September 2019
There’s nothing quite like tragedy to put things in perspective. Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas on September 1 with winds of 185 mph, causing catastrophic destruction of thousands of homes and the loss of at least 3500 people. When compared to the devastation facing the survivors in the Bahamas, none of the problems I am encountering seem significant. As a small measure of my gratitude for not having the my home or family impacted by the hurricane, and to help the people who did, I will be donating 10% of all revenue received by SkillBites over the next month to the American Red Cross for hurricane Dorian victims.
On a somewhat related note, you never know when tragedy might strike. If you want to leave a legacy in the form of a book that contains your knowledge and experience, you might want to prioritize that. SkillBites can help you get it done. Give me a call (610-783-4519) or send an email (judy@skillbites.net) so I can provide guidance and assistance for you.
1. The SkillBites Show
The SkillBites Show is back! We took some time off this summer and hope you got a chance to do so as well. For the next ten months, we will bring you experts 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, September 18 at 1 pm ET. Our guest will be Joseph Mercado, the CEO of Master Mind University an online blog directory educating entrepreneurs through content that shares knowledge, experiences, and wisdom. Joseph enjoys linking entrepreneurs with each other and establishing valuable relationships through honesty and integrity. Joseph will share various methods for how non-fictions authors and entrepreneurs can use content marketing to reach their niche market and promote their products or services.
To listen to the live presentation, you can call in at (641) 715-3660, Access Code: 467398.
In June, we heard from Dr. Kim Redman, Visionary, Founder and CEO of Creatrix Go Quantum, Keynote Speaker, Multiple #1 International Best Selling Author, and Board Designated Master Trainer in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Hypnosis, Time Line Therapy® and NLP Results Coaching. Dr. Kim spoke on The Conscious Entrepreneur: How to Connect Deeply with People, Live on Purpose, and Make Money Doing It. 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 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: Launch strategy Part 2: Get book reviews
In the first article in this series, I covered how to build your audience so that when it comes time to launch your book, you’ll have a ready audience of people interested in buying your book. In this article, I cover another step toward having a successful launch – obtaining reviews that will provide people with the social proof that your book is worth buying.
There are three types of reviews that you should seek: media reviews; influencer reviews; and target market reviews. The first two types are harder to obtain but also more powerful, so they are worth spending some time and effort to get them. The third type involves seeking reviews from members of your target market, whose testimonial about your book will speak directly to your target reader. In this article, I’ll focus on getting media reviews.
The best time to start seeking reviews is after your book has been edited. Some people try to get reviews before the editing so they can revise the manuscript with any feedback they receive before the editing. While that sounds like a good plan, the problem is that reviewers will be turned off if your book has numerous grammatical or spelling mistakes.
A good rule of thumb is to seek at least 5 times the number of reviews as you want to obtain. For instance, if you want to include 3 testimonials on your back cover, you should seek at least 15 reviews. Why? Because a lot of people don’t write the testimonials that they promise. You’ll get the testimonials quicker and hopefully get more than you are looking for. Plan on following up at least twice, and figure it will take 1 to 3 months to receive three testimonials if you requested them from 15 people you know. If you get more than you are seeking, that’s a bonus! You can always use the extra testimonials on your website or marketing material, or put them inside the book, or put them on your Amazon Author Central page.
To obtain media reviews, I recommend starting with local media, because they are more likely to provide reviews. Here are four steps to take to obtain some media reviews:
There are also a number of free review sites you can go to for book reviews. For literary works, for instance, you can seek reviews from publications such as Affaire de Coeur and American Book Review. You can also seek a review from Barnes & Noble Review, or Booklife by Publishers Weekly, or The Compulsive Reader, or Reader’s Favorite. To obtain submission guidelines, go to the websites for these entities.
In addition, there are a number of paid book review sites, the most well known of which is Kirkus. A standard review, which takes 7 to 9 weeks, costs $425; an expedited review, which takes 4 – 6 weeks, costs $575. Another popular book promotion site is ReadingDeals.com. Its book review service starts at $79 and goes up to $129.
In the next article, I’ll cover how to get endorsements from influencers and testimonials from your target market.
3. Ready to Get Your Book Published?
I have recently completed the development of an online course called Publish It! This course provides guidance on the steps needed to go from manuscript to publication, as well as how to get your book on Amazon, and how to promote and leverage your book. I am seeking beta testers to review the course for me and let me know if there is anything in it that is confusing, or that I need to explain better, or that is missing that should be added. If interested in being a beta tester, email me at judy@skillbites.net, and I’ll fill you in on the details.
4. It’s About Time
Earlier this year, I ran a 4 week workshop on book writing. The reviews were so favorable that I have decided to run the workshop again. As one participant exclaimed, “Wonderful program and enjoyed the group energy! Gets the momentum going!” If you’ve wanted to write a book but are struggling with finding the time, or aren’t sure what topic you should write on, or don’t know how to proceed, this would be a perfect program for you. The workshop is virtual, so you don’t need to go anywhere. If you miss one of the sessions, you can listen to the recording. The fee for the 4 one-hour sessions is just $197. To sign up for the upcoming workshop, contact me at judy@skillbites.net. Only a limited number of spots still available.
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.
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,
