Talking with Gail Turner Brown on Book Publishing, Marketing and Creating Products

This past Thursday Gail Turner Brown and I talked on her Small Business Explosion Blabathon about book publishing, marketing and selling products. I encourage checking out Blab and start using it to promote your content, it is pretty cool.




Watch for a announcement coming shortly on how you can join with me and create your book. We should be having some fun, Gail is a lot of fun to have an interview with. Her episode also got me off the fence and move my publishing membership site forward. You can learn more by clicking the Yes You Can Write a Book graphic over on the right side.

Launching Your Book and Going for Best Seller Status

The launch plan from my recent of Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing

The theory for producing a best selling book is to drive as many people as you can to buy your book through the narrowest time frame in a book category that doesn’t have very many books in it. You also want to pick a category that doesn’t have a popular best selling author or big selling book at the top that you have to take on.

This is why building your platform is important; you need fans to do this. If you can do this it is very likely that you can create a bestselling book. Maybe even a #1 category best seller. It won’t last long so be sure to screen capture the Products Details area of the Amazon sales page for your marketing. Generally this technique works best with Kindle books because you can lower the price down to $.99. But I have also seen it work with paperback books but the per book price will by much higher.

Picking Categories for Your Book

___Research your categories.

___Select specific categories that have under 5,000-7,000 books in them, better if you can find one with low thousands or even hundreds of books.

___Try to find a category that doesn’t have books in the top 2,000-4,000 overall Amazon sales rank. You also don’t want to have a superstar or best selling author sitting at the top of your category. You are never going to beat Oprah.

___When you upload your book, select the BASAC book categories as close as you can to the Amazon categories. Be sure to include the Amazon categories in your description and keywords. One of the issues that happens is that the BASAC book categories don't really match the Amazon sales page categories. What you do is select categories, 2 for Kindle and 1 for CreateSpace, that are as close as you can get them. You then try to let Amazon know where your book sits by putting some of the final categories in your book title/subtitle, in the description and in the keywords. Once the book starts to sell Amazon will drop your book into its real categories. This is all kind of a mystery. You can also email Amazon and ask them to reassign your book to a different category from the one they picked.

Launch Your Book

___Prepare and send out your launch announcement or any articles that you might be releasing to your Blog and Influencers network.

___Send press releases out to PR sites, free and paid.

___Prepare a book trailer or announcement video that you can share on your social media site and book website. Host it on YouTube.



 Here is the book announcement trailer that I made for my book.

___E-mail your list that you are launching your book and would love to have their support. Give them the book link and instructions on when to buy.

___Lower your Kindle price to $.99.

___If released over CreateSpace lower your price a little.

___Announce the upcoming release through all your social media

___Release your book.

___E-mail your list that your book is now live.

___Announce your book is live on your social media sites, include a cover shot and the link to Amazon.com.

___If you are giving away a free bonus gift tell everyone how to get it.

    One of the questions I am asked is can you get the e-mail addresses and names of your book buyers. The answer is no, Amazon doesn’t reveal this information. But there is a way to get some of the names using a technique call the Amazon Receipt Strategy. Remember your buyer is your most valuable connection, this is someone that actually put down money and bought your product. You want to be connected to this person.

___Conduct a Virtual Launch Party on Google Hangout.

___Release your Virtual Book launch and tour.

___Post your progress in your social media accounts during the launch day about what is going on, how exciting it is. Encourage others to join in, get your fans involved to get you over the top to a #1 position.

___Be sure to screen capture your Amazon ranking as you climb, don’t try to guess the top, just keep recording the screen during the day. This information is located in the Product Details section of your Amazon book sales page.

___Re-email your list about your launch, be sure to not burn out this list.

Amazon Receipt Strategy

This is an advance strategy for collecting the names of your buyers

• First you need to pull together a bonus gift for buying your book, a pdf report, a short video series, extra training, something you can give away. This is a great way to develop a list of your buyers.

• Second instruct your readers to sign-up on a e-mail sign-up form on our website using their book receipt number to gain access. There are a variety of services that you can use for this. I use AWeber.com

• Third send them a link to the offer or whatever the gift is. You now have their e-mail address and often their name.

The above text is from the International Best Selling Book by J. Bruce Jones, Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing is available at Amazon in Print and Kindle. J. Bruce Jones is the author and creator of over 40 books and training courses for authors who are self-publishing their books.

To Buy a Copy, Please Click Below

Print: Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing with Complete Action Plan

Kindle: Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing with Complete Action Plan

Write and Create a Book Quickly Using the Top Ten Tips Technique, Be a Published Author

The top ten tips technique for writing and creating a book is a quick and easy way to pull together a book for your business, profession or interest. J. Bruce Jones, "BruceTheBookGuy" takes you through the simple steps that he has use to write and teach others how to write and create their books.

Basic steps include:

1. Write down the 10 best tips or lessons on or about your business, or your expertise. Keep these to one or two sentences each. #1 is your best then follow with 9 more.

2. Write out one paragraph for each tip or lesson, just one paragraph.

3. For each lesson expand that 1 paragraph to 3-4 paragraphs, flush out the concepts.

4. Add an author bio along with a photo and contact info at the back of the book. Add a resource list at the back of the book, an intro for the front, a table of contents and any additional info that might apply to your book. If you offer programs or consulting, drop that in also, give readers a call to action. We are talking 28-36 pages when done. This isn't a manifesto.

5. Have your book edited and proofed. After your book is formatted and laid out have it printed out and re-edit again.

6. Format your book in MS Word or some similar word processing application such as Google Doc, Pages, or Scrivner. If you are going to print your book, create an original document that is the page size of your book. 5 ½” x 8 ½” is a great size and is easy to get printed at a quickie print shop for those first copies. If you have access to Adobe InDesign that also works very well. A local designer can help with this stage.

7. Create a separate file for the cover. For an ebook/Kindle, front cover only and save it as a jpg. For a printed book on CreateSpace, set up a full cover spread, back, spine and front. Both Kindle and CreateSpace/Amazon have online tools you can use to make a cover. If you are using a local quick print shop like Staples you can leave out the spine.

8. If sending your book to Kindle then save it as an html file for the web. If you are going to print, export or save as a pdf file. Also export your cover file.

9. Upload your book files to Kindle, or CreateSpace.com, CreateSpace is the print-on-demand, self-publishing side of Amazon.com, or take the two pdf files to a local quick print shop. If hosting on-line at Amazon, add descriptions, author bio, categories and keywords.

10. Market your book though the popular social media channels; FaceBook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pinterest, your website, and YouTube. These lessons make great videos and blog posts. Give it out to potential and current customers. Make the book available on your website as a pdf download.

If you like this video I have a companion course that teaches you how to format your book, build your cover and publish your book on Kindle.

learn more and to download a free companion book on how to create your own Top Ten Tips Book visit Easy Kindle Books at http://www.easykindlebooks.com

Special Discount Coupon for the Course: KindleBonus

Join our publishing Facebook group at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HowToPublishYourBook/

How Do I Launch My Book, It is Launch Day!! Launch Prep 3

Launch Day if coming, your book is done and it is ready to go. Today is the day. Below are some of the steps to have in place for your basic book launch. Things every book launch should have.

___Hopefully you have been building a relationship with your bloggers and influencers. Let them know the launch date.

___Ask them to give you their support when your book launches.

___Send your influencers a free book or at least a pdf of your book, you can also send it as an Amazon gift.

___Ask for an interview from your influencers, getting a review or possibly publish an article you wrote around a topic that relates to your book. These relationships need to be nurtured over time, don’t just show up demanding that they publish your stuff.

___Prepare your platform and e-mail lists for an announcement blast about your upcoming book. Build anticipation for your book using your social media sites and your email list.

___Start announcing your upcoming book release date on your social media platforms.

___Ask people to buy your book on a specific day and ask for reviews.

___The day you release ask your fans to support your book.

___If on Kindle reduce your book price to $.99.

___Publish your book on CreateSpace/Amazon.com Congratulations!

___Buy your book so you know everything is working, this starts your Amazon ranking. I like to do this several days before you actually release your book. The key here is to have it already live so you know everything is working.

___Have several friends buy your book and submit reviews. Amazon reviews need to come from actual paying customers. Don’t announce that the book is ready for buying yet but you want to know everything is working and you have some reviews.

___Be sure to take screen shots of your book’s Amazon rank once it launches and starts to move through the ranks to best seller status. The book ranking information is located in the Product Details area on your Amazon Book Page. Best seller status is generally regarded for books that reach into the top 100 ranking in their categories. See the above graphic.

I will be releasing a much more detailed post on how I launched my recent book, Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing and took it to International Best Seller. It isn't really that hard.

The above text is from the International Best Selling Book by J. Bruce Jones, Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing is available at Amazon in Print and Kindle. J. Bruce Jones is the author and creator of over 40 books and training courses for authors who are self-publishing their books.

To Buy a Copy, Please Click Below

Print: Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing with Complete Action Plan

Kindle: Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing with Complete Action Plan

What Price Should I Charge for My Book? Launch Prep 2

One of the more common questions I get asked is how I determine what price my books should be. This question is usually asked right about at launch time. For me picking categories and positioning is more important but pricing does play in the release of your book and is important in sales.

___Pricing, I put pricing after you have looked at the other books in your category and reviewed the best selling books.

Amazon has done a lot to drive prices down and because we are mostly releasing our books through Kindle or CreateSpace I think we can have some general guidelines. If bookstores are in your mix then you need to look a that market also. For most of us who are self-publishing then we can do our research of Amazon.com

E-Book Kindle, $.99 to $2.99, they can be more but often in this range unless you are very popular. On page 2 of your Kindle book upload area you will set your book price with either a 35% or 70% royalty. Review for the one that fits your book best. For the launch most authors price their Kindle books at $.99 and then increase it after a couple of weeks to $1.99 and then $2.99. If your book is a picture book then you will be paying for the file downloads and most likely select the 35% rate. If your book is all text then the 70% might be better.

Print/CreateSpace paperback books, I look at the competition, size, market, what my market will bear, and color. Color books are more expensive. I tend to price my 8.5” x 11” books around $9.95 for black an white and $14.95 for color. My 6” x 9” books are often in the $6.95-$7.95 range. These are rough ranges. Number of pages, size, color all matter when figuring out your price. I often try to generate around $2.50-$3.50 for my royalty payment. Again there are no hard rules on this.

CreateSpace has a royalty alculator that you can use to figure out your books royalty payments based on different list prices, page counts and the sizes of your book.

Another question I get asked when people ask me about pricing is how much money will I make, or what are the royalties for my book and why does Amazon take so much. In reality Amazon doesn't take that much, it is just that they have to maintain all the back end for our books. The sales page, ordering, shipping or delivering and tracking and sending the money. While running one of the biggest e-commerce sites on the planet. For print I usually try for $2.50-$3.50 for the US market and $1.00 for overseas, for Kindle I am in kind of the $.50-$.70 range, maybe a little more.

Click here and then select the royalties tab https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/

The above text is from the International Best Selling Book by J. Bruce Jones, Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing is available at Amazon in Print and Kindle. J. Bruce Jones is the author and creator of over 40 books and training courses for authors who are self-publishing their books.

To Buy a Copy, Please Click Below

Print: Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing with Complete Action Plan

Kindle: Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing with Complete Action Plan

How to Prepare for Your Book Launch, Launch Prep 1

The big day is here, your book is done, edited and ready for publishing. To give your book a great start you want to conduct a book launch instead of just releasing it. Book launches can be very involved and take a lot of planning. Or you can work with what you have. The key here is to work with whatever author platform you have put together and with all other media you have access to. With a little thinking and planning you can have a successful book launch.

___Book is written, and edited.

___Book is designed, formatted, copy edited and proof read before publishing.

___Book is uploaded to your publishing sites (Kindle, CreateSpace/Amazon, others, etc.) and ready to go.

___Research best selling books in your subject matter and be sure to incorporate their categories into your book’s description and keywords.

___Select your book categories, 1 for Createspace, 2 for Kindle. Categories should be related to your book subject matter to help with positioning and proper ranking. Select categories that have a low number of books in them and try not to have a super star author at the top.

___Have your Book Media Kit ready to go with your cover images, descriptions and author bios

___You have set up your different social media accounts and have active enough to attract attention and gather some followers. This is something you do on an ongoing basis.

___You have been building an email list of followers and have been keeping them at least warm with occasional mailings. Ideally you have been working on building a loyal following that is ready to buy your book.

In the next post I will talk a little about how to price your book and after that Launching.

The above text is from the International Best Selling Book by J. Bruce Jones, Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing is available at Amazon in Print and Kindle. J. Bruce Jones is the author and creator of over 40 books and training courses for authors who are self-publishing their books.

To Buy a Copy, Please Click Below

Print: Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing with Complete Action Plan

Kindle: Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing with Complete Action Plan

5 Tips for Marketing Your Book from Book Marketing Checklist for Self-Publishing

1. Your book marketing begins the day you start writing your book. We often don’t even know we are starting a book project, but we need to start building out our author platform as soon as you can. Your author platform are all the ways that your readers and fans are connected to you. We will be talking more about this shortly.

2. Amazon doesn’t do your online marketing for you. You have to market your book. Amazon is your sales and distribution site but you have to handle the marketing.

3. It is important to build some kind of central web home for your book, this can be a website or a blog. Facebook and Twitter are not homes for your book. You want to have a place online that you can blog from, host content, collect e-mail names, have your bio and your book description and info, and have connections so readers can buy.

4. Give Away to Get. Give away sample chapters, maybe even full books, related content, and information. Deliver however your reader wants. Fans need to touch and feel your content. Blogs make great places to give away your content. Just start at page 1 and create a series of blog post from your book. Copy and paste paragraph by paragraph, it is easy you have the content already written.

5. Around this content wrap ads for your book that are linked to Amazon. The ads can be thumbnails of the cover or links in the text that connect your book to Amazon. It is very easy to do. Google brings your visitors, they read all your great stuff and some of them will buy your book if you give them a clear path.

Here is my path to by my new best selling book, click the name to buy the book on Amazon, BookMarketing Checklist for Self-Publishing,