I’m blogging over at the IBPA blog about the benefits of online excerpts and I’ll be speaking at the IBPA Publishing University in Chicago April 26-27 – Session 904: Marketing Outside the Box: Creative Tools to revitalize Revenue, including book discoverability, shareability and monetization.

Check out the post below and I’ll see you in Chicago!

Increase Your Book Discoverability with Online Excerpts

Book discoverability—how and where consumers find and purchase books—is a priority in any good book marketing plan. This happens in a multitude of ways, ranging from giveaways to publicity to word-of-mouth, and what generates the most interest is different for every book. But what if there was one thing that every book should have to help their online discoverability? One thing that increases the odds that every book will connect with the right audience? There is - online excerpts

Available Amazon Search Inside and B&N See Inside

Read More…

Greenleaf isn’t just our CEO’s last name—Greenleaf Book Group is committed to taking proactive steps to offset our tree consumption in our day-to-day and business lives. We recycle, do the majority of our daily work electronically, and encourage our partners and authors to do the same. (We’ve also been known to give a tree a little hug as we walk by. Shhh. It’s our little secret.)

Tree Neutral© is our commitment to the future of our forests. We work with individuals and companies that want to offset the number of trees they consume by taking proactive steps such as recycling, converting to electronic records, planting trees in direct proportion to the number of trees they use, and other methods of reducing tree consumption.

We partner with the Arbor Day Foundation to offset the number of trees the books we published consume by taking part in reforestation initiatives all across the United States. In 2012, we focused on Pere Marquette State Forest in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula as well as Manchester State Forest in central South Carolina to improve habitat for endangered species and restore the forests to their former glory. 

Our nation’s forests provide wood for homes, habitat for wildlife, clean air, and drinking water for millions. Urban trees provide environmental, economic, and social benefits such as reduced energy consumption, less stormwater runoff, and lower crime rates. You can imagine the havoc deforestation creates and see why we’re so committed to the cause.

So, just how many trees did Tree Neutral© plant in 2012?

(drumroll please)

A whopping 10,742 trees! That makes 45,462 trees since the inception of the Tree Neutral© program.

We hope you’re as impressed and inspired by these numbers as we are—and remember, by choosing to be Tree Neutral, you’re making a responsible decision that will have a positive impact on the future, your life, and your business. To get involved, visit the Take Action page of the Arbor Day Foundation for information on donating, becoming a member, and volunteering in your community.

Follow us on Facebook to watch as this number continues to grow. 

So, you know how to identify and approach influencers for endorsements and you’ve got kudos and support rolling in from mentors, thought leaders, bestselling authors, and standouts in your industry. Now, what the heck do you do with those sparkling endorsements? You know that endorsements influence consumers to act, but how do you make sure consumers see those endorsements? Here are a few ideas:

Add endorsements to your book cover. Give the most prominent spot on the cover of your book to the strongest endorsement by your most recognizable endorser. You can add additional endorsements on the back cover or add an endorsement page to the beginning of the book.

Add endorsements to your retailer book pages. Most retailers have a section on each book page specifically for endorsements and reviews. Your publisher can assist in adding these blurbs to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, and other retailer sites. You can also add endorsements to your Amazon book page through your Amazon Author Central account.

Quote those endorsements. Your publicity efforts can get a lot of mileage out of a great endorsement. Add quotes to ads, press releases, book descriptions, and sales materials.

Name-drop. It’s hard to find the fine line between casually mentioning an endorsement and being an obnoxious name-dropper, but it can be done. Don’t be afraid to mention those endorsements at the podium or in interviews when appropriate. Endorsements are largely volunteer efforts, so by making use of your endorsement, you’re endorsing the endorser (did you get that?), which can benefit everyone.

Add an endorsement page to your website. The great thing about websites is that they can be updated regularly to add fresh endorsements. You can even branch out and add published reviews and testimonials from readers. This can help keep your website fresh for your fans and search engines. 

Have you ever written a blog post that you’re super excited about only to find that you’re missing the perfect photo to complement your writing? Or the perfect background music to accompany your video? Creative Commons to the rescue!

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of digital content through free, legal tools that work alongside copyright to give people the right to share, use, and build upon work that others have created. That means that if you’re looking for content you can freely and legally use—everything from songs, videos, academic materials, photos, and more—you should start your search with Creative Commons–licensed content. It also means that if you’re an artist, photographer, or academic and want to put your work out there for others to use, you can assign a license and give them permission via Creative Commons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0VzUigrb_g

The most commonly used type of Creative Commons content is photos, and photo-sharing site Flickr has more than 200 million public Creative Commons–licensed photos available, making it the largest free photo repository in the world. Writers can search for images for use in blog posts, book illustrations, and even book covers thanks to photographers and artists everywhere taking part in Creative Commons.

Have you used Creative Commons content? Have you licensed any of your content with Creative Commons?

You can find Creative Commons content and learn about how to license your content at www.CreativeCommons.org.

By now we all know that a blog is an integral part of an author website. It serves as a place to connect with readers, establish yourself as an expert, and build your platform. It can also be a place to flesh out new ideas, get feedback, and weigh in on hot topics. But after months or years of blogging, how do you keep things fresh?

Commit to it. Bloggin’ ain’t easy. Try an editorial calendar (or at least a running list of post ideas) to keep you on schedule and creating new content. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Change up the design.  Apply a fresh coat of paint to the ol’ blog every now and again. A new background or color scheme is a quick and easy update that your readers will notice and appreciate. If you’re Photoshop proficient, try changing your header image every month—it’ll give readers who use a feed a reason to click through to your site.

Ask your readers what they want. Since you’re the expert, your readers will undoubtedly have questions, and those questions can turn into great blog posts (or even a series of posts) on a topic you may never have thought of. Give your readers what they want and they’ll keep coming back for more.

Go multimedia. You’ve hopefully been incorporating photos and video into your posts, but how about creating your own?  They don’t have to be anything fancy—most smartphones can record and upload videos directly to YouTube. Just make sure the camera is steady and the sound is good, and the content will speak for itself.

Experiment. Do you usually write text-heavy posts? Try an infographic. Do you usually post on Monday-Wednesday-Friday? Post on the weekend. Try new things and see how your readers respond. You may hit blogging gold, or you may find that your readers like you just the way you are.

Also check out these tips from ProBlogger on 31 days to building a better blog and Rachelle Gardner on 13 simple tips for a better blog.

What do you do to keep your blog fresh? 

We’re always on the hunt for new book-promotion and discoverability tools for our authors, and Ganxy is rolling out some cool features that we thought we’d share.

First, what is Ganxy? Ganxy is a set of easy-to-use online tools that help content providers reach their audience through promotion, social sharing, and commerce.

At the hub of Ganxy’s offerings is a showcase feature that’s completely free to users and takes just a few minutes to set up.

As you can see below, the showcase has some great functionality and includes a book description; a downloadable excerpt; social sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and via email; direct links to all major retailers; and the ability to embed your showcase on your Facebook page, website, or blog.

"A Prayer for the Devil" by Corrin on Ganxy

Authors can also work with Ganxy to facilitate direct sales of their ebook, with Ganxy handling payment processing, content delivery, and even customer support. Ganxy can even harvest email addresses from those sales so that authors can turn buyers into repeat buyers. If you decide to start selling via Ganxy, the fee is a flat 10 percent of net sales.

And if you’re looking for a way to offer free ebook promotions, Ganxy makes it possible though “open promotion” (the first x number of visitors download free) or “closed promotion" (redemption codes required)—it’s a perfect way to gift ebooks, bundle them with physical books, or use them as a value-add at speaking events.

What do you think of Ganxy? Will you be giving it a try?

Be sure to check out the Ganxy blog; there you’ll find the latest on how they’re helping authors promote and sell their titles. 

I know. I know. Another social media site you don’t have time for. But hear us out.

Instagram is a photo-sharing and social networking service available for Apple and Android devices that allows users to take photos, apply filters reminiscent of the Kodak Instamatic, and share them with the Instagram community (7.3 million daily users) and on Facebook and Twitter.  You should be mixing up your social updates with links, video, and photos anyway, so leveraging the hottest photo-sharing app to help you do so just makes sense (and can be a lot of fun).

Like your activities on a slew of other social media sites, your Instagram activity plays into your Klout score—the measure of your online influence—so the more active you are, the more influential you’ll be. And Instagram profiles aren’t confined to the app anymore: anyone can view and engage with your Instagram photos by visiting instagram.com/yourusername.

Not sure what to share on Instagram? Here are some ideas . . .

        Promote what’s new. Your book is probably one of many ventures you’re involved in. Use photos to promote new products and share special offers in a way that’s creative and easily re-shareable.

Feature others. Is your book inspiring others? Did someone reach his or her goals based on your method? Feature that person’s work and let everyone know that you’re paying attention.

Enhance your brand image. Like your high school English teacher taught you, show—don’t tell—how you’re giving back. Highlighting charitable work and community involvement can enhance your brand image and help the causes you support.

Generate engagement. Just like on Twitter, you can hashtag Instagram photos, providing users with a way to find your photos though a simple keyword search. Create your own unique hashtag and encourage others to use it to create a catalog of images related to your book/brand.

Give a peek behind the scenes. Working on your next book? Share how you cultivate your ideas, be it a laptop and cup of coffee or a whiteboard full of notes and scribbles.

Need more convincing? Check out what New York Times Magazine contributing writer Clive Thompson had to say about his Instagram usage:

Do you use Instagram? Share your profile in the comments!

(Details are still emerging about Instagram’s new terms of service and how they affect users. Be sure to keep tabs on sites like Mashable and CNN Tech for the latest.)

We at Greenleaf Book Group would like to take a moment to congratulate our authors who are publishing this July.

The Drama-Free Office by Jim Warner & Kaley Klemp

Something Inside of Me by Chitoka Webb

A Cure to Die For by Stephen Mitchell

The Blossoming World by Brian Peterson

Well done! All your hard work and dedication has paid off, and we’re honored to be partners in your latest and greatest work.

Today's post is by Brian Feinblum, the chief marketing officer for Planned Television Arts, who has been promoting and marketing authors since 1989. You can reach him at feinblumb@plannedtvarts.com or catch his blog at http://www.bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com.

Imagine being sequestered somewhere for about a year, getting paid to do what you may love the most: read books. Lots of them. Every day. Nonstop. A marathon of books, books, and more books. Could you do it?

The equivalent in sports-watching is taking place right now. Major League Baseball, in its infinite marketing wisdom, is paying two guys to watch baseball day and night throughout the season. They will watch 2,450 regular season games and then the playoffs and World Series. They are on display to the public—you can go to their first-floor “fan cave” in a space formerly famous for occupying the original Tower Records on East 4^th Street in Manhattan.

Besides watching games, the two superfans film a reality show that airs on www.MLB.com. These unabashed baseball addicts interest me because they call into question the old adage about too much of a good thing. I wonder, after it’s all done, will they’ll ever want to watch another game? Or will they come away as addicted as ever?

Can publishing sponsor some gimmick like this? Could Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, or Macmillan pay someone to read books by its best authors, nonstop? Would Amazon sponsor a read-a-thon to highlight the readings of its best customers? Should Barnes & Noble pay someone to read as many books on its Nook as possible over the summer? Maybe someone wants to set a Guinness World Record for most books read and blogged about in one month?

The writing profession does get its due—there are many book and author awards out there. There are a number of best-seller lists one can make. There’s attention drawn to a book by reviewers and bloggers. There are public book signings. And there is countless coverage on social networking sites. But maybe the industry, as a whole, needs some fanfare. It’s been a rough few years for traditional publishing, considering layoffs, consolidations, shrinking sales, and store closings.

It’s time to celebrate the profession and art of writing. Go buy a book—or read one.

Or a few thousand of them.

Are you using Amazon Author Central? If not, why? It’s an excellent author-friendly tool that can be used to promote your book and your platform that only takes minutes to setup. If you have more than one book, it’s a central location where an Amazon shopper can find your entire bibliography in one place. How’s that for an easy way to cross-promote your work?

Amazon Author Central allows authors to create a custom profile that customers then use to learn about the author and make purchases. The content you can place on your Author Central page includes:

• A bio—Tell readers a little bit about yourself so they'll connect with you as a person.
• Photos—Include your author photo and any other images your readers may like to see, perhaps your workspace or things that inspired your writing.
• Video—Want to get that trailer up on Amazon? Uploading it here only takes a few minutes!
• Events—Want to drive traffic to your speaking engagements and readings?  Advert them here.
• Blog feed—Linking your blog to your Author Central page is just another way to grow your list of blog followers and give readers more of what they want: a connection to you as an author!
• Twitter feed—Extend your social media outreach even further by displaying your tweets on your author page.

Recently, Author Central began providing weekly sales data from Nielsen BookScan (a service that tracks sales of print books in stores across the country) for free to authors who sell their books on Amazon. You can view your sales data in a variety of ways.  Amazon gives you a basic total from BookScan and shows how many units more or less you sold compared with the previous week. They also visually display your most recent four to eight weeks of sales data on a map of the United States. Alongside that display you will find a list of geographic areas from New York to Los Angeles and the number of books you sold in each. 

Access to BookScan data can help you determine whether your publicity efforts are paying off, and tells you what markets you have the most demand in so you can amp up your promotion accordingly.

Finally, for those who like to keep tabs on their Amazon sales rank, the sales data tab displays a line graph of your book’s sales rank history on Amazon and tells you what your current rank is. As with all sales rankings on Amazon, the data is updated hourly. 

You can also use Author Central to modify the description of your book listing on Amazon or write a message directly to your readers. 

We encourage all of our authors to create an Amazon Author Central page. Even William Shakespeare has an Author Central page. It has to be cool.