As we face a new year, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with resolutions and the desire to improve upon last year’s success or the lack thereof. But, sometimes the hardest part is placing proper focus on the right priorities. With a plethora of choices to market your message, it’s easy to fall into analysis-paralysis. So, I’ve provided twelve marketing tips to prevent you from freezing up and get 2012 off to a great start:

1. Enhance your author brand

If you don’t have an author brand, your first marketing move of 2012 is to start creating one. With all the voices competing for your audience’s attention, you must stand out more than ever. A brand is what makes you memorable and communicates your value. Thus, make sure your brand is infused into everything you do, including any of your books, products, services, bios, social media pages, etc. If you’re struggling to create a brand, review these seven principles on my website (http://www.startawildfire.com/buildabrand.html).

2. Grow your newsletter list

If you don’t have a regular author newsletter, start one today. I recommend inexpensive services, such as ConstantContact or MailChimp. If you already have a newsletter, maintain consistency and focus on growing your database. Encourage people to register by offering an exclusive resource only available to new subscribers. Give a prize at your author events to induce new signups. Ask people you meet for permission to add them to your database. Set a goal to add at least 100 new subscribers per month.

3. Launch new spin-off products

For every book, there are usually three or more spin-off opportunities you could offer. Yet, most authors fail to capitalize on these options. You’ve already got the content. Why not offer it in various formats that people prefer? For instance, turn your printed book into an e-book, audio book, or video study with participant’s guides. Turn your novel into a theatrical play, movie script, or broader series of stories. By doing so, you can penetrate your audience deeper or entice a new section of your target market.

4. Seek high-profile endorsements

A great way to boost your expertise and credibility is to have well-known people publicly support you. So, start out this year by seeking to add at least 2 – 3 written or video testimonials from leaders who would be respected by your readers. Credibility is the foundation for trust, and trust is the foundation for purchasing your books or services.

5. Pursue bulk sales

No matter what kind of book you write, there is almost always an opportunity to sell it in large quantity. Bulk sales mean more revenue with less effort. For example, if you speak at events or conferences, ask the director if they’d like to buy your book or product for every attendee. Provide volume discounts as the quantity goes up. You can also garner bulk sales by creating a special version of your product that is unique to the customer, such as a custom cover, exclusive content, bonus features, etc. Don’t overlook the lucrative opportunity to sell caseloads.

6. Create a media calendar

Most radio and TV producers get so many requests that they rarely chase authors down for interviews. Instead, they usually wait for people to contact them. Increase your ability to land bookings by setting up your own media calendar. Examine January through December, and list any holidays, occasions, or seasonal periods when your expertise would be desired. In addition, create a list of topics that you could speak about as an expert if those issues hit the national headlines. Write press releases and submit 2 – 3 months ahead of time. It’s easier to get more media coverage when you plan ahead for it.

7. Use social media to promote your value

Twitter and Facebook are fully integrated into our society, but 90% of all social media chatter is idiotic drivel. However, this makes it easier for you to stand out by providing value, rather than inane comments and discussions. Use social media to give away more of your expertise than the year before. Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. You can’t be seen as an expert if you keep your expertise under wraps. Give away free advice, articles, discounts, samples, resources, etc.

8. Attend a major conference in your field

Where do influential leaders and readers gather? At major conferences and events. If you want to meet them, you’ve got be in the same room rubbing shoulders. Pick at least one new conference and put it in your 2012 budget to attend. Technology is cool, but social media will never replace face-to-face interactions to build relationships and promote your book.

9. Say “no” more often

Who you are is more defined by when you say “no,” rather than when you say “yes.” Anyone can say yes to everything. But, they will wind up stressed out, watered down, and ineffective. It’s better to be an expert in your field than a “jack of all trades – master of none.” So, make a conscious effort to say no to projects that don’t fit your brand or area of expertise. This can be emotionally difficult in the short-term, but wildly rewarding the long-term. Shut the door on selfish people trying to use you, products or books that aren’t profitable, negative people who drain your energy, etc. With the time and energy you gain, you’ll be better positioned to maximize the opportunities you encounter.

10. Raise your fees

Take a look at what you charge to speak, write, consult, or train, and consider raising your fees. Inflation is always going up, and if your fees aren’t rising along with it, you’ll soon fall behind. If your fees have stayed the same for the past two years, then your products or expertise can look stagnant. Assuming that you’re an author who is smarter and more skilled than you were a year ago, you should be worth more. Thus, raise your fees.

11. Set aside time now for vacation and rest

Many authors work tirelessly to write a book. In the process, vacations and periods of rest tend to get pushed to the backburner. This leads to burnout, stress, and lowered creativity. Instead, set aside vacations and downtime first, and make your writing schedule work around it. You will feel more relaxed knowing that a vacation is established, rather than relying on the crumbs of your schedule. I say this from personal experience.

12. Invest in your professional growth

Your marketing this year will only be as good as your knowledge and skills. And, you won’t learn how to be a better marketer through osmosis. So, my final piece of encouragement is to invest in yourself. Don’t look at professional development as an expense. You are spending money to make a lot more money. There are books, coaching programs, tutorials, and conferences available to help you improve your marketing. I’ve just launched several new learning opportunities for authors. If you want to increase book sales, then you’ve got to increase your marketing skills.

Don’t let my list of 12 marketing moves overwhelm you. Pick a couple of the issues I’ve discussed and start on them this week. With focus and enthusiasm, your marketing can reach new heights in 2012.

Rob Eagar is the founder of WildFire Marketing, a consulting practice that helps authors and publishers sell more books and spread their message like wildfire. He has assisted numerous New York Times bestselling authors and his new book, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, will be published by Writer’s Digest in May, 2012. Find out more about Rob’s advice, products, and coaching services for authors at: www.startawildfire.com

There is a TON of valuable information in this post. All of the links open in a new window and the content will laser in on that topic. I invite you to spend some time here and really take advantage of this FREE platform I’ve developed just for you.

For those of you who are just getting started online, this post would be excellent for you to print out and keep by your computer as you
build your online platform (your website, social networks, leads – it is all-encompassing of your touch-points online). For those of you who think they are on a great track online, this may be a good post to see what has slipped between the cracks or what area you could build up for better results.

So let’s get started. Consider your online platform and online presence. Really think about the blood, sweat and tears you’ve put into building a website (whether you invested $10,000+ or started a free WordPress site), into starting a social networking account and trying to figure it out, into listening to webinars and teleseminars and reading blog posts on “how” to do it all. Next, I invite you read each question *slowly* and really analyze where you’re at with each of these items:

• Do you have a professionally designed logo that can make for good branding?
• Are you staying ‘up to date’ on what’s happening in your industry so you become the go-to authority for news?
• Do you post to your blog regularly (not once a month, but one a week or more?)
• Is your business brand consistent between all touch points online – from your LinkedIn profile to your Facebook cover to your email newsletter look and feel?
• Have you looked at your content in the past three months to see what, if anything was outdated material?
• Do you do what you say you are going to do online (release new products on time, follow through with your ideas, etc.)?
• When is the last time you did keyword research or competitor research?
• Have you reached out to anyone lately to discuss the concept of collaboration, so you can grow your business more quickly in new markets?
• Do you have a growth plan or goals to help grow your business (such as how many email subscribers you’ll get, how many Facebook friends, how many blog posts, how many emails will you send out to your list each month, etc.)?
• Have you stepped back to evaluate if your web team really IS good, or just the inexpensive solution who isn’t really getting you where you need to be?
• Does your website design help you or hurt you, and when is the last time you’ve evaluated areas for improvement?
• Do you have a solid free introductory product you can give away as incentive for people to sign up to your mailing list?
• And is that free introductory product branded and professionally designed and formatted?
• Do you have obvious social networking icons and feeds on your website so web visitors can connect with you?
• Does your tagline make sense and help you stand out from the noise? Is it easy to remember and does it make an impact?
• Do you have a list of keywords you are targeting with every piece of content you write, so you can start dominating search engines?
• Are you regularly adding products to your website that are for sale so people can get ‘the next best thing’ from you?
• How often are you adding a ‘call to action’ in everything you do (at the end of blog posts, in your email newsletters, in every contact point)?
• Are you organized with your business and do you treat it like a real business with scheduling and planning meetings?
• Do you thank your web visitors, email subscribers, social networking friends and clients for sticking with you?
• How often do you implement new ways to drive traffic to your website and blog?

Your impact on the web IS what you make of it. Those are just a few questions you can ask yourself from time to time to make sure you are BUILDING. Starting an online business is not the easiest task in the world. You are competing with billions of web pages out there. But, there is more than enough room in the sea for us all to profit.

The trick is knowing what to do next to continue building your online platform. Stay focused. Don’t lose the momentum. If you need help with your direction or with implementing tasks, feel free to contact me and let’s have a loose conversation about it. The key is to get help from people who know what they are talking about – and that becomes obvious when someone writes about those topics and gives away the farm just to help others. I’m not tooting my own horn here so much as just teaching how to identify the right kind of person to help you with your business.

If you thought this post was of value, please SHARE this post with others on your social networks. My goal is simple: Helping Others. As many as I can get my hands on.

Thank you for spreading the light!

So many people have this dilemma. The next step is to rush, rush through logo and website design, rush to add content to the site, rush to turn that sign over to read “Open for business!”

My suggestion? Ask your web developer (how do you know if your web person is any good? click here) to put up a blog with a decent free theme. Someplace you can go to and start blogging now. You don’t have to have your logo done, web design done – nada. Just get “something” up and start the race. The key is to write content while you build the site – then add the design and branding in within the next month or two when you’re all set. This way you generate traffic NOW instead of waiting another two months (that would be super frustrating for you).

The #1 way to get a LOT more traffic and a LOT more results is to blog your heart out. Get to 100 blog posts as fast as possible. This will be key in starting to build your online platform! Adding content alone will give you a big increase in traffic. The faster you want results, the faster you should write blog posts with good valuable content.

Then people come to your site and love your blog post content. At that time, they will want to know what else they can get from you. So, what you want to work on creating is a KILLER good “free introductory offer” to give away in exchange for people signing up to your email list. It has to be something everyone wants NOW. (Such as the “7 things you are doing every day to kiss your financial future good-bye”) Something that everyone wants, today.

Let’s say you make a 7-15 page, beautifully designed and formatted eBook. I can help with the design and formatting (which needed to be done AFTER your branding and logo design so you have congruency). Once your eBook is ready (let’s say you have a goal to knock out the content in 7-10 days – design takes 2-3 days usually), now you have a high value product free on your site. Now you are leaps better at capturing leads.

Then you go to your calendar and make a note that once or twice a month, you send a high-value email to that email list so they are staying connected to you and interested in you.

Next, you start working on creating a $97 product. Maybe it is a 2 DVD or CD set (that is beautifully packaged – now that you have a brand and logo) and a small workbook. So you now funnel people from your free eBook to your $97 product that people can’t live without.

Then, you create the outline for a really great 4-8 week teleseminar. One a month maybe where you deliver a process or method, and then give the listeners a challenge to go execute on. Then end with a Q&A. Charge $300 per person.

Now you have a TON of free content from your blog and eBook (and other things you’ll naturally be a part of such as guest blogging, radio interviews, podcasting maybe), you have your rockin $97 product and teleseminar recordings. Now it’s time to start building your membership site (which could take 6-12 months to create). You give a high value call once a month, plus access to all of your content and interviews, etc. You charge $50-100 a month.

etc etc. By this point, you may not have even realized it, but you have an online platform now!

Now backing up, by the time your website design is done, set a goal for the number of blog posts you want to publish and have your eBook content done (or maybe the whole final eBook done).

Once that is done and design is complete, package it all together and then you work to create that next product to generate good starting income. You don’t need to wait for the perfect website – I can’t stress that enough.

Design is your brand, it is what people will see to connect with you, trust you and remember you. Let the content be so great that they don’t even care if you have a design.

Anything worthwhile doing takes time.

My CHALLENGE for you today is:

• Sit down and write out 30 ideas for topics you could write about that is related to your message or topic. Just brainstorm – free write. There’s no need to make this perfect. When you are just getting started, I say “JUST WRITE” than focus so hard on what topic you need to write about to be perfect, perfect. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to be perfect – just add value to people’s lives!
• Next, go to your calendar and write a reasonable and realistic schedule for how often you want to publish a blog post. Remember the goal is 100 posts as fast a possible. That could take you a year or 6 months – that is up to you. A good goal to start is twice a week. Then get used to that and up the ante again to 3 posts a week.
• Then, just start. It’s that easy, just “go”.

If you need help or have questions about building out your online platform, I would like to invite you to make a Facebook post below. If you want advice or direction, I’m always more than happy to share what I know. Thank you in advance for your interaction:

“I just started reading your ebook – Online Evolutions – and I wanted to let you know that it is truly inspirational! You talk about many of the same principles that I applied to my sales regime and daily routine early in my career. I must say that I needed a “refresher course”. Keep writing and offering up principles to live by!”  — Joyce K

“Thanks Amber! I got the hard copy of the (Online Evolutions) book in the mail yesterday. Thanks for your note. You are so great! I am excited! Thanks again! You rock!!!! “  — Sarah

I’ve been asked throughout this year, “When’s the next volume coming??” Thank you all for your patience as I could get this formatted and prepped for you. Today I can announce, “IT’S HERE!”

I had a ton of fun putting together Online Evolutions, Volume 2. I got so inspired I even started Volume 3 already!

So What is Online Evolutions 2 Anyway?

If You – Or Someone You Know – Wants to…

• How to create an eBook or product that sells or can go viral
• 21 tips to improve online efforts for better results
• Learn about eCommerce and selling products online, effectively
• Get over anxiety of not knowing what to do next or how to do it
• Learn key design and social media strategies every website owner should know

…Then Online Evolutions 2 has become one of the most important purchases you can make today.

Online Evolutions 2 is a 67-page collection of my top training articles and includes an impressive lineup of do-it-myself strategies that can give you the progress you’re wanting to boost your online status!

What if I need more convincing?

Online Evolutions, Volume 2 is really only for those of you who already know my work, the value I provide and don’t need convincing. However, you can download Online Evolutions 1 for FREE in the right sidebar to get a taste of the value. Then I am confident you will come back to look at Volume 2 as it holds 67 PAGES of more, more, more value.

Oh ya, almost forgot, I have a SPECIAL surprise for you…

I don’t know what got into me as I was finalizing this eBook, haha, but I got a wild itch to throw in a special surprise to those of you who have purchased the downloadable eBook OR the hard copy version. The catch is, you have to READ the book in order to get the surprise! Somewhere in one of the 67 pages I have a section blocked off a small section that has a link. This link will lead you to a special surprise that will absolutely make an impact on the way you look at your website and the way it performs for you. That’s all I can say!

So, what are the options to get  your hands on Online Evolutions 2?

Option 1.  You can get the Instant-Download eBook version for only $29.97

Option 2. You can get a printed, signed, hard copy version for $39.97 and get the eBook free while you wait a couple days for me to ship the book to you.

Once you get your copy, please let me know your thoughts. All I want to do is provide value to you and make your life easier. I know we are in an Information Age where you are bombarded with hundreds of “To-dos” and “Must-dos”. My goal is to tell you what is actually important and how to execute easily and without spending gobs of money. We must all pool together and help support each other toward success. From me to you – enjoy what I have prepared for you! 

The short answers?

1. Email your list as often as you promised you would
2. You do want to be respectful of how many emails you’re sending. I’d say weekly is plenty, but if you’re in a product launch, you can email you list a few times that week
3. You should give valuable content that will remind subscribers why they signed up for your list in the first place, plus leave them wanting more

The important thing to remember here is that your email subscriber list has made the first move by signing up. This is a way of saying, “I’m gonna trust you to deliver the goods.” If you want to build a long-term successful online business, your list is a precious gem that must be cared for.

Whether you offer a newsletter or just updates, you definitely want to read these Email Campaign rules before sending out one more email. The tips I am supplying are valuable to help get you higher deliverability rates and higher conversion rates from your list.

1. Send your campaign between 10am and 1pm (follow the time zone where the majority of your list lives). If you send it too early, people will be quick to delete your email because they just got to the office, they are already bombarded with emails and to-do’s. By sending your email campaign after that first wave of chaos, more subscribers will be more likely to read your content.
2. Be careful of the words you put in your Subject line. Avoid spam words such as ‘free’, ‘limited time only’, ‘for you’, ‘buy’, ‘amazing’, ‘click here’, ‘offer’, ‘winner’, ‘opportunity’, etc. To view a list of the top 100 words you should avoid in Subject lines, click here »
3. It’s a good idea to add into your email a “Send to a Friend” link. Also, be sure to have a “Subscribe” link for in the instance someone is forwarded your email and is not on your list. Always make it as easy as possible for people to subscribe on your website, emails, eBooks you create, etc. Even if you have to write, “Like what you see? Got to www.domain.com and signup to receive similar updates!”
4. Sit down for one day each month and brainstorm a content plan. When the day comes to send your email, you don’t want to get Writer’s Block on what to say. Make a general list of topics you could cover in your email and in addition, keep a folder of good articles or website links that you can offer as resources.
5. Sign up for your competitor’s subscriber list. No, this isn’t to copy what they are doing. Instead, find new and fresh ways to deliver content that sets you apart from what they are doing. It is good to keep on top of what your industry has going on, then always try to stay ahead of the game.
6. If you are still sending emails from your personal email account, or are not able to send your campaign out to all email addresses at once, splurge and spend the $15 a month it takes to get an email management system that can do everything you want, like Constant Contact. You can read an earlier post titled, “Building & Managing Your Email Subscriber List with Constant Contact” which outlines the benefits, features, pricing and more.
7. In the email address you send from, make sure your domain is a part of it. For example, you could have ‘amber@insightfuldevelopment.com’. That way, people recognize your URL so are more apt to open it and they can go back to your website easily.
8. A smattering of tips to avoid getting caught in spam filters: Avoid using all caps to get a point across, keep your text black or blue – no red or yellow highlighting, limit your number of links in the email to 3 or 4, and don’t overdo punctuation such as !!! or ???.
9. It is worth noting that Constant Contact has some of the highest deliverability rates in the industry! Their deliverability rate is consistently above 97% — meaning if you send 100 emails, 97 will reach Inbox’s. So if you find that your emails before were landing in spam boxes, you may want to start considering an alternative.

If you haven’t done so, sign up for my monthly newsletter to get additional tips and tools that you won’t see on my site. Sign up in the right sidebar under “Let’s Stay Connected”.

But, it’s kind of fun right? When you get blog comments, or review your Google Analytics account and see 75 visitors or more in one day. Well, today I’m going to teach you a couple goodies that should get you even more excited!

1. I will share an SEO guide straight from Google so you are learning from the source on how to increase search engine placement.

2. Email Marketing Guide: I have a guide on “bad email keywords” that if you follow, will decrease the chances of your emails landing in SPAM boxes.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Guide:

There are SO MANY Internet marketers out there that say they have the keys to the castle – they have all the secrets – they have the breakthrough formula on SEO!!!

Caution yourself on who you pay attention to. I know a lot of these guys and have studied their sales and marketing process – this allows me to know which of these “experts” are legit and which ones will disappear after they make their one-time hit of cash. This is precisely why I started InsightfulDevelopment.com – I wanted a place where I could share everything I’ve learned (and most importantly experienced via trial-and-error, studying the top experts and figuring out what works) without making you uncomfortable or making you buy from me.

I personally really enjoy SEO – meaning the ways I can tweak my content to get better Search Engine rankings. Google works on a formula of ranking each webpage based on over 200 sets of criteria. SEO tactics can account for a good chunk.

I invite you to read Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide to learn from the source on how you can increase the placement of your pages.

You will learn how to…

• Create unique page titles

• Make good use of your description meta tag
• Improve the structure of your page URL
• Create more efficient site navigation for visitors
• Good practices for content and more!

Email Marketing “Bad Keywords” Guide:

With Email Marketing, most online programs will have a 30-40% deliverability rate. Meaning if you send 100 emails, 30-40 will actually show up in your subscribers Inbox. That’s why I always recommended Constant Contact – they get a 97% deliverability rate!

One of the reasons you get poor deliverability rates is because of spam keywords. I’ll let you read this very short guide to learn the rest!

“The Seven Dirty Words you can’t say in subject lines; plus 100 others you probably shouldn’t use either”

Need I say more?

What Have We Learned?

• Make your Opt-In box *stand out* on your page. Visually direct your visitors on what you want them to do
• With everyone asking for your email, you’d better have a worth-while offer as incentive otherwise you won’t be getting many visitors. A newsletter won’t cut it anymore unfortunately.
• Don’t ask for too much information. A name and email (or email field alone) is all you need, and all your visitors are willing to give away.

I’ve posted some examples below of opt-in boxes. You’ll see a wide variety from the way the box looks, what links are featured, what products are offered and more.

What are some cool opt-on boxes you’ve seen?

Shoot me a comment and let me know.

A few things to think about before you start designing:

• What is the purpose of your newsletter? Do you want to put together a document to keep readers updated on your industry? Do you want this to be more of a personal newsletter on your interests, recommended products, etc.? Get a good sense of your objectives and goals.
• Sit down and brainstorm every possible component you can think of that could be included in your newsletter – tips, jokes, quotes, testimonials, video, articles, etc. Make this list as long as possible (research what others have done for more ideas) and then refine your list down to the elements that get YOU excited. If you aren’t excited about what you’re doing, it’ll never get done. Alright, I’ll just give you my list and you can expand from there…
   
  • Table of contents
  • Intro paragraph/letter to readers
  • Quote of the week
  • What’s new with (YourName)
  • Upcoming teleseminars, webinars, events (yours or other’s in the industry)
  • (YourName) recommends section (books, IM products, events, etc.)
  • Fill in the blank formula (tip + few paragraph explanation)
  • Tips from the top (you + other experts)
  • Fun facts
  • Write how-to articles
  • Resources within your market (links to other’s sites/blogs, affiliate links)
  • Quiz (multiple choice)
  • Interview (bullets of the interview or transcribe)
  • Video of the week (if a digital version)
  • Updates in the industry
  • New product launches/JV opportunities
  • ______ in Review (Week in review, product x in review)
  • Statistics
  • Inspirational Thought/Message
  • Photos you’ve taken
  • Mission statement
  • Add volume and issue number
  • Guest articles or blog posts
  • Forum Q&A of interest
  • Lists (5 rules/tips, etc.)
  • Preview of next newsletter
  • Ask(YourName) section (they email in questions, and you answer)
  • Integrate “Send to a Friend”
  • Add “you can use this on your site if you add (this sentence/paragraph about me) to your post”
  • Case Studies
  • Call to action
  • Coupon for a percentage off your product or service
  • Refer a friend section
  • Celebrity profile (top IMs)
  • Humor – joke of the week
• Next, consider what format you want for your newsletter.
   
  • You can do a plain text format which is easy, fast, and has good deliverability in email accounts – but, it’s a little boring because there are no graphics or creative ways to break up the text.
  • HTML newsletters are a lot more fun because you can adjust the theme, colors, and layout – but, some email accounts only accept text emails so your email may appear messy.
  • You could also create your newsletter in a word processor (like Microsoft Word) and publish it as a PDF. This can give you a little more of a professional feel and you have complete creative control as well.
  • Or, do you want this to be a downloadable newsletter to send to people via email or post on a website? Or will this be a printed newsletter that you mail to your customers?
• If you’ve written in the past for articles or blogs, you know that writer’s block can set in and deter you from producing a finished product. I suggest writing out a list of ideas – article topics that you can put into a document and pull out when you need a little shove in the right direction.
• Frustrated with the design process or feeling a wave of procrastination in getting started? Go to your favorite search engine and type in “free newsletter templates” and bingo! – You’ve got instant motivation and a fill-in-the-blank template you can go to town with. Or, send me a quote request and I would be happy to help design and execute your newsletter.

Start with brainstorming about topics and elements you can put into your newsletter, then finish up with designing the template. Newsletters can be fun and rewarding (both personally and financially). Enjoy it!