Free Guide to Creating Book and Product Covers

from-digital-tangibleWe’re back with a handy guide to help you create effective book and product covers!

This free guide includes:

  • How to create attention-grabbing book titles
  • 16 fill-in-the-blanks book title templates
  • How to create your book covers, with examples you can learn from
  • Increasing your product’s perceived value with cover graphics…and sell for more.

Click here to download it (PDF)

Read it and put it to good use. And hey, if you’re an Elite Writer’s Lab member, make sure to drop by the group and get feedback on any titles or covers you’re making.

Your invite is coming…and more video tips

A couple of things to update you on before the weekend.

We have some great takeaways from our interview with live streaming expert, Monique Johnson.

monique-video-screenshot

Monique gave some great tips for authors to engage their audience through live video including getting your readers involved as you’re in the process writing your book. You can:

  • Share your progress
  • Give them sneak peeks
  • Brainstorm with them when you get stuck on them

Imagine how loyal your audience becomes when they feel like they’re a part of your creation process. That’s extremely powerful!

She shared technology that makes it easy to conduct videos through live video. Systems like Facebook Live are made for just one individual and that can be intimidating, but if you use Facebook Live with a tool like SmileTime.com or BlueJeans.com, you can include more people in your live videos. We personally used BlueJeans for our interview with Monique.

Monique also encouraged us to approach live video as a testing ground. You never know what will work with your audience until you try it and the great thing about using a platform like Facebook Live is that feedback is instant and built right in. Have a look and see what other writers and other business owners are doing with their live videos and go from there.

The full interview with Monique is available to EWL Monthly members (log in at WriterHelpWanted.com if you signed up there or at EliteWritersLab.com). If you’re not a member, consider joining us for $1 here.

Easy Kindle Publishing Strategies

Kindle_allOver the past week, we have shared a ton of marketing tips with you. From affiliate marketing to blogging, all the way to growing your list and using social media, we had you covered.

And as always, these tips can be used with or without the templates…but why make things harder than they have to be?

For today, let’s talk about Kindle Publishing. It’s always a big topic for our writers, so let’s do it right.

Did you know that 71% of all ebooks sold in the United States are sold through Amazon?

Whoa!

Yes its true and ebook sales continue to grow. In fact, self-published authors are not only replacing publishers in the bookstore, they’re taking more of the profits. Authors have learned that they can package and sell their books directly through Amazon’s Kindle program and keep more of the profits than they would if they went through a traditional publisher…and you can be a part of that.

A few Kindle Publishing Strategies for You:

1. Write More than One Book – You make much more money when you publish more than one book. As a fiction writer, this can be accomplished by writing a series. If you look at the romance genre, you’ll see that this is a popular approach. The same approach can be applied to non-fiction. Chicken Soup for the Soul books are a series that has had tremendous success. And when you have a series, kindle will promote your other books with their “frequently bought together” feature and their “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought.”

2. Publish in Multiple Formats and Languages – You can have your book translated and published in different languages. This increases your sales globally. You can also read your book, or have someone else read it, and sell the audio book. You’ll expand your audience and reach and boost your sales.

3. Connect with your Readers – Create a blog and publish content. You don’t have to blog daily. But you certainly can if you want to. Make your content relevant to your audience and genre.

4. Build an Email List – Your blog or website gives you the opportunity to build your email list. One mystery author sends weekly recipes to her email subscribers. Those same recipes are often shared in her books and she fits them into her storytelling. So it all fits together. You don’t have to be this creative. You might give away a free report or a fun monthly newsletter.

5. Promote on Social Media – Social sites like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are packed with readers – your readers. Connect with them. Build a profile for your book or your pen name. Host events. Give away books and share information with your audience.

Make it easier for yourself to publish and market your Kindle books with our Kindle Publishing Template Package that includes:

  • Insider’s Kindle Marketing Strategy Guide
  • Bio Templates with Samples (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
  • Book Sales Page Templates with Samples (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
  • Book Outline Worksheets (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
  • Topic Research Worksheet (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
  • Kindle Templates (Fiction and Non-Fiction) with Formatting Guide
  • Kindle Publishing Checklists (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
  • Book Cover Image Templates (Fiction and Non Fiction)

Click here to grab the Kindle Publishing template package.

And, of course, use our special coupon code to get 40% off. Coupon code: EWLBLOG

Smart Strategies – Ever Wanted to Sell from a webinar?

September_AllHere’s a new marketing topic for you today…and of course, we’ve got some templates to make it easier to implement these strategies. And again, whether you use our templates or not, these strategies will get you places.

Today’s topic is selling products from a webinar.

Webinars a very popular online marketing strategy for selling high-ticket products. They’re an effective tool for getting a highly engaged audience that is interested in your information and your pitch…if you do it right. That’s what this month’s template package is all about – helping you with creating your sign up page, your presentation, your pitch and more.

A Few Tips for Successful Webinars

#1: A Well-Defined Product: Your webinar content needs to naturally flow to the sale of a product or service. So, before you can create the webinar content, it’s a good idea to define the product or service you’re going to pitch.

The key to providing more engaging, interactive webinars is to allow attendees to “personalize” their user experience. From within the webcast, viewers should be able to open and close information panels, access social media, respond to polls/surveys, view complementary resources, and network.

#2: More Audience Interaction Means More Sales: It’s easy to create a webinar with content that solves a problem and leads to a solution, which you then make available to your audience for purchase. However, if content is all one sided, you’ll have participants that start multi-tasking and not paying attention. You can lose them. Webinars needs to provide interactive features to keep your viewers’ attention and discourage them from leaving or losing attention.

#3: Be Transparent: Your audience expects that you’re going to pitch a product or service. Don’t try to hide that. Be completely transparent and embrace your pitch. It shouldn’t be a hard sell but you’re probably giving them a special promotional offer and you’re proud of your product or service so pitch with pride.

#4: Leverage a Solid Webinar Structure: Generally, people front-load their webinar. They talk and then at the end they pitch. Instead, consider this format:

• Position the heaviest, most valuable, content up font to get people engaged right away and for those who have limited time to spend with you.

• Add mini-pitches throughout. Find a few spots in the middle where you can gently pitch to attendees. Again, this helps you grab people if they have to leave early and it may get some sales rolling in before the end of the webinar.

• Make your big offer at the end. It’s okay to be direct with your call to action. As mentioned, your attendees are expecting it and if your content has done its job, then they are looking for it.

Make it easier to conduct your webinars and sell those products with our Webinar Template Package that includes:

  • Insider’s Webinar Marketing Strategy Guide
  • Webinar Planning Checklist
  • Webinar Sign Up Page Template and Sample
  • Webinar Thank You Page Template and Sample
  • Detailed Webinar Outline
  • Webinar Slide Show Template
  • Affiliate Recruitment Email
  • 5-Part Promotional Email Series
  • 5-Part Follow Up Email Series

Click here to grab the webinar template package.

And, of course, use our special coupon code to get 40% off. Coupon code: EWLBLOG

You can use these templates for your own webinars are select developer or resell rights to use the templates for your clients or to sell them. The choice is yours!

Tips to Earn More Affiliate Commissions

Whether you sell your own products or not, affiliate marketing should always be a part of your strategy. That’s why we’ve got those tips and a new template package for you today.

And as always, these tips can be used with or without the templates…but it’s much easier with them. 🙂

If you’re not sure what affiliate marketing is, it’s simple. You basically get a special coded link to recommend products from other websites…and when someone makes a purchase, you earn a commission. It’s that simple. You don’t have to make any products, offer any customers or service or anything. The merchant does everything and you get paid.

How to Earn More Affiliate Commissions:

• Fully Investigate Products Before Promoting: Be a more knowledgeable sales person and boost your reputation with your audience by understanding the products you’re promoting. Nothing can kill your reputation faster than promoting a bad product. Share as much information as possible, so your readers can make informed decisions. If you’re not sure what to include in your reviews, our affiliate program templates include an easy-to-use product review template to get you on the right track.

• Track Your Results: Many affiliate programs allow you to track where your sales are coming from, so you know which promotions are doing better than others. Of course, focus on the promotions that perform best to increase your earnings over time.

• Offer Bonuses (with a Twist): You’ve probably heard of offering a bonus to your subscribers who buy through your affiliate link…but here’s an extra tip. If the product vendor is offering a one-time offer or upsell, always offer a valuable bonus on that upsell to increase your earns for each sale. Oh and by the way, our affiliate marketing templates include a bonus offer page template and we’ve included a bonus offer video script to make it even easier.

• Follow-Up!: Most people make the mistake of sending out one email or just adding a graphic to their website, but they don’t follow up. If an offer is selling well, make the most of it and follow up several times. Educate your audience about the product, how to use it and provide them with valuable information…in addition to a product pitch. If you don’t know how to do that, we’ve got a 7-part email series template to help you.

• Record Tutorials: What better way to convince your audience that these affiliate products are worth their time and money? Demonstrate their usage in a video. For instance, if you are promoting a new gardening tool, center your video on how to use that tool effectively. This is a way to build a trust relationship with the audience. People get to see the product in action, increasing their faith in it.

• Ask for Coupons: Everyone loves a coupon. It represents a discount on something that is a value product. Ask if a custom coupon is available for the affiliate program (we’ve got fill-in-the-blank email templates to help you do this).

Make it easier for yourself to rake in those commissions with our Affiliate Marketing Template Package that includes:

  • Insider’s Affiliate Marketing Strategy Guide
  • Evaluating a Good Affiliate Program Checklist
  • Promoting an Affiliate Product Checklist
  • Affiliate Network Comparison Chart
  • Product Review Template with Sample
  • Product Comparison Template with Sample
  • Affiliate Account Tracking Spreadsheet
  • Product Seller Contact Templates
  • Bonus Offer Page Template and Sample
  • Bonus Offer Page Video Script and Sample
  • 7-Part Proven Email Follow Up Series

Click here to grab the affiliate marketing template package.

And, of course, use our special coupon code to get 40% off. Coupon code: EWLBLOG

Social Media Made Easy

july2016-social-imageNew topic and new template package for you. Whether you pick up the templates or not, we’re sure you’ll find these tips helpful. And hey, we’ve even bumped up the special coupon code, so you can save even more this Black Friday weekend.

Today’s topic is filling up your social media with a ton of great content.

The online world sure has changed. Where you used to only have be concerned about filling your own website with content, now there are so many social media sites where your audience gathers. It’s easy to open a Facebook, Twitter or a Pinterest account, but keeping it full of useful content is a whole other matter.

There are many social networks out there and where you decide to put your focus is completely up to you and that will be based on where your audience is most active, your personal preference and the results you achieved.

If you’re new to social media, choose one or two networks where you audience hangs out and start building a connection with them. Then expand your social media efforts as you go, or consider hiring someone for your team to help you.

Social media provides your business with a number of benefits including:

• Establish credibility with valuable, informative and helpful content
• Build a connection with your audience in a more casual and conversational environment
• Increase website traffic by sharing your content
• Build your list by sharing your free opt in offers.
• Boost SEO – when others share your content, it boosts your search engine reputation.
• Glean valuable information to grow your business. You can observe your competitors, your audience and more.

A few ways to share and connect on social media:

• Share Lessons and Experiences – Social networking is about connecting. If you have something relevant to your industry to share, share it. Start conversations and partake in them.

• Share Pictures, Audio and Video – Multimedia formats are available through many of the big social networks. Us these to your advantage.

• Share Information – Post interesting and relevant statistics, quotes, or headlines and start a conversation. When appropriate, link to your company website.

• Drive Traffic to Your Blog or Website – Post a curiosity generating or attention grabbing headline and include a link to your website. Remember, your ultimate goal in all your marketing is to always grow your mailing list. A mailing list is something you own and makes it easy for you to communicate directly with your audience and sell them products.

• Promote – Launching a new product? Announce it via social networking sites. Offering a huge holiday discount? Let people know, but use this approach with the other more relationship-building aspects of social networking. Nobody wants to follow a company that simply pushes their products.

• Advertise – Many social networking sites also sell advertising space. Use the opportunities to your advantage in connecting with your existing audiences and building new ones.

Finding the best way to connect with your audience takes some time and the best way to figure it out is get out there and start posting. Pay attention to the analytics provided in your account dashboards, track your links and see what your followers are more interested in and provide more of that.

To make the most of your social media efforts, you bet we’ve got a template package to help you. Our Social Media Templates Package includes:

  • Insiders Social Media Strategy Guide
  • Social Media Plan Checklist and Brainstorming Sheet
  • 7 Social Media Site Checklists (all the big ones in this one)
  • 2016-2017 Social Media Content Planner
  • Visual Guide to Social Media Site Posts and Image Size Specifications
  • Hootsuite Bulk Scheduler Tool and Guide
  • 149 Selected Success / Motivational / Inspirational Quotes
  • 20 Graphics with Success / Motivational / Inspirational Quotes
  • 20 Eye-Catching Blank Graphics to Work Your Magic On

Click here to grab the social media template package.

And, of course, use our special coupon code to get 40% off. Coupon code: EWLBLOG

How to fill your blog with AWESOME!

june-2016-screenIf you’ve ever struggled to fill your blog with fresh content, you’re certainly not alone.

You’ve got plenty to do and sometimes blogging gets left by the wayside. But the good news is if you set aside just a bit of time for planning and utilize effective brainstorming tools, your blog can become the incredible resource you’ve always wanted it to be.

There really are just 3 keys to keeping your blog full of AWESOME and here they are:

#1: Planning Your Content

If you take the approach that you’ll blog when you sit at your computer and decide to blog, you’ve probably found yourself staring at a blank screen more than once. Or wandered off to the Facebook or Instagram and hoped that inspiration would soon strike.

And then what? A lot of wasted time…that’s what.

A lot of people think that content planning is time consuming, but in reality it ensures that you create a cohesive content marketing plan that is more likely to make you money and saves you plenty of time in the process.

If you take the time to plan your content for the coming month, a couple of things happen:

• You’ll be able to sit down and just create content when you’re ready or you can assign those topics to your guest contributors.

• You can create a plan shaped around your product launches or affiliate products you want to promote. In short, you can more effectively make your content make money for you.

Luckily enough, in our blog content template package (enter coupon code: EWLBLOG to save 40%) we include a blogging calendar to help you generate plenty of content ideas, a weekly blog planning sheet and a blog post planning template as well.

#2: Systematize Your Content Creation

Establishing routines for your content creation benefit you in many ways. Establishing routines doesn’t mean you’re going to spit out boring robotic content…not at all. It just means you can get a lot more done in a lot less time.

It’s not always easy to get there, but we help you with this with our checklists, brainstorming and idea sheets that you can find our blog content template package (enter coupon code: EWLBLOG to save 40%).

#3: Don’t Create All Your Content Yourself

A common approach to a blog is to center everything around the blog post owners. The logic is that all content is created by the owner because they are the expert and their readers expect no less from them. This approach has appeal because you can create a great brand based on your personality and quickly build up a loyal following, but the long term drawbacks can certainly outweigh those benefits.

Some of Those Drawbacks Are:

• It is a lot of work for you. We don’t have to tell you that creating all your own original content is a HUGE job. While content creation is an important part of building your business, you need to have time for planning, strategizing and marketing. If you’re writing all day, it’s tough to dedicate enough time to these activities.

• It is a lot of pressure on you personally to always deliver. If your business is all about you, your readers and your customers rely only on you. There is a loyal following and connection, but sometimes the expectations can be too high and your time is sucked up by doling out free advice and answering endless questions. While we’re all in a content-based business because we like to help people, we’ve got to make money and have time for ourselves too.

• You have no exit strategy. A business that is centered around one person has no value without that person. What happens if you want to sell the business or if, heaven forbid, something happens and you can’t run the business? A lot of people don’t plan for an exit strategy or they don’t feel they need one, but we’d encourage you to think about:

-> Your business is an asset. Not only for your family right now, but your family in the future when you’re long gone. Even if you don’t sell the business, you need to plan for your succession.

-> On the other hand, a business you can exit can be sold at any time. If you or your family has a need for extra money or you’re just ready for something new, you can sell part or all of your business.

-> You can make a ton of cash if you plan your exit well. By building up the business, systematizing it and selling when it’s doing well…you have more money to work on new ventures, improve your family’s situation or just enjoy yourself.

Now we’re not suggesting you should set up an impersonal business with a ton of content just flying out there to see what sticks. NEVER. You can still benefit from being the central person in your business…but also effectively leveraging the work of others in delivering knowledge to your target market.

Once You Get Help Blogging, You Have:

• The ability to get more leads: Content is a lead generator and if you optimize and distribute it well, you’re going to reach more leads with more content.

• More time for profit-generating activities: While content is a great lead- generator, your business needs your attention when it comes to strategy, marketing and sales activities. When you don’t spend as much time creating content…you get more time for exactly that.

• More Variety for Your Readers: By using content from others, you give your readers a fuller experience that they will appreciate and come back for. Stop worrying about having all eyes on you, create a resource that is the most valuable to your readers.

And you bet, we’ve got the templates you need to start hiring writers or even getting people to write for you for free. It’s true…you don’t have to pay to get content on your site. Grab our blog content template package (enter coupon code: EWLBLOG to save 40%).

Put these tips to use and you’ll have a viable blog filled with all kinds of AWESOME your readers will love!

What to Do Next:

Need more help with your blogging? We’ve got a great package of blog content templates (enter coupon code: EWLBLOG to save 40%) that includes:

Blog Templates

  • Insider’s Strategy Guide
  • Blogging Calendar
  • Weekly Blog Planning Sheet
  • Blog Post Planning Template
  • Content Style Checklist
  • Content Types for Your Blog Checklist
  • Where to Get Blog Content Ideas Checklist
  • 50 Things to Blog About Checklist
  • How to Get Free Content Checklist
  • Recruiting and Working with Free Guest Bloggers Checklist
  • Guest Blog Post Submission Guidelines Template
  • Hiring and Working with Writers Checklist

Click here to grab everything and again, use coupon code: EWLBLOG to save 40%

Stay Up to Date with Elite Writer’s Lab

[jazzyoptin form_id=”1″]

Ron’s Top Tip for 2017 Success

ron-crystal2016 was an amazing year for me and my business. It was a year of personal growth where I improved my craft and gained a lot of confidence.

In 2017, I plan to narrow my focus and scale up the programs that have the most potential for my business.

My two big takeaways that can be a big help to you in 2017 are:

1) “Do or do not. There is no try.”

Spending time learning and planning are good, but the real education comes from actually doing new things. Only then will you learn what you are really capable of and break free of your limiting beliefs.

In 2016, I hosted my first live virtual event (the BestSellersSummit) with Alice and then later in the year I hosted an in person marketing seminar (the WarriorEvent). I’ve always considered myself an introvert, but forcing myself to get involved and step out of my comfort zone showed me that I’m not bad at helping to organize and host events. In fact, I think they both went over really well based on the feedback from attendees.

I also did several product launches in 2016, one in which I wrote my own sales copy all by myself. Prior to that, I thought I needed to hire a copywriter, but after seeing my video sales letter outperform the copy I had paid thousands for in the past, I realized that my skills were a lot better than I thought with that as well.

So the bottom line is, stepping out of your comfort zone is the best way to master your craft. Think of each new experience being like an arrow in your quiver that will give you the confidence to battle your competitors. You can achieve a lot more than you realize.

2) Surround yourself with people who are doing what you want to accomplish.

This was huge for me in 2016. Just interacting with people who were high achievers and learning what was working for them helped me tremendously.

I did this by attending events and by joining key mastermind and networking groups.

One of my strengths is being able to model what others are doing. Once I see that something is working for someone, I can usually put my own spin on it and implement it for my own business. Strategically being part of groups like our EliteWritersLab opened my eyes to a lot of exciting things that I realized I should be focusing on to grow.

One little tip can result in windfall profits. So in 2017, make sure you network and model after people who have achieved things you want to achieve. I certainly plan to do more of this.

Those are my two big takeaways going into the new year. I hope this serves you well for 2017.

P.S. Here’s the link to Alice’s tip from yesterday, if you haven’t seen that one yet.

Alice’s Top Tip for 2017 Success

alice-familyOver the past year and a half, I’ve been shaving off projects and getting more focused in my business.

It’s the tendency of many online entrepreneurs to dip their feet into many projects because it’s easy to do. The problem is, when you divide your efforts, you minimize your success.

Eliminating projects meant that half way through this year, my account announced that my revenue was already double that of the same time last year.

But that was the big picture stuff. I still had some further focusing to do. Every day, while my kids were at school, I’d spend most of my day in my office working. Or some version of working. There were distractions, simple tasks that dragged out and when I looked at it honestly, a lot of unproductive time.

So here’s what I’ve been doing to become more productive and ultimately, more successful.

I’ve been planning more fun stuff to do during work time. I’ve also been volunteering my time at the kids’ schools where normally, I’d always convinced myself I was too busy.

And guess what? I still got everything done, but in less time.

When you think you have hours to complete a task, the task will take hours. When you think you have just 30 minutes, you’ll be surprised at what you can get done.

The other benefit is limiting the time you can work ensures you focus on the most important things. Those things that are going to grow your business…rather things that will just keep you busy. Prioritization becomes easy when you simply can’t do it all and you have better things to do.

So if you often find yourself saying you don’t have time to have fun, schedule it in. Not only will it force you to be more productive and focused during work time…it’ll make you a whole lot happier and guess what? That happiness will produce even more success.