Blogging, Writing, and Publishing

I’m jeff bennett and I’ve created two book based businesses. One is for security professionals and the other is for authors. I’d like to share with you how I created a successful part time business based on my books About the training: Would you like to write a book? Do you have a book written? Do you have a desire to write but don’t know what to write? This training can get you there. Register for our book class. Classes begin soon. https://www.redbikepublishing.com/register-for-book-business-training/ That’s it, register and I’ll tell you more about: How to find your niche Write your book Market to your niche Build a book based on your expertise Make extra spending money or a side hustle with your creation This class discusses: Niche definition How to find your niche idea How to turn it into a book How to print with two major companies How to capture sales How to get customers before your book is written How to develop products and services based on your book Tools you should have f...

My talent is writing.  What a way to start an article. Many of you are reading this because your talent is also writing. The difference between a published author and those who talk about it is simply the ability to get ideas on paper. Many of you do not have this struggle, but you also may not realize the tremendous value of your gift.  I was the same way until I came up with this revelation. Writing was my back up plan to my inability to speak. I had it wrong; I should have been relying on my ability to communicate in the written word and in exquisite detail. I'm a terrible speaker. OK, that's a rare confession but it's true in the general conversation and the meeting sense of speaking. Unless I script my presentations or speeches and exhaustively rehearse my verbal message, I am pretty much a mess with oral communication. The written word is my number one choice of communication as I have to time to strategically formulate my message, put it on paper, rearrang...

www.cafepress.com/redbikepublishing Amazon Kindle provides another way for customers to read your book. Sometimes the more options the better. I've personally been surprised to find that sales increased when I added the Kindle book alternative to customers. The great news is publishing with Kindle Direct Publishing doesn't cost anything other than the time to create the book in the proper format. Additionally, Amazon's Kindle has a new feature that will allow customers to pre-order and pay for books before the release date. You can now upload your book with a projected sales date of up to 90 days in advance.  Customers can pre-order their copies before the book is even published. However, use this only if you have a complete manuscript ready to go. You just need to provide a working manuscript and a final manuscript within a month of the publishing date. As publisher, you can upload your manuscript to Amazon.com as a Kindle readable book. To do so, first...

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...

One reason authors and independent or publish on demand (POD) publishers should not spend money on advertising is distribution channel limitations. Since POD and many non-traditionally published books are documented differently with the Library of Congress, they are excluded from the same channels as traditionally published books, thus creative marketing effort are necessary. Librarians and bookstores receive a book’s information from the Library of Congress and distributors. If your book is not in the CIP process as described in   Get Rich in a Niche , chances are great that it will not be picked up by librarians and traditional books stores. More distribution channel opportunities are becoming available with Lightning Source and Createspace, however, without the CIP, books may be excluded. Some predators and aggressive book marketing agencies try to persuade authors to pay for their connections and inroads with major buyers. In reality, all they do is add you...

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...

An entrepreneur in a small niche market can provide solutions with little cost. Because you have the right skills, you can do so much with little cost and risk. Here's what you need when writing a book, publishing either yourself or through other non-traditional alternatives is a real possibility. 1. A great book idea that needs to be developed 2. An identified customer base 3.  Method to inform and provide your target market with valuable resources 4. Ability to balance career, family and other commitments. Now you have a burning desire to fulfill this dream on top of everything else? Well, it’s definitely possible. As a professional, you have a code of ethics to live under. What you do will often affect your reputation. So, how can you possible market to the people that you might already have a business relationship paid for by your current boss? Get buy-in from your full time job. Ensure that your employer has no problem. It ...

This is where it gets dicey. I am recommending just the opposite of what all the online marketing gurus are suggesting, but please read completely before you make a decision about your next marketing move. Don't Pay for Expensive Social Networking Ads While popular brands and products can earn money through such advertising campaigns, small niches may not. That's the idea of social networking; a niche marketer should be able to make sales without spending money. Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and others offer services to help you get to the top of the search engine results. Many advertise with Google using Adwords or Pay Per Click. When customers use a keyword search, your website is featured prominently in the search engine results. Additionally, some create an advertisement that displays in the search engine’s results margins. When potential customers click on either the advertisement or the search engine result, the advertiser pays the agreed u...

There are already a few strikes against paying to advertise your book through an email campaign to libraries and bookstores. The first is that books are distributed through a process that self-published and print on demands are excluded from. Librarians and bookstores receive a book’s information from the Library of Congress and distributors. If your book is not in the CIP process as described in Get Rich in a Niche , chances are great that it will not be picked up by librarians and traditional books stores. Others take advantage of your hopes and dreams by claiming to have connections and inroads with major buyers. In fact, they collect your money, add your book information to a database with several hundred others and email it to their points of contact. The points of contact may not even be a result of a personal relationship, but simply a collection of email addresses. You then are tied to the hope that somehow the recipient of t...

Effective book marketing involves becoming a rock star in your specialized industry. You may have found your place in a specialized niche. Though the general population may not know you, you should be well known within a specialized industry. The funny thing is the fame could be possible from all the free campaigns you should be involved in and never paying for advertising. Personally, while niche publishing, I’ve seen no results from some of the wasted funds committed to advertising and marketing meant for wide customer bases more traditional products. When is such traditional advertising effective? When there is an appeal to a massive audience. Those in this position can spend millions of dollars for premium advertising space knowing that their product will sell and they will recuperate the expenses. For example, everyone in the civilized world wears clothing, lives in some sort of dwelling, enjoys some form of entertainment and expects a certain quality of life. Watch TV, listen ...

Many of you are not rich...yet. Your book isn’t published and you may not yet have the customers necessary for great sales. You probably have full time jobs, might travel regularly, have a family that needs your love and attention, chores and responsibilities at home and in the community. Pace yourself-Setting goals and milestones is incredibly important. However, the nervous breakdown that follows too tough of a schedule is never worth it. Never write a book or build a business at the cost of your job or your family. Commitment-Get buy in from others you have invested time with. Writing is an addition to your schedule that will add stress to your life. Part of your planning should be getting an agreement with anyone you are committed to. The agreement should benefit everyone. Families and relationships need love, communication and patience. Commitments in the community, church, clubs, and social organizations are also important. Let everyone know that you may have to r...

Residence classes This is a real opportunity to build credentials and create a real academic presence. Traditional education opportunities are solid and recognized ways to get your message out. Teaching provides a return on investment but takes hard work and persistence to get started. Also there are two different avenues. You can host these classes yourself, or you can get them sponsored. Host the Residence Class Yourself Just like self publishing you can control the product. You have the freedom to create and do not need to seek approval from anyone to get started. You choose to set up the class time, the material, the advertising, and everything else you need to start a successful course. It also means that you have to bring in the resources yourself. For a residence class, you will need a classroom or similar environment, curriculum, projector, screen, training aids, certificates and supplies. There is a terrific possib...

Book sales happen when the book is a good product, you have a sound strategy, a detailed plan and a point of sale. You may even have developed successful spin-off products. So what else can you do to capitalize on this momentum? Why not another book and more spin off products? The opportunities for success may continue to manifest and you may find yourself ready to quit your day job. Some remarkable experiences may come up that provide new ideas for you to grow as a professional and offer additional messages to your customers and potential new customers. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to maintain newly created momentum from your writing and marketing? 1. Remain open to new ideas, but stay focused on reality. Several people have contacted me about other great opportunities. One offered a great salary to join his organization part time. I was flattered, but it required travel and would take me away from what I love doing. 2. Keep focused on your core competencies, abilities and go...

 To be effective team builders, organizational leaders and commanders must be able to identify and interact with both formal and informal teams, including— The traditional chain of command. Chains of coordination directing joint, interagency, and multinational organizations. Chains of functional support combining commanders and staff officers. Although leading through other leaders is a decentralized process, it does not imply a commander or supervisor cannot step in and temporarily take active control if the need arises. However, bypassing the habitual chain of command should be by exception and focused on solving an urgent problem or guiding an organization back on track with the leader’s original guidance Jeffrey W. Bennett, ISP is the owner of Red Bike Publishing . Jeff is an accomplished writer of non-fiction books, novels and periodicals. He also owns Red bike Publishing. Published books include: "Get Rich in a Niche-Insider's Guide to Self Publishing in ...

You may remember an earlier post describing why and how you might create a Facebook page for each of your books or products. Using my publishing company as an example,   I created a page for my company, each of my books and a group that hosts a professional certification. Did you know that you can log into your individual pages and use make comments and “like” other comments as that entity? Here’s an example: I have a Facebook Page called 80s Movie Reviews . To generate interest with other people who enjoy the 80’s genre, I searched Facebook with the keywords: “80’s, 80s, 80s music”, and etc.   Once I find those pages I make comments on their wall and “like” them using my 80’s Movie Reviews profile. Here’s how you do it. Select your page. On the right hand column toward the top is “Use Facebook as _”Your pages name”__ page”. Once you make the selection, any comments, shares, likes and etc will be attributed to your page and not your regular profile. Instead of people seeing “J...

  The leader, dressed in a loincloth and wearing a necklace of bones and ornamental feathers, motioned for one of his subordinates to try the doors. The lackey finally figured how to open the pilot’s door and curiously played with the controls and buttons. He tripped the main power switch, activating the electronic gyro. The slow electrical windup suddenly turned into a high- pitched whir sending everyone scuttling for cover.      John snickered at the comic relief, but only briefly. He needed to get Steve back to safety, and he knew the natives would soon recover from the scare. He rose to help Steve and timidly headed toward the plane. John ducked as the leader turned in his direction and pointed the others to fan out. John knew the leader had sent out a search party. He pushed Steve down and jumped to his side, quickly pulling the poncho over them. At least the ponchos are green, John thought. Lying there, he heard the brush around him parting as a few people...

     The sun painted streaks of pale blue and yellow through the morning sky. Birds were awake, singing to anyone appreciative enough to listen. The moon was full and bright as it still sat high in the western sky.      John listened intently. He was used to the sounds of the jungle, something he would actually miss. Gone were the distractions of machines. However, he prayed that they would soon be getting back to the plane that would take them back to their world–civilization.      Suddenly he was aware of something new–silence. The singing had abruptly stopped, but why? Birds go silent as a survival instinct, he thought. He listened more intently, as the ground would be soft, muffling any footsteps.      There! In the brush – a slight movement. He focused his eyes to one side of the dark, heavily vegetated area hoping to catch something in his peripherals. Behind about fifty yards, vines and branches moved...

Experience, commitment and practice are the best qualities to prepare the professional for the necessity of good old fashion networking. Networking is especially necessary in industries like publishing where customers, colleagues and co-workers value trust and quality. A career in writing and publishing and challenging enough, especially in a specialized area or niche. The work is important, and readers count on the niche publisher to provide needed books and training. The publishing and writing professional requires a high degree of interaction as paths cross in collaboration or through online sales. Online sales require time to develop trusting working relationships and getting to know important connections in a timely manner is important. So, how do we accelerate this networking curve? 1. Foster relationships online and in social networks. Get to know customers, fellow publishers and business unit managers related to your expertise. Develop trusting relationships that allo...

     “Okay, I’ll demonstrate flying through these passages before these clouds get too low,” Steve yelled over the roaring engine. “Do you see the break in the mountains ahead? Fly to those, staying as far right as you can.”       “I’m staying to the right, and I don’t mind telling you this is a little nerve racking.”      “I’m with you, but this is the only way to some of the villages.” Steve knew John would have a hard time at first. “Just remember to stay to the right. That way if you find you may have mistakenly flown the wrong passage, you will have ample room on the left side for maneuvering.”       “Well, I can tell you that this barely leaves enough to turn. I’d hate to have to make a hasty U-turn or other emergency procedures,” said John.       There was only a mile of flying space between mountain–plenty of room for turning a car around, but an airplane is another...

Marketing Pan Am style If you belong to any social networking groups, Linked In, Facebook, Twitter and etc, you are probably anticipating next week’s TV pilot episode of Pan Am. Particularly relevant is how you may have become aware of this new TV series; primarily as a result of social network marketing. The huge awareness is driven not by huge TV commercial plugs, but by social networking using the following 5 methods: 1. Create awareness on as many social networking sites as possible. As covered in “ Get Rich in a Niche ” it’s not the expensive advertising that gets potential customers, but rather opportunities available to target a potential audience and create a community for them. Pan Am has a page on Facebook full of pictures, videos and important TV show facts. They also have a Twitter account with regular tweets referring to the show. 2. Introduce each of your products. Pan Am successfully introduced each of their characters individually with a small back story via posts and ...