I’m on the distribution lists of many indie authors who occasionally send out promotional emails about their books. Marketing is a lot of work, so I respect the efforts of these individuals to boost their sales. Unfortunately, however, many of the emails I receive are peppered with errors, and that doesn’t instill much faith that […]
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Do you have a mailing list of readers who enjoyed your writing? If so, good for you! Whether it’s through a newsletter program or email, reaching our to your fans is a good way to keep a connection with them. The question is, what do you tell them? In my semi-regular newsletter I include one […]
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I recently happened upon an interesting marketing idea that I wanted to share with readers of my blog. For a limited time the print version of one of my books was for sale on Amazon at a significant discount over the normal list price, so a good friend of mine, who is also a huge […]
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The other day I received a call from my friend Kristen, who recently opened her own business in the wedding-planning industry. She remembered that close friends of mine had once been featured in the Vows section of the New York Times, and she wanted to know if an introduction to the reporter who wrote the piece […]
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Several months ago I received an email from an author named S.J. (That is a purposefully androgynous pen name.) S.J. was doing a blog tour to help promote the launch of his/her first novel and wanted to know if I would consider letting him/her do a guest post on my personal website. I’d never had […]
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There are few things I enjoy more than getting fan “mail”–in whatever form it arrives. I recently received a wonderful tweet from a woman named Yasminda that made me smile. I replied with my email address and asked her to send me a note. When she did, I checked her address in my database and […]
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In last week’s post I said that for the overwhelming majority of authors, it’s important to make an effort to connect with your fans. The same goes for having a good headshot. If you’re selling millions of copies of your books each year, no need to read further. Almost daily I receive an email from […]
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In a recent post about book marketing, I discussed how important it is to cast a wide net when reaching out to people and organizations about your book. Today I’d like to address the difference a personal touch can make once you’ve established contact with an individual who has agreed to help you in some way. […]
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After years of referring to herself as a “professional dater,” a good friend of mine finally tied the knot last summer. She was, of course, joking about her title, but in a way it was true! She was determined to find the right match for herself, so she dated and dated and dated until she […]
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Yesterday I received a bulk email from an acquaintance about a book his son had recently self-published. The well-crafted, perfectly appropriate message explained that the son had asked his father to forward a note, written by the son, about the book. The father, conscious of spamming his friends, threw in a line about how any […]
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