We CAN! promote our books

Time wisdom from Scriptures

Aloha from Karen,

It’s back to school in my neighborhood and my youngest started college this week. That thought brought me back to studying God’s word on time. There are some great time principles in the Bible to apply to our marketing.

Karen's web site

Anaylze the Effectiveness of Your Promotional Efforts

Jill Elizabeth Nelson here, hosting DiAnn Mills, versatile and award-winning author. DiAnn has volunteered to talk to us today about the vital topic of analyzing the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.

Welcome to the CAN blog, DiAnn. I’m excited to glean from your wisdom.

The Mommy Book Tour

Kathi Lipp here to talk to you about how to organize your very own platform-enhancing book tour.

I had the opportunity recently to go to a book signing with an author friend. (I am concealing her name to protect the embarrassed…)While my friend is a whiz at marketing and publicity, this was a very painful experience.

She did all the right things:
1. She made contact with the manager of the store well in advance to talk about the event
2. She sent postcards to her local readers
3. She did local radio to let people know where she was going to be
4. She made it into an event. She had a drawing to win free swag. She had a poster up to let everyone know what was going on. She baked chocolate chip cookies and bribed people to come over to her table.
5. She brought me and her mom along so she would be sure to have a crowd.

She was witty. She was delightful. She was charming. She did everything right... She sold seven books.

"I always get your books from the library."

Happy Monday from Gail Gaymer Martin www.gailmartin.com

When readers' letters show up in a writers mailbox, authors are anxious to hear the fans reactions to their books. It’s always nice to know that the books have touched people’s lives and made an impact on their faith. One thing that sometimes stops a reader cold is the line, "I always get your books from the library."

How do you react when you read this?

Small Doors Can Lead to Large Opportunities

Kathi Macias here, stopping by to talk a little about small openings...and where they can lead. Since it's a safe assumpton that we aren't all going to end up on Oprah (which is probably a good thing), let's focus on those workable things we can realisitically do to start and keep the buzz going about our books--and maybe even sell some along the way!

Smart choices promote smart time investment

Aloha from Karen,

Yesterday a camera crew came to my home and filmed for a TV show about money. It’s called  Money Wise. This happened because of choices I made and because I have been intentional about promotion. Let’s chat about ways to make smart choices and act intentionally. You'll discover that by making good choices you use your time wisely.

Discover the Marketing That is Right For You

Jill Elizabeth Nelson here, welcoming award-winning author Stephanie Grace Whitson to a guest interview this week. As a successful, multi-published writer, she has a slant on promotion and marketing that may help us to determine what and how much marketing is right for us. Thanks, Stephanie, for sharing your insights.

Connect with Churchs In Your Book Settings

Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin www.gailmartin.com  Finally home for a few weeks.

My three book series set in the central coast of California was released at the perfect time for my visit to San Francisco for a conference. Another hour and a half from there got me to the central coast area where my niece lives and where I was scheduled for a book signing. I had two connections to this area—my niece and the setting for all three books. But how do I spread the word?

Steps to Getting a Web Site

It's Tiff here again. Last week, I introduced the idea of getting onto the World Wide Web and getting connected with the internet community. It can be a scary yet exciting venture that you'll be undertaking, but I promise you the end result is more than worth any struggle or difficulty you might encounter.

Who Is This Marketing Stuff REALLY All About?

Kathi Macias here, checking in to assure you that I do NOT have Betty Boop as my guest blogger today. However, her picture and mindset really do say a lot, don't they? And the message is a key to finding and maintaining that fine line between effective marketing and all-about-me promotion.