We CAN! promote our books

Taming the Dreaded Market Analysis

Jill Elizabeth Nelson here to talk about researching how your next release stacks up in the marketplace. This includes taking advantage of current events, as well as comparing and contrasting your work with competing releases, in order to garner positive press and intrigue potential readers.

The "Great Commission" for Writers

Jill Elizabeth Nelson here fresh from the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) annual conference. What heaven on earth for a novelist! Conferences are very important marketing events for any writer. If we don't market ourselves to editors, as well as grow in our craft, we're sunk. But this blog post isn't about my experience at the conference; it's about my husband's very cool revelation that came to him while attending a conference with me. Read on for a "now" word on how the Great Commission applies to writers.

Packing for the Conference

Today I am getting ready to leave for a major conference. What am I packing, and what does it have to do with marketing?

Preparational Prayer

Jill Elizabeth Nelson here to talk about preparing for promotional events with our most powerful secret weapon--prayer. As Christian authors, don't we insist that our writing is more than a career, it's a ministry? Then let's be serious about that ministry, and any serious ministry requires serious prayer support. God lives by His own word, so the steadfast rock on which we can base those prayers are the scriptures. Read on for a sampling of chapter and verse we can base our very futures upon as writers.

Conference Preparation

Jill Elizabeth Nelson here to talk about preparing for conferences. Sure, we often think of conferences as places to pitch book ideas or learn more about our craft or fellowship with other writers, but there are unique ways the conference venue can incorporate book promotion. Here are a few to think about:

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.

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.

Marketing Across the Pond

Jill Elizabeth Nelson here, excited to host British author Veronica Heley. Veronica has published 60 books so far, including mysteries, historical fiction, and children’s books. She’s here on CAN to talk to us about marketing “across the pond,” particularly the methods she uses to get speaking engagements at churches, which should have universal application.

Welcome to the CAN blog, Veronica. I can hardly wait to absorb the wisdom of your experience.

Wise Use of Branding and Taglines

Jill Elizabeth Nelson here, hosting Lyn Cote, author of numerous romance novels. In browsing her web site, http://www.booksbylyncote.com, I noticed a catchy phrase in her banner, “Strong Women, Brave Stories.” This captures the flavor of Lyn’s books in a pithy nugget, so I’ve asked Lyn to talk to CAN blog readers about establishing a brand and coming up with a tagline that tells readers in a nutshell who you are as a writer and what they can expect from your books.

Welcome to the CAN blog, Lyn. I look forward to learning from you. 

Tying Novel Research to Marketing

 

Jill Elizabeth Nelson here, welcoming Rachel Hauck to a guest interview here on the CAN blog. She has words of wisdom for us on ingenious ways to tie the research that went into our books to our marketing efforts. What a wonderful means to get extra mileage out of the time and effort spent on research!

Q:  Rachel, tell us first what you write and where your books have been set.