Tag: Writing

What Can Nonfiction Authors Blog About?

Posted on by Sue L Canfield
4 ideas for blog
Nonfiction authors recognize the importance of blogging as part of their book marketing efforts but don’t know what to blog about. Here are a few ideas:
  1. Write a series of blog posts based on the chapters in your book. They can be direct excerpts from the book or additional information you gathered when writing your book that didn’t get included in the published manuscript.
  2. Contact people you could interview on the topic of your book. It can be a written interview that, with their permission, you could post as a blog.
  3. Compile a list of other blogs that write about similar topics and write a sentence or two about each one and why your readers should check those blogs out too.
  4. Share your favorite books in your niche written by other authors and why you recommend them.
Your blog posts don’t always have to be about you, your book, your business. Share information about other people, their books, and business. Your readers will appreciate your insights and keep coming back for more.

The Importance of Editing (and Some Resources) [Video]

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Sue has a conversation with Anna Scheller of USABizparty about the importance of good editing, and some resources to get it done.

Writing for Your Nonfiction Email List

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

Your nonfiction email list subscribers may have signed up when you offered a valuable free report. Perhaps you shared tips from your book. To keep your email list subscribers you’ll need to continue offering valuable content with each email you send. When you do this your readers will come to know that you are an authority in your field. It’s you they’ll turn to when they need information on the topic you’re an authority on.

Don’t hold back thinking you’ll save it for your next book. You can still include it in the book, perhaps expanded with more details and statistics. In fact, you’ll be more likely to sell more books to your list because they will have a taste of what’s in it. As with any other marketing, remember the 80/20 rule and provide 80% content to 20% book marketing in your emails. … more … “Writing for Your Nonfiction Email List”

Introducing Joel D Canfield

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

( . . . and that’s the last time I’ll refer to myself in the third person . . . )

The invisible man breaks his silence at last.

About three years ago Sue’s virtual assistant service completed the transition to a social media support service for nonfiction authors. For the decade before that, I focused on our two other businesses: Spinhead Web Design and Someday Box Indie Publishing. For the past 3 years those businesses have been allowed to languish while I focused on my fiction writing.

I’ve always been in the background here at Chief Virtual Officer Ausoma. As we tighten our focus and create specialty packages to bring in new business (hint hint) we’ve agreed it’s time for me to get out of the shadows and speak up. You’ve probably noticed a change in the tone of the blog of late; now that we have bylines, you’ll note that there are two voices, Sue’s staid and sensible voice, and my quirky ramblings. Quirky, as in, my business title (for this week at least) is CBR—Curmudgeon in the Back Room. We’ve acted like an old married couple since long before we were an old married couple. It’s our thing, I guess.

… more … “Introducing Joel D Canfield”

Your Business Needs a Blog

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

In The Commonsense Virtual Assistant we wrote about the four fundamental customer needs:

  1. Get it right
  2. Get it out there
  3. Give ’em advice
  4. Give ’em a voice

A blog fills the last two needs, with proactive advice, and room for feedback, not just from your existing clientele, but from two groups we call prospects (people who are considering doing business with you) and suspects (people who should be doing business with you but don’t know it yet.) Never underestimate the power of fortuitous discovery. When someone stumbles upon your blog, they may discover you’re exactly what they need—but didn’t realize it.

It’s astonishing how many small businesses don’t blog regularly. (We all realize that as nonfiction authors, we’re in the book business, don’t we?)

… more … “Your Business Needs a Blog”