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Tone of Voice: Misinterpretation Happens

July 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Voice over day

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I’m a writer and can’t help but read, proofread, and question everything that cross my path; from newspaper and magazine articles to newsletters; from eBooks to flyers; from blog posts to catalog script; from sales letters to email blasts; from Twitter and Facebook updates (including my own); and everything in between. Last week, I received an email reply from someone and chuckled when I read it. As the reader, I felt the ‘tone‘ of the email was matter-of-fact and sharp. It started off with, “I suggest you…” and carried on from there. Of course, I could have read it with a soft “I suggest you,” but I read it as a forceful “I suggest you…” Perhaps I was feeling the pull of the partial solar eclipse on July 1! Then again, it could be I have more experience than the person who wrote the email. I would have begun the email with, “Thank you for contacting so and so,” and would have written it from there.

According to Dictionary.com the word tone has the following meanings:

1. any sound considered with reference to its quality, pitch, strength, source, etc.: shrill tones.
2. quality or character of sound.
3. vocal sound; the sound made by vibrating muscular bands in the larynx.
4. a particular quality, way of sounding, modulation, or intonation of the voice as expressive of some meaning, feeling, spirit, etc.: a tone of command.
5. stress of voice on a syllable of a word.

Your tone of voice does matter, especially in sales and marketing. While you’re not responsible for the reactions of others, you don’t want to use a tone of voice that deters them from purchasing your books, eBooks, teleseminars, webinars, and or writing services. It would behoove you to read and re-read your newsletter content, email blasts, and other marketing materials you send out. Also, make sure your personal assistant or staff knows how to write effective copy. You want people to buy your books, CDs, and other products. You don’t want them ‘tweeting’ or posting something on Facebook about their horrible experience with you or your company. Like it or not, this does happen from time-to-time.

FYI: Your tone of voice could override the words you speak and write.

Before you or your staff writes an email blast, sales letter, newsletter, or replies to an email, make sure the tone of voice matches you and your brand. Read your writing out loud to ‘hear’ the tone of voice. How does your writing sound? How does whatever you’re sending out read? What will readers get out of your writing? Make sure the tone you use is one that you want to convey instead of being misinterpreted.

Rebecca

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Filed Under: Authors, Clients, Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing, Overcoming Obstacles, Screenwriting, Tips and Tricks, Travel Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Get the Most Out of Your Author Facebook Fan Page

July 1, 2011 by 2 Comments
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In case you don’t know, Facebook has a fan page feature that allows you to communicate with your readers. How well you communicate with your ‘fans’ could determine how successful you and your book will be. Most authors (public figures) are creating Facebook fan pages for their ‘fans’ and aren’t really participating in the conversations that are taking place on the page. This could work against you.

There’s no doubt that a Facebook fan page is a fast and easy marketing tool. You can post your latest YouTube video, links to your latest book, teleseminars and webinars events; radio and television appearances, book signing events; hold a contest, and provide other pertinent information for your ‘fans’ to share with their friends. It’s an easy way to generate income. However, if you’re constantly selling and selling, and not giving your fans anything else, they could leave you and your fan page high and dry.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Author Facebook Fan Page

1. Take an interest in your fans. Let’s face it, without your fans (consumers) your book won’t be #1 on the New York Times Best-Sellers list. Unless, of course, Harry Potter comes along and waves his magic wand to make it happen. Take an interest in your fans. A “thank you” here and there will go a long way.

2. Post relevant information besides your own. It’s all right to post other links besides your own. Who knows, you could end up with a great business partnership because of it.

3. Engage in conversations. What do your fans want? What do they like about your latest book? What don’t they like about it? Be transparent and become a part of the conversation.

4. Stop posting ‘automated’ content on your fan page. If you don’t have time to post thoughtful comments or information, hire an intern or part-time person to do it for you. Fans may not appreciate the ‘coldness’ of your fan page.

5. Be active on your Facebook fan page. How active are you on your fan page? When you create your writing schedule, make sure to include time for social media. You don’t have to spend hours each day — 15 minutes per day will do. Of course, if you’re a social butterfly, be as active as you want to.

Rebecca

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Filed Under: Authors, Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing, Networking, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Travel Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Select a Self-Publishing Company

June 8, 2011 by 1 Comment
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Many authors are choosing to self-publish their books instead of waiting around for a literary agent or publisher to publish their books. This could work for you. If you have good business acumen, understand marketing and selling, and are willing to do the work, your books could sell better through self-publishing than traditional publishing.

Let’s face, waiting around for a literary agent or publisher could mean waiting a long time. It’s no surprise that authors have many self-publishing houses to select such as CreateSpace, AuthorHouse, Balboa Press, Lulu, iUniverse, CafePress, and many others. If you specialize in Christian books, there are even Christian self-publishing houses. That’s how huge the market is. The question is, “How do you select the right self-publishing company for your books?” Keep reading to find out.

How to select a self-publishing company

1. How long has the self-publisher been in business? Make sure the self-publisher you choose has been in business for five or more years. Work with a company that knows what they’re doing. Make sure they understand the publishing industry; otherwise, you may end up with a huge inventory of books.

2. Do they have graphic design, editing, and proofreading services? Do you want to hire a graphic designer/illustrator? An editor? Proofreader? Or, would you like these professionals to be under one self-publishing house? Sometimes you’re better off hiring your own designer, editor, and proofreader; however, if you don’t want to spend time looking for them, you could use the self-publisher’s staff.

3. Do they offer ISBN registration? Most self-publishing houses offer you the opportunity to register you book. Read the print before you use their service. It costs $99 to register your book; you may want to do this.

4. What types of marketing services do they offer? You can’t get away from marketing, not even with traditional publishing. How would you rate your marketing skills? If your skills aren’t that great, it may be worthwhile to take advantage of a self-publishing company’s marketing service.

5. How professional looking are books? Some self-publishing companies turn out better looking books than traditional publishers. Remember, the pressures on you to make your book stand out from the crowd. This means your book cover must be spot on. You’ll want to have your book edited and proofread for errors. Believe it or not, some well known authors have books published (recently) with grammar and spacing errors. Yikes!

6. Ask a lot of questions. If you don’t understand something in the contract, ask about it. You may want to hire an attorney to look over the paperwork. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

7. How do you price your book? Does the self-publisher provide ‘price setting’ guidelines or do you pick a number out of the sky and hope for the best? Some self-publishing companies will provide authors with guidelines for pricing. Research the market for your particular genre and see what books are selling for. This will help you set your price.

Self-publishing your books doesn’t have to be scary. Your books can do very well if you know and understand that publishing is a business. It doesn’t matter if you self-publish or use a traditional publisher, it’s still a business. You must be prepared to advertise and market your book. If you wrote a non-fiction book, be prepared to speak about it. Inquire about radio and TV interviews (early morning shows are best). Do what you can to create a lot of ‘buzz’ around your book. You never know who’ll be listening!

Rebecca

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Tips to Make Your Blog an Internet Sensation

June 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
kosmic blogging in samsara (redux)

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Sometimes you need help finding topics to blog about. Thanks to the internet, you won’t be short on ideas. You can visit your local newspaper’s website or read other blogs in your niche market. You can put your own ‘spin’ on news stories and ‘hot’ topics. You may want to create to keep track of ideas. Or, you could keep them in WordPress by creating a post called “New Ideas,” make sure you publish it! This is a good way to have blog ideas at your finger tips.

Living in the 21st century where becoming famous overnight and instant gratification are the norm may discourage some bloggers. Don’t give up blogging if you don’t reach one million views within a one week. It takes time to build web traffic. There are many blogs on the internet and readers can only read one blog at a time. Write from the heart, and you’ll have a steady flow of web traffic before you know it.

Tips to making your blog an internet sensation

First Tip – If you’re short on ideas check out Google News, Google Trends, MTV Act Blog, Mashable, Huffington Post, and The Daily Beast. See what’s out there and put your ‘spin’ on what’s happening in your industry or niche market.

Second Tip – Don’t forget to use SEO. Use Google AdWords Keyword tool and find pertinent keywords and phrases for your blog.

Third Tip – If you can only post once a week that’s all right. Most bloggers try to post at least three times per week. Or, they enlist the help of guest bloggers to cover all seven days. The more post you have the better; you’ll drive more traffic to your blog.

Fourth Tip – You may want to run away from social media, but it can help increase web traffic to your blog. Create a Facebook Fan Page and use the Network Blogs app to post your blog on your fan page. Create a Twitter account and ‘tweet’ your blog posts. Don’t forget about LinkedIn; you can also use Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and countless other social media websites to spread the word about your blog.

If you started a blog to make money, you may want to rethink this angle. Steve Pavlina, an expert in personal development, says “You must be passionate about your blog. Stop blogging right now if you’re doing it for the money.” Before you begin your blog, ask yourself “Why do I want to blog about (fill in the blank)?” What is your big “Why” for starting a blog? What do you want to accomplish? What message do you want to bring to your target audience? Once you figure out your “Why,” your blog will come together. It won’t seem like ‘work’ to keep it going.

Rebecca

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What Does it Mean to be a 21st Century Author?

May 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment
books

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Elizabeth Marshall, Host and Founder of Author Teleseminars and Co-Author of The Contrarian Effect along with her colleague Janet, held a teleseminar/webinar on “What does it meant to be an author today?” It seems that many authors get stuck around their book. They have a great idea or concept but can’t seem to move forward or strangle their idea to death because of the tight grip they have on it. It’s time to ‘wake up’ and become a 21st century author who knows and understands that writing is a business.

The teleseminar/webinar included the following people

1. Jenny Blake. She’s a leader and coach at Google and author of Life After College. Jenny said, “It’s a business, and takes more than a love for writing. Authors need to build relationships with people. You need to edit and market your work.”

2. Scott Ford. Is a leading financial advisor and author of Financial Jiu-Jitsu. During his first radio interview in November 2010, he was asked, “How leverage tied into finances and Jiu-Jitsu?” He had to give 200 pages of his book in 5 minutes. It was clear that his message wasn’t clear. He had to finalize his message and make it clear and concise. Scott said, “Sometimes things fall into place. My idea came to me while working at a wealth management firm. I was passionate about Jiu-Jitsu and realized that the correlation between MMA and finances. The challenge was the messaging of it.”

3. Cheryl Dolan. An executive coach and innovative public speaking expert with an exciting book in the works! She had an “Aha” moment around how to start a book. She had to figure how to make an interactive lab into a book. Second, she found herself doing all the work such as writing her book, creating website, writing the copy, etc. Cheryl felt like air was being sucked out of her. She had to shift her environment and had to get out of the house. Cheryl got a team in place and started beta testing (she speaks about this in her book). She realized she couldn’t do it alone. Isolation wasn’t working for her.

Authors must nourish their ideas instead of choking them to death. Understand that writing is a business. You’ll need to develop relationships with people in order to grow your platform. You need to be comfortable with asking for help. Being isolated doesn’t work as many authors have discovered. It’s important to find the right path for you that will lead you to your audience, speaking engagements, and overall success.

Rebecca

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