Getting Your Book Site on Search Engines

Five Things Most Search Engine Optimization Firms Won’t Tell You --
But That You Need To Know Before You Spend A Dime

So, you want your Web site to rank high on Google and other search engines.To do that, you're planning on hiring a search engine optimization (SEO) firm. Good move -- maybe.

A good SEO firm can help make your rankings and sales skyrocket. That's the good news. The bad news is there are a lot of SEO firms out there that will charge you big bucks without delivering results. We've heard countless horror stories about people who have gotten ripped off by paying for services they didn't need, or simply not understanding what their SEO firm is supposed to be doing on their behalf.

Below are some of the things most SEO firms will never tell you. Knowing these insider secrets can save you thousands of dollars and many hours of frustration.

1.
Most SEO work follows the 80/20 rule. In other words, 20% of the work will account for 80% of the results. If that's true (and believe me, from personal experience I know that it is), you should make sure that the fee structure reflects this. Ask for an itemized quote, so you can make sure that you aren't paying too much for the other 80%.

For example, a lot of SEO experts will tell you they're going to spend X number of hours tweaking your site's keywords and meta tags, but there's really no hard evidence that those techniques have a significant impact on your rankings. Doing simple things like making sure your page structure is "search engine friendly" (ensuring all your pages can be indexed by search engines) is infinitely more important.

As part of a comprehensive SEO strategy, you still want to do the other 80%, but you want to make sure that the bulk of the priority (and cost) is focused the effort that will produce the most results.

2.
You can receive a guarantee. Most big SEO firms say to watch out for anyone who guarantees results. They'll tell you most places that do so are nothing but scam artists. Here's the truth: I can absolutely guarantee any business I can get you ranked in the top 10 on Google for any keyword you choose.

It all depends on how much money you're willing to spend and how long you're willing to wait for the results. If an SEO firm is confident in their ability to improve your rankings, why wouldn't they offer you a guarantee?

3.
You can see immediate results. Most SEO firms will try to tell you it takes months to see tangible results. Wrong. In fact, it's often possible to see results within a week, depending on the keywords you're targeting. Unless you're going after extremely competitive keywords, if the SEO firm bidding for your business says it will take three months to accomplish anything, they're probably just looking to sign you up for a lucrative long-term retainer.

4.
SEO work is not too complicated to explain in detail. Too many SEO experts will balk if you ask them to explain in detail the work they're going to do for you. But don't let them off the hook. While some strategies may indeed be technical, most of the techniques are easily explained -- especially some of the most important ones (see point #1 above about the 80/20 rule). I

f you're going to pay someone a lot of money to work for you, you deserve and explanation of exactly what they're going to do.

5.
The greatest factor in SEO has nothing to do with your web site. In my research, I've found that around 80% of the Google ranking factors have nothing to do with the web site itself. The real determining factors are links to your site from other web sites.

As long as your site is easily crawled by Google, most of the energy should be focused on getting these outside links. If an SEO firm tries to sell you an expensive package to simply "optimize" your site for Google, it's probably going to cost you a lot of money for very little result.

For more information about achieving Top Search Engine Rankings - click here.

Print on Demand Publishing (POD)

What You Need to Know about POD

Working with a Print on Demand (POD) publisher can either be the smartest or dumbest decision you made. The good news is it is up to YOU to determine which path you take.

First and foremost you MUST understand that you have chosen a DIFFERENT business model than traditional publishing. Let me explain.

Traditional publishers produce a book and then market it. They allocate say a 50/50 split in production and marketing. They spend resources (time, energy and money) in the up front production and distribution of the book. Basically, this includes the design, printing, and bookstore distribution. Then they begin the marketing.

You have chosen to make a 10/90 split in your production and marketing. You will spend fewer resources up front. You will design the book and get the printing ready to go. You will then begin marketing.

The beauty of the POD model is that you don’t have to spend a ton of resources (time, energy or money) on the up front production and distribution. You just get the book ready to be printed when it is ordered and then move right on to the marketing. You can spend your time on marketing. You can allocate your budget on selling books, not printing them. Very smart!

Choosing POD is smart ONLY IF you work the business model to its advantages. If you try to make the POD business model fit into the traditional publishing model you will waste time and money and wind up very frustrated – thereby making this a dumb decision. Please don’t do that. Go with the smart and easy path.

Why POD books DO NOT work in bookstores:
Bookstores stock books that are already printed and ready to sell. POD books, by definition, are not printed until they ARE sold. So how can a bookstore stock a book on its shelf that is not printed?

Yes, POD books can be printed and then stocked on a shelf. However, bookstores can’t even fit all the traditionally published books on their shelf, so why would they allocate space to a book that isn’t even supposed to be there?

My best advice about POD books and bookstores is to STOP TRYING TO FIT A SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE. Just accept that your book is available to order if someone would come in and ask for it.

Forget that you were loosely promised your POD book would be available in bookstores. Just give this illusion up. It was a sales tactic to get you to jump on the POD bandwagon. Not my favorite part about the POD community as a whole, but it is already done. Move on.

What is the best way to sell POD books?
Direct response. Sell your books first and then deliver them. Your customers don’t even need to know it is a POD book. Get your message in front of people who are looking for your book but don’t know it yet. Use the Internet. Sell POD books online. Do very targeted advertising to very tight niche markets. Use direct mail to the same tight markets.

For information on how to sell books using these methods, click here.

Low Cost Publicity Options for Your Book

Are you just a bit shocked and surprised at how much hiring a publicist costs?

You are not alone. Many authors and publishers who seek out a publicist do not realize it can be such a hefty investment (even the truly cost effective program that MarketAbility offers is just under $6,000).

But don’t despair there are PLENTY of ways for you to get publicity.

You may be wondering if you will have to turn yourself into a publicist over night and give up doing what you love best. No.

In fact there are some truly easy ways to get publicity that require you to simply respond to media requests – sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? There are even ways you can place an ad and have producers call you for interviews.

We will show you those avenues in a minute but first want to share with you a very powerful training tool that you can use to make the most of the media opportunities that will come your way.


Book Marketing Profit System
Helps you fit publicity into the big picture of your overall book marketing. Teaches you the strategies you’ll need to fully integrate all the publicity tools we show you here:


Let Radio Publicity Expert Alex Carroll show you how to get rich and become famous being a guest on BIG radio shows without spending a dime on advertising or ever leaving the comfort of your home.

RTIR (Radio-TV Interview Report)

The Magazine Producers Read to Find Guests (RTIR) is a trade publication that goes to over 4,000 radio/TV producers across the United States and Canada. RTIR is published three times each month. Each issue lists 100-150 authors and other spokespeople available for live and in-studio interviews. Each guest's ad includes a contact person and phone number so interested radio/TV producers can get in touch to arrange interviews.

What that means is that you place an ad and radio producers call YOU. TV producers call you. You don’t have to call them, they call you.

PR Leads
They'll put you in touch with reporters who need to quote experts like you. That's right. We get approximately 100 requests a day from reporters who are writing stories for major publications who desperately need to find experts to quote in their stories. We'll give you their names and email addresses and their story angles so you can contact them! If you have the information they need, they'll feature you and your books in their publications. We're talking big name publications and media outlets like The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Newsweek, as well as Redbook and Glamour.

10 STEP SYSTEM TO GETTING ON OPRAH
Did you know that there is a 10-step system for getting on Oprah? Sounds unlikely but there are strategies that top publicists use to consistently get their clients on the show. I know this may seem impossible for ordinary mortals, but once you know the behind-the-scenes inside scoop on how the top talk show in the country works, it's not as mysterious as it seems.

Many people who have appeared on Oprah have seen their businesses boom, become millionaires or best-selling authors--sometimes overnight. And it can do the same for you! Get complimentary details, chapter excerpts and a table of contents here.

Book Marketing Update
One of the book industry’s hottest insider secrets – Book Marketing Update is a newsletter you simply cannot go without. Each issue contains actual media requests and more. When this newsletter arrives in your mail box you will find yourself with lots of very productive contacts to make. We recommend that all authors and publishers subscribe to Book Marketing Update.

Book Marketing Budget Information

How Much to Invest in Your Book and What It Means to Your Workload

When you think of your budget for your book, start to think in terms of both time and money. You will be spending both on your book. There is no right or wrong budget as long as it works with your pocketbook, your daily calendar and your expectations.

The Blunt Bottom Line:
How much money you are ABLE to invest

will tell you how much time you will HAVE to invest.

How much of each you DO invest will control how many books you sell.

We will assume that you want to effectively market your book over the course of ONE YEAR. In that time you will accomplish all of the marketing for the initial launch of your book. After the first year you can then decide whether to continue marketing this book or to move on to your next one. In the scenarios listed below you can adjust the time spent per week IF you also adjust how long it will take to finish your marketing.

If you have less than $1,000 to invest in marketing, you will be using only the low or no-cost marketing tools. Your time is your greatest asset, plan on investing it liberally. All aspects of strategy and implementation will fall into your hands. You should allocate at least 40 hours per week to handle all of the strategy and implementation.

If 40 hours per week is not possible to do, then adjust the length of time you will take to market your book. If you can put in 20 hours per week, then plan on taking TWO YEARS to finish your marketing.

If you have between $1,000 and $5,000 to invest in marketing, you will need to plan to do most of the marketing yourself. You’re going to be able to use some of the low-cost tools we’ve shown you but will not be able to hire on professionals to implement your campaign. Again, plan to allocate a significant portion of time towards strategizing and implementing your marketing. In this case, allocate at least 30 hours per week.

If you have between $5,000 and $10,000 to invest in marketing, you can probably hire out one key component of your marketing implementation and reduce the amount of time you are required to put into the marketing efforts. You will still need to invest plenty of time strategizing and implementing your marketing. At this level of monetary investment you can expect to spend at least 20 hours per week with strategy and implementation.

If you have between $10,000 and $20,000 to invest in marketing, you can hire out a few more aspects of your marketing implementation. On the higher end of that budget you can get most implementation covered. You will still be investing time in the strategic coordination of your campaign. With this budget you can allocate 10 hours per week for strategic coordination of your marketing efforts.

If you have between $20,000 and $50,000 to invest in marketing, you can hire out almost all aspects of your marketing implementation. You should still plan on handling the strategic coordination of your campaign. Allocate at least 5 hours per week for strategy.

If you have more than $50,000 to invest in marketing, you can hire out everything, including the strategic coordination. Any amount less than $50,000 will not afford you to hire out the strategy as well as the implementation. With this investment you can hire professionals to do their job and go back to writing knowing you have everything covered.


Since the strategic coordination is obviously the last thing you can hire out, then it stands to reason it is the first thing you should learn, regardless of your budget. Whether or not you plan on handling the implementation of your book marketing you need to know what needs to be done and who can help you do it.

You can find that strategic direction in our Book Marketing Profit System.


Ways to Fund Your Book Marketing (and When Not to)

Ideally, you have money already set aside to fund your book marketing. It is allocated specifically for this function, sitting in an account ready to be put into action. However, if that is not the case you may be wondering how to fund your marketing. Here are some of the common ways that other authors and publishers do it.

Credit Card / Line of Credit
The most common way we see authors funding their campaigns is with a credit card. It is probably the simplest way to do it. As always with credit cards, be aware of the interest rate you are being charged.

Home Equity Loan
While it may be more paperwork upfront, it will certainly save on the interest rate. It is also likely to be a tax deduction personally. (But of course check with your accountant on that.)

Investors
Finding someone else to fund the marketing is also something we see quite often. These investors can be family, friends or actual venture capitalists. Be aware that these folks will want to see a business plan including a full marketing plan and financial estimates. See our Book Marketing Profit System for a template book marketing plan.

Tapping into 401K / IRA / College Fund
Frankly, this source of funding is the one that makes us cringe. Not only are you betting your retirement or your kid’s college funding on the success of your book, you are also paying taxes on the money you take out, thereby substantially increasing the amount of money you are actually investing. Please consider very carefully before utilizing this option.

Using Book Sales to Pay for Marketing
Sounds good in theory, but it simply will not work. You must invest something to get started. You can then re-invest your book sales revenue into more marketing, but the first sale will not happen without marketing. This is a classic which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg scenario.


A Word of Caution (or When NOT to Fund Your Marketing)

Over the years we have seen many books fail due to lack of funding. That is quite sad. We have also seen many books fail DESPITE having adequate funding. That is just plain horrible. We have met authors who are $20,000, $30,000, even $50,000 or more in debt from producing and trying to sell their book.

If you are in a situation where recouping an investment is critical to your financial security or not selling books will place you in serious financial hardship PLEASE do not invest more than you can afford to spend in your book.

We strongly suggest that you set a limit on your budget that is something you can live with, even if you do not sell a single book. If that amount is low or very low, don’t despair. As you’ve seen, there are plenty of low cost ways you can market your book.

Now, don’t think we are trying to talk you out of marketing your book – nothing could be further from the truth – we just want to make sure you are proceeding carefully. We do believe you can sell your book and we’ll do whatever we can to help you!


Allocation of Funds – How to Prioritize Your Investment

With any investment you want to invest wisely. (Especially for your book.) The last thing you would want to do is waste all the time you spent writing it. So how do you know what is the best use of your valuable time and your hard-earned money?

First of all prioritize your actions based on YOUR goals. You know what is most important to you about your book. Find the tools we’ve suggested that help you reach that goal and do those action items first.

If selling books is your primary goal then be sure to allocate equally in the areas of Awareness and Availability.

Awareness is anything that helps your customers find out your book is out there, such as: publicity, pay per click advertising, search engine, E-zines, reviews, testimonials, etc.

Availability is anything that makes your book available to purchase, such as: bookstores, your website, Amazon, libraries, book clubs, etc.

Don't expect to pull demand with awareness only. You cannot simply tell people your book exists and expect sales to fall out of the sky. The book has got to be available to purchase - in a store, on a website, at Amazon…

Nor can you expect the product to sell itself with availability only. A book sitting on the bookstore shelf when no one knows it is there IS A BOOK ABOUT TO BE RETURNED. A website with no traffic is a site that is not selling any books.

Choose your actions based on creating awareness and facilitating availability. Do both.

To find out more about what marketing actions you can take for your book, click here.