LIST-BUILDING for AUTHORS

Transcription

1 LIST-BUILDING for AUTHORS Make Book Publishing a Profitable and Sustainable Business

2 Today s Agenda 1. Why ? 2. Authors without lists make me sad :-( 3. Book marketing begins with a list 4. Smackdown: Social media vs. 5. The one huuuuuge advantage of 6. Book launch powered by 7. Building relationships 8. Bonus: The Engagement Funnel

3 Your Presenter Joel Friedlander Direct response Book publishing Blogging E-commerce Writer/Columnist Loves

4 1. WHY ? Versus social media Seeking a LTR? Beta readers Book reviewers Workshop attendees Street teams Book launches Product testers Personal ATM? Testimonial givers Charter members Focus group testing Market research Giveaways

5 1. WHY ? Social media = great for connections and conversation Blog or website = great for content marketing and as the hub of your online marketing efforts = great for one-to-one communication, for encouraging action, and for sales

6 Other than writing well and consistently, building your list should be your Number One goal as an author. Tim Grahl

7 2. DON T MAKE ME SAD! :-( You have an author website, right? Why aren t you collecting addresses?

8 2. DON T MAKE ME SAD! :-(

9 2. DON T MAKE ME SAD! :-(

10 2. DON T MAKE ME SAD! :-(

11 2. DON T MAKE ME SAD! :-(

12 2. DON T MAKE ME SAD! :-(

13 3. BOOK MARKETING If you construct it properly, your list will fill with exactly the readers you re looking for. Instead of marketing to the whole world or everyone on Facebook you have a list that s targeted perfectly for you and your books. Think of the market intelligence you can get with surveys, questions from readers (remember, social media and blogs are out in the open, is private communication) Giving away books or samples is much easier if you have an list

14 4. SOCIAL MEDIA VS Social Media what s it for? Finding communities of readers Engaging with readers and others Determining how much interest exists for your topic Building a community of fans who support your work Keeping up with current developments in your field Building buzz when you re launching your book

15 4. SOCIAL MEDIA VS how does it stack up? It s a private, more intimate form of communication You own your list and account You can promote directly to individuals, not groups A regular newsletter can build fans for life It s track-able with great analytics The money is in the list

16 4. SOCIAL MEDIA VS Social Media & best when they work together! Discover and participate in communities on social media Find ways to draw people interested back to your website or blog Offer something of value in return for their Communicate regularly with both readers and subscribers Build long-term relationships that will sustain you

17 5. S ONE HUUUGE ADVANTAGE Your list makes you truly independent Ownership Portability Persistence

18 If there s one thing all professional platform-builders agree on, it s the importance of building your list. Michael Hyatt

19 6. BOOK LAUNCHES AND There s no better asset to help you launch a book than a robust list of people interested in what you re doing and looking forward to hearing from you:

20 6. BOOK LAUNCHES AND Recruit beta readers or a street team Give away books (network effect) Request book reviews Generate excitement Amazon bestseller campaign Send people to your book sales page

21 6. BOOK LAUNCHES AND

22 6. BOOK LAUNCHES AND

23 Imagine how powerful it is to have a list of 10,000 people and to send an saying My book is available now, click here to buy. This is the basis of all Amazon bestseller campaigns. Joanna Penn

24 7. BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS Once people opt into your list, you have a chance to create a long-term relationship around your topic We can automate this process You can educate your audience both for their own purposes, and at the same time get them ready to be customers or book buyers By inviting responses, turn it into a real conversation. This is very powerful.

25 8. WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH YOUR LIST?

26 Regular contact with your readers creates a long string of impressions, so that your name stays at the forefront of their mind. Jane Friedman

27 WORKSHOP SNEAK PEEK Session'1:'Building'Your' 'List' & The&importance&of&traffic& No:fear&Internet& plumbing & DemysBfying&AWeber&&&MailChimp& OpBons&for&non:techies& Choosing&an& &service&provider& Live&events,&offline&and&online& CraLing&incenBves& & Focus:&CreaBng&your& Ethical&Bribe & Session'2:'Using'Your' 'List' & What&to&mail,&when&to&mail,&and&how& olen&to&mail& NewsleNers,&follow:ups,&and&broadcasts& What s&an& auto&responder &and&why& should&i&care?& How&to&write&an& &that&gets&a& response& Why&you&need&a&call&to&acBon& &campaigns&(sequences)& &best&pracBces& & Interac;ve:&Headline&wriBng&

28 Q & A FREE GUIDES TO HELP YOU PUBLISH BETTER BOOKS construcbon:blueprint/& need:to:know:about:self:publishing/& &

29 WORKSHIP SESSION 1 Building Your List The importance of traffic No-fear Internet plumbing Options for non-techies Choosing an service provider Live events, offline and online 1' Crafting incentives

30 THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAFFIC No readers = no subscribers Authors ought to be great content marketers There are many ways to build your list, but almost all of them rely on traffic to your website or blog

31 THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAFFIC No list yet? Here are 5 things to get you started 1. Start marketing your blog 2. Write lots of guest posts for other bloggers 3. Run an online event like a webinar or conference 4. Create a contest with great prizes 5. Get speaking gigs and collect s

32 THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAFFIC The most important metric about your list? Size Recency Responsiveness How targeted

33 CHOOSING AN SERVICE PROVIDER Use an provider right from the beginning Single opt-in vs Double opt-in (or confirmed opt-in) Anticipate future growth AWeber premium mailing service for marketers with great deliverability, recently started accepting uploaded lists ( MailChimp easy to use with lots of automation, and free up to 2,000 subscribers (

34 CHOOSING AN SERVICE PROVIDER

35 CHOOSING AN SERVICE PROVIDER

36 LINGO What?' ' ' ' ' 'AWeber ' ' ' ' 'MailChimp' A&single& & & & Broadcast & & & & & Campaign & Autoresponder & & & Follow&up & & & & Workflow & && List& & & & & & &List& & & & & & &List& Opt&in&form& CAN:SPAM&ACT & &The&2003&law&that&prohibits&sending& & & & & & && unsolicited&commercial& &i.e.&spam&

37 NO-FEAR INTERNET PLUMBING 1. Create a list 2. Create a signup form 3. Place ( publish ) the form on your site (or link to it via mail or social media) 4. Create a Confirmation page (or use default) 5. Create a Thank you page (or use default)

38 1. CREATE A LIST

39 1. CREATE A LIST

40 2. CREATE A SIGN-UP FORM

41 2. CREATE A SIGN-UP FORM

42 2. CREATE A SIGN-UP FORM

43 2. CREATE A SIGN-UP FORM

44 2. CREATE A SIGN-UP FORM

45 2. CREATE A CONFIRMATION PAGE

46 CREATE A THANK YOU PAGE

47 CREATE A THANK YOU PAGE

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50 FULLY BRANDED SIGN UP SEQUENCE

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54 MORE SOFTWARE TO GROW YOUR LIST

55 OPTIONS FOR NON-TECHIES Virtual Assistants (VAs) many can set up your opt in forms and create templates for a newsletter, or even do your for you ($15 30/ hour) Blog Technicians especially for WordPress installations, they can deal with almost any issue or setup on your blog ($35 50/hour) Web Developers more expensive but great for custom solutions or special features ($50-100/hour)

56 LIVE EVENTS, OFFLINE AND ONLINE This is where your squeeze page acts as an collection machine from: Webinar registration and replay pages Event registration pages Ticket notification lists Advance notice and Prepub specials lists Promoting a popular event or viral content can skyrocket your list growth

57 LIVE EVENTS, OFFLINE AND ONLINE

58 CRAFTING INCENTIVES This step is crucial to your success in building your list Your incentive will prequalify people as prospects When people opt in to get your incentive, they are raising their hand Anyone who opts in is saying I m part of your market. And I give you permission to me on this subject.

59 CRAFTING INCENTIVES What makes an irresistible incentive? Help for newcomers to your field Essential information they will need Training in basic tasks Something that will give them an immediate win Pain points and why they work Special report or whitepaper How well do you know your readers?

60 MY EPIPHANY

61 CRAFTING INCENTIVES What form can your incentive take? PDF ebooks are the most popular (8.5 x 11 for folks who want to print it) Mini training course via Mini training course via video Checklist for an important task Tips & tricks on a process they need to know Tweaking can improve your conversions

62 CRAFTING INCENTIVES How your fashion your incentive will determine which people opt in to your list. Let s look at some incentives aimed at the same general market to see how they differ:

63 CRAFTING INCENTIVES

64 CRAFTING INCENTIVES

65 CRAFTING INCENTIVES

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71 WORKSHIP SESSION 2 Using Your List What to mail, when to mail, how often to mail Newsletters, follow ups and broadcasts What s an autoresponder and why should I care? How to write an that gets a response Why you need a call to action campaigns (sequences) 2' Book launches driven by best practices

72 WORKSHIP SESSION 2 Using Your List DON T&SEND& &TO& ANYONE&WHO&HASN T& ASKED&FOR&IT&

73 WHAT TO MAIL, WHEN, HOW OFTEN Newsletters Autoresponder series (we ll talk about that next) Announcements Awards Promotions Book launches Event tie-ins Cookies

74 WHAT TO MAIL, WHEN, HOW OFTEN The more you mail, the more people will unsubscribe, you need to learn to live with that fact How often do you have something to say, to promote, or to ask? Timing: I mail just after midnight so the mail is fresh all day, your mileage may vary and for event-driven , timing may be important

75 THREE TYPES OF Personal You write an to a friend or acquaintance Commercial An sent with the intent to do business with the recipient Corporate A communication from a large company to an individual

76 WHY I DON T USE FANCY HTML The best kind of for an author to send is one that s Commercial but looks Personal. This helps you remember that you are writing to one person at a time It also reminds recipients that you are not a big company, that you want to engage with people on a personal level Using story elements will help to make this point Consider including a hit reply and let me know call to action in your s

77 plain'text' '

78 Fancy '' HTML' '

79 HTML'text' '

80 NEWSLETTERS, FOLLOW-UPS, AND BROADCASTS For newsletters, establish a frequency and stick to it consistently. Follow ups = autoresponder Broadcasts = one-off bulk mail

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84 WHAT S AN AUTORESPONDER? An autoresponder (like a vacation message ) is an that s sent automatically whenever an is received at the address. An autoresponder series continues to send prewritten s at specified intervals until the subscriber drops from the list or the sequence is completed. This allows you to begin a relationship, to educate potential readers/buyers and to stay in touch with a minimum of effort.

85 WHAT S AN AUTORESPONDER?

86 THAT GETS A RESPONSE All marketing, include marketing, depends on the answer to one question: How well does your offer (your book, your product, your service and the way it s presented) align with the wants and needs of the audience to which you are presenting it? If the offer in your meets this criteria, many people will respond.

87 THAT GETS A RESPONSE You ll also get more responses if you: Keep s short. If you have to make a more complex statement, put it on a web page and link to it from your . Keep s conversational Remember everyone has too much already Write from the point of view of WIIFM?

88 THAT GETS A RESPONSE From Dean Jackson: experiment with SPEAR s: S P EAR Short Personal Expecting a reply Example: A 15-word I m running a mastermind for authors in San Francisco next month, want to join me?

89 WHY YOU NEED A CALL TO ACTION If you re an authority, you have a duty to your readers to let them know of news that may affect them, or products and services that can help them reach their goals Anything you promote will likely only appeal to a segment of your list. By asking for an action, you can find out who is in which segment. You can always use something like, Hit reply and let me know you re ready to get started

90 WHY YOU NEED A CALL TO ACTION

91 CAMPAIGNS AND SEQUENCES Once you have a series of s that functions with predictability, you ve created a real asset that can be deployed over and over again Because you most recent signups will be the most responsive, you can market your books with the same s to new subscribers who have never seen them before

92 CAMPAIGNS AND SEQUENCES In content marketing we learn to prepare people for the offer, in most cases your book. Give readers the education they need to be avid consumers of what you have to offer This implies a sequence of communications, all written with the end result in mind That end result will be a call to action of some kind a purchase, a like, a donation, a letter to your congressperson, or just to raise their hands

93 CAMPAIGNS AND SEQUENCES

94 BOOK LAUNCHES Think of your book launch as an event that starts quietly, months before the book arrives (a sequence ) Use your list to help decide on the idea behind your book: does it appeal to your readers? Keep people interested by noting your progress, but remember, WIIFM? Run a survey to help pick your final cover Line up beta readers and later, reviewers

95 BOOK LAUNCHES And use your list to give away books, too. That s how you ll get to the critical mass of reviews that will trigger marketing algorithms and network effects. In my last book launch (The Self-Publisher s Ultimate Resource Guide) I gave away over 500 books to people on my list The result was over 100 reviews on Amazon alone, pushing the book to #1 bestseller on pub date

96 BOOK LAUNCHES

97 BOOK LAUNCHES

98 BEST PRACTICES From address Use your name, not a company name Use an provider right from the start for deliverability, analytics, security Write in a conversational style, remember you are writing to one person no matter how many are on your list Give people multiple opportunities to sign up

99 SUBJECT LINE BEST PRACTICES Avoid Stale or Overused Words Nobody will click Don t bee 2 clever Include Localization City, County, State, etc Use Different Subject Lines especially for newsletters Keep Subject Lines Short less than 50 words Tone Down Promotional s avoid SUPER SALESY SALES WORDS!!!

100 FREE GUIDES TO HELP YOU PUBLISH BETTER BOOKS construcbon:blueprint/& need:to:know:about:self:publishing/& &

101 I consider your opt-in to be the most important element of your website, if you intend to make writing and publishing into a sustainable business. Joel Friedlander