business

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Your Input Matters!

As I’m working on The Big Picture for my business for the rest of 2021 and into 2022, I want to make sure that I’m going to be serving you in the best way possible.

So can you take a couple of minutes and respond to these questions? You can email me OR leave the answers in the comment section below. I’ll randomly draw from the responses to send a $50 Amazon gift card!

Fine print:

  • You’ve got to respond to ALL the questions in order to be considered!
  • Deadline is 11/15/2021

Podcast:

As I announced yesterday, I’m going to be launching a podcast in December. Broad topics I’ll be talking about are your message, storytelling, and how to stay in the writing flow (i.e. getting your writing DONE.)

Inside of those three areas, what specific things do you want me to talk about?

 

Gift Guide:

I’m working on the 2021 Gift Guide for Authors. This is THE single biggest blog post/free thing that I do each year. And I want to make sure it’s valuable to YOU (or the people who buy gifts for you.)

See the 2019 guide.
No 2020 guide because I was too sick.

  • Is this gift guide valuable?
  • What types of gifts would you like to see on it? (Please, no pitches for your own products and services.)

 

Future lower-ticket products:

I’ll be adding a few more lower-ticket products to my offerings in the coming months. Which of these should I offer FIRST?

A. How to Use Your Email List (so it never goes cold!)

This isn’t about BUILDING a list, it’s about emailing them!

B. Pricing Your Book for Maximum Sales

This would be a companion to The Complete Self-Publishing Toolkit

C. First Aid for Writer’s Block: Never get stuck again!

This would be a rare tool that would be good for non-fiction AND fiction. (I’m usually 100% non-fiction)

Or something else? Is there a burning need you have for a smaller product-style offer? (These are home study products with no live teaching or live Q&A.)

 

Now, tell me about you!

I’ve noticed that my BEST clients have certain things in common. (That have nothing to do with demographics! It’s not an age, race, gender, location thing!)

And I want to know what YOU like and dislike, in general, so I can better target my copy, social media, and marketing to bring in more folks JUST LIKE YOU. These two questions are about you IN GENERAL. It doesn’t have you be about writing or business.

What do you like? (In general! Things that make you go YESSSSS!)

 

What do you dislike? (In general! I’m not looking for anything specific here.)

 

And one last set of questions:

Many of my newsletter subscribers come from various giveaway events that target people with online businesses. However, it seems that when I promote those same giveaways, MY folks don’t like them.

Does this mean that you’re not in business?

Or that you just don’t want ME to promote those types of events?

Where are you at in business?

IF I were going to bring you “business things” – free or paid – what are you looking for specifically?

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Authors Need to Network Too (How to get into Kim’s personal database of resources!)

I’m always on the lookout to bring you great resources. HOW do I do that?

Through concentrated networking. Both in person and through virtual efforts. Why?

Because I love being a connector!

  • Have a podcast and need somebody who loves to knit? I know somebody!
  • Telesummit for boosting immune health? I’ve got three people you need to meet!
  • Need to know about Facebook ads? Two people depending on if you’re DIY or done-for-you.

My network is HUGE. And it’s what makes my clients’ book launches so successful. I’m able to introduce them to people they need to know.

So I’m bringing you another resource, ~Contact.FirstName~. It’s called “Collaborate Live!” from Rich German and Iman Aghay. (I’ve met Iman personally, taking a class from him, heard him speak – he’s the real deal!) This event isn’t just for networking; it TEACHES you how to make strategic, win-win partnerships.

Why is this important?

  • So you can get your message out there in a bigger way!
  • So you can build your email list.
  • So you can help the people you’re meant to help.

You’ve got three steps:

1. Register for the free ticket here >>> https://bit.ly/3oWDwAu

2. Upgrade to the $47 VIP Ticket so you can attend the networking portions of the event.

3. (BONUS) After the event, you and I will jump on a 15-minute “interview” where I’ll learn about you so you can be part of MY trusted network – and I’ll happily introduce you to people who will need you. (They may be potential interviews, JV partners, clients, etc.)

Here’s the fine print:

You’ve got to register and PAY for the event through my link. I want to KNOW you’ll be a good partner for my people; and that starts by investing in learning HOW to be a good partner.

The deadline for you to register AND do the VIP Upgrade, using my link, is November 10. (They also track through Infusionsoft so I know it’s solid!)

Here’s to building our connections so we can all thrive!

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Guest Post: Kathryn Calhoun

Baby Girl Galloway is here! To make my life a bit easier, I’ve reached out to some of the best voices in my sphere of influence and asked them to share their wisdom with you. Each guest author was chosen because I KNOW you’ll learn something from them.

Kathryn also has a great gift for you, “Tech Resource Guide”, that I want you to download here >>> Get “The Resource List”

For Entrepreneurs: The Only 3 Techie Tools

You Need to DIY a Simple, Successful Online Business

When it comes to putting together an online business, the simple truth is that we have a tendency to overcomplicate things…

Some good (?) news though:

It’s almost certainly not your fault.

I mean, if your Facebook feed or email inbox are anything like mine, they’re full-to-bursting with pitches for things that seem like they would be super-duper helpful for your business…

As a result, your online business to-do list ends up looking something like:

  • Build/tweak website
  • Figure out ideal client
  • Get following on social media
    Start doing Facebook Lives
  • Create online course
  • Make Powerpoints
  • Put together a webinar
  • Figure out what the heck a funnel is
  • Learn Facebook Ads
  • Record videos
  • Find affordable tech person

Oof. It’s a lot.

Worse yet, trying to do all that stuff leaves you spending more than you need to, feeling like a failure, struggling with shiny object syndrome, and spending way, way, way more than is necessary.

If you’re somewhere in that ballpark and/or the above feels overwhelming to you, I have MORE good news:

You don’t need to do ANY OF THE ABOVE in order to have a successful online business.

In fact, you can keep it so simple that you can handle the tech BY YOURSELF without an expensive techie person or virtual assistant…

…Even if you’re not techie.

…Even if you’re really, really, really not techie.

I promise.

Keep Reading!

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Can an “Older” Book Be a Best-Seller?

I totally understand the quest to be a best-selling author:

  • That title can give you credibility to your readers and to your potential clients
  • It makes you feel famous
  • It sounds cool

Here’s the truth of how being an Amazon Best-Selling Author works:

There are no “checks and balances” and to way to research which books are best-selling books and which… aren’t. That means that you might have been #1 in a category for a matter of minutes – or it might mean that your book never was, you’re just claiming that you’re a best-selling author.

Learn the TRUTH about being a best-selling author! Click To Tweet

Then, you have to create your personal decision about what exactly is a best-selling book or a best-selling author.

  • Best-selling in a category – no matter how many titles are in the genre?
  • #1 or anywhere in the top-ten? Top 5?
  • Best-selling in another country – where the competition might be less?
  • Kindle book or physical?
  • How long do you have to be on the list?

With so much emphasis on book launches and when a book is freshly released, what happens to books that are a year old? Or two? Or FIVE?

Can an older book still be a best-seller?

Teehee – GREAT question! And the answer is (drumroll please)

Keep Reading!

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Take CARE of Your Computer!

November is always the month where I start thinking about computers – and taking care of my computer system. Strange, I know, but I have a really good reason for it…

110116-deadlineWhen I was graduating from the University of Arizona – getting my degree (with honors) in Creative Writing – I had to write and submit a thesis. 270 pages of all original writing: poems, stories, plays, and an essay. It was the culmination of a year’s worth of creative work – and was the piece of writing that had to be completed and turned in so I could graduate, and graduate with honors.

That was the semester that my computer decided to be a PITA. (Pain In The A$$). So at Thanksgiving, I asked my dad to bring me a new one. I spent nearly the entire holiday weekend setting up programs, transferring files, and working on my thesis – it was due the next week. I missed out on making tamales with my family (our Black Friday tradition), I missed out on the U of A/ASU football game, I missed out on a precious weekend with my grandparents, greats aunt and uncle, and my folks.

I had a deadline.

Then, Monday morning, when I was working on the thesis before class…

BANG!

I threw myself on the floor, convinced that somebody had just done a drive by on my aunt’s house. (It wasn’t a sketchy area of Tucson AT ALL but for a country girl it sure sounded like a gunshot!)

After my heart stopped pounding and I could hear again, I heard… nothing. An eerie silence that could only mean one thing.

Keep Reading!

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Do Book Bonuses Increase Sales? 4 Tips for Great Bonuses

I received an email from a client recently asking my opinion on adding additional content into her book project. Her manuscript is nearly done and she wanted my advice on adding in some additional chapters with resources, tips, and a “plan” to follow.

I suggested against it.

Oh! Did I surprise you? Let me explain:

If you're offering a bonus with your book, make sure it's on track! #amwriting Click To Tweet

In the industry where she works (health coaching) it is a very common practice to add several bonuses to the main offer. The thought is that you’ll come for the meat of the topic (main offering) but stay for the potatoes, salad and dessert (bonuses).

070516-PileofBonusesAfter all, when you buy a program for $997 and ALSO receive $2,000 worth of related bonuses you really feel like you got a lot of bang for your buck, right? The thought is that you’ll come for the meat of the topic (main offering) but stay for the potatoes, salad and dessert (bonuses).

But that doesn’t always translate from the online sale of information to the sale of books through Amazon. In the book publishing world, this “add in a ton of “value” with bonuses” approach often backfires.

Your reader purchased your book for a very specific reason; they were looking for a very specific solution. Offering them more than what they came for usually doesn’t scream “BONUS INFO! This author really knows her stuff!”

It says:

“This author couldn’t figure out how to stay on topic!”
Keep Reading!

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You Got a 1-Star Amazon Review! Now What?

This article first appeared on Ink Authors. Visit their website.

032216-1StarReviewYou’ve spent hours writing your book – rewriting, editing, getting feedback, and then writing some more. You’ve invested in the story arc and pulled your hair out over commas. You’ve navigated the murky trails (and trials!) of professional edits, layout, cover design, and book launching.

And the book is beautiful. It’s a work of art. And it’s here to change the world – starting with you!

All hyperbole aside, I know first-hand what goes into writing a book and getting it published. After all, I’ve got 16 titles to my name. And I know first-hand how holding your book in your hand for the very first time just never gets old. If anything, the lady at the post office is sick and tired of watching me rush out to the truck like a love-struck fool to caress the shiny cover on the proof.

But there’s something really important that is never told to authors – and it really should be.

Keep Reading!

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