With the advent of web social networking sites such as Facebook & MySpace, more small press publishers are taking advantage of the benefits of social networking in new ways. Social networks aren't limited to the web sphere though; remember that they're just a copy of the real-world concept of advertising, & this is the basis of many successful referral-based systems used by advertising gurus of publishers of diverse sizes & industries.
When you're working with a tight advertising budget for your small press, choosing the right initiative is more important than ever. Tapping into your own social network can bring countless benefits, & creating a constant stream of readers is easy with the right approach. Using your social network involves just a little planning & strategic control, but after the initial stage has been set, you can watch your press boom from reader interest with very little effort.
Word of mouth advertising in the publishingindustry starts with a few interested readers who are spreading the good word about your press. Whether they're raving about a great read, are especially fond of a particular title, or can't stop talking about the excellent reader service they received, these people are the anchor for your social networking plan. Socialites are the people who are always talking; they're likely to have a whole range of contacts in their communities, & this an range from local small press publishers, friends, family, & coworkers who listen to their recommendations & reviews more often than not. Popular bloggers on the web are a perfect example of this; these people have learned the power of association, & sharing their views & perspectives on something draws mass appeal. Here are just a few ways you can tap into your own social network to market your small press:
Publish your reader testimonials. Make the best use of brochures space, advertising copy materials, & your website to feature or highlight specific people who have something positive to share about your press. You'll be making them an instant celebrity, & they're more likely to share even more stories with friends & family
Tag your small press logo or name to your e-mail signature. Even for non-press related e-mails, adding a tagline or catchy quote can help keep your press on top of everyone's mind.
Become an expert. Join a mailing list, discussion forum, or local blog & share your experiences as a small press owner. The more that people can put a face to the name of your press, the more likely they will be to learn more from you, & tune into your activities
Publish a blog. Set up a company blog, & personalize it with your owner credentials. You can send invites to all family & friends, & encourage them to comment regularly about your findings.
Host a contest. People love to compete, especially with friends, family, & neighbors. Sponsoring a contest is a great way for people to get to know you better-& your small press.
Tapping into your social network by profiling friends & family, highlighting small press-related events, & sponsoring activities are just a few ways to make the most of your advertising efforts. Social networking on the web is a natural way to build interest in press & sany-sized publisher can utilize e-mail & blogging to their full potential.
Every author I know gets asked the same question: How do you write a book? Scott provides simple, basic information about writing and book and links to more practical advice.
It's a simple question, but it causes unexpected problems. On the one hand, it's nice to have people interested in something I do. If I told people I fixed toasters for a living, I doubt I'd get many inquires. People are curious about writing and that's cool and flattering. Rock on.
But on the other hand, the hand involving people who ask because they have an inkling to do it themselves, is that writing books it's a topic so old and so well tread by so many famous people that anyone who asks me, with the seriousintent of discovering secret advice from my small brain and limited writing experience, is hard to take seriously.
Here's the short honest truth: 20% of the people who ask me are hoping to hear this - Anyone can write a book. They want permission. Truth is you don't need any. There is no license required. No test to take. Writing, as opposed to publishing, requires almost no financial or physical resources. A pen, a paper and effort are all that has been required for hundreds of years. If Voltaire and Marquis de Sade could write in prison, then you can do it in suburbia, at lunch at work, or after your kids go to sleep.
Scott is an author, public speaker and consultant. He worked as a manager at Microsoft from 1994-2003, on projects including (v1-5) of Internet Explorer, Windows and MSN. His blog is pretty solid.
He's an excellent speaker for hire, and frequently performs interactive talks, workshops, and courses for organizations, conferences and the occasional living room couch.
The Internet is a lowest common denominator medium. Unlike newspapers, books, and magazines, there's no editorial staff, no advertisers to please, and no style guides, standards, or traditions to uphold. It's a Tower of Babel mishmash filled with junk. On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog, a 15 year old pimple-faced kid, or just an idiot. Why does this matter? Because one person's opinions are not just as valid as another's, if that other has absolutely no background, skill, or expertise in the area he's commenting on. Yet it's become a staple of many otherwise reputable print publications to let just anyone comment in their "blog" or message board about editorial content.
If you weren't aware foetry.com (whose dedicated members doggedly pursue cronyism and cheats in the pobiz) has closed up shop. In there three years, foetry.com exposed some major universities, publishers, and well-known poets who were involved in contests and complicit in rigged contests-causing students, friends, and lovers to win.
This caught me off guard. Indeed, while posting seemed to be down on the site, no one thought they'd cease operations. Heck -- it had been months since I'd even posted.
This is from Feotry's site:
We would like to thank all of our members who helped Foetry.com pursue its mission by providing information, research, intelligent discussion and debate, by writing letters, raising consciousness, and by lifting up the voice of ethics and outrage the PoBiz has disenfranchised.
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We believewe have made an impact on the PoBiz and helped bring some much needed attention to the fraud, favor-trading, and corruption that have led to the marginalization and commodification of American poetry and the homogenization of its poets.
Foetry.com has done all it can do in its present form. It has chiseled a small crack in the façade of the academic poetry industry, and allowed people to peer in on the poet-making machinery. What we saw was almost universally dissatisfying. But we were not all of one mind regarding what to do about this dissatisfaction. We, as poets, had never dealt with issues of ethics, activism, and philosophy before . . . not within our own little space of ambitions and inspirations and pecking orders. Not within our own tribe.
It's always hard to see clearly how one's own tribe functions. We are still trying to understand the relationships among personal ambition, tribal order, and money-flow (in the PoBiz). Foetry.com has helped us realize that these relationships and their long-term impacts cannot be left in the shadow of our ignorance. Not if the art (as opposed to merely the product) of poetry is to survive.
But the subtler understanding of these relationships and their impact on the social order of poets as well as on the artistic quality and self-definition of American poetry is still slowly evolving. Our tribe (American poets and PoBiz consumers), has not decided if or how to come out of its cave yet. But that small puncture in the wall made by Foetry.com and the many others who have raised their voices against the current system of poetry production (the PoBiz) is letting a little light in.
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Until that time comes, find a way to keep fighting the good fight. Don't give up. Don't expect someone else to do it for you. Believe in the value of your voice, in your outrage, in your desire for change. In your ability to make things happen.
Publishing a book is something many would-be small presses start-ups have done only to quickly realize that the more difficult task is to get folks to buy it and read it. Even giving it away free is no guarantee that you will get respectable audience for your new title. Compare this to a weblog, where you will start getting hits in a few hours! Small presses should fully appreciate and understand the power of weblogs to attract interest quickly and to deliver their message with more efficiency than any other publishing medium ever before.
Should all small presses start their own blogs just because? No, but blogs offer great opportunities for new marketing, or rather, new PR. But as always one must be clear on the objectives before starting to communicate.
For example, a small press may use it to share and clarify strategic choices or you share some of their know-how with the world.
The big difference with traditional marketing and advertising is that blogs are notfully controlable. That's the nature of blogging. And a real blog has the possibility to comment on blog posts turned on. So your readers will build your image along with you with you.
Before you begin, however, make certain you have your strategy and objectives figured out, and communicate them consistently.
You are able to reach your huge audience without having to worry about the huge regular production costs that go into printing and producing traditional ads.
What about TV and radio? Unfortunately, big media is controlled by a few powerful individuals with their own interests to push. Today, weblogs are gaining ground and influencing public opinion in a much more powerful way than traditional mainstream media. I believe that small presses who understand the true power and advantages of a weblog are surely bound to be much more successful.
I'm going to help Joost keep their marketing budget small. Seems like an interesting product. I'm not sure why, but viral marketing is all the rage these days-it's like it's viral or something. Anyway, I have Joost invitations, so you should get them while they're hot.
It's not that I don't like sitting mindlessly in front of a colorful box frittering my brain away, I just do that on the internet instead. Whether wasting time watching cable television or YouTube and Digg is worse, is an academic debate - actually there is probably a PHd dissertation rolling around in there somewhere.
So Joost is pretty much television over the internet. They have deals with MTV, National Geographic, etc.
I have yet to really get under the hood, but it seems pretty interesting. You get to watch shows when you want to watch them, which is the way television should be. Keep in mind Joost is still very beta, thus the invites only - and occasional glitches.
If you haven't gotten your joost invite yet, post here or link here and I'll make sure you get one.
This year's Webby Award winners have been announced. You can find the full winners list here. I just chose a few of the award-winners and nominees in a few of the media-related categories, that might be of interest.
For what it's worth, I think the Guardian is the best website of the lot. BloggersBlog.com has an entry about the blog-related winners here.
Hailed as the "Oscars of the Internet" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video, and Mobile Websites. The awards are judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a global organization that includes David Bowie, Harvey Weinstein, Arianna Huffington, Matt Groening, Jamie Oliver, Internet inventor Vinton Cerf, and RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser.
Also, NPR podcasts won "Best Podcasts" from the Webby's and "Best Radio" in the public competition. Separately, the NPR on-air commentary, podcast and blog, "My Cancer," created and written by journalist Leroy Sievers, was named for a special Official Honoree recognition.
Winners will be recognized at a ceremony on June 5 in New York City. The list can be found here.
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