Are Your Books Easy to Find, Easy to Buy, Easy to Share? · •You need to tell Google the content...

Are Your BooksEasy to Find, Easy to Buy, Easy to Share?

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ISNOTAMARKTINGSTRATEGY

A Written, Detailed Marketing Plan


• Do written plan that you regularly review and update• Include your brand and each of your books• Identify the target audience for your brand and for each book• Include the reasons people should want to read each book• Select ranked keywords, write marketing copy• Define specific objectives (endorsements, review, sales…)• Define detailed activities with dates, venues…• Start early, before and during writing each book• Cover entire lifecycle of the book


A Platform To Cost EffectivelyExecute the Plan On

Author Marketing Platform

Website(s) Newsletter(s)

SocialChannels Stores-Onramps

Audience


The Best Audience?

Who are they and what do they want to read?

Confirm WHO is in your audience


• Define the demographics of your audience

• Research what appeals to them

• Do personas to explore and verify

• Find out where and when they go – real AND virtual

• Write it down

• Start showing up, listening, connecting

• Revise what you got wrong

• Do it again! (and revisit for each new book)

Learn how THEY talk• Think like your reader. Think about how you would search for

your book if you were a customer, and ask others to suggest how they would.• Search reviews on Amazon or Goodreads - your books,

competitive books• Check your FB Page, fan groups, alternatives and comparables.

Observe how they ask and answer.• Combine keywords in the most logical order. Customers will

search for military science fiction, but probably not for fiction science military.• Develop a set 0f 5-10. Amazon lets you load seven.


Map Your Audience


Advocates•Reviewers•Vocalfans

Inclined•Previousreaders•Readsimilarauthors

Potential•Category/genrereaders•2degreesofseperation

Audience “Health” Check

q Do you know who they are?

q Do you know what they read?

q Do you know how they talk?

q Do you know where they are? Where they buy?

q Have you written it down?





Audience


Is your site fresh, exciting and inviting?


Is your site fresh, exciting and inviting?• Does it look like 2017 or 2007?• When was the last time you updated anything?• When was the last time you updated your home page?• Are you using standard boilerplate for your bio and book

descriptions that you have distributed everywhere?• Have you ever added fresh content to your book pages?• How visual is your site?• Does it look good on small screens and big screens?


Are You Optimized for Search and Social?


Is your site indexed?How Do You Check?

1. Go to Google2. Type site:{publishr.cloud}3. Review how many pages

are ranking4. Review which pages are

ranking


Did you give them a “map”?


Crawled versus indexed ratio out of whack?

Crawled Indexed Ranked


Are You Obeying “Canonical” Law?


Write a title that Google (and readers) will love!


• Two goals for a page title• Help page rank for keyword• Make users click through to the page

• Your page title is not necessarily the heading on the page• Make it clear, descriptive• Make it unique• Include your brand• Google shows your title in three modes (wide, narrow, mobile)• You can optimize after you publish

Do your meta descriptions “click”?• Avoid/fix “gobbledygook”• Make them 135 to 160 characters – Engines may show more• Invite the user to enter – doorman not bouncer• Make it legible, readable, use your keywords• Treat it like an “ad’” for your web page• No duplicates!• Use rich snippets where possible (like review stars)


Are you identifying your “title/chapters”?• You website pages need this just like a book!• You do this with ‘H” tags – h1, h2, h3…• About mapping your content, not formatting!!!• You should only have one h1• Your h1 should have keywords that reflect the content• H2s and below used to outline rest of content


Are you making Google “guess”?• You need to tell Google the content on your page is a book

and tell it the rest it wants to know (title, author, ISBN etc)• If you are selling, you need to tell them that and give them

the details• This is how they do Rich Snippets and other callouts• You do this through structured data based on Schema.org.• There are tools and plugins to help you do this. This is the

link to the Google structured data tool:• https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool/u/0/


Same for Facebook and Other Social?• Facebook Open Graph• https://developers.facebook.c

om/tools/debug/og/object/• Twitter Cards• Rich Pins• Instagram Hashtags• …


Are you making it visual• Do original photos

• Use your camera/smartphone to snap high quality images• It’s free and you will always be legal

• Use stock images• Sites such as Pixabay or Unsplash offer free Creative Commons licensed images • Premium sites such as Shutterstock or iStock offers thousands of stock images

• Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) images• Often used for short animated clips, can add interest to your content• GIPHY has a huge selection of existing GIFs, also offer an app for creating your

own• Alternatives are ScreenToGif and GIFMaker

• Design tools• Sites such as Canva, Pablo, Stencil, and PicMonkey• Offer many options to adapt images, create illustrations, play with text overlays


Are your visuals optimized?• Use keywords in the filenames• Make sure your images have ALT text descriptions• Use captions when appropriate – people read them• Use the right file type (jpg, png, gif)• Size images appropriately• Optimize your image file size• Create image sitemaps


Are you cross-linking everything?• Does your website have clear links to where people can buy

your books • Do each of your social channels clearly point back to your

website and where people can buy your books?• Does your Amazon author page and Goodreads author page

point back to your site?• Does your author profile on your publisher site point back to

your website and your social channels• If you have a fan group, is it obvious on your site, social

channels, external profiles



Are You Fast and ResponsiveAcross Devices?

Are you “hot” on mobile or “not”?


Are you “hot” on mobile or “not”?


TestonGooglehttps://search.google.com/search-console/mobile-friendly

Are you “speedy”?


https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com/


Are you “amped”… (accelerated mobile pages)?


Are you “amped”… (accelerated mobile pages)?

• Google initiative to speed up mobile pages• Pages are much lighter and 4 times faster• Alternate versions of your pages• Targeting news sites today, but will extend• You should evaluate where on your site to do• There are Wordpress plugins


Are you practicing “safe site”?


Are you practicing “safe site”?• Are you protecting the privacy of

visitors to your site?• So you know what SSL, HTTPS,

HTTP/2 are? What they do?• SSL is no longer JUST for e-

commerce sites• Besides privacy and security, it

impacts site ranking• If you don’t have a cert, check

options at your host and Let’s Encrypt• If you have a cert, test it at

https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/


Do you have a “bolt lock” on your site?


Do You have a “bolt lock” on your site?Use Two Factor Authentication

• Google Authenticator• Duo Two-Factor• Authy

Enable on your email and social accounts as well


Are you doin’ Wordpress “dumb”?• When did you last update the core, themes and plugins?• Are you using ONLY trusted plugins and themes?• Do you have unused plugins and themes on your site?• Are you backing your site up? Have you tested the restore?• Are you using strong passwords? Forcing everyone with

access to?• Have you changed or deleted the ‘admin’ name?• Are you limiting login attempts?• Are you using a secure host? Do they know Wordpress?


Is your content fresh, engaging, meaningful


Are you telling your story and each book’s story?

• Is your about page the same blurb you have out everywhere else?• Does it give readers and fans the context and timelines of your

writing?• Is it engaging and fresh – visuals and current?• Does each book have it’s own page? Is it just the standard blurb?• Are you answering questions people have? Giving them

something special?• Do you make it easy to buy? Links/info to everyplace they can buy

the book?


Website “Health” Check

q Polished, contemporary look that defines your brand

q Optimized for search, social

q Fast and responsive across devices

q Safe and secure

q Fresh, engaging, meaningful content





Audience


Do you have a (list of your) fan base?• Fans are people who WANT

to hear from/about you!• Fans need to double opt-in –

don’t try to fake it.• Enable on your site, enable

on your channels, enable with your emails, if possible enable from your books.


Are your emails consistently “branded”?

• Are they signed from “you”?• Are they from your domain?• Is your ”logo” first?• Do they use your colors?• Do they use your fonts?• Is there an OBVIOUS link to site?• Is it obvious how to contact?• Is is easy to shut off?


Fresh, engaging, meaningful news stream• New books … release, teasers/excerpts • Upcoming books … teaser, cover reveal, preorder, excerpt• All books … highlights (characters, places, key story points)• Endorsements• Reviews• Events – real world and virtual• Behind the book• Writing process• Personal reveals / insights• Questions and quizzes• Recommendations and reviews for other books, authots


Compelling Headlines


Clear Calls to Action• What action do you want each piece of content to incent?• Is that what the reader will want/expect to do?• Did you make it easy for them to do?• If it’s “multi-step, is it clear and quick?


Stay on a Schedule



Don’t ignore this trend…

Newsletter ‘Health” Checkq Have a real, verified opt-in list q Consistent brand look and usageq Fresh, engaging, meaningful contentq Compelling headlinesq Clear calls to actionq Stay on a scheduleq Messaging is evolving for some demographics





Audience


Have a reason to be on each channel?


Is your brand look and usage consistent?


Do you have a plan? For Facebook for example?

• Fill out your “whole” page –show you care!!!• Post regularly … at least 3-4

times a week … once a day better• Ask people connected to

your personal profile who have liked your books to like and share your page• Use small targeted ad to

build out - $50 bucks or so

• Use Facebook Live to improve feed visibility (more later…)• Monitor activity and be

responsive• Enable Messenger … be

responsive• Engage people in your

writing process, publishing process, marketing process…


Do images that “work”


Are you “mixing” like a DJ? (on Facebook)


Ready to go (Facebook) live?• Promote a new or forthcoming book by reading a chapter to your

followers.• Give readers behind-the-scenes access to where you write and

your sources of inspiration. This can include a short broadcast from your desk or workspace as you share your writing routine with fans.• Broadcast from your next event to connect with fans who aren’t

able to attend.• If you’re an expert in your field, broadcast a demonstration, from

cooking and crafting to illustrating and organizing. Followers will love to learn from you and see you in action.• Broadcast from a location featured in your book.


This is how you “promote’ on Facebook


Social Channels “Health” Checkq Have a reason to be on the channelq Consistent brand look and usageq Complete, polished, organizedq Be active and responsiveq Enable user contentq Clear calls to action





Audience


Are You Writing“Book Marketing Copy” That Sells?


Are You Writing Book “Copy” That Sells?

ElevatorPitch

SearchDescription

BookBlurb


The Blurb• A short, punchy, above the fold tagline • A present tense synopsis that uses active verbs and as few

words as possible to demonstrate the content's best selling points• A selling paragraph that uses emotional adjectives and

category cues to get readers in the right mood • A call to action at the end that asks readers to buy


Do stores have complete, current info?


Stores tagged correctly?


Leverage paid and “free” Onramps• Search advertising• Social advertising• Store advertising• BookBub and other deal sites• Publisher site• Review sites• Other authors• Other places your audience goes


This is how you “promote’ on Facebook


Stores and onramps “health” checkq Written solid brand and book marketing copy?q Do stores have complete, current information?q Do stores have you tagged correctly?q Do you have a plan for paid and free onramps to generate

awareness and traffic?q Are you starting early (pre-launch) and A/B testing?


So do you REALLY have a marketing plan?


• Cover your brand and each of your books• Do written plan that you regularly review and update• Identify the specific audience for your brand and for each book• Include the reasons people should want to read each book• Select ranked keywords, write marketing copy• Define objectives (endorsements, review, sales…)• Define detailed activities with dates, venues…• Start early, before and during writing the book• Cover entire lifecycle of the book

How “healthy” is your platform?



Audience



Are Your BooksEasy to Find, Easy to Buy, Easy to Share?

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