Rachel Gold: books | marketing | play | enlightenment

Why 2012 Will Be the Year of Content Marketing [with 2 Bonus Infographics] | Unbounce

Some would argue that creative content and using it as a marketing device (i.e. Content Marketing) is the only way to market a business. Without it, you’re like the wallflower at the prom. And seriously, who even uses the word wallflower these days?

via unbounce.com

I am looking forward to seeing better content (and possibly less of it) in 2012. One of the best quotes in this article says, "In other words, making free content that doesn’t suck benefits everyone." Not sucking is key. Content marketing isn't about throwing more words out into the world -- it's about creating content that people are eager to consume. (Click the headline above to read the full article.)

Some of the best content marketing that I see comes in the form of newsletters published once every two months, or blogs that are updated once a month. I've started unsubscribing from content sources that publish too often. I hope we'll see marketers in 2012 spend more time creating high quality content.

The Periodic Table Of SEO Ranking Factors

Search engine optimization — SEO — may seem like alchemy to the uninitiated. But there is a science to it. Search engines reward pages with the right combination of ranking factors, or “signals.” SEO is about ensuring your content generates the right type of signals. Our chart below summarizes the major factors to focus on for search engine ranking success. The Search Engine Land Guide To SEO explains factors in more depth, with tips and a tutorial on implementing them. Read on!

via searchengineland.com

This is one of the absolutely most helpful guides I've seen about SEO. Not only does it remind me of what I need to pay attention to, but it's also a handy way to explain to clients the complexity of SEO.

I encourage you to click the title above and visit the Search Engine Land website where you can download your own copy. 

Happy Thanksgaming!

From the same family that brought you the hit holiday National Day Off for Jews (celebrated Dec. 25), we present: Thanksgaming! 

Celebrated annually on the same day as Thanksgiving, this holiday gives gamers everywhere a day to give thanks for our tremendous good fortune in the variety of great games available, the easy accessibility of the “flow” state to us, and the way games bring together diverse people over vast distances.

There are two main ways to celebrate this holiday (though of course you’re invited to invent more):

1. Spend the day at home in comfy clothes, eating easy to prepare foods and playing your favorite games. Periodically log in to the social networks of your choice and express heart-felt thanks for these wonderful games and your brilliant achievements in them. Congratulate your friends on their Thanksgaming achievements.

2. Spend the day with family and friends and play games together. Give thanks for the way games bond people, build teamwork, and keep your crazy relatives from fighting (much).

Isn’t it time for a holiday that unites gamers without requiring us to leave the comfort of our homes, dorms or apartments? Join us in celebrating Thanksgaming and consciously increasing the amount of happiness in the world by doing what you love to do and sharing that with others.

 

Winning with Lederhosen

This morning I got to wake up to a blog post by my publisher about me. For those of you who also work in marketing or publicity, you know it's wild to be written about after spending most of your working time writing about and promoting other people. I love the way they're describing my book, but I'm also tickled about the lederhosen lead, so for those of you who are curious, here's the back story:

In the last year, I've done two high-profile humorous marketing pieces and both won awards. One is a holiday card featuring a patent application for a snowman and the other an ad for an accounting firm in which the managing partner is wearing lederhosen. You can view them both online at the Ingenuity Marketing Group website by choosing a link below:

• I want to see the lederhosen.
• A patent application for a snowman, how cute!

Jokes and humor are such an invigorating part of life. I love it when professions like accounting and law that are traditionally conservative are willing to take a risk and be funny. And I'm so glad my publisher shares my sense of humor. 

If you want to see more about my young adult novel Being Emily that arrives in bookstore on June 19, 2012, check out the Being Emily website. If you have humorous marketing of your own that you'd like to share, feel free to add a comment below. 

 

Self-Published Authors Need Success to Begin - WSJ.com

Self-publishing these days is increasingly a tale of two cities.

via online.wsj.com

I appreciate the range and realism of the numbers in this article -- from an author making $100 from a book up to $33,000 or more. It also illustrates how it's helpful to have either a following before self-publishing or at least moderately deep pockets.

Survey Shows Publishing Expanded Since 2008 - NYTimes.com

BookStats, a comprehensive survey conducted by two major trade groups that was released early Tuesday, revealed that in 2010 publishers generated net revenue of $27.9 billion, a 5.6 percent increase over 2008. Publishers sold 2.57 billion books in all formats in 2010, a 4.1 percent increase since 2008.

via www.nytimes.com

YA fiction is up 6.6% and adult fiction up 8.8%. I like those numbers! And that's post-Harry Potter.

Speaking of which, seeing The Deathly Hallows parts 1 & 2 recently really demonstrated to me that ways in which novels can go so deeply into characters, moments and story arcs in a way you just can't get in a movie.

Google+ Got You Feeling Overwhelmed?

Social media overload? You're not alone. How experts manage - TwinCities.com

I've just started poking around in Google+, have you? Where does it fit into your marketing strategy?

These are my favorite tips from the linked article above:

• Set specific times to use (or to stay away from) social networks. Take a day off and go get some sun.
• Do not respond to every invitation and friend or follow as many people as you can. Your social networks will often be more productive and enjoyable if you focus only on people you know or want to know.
• Don't get stressed out about the content you are missing. You do not have to read every tweet or update. Treat your social-media stream like a river - dip in and get out as your time permits.
• Pick your social networks wisely. Some aren't worth your time. If a social network isn't providing value and relevance, ditch it.

 

Reader Buying Habits

I'm in the process of merging my Novel Marketing Strategies blog into this one now that I've had an epiphany about how to marketing novels. (Yes, soon I'll post a longer article about that epiphany.) Here I'm bringing in some of my favorite reader data from that other blog:

From a 47-page report of stats from Bowker Pubtrack, assembled by Sisters in Crime. (The report focuses on mystery novels, which may be why some of the numberd reasons above are missing for SFF.) 

What influences book sales: Fantasy

• Part of a series: #1 reason
• Know/Like this author: #2
• In-Store Display/On Shelf/Spinning Rack: #3
• Friend/Relative Recommended: #4
• Online – Book Review: #5
• Online – Author’s Website: #6
• Online – Retailer Recommended: #7
• Book Club: #8
• Best Seller List: #12
• Book Review (Not Online): #25

What influences book sales: Science Fiction

• Know/Like this author: #1 reason
• Part of a series: #2
• In-Store Display/On Shelf/Spinning Rack: #3
• Book Club: #4
• Friend/Relative Recommended: #5
• Online – Author’s Website: #6
• Online – Book Review: #7
• Online – Retailer Recommended: #8
• Best Seller List: #11
• Book Review (Not Online): #15

In a study by Verso Advertising about book-buying behavior in 2010 (full study online at: www.versoadvertising.com/beasurvey/), the primary factors in a book purchase decision were:

• Author reputation 52%
• Personal recommendation 49%
• Price 45%
• Book review 37%
• Cover artwork/blurbs 22%
• Advertising (including online) 14%

 

Are there fundamentalist atheists?

In the past few months, I've had some very interesting conversations about religion with my friends, that span an enormous range of experience from a Christian friend politely asking if I wasn't concerned about ending up in hell to an atheist friend wondering how I could possibly defend religion. (Well, okay, the conversation got a lot more colorful than that, but that's another story). 

I confess I'm fascinated by the folks called "new atheists" for reasons I hope I can illustrate below. This second installment of my summaries of "The Case for God" by Karen Armstrong will take a quick glimpse at the history of atheism and a slightly longer look at the modern phenomenon of the "new atheists," plus some general goodies about religion, science and unknowing.

The value of value

Can more expensive services actually perform better? If we have a good product or service and are willing to express its value rather than lead with humility (which is an epidemic up here in Minnesota), recent studies show we may be doing our clients or customers a favor.

You know the placebo effect? It's well-documented that the human body can trigger the healing process, produce endorphins, opiates and other reactions based on our conscious and subconscious beliefs and expectations. In many studies people react positively to sugar pills, sometimes as much or more positively than to the medications the study is trying to test.