Claude Nougat's Blog : How to promote your book and win reviews ...

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 12:24 AM PDT

Reviews sell books, right? But the problem is to get them. Ads are easy, you pay for them but they tend to be ignored unless you tie them to a promotion, making your book free or at 99 cents for a short period. The grand-daddy of book promoters is of course BookBub, recently joined by EBookBargainUK and EbookSoda, all excellent sites if you want that kind of promotion.

But how about tying your efforts to garner reviews with free book promotions?

Story Cartel has the answer, to check it out, see here. I thought I'd test it out. I recently joined and here's how my book looks on the Story Cartel site: free digital copies are distributed in exchange for honest reviews, though no one is required to post a review.

Looks nice, doesn't it? It's sitting there together with related books and a notice clearly indicating how long the offer lasts (at the time of this writing, 17 more days). Actually offers on Story Cartel are meant to last 20 days (I already lost 3 days in telling you about it!). And when the promotion is over, Story Cartel organizes a sweepstake among reviewers and the winners get a free printed copy that I have agreed to provide, in total 5 print copies (offer limited to the US).

So if you enter, you can even get a free print copy delivered to your home!

I don't know how well such a promotion works - I shall let you know asap. If anyone has used it, please leave a comment about your experience!
And there are already some very positive evaluations of Story Cartel, see here:

Cover Wars: Vote for your favorite book cover and don't forget to vote mine, (grin) it's "Crimson Clouds". Check it out here. They all look great (even if I really like mine)!

When to Promote a Colleague | Overdrive – The official blog of the ...

Posted: 19 Mar 2014 06:01 AM PDT

Happy business people applauding a good presentation

By Ronn Torossian, an Overdrive contributor and president/CEO of 5W Public Relations

There's a tried and true maxim in any career path: You need to know the right people to get where you want to go in your career. In most cases, you will need to leverage the skills, experience and expertise of a colleague, mentor, or co-worker in order to advance in your own career.

Of course this dynamic forces young professionals to walk a fine line between promoting their own interests and putting their colleagues "over" themselves. But how do you navigate this tightrope, and earn the accolades, without over selling those that help you along? The principles of public relations can help answer that question.

1. Be thankful

You will never go wrong beginning any conversation by thanking those who have helped you accomplish something. When you honestly and earnestly appreciate someone else's contribution, they will be more likely to help you in the future.

2. Be specific

Don't generalize or pander. When thanking someone or speaking about how a mentor has helped you in your career, be sure to offer some specific appreciation and respect. Generalizing in these situations can make you look petty, or even desperate.

3. Use context

When talking about how someone has helped your success, do so in the context of how they helped you succeed at a specific task. What did YOU accomplish with their help? You still get the credit while offering them well deserved thanks for the assist.

4. Consider the audience

Before delivering any specific praise – about others or yourself – be sure to consider what your audience wants to hear. Emphasize the elements that will most impress that particular audience.

By following these tips, young professionals can successfully walk the line between self promotion and self demotion, giving credit where credit is due while not allowing your own brand to be lost in the process.

You can learn more about Ronn, and read more of his articles, by visiting CrunchBase.

Ethical Blogwalking

Wednesday, 19 March 2014