September 14: the  fourteenth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to begin (or accelerate) collecting subscribers to your email newsletter.

Most experts in marketing agree that you need a base of 1000 followers. How do you accomplish that? You have to provide content that draws them. A sample of your writing (an excerpt from your book, a short story, a poem, or if you write non-fiction, an article about your subject will interest them. Your first impressions post or article on your site is another example of that content. 

Even with great content, they might not find you unless you have a means of contacting them - your email newsletter. Even if you don't have a newsletter yet, begin collecting the names and email addresses that you will send it to. Reassure them that you'll only send out 3-6 a year (there is no magic number, you decide how often) and tell them a little about what you intend to put in it.

Building an email list is one of the two most important tasks your website should accomplish. (The other, of course, is selling your books). The reason building an email  newsletter list is as important as selling your books on your website, is because a link on your website to where your book can be purchased is tied to your website. People have to come to your website to use it. An email newsletter, on the other hand, lets you reach out and take the link to them, whenever you have a new book out. It also lets you keep in touch with and build a relationship with them, so when you have a new book, or you're speaking somewhere, they'll want to know.

To build your email list:

1. Every page on your website should have a clear, highly visible and easy (one-click) method of signing up to receive your email newsletter. Seth Godin calls this The Big Red Fez .
2. Consider including a landing page on your website. A landing page is a separate page on your website that motivates your reader to do one thing only. Most pages have multiple calls-to-action (buy this book here or that book there, comment on this blog, plus sign up for my email newsletter.)
3. Take a sign-up sheet with you whenever you give a talk, a workshop or a book signing, on which members of your audience can write their name and email address.
4. Offer valuable incentives to encourage people to do so, such as the PowerPoints for the talk or workshop; a background story about your characters that's not in the novel; additional tips or worksheets not included in the non-fiction book; a book giveaway, etc.

What ideas do you have for increasing your email newsletter list?

September 13: the thirteenth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to use twitter more effectively.

Apparently, writing a 'first impressions' post isn't popular.  :-)  That's okay. I have researched for years the "how I did it" stories of successful self-marketing authors and the "how you can do it" advice of paid publicists. There are plenty of overlaps, and those are the suggestions I think worthy of passing on. But not everything works for everyone.

A sound piece of advice for using social media is, be a presence in many, an expert in few. Some authors become known through their remarkable blog posts, others through twitter (which I dislike, but it has worked very well for many authors); some through U-tube, others through GoodReads; some through FaceBook, others through Google +. The point is, not to be a presence in everything, an expert in nothing. Invariably, I have found, those who succeed have focused their energies on one or two channels as their method to build relationships and become known.

However, even if you don't intend to use Twitter as your main squeeze, each social media channel is useful in its own way to supplement the one or two you want to focus on. So, if you're not on Twitter, get set up on it. If you already are, review your profile for the following 4 things:

1. Are you using your professional photo as your avatar?
2. Does your bio describe the kind of writing you do and include SEO key words for that genre?
3. Have you included your website URL? (do this by putting the URL in the "website" field of your profile.)
4. Make sure your tweets are set to public (just don't check 'protect my tweets') (And BTW, make sure your FB posts are also set to public, not just to your friends.)

Next, you should be following readers, not writers and authors (it's okay to follow both, it's just that you particularly want reader followers.)

To find readers, do a search in Twitter's search panel, using keywords that readers of your genre might use in their tweets, such as the names of successful authors, the titles of books, or well-known characters in that genre. Read the tweets and follow those who appear to be readers of your genre, or subject for non-fiction.

In order to increase your following, instead of thanking those who follow you, re-tweet or favorite one of their tweets. When you tweet, remember to use hashtags for your books and genre (#ebook, #science fiction, etc.)

If you decide Twitter is going to be one of the main supports of your marketing plan, you will probably have to sign up with Socialoomph to pre-schedule tweets in bulk and Justunfollow to grow your list of active followers.

Here is a great link to more advice on using Twitter, by author C.S. Lakin.

September 12: the twelth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to WRITE that blog post for your target audience that you planned out yesterday.

Yesterday's challenge was huge, so I've broken it into 2 steps, to give you more time over it. Otherwise you'll be tempted to simply read these posts and not do them ;-)

After you've written this signature post, I want you to review the last two challenges on blogging, and then edit and improve it. You might consider having others read and critique it before the final editing, as you do your books. Would it move them to buy your books?

Once, when our children were teenagers, my husband and I went away overnight. We arrived back late the next evening, when the girls were all in bed. Walking from the garage into the kitchen, I steeled myself for the mess I expected to see. Instead, the kitchen was sparkling clean, the dishes all washed and put away, not a thing out of place. I was thrilled. We tiptoed down the hall to our bedroom, smiling - and what a shock! Passing the living and family rooms we saw books and shoes, newspapers and hair combs, throw pillows on the floor, empty glasses on the coffee tables...

The next morning I asked my daughters why they tidied the kitchen so beautifully and left the rest of the house so messy. "Well, mom," my eldest said, "we knew you'd be coming in through the kitchen, and you've always told us,first impressions count!"

Consider this blog post you're writing to be your "first impression" post. Put it on your website and leave it in a prominent position for at least a month. If you feel you must blog regularly, don't put it on your blog, but on another page of your website where it will stay front and center. Tweet it and FB it, Google+ it, put it on your Goodreads blog. Then step back, do other things, let people find it. (Respond to comments on it, of course.)

A good resource for ways of promoting your blog posts, which gives another point of view of blogging, can be found at: http://onehourprofessor.com/how-to-get-your-content-seen/

September 11: the eleventh day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to PLAN a blog post for your target audience. If you don't have a blog, you can just as easily write it for a page on your website. This is a long challenge. Just plan it out today. You may get a first draft done, but don't post it. In fact, some of you might consider the challenge to be NOT posting it.

Before you start, get out the list you made on day one, about the attributes of your target market. (If you missed that post, go here.) These are the people you're writing this post to. What kind of post would they love to read?

This post you're going to write is for them, and it's also going to serve as a showcase of your writing. After they've read it, they'll know what they're going to get in your books. So consider what ties your books together, even if they're in different genres. Are they all romantic? edgy & nouveau? inspiring? family-oriented? fast-paced adventures? If you write non-fiction, consider your style of writing. Is it analytical? anecdotal? Whatever it is that is uniquely you that you put into all your books, that's your brand. You want to write a blog post that features that. Edgy posts, or family-oriented posts, inspirational posts or informative posts. That's your brand. And if you've described your target market correctly, they're people who like that kind of writing. That's what moves or interests or attracts them in a book.

This sounds complicated. Let me give you an example. John Locke is a high-selling self-published author on Amazon. He attributes much of his success to his blog posts, and he only writes 4-6 posts a year! But he works at them, he gears them to his target audience and at the end of the post, he subtly ties it to his books. He takes his time writing each post, and then he leaves it up to be read, instead of burying it under subsequent posts. It's another way of looking at blogging, for those who struggle with writing regular blog posts.

Locke describes his readers as "compassionate people...who have a sense of humor". "More than 70% are women" and most are "above age 50". "They mostly read to relax with a fast-paced, breezy read that makes them laugh out loud." He also describes the things about his writing style that they like.  (From "How I Sold 1 Million e-Books in 5 Months," by John Locke)

Here is one of his posts. While you read it, notice the tone - sincere and personal. Notice how he's written it to appeal to the emotional triggers of his target readers, as I've listed them above. Notice that the content is timeless, so he can leave it up as long as he wants. Notice how he subtly ties in his book at the end so it seems a natural part of the post, not a tagged-on advertizement.  Here's John Locke's blog post:
http://www.donovancreed.com/Blog/tabid/105/ID/40/Fathers-and-Daughters.aspx

I don't suggest you write the same kind of post Locke has written, because your target readers might be completely different from his. (And you don't have to like his books to learn from him.)

But I do challenge you to take time over one post, to plan it out with the age, gender, intellectual/emotional triggers and interests of your target readers in mind, and maybe even to write a first rough draft.

September 10: the tenth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to review your blog. Do you have a clear purpose for your blog page and every individual post? What do you write posts about? How often do you post? How can you best use blogging as a marketing tool? We'll explore those questions today.

Do you have a clear purpose for your blog page and every individual post?
In my pre-challenge post I advised you to make sure your blog, if you have one, is on your website, so it can attract people to your website. (If you missed that post, read it here.)

Once they come, however, your blog page, like every page of your website, should have a goal for them. A call-to-action, on every page. What, exactly, do you want each page of your website to encourage visitors to do? To contact you, so you can start building a relationship with them? Then have a Contact Me button where they can't help but see it. To sign up for your newsletter? Have a Sign Up button. (More about that in a future challenge). To buy your books? Feature your books in the heading or sidebar of every page.

Yes, you want your blog posts to interest and entertain your site visitors, but you also want them to motivate anyone who reads them to ---  (write your goal here)

Now check your blog page and your posts. Have you motivated your reader to do that? Have you made it easy for him/her to do it right now after reading the post, or does he/she have to hunt through your site to do so?

What do you write posts about?
Are you writing posts that attract readers? Posts on writing, even if you have a lot to say about the subject, attract writers, not readers. ( This is an I'm-not-following-my-own-advice-grin ;-) )

So what can you post about that will attract readers?

Here are a list of things to try:

• stories of your own life, lessons you've learned,
• excerpts from your books,
• stories about your characters that aren't in your book,
• updates on your WIP,
• book and movie reviews.
• Get out that list you made on day one, of your target market's interests and hobbies. (Find the challenge that discusses that here.) Write about those.

How often do you post?
This is up to you; my only advice is to go for quality over quantity. Every autumn I have a challenge of some sort, and I post daily that month. The rest of the year, I post on average once a month. (More about that tomorrow.)

How can you best use blogging as a marketing tool?

1. Make sure every post is so good readers want to come back for the next one, and
2. Make sure every post motivates your reader to respond to your call-to-action

Here are two excellent posts I have found on how to improve your posts:

8 Incredibly Simple Ways to Get More People to Read Your Content: http://www.copyblogger.com/scannable-content/

How to make your blogs go viral: http://www.authormedia.com/viral-blog-recipe/?utm_source=Author+Media&utm_campaign=18c482d996-Weekly_Newsletter_April_3rd4_2_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6b5a675fcf-18c482d996-410992093

How can you improve your blog posts?

(Don't forget to check out my birthday FB message: https://www.facebook.com/janeann.mclachlan

September 9: the nineth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to transform special days into a marketing tool.

Throughout the year, we all celebrate special days. How can you tap into the shared sentiment of those days to promote your book? Let me give you a few examples.

• Thanksgiving - can you tweet a quote from one of your books about gratitude or feeling thankful? Can you turn that quote into a picture and put it on FB? Can you write a post on the theme of gratitude, and somehow bring in the example from your book?

• Christmas - the theme of gifts from the heart, family getting together, faith. How can you relate those to your book?
• Valentine's Day - love and relationships. My science fiction book is about gender and relationships - albeit among aliens - but I'm sure I can find a quote in it that I can use in a post on Valentine's Day.
• Your birthday - what happens online on your birthday? Social media sites like FB and LI let everyone know it's your birthday, that's what! So what if you have news about your next book up on your FB page on the morning of your birthday, when they all come to wish you a happy one? Check out my FaceBook page tomorrow morning, September 10th, to see what I've been planning. https://www.facebook.com/janeann.mclachlan

List the special days coming up, and ways you can tap into the emotional triggers those holidays evoke in your readers and link them to your books. Can you plan a book launch, blog book hop, book sale, giveaway or contest, etc. for your upcoming birthday?

September 8 : the eighth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to review and improve your book pages and Author Central page on Amazon.

Book Pages:
All I want to mention here are the sections on categories and on keywords. You may choose two categories, and it's advantageous to do so, assuming the categories are correct for your book. At one point I changed the categories on my e-book, Walls of Wind, and suddenly all sales stopped dead. After 3 days of this I changed the categories again. Within two hours, my sales had doubled from what they were before I changed the categories the first time. This is a significant tool. So if you find your sales in a rut, try changing the categories on your e-books. Don't be afraid to experiment here, you may find new readers.

After 'categories' is 'keywords'. You get seven, separated by commas. To maximize those seven, you can use short phrases rather than separate words, such as: science fiction e-book, young adult novel, etc. Amazon has a good resource for choosing keywords that will take readers to your e-book here.

Finally, make sure you've used the "Search Inside" feature for each book.

Your Author Central Page:
Have you completely filled out the following features?

• Your professional photo
• your name, title and contact info
• a link to your website
• your profile - make it interesting and use your key words here; the more info, the better
  
• check that all your book titles are here
• add your twitter feed and your RSS blog feed
• fill in upcoming events where fans can find you, and keep it current

When you have finished, go to Amazon.co.uk and fill out an Amazon author page there. And if your e-book has been translated into French or German, fill out author pages for Amazon.GE and Amazon.FR

Check the URL on your Author Central Page. It will look  something like:  amazon.com/author/jamclachlan
This is the link you want to use, rather than links to your individual book pages, because this will show readers all your book at a glance, rather than only one book.

September  7: the seventh  day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to begin making your face and name - or pen name - into a brand, in three ways.

Unless you intend to be a one-book writer - and some people do, nothing wrong with that - you should be marketing yourself, as an author, not your individual books. Think about it - you put months, or years, into marketing the title of your book, you name your website, FB page, twitter handle, etc. all after your book - and let's say it's effective, your book is selling well. Then you write another book, with a different title, and you have to start all over again at ground zero.

YOU are your brand. You, as an author, are what you are marketing. There are a number of ways you do this:

1. Use your name, or your pen name, on everything - your website, FB page, twitter handle, Google+...
2. Get a good, professional-quality photo taken, one that represents the kind of writing you do, and use it as your avatar on social media, use it on your website, on Goodreads, on Author Central and other author's sites, put it on your business cards, posters announcing your speaking event, your book covers: the same photo, on every thing. You want to be recognized and easily found.

Now, spread that brand around as much as you can. Leave it everywhere you go. Envision yourself on the internet as entering a huge party. Your goal is to make friends, get known, be noticed and remembered in a positive way. To do that, you can't linger on the edge of conversations, listening in; and you can't barge in, interrupting a conversation to demand, "buy my book". To make friends and influence people online, you have to join the conversations going on online.

     3.   Contribute a comment every time you join a group or read a blog. What kind of comment? You can add something that hasn't been mentioned ("Another way I've found to do that is...") or ask a question ("How would you apply that to fiction authors?"). You can agree with something that's been said ("You made a good point about...") or disagree nicely ("I understand why you say that, but in my experience..."). You can just be appreciative ("Thanks for setting up this group discussion/sharing your thoughts/etc").

This doesn't sound like marketing your books or e-books, does it? But it is, because you're getting known. Most people who read a blog post or join a discussion group read the comments as well. Often they comment on a comment (that's why a question put to the group is good, and so is answering the question someone asks). Every time you read a post or check out a discussion group and DON'T add a comment, you are wasting an opportunity.

September 6th: Day Six of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to set up Google and Twitter Alerts to notify you when people are discussing your book or your subject.

Imagine recommending a book to a friend online, and receiving a thank you from the author; or asking a question about a subject and having someone who has written a book on it join the conversation and answer your questions. How much more likely would you be to recommend that book again or to buy the book on the subject you were asking about?

Receive Alerts for your name, the title of your book, or subjects related to your topic.

Set up Twitter Alerts at www.tweetbeep.com
Set up Google Alerts at: https://www.google.com/alerts.

September 5th: Day Five of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to add keywords to your website.

Keywords are so essential to online marketing we're going to discuss them over several challenges. Picture Hansel and Gretel, leaving a trail of bread crumbs through the woods. Keywords are the bread crumbs you scatter online to lead readers to your books & ebooks.

But which keywords will lead your readers to you? There are two kinds of readers - those who have heard of you or heard about one of your books and are looking for you (or it) specifically, and those who are looking for a book to read in the genre or on the topic you write about.

Your important keywords are, therefore, your name and the titles of your books. For fiction writers, the genre(s) of your books and words like fiction, novel, ebook, online books, books for-- (children, women, teens, etc) For non-fiction authors, the topics you write about and words associated with them. You can use Google Adwords to do a search for keywords, but essentially you're looking for the words you might type into google if you were searching for that kind of book.

Now, where do you put these keywords? Since the main function of an author's website is to help visitors find you and encourage them to buy your books and ebooks by getting to know you and your writing style, lets start there. Here are the places on your website keywords should be in order to be found by search engines:

• Your site's headers (Tom Smith, fantasy author)
• Titles and sub-titles wherever appropriate
• Spread throughout your site in the content (use those words as often as possible in context. When it makes sense to do so, bold or underline them)

• Your photos (every picture on your site, including your book covers, will allow you to type in "alt text"- words that describe the picture. Type in the book's title, author name, and genre - eg, Fairy Wings by Tom Smith, fantasy ebook novel. Or if it's a picture of you: Tom Smith, fantasy fiction author.)
  
• Add them to the tags section of each post on your blog (as long as they're relevant to the post topic.)
  

Also use your keywords whenever possible in your tweets, Facebook posts, and other social media.
Bread crumbs, bread crumbs everywhere!

(Don't forget to tweet or like this post if it was helpful to you.)