What a Pizza Company and Seth Godin Can Teach You About Your Book Cover.

“What’s the title of that book again?”

You know how many times I’ve heard this?
Lots!

As a professional bookseller you hear some weird questions but this is tops.
The thing I hear most is usually some variation of, “I’m looking for a book. I can’t remember the book’s title or the name of the author.”
No really it is.

So what can you do as a writer or publisher to avoid this problem?

Choose a book title that gets lodged deep into people brains.
Sort of like a little jingle that they use for Pizza Pizza, Toronto Ontario’s biggest pizza chain, and probably one of our most recognized brands.

Anyone who lives in this province has this little diddy rattling around their brains somewhere, “Nine six seven eleven eleven. Phone pizza pizza hey hey hey.”
It’s burned in there and it’ll never come out.
And when your choosing your book title be sure to try and do the same.

Choose something that sticks in your readers minds. Something that they’ll never forget.
I’ve noticed two major trends in for book titles over the last little while.

Book Title Trends:

• A single word or two words that pop followed by a descriptive subtitle.
• A catchy long title that is followed by a descriptive subtitle.
• Single Word Book Titles That Work

Three of my favorite single word book titles are:
Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers To Persuasion and Captivation
by Sally Hogshead……

I love this books title.
And the cover made me reach out and grab it.
It’s on my list of must reads and will soon be on my book shelf.
Great captivating single word choice for the books title.
The subtitle explains what the books about.

Color of the cover and cover art just grips you.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
by Seth Godin

I have to admit that at first I wasn’t really sold on the book cover.
But now I think it’s one of the most iconic book covers of the last couple years.
And even though the books title and sub-title are a little vague, they work.

Curiosity is peaked.
People want to know more.

And somewhere floating around in our sub-conscious minds has to be the need to be indispensable. Especially in these times.
Powerlines: Words That Sell Brands, Grip Fans & Sometimes Change History
by Steve Cone
This books subtitle IMO is the best I’ve ever seen.
When I started to think up the idea for this post this book was first on my mind.
I couldn’t remember the actual subtitle but I definitely remembered the books title.
And now looking at the subtitle again I can see how it hits you on so many levels.
Sell brands: Everyone wants to sell more of their stuff.
Grip fans: Everyone’s looking for a way to engage and captivate our tribe.

Sometimes change history: Admit it, you WANT to change the world. You do don’t you?

Book Title Creation The Take Away
If you’re working on a book’s title then commit to work on it. I mean really work on it.

In this industry it’s make or break. So do everything in your power to give your book an edge over the rest.

Keep a running list of titles you love.

What do you love about them?

How could you slant your own book title like they did?

What kind of book titles are the norm for your audience?

And test your books title!

Not on family and friends.

But do a poll on your website.

Or have a mastermind session with a few people who’s opinion you respect.
Make sure that your book title rocks and you will notice a definite spike in your books sales. And people will actually remember your books title and leave with it in their hands.

Blaze Your Book!
Ian

p.s. What are some of your fav. book titles? And how do you brainstorm to come up with a kick-butt book title?

The Conspiracy Of The Orange(ish) Book Cover Trend

First and foremost I’m a little bit color blind.
Which is interesting when you take into account that I was a graphic designer for a little while.
Maybe that’s why it was such a short lived career.

Now back to the conspiracy.

The orange(ish) book cover.

Book Cover – The 4 Hour Work Week

I was waiting for the second edition of Timothy Ferris’s book the Four Hour Work Week to come out. So when I checked the release date I saw that they updated the cover. Which is pretty much standard pracitise within the book trade business.
But what I didn’t expect to see was the dramatic and bold splash of color that really made this book stand out from the rest. And when I looked around the business section there was no other book that had a cover similar to it.
Well, not for long.

Book Cover – Linchpin

Seth Godin’s new book, Linchpin, came out about a month or so later.
The cover really stood out from all the other books in the section. (Aside from Timothy’s of course).
First it’s iconic symbol was really different from the rest of the business books.
And secondly it’s color made it easy to spot from across the store.

Book Cover – The Little Big Things

When I found out that Tom Peter’s just released a new book I lost my breath.
No really I did.
But when I saw the cover I was like, “Hold up a ’sec. Now that’s interesting. Haven’t I seen this color before?”
Tom’s book cover was a bright, eye burning orange.

Now all of these books are categorized for the business section. So if you’re a business author take note. But a general take-away from these book covers for authors, book cover designers, and publishers everywhere can be:

Stand out from the crowd

Do what you can to catch people’s attention FAST
You don’t have to have an orange(ish) book cover for your book. Look at the other covers in your genre and see if you can spot an accepted theme. But once spotted, do what you can to ensure that your book is practically jumping off the shelves.

Blaze Your Book Sales

Book Marketing Related Posts:
Book Title Tips
Seth Godin’s Advice For Writers & Authors

Book Marketing Case Study

With Chris F.A. Johson author of Pro Bash Programming: Scripting the GNU/Linux Shell.

What’s your book about?

Programming the Unix shell. The shell is a programming language that is used at the command line as well as in scripts. The same commands that you use at the prompt can be put into a file and used to automate tasks.

When did you start to market and promote your book?

As soon as they were published.

What online methods have you used to market your book?

First, I set up pages on my web site for the books.
Then I included the URL to the pages in my signature on all e-mails and Usenet postings I made.
For the first book, I posted a sample chapter on my site.

Which online methods have you found to be the most effective and the least effective?

It’s impossible to say.

What offline methods have you used to market your book?

I have given talks to the local Linux Users’ Group.

Which offline methods have you found to be the most effective and least effective?

I don’t know.

What will you do differently when you market your next book?

I am thinking of publishing my next book as an e-book, so I will sell books at such outlets as smashwords and kindle. If there is enough call for it, I might consider using a print-on-demand service.

Buy Pro Bash Programming: Scripting the GNU/Linux Shell!

You can pick up a copy of Pro Bash Programming: Scripting the GNU/Linux Shell at Amazon and Chapters.

Author Bio:
Chris F.A. Johnson, is the author of Pro Bash Programming: Scripting the GNU/Linux Shell (2009, Apress) Shell Scripting Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (2005, Apress)

(SEO) Search Engine Optimization Guide For Writers

SEO for writers is extremely important. (SEO) Search Engine Optimization can drive tons of free traffic to your site.

You write once and then have a steady stream of people arriving at your door eagerly looking for whatever it is you’ve just optimized for.

To make learning Search Engine Optimization a little bit easier for writers I think an handy visual SEO Guide should really drive home a complete picture of the process of SEO for writers.

Book Marketing Case Study

With Nancy Kilpatrick, editor of Evolve: 23 Vampire Stories of the New Undead.

What’s your book about?

Evolve is an anthology of vampire stories, edited by me. One that differs from what readers have seen before.

My mandate was to have the authors who wrote the stories get a sense of the vampire in older literature to the present, and also familiarize themselves with what’s on TV and in movies right now.

Then to speculate, “What type of vampire will we see in the future?”

They more than met my vision. It’s an innovative book in the genre.
When did you start to market and promote your book?
We began about last January with a variety of interviews for print, internet, radio.                                                                                                                                                      Our aim was to launch the book at the World Horror Convention in Brighton, UK in March, 2010 so we targeted that event.
We also have done Canadian launches/signings in April in various cities, Toronto, Halifax, Calgary, and I think one is being set up for Vancouver.
It’s been a vigorous marketing campaign.

The book will be distributed in the US in Barnes & Noble stores in August, so we are gearing some promotion that way, with people doing signings, and a panel in August at Festival of Fear in Toronto, which draws a lot of US readers.

One of the most interesting aspects of the marketing has been one of the special editions. The publisher did 50 hardcover copies, signed by all contributors, wrapped in silk and packaged in a wooden coffin with a cross bookmark. There is also a nice faceplate on the front. It’s special and draws a lot of attention.

What online methods have you used to market your book?

We’ve done a website with a video–the video is also on Youtube. We set up a Facebook page and I joined FB with my personal wall to promote the book. We’ve done a lot of blog and interviews news interviews as well as podcasts. The publisher came up with some limited editions which are sold on the website (the regular trade paperback is only in stores).

Which online methods have you found to be the most effective?

It’s really hard to tell at this time, as it’s just April and we’ve just launched the book. Some people think that small blogs don’t make much sense and one should go for the major newspapers. But I tend to feel that every effort is worthwhile because one thing usually leads to another.
Which online methods have you found to be the least effective?
Same answer. We just don’t know. But I will say that the Youtube video isn’t identified correctly, which means it has a low viewership. That’s something we will correct for the next book.

What offline methods have you used to market your book?

Edge Publishing has a PR person who has a big list and she is the one who contacted a lot of the genre-specific publications and media, so it all came through her. Edge has provided a lot of books as give-aways in contests, and for interviewers.

At the World Horror Convention launch, we gave away little gift bags of candy which included a little bat. We also had door prizes: a (candy) blood bag; bottles of vampire wine contributed by the vintner, and a special edition in the coffin packaging. There was an invitation to the launch in the convention bags which had an enclosure of a one million dollar Vampire Money bill. None of this was expensive and it’s a lot of bang for your buck when it comes to attention.

Which offline methods have you found to be the most effective?

Again, we don’t quite know yet what’s effective. There have been reviews done and interviews over the phone for publications not online. We’ve got bookmarks that are lovely and terrific postcards–the larger size. It really remains to be seen what leads to what. The book has had nothing but praise so far, with reviews and from readers, and I think all the promotion is worthwhile.

What will you do differently when you market your next book?

I’d say we’ll take a similar approach; so far, this one is working well. But the publisher is always open to new ideas, as am I.

Buy Evolve Now!

You can pick-up your own copy of Evolve on the Evolve site. Or on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Chapters.

About the Editor/Author
Award-winning author Nancy Kilpatrick has published 18 novels, 1 non-fiction book, over 200 short stories, 5 collections of stories, and has edited 10 anthologies. Much of her body of work involves vampires. Nancy writes dark fantasy, horror, mysteries and erotic horror, under her own name, her nom de plume Amarantha Knight, and her newest pen name Desirée Knight (Amarantha’s younger sister!) Besides writing novels and short stories, and editing anthologies, she has scripted 4 issues of VampErotic comics. As well, she’s penned a couple of radio scripts, a stage play, and much non-fiction, including the book The goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined (St. Martin’s Press).

Book Marketing Related Posts:                                                                                            Book Marketing Insider Secrets – One Week Job Project
Book Marketing Insider Secrets – Pro Bash Programming
Book Marketing Insider Secrets
Book Marketing Insider Secrets – Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness

Book Trailers

Book trailers either work or they don’t. The problem is defining what you mean by work.

I think we all can agree that a book trailer should really do one thing: Sell books!

That’s it. If your trying to do something else with it you’ve lost.

Sure you can think about your trailer going “viral” and getting a million views but what are you doing with those million viewers?

Are they buying your book?
If not…

Are they visiting your website?                                                                            And if they’re on your website are they signing up for your newsletter?

These are the nitty gritty fundamental metrics and measurements to judge when trying to calculate the ROI (return on investment) for your book trailer.
And sure we can talk soft-numbers, like views, forwards and likes. These are great if we’re trying to gauge exposure for our brand.

But when your book has been released and is sitting there on the shelves of bookstores, or on skids in distribution centers you truly care about one thing; Selling more books.
So with that being said here’s six key elements to consider when making your book trailer.

Book Trailer Fundamentals:

• Target your specific market
• Engage the viewer early
• Keep your viewers attention
• Convey some relevant info about your book
• Point them to a place to buy your book
• Include your website link

When I was originally thinking about this post I remembered how much I liked the book trailers for 37signals new book Rework. But after writing this article and breaking out the fundamentals I’ve noticed that they fell short on a couple of fronts.

Book Marketing Case Study
With Deborah Schoeberlein author of Mindful Teaching andTeaching

Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches Anything.

What’s your book about?

Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness emphasizes how the teacher’s personal familiarity with mindfulness seeds the ground for an education infused with attention, awareness, kindness, empathy, compassion, and gratitude.

The book follows a teacher from morning to night on typical school day. The schedule provides a practical context for applying and promoting mindfulness throughout the day.

Reading the book catalyzes readers’ insights and inspires the teacher’s self-confidence in applying mindfulness — personally and professionally.

When did you start to market and promote your book?

• Several months prior to publication.

What online methods have you used to market your book?

• FB advertising
• FB personal page and fan page
• Lots of networking and emailing to people and websites to spread the word.
• Topical listservs.
• Amazon comments.
• Blogging to get my name out – several sites as guest and recently,   HP, as blogger.
• Twitter

Which online methods have you found to be the most effective?

• FB pages and ads are the BEST! FB ads are awesome because they are so targeted. Also, I find that bidding high works best because it increases impressions and the cost per click is never as high as the bid. I find it useful to make the per day cap at something reasonable – maybe that’s $10, or $20 or whatever. But compared with the cost of other forms of advertising, this is reasonable.
• Blogging is excellent too.

Which online methods have you found to be the least effective?

• Hmmm, maybe the 1-on-1 networking.

What offline methods have you used to market your book?

• Book reviews in magazines
• Publicists
• Writing articles for publication
• Presentations
• One-sheeters

Which offline methods have you found to be the most effective?

• Reviews
• Articles for publication
Which online methods have you found to be the least effective?
• Booksignings
• One-sheeters

What will you do differently when you market your next book?

• Start FB ads much earlier!

One last thought about Book Marketing: I believe that having the intention to help other people is the most important ingredient to successful advertising.

Sure, selling books makes money (and that’s necessary if you work for a living), but having the desire to sell the books to make some sort of positive contribution is very powerful.

If the purpose is to become famous or make loads of money, the advertising might or might not work, but likely the experience will be unsatisfying, because you can never earn enough or become sufficiently famous to feel content.

But, if sales are a measure of the possibility that you actually help others, then each day is satisfying and the good news re. sales is really part of something much larger, and that’s wonderful.

Buy Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness Now!

To order Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness from amazon click here.
Connect with Deborah on Facebook via her Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness page.

Author Bio:
Deborah Schoeberlein is the author of Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches Anything. She has more than twenty years’ experience teaching fifth- through twelfth-grade students, developing curricular materials, providing professional development for teachers, and pursuing freelance journalism. Currently, she directs a multi-site school-based health center for kindergarten- through twelfth- grade students and their teachers.

Book Marketing Trends, Ideas and Inspirations

Book Marketing Trends is dedicated to the everyday writer. The person who probably works somewhere to pay the bills, maybe has a couple of kids, and about a hundred dollars that they need to spread around for their book marketing campaign.

Book marketing is an evolving craft. What worked last year might not work this year. This site will help you market your book and keep as much of your hard earned cash in your pocket.

Book Marketing Channels

We’ll look at lot’s of different ways to market your book. Hopefully we’ll find out what works and help you steer clear from what doesn’t.

We’ll save you money by touching base on the foundations of book marketing success.

Book Marketing Key Areas of Focus

Some of the main book marketing tools that we’ll be checking out will be:

• Web 2.0 Technologies
• Facebook
• Twitter
• You tube
• Blogging
• Video Book Trailers
• Word press
• Press Releases
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Article Marketing
• Interviews
• Book Signings

But truth be told Book Marketing is about figuring out what works, making friends and sharing your words with the world.

Book Marketing Key Purpose

It’s my hope that this site will empower you. That something here will help you come up with a rock-solid book marketing plan to boost your sales and find ultimate success.

Whether that’s selling 100 or 100,000 copies of your book.

Book Marketing Trends Tribe Is?

• Authors, aspiring authors and writers
• Self Published Authors
• eBook Publishers
• POD Publishers
• Bloggers
• Book Marketing Experts
• Book Promotion Specialists
• Editors
• Infopreneurs

Anyone who’s crazy enough to write a book!

I remember reading somewhere that the way to tell if a person you love has gone crazy is if they’ve come home and they say to you, “Honey I’ve quit my job and I’m going to write a book.”

I’m that guy. And I AM a little crazy.

I started this site as part research and case study for my first book, Your Great Awakening, and what I could do with my marketing dollars to make it a raging success.

Here’s to your success as well.
Ian Paul Marshall
Book Marketing Trends Contributor