How to Write a KILLER Facebook Status for Book Sales

I belong to several Author Groups on Facebook, and most are filled with status posts intended to drive sales, but in reality they are sales killers. There's generally a line or two about the author, a blurb or book description (which sometimes is a great big, super long, fifty paragraph, single spaced, no indention excerpt), the price of the book, the cover image, and a directive to click a link to make a purchase.

This is what a KILLER post typically looks like:

My name is Kimberly and this is my daybue novel that I just released and I am so excited! I hope to be a best selling author on New York Times, and I know I can get there. Download a copy of my books and you will not be sorry! It is a page turner!

Manny felt his chest pocket to make sure his credit cards was still there. "Oh good. They still there," he said out loud. "I thought she stole them while I was sleep." he said. Then he picked up his pants. He notice that his wallet was gone. Right away he started panicking but then he got mad. "She gonna face my raft!" he growled angrily.

Will Manny kill Sheila? Or do she get away? Order your copy of "She Stole My Wallet" today at www.mywebsite.com. It's only $2.99.

Two words - NO SALE!

If you can't write a few sentences of a status post well, it's hard to believe that quality writing will magically appear in your book.  Now everyone makes mistakes; a single typo will sting a little bit but won't kill you.  But more than one? Your chance of a sale is in critical condition. Add to that poor sentence structure, and it's been moved to the the intensive care unit.  Then tag on improper word usage/choice and that sales opportunity has completely flat lined - killed by your status post.

But It Was Just A Sample . . . 
Don't fool yourself into thinking "It was just a sample." Unfortunately, I hear authors say that all the time, thinking that this will excuse errors.  Well, they are right about one thing; it is a sample, but it does not excuse poor writing. Inversely, it magnifies it.  Just think about what a sample is - a small piece of the whole, offered to show its recipient what can be expected. If you are given a sample of a food dish you've never tried, you make an assessment right then and there if you like it, if you want more of it, and if you will at that point (or later down the road) buy it.  If that sample isn't pleasing to your taste buds, you don't turn around and say - "That piece wasn't that great but I'm going to buy the whole thing anyway and hope it tastes better in its entirety." On the contrary, it's a no sale, based on your assessment of the sample size.

Why would your writing sample be any different?

Don't Kill Yourself.
Please take the time to edit and proof your posts to ensure they are error free and well written before attempting to attract potential buyers.  An error-filled post is a poor reflection on you as an author, and in most cases gives a very accurate snapshot of what can be expected in your work. If your post is poorly written, the assumption WILL be made that your work is not worth the asking price . . . or even worse, it's not worth even being free.  You don't want that.  You worked hard to produce your work; don't lose sales by writing a killer Facebook status post.


Kimberly T. Matthews

"I knew exactly how many condoms were left in his gym bag, in a little black box, wrapped in gold foil. Seven. Each time I randomly checked for no other reason besides I knew they existed, there'd always been seven. So I was taken aback that morning when I went to do his laundry, peeked in the box and only found three..."
 Lisa from - "Lisa's Dress" 
Click here to download on Kindle!


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Why Is Facebook Checking Your Credit Report?

After temporarily deactivating my account, I logged onto Facebook today for the first time in three solid months. It took me only a few minutes to get back into the swing of wasting time reading people's status posts - mostly about the Presidential Debate, the soon coming demise of Big Bird if Romney wins the election next month, and other random things. Before I knew it a couple of hours passed me right on by.

My time spent wasn't a total lost though.  One of the things I did was re-established my Networked Blogs set-up so that my blog posts would automatically publish to my Facebook wall.  And that's when I took note of the nifty NEW feature (yes it's new . . . it just started 10/3) that allows you to promote your posts!  How cool is that, right?  For a small fee - only $7.00, you can have the post of your choosing displayed as a sponsored post, thereby potentially gaining more visibility and exposure.

Here's an article on it published by USA Today - 
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2012/10/03/facebook-promoted-posts/1611443/

So . . . interested in exploring this new opportunity, thinking it may be a new and innovative way to promote a book or three, I clicked on the "promote" button, then clicked on the link that reads "Terms Apply".  Of course there was a whole list of legal jargon, but I scrolled down quickly, trying to find out just how far that $7.00 investment would stretch in terms of days of promotion.  And that is when I saw it . . . Section 5.2

• Consent to credit check. Without limiting Section 3.2 above, your order constitutes your written authorization for us to obtain your personal and/or business credit report from a credit bureau. We may obtain your credit report when you place an order, or at any time thereafter.

What???  Why is Facebook trying to check my credit report??  What the . . .  

Or any time thereafter???  Facebook folks are just gonna pull my credit report any time they get good and ready???   No thanks.  Not worth the seven bucks to me.

By the way, here is what Section 3.2 says:

• Inquiries. By using Facebook Payments, you acknowledge and agree that we may make any inquiries that we consider necessary, either directly or through third parties, concerning your identity and creditworthiness.

Is Facebook crazy?  I'm not doing that. Instantly, I'd lost all interest. I have enough going on in my life without worrying about Facebook sneaking around checking my credit.  Well, you know what they say . . . look before you leap.  Glad I looked . . . this time.  Normally, I just agree to stuff without second thought.  (I'm not the only one who's done that am I?)

Here is the link to the terms if you want to read them all. 
 https://www.facebook.com/payments_terms/  I didn't. What I found was enough for me. I'll stick to Triberr, tweeting and spamming people's walls the non-credit-checking way!  LOL!





Kimberly T. Matthews

"I knew exactly how many condoms were left in his gym bag, in a little black box, wrapped in gold foil. Seven. Each time I randomly checked for no other reason besides I knew they existed, there'd always been seven. So I was taken aback that morning when I went to do his laundry, peeked in the box and only found three..."
 Lisa from - "Lisa's Dress" 
Click here to download on Kindle!

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Why Free Ebook Promotions Aren't Helping Your Sales

Although I've never had amazing results, I was thinking about running a Free Book promotion this week since I still have a few promo days left for my KDP titles. But you know what?  I've talked myself out of it. Why? Because I realize that it will have little to no impact on my overall goals. If I am going to make my work free, I need it to accomplish something. Something like:

Increased sales
Name recognition
Best selling status
Amazon Prime borrows
Increased reviews
Higher (sustained) rankings

Free promos worked a year ago when Amazon's KDP program was fresh and new. An author would do a promo, offering his/her title for free, then make enough money on the following days, weeks, and maybe even a month or two to buy a Ipad or make a full month's mortgage payment.

Unfortunately, for most authors running promotional campaigns now, the results aren't so productive or lucrative.  Why?  Because our potential readership has been completely spoiled with the overwhelming number of free book titles offered daily. Why buy books (especially from an author whom you've never even heard of) when you can have your pick from a constantly changing list of hundreds of free titles 365 days a year?

Here are some quotes from readers who suffer from Chronic FEDS (Free Ebook Download Syndrome) Give special attention to the text in bold.

"The impact of having many books on my computer or on my Kindle has little if any negative impact. On my computer, my 20,000 books take less space than one hour of recorded TV. And on the Kindle, they are always there just in case I want to read them."

"If it says free and has a semi interesting looking title and cover art I will download it.  I will probably never even look past the first page."  

"I download about 15 to 40 books per week at least. I doubt I'll ever be able to read them all, but I can't help it." 


So with that said . . . I think I'm going to try Sample Campaigning.  Yeah - I just made that up.  Like just now.  You heard it here first.  No more will I promote free titles, but I will encourage readers to download a free sample of my books instead, and here's why:

• Samples are free.  People love free, as we've learned from the comments above.
• Samples are short, therefore fitting right into the lives of busy Ereader readers. 
• Although short, samples generally give enough content to help a potential buyer decide if they like/dislike your work enough to want to read more - unless the ebook is front loaded with a lot of blah-blah-blah that readers like to skip past. 
• In my opinion, samples are more likely to be read, because more thought goes into the download. 
• Samples have a "Buy Now" link at the end, for ease of ordering. 
• Samples are typically deleted guilt-free if a reader has no interest. There's no unspoken pressure to keep the content and eventually read it.
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Maybe FREE will work for me later, but for right now, I'll give Sample Campaigning a try.
I'll keep you posted.

Kimberly T. Matthews

"I knew exactly how many condoms were left in his gym bag, in a little black box, wrapped in gold foil. Seven. Each time I randomly checked for no other reason besides I knew they existed, there'd always been seven. So I was taken aback that morning when I went to do his laundry, peeked in the box and only found three..."
 Lisa from - "Lisa's Dress" 
Click here to download on Kindle!

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Google Me Then Google You! Great Marketing Tool

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How cool is this!  Love it!  Thanks Chazz!

Kimberly T. Matthews

"I knew exactly how many condoms were left in his gym bag, in a little black box, wrapped in gold foil. Seven. Each time I randomly checked for no other reason besides I knew they existed, there'd always been seven. So I was taken aback that morning when I went to do his laundry, peeked in the box and only found three..."

 Lisa - from "Lisa's Dress" 

Click here to download on Kindle!

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Indie Author Ebook Marketing Magic!

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Turn this

 - a single image of your plain, flat book cover . . . 

Into this! 

A stunning layout of different versions of your book cover . . . 

Perfect for your Facebook Cover Image

For only this!

(A $60 Value!)

It's ebook marketing magic!

Just complete the form below. Secured ordering via PayPal!

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Please share this offer with an author colleague -  
Just click your favorite share button below.

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What to Do Daily, Weekly and Monthly to Brand Your Book

While I'm working on my next novel - here is an article by book marketing expert Pam Perry.

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Most authors will not become millionaires unless they have multiple works or multiple streams of income that can keep their income level consistent. Otherwise, they will not be able to give up their “day jobs.”

But there are ways to build momentum, expand your platform and solidify your brand so you are successful. Most authors tell me, “I don’t have time” or “I don’t know what to next” or “I hit a brick wall – and I can’t seem to get motivated to market anymore.”

You can market yourself every day just by doing these things. When I coach clients, these are the things I tell them to do on an ongoing basis:

Monthly

• Attend a writers meeting or critique group.
• Ask for reviews or endorsements from those you’ve given “comp” copies too.
• Attend a civic organization and tell the members what you do.
• Read trade publications like Writer’s Digest or The Writer.
• Take a teleclass or attend another type of live internet event.
• Look for contests you can enter or awards you can nominate yourself for.
• Create a YouTube video message or be a guest on a local cable show.
• Hold or plan a teleseminar.
• Update your media list & research for new ones to add.
• Invite a media person you’ve admired to lunch.
• Participate at an event by speaking, presenting or teaching.
• Write articles and submit to article directories.
• Post reviews of other books you’ve read on Amazon.
• Write and post press releases.
• Write and pitch feature stories to the media.
• Create and distribute an online or direct mail newsletter.
• Reach out to bloggers and see if you can do a “blog tour” with them.
• Meet with your advisors, mentors or “master mind” partners.
• Add additional information to your website or blogsite (i.e. a blog article, a link).
• Keep in touch with key bookstores that are selling your books.
• Email mini-courses to those who sign up via an Eblast that you send out.
• Manage back end tasks such as customer support, accounting, sales, etc.
• Look for easier ways to do business. Ask others what systems they use.

Weekly

• Give someone you meet one of your books and follow up in 30 days.
• Visit an online forum and participate or get some PR coaching.
• Look for new articles to read on internet marketing and joint ventures (Google).
• Listen to podcasts (look for the topic of interest online in a podcast directory).
• Send an eblast to your email list – giving them a tip or link to blog post you found helpful.
• Mail a handwritten note or postcard to someone you met in person or connect with online.
• Post to your blog & add a new feature to “amp” it up (get cues from other blogs).
• Drop postcards or bookmarks at places where you regularly go – bookstores, libraries, hair salons, cleaners, restaurants, coffee shops.
• Update your website or blogsite by adding current “media hits” and interviews.
• Send an email to someone online you would like to connect with.
• Interact with a “group” on Facebook or LinkedIn.
• Get to know the key authors / leaders in your field. Follow their blogs or Google them to see what they are up to.
• Keep track of your stats on your website, blogs and Ezine opens.
• Do at least one blog talk show or at the very least call-in to one.
• Post a bulletin on your MySpace or Facebook and add some new blogs.

Daily

• Write. Write. Write. That’s your main job. Content is king!
• Read some trade pubs or read magazines in your niche.
• Comment on someone else’s blog.
• Make a phone call to a media outlet you’d like to be featured on.
• Read the daily newspapers looking for topics you can comment on.
• Scan columns by the regular columnists and give feedback their blogs.
• Add friends to your Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn accounts.
• Follow someone new on Twitter or Shelfari.
• Add people to your database that you meet or have not been in touch with (with permission).
• Add an automatic signature to all the emails your answer.
• Twitter by sending a link to your blog, or a favorite blog, or a free report they can download.
• Participate in message boards, chat group or yahoo groups that are industry related. This helps to increase exposure and give your information to stay on the cutting-edge.

For a creative writer and author, time is managed with calendars – not with clocks. What you are doing is leaving a virtual “footprint” everywhere you go – online and offline. These elements can be implemented with little or no outside help.

If implemented correctly and consistently, these mini-marketing tactics can help revolutionize your ministry or business in no time. By continually branding yourself with the key message of your platform, people will come to you for information and expertise.

Remember to have a marketing mindset and let people know why they should buy your book (mention the benefits of what the book will do for them.) Keep the main thing “the main thing” – focus on changing lives and making an impact for the Kingdom.

Building solid relationships is critical at every stage of branding. Don’t expect instant results though. Trust is the basis of all relationships. Trust is never freely given – trust is earned. Demonstrate your solid commitment and be willing to stay the course.

Enjoy my blog?  Read it on your Kindle! Just click below.

Ministry marketing pioneer, Social media strategist and PR Coach Pam Perry helps African American Christian authors garner publicity and leverage online strategies. As a 20-year PR veteran, she is also the co-author of “Synergy Energy: How to Use the Power of Partnerships to Market Your Book, Grow Your Business and Brand Your Ministry.” For a free MP3 of “What Every Author Should Know,” go to [http://www.PamPerryPR.com]http://www.PamPerryPR.com. She’s also the creator of the ChocolatePagesNetwork, a social network for Christian authors and the Chocolate Pages Show on Blogtalkradio. She offers free help at her blogsite: http://www.MinistryMarketingSolutions.com with her podcasts, Ezines and teleclasses.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?What-to-Do-Daily,-Weekly-and-Monthly-to-Brand-Your-Book&id=5232314] What to Do Daily, Weekly and Monthly to Brand Your Book

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A is for Author Advertising! (A-Z Challenge)

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I decided to take the A-Z blogging challenge for the month of April...except I forgot to post yesterday, so I'm starting a day late. But better late than never right? Especially if it's only for one day!

My A blog for today is about Advertising . . . particularly for  ebooks since I'm an author and all.

Here is a great way to showcase your ebook - instead of just displaying a flat cover, why not advertise your book by showing it on the screen of your favorite ereader!  Any author worth their ink knows that showing is better than telling, so instead of telling prospective readers that your book is available on the Kindle, Nook, Ipad, or smart phone, SHOW them.  Get your image showcased on the layout of your choice, then use the image as your profile picture, on your Facebook wall, tweet it out, share it! Become the envy of all your author friends!

You can upload 1 image and have it showed on the Kindle and Nook layouts . . .  or upload 2 images and have them both shown on the Kindle layout . . . or do an Iphone and Ipad layout . . . or!  Your options are endless!

OR you can order a full banner!  What a great cover image for your Facebook Profile or website!

EXAMPLE - Submit this: a simple book cover image
 

And get this in return! A full layout of your book cover shown in different ereader formats!

             Ipad                     Iphone       -          Nook       -            Hard Cover        -             Kindle Fire      -      Kindle Keyboard

EXAMPLE 2 - Submit this: a simple book cover image

And get this in return! A full layout of your book cover shown in different ereader formats!

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Just complete the form below, upload your image(s) and your order will be securely processed via Paypal.

Should You Make Your EBook Free?

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One author's take on making a title available for download at the price of FREE!
With permission from Stephanie Haddad

Why Free Was For Me - Stephanie Haddad

If you’ve been following my announcement over the past month, you might have caught on to the fact that I’ve made my novel, A Previous Engagement, free as an ebook. (Paperbacks aren’t free, sorry…LOL). You can download it just about anywhere: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, and iTunes. It was a risky move, just giving away my work, but it was one I felt I needed to make.

See, to be totally honest, before I made that novel free to download, sales weren’t going so great for me. I’d hand-sold about 100 paperback copies (of my two titles combined) and only about 30 of the ebooks. Sure, that’s a great start for an independent self-pubbed author like myself, but I knew I could be in better shape.  After all, A Previous Engagement had been out for about five months in December and I hadn’t reached anywhere near the audience I knew I could. Ads, giveaways, and guest blogs were helping, but barely. And with a second title WAY under-performing the first after two months out, I was heading downhill. My self-publishing career was costing me more than it was earning me.

That’s when I knew it was time to take matters into my own hands.

I thought long and hard, made lots of lists, and consulted some of my friends in the Indie Author Group on Facebook. In the end, it was their advice that really got me leaning towards making one of my titles free. Many had shared their stories with me, especially how a free ebook had helped them to gain exposure, reach new readers, and ultimately, resulted in more sales of their other titles.  With two books out, I knew making one free could help me sell the other. And since I plan to publish three more novels in 2012, I hoped reaching new readership would have a domino effect on all my titles’ sales.

So I did it. On December 9, 2011, one month ago today, I made A Previous Engagement free and lowered the price of Love Unlistedto just 99-cents. That was a big jump from my asking price of $2.99 for each title. I was risking quite a bit of potential profit, but I knew from experience in retail that you’ll sell more volume at a lower price. In the end, provided you reach as many new customers as you hoped, your sales dollars will be greater when selling at the lower price. But you’re not reading this for a basic consumerism lesson, you want to know what happened…

Well, a few things happened. First of all, I hit 1000 downloads of my free title in about 9 days. Today, one month later, I’m closing in quickly on 5,000 downloads. I’m averaging about 150-200 downloads every single day, and they’re coming from all outlets, iTunes especially. Here’s some other fun facts about what a free book will do for an indie author’s reach:

• I’ve gathered 470 ratings and about 30 reviews on iTunes for my free title.
• And about 20 ratings for my second novel (the 99-cent one).
• I reached the #4 spot on the top free downloads for contemporary romance novels on iTunes.
• The was listed on several popular sites as a free title, reaching lots of new readers. Check out GetFreeEbooks.com for one example.
• I’ve gathered almost 50 reviews on Barnes & Noble (2 for Love Unlisted so far.)
• My sales of Love Unlisted were multiplied 10 times over. I sold 4 copies in November, compared to over 40 copies in December alone!
• I’ve added about 20 new fans to my Facebook page!
• My blog went from averaging 8 hits per day to averaging over 40 hits per day!

So while it’s early days still, and I have new titles to publish and promote, I have to say that the first results of this freebie experiment are all positive. Not every rating is a 5-star one, not every review is glowing, but the point is that people are reading. And when they like what they read, they’re buying my next book. I’m not going to be a millionaire any time soon, but I’m just happy my books are being read.

At the end of the day, isn’t that why we write our books anyway?

Original post - http://www.stephaniehaddad.com/fiction/?p=487#comment-475

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Click here for Ebook Secrets Exposed - How to Make Massive Amounts of Money in Record Time With Your Own eBook. 

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