Archive for September, 2011

This week, we feature another author who has drawn a great deal of traffic to his website. His name is Mark Hamel, and he’s the author of Kaizen Event Fieldbook. Most of us won’t understand a word of the book. But that’s okay, because what we really need to know is how he got so many people to learn about the book through his website. Here are his answers to our questions about how he did it.

Who built your website? How was the experience?
Smart Author Sites built my website. The experience was surprisingly pretty painless. I had conceptualized the layout and content and Smart Author Sites, took that and ran with it. After several iterations, a couple of emails and a phone call or two, we were ready.

Which social networking sites do you regularly participate in? Facebook? Twitter? GoodReads? LinkedIn? Any others?
I use LinkedIn quite a bit and am a low volume Tweeter. My blog posts are broadcast via LinkedIn and Twitter. No Facebook, so far.

How many online followers do you have? How many pageviews have you gotten on your website?
I do not track RSS followers, but email subscribers are in the many hundreds and the site’s unique monthly pageviews are around 3,000 …. more for total pageviews.

How has your online presence (be it through a website or social networking profiles) increased your visibility/book sales?
It’s hard to say how the online presence has increased book sales, but as one client shared, “You are all over the internet because of your blog.”

What is your “secret” to achieving this success? Were there any tricks or creative ideas (i.e. a contest) that you used?
No real secret. Just plan for the long haul, build a blog and continually add fresh and useful content for your community. Do that and people will come.

Is there anything you would do differently if you were starting over again?
I would have leveraged social media earlier.

What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned in the process of building your online presence as an author?
There’s no magic and there is no reason to be intimidated by the online thing. If you can write a book, the rest is just a matter of will.

How and where do you promote your website? Is the URL on business cards? Your email signature? Business cards, email signature, and within the book (and future book(s)).

Final words of wisdom for any new authors wondering how to get started….
Simple: 1) get started, and 2) don’t stress about being a big blogger, just endeavor to be a good blogger.

It’s one of the first questions I ask every author as we prepare for the design process: “Do you have a photo of yourself that we can use on the site?” Surprisingly, a good percentage of the time, the answer to that question begins with hees and haws.

Most authors want to have a good photo of themselves that we can use on the website, but either haven’t had a chance to have photos taken yet, or just dislike any and all pictures of themselves. In the name of full disclosure, I fit into the latter category.

But the truth of the matter is this: an author photo is a very important piece in the website design puzzle. Here’s why:

• Readers want to know who an author is. A bio only can say so much. Photos of the author is really what readers are after.
• The type of photo indicates the type of website. If an author’s headshot is dramatic, a site visitor immediately understands that this is a serious website. If an author’s photo is casual, it sends a completely different message.
• An author website is built around an author photo. In an author website, there’s one image that’s more important than the others. You guessed it … the author photo. That photo needs to be in a prominent spot with the rest of the site built around it. The colors of the site should be pulled from the colors on the photo, too. It’s like the centerpiece of a table.

Too often, I have clients who ask me if we can build their website and then just add the photo later. In most cases, the answer to that is a resounding “no.” Here are a few examples of author websites that are built around the author’s photo:

• http://richardbard.com/
• http://www.mgaryneuman.com/
• http://www.danielwolfebooks.com/

See what I mean about the photos? They send a message. They tell us who the author is. And they’re smack in the center of the website. So, no, we can’t add them at the end

If you’re an author using Facebook (and really, I hope you are), then you need to look at social networking as a piece of your business. That means analyzing it — just like you would any other advertising initiative — to determine what’s working and what’s a waste of your time.

Enter Facebook Insights. Much like Google Analytics (which we install in all of our author websites), it provides you with statistics on who is looking at your Facebook page, which of your posts are getting the most views, likes and/or comments, the days in which your Facebook page got the most traffic, etc…

And unlike GoogleAnalytics, Facebook can actually tell you who was looking at your Facebook page. So while both tools can tell you how many people viewed something, only Facebook Insights has the data to also tell you the age and gender of those individuals: valuable information in helping you determine what to write about in the future and who seems to be most interested in your writings.

According to Jay Baer, a social media strategist, the specific things you should be looking for in Facebook Insights are:

1. Feedback: Every time you post a status update, Facebook Insights can tell you how many people have looked at it, liked it, or commented on it. Obviously, you want likes and comments. The ones that get more of those are “successes,” and you should aim to post similar updates in the future.
2. Hides: A “hide” is when someone clicks the “X” to remove your updates from their news feed. It’s just like unsubscribing from your newsletter. Essentially, it’s a lost fan. By tracking these hides, you should be better able to figure out how to avoid them in the future.
3. Impressions: This is simply the number of people who saw your update. By determining which of your updates were viewed by the most people, you can decide what types of updates (and what time of day) are most successful.

Just like the rest of Facebook, “Insights” is free. Click here to check out some FAQs on the tool.

Ready to get started? Simply visit http://www.facebook.com/insights/

As I’ve mentioned many times before, collecting email addresses is a great way for an author to stay in touch with a ready-made audience of followers. By putting together an email list, an author can contact readers (instead of waiting for readers to come back to their website) when they are ready to announce a new book, a media appearance, etc…

In fact, even when compared to Facebook “fans,” each email address on your newsletter list is golden. According to BrightWaveMarketing.com, too many companies are giving up their “Register” buttons and replacing them with “Follow” buttons.

But, get this: A prospect’s email address can be worth anywhere from $23-118, while the average Facebook fan is only worth about $3.60. Remember, though: email addresses are only worth that much when you use them effectively. Here are some guidelines:

1. Track your emails! Make sure to send out your mass emails through an email client that allows you to track open rates, click-thru rates, etc… One such company is Vertical Response, but there are many others. This information is invaluable — it allows you to compare how different emails and subject lines perform, and adjust accordingly.

2. Personalize, whenever possible. People respond best to emails that seem to be personalized to them. If you have someone’s first name, use it in the subject line or the beginning of the email. If you know that a certain user either has or hasn’t purchased your book already, you can send them a customized email based on that information.

3. Think quality. People are going to read your emails if you have something of value to share with them. Maybe it’s an informative article. Maybe it’s a special deal on your new book. Make sure that your emails aren’t just promotional; they need to offer something to the reader as well.

4. Be consistent. Use the same “from” line in every email. If possible, keep the same format, too. People like knowing who they’re getting an email from and what to expect within it.

5. Don’t overdo it! There’s one thing that you really want to avoid in an email campaign: unsubscribes. Legally, you’re required to allow someone to unsubscribe from your email with one click. However, what you can do is learn about why people unsubscribe and avoid making those mistakes. The most common reasons people opt not to receive your messages any more? 1. Nothing of value in them (see point 4 above); and 2) They receive far too many messages. Ask yourself how often you’d like to be emailed by a company, and adjust your frequency accordingly. Anything more than once a week is probably too much.

Websites should be fun places to visit. They should be full of stories, tips, ideas, and things that can improve your life.

Unfortunately, most author websites don’t do that. Too many authors use their website more as a portfolio — a place to feature their work and themselves, but not really offer anything of value to their visitors.

As anyone who has worked in marketing knows, you have to offer something to your customers to get them to bite. Whether “biting” involves purchasing your book, signing up for your email list, or becoming a fan on Facebook, those things will only happen if you give people a good reason to do so.

With that in mind, here are some ideas I’ve culled off other conversations around the world wide web (and I will continue to add to these in the future) on what people really want to see on an author website:

1. Write blog posts. I’ve blogged about blogging more times than I can tell you, but I can’t say it enough. Use your blog to offer tips and advice to people. That’s what will make them keep coming back for more.
2. Answer questions. Address people by name and respond to their inquiries. That gives your website an interactive, personal feel.
3. Feature new/upcoming releases. Don’t forget to tell your site visitors what’s coming up. It’s important to keep your site current and give people a sneak peek at what the future holds.
4. Include excerpts. This is a no-brainer, but how do you expect people to buy your book if they can’t get a sense of the tone, story, etc…? Offer at least one excerpt that people can read on your website before taking the plunge.
5. Create web-exclusive content. Post a weekly recipe, a funny read, your comments on another book, or a money-saving tip. This content — exclusive to your website — is a fun little tidbit that can really make your site interesting.
6. Include more than a book description. Readers can learn about the basics of the book — the publishing details, a summary, etc… — just about anywhere. That’s why you have to use your website to offer something extra. Maybe it’s a description of what went into writing the book, struggles you had in writing the book, when you hit writers’ block, how your characters got their names, etc… The more personal, the better.
7. Hold contests. Ask people to submit their own personal stories, short stories, book reviews, etc… What kind of contest you hold depends completely on who your audience is and what kind of book you wrote, but giving people a chance to win something is a “sticky” element that can keep people coming back to your site.
8. Offer bonuses. You put some time and money into building yourself an author website, so you probably want to get something out of it. So before you ask people to purchase the book or sign up for your newsletter, make sure you give them an incentive to do so. Maybe if they buy the book through your website, they get an autographed copy. Or if they sign up for your newsletter, they can download a PDF with inspirational tips. Again, it completely depends on your subject matter and your audience, but the idea is the same: give something to your readers, and they’ll give back to you twofold.

Do you have other ideas on how to spruce up an author website? Share them in the comments box!

Every author wants to build a website that generates thousands of visitors (and hopefully, thousands of books sold). Richard Bard has done just that. In the five weeks since his website launched, he’s had 5,000 visitors and over 9,000 pageviews. That’s impressive! Richard has also been kind enough to take the time to answer some questions we had for him about how he went about achieving such online success. Here are his responses …

Who built your website? How was the experience?
I interviewed several different website developers before selecting Karin and her staff at SmartAuthorSites.com.  Karin’s extensive experience working with authors put her near the top of my list.  But you know what sold me?  I told her I wanted “the best site ever.”  She had three “packages” available and I insisted on the most expensive of the three, assuming that’s what it would take.  But when I outlined my requirements, she said I would be better off with a less expensive option.  Not many companies would have done that.  I signed the contract the next day.   I enjoyed working with everyone on her staff and was particularly impressed with 1) the ability of their designer to produce an end-result in accordance with my specific ideas, and 2) the responsiveness of their primary coder, Mike, who made changes nearly as fast as I requested them (often two or three times the same day).  Karin has an excellent team.  I’m a happy client and proud of my website.

Which social networking sites do you regularly participate in? How many online followers do you have? How many page views have you gotten on your website?

• My Twitter handle is @Richard_Bard where I have 1,000 followers.
• I have 200 Facebook fans on the BRAINRUSH fan page:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/BRAINRUSHthebook
• In the 5 weeks that my website has been “live” I’ve had had approximately 5,000 unique visits and 9,000 page views.

What is your “secret” to achieving this success? Were there any tricks or creative ideas (i.e. a contest) that you used?
Here’s what I told New York Times bestselling author CJ Lyons in a recent interview:

A successful marketing campaign is predicated on two things:  First and foremost, you need a good product—that’s the hard part.  Once you’ve done that, all you need to do is make that product ‘discoverable’ by your target audience.

Step 1 — A good product:  So how do you know when your book is good enough?  The obvious answer is to get feedback from readers.  There are countless forums, workshops, and writing classes that provide an excellent vehicle for this.  Don’t be afraid.  Thicken your skin and just do it.  For BRAINRUSH I started with 7 or 8 classes at UCLA.  Then I moved on to Authonomy.com and finally I entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest two years in a row.  It was a lengthy and humbling process but it was worth it.  Instructor and reader feedback led to one revision after another, making the book better along the way.  The original manuscript looks nothing like the final book.  In the end your gut will tell you when your baby is good enough.  Trust your instincts.

Step 2 — Make it discoverable:  Believe it or not this is the easy part.  Yes, it’s time consuming and it can get expensive if you’re in a rush (for ads and other placements), but if you’re patient it can be done on a small budget and a modest investment of time.  Imagine this:  You’re book is ready.  You know it’s good because the feedback you’ve received in the past few months has been generally positive (if not, go back to Step 1!).  Now imagine your book is accidentally placed on the Amazon Top-100 BS list. There you are amongst all those famous authors.  (Wouldn’t that be nice?)  What do you think your book sales will be tomorrow?  What about next week after thousands of readers start sharing their comments online?  If you’re not sure of the answer ask John Locke.  Book sales will skyrocket because suddenly everybody sees it when they go to Amazon—it’s “discoverable”.  They read a sample, buy it, love it, and tell a friend.  Of course Amazon wasn’t willing to make that kind of mistake on my behalf so I needed to find a different solution.

So what did you do?
Not advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark; you know what you’re doing, but nobody else does.

Everyone says social networking is a must.  I can’t disagree but I’m frustrated over how time consuming it can be.  I’ve tried a little of it with Twitter and Facebook and I will continue to do so.   However, I needed more.  I blogged a couple times and even received some nice feedback.  But everybody blogs and there are a zillion new books out there and only so many eyes.  I wanted to come up with an original way make my book stand out, something nobody’s done before.  A lot of folks recommend offering the book for free.  I personally don’t like that approach.  It diminishes the value of the product in the long run.  The product is good, remember?  It’s worth a few bucks.  So instead of giving the book away I decided it would be better to give gifts to anyone who paid full price for my book ($2.99).  I checked around.  Nobody had ever done anything like that before.  Good.  As far as the gift choice—from a reader’s POV what could be better than a bestseller or two?  So I got permission from three top bestselling authors—CJ Lyons, Michael Prescott, and Rick Murcer—and started gifting their books under a special promotion called “Feel the Rush” — Buy-1 Get-2 Free.  The promotion was well received.  BRAINRUSH sales jumped and people started talking about it.  Best of all many of them emailed me after reading the book—and for the most part the response was positive.  Many readers said they couldn’t put it down—including David Crosby of Crosby, Stills & Nash, who later gave a shout-out for the book at a major concert.  Wow…that was a brain-rush!  To be honest I was totally blown away.  Sure I talk a good game up above about making sure the product was “good” but a hidden part of me is astounded every time a reader is actually moved by Jake’s story.  What an incredible feeling.

Is there anything you would do differently if you were starting over again?
From a business perspective it would be great to have three books “in the can” before launching a campaign.  I’ve had many readers tell me how anxious they are to read Book-2.  (So am I!)  If it had been ready to go, overall sales would have grown considerably—adding to the buzz.  Three months later I could have released Book-3 to keep the fires burning.  But that’s hindsight.  Too late now, at least for me.  Fortunately Book-2 is almost finished.  It will be available for release in December—just in time for Christmas. (Fingers crossed!)

What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned in the process of building your online presence as an author?
Be different in order to be newsworthy.  It’s one thing to buy ads and sponsorships (which I heartily endorse), but the response from unsolicited mentions can make or break a campaign.  Be creative.  Indie book publishing via the digital age is an industry in its infancy.  Become one of its founders by thinking outside the box.

How and where do you promote your website? Is the URL on business cards? Your email signature?
All of my ads, sponsorships, blogs, interviews, etc., include a link to my website.  I created a special landing page there for the promotion.  In my opinion, an Indie author needs a professional website above all else.  How else can potential readers get to know you and your books?  And remember—your website must grab a visitor’s attention within five seconds or you’ll lose them.  So don’t be afraid to spend a little extra money up front to make sure it is an accurate reflection of you and your work.  In the long run you’ll be glad you did.

Final words of wisdom for any new authors wondering how to get started….
Focus first on your book.  Don’t move on to promotion and marketing until you’re convinced that the majority of your target audience will love it.  After that, say your prayers and let ‘er rip!

If you’re interested you can see the BRAINRUSH promotion here:  www.RichardBard.com/Promo

While you’re there you might get a laugh over the home-made trailer on my home page.  I had to scramble to put it together as a placeholder when CreateSpace informed me that the “traditional” trailer was delayed six weeks. (Yes, the little kid in the video is really me!)

Happy reading,

Richard Bard

It’s one of the most important aspects of building and maintaining a website: creating new content. Without it, an author website is nothing but a static portfolio that people may visit once, but they’re certain not to return.

Yes, folks, creating new content is super-important.  Not only does it help to get people to return to your site regularly, it’s also a key piece in terms of SEO. Search engines look for content, and sites with lots of it are more likely to get found.

Now on to the hard part: creating content. After all, just because it’s important doesn’t mean it’s easy.

With that in mind, here are some ideas for author website content:

• Educational blogs: Depending on what your book is about, you may be able to use some of what you’ve learned in writing it to inspire blog entries for weeks and months to come. If you’re a non-fiction author, continue to blog about the subject matter of your book. If you’re a fiction author, blog about writing. Just sharing your knowledge and experiences with others can make a huge difference in turning your website into a content-rich, must-visit destination.
• Q&As: Many people who read your book will have questions about it. Encourage readers to submit questions, and post the relevant ones — along with your responses — on the website. Again, this is a great way to fill your site with fun, informational content that users will appreciate. Over time, you can expand this idea to include an FAQs page — chock full of the questions you frequently get asked by readers.
• Customer-generated content: You probably hear from readers a lot about what they thought of your book. Why not put that information (at least that which is appropriate) on your website. Again, it’s a great way to have consistently new content on your website. Plus, it also helps to build the trust of other people who are considering reading your book.
• Shared content: Browse social media sites and search engines for articles related to your subject matter. Share them on your site — either through a Links page or through blog posts. Collecting and redistributing this type of content is a great service to your readers (and can help you, too)

See? Creating content for your author website isn’t really a full-time job. It just takes a little bit of creativity and motivation. A content-rich site is a great first step in turning your name into a household name and your book into a bestseller. Hey, you’ve got to start somewhere.

Remember the old days of publishing: you’d get your book picked up by a publisher and then some magical publicity department would start booking you to do lots of high-profile signings and readings at book stores, schools, etc…

My, how times have changed. Nowadays, authors have to do all of their own online publicity. Unless you’ve already churned out a few bestsellers, publishers aren’t going to do a whole lot for you.

But is that a bad thing? Yes … and no.

Sure, we’d all love it if our publishers took out full-page ads in the NY Times to promote our books. That would certainly help sell copies. So would getting booked on Oprah or creating radio spots.

But one of the most common types of publicity — book signings and readings — has been falling by the wayside. Why? Because it just doesn’t sell books.

Booktour.com, a Web site used by authors and publishers to publicize book signings, readings and other live events since 2007, shut its proverbial doors today. And that’s no surprise; authors often tell me that these book signings and book readings are pretty much a waste of time. Not many people show up (after all, who is going to take the time to show up and meet an author they’ve never heard of before). Even if people do show up, the number of copies sold is generally minimal.

Maybe it’s time that authors re-think how they market themselves. After all, couldn’t you get a lot more out of doing online interviews, guest blogging on other sites, and/or creating your own podcasts? Such methods of online promotion have multiple benefits that in-person appearances do not, including:

• They speak to a national audience — not just a local one
• They’re targeted so that they reach the people who are already interested in your subject matter
• They’re timeless. People can watch your podcast when it’s convenient for them, not just in the two-hour window that you’ve dedicated to the bookstore near their home.

Yes, folks, the verdict is in. Book signings just don’t do it any more; much like publishers don’t do it any more. It’s up to you, the author, to figure out how to leverage the vast world of the internet to get the right audience of potential readers exposed to your book. You just have to find them.