa Tener

Lisa: What is list building? Is it the same as platform building or more specific, because it’s about people on your list?

Louise: List-building is about building a community of folks who are excited to receive free information from you and hear about future offers that provide additional value. These people agreed to hear more from you, by signing up on your email list. The value is in connection – connecting with each person who subscribed to your list, all human beings every one!

Lisa: Why is it important?

Louise: Without this community, it would be difficult to spread your important message, fill your programs, sell your products and make a difference beyond a one on one connection. The bigger the list, the more people’s lives you can touch. And of course a healthy income to support that.

Lisa: We all know authors need a platform to publish and sell books, but what do authors need to know to do this right? What are some of the most important questions to be asking themselves?

Louise: I’m sure you teach this to your clients when you work with them Lisa, but it’s important as an author (or business owner) to know who their target audience is. To know who the message is for. And to be clear even, on what solution you’re providing that group of people.

Another question to ask is what visibility strategy you would enjoy, AND that your particular audience would respond to. No point in spending time on Facebook, if your audience is more likely to be found on Linked In. This is also applies to the method in which your message is communicated. Your folks are most likely going to favor writing which means blogging, article writing, but some audiences also like video, audio, etc…

Lisa: What are some of the pitfalls to be aware of when building a list?

Louise: Sometimes when we think of a ‘list’ we dehumanize who we’re communicating with – seeing it as a collective number, and forgetting that these are live, caring, conscious individuals who you want to make a connection with every time you send a message to your list.

Lisa: Any others?

Louise: Not connecting often enough. If you only connect with them a few weeks or months after they joined your list, they’ll wonder who you are and unsubscribe. I’ve seen this happen quite regularly with people I’ve subscribed to. I’ll talk more about the pitfalls in my upcoming free teleseminar on list building.

Lisa: What are your favorite platforms for creating a powerful community?

Louise: I just love Facebook. And Youtube and Twitter as a close follow up, and then of course LinkedIn. Again it all depends on where your particular community spends most of its time. So make sure to ask yourself where that is, to leverage it well in connecting with your ideal clients or readers.

Lisa: What do you love most about Facebook?

Louise: Facebook is a powerful tool but it’s also fun. I find it to be the most interactive and friendly platform. From a visibility and list building perspective it’s pretty easy to surround yourself with your ideal clients making it a lot easier to attract the right audience! And then it’s about relationship building.

Lisa: Can people spread themselves too thin with social media?

Louise: It’s not easy making an impact (the 80/20 rule!) when you’re trying to do all of them simultaneously and equally as well. Choose one or two, and focus in there for powerful results.

Lisa: Can you share a story that illustrates a client using a particularly powerful strategy and the results they got?

Louise: I have a client who is a spiritual coach who uses Facebook and Youtube extremely well and has filled her practice (approximately 20 clients) with those mediums. And I have a client who is a step-mom coach who uses Facebook and Blogtalkradio as a way to build her list and find clients with ease, the former through relationship building, and the latter through offering free reports to have her ideal clients opt-in on her email list during the show.

Lisa: I find, too that using a combination of two or three strategies in a synergistic way
can be most powerful.

Louise: Absolutely. I have seen Twitter and teleseminars work well together, or joint venture partners sharing about teleseminars on Twitter! If you’re starting out this will start with 10’s and build to 100’s and then 1000’s. Each time I do a launch my list jumps exponentially, because I offer an informational call on a great topic which appeals to many people.

Colleagues (often affiliates) help me fill my call, as they see the topic as a benefit to their community. This leads to both building my list and filling my program.

Lisa: It seems you find social media some of the most effective and fastest tools for platform building. Any other strategies you like?

Louise: Teleseminars are a fabulous way to build a list; they build your credibility and highlight your expertise, so you become known as a leader in your community. Radio shows are also great. Similar to a blog, Internet radio attracts new visitors through tagging. I have used radio to build my leadership and visibility and have established a following, with a few thousand listeners each month. Video offers a more personal connection, which is why video email and platforms like Livestream are doing so well. And Pinterest certainly is being used very effectively by some businesses.

Lisa: Any final advice?

Louise: Remember to use a combination of a strategies and methods, so you appeal to everyone’s learning style (visual (video or pinterest), audio (downloads), kinesthetic (transcripts or reports), etc.) and create experiences that help you connect with your audience. If it’s compelling and engaging, they will opt-in to your list. In creating experiences you get to be unique, more of yourself. You get to engage the audience in different ways, through conversation, an exercise or competition, through visuals and creativity. It can be a bit confusing figuring all this out, which is why I do the work I do, to make it all cohesive, clear and strategic.

Lisa: Can you share information on your upcoming complimentary list-building teleseminar?

Louise: Yes, I would love to Lisa. To build an email list of pre-qualified people who are excited to hear more from you, and who you are thrilled at the prospect of working with, you can join me on May 19 at 1 pm Eastern, for “Kick-Start Your List-Building: 5 Simple Steps to a Pipeline of Your First 1000 Avid Fans.”

Louise Crooks, The KeystoClarity! Coach, is a heart-centered and inspiring business coach, radio show host, speaker and co-author of Stepping Stones to Success, featured with Jack Canfield and Deepak Chopra. Louise helps entrepreneurs create visibility to be seen as an expert in one’s field and fill one’s practice with the ‘right’ clients. Download her free report, The 5 Critical Business Mistakes of Solopreneurs and How to Avoid Them.

Creating Successful Author Events and Speaking Gigs: An Interview with Robin Kall

March 27, 2012 by Lisa Tener

robin kall radio host and speaker — Robin Kall shares her secrets for hosting successful author events.

Robin Kall, host of the hit radio show, Reading with Robin, on the air on WHJJ for just shy of ten years, has hosted dozens of successful author events. She’s interviewed authors Jennifer Wiener, Jodi Picoult, Alice Hoffman, Tom Perrotta, Jane Green and Ann Hood, as well as nonfiction authors (with FUN themes, she points out) Martha Brockenbrough, author of the grammar hit Things That Make Us [Sic], Amy Dickinson, author of The Mighty Queens of Freeville and Henry Alford, author of Would it Kill You to Stop Doing That. Jill Smokler, author of Scary Mommy is on the show this week.

Robin has also hosted up-and-coming talent, giving newer authors a chance to reach a large audience. She’s had hundreds of people at her author events, many events selling out. I know many of my readers would love to know how to attract such opportunities and I asked Robin for her advice.

Lisa: Robin, what do you look for in hosting an author for an event?

Robin: I’m most comfortable with authors I’ve had on the show or if I’ve been to an event of theirs to get a sense of how the audience will react. When I put my name on an event I take it very seriously. Our time is so precious and I want to learn and be entertained so that’s what I strive for.

Lisa: So, one thing my readers can do is host an event and invite radio show hosts like Robin so these hosts can see you in action.

Robin: Yes.

Lisa: What’s your secret to successful author events?

Robin: After ten years of doing this I have quite a network of readers and once book people get hold of an author event, well, you can just imagine how the excitement spreads!

Lisa: Robin, does it help to know that an author will help promote?

Robin: Absolutely. Authors and their publicity departments are best served by participating in the process of spreading the word for events and radio interviews—by posting to their web sites and with social media, tweeting and Facebook posting. When I plan an event I reach out to everyone. Authors who think their “team” is getting all of the info out there are mistaken (for the most part): as in everything, the more we advocate for ourselves, the better.

Lisa: Tell us about some of your upcoming events…

Wendy Mogel author photo — Wendy Mogel comes to at Temple Beth-El in Providence on April 1--FREE

Robin: On April 1, Wendy Mogel, author The Blessing of a Skinned Knee and The Blessing of a B Minus at Temple Beth El in Providence so we have plenty of room and reservations are going strong. On April 12, Adriana Trigiani is at West Valley Inn with room for 400 plus and that will sell-out for sure! The info is on the Reading with Robin Website home page on the lower right. I’m hearing from so many of her CT, MA and RI fans! And October 12 we have an event at a larger venue—the Crown Plaza in Warwick with authors Chris Bohjalian, Elizabeth Berg and Amanda Eyre Ward.

Lisa: Let’s talk about the upcoming Wendy Mogel event. What captivated you about Wendy and her books to bring her in as a speaker?

wendy mogel author of the book — Wendy Mogel's most recent book helps parents navigate the teenage years.

Robin: Wendy’s common sense approach to raising children by allowing them to make mistakes resonated with me years ago when I read The Blessing of a Skinned Knee. I wasn’t able to see her when she came to the Lincoln School for an author event years ago, so I was excited to see her talk about her new book, which speaks to the craziness that has taken over high school and the college application process, where parents often approach the process as if they were the ones applying. Wendy is refreshing, smart and really funny. Wait ‘til you see the reaction she receives at her talks!

Lisa: I loved her parenting books—I can see how she’d be an engaging speaker.

Robin: Wendy brings the conversation back to the way our grandparents likely thought of child rearing and education—good old-fashioned wisdom while taking into consideration all of the new technology and challenges we face today.

Lisa: Any tips for authors for doing events?

shoemakers-wife2 — I'll be attending the April 12 event with Adriana. Hope to see you there.

Robin: See where your book fits in, in terms of fundraising or raising awareness: That can make for a great partnership and it helps to pull an audience from several lists. Start out smaller with ‘salon’ type events—like the first one I did in my home. This gets the networking started and the next time you want to do it, you have a list. Plus if it was wonderful salon attendees will spread the word for the next one.

Lisa: Any tips on radio?

Robin: Send out press releases to radio shows but first know a little something about the show. I get requests sent blindly. Maybe 1 in 25 will peak my interest. I do try to pass those along to other hosts if I think it’s a fit. Make it personal. Spend a little time on the host’s site. This can go a long way in a world of big competition. Even if you think it’s a long shot, a show might be a better fit for your book than you think. Creativity and thick skin may sound cliché but are key to successfully landing interviews.

For more information on Robin’s upcoming author events go to her Reading with Robin website.

Running to Get on the Blogging Bus: An Interview with Blogger and Author-in-the-Making Maria C. Palmer

February 1, 2012 by Lisa Tener

Book Writing Coach and publishing expert Lisa Tener — Your Book Writing Coach Lisa Tener

You’ve probably heard me tout the benefits of blogging for authors and authors-to-be. After offering advice to blogger Maria Palmer, I thought her story made both an interesting read and offered many ideas for how to blog effectively and get the most out of your blogging to develop your author platform. Here’s the scoop.

We’d love to hear your experience (and invite questions) as well.

Lisa: You’ve had lots of success with your blog. How has your blog helped you as a writer?

Maria Palmer, Blogger and Author-in-the-Making

Maria: Professionally, it’s helped me showcase my writing and become a respected voice in my field. As a result, I’ve been quoted in books, newspapers and magazines regarding the topic of children with incarcerated parents. Through this exposure, I co-hosted a radio show on LA Talk Radio and Blog Talk Radio for about a year.

Lisa: Any other benefits to blogging?

Maria: The blog has helped me use my voice to help others—to highlight the stories of the people affected by familial incarceration. And because I write about running, the blog inspired several readers to take up running.

Lisa: And now it’s going to help you write and promote your book!

Maria: Yes, I know I need an “author platform.”

Lisa: You originally started blogging to help your nonprofit organization, Get On The Bus, right?

Maria: Yes.

Lisa: How did you get the idea to start a blog about running for a nonprofit that didn’t necessarily have to do with running?

Blogger Author Maria Running — Blogging helped Maria Raise $10,000 for her nonprofit organization.

Maria: I got the idea while watching Biggest Loser during the infamous marathon episode. As a previous marathoner, I knew the struggles of training for a marathon and the satisfaction of crossing the finish line.

Earlier that day at work I was trying to brainstorm more fundraising ideas for Get On The Bus, a California state-wide nonprofit organization that takes children to visit their incarcerated parents for Mother’s/Father’s Day. At the time, I was the organization’s Director.

The light bulb went off for me. I could train and run the LA Marathon as a fundraiser for Get On The Bus–only I had no idea how to raise awareness. A friend recommended blogging.

Lisa: And what was the fundraising result?

Maria: My initial goal was to raise $4,000 for Get on the Bus, but I raised close to $10,000. And the blog has spread the work of Get on the Bus all over the world—from here to Russia, for instance.

Lisa: Were you nervous about blogging?

Maria: Yes, I’m not tech-savvy.

Lisa: So, how did you hop on the blogging bus?

blogger helped families — Family helped by Get on the Bus

Maria: The very next day, I was summoned to jury duty with nothing but my laptop and the courthouse’s Wi-Fi. Pretty soon, I was on the blogger website exploring templates and after about an hour, running to get on the bus was born.

Lisa: What did you post?

Maria: Initially, I cataloged my training, my personal story and the stories of the children we served at Get On The Bus—children whose parents are incarcerated. Get On The bus helps them visit those parents. The blog has evolved into inspirational stories about social justice, the human spirit and life’s lessons while pounding the pavement.

Lisa: After we spoke about using your blog to grow your author platform, you took my advice and relocated your blog from Blogspot to your own url. Can you share with readers why you did this?

Maria: One of the first things you asked me about is purpose and end goal for my blog. In my case, my blog is directly related to the topic of the book I want to write. I want to use this blog as part of my marketing plan. I am also hoping to create more interest and a larger audience for my work prior to getting published.

And as you mentioned, having my own URL’s and hosting gives the blog better SEO/optimization, which will help me draw more readers and attention to my blogs.

Lisa: Why did you choose WordPress?

Maria: You mentioned it’s good for search engines, but also WordPress has many more capabilities for tracking, reporting and design than Blogger, yet it isn’t as complicated as using HTML. I’m still a novice, but I have had some help from my friend who owns Pittsburgh Marketing , who builds WordPress sites as part of his business. One of the things I’ve been enjoying most is being able to automatically update Twitter and Facebook when I post. It is a big time saver.

Lisa: You changed the name of your blog and added a couple more new blogs. Why?

Maria: www.runningtogetonthebus.blogspot.com is a big mouthful. I’m also lucky enough to have many friends in marketing. I asked them about the name of my site and they said it was too hard to remember and also unless you knew me or Get On The Bus intimately, you would probably never stumble upon the site through a key word search. So, I launched the new website The Race That Found Me.

I also have always loved to cook so I had another blog on blogspot devoted to cooking easy soup recipes. Since this blog was only one week old, it was a perfect time to switch it over. Thus, Soup E. Doup was born.

You also stressed that it is never too early to start marketing and we discussed the importance of having a website just showcasing my writing work professionally. This is why I created MariaCPalmer.com.

Lisa: Yes, I wouldn’t normally suggest having so many separate sites, because you want to build content for your main website and not take people off the page, but this is a good example of very different audiences, where you really want to separate each audience and blog. Can you say more about how you looked at your different audiences and decided what to do about your different blogs?

Maria: With The Race That Found Me , one of the issues I struggled with was having two distinct audiences that don’t necessarily overlap. I have runners who follow the blog for training advice and I have people who follow the blog for the inspirational stories. To create a space for both audiences, I created two pages on the site: “The People I’ve Met Along the Way” and “Training Stories.” For “The People I’ve Met Along the Way,” I went through and tagged anyone and everyone I’ve mentioned in my blog, hyperlinking their names to the specific posts in which they are mentioned. For “Training Stories,” I’ve listed all the running stories so if people need to get some quick advice, they can hop on and find what they need without having to sift through the rest of the blog.

Lisa: You also created an editorial schedule. Can you say a bit about that?

Maria: Knowing that consistency supports building a following, I’ve created a detailed schedule for Soup E. Doup—blogging 1-2 recipes a week and posting shopping lists the day before I post a recipe. I’ve also catalogued all my recipes, relinking them back to their original posts.

Lisa: What do you plan to do with MariaCPalmer.com?

Maria: This blog is going to be my professional site. I will chronicle any good news throughout the book writing process in the “Latest News” section.

I’ve linked all three blogs to one another. However, I made sure to specify in WordPress that when people click on my other links, those links open in a new window. This is crucial because you don’t want people to be redirected off of your original site. Lastly, I posted an announcement on my two previous blogs about my new sites.

Lisa: Have you noticed any results?

Maria: It is a little premature to celebrate victory yet, but I have noticed a few things.

With The Race that Found Me, cataloging everyone’s names and tagging them in past posts was so much work, but it is the thing I have gotten the most positive feedback on. People love to find themselves and re-read all the posts they appear in. It has been a great way to make my blog very individualized.

With Soup E. Doup, people have given me some feedback that they appreciate getting the soup shopping lists the day before I post a new recipe. Most people have limited time and it has helped them prepare so that when I post my new recipe, they get home and are ready to cook.

MariaCPalmer.com is driving traffic to my other two sites, which was the biggest surprise for me, because this site is brand new and I really haven’t publicized this site as much as my others. All three sites have been steadily gaining more clicks each day.

Lisa: Why do you think that is?

Maria: I credit this to having a clearer picture and focus for each blog, an organized posting schedule, and using each of the blogs to promote one another.

Lisa: Why are you focusing so much on blogging to support your career as an author?

Maria: 1. Blogging is a vehicle to get your writing out there to people who may have never come across it otherwise. 2. It also gives you a space to write and is a way to be published before actually getting published. 3. Blogging helps you and your work gain momentum and positive attention. 4. It’s very cost effective. 5. It provides credibility in your area of interest.

Lisa: Looking to the future, how do you think your blogs will help with your book?

Maria: During the writing process, they will help me gain momentum. Once the book is released, it will be nice to have blog readers waiting for publication and ready to buy the book. And I know the blog will continue to support book sales as well.

Lisa: I think you’ll also find that the feedback you get from your audience will help you write a better book. Let us know when it’s out and we’ll post a link for the book, Maria.

Ask your blogging questions, book writing questions or share your blogging experiences below.

Why I Love Teleseminars to Help Authors Grow Their Platform

January 25, 2012 by Lisa Tener

Book writing coach and teleseminar leader Lisa Tener — Your Book Writing Coach and Transformational Teleseminar Facilitator

As authors, we all need to build our platforms. Why not make great money and help people go deeper with our offerings in the process?

One of my clients who’d been hot and cold about offering teleseminars said she finally got it yesterday. “Tell me more about teleseminars. I think I could earn that same six figure income I’m being offered–or something quite comfortable–on my own if I do this right. And I like that I’d be helping people go deeper with the message in my book–really support them. And I’d have a flexible schedule, free time with my kids…”

Yes, she articulated exactly why I love teleseminars:

1. You can reach and help so many people at once–and with the new interactive technologies it can be so interactive that it’s like being in an intimate live workshop together.

2. You can make a great living–close ot a third of my income comes from teleseminar programs or teleseminar sales.

teleseminar leader lisa tener — Free yourself up for nature walks and other activities.

3. Teleseminars provide for a flexible schedule and lifestyle–mom’s hours, a month-long vacation, retreat days–what’s your dream?

Plus:

4. Teleseminars can support book sales–or growing your platform before you even publish to create pent up demand and interest agents and publishers.

5. You and your participants don’t have to travel–so they’re super time efficient for everyone.

6. You’re not locked into making a specific amount of money per hour.

7. You get plenty of ideas for your book as you interact with participants–hear their questions, concerns, insights and even their stories.

8. You get to know your readers intimately and that makes for better writing.

But…

There are some keys to successful teleseminars. Maybe you’ve been on a talking head-type call. My friend and colleague Joshua calls it the “Sage on the stage.”

B-O-R-I-N-G

With the new technology available, there is no excuse for anything less than a highly interactive, exciting and even transformative call.

I want to put the tools and technology into your hands that will make your teleseminars truly sensational for every single person on your calls–and to empower you to fill your programs the way I do.

My colleague Joshua Home Edwards and I shared our best secrets for Creating Transformational and Profitable Teleseminars. Listen to the recording here.

As mentioned on the call, we have two limited-time special offers for those who registered and wish to experience MaestroConference teleseminars for yourself:

50 Lines for 50 Days – Free Trial

50 Line, 6-month Subscription for $47/Month

Note I do receive an affiliate commission if you become a Maestroconference customer after the free trail. Please note, I am very selective about promoting products. I LOVE Maestroconference and have selected it because of what it can do for authors who wish to reach a broad audience with their message, go deeper with readers, build their platform and monetize. I’ve used it for years now and it’s transformed my teleseminars.

Blogging: The Fastest Way to Grow Your Author Platform

November 15, 2011 by Lisa Tener

writing coach Lisa Tener — Your Writing Coach

On a phone call last week with one of my clients and her new literary agent, the agent mentioned how pleased she was with the author’s platform. I was thrilled to hear it since, not long ago, the author had almost no platform.

What changed? She started her own blog about a year ago and, several months ago, pitched a blogging column to a major blogging platform. She’s not the first of my clients to dramatically grow a platform through blogging.

In fact, blogging is the easiest way to grow your platform and develop the kind of following agents and publishers now require for their authors.

Having said that, it’s easy to waste one’s time writing a blog no one reads. So, how do you create a successful blog? Here are a few blogging tips.

writing a book? Know your reader — Write your blog for the people who will buy and read your book.

1. Pick a Clear Niche Audience: Certainly, write for the same people who will buy and read your book. Some bloggers have success combining more than one interest—yoga and writing, business and spirituality, dogs and painting. You can develop a nice niche audience that way of people who connect more deeply with your message, but that can also be risky. You can lose many readers if they’re interested in your yoga posts but not your writing posts. If you have many interests, try to always tie them back to the central interests of your readers.

2. Have a Big Goal in Mind: If you want to eventually write for the Huffington Post, WebMD or Psychology Today, read other bloggers there. Comment thoughtfully. Spread the word about posts related to your expertise through social media. This way, you’ll a) get a feeling for the kind of posts that blog picks up b) develop relationships with bloggers on that network and c) be seen as a voice in that field already.

3. Invite Engagement: One of the main differences between blog posts and old fashioned news is the interactivity and discussion that posts can generate. How do you invite engagement? At the end of your post, ask a question of your readers or invite them to share their experiences or opinions.

Are you blogging? If so, share what’s worked for you.

If you’re just starting out as a blogger, what are your biggest challenges?

And if you’re not blogging, what’s holding you back?

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What to Put on an Author Website: 12 “Must Haves”

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Let’s Hear from You!

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The Truth About Author Platform

The Secret to Selling Books

Join Me for These Exciting Book Industry and Writing Events in Boston, NY and RI.

Book Covers on Websites: Should I Create a Book Cover for My Website Before I Find a Publisher?

No Book Clarity? No Audience? No Platform? Do Not Overlook Your Gifts!

Blogging Tips for Authors: How to Use Photos on a Blog

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Win Tickets to a Hay House Event!

New addition to my post How the Pros Promote Books: An Interview with Hay House Digital Marketing/PR Specialist Wioleta Gramek

Creating Successful Author Events and Speaking Gigs: An Interview with Robin Kall

Running to Get on the Blogging Bus: An Interview with Blogger and Author-in-the-Making Maria C. Palmer

Why I Love Teleseminars to Help Authors Grow Their Platform

Blogging: The Fastest Way to Grow Your Author Platform

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