Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Are You Annoying Your Facebook Friends with Tweets?

Twitter is full of tips from folks suggesting that you can easily feed a single post to multiple social media sites. While this may be convenient for you, it may annoy your followers.

Consider the fact that many of your viewers participate in multiple social media sites. If you use applications to feed your tweets (posts from Twitter) to Facebook, your followers are seeing duplicate information.

One of the tenets of article marketing is to post fresh content in multiple places. It's not a good idea to post exactly the same material on several sites. Many busy marketing folks tend to ignore this advice when using social media and it's coming back to haunt them. It can lead to loosing followers on Twitter, Facebook, or both.

In a post titled Stop the tweet spam! Two ways to filter Twitter into Facebook Eric Eldon recently published remarks on his blog that exemplify the problem. In it he also gives marketers ways to adjust their Tweet feeds so they can reduce the double entries on Facebook and other social media sites.

The trend among viewers is turning. If you want them to follow you on multiple sites, either provide fresh content for each one or cut down on the spam.

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A little tech help with The Writer's Coach

Just the FAQs has been invited to join Suzanne Lieurance on the last Wednesday of every month for her weekly teleclass, Build Your Business Write. I'll be answering questions about technical issues you face when trying to establish an online presence for yourself and your business.

Once you register, you’ll receive an email invitation to this event.

Join us for this informative teleclass Wednesday night and don’t forget to submit a question you would like to have answered during the call. There will also be special discounts on Just the FAQs eBooks for those registered.

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Friday, April 24, 2009

New Seven-Part Series on Writing and Selling E-books

Children's author Katie Hines has invited Just the FAQs to guest post on her blog about writing and selling e-books. The seven-part series titled What I Need to Know About Writing and Selling an Ebook, is a preview of articles that will appear later this year on the JTF site.

Each post will cover different aspects of writing and selling e-books including:

- Print or Digital Format: Which is Better for My Book?
- Target Audiences for E-books
- Maximizing the E-book Format
- Costs Involved with an E-book
- E-book Layout
- Selling Your E-book Online Using PayPal
- Protecting Your E-book File

A topic from the series will be posted every few weeks and runs through July.
Visit Katie's blog now to read the first post.

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Thursday, April 23, 2009

JTF Podcast with Dana Lynn Smith

Book marketing expert and author Dana Lynn Smith guests on the JTF Podcast to share some great tips on marketing to libraries and discuss her new release, Selling Your Book to Libraries, which is the first in her new series of e-books, The Savvy Book Marketer Guides.

You'll also get links to her blog for subscription to her newsletter that's always full of helpful advice. Plus, you'll receive her compilation book, Top Book Marketing Tips of 2008.

Listen to the podcast now. Read JTF's review of Selling Your Book to Libraries

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Book Review - Selling Your Book To Libraries

The Savvy Book Marketer’s Guide To Selling Your Book To Libraries
Author: Dana Lynn Smith
Publisher: Texana Publishing Consultants (February 1, 2009)
Pages: 57 pages

Libraries purchase over a billion dollars worth of books each year. These include those in the public sector, schools, and special libraries. Since most publishers offer little support for marketing these days, many authors are busy with the daunting task of self-promoting to their primary readership and often overlook selling their books to libraries. Finding the proper contact information and learning the library industry lingo may also seem too intimidating a task for most authors as well.

With Selling Your Book to Libraries, author Dana Lynn Smith provides all the information you’ll need to successfully launch a promotional campaign targeted to those who purchase books for libraries.

Smith has a degree in marketing and fifteen years experience in the book marketing business and it shows. Unlike many marketing books that are filled mostly with cotton-candy, all fluff and sugar, Selling Your Book to Libraries delivers the meat-and-potatoes information from the very first page. Even the introduction is a short course in the business of the library industry including the proper titles of the people who buy the books and what influences their purchases. Every paragraph thereafter is also filled with the kind of information you can actually put to use.

Besides the education you’ll receive about this segment of the book business, you’ll also get page after page of direct contact information. These include 100 library systems plus industry wholesalers and distributors that also sell to libraries. The contact information alone is well worth the price of the book.

The author also includes an action plan with details about launching your library marketing campaign. She tells you how to advertise to libraries through mediums such as direct mailings and library tradeshows.

All of Smith’s books are easy reads and exhibit her ability to use creativity in a practical way in book marketing. In this book she provides examples that help widen marketing opportunities. For instance, in one section she describes approaching libraries with the angle of being a local author and using “local” as a broad term. If you were raised or went to college in that town, you may still be considered a local author. If your book references that region of the country, it could also be considered a local book.

I highly recommend Selling Your Book to Libraries as well as Smith’s other books, including her free downloads. Following her marketing advice is sure to boost your sales.

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Saturday, April 18, 2009

Upcoming Interviews on the JTF Podcast

Just the FAQs Podcast series continues next week adding a wonderful interview with Dana Lynn Smith, who is the author of The Savvy Bookmarketer's Guides . The show airs Thursday, April 23rd. Look for a review of her book on the 22nd.

In May, the podcast features another interview with Dana during the release of the next book in her series, Successful Social Marketing. We're also looking forward to an interview with virtual tour coordinator Nikki Leigh, who is the author of Book Promo 201.

Subscribe to the RSS feed to immediately be notified when new podcasts become available.

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Thursday, April 16, 2009

JTF Podcast with Karen Reddick

The new Just the FAQs Podcast series kicks off with Karen Reddick, who is the owner of V-And-E-Services and The Red Pen Editor providing virtual author assistance and editorial services to publishers, authors, and writers.

Join us as we discuss the 2nd edition release of her incredibly helpful book, Grammar Done Right! a clear, commonsense approach to grammar and style. We also talk about the business of writing and how a professional author's assistant can aid you in all aspects of your publishing journey. Listen to the podcast now. Read JTF's review of Grammar Done Right!

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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Book Review - Grammar Done Right!

Grammar Done Right!
Author: Karen Reddick
Publisher: Unity House Publishing (January 1, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0978990439
ISBN-13: 978-0978990435
Pages: 132 pages

Grammar Done Right! is my favorite and most used desk reference. Karen Reddick has provided a superb compilation of grammar, punctuation, and style tips that every writer, professional or beginner, encounters on a regular basis. The book is organized in such a logical fashion that you can quickly find what you need and get back to writing. Instead of a list of rules, every tip is illustrated by examples of how to properly use a word or punctuation and often includes common misuses as well.

While the Chicago Manual of Style may be considered the de facto standard, I rarely use it because I reach for Grammar Done Right! first and have always found the answer to my query there.

Language is fluid. Spellings change as words come into common usage. Reddick addresses this fact in the expanded and revised 2nd edition. She makes suggestions for the different ways terms may be used in professional and casual writing. The examples are especially helpful with technical terminology.

With so much information being delivered electronically via the Internet and by e-mail, Grammar Done Right! is a must have resource for all business professionals and those who write for Internet publication including bloggers.

Faithfully consulting Grammar Done Right! has helped me evolve into a better writer. I’m looking forward to my new copy of the 2nd edition becoming an old friend and getting as worn and dog-eared as the first one.

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

New Podcast Series Launching

Just the FAQs is launching a new podcast series this week featuring informative interviews with industry professionals in the business of writing, marketing, and the creation of online media who will help you succeed in creating a top-notch product, reach your target audience, and generate buzz online.

The first guest will be Karen Reddick, a virtual author assist and author of Grammar Done Right!. A review of the book will be posted on Wednesday, April 15th and the podcast interview will air on Thursday, April 16th.

Future podcast guests will include marketing professionals Dana Lynn Smith, who is the author of The Savvy Bookmarketer's Guides and Nikki Leigh, who is a virtual tour coordinator and author of Book Promo 201.

Subscribe to the RSS feed to immediately be notified when new podcasts become available.

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Tuesday, April 7, 2009

New Classes From Author Marketing Experts

Starting this month, Author Marketing Experts (AME) is offering a series of free classes designed to help both all authors, whether novice or expert, learn how to market their books and take advantage of opportunities available on the Internet.

The classes at the newly dubbed AME-U feature industry leaders and marketing experts such as Jeniffer Thompson, author of Web Site WOW, and Kim Pearson, author of You Can Be An Author, Even If You’re Not a Writer.

They are also introducing a new format. The classes are available live to listen to by phone as well as interactive powerpoint presentations via an online conference room.

The first class in this series will be on Thursday April 9th at 4pm Pacific time. Jennifer Thompson will present Successful Blogging Techniques where you will "learn how to optimize your blog, write captivating titles, utilize keywords for added exposure, join online blog directories, understand the importance of avoiding duplicate content and much, much more."

The sessions are recorded, so for those who cannot attend the live event, you can check into getting an AME-U All Access Pass.

More helpful classes are being scheduled and will be posted soon. Be sure to visit the AME site right away to register for this week's class and to see the full calendar.

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