Tag Archives: Press Releases

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Effective List Building Techniques For Publishers & Authors

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extra newsMethod #3 – Press Releases

Authoring and publishing your own book takes allot of effort, the success of your book hinges on how well you’ve targeted your market/niche and marketed it effectively. If you plan to sell many copies of your book, you’ll need to take advantage of every tool/resource available.

With so many other books having been published and many that are probably sharing/teaching similar stories/content as you, what is there that will set your book apart from the pack?

One simple answer should be the content of your book. People like to read well written books that have plenty of useful/enjoyable information but which they also have a genuine interested in. If you are able to provide this you’ll be well on your way to selling books and doing so successfully.

But what if you want to take that extra step to make your book into a successful bestseller? There is one simple tool that you can employ if you want to ensure that you will get more people to purchase from you – create an eMail list that potential customers and current customers can sign up for.

The mailing list allows you to do something that most stores wish they could do: attract visitors and then market products to them on their schedules so the hard sale does not seem so hard to swallow in their eyes.

Even with a small eMail list you will have a much higher rate of sales than if you were to forgo the eMail list all together, so what do you say – perhaps it is high time that you create one for your book/website.

Unfortunately we cannot go around and simply collect random names and eMail addresses to add to our eMail database, so it is up to us to first generate enough traffic for our website and then convert those visitors into eMail list subscribers.

There are tons of different ways in which you can get traffic to come – some ways, like pay per click advertising cost you some money while others like search engine optimization are totally free so long as you know what you are doing. However, both of these techniques are totally passive.

Try as you might, it may take you weeks or months before you actually see any of these techniques come to fruition as actual inquiries on your eail list. Instead, if you want to grab the ‘proverbial bull by the horns’ and rake in people by the droves right away, then you will have to do something a bit more drastic!

Bring In Press Releases!

There is a method that’s a tried and true technique that has been employed by businesses of all types for centuries. It’s Known as the Press Release, you can use this method to drive people to your book’s website almost instantaneously the moment someone picks up and publishes the release.

At this point you are probably thinking that such a technique is too good to be true and would be impossible for an indie author/ publisher like yourself – but the good news is that anyone can draft a press release and submit it to many of the major daily publications, both online and print based.

All it takes is a little bit of time and some know-how of what you need to include in your particular press release.

Drafting Out Your Press Release

The first aspect of a press release that you need to concentrate on is the actual content of the release itself.

Nobody wants to read some drab, boring press release – and certainly nobody will want to publish it in their periodical, so consider jazzing it up to include a lot of content that people who would be interested in your website would want to hear.

Include facts, figures, statistics and even plans of action for what you and your business plan to do in the future in an attempt to get people to check out your website.

Remember: DO NOT make it a sales pitch! People expect something newsworthy when they read from a Press Release.

While you should make the content as interesting to your potential customers as possible, it is important not to lie as chances are that your potential clients will check up on you over time to make sure that you are backing up what you say in press releases with what you are actually doing or have done.

Also, when writing the content, be sure to address your possible clients personally instead of addressing them as some vague demographic as far too many press releases tend to do. This will make the reader feel more comfortable because it’ll feel like the message has been personalized and will likely make him/her more inclined to visit your website.

Secondly, if you plan on submitting your press release to mostly websites who will publish it, then you should try to optimize it for search engines as much as possible.

Remember that the more aligned your press release is with certain keywords – the more it will be read by people in your target market, your subscribers & readers to your eMail list, your fans and your potential customers. By knowing/planning this ahead of time, your Press Release will be more effective.

However, do not overuse the keywords you have decided to focus on, as it will make for a very dry, boring and uninteresting press release that will not allow you to get the maximum number of visitors.

Once your press release has been written and edited, you will want to find some spots to post it. I recommend some of these:

http://www.prweb.com
http://www.imnewswatch.com
http://www.i-newswire.com
http://www.prlog.org
http://www.prnewswire.com
http://www.marketwire.com
http://www.express-press-release.net
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com
http://www.businesswire.com

Be sure to get into contact with places that you know will be able to distribute your press release to the masses, but also try and find some avenues of distribution that take advantage of RSS or Atom feeds.

Using RSS or Atom will allow your press release to be sent directly to the masses like the top headlines for the New York Times or Google News and it’s a great way for your book website/s to get the right kind of publicity. Taking advantage of this type of technology will help grow and develop a well-targeted responsive eMail list.

So there you have it, the basics for using a press release to gain as many visitors to your book website as possible.

Since you are looking to establish an eMail list from many of those visitors, be sure to have the link from your press release pointing to your Subscription List Page, your Opt-in page or Landing Page, as you do not want people to diddle daddle around on your website and lose interest before they sign up for your eMail list – and you will quickly find that your website will be successful in much less time than you ever thought possible!

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Effective List Building Techniques For Publishers & Authors

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Mail IconList Building 101

List building is very, very critical to the success of any business – online or offline. And it applies whether you own a small, medium or big-sized business. Fortunately, the same can apply to publishers and authors who want to sell more books.

Brick-n-mortar companies invest a great effort in collecting prospective leads. Network Marketers often begin with writing a list of 100 names of people they know. An online business owner’s main focus is on building their Online Mailing List. As a publisher and or author, it’s just as critical to develop your eMail list.

List building doesn’t have to be as difficult as some attest to, as long as you know what to do, and how to do it. The aim of this article is to show you how to get started on building your own mailing list using multiple, unique and different techniques that add TARGETED leads to your database and at the lowest cost possible.

If properly managed you’ll begin to sell more books. I’ll introduce you to some techniques that you may be familiar with and perhaps some that you are not. You should be able to integrate one or more of these techniques into your list building strategy. The more methods you use, the better chance you’ll have with growing your list and getting the results that’ll help sell more books but ultimately develop a database of buyers that kep buying from you.

Building successful websites can be somewhat tricky – especially if your plans are to make those websites the cash generator for your business.

With so many other websites out on the world wide web, what is there to set your business apart from the pack?

One simple answer should be the contents of your website. People like a nice, professional & clean looking design for the sites that they frequent and they like to have plenty of enjoyable articles or copy to read that is genuinely interesting to them. If you’re able to supply these fundamental features, you’ll be well on your way to making it easier to sell more books.

In order to take the extra step to make your website attractive enough for your visitors, you’ll need a list of potential customers!

Before you can get someone to purchase from you, they need to know who you are, right? Or, they have to at least be aware of your “store” or the services you provide. List Building is finding leads, the people that have an interest in you (or your product), and this involves creating an eMail/mailing list (also known as List Building).

Your eMailing list allows you to do something that most stores wish they could do: “welcome in” your visitors, add value through your mailings (eg. via your eZine/newsletter and or blog), build credibility and ultimately trust. As a result you can then market/promote your book anytime you wish because you are not limited by store hours 🙂

Even with a small eMail list, you’ll have a much better rate of sales than if you were to not have an eMail list at all.

Unfortunately it’s not wise to simply go around and collect random names and email addresses to add to your eMail list. You need to attract targeted traffic to your website. Once you’ve accomplished this, you can then convert those visitors to eMail list subscribers when they opt-in to your eZine/newsletter and or blog.

There are a variety of methods you can use to generate traffic to your website. In the next series of posts I’ll discuss these List Building techniques. Here’s a list of the some of these methods:

  • Article Marketing
  • Paid eZine Advertizing
  • Press Releases
  • PPC Programs
  • SEO
  • Using Special Reports
  • Ad Swaps
  • Give away Events
  • Co-registration leads
  • Resell Rights

Advanced Techniques:

  • Affiliates
  • Joint Ventures
  • Book Launch Campagins
  • Maximizing your Mailing List

I’ll discuss how you can get started right away and explain how you can attract these subscribers so that they can be converted into buying customers.