The Catholic Writers Guild

I asked Sarah R. if I could sub for her this week, because I wanted to share four examples of excellent internet marketing that have come across my desk recently.  She said yes — probably because I didn’t tell her what #4 would be.

1.  Take a look at Ellen Gable’s book video for In Name Only.  Go to the site, scroll down, and push play — first video on the left.

Isn’t that elegant?   Nothing expensive or flashy — a few well-chosen photographs, background music to match the mood of the period, and a concise, powerful description that sets up the story.   As a would-be reader, watching the video helped me make a decision about whether I’d enjoy the book.  Great job.

2. The second site comes with a warning and a story.

The warning: I know nothing about this guy.  Maybe his books are anti-Catholic agitprop, and the man tortures kittens in his spare time.  But take a look at his marketing, because he does a great job of selling books.

The story: Chuck Barrett hit the “follow” button on my Twitter feed.  I went to see who he was.  Some people randomly follow every tweeter in the universe, in the hopes they’ll get followed back.   Human-spambots are a turn-off.   Barret wasn’t doing that.  I looked at his profile, and his topics were a fit for my interests — he’s a writer (fiction thrillers) who writes about writing.

If you didn’t already, look at his Twitter page.  His books are right there, with a quick bio that tells the tale — here’s a guy who might have a seriously good thriller.  The bio has a link to his webpage.  Go take a look at the webpage now.

Doesn’t that opening page speak volumes?  It’s not an expensive layout: three stock city photos, an author photo, a silhouette of a guy with a gun (for all we know, his teenager pointing a water gun), and his two book covers.  But he puts it together in a crisp, too-the-point opening page that tells you — without a  word — who Chuck Barrett is and what kind of stories he writes.  A clean menu makes it easy to find the info you want.

Click around.  The whole site fits together in one focused, professional package.  When I grow up, I want to be this good at marketing.

3. If you are trying to sell e-books, study this blog:

Why Is My Book Not Selling?

Learn from the mistakes — and successes — of others.  Underscores the importance of an evocative cover, effective blurb, and spectacular first 300 words.  Great site.

4.  In order to sell books, you’ve got to write a book worth buying.

I’m a catechist.  Devotionals are like snow to me: A certain time of year, they seem to fall out of the sky and pile up by the door, whether I ask for them or not.

So when I bought a copy of Sarah Reinhard’s new booklet Welcome Risen Jesus, I was just being nice.  I figured I’d give it to a friend.

Well, the surprise was on me: Sarah wrote a devotional that added something new to the market.  She filled a need that was not being met.  In this case, she wrote a sensible, practical set of Lenten daily devotions that meet the needs of ordinary Catholic families, in a way other widely-available works do not.   What started as “I’ll buy one to support my local Catholic bookstore,” turned into, “I need to e-mail Sarah and find out about parish discounts for bulk orders.”

 

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Your turn:  Who’s your number five for this list?