Top-Notch Marketing Tool: The Panel

This past weekend, I attended the ASJA 2012 Writers Conference, which I had been freaking out about for months. I was invited to speak on a panel about sex writing and, not only did the prospect of speaking to a crowd of professional journalists and authors intimidate me, but I felt self-conscious about the fact that I was the only panelist without a book. (It didn’t feel right to count the ebook I’d co-authored the other year.)

I worried: Would attendees think I wasn’t accomplished enough to give them advice? Would they roll their eyes as I hid behind my notes and stuttered over my words? Would they riot over the fact that the organization had allowed such a poor public speaker to have access to the mic? (I have an over-active imagination… )

As per usual, I was overreacting, and I made it through the panel alive. And after that, I was able to enjoy the other panels and presentations throughout the day. I found it to be a great opportunity to see how others structured their panels. I was able to see what worked, and what didn’t. And at the end of the day, I was convinced: I should do this again.

Putting together a panel — whether at a major conference or as a smaller, standalone event — can be a great marketing tool. It can help you establish yourself as an expert. It can bring you into contact with other luminaries in your field. It can raise your visibility. It can strengthen your writing resume. It can even act as a source of income!

But putting together a successful panel? That’s something else. [Read more…]

How To Make Your Marketing Plan as Much Fun as a Glitter Hula Hoop Dance Party

It’s no secret that publishing houses’ promotional budgets have shrunk, making it necessary for authors to act as their own publicists. Hell, when I was a mid-level marketer for an academic publisher five years ago, I was often frustrated by the limitations placed upon me when it came to promoting my authors. What I was able to do then is very similar to what most publishers are limited to now:

  • sending out review copies and press kits to a select group of media outlets
  • writing copy for forthcoming catalogs
  • if the timing was right, sending copies of the book to BEA, or to relevant professional conferences
  • and maybe — just maybe — sending out direct mail pieces focused on the book

It’s not much. But I don’t see these limitations as reason to abandon the traditional publishing model entirely. [Read more…]

How to Make Your Marketing Copy POP!

Despite being a writer — and a writer who once worked her way up the corporate ladder in the marketing department of an academic book publisher, no less — writing effective marketing copy for my own small business is still a struggle for me.

Because of this, I’ve spent a lot of time poring through business books and marketing how-tos, and even took one of Dave Navarro‘s workshops in order to revamp the sales page for my career coaching business.

My latest read? Sam Horn’s POP! Create the Perfect Pitch, Title, and Tagline for Anything. A marketing book written to help readers connect with customers, it’s not just about marketing — it’s about branding as a whole.

I was skeptical about this book when, within the first 40 pages, Horn held up both the Daddle and the Smitten as examples of fantastic branding. After all, both products are pretty ridiculous, and people regularly make fun of them. (Check out the Amazon reviews for the Daddle. Absolute comedy gold.) Could I really take advice from someone whose paragons of branding were so corny?

But as I read on, I realized that Horn was actually pretty brilliant. [Read more…]

How an Author Can Be Her Own Own Best Publicist

Blogging buddy and author Brette Sember has about 40 titles to her name at this point, a number that often serves to make me feel like a lazy-ass bum. Like, what have I been doing all these years!? Her output has been so extensive that her published books fill one and a half shelves on her office bookcase.

She published her first book when she was home on maternity leave from her law practice in 1998. A publisher called and asked if she was interested in writing a book about how to file for divorce in New York. She never looked back. Now, she’s spending time promoting her latest book — The Muffin Tin Cookbook, due out in April — and she’s finding the publicity process wildly different from what it was just 14 years ago. Lucky for us, she’s willing to share what it’s like to be your own best publicist. [Read more…]

How To Grow Your Mailing List By Over 100% in Two Weeks

If we all squint really hard, this will start to look like me. Right?

I happened into entrepreneurship without anything resembling a business background. What I had instead was a B.A. in Writing, Literature, and Publishing, a good chunk of publishing industry experience, boxes full of how-to books, and a love of the written word. But my abilities as a writer didn’t translate into business success, and so I created my own continuing education.

I read books on freelancing, entrepreneurship, and how to make money as a writer. I read blogs about the business of writing. I even took several online workshops put together by Launch Coach Dave Navarro.

What I learned from most of these resources is that, when building a business, your mailing list is key. That built-in, loyal readership will help you market your products and services more easily than if you were cold-pitching your business every damn day.

I’ve been writing Word Nerd News for over a year now but, two weeks ago, I made my very first attempt to deliberately grow my mailing list and build up the word nerd community. In that space of time, my mailing list grew by over 100 percent. It’s still growing. How’d I do it? [Read more…]

How To Keep Up the Momentum During the Holidays

I’ve been seeing it a lot lately. Fellow freelancers tweeting out that their calendars have opened up enough to allow for new business. I did it myself just last week.

Is it something in the air? Have our work cycles somehow become synced up? Are all of our regular clients just too damn busy stringing up twinkle lights and hanging stockings to bother with assigning out new work?

Part of it is the conclusion of another fiscal year. Large projects are ending. Annual budgets are drying up. Clients are holding back until 2012… fiddling with their editorial calendars… treading water until they feel safe spending money again.

Another part of it is Holiday Brain. Between all of those projects we just wrapped up, all of those pound cakes and soups we just made for Thanksgiving, and all of that holiday shopping we now have to do, we completely forgot about marketing ourselves. I mean, who has time to hustle when there are catnip candy canes and glittery tree ornaments to be bought!?

Unfortunately, considering how much money we tend to spend during the holiday season (buying a third ceramic Christmas tree was totally worth it), we need new income now more than ever.

So how can you make the holidays work for you? [Read more…]

Your Online Platform: A Checklist of Website Essentials

I'm in love with my website. Is that conceited?

Earlier this year, I blogged about whether or not an editor would judge you if you didn’t have some sort of online platform. (Short answer: Yes.)

Since then, several clients have asked me for help in overhauling their own professional sites.

Which can be difficult. A website is a very personal thing. There’s no one right way to do it. It’s up to you to surf the web and bookmark examples of websites you like, making notes on what works and what doesn’t, and drawing up wish lists of your must-have features.

It’s also up to you to figure out what message you’re trying to convey (unless, of course, you hire a branding consultant).

What I can do is provide freelancers with a handy checklist of the basics they should include on their professional site. [Read more…]

The LinkedIn Lowdown: How To Pump Up Your Social Media Campaign

I'm quoted in here, yo.

I create content for online magazines. I blog here at Freelancedom. I spend way too much time on Twitter. I get all my news from whatever I happen to be subscribed to in Google Reader. I spend my days seated in front of this laptop and, when my phone rings, I get confused. Why didn’t they just text or email? I wonder. (God I’m a recluse.)

My husband, meanwhile, works full-time for SocialFlow, a social media startup that optimizes tweets. He has a web development business on the side. He’s always glued to his Droid, and he uses Foursquare even when we’re at the goddamn recycling center.

His best friend says we’re “so Web 2.0.”

Yet I avoid Facebook. I’m not as active on LinkedIn as I should be. And when Google+ launched, I wanted to flee the country (or at least my inbox). Am I missing marketing opportunities?

[Read more…]

How To Put Together A Kick-Ass Press Kit

The following is an excerpt from Cinnamon McCann’s Self-Publishing in Stilettos.

In reading through my review copy, I felt that the step-by-step, how-to content was definitely valuable for anyone considering the self-publication route. But what I was most struck by was the section on press kits and press releases, as putting these together is something I feel many freelancers don’t know a lot about. And if you’re trying to promote an information product, a copywriting biz, or any other type of product or service, it can be an important skill to have.

[Read more…]

Will An Editor Judge You If You Don’t Have An Online Platform?

Yes. She is quietly judging you.

 

As a writer, do you need to have a website or blog?

It’s a question I’m asked pretty regularly by coaching clients, blog readers, and other freelance writers.

My response? Well, I can’t speak for all editors out there but, during my time fielding intern and blogger applications, and freelance queries, I always did the same thing.

If a website, blog, or Twitter URL did not appear as part of the writer’s email signature, I immediately googled their name so as to find it myself.

And if I didn’t find it?

I immediately questioned the abilities of the writer.

[Read more…]