Book Review - Book Promo 201

Book Promo 201: Harness the Power of the Internet
with Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing
Author: Nikki Leigh

Every author, whether new or established, could boost their marketing campaign to new heights by reading Book Promo 201. Many other books on promotion are like cotton candyall fluff and sugar. Not this book. Author Nikki Leigh delivers the blue-plate special. She doesn’t just talk about promotion; she gives you real-world examples that work. And, she includes multiple tips from other marketing gurus who she networks with regularly. If you follow her advice, you will also build quality strategic alliances while successfully promoting your book.

Book Promo 201 is far more than an information or reference book. It’s a workbook. Each major section has bullet points or a series of questions to help you gain a working knowledge of that topic. They also help you tailor that particular marketing technique to your specific needs.

Another thing that sets this book apart is the scope and depth of coverage on all aspects of Web 2.0 sites. The Internet has evolved from displaying static brochures to becoming more interactive and social in nature. Gone are the days when you simply announce that you have an interesting book. Social networking gives you the opportunity to interface with folks of like interest. By using the extensive information in Book Promo 201, you will begin to build a community where you can share your passion with others who enjoy having conversations about the same topic.

Even established authors will appreciate the thorough listing of links related to book promotion. It’s likely you will find new links listed here. In fact, the time you save in finding these invaluable links on your own are worth the price of the book. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that an old book is new to someone who hasn’t read it yet. Previously published books could greatly benefit from a re-energized marketing campaign following the suggestions in Book Promo 201.

If you’re not tech-savvy, have no fear. Book Promo 201 is written in clear language that anyone can easily follow. The suggestions in this book will take you from know-nothing to do-something in a fraction of the time it would take you to figure it out on your own.

Book Promo 201 is not just a handy reference manual. It is a MUST HAVE for every author, no matter how many books you have published. Read it, re-read it, and follow the advice Nikki Leigh offers. It’s like having access to the minds of multiple marketing masters in one volume.

Book Review – Successful Social Marketing

The Savvy Book Marketer’s Guide to Successful Social Marketing
Author: Dana Lynn Smith
Publisher: Texana Publishing Consultants (April 2009)
Pages: 210 pages

All successful authors know that defining and understanding their target audience is a key element in their marketing campaign. Participating in online social media gives authors an unprecedented way to interact with their audience. It takes them well beyond simply having a presence on the Web.

However, effectively managing on online promotional campaign can be an overwhelming task. Figuring out how to post the best information in the right place to maximize return-on-investment of time is difficult without proper guidance. That’s exactly where Dana Lynn Smith’s latest e-book, The Savvy Book Marketer’s Guide to Successful Social Marketing, can help.

The book contains in-depth sections on a wide variety of social marketing outlets including blogging, micro-blogging, social networking, reader communities, online forums, content sharing, bookmarking, and more. In fact, the book covers so many options that it contains a warning not to try all of them. Instead, Smith provides resources to help develop a marketing strategy that works best for you and your book using a combination of selected tools that maximize your time investment and will yield the best results. Besides the Action Plan that is at the end of each chapter, there is also a ten-step blueprint in the last chapter to help you develop your unique social marketing plan.

Smith goes well beyond simply listing what resources are available. She details step-by-step instructions for setting them up and using them properly. This includes information about the unique lingo and etiquette of each resource. She also gives tips on ways to attract an audience and common mistakes that will ultimately drive folks away.

I was particularly impressed with the depth of information on Twitter and Facebook, each having its own chapter. Even though I have been using these services for some time, I still found multiple examples of resources available on these two sites that I didn’t even know existed, much less how to use them effectively. In other sections of the book I also found resources and tips for using them in ways that I had not considered before. This is a hallmark in all of Smith’s books. Even if you have been in marketing for some time, you will still find new information to use. Her creative, yet practical tips will provide new marketing outlets to incorporate into your strategy.

Dana Lynn Smith is an expert in marketing and everything in The Savvy Book Marketer’s Guide to Successful Social Marketing proves it. This is the most comprehensive and well-researched resource available. If you only purchase one book on this topic, make it Successful Social Marketing.

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.

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.