Archive for the ‘book sales’ Category

7 Book Promotion Tips by Radio Host Bob Schmidt

Sunday, August 11th, 2013

 

Bob Schmidt, Radio Host “Extraordinaire”

I was interviewed last Tuesday about my book, Turn Your Home into a Rental House, by Bob Schmidt of WLFN 1490 AM, Onalaska, WI.

Bob is one of my favorite radio show hosts. He asks good questions, he laughs at my little jokes, and he keeps the whole interview light hearted and fun. Here is a link to that interview (my interview begins at the 16:50 minute mark.)

I was also on his show in 2009 to promote, Fix em Up, Rent em Out. That was one of my very first radio interviews. After the show I called Bob to ask him if he had any advice for me on how to promote my book.

In my “radio interview notebook” I still have the written notes of what he told me. Here they are, verbatim.

Bob Schmidt Book Promo Advice

1.) To book guest appearances call the radio show after hosts are off the air, and talk to the producer or the host. They  don’t respond to email. They want to hear your voice.

2.) Tell them you are the author of a book and succinctly describe “the hook,” or how his/her listeners will benefit from you being on the show.

3.) Make sure you get the host/producer name correct. They are very egotistical and will be insulted if you get it wrong.

4.) During the interview be entertaining and provide helpful information.

5.) Call local TV producers, say I am a local author, and I am fixing up houses. They can film the process.

6.) Contact newspaper home sections.

7.) Fix your website. Put a chapter from the book on it, or provide a prominent link to Amazon where they can get more information about your book.

Why I Like Radio

Radio has been an important component of my book promotion plan.

I use three different ways to reach people, like a three legged stool. One way is the internet, but believe it or not, not every is on the internet. A second way is by giving speeches to groups and organizations. The third way is by radio. It takes all three legs to hold up the stool.

Radio is great because radio shows have time they need to fill, and they guests are one way to do that. It’s fun to be interviewed and you can reach huge audiences from the comfort of your living room. In addition, when a host likes you they invite you back to their show.

Since I started doing radio shows in 2009, I have appeared on 50 shows (and 2 television shows). So far, I have sold 3,300 copies of my books.

To put things in perspective, my friend Joe Sabah has been on over 700 radio shows, and has sold 23,750 copies of his books.

As I like to say, Joe and I together have sold over 27,000 books.

 

Upcoming “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House ” Radio Interviews (most shows can be heard  on the internet)

Wednesday, August 14th, at 9:15 am (eastern), I’ll be on Dave Kelber’s show, WRNJ Radio, Hackettstown, NJ. http://wrnjradio.com (to listen live).

Watch this space for information on additional interviews.

Related Articles

Abe Lincoln Storyteller Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Can You Become a Millionaire Bestselling Author in 3 Days?

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

I recently received several emails and even a postcard from a marketing guru.

He is promoting a new book publishing program where, he says, “REAL multi-millionaires show you how to become THE thought leader by sharing your wisdom and content.”

His postcard reads:

“GET PUBLISHED. GET PAID.

Fair WARNING: If your content creation, distribution, and monetization strategy sucks, you’ll be a broke, unknown expert forever. If your content strategy is smart, distinct, ubiquitous, and automated, you could be a famous millionaire who inspires the world. Your call.”

The card directs you to an on-line video sales pitch, where you see that he is offering a 3-day seminar where you will learn all you need to know to publish your book, for a cost of $10,000 dollars.

Lemme get this straight. We can learn all we need to know in just 3 days?

Take a 3 day swallow for $10,000

Where do we sign up?

Alas, this sales pitch is an un-holy marriage of fact and fantasy.

The Facts:

1.) Many people would like to write a book;

2.) There are genuine benefits from writing and publishing a book.

3.) Book promotion should be smart and ubiquitous.

The Fantasy:

1.) It’s fast. You can learn all you need to know to be a “famous” millionaire book author in 3 days;

2.) It’s expensive, but worth it. You need to pay an exorbitant sum of money to “jump start” your dream;

3.) You need “millionaire experts” to correctly publish and promote your book;

Granted, you could probably learn something from this seminar, but … 

if so-called “REAL multi-millionaires” are running the seminar, it’s probably going to involve you handing over your wallet to them so that they can do things for you that you could do for yourself. They’ll also be happy to tie your shoe laces for you and cut your meat up into smaller  pieces so it’s easier to chew, but is that really necessary?

This runs counter to what life teaches us about “self-reliance”

Muhahahaha!

Emerson said, “the essence of genius, of virtue, and of life is available to us through our intuition.” If we determine that our intuition is guiding us to write a book, nothing can stop us. We will learn as we advance in the direction of our dreams.

A better approach – carve out your niche

Self publishing only takes time to learn to learn the steps. Once you know them, you can publish books till the cows come home.

The same is true for book promotion.  Some of the most powerful ways to promote your book are accessible to anyone, and they are inexpensive. These include:

1.)  Blogging;

2.) YouTube;

3.) Amazon promotional tools;

4.) Radio & TV interviews;

5.) Public speaking;

and, many more.

Leap, and the net will appear

I say, instead of sending blank checks to needy multi-millionaires to get your book published, rely on your own inner compass and ingenuity to lead the way. You can do it yourself, and maybe even become more self-reliant and famous-ish in the process.

– – –

Recent blog articles that I recommend:

Using Remnants to save $ on your rehabs at Landlordinvestor

Your Increased Liability for Allowing Pets in Your Property at Louisville Gals

Thomas Jefferson | The Man Behind the Declaration of Independence at Fearless Men

Blogging Tips From a Beginner at Frugal Rules

How To Assess The Effectiveness Of Your Savings Account at iheartbudgets

5 Tips for Getting a Higher Starting Salary at Frugal Habits

When Is the Right Time to Have a Baby, Financially? at WorkSaveLive

How Do You Go From Minimum Wage to $80K In A Year? Part 1 at Planting our Pennies

Should You Go Against Fire Code When a Client Asks? at BlueCollarWorker

The Risks Of Starting A Business at Untemplater

The Secret to Selling Your House Flip at Modest Money

How to save money on currency exchange at Reach Financial Independence

Second Adulthood Rocks! at Any Shiny Thing

Can You Avoid Spending Money on School Fundraisers? at Eyes on the Dollar

We Bought a House! at Young Adult Money

 

Festival of Books Link

Friday, March 12th, 2010

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For those attending my Self-publishing Workshop at the Festival of Books, here is a link to my handout where I discuss how I the techniques that I use to promote my book Fix em Up Rent em Out.

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Townhouse Offer Details & Presentation to Am. Businesswomen Assoc.

Friday, January 16th, 2009

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Update on Investment Property Purchase Offer

Last week I made an offer of $105,000 on a 1100 sq ft townhouse that was being offered in a range of $115,000 to $125,000.

I asked for sellers to pay 2% of the the value of the house to help with closing cost (about $2,000)(see my previous article about a key phrase to include in your purchase offer to reduce closing costs)

The sellers countered with an offer of $112,000. I sent a note to the sellers saying “in order for this to work for us as a rental property, we have to stay pretty close to our original offer.” And I replied that we wanted to stay at $105,000.

After a little more back-and-forth we finally settled on $106,000 and they paid the 2%.

Other townhouses in the complex rent for $775 and my monthly mortgages payments should come in below $600 per month.

Presentation to American Businesswomen Association

Last Tuesday I made a presentation to the ABA about how I got started in the house fixer upper business. I’m trying to get out a little more to make presentations to various groups to promote my book.

It was really a warm and friendly group. They treated me to dinner and asked a lot good questions about the fixer-upper business, and they purchased many copies of my book.

Info on Terry’s Book

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