Tag: linkedin

How to Find Media Contacts

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

It takes time and effort to find the right media contacts. Know what a journalist writes about before reaching out to them. If you your book is about managing finances, you don’t want to reach out to the beauty editor of a women’s magazine.

There are several ways to find the right media contacts.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great place to find media contacts.

Find media companies and then look at the People section or Employees section to find media persons to connect with. As an example, here’s the People section for the Chicago Tribune.

Visit their LinkedIn profile to learn more about them and see how else you can connect with them. You may find that you have mutual connections or are in some of the same groups. You can now connect with them with a note saying something like, “I see we are both in [NAME OF GROUP] here on LinkedIn. I’d like to connect and learn more about what you do” or “We have several mutual connections and I’d like to add you to my professional network.” Better yet, ask one of those mutual connections for an introduction.

Check their profile section “Contact info”. Often, you’ll find their Twitter handle there or other way to contact them as well. Once you’ve connected, start a dialogue and develop a relationship before pitching to them.

Twitter

Once you find media contacts on Twitter, create a list and add them to your Twitter list. You’ll be able to quickly find all those contacts in one place. See what they are tweeting about and see if it ties in with your story. You can use the @ symbol and tweet to them to try to get their attention. You may or may not get a response.

Internet Search

Search the internet for media contacts. This can be time consuming and tedious. Be sure to keep a spreadsheet so you don’t have to go search again once you’ve found contact information for media persons.

Search for local area newspapers, radio, TV, etc. In the Contact section of their website you’ll often find a list of editors, media contacts, journalists, etc. Make sure you’re contacting the right person for your topic.

Help A Reporter Out

Sign up for HARO (Help A Reporter Out) as a source. You’ll receive emails with opportunities to respond to requests from journalists on a variety of topics. It’s a marvelous PR opportunity.

Be quick to respond for the best chance of being chosen as a source for a reporter. Several clients have used HARO and been included in round-up posts in various online articles. These articles can be promoted on social media—and it’s a great way to connect with others who write about similar topics that were included in the round-up posts.

Relationship Marketing for Nonfiction Authors

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

Relationship marketing is used by many businesses. It focuses on customer retention and satisfaction. How can relationship marketing be used by nonfiction authors? First, let’s break down three aspects of relationship marketing.relationship marketing

  1. Customer retention

Businesses use relationship marketing to retain customers. As a nonfiction author, you want to retain your readers. We’ll discuss this in further detail in a bit.

  1. Customer satisfaction

Your customer is your reader. You want them to be satisfied with your product – your book – so they will tell others about it.

  1. Long-term customer

Keep them coming back for more – whether it’s for your next book or another service you offer.

Now we’ll discuss what those three aspects of relationship marketing mean to an author.

  1. Reader retention

How do you keep your readers coming back for more? As a nonfiction author, there are several ways you can do this. First, of course, is to be sure you’ve written something of real value. Then write another book, and another, and another is possible. Other ways you can keep them coming back is to create other products or services around your book. Perhaps you can create workbook around your book, host a webinar course, create a workshop. Put on your creativity cap and brainstorm ideas with a friend.

  1. Reader satisfaction

Those 5-star ratings at Amazon are a great indication of reader satisfaction. Encourage readers to leave reviews by mentioning at the end of your book. When you sell books in-person or mail a book out, include a sheet with tips on how to leave a review on Amazon. Don’t be afraid of negative feedback. It will happen. Don’t dwell on it; move on. Think like your reader and find out what they need so you can make the next book even better.

  1. Long-term customer, or reader

You don’t just want a reader to buy your book once and never come back. The goal is for them to become a long-term customer, or reader. They should want to buy future books, purchase more books as gifts for friends, or purchase another service you offer.

How can you build relationship marketing into your marketing plan? There are three steps:

  1. Make connections

LinkedIn is a great place to start making connections. First step, upload your contacts from your computer and start connecting. Search for and join groups related to your book’s topic. Connect with members of those groups. This is also a great place to connect with influencers in your industry, media persons, and others you may want to collaborate with.

  1. Build on those relationships

Don’t just connect; deepen those relationships. Invite your new connections to connect by phone and get to know one another. Listen to them, find out what their needs are, who their ideal client is. In turn they will do the same. I’ve done this consistently for a few years now and have made some great connections where we now refer prospects to one another.

  1. Collaborate with others

Once you’ve built those relationships, you’ll be in a much better position to collaborate with them. You may find another author whose book complements your own. Perhaps you can do a workshop together, or a virtual event (webinar), or refer to one another. Building relationships and collaborating encourages word of mouth – the best referral you could get.

Relationship marketing takes time and effort. It’s well worth it. It results in more readers because the readers you have will come back for more and tell others about you, your book, and your services.

For more great marketing tips from some of the world’s best marketers, check out this article at Insane Growth, particularly the social media marketing tip from Neal Schaffer.

Grow Your Nonfiction Author Business in October

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

social media iconsWhat will you do this month to grow your author business?

Here’s an idea: Create some tweets and social media posts, including creating some visuals, and schedule them to publish this month.

Not sure what to create for visuals? Have a look at some examples we’ve done for clients.

The Series

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Social Media Paint-by-Numbers: Conclusions

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Part of a series

In our review of Hubspot’s report on social media platforms we’ve discussed how each is most effectively used:

  • Twitter: seeking what’s new, connecting with you (warm & fuzzy)
  • Facebook: communicating with those they know, blocking those who annoy (warm & fuzzy)
  • Instagram: bonding, seeking increased intimacy (warm & fuzzy)
  • YouTube: seeking what’s new, taking action (NOT the place for warm & fuzzy)
  • LinkedIn: communication, open discussion (businesslike)

Here’s the shortest social media plan in the world: use Twitter and YouTube to let novelty-seekers get to know you, then Instagram and Facebook to increase the connection, and finally, LinkedIn to forge a business relationship.

That’s what Ausoma helps you do: to be social and get noticed.

If you’ve been struggling with your social media presence, or you’d like confirmation that you’re on the right track, our free 15-minute social media consultation is the place to start.

Paint by Numbers: LinkedIn

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Part of a series

Our final social media paint-by-numbers article is my own. Hubspot’s report does not include LinkedIn, but we encourage all nonfiction authors to have a presence and get involved.

The business slant of LinkedIn means users focus on Communicating and Bridging. There is very little ‘warm and fuzzy’ going on here.

Communicating

Posts and articles not only teach readers, they invite them to connect, and to share what they find valuable with others.

Bridging

The business focus facilitates networking and creates an atmosphere conducive to open discussion, with you, and with other commenters.

What to Do

  • Teach. Write posts and articles that highlight your expertise.
  • Promote others. Share content you find interesting and helpful.
  • Comment. Engage with the community as an active member.

What NOT to Do

  • Don’t pitch. LinkedIn groups frown on hit and run tactics, on a hard sell, on self-promotion. People here are actively looking for good information and connections. Share good information, be a good connection, and they will seek you out.
  • Don’t get silly. Treat LinkedIn like you’d treat a business networking event. Have fun, but no cat videos or pointless jokes.

Next week, the wrap-up.