Because I come from an Internet journalist background, I felt compelled to post this comment below that I received on the post I did “I’m not Your Social Media Expert, and That Should Make You Happy” .
I very rarely do not approve a comment to my blog because it’s very important to keep the communication gates open both ways and we’re all here to learn together. With that in mind, please take this lesson to heart. It is not good marketing to post a short blurb about your book in someone’s comment section of their blog. I know there are some book “marketers” and book “social media experts” who for years have touted this as a good idea. Heck, they’ve even published this suggestion in some of their own books!
However, this is never a good idea. Ever, ever, ever.
Think of it like this. What if you decided, in an effort to get more buzz out about your book, that the best possible thing you could do is spray paint the front of someone’s home with your book title and short description?
This would actually make the homeowner feel great rancor toward you and the neighborhood (her community) wouldn’t much cotten to seeing this either. They trust the homeowner to keep her home spiffy, smart and valuable!
A blog is someone’s home. People come to it and the blog author opens his/her doors to a knowledge base that will hopefully be very educational and actionable. And FREE of marketing blather including in the comment section.
With that in mind, here is the aforementioned comment I received (I’ve edited it a bit so not to expose the commenter, so anywhere you see BOLD I’ve changed it from what it actually was.)
“Shoved to the curb and left to fend on her own at the age of 14; AUTHOR NAME eventually went on to receive a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work.
But God was not welcome nor allowed to be spoken on the job… Not able to do so, AUTHOR NAME went on to work for the Archdiocese of St. Paul/ Minneapolis for 8 years.
NAME OF BOOK is a true story of AUTHOR NAME strength & perseverance. That, combined with her strong faith is what makes this story unique and a must read!
This is AUTHOR NAME first book and is currently working on her sequel… NAME OF NEW SEQUEL.”
So here’s the thing, this comment not only violates the good mojo in terms of respecting one’s home blog turf, but also it shows these three things:
1. The author has not ever read the blog she just posted a comment to.
2. The author did not actually read the blog post she posted the comment to.
3. The author is unaware of how one should post comments to a blog.
Lessons Learned:
1. Read the blog you’re going to post a comment to.
2. If you want your book reviewed or want to drive traffic to your book site – research the sites that talk about books, book reviewing and reach out to those blog editors in person through an email pitch, not through an email pitch.
Here are some good ones to check out -
a. BergersBookReviews.com – Alice Berger’s fantastic site.
b. Bookpleasures.com - Norm Goldman’s superb site. Note, on Norm’s link that he has a quick review service, but also offers a free review service.
*I posted the two examples above without the direct contact information (emails etc.) because I’m mean and I don’t want to share. Ok…that’s not really true. I posted them like that so you could learn how easy it is to use this little free tool called the Internet, hit those sites and get the contact information on how to pitch them books very easily from their site!
To sum up: Be your own best advocate, keep pitching and swerving and building strong lists for your book, and don’t listen to everything social media book gurus advise you to do.
And in the words of one of my favorite Monty Python songs, “Always look on the bright side of life, always look on the bright side of life.” How does that apply to marketing your book? There are thousands of blogs you can find to feature your book if you’ll just stay positive, focused and in it for the long haul.
Now go and get your book out there!
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By now we’ve all heard that Oprah is going off the air to found her own Oprah-dom on cable which we know will be amazingly successful.
The announcement has filled me with glee, when I consider that all those Oprah-esque PR insiders who provide you tons of tips, insider secrets, oprah-show advice etc. will also hopefully be cleaned out as well.
If it’s time for Oprah to have a new start, it’s also time for everyone who has ever paid thousands of dollars to consultants just “hoping” they’d get the right Oprah teleseminar-guru-recipe for being on the show to have a new start too.
For those folks, I hope Oprah’s announcement will serve as a wakeup call that you don’t need to rely on PR gurus, or media gurus to get you on the Oprah show. I’ll tell you a secret, the best way to get on the Oprah show is by using your own initiative, being creative and having a unique and interesting story.
I’ll tell you another secret! People have actually been booked as a guest on her show by pitching the show directly through the website form on Oprah.com. People have actually been booked on her show by tweeting out interesting ideas that Oprah’s producers (who are also on Twitter) find and then build a show around.
If you don’t think they’re on Twitter, do a Google search for “Oprah Producer Twitter” and find them yourself. I could give them to you, but it’s time you start doing your own walking! Come on! You can be your own PR guru if you believe in yourself enough.
You too can go back home to Oprah when she starts her new show. The first step is to tap your shoes together three times and say, “There’s no place like Oprah, there’s no place like Oprah, there’s no place like Oprah. ” (Oops, wait, I was channeling a PR guru and what they might tell you.)
Ok, start again. The first step is to come up with what makes you unique and then research Oprah’s website and see if there is already a show they are booking around that topic. Every week they post new calls for guests to pitch themselves.
The second step is to be persistent without stalking! The third step is to be creative about how you want to get on the show. Don’t believe there’s room for creativity? Peeshaw, as my great Aunt Susan would say.) Still not feeling it?
Read this story of how one person got on Oprah by selling tickets to his own show on the sidewalk.
Or how about using a billboard to get on Oprah?
Still not convinced? Read this story about how one woman used the online submission form and kicked ass on Oprah.
Don’t give up. Who knows you might even be featured on the show twice!
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- Image via Wikipedia
Blog carnivals started several years ago, and are still a great way to help promote your blog. Particularly if your blog is new, joining a blog carnival will help bring you some traffic and backlinks, and also helps you authentically promote other bloggers too.
A blog carnival as defined by BlogCarnival.com is “a collection of links pointing to blog posts around a specific topic. Usually a blog carnival will have many editions and every week a different blog will host it.”
Some of the very first carnivals included “Carnival of the Capitalists” which can be found here.
With over 31440 editions of 9114 carnivals and 259 new carnivals in the past 30 days, what are you waiting for?
Look through the full index of carnivals and pick one that you might want to be a part of. Also read the About page for more information on how the carnivals themselves work.
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Fantastic article on how to use Twitter by David Risley, CEO of PCMech, as featured in Steve Kayser’s great Cincom Expert Access newsletter.
Steve also added a new expert to the roster, David Henderson, who I think is just a brilliant man and coming out with a new book as well. And for full disclosure…David Henderson is also the wonderful guru who re-designed my blog with all the bells and whistles and I’ve always been a great admirer of his career.
Now “go on” as Tracey Ullman used to say! Go and Twitter.
Oh and before I forget! Go and read Toby Bloomberg’s brilliant series on blogger relations. As a recovering tech journalist, current blogger and online publicist I can tell you the series she did is outstanding and illuminating. Let the bloggers be heard! Toby is just the best at discovering and deciphering for the rest of us how the best in social media are succeeding! Kudos!!
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