eBook Marketing: Don't Let Setbacks in Your Routine Get You Down

Marketing activities can benefit you in more than one way.

Day 4 of the eBook Marketing Strategies video series got off to a good start in the earlier part of the day, but unfortunately, after a full am writing session, I experienced a minor setback.  But as you’ll see from the following information, all was not lost and I ended up finding an awesome writing resource.  Check it out in today’s transcript.

TRANSCRIPT:

eBook Marketing Strategies Video Series – DAY 4

Greetings YouTube viewers,

It’s Charm Baker, and today is DAY 4 of the eBook Marketing Strategies video series.  Today I jumped right into my regular daily activities, so I want to touch on what those are.  First, I took a peek at my Hub article that I posted yesterday, just in case there were any comments to respond to.  In the past, I would wait too long to return and do this, and find that several people had left comments and questions, but by then, it was too late to respond.  So I made a note to check my hub comments, and later on, I’ll even post a few myself.

Of course another one of the first activities I decided to do in the morning is to check my email religiously.  I did that today, in hopes of some responses to my discount coupon offers.  So far, nothing yet, so I guess I need to start pushing the coupon offer more. 

Anyway, after I didn’t receive any related mail, I clicked over and signed into my Google Analytics account.  I’m not really all that savvy when it comes to reading the reports, but I AM able to tell if I’m getting any kind of traffic at all to my website, and sort of determine where the traffic is coming from.  My website was only launched this year and I thus far, I haven’t really developed any kind of consistency to adding content, so my visitors are scarce.  But according to the analytics, at least I am getting a few daily visitors, so I need to do something to bump that up.

I do know that one good way to bump up your website traffic is through regular posting on your blog.  In the past, that has been one of my main obstacles to blogging – I just can’t seem to stay consistent.  If you’re like me, and you have that problem also, maybe you can use this video series to help you work on it. 

Since I’m posting the transcripts from the video to my blog, that means that I’ve committed to posting consistently for the next two months.  So maybe you might want to do the same thing, by following the video series daily, and posting any new information you might pick up along the way.  Of course, while you’re at it, I’d love a plug about my new ebook:  Shut Up and Write! as well as any of my other publications available at Smashwords.com.

While we’re on the subject of Smashwords, I want to mention another thing that I added to my “To Do” list for later in the week.  Since I opted out of having Smashwords distribute my new ebook to Amazon, that means I have to publish it on Amazon Kindle separately.  But here’s the thing you future authors need to keep in mind when you have a full length novel or non-fiction book that is eligible for print format.  It’s best to set up the print version first to make sure that your book cover will be the same as your Kindle cover.  On my novel:  “Experimenting with Murder,”I made the mistake of trying to format a cover at Createspace for the print version, after I had already published the ebook with a great looking cover.  It turned out to be a nightmare, and I finally had to enlist the help of my know-it-all son.

Createspace is one of the more popular free publishing formats for your self-published print books.  The upload process for your digital covers at Smashwords is much easier than creating one or uploading a book cover file to Createspace. Since Amazon and Createspace are joined, if you do your print book first, they will actually generate an ebook version and send it to Amazon for distribution. 

Okay, so I posted a note to myself to be sure and upload a file for a print version and I think I’ll let the book release date stay the same for Amazon and Createspace.  Amazon has a different policy when it comes to pre-releases, so I didn’t bother with it, but maybe I’ll try it for my next project. 

Several days ago, I came across some information about creating an author guest post about yourself and your ebook.  Somehow, I seemed to have save everything but the link to where to submit the post.  I can’t even remember for sure if it was on the Writer’s Digest website or Goodreads.  That same day I saw the information, I had been browsing both sites, one of which I was already signed up for.  Well today, after I spent the majority of the day writing the guest post according to the questions they supplied, I ended up not even being able to submit it.

Now if you’re anything like me, this is the kind of thing that could potentially make me have a setback.  After I spent about twenty minutes bouncing between the two sites looking for the link, I finally gave up.  So I currently have this awesome guest post with nowhere to post it.  I was really ticked off at myself and about to give up in defeat and stop working for the day.  But then I decided to view at least one writing related video before shutting down.  I came across one called:  “How I Wrote My First Book Self-Publishing Tips” I was curious about what the author had to say, so I checked it out.  As a result, I discovered an awesome website for authors called Scrawl.  You can visit my blog for a transcript of today’s video and you’ll see the link included.

I think that the Scrawl website might be just the thing that I need to try and get some feedback on my writing – not just “Shut Up and Write”, but for my novel:  “Experimenting With Murder.”  I’ve already did a little browsing to see what they have to offer, but tomorrow I’ll actually sign up and upload an excerpt from one or more books. 

That pretty much wraps up what activities I’ve been up to today, aside from the fact that I tried to check my mailbox at Fiverr.com to see if the provider completed my gig.  I selected someone who’s supposed to help get one of my promotional links out on social media.  Even if the $5 gig purchase helps drive just a little traffic, I think it’s worth it.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to log into Fiverr today due to yet another glitch.  I honestly don’t know what’s going on with Fiverr.com the past week or so.  Yesterday I solved the problem I was having with purchasing gigs with my debit card by simply funding my PayPal account and using it instead.  The payment went through fine, and I sent the requested details to the gig provider.  Now, today, I can’t even log in to check the results. 

As you can see, I’ve had a few minor setbacks today.  Even my blog page views went from 89 views yesterday to just 8 views today.  At least sharing my results in this video somehow, it makes it all not seem so bad. 

Okay, as always, I invite you to check out my website and feel free to click the Join List link if you’d like a discount ebook or any of my free promotions.

All you need to provide on the simple little form is your email address and choose one of the promotions I’m offering.  Then I’ll send you the coupon code and you can redeem it at Smashwords where my books are published.  Since my novel is currently exclusive to Amazon/Kindle, “Experimenting With Murder” is not part of the promotion.  Of course, if anyone is interested in a copy, just drop me an email and I’ll work something out for you.

Don’t forget, you can always follow me on social media so be sure to drop me a comment when you see the name Charm Baker.  If you want to specifically tweet a comment on this video series or my new ebook, just hashtag #shutupandwrite and I’ll be very appreciative.

Okay, that’s it folks.  Once again, thanks for listening everyone.  This is Charm Baker on the Just Charm YouTube channel.  Thanks for joining this eBook Marketing Strategies video series.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Scrawl website Link:

http://www.stwa.net/scrawl/publicpage.php

“How I Wrote My First Book Self-Publishing Tips” Video Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw3RBdNERzY

eBook Marketing Strategies: Video Series Finally Publishes Day 1

eBook marketing strategies can be tedious to keep performing, but the key is to do them consistently

Now that the eBook Marketing Strategies Introduction video has been published, I decided to go ahead and post both the Day 1 and Day 2 videos also.  Although I got behind on posting the information within the first week of the video series, I was still conducting various marketing activities.

As you'll see from the next two videos, I've been dealing with the challenge of setting up the series in a way that it won't interfere with the actual focus of the video, which is marketing.  After you read or listen all the way up to Day 2, you'll comprehend exactly what the time frame is all about and where I am on it.

This particular video discusses setting up the series and outlining a few marketing resources I plan to try, in addition to a brief summary of other activities performed.  Enjoy this next installment of my eBook Marketing Strategies video series.

eBook Marketing Strategies:  A 60 Day Progress and 

Troubleshooting Journal (Video Series - DAY 1)

TRANSCRIPT:

Hey everybody,

This is Charm Baker again.  I’m ready to start talking about the various e-book marketing strategies and activities that I’m involved in.  As you know by now, I recently published one of the best writing resources that new writers can find online.  The title is:  Shut Up and Write!  (Step-by-Step Guide How to Get Paid to Write Within a Week). 

I’m not going to go into a long drawn out thing in this particular video about who I am or why I started this marketing series.  If you want to get all those details, just stop this video and check out my “Introductory” video for eBook Marketing Strategies. 

A NEW APPROACH

For those of you who have already viewed the introduction.  Stay put so you can see just what I’ve been doing to market my e-book so far.

First of all, I decided to take a different approach to e-book marketing this time around.  As they say, this is not my first rodeo when it comes to self-publishing.  I published several non-fiction books in the past, plus a full length novel in 2014.  But even though I picked up some valuable strategies along the way, I’m still missing some important elements that have to do with your e-book success. 

So this time, before my newest title is even released, I’ve already started marketing and promoting it.  The actual book release date for “Shut Up and Write!” is not until April 9, 2016.  I did this because of the information I read on Smashwords’ about setting up “pre-orders” at least a month in advance. 

BENEFITS OF PRE-ORDERS

Smashwords.com is where I set up and publish all my e-books.  I go there because I really like their user-friendly platform, plus I’m used to navigating the website by now.

So I read all the details about pre-orders, even before I completed writing my book.  The good thing about the way they do pre-orders at Smashwords is the fact that you don’t have to upload the manuscript when you first submit the title.  You don’t even have to have the book’s cover yet.  All you need to provide is the title and description of the book, and a tentative word length and release date.  That way they can still list the title and necessary metadata in their marketplace.

You also have to agree in advance to submit the book file no later than 10 days prior to the book’s release.  If you end up having to push the initial date back for some reason, you can always go in and change the release date before the 10 day deadline.

PAST ACTIVITIES

So the first week in March, I submitted the book title and cover to Smashwords, then I was provided with a book link to the pre-order page.  Since then, I’ve been doing some promoting and early marketing, trying to announce the books April release date.

The first thing I did was write a blog post announcing the book on my Just Charm blog.  Then I wrote and published a Press Release on Prlog.com doing the same thing, only in a more business and news-like manner.  I’ve been taking advantage of using press releases as a free marketing tool for a long time.  This is also one of the effective article marketing resources that I talk about using in Shut Up and Write.  In the e-book, I list a bunch of other free press release distribution sites that I think I’ll start using this week.

Anyway, after I took a little time to create a detailed introduction video to the book, I provided the video link in several social media posts.  I posted to Google+, Twitter and Tumblr.  I even posted the links on the RedGage bookmarking website.  This is another good place to help start driving traffic, simply for the bookmarking opportunities. 

For those of you who may be wondering, NO – I did not directly post anything to my Facebook page, but I rarely, if ever, use this resource.  I know I’m probably missing out on a lot of benefits because of this, but I honestly find Facebook to be too busy and distracting from whatever I’m trying to do.  I can barely navigate the site comfortably so for now, I just shy away from it. 

Just recently, I learned how to set things up so my Facebook page can automatically get regular updates when I make a blog post, a tweet, or a Tumblr post.  Before to today, I never really cared about doing bothering to do it, but now, I definitely recognize the benefits.  That is one of the first things on my agenda for tomorrow so I’ll tell you about it then. 

FIRST MARKETING ACTIVITIES

Today, after I spent time putting together the introduction to this video marketing series, I went over to Fiverr.com and combed through their marketplace.  I decided on several social media marketing gigs to order.  

NOTE:  I actually had some kind of glitch with the shopping cart, so I got frustrated and put that task on hold for the time being.

OTHER MARKETING ACTIVITIES

The other marketing related activities that I performed today are directly connected to this video series.  Since this is the beginning of this 60 day marketing series, I wanted to create a uniform structure of how my video diary will be set up.

Each video will pick up where the last one left off, and jump right into discussing the latest marketing activities.  That means that very little (if any) re-capping will be done of the previous videos.  Most of the videos will contain at least a few note cards with bulleted details.

This is so that anyone watching can start compiling all the necessary marketing information they need, in order to improve and increase their sales.  So if you have a great book to suggest on the subject, even if it happens to be your own, feel free to let me know about it in the comments, or even in an email.  

CONCLUSION

Once again, I invite you to continue following this video series so you can discover how to increase your new e-book sales, or figure out what you’ve been doing wrong.  As always, if you miss anything or you would rather be able to READ the information contained in the video, simply pop over to my blog and read the latest post for the day. 

One other thing I want to mention before I go is a reminder about “Shut Up and Write!”  Even though this book was created for new online writers, don’t think that you can’t benefit from it because you’re a published author.  If you still rely on article writing or other writing related income, you’ll be surprised at some of the profitable resources you find in the book.

So take a few minutes to pop over to my Charm Baker Smashwords Profile page and peek at the contents of this book.  I know for a fact that you’ll find the $4.99 price tag worth every penny.

 

THANKS FOR LISTENING. 

IFTTT: An Awesome Marketing Resource that You Don’t Want to Abuse

Be careful of misusing a great resource so the results of your activities don’t backfire on you!

IFTTT is an acronym for the words:  “If this, than that”, and that is exactly what this awesome marketing resource is all about.  In a nutshell, the IFTTT website will allow you to create what they call “Recipes”.  The Recipes are little formulas you devise to help trigger a specific reaction.  I know you might not understand what I mean right now, but before I go into detail about the benefit of this site, and how things actually work, here is a word of caution.  Make sure that you don’t abuse the IFTTT Recipes.  Keep in mind that as with most things in life, there is always the possibility  of “too much of a good thing.”

IFTTT Recipes

According to the IFTTT website, this is the official description of a Recipe:  “Recipes are simple connections between products and apps. There are two types of Recipes: DO Recipes and IF Recipes.  These Recipes actually give you “…control over the products and apps you love.”  The “IF” recipe is triggered by a specific action, for example:

“IF” I publish a video on my Just Charm YouTube channel, the IFTTT Recipe that I selected will automatically post a tweet on my Just Charm Twitteraccount.  In reality, this action is not really new to some of us, especially when you have multiple Google-related accounts.  But at IFTTT, you really get the full benefit of how these Recipes actually work, plus, you can pick and choose the ones that you want to work together.  Not only do they have a huge selection of pre-made Recipes for you to choose from, but you can even create your own recipes! 

  

Finding Effective Recipes

Just Charm currently uses a number of effective IFTTT Recipes, in addition to the YouTube / Twitter “IF” Recipe that is described above.  Here are a few more that you can choose from their website, and set into motion yourself. 

“IF” I make a new post on my Tumblr blog, automatically post a link on my Blogger blog.

“IF” I get a positive Fiverr® gig review, automatically post a tweet to my Twitter account.

“IF” it is 8am (PST), automatically post a pre-created tweet to Twitter, saying “good morning”

As you can see, these Recipes require a specific action to occur before the result is triggered.  This can be an awesome tool, but be careful.  Inadvertently duplicating some of the same recipes can become a nuisance to your viewers.  It is easy to make this mistake when you select IFTTT Recipes, because many of them are the same, or similar (merely created by different people). 

At IFTTT, creating your own Recipes is not only allowed, but encouraged.  In fact, some of the more popular Recipes were created by people who really need them, just like you.  That is why it is so easy to create Recipes that already exist.  A smart practice would be to analyze all the Recipes you have selected, to make sure that there are no repeats.  Also, as was mentioned, most accounts that are Google-related (or owned), are already connected.  That means, that you don’t want to make the mistake of selecting Recipes that are already being trigged by Google.

How “DO” Recipes Work

The “DO” Recipes are not the same as “IF” Recipes.  There is nothing for you to trigger with a “DO” Recipe.  Instead, they “…run with just a tap and enable you to create your own personalized Button, Camera, and Notepad.”  These work really cool and rely on the connections between your devices.  “DO” apps are available for iOS and Android.

Monitor what Works

Whatever Recipes you decide to select, create, and use on the IFTTT website, just make sure to pay attention to the results that you are getting.  Try to monitor what is happening on your blog, website, social media and other related sites.  This way, you can determine just what is actually working, as well as when it’s working; and maybe even why it’s working!  After all, isn’t that what we want from an effective marketing resource?  This website is a perfect resource, and it is absolutely free to use.  The last thing we want to do is misuse it.  This is the voice of experience speaking, because I believe some of my own selected Recipes are on steroids!  I plan to go over everything thoroughly, and determine which ones need adjusting.  But as for the effectiveness of the IFTTT website, I wholeheartedly recommend the site!