December ‘20 Newsletter

Ready for the holidays?  Ready for a new year?  They will both soon be upon us.  I’m sure you are ready to say goodbye to 2020.  Hopefully, in early 2021, there will be a vaccine out that will be effective, so that we can stop having to wear masks, people will be able to get back to work, and the pandemic will be over.

To help you get ready to ignite your business in 2021, we have a webinar on book writing coming up in January and a special offering for you, which you can read about below.  In case you need some ideas for helping you promote your book during the pandemic, tune into this month’s SkillBites Show and you can read what some other authors are doing in the tips section below.

Wishing everyone a happy holiday and a joyous, healthy and prosperous New Year.

1. How To Quickly Write Your Book

On January 12, I will be providing a 1 hour webinar entitled How to Quickly Write a Book that will Explode Your Business.  There’s no cost.  Please help spread the word by sharing this with your friends and colleagues.  You’ll learn such valuable strategies as:

• How to determine a profitable topic for your book
• A system for carving out the time to write your book
• 4 ways to quickly write a book even if you aren’t a good writer, or hate writing
• The pro’s and cons of the three most popular publishing options
• The 8 steps you need to take after your manuscript is completed

For more information and to sign up, click here.

2. 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 the SkillBites Show will be on December 8, 2020 at 1 pm ET / 12 pm CT / 11 am MT / 10 am PT.  Our guest will be Marika Flatt, Founder and Chief Publicity Strategist for PR By The Book.  Her company helps authors elevate their relevancy and create buzz.  Marika has worked with over 900 authors to promote their books and will share her wisdom on the best ways for authors to promote their books.

To listen to the live presentation, you can go to https://zoom.us/j/98012759802?pwd=ZW51UjQ0OGlDWnlCWHZ1M2pNWnhnQT09 or call in, using a line local to you:

+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abAXTgmoXv

Meeting ID: 302 156 4627

Save The Date:

Next month, the SkillBites Show will be on January 20, 2021 at 1 pm ET / 12 CT / 11 MT / 10 PT.  Our guest will be Cathy Fyock, the Business Book Strategist.  Cathy is the author of ten books, including The Speaker Author, and Authority. In this episode, Cathy will discuss

• the power of your book to move your business forward,
• how to position your speaking business and your book for greatest impact,
• how to broaden your platform to amplify your message, and
• how to leverage speaking and authorship to become the authority.

Last month, we heard Jackie Lapin, founder of SpeakerTunity®.  Jackie gave a step-by-step process for becoming more visible in today’s virtual world, via virtual stages, podcasts, radio shows and virtual summits.  Jackie offered listeners of the episode a free month to her SpeakerTunity® Speaker Leads, Radio and Podcast Insider and Summits programs, which will provide 200+ speaking opportunities.

If you missed this presentation, you can listen to it by clicking here, or you can read a summary of the show on the SkillBites blog by clicking here.

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.

3. Holiday Gift

If you have someone on your shopping list for whom you are having a tough time thinking of a suitable present, consider getting them a registration in the SkillBites Book It! course or Publish It! course, so they can learn how to write a book and become a published author!  It’s unique and easy to buy.  And for the month of December, 2020, you can buy a course for yourself and gift a course to someone else, or gift two courses for the price of one!  Buy either the Book It! course on how to write a non-fiction book or the Publish It! course on how to publish, promote and leverage a book, and get a second course at no charge.  Contact me at 610-783-4519 or judy@skillbites.net to take advantage of this offer.

4. Tip of the Month: Pivoting In The Time of Covid

The pandemic has impacted authors and book marketing in several ways, not all of which have been negative.  Some people now have more time to focus on writing a book.  Many people, however, have lost their job or are struggling to keep their business alive, and they may not have the funds to pay for the services they need to publish their book.  For those who have published a book and were planning a book launch or other marketing campaign, the pandemic may have caused their plans to be cancelled.

In a recent article in the magazine Independent, published by the Independent Book Publishing Association, several authors and publishers were interviewed about the ways they have been forced to pivot due to Covid-19, which I’ve summarized below.  I hope that by reading these pivots you may be better able to come up with creative ideas to help your book marketing and your business.

• Because Amazon’s delivery schedule has been disrupted significantly, one author ramped up self-fulfillment through his own website.  This required an investment of money to buy and store his books.
• An author who had purchased a large quantity of his books for upcoming conferences, which were cancelled due to Covdi-19, came up with an offering for companies that could send his book to their prospects, who would benefit from reading his book.  The companies’ sales teams could reach their prospects with a nice gift of a valuable book, rather than a box of chocolates.
• Another author has stepped up his email marketing, direct sales and video marketing.
• A first-time author who had lined up a book launch at a local bookstore and library has been seeking online interviews.
• An author has created an online course out of his book, as more people are taking online courses while they are out of work.
• One author has been focusing on finding virtual speaking engagements and media interviews when her book fits with the audience and any current events.
• Another author has spent time figuring out Facebook advertising to sell her book.
• An author spent time dropping books off at people’s doorstep who had offered to read the book and provide a review.
• Another author has been focusing on doing eBook giveaways.

5. 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,