Have you discovered Twitter yet? Check out these 7 Habits of Highly Effective Twittering by master Twitterer Kris Colvin. Lots of great suggestions on ways to increase your followers and build your influence with Twitter. Notice, too, the Twitter tools and apps she recommends and uses and bring them into your own Twitterverse.
Examiner.com launched less than one year ago and has since expanded into 60 major markets with it’s locally-produced content that provides a forum to share knowledge and expertise on a local and national level.
Let’s say it’s the result of a big, traditional media company (the Anschutz Company) stepping into the social media realm and exploring ways they can contribute to the local and online communities.
If you consider yourself an insider with insights and knowledge to share about your city, local events, or the people who make your community special, you can get paid to write columns for your local edition of Examiner.com.
As a publicity-seeker, getting in a local examiner.com site can make a difference in everything from how many people turn out for your book signing in a new city to seeing a slate of online purchases of your book or product.
Here are two recent articles about me published in the Arizona edition of the Examiner.com. One was an announcement of my book signing during a recent tour stop, and the other, a general article on my cookbook and unique one-pot cooking method, followed up a few weeks later as a good reminder to those who caught one of my tv spots there and a way to keep people talking about me.
Don’t forget that it can take a minimum of 7 exposures to you or your product to convince people to buy it, so don’t be afraid to continue publicizing in a market you’ve already hit.
A friend of mine mentioned that he had Googled me this morning and a lot came up, so I thought it might be a good idea for me to Google myself as well and see what order things appear in a Google search of Elizabeth Yarnell.
It was very interesting, I must say.
Fortunately, my main ElizabethYarnell.com website came up first, as expected, followed by my cookbook’s site, GloriousPotMeal.com/GloriousOnePotMeals.com. Most surprising, however, was that my Twitter page captured spot #8 on the first page.
The power of social media never fails to astound me.
I also discovered this video of an interview about social media that I did with Ron Lewis after I spoke at the Thin Air Summit last fall. Enjoy!
Are you writing articles to advance your career? A body of writing is essential for casting yourself as the go-to expert on your topic, which you should desperately want to happen for all of the great free publicity it brings.
It’s great to write articles for free and post them online when you’re looking to drive traffic to a website, but you may also appreciate the financial rewards, not to mention the status and credibility, you get from seeing your byline in print.
The American Society of Journalists and Authors’ Annual Writer’s Conference, April 24-26, 2009 in New York City, can offer you the opportunities to meet and learn from top newspaper and magazine editors as well as publishers and agents, giving you a better shot at getting your work published. The theme this year is: The Writer’s GPS: On Track for Success.
Sally Stich, former president of Colorado Authors League and the Denver Woman’s Press Club (and my own first writing professor and mentor!), is the co-chair of this year’s American Society of Journalists and Authors’ Annual Writer’s Conference, to be held at the historic Roosevelt Hotel.
Now in its 38th year, this is THE writers’ conference to attend if you are serious about nonfiction writing in today’s world. Here is where you will learn from experts, mingle with professionals and take your career to a new level. This remarkable event brings together hundreds of authors, journalists, agents and others for serious networking and information exchange. Panelists from major magazines, publishing houses, Web sites,and agencies will give you the inside scoop on what gets their attention. And experts in today’s media will give insights into the nuts and bolts of navigating cyberspace as a nonfiction writer, using tools and techniques that will give you the advantage. If you’re serious about your freelance writing career, you can’t miss this conference. (This year, special college student discount for Saturday’s sessions.)
I attended the ASJA conference 7 years ago and found it to be a valuable and enjoyable experience.
Ever wondered how to copyright your stuff? Do you need a lawyer to do this? How much will you be protected?
Get these answers and more at the Free Webinar from SPAN and the Copyright Clearance Center’s “Copyright for Today’s Dynamic Publishing Environment”
January 22, 2009, 2-3 PM, EST
Presented by: Dru Zuretti, M. Ed., Manager of Copyright Education at the Copyright Clearance Center
This free Webinar will present the fundamental copyright concepts boiled down to easy-to-digest language, with a focus on concerns primary to the publishing industry in today’s dynamic, digital environment.
This Web session is approximately 45 minutes long. The presentation will be followed by an open Q&A session.
You’ll Learn:
. The basic principles of U.S. copyright law
. A copyright-holder’s privileges and obligations under U.S. copyright law
. How to evaluate potential exceptions to copyright protection
. When copyright permission may be needed and how to obtain it
. What may be an infringement of copyright
Who Should Attend?
This session is perfect for rights and permissions, production, marketing, sales, and service personnel,
interns, writers, editors, and others from all organizational levels who want to gain a basic
understanding of copyright considerations in a publishing environment.
Sign Up Now!!!
I’ve mentioned before how you can get free publicity for yourself by giving testimonials for other people services and products, but don’t overlook the search engine optimization (SEO) value of those inbound links as well.
Here’s a testimonial I gave to my friend Dan Janal at PRleads. He first published it months ago, and today it reappeared in his parent company’s blog as part of a compilation of testimonials about ProfNet (scroll down more than half way to see my blurb).
Since the Profnet blog has a good Alexa ranking (in the 7000s, meaning that it’s in the top 8,000 websites visited on the internet), I know that it’s a popular site and that inbound links originating from this site will help my own site increase in value for the search engines.
So, there you go. A little SEO with your publicity today!
http://profnetpost.prnewswire.com/2008/12/16/getting-ink-how-profnet-helped-members-in-2008/
Writers Studio announces its 5th Writers Studio Literary Contest for Colorado residents in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. This year’s judges are Mark Irwin, Poetry, John Calderazzo, Creative nonfiction, Teague Bohlen, Fiction. $250 first prize in each category. Deadline: February 2, 2009. For more information visit our website or email Writers Studio at writerstudio@arapahoe.edu.
The American Library Association’s (ALA) midwinter show is coming to Denver in January. Could your book get a boost by being in libraries?
Don’t overlook libraries as great vehicles for getting your book in front of more eyes. I am constantly surprised by the number of fans who tell me they checked my cookbook out of the library before deciding to purchase it. I never would have thought that people checked out cookbooks from the library and then went on to buy their own copy.
In case you haven’t been following the news, library usage is up in this country, a direct reflection of the dour economy. More people in libraries = more opportunities for your book to be picked up and your message to spread.
You can take advantage of organizations offering a spot in their ALA booth for your book at bargain prices vs the thousands it would cost to secure your own booth.
Members of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association can secure a spot in the CIPA ALA booth — if there are any still available.
The Jenkins Group offers a combined book exhibit booth at ALA and is offering spots for $120.
From SpeakerNet News: The best time to email your newsletter by Ian Percy
The BtoBonline.com newsletter included new research from Ball State University on the best time of day to send an email. Their research found working adults tend to log in to email first thing in the morning and have the longest period of uninterrupted time in their inbox. As the day progresses, time in the inbox becomes more fragmented. This suggests that people are most likely to read your email newsletter in the morning (between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.), whereas later in the day may be better for invitations to attend a seminar or download a white paper when people are in “quick-hit” mode.
I’ve always thought, too, that Tuesdays or Wednesdays were the best days of the week for distributing newsletters.
Could you use a database of independent bookstores nationwide to help in your promotional efforts?
As the economic recession continues, publishers and authors will need every tool available to help them sell and promote their books nationwide.
Now, for the first time ever, USA Book News is offering its National Independent Bookstore Database for purchase. Over 600+ stores within the United States, including contact name, phone and address. Recently updated, this database could be an invaluable tool for mailing out press releases and marketing material, planning regional or national book signing tours, or making sale calls directly to the manager or book buyer of each store.
Only $69.00 gives you unlimited usage of the Excel Database, a WORD doc listing of the same information, and WORD Address labels ready to be printed out.
You could spend hours and hours compiling a fraction of this information on your own, let me tell you from one who has been there, done that.
You should know, too, that USA Book News welcomes press releases! Add usabooknews@earthlink.net to your media list.
