My Holiday Book Buying Guide
Books are always great stocking stuffers. And, if you have a Kindle or iPad, or are thinking of giving one as a gift, you can load them up with ebooks. Here’s my holiday book and ebook shopping guide of delights written by the authors I follow. There is a little something for everyone on this list that is sure to please. Continue reading
Review of Blog Post Promotion: The Ultimate Guide – 2nd Edition
Blog Post Promotion: The Ultimate Guide – 2nd Edition
by Kristi Hines
82 pages
I know some of you want the skinny on this review right off the bat, so here it is. If you are a blogger, guest blogger, article writer, content marketer, or affiliate marketer, get this book, read it, and do what it says. Here’s the link. If you’re curious why I’m so hot on this book and the author, read on. Continue reading
Problogger’s Guide to your First Week of Blogging Review
I got this new book from Darren Rowse (aka ProBlogger) when it first debuted and have been eager to dig through it because I’m always on the hunt for outstanding resources for my WordPress training clients and new site owners. Here’s my honest review about what this book is and is not, and who will most benefit from it.
Getting Started Right
The first chapter is titled Set Solid Foundations and that’s the one thing most new bloggers and site owners miss. They want to hang the roof and start decorating the house before they pour the foundation.
I would add to that advice by saying that you will have more success with this book, or any other blogging advice, if you first have a solid knowledge base of how to use your CMS (Content Management System) like WordPress.
In the introduction, Rowse states that he is intentionally assuming that you already have your site setup and you’re ready to focus on content.
Develop Good Habits
Successful blogging has a rhythm where consistency is key. And, that’s the first topic Rowse addresses. He guides you through taking a breath and to think about your strategy and time investment.
That’s what the whole book is about – developing the habits and marketing mindset that will help you become a successful blogger.
On Day 1, Rowse shows you how to think beyond blogging post-to-post and helps you see the bigger picture of how to run a blog with the future in mind.
Start at the Beginning
Rowse doesn’t let you get bogged down right out of the gate with the details of how to squeeze the most SEO out of a post. Folks just starting out have not yet developed the marketing mindset to be successful with that yet.
Instead, you start with an idea, expand it to fruition, and then begin planning your blog posts for the entire week from that perspective. In the long run, this is a much more productive place to start. Continue reading
Book Review – How to Sell More Books on Amazon
Book Review – How to Sell More Books on Amazon
Author: Dana Lynn Smith
Publisher: The Savvy Book Marketer (2010)
Pages: 39 pages
The trait I most enjoy about all of Dana’s books is that she gets right to the good stuff. There are no teasers and no hype. Instead, what you’ll find in her latest, How to Sell More Books on Amazon, is page after page of information that works and that you can easily and immediately put into action.
The book is appropriately titled. It is a how-to book. The instruction begins on the first page of the first chapter. Dana details one aspect of your marketing and gives you an active link to take you to the online page where you can implement that advice.
But, this book is far more than “click this, do that.” Dana tells you why a particular action helps you accomplish the next part of the book’s title, which is to sell more books. And, because it’s all about selling on Amazon, she covers explicit tips on special Kindle features for making the most of your e-book marketing. A good example of this is the difference in the “Look Inside” feature for print books and the free download sample available to Kindle readers. Dana tells you why you want to format the first part of your book a certain way so you can maximize the search features of both.
There are many sections on Amazon that an author must complete to highlight their book to potential buyers and many of those links and pages can be hard to find. In fact, the whole process can seem overwhelming if you don’t have a guide. Dana has taken care of that for you with clear screen shots of where to find the links, exactly what you’ll see next, and red arrows to draw your attention to the information she instructs you to input.
There are multiple ways to increase your presence on Amazon, as well as many ways to sell your book. You’ll find all of them explained plus tips, advice, and examples of how to make the most of each opportunity.
One chapter details how to increase your profits through a variety of means, including understanding the role of the printer and publisher. These last two topics are very important and are often overlooked in other books about selling on Amazon.
As always, Dana includes a checklist that can serve as a worksheet for developing your strategy and is a nice wrap up of what she’s covered. And, that is the hallmark of all her books. She takes you step-by-step in a concise, methodical way through the process that will lead to your success.
If you are an author and want to sell a lot of books, then How to Sell More Books on Amazon is a must-read. You will not find a more comprehensive guide of what you can easily do to contribute directly to your goal of selling books.
Handy links to buy the book right now.
You can choose either PDF or Kindle format from either link.
Direct from the publisher
Amazon
Book marketing coach Dana Lynn Smith is the author of several book marketing guides. Drawing on her 15 years of publishing experience and degree in marketing, she develop book marketing plans for nonfiction books and help authors learn to promote their books online.
Visit the Savvy Book Marketer Blog
Book Review – Blog SEO Zen
Book Review – Blog SEO Zen for Photographers and Vendors
Author: Zach Prez
Publisher: Zach Prez (2010)
Pages: 37 pages
As a WordPress trainer, designer and consultant for creative folks, I’m always on the hunt for solid online marketing gurus who specialize in the same niche as my clients. When I needed to learn more about promoting sites where the pictures tell the story, I did what anyone would do, which was a Google search, and that’s how I found Zach Prez. You see, he made it very easy for me to find him first on Google because he uses the same SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies that he teaches in his book, Blog SEO Zen for Photographers and Vendors.
The first part of the book is an overview of how a blog works and the elements search engines use to rank them. Zach is an efficient yet effective writer. He tells you the essentials you need to know about blogging, including how viewers find your posts, hosting, and why he favors WordPress.org. Most of his suggestions center on that platform. He delivers the information in a way that will satisfy a novice blogger while giving a more experienced site owner new ideas.
I was particularly impressed with Zach’s acknowledgement of how much a theme design, and the way WordPress is installed, can effect SEO. I agree with him that hiring a pro to help you with these initial steps will pay for itself in the long run. And, he states that most theme designers don’t know SEO. He’s right, which is one of the reasons this book is so valuable. Prez presents what you need to know and the tools you need to use to cork the SEO holes that are present in most theme designs.
From there he dives right into how to optimize your blog settings including the page and post URLs as well as the URL of each image on your site. There are multiple screen shots where you can easily see the settings he recommends and Zach’s instructions are perfectly clear. He also tells you exactly why setting these options are important and how they will impact your SEO and site performance.
At the beginning of the book Zach states that the information presented is squarely focused on SEO and not as much on developing site content. However, there is plenty enough information on titles, meta descriptions, and keywords peppered throughout to help you start developing your content creation habits on the right foot.
Zach’s chapter on image optimization for SEO is outstanding and will be useful to anyone who features pictures and graphics on their site. His chapter on link building is equally as impressive and is useful to anyone who promotes online.
Prez does one of the best jobs I’ve seen of explaining keywords and site analytics, which can be a major source of confusion for new bloggers. He cuts right through the mumbo jumbo and gives you real-world examples, tips and tools, as well as advice on making sense of the reports those tools deliver.
Overall, I found Blog SEO Zen for Photographers and Vendors a very helpful resource with clear examples and explanations that even non-techies can follow easily. It has an abundance of links to more free resources as well as discounts on a few paid services.
If you are a photographer, artist, or retailer that uses pictures to tell the story on your site, this book is a must-have. If you promote online in any niche, you ought to check out Blog SEO Zen. You’ll definitely learn a few SEO tricks your competitors don’t know, and that will give your site an extra edge.
Zach Prez has been helping small businesses rank in Google for about 10 years and specializes in search engine optimization for photographers. He is the author of Blog SEO Zen, Photographers SEO Book, Splash Page SEO Guide, and a SmugMug SEO How to Guide.
Book Review of Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers
Book Review – Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Publisher: HowToDoItFrugally Publishing (2010)
Pages: 129 pages
One of the aspects I really enjoy about Carolyn’s books is that they are practical. In books that deal with social media as a marketing tool, that’s particularly important. In Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers, Carolyn doesn’t just throw the kitchen sink at you of everything related to Twitter. Instead, she delivers a manageable and effective resource of tips and examples that you can put into practice right away.
Both veterans of Twitter and beginners alike will find this book helpful. There are golden nugget tips sprinkled throughout every chapter, with links to more information on specific topics if you need them.
Everything about Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers is aimed at being a quick study for retailers. Carolyn has parsed the available Twitter marketing techniques down to those that are truly valuable and effective. Yet, she includes enough variety that you can easily mix and match strategies into a custom fit for your business.
If the above is not enough to set this book apart from all other Twitter how-to books, Carolyn also helps you understand the trickiest part of business Tweeting, which is to make it appropriate for a social media format. And, she walks her talk.
Beyond studying this practical and easy-to-use guide, I highly recommend that you follow Carolyn’s tweets for retailers. They are a master class in social media marketing. She never sells anyone anything. Instead, her Tweets make you feel like you just got a great tip from a good friend. And that is the holy grail of using social media for business – emulating word-of-mouth advertising.
Whether you have a brick-and-mortar store or you’re offering services, you’ll find Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers an invaluable guide to garnering more loyal followers on Twitter and integrating your social media advertising.
Listen to the BlogAid Podcast with Carolyn discussing this book. Airs on 6/10/2010.
Visit the Resources page for links to Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers and more of Carolyn’s books.
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BlogAid News
What Every Site Owner Should Know is yours free with BlogAid News. This one book could save you hundreds of dollars and months of frustration.
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