Best Book Marketing Tactics in the Pandemic
There are hundreds of book marketing tactics. In fact, John Kremer, an expert in book marketing, wrote a book called 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. In the December SkillBites Show, my guest, Marika Flatt, focused on the best ways to...... Read more
Organize Your Life and Increase Your Productivity
One positive attribute of the Covid pandemic is that the loss of employment or the need to work from home has revealed the extent of clutter in our homes and offices. Often, when we take action to declutter our environment, good things come into...... Read more
How to Get Corporate Sponsorships
This is a great time to seek corporate sponsorships, even for for-profit businesses. Given the lack of live events in today’s environment, businesses that typically sponsor live events are actually looking for other ways to give money away and...... Read more
Tips for Speakers
Even though there are few if any live speaking opportunities today due to the pandemic, there are still many opportunities for speakers. In this month’s SkillBites Show, Melissa Taylor shared numerous tips on speaking, from building a human...... Read more
Thriving Through COVID
In January, 2008, Mark Coudray purchased a beautiful new building for his business. Shortly after that, the recession hit, and Mark’s multi-million dollar business revenue dropped 62%. He and his wife almost lost their home, and all their...... Read more
Scaling Up
80% of businesses fail within their first 3 years, and many businesses have no or minimal profit even though they remain open. The main reason why so many businesses fail or don’t do well is that they lack good systems and metrics. In this...... Read more
Developing a Media Pitch for your Book
Getting media exposure for your newly published book can greatly enhance the sales of your book and build your credibility. Key to getting publicity for your book is finding the right angle to pitch. When you are pitching to get an interview on...... Read more
Book Publicity – Who, What, When, Where and How
Chuck Monroe, founder of Gold Dust Publicity LLC, was my guest on the SkillBites Show podcast. Chuck has been instrumental in the successful launch of more than a thousand books in virtually every genre. As Chuck stated, if you don’t publicize...... Read more
How to Decide if You Need a Literary Agent and Where to Find One
Guest Post by Ally Machate The modern world offers us many ways to share our content, but if you’ve been thinking about going the “traditional” publishing route with your book, there are some things you should know. And the first is that you may...... Read more
Get Paid Speaking Engagements
Kerry Kathleen Heaps is an established speaker and owner of Book.Speak.Repeat, a company that helps get paid speaking engagements for authors and business owners. She is also the Publisher of Pageant Platform Magazine and the Host of Pageant...... Read more
Stressed Out!
Carlee Myers was 12 when a man was murdered in her home, and her mother was shot three times. She was, naturally, traumatized, and experienced PTSD. After many years of trying various remedies to alleviate her anxieties and stress, Carlee...... Read more
How to gain peak performance, just like the Superbowl Champions
Everyone has times when they feel incredibly sharp and productive. Wouldn’t it be great to have that feeling more often? If that appeals to you, then read further. You can maintain focus and sharpness, by spending as little as 3...... Read more
A Recipe for Success
In the May 2014 SkillBites Author Teleseminar, Luisa Rasiej, an international speaker, mentor and transformational coach, shared her process for helping her clients attain the success they desire. Rasiej gave several amazing examples of the leaps...... Read more
Managing Stress
We all face stress in our lives, and have had situations where we didn’t handle it very well. Some of us find ourselves in a constant state of anxiety, or we know people who seem to be on edge all the time. In this month’s teleseminar, we heard...... Read more
Using eBooks to Generate Leads
It would be wonderful if every prospect could be converted into a customer, but things just don’t work that way. It can take hundreds of leads to get a handful of customers. The struggle for business owners is finding a way to...... Read more
Creating your “Happy Pie”
In the July SkillBites Teleseminar, Diane Hansen, Chief Inspiration Officer of What Works Coaching (http://whatworkscoaching.com/), introduced the notion of creating a “happy pie” to help us identify the areas that need focus. The idea is to...... Read more
Get Your Business Back On Track
Is your business doing as well as it should? That is the question that Maria Baseggio, President of Sage Insights, led off with on this month’s SkillBites Show. Sage Insights is a management consulting firm that works with businesses to address...... Read more
Want to Improve your Productivity? Try the SASS-E system!
You can’t fit more hours in a day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be more productive during the hours that you do have. Ann Jenrette-Thomas, founder of Esquire Coaching, has a system that can make this happen. Imagine it’s your 90th birthday...... Read more
Productivity Tips: Get More Done, Have More Time and Catapult Your Income
Deanna Maio works 7 hours per day, 4 days per week during three quarters of the year, and only 3 hours per day, 4 days per week during the summer. She runs a profitable 6-figure business, with a side career as a musician. How does she do that?...... Read more
Using Podcasts to Boost Your Book and Your Reputation
In this month’s SkillBites Show, Doug Foresta shared some valuable tips on podcasting. Doug is a coach and podcasting producer and host. Since 2009, he has interviewed over 700 guests, including New York Times bestselling authors and Academy...... Read more
Want to Eliminate Your Headaches?
Did you know that one out of every six adults in the US suffers from chronic headaches? It’s hard to get things done and enjoy life when you’ve got constant headache pain. SkillBites is pleased to announce its most recent...... Read more
Sustainable Food Service for Schools
SkillBites has recently published Chef Budd Cohen’s book, Farm to Table for Schools (https://resources.skillbites.net/farm-to-table-for-schools/). Chef Cohen has worked in a number of academic institutions where he has implemented Farm to Table...... Read more
Using Radio to Boost Your Book and Your Reputation
Sue Rocco, host of the radio show Women to Watch™, shared some valuable tips on getting radio interviews and exploiting those interviews in the December SkillBites Show. Book authors know that they need to use multiple platforms to get the word...... Read more
Are You Leveraging Your Book?
This month I had the opportunity to interview Bob Schiers, founder and CEO of RAS Associates, an award winning Marketing and PR firm, on the need for authors to plan how they will leverage their book. Bob explained the difference between...... Read more
Thinking of Writing a Book? One recently published author says DO IT NOW!
Sara Canuso, President of Women That Influence, had been thinking about writing a book for over 4 years. Yet the thought of writing a book was overwhelming to her – how would she find the time to write it? How does one even start to write a book?...... Read more
Selecting a Great Book Title
Your book title is one of the most important elements of your book. It’s the hook that grabs your prospective reader’s attention and motivates them to flip over the book, look inside and hopefully purchase the book, so it is critical that...... Read more
Finding, Connecting and Qualifying Prospective Customers
Do you struggle with finding good quality prospects? Do you have a system for weeding out unqualified prospects? Phyllis Smith, President of EZIA Enterprises, Inc., shared with us on this month’s SkillBites Show a number of valuable tips to help...... Read more
Protect Your Interest in Your Book
Angela Megasko, founder of MarketViewpoint, author of Ultimate Mystery Shopping and SkillBites customer, forwarded to me a blog post that was very disturbing. It concerned a woman who was about to launch her book when she discovered...... Read more
Understanding the “Inner Game” to Achieving Breakthrough Success
This month, Terry Wildemann taught the SkillBites community a simple process for reaching our business and personal goals, related to the law of attraction. While the term “law of attraction” was made prominent by the book and movie The...... Read more
Podcasting Tips for Authors
Podcasting is a powerful way for authors to expand their visibility and promote their expertise. This month, SkillBites invited Steve Lubetkin, managing partner of The Lubetkin Media Companies, to provide tips on producing effective podcasts. As...... Read more
Improve Your Ability to Convert Prospects to Paying Customers
“Let me think about it,” says your prospect, or maybe she tells you, “I am not ready yet; call me in a few months.” How do you get those prospects to make a decision? Are there tips that can accelerate the conversion process? That’s what Phyllis...... Read more
Hiring the Right Sales Person
Hiring the right person for your organization is tough. It’s time consuming and, if you don’t do it right, it can be very expensive. Hiring the right sales person is even tougher, because sales people are very good at selling themselves. In this...... Read more
Trends in Internet Marketing
Website … SEO … email marketing … videos … blogs … social media … how do you decide what internet marketing tactics to employ? In our SkillBites Show this month, we asked this question of internet marketing guru Rick Simmons. Rick shared some key...... Read more
The Importance of Speaker One-Sheets
“Your One-Sheet is your passport onto the next stage,” according to Kimb Manson Williams, designer of one-sheets for hundreds of speakers. Kimb was this month’s guest on the SkillBites Show, and gave great insights into creating an effective...... Read more
Get Wise About Your Network
Is your life in chaos? Even if it isn’t, you might want to map out your networks to help you understand where you can make it better or be prepared for any of the “wild cards” life tosses your way. On today’s SkillBites Show, Glenna Crooks...... Read more
Pay It Forward
This weekend, I chauffeured my son and 4 members of his boy scout troop to the annual first aid meet. This is an event in which patrols from the various boy scout troops in the area compete against each other in their knowledge of first aid...... Read more
Is Hiring a Ghostwriter Cheating?
I asked this question of Helen Chang, CEO of Author Bridge Media, on the SkillBites Show. Helen has been ghostwriting for over a decade. Her company has ghostwritten, edited and/or published over 300 books, including books for such...... Read more
Becoming a Best Selling Author
Imagine applying for a speaking gig, or submitting a bid for a large contract, and including a copy of your book with an emblem on the cover saying #1 Best Seller. You are much more likely to get the speaking gig or win the award. But how do you...... Read more
Ask and You Shall Receive
What if you could wave a magic wand and get your biggest problem resolved? In this month’s SkillBites Show, Nancy Dunleavy, CEO and founder of Dunleavy & Associates, and imminent author of Exercise Your Ask Muscle: the no-weight workout...... Read more
The Power of Mobile Marketing
How many emails do you get every day that you delete without even opening them? If you’re like me, you probably delete at least 50 emails per day, even though you may have signed up to receive many of them. According to Bob Bentz, our guest this...... Read more
Communication Chiropractic™ – Get Your Communications in Alignment
In the pursuit of leadership excellence, communication skills are often over-looked and yet they are foundational to our success. Have you ever felt that someone’s words and body language were not in sync? You may have been guilty of this...... Read more
The Biggest Marketing Mistakes Businesses Make
Donna Lynn Price has seen it all. The founder of Compass Rose Consulting, Donna has been helping businesses with their marketing for over __ years, and has seen so many businesses waste their time and money with their marketing efforts. In this...... Read more
Using LinkedIn To Get More Clients
Is it really worth your time to do social media? Which platform should you focus on, and what are the key steps to take? In this month’s SkillBites Show, LinkedIn expert David Steel, CEO of Everyone LinkedIn, explained why LinkedIn is such a...... Read more
‘Tis the Season…to Evaluate Your Sales Activities
The holidays are truly a time to appreciate the company of good friends, family and loved ones. But between all the eggnog and cookie tins, it’s easy to forget that the New Year is also a wonderful time to reflect on the past year professionally...... Read more
Wise Business Development Strategies
“Nobody likes to be sold, but everybody likes to buy.” That’s how Tom Gill, Senior Sales Strategist, Coach and Trainer with Business Development University, started his presentation on the SkillBites Show this month. Tom shared a number of tips...... Read more
Should You Use A Literary Agent?
If you’ve written a book, or are in the process of writing one, you may have thought about whether to find a literary agent to help you get your book published. On the December SkillBites Show, we spoke to Gabrielle Sellei, an attorney who...... Read more
Grow Your Business With Speaking
Speaking is a great way to get in front of your target market, exhibit your expertise and gain new clients; but how do you get speaking engagements, and how do you leverage them? These questions and more were answered by Denise Hedges, business...... Read more
Running a Successful Pay Per Click Campaign
Pay Per Click Campaigns (PPC) have the potential for a return of double or triple your investment, if they are done right; but to do the campaign right takes a lot of trial and error, and time. Len Morley, CEO of Mx4 LLC, talked about the...... Read more
A New Content Marketing Approach
Have you ever received an email or direct mail piece, or watched an ad and found it distasteful? Lisa Manyon, the guest on this month’s SkillBites Show, explained that she has felt that way about many commercials and marketing pieces since she...... Read more
The Power of Audio Books
Did you know that audio books outsell eBooks by 3 to 1? According to Tina Dietz, world class audiobook publisher, sales of audio books have experienced a meteoric rise in the past several years, with over 20% growth year over year. People are...... Read more
How to Succeed in Business
On this month’s SkillBites Show, our guest was Jason Sherman. Jason is a serial entrepreneur, award winning filmmaker, journalist and tech startup expert. He has been featured by more than 10 media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, USA...... Read more
Book Marketing and Promotion Tips
Dan Smith, CEO of Smith Publicity, appeared as the guest on this month’s SkillBites Show, where he shared a number of tips for authors to promote their books: Authors should begin promoting their books as early as possible, and should think about...... Read more
Find Your Mission
Ever feel like you are stuck, that your job doesn’t provide fulfillment or meaning for you? Alexandra Figueredo talked in this month’s SkillBites Show on how you can find your mission and bring meaning back into your life. Alexandra is the...... Read more
Finding the Right Editor or Ghostwriter
Most business owners who write a book do so to enable them to gain greater credibility. Yet, if a book doesn’t read well or contains errors, the reader is not going to view the author favorably no matter how good the content is. That’s why it is...... Read more
Manage Projects Effectively
Without proper planning, projects tend to get delayed or incur cost overruns. What does proper planning consist of? In this month’s SkillBites Show, Jon McGlothian shared a number of tools and techniques for managing projects effectively. Jon is...... Read more
Tips on Book Marketing
Many authors don’t realize that they need to treat their published book like a business. If they don’t market their book, it won’t sell or garner them the results they sought when they wrote the book. On this month’s...... Read more
Need Leads?
One of the hardest parts of running a business is maintaining a steady flow of prospects and customers. It can take a lot of time and effort to connect with enough of the right people to achieve that steady flow, which may not be what the...... Read more
Want to Get Paid as a Speaker?
Cathleen Fillmore was terrified the first time she was invited to speak at a conference. While she is no longer terrified, she admits that she is nervous virtually every time she speaks, and she has given hundreds of speeches. Being nervous is...... Read more
Should you try Facebook ads?
If you are curious about whether Facebook ads would be a good way to go for your business or to promote your book, then read on. In this month’s SkillBites Show, Julie Friedman Bacchini discussed the power of Facebook ads and provided some...... Read more
Starting Your Own Gig-Based Business
Guest Post by Lucy Reed For many entrepreneurs, the idea of spending your creative talents in a typical 9-5 can be frustrating and even demoralizing. Using your knowledge, skills and talents as a contractor or independent worker is what...... Read more
Narrate Your Own Audiobook
Audiobooks are becoming more popular with over 20% of book consumers stating a preference for listening to a book rather than reading one. If you’ve ever thought about narrating your own book, you would do well to listen to the July 2018...... Read more
Grow Your Influence
Influence is a hot topic. Dale Carnegie was probably not the first author of a book on influence, but his book How to Win Friends and Influence People may be the best known book on that topic. Being able to influence others...... Read more
Tips on Starting Your Own Home-Based Business
Admit it — you’ve often considered creating your own small business after spending day after day inside a tight-packed cubicle under fluorescent lights or watching hours and hours of daytime television after the kids have gone off to school. Or...... Read more
Exploit LinkedIn for Business Development
What do most people do today when they are considering buying from another company? They search online to read about the company. Google gives high ranking to LinkedIn, resulting in LinkedIn profiles coming up high when searches are done in...... Read more
Getting Others to Promote You
When someone brags about their own abilities, we generally take it with a grain of salt; but when we hear someone else extoll someone’s expertise, we take notice and give it more weight. And when that someone else is a commentator for a TV...... Read more
Book Writing FAQs
In this blog and the next 2, I will answer some of the frequently asked questions I get on writing, publishing and marketing a book. This blog covers FAQs on book writing. 1. How long should my book be? Answer: Your book should be as...... Read more
Book Publishing FAQs
In last week’s blog, I answered several FAQs concerning book writing. This blog covers FAQs concerning book publication. 1. After my book is written, what comes next? Answer: There are several steps needed before your book can...... Read more
Book Marketing FAQs
This is the 3rd blog post in a sequence, and it is on book marketing FAQs. The prior 2 were on book writing FAQs and book publishing FAQs. 1. How do you run a book launch? Answer: There are many different types of book launches...... Read more
Gaining a Sales Mindset
Businesses can’t survive without sales; yet many small business owners who have significant expertise in their field have limited sales skills. In this month’s SkillBites Show, our guest, Chris Spurvey, provided some simple tactics to help...... Read more
Tips for Getting Massive Book Sales
In 2011, Derek Doepker was a broke rock musician, working as a valet at a restaurant, and had to sell his keyboard to pay his rent. Fast forward to today, he is now a 7 time bestselling author who has sold over 50,000 copies of his books...... Read more
Neighborhood BookDrop
This article appeared in a neighborhood newsletter, MainLineNeighbors.com on 4/11/19. I thought it was a great idea, so I am passing it one. Late last fall we planted a Little Free Library in our front yard. Have you seen...... Read more
Helping Non-Fiction Authors Market Their Books
Guest post by Joseph Mercado When it comes to being a non-fiction author, there is a lot that goes into the process of reaching your goals and being successful. There is a sequence to stick to and a set regimen to getting things done in the time...... Read more
Effective Marketing for Small Business Owners
For many small business owners, marketing is the biggest obstacle to growing their business. The business owner may be an expert in the service or product sold by the business, but marketing that service or product is not within their expertise...... Read more
Protect Your Business Against Cyber Threats
According to an FBI study, one out of five small businesses will be subject to cyber liability. Depending on the type of threat, the impact could be a loss of over $100,000. Cyber threats overall cost businesses over $1 billion annually, and the...... Read more