On Tour Today: CARRIE BUTLER, author of STRENGTH, Offers Marketing Tips

It’s my great pleasure today to my have pub-sister, Carrie Butler, over during her blog tour.

So, take it away, Carrie…

Marketing Voodoo - Selling the Experience, Not the Product

Back in college, I had a harsh marketing professor. He had a voice like a megaphone, loved to single students out, and rarely admitted he was wrong. But you know what? His lessons stuck with me.

"We're not just selling features," he'd always bark. "We're selling benefits."

One day, he had us go around and try to pitch whatever writing utensil we'd used to take notes on his lecture. Right there. On the spot.

Of course, the first unlucky few floundered about, grasping for a quick summarization. "Well, it's a Papermate mechanical pencil. I found it in the hall. It says it's, uh, one-point-zero millime—"

"Next!"

As he went around the classroom, the lesson became glaringly apparent. He was waiting for us to sell the benefits over the features—the experience over the product. "This isn't just a pen," I declared when he called on me, thrusting my cheap-o clicky pen into the air. "It's a statement."

He rubbed his chin. "How so?"

"It was handcrafted in India," I lied. "Eighteen-karat gold clip, refillable cartridge, polished... uh, barrel. Do you know what this pen says about me? It says I have good taste. It says I'm a professional who's willing to invest in her career. It says... I'm just a little more successful than you are."

Plus, it says I love BS-ing people. That pen cost me ninety-nine cents.

Now, mind you, the exercise was just for fun—and we all had a good laugh about it—but it does beg the question: Are you selling benefits or features?

What do you love about your book? Is it the fact that it's a 389-page paranormal romance that's making strides in the new adult category? Of course not. You love the way it made you feel the first time you daydreamed about it. You love how your heart raced alongside your characters' as the scenes unraveled. So, what if you started pitching it that way?

Don't spam-tweet us that your book is available on Amazon for $3.99. Invite us in to experience your world. Give us a teaser. Share a reviewer's first impression. Take my fabulous host, for example:

Nancy S. Thompson ‏@NancySThompson

“Thompson writes cinematographic scenes of violence that contrast perfectly w/ those of tenderness & love.” 5 stars http://ow.ly/hj8V9 

Doesn't that make you want to read THE MISTAKEN? If I didn't already own two copies, I'd check that link out!

So, if you take nothing else away from this post, remember that your readers are people—not numbers. They want to share the experience of that daydream. They want to connect with it on an emotional level. You just have to reach out to them. :)

About Strength

When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, she’s stunned. Wallace Blake is everything she’s ever wanted in a man—except he can’t touch her. His uncontrollable strength, a so-called gift from his bloodline, makes every interaction dangerous. And with a secret, supernatural war brewing among his kind, there’s no time to work it out. To keep Wallace in her life, Rena will have to risk a whole lot more than her heart.

Where to buy:

AMAZON | KINDLE | BARNES & NOBLE | NOOK

KOBO | ITUNES BOOKSTORE | DIESEL | BAKER & TAYLOR

About the Author

Carrie daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.

Where to find Carrie:

WEBSITE  |  BLOG  |  PUBLISHER  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK  |  GOODREADS  |  GOOGLE+

Where to find Strength:

BOOK PAGE  |  GOODREADS  |  PUBLISHER  |  FACEBOOK  |  PINTEREST  |  BOOK TRAILER

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Review: Social Media Just for Writers by Frances Caballo

It’s hard being a neophyte at anything, especially something tech-based.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a total Luddite—I embrace technology as much as the next guy—but I also struggle with it at times.  Mix that lack of knowledge with my abhorrence for all things related to marketing, and you have an author drowning in dread.

I’ve done many of the things an author is supposed to do to build a platform—I blog, do Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Goodreads—but I’m not always the best at using them.  Then there’s LinkedIn and Google+, which I’m on, but do not use.  There’s also Pinterest, which I haven’t even attempted yet.  It’s all a major time-suck, and they each require a level of expertise to master and make productive.

So while I hardly had the time, when Trish Collins, owner of TLC Book Tours, asked, I jumped at the chance to review Social Media Just Writers for Writers – The Best Online Marketing Tips for Selling Your Books by Frances Caballo. 

After all the time I spent writing and polishing my novel, then finding a publisher and getting it ready to be released, I wasn’t even remotely prepared for all the hands-on marketing I’d have to do.  And even though I already had a presence in some of the most popular social outlets, I wasn’t entirely sure how to best use them.  But Social Media Just Writers for Writers clarifies much of it, makes it easier to understand and use. 

This book delves straightaway into the monster that is Facebook, how to join, create a profile, start a fan page, and manage security and settings.  Caballo also advises on how to best use it to help sell your book using SEO and effective posts.  While I already had a firm grasp on Facebook, she explains quite a few features I wasn’t even aware of, including the creation of tabs, measuring results, the plethora of third party applications, and the best practices for writers.  There were a few inaccurate numbers in there, though, like the total number of Facebook users.  It’s not 900,000, but more like 1,000,000,000.  That’s billion, not million.

Next, Twitter.  Oy, I hate Twitter.  Seems like so much work to put into something that literally only last a few seconds before it’s buried in an avalanche of new tweets.  Caballo explains, however, exactly why it is the place to be, and goes into detail about all the basics on tweeting and retweeting, following and unfollowing, linking and hashtags, DM and @replies, proper lingo and etiquette. 

She takes you step-by-step on how to setup an account, develop a profile, and show some style.  She dissects everything you need to know about the dashboard and how to navigate it, lists the most popular and helpful hashtags for writers, and provides tips to get started.  After that, it’s all about the apps, the best to use for whatever purpose and how they work, though she didn’t discuss how some are not entirely accurate, like the unfollow apps, ManageFlitter to be precise.

I was a bit overwhelmed by this app portion.  It would have been nice if she had rated these apps in some way, but I did find some awesome new ones to help me pre-schedule, flush out unfollowers, and find old tweets.  Best of all, Caballo provides twelve tips on tweeting with your tweeps, though I must say, I do not agree on her stance of not cross-posting to Twitter and Facebook.  As long as you compose it properly, what’s the big deal?

Then there’s LinkedIn.  I joined this platform years ago, so my profile was tailored primarily for my design business.  I realize I could start a new one just for my publishing and editing career, but in all honesty, I don’t see the point.  It’s too technical and has more of a Job Fair atmosphere to me.  But Caballo fully explains its usefulness, how to setup and use it, useful applications, and a dozen best practices.  Personally, while I do keep my account updated, I really only use it for the groups.

Next comes Google+.  While Caballo gives a bunch of good reasons why to use it—like its connection to the most widely used search engine in the world—I’m with the majority on this one.  It was nice to get an invitation when it was in beta, but it’s too unwieldy of a site.  I have a Google+ account, but most everyone I know has abandoned it.  When I land on someone’s G+ page, I’m not sure how to use it and exit as quickly as I can.  But Caballo explains all the ins and outs and features of G+ that make it worth a look at least, including why it works better than Facebook in some ways.  So if you want to know more, she has a lot to say, but even that confused me, because G+ is just all around confusing and not very user-friendly. 

And then comes Pinterest.  My thought when Pinterest first blew up was, oh God, not another social media platform.  You’d think I, an artist and designer, would embrace it, but I already spend so much time on the others that I didn’t want to get sucked into it.  And I’ve heard it is very addictive.  Great, just what I need.  But, actually, I’m thinking of giving it a try, of using images to tell the story of my book, The Mistaken.  That could be fun and productive.  My publisher swears by it.  So when I’m ready, I know I can refer to Caballo’s instructions on how to setup and use it.  Dry reading about this, however, without any prior knowledge or use of the site, left me a little confused.  She used lingo that meant nothing to me and I was left scratching my head, but I’m sure it would make more sense if you were actually doing it play-by-play. 

Then Caballo dives into blogs, how useful they are, and the best way to utilize them to increase sales.  However, she didn’t go into the different sites where one can setup a blog, only mentioning WordPress a few times as her preference.  I disagree on this somewhat.  If you’re a beginner, Blogger is the perfect site.  It’s where almost all my thousands of blogger friends reside.  It’s easier to use, yet she doesn’t go into it at all.  But there is a lot of good info in there, including prompts, using keyword-rich articles and titles, applications, plug-ins, and resources for photographs to make your posts richer and easier on the eye, and ideas on how to make your blog successful.

Lastly, Caballo discusses the angles of offline promotion, though several of the items listed, like email, websites, author networks and hangouts, are all online.  One platform she didn’t discuss enough was Goodreads, an invaluable tool for any author today.  It’s the best way to directly connect with your readers and potential readers.  It is the platform for readers.  Other than that, Caballo discusses actual shelf space (something that’s not always an option,) bookmarks, fliers, CDs, book fairs and festivals, business cards, ads, press releases, media kits, PR directories, radio and TV, reviewers, and Amazon and Listmania.  A lot of the work I’ve been doing recently is in these areas so I found this section particularly helpful. 

All in all, this book is chock full of info, ideas, and tips on how to connect with readers and help sell your book.  The instructions were typically easy to understand.  Even the most experienced and savvy will find new things to learn and experiment with.  And there are so many resources listed that you are sure to find something to help with whichever social media platform you use.  One thing though, I wish throughout this book that the author would have taken novelists more into consideration when giving tips.  Most were geared toward non-fiction writers.  But still, I can tailor most everything to fit my needs.

So if you’re a writer and as overwhelmed as I am by social media, this book is worth a look and the $16 you have to pay for the paperback.    

On Monday, February 4th, using Random.org, I will award one commenter (of this post) within the continental US with a paperback copy of Social Media Just Writers for Writers.  Any winner outside of this area will receive a PDF.  Make sure your profile includes an email so I can get your mailing address, or include it in your comment. 

You can find Frances Caballo here:

website, Facebook page, LinkedIn, Google+,Twitter, and Pinterest.

If you’re interested in reading other reviews, check out the rest of the TLC tour here:

01/07:  Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire

01/08:  Write Stuff

01/10:  Julie A. Flanders

01/14: Creepy Query Girl

01/15:  Writing Fiction

01/17:  TheWriteGame

01/22:  A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman

01/23:  Stina Lindenblatt

01/28:  Tossing It Out

01/29:  allison writes

01/30:  Mina Burrows

02/04:  My Bookshelf

Do an Author a Favor...Pretty Please???

You guys know how much I’ve been complaining about the whole marketing thing.  It’s such a pain, so much work, and I’m terrible at it.  Last week, my very good friend, Alex Cavanaugh, went out on a limb and asked his followers to vote for his two books, CassaStar and CassaFire, on the Goodreads’ Best Space Opera List.  I and many others voted, and CassaStar remained at #1 and CassaFire moved to #2. 

I found that very inspiring, and while I don’t have near the following Alex does, it doesn’t take much for a book to move up on a Goodreads list. 

As it happens, though well received and reviewed, my book, The Mistaken, needs some serious help in the sales department, and raising awareness via Goodreads is a good way to do that.  So I’m asking for the same favor. 

The Mistaken has been added to 14 Goodreads lists by readers.  That’s a remarkable feat I can be proud of, but I’d like it to be as high on those lists as possible so it’s more visible, which, hopefully, will help sales. 

So, for you Goodreads members who wouldn’t mind, use this master list link for all 14 Goodreads lists The Mistaken appears on, then click on the lists individually, as many as you want, and wait for The Mistaken to appear, usually at the top of the page.  All you have to do is click on the “vote for this book” button next to my title.  That’s it.  Very quick and easy peasy!

The lists (below) are in order of importance to me, especially the first 10, though all have immense influence. Unfortunately, except for the lists where my book is near the top, as people vote, the book moves up and these individual links will not be accurate for placement, so click on the master link for all 14 lists then click on each individual list to vote.

·        Best Romantic Suspense

·        What To Read Next

·        Kidnapped

·        Psychological Suspense Thriller

·        Psychological Thrillers

·        Thrillers

·        Thrillers You Must Read

·        Best Tortured Heroes in Fiction

·        So you love a Bad Boy or Tortured Hero

·        Can’t Wait Books of 2012

·        Upcoming Books of 2012 & 2013

·        Books That Need To Come Out Sooner

·        Come Out Already!    

Thank you in advance!

You have no idea how much I appreciate your help!

A to Z Challenge: X is for X-factor

Welcome to Day 24 of the 2012 A to Z Challenge

X is for X-factor:  the [unknown] variable; the value that may change within the scope of a given problem or set of operations.  (Wikipedia)

As a writer, I’m in control of my story, the characters, and their world.  I love being a creator of new souls and throwing those souls into turmoil and chaos.  Must be what it feels like to be God.  But just like God, once those souls are created, fleshed out from beginning to end, I have very little control over what happens next.  Not if I want to go the traditional route anyway.  And I do.  I am. 

When a writer wants to be traditionally published, he or she usually needs an agent.  (Not always though.  I didn't.)  That entails months, if not years, of querying, where you acquire loads of rejections and feel that it’ll never happen for you.  If it does happen, you have to go through it all over again, trying to find a publisher and an editor who’ll champion your book.  Even if you do, said editor has to take it through a panel to be judged by all the other editors to see if it’s good enough for that publishing house.  And once it does, how will the story emerge after the editing process?  Will it be recognizable to the author? 

And then, after all that—the writing, the revising, the querying, the searching, the editing, the design process—which takes years, there is no guarantee that the book will succeed.  There are just too many unknown variables, x-factors that influence a book’s success.  Many great stories, those with massive financial backing by its publisher, have utterly failed.  And others, some self-published the first time around, find tremendous success, regardless of the quality of the writing, let alone the story.  Just look at 50 Shades of Grey. 

We all know that word-of-mouth is the best, most efficient and influential tool used to market books.  It’s not something you can buy or Tweet or post about.  It’s a slow build-up of satisfied customers who tell other people how much they liked your book.  It is “one of the most credible forms of advertising because people who don't stand to gain personally by promoting [it] put their reputations on the line every time they make a recommendation.”  (Wikipedia) 

You can’t buy this, and you can’t artificially generate it either.  Why it happens with one book and not another is a great unknown.  It’s all a matter of timing, of what strikes a chord at any particular moment.  You can’t touch it, smell it, feel it, or even see it.  It just happens.   It is the epitome of the X-factor.                                            

Does this great unknown scare you as much as it scares me when promoting and selling your book?