Blogging, Writing, and Publishing

A few weeks ago, I spoke at a security conference as a subject matter expert. While there, I was able to sell books and provide advice and assistance. If you are a niche expert, chances are that’s someone will also contact you to present; especially if you have a book, blog, or other product identifying you as the go to person.  In fact, you might receive a letter with wording similar to the one that I received last April. “Dear __(fill in your name)___, we are contacting you to see if you are available to present at __(name of upcoming event)_____ conference. We thought it would be a good idea to present some information from your book _(your book title)____. Please let us know if you are available and how much you would charge as compensation…” Congratulations, you just made it to the big leagues. The two critical steps are to negotiate the payment and knock the ball out of the park with a grand slam presentation. The last sentence “please let us know…how mu...

A few weeks ago, I spoke at a security conference as a subject matter expert. While there, I was able to sell books and provide advice and assistance. This article provides a way for me to share what I did at the conference and hopefully give you ideas on how to do it as well.  and how you can to. Last week a major magazine contacted me asking to provide an article for their publication. Regularly I receive emails request security advice. Why? Because I am recognized as a security expert. How? Recognition of quality preparation (for more information on the how,  view the 5 year plan to become an expert in your niche . One of the excellent benefits of self publishing is the professional credibility that you can enjoy. Whether writing fiction, reference or self help, you’ve got a message. The research you’ve conducted as you’ve developed your message makes you a subject matter expert. Perhaps you’re like me and have always desired to write articles, teach and...

Blogs are another way to connect with your customer. However, they are harder to maintain because more regular input is required. Think of a blog as a diary or journal type of entry. More input and shorter articles are better so save the longer messages for newsletters and your book. For simplicity and efficiency, consider having multiple media social networks. For example use newsletters, blogs and books to feed similar content and material. You can get your own blog by setting up an account with www.blogspot.com, www.wordpress.com or any other provider that fits your needs. I run two blogs using wordpress. com and blogspot.com. I like the features of wordpress.com because you can make it look like a website and add as many pages as I need. I like BlogSpot because I can customize the blog to look more like my current website. Both are very popular with great looking pages. When you start your blog, be sure to include as much i...

While preparing to go on vacation I was concerned about how to handle my publishing and book selling business. Sure, I'm online and so are my book sales, but I will still have to advertise and fulfill sales while gone. I can't afford to hang a sign on my website saying, "Gone fishing, be back in two weeks". I don't think potential customers would understand. I don't think you can afford to do so either. So, what is a niche publisher to do? Use the tools available. Here are some tools that every niche publisher and author should have. They are affordable and will help returning customers build confidence in your products and services. First and foremost, make your primary point of sale at digital bookstores such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com. That way when customers buy, you are not in the middle of the sale. I use LightningSource.com and Createspace.com to upload digital and hardcopy books to myriad online stores. Once I set up titles, I don't h...