Tag Archives: promotion

The Well-Fed Self-Publisher – Peter Bowerman

The title of this book, “The Well-Fed Self-Publisher,” caught my eye right off the bat. I’ve been involved with writing and publishing for the last several years and one of the first things you learn is that self-publishing is a hard road and you hardly ever make any money at it. Yet this book blows that out of the water. Author Peter Bowerman takes us step-by-step through the process of self-publishing a book, from making the decision to self-publish in the first place by debunking the myth that you can’t do everything the publisher can, to learning the ins and … Continue reading →

What is a Virtual Book Tour?

We all know what a book tour is – an author will travel from town to town, visiting bookstores, schools, church gatherings where appropriate, and either speak directly about their book or about topics related to their book. The author is gone for a week to three weeks, generally, and they hope to generate a lot of sales and name recognition for their efforts. A virtual book tour is a new way to use the Internet for book promotion. The author will arrange for several blog sites and websites to feature either reviews of their book or interviews with the … Continue reading →

The Power of the Press Release: How to Unleash It in Six Easy Steps

Once you understand the potential of a press release, it helps to know the best way to unleash its power. I like to use the following six steps. Step 1: Pinpoint Your News Item If you can’t do this, don’t bother proceeding to any other steps. You MUST have a news item to center your press release around. Period. Take mine for example. Last week I had two new writing credentials to promote: Casting On, Binding Off, my latest Amazon Shorts release and the Bylines 2008 calendar I’m part of. Most authors make the mistake of thinking a new release … Continue reading →

The Power of the Press Release: Understanding Its Potential

Press releases are perhaps the most valuable tool for garnering “free” press and publicity any business can employ. I put free in quotes because nothing is ever truly free, is it? You do have to invest time in writing and distributing press releases. (This is assuming you’re doing it yourself. If you hire out, well, then it’s definitely not free.) But that’s the beauty of press releases. They allow you to save money on marketing while potentially netting huge results because you can do it yourself. “Sounds nice, but they wouldn’t work for me.” I used to think that too. … Continue reading →

Auctioning Off Your Products or Services

I wrote about how you can promote your business by donating to charity events, but I thought I should expand on HOW to get your products or services in an auction—and what you can do to make it a successful way to market your business… You may be surprised at how many opportunities there are to auction off your products or services and this can be an excellent way to get them into the hands of prospective customers or clients. Also, you do not have to donate a product or service in order to have it in an auction—while this … Continue reading →

Give Yourself a Promotion

I was chatting with a friend recently and he was asking about the differences between working at a home business and working a more traditional job. He said he needed the structure and the external validation of a traditional job “working for the man”—not to mention the regular paycheck. One thing he said made me chuckle, however—he said, “And you never get a promotion!” It got me to thinking, why in the world not? As a matter of fact, without a boss or board to make the decision, I can give myself a promotion anytime I want! I am all … Continue reading →

Cool Author Websites

As I skim around on the Internet, gathering information on authors for the book reviews I do here on Families.com, I have the chance to see many neat websites. Here are some of my favorites. James Dashner is the author of the Jimmy Fincher series for young adults. His site features mystical looking graphics, great shots of his book covers, and mysterious music. This is an example of a site matching the theme of the book perfectly. Jan Karon, author of the “Mitford” books, has taken a series of scenes that could easily be gatherings in Mitford itself and placed … Continue reading →

How To Ask For A Raise… And Get It—Part 2

Picking up where we left off… in Part One of “How To Ask For A Raise… And Get It” we discussed tips on how to obtain the often elusive salary hike. Here now are a few more ways you can better your odds before going into your supervisor’s office: 1. Demonstrate Consistent Performance As I mentioned in my pervious blog, it’s a good idea to make note of your accomplishments and be prepared to share them to gain leverage–essentially you’re proving hard work is mutually beneficial to both you and your employer. It’s in the company’s best interests to keep … Continue reading →

How To Ask For A Raise… And Get It—Part 1

I always admired my fellow co-workers who had the guts to ask my boss for a raise. When they came out of our supervisor’s office with a big grin I would quiz them on their approach and beg them to tell me what it was that finally swayed our frugal boss to give in to their demands (ahem!)… I mean, requests. They gave me a few answers, some common sense, the others–ones I would have never thought of on my own: 1. Do Your Homework Never approach your boss unprepared to answer the inevitable question: “Why should I increase your … Continue reading →