By Warren Whitlock

Do you have a blog? If not, you are missing out on the best free promotional resource that anyone in business can use today.

“But Will People Read What I Write?”

It’s easy to get discouraged if you post something online and cant’s see anyone reading and then taking action. It’s very natural to be looking for these outcomes, but I’m here to tell you that the best results are 180 degrees from what it seems.

Here’s the secret.

You are more attractive when you are not trying to attract attention

Millions of people are writing, sharing and posting on the Internet today. Just like you, they want to make a connection and get recognition for their work. And YOU have the power to give it to them.

I like to imagine that every other content creator is like me. I know that I love to see a new person posting and do everything I can to support that.  From my experience, even the biggest bloggers are delighted to see interaction. I’ve never met one that doesn’t want more readers and the smart ones all know this secret.

Any connection with another blogger starts with getting noticed. Start with blogs the same size as yours and then move up to larger and larger audiences as your network grows.

Accelerating Beyond Comment Exchanges

The quickest way to get to larger audiences is to post where they are already reading. No matter how big your blog gets, most of the potential readers are not reading. So any guest post on another blog is likely to reach mostly people you’ve been missing.

Here again. Don’t be seen as needy. Instead of asking “Can I post on your blog?” use the reverse and say “Would you like to post on my blog?”.. You won’t always get reciprocity, but you will get a lot of offers to guest post.

Speed it up even more the with VIV Blogger Network

I’m working with a magazine publisher who reaches hundreds of thousands of readers. We’ve set up a blogger network and request bloggers to share. This post is a result of that sharing so I know it works.

Additionally, I’ve made it super easy for any blogger to initiate a conversation. VIV is now running a contest designed for bloggers. You just cut and past one line into a blog post and your users see the following widget: (Try it, you may win an iPad)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

How to Get the Widget and Have Your Post Appear

Because I believe in networking as the key to promoting any blog, I’m using our own promotional resources to promote those that join the network. I can’t promise that every new blog will get a post on the VIV site, but I will make sure you get some exposure and that every blog participant in the giveaway will be rewarded.

To start, just go to my own blog post:

How One Click Could Triple Your Blog Readership

We talk about book marketing, Internet promotion and the packing of you content to profit as an author and business. In today’s competitive market, the author platform is the key determining factor to the success of your book.

But never underestimate the power of the written word.

A kind word, an expression of gratitude, or an honest compliment can make someone’s day, turn a life around and become the inception of a world changing enterprise.

Whether you are writing your book, your blog, or just passing someone on the street today, use your words to make the world better.

If you get the message from this powerful video. Please share it with others today.

I spent some time with Bob Bare of BestSellingExperts.TV while at the Author 101 University here in Las Vegas last month.

Bob reached out to me to be part of his interview series of Best Seller Book Experts.

Here’s the finished product

Gust post by Alan K’necht

You’ve no doubt spent countless days, weeks even months writing and editing your book. Along the way, you most likely had a working title, an interim title and finally the official title for your book. Congratulation all that is left is to market you book is to ensure that people who hear about can find it.

This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes into play. If you’re like most non-technical authors, you might have never heard of SEO or even considered it in the name of your book. Yet you’re about to come face to face with the reality of SEO. So prepare yourself and get ready to start working on it.

Even before your book is published go to Google and Bing and search on the title of your book. Take a look at what comes up in the search results. Believe it or not this is your first level of competition. When I did this search for my book entitled “The Last Original Idea” I was competing with numerous blogs, news paper articles, etc. that were lamenting that neither Hollywood nor the TV industry has had a truly original idea in decades. Many of published article/blog post had title similar to my book “what was the Last Original Idea in…”, “The are no more original ides ….”.

As a marketer I knew how to get people spreading the name of my book and that was great if people happened to go directly to Amazon (or other online books store) to purchase it, but what if they wanted to know more details about the book or what if I wanted to capture people searching for the last original idea in marketing? To ensure that my book would be found and dominate the search results, I executed a SEO strategy.

As part of this strategy, I was aware that Google will only show 2 listings per website on a page of its search results. Simply building an SEO effective website would only get me 2 spots out of the default 10 which isn’t good enough. How could I ensure that they were the first two listed? I wanted to own the first page of results and if possible the second page as well. I’m happy to report that I do and here’s how I did it and now you can you!

1. Register a domain that is the title of your book (i.e. thelastoriginalidea.com) (to protect yourself from others hoping to steal your thunder also register similar domains (i.e. lastoriginalidea.com)
2. Build a website according to SEO best practices ensuring that you are focused on the title of your book and the subject of your book
3. Create a Facebook page for your book and register a custom URL that includes the name of your book (i.e. https://www.facebook.com/TheLastOriginalIdea)
4. Start a blog that does not operate under your website. This means using a different sub-domain (ie blog.thelastoriginalidea.com)
5. Use the blog to not only post book happenings (book signings, status updates of your book, etc.), but your thoughts on related topics. This is a great opportunity to create both excitement for your book and to demonstrate your knowledge on the subject.
6. Submit your book for various online contests that will create a page about your book or at a very minimum list it as an entrant with a link to your site.
7. Contact book reviewers who have blogs and regularly post reviews. Not only will the review help get your name out there, you can easily get them to link to your site and that’s part of step 8.
8. Now get active and get links & fans to both

Getting Links and Fans

Fans

This may be harder or easer depending on how involved you are already in Facebook. Step 1, tell all your current Facebook friends about it and encourage them to pass the word on. To entice people to become fans create a simple contest (become a fan for a random chance to win X copies of my book). Don’t stop with you current Facebook friends; market this fan generating contest through your email list, twitter followers, LinkedIn account and simply by telling people you know and meet.

On your Facebook page you will of course have a link to your books website. As you get more fans the value of this link will go up and help both the Facebook page and your website rank higher in the search engines.

Don’t forget to post regularly in the Facebook page to garner likes and shares. This activity also help keep and generate new fans, Likes and Shares. Remember your blog (step 4), make sure you post a description of each blog post on your Facebook page as well. This helps generate links to your blog, plus lets people know about and encourages people to read your blog posts.

Your Blog

Ensure that in description area of your blog is a description of your book with a text based link on the books name to the books website. When done correctly, this link will appear on every blog post creating a new link to your book with each post. While not as valuable as links from unique domains, they still count and help your site rank in the search engines.

Your Website

Last but not least the most critical part of the puzzle the book’s website. This is where you need to get tons of links. Here are some sure fire ways to get links:

1. Send out a press release with an established/quality PR distribution company and ensure that it has a text based link to your site in it. When done well, the press release will get picked up by 10 perhaps several hundred websites creating a large quantity of links.
2. Register your website with as many author /book directories as possible
3. Arrange for interviews that will be published online and insist that they link back to the books website.
4. Run a contest that requires people to submit written entries that will be posted on the site and voted for. This works wonders in getting other people not only to tell people where to go, but in many cases they’ll put permanent links to their content on your site (known as deep links)

The Fruits of Your Labor

If you’ve done everything well, now when you search on your books title, you should be dominating the listings (6 out of 10 on the 1^st page maybe even a 10 out of 10 on the first page). To truly reap the benefits of this effort, make sure you have a link to where people can purchase your book on each of the pages listed. After all, isn’t that the ultimate goal of all your efforts?

Alan K’necht is the author of “The Last Original Idea – A Cynic’s View of Internet Marketing” (www.TheLast OriginalIdea.com) and a founding Partner at Digital Always Media Inc. (http://www.digitalalwaysmedia.com) a full service agency specializing in search engine and social media marketing.

Once you’ve written a book or ebook, there are several other products you can create very quickly directly from it that will exponentially increase your profits with very little work. And most authors overlook one or more of them so here they are: audios, special reports, ecourses, video-coaching programs, and high-end coaching programs.

The easiest thing to do after you’ve written your book or ebook, is to record it. It only takes as long as it takes to read it. Then, you’ll want to edit it. And, if you want to, you can find royalty-free music and add music to your intro and outro or have someone do it for you. You’ll also need a CD cover if you want to deliver it as a physical product, and a 3D graphic representation of it for both a CD and/or download. (You can find them at www.fiverr.com for $5 each if you’re short on cash.)

Next, you can create special reports. These can be free or low-cost reports that are used as lead generators to create interest in your book or ebook. What I suggest doing is, looking through your completed manuscript for a whole section that can stand alone. If you find one but you think it has too much good information in it, then you can remove some of it. All, it takes is copying the section into a new word document, creating a new, eye-popping title, and having a cover created and it’s ready to go!

Or, you can take the idea from a section and rewrite it, if you don’t want it to be the exact text as in your book or ebook. These can be created in a couple of hours since you already have all the information you need to do it.

Another great way to create a new product from your book or ebook is to turn it into an ecourse. You can chunk it into lessons, in which case, you would charge for it. Or, you can chunk it into lessons and remove some of the details and give it for free as a lead generator. (Or, give part of it in lessons as a lead generator.) It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to remove the text you want to take out and upload it into an auto responder sequence or hire someone to do it for you-which is what I recommend you do.

You can also up sell people from your book or ebook to an ecourse, in which case you should add additional information to the ecourse version. And again. This shouldn’t take more than a few hours to complete.

You can also take your chapters and turn them into a video-coaching program. You can either talk each lesson into a webcam or video recorder. (Be sure to use a teleprompter, so you don’t look like you’re reading it.) Or, you can use PowerPoints, in which case you just add them to the audio that you’ve hopefully already created. Or, again, hire someone to do it for you! You can also add music and/or graphics to your presentation.

And my favorite-turn your book or ebook into a high-end coaching program. It’s actually already done! You just have to recognize it. It’s there in your Table of Contents! And it can sell from $997 to $2500 for group coaching and $2,000 to $5,000 or more for individual coaching-as long as it’s a “How-to”

Turn each chapter into a module or lesson. Add an action plan at the end of each one and a study guide with an answer sheet and you’re in business!

Each book or ebook you write can be turned into a whole funnel of products for your business with very little effort. So, make it easy on yourself, and create several from every ebook or book your write! You’ll work less, make a lot more, and get your message out to a lot more people!

©Copyright 2011 Ellen Violette www.theebookcoach.com published with permission

Here’s a special message from Terri Marie:

Thank you so much for helping get "Your Inner Cheerleader" to the #1 spot in at least one category on Amazon, It’s pretty wild to see the book listed as best-seller in that category and "hot new title." We can’t tell you how much we appreciate you and your support. Thank you for being such great Cheerleaders! You are amazing!

Interactive Books Are Getting Better all the time.

Sales of eBooks, and book delivered to an e-reader like the Amazon Kindle are skyrocketing, and there is more video uploaded in the time it takes to read this short post than you could watch in a week.

Text or mostly text books will be a around for a long time to come, but why not present your information in a way that is more engaging to the reader.

Mike Matas shows off one new title for the Apple ipad in this TED Talk video.

How will you use this in your next book?

Best-selling author Donna Marie Thompson FREE Virtual Book Tour

Donna’s book, Bouncing Back From Loss: How to Learn from Your Past, Build the Present, and Transform Your Future is a great read for anyone who’s been through life’s ups and downs and especially for those who are currently facing less than perfect circumstances.

Meet Donna, hear about her book, and how she has bounced back from a series of losses that sideline most of us.

Plus valuable insight on using the Donna’s actions steps to bounce back.

This virtual book tour session is FREE, and available from any phone.

Get the details and register here: Bouncing Back Book Tour

Joanna Penn shares tips on getting your book on Kindle, in ways that readers will like

I gotta admit it. I still like getting a book from someone wanting a review. Especially if it’s from and author I’ve met, or a friend recommending a title.

But today, I read most books on my Kindle, phone or computer or audio playback.

As usual, my friend Robert Scoble is ahead of me. He recorded this bit on Cinch

Context is even more important. I want to know why I’ve got the book, dates and plans in your promotion (since I’m the Best Seller Book Expert).

Other contact is good too. Do I know you? Is the book the type I generally read or review? Is this for my reading pleasure, or are you considering using our professional services?

With hundreds of thousands of new books each year, no one reads them all. Rather than a mass mailing hoping for results, use these tips to build real relationships and better long term results.

What did I leave out? What other tips can you share here to get more reviews? What has worked for you?

Author 101 University is a must attend event for authors who are serious about making it in publishing.

I’ve told Rick Frishman that the “101” title is misleading. This has become a networking event that we go back to again and again.

The next one is March 3-6 in LA. I’ll be shooting video segments for my TV show.

Time will be tight, so I’m giving priority to my readers. You do have to be attending Author 101. If not, we’ll have other opportunities announced here in the future.

To get on the schedule, leave a comment below and let me know you’ll be there.

Author 101 is Sold Out

Last I heard, the event is sold out. Publishers, agents, book marketing professionals and authors gathering like this has a tendency to draw a crowd fast.

If you don’t have a ticket, but want to come and be in a video. let me know. I may be able to get a ticket. (leave a comment with your and I’ll email you privately).

Kevin Eikenberry writes great books on leadership.

He also has the launch blueprint down as well as anyone I know. Working with Kevin and his team is fun and profitable.

Watch the video, look at the offer today, and order a copy of the book for anyone you know that wants to be a better manager.

When you do, you’ll see the blueprint at work. Kevin’s community and the network of other best seller book authors who get involved with these cross promotions.

A great book and a blueprint launch will make for a best seller and build a business right

I still see many books for sale without a Kindle version.

And I still get asked if the author marketing suggestions I teach are good for e-books.. from people who decided not to print a book as a cost cutting idea.

Here’s the future for a reading experience. This children’s book demo is a little bit over the top in terms of style, but the technology used is here today and affecting how we’ll expect to read tomorrow.

What are you doing to adapt your story and involve your readers?

While researching content to contribute to RealJobsWriting, a new blog for writers who want to make money from home we found this:

Here’s a video on how to make money from writing. Some general ideas about what is possible for a writer who want to be paid for writing.

Faster Path to Making Money

With some research and an investment in time, you can find many places that buy your writing. With some trial and error, you can do it yourself.

I’ve found one resource that cuts the learning curve and provides fast help to those wanting to sell their writing. If you want to make money from home with your writing, try the button below:

Guest post by Geri Schneider Winters, Wyyzzk, Inc.

Marketing your own book is a necessity, especially when you are published by a "real" publisher. This is a lesson I learned the hard way.

In late 1996, I was asked to teach a class on a specific technique for writing software requirements. The students loved the class, and asked me if there was more information on the topic. At that time, there was not. Someone said, "Will you write a book for us on this topic?"  So I said yes!  I talked to a friend who had published a software book, and when he found out the topic, he got really excited. His publisher (a top publisher of software books) was looking for a book on exactly that topic! My friend introduced me to the publisher, and a book was born.
And so, by a very lucky sequence of events, I was a published author of a best selling book with the top publisher for the industry  There were no other books on that topic for 3 years, and the topic was hot.

I knew nothing. I thought the publisher would take care of everything. So there I was riding the top of a great wave, and I did nothing about it. No marketing, no followup, no promotions, no speaking engagements. No method for finding out who was purchasing my book.

The publisher promoted the book for a while, primarily by sending notices to book sellers and text book salesmen. But over time, they had other, newer titles to promote.  And because I knew nothing, my contract drastically limits my options as to what I can do myself.

Fast forward to 2005, and I had become interested in marketing and promoting my business. Over several years, I learned all kinds of things about how to promote my self as an expert. Warren taught me the things I should do as an author.  And I have been kicking myself these last several years for not doing this earlier.

You see at this point, I am trying to build a market, when 10 years ago, I had one.  I gave up all the advantages of being an author, and it is really hard to bring that back.  People want to know "What have you done for me lately?", not what did I do over 10 years ago. If I contracted with a publisher today, I would retain rights to e-books, books on tape, or at least be able to give away sample chapters.

Once my book is out of print, I can apply to recover the copyright and do anything I want to with it. But the book is still in print and still selling a hundred copies or so a year. So chances are, by the time I get the copyright back, no one will be interested in the topic.

I have also learned that books stay in print far longer than I ever thought. I have to consider 10 years or more of demand for my books, and consider how I will satisfy the demand for the book, as well as follow on products and services.  And that means I have to know who buys the book.

What am I doing today? I wrote another book last fall, and am testing it on a few people in my market.

I have some refinements planned based on feedback, and have some nice quotes from reviewers. When I am happy with the book, I will create a full marketing plan for it, along with plans for follow up products and services. Will I go with a regular publisher? I have not yet decided. I will be looking a lot more carefully at my options, and making sure that any contract I sign gives me the flexibility to promote my new (and future) books. Because now I know the publisher will not do it.
Warren’s advice in this area is priceless. He has taught me – and many, many other people – what to do to avoid the mistakes I made the first time. I hope I have a great topic again, but I am not going to depend on that. I am going to do the right job with marketing and promotions, and use the book to increase my business.