Book Marketing Tip of the Week
February 11, 2008: American Lobster Day, Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day, La-Z-Boy Chair BirthdayDetails on these days — and 18,500 others! — can be found in
John Kremer's Celebrate Today Special Events Data Files.In this issue . . .
-- teleseminars this week: The Gift Market / Getting Corporate Sponsors
-- Brix Wine Spot
-- getting people to your website
-- doing seminars in hotels: contract issuesteleseminars this week of interest to you . . .
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John Kremer interviewed Amy Bates Stumpf, president of Gift List Media, on How to Promote to the Gift Market. This seminar is free. The teleseminar is over, but you can still listen to the recording free online at: http://www.InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=1929405Brix Wine Spot
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Nancy Franks is opening a new wine store and is very interested in finding out about wine books, cookbooks, vineyard-set novels, etc. If you have such a book, send info to Nancy Franks, Brix Wine Spot, Stagecoach Village, 7100 E Cave Creek Road #144, Cave Creek AZ 85050; 602-717-8048. Email: nancyfranks@cox.net.Getting people to your website
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Reader question: Your article about giving away your book on the Internet was certainly intriguing (and valid), but how do you get people to your website? That is the $60,000 question! P.S. Do memoirs sell?John's answer: There are dozens of ways to build traffic to your website. I outline many of them in 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, Chapter 12. Please read that for the complete answer. The short answer is simple: Build relationships with the top 30 websites for your key search term.
In your case, you wrote to tell me that your book is a memoir about your two years on an aircraft carrier in World War II. You keywords could be: aircraft carriers, World War II memoirs, war memoirs, etc. Anyone who loves aircraft carriers, which from my experience means almost anyone who has ever served on one, should want to know more about your book and probably want to read it. Also anyone interested in personal war memoirs or World War II naval history would be potential readers of your book.
To create relationships with those top websites, offer them some great content, which as a book author you have. Give them a book to review, offer them a free PDF version of your book to give to their website
visitors, offer them sample chapters, do a Q&A with their visitors, do an interview via written text or teleseminar or Internet radio show, write an article about life on board a carrier, etc. Lots of content you can offer them that would help them to bring in more visitors to their sites. They will love you for the content and will provide a link back to your website as a thank you.That's the short answer. There is much more you can do, but that is the most important for online marketing -- and the core of what any book author should do for their book in today's marketplace.
You can Google your keyword phrases to find the top websites and use Technorati or another blog search engine to find the top blogs. For blog search engines, go to http://www.bookmarket.com/blogging.htm.
More Seattle Post-Intelligencer blogs . . .
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Craig Campana is now also blogging with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer with the Career Diverted Survivors blog at: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/careersurvivors.Jim Jaillet also has a blog also about RVing called Ramblin Man: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/ramblinman.
Diane Owens, author of Overcome Fear of Flying, is doing a blog on baby boomers: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/bloomingboomer.
doing seminars in hotels: contract issues
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The following is an article on how to get the most out of your hotel contracts by Emma Ocampo, Regional Director, HelmsBrisco, the global leader in hotel site selection. In one negotiation, she was able to save her client $75,000 via post-event negotiations. For more information, call 713-266-2062. Web: http://www.helmsbriscoe.com. When you use their planning services, there is no charge. The hotel venue pays them.Negotiating hotel contracts is not about winning or losing. It is about making sure that your contract meets your needs, provides benefits and is fair. When negotiating a contract, first be fully aware of what is most important to that particular meeting.
During the last few years, hotel room rates are on the rise and good contracts are harder to negotiate. But, a little flexibility and creativity can go a long way.
Consider History -- You need to show the value of your meeting so the hotel will want to win your business. It is a good idea to outline in your Request for Proposal (RFP) background information on your company and an attendee profile. Including these details will leave no doubt in the hotel manager's mind of the value you bring to their property, and they will be more willing to work within your budget.
Maintain Flexibility -- Hotels calculate your worth based on a room-space ratio. If your group falls short in this evaluation, consider using hotels that have holes in their calendar. A hotel looking to grow its group business or that recognizes your flexibility to help them is more willing to provide value-added services to your group.
Know Your Hot Buttons -- Approach the hotel with a priority list of items that you must have or concessions that benefit the bottom line of your meeting. It is important to know which ones you are willing to concede on and which ones are mandatory. Prioritizing accordingly will help you keep the savings where it's most efficient.
Negotiating the following 10 items in your contract will enable you to minimize the amount you spend on the meeting:1. Guest Room Rates
2. Attrition Allotments
3. Cancellation Clauses
4. Cut-off Dates
5. VIP Requirements
6. Upgrades/Suites
7. Parking, AV, Amenities, etc.
8. Non-Compete Clauses
9. Construction Clauses
10. Walk PoliciesAgain, if you need help in booking your hotel space for seminars, a HelmsBriscoe site specialist can help you save time and money. They work with groups as small as 10 sleeping rooms on up to major conventions.
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Express everything you like. No word can hurt you. None. No idea can hurt you. Not being able to express an idea or a word will hurt you much more. As much as a bullet. — Jamaica Kincaid
More great quotes at http://www.quotablebooks.com
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Email: JohnKremer@bookmarket.com
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