What is the purpose of an author bio? When picking a novel off of the shelves, every reader needs to be convinced within the first fifteen seconds that it is a book they must purchase. A compelling book description certainly aids in that, but the description alone can’t convince a prospective buyer that you are a reliable author worth listening …
Amazon Advertising – How authors can make sense of a Sales Report
If you don’t know by now, Amazon advertising is the most powerful ecommerce engine available to consumers and retailers alike. In a typical month, Amazon can get up to 3 billion visits. Even though not every 3 billion visitors are looking for books, stop and think about how absolutely staggering that number is. At Made for Success, we are focused …
Amazon Book Review Optimization
Whether you feel good, bad, or indifferent about it, Amazon book reviews power buying decisions. The truth is, book reviews have always played a part in what people were willing to read. The major difference now is that we have gone from simply having a chat with our neighbor at the mailbox about what book they are reading, to reading …
Tell the World with a Book Trailer Video – Author Training Series
Get out the popcorn and dim the lights! As an up and coming bestselling author, it’s time to promote your book the old fashioned way: with a promotional trailer. Whether your book is a fictional story or it’s the true story of a brand, passion or success philosophy, your book ought to be in pictures. Posting book trailer videos online …
Book Marketing with Facebook Ads – Who Says You Can’t Buy Happiness?
The tale is almost as ancient as writing itself. Picture the author in an ancient Italian city, scribbling away into the night by the dim amber light of a candle. He eeks out his living in a garret above the crowded street below—one teeming with readers he hopes to entertain, influence, convince or transform. His livelihood depends on it. Somehow …
Building Social Proof in Social Media Circles – Personal Branding Tips
Since the taming of fire, people have aligned themselves with various clubs, clans, groups, movements, organizations and sports franchises. The obvious illustration of this is rooting for your home team. Where were you last Super Bowl Sunday? The odds are high that you remember where you were, and that you weren’t watching the big game alone. This fact about association …
Social Media, Book Promotion and the Sweet Smell of Success
Ah, the sweet smell of success: your book is finally a household name, the topic of conversation in coffee houses and the subject of toasts in fine dining establishments. Just yesterday, you turned down a media interview due to your busy schedule. Tomorrow you’re off to Barbados for a quick dip in the salty surf, then a date with a …
Get Swept Up In the Adventure – It Was a Dark and Stormy Night In November…
In the spirit of National Novel Writing Month, take an escape into the unknown as you explore the art of writing… He passed a well-manicured hand across his balding pate. It was an absent minded gesture, an insecure idiosyncrasy that had evolved over the course of many years, despite his elevated rank. Renard gladly would have traded some of his …
No Way….Write a Book in a Month?
November is National Novel Writing Month, affectionately known as NaNoWriMo. Around the world, more than 300,000 authors will attempt the impossible: to write an entire book in a single month. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, here’s a little background. NaNoWriMo is not really a writing contest, but an event. You might say it’s a contest… with yourself. …
Sample Campaign – The Tried & True Book Selling Technique
So you want to promote your new book. You’ve witnessed other authors racing to the top of the best seller charts, and you wonder what they’re doing to build mega success. If you’re like most authors, you’re not sure how to go about reaping this kind of success for yourself. Want to know a secret? You don’t have to be …