Tag: book marketing

Radio Show Marks 3-Year Anniversary

I’m now celebrating three years as a radio host.
First, my Gab with the Gurus Radio Show is now celebrating two years of serving you, thanks to Blog Talk Radio. (I just realized this while sending information to a reporter, who’s writing an article about the show.)
Last Saturday marked three years to the day (July 10, 2007) when I first began as a radio show host.
Originally, my show began as the “Stop Sugar Shock Radio Show.” My first guest was the inspiring, personable low-carb blogger Jimmy Moore.
Listen to my first show now.
Then, after one year of interviewing experts, in June 2008, I renamed it as the Gab with the Gurus Radio Show to more accurately reflect the fact that I interview experts and bestselling authors in a variety of fields — not just health and wellness.
For instance, on the Gab with the Gurus Radio Show — which you can subscribe to on iTunes — I chat with nationally acclaimed, motivating, articulate experts, authors and celebrities in the field of health, wellness, personal empowerment, Law of Attraction, weight loss, fitness, relationships, social networking, book writing and marketing, productivity, self-help, movies, etc.
As you already know (I hope), my show is now called the Gab with the Gurus Radio Show — you can reach there easily — just go to http://www.gabwiththegurus.com.
My guests have included Montel Williams, Suzanne Somers, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Marilu Henner, “FlyLady” Marla Cilley, Dr. Nancy Appleton, Dr. Pat Allen, Michael Port, Marci Shimoff, Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman, Jack LaLanne, Dr. Bernie Siegel, Dr. JJ Virgin, Arielle Ford, Dr. Diana Kirschner and many more fascinating guests.
You can listen live most Wednesdays at 2 pm Eastern or catch archived shows at any time. However, this summer, I’m hosting a number of other shows (on other days).
For instance, today, Thursday, at 2 pm, you’ll get the scoop on my Gab with the Gurus Radio Show on how you can delay aging when I interview Robert Kane Pappas, director of the new film, To Age Or Not To Age, and Dr. Leonard Guarente.
And next week, July 19 to July 23, I’m holding a Gratitude Week on Gab with the Gurus. Stay tuned for details.
Also, remember that my show is picked up on iTunes — just go here to download it — http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/gab-gurus-with-connie-bennett/id290617732

Cast Your Vote: WriteABookBeforeYouDie.com or HelpForAuthors.com

hanks to book marketing guru John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Book and founder of TenMillionEyeBalls.com, for inviting you to vote for the preferred title of my new blog.
Cast your vote here or further below:
http://twtpoll.com/mdx2ny
John also invites you to join with the other 5,500 book authors on the Book Marketing Network at http://bookmarket.ning.com, where he shares lots of great tips.
Please tell John that Connie sent you.
And authors or aspiring authors, please make sure to visit my new blog for authors at www.WriteABookBeforeYouDie.com or www.HelpForAuthors.com — you can get there using either URL.

Authors, Marketers & Publicists: 21st Century Book Marketing Conference is the Place to Be this Fall

This post is for Authors, Marketers & Publicists.
Are you confused about what cutting-edge techniques are best to use to help propel your book or your client’s books onto the bestseller lists?
To get up to speed on what tactics are hot and effective, I urge you to attend the 21st Century Book Marketing conference in San Diego on Sept. 25 and 26.
This fabulous event — which I attended last year and highly recommend — will give you the latest information about how to successfully launch your book in the 21st century.
At the 21st Century Book Marketing event, you’ll hear from top publishers, publicists, marketers, social media experts and authors, who will share their secrets and the latest information.
For instance, you’ll gain insights and ideas from high-level executives from HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hay House and Huffington Post, as well as other smart expert speakers, who will teach the best techniques for marketing your books in today’s world.
This wonderful 21st Century Book Marketing conference is presented by two people “in the know,” so to speak — my friend Arielle Ford (a brilliant former publicist and bestselling author) and her partner, Mike Koenigs, a super-successful internet marketer.
For instance at the 21st Century Book Marketing conference, you’ll learn:
* How to get your target market to your website;
* How to sell your books in bulk;
* Which national TV shows every author needs to be on;
* How to use blogs, podcasts and video blogs to make you stand out on the Internet;
* How to use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to sell books;
* How to get booked by the media and nail the interview once you get there;
* How to make money marketing and selling products;
* How to use a 3-step formula to ace every radio interview;
* How to give a great presentation like Steve Jobs;
* And much more.
If you act now, you can get in at a better price. For half-price tickets now, visit the 21st Century Book Marketing site.
To tell friends about this great event, just send them to http://tinyurl.com/21stCenturyBookMktgConf-Connie
Hope to see you there.

Clever Book Marketing: “Be the Media” Author David Mathison’s Seeks to Squash Al Gore’s Record

As an author (SUGAR SHOCK!), I’m often awed and intrigued by the brilliant marketing moves of fellow authors.
To pay homage to my fellow Author-Preneurs (a word I coined to convey or entrepreneurial stance) — and to help these authors build a buzz — I plan to periodically feature the clever marketing gimmicks of savvy authors in a new feature here, on my Sugar Shock Blog.
Today, I invite you to learn about David Mathison, author of the hot-selling book, Be The Media, who has launched an outrageous campaign to beat former Vice President Al Gore’s book sales record at a particular northern California bookstore.
BeTheMedia_Cover_Animation3.jpg Currently, Gore holds the record for book sales at an author event at the popular Book Passage bookstore in Corte Madera, California. But this Sunday, March 28, 2010, Mathison is setting his sights on breaking Gore’s record.
“If George Bush could beat him, so can I,” declares a confident Mathison, who self-published Be The Media in 2009 to help teach the secrets of independent media to authors, musicians, filmmakers, bloggers, TV/radio hosts and vloggers so that they can inexpensively and widely distribute their message.
To create a buzz for just one book signing by seeking to rival a celebrity’s turnout is brilliant book marketing in action. Because, let’s face it, many authors dread or fret about book signings, because they never know how many fans will show up.
What’s especially clever about Mathison’s marketing ploy is that he’s also encouraging fans based outside of California to help. He invites anyone — from around the world — to buy Be the Media right at his website. He even promises to personally autograph each book. And if you buy a bunch of copies of Be the Media (i.e., be a contributing donor), you can even win lunch with the author, take a photo with a life-size Al Gore, or discuss the invention of the Internet.
According to Mathison, “Diehard Be The Media activists and special guests will rally from noon to 4 pm outside the bookstore. From 4 to 5 pm, Mathison will deliver the same keynotes he gave in December 2009 and January 2010 to the United Nations.”
As if that wasn’t original enough, Mathison is now live streaming the pre-book-signing goings-on at his website, BeTheMedia.org, so supporters from across the globe can cheer him on and support his cause. The author even “promises to eat, drink, sleep, talk, and filibuster until he beats Gore.” He even confidently proclaims: “Once Gore sees me closing in on the record,” he says, “I’m sure he’ll concede.”

Book Promoting: Should We Authors Be Outrageous, Provocative & Original to Become Bestselling?

Whether you’re a reader, an author or a publishing insider, I invite you to join in the interesting discussion now brewing about what constitutes good book promotion.
Last weekend, I did what I thought was a fun, humorous, zany, admittedly provocative sandwich-board publicity stunt at BookExpo America, the largest book publishing event in North America.
I first wrote about my unusual promoting here and here.
To summarize, my intentions were:
* To drum up interest among potential readers in my first book SUGAR SHOCK!;
* To intrigue people in my upcoming, as-yet-unpublished second book, The Weight-Loss Habits of Highly Successful Losers (working title);
* To acquaint people like you (my target audience) with my work so they can learn how to break free of their bad habits or what I call “babits™” so that they can lose weight, get energy, boost their libido, become happier, etc.;
* To garner media attention;
* To make contacts within and outside the publishing industry, which could lead to a variety of exciting partnerships; and, of course;
* To build my platform even bigger.
DSC00094 My gimmick at BEA was this: On two days (of the three-day event), I walked around selected places at the Javits Center in New York City wearing a sandwich board that jokingly asked, “Are You `The One?'” (I did so with permission and for a fee.)
The sign also was displayed all weekend long at my booth.
My sandwich board — which was humorously designed by renowned graphic artist and author Hillary Carlip to look like a single’s personal ad — poked fun of the fact that I’m a single woman and an author available to both the right man and publisher.(Incidentally, Hillary — who has done work for Jennifer Anniston — also designed my Gab With the Gurus radio show blog and my new site to promote my upcoming book, The Weight-Loss Habits of Highly Successful Losers.)
My sign also provocatively stated, “Will put out on first date!!” (Yes, I was embarrassed by this remark, but, of course, I was just joking. What I meant is that I would “put out” information about my next book, The Weight-Loss Habits of Highly Successful Losers; tell you about my first book SUGAR SHOCK! (you can sneak a peek here); and share how I help people break their bad habits or babits™.
Wow! I thought I was just cleverly showing that, in these uncertain economic times and crowded market, authors who want to make a splash need to be what I call “author-preneurs.” In other words, to boost our platforms and build interest in our books, we should show initiative, originality and a sense of humor.
At BEA last weekend and afterward, as I sorted through business cards and email addresses of of people I’d met, I thought I’d at least partially succeeded in my goals. My off-the-wall marketing gimmick made lots of people laugh and chuckle. More importantly, it gave me the opportunity to meet hundreds of people in the book industry — booksellers, librarians, editors, authors, publishers, etc. — as well as members of the media.
But since BEA, I’ve taken some flack and had a change to think more about my ususual marketing approach. In particular, my gutsy, guerialla-book promoting, sandwich-board-wearing efforts were criticized first here and then again here by Lynn Price, editorial director of Behler Publications, who writes the Behler Blog.
After Lynn’s less-than-flattering remarks about my publicity stunt, I took time to reply to both of her posts — first her initial post, “Authorpreneurs my stinky foot,” and then to the second one, “It’s All About the Show.” (Incidentally, since then, Lynnn and I also have shared polite, private emails.)
Now that I’ve been blasted and compared to tactless authors, who wear toilet bowls on their heads (ouch!), I’m wondering: Was I wrong to be so provocative, adventurous and and flagrantly innovative at BEA?
Did I goof bigtime or was I right to walk around wearing an innovative sandwich board, which asked, “Are You `The One?'”
Did my publicity stunt turn off you, my dear readers? Or, if it backfired, who exactly was annoyed by it?
While I hoped my marketing efforts would get attention, I hadn’t planned on being condemned. But of course, I should be prepared for that — obviously, that goes with the territory. But, hey, I’m now willing to learn from the experience.
Clearly, I have a lot more to learn about successful book promoting.
While I’ve attended numerous, great conferences featuring such people as Mark Victor Hansen, Alex Mandossian, Michael Drew and Warren Whitlock, I guess I need more foolproof, innovative marketing ideas.
Obviously, I should continue to pay close attention to such whizzes as Chris Brogan, Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, John Kremer, Shel Israel, Robert Scoble, Arielle Ford and David Meerman Scott.
So, since I always strive to improve, please tell me what you think.
Did you think my sandwich board gimmick at BEA was creative and funny or misguided and stupid? Feel free to be honest.
And what do you think are the best, most clever ways to get the word out about my next book, The Weight-Loss Habits of Highly Successful Losers? (FYI, I already use my blogs, Twitter, Facebook, my radio show and my massive email list.)
What do you think I should do to spread the word about my next book?
Please don’t just tell me to write a good book. I’m hard at work on that. Besides, that’s not nearly enough in this economic climate. As mentioned earlier, we authors need to become author-preneurs.
For those of you here who are familiar with SUGAR SHOCK! and this blog, I invite you to become a pivotal VIP Super Friend of my upcoming book. Please visit my new blog, www.BetterHabitsDiet.com, to learn more about how to spread the word.
And if you’re here, because you’re struggling with sugar or other unhealthy habits, I invite you to join my four-week Break Free program, which begins tomorrow night.