How to Promote Your Book (Even if You Hate Marketing)

February 11, 2014 by Amandah Blackwell Leave a Comment

“Promote your book.”

You know you have to do it.

But you procrastinate, hoping someone else will do the marketing for you.

Your book, which you spent hours, days, months and years writing requires marketing.

And you can’t use Harry Potter’s magic wand to promote your book, can you?

You know what you must do: roll up your sleeves and get down and dirty with marketing.

The good news is you can market your book even if you hate marketing.

The solution is easy. Stop saying you hate marketing and you won’t attract negative thoughts, feelings, and beliefs around marketing. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Authors, Branding, Clients, Overcoming Obstacles, Public Relations, Publishing, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: Business Tools, Communication, Marketing, Mistakes to Avoid, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media

Can You Triple Your Facebook Page Comments by Asking Readers to Post Pictures?

January 30, 2014 by Amandah Blackwell Leave a Comment

I manage a couple of Facebook pages, some of which are nonprofits, and keep a close eye on stats via Facebook Insights.

When I see an increase in reach and total reach, I want to do a Happy Dance!

Why?

Because posts are being seen by more people, which is great for the nonprofits. Raising awareness and donations is a must.

I like to review Posts and pay close attention to the “type” of post. What I’ve noticed, and it’s not surprising, is that posts which include a picture, rank high. But that’s not all…

Status updates such as, “How do you and your furr-kid stay warm? Let us know in the comments below. Share a picture,” increase user engagement and comments.

Asking users to share their photos shows that you’re interested in them and want to know more about them. Remember, social media is not about you and your company. It’s about your audience and how you can help them solve (fill in the blank).

For example, if you became a certified personal trainer because you lost 100 lbs. and want to help others lose large amounts of weight, you can post your before and after picture and ask your audience to do the same. Sharing the pictures encourages others to do the same. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Content Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: Business Tools, Communication, Mistakes to Avoid, Social Media

How Blog Content Costs Your Company Money and How to Fix It

October 17, 2013 by Amandah Blackwell 2 Comments

You’ve probably been told that your company needs a blog.

Money, blog content costs your company money

Money (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

There’s nothing wrong with this advice if your blog content converts. For example, you write a blog post and at the end you place a newsletter sign up form or a link to a form. If readers click on your form/link and sign up, you can count this as a conversion.

On the flip side, blog content costs your company money if readers don’t engage with your blog, i.e., share posts on social media.

Content is supposed to help your clients, customers and readers and attract new ones. It’s supposed to engage visitors, whether it’s through comments or social media. Let’s examine further how your blog content costs your company money.

How Your Blog Content Costs Your Company Money

As a CEO, CFO, Director of Marketing, Entrepreneur, etc., you may not care about a tactic such as blog content, to a certain degree.

You’re focused on keeping your current clients and customers happy and converting new clients and/or customers. This translates into an increase in sales and profits. It may even lead to opening a new business location in several cities, states, and/or countries. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clients, Content Marketing, Content Writing, Overcoming Obstacles, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: Blogs, Business Tools, Communication, Mistakes to Avoid, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web Traffic, Writing

Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake Show You How Hashtags Can Annoy Your Audience

September 26, 2013 by Amandah Blackwell Leave a Comment

Jimmy Fallon is one of my favorite comedians. I loved watching him on Saturday Night Live and catch his late night show when I can. Yes, I listen to Justin Timberlake, and listened to him when he was with ‘N Sync. I thought the ‘N Sync reunion on MTV’s Music Awards could have been longer, but I digress. This is a post about how annoying hashtags can be when you overuse them.

Jimmy and Justin show you just how annoying using hashtags can be. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a fantastic marketing tool. But if you over use hashtags on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, etc., they can work against you and your company.

Watch this video and see for yourself how annoying #hashtags can be.

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Filed Under: Branding, Content Marketing, Content Writing, Freelance Writing, Overcoming Obstacles, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: Business Tools, Communication, Mistakes to Avoid, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web Traffic, Writing and Editing, Writing circle

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