Blogging, Writing, and Publishing

Recently a friend shared her dream to get into “publishing”. I listened intently as she described her desire to write articles and becoming a published author. I’ve read her work in some of our locally published magazines and have no doubt that she would make a great writer. I also recognized that she was where I found myself a few years back; full of ideas, but nowhere to publish them. The first inclination is to do what many budding authors have done; purchase a copy of the bestselling writer’s reference book. The book is a great place to develop ideas and sell articles. It also provides a good service with great details on which publisher is purchasing which articles and for how much. However, the reference cannot guarantee that you will have the platform to actually sell an article. After a few years of buying these books, I recognized the growing trend of many magazines not taking on new authors and paying less than ever before if they did buy an article. Why? Because of the cha...

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 ...

Developing marketing tools for small niches Whether or not you use all or some of the recommended ideas, ensure your effort s are all connected with one effort feeding the other. This is how you increase awareness with expending the little time and energy you may have available. 1.  Always have your point of sale at your website  with links to your social networks, blogs and other marketing and sales sites. 2.  Include your website, blog and other places customers can find information about you in your email signature. As you send email, your signature block creates a buzz. Find out more detailed "how to" information in Get Rich in a Nich e available everywhere. 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 a Specialized Indust...

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...

 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...

Perhaps like me, you've published many, many articles, creating awareness of your books and products. You've dedicated time in establishing yourself as an expert and creating an environment mutual trust with your potential customers. However, there is also another piece of publishing; the sales. Maybe your Facebook pages, newsletters,Twitter and LinkedIn accounts testify of all you are and have to offer. All posts are driven by articles relevant to the industries you write for. If so, then you are doing the right things. However, the part lacking is the call to action. You could haev all points of sale on each website, blog and newsletter page. A point of sale is often a benign or passive picture, event or notification of a product. A call to action creates a decision on the part of the reader. Here are 3 recently used ways to increase awareness of books and products. 1.  Send free copies of books in support of related professional orga...

  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...

     “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 ...

I wrote this comic to help defense contractors understand the importance of not altering or modifying their security containers (safes). To do so is in violation of the national industrial security program and can cause the GSA approved container to lose its certification. What ideas do you have to make learning fun? 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 a Specialized Industry" and "Commitment-A Novel". Jeff is an expert in security and has written many security books including: "Insider's Guide to Security Clearances" and "DoD Security Clearances and Contracts Guidebook". See Red Bike Publishing for print copies of: Army Leadership The Ranger Handbook The Army Physical Readiness Manual Drill and Ceremonies The ITAR The...

Here are 5 ways to present yourself as the "go to" person on anything. 1. First of all you need to present a a unique need or product that has not been provided. This could be as a result of a missing education, information, study programs, or guidance within your industry or area of expertise.  2. Provide answers. Sadly, though many people may have identified the need only a few have solutions. You should be able to provide the answers that help customers reach their professional or personal goals. 3. Others recognize you as the expert? You've identified what is lacking in industry, showed how you can help. Now, demonstrate how customers can succeed. 4. Determine a price. What will others be willing to pay for this knowledge? Is there anything that you can offer for free to help build credibility and become “go to” person? 5. What are some concrete ways that you can get your message out? Develop your website with a sales message and video (see http://www.redbikepu...

Is your indie publishing company positioned for success? These 5 takeaways can help your company, products and books before a broader market. Building a strong presence and leveraging your friends, shareholders and other parties interested in your posts to broadcast your writings can create huge momentum. For example, suppose you have a blog that provides information about your publishing company or a niche book. You blog an article about your latest book. It feeds to your Facebook page and your friends "Like" it or provide comments. Soon others might become interested and your audience increases. However, if you are in a nice industry, only a certain audience will actually benefit from your posts. This is the audience that you educate and provide great books to. They join your LinkedIn groups, Facebook pages and follow your tweets. You've got a good thing going, your audience is faithful, continue to buy your books and comment on your posts. But what if you write ano...

How to create a book trailer video I’ve seen some great video ideas and am recently joining the many who post videos about their books or companies. So far, I’ve really enjoyed the fun and adventurous videos I’ve created that feature an idea and not books. These videos include Zombie vs. Ranger and How Not to Get a consulting Job. These videos are meant to be fun and entertaining and don’t even mention my products until the end. However, I still can’t discount the effectiveness of a good old fashioned (well recent fashion anyway) video featuring a specific product or book. Great graphics and the right type of music can combine to create a compelling reason for a viewer to take action. This action could include buying a product, visiting a website or signing up for a newsletter. Whatever call to action you want from your video, make sure to make the video worthy of watching. Here are five great tips for making a video trailer: 1. Invest in video software. There is great software that t...

Maybe you think you are alone, fighting the one person fight that many leaders face. However, you would be wrong to assume that just because you are the only employee of your indie publishing company and the only author that you have to take on so much alone. There may be a way to solicit help without having to pay a salary. So how does the business owner create a teaming environment or create a program where no one works there? Through High Power Teams High power teams (HPT) are the most effective types of entities. Where groups form, storm and norm, HPTs go further to create a body more capable than any individual. They do this by agreeing to rules and primarily keeping in mind that throughout any process or problem, it’s not about the individual, it’s about the group. This allows the organization to benefit as a whole as each member sacrifices their individual desires. The members do not lose or give up the individuality that makes them unique. It does not stifle individual creativ...

I just read one of my business reports and am finally coming to the realization that Red Bike Publishing is more than just a vehicle to provide my security books. Red Bike Publishing began as a means of providing books to my small niche customers . I began writing books for an audience that was just too small for traditional publishers to engage with.  Their business model could not allow them to print such a small amount of books; it would cost too much. I began writing and publishing my books with great success. Along the way, I found many spin-off opportunities to include publishing other's books. Now it looks like event though I've written and published five of my own titles (using almost 20 ISBNs for differing formats), I've also successfully published six other titles. Three of those titles have contributed to tremendous sales. To date Red Bike Publishing is proud to have provided over 600 books to our customers in calendar year 2011. Guess what, none of our books...

Why Write Your Book? Books are an excellent and inexpensive way to reach your target. Whether or not you want a career as a writer, or you want to launch your products through writing, your book will launch you. Readers regard authors as experts. Anytime an author writes, is quoted, or publishes, people tend to lend credibility. The pen is mighty and powerful in launching careers and products; a truth that applies to  novels , references and how to books.  Your book could be about you, your product or solely your message. Whatever the subject matter, the book should highlight your expertise in an area, your message and any related products. Why write a book? Some of the following purposes may help you find the answer:   You have a message no one else has made known.   You are an expert in a field where no books exist (highly possible in a niche).   You know how to do something that you wish everyone else in the niche could do.   You want to build insta...