http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblogHelping authors position their blogs and books using social media!Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:44:04 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblog/1aDw./h/real_brilliant_social_media.htm Please Write Like You Talk Biweekly Newsletter: Issue #11 real/brilliant: What Do Authors Want? (You're getting this because you signed up for the real/brilliant [social media strategy] eZine!) Hello! No, you haven't missed an issue of this eZine. I'm just woefully behind. But I've been busy behind the scenes creating some cool stuff for you all, so . . . am I forgiven? These days I get a lot of questions about what exactly authors should be doing with Twitter or Facebook, or what they should use as an effective overall strategy for their web presence. I also hear through the grapevine what old-school publicists and some publishers are telling authors about a meaningful web presence. I'm going to clear the air a bit, if that's okay. I've been preparing a series of videos that will introduce you to the social media tools in a broad overview, but with actionable content that you can use today. I don't call anyone out (that's not my style), but I will encourage you to think in a new way. It's a great place to start, even if you've already been around on the networks as an author. And of course, feel free to forward this email to a friend and encourage them to sign up for this eZine to get email notices when the rest are ready. Check out the first video here. The password is socialnetwork without the quotes. I'll be sending out another video in the next few days. Check out my hilarious facial expressions! I think I have a face for radio just like my Dad! Teaching News My social media strategy for authors class has been moved and is ready to go. It's called The Social Network(s): A Field Guide for Authors and is now located at WriteBlogLearn.com (hosted by the wonderfully talented Jane Boursaw of Film Gecko fame) and the next classes start May 2 and June 13. You can check out that link and then come back and check out the video if you want (or vice versa). The videos will help you to know if you're the type of person for my class. You will learn how I think and how I intend to guide you through building something for your own author career. Any questions, please do let me know via Twitter or Facebook or my website. Talk to you soon, Tricia [LIKE] real/brilliant [social media strategy] on Facebook We'd love to see you there! To visit real/brilliant's fan page on Facebook, go here. [back issues] Missed an issue of Please Write Like You Talk? Back issues are available online to subscribers at the PWLYT web archive. [forward this eZine to others] Thanks for reading! If you know of any authors that would benefit from reading this eZine, feel free to pass it along. Subscribe to Please Write Like You Talk! Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:44:04 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblog/1OVs6/h/real_brilliant_social_media.htm Please Write Like You Talk Biweekly Newsletter: Issue #10 real/brilliant: Industry Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes (You're getting this because you signed up for the real/brilliant [social media strategy] eZine!) Hey, everyone! There is movement online this past week as Borders took a fall, and a lot of authors wonder how this will affect them. Rather than worry about Borders, authors should be thinking about other distribution channels. I don't mean start another giant brick-and-mortar bookstore. I want you to think about how else will you get your writing, your point of view, and your unique take on things out to a reading audience? If not Borders, what? If not a blog, what? If not Twitter, what? If not ebooks, what? Or are some of the social media tools the solution? Do you have a blog? Are you on Twitter? Could you take some of your out-of-print, once stocked in Borders books and put them on Kindle? I want you to be proactive, already planning, already in motion. Don't let massive industry changes make you numb. For the new subscribers this week (and anyone else who needs it!), check out my free Author's Guide to Twitter ebook (password: twitterstrategy). It's a free resource for you to take and use and move forward! Forget Borders! We'll be just fine. Talk to you soon, Tricia [LIKE] real/brilliant [social media strategy] on Facebook We'd love to see you there! To visit real/brilliant's fan page on Facebook, go here. [back issues] Missed an issue of Please Write Like You Talk? Back issues are available online to subscribers at the PWLYT web archive. [forward this eZine to others] Thanks for reading! If you know of any authors that would benefit from reading this eZine, feel free to pass it along. Subscribe to Please Write Like You Talk! Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:03:17 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblog/13G5B/h/real_brilliant_social_media.htm not Please Write Like You Talk Biweekly Newsletter: Issue #9 [February: The Power of a List] Social Media Strategy for Authors powered by real/brilliant, inc. Welcome to the new suscribers to Please Write Like You Talk! This eZine keeps you up to date on the latest happenings in social media so that you can make (and help others make) better decisions about how to use your time. Each month I'll tackle a wide topic with a roundup of the best info that I've found online with plenty of commentary. [in this issue] Trish Talks: List It Up! Leverage Your Web Presence: Is Your Book/Blog Sticky?, Part 2 Find Me This Month [trish talks] Welcome back! It is time (drum roll) for those of you who have been procrastinating . . . to start a list. I know, I know, you have a half a dozen reasons why you don't want to or don't have time to or aren't interested, but SERIOUSLY, when I hear things like this: Simon Lipskar of Writers House noted that one of his goals for the coming year was to help his authors develop lists of their readers and fans (emphasis mine). These are agents saying this. Build a list! Build a list! Build a list! How exactly is that done? You can do it for free at several places: MailChimp and Madmimi are two that work great. ConstantContact or Aweber are about 20 bucks a month, but if you're low on working capital and want to test the waters so to speak, go with MailChimp. You can import to another service later. Now, I'm not going to walk you through MailChimp here, but if you go to their site, they have tutorials and all manner of people to answer your questions. Ready? Set? GO! (Not quite ready? Watch the blog this month for posts directly related to how and why authors should be building a list. Let me convince you!) P.S. Visit real/brilliant's Facebook page and press the Like button for soon-to-be-leaked (shhhhh!) sneak previews of my upcoming panel with Matt Holt of John Wiley and Sons and Mary Glenn of McGraw-Hill Business at South By Southwest Interactive in March as well as extra list-building content and discussions all through February. [leveraging your web presence: create meaningful (sticky) content, part 2] More guidelines from the Heath brothers (remember the first three? 1. Simple, 2. Unexpected, and 3. Concrete): 4. Credible. In Made to Stick, Dan and Chip Heath write, When we're trying to build a case for something, most of us instinctively grasp for hard numbers. But in many cases this is exactly the wrong approach. In the sole U.S. presidential debate in 1980 between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, Reagan could have cited innummerable statistics demonstrating the sluggishness of the economy. Instead, he ask a simple question that allowed voters to test for themselves: 'Before you vote, ask yourself if you are better off today than you were four years ago.' 5. Emotion. The Heath brothers ask, How do we get people to care about our ideas? We make them feel something. . . . Sometimes the hard part is finding the right emotion to harness. 6. Story. Dan and Chip ask, How do we get people to act on our ideas? We tell stories. How fitting is this for writers? The Heaths point out that Research shows that mentally rehearsing a situation helps us perform better when we encounter that situation in the physical environment. Similarly, hearing stories acts as a kind of mental flight simulator, preparing us to respond more quickly and effectively. Good stuff! Anything you can use as you position your blog or your book to your audience? We'll talk more about positioning specifically to build a list next time. [find me this month] My first post goes up at Children's Book Insider this month! I'm also appearing on Jane Friedman's blog, There Are No Rules, and on Problogger.net, as well as several others in the weeks to come! Stay tuned! [link up with others on real/brilliant's Facebook fan page] We'd love to see you there! To visit real/brilliant's fan page on Facebook, go here. [read back issues of PWLYT online] Missed an issue of Please Write Like You Talk? Back issues are available online to subscribers at the PWLYT web archive. [forward this eZine to others!] Thanks for reading! If you know of any authors or small businesses that would benefit from reading this eZine, feel free to pass it along. Subscribe to Please Write Like You Talk!. [brilliant finds] Thinking With Intention Who's Listening to You? 5 Secrets . . . Captivating Message [brilliant blog posts] Write a Pre-Launch Series, Part Two Write a Pre-Launch Series, Part Three Blog Ideas to Swipe Home | Blog | Products | Services | Contact Us Unsubscribe to this Newsletter Copyright ÃÆ'ÃÃ(TM)'ÃÆ''Ã'Ã'© 2010 real/brilliant, inc. All rights reserved.Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:59:25 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblog/nakV/h/real_brilliant_social_media.htm not Please Write Like You Talk Biweekly Newsletter: Issue #8 [January: Still About A Blog] Social Media Strategy for Authors powered by real/brilliant, inc. Welcome to the new suscribers to Please Write Like You Talk! This eZine keeps you up to date on the latest happenings in social media so that you can make (and help others make) better decisions about how to use your time. Each month I'll tackle a wide topic with a roundup of the best info that I've found online with plenty of commentary. [in this issue] Trish Talks: Is Your Book/Blog Sticky? Leverage Your Web Presence: Create Meaningful (Sticky) Content Check out Children's Book Insider [trish talks] We're to 2011! Happy New Year! This year we'll continue talking about successful blogging. We want to start the new year off right, right? So, how do we create meaningful content? Dan and Chip Heath cover this in their book, Made To Stick, when they discuss the term stickiness. First used by Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point, stickiness is a strike gold zone in which your followers, customers, readers, and clients totally get what you are saying. In other words, it sticks. Meaningful content is sticky. Books that sell a lot of copies are sticky. Blogs that get people coming back for more are sticky. P.S. Visit real/brilliant's Facebook page and press the Like button for soon-to-be-leaked (shhhhh!) sneak previews of the upcoming workshop from Writer's Digest University as well as extra blogging content and discussions all through January. [leveraging your web presence: create meaningful (sticky) content] Making meaningful or sticky content is a result of positioning and presentation. I love that the Heath brothers gave us a few guidelines: 1. Simple. In Made to Stick, Dan and Chip write, to strip an idea down to its core, we must be masters of exclusion. We must relentlessly prioritize. Saying something short is not the mission--sound bites are not the ideal. Proverbs are the ideal. We must create ideas that are both simple and profound. 2. Unexpected. The Heath brothers point out that We can engage people's curiosity ove ra long period of time by systematically 'opening gaps' in their knowledge--and then filling those gaps. 3. Concrete. Dan and Chip insist that We must explain our ideas in terms of human actions, in terms of sensory information. Naturally sticky ideas are full of concrete images . . . because our brains are wired to remember concrete data. And that's only the first three. Stay tuned for the next edition to hear the rest. [check out Children's Book Insider] I was recently asked to contribute social media strategy articles and blog posts to the Children's Book Insider by owner Jon Bard. I'm thrilled. I'll be talking about social media and platform building and promotion--all geared specifically to children's book authors! Check out CBI and sign up to get their free eZine. Jon Bard and Laura Backes have been in the business for a long time and they are so knowledgable. Join us! You'll be glad you did! [link up with others on real/brilliant's Facebook fan page] We'd love to see you there! To visit real/brilliant's fan page on Facebook, go here. [read back issues of PWLYT online] Missed an issue of Please Write Like You Talk? Back issues are available online to subscribers at the PWLYT web archive. [forward this eZine to others!] Thanks for reading! If you know of any authors or small businesses that would benefit from reading this eZine, feel free to pass it along. Subscribe to Please Write Like You Talk!. [brilliant finds] BuildBookBuzz Fiction Teleseminar The Cover Letter How Publishers and Authors Can Use Quora [brilliant blog posts] Write a Pre-Launch Series, Part One Write a Lot of Blog Content . . . Fast Creating a Blog Editorial Calendar Home | Blog | Products | Services | Contact Us Unsubscribe to this Newsletter Copyright ÃÆ'ÃÃ(TM)'ÃÆ''Ã'Ã'© 2010 real/brilliant, inc. All rights reserved.Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:20:06 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblog/1qHSW/h/real_brilliant_social_media.htm not Please Write Like You Talk Biweekly Newsletter: Issue #6 [December: About A Blog] Social Media Strategy for Authors powered by real/brilliant, inc. Welcome to the new suscribers to Please Write Like You Talk! This eZine keeps you up to date on the latest happenings in social media so that you can make (and help others make) better decisions about how to use your time. Each month I'll tackle a wide topic with a roundup of the best info that I've found online with plenty of commentary. [in this issue] Trish Talks: What I Think About Blogs Your Monthly Action Item for Leveraging Your Web Presence: Are You Spamming Your Audience? [trish talks] Yes, it's December. I'm late. I have a very good reason [hint: book stuff!], so please forgive me. We're back on schedule in two weeks with our January focus: successful blogging. (Consider this issue a blogging bonus!) And without further ado. Read on. A blog? Does a writer really need one? It depends, actually. Are you visible online? Do you have Google results when people hear about your upcoming or newly released book? Can they find you? If they can find you, are the results what you want them to find? Oftentimes, they're not. That's when a blog can be really helpful. Many authors find that guest appearance on other blogs bring the best results. Having your own blog (if you're trying to land guest appearances) is a great way to land guest posts on other people's blogs and for your name or your book title to come up in search engines. In 2009, Jupiter Media did a study and found that 50% of purchases were made as a result of consumers checking blogs. That number is likely much higher in 2010 (and into 2011). But blogging must have a specific purpose. You don't want to begin a blog and then burn out. You don't want to spend all your time working on a blog all by itself. Blogs are a launch point. That's why I suggest a social media strategy. A blog just by itself may not be enough, but a blog in conjunction with other publicity appearance (book tour, guest blog appearances) may get the results you desire. And I always say a blog on its own isn't really a social media strategy. You need to combine your content with an overarching social media strategy (Facebook, Twitter) so that they all work together for you. But for December-January, we're focusing on the blog. I've written several blog posts recently on creating high-quality blogging content and how to create a blog that will be the cornerstone of your social media strategy. P.S. Visit real/brilliant's Facebook page and press the Like button for soon-to-be-leaked (shhhhh!) sneak previews of the upcoming workshop from Writer's Digest University as well as extra blogging content and discussions all through January. [leveraging your web presence: are you spamming your audience?] Are you spamming? (Spamming is when you're ONLY selling or pushing your product (aka book) and not taking into account how your readers feel about it.) Your blog doesn't have to be like that. You don't have to be all spammy with your tribe. You're going to be a resource. You're going to take the information available to millions about your topic and make it specific to your niche. That's what your blog (and book) readers are looking for. They don't need you to tell them the news. They need to know what you think about that news. For instance, say you have a novel coming out next year. It's a love story or a long-held family secret. What could you possibly blog about that would tie in? Well, what pieces of the book are from your life? That's an angle. Or, what pieces of the book are from the current headlines? Or are the current headlines shadowing your book subject? Find a topic that interests you (should be easy; you just wrote a book on it!) and go out and look around at other blogs. Better yet, do a search on Google: your topic + blog. What comes up? What else is out there? The key is not to get discouraged when you find hundreds of other blogs on the subject. It's okay. It just means there's a demand for the topic. That's good news! More on this in my Writer's Digest Workshop that is coming up in early 2011 (stay tuned!). [link up with others on real/brilliant's Facebook fan page] We'd love to see you there! To visit real/brilliant's fan page on Facebook, go here. [read back issues of PWLYT online] Missed an issue of Please Write Like You Talk? Back issues are available online to subscribers at the PWLYT web archive. [forward this eZine to others!] Thanks for reading! If you know of any authors or small businesses that would benefit from reading this eZine, feel free to pass it along. Subscribe to Please Write Like You Talk!. [brilliant finds] The Lazy Blogger's Guide to Finding Great Post Images Are You A Spineless Blogger? Free Marketing Courses for Bloggers [brilliant blog posts] real/brilliant: Creating a Lot of Content How To Avoid Blog Burnout Meaningful Content Home | Blog | Products | Services | Contact Us Unsubscribe to this Newsletter Copyright ÃÆ'ÃÃ(TM)'ÃÆ''Ã'Ã'© 2010 real/brilliant, inc. All rights reserved.Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:40:03 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblog/1x7wu/h/Please_Write_Like_You_Talk_.htm not Please Write Like You Talk Biweekly Newsletter: Issue #5 [June: About A Blog] Social Media Strategy for Authors powered by real/brilliant, inc. Welcome back to Please Write Like You Talk! This eZine will keep you up to date on the latest happenings in social media so that you can make (and help others make) better decisions about how to use your time. Each month I'll tackle a wide topic with a roundup of the best info that I've found online with plenty of commentary. [in this issue] Trish Talks: Sometimes I Just Feel Like a Typist Your Monthly Action Item for Leveraging Your Web Presence: Does Your Blog Attract Readers? Case Study: Author's Guide to Twitter [trish talks] Welcome to June! It's blog month here at real/brilliant. If you've already got a blog (or are just considering a blog), you'll want to stay tuned for a free blogging resource coming this month (yes, I'm a bit behind schedule because I took a vacation!). It was a good one. A family reunion in a really tiny town just over the border from California in southern Oregon (my home state) and then a side trip from there to Crater Lake. If you've not had the pleasure of seeing Crater Lake, picture a very tall mountain that's actually missing its top and instead of snow and ice inside the crater, there's a brilliant dark blue lake (one of the deepest lakes in the world!). We were there on one of the sunniest days in all spring, which was great considering our rental cabin was still buried in snow! While I was on vacation, I continued to monitor social media and publishing developments (thank goodness for my iPhone!). I even took dictation as my brain found inspiration in the great outdoors. All that fresh mountain air! It helped me finalize plans for the upcoming social media bootcamp I'll be teaching for . . . wait for it . . . Writer's Digest University! It is official and Writer's Digest and myself will be talking more about it with you all and the world in months to come. I've typed madly for days on this bootcamp. I told someone the other day that I feel just like a typist! Sometimes it's all I do! But isn't that what we writers want to do? (Better than any other job in the world, says I!) Visit real/brilliant's Facebook page for soon-to-be-leaked (shhhhh!) sneak previews of the upcoming bootcamp as well as extra blogging content and discussions all through June. [leveraging your web presence: does your blog attract readers?] Why cover blogging? Because it's a writer's home base. You can blog for Huffington Post (several of my clients and fellow authors do each week) or on your own domain, but having a blog helps solve a major problem all authors have. What is this problem? Finding readers, of course! It's so much fun to write a book, sell it, and then the excitement of publication, of holding a copy of your baby in your hands, and yet, just at THAT moment is when a lot of people begin to think about who will buy and read it. (Of course, you have been planning for months! You wouldn't wait until it's published to have a plan to reach readers, right?) That's where a blog comes in. I say blogs are prime real estate online. First, rather than a fancy static site that only stays the same day after day (which is still a good thing, just not the best thing), a blog is continuously updated. It sounds like a lot of work, right? Only if you don't have a strategy. Bloggers who start a blog and don't plan on what they intend to accomplish with the blog (finding an audience does not count, no; you need more than that) will quickly find themselves burnt out and sick of the entire idea. Once an author is worn out, their blog looks like an abandoned creation, hanging out there alone, ignored, skipped over, and forgotten. Your blog doesn't have to be like that. Consider two things: 1. You need to find an audience, yes, but you need a HUNGRY audience. 2. You must CREATE interest in the book you've just written and published. Think about those two things in the next fortnight (how very British!), and in the next eZine, I'll have a blogging resource for you to take a look at. This one will be worksheet-heavy, so sharpen those pencils! [case study: Author's Guide to Twitter] Because I'm late creating the new blogging resource, my free ebook (for eZine subscribers only!) about using Twitter is still available for download. Twenty-two pages of ideas to create your strategy for Twitter. Any questions or comments, email me. To download Adobe Acrobat Reader, go here. And then to download the pdf of Author's Guide to Twitter, go here. The password is: twitterstrategy. [need help with social media?] Many small businesses (and now authors!) have worked with me to develop a social media strategy to build their tribe, attract clients, and develop their platform. The amount invested was small compared to the results. If you'd like to learn more about my social media strategy/consulting services, go here. [link up with others on real/brilliant's Facebook fan page] We'd love to see you there! To visit real/brilliant's fan page on Facebook, go here. [read back issues of PWLYT online] Missed an issue of Please Write Like You Talk? Back issues are available online to subscribers at the PWLYT web archive. [forward this eZine to others!] Thanks for reading! If you know of any authors or small businesses that would benefit from reading this eZine, feel free to pass it along. Subscribe to Please Write Like You Talk!. [brilliant finds] The Lazy Blogger's Guide to Finding Great Post Images Are You A Spineless Blogger? Free Marketing Courses for Bloggers [brilliant blog posts] Top Ten Author Bloggers to Watch in 2010 real/brilliant: Creating a Lot of Content How To Avoid Blog Burnout Home | Blog | Products | Services | Contact Us Unsubscribe to this Newsletter Copyright ÃÆÙ'Ã'Ã'© 2010 real/brilliant, inc. All rights reserved.Fri, 11 Jun 2010 21:26:02 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblog/1w2Mj/h/Please_Write_Like_You_Talk_.htm not Please Write Like You Talk Biweekly Newsletter: Issue #4 [May: More About Twitter] Social Media Strategy for Authors and Small Businesses powered by real/brilliant, inc. Welcome back to Please Write Like You Talk! This eZine is to keep you up to date on the latest happenings in social media so that you can make (and help others make) better decisions about how to use your time. Each month I'll tackle a wide topic with a roundup of the best info online that I've found and plenty of commentary. [in this issue] Trish Talks: Ebook Segue (Yeah, Ebooks Again) Your Monthly Action Item for Leveraging Your Web Presence: Add Yourself to WeFollow.com Case Study: Author's Guide to Twitter [trish talks] Welcome back to May and Twitter month here at real/brilliant. If you're already on Twitter, you'll still want to download your free Twitter resource, but we'll get to the good stuff in a minute. I've got to interrupt the Twitter talk to keep you updated on the latest in ebooks. This past week, Book Expo America 2010 took over the Javits Center in NYC and the panels were aflutter there with talk about ebooks and their effect on print books. The focus was particularly on Amazon (which will be a full-fledged publisher in six months), who signed on established midlist author, J.A. Konrath, in a deal that split the industry into two halves: agents and editors skeptical while authors cheered Konrath's new deal. But then Apple interrupted the chatter with its announcement yesterday that it its ebook application, iBook, will allow anyone to self-publish on the iPad, as long as they have an ISBN number and a Mac to register their ebook with the iBook software. This changes everything. Authors now no longer even need ebook publishers like CreateSpace or Booklocker. They can write a book, get it formatted by hiring an ebook designer (or doing it on their own), and registering for an ISBN. Heck, they can buy themselves a Mac laptop and iPad instead of paying someone else to publish their book. Sounds good to me! This is a very interesting development. As Jane Friedman, CEO of Writers Digest magazine, said this week, Authors have an opportunity to build bigger brands than publishers. That alone should have authors excited and slightly terrified. How in the world can authors build a bigger brand when publishers are failing to do it themselves? Those questions are natural and very overwhelming. Instead of focusing on that, focus on what you can do now. You can write an amazing book. You can write an equally amazing query and proposal. You can get an agent. You can still try and sell your book to a publisher. But remember, you now have options. That's all this is. You don't have to shun print publishing or try to do it better. Authors only have to focus on writing the best books they possibly can. Then when an author is ready to get it published, they can go the route that works best for them. So, don't fret. Just write. Don't panic. Figure out what works best for you, not everyone else. Sometimes just realizing the natural next thing is all that matters. [leveraging your web presence: add yourself to wefollow.com] Twitter has grown so much in recent months that adding yourself to a Twitter user directory means you are just a bit more visible to people who might not otherwise know about you. Wefollow.com is just one directory available, but it is one of the most popular. To use it, just enter your location (for me, #seattle), your occupation (#author, #writer), and your interests (#YAfiction, #memoir). Then once you've added those categories (and then tweet it to your Twitter feed), you can go back into those particular categories and search through the other folks listed in Seattle, authors, writer, interested in YA fiction and memoir, and find those people you would like to follow on Twitter. You'd be suprised at some of the amazing people on these directories: editors at major publishing houses, agents, publicity folks, publishing insiders, journalists, experts, you name it, they're on Twitter and WeFollow will help you to find them. [case study: Author's Guide to Twitter] As promised, a free ebook for my subscribers. Twenty-two pages of ideas to create your strategy for Twitter. Any questions or comments, email me. To download Adobe Acrobat Reader, go here. And then to download the pdf of Author's Guide to Twitter, go here. The password is: twitterstrategy. [need help with social media?] Many small businesses (and now authors!) have worked with me to develop a social media strategy to build their tribe, attract clients, and develop their platform. The amount invested was small compared to the results. If you'd like to learn more about my social media strategy/consulting services, go here. [link up with others on real/brilliant's Facebook fan page] We'd love to see you there! To visit real/brilliant's fan page on Facebook, go here. [read back issues of PWLYT online] Missed an issue of Please Write Like You Talk? Back issues are available online to subscribers at the PWLYT web archive. [forward this eZine to others!] Thanks for reading! If you know of any authors or small businesses that would benefit from reading this eZine, feel free to pass it along. Subscribe to Please Write Like You Talk!. [brilliant finds] Amazon to Launch Thinner, Sharper Kindle to Compete with iPad TED: Dan Pink on the Surprising Science of Motivation How To Turn Your Blog Into a Product Launch Machine [brilliant blog posts] Who Do I Follow? So When Does Social Media Start to Help My Business? Twitter Tuesday: Ignore the Gurus Home | Blog | Products | Services | Contact Us Unsubscribe to this Newsletter Copyright Ã'Ã'© 2010 real/brilliant, inc. All rights reserved.Fri, 28 May 2010 23:49:04 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblog/23bEv/h/Please_Write_Like_You_Talk_.htm not Please Write Like You Talk Biweekly Newsletter: Issue #3 [May: And Onto Twitter] Social Media Strategy for Authors and Small Businesses powered by real/brilliant, inc. Welcome back to Please Write Like You Talk! This eZine is to keep you up to date on the latest happenings in social media so that you can make (and help others make) better decisions about how to use your time. Each month I'll tackle a wide topic with a roundup of the best info online that I've found and plenty of commentary. [in this issue] Trish Talks: Why Twitter Is No Longer Negotiable Your Monthly Action Item for Leveraging Your Web Presence: Twitter Strategy Case Study: Author's Guide to Twitter [trish talks] This is May! This is Twitter month here at real/brilliant. If you're already on Twitter, you'll still want to read this info and you'll definitely want to download your free Twitter resource, but we'll get to the good stuff in a minute. So, what about Twitter? What is so cool about it? For starters, the name is hilarious. I love that I'm chirping away to my audience (much like I listen to birds singing or chirping along in my backyard; hey it's May!) and that they like to listen to me. But you may have heard other things about Twitter: it's just chatter, it's everyone talking about what they had for lunch or what Britney Spears did last night, it's a worthless time waste for people who have a lot of other things to do. However, that's not how YOU will use Twitter, right? Certainly not. You (with my help) will use Twitter effectively. You'll learn that you don't have to be irrelevant or talky or irritating to others on Twitter. You can be interesting, you can be interactive, you can be authentic, and you can build a tribe. So how do we use Twitter? We begin with a strategy for it. Why are you writing books or building a business? You likely didn't start those endeavors without at least thinking through why you were doing it. The same with all social media tools. What is your strategy? Are you thinking about Twitter just because people tell you to? This is not what I'm going to do. I'm telling you to join Twitter because you can utilize it for your author or business strategy. You join because you want to 1. become more visible for a book project you're working on, 2. want to be seen by many, many people as an expert in your subject matter, and 3. you want to gather people who might possibly buy a book or product/service from you. If that doesn't sound right to you, what other reasons can you provide? Oftentimes, disagreeing with someone else's reasons actually helps you zero in on what you actually think. So, if you do or don't agree, either way, you now at least have a strategy for Twitter. This strategy can be applied to every other social media/publicity/PR/marketing aspect you are involved in as you write and sell a book or create and sell a product. Twitter is really just a tool to help you do all of that better. [leveraging your web presence: the retweet] These days, the retweet is the shiznit. It is the reason a lot of people are on Twitter. What does this mean for you? You can jump on Twitter and start retweeting as fast as you can OR you can think about why you would retweet and WHAT you would retweet. For starters, you would likely want to retweet information that your followers would be interested in. If you know that many of them are not interested at all in ceramic frogs, why continue to send them information on ceramic frogs? Secondly, you would want to post content on Twitter that is likely to be retweeted. If you have a following of folks who adore ceramic frogs, then by all means, TALK ABOUT IT. If not, as I indicated above, you'll either need to find a subject that can segue easily into your subject matter of ceramic frogs, or go out and find others who love ceramic frogs. How to retweet? Twitter has a fabulous button for this. As do TweetDeck and HootSuite (yet another recommendation for you to try at least one of these Twitter applications; it makes life so much easier.) Now go, retweet away! [case study: Author's Guide to Twitter] As promised, a free ebook for my subscribers. Twenty-two pages of ideas to create your strategy for Twitter. Any questions or comments, email me. To download Adobe Acrobat Reader, go here. And then to download the pdf of Author's Guide to Twitter, go here. The password is: twitterstrategy. [need help with social media?] Many small businesses (and now authors!) have worked with me to develop a social media strategy to build their tribe, attract clients, and develop their platform. The amount invested was small compared to the results. If you'd like to learn more about my social media strategy/consulting services, go here. [link up with others on real/brilliant's Facebook fan page] We'd love to see you there! To visit real/brilliant's fan page on Facebook, go here. [read back issues of PWLYT online] Missed an issue of Please Write Like You Talk? Back issues are available online to subscribers at the PWLYT web archive. [forward this eZine to others!] Thanks for reading! If you know of any authors or small businesses that would benefit from reading this eZine, feel free to pass it along. Subscribe to Please Write Like You Talk!. [brilliant finds] In mobile, women rule social networking Four steps to track your social networking success Gary Vaynerchuck On How to Make a Splash [brilliant blog posts] Why Aren't You On Twitter? Finding Time for Blogging/Social Media How to Gain the Influencers' Attention Home | Blog | Products | Services | Contact Us Unsubscribe to this Newsletter Copyright © 2010 real/brilliant, inc. All rights reserved.Sat, 15 May 2010 01:17:01 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblog/1D45X/h/Please_Write_Like_You_Talk_.htm Please Write Like You Talk Monthly Newsletter: Issue #2 [May: More On Electronic Publishing] Social Media Strategy for Authors and Small Businesses powered by real/brilliant, inc. Welcome back to Please Write Like You Talk! This eZine is to keep you up to date on the latest happenings in social media so that you can make (and help others make) better decisions about how to use your time. Each month I'll tackle a wide topic with a roundup of the best info online that I've found and plenty of commentary. [in this issue] Trish Talks: How the iPad Has Already Changed Things Your Monthly Action Item for Leveraging Your Web Presence: Try HootSuite Case Study: Smartbrief's Publishing Model [trish talks] The iPad has been out for about three weeks now and already it's shaking the industry (never mind the naysayers who will never be happy). Barnes and Noble's Nook surpassed the Kindle in April in sales. Kindle's lagging sales cannot definitively be connected to the industry shaking appearance of the iPad, but I think it shows an interesting trend. And I think it's VERY connected. Who can resist the shiny iPad? And the touchscreen; it's here to stay. You can't deny it. You just can't. The 3G version of iPad arrived in stores today. I predict bigger sales and spreading usage of Apple products (Apple 4G will be introduced June 7 and likely will be on sale in June). What a switch from a few weeks ago, right? I admit I'm becoming just slightly disenchanted with my Kindle. Shhhh, don't tell anyone! A fantastic article this morning from Publisher's Weekly talks about the iPad's impact on publishing just in April, which prompted a one-day conference to discuss in detail just how the iPad will make its mark. The consensus? The iPad is really just the starting line, not the finish line. Read here for the scoop. [leveraging your web presence: try hootsuite.com] One of the struggles for authors and small businesses and anyone else using social media is how to manage it and how best to contain it. I've experimented with several user interfaces to tame my Twitter feed--Tweetdeck, Tweetie, and Twitterfon--with limited success. But I recently adopted Hootsuite and so far, so good. The great thing about Hootsuite is that you can update multiple statuses (two Twitter accounts, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and more) all from one interface. There are multiple tabs for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. (There is also an iPhone version in the App Store for free!) I'm pretty impressed. I've been able to contain my social media work into my free time, making good contacts in my niche, interacting with colleagues, and learning from all sorts of publishing folks about new books and new publishing trends. And I haven't yet felt overwhelmed by the amount of information coming from Twitter or Facebook while using Hootsuite. I do use a specific Twitter strategy for my feeds, but more on that in May! I'm working on short ebook for you, my subscribers, that is specifically geared to helping authors use Twitter effectively. [case study: Smartbrief's Publishing Model] A really good video with Merritt Colaizzi, publisher of Smartbrief on how social media is changing publishing, provided by Social Media Examiner and Michael Stelzner. [need help with social media?] Many small businesses (and now authors!) have worked with me to develop a social media strategy to build their tribe, attract clients, and develop their platform. The amount invested was small compared to the results. If you'd like to learn more about my social media strategy/consulting services, go here. [read back issues of PWLYT online] Missed an issue of Please Write Like You Talk? Back issues are available online to subscribers at the PWLYT web archive. [forward this eZine to others!] Thanks for reading! If you know of any authors or small businesses that would benefit from reading this eZine, feel free to pass it along. Subscribe to Please Write Like You Talk!. [brilliant finds] Nielsen and Facebook release study on social media effectiveness The iPad, the Kindle, and the future of books: New Yorker How to Get Free When You're Feeling Stuck and Scared [brilliant blog posts] The Flurry over Ebooks, iPad, and the Agency Model Social Media Anxiety: How To Deal How to Avoid Blog Burnout Home | Blog | Products | Services | Contact Us Unsubscribe to this Newsletter Copyright © 2010 real/brilliant, inc. All rights reserved.Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:12:03 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/brilliantblog/24XBj/h/Please_Write_Like_You_Talk_.htm Please Write Like You Talk Monthly Newsletter: Issue #1 [April: ebooks are here to stay] Social Media Strategy for Authors and Small Businesses powered by real/brilliant, inc. Welcome to the inaugural issue of Please Write Like You Talk! The goal of this eZine is to keep you up to date on the latest happenings in social media so that you can make (and help others make) better decisions about how to use your time. Each month I'll tackle a wide topic with a round-up of the best info online that I've found and plenty of commentary. [in this issue] Trish Talks: The Arrival of Apple's iPad Your Monthly Action Item for Leveraging Your Web Presence Case Study: Ebook Impact on Print Book [trish talks] April is quite an exciting month (thus why we're focusing on ebooks and electronic developments in the industry): it's the arrival of Apple's long-awaited iPad! What does this mean for authors? I think it means a LOT. The iPad is going to change the market completely. It's a total paradigm change. How so? Think back to before the Kindle existed. Ebooks or digital editions were few and far between. For me, ebooks were lost in the archives of my computer and I frequently forgot which books I bought and when. Enter Kindle (I was an early adopter) and suddenly electronic versions of books are flying around all over the place. Personally, I have 2300 books on my Kindle (lots of those are free, mind you, but not all!) and I can't imagine my life without the portability. I read ARCs on my Kindle. I read ebooks (pdfs) on my Kindle. Every time I try to re-order a particular book for my Kindle, Amazon reminds me that I bought that book eight months ago. I like that! And then here comes iPad. We don't know much about it yet, but we know the iBook app that will come standard on these devices will change the game once again. In fact, just last week, reports about Apple and Random House haggling over ebook prices prompted interesting comments from BNET bloggers, Damon Brown and Erik Sherman. The problem is Apple's 30 percent cut upfront--a standard for its Apple Store--is the opposite of the consignment-based publishing industry. Random House fears it will upend the whole system, reports Brown. Sherman reports, Random's big concern is the agency model itself. For the most part, the transactions are clear and the exchange of money straightforward to follow. A publisher sells a given number of copies and gets a fixed percentage of list price for each. Forget reserves, confusing discount levels, and effectively dropping author royalties. There is no way to obfuscate the business details, and authors can demand what they should make, rather than have complexities and mistakes that leave authors poorer and a publisher richer. Interesting, no? I'm counting down the days until April 3. Am I buying an iPad? Not yet, but I could easily be tempted. For now, I love my Kindle. [leveraging your web presence: tweet on the go!] Tweeting from your phone makes it easier to keep up with Twitter much easier, and also helps you keep up with your followers even if you're not at your desk. Most people think that you need a an iPhone to tweet but that's not true! You only need text messaging capabilities in order to tweet. Sign into your Twitter account and click on Settings in the top right corner. From there click on the Mobile link in the blue bar. From this page, follow Twitter's instructions to link your cell phone to your account (if you have not already). Look for the line Send Tweets using text messages with this phone. Just send your tweets to _____. Take note of that number and add it to your phone's address book under the name Twitter. When you want to tweet on the go, simply send a text message (make sure it's under 140 characters!) to the Twitter contact you saved in your address book. To download actual Twitter apps for the various mobile platforms, try these: Blackberry: UberTwitter iPhone: Tweetie or Twitterfon Palm: Motweet Android: Seesmic or Twidroid [case study: ebook impact on print books] A recent white paper recently surfaced regarding the impact of ebooks on print books. I consider it a must-read for every author or agent. Read it here. [need help with social media?] Dozens of small businesses (and a few authors!) have worked with me to develop a social media strategy to build their tribe, attract clients, and develop their platform. The amount invested was small compared to the results. If you'd like to learn more about my social media strategy/consulting services, including fees, go here. [forward this eZine to others!] Thanks for reading! If you know of any authors or small businesses that would benefit from reading this eZine, feel free to pass it along. Subscribe to Please Write Like You Talk!. [brilliant finds] Mashable's 5 Ways To Leverage a Facebook Fan Page Top 20 Social Media Ebooks: Free! Why Literary Agents Are Wary of Coming Enhanced E-books [brilliant blog posts] Introducing Social Media Packs for Authors BlogSuccess: Aren't Blogs Just Hack Writing? Social Media Strategy for Authors Home | Blog | Products | Services | Contact Us Unsubscribe to this Newsletter Copyright © 2010 real/brilliant, inc. All rights reserved.Fri, 02 Apr 2010 19:13:03 -0400