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October 10 2012

Neuroscience and the Writing Process

October 10 2012

It’s often said that writing is an art, not a science but from what I’ve learned in the past month, I
may have to dispute that saying. Okay, I’ll confess. I am not a science-oriented person. From an
early age, I was fascinated by the arts and literature and imagined penning a novel one day. So
it’s surprising that I find myself working on an exciting campaign about cognitive neuroscience—
the intersection of psychology and the study of the brain.

Immersing myself in neuroscience these past few weeks has helped me understand how my
brain works and ways I can maximize my productivity and performance. For example, when
working on a complex writing project, sometimes my brain gets overloaded with information
and I can’t think as clearly. I’ve learned that this is what happens when I try to tackle a problem
that is too big for my conscious mind to solve. However, if I walk away, distract myself, and then
return to the writing project, I don’t feel as overwhelmed.

Similarly, after I write something, I leave a decent amount of time before editing the document.
That’s because stepping away from a problem (or writing project) and then coming back to it
gives you a fresh perspective. (Neuroleadership expert Dr. David Rock covers this phenomenon
in a Harvard Business Review blog post titled Three Ways to Think Deeply at Work.) I find good
distractor tasks such as exercising, talking a walk, or even reading something unrelated to what I
am writing about often spur my thinking.

So, how does this relate to the campaign I’ve been working on? Big Fish Media has partnered
with Dr. Rock and his firm, the NeuroLeadership Institute, to promote the NeuroLeadership
Summit, a two-day conference being held in New York City from October 15-17. Specifically,
we are reaching out to local and national media and working with conference speakers—
neuroscientists and leadership experts—to highlight their work in blog posts.

The conference covers topic such as the new skills leaders need to manage global teams; does
practicing radical transparency drive business results; and the neuroscience behind leadership
transitions—just to name a few. (Here’s the complete program.)

What is particularly interesting about this conference are its overarching principles that I believe
apply to any industry or discipline. Because the focus is on the brain, the organizers have made
the conference as “brain friendly” as possible. Here’s what they mean:

• Ideas are like food—allow time to digest.
• Social is everything—let people connect.
• Do less but do it really well.
• Work with, not against, the natural flow of energy as we have limits that need to be
respected.

If more conferences were designed like this, PR professionals would be out of jobs because we
wouldn’t have to convince people to attend.

We encourage you to contact Herb Schaffner, the founder of Big Fish Media, if you’d like to
learn about the Summit or if you’d like to interview Dr. Rock. And if you can’t make it to the
Summit, consider live streaming the event for free.

Sarita Venkat focuses on communications and online media for Big Fish Media.

September 27 2012

Book Apps: A Marketing Opportunity for Authors

September 27 2012

Book apps represent a new territory for authors. Our advice? Don’t be intimidated by
this digital technology; an app is a new way to interact with your readers and one that
augments the reading experience.

You know the stats: According to the Association of American Publishers, U.S. book
publishers brought in more revenue from e-books than hardcover books in the first
quarter of 2012—a first for the industry. What’s driving the e-book growth and
craze? Very simply, the explosion of the tablet and e-reader market. Former Morgan
Stanley analyst Mary Meeker’s highly regarded Annual Internet Trends Report
(2012) noted that 29 percent of U.S. adults own a tablet or e-reader—up from two
percent less than three years ago. In 2011 alone, 48.3 million iPads, Android tablets
and e-readers were sold to U.S. consumers according to research by the NPD Group.

The growth of the tablet market brings new opportunities for book publishers with
one particular area ripe for exploration and experimentation: the app market. The
iTunes App Store alone has more than 660,000 apps, of which, 65,102 are primarily
for books. By all accounts, more people will use mobile/tablet platforms than PCs
making apps more relevant and mainstream.

How does this affect book publishers? They’re being pushed to become multimedia
companies by creating audio, video and interactive components for readers. Thus,
publishers are learning that apps are one way to sell content and reach an engaged
audience. Besides understanding app functionality, enhancements, pricing and
marketing, book publishing professionals must answer these questions:

Should a book become a dedicated app or an enhanced e-book?
Do these “immersion experiences” make people happy when they read their books?
Does it add value to the reading experience or does it get in the way of enjoying a book?

Not all books lend themselves to being converted to an app or an enhanced e-book
because of the time and resources required for such an exercise. However, many
books do and therein lies the opportunity and challenge for authors and publishers.

For authors, it’s hard not to be intimidated by apps. The ones highlighted in the
press are often by well-known authors whose publishing houses have dedicated
many resources to developing the app. However, an app doesn’t have to be fancy
with bells and whistles; it can be simple but it should be innovative and interactive
in some way. The reality is customers will demand interactive books that provide
a better and more informed and enriching experience. So authors, apps are here to
stay—it’s matter of deciding whether creating an app makes sense as a companion
piece for your book.

In the coming months, we’ll look at an array of book apps. Here are a few to spur
your thinking:

The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot: This app brings Elliot’s poem to life. The
iPad app, which costs $13.99 includes audio recordings of the poem and a
reading by Elliot himself and other literary luminaries. You can dissect the
poem by reading the many references and allusions with comprehensive and
interactive notes. There are also more than 35 expert video perspectives on
the poem and a picture gallery, which includes the original manuscript pages
where you can see how the poem took shape under editor Ezra Pound’s
hand.
Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham: One of the top-selling children’s books is
now an app. It promotes reading in young children because individual words
are highlighted as the story is read and words zoom up when pictures are
touched. The story is professionally narrated with background audio and
digital artwork for each scene. The iPad and iPhone app costs $3.99.
Al Gore—Our Choice: This iPhone and iPad app augments Al Gore’s book
Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, which examines the causes
of global warming and offers solutions that are currently being explored.
This app is an example of how interactivity can create an engaging and
fun learning experience because it combines infographics, animations,
documentary videos and images. Our Choice won the 2011 Apple Design
Award. It costs $4.99 to download.

By Sarita Venkat

September 24 2012

Using Facebook in Marketing Your Book: Five Tips for Authors

September 24 2012

It’s easy to lump all social networking sites together and devise a one-size-fits-all book marketing strategy. This is not advisable because when promoting your book, it’s more effective to identify tactics that lend themselves to specific social media sites. Sure they’ll be some overlap but each site is unique and has its strengths and weaknesses. So, in this post, we’ll focus on ways you can build momentum on your Facebook fan page. These tactics will require your time and energy but the pay off will be worth it.

Write content that reflects your personality and expertise. Unlike Linkedin, which has a professional focus or Twitter where you’re restricted by a word-count, your personality can really shine through on your Facebook page. Newsfeeds contain a lot of information so try to inject humor, passion, and insight in your content. However, Facebook is all about pacing yourself—post once a day or several times a week. Also try to mix up different update types—a status update, a link, a note, a photo, or a video update. Finally, don’t forget to update your profile picture or cover photo every six months; both images are a reflection of your personality and interests.
Connect with authors and other groups. There are more than 800 million users on Facebook so spend some time and research other authors you admire and book or writing-related groups. By becoming a fan of other groups, you’ll gain access to a potentially marketable community of readers and writers. Make sure you join discussions and observe what others are saying. You may be able to incorporate some insights into your marketing efforts. Also “like” other groups/authors’ pages because when you do, Facebook notifies the administrators of these pages. In return, some people may decide to like your page, which will expose your name to even more readers.
Enlist your friends and fans to help spread the word. Create a community of advocates to help promote your book. Two weeks before his book “Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition” was published, author and coach Michael Stelzner developed a photo contest on Facebook. Stelzner asked people to take a creative photo with the words, “Help Me Launch.” With only 50 Facebook fans when he started the promotion, that number grew to more than 1000 during the competition. Finally, 70 people submitted a creative photo. The winner received merchandise and a free coaching session from Stelzner.
Maintain a two-way dialogue with fans. Unlike other sites, it’s easier to build a relationship on Facebook. For example, if a fan posts that they liked your book, follow up and ask what specifically resonated with them. Encourage them to leave a comment or write a review. You can also ask fans for feedback: pose questions and seek their input in your decisions.
Create a video book trailer. A video book trailer is a powerful tool that can reach people in and out of your network (videos and photos will appear in your fan’s newsfeeds). They can be expensive to produce but all you need is a good idea, then tap into your network of friends for help or post an ad seeking help to film and edit your trailer. Chances are a budding student filmmaker can help you for a minimal amount.

September 13 2012

Ways to Invigorate Your Blog: Guest Posts, Interviews, and Reader Questions

September 13 2012

A few weeks ago, we wrote about how guest posts can boost your content marketing,
offering tips and links to five websites you can target. But what about the other side
of the guest blogging discussion? In addition to soliciting other blogs, why not invite
bloggers to post on your website? After all, in the age of social media, aren’t we all
content producers?

In a past life, I managed a company blog in Washington, DC. The blog was successful
because of its simple yet effective policy: 70 percent of the posts were written by
guest bloggers; 30 percent by the firm’s employees. The blog, Re: Philanthropy, was a
platform for those in the nonprofit sector who want to share new ideas and thoughts. It
was a win-win situation: guest bloggers promoted their work to a wider audience and the
company used the blog to engage their clients. Important tip: Don’t forget to ask your
guest blogger to share the post with their personal and professional networks.

I know you’re thinking—“How do I manage a blog (corporate or personal) so my tone
and voice aren’t diluted or worse, lost?” The answer: by maintaining a clear policy and
guidelines on who you’ll invite to guest post, how you’ll determine a topic, and how much
editorial control you’ll have over the content. The key is to be ruthless when posting
content that’s relevant and augments your brand. So, if you write about social media
marketing, only invite experts in this field to contribute. If your expertise is early child
development, ask people knowledgeable about the topic to offer their insights.

Realistically, a 70/30 split will not work if you have a personal blog. However, explore the
idea of inviting a guest blogger to write for you once a month. Or, try variations of guest
blogging: post interviews you’ve conducted or pose questions (either yours or those from
readers) as blog posts.

Gretchen Rubin, author of the New York Times bestseller The Happiness Project often
posts interviews with other fellow “happiness” experts on her blog. This strategy gives
her readers something different and fresh to look forward to and probably gives Rubin
ideas for future posts. Another blogger, Magda Pecsenye, writes about parenting issues
on her popular blog AskMoxie. She often posts reader questions and offers her thoughts
before opening up the discussion. What follows is a dynamic “Comments” section
on almost all of her posts. Pecsenye recently announced plans to write a parenting
book and shared a draft of the table of contents—ending the post with the question
to her readers: “What am I forgetting?” This post alone generated 92 comments. The
participatory nature of AskMoxie is what makes it successful and has given Pecsenye
ideas for her forthcoming book.

So, writers, how will you engage your fans today?

Sarita Venkat focuses on communications and online media for Big Fish Media.

September 7 2012

Managing Your Social Media Expectations

September 7 2012

Recently, Businessweek published an article on writing successful business books. What’s an up and coming publishing and communications consultant supposed to do? I lunged for it, curious about how an outsider sees this sub-industry and whether readers would need any guidance on what the piece said.

The article, “How to Write a Bestselling Business Book,” written by Eric Spitznagel, is to be commended for its clear prose, good interviews, and focus on how publishing has changed in the wake of the economic crisis. Certainly read it for the insights of major brand authors such as Jim Cramer and Seth Godin. I liked some of the tips Spitznagel proffers authors:

know the importance of brevity
realize that the days of big advances are mostly gone
grasp the reality that many bestselling business book authors arrange for astroturf book purchases to make the bestseller lists
pay attention to titling your book because your publisher will
write a book you’d like to read yourself (Cramer’s advice)

In the tip ‘Jack Up Your Klout score’, I thought Spitznagel overstated the value of social media visibility and equated it with the celebrity and visibility of a Jim Cramer. (A Klout score is the measurement of a person’s overall online influence.) Many successful authors aren’t television personalities or household names—consider bestsellers such as Lean Startup by Eric Reis or When Markets Collide by Mohamed El-Erian, published when I was at McGraw-Hill. El-Erian was a respected fund manager who was well-known in the finance pages but only really became a star after his book was published.

To become a bestselling author, Spitznagel wrote, “you need name recognition or an impressive Klout ranking…”.

This reminded me of a point I’ve wanted to make for some time. Yes, social media traffic and influence are important—but with limitations. With so many experts—including me—evangelizing online promotion and smart content marketing, authors can’t be blamed for thinking this is the whole ballgame now. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest are very important for many reasons, but only in rare cases does a big Klout score really drive book sales. My advice: Authors, get your Klout score up, but keep your expectations modest–and do a social media reality check against your business or book goals.

August 24 2012

What the NYT Missed: Marketing Reality Check for the Self Published Author

August 24 2012

Finding fault with New York Times’ coverage of the book business is a beloved topic among editors and publishers. I’m sure many smirked at the Times’ August 15th piece, The Joys and Hazards of Self-Publishing on the Web—the options profiled have been well-known to book pros and aspiring authors for years. That said, newcomers will benefit from good advice on and links to digital and ebook publishers and their services.

I strongly agree with several of the article’s main findings: digital platforms have reduced the cost of self-publishing; these newer services give the author genuine control over their books; and the vast majority of self-published books barely sell at all. This last point, however, is always the skunk at the party in any self-publishing article.

Breakout self-published authors get a ton of media attention and make for good stories, but they represent the tiniest sliver of the self-published universe. What’s missing from this article and others similar to it is a common sense question: If global publishers with a century of business success struggle to sell more than a few thousand copies of a book, how does a self-published author market his/her book for the first time? What marketing strategies are particularly effective and actually work for “citizen authors”—as coined by my friend David Sterry?

I have a few principles I urge you to consider if you take the self-publishing path:

Establish your book-selling goals: Roughly, how many books do you want to sell? This is a key question because your number will determine how much energy and effort you’ll have to expend when marketing your book.
Research your target audience: Marketing your book through your personal network won’t be enough, you’ll need to engage communities who have an existing passion or professional interest in your fiction genre or nonfiction subject (See my post Fish Where the Fish Are). The key here is to research your market. If you’ve written a book about quilting, find out what quilters read and what websites they use; if it’s a fly fishing book, figure out how Fly Fisherman magazine engages anglers. Once you have identified your market is ask yourself this: Can I reach these people with my book?
Create a marketing plan: Even if it is a grassroots effort, draft and implement (parts of) your marketing plan a year ahead of publication. If you want to be a Twitter powerhouse, you should know that building a few thousand Twitter followers will probably take at least a year. Are there annual conferences you might speak at? Take your marketing plan for a test drive and show it to your friends, fans, and followers (all potential buyers). Ask for their opinions: pose questions, show them a sample chapter, and seek their input in your decisions.
Consider a publishing and marketing partner: Can you identify an organization, business, or colleague who would benefit from being associated with your book? One of my clients realized that to sell his book he needed access to more business seminar opportunities. He reached out to a well-established local management consultant he knew and offered him a co-authorship. The new co-author contributed useful new content without changing the book dramatically and gained a publication credit. In the end, the two authors developed a joint seminar program at local businesses.
Skip Buying Ad Space: In my experience, generally online ads don’t work very well but consistent online and regular publicity does work. One client, for example, promoted her parenting book to specific bloggers over a three-month period, resulting in hundreds of hits to her website. However, there are absolutely situations where online and offline ads can sell a book–particularly where the audience is a microniche and can be targeted efficiently (scrapbooking, for example).

Remember: self-publishing is a big undertaking; it will cost money and require a lot of an author’s time. What results do you want for this investment?

August 15 2012

How Guest Posts Boost Your Content Marketing (With Links to Five Top Sites)

August 15 2012

I attended a 2012 BookExpo panel where the moderator said the iconic statement content is king is no longer true: content marketing is king. This comes down to creating and writing posts and Tweets and marketing them to larger and larger numbers of followers. What most marketing folks forget is how hard it is to consistently write well and have the research and knowledge to offer fresh insights. But if you want to get followers to share, click, and connect, you need better content marketing.

One of the most effective strategies for writers and thought leaders is to sign up for major blog platforms and post on topics relevant to that platform. In other words, to reach folks interested in a field, go to the biggest blogs in those fields and guest post. However, you’ll need to be serious about your post. Read what your target blog is posting on a daily basis, and peg your post to breaking, high-interest news. I remember when I wrote a post on business books and publishing for CBS BNet, a business news site. After the bin Laden operation, my editor asked me to write a column the next day about the books publishers should be pursuing about bin Laden in the wake of the successful May 2011 mission.

A related strategy is to tap into online influencers. Write about and interview the connectors, authors, and bloggers with major audiences in the social media and online space. For example, if you are in marketing, expert and author Guy Kawasaki has more than one million followers on Twitter. Write about Kawasaki’s big ideas, comments, books, or social media and link back to his website. You never know, some of Kawasaki’s followers and fans might find your post and ideas.

Many big blogs in the social and online media, marketing, and publishing space encourage guest posts, including, Copyblogger, Problogger, Social Media Examiner, Technorati, and ReadWriteWeb. Spend some time on these sites to get a sense of the tone and the kinds of stories they publish. When you’re ready, make these sites (or others you may have found in your research) part of your content marketing strategy. Look for more posts the next few weeks on content marketing!

July 9 2012

Fish Where the Fish Are: BookExpo Take Home Number 1

July 9 2012

BookExpo America (BEA) is the big annual publishing tradeshow held in early June where publishers lay out their wares for the coming season. As a publisher at McGraw-Hill during the mid-2000s, I talked up our big titles and took more pitches than a catcher working both ends of a doubleheader. Now, as a publishing and communications consultant, I take a different strategy. This year, I decided to concentrate on seminars and panels so that I can bring the latest intel and trends to our clients.

I especially enjoyed “Reader-Centric Publishing.” Skillfully moderated by Carol Fitzgerald of TheBookReportNetwork.com, the panel all-stars were Random House president Gina Centrello, Simon & Schuster publisher Jonathan Karp, Bronwen Hruska, publisher at Soho Press, and Megan Tingly, publisher of Little-Brown Books for Younger Readers.

The upshot: publishers are transforming their companies to focus on the reader. This may sound obvious, but publishers historically have talked to booksellers about their books, and booksellers marketed to readers. Now publishers need to bypass accounts to discover where readers are, discover what they’re talking about, and engage them in conversations. Discoverability is the key word.

I loved Gina Centrello’s mantra, “fish where the fish are.” She said Random House does this by developing partnerships on platforms where large numbers of reader communities can be found. For example, they have a partnership with Politico.com, where they publish original content and have an online bookstore. Jonathan Karp said Simon & Schuster has devoted lots of content marketing and attention to C-Span’s Book TV where truly passionate nonfiction readers can be found.

How can authors fish where the fish are? First, focus on data and research:

Explore online brands in your subject area by searching primary concepts in your book to see if they’ve published similar content;
Take a bestselling comparison book and do Google keyword searches to see where the book is getting visibility;
If your book will reach a unique, identifiable community, identify highest traffic websites and track popular topics over 6-8 weeks (use Google Alerts);
Identify, list, and do brief write ups of bloggers speaking to your book’s target audience—an invaluable resource for you, your publisher, or PR team.

Stay tuned for more of my BEA takeaways.

July 8 2012

Social Media Calendar—The Playbook for Your Online Content

July 8 2012

Randomly shot social media, whether auto-fed Tweeted quotes, day-in-the life-of blog posts, or needlessly controversial Facebook updates, gets you nowhere. Your goal is developing a certain niche of followers or community, and you need to be strategic and targeted in the type of content marketing you do. One tip that really helps is to use a social media calendar. I hear over and over that authors feel overwhelmed starting up a social media platform. The social media calendar breaks down the process; it is a spreadsheet or playbook organized on a Monday to Sunday grid where you schedule your tweets, posts, and updates with guidance on tone, types, and targeting. It’s a stress-relieving, strategic tool that forces you to clarify your ideas and plan for your content (see these examples on Wheeler Blogs or on GigaOm.com.)

As you see, social media calendars ask you to develop your content with the end user in mind. In this way, you create content strategically. Some posts keep existing followers engaged, others will win new followers; on some days you will post on news folks can use; other posts will provoke thought and ask questions. According to the wonderful GigaOm site, “an effective social media calendar should include clear designations of each task, clear assignments to specific people, clear deadlines to set expectations, and a place to show a task is complete and demonstrate expectations have been met.”

As with any planning tool, you have to use it or it won’t help you. Ensure you keep the digital file on your dashboard or print out a hard copy version and tack it up near your desk. As with all marketing, test your efforts. Follow your blueprint for a couple months, and see what kinds of posts get response and engagement—and do more of those.

Best of luck!

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