January 2019
Happy New Year! I want to share a quote I read recently in the Self-Improvement Newsletter: “When the Dalai Lama was asked what surprised him the most he said: ‘Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.’” Don’t sacrifice your health to make more money; your health is much more important.
January is a special month in my household, as my husband, my son and I all celebrate our birthdays, as well as my twin sister. In honor of all our birthdays, I have a special gift for all the members of my SkillBites community, which you can read about below. To take advantage of this offer, though, you need to act quickly!
May this year be a healthy and prosperous year for you.
1. The SkillBites Show
Each month, we bring you an expert to help you get your book done, leverage your book, grow your business or improve your life. The shows are recorded, so if you can’t listen to one live, you can listen to the recording by clicking here.
Our next SkillBites Show will be held on Wednesday, January 16, at 1 pm ET. This is your opportunity to ask any questions concerning how to write, publish or market your book. Rather than having a guest this month, I will be available to answer your questions. I have been running SkillBites for almost 7 years and have helped hundreds of business owners and professionals with their books. If you are facing a challenge with getting your book done, tell me what your challenge is and I will do my best to help you overcome it.
To listen to the live presentation, you can call in at (641) 715-3660, Access Code: 467398.
Last month we heard from Maura Sweeney, author, international speaker, podcaster and frequent media guest. Maura provided helpful resources, innovative tips and anecdotal stories for authors wishing to raise their public profile and extend their reach and credibility through the media. If you missed this presentation, you can listen to it by clicking here, or you can read some of the tips from this show on the SkillBites blog at http://resources.skillbites.net/blog/.
Do you have expertise that you believe would benefit the SkillBites community of entrepreneurs and authors? If you would like to be the guest on the monthly SkillBites Show, contact me at judy@skillbites.net or 610-783-4519.
2. Tip of the Month: Build a Following
Promoting your just published book to your network of friends, colleagues, clients and prospects is one of the easiest ways to get the word out about your book and get book sales. But what if you don’t have a sizable network? While it is best to develop a network before your book comes out, it’s better to build one after publication than to never build one.
How do you build a network? One way is to include a note in your book for the reader to send you an email if they would like to receive your newsletter or other material. Similarly, you can include opt-in opportunities in your book, such as a free checklist or a free consultation, if the reader clicks on a link. That will take them to a landing page to provide their name and email address, so you can provide the freebie that they have selected. The same can be done on your website, such as to offer a free chapter of your book if the visitor to your site clicks on the link. The details for setting up opt-in opportunities were covered in an earlier newsletter. If you would like that sent to you, just email me at judy@skillbites.net and I’d be happy to send it to you.
Another way to build a following is to get in front of the audience you want following you. You can speak at events that your target audience is likely to attend. You can also leverage other people’s networks such as by offering guest blog posts to bloggers whom your target audience is likely to follow or getting on podcasts, radio or TV shows that your target audience may listen to, or YouTube channels, forums or in newspaper articles. If you provide good value to the audience, they will want to follow you. Again, offer something to the audience so that they want to provide their contact information in exchange for receiving further information from you.
In last month’s SkillBites Show, Maura Sweeney provided several tips for getting on radio and TV shows. In addition, I have a few directories that I can share for seeking blogs and podcasts that one’s target audience may be following. If you would like me to send the directories to you and the links that Maura shared, send me an email to judy@skillbites.net.
A third way to build a following is via social media. The three most common platforms are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. LinkedIn used to provide people’s email addresses when downloading one’s LinkedIn network, but unfortunately, that is no longer provided, at least in the free version. Nevertheless, when you grow a following on social media, you can offer opportunities for members of your network to join your newsletter or receive other materials of value, which will enable you to obtain their email addresses.
The key to building a following is to provide value. It’s time consuming; you can’t just write one blog post, for example; you need to be consistently putting out fresh content that is valuable to your target audience. The rewards, however, can be significant, particularly to get the word out about your newly published book!
3. Birthday Gift
To celebrate my birthday as well as the January birthdays of my family, I am offering a 60% off discount on the registration fee for the Book It! and Publish It! courses, a savings of $300 each! To take advantage of this offer, email me at judy@skillbites.net or call 610-783-4519 by January 21, 2019.
4. Earn Commissions For Referrals
Do you know anyone who has been wanting to write a book but has been stalling? Let them know that SkillBites offers a variety of services to make book writing and publishing easy, quick and convenient. When you sign up to be a SkillBites affiliate, you can get a commission for each person who signs up to purchase SkillBites services through your unique referral link. To obtain more information and to sign up for our referral program, click here.
Thanks for supporting SkillBites. If there is anything you think we ought to be doing better or anything we should be doing that we’re not, please let us know. We value your input.
Cordially,
