Interview Nailing Your Digital Book Launch

Interview Nailing Your Digital Book Launch How To Nail Your Digital Book Launch: An interview with Mike Belsito When we chat with authors about their book launch, the same things often come up: a signing in a book store, a few giveaways to reviewers/journalists and an email to the mailing list. Authors rarely think about leveraging â€Å"existing platforms† to put their book in front of thousands of online readers; they’re often too shy to reach out to influencers, or are unsure about how to do it.So we decided to interview an author who decided to go for another approach. Mike Belsito carefully planned his book launch and had his book, â€Å"Startup Seed Funding for the Rest of Us†, rise to the top of Product Hunt and Amazon.He got some of the most influential people in his genre to spread the word about his launch - he didn’t know them personally before - and built a solid street team while writing the book that helped him take advantage of Amazon’s algorithms!Watch the video for a good dose of positive energy and startup creativity, or read some of the b est parts below. But more importantly, tell us about your own experience in the comments!What is the â€Å"product launch† mentality? How can it apply to books?â€Å"Well this is the first time that I’ve written a book. It has been a really interesting process, because I’ve launched several products before, but I’ve never written and launched a book. So I went about the process thinking really as if it was a product.Even in the beginning as I was writing it, I was constantly thinking: â€Å"how am I going to get the word out; how am I going to actually launch this?†. Fast-forwarding all the way to the end, the book launch was pretty successful, even though I was completely on my own (I’m an â€Å"indie author†). The book made it all the way to the top of Product Hunt, was featured on Inc Magazine and on Huffington Post. At one point, it was the #1 best selling startup book on Amazon.com, which was pretty amazing!†How did you go about creating an â€Å"insider group†?â€Å"There are a few things I did that I think ultimately really helped me. One of them was opening up the process to anybody who wanted to be part of it. I did this early on because writing this was awesome but it was also a lonely experience in that I was writing the book by myself.So I decided to create an â€Å"insider group†, for anybody who’d want to have an inside view of the process. They could literally have access to the Word file, and I’d bounce questions off the members of this group. That was incredibly helpful because it allowed me to get feedback throughout the whole writing process. It’s just like having a beta group for a product that you’re building.The good thing about this group is that when the time came to actually get the book out there, I already had a group of committed people who were all happy to spread the word!How did you communicate with this â€Å"insider group† vs other fans?I was keeping two separate lists: my insider group list, and a list of people who were interested in the book when it came out and who I signed on through my blog. Because I realized that not everybody wants to be involved in the creation process, some people just wanted to see the finished product. And I knew that there would be because in the product world, it’s the exact same thing: there’s a difference between early evangelists, early adopters and late adopters.Now the book is out there, these two lists are kind of one and the same, but should I write another book now, I’ll definitely be going back to that insider group to see if they want to sign up for the same experience.But how can this work in fiction?There’s this fiction author who I’ve met, Rebecca Howard, and she writes paranormal novels - basically ghost stories. She has the same sort of process, and it works for her because people who are generally interested in the para normal genre are often attracted to that part of the process too.She also uses a very similar process as I do to launch her books: she networks a lot with what I would call â€Å"influencers† in her genre. So maybe it works particularly well in non-fiction, but I think it can work in fiction as well.How do you actually get these â€Å"influencers† to promote your work?Well I once had a startup called eFuneral and we raised some startup capital. So I had some loose connections with some startup investors (VCs, angels, etc.), but very few would be considered â€Å"household names†. However, as I was starting to write this book - just like I had this group of beta readers - I sort of force-created another beta group of influencers.These people, whether they wanted to be or not, were in my influencer list. But I didn’t treat it like a list, I didn’t send mass emails or stuff like that. I only sent personal emails every now and then to these folks askin g for feedback: ‘Hey, I’m writing this book, it’s on a topic I’m really passionate about because of my background and I’d really love your feedback’.Throughout, some of these people did respond, and were supportive - even if just through some general encouragement. Of course, a lot of others wouldn’t even respond, but my hope was that by the time the book actually came out, some of them might be able to spread the word. This is no different to when I was raising capital and talking to angel investors and venture capitalists. Investors don’t like to invest in companies that they’ve just heard of for the first time ever. Usually, they like to meet you early on and then follow your progress. So that’s how I was trying to treat the book.About 3-4 weeks before the book launch, I sent all of them a draft of the book so they could have early access to it. And once the book was live on Amazon, I sent another email to each of them saying â€Å"hey, I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to read the book, but if so,   I would love an honest review from you and it’d be amazing if you could help me spread the word about the launch.† I made it easy for them to do that, using to just create a link that they could click to get a pre-made tweet.Sure enough, on the morning of the book launch, there were 3 or 4 major influencers who either tweeted about the book or retweeted one of my posts! These were people like Brad Feld, Mark Suster and Steve Case. They absolutely helped me move the needle.How did you keep this great momentum after your book launch?That’s really what I’m focusing on right now, and trying to see if there are things I could be doing differently. I’ve been grateful to be asked to go on all sorts of podcasts. I don’t know if that will move the needle or not, but I’ll continue to do it because I love doing it.I think a book tour could be interesting. In my case, I think I wouldn’t do a traditional book tour, but rather a series of Meetups. I could definitely see myself doing a series of Meetups in different cities on ‘raising startup seed capital’. I’d want to keep it very organic. Startup events and speaking opportunities are another thing I’ll look for.In terms of other ways, I have been asked to write for other publications (like startups.co), so that’s exciting. But I also try to think about this in different ways too: ‘what can I do that’s completely different and hasn’t been done before’?It’s really the point that I’m at, so what I’m going to do is I’m going to try out a bunch of things and I’ll let you know in a couple of months what has worked and what has not!Follow Mike and Reedsy on Twitter:  @belsito  and  @ReedsyHQHave you developed a core reading group like Mike’s â€Å"insider group†? Does it help you launch your books? Have you tried reaching out to influencers in your genre? Share your thoughts, or any question for Mike, in the comments below!

The Name Is Not the Thing

The Name Is Not the Thing The Name Is Not the Thing The Name Is Not the Thing By Mark Nichol Writers sometimes have difficulty differentiating in their syntax between something and its name. Here are some examples of this type of error, with explanations and solutions. 1. â€Å"The cartoon series is so inspired by the city that all characters are local street names.† Here, the writer attempts to explain that names in the cast of characters of a television series were selected by going through a list of streets located in the city in which the series is set; this decision exemplifies the extent to which the city inspired the program. This can be stated more simply with just a slight correction of the original sentence: â€Å"The cartoon series is so inspired by the city that all characters are named after local streets.† The following variation is even closer to the writer’s wording but is repetitive and less elegant: â€Å"The cartoon series is so inspired by the city that all characters’ names are local street names.† 2. â€Å"What is a BNP? This relatively new blood test, which stands for ‘b-type natriuretic peptide serum,’ measures the level of a hormone released when the heart chambers stretch larger than normal.† This writer makes the mistake of implying that the blood test is an abbreviation for â€Å"b-type natriuretic peptide serum.† But it is BNP, the preceding initialism for the test, not the test itself, that represents the full name, and that distinction must be explicit: â€Å"What is a BNP? This relatively new blood test, the initials for which stand for â€Å"b-type natriuretic peptide serum,† measures the level of a hormone released when the heart chambers stretch larger than normal.† 3. â€Å"They created an Advisory Committee on the Protection and Use of Sandy Point.† This wording implies that creation of advisory committees on the protection and use of Sandy Point is a regular occurrence, and that this was just another instance of that commonplace event. The sentence should avoid this minor but distracting confusion by referring to creation of a generic entity that is then named: â€Å"They created a body called the Advisory Committee on the Protection and Use of Sandy Point.† Alternatively, assuming that the revision fits the context, the sentence might read something like, â€Å"To that end, they created the Advisory Committee on the Protection and Use of Sandy Point.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"Deck the Halls20 Ways to Laugh

Turkish Airlines Current 4Ps Marketing Policies Essay

Turkish Airlines Current 4Ps Marketing Policies - Essay Example As of today, almost 51% of its shares are owned by the public, whereas, the remaining are retained by the government. Over the years the company has flourished to the extent that, in 2008 it was named as one of the fastest growing European carriers in terms of traffic and seating capacity (Turkish Airlines, 1996-2012). At a time when the global recession caused other European airlines to cut down their operations, Turkish Airlines managed to demonstrate steady growth in terms of its passenger traffic and seating capacity. The company has over 127 carriers in its fleet and flies to over 145 international and 41 local destinations (Turkish Airlines, 1996-2012). Istanbul is primarily considered to be its gateway to various Middle East destinations. The company’s overall business strategy revolves around expansion and development of its operations. As part of recognition for its strategic efforts, it has been labeled as a four-star airline (Skytrax, 1999-2011). The company, theref ore, is now eyeing the five-star segment and is enhancing the quality and service of its carriers in order to enhance customer experience. An essential part of its overall strategy, therefore, is inevitably the marketing strategy. Holistically, the company is aiming at creating greater brand awareness amongst its target market and to position itself differently from competitors in terms of reliability, safety and quality. The company is targeting the attainment of crucial values such as customer safety and quality service as well as providing value for money. Therefore, the focus of this airline is to provide low cost fares with unmatched quality of customer experience. The 4P’s for the company involve the Product (airline service), Price (fares), Promotion and Place (destinations in this case). As far as the product is concerned, the company has targeted its airline service to a wide range of segments. The company’s primary target market is the leisure customers who m ake up a vast chunk of its overall passengers. The secondary market is the corporate segment, comprising of business executives and corporate individuals. Such customers require corporate discounts (that are perhaps endowed to them by their organizations) since they travel is high volumes. Turkish Airlines has kept this trend in mind and has offered quantity discounts in markets where a large number of multinationals are located. There are several MNCs in Europe such as Shell, Delloit, Deutsche Bank etc that have high volume of business travelers. The company derives a major chunk of its revenues from the â€Å"leisure† segment, as opposed to the business segment. According to a research, 54% of the company’s market share is derived by â€Å"leisure† segment, whereas, 32% is derived from â€Å"corporate† segment. A common terminology used in aviation is that of the load factor which is described as the relation between the aircraft’s lift capabilit y to its weight. Turkish Airline’s load factor has declined over the years, from a rate of 71.5% to 71% (Centre for Aviation, 2010). The company is now taking steps to ensure that its load factor increases, especially during the peak summer period. An efficient load factor of approximately 77% is ideally looked upon as a healthy sign since it shows that the weight is being efficiently utilized through passenger traffic. A crucial aspect of Turkish Airline’s marketing policies has been a focus on Turkish tourism, of which Istanbul is a highly

Globalization and Illustrates in India and Nicaragua Research Paper

Globalization and Illustrates in India and Nicaragua - Research Paper Example After a rigorous analysis here we have an example of a county being negatively affected by the effects of globalization. Resultantly, the individuals i.e. the Youth in Nicaragua is now determined to put in play new and autonomous forms of outfit in an attempt to trigger massive positive change in their very own localities. To determine all this, a wide variety of sources, including geographic data, ethnographic data and all other sources of economic data have been used. The reasons why globalization made one country to prosper and the other to deteriorate both socially and economically have been well analyzed and integrated into the conclusion. Since the partition from Pakistan and Freedom from Colonial rulers, Indian Economy has been striving really hard to stabilize itself. The partition from Pakistan also affected the economy negatively as all the economic assets like; printing presses, manufacturing units, fertile agricultural lands, and the irrigation system. This division affected the economy adversely and it took almost two decades to recover from the after math of that economic and political shock. British traders still have a strong influence on the Indian economy as in the late nineties the industrial development stagnated and the market had to be saved for the foreign traders. Analysts support that the efforts to free the country’s economy from state interventions contributed a lot to the stable growth that came on the face in the 1980s. As a known fact, the open economy and a free-market economy has lesser governmental interventions. Thus, bringing in more creativity by waiving off more and more restrictions to let people trade in the way they want to. In India, the economically active class of the society had strived to their wits to free the market from unnecessary governmental interventions. However, that period was also marked with heavy foreign borrowing.

Television genre Essay Example for Free

Television genre Essay According to the Catalan language dictionary Alberti , culture is a joint space of knowledge from a person; or else the joint space of the human creations in general, or the specific of a country or a society. So everything that creates culture is related to the knowledge that different individuals have. And how can people achieve knowledge? As said by Timo Jarvilehto, psychology professor in the Oulu University: the senses are not transmitters of environmental information; rather, they create a direct connection between the organism and the environment that makes possible a dynamic organism-environment system With the help of efferent effects on receptors, each organism creates its own particular world Therefore, we get knowledge thanks to everything that surrounds us. Basing on the results of an interview (see annex), Catalan people do not know their own culture. The Catalan typical folkloric dances are danced in a cultural association called Esbart. Theoretically, everybody must know at least, which is the name of this association, but when we look to the results we see that this is not true. To the question: Do you know what an Esbart is? No more than a 20% of the interviewed men knew what is it. In women, results are a bit higher, but anyway the tax is very low; only a 40% of them knew the answer. However, the results for another question were very different. After the Catalan culture, I asked for the American one. The question was: Do you know what the Country Dance is? Surprisingly ALL the interviewed women know how the American dances are, even some of them had practice it. Moreover, in the males case only one of the interviewed didnt know what the American dances were, and it was the case of a 72 years old man who almost didnt know what the television was. So we can extract from this example that the actual society knows better foreign cultures that their own traditions. Going back to the first definition of culture, we know that what is around us affect us. Since last 30 or 40 years, media are one of the main stimuli around us. So are the influences that help us most to create culture.

Immigration Policy :: essays research papers

American Immigration Policy Immigration has held a major role in shaping our country. Immigrants have provided many things such as customs, manufacturing, inventions, and entertainment. Many people today don't realize how greatly we have been affected by immigration. A survey was given to ten people. The survey contained a list of people who were all immigrants. When asked how many actually were, only one person got the question right. Old Immigration occurred between 1840-1890. Immigrants during this time period came from countries such as Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland). Next came the period of New Immigration. These newcomers came from Italy, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Greece, Austria, etc., most of whom were peasants who couldn't speak English. The people who migrated during the period of Old Immigration disliked these aliens because it meant lower wages for themselves and the new immigrants had greater advantages including poor and political machines. These people also were not willing to adapt to American ways of life, created their own little towns that resemble their homeland. They were treated as outcasts. New Immigration ended with World War I when the immigrant boats were being sunk. Immigration is still continuing today. Current Immigration includes people from Latin America, the Philippines, and Asia. Laws regarding immigration are constantly changing to fit the needs of society. In 1854, the Know-Nothing Party declared the need for strict limits on Immigration. Members of this party felt it was necessary that immigrants must be residents of the United States for 21 years before being granted citizenship. The campaign ended in 1860 during the time of the Civil War due to the demand of immigrants needed to enlist in the Union Army. Ten years later, the Naturalization Act is passed. This states that only "white persons and persons of African descent, " are able to become citizens. This excludes all Asians. This trend continues for several decades. In 1921, Congress decides to pass immigration restrictions, first establishing a quota of 350,000 immigrants. The quota is increased as times change. In 1995, it was passed that the total number of legal immigrants allowed to enter the United States be limited to 650, 000 a year. Immigrants were given visas, which allowed them to come to this country. Visas were distributed for family and employment-based immigrants, and persons from "adversely affected" countries. Strict regulations have also been made due to the large amount of people entering the country illegally. The nation is on the right track.

Eurotechnologies Inc Essay

BATNA: The city of Tamarack will give a 25% tax incentive to Twin Lakes Mining Company if the company agrees to construct paved roads and restore the consumed mines area. The city of Tamarack will agree to maintain the roads during the winter season. | Reservation: The city of Tamarack will construct pave roads if Twin Lakes Mining Company agrees to maintain the roads and restore the tourist areas. | Walk away: Construction of dirt roads and restoration of the land near the tourist locations. | 2. On behalf of the city of Tamarack, I would like to negotiate a solution to find a common ground on which we can agree on how the roads will be paved, who will maintain the roads, who will restore the consumed mines and a potential tax break for Twin Lakes Mining Company. 3.company Twin lakes mining companyï ¼Ë†hereafter known as companyï ¼â€°makes significant contribution to tamarackï ¼Å'Minnesota—employing 60% of residentï ¼Å'providing 33% of the city realestate tax base—and is considered an integral entity to the town’s longevity.The city needs Twin Lakes Mining Company to maintain the Current city of tamarack . 4. Government Twin Lakes Mining Company’s operates on a zero deficit city of tamarack nnum decree. Lake mining company has directly caused some problemsï ¼Å'such as the need for improvement concerning water qualityï ¼Å'air qualityï ¼Å'and effluvia and pollution management。The city also relies upon the heave property economiy to provide economicï ¼Å'culture and recreation services to the government community。Twin Lakes Mining Company does not lead the city of tamarack to continue operation in other locations improvement as a corporate entity. 5. Company Our company recognizes the urgency from the city to deal with water qualityï ¼Å'air quality and road maintenanceï ¼Å'escalating demands ï ¼Å'and the overall  climate of the industry accompanied by the financial limitations placed by city of tamarack office。Based on this knowledgeï ¼Å'the following lists embody the issue and objectives to be addressed during the negotiation period。 Issue ï ¼Å¡ Our company treatment plan——the city economy projected growth over the next few years will require an additional water sourceï ¼Å'company must address clean up issue for basic requirement and co-existence with city。 Bond issue——assuming ï ¼Å¸Ã¯ ¼Å¸Million bond would tie company to city Taxes——company is paying too much in taxesï ¼Å'considering them unfair in structure and amountï ¼Å'and is unacceptable Road —Construct paved roads with funds from Twin Lakes Mining Company and restore land near tourist resort areas. | Target: A 25% tax break for Twin Lakes Mining Company in exchange for paved roads and restoring land near tourist areas. |—