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      Category : Marketing and Platforms

      • August 29, 2013

        Thursdays with Amanda: Brainstorming Street Team Strategies

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        Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent. Her author marketing book, The Extroverted Writer, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

        Last week, I talked about the importance of brainstorming, and as promised, I’m going to go through a brainstorming exercise here on this blog so that you can see the train of thought…the bad ideas, the good ideas, the weird ideas.

        Here are the rules:

        I am going to pretend that I wrote one of my favorite books of all time, The Great Gatsby. I’m using this, assuming that most of you have either read it or seen one of the many movie adaptations. This way, we can hopefully all be on the same page with understanding the book’s content.

        So, I’m pretending that I wrote this book and that I need to come up with ideas that will put my Street Team to work.

        I will spend 20 minutes, focusing on idea-generating.

        No idea is a bad idea.

        If an idea comes, coupled with a notion of how that idea would benefit my Street Team, I’ll jot all of it down. But if it doesn’t–if I get an idea but I’m not quite sure what the benefit for the Street Team would be–I’m not going to worry about it. I can figure that out later.

        Okay, so before the twenty minutes starts, I need to know a few things (and if you plan on attending my ACFW session on Marketing Plans, you’ll get this much more in depth!):

        TItle: The Great Gatsby

        Genre: Literary

        Themes: Jazz, 20s, Flappers, New York Wealth, Agnosticism, socio-economic classes, infidelity, romance, Plaza Hotel … (this should be enough for me to work

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      • August 22, 2013

        Thursdays with Amanda: What to DO with your Street Team

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        Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent. Her author marketing book, The Extroverted Writer, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

        It’s fairly easy to recognize that a Street Team would be helpful. It’s even pretty simple to put a Street Team together and give it/them a place to congregate.

        But putting them to work…that’s another matter entirely.

        The more I write these posts on building an author platform, the more I get questions that are basically nothing more than requests for me to provide a step-by-step guide to x, y, or z, complete with screenshot examples and graphs. I get requests for me to share EXACTLY what to do (printouts would be handy!). To leave nothing up for chance.

        There are a number of things wrong with this. The main one being not everyone’s audience will respond to the same strategies. Everyone is different. Every reader group prefers certain approaches over others. That’s how it works! So if I told you to launch an Instagram campaign when in fact your readers are middle-aged nerds, it’s going to be a complete miss. Why? Because middle-aged nerds aren’t on Instagram as much as they’re on message boards and forums.

        So, let me be clear (and please forgive me for yelling):

        THE ONLY WAY TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN ANY PROMOTIONAL ENDEAVOR IS TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE TARGETING AND HOW TO REACH THEM

        Because of this, only you can really come up with those million-dollar ideas that will garner the buzz you need. ONLY YOU can do this.

        Now, I know you’re probably shaking your head, thinking “I’m not a marketer! I’m not a salesperson! I’m not wired to think

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      • August 15, 2013

        Thursdays with Amanda: Organizing Your Street Team

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        Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent. Her author marketing book, The Extroverted Writer, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

         

        So, we know the reasoning behind why you need a Street Team and then the basics of building one, but once you have your tribe of minions, what do you do with them? Before you send them out into the world (which will probably be next week’s post), you need a home base. 

        Street Teams are all about communication–that is you communicating with them and them communicating with each other. Now a simple (and lame) way to handle this is to send out mass emails. BUT we all know how annoying those can be, and there’s always a guy who hits “reply all” EVERY FREAKING TIME even though he has nothing to say except for some stupid joke that no one finds funny.

        So, your other options are to form a private Facebook or Yahoo! Group (or something similar). You can even make the space fancy by adding pictures and files and other items that you would normally email everyone. In turn, using such an outlet will encourage your Team to actually interact with one another…which reminds me…

        WARNING!!!

        I know it’s great to believe that your peeps will all get along like one big happy family, but let’s be real. There are going to be personality clashes, competitiveness, overwhelming personalities, and maybe even a few street brawls. So be clear about group etiquette. Make sure everyone plays nice.

        Some other ideas include…

        You could go one step farther with your group (if you have a big enough team) and create regional groups. This way, if you

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      • August 8, 2013

        Thursdays with Amanda: How to Build a Street Team as an Author

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        Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent. Her author marketing book, The Extroverted Writer, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

        Last week, I made the argument for Street Teams. But this isn’t the sort of venture you just throw together. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, I do have some guidelines for when you’re in the BUILDING PHASE. That is, when you’re taking applications and adding people to your team.

        1. I’d argue quality over quantity. You want people you can trust. People who will follow through on their commitment. So while it may be a big ego stroke when you get 100 people ready to sign up, remember that you’re looking for people you can count on…not just people who are wanting free stuff.

        2. You’ll need some sort of application process. Unless you have time and money to spare, you want to vet your team members, ensuring that you have only the most dedicated followers on your roster. Ask questions like:

        • Are you on any other Street Teams?
        • What are your favorite books?
        • Are you on social media? If so, what are your numbers on Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Your blog? Etc.?
        • Do you have connections with local groups or organizations that you believe you could tap into to help promote me and my book? List them.
        • What ideas do YOU have to help promote me and my book that you’d be willing to spearhead?
        • Are you able to commit for a full year?
        Weed out anyone who doesn’t measure up or who comes across as less enthusiastic than others. And definitely weed out those who are already on Street Teams with other authors.
        And while
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      • August 1, 2013

        Thursdays with Amanda: Why Authors Need Street Teams

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        Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent. Her author marketing book, The Extroverted Writer, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

        Remember in the 90s how you’d buy a CD (or tape) and inside would be inserts that advertised band t-shirts and other artists on the label? And remember amidst these inserts there was one that promised to make you a groupie and all you had to do was send your postal address?

        Before the Internet…before musicians connected with fans via Facebook and Twitter, Street Teams were all the rage (look! There’s even a Wikipedia page about it!). You’d simply send your info and in return you got a boatload of band paraphernalia. Bumper stickers, flyers, buttons, posters–you name it. And all you had to do in return was promise to plaster your high school with said items.

        To any teen wanting closer contact with their favorite band, this was a must. I mean you didn’t get any cooler than being known for being such-and-such band’s local promoter. (Me? My method of band promotion was to wear band t’s everywhere…to the point where a college professor remembers me as the “Death Cab for Cutie Fanatic.” But that’s neither here nor there.)

        So where am I going with this?

        Bands of the 90s were on to something. And they HAD to be. In a competitive industry that demands you travel from run-down venue to run-down venue via a 15-passenger van in hopes that you make a good impression and create enough buzz to be invited back to a BIGGER venue that hopefully maybe sells out so that your single gets radio time so that more people hear your music so that

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      • July 25, 2013

        Thursdays with Amanda: Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome, Symptom Four

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        Amanda Luedeke         is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow h        er on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent. Her author marketing book, The Extroverted Writer, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

        We’re on the last symptom of Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome, so in case you missed any, the symptoms have been:

         

        The fourth and final symptom? Unbalanced application.
        Test for this by noting the time you spend with family, the time you spend with yourself, and the time you spend with work/marketing your book. If you’re spending more time on your book than in the other areas of life, chances are you’re either in the middle of a book release, or you suffer from this symptom.
        This is NOT an excuse to work less or play more or ditch all of those great marketing plans you had in place. Fact it, a writer’s busy times come in waves. Some weeks or months will be crazier than others.
        BUT this IS a nudge to evaluate your time and how you spend it.
        Those afflicted with Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome eat, think, and breathe their book and their sales. They check their Amazon rank numerous times a day (months after the book has released). They obsess over checking their Twitter and their Facebook and their blog comments. They take their computers or tablets to their kid’s football games and make excuses why they don’t have time to do this or that.
        It’s workaholism, really. And it stinks.
        Get control of this symptom by identifying the IMPORTANT things in life.
        Outside of your responsibilities (You may have a 9-to-5. You may coach a high school sports team. You may volunteer at the shelter. You
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      • July 15, 2013

        Pitching: Are You Prepared?

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        Guest writer HOLLY LORINCZ is a novelist as well as a publishing consultant at MacGregor Literary, and Chip’s assistant.  Before Mac Lit, Holly was the editor of a literary magazine and then an award winning instructor, teaching journalism, speech and writing at the high school and college level. She was also a nationally recognized competitive speaking coach for years, giving her a unique perspective on book pitches. 

        PITCHING: ARE YOU PREPARED?

        By Holly Lorincz

        The brilliant Chip MacGregor (the man who signs my checks) recently posted an article regarding what agents look for when they attend writing conferences. I would like to extend his comments on pitches, since many of you are getting ready for RWA.

        When was the last time you were at a conference, pitching? Sitting in a hotel banquet room crowded with tables and sweaty, nervous writers? I’m not saying that to be judgmental . . . I’ve been that sweaty, nervous writer hoping to win over an agent with my charm, if not my book. I went in with my satchel stuffed with one-sheets, copies of the synopsis and the first fifty pages. I’d even made up clever business cards. I was dressed in a skirt and heels, making sure I didn’t look stupid even if I said something stupid. Which, with me, was bound to happen. And knowing that, I practiced the heck out of my pitch, making sure I sounded comfortable and natural (though completely memorized) while describing the hook and major premise in less than two minutes. I made sure the agents/editors I was signed up to talk to were actually looking for books in my genre, checked out their bios so I could try to figure out what they might be interested in. Oh, I had done my research. I was prepared.

        Shockingly, a good chunk of the writers were less prepared. Or not prepared at all. They were using their expensive

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      • July 11, 2013

        Thursdays with Amanda: Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome, Symptom Three

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        Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent. Her author marketing book, The Extroverted Writer, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

        We’re addressing our third symptom of Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome, and it’s Solitary Administration.

        Test for this by looking through your correspondence for times in which fans, bloggers, friends and family have come to you, seeing how they can help. If you have very few instances in recent months in which others have taken the initiative or the lead…heck, if you feel alone in most of your marketing endeavors, you may suffer from this symptom.

        While it may seem that I’m pointing to those who carry the world on their shoulders and refuse to let it go, I’m actually talking about those who have so overworked their supporters that the desire to help is gone.

        It looks like this…

        My book is on sale this week! I need to let everyone know!

        So, I go to my friends and family…people who I KNOW I can rely on to share the info on Facebook, Twitter, and such.

        But wait! Barely anyone is responding! WHY AREN’T THEY SHARING MY NEWS WITH THEIR FRIENDS?! It only takes a second to send a Tweet! What’s the hang-up!

        Okay, maybe I can strike a deal…

        Friends, if you share this news, I’ll be eternally grateful! 

        Crickets. 

        Okay, maybe a different approach…

        Friends, it’s really important that you Tweet this for me, so all who do so will get something special from me!

        A few comply.

        Now that’s not the response I wanted! What am I going to do?!

        FRIENDS, IF YOU LOVE ME, YOU WILL RETWEET THIS.

        Sheesh, what’s a girl gotta do?! Oh,

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      • July 10, 2013

        WHAT AN AGENT LOOKS FOR AT A CONFERENCE

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        By  CHIP MACGREGOR

        Someone wrote to say, “I know you’re going to the big RWA conference this month. Of the appointments you have at a conference like that, how many actually result in your asking for more material? How many result in you giving serious consideration to an author? How many will you actually sign to represent? Just curious.”

        Of the appointments I have at a normal writing conference, I’d say I might have 15 to 30 appointments — some formal, some informal.

        Of those, maybe 5 or 6 result in my asking to see more.

        Of those, I may get serious about 1 or 2.

        Of those, I may or may not sign one to an agency agreement.

        For years, most of us have agreed that we’re looking for ONE GOOD PROJECT at each conference. That will mean the conference basically pays for itself. Sometimes I don’t get any. Sometimes I get one or two. And I should note that RWA is one of the very best conferences in the country – a great place to learn about writing and the industry (not just for romance writers, but for anyone looking to make a living with books in this country). It’s coming up in Atlanta later in July, and it’s worth every penny to attend.

        On a related matter, I had someone ask, “What is the most important piece of advice you can give to a writer heading to an agent or editor appointment at a writing conference?”

        The most important piece of advice is simple: Have your proposal and sample writings so well honed that an agent or editor has no reason to say “no.” That’s easier said than done, of course, but that should be the goal. A great idea, expressed through great writing, in a great proposal, preferably by an author with a great platform. All of those things take time and talent, of course, but

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      • July 4, 2013

        Thursdays with Amanda: Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome, Symptom Two

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        Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent. Her author marketing book, The Extroverted Writer, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

        First, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, AMERICA! And a big thank you to everyone who has sacrificed to make this country what it is.

        We’re on symptom #2 of the Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome, and it’s Social Media Saturation.

        Test for this by looking at your recent Tweets, personal Facebook status updates, and blog posts. If multiple times per day your updates and Tweets focus on your book and/or career, chances are you’re either in the middle of a book release or you suffer from this symptom. 

        Social media is full of people demanding your attention. “Like” this! Read that! Watch this video! Visit that link! With so many requests needing decisions and response from us, we start to filter. We pick the links we want to visit, the videos we want to watch, the posts we read, the status updates we “like,” the Tweets we share. And the more friends or connections we have, the choosier we have to get.

        Our “choosiness” quickly becomes somewhat formulaic. We give most attention to our closest friends and family. We give a fair amount of attention to those we find humorous, entertaining, or thought-provoking. We leave a smidgeon of attention for those who may surprise us…those we have previously written off or mentally excluded from our list of favorites. And we leave the least amount of attention to those who always have something to say…to those who overwhelm with their shared photos, links, requests, and jibber jabber.

        My friends… don’t be so forecful with your online promotions that you end up in that

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