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Adding a Personal Touch
Since returning from Orlando, where we officially launched my latest book, BEYOND ME: LIVING A YOU-FIRST LIFE IN A ME-FIRST WORLD, I've been inundated with emails from people, asking what I did to "get the buzz going" so effectively. In the words of my marketing-expert buddy Jan Coates, "It isn't the one great thing you do, but the many things, that constitutes effective marketing." And adding personal touches to those "many things" is the icing on the cake. I believe in Beyond Me, and I have poured myself into its writing/editing/marketing. However, I have other deadlines breathing down my neck now, and it is no easy task to meet them when Beyond Me still looms large on my priority list. As a result, it's easy to dismiss anything that doesn't seem absolutely crucial to Beyond Me's immediate marketing needs. The problem with that sort of thinking is that it is far too short-sighted.People like personal touches. It's just that simple, folks. And sometimes adding a personal touch is a bit time-consuming. But adding personal touches is how my huge Internet networking system was put into place. It didn't happen by sending one giant e-mail blast and asking people to join forces with me to help market my next release(s). It happened--for the most part--one email at a time.Let me give you an example. When someone goes to my website and signs up to receive my weekly devotional mailing, I could simply add the name to my list--or not. I have chosen to follow up with a brief but personal note of welcome to "our weekly devotional family." I then encourage that person to go back to my site and sign my guestbook to be entered into my monthly book giveaway. (Conversely, if someone signs my guestbook, I drop them a note and encourage them to join my mailing list.) This establishes a personal connection--and very possibly a long-term author/reader relationship.I also make it a point to personally respond to readers who write to tell me how much they enjoyed reading one of my books. I realize that may sound like a no-brainer, but in addition to being an author I am also an avid reader. When I come across a book I really enjoy, I usually take the time to write to that author and express my feelings about the book and the writing. I am amazed at how often I get no response! That may or may not affect my desire and follow-up to buy that author's next book, but I can't help but wonder why that particular author isn't taking a moment to add that personal touch and build a faithful reader base. Personal touches are important, ladies and gentlemen, regardless of our profession or calling in life. The God we serve has made Himself personal to us. It's the least we can do to respond in kind.
Posted on 8/8/2008
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Originals...or Look-alikes?
Originals or Look-alikes? Kathi Macias here, checking in to let you know why I missed you last week. Following the (very successful and enjoyable!) AWSA conference/ICRS convention in Orlando, during which I received the 2008 Member of the Year award from AWSA and learned my newest book, BEYOND ME, was named "top pick" in the Christian Living category by Christian Retailing magazine, my husband and I drove down to the Keys for a couple days of much-needed R&R. While there, we had quite an interesting experience....First, we realized that sometimes things are further away than they seem--a lesson we writers experience far too often! We knew the Keys were just below Miami, so when we made it through that metropolis, we thought we were almost there. Wrong--unless we had planned to stop at Key Largo, the first Key in the chain. But, of course, we figured if we'd come that far we might as well go to the end, so we did--all the way to Key West, just 90 miles from Cuba! And we were glad we did. It was absolutely beautiful there, and worth the extra three hours of drive time.Isn't that often the case for authors? We invest a lot of time (and money!) in promoting/marketing/networking, only to see nothing happen--at least not right away. But sometimes, down the line, that investment pays off when we least expect it. I, for one, have had that experience countless times.The other interesting tip I snagged while in Key West was the importance of being the unique human being God created you to be, rather than trying to clone yourself after an admired/successful author. Ernest Hemingway spent a few years in Key West, and his home is now a museum. (My husband asked if I thought ours would ever become one, and I'm still laughing over that!) In fact, Hemingway's name is so revered there that periodically they have a "Hemingway look-alike" contest--and this year it happened to be the day we were browsing around in the old part of town near Hemingway's home. As a result, we saw scores of look-alikes roaming the streets, chubby guys with gray hair and beards, many in Hemingway-type clothes. It was a fun experience--for us as well as the contest participants, I'm sure--but did that make any of those participants (even the winner) successful writers? Absolutely not! It simply made them successful imitators. And imitation--even cleverly done--is not going to establish us in the publishing world.If I have one main point to emphasize to writers from our visit to the Keys, it's this: Spend some time asking God to do your branding! That word has been tossed around CBA for years now, and everyone--particularly new writers--is nearly frantic over trying to identify and establish his or her brand. My concern with that is that we will get sidetracked by looking at those already successful writers whom we rightfully admire and then try to "brand" ourselves accordingly--in effect, becoming Hemingway look-alikes. Instead, why not spend as much time as necessary listening for God's direction in our writing and trust that He, the One who has called and gifted us to fulfill this exciting writing ministry, will establish His own brand? Something tells me we'll be glad we did.Posted <
Posted on 7/25/2008
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Writing Articles for Book Promotion
Writing Articles for Book Promotion Kathi Macias here, wishing you all a happy Fourth of July with a picture of the flag that flies 24/7 in front of our house. As you prepare for your annual outdoor cooking and fireworks celebrations, take a minute to consider one of the cheapest and most effective ways to promote your book: writing related articles for various publications. Let me give you a few examples.With my most recent book, BEYOND ME: Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World, released on July 1, I have been publishing related articles for weeks now. I've done "Learning to Write Beyond Me" for writing ezines; "Moving 'Beyond Me' in Ministry" for ministry leadership ezines; "Preparing Your Grad for 'Beyond Me' Living" for Crosswalk.com, etc. Not only are these articles quick to write and easy to tweak toward a particular slant, but many are one-time rights only and can be resold/submitted to similar publications.I've also done various other articles without the Beyond Me slant (including an article on self-POD-publishing for a new online fiction ezine and an article titled "Possum Whisperer" for a new Christian humor website) that allow me to include a blurb and book cover with the article. All of this is so much more effective than putting out big bucks to buy ads in these same publications. People actually read the articles and, if they like what you have to say, are then left with the desire to purchase your book (and the information on how to do it).Publishers will love your willingness and ability to do this type of marketing and publicity, and they will usually help you find willing venues. And if you don't yet have a book ready to release, NOW is the time to start making those magazine/ezine connections by writing/submitting articles and familiarizing the editors with your name.So while you're eating that third hot dog (perish the thought!), consider how you might utilize this great avenue of marketing. And consider as well how wonderful it is to live in a country where you have the freedom to do so.
Posted on 7/4/2008
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Way to Go, Grandma!
Kathi Macias here, checking in to announce the "official" birth of my newest "baby": BEYOND ME: LIVING A YOU-FIRST LIFE IN A ME-FIRST WORLD. And no, that's not me in the picture. That's my grandson Chazz who, along with scores of other friends and family members, sported a "Beyond Me" button throughout the family wedding/reception this past weekend. What a great way to launch a new book!This was a huge affair, primarily because my husband's family is...well, huge. We met "cousins" we had never met before (or if we had, had long since forgotten) and talked and laughed and celebrated for hours. And in the midst of it all, my husband and I distributed "Beyond Me" buttons to everyone who would hold still long enough to receive one.Of course, we were careful that our "birth announcement" didn't overshadow the bride and groom, who were the obvious stars of the event, but family gatherings of this sort are the perfect way to market/publicize a book. In the past I thought I had to take my box of "freebie" books to this sort of event and hand them out to all those cousins whose names I didn't know and who would promptly place the free book on a shelf to gather dust. Experience has taught me otherwise. With a very few exceptions, my freebies are now reserved for media and other influential people who can actually help promote my book. But passing out buttons, business cards, and bookmarks is a great way to announce a new book and, hopefully, stimulate sales.At least, it seems that way to me. And my handsome grandson Chazz appears to agree, don't you think? So consider giving it a try the next time you attend some sort of family gathering. Buttons and bookmarks aren't that expensive--especially if you get a good return on your investment!
Posted on 6/30/2008
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Two Birds...One Stone
Today I want to talk a bit about something that may seem obvious and yet I think we can more effectively implement and maximize with a little extra effort. We've all heard the old saying about catching (I hate to use the word "killing" here) two birds with one stone, and that maxim certainly applies in marketing.My next book is titled BEYOND ME: LIVING A YOU-FIRST LIFE IN A ME-FIRST WORLD, and any of you who have been following my various postings lately know that I'm doing whatever I can to "get the buzz going." One of the most effective methods I've discovered is tweaking the book's main message to fit various groups of readers and then submitting articles to the appropriate venues. In the last two weeks I've done this for a women's ministry leader ezine, a writers' ezine, and the parenting section of Crosswalk.com (which posted today and can be read at http://www.crosswalk.com/parenting/11576470/). The Crosswalk article is titled "Equipping Your Grads for 'Beyond Me' Living," so it's both timely and practical. Using this technique not only enables us to market our book to readers we might not otherwise reach, but it also opens up new venues in which to minister and spread the book's message to those who need to hear it.As a former journalist, I cut my writers' teeth on article writing, and I still remember one of my own writing mentors telling me that, in most cases, articles in magazines (particularly those with large circulations, which today certainly includes Crosswalk) will most likely reach more readers than a book. Having moved from writing articles to authoring books, I sometimes get too busy with book-length manuscripts to do articles and/or short stories, and yet marketing books via this format is certainly effective.May I encourage you to consider incorporating this marketing tool with your own books? And if you haven't yet come to the point of tackling book-length manuscripts, maybe you can devote some time now to developing those contacts and honing that aspect of writing for future reference. It's never too soon to start laying the groundwork of two birds with one stone....
Posted on 5/30/2008
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