Module 2: Pre-Publication Marketing Musts

Week 10: Tricks for Staying Sane, Saving Time and Keeping it Real

Subtitle of this newly revamped module: “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”

LESSON SUMMARY

This module has taken us into the realms of some very challenging learning, especially for those who are less familiar with technology, blogs and/or social networking. As a result, it’s easy to imagine that some people might feel overwhelmed and will experience a very sharp ‘learning curve’ as they begin to apply everything we’ve covered in this module. Surely some people might wonder how they will be able to achieve all that they need to achieve, what to speak of writing their book. They might even suffer from a fear of losing their identity in the process, feeling as though they have been swallowed up by the great soup of technology into which they have fallen.

Thus, I felt it was highly important to close this module with a lesson on how to stay sane, save time and BE YOURSELF during this process of building your online platform. How can we get everything done, maintain our chosen lifestyle, and feel like ourselves as we enter the arena of serious online promotion?

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WEEK

In this lesson, you will learn:

1. Lynn’s top 5 tips for staying sane while managing all the things needed to get done
2. Lynn’s top 5 tips for saving time and being efficient in your promotional platform building
3. Lynn’s top 3 tips for “keeping it real” as you build your promotional platform

Click “READ MORE” to view lesson content for the week.

Module 2: Pre-Publication Marketing Musts

Week 9: Choosing and Using Forums and Niche Networks to Expand Your Influence

Subtitle of this newly revamped module: “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”

LESSON SUMMARY

So far, we’ve talked a lot about the “big” social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. But there are many other forms of social media that can help to build our online platform in ways the larger networks do not necessarily provide. The media we will be exploring in this lesson are forums and niche networks.

A forum is an online place where people who share a common interest or problem come together to discuss a special topic, share ideas and tips, and offer/ask for support, etc. A niche network is an online place where people who share a common interest come together to make friends, socialise, share personal and professional resources, etc. Typically every member would have their own profile, and the site might give people the opportunity to create blogs, post events, start or join special interest groups, send and receive private messages, and other features.

What do forums and niche networks offer us that may not be provided by larger social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc? How do we choose the right forums/niche networks for our needs? How do we make the most of what they have to offer?

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WEEK

In this lesson, you will learn:

1. The purpose of forums and niche networks within your promotional campaigns
2. Considerations for choosing forums and networks
3. Considerations for setting up your profile
4. How to identify useful features
5. Interaction and rules of engagement
6. Using them for leads generation
7. Staying current, weeding out the dead wood

Click “READ MORE” to view lesson content for the week.

Module 2: Pre-Publication Marketing Musts

Week 8: Using Multi-Media Platforms (YouTube, BlogTalkRadio, etc)

Subtitle of this newly revamped module: “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”

LESSON SUMMARY

Over the decades, I have learned both in my educational training and in my professional experience as a teacher that people learn best when their senses are fully engaged. And the same is true for reaching people in marketing. The more we can engage people’s senses through visual, auditory and kinesthetic experiences, the more engaged they will become with the subject matter which we are presenting to them.

And that is what this lesson is all about. It is an introduction to the world of online multimedia — video on YouTube, radio on BlogTalkRadio and podcasting/syndication. While this topic could be a complete course in its own right, this lesson will provide with the fundamental terminology and entry-level knowledge to help you get started in developing a multimedia presence as part of your online promotional platform

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WEEK

In this lesson, you will learn:

1. The purpose of multimedia platforms within your promotional campaigns
2. The mechanics of YouTube, BlogTalkRadio and podcasting
3. Considerations for choosing which platforms are best for you
4. Resources you will need to get started
5. Technical tips for video, online radio and podcasting
6. Considerations for setting up your channels/shows
7. Integrating multimedia with your blog and other social media
8. Syndicating and promoting your multimedia content
9. Using YouTube and BTR as social media

Click “READ MORE” to view lesson content for the week.

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Module 2: Pre-Publication Marketing Musts

Week 7: Unlocking the Secret Powers of LinkedIn

Subtitle of this newly revamped module: “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”

LESSON SUMMARY

LinkedIn is perhaps the most elusive online tools for many new social networkers. Many people first come to it and cannot understand how it can possible help them with business and network building, but that is simply because, on the surface, LinkedIn appears to be starkly formal with little opportunity for interaction compared to the colourful interface Facebook provides, and the face-paced exchanges found in Twitter.

But while LinkedIn is definitely more of a professional network than it is a social network, when you explore all it has to offer you will find it to be not only a place where you can thrive and establish your renown as a professional (including a professional author), but also where you can find a virtually endless supply of information and referrals, as well as have access to thousands of people in your target audience.

Much as in the previous lessons on Twitter and Facebook, LinkedIn also integrates the rest of your online platform, but the real keys to the secret powers of LinkedIn will like not only in mastering the rules of engagement, which a very different from other networks, and finding your way around some of the resources it has that no other networks offer.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WEEK

In this lesson, you will learn:

1. The purpose of LinkedInand how it is different from other social media
2. Considerations for setting up your profile
3. Integrating LinkedIn with your blog and other media
4. LinkedIn Applications
5. Interaction and rules of engagement
6. Finding and utilising LinkedIn Groups
7. How to use “Sharing” in LinkedIn
8. Establishing yourself as an expert in LinkedIn Q&A
9. LinkedIn Events

Click “READ MORE” to view lesson content for the week.

Module 2: Pre-Publication Marketing Musts

Week 6: Unlocking the secret powers of Facebook

Subtitle of this newly revamped module: “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”
To REGISTER for this Module, click HERE.

LESSON SUMMARY

Facebook has become a household word over the past few years. And small wonder. In a recent video for TED entitled “Pendulum”, marketing pro Michael Drew cited if Facebook were a nation, it would be the 4th largest on the planet.

There’s a lot to Facebook that is often misunderstood. Many people think it is a way to stay connected with personal friends and family. And that is surely something Facebook can provide. However, the value of Facebook as a means of locating and communicating directly with potentially millions of targeted clients and/or customers is something many people are now only just discovering. And while it is quite a different entity to Twitter, being more limited in some ways and more powerful than others, in terms of its ability to identify people in your target audience, it scores well above the potential by Twitter.

Much as in the previous lesson on Twitter, the key to unlock the secret powers of Facebook is not just in Facebook itself, but in how it integrates the rest of your online platform. And, of course, it is in knowing what, when and how to engage with others on Facebook.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WEEK

In this lesson, you will learn:

1. The purpose of Facebook and how it is different from other social media
2. Considerations for setting up your profile
3. Profile versus Fan page versus groups
4. How to use Facebook for leads generation
5. How to use “tagging” in Facebook and why you want to
6. Finding, organising and communicating with Friends and Fans
7. Interaction and rules of engagement – what not to do; how it is different from Twitter
8. Strategies for driving traffic to your fan page
9. Integration Facebook with your blog and other media
10. Utilising contests and adverts for leads generation and interactivity

Click “READ MORE” to view lesson content for the week.

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Module 2: Pre-Publication Marketing Musts

Week 5: Unlocking the secret powers of Twitter

Subtitle of this newly revamped module: “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”
To REGISTER for this Module, click HERE.

LESSON SUMMARY

Twitter is a phenomenon that has taken over our planet with such rapidity it almost leaves us breathless. And quite appropriately, too, because Twitter itself is arguably the most rapid format of social media we currently have (with the possible exception of Blip, which is a micro-blogging platform to share music and video).

Many people don’t “get” Twitter the first time they encounter it. They see endless streams of short “micro blogs” and don’t understand how this could be interesting our useful. Furthermore, they don’t understand how it could be very “social.” How do you make friends or useful business contacts on Twitter? How to do you gain followers? Who should YOU follow and why do you want to follow them? How in the world can this lead to business growth?

The key to unlock the secret powers of Twitter is not just in Twitter itself—it is in how it integrates with numerous other parts of your online platform, including your blog, your other social networks, and 3rd-party open source software that will make Twitter come ALIVE. And, of course, it is in knowing what, when and how to Tweet, and how to engage with others on Twitter.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WEEK

In this lesson, you will learn:

1. The purpose of Twitter and how it is different from other social media
2. Considerations for setting up your profile
3. How to set up auto follow and why you should
4. How to use Twitter for leads generation
5. Structuring Tweets
6. Interaction and rules of engagement
7. Finding followers and people to follow
8. Integration Twitter with blog and other media
9. Making the most of your material
10. Overview a range of supplementary Twitter Applications (“Apps”)

Click “READ MORE” to view lesson content for the week.

Module 2: Pre-Publication Marketing Musts

Week 4: Using autoresponders, newsletters and giveaways

Subtitle of this newly revamped module: “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”
To REGISTER for this Module, click HERE.

LESSON SUMMARY

Building your list is a topic of all internet marketers. This is often referred to as “leads generation” or bringing people into your “marketing funnel”.

But spiritual marketers are not merely interested in building a list, but in building a tribe. Your goal in the practice of leads generation should always be to build strong, long-lasting and congruent connections with people, and to give them lots of opportunities not only to know your work and your ideas, but also to know who you are as a human being. The combination of “freebies” (giveaways) and autoresponders will be at the foundation of how you will invite people to see if they want to come into your tribe, and the combination of your blog and newsletters will give readers reasons to stay.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WEEK

In this lesson, you will learn:

1. An overview of the “marketing funnel” and the process of leads generation
2. Considerations for creating your leads generating offer
3. The purpose and functions of an auto-responder system
4. Suggested auto responder systems
5. How to present your offer
6. Strategies for where to place your offer
7. Ideas for planning, repurposing and recycling your promotional offers
8. The value of a newsletter and considerations when planning one

Click “READ MORE” to view lesson content for the week.

To REGISTER for this Module, click HERE.

Module 2: Pre-Publication Marketing Musts

Week 3: Integrating and leveraging blogs and RSS

Subtitle of this newly revamped module: “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”

LESSON SUMMARY

When designing a blogsite for your book, it is essential that you are mindful of your target audience, and that you design the blog in such a way as to be attractive to potential readers. This attractiveness must extend into the character of your theme and colour scheme as well as the content of your posts.

Most of all, remember that while the purpose of your book blog is to get people interested in your book, you will not achieve this simply by creating a site that does nothing else but talk about your book. To build your promotional platform, your primary objective in making a blog should be to create an environment where readers can really get to know:

• Who you are as a person
• What your message is
• How you write

AND… if you do it right, your blog will also become a platform where you can get to know your readers too—both collectively and (in some cases) individually.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WEEK

In this lesson, you will learn:

1. The importance of having a dedicated book domain
2. Purpose of a blog as opposed to a website
3. Considerations for setting up your blog
4. How to set up your feeds
5. Integrating your feed to social networks
6. Installing a sign-up box on your blog
7. WordPress enhancements: Plugins and Widgets
8. Building interaction into your blog
9. How often and what to blog
10. How to make the most use of your material

Click “Read More” to begin your lesson for the week.

Click to listen to an overview of this week’s lesson:To REGISTER for this Module, click HERE.

Module 2: Pre-Publication Marketing Musts
Week 2: Your pre-launch essential checklist and action plan

Subtitle of this newly revamped module: “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”

LESSON SUMMARY

In week 1 of this module, we looked at a new paradigm for marketing, how to identify your target audience, and ways to find your audience on the Internet. But what are the technical skills and materials you need to begin your promotional platform?

A good, solid promotional platform includes many key elements like blogging, RSS, autoresponders, leads generation, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Ning and online forums. But having all these things in place is not enough; you also need to know HOW to use them strategically and authentically so you get the results you want AND stay sane during the process.

If you’ve reached this point in your publishing journey and you are relatively new to online promotion, it’s understandable if you feel overwhelmed by all the things you need to learn. You might also worry that you will “lose yourself” in the technology and start to become disconnected from your personal values.

Mastering the art of authentic online promotion is complex, and there’s a steep learning curve when you are just starting out. But if you go through it one step at a time, you can save yourself the overwhelming task of trying to learn it all at once, and see yourself making measurable progress every week.

And that’s what this week’s lesson is about. The purpose of this lesson is to give you a checklist for the key components you will need in the coming months as you build your online platform, and to show you how to set them up so you are ready when we get into the details of how to use them. We’ll also be talking about the principles of spirit-based promotion, so you can see how social networking can be used to express who you truly are.

Because this topic is technically complex, many of the details for configuring these online platforms and using them strategically will be discussed in the coming weeks. Throughout this module, you WILL be asked to complete a lot of “doing” challenges, so if you want to get the most out of these lessons, be sure you allow a few hours every week to complete the challenges.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WEEK

1. Learn the key principles of spirit-based promotion
2. Learn the key components of a good online promotional platform
3. Design your online promotional platform
4. Set up the technical infrastructure for your platform

Click “Read More” to begin your lesson for the week.

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Module 2: Pre-Publication Marketing Musts

Week 1: Your readers: knowing, finding and reaching them

Click to listen to an overview of this week’s lesson:

To REGISTER for this Module, click HERE.

Subtitle of this newly revamped module: “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”

LESSON SUMMARY

Many authors come to me for marketing advice just as their books are getting ready for publication. You will, however, note that I have placed this module BEFORE the module on preparing for publication. That is because, quite frankly, if you do not start your marketing long before your book is even finished being written, then you are apt to have a book come out and be extremely disappointed in the sales results. You might ask, “How can I market a book that isn’t even written yet.” The answer is simple. You aren’t. You are marketing YOU. That is what this lesson is about. It will really get you thinking about your personal relationship with all those wonderful people in the world who will be reading your book in the not-so-distant future. It will give you some strategies to identify them, know them, find them and reach them in an authentic, spirit-based way. If you find yourself resisting any of the material in the lesson (and I have had many a client and colleague for whom some of these ideas pushed them to their “edge”), slow down and take as much time as you need to understand why you are resisting. To understand this resistance fully, we will be exploring what I consider to be the key factors that influence how we approach the subject of self-promotion and online marketing

1. Our relationship with money/selling
2. Our relationship with technology
3. Our relationship with other people
4. Our relationship with ourselves

Get ready for a journey exploring these factors and how they impact the success of your book.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WEEK:

In this week’s lesson, you will:

1. Examine your relationship with money and selling
2. Learn how to identify your target audience and why this is important
3. Learn the two key goals of early marketing
4. Outline the infrastructure you need for finding your audience online
5. Create a plan for reaching your audience

Click “Read More” to begin your lesson for the week.

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Pre-Publication Marketing Musts (aka “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform”) – 10 Week Course from Lynn Serafinn, promotion manager for #1 seller mind-body-spirit authors, on how to build your social networking platform to promote your book.

In Module 1, I started by sharing my “Artist’s Manifesto” with you, which said that until we release our vision to the world, we are “not yet an artist, but a dreamer.” In Module 2 we begin to examine what it means to release our vision to the world, and the practical means by which we can do it. The material in this module will help you identify who your potential readers are, and give you a good working knowledge of how to use social networking, blogging and other Internet-based communication systems to identify and reach them.

NOTE: The work in this module is to be done well BEFORE your book is published—as much as a year before—depending upon how widely (and deeply) you are already known to your readers.

PRELIMINARY READING SUGGESTIONS

1. Before we begin, to get an overview of the importance of early promotion, you might first wish to read this article I wrote called “Pre-Natal Care for Your Book” on Tony Eldridge’s “Marketing Tips for Authors”.
2. To help dispel some of the myths you might have about going with a publisher versus self-publishing, read THIS article.

To REGISTER for this Module, click HERE.

To To download a PDF version of Module 2 Overview, click HERE.

Title	Pre-Publication Marketing Musts
Who is it for?	Anyone who has completed, or is nearing completion of their final draft, and has not yet developed a comprehensive strategy for using the Internet to reach their potential readers.
Duration:	Training: 10 weeks Access to site: 12 weeks
Aims	To help you identify and understand your target audience, and help you develop a fan base of followers, long before your book is published using online promotion strategies.
Note	If you are getting ready to publish but do not yet have your online promotional methods in place (see below), you SHOULD take this module now as you will not be able to move on to Module 4 without these things in place first.
Objectives	By the end of this module, you will be able to: Identify your niche audience and where to reach them Locate the materials you need to build your online campaign Create a plan for your pre-launch promotion Know precisely how you want to show up in the online universe Utilise a range of methods to establish yourself as an expert Utilise different methods of blog integration to grow your fan base Utilise social networks to increase visibility and become known Invent personalised ways to increase rapport with your readers
Weekly Lesson Content	Week 1: Your readers: knowing, finding and reaching them Week 2: Your promotiona essential checklist and action plan Week 3: Integrating and leveraging blogs and RSS Week 4: Using autoresponders, newsletters and giveaways Week 5: Unlocking the secret powers of Twitter Week 6: Unlocking the secret powers of Facebook Week 7: Unlocking the secret powers of LinkedIn Week 8: Using multimedia platforms (YouTube, BlogTalkRadio, etc) Week 9: Choosing and using forums to expand your influence Week 10: Tricks for staying sane, saving time and keeping it real
Download Content	PDFs of all lessons MP3s of all lessons PDF Workbooks to help you move through the lessons Templates when applicable to help you work more efficiently MP3s of monthly calls*
Community	Access to Online Community Get peer support to help achieve your goals Get feedback on your manuscript and other work by peers Special Q&A section to post your questionsInteract directly with Lynn online
Calls*	1 live call per month (downloads available to members only)
Rewards*	SPECIAL GIFT for those who demonstrate completion of all weekly challenges within 2 weeks of finishing the module.
Bonuses*	Discounts and other unplanned special bonuses will be revealed as you go along.
Notes:	Items marked with an asterisk (*) are NOT available during a Test Drive, but will be available if/when you register for the Module.

To REGISTER for this Module, click HERE.

To To download a PDF version of Module 2 Overview, click HERE.