The popularity of devices like Alexa have created a rise in the demand for audio to educate and entertain commuters and laundry-folders alike. James talks to Tina Dietz about creating audiobooks from both our fiction and non-fiction work.(Podcast on Self Publishing Formula, September 14, 2018)
This week’s highlights include:
The importance of creativity in every type of business
How creativity makes us more productive
The different approaches to audiobooks by fiction and non-fiction authors
Thoughts on narrating your book yourself
The range of costs for producing an audiobook, including what you can expect to pay a narrator
Auditioning narrators to find the right voice for your book
Providing character information to narrators to find a good fit
Reading your book out loud yourself to get a sense of your characters’ voices
The three reasons for starting a podcast
Resources mentioned in this episode:
PATREON: Self Publishing Formula Podcast’s Patreon page
She gives us the low down on audiobooks, how to get them recorded, how they fit into the marketing of your other book formats, and how to promote/market them to your audience.
She also talks about the expanding audiobook industry and why we should all be considering adding audiobooks to our inventory of books.
Tina gave us some amazing ideas for how to promote audiobooks, or even just using audio to promote your print or ebook versions of your book. She’s a very smart marketer, with a strong grasp of the audio market, and this is a must-listen episode for anyone who’s thinking of getting into audiobooks, or who already has audiobooks on sale. (Or in fact anyone who thinks they could use audio in any way to help with the marketing of their books. ???? )
About Tina
Tina Dietz MS, NCC is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed speaker, audiobook publisher, podcast producer, and content marketing expert who has been featured on media outlets including ABC, Inc.com, Huffington Post and Forbes. Tina’s podcast, The StartSomething Show, was named by INC magazine as one of the top 35 podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Tina has been building businesses for over 20 years and is the owner of StartSomething Creative Business Solutions, a company committed to connecting experts, authors, and entrepreneurs with their ideal audiences through audio branding and marketing with a deep specialty in audiobook publishing, podcasting, and thought leadership.
Why using audio to get your kids to learn is an easy and convenient way to give them opportunities to become even more well-rounded and well-educated.
In a world full of distractions like YouTube, thousands of different video games, social media, toys, sports, etc., it’s not always easy to get our kids to learn, much less develop and cultivate their interests and skills. But school is enough, right? Wrong. Everyone learns differently-some visually, some are more hands-on learners, and some learn best through audio, which provides a large variety of ways for kids to learn.
With the rise in popularity of podcasts and audiobooks, more and more ways to help kids get get excited about learning and discover new interests are popping up every day. Using audio to help kids learn is an easy and convenient way to give our kids opportunities to become even more well-rounded and well-educated, hopefully resulting in a young person who grows up to love learning.
Here are some ways you can use audio to get your kids to learn so that you can get started right away. They’ll thank you for it!
Using audiobooks to get kids to learn is different from reading with them and is also very different from just sitting them in front of the TV and allowing them to watch shows (even if they are educational). Listening to audiobooks forces children to use different skills than reading and allows for much more imagination than the TV. Children who find reading difficult can also find great relief in being able to listen to a book. Audiobooks are great for car rides, time when children are self-entertaining while you’re cooking dinner, or even for you to listen to together and discuss after. Some ideas of ways to use audiobooks for children’s learning are:
Find fun stories for themThere are tons of audiobooks for children of fun, engaging stories with colorful language for them to use their imaginations, learn words, get excited about listening to the stories, and want to talk about them after. These can be great conversation starters, so make sure to engage with your child about what you listen to together!
Provide sketchbooks and crayons or pencilsThis helps them to further utilize their imagination. While they’re listening, they can draw what they think their favorite characters might look like, strengthening their creativity and encouraging them to use a part of their brain that looking at pictures in books doesn’t activate.
In the case of children who find reading difficult, audiobooks can be a tremendous reliefKids can keep up with their schoolwork easier and also become more confident in their reading abilities by listening to an audiobook at the same time that they’re following along with a print or digital version of the book. By engaging more than one of their learning senses at the same time, the brain can integrate the information with more ease.
Be close by to answer any questionsIn order for an audiobook to really be engaging and educational, you’ll want to make sure you can define unknown words for them, answer questions about the story as it unfolds, or even just listen to their excitement as they tell you all about what they’re listening to.
More than half of people in the US listen to podcasts weekly, and yes, they can be used for children as well. Many people think that podcasts are always about business or politics, but there are a ton of different podcasts that exist, and many of them are for children! Some teachers utilize podcasts in their classrooms, and you can use them at home to get your kids to learn, too. There are book club podcasts for kids, science ones, fictional stories, and so much more. Podcasts can be utilized similarly to audiobooks to help kids learn, but they can also be used in the following ways:
Podcasts offer the advantage of being shorter, and once your child finds one they particularly like, there are usually a whole slew of episodes from that one podcaster from which they can choose.
You can have them create their own podcasts! – Free podcast recording software might not be good enough quality to publish, but it IS good enough to encourage your kids to research topics they like or write their own story. Help them record it, have fun with it, and listen to it as a family (or with friends) later. They’ll have something they’re proud of, and it will encourage them to delve further into their interests and passions. It also encourages a use of words that children usually aren’t otherwise engaging.
Podcasts are free and easy to download. Put them on your phone, tablet, or even on your computer.
Long story short, there are SO many options when it comes to using audio to help children to learn, and create the beautiful “side effect” of giving you and your kids great conversation topics to explore together. While we still greatly encourage and recommend that you read with your kids and have them read any and all types of books, podcasts and audiobooks are a great addition to any child’s learning and language skills. They’re also an excellent resource for children with learning challenges. Audio teaches all kids to listen for things to talk about later, to develop their imaginations, and develop the ability to ask engaging questions.
Do you have a favorite audiobook or podcast that would be great for kids or families?Please share in the comments, and have fun learning!
Feeling overwhelmed? Important elements of self-care, including sleep, nutrition, meditation, exercise, and hydration, are always important. In this blog, I offer some CompassionateTogether™ strategies that reduce overpowering thoughts and emotions.
5 Strategies to Practice
1. Trust yourself
Trusting yourself is a practice. Not trusting yourself is bound to bring anxiety and fear, common feelings contributing to being overwhelmed. Trusting yourself because your gut holds your Divine small still voice that is there to guide you.
Lean into your gut and say, “No wonder.” Lean into yourself and say, “I see you. I see me. I accept where I am at this moment and I know all things change.”
2. Breathe out
Holding one's breath is a normal reaction to stress, change, fear, and anxiety. Breathe out! Try it now.
Breathing out very slowly through pursed lips will send a signal to your brain that you are safe and there is no crisis.
During periods of overwhelm, make a point multiple times a day to breathe out slowly with intention.
3. Empty your cup
Emptying your cup is sharing, and this strategy is particularly important during times of change. Share what is overwhelming you: write it down or share with someone.
Finding someone with whom you can share can be a challenge if you do not have a therapist, coach, or spiritual mentor.
One option is to ask a trusted friend or family member to listen for 15 minutes without interruption: set a timer on your phone. After the 15 minutes, switch and do the same for your trusted other.
Another idea is to do what I call “speaking it” meditation: again, set an alarm and for no more than 15 minutes, talk out loud: speak what is going on inside and notice without judgment.
4. No such thing as failure
All of life is practice. When things do not go as planned, breathe and consider what happened as feedback.
Practice trusting that everything is working in your favor.
Stay on your own side with humility, i.e., stay teachable and open without shaming and blaming, and take responsibility for any mistakes.
Breathe out, knowing that when you make a decision, you can always make another one.
Humans are free to choose.
5. Toes up!
Whenever you are in a period of great change or creativity, the challenge is to relax and put your toes up when everything inside says, “Fight!”
Go with the flow. Trust your gut.
Trust your connection to your spiritual core, whatever that may be for you.
All is well, and all shall be well, somehow, some way.
To go with the flow, resist trying to control the tide of change.
When you notice any signs of fear or control, ask yourself if there is any action, however small, that will reduce the anxiety of the moment. If so, do that one thing. If there is no action to take, practice acceptance. Acceptance is often a gift of grace. Meditation can be helpful while we wait for the gift to arrive.
So there you have 5 complementary strategies to practice:
Trust yourself
Breathe out
Empty your cup
No such thing as failure
Toes up!
How do you help your loved ones with this tide of change?
Remember these 5 tips:
What others say is about them
What others feel is about them
What others think is about them
What others do is about them
Be compassionate and love them
Your loved ones’ reactions to what is happening are not about you: their reactions are theirs and are about them.
Practice witnessing the people in your life: what they are saying and doing is information about your loved ones.
Your reactions to what others are saying and doing are about you.
Keep swimming and toes up!
Love and blessings,Sherri
Sherri Williams has been a therapist and coach in private practice in Pittsburgh, PA for the last 14 years, helping hundreds of people make more loving choices for themselves. She has an MSEd in Marriage & Family Therapy, is a Board-Certified Counselor and Coach, and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania. Prior to being a therapist, she worked as a CPA for Ernst & Young, taught at the University of Pittsburgh, and was an executive in nonprofit administration. She is the CEO of CompassionateTogether LLC, an organization dedicated to helping people be compassionate with themselves and one another by offering online groups, workshops, and certifications for coaches and businesses. Her book, Turtles & Bears: How Couples Can Be Compassionate Together is expected for publication in 2019. To receive monthly strategies for compassion, subscribe to her CompassionateTogether™ Letter. Here are the ways to connect and follow her on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter.
Sherri Williams MEd LPC BCC– CEO of CompassionateTogether LLC & Owner of TheLovingChoice.com
Ready to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed and create your oasis?
When you turn your book into an audiobook, you do so in the hopes that it will bring in more income. Have you heard about the audible bounty program?
When you set off to turn your book into an audiobook, you do so in the hopes that it will bring in more income from the book you spent so much time and energy writing and publishing. Many authors assume that the only way to make money from publishing an audiobook is through sales, but there’s also another, lesser known way to make money with your audiobook.
ACX is a marketplace for professional narrators, agents, publishers, and rights holders to create audiobooks and distribute them to Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Just recently, they have announced a new version of their Bounty Referral Program, which will increase payout to its members and provides many member benefits.
What is the Bounty Referral Program, you might ask? It allows those who are selling audiobooks another option for making money off all their hard work. Through the Bounty Referral Program, members can earn up to $75 each time a new Audible listener becomes a member using your referral link, plus any royalties earned from the sale of the audiobook itself.
When an audiobook has been produced on ACX, the rights holder will receive trackable referral links that is unique to each of the audiobooks published. For those who entered into a Royalty Share agreement with a narrator, (as opposed to paying the narrator up front for their services) $50 will go to the creator of the audiobook, and $25 will go to the narrator for each bounty.
When marketing your audiobook, you’ll want to make sure you use your unique ACX tracking URL to bring any listeners straight to the book without any delay. If that user isn’t currently registered on Audible, that $75 bounty will be added right to the audiobook creator’s account. This means it’s important to share with your email list, social media followers, and friends and family. As an audiobook creator, you’ll want to make sure you let everyone know how very magical it can be to listen to a book rather than read it when listening to a story.
Particularly when listening to non-fiction, it can be helpful for listeners to do something at the same time as listening, such as taking notes or even multi-tasking (we all know people who prefer it!). When including your book URL in marketing efforts, you can also include clips of your audio, your retail sample, a book trailer, or a good, old-fashioned book synopsis. Even those who have read your book may be interested in listening to the book to hear it differently.
The ACX Bounty Referral Program not only gives you a chance to bring even more listeners to Audible to listen to each audiobook you publish, but it also will bring you additional income with each new Audible member who comes in with your unique link.
Considering publishing an audiobook on ACX? The Bounty Referral Program might encourage you further. Need help? Our team at StartSomething Creative Business Solutions can take care of the whole production and publishing process for you or help you along the way!
Need help producing and publishing your audiobook?
When Tina Dietz was handed a tape recorded at 2 years old, that was that, she developed a life long love affair with speaking. Today she is a speaker, audio-book publisher, podcast producer, and an internationally acclaimed business coach who has been featured on ABC, Inc.com, Forbes and Huffington Post. Her company, Start Something Creative Business Solutions works with authors, experts and entrepreneurs who want more than just a business and more than a routine life. They want a business oasis.
Summary
Tina discusses being a podcast guest, and the difference between being an average guest, and a good guest. She also talks about showing up to have a real conversation, instead of just to promote something.
She shares the single easiest way to get onto a podcast, and how simple it really is. She also stresses the importance of making sure the shows you appear on are the right fit for you.
Dana and Tina talk about evergreen content, and how it's very beneficial when it comes to sharing and promoting podcast episodes. They also discuss strategic hiring and how it can help immensely, even early on.
Tina gets into the key pieces and takeaways for someone who is looking into being a podcast guest. She gives practical tips, as well as insights to keep in mind as you move into being a guest.
Quotes
“There's being a guest, and then there's being a good guest.”
“People come for the topic, but they stay for the host.”
“It's not all about you, it's about you getting involved with that hosts' community.”
“Every interview you do is a marketing asset.”
“Show up prepared.”
“Having a podcast means that you have a platform to share influence with other people.”
Ah…procrastination…the “P” word that everyone thinks is bad. Let's take a look at some favorite ways to procrastinate, while trying to understand why we do it.
Ah…procrastination…the “P” word that everyone thinks is bad, but let’s be honest with ourselves…we all do it. I’m doing it right now by writing this when I could be doing a list of a million other things. It’s a really strange phenomenon that people tend to put off the things that are most important to them. But WHY do we always seem to do it during our most life-changing moments, when there’s something we REALLY want to be doing that could be a path-to-greatness, amazing thing to do? And why do we procrastinate with things we don’t even really want to be doing (like laundry) in place of the awesome ones?
I don’t know the scientific answers to these questions, but I do know my own experiences. I always find myself about to sit down to do something life-changing, and then I think to myself, “Oh, maybe I should just get the dishes done first” or “I should really do my makeup for the webinar I’m doing this afternoon. It’ll just take a minute” or even worse, “I think there’s some laundry that needs to be put away” (the problem here is that there’s ALWAYS laundry that needs to be put away).
Sometimes we WANT to procrastinate, because when you plan everything out and take it slow and calmly, there’s no rush at the end that gives you adrenaline as you race your way to the finish line. Some of us work best in that state of mind, so we actually procrastinate just to get there because it can be kind of a let-down without the excitement at the end.
Some of my absolute favorite ways to procrastinate are folding laundry, email (which can be productive or a big time-waster), and writing blogs like this one. I also always find myself saying, “Well, I was going to make a Facebook Live video later, but maybe I’ll just do one right now,” which isn’t always a bad thing for me because I’m an extrovert, and I thrive off of interacting with my viewers. I’m motivated by it. So, even though I’m procrastinating, it’s productive procrastination.
Productive Procrastination
When I was in grad school, I got into trouble (as I so often did when I was working for someone else) for having individual tutoring sessions with students where I taught them how to procrastinate effectively. Resisting the urge to procrastinate actually does you no good because it causes more stress, which in turn causes the brain to shut down, so you’re just not as effective. The trick is to make sure your calendar is blocked off a full day ahead of time. Acknowledge that you’re probably going to wait until the last second to get it done, but maybe you don’t have to lose sleep to accomplish that. Instead, maybe you can strategically plan your calendar by building in twice as much time as you think you’re going to need so you’re not rushing up against other deadlines (like sleep).
Another trick is to understand that sometimes you just won’t get as much sleep as you really should. Although sleep and self-care are absolutely the best things you can do to help yourself be MORE productive, sometimes you have to get creative with how you’ll get your brain to be fully functioning. One of these ways is to set a number of hours you are going to sleep, sleep that number of hours (no more, no less) during the same hours every night. Then, ideally, during the day, block off 20-30 minutes at the same time every single day for a meditation session or power nap. Keeping your body on a strict schedule like this allows your brain to adjust to routine and operate at full capacity.
If you are a big procrastinator or have “Happy Puppy Syndrome” like me, you tend to wag yourself out and get exhausted because you’ve put TOO much energy into something too quickly. Give yourself 2-3 big priorities each day, and focus on those 2-3 things as your rock for the day. Those are your main points of focus, and everything else just falls in around them.
So, what are your favorite ways to procrastinate? And what are you up to this week? Give yourself 2-3 main priorities each day, and even if it takes you the whole day to do it, that’s okay! Procrastinate away, but do it effectively so you’re not hurting yourself (or your work) in the process.
Want some help figuring out how you can set up some ways to Productive Procrastinate?
EMOTIONAL SAVVY: The Relationship Help Showwith Rhoberta Shaler, PhD, The Relationship Help DoctorHow to Speak Up Powerfully When You Want Things to Change – Episode 44GUEST: Tina Dietz, Speaker, Audiobook Publisher, Podcast Producer, Content Marketing ExpertDR. RHOBERTA SHALER:In today's episode, Dr. Shaler shares compelling ideas about how you can be keeping yourself from having the life and relationships you most want.What's getting in your way? What's stopping you? Do you know? Stop and think about it…seriously.How are you with reasons, rationalizations, justifications, and plain ol' excuses? Maybe, it's time to think them through and see how they are serving you. Listen in for insights and inspiration for moving forward more powerfully.You deserve to take up space and draw breath, so, why not take stock and see if you're making the most of it? There is norightway to be, and you are at your best when you are examining, and re-examining your focus, your goals, and your desired results. Rhoberta will help you think that through today. Listen in and be inspired to move in the direction of the life and love you want.GUEST: Tina Dietz, Speaker, Audiobook Publisher, Podcast Producer, Content Marketing ExpertTina Dietz is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed speaker, audiobook publisher, podcast producer, and content marketing expert who has been featured on media outlets including ABC. Inc.com, Huffington Post, and Forbes. Tina's podcast, The Start Something Show, was named by INC magazine as one of the top 35 podcasts for entrepreneurs. Tina's company, StartSomething Creative Business Solutions, connects leaders, entrepreneurs and experts with larger audiences, resulting in expanded influence and income. Tina divides her time between the US and Cost Rica, where she is part of a leadership team building a conscious community called Vista Mundo.Tina knows some big things about speaking up! In fact, you could say she's outspoken…lol! With her support, so many people have found their voice and created their businesses, including podcasts. She helps them to become outspoken, too, to give the world the power of their insights, learning, and strategies for growth.How does someone's voice affect you? Are you aware of its effect on you? You actually are calibrating another person's voice without even realizing…and so is everyone else!How does your voice affect others? Your voice speaks volume–even before the impact of your words!
Your early life set you up for how you listen, what you pick up, and what you ignore or deny. What did you take on, and how is it serving me now?Tina Dietz help people express themselves in the world through audio publishing. In Part Two of today's episode, Tina shared her entrepreneurial journey, and how she came to her current work. She is an international expert at helping her clients turn their books and ideas, into audio books and products.How to ask good questions is imperative to interviewing others. Big talking points about this today!
So many turns and twists in this episode through life stories, Hijackals, and creating a wonderful business. You'll enjoy this, I think!
Here's some interview highlights:
Do you realize how you use your listening to navigate your life and relationships?
Are you in tune with it?
Why is it that you can hear your name spoken, even in a crowded room?
What did you learn early in life about who you are, and how intuitive you are?
Tina gives you insights into why this is and what the impact of it is on how you create your life, relationships, and business.
In this week’s powerful podcast episode “How to Create a Great Audiobook” you will discover …
How necessary it is for you to have an audiobook
What are some audiobook basics you need to understand
What audiobook trends you need to know about
Who is the best person to read your book
The importance of using an oral edit
Top mistakes to avoid when creating a great audiobook
And much, much more…
This episode features practical tools and techniques to help listeners who want to market a book. It provides invaluable and powerful information listeners will want to know to supercharge a book marketing strategy.
HER FREE GIFT: Tina's ebook, Launch Your Audio Book. Get it HERE.
Are you ready to grow your business? Are you ready to focus on and leverage your Zone of Genius?
If you said yes to either of the two questions above, if you’re hanging out in Overwhelm City or Burnout Alley and there aren’t enough hours in the day and you always feel like you’re scrambling, you need systems.
Even if you’re not a “systems person,” I guarantee you have systems… even if your system is something like:
Step 1. Get ready to do a task
Step 2. Try to remember how you did it the last time (whenever that was)
Step 3. Stop trying to remember and invent a new way to get it done
Step 4. Rinse and repeat.
I call this the “Non-Systems-System.”
Systems are simply consistent ways of getting things done that are made up of a mix of people, technology, and processes that create an intended outcome. It’s a structure that’s created to hold all the parts of your business together so work can flow. Ideally, this is set up to be like a wide-flowing river – not a creek with lots of beaver dams on it.
Better and more effective systems are the train tickets out of overwhelm city. You’ll find that you know what’s going on, what needs to happen, get to do more of the stuff you love in your business AND you work less while making more money.
You might have a blogging system that you follow to create high quality content on a consistent basis. Or a client on-boarding system that sets up your clients to have an amazing experience EVERY TIME they work with your business.
In systems are embedded culture, values, creativity, your essence… The systems of your business create a microcosm, an ecosystem that can reflect your unique way of being and working.
Building systems is simply about bringing consciousness to the process of how you (and your team) get things done in your business. In this process of bringing greater consciousness, what’s not working, what could be working better, and what could be simplified comes to light. You also find out ways to work more joyfully and more in alignment, which makes the process of running and growing a business all the more enjoyable.
Why Systems Rock!
Unless you’re building systems, it’s easy to stay in a place where you feel like you’re always racing against the clock. Talk about hanging out on the burnout path.
By getting clear about where you are, you can let go of any need to be polished and perfect and simply be clear about where you’re going and keep building without all the mental runaround.
With systems, it’s easier to add on and change the business without it being a huge hassle – that’s what systems are for.
When you have insight into what IS working, you won’t have to dedicate extra energy or resources into what’s already solid.
You’ll gain back extra brain space because you’re no longer trying to hold all the details. Since you have places for all that knowledge and insight to go to be actioned, you can trust you won’t lose momentum when you step away.
You might even find that you can take weekends and lunch breaks! Not in front of the computer, but away from it and you might not even think about work for hours or days at a time.
Imagine being able to work the same amount of hours (or less!), but do MORE of what you love doing in the business while being able to serve more people that need your particular sauce of brilliance.
You will be able to slow down and enjoy the ride, rather than the process feeling like a drag.
When you expand what you’re able to do without YOU having to work more, you enable yourself to be able to make more money, expand your impact, increase your creativity in business, while kicking that annoying overwhelm gremlin out.
That is why systems are awesome and worth making work for you.
Business Systems Are Like an Ecosystem
Your business is like an ecosystem. There are lots of different parts that interact to create something bigger than just each one of the parts individually. There's a symbiotic relationship that happens when these pieces work well together.
When you think about your business as an ecosystem, how you create systems is informed by the way you do things and why you make certain decisions.
Think about a river. There’s a lot of potential energy in a river. But if the river didn’t have banks, it would be diffused everywhere. The water wouldn’t be channeled.
You are the river. Your systems are the river banks, the roots of the trees that prevent erosion on the banks, and the rocks and bends that slow the water at certain locations along your trajectory. All of these parts support your journey and help you flow. Without a container for the river, the fish and other aquatic critters wouldn't have a home.
Systems operate in a continuum. There's no wrong place to be, you are where you are. Just like ecosystems. They are where they are in their development. There are no “have to’s” and there are no “shoulds.” There are no places that you're supposed to come out at on the other end. It's just about you having the opportunity to explore and decide what kind of journey you want to have and where you want to go. With systems, there's no done and there's no perfect.
When you align your systems you support your creativity and amplify your impact. You can improve the way you're working so you're more effective with your time and the way that you showing up on a day to day basis. You can have the impact that you want and do meaningful work without going to a place of overwhelm or burnout or spreading yourself too thin.
This process of building systems is about consciously choosing what needs your attention, effort and investment of resources. Ultimately that starts within, that starts with you making those choices.
Ready to level up your business systems? My brilliant colleague Justine Sparks is offering a free online workshop called Level Up Your Business Systems. During the event, you'll work through a framework to pinpoint the current level of your systems in personal organization and planning, financial management, sales, and marketing.
It's an opportunity to reduce your overwhelm and increase your business results in real time: 20% Theory, 80% Action. It's going to be a lot of fun and super practical and actionable.
With a background in business management, corporate social responsibility and marketing, Justine is your soulfoul systems designer. Her mission is to give you the tools that will allow you to support yourself on the journey. Justine brings high level strategic and systems thinking to the work she does with business owners. She received her BS in Business Management from an all women’s college, Simmons, in Boston, with a concentration in Leadership. Learn more about her.
Have you ever wondered how to have a launch that reaches tens of thousands of people or more? Here are 5 very friendly and quite un-technical ways nonfiction authors can use to boost your online presence by making simple, authentic ‘asks.’
No matter how technical and digital our world becomes, many of the best book and audiobook marketing comes down to simply asking. Have you ever wondered how to have a launch that reaches tens of thousands of people or more? I participate in those book launches all the time, and the key isn’t the technology used or some magic email formula.
Asking is what makes the difference, and in particular, having the relationships where asking is even possible. Your friends, colleagues, and fans want to put their words where more people can see them. It’s up to you to lead them and let them know what actions they can take that will make the biggest difference.
Here are 5 very friendly and quite un-technical ways you can use to boost your online presence by making simple, authentic ‘asks.’
1. Ask friends, colleagues and fans to post their reviews on Amazon and Goodreads
Here’s an important tip when asking for reviews – pre-write samples of reviews to give your tribe an idea of what to write. Many people (including myself) often want to help but deal with a shortage of time and attention. If you help shortcut the process, you’ll get better results and you’re also showing that you respect people’s time and energy in helping you.
2. Create a testimonial page on your website
Any testimonials or reviews that you get on LinkedIn, Amazon, Goodreads, or other places you can collect into one space, and then sprinkle generously around your website as little eye-catching quotes.
3. Get friendlier with Goodreads
Even I sometimes forget what a cool resource Goodreads is. Spend a little time each week connecting on Goodreads, and make sure your profile is fully fleshed out in detail, and that you also add your own list of books that you love. Goodreads is for people who LOVE books, who hunger for books, and you can connect with bloggers and reviewers through this platform as well.
4. Offer bloggers in your niche that you respect advanced reading copies of your book
Let the blogger know why you chose to reach out to them, and ask if they’d like to offer feedback and/or a review of your book. And, for goodness sake, share some of their blog posts with YOUR tribe via social media or email as an act of goodwill and relationship building.
5. Go on an online book tour via podcast interviews
One in every 3 people in North America listens to podcasts. That’s over 65 million people! Seek out shows and hosts that resonate with your message and topic, and, in the immortal words of Bill and Ted, “BE EXCELLENT.” Also make sure the host gets a copy of your Audiobook’s 5 minute retail sample to share when you do get an interview on a podcast. You can listen to some of our author’s 5 minute retail samples here to get an idea of what they sound like. Click here and scroll down the page.
Marketing your book isn’t a “one time and done” proposition. You can always use your book to continually build your audience, your brand, and your platform as an expert. One of the biggest mistakes that authors make is getting bored with their book and thinking that they need to move on to the next big thing, when what’s really needed is persistence, creativity, and small steps every day rather than grand gestures.
What has worked well for you in getting the word out about your work, or, if you’re already an author, your book? Which of these strategies would you like to add next? Make sure to leave your comments below!
Ready to explore audiobooks, podcasting, and creative content marketing for your book?
