Month: August 2017

A character’s history or backstory
is the reason many romance readers
continue reading a story.
They want to learn
why the character is the way
he/she is.

Media also knows the power
of backstory.
That is why
a common interview question
asked of business builders is
“How did you think of your idea?”

Carmine Gallo
shares

“[Matthew] McConaughey saw
the backstory of Kentucky bourbon,
a uniquely American spirit
with a 200-year history.

He knows that
a backstory is critical
to getting moviegoers (or consumers)
to care about the product.

The first 30 minutes
of nearly every successful Hollywood movie
begins by introducing
the characters of the film
and the struggles or challenges
they must overcome.

Your product or brand
may not have a long history,
but every product has a backstory.

Perhaps you had to deal
with a common problem
faced by others in your field,
and your product is a unique solution
to solve it.

That’s a backstory.

Every product has one.
Look for it
and share it.”

Craft a great answer to
“How did you think of your idea?”
If no one asks that question,
volunteer the answer.

There are some
marketing tactics
that can only be used once.

For example,
in the Romance Novel Business,
there’s the
“Banned by Amazon”
tactic.

A writer writes a story,
crafts copy,
creates a cover
that breaks Amazon’s terms of service.

The story gets banned.
The writer and her crew
talk about censorship,
getting the community riled up.
The book is made available
at other booksellers.
That book and the writer’s backlist
see sales lifts.
And the next time
the writer releases a book,
everyone knows her name
and is in a rush to buy the new book
in case
it also gets banned.

It is a proven marketing tactic
but a writer can only use it once.
The second time,
readers don’t react nearly as strongly.

With one time only marketing tactics,
you really have to think
about whether or not
now
is the best time to use them.

With the “Banned” tactic,
the writer ideally should have
a healthy backlist of books
(i.e. other products available).
She should also ideally have
the next book releasing soon
before the readers forget about her.

Maximize the use
of the one time only marketing tactic.

One of my writing buddies
blew up a building
in the first draft
of her story.

The thing is…
she didn’t show it.
The heroine arrived at the scene
late,
AFTER the explosion happened.

No. No. No.
Writers should never waste
a highly dramatic plot device
like an explosion.
That should always be
on page,
where the reader can see it,
feel it,
experience it.

The thing is…
many business builders
do the same thing
with their marketing campaigns.

They hold a contest
and then don’t make a big production
over drawing the winners.

They design a new logo
and then don’t have
a logo reveal celebration.

They win a prestigious award
and then they don’t
tell customers about it.

Keep the excitement on the page,
in front of customers, prospects, others.

If you’ve watched
‘Say Yes To The Dress’,
you know
brides and/or parents
will pay extra
to have the whitest white dress.

In the U.S.,
white symbolizes
purity, innocence, virginity.

Many of these brides
are living with
their grooms.
They’re likely not virgins.

Yet the need to appear innocent,
to wear the white dress
remains.

THAT is the power
of symbols.

In your industry
there are symbols also,
powerful symbols.
Know what those symbols are.

Don’t do it.

Facebook private messages
are viewed
by many people
as trusted friend to friend
communications,
not impersonal business to prospect
communications.

Post on your page or profile
instead.

But-but-but, you say,
Facebook limits
the reach of those posts.

Then post multiple times,
in different ways.
I post a book link at least
once a day,
talking about my books
in different, fresh ways.

Don’t betray your prospects’ trust.
Don’t use Facebook PMs to sell.

I get a request every damn day
asking me to work for exposure.

Write a brand new story
for this boxed set
and you’ll find new readers.
No, you won’t get paid.
The profits will go to me,
the organizer,
but the exposure will be priceless.

If it were ‘priceless’,
writers would be approaching
the organizer,
not the other way around.

I’ve been part of boxed sets
that hit bestseller lists
and I didn’t gain more
than 10 new readers.

But what about
giving back to the community?

Usually legitimate charity projects
don’t use ‘exposure’
as a selling point.
They lead with the giving back,
making a difference
angle.

If you’re going to work
‘for exposure’,
a) don’t expect big sales bumps
from that exposure
and
b) try to get an additional something
from the experience
(like meeting an influential partner
or making a bestseller list).