3 S.R. Johannes: Friday's Marketing Round Up

Friday, January 29, 2010

Friday's Marketing Round Up

Sorry I have been sorta MIA this week. I've definitely missed you guys. My son had throat surgery last Friday and it's been a long, hard week. *sigh*

I am almost at 500 followers and a big surprise comes when I hit 500. a prize only for followers so jump aboard.

Also in Feb - I start some new posts on marketing and some special events and contests.

This includes things like Melissa Marr stopping by to discuss her Smart Chicks tour. Elizabeth Bird helping us decide the best way to market to librarians and a Teen Panel answering questions on how to best reach teens.

Oh yeah - and Feb 15th kicks off the super duper contest Elana and I are doing together. Prizes include query critiques, marketing surprises, and a query/3 chapter read and critique from my agent, Alyssa Henkin at Trident Media. (who rocks BTW!)

Outside all that fun, here are my marketing favs for the week:

You're Selling Yourself - Here we are, throwing our words out into the blogosphere. You read my blog. I read yours. Have you ever stopped to wonder why? The Truth: as an author (pre-published or published) you're selling yourself.

Skyping with 6th Graders - Kate Messner loves the way Skype allows her to have time for a virtual author visit with kids halfway across the country before she makes dinner?

On Writing, Marketing and Being who you are.
It takes courage to be who you are. Michelle Zink spent months trying to emulate other authors in their online approach. But the truth is, none of that was really her.

Add the word "free to your Marketing Dictionary - So, how can you make money by giving away your ebook for free? Here are some interesting action plans.

Are book trailers silly? - Are book trailers a silly waste of time for those who want to promote books?

How to launch a viral marketing campaign - But the good news is that social media is increasingly becoming an effective marketing tool that is accessible to everyone.

Nancy Ancowitz 0n marketing for introverts - >She believes there are ways we can learn to promote ourselves that aren’t as excruciating as we initially believe them to be.

How to piss off your Twitter followers - Your Twitter followers really do matter. They’ve invested themselves into mini-relationships with you on that platform. Here are some of the easiest ways you can piss off your Twitter followers.

Brown Faces don't sell books? - Go on over and cast your vote at Mitali's blog. Do white kids really avoid books with brown, black, or Asian faces on the cover?

10 traits of a great cover - A blogger is not afraid to admit that she judges a book by its cover and reveals the top 10 things she looks for in a book cover. Do you agree?

Have a great weekend!

36 comments:

Elana Johnson said...

Thanks for the link love! I can't believe I made one of your fabulous (amazing, phenomenal) marketing roundups! I can't wait to go read that twitter one.

Hope your son is doing better and that next week is calmer.

Melissa (i swim for oceans) said...

Thanks so much for visiting my blog! I can't wait to read your work someday :)

Gail said...

Hope your son is doing better.

I'm really jazzed about the contest you and Elana J are having! The diversity of things you're doing on your site is amazing girl!

Steena Holmes said...

Some great links you have there :) Congrat's on almost making 500 - can't wait to celebrate with you!

Jenna Wallace said...

It makes me wish I could follow you again, just to be #500!

I loved the Michelle Zink link. A very important message, so thanks for putting it up there for us.

And best wishes for your son. I've been there with my own son and I know it is so hard when they feel bad.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Thanks, Shelli - these all look great, especially the one about being who you are and the one about brown faces. :-)

Michelle Zink said...

Sorry to hear about your son, Shelli. I hope he's feeling better!
*hugs*

In other news, I'm your 500th Follower! Now we can all see our SURPRISE!
<3

MZ

Ash. Elizabeth said...

I love the your selling yourself bit! So, so true!

V. S said...

I hope your son feels better soon!

Anonymous said...

I hope your son is okay.

I'm always amazed at what you round up each week. You're such a busy gal!

Don't know if it "took" when I signed up as a follower. Darn Google wouldn't upload my image, so I clicked out of the window. Oh well.

Jemi Fraser said...

Your boy son - surgery's not a lot of fun. Hoping he can at least have some popsicles soon!

Thanks for the links! :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Oh, I'm sorry your son needed surgery. Poor little guy. I hope he is mending fast and so are you. Thanks as always for the great links.

Janet Johnson said...

Sorry to hear about your son. No fun! We're glad to have you back, but take care.

Oh, and I saw you're at 501, now so Congrats on that!

Kayeleen Hamblin said...

Thanks for stopping in at my blog today! It made me feel super special. I wish I could say that I did my own taxes, but it was really someone else's business stuff. Still quite a big accomplishment.

I love that you put up these links every Friday. It gives some great insight into what I have to look forward to!

Jenn (Books At Midnight) said...

Aww, best wishes for your son. And follower 502! Congrats!! :D

As for the posts, thanks so much for thinking my post was worthy. I just wanted to share my little (okay, HUGE) cover obsession, and I was definitely surprised to see it up there on your round-up! The other links are awesome as well (don't know how I managed to get on the list, but I'll take a compliment when I see it) and I'll definitely check them out.

lisa and laura said...

We're thinking about you and your son. And yippee to 500!

Little Ms J said...

Love yer links, lady.

Daisy Whitney said...

Shelli!! Everything you linked to today is golden! I went around and read nearly all of your links and found them to be useful! So glad we have connected online!

Kelly Polark said...

Oohhh, sounds like a fab contest!
Hugs to you and your son...it's so hard seeing your child go through surgery!

Unknown said...

Shelli, when's SpringMingle? I'm coming to Atlanta at some point in the spring, but I haven't booked it yet. My MIL would probably kill me if I don't bring the Pea to see them March/April sometime, though. :)

Catherine Denton said...

As I'm checking this, you're at 502 followers!!! Congratulations! I'm looking forward to Melissa Marr and all your great stuff coming.

Shawntelle Madison said...

Great Friday post like always! Especially the link regarding brown faces selling books. Good stuff I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

Thanks Shelli. I hope your son feels better.

Molly Hall said...

Sending a blessing to you and your son!

Cindy R. Wilson said...

Congrats on the 500 followers. It's amazing. But, with all the helpful information and advice here, not surprising :) Have a wonderful weekend and I hope your son is healing quickly.

Unknown said...

Hope your little guy gets better soon!

I have the so-long blogfest scheduled for February 15th, but I think I'll postpone it. Your contest with Elana is just too much to do anything else on the same day! :)

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Shelli--You are so right...We blog so we can be heard or read...It gives us a presence on the web, published or unpublished. It also gives us a support system and a place to learn about the industry. Thanks for all of the great links.

Enjoy your weekend!

Stina said...

Congrats on making it to 500+ followers! And thanks for the great links. I just signed up for Twitter, so I couldn't wait to read that link. Totally agree with the one about covers. I've never been into book trailers (not that I've viewed many), but yours is the best one yet. Definitely makes me want to buy the book. Okay, I wanted to buy it before I saw the trailer. :D

Have a great weekend, Shelli!

Unknown said...

Sorry about your week and I hope your son is feeling better. Congrats on going over 500 - it's well-deserved!

Chandrika Shubham said...

Best wishes for ur son.
Nice and helpful post on marketing. :)

Suzette Saxton said...

Thank you for the links. I hope your son feels better soon, and I hope you get a chance to catch up on any lost sleep.

Tabitha Bird said...

Awesome! Thanks for all those links.

And thanks for the visit to my blog. I joined up to follow yours I am now your 503 follower! Sorry, I missed being the magic 500! But are we going to hear about the surprise soon? :)

Bish Denham said...

Great links! So much to read, to know.

And, I do hope your son is on the mend.

Christina Lee said...

Hope your little guy is better. I was thinking the next time you posted was going to be from the conference in NY this weekend. I ended up not going (couldn't get the airfare to cooperate for me), so I'm assuming you too...
Have a nice weekend!

Corey Schwartz said...

Oh, your poor little guy. Hope he is feeling okay!

Jessie Oliveros said...

Oh a critique from your agent? Sounds very exciting. I can't imagine having to put my son through surgery, even minor surgery. So sad. Give him lots of popsicles.

Jennifer Shirk said...

You always have the best linkage. :)