Guest post: Making Your Radio Interviews Count

Making Your Radio Interviews Count

By Mari Selby


One of the quickest and easiest ways for your book to be noticed is to be a guest on a radio show. People still listen to the radio at work, while driving their cars, or as background at home. Most radio interviews happen on the phone, so you can sell books while in your robe and slippers. In 1999, prior to today's health craze, we secured 100 radio shows for author, Dr. Lindsey Berkson and her book, Healthy Digestion. With only these radio shows to promote her book, sales went to over 17,000 in a few months. Another client landed a regular TV gig because the producer heard him on a radio interview. Yet another author's architectural practice multiplied because new clients heard her speak on the radio. One of our quantum physics authors received an invitation to speak at a prestigious conference because he used a CD of his radio interviews to promote himself and his book.

Each one of these authors did not waste air on the radio. They offered tips, were storytellers, and captured the audience's interest. For most people it's easy to talk or teach in an interview, however to capture someone's attention long enough to have them buy your book takes skill and practice.
10 tips to being a successful radio show guest:

1. Make sure listeners know who you are. Give the host an introduction that is exactly how you want to be introduced. What is the most advantageous way of describing you and your book?

2. Never say "the answer is in my book". Both hosts and the audience hate that. Instead you could respond with "we address that issue through what we call problem solving tools. Active listening is one of the techniques we use. Active listening involves..."
And then you can add "there are a number of other tools we offer in the book."

3. Practice answering a list of questions in front of the mirror, with family, while driving in your car. Practice until you are easily answering the questions you include in your media kit. Then have your family ask questions not on the list and be spontaneous with your answers. (Or you can hire a radio show coach to guide you through the ropes.)

4. Clearly state how people can purchase your book, and inspire them to action. During the interview talk about your website. What else will people learn by going to your website? Make sure the host knows the name of your website so they can mention it also. Mention how your book might be a good gift for Aunt Susan who likes books on wildlife, or how Dad always wants to know more about cooking. Give them a reason to buy the book for someone else besides themselves.

5. Make a personable connection with the host, and the audience. Say the hosts name when you answer a question. Demonstrate how you want to help the audience. Be engaging. The goal of every interview is to be invited back.

6. Listen to the some of the host's archived shows to learn how she runs her program, so you won't be surprised, and can give "good air time". One of the biggest mistakes authors make is to approach a radio show about new electronic devices with a suggestion for a show about how to keep your marriage alive.

7. The host asks you what you think is a stupid question. What do you do? You don't say- "Well that is a stupid question!" You say- So many people have asked me that question and... then you bridge to where YOU want to go. You say what YOU want to say. It is called a bridge- and the people who do this best are politicians. Stay focused, don't get defensive, be polite and then answer it the way you want to.

8. Either hire a publicist to get you on the radio shows, or plan your approach. Do you want to research regional shows that will support regional activities? Or do you want to research radio shows that connect with your topic nationally? Plan on approaching these shows at least a month before the event. Ask the engineer for a copy of the interview either as a MP3 to use on your website, or a CD to send out for speaking engagements.

9. Cover your bloopers if you can with a cough, or a vocalization like hmmm, or a "that's an interesting question", or a laugh with "you caught me on that one". Or you can repeat the question. Dead air scares everyone, and audiences leave.

10. Last but not least, have fun!

Mari's writing can be read on http://www.sanfranciscobookreview.com Mari is the director of Selby Ink, a publicity and marketing firm. http://www.selbyink.com Selby ink promotes authors who make a difference, and helps those authors to develop name recognition through assessment of their work, and developing virtual and real life" events. Selby ink specializes in the following genres: body, mind, spirit, relationships, environmental issues, and social justice. You can also find Mari on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

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Guest Post: How to Optimize Your Amazon Profile to Market Your Book

How to Optimize Your Amazon Profile to Market Your Book

By Phyllis Zimbler Miller


Having your book on Amazon is a very exciting prospect. You can tell all your friends "you can buy my book on Amazon." But what about all the people who don't know you and who are on Amazon looking for books to buy?

Published and self-published authors can optimize their exposure on Amazon thanks to many author-friendly features. And if you don't know about these opportunities, you're missing out on free book marketing resources.

In this article we'll be looking at optimizing your profile on Amazon. (One word of caution: It is very difficult to connect with a real person on Amazon concerning author activities, so you may encounter problems that you are unable to resolve.)

Step 1: Have your own account on Amazon. Sounds basic but it is necessary. All this requires is buying one product on Amazon with a credit card in your name. (If you share an account with your spouse or family, set up a separate account.)

Step 2: Sign-in to your account. You'll see at the top left-hand corner of your computer screen the words "Hello, Your Name." Right below that click on "Your Name's Amazon.com." Then slide your eyes over to the right and look under the shopping cart icon and to the left and you'll see "Your Profile." (Make sure you're wearing your glasses because the wording is small.) Click on this.

Step 3: Now you're at your profile, which every person with an account on Amazon has. But this is definitely an author-opportunity page. And, yes, there are privacy controls here too (as on Facebook) so you can choose which information is seen by whom. Click on the button in the top right-hand corner that sees "Edit Profile." (You will again be asked to sign-in as extra protection that other people aren't editing your Amazon profile.)

Step 4: Start filling out the bio information. For an author, the most important line may be the "Name" because that is the name that will appear on any reviews and other activities you do on Amazon. Make sure that this is the same name as used for your book. For example, your credit card (used to set up your Amazon account) may only have a first and last name. But if you use three names for your author identification, put all three names here. (And be sure to upload a photo - people want to know what the author looks like. If you're on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, it's a good idea to use the same photo across all platforms to increase your recognition factor.)

Step 5: Do share personal information with which you are comfortable on this profile. Readers like to know about an author - sharing information gives a more three-dimensional feeling to who you are. And include the URL of your book's website if you have one.

Step 6: Go through the process of having your own books approved for your Amazon bibliography. This requires an outside representative to confirm to Amazon that you are indeed you.

Step 7: If you have a blog, have your blog posts automatically feed into your profile. (Carefully read the "Add RSS Feeds" information.)

Step 8: Recommend tags for your book. And write brief reasons for each tag as to why that tag is appropriate for this book. These tags must then be approved by Amazon.

Step 9: Check the privacy settings you have used on each of the elements of your profile. You may choose to have different settings on different types of information.

BONUS STEP: Make sure that you or your publisher have requested the "Look Inside" the book feature. This feature is NOT automatic. You want potential book buyers to be able to look inside the book as they could at a bookstore.

For the free report 7 TIPS FOR CREATING A CALL-TO-ACTION WEBSITE by Phyllis Zimbler Miller and for other free book marketing information, visit http://www.CalltoActionWebsites.com
Follow book author Phyllis Zimbler Miller at http://www.twitter.com/ZimblerMiller and connect with her on Facebook and LinkedIn as Phyllis Zimbler Miller.

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Guest Post: As Easy as 1,3...wait...

Today's guest post comes courtesy of Mark Mingle, who has more than a decade of experience working in the publishing industry. - Terry


Working with authors,  it is not uncommon to hear someone new to the industry exclaim that his or her book will instantly "sell millions" and "take the industry by storm."

While I will never fault an author for believing in their work and being enthusiastic, it seems that blind enthusiasm can often prohibit an author from making good choices in taking the necessary steps to success.

If the steps look like this, something is generally wrong:

Step 1: Write and publish a book

Step 3. Sell millions

What's missing?

Clearly, something is off here.

The biggest step often skipped is this - Step 2: Building your name, reputation, and platform as a professional author. And of course, this is the most important step, and it takes much time and effort.

When you think about famous authors, the list is fairly short of those known for simply being a writer - John Grisham, Stephen King, James Patterson, and Stephanie Meyer come to mind - but many of the bestselling authors in today's market are known for something else they have done or because of the platform they had before writing books - Joel Osteen, Sarah Palin, Dick Cheney, and Michael J. Fox, for example.

The biggest and most often-skipped step authors want to make is leaping past the building of a name, reputation, and platform to just sell books as though they already had become a household name. The focal point for these authors becomes supplying bookstores with copies that "will sell themselves." But the reality is that books don't sell themselves, unless the public has an awareness of you or your book and the demand has been generated outside the retail market (as the celebrity authors above have done).

Having said this, I recognize that most authors will never pastor a mega-church with 20,000 members and have a weekly national TV ministry. The majority of authors will not run for Vice President of the United States. But the reality remains that you must gain an audience by building your name and expanding the sphere of influence you now have.

Here are three things you can do to expand your sphere of influence in a short amount of time.

• Use your book as a fund-raiser. In other words, find a worthy cause - cancer research, a church or missions group, a local school, etc. - and connect with local leaders of that organization (and beyond that, regional or national leaders) to donate portions of your book sales to their organization. This serves both you and the cause you are assisting and can get your book in front of a large mass of potential readers.
• Launch a Facebook fan page for your book. This enables you to spread the word further than your own hometown by engaging a social network that knows no bounds. As friends (and friends of friends) discover and "like" your book, the word will travel fast. This can introduce you to a whole new world of contacts, which can lead to the following...
• Pursue speaking engagements. If you are an author and are not engaging people personally with your message and thereby the news of your book, you will likely be disappointed in the sales of your book. Show me an author that is not afraid to speak anywhere and everywhere at any time about their book, and I'll show you an author that is selling books consistently.

I wish it were as easy as Step 1 and Step 3 above. If it were that simple, we'd all be on an yacht somewhere together. But if you skip Step 2 and do not build your name, reputation, and platform, you will likely not reach the next level as a professional author.

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Guest Post: How to Know What to Charge for Public Speaking

How to Know What to Charge for Public Speaking

By Meredith Liepelt


So you're a business owner who is interested in spreading your message through public speaking. Good for you! Public speaking is arguably one of the best ways to promote your business. The problem is that you don't know if you should or should not charge for your speaking engagements. And if you do charge, how do you set your fee?

Here's the answer - you just decide.

This sounds very simplistic, but this is the reality. You just decide what is right for you at this point in time. There is no "speaking fee system" that you have to fit into, thank goodness! That would severely limit what you as business owners want to do in your business.

In fact, that concept reminds me of my former work in corporate human resources, where I had a hand in creating compensation systems for three different organizations. For example, it was determined that if you are in job A, then you are in pay scale 1 and the salary range is $X to $Y. (I don't miss that work.)

There is no system like this for speakers, thank goodness. You just make it up.

That being said, there are many things that you need to weigh for yourself to find out what is right for you. Here are a few considerations to ponder.

1. Do you get clients when you speak?
One of my clients was going through this struggle. She regularly enrolled clients after speaking, to the tune of a minimum of $20,000 each over the course of their relationship. So, I asked her this, "If you can enroll a few clients at this level each time you speak for free, is a $3,000-$5,000 speaking fee worth limiting your speaking opportunities to only paid engagements?" Bottom line here, don't let your ego get in the way.

2. When someone asks about your fee, go into "journalist" mode by asking them questions first.
There are many things that go into a speaking engagement. For example, are they expecting original material or can you tweak your signature speech? Do they want power point slides, how many people will attend, who are they, what information are they expecting and/or wanting, can you sell from the stage or sell products at the back of the room, is there travel and an overnight stay involved, and so forth. Gather as much information as you can so you can assess if it's even an opportunity you want to pursue. If a relevant audience will not be there, just pass on the opportunity.

3. Ask who else is speaking and who spoke last year.
While this won't tell you exactly what the venue is accustomed to in terms of speaking fees, it is a clue as to what caliber of speaker they expect and what they may have budgeted for a speaker, if anything. And who you may be able to meet.

4. Find out all the "soft" benefits.
If they tell you upfront that they don't pay for speakers, find out if there are any "soft" benefits instead. For example, will they record your speech and send you a copy? Will they add a small amount to the ticket price to cover the cost of giving your book or a DVD to each attendee? Will you receive a list of attendees with their contact information so you can follow up with them once? Note - don't just add the attendees to your email list. This is called SPAM; it is not ethical and will not do you any favors.

5. Can you chalk this up to good PR and high-level networking?
Many times at large events, one of the benefits of speaking is that you get to meet and network with the other speakers. This can be worth way more than a $2,000 speaking fee. Or, you receive positive PR for your business, and being a speaker at the event builds your credibility. Again, that could be worth a lot more than a speaking fee.

6. Raise your fees
If speaking is your main source of revenue, keep raising your fees. In fact, increase it by at least 30% for the next inquiry you receive. One of my clients doubled her speaking fee and to her surprise, she keeps getting it! Now, she's raising her fees again. If nobody is saying "no," you're not charging enough.
So there are arguments for charging a fee and not for charging a fee. What's your business model? Are you working toward being a professional speaker or are the relationships that you can make worth more than the speaking fee? The beauty of being an entrepreneur is this: you decide what's right for you. And your answer can change over time.

Copyright 2011 Meredith Liepelt, Rich Life Marketing
Meredith Liepelt, President of Rich Life Marketing, offers a free report called "101 Ways to Attract Ideal Clients, Build Your List and Raise Your Profile," which can be downloaded immediately at http://www.RichLifeMarketing.com.

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Ten Things All Authors Can Learn From Amanda Hocking

You may have heard of Amanda Hocking.  She is the 20-something-year-old author from my home state of Minnesota who self-published some novels as e-books and sold more than a million copies.  According to Wikipedia, about 9,000 copies of her novels sold each day earlier this year.  Many of her e-book novels were priced at just 99 cents, but supposedly she has earned 1-2 million dollars from her ebook sales.  Earlier this year, she signed a $2 million, four-book deal with St. Martin's press.

Now, before you think success in the publishing industry is as easy as cranking out some e-books on your own and throwing them up on Amazon, you should read a few words of advice.  They echo many of the same things I have said on this blog time and again, but they are not MY words of advice.  They are the words of Amanda Hocking, taken from her blog.  I have added my commentary after her quotes.  I thought it would be a good idea to pass along these pearls of wisdom from Amanda because 1) She is absolutely right, and 2) Every author, no matter where they are published or how they are published, can really learn something here.  Amanda's quotes are in bold.  My comments are not.

1.  I don't think people really grasp how much work I do.  As I have mentioned before, most authors work for years to become an overnight success.  It doesn't happen overnight, in 3 months or even a year.  If you are expecting your book to "burst upon the scene" and sell thousands of copies the day it is released, you are going to be sorely disappointed.  I have had authors ask me how long it will take to make their book successful.  The answer:  I don't know.  Nobody can answer that question. 

2.  This is literally years of work you're seeing. And hours and hours of work each day. The amount of time and energy I put into marketing is exhausting. I am continuously overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do that isn't writing a book. I hardly have time to write anymore.  Being an author is more than writing a book.  If you aren't willing to put in the time to market and promote yourself, in addition to what your publisher is doing, very few people are going to read your book.  Although Amanda has signed with a publisher now, that doesn't mean she will get to spend all of her time just writing books.  She will still have to market and promote in addition to what her publisher is doing.

3.   My books have all been edited - several times, by dozens of people with varying backgrounds - and people still find errors.  I get calls from panicked authors who are upset because they have found a spelling error, a typo,  a misplaced comma, etc.  No book is perfect, not even books written by millionaire bestselling authors who are signed with major NYC publishing houses.  No matter how many times you go through a book and how many times it goes through editing, you will never obtain absolute perfection.

4.  And just so we're clear - ebooks make up at best 20% of the market. Print books make up the other 80%. Traditional publishers still control the largest part of the market, and they will - for a long time, maybe forever.  Actually, the latest figure I have seen from the industry is that ebooks make up about 12 percent of the publishing marketplace.  I have heard too many authors express fears that nobody wants to buy books printed on paper anymore.  That is just silly.  Most books sold in the U.S. today are books printed on actual paper, not ebooks.

5.  Even if ebooks end up being 80% of the market, at least half of those sales will probably come from traditionally published ebooks. So publishers will still control the majority of the market.  Most ebooks sold right now are books that are produced by publishers.  Yes, there are a lot of self-published ebooks out there, but without the backing of a publisher they largely go unnoticed.  Publishers still serve a function, even if a book is released as an ebook.


6.  Publishers have done really great things for a really long time. They aren't some big bad evil entity trying to kill literature or writers. They are companies, trying to make money in a bad economy with a lot of top-heavy business practices.  I have never understood why so many authors begrudge a publisher for trying to earn a profit.  If a publisher doesn't make money, they aren't going to publish more books.  More specifically, they aren't going to publish YOUR books if they don't make any money off of them.   Publishers, by and large, are not non-profit entities.  At the company I work for, authors can purchase their books from us at a 60 percent discount and resell them for full retail.  The authors make more money off the sale of their own books than we do.  But yes, we do still make some money on the books.  We wouldn't be in business if we didn't. 

7.  Nobody knows what makes one book a bestseller. Publishers and agents like to pretend they do, but if they did, they would only publish best sellers, and they don't.   This is absolutely correct. There is no secret formula for becoming a bestseller.  I can't tell you how to make your book a bestseller.  Nobody can.  Despite how many "bestseller courses", webinars, seminars or books you buy from people who tell you they can show you "the secret" to how to make your book a bestseller, there are no guarantees in the publishing industry.  The folks who sell these products can tell you how THEY became a bestseller, but nobody can tell you how YOU can become one, too.  I can help authors make their books profitable, but I can't guarantee any author bestseller status.

8.  I guess what I'm saying is that just because I sell a million books self-publishing, it doesn't mean everybody will. In fact, more people will sell less than 100 copies of their books self-publishing than will sell 10,000 books.  I personally cringe when an author tells me they expect to sell a million copies of their book.  It's not because I don't have faith in the author or their book, or because I don't think their book is good.  It's because I don't think most authors realize what it takes to sell 10,000 copies of their book, let alone one million copies.  Since Amazon began making the Kindle e-book available, only eight authors have sold more than a million ebooks, whether they were priced at 99 cents or $9.99.  That's right:  eight.  Concentrate on selling one book at a time, and if the market responds, you'll start to see the sales numbers grow, but don't expect to sell a million copies right out of the gate.

9.  But I just think everyone should be realistic about this. When J. K. Rowling became the world's first billionaire author, I didn't go, "Ha! I will publish now, now that I see an author can make that much money doing it."  Not only is J.K. Rowling the world's first billionaire author, I think she remains the ONLY billionaire author.  The cold, hard fact is this:  most authors will not become bestsellers, and most authors will not make a million dollars selling their books.  You can say this about any profession, really.  How many extremely talented musicians do you see playing at small clubs in your area, musicians that are really, really GOOD, maybe even great, who will never sell a million copies of their CD or make it to the top of the music charts?  The answer is, most of them.  But most don't do it for the money.  They do it for the love of their craft, and because they do have a fan base that they want to please.

10.  Most people who do it will not get rich, just like most authors signed up at Scholastic books aren't billionaires.  Traditional publishers are not evil any more than Amazon or Barnes & Noble are evil. Things are changing, hopefully for the better, but it is still hard work being a writer.   Notice once again that Amanda says "it's hard work being a writer."  She isn't just talking about the act of writing a book, but the whole process, including marketing and promotion.   It IS hard work, and no author will become successful without it.  That is why authors must sell books, attend book fairs, signings, speaking engagements, reach out to readers via social media and the myriad of other tasks that have nothing to do with writing if they hope to be successful. 

Amanda Hocking has probably taken the hardest road to success in the publishing industry.  She self-published her books, and she did everything on her own.  I know of only one other author who has achieved that kind of success without the backing of a publisher.  Whether an author is self-published or not, Amanda learned that the road to publishing success relies on a good book, hard work, lots of self-promotion, and just plain old luck.

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