I’ve just lined up a special FREE webinar this week for authors or anyone with a idea to share.

Willie Crawford is a legend in the Internet info-products industry. He’s been creating and selling information products based on books, or just information and ideas from experts like you.

Willie came from humble beginnings, but once he found the system creating and selling information products online, he was able to secure his financial future, write a bestselling book and start sharing his message with authors and entrepreneurs like you

We Will Share Willie’s System for Product Creating and Sales

Here is a partial outline of topics that we will cover in this webinar:

• The Secret To Making Money Online
• Why Create Your Own Product
• Why Write A Book
• How To Easily Create Info Products In Other Formats
• Creating A Product Is Actually EASY Compared To Marketing It
• Market Your Product By Leveraging The Efforts Of Others
• Finding Joint Venture Partners

New Widget Make it Easy to Get In FREE

We’re using DimDim to present this special event… a breakthrough in webinar technology.

Simply enter your email address in the widget below, and you’ll get the one click log in detail and list of the resources and websites we share during the webinar.

(notice that the widget show 7:55 pm Eastern as the start time. There’s a live chat, so come in at that time to say Hello to Willie, myself and the others.)

if you don’t see a Blue Widget above this line.. CLICK HERE

Be sure to click on the Facebook and Twitter SHARE BUTTONS so your friends can join us.

When you enter your email, DimDim handles the rest. It’s private (won’t be shared) and secure. You simply click on the link in the email you get when it’s time to start.

While working with authors who have joined our free Facebook page to promote good health, helping people and sharing great books during November, I found some authors are still having trouble with Facebook

That’s because Facebook is NOT a place to sell book directly.. it’s a HUGE RESOUCE for building a network that will help you sell more books than you ever thought possible.

The key to Facebook, social media, and ALL future book marketing and promotion: Today RELATIONSHIPS are more important than transactions.

Think about this.. you go into a bookstore and see a bargain bin. Do you expect to find the best ideas and help there?  NO. Those are the losers. The books that aren’t worth full price.

While some of the old rules of retailing apply to books and information products (i.e., having a sale).. for the most part, the more direct selling an author does, the lower the value of his expertise.

What you want is readers BEGGING FOR HELP and ANXIOUS TO ENGAGE. Social media is perfect for this.. and Facebook is the hands down leader.

So what do you do?

You stop saying “come buy my book” and start building relationships.. it’s as simple as that.

Here’s the action plan:

Start by finding like minded authors. I’ve talked to thousands for non-fiction expert authors over the past decade. Nearly every author I meet understands that their book is like a business card… just the start of relationship.

Finding authors in your niche, or related topics is easy today. Many of them already have a Facebook Page.

For an example.. I’ll use Brandi Funk’s “Cut Your Health Care Costs Now”

You’ll want to join us on this one.. It’s current, it’s gaining momentum fast, and (BIG HINT) It’s the one Warren is working on right now, so you know you’ll get more promotional oomph immediately

Go to Our FACEBOOK PAGE and LIKE the page

Now you are ready to cross promote with our network.

Our partners are posting on blogs, their Facebook pages, their newsletters, Twitter and more about others in the promotion. These tell people about Brandi’s book, and the idea of getting healthy information out this month. So here’s what you do:

1. Post on your blog that you are one of the authors supporting this promotion. You’ll want to mention Brandi’s book and link to the Brandi’s Facebook page.
   It can be a review of the book, a description of the promotion, or short narrative of why you are joining us to promote good health and healthy helpful authors. Anything BUT an ad for your book (we’ll get to that)
2. Tell Facebook and Twitter. Tell your readers, Tell your network.. Tell the world.
3. We will do the same. The traffic you get will be to that post.. and the world will see you are a giver
4. More people come to this page, some buy the featured book and some go back to your gift announcement.

This  publicity is permanent because the links on the web will be left up, indexed by search engines, and found by readers again and again.

Brandi will continue to post health tips here and network with the partners in the program. Soon there will be thousands of LIKEs (fans of the page) and high authority link juice (that’s SEO talk for “Google will like you more”)

When you start promoting like this… Shining the light on others besides yourself, you’ll find plenty of other pages and others to help out. They will be happy to tweet and talk about you AFTER you have done it for them. Simply LIKE their page, comment on their blog, share a link, blog about them or whatever else you can think of to promote their good work (for free and in just a few minutes of your time) and they will LOVE YOU.

Remember. You can get anything you want out of life if you help enough other people get what they want. While it’s normal for you to include your web site with your signature, mention your book or blog in a post, or share a resource that will lead to making you money.. more and more, people are attracted to those who HOLD OFF selling and help others first.

As all of your partners work to build the network. You can create your own Facebook page, cross promote new products, all that marketing stuff… but READERS want to see conversation. Makes sure you start with conversation!

Build the network and you will build your own brand. The next step is ON FACEBOOK

Los Angeles, CA

Emerging Leader of United Way Social Media Training and Workshop for businesses and leaders on October 28th at 5:30 at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP in Los Angeles

Warren Whitlock of BestSellerAuthors.com will train local business leaders on social media strategies they can use to create a buzz, draw a crowd, raise funds and build a community with a non-profit events. The live interactive training session and workshop will cover how social media can grow your business and help build awareness for campaigns such as United Way’s Creating Pathways Out of Poverty plan.

Whitlock is co-author of the first book on Twitter.com, Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online. He speaks to business and trade groups on social media marketing and is the host the syndicated Social Media Radio Show.

The workshop is open to the public. Seating is limited, RSVP by calling 213.808.6251 or via email EmergingLeaders@unitedwayla.org

BestSellerAuthors.com is a web site for authors, speakers, business professionals and though leaders sharing new ideas, best practices and promotional ideas to help experts create a presence online, share important memes and messages, attract new readers and business leads and create online marketing systems to make a book (or idea) a best seller. Warren Whitlock is the publisher.

United Way is a worldwide network in 30 countries and territories, including nearly 1,300 local organizations in the U.S. It advances the common good, creating opportunities for a better life for all. Our focus is on education, income and health – the building blocks for a good quality of life. United Way recruits people and organizations who bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done. LIVE UNITED is a call to action for everyone to become a part of the change.

United Way of Greater Los Angeles is a nonprofit organization that creates pathways out of poverty by helping homeless people move into housing, providing students with the support they need to graduate high school prepared for college and the workforce, and helping hard-working families become financially stable. United Way identifies the root causes of poverty and works strategically to solve them by building alliances across all sectors, funding targeted programs and advocating for change.

I just read an excellent article called The 10 Worst Business Ideas of All Time by Dave Logan.

Most of the ideas were focus companies and used language that might turn off some authors. However, as we’ve said many times here, Your Book is a Business

When I speak to authors, explaining how successful authors invest in themselves, their marketing, the brand seen online and relationships to move to the next level, I often here objections about “tough times” or “I’ll do that when I get the book done”

To get another perspective, I quote #3 in the 10 here:

Since times are tough, suspend training.

A company that’s flush with cash doesn’t prove its commitment to the employee by investing a little on training and development. But that same company does prove its commitment to shredding the culture and setting its principles on fire when it sacrifices these activities in tough times.

When times are hard, employees (and managers and executives) often don’t know what to do. This is exactly when training and development (done well, not the ultra-lame stuff that’s pre-packaged and devolves into simple and useless steps) can make the difference. Even more important, this is when company leaders are most closely scrutinized, so it’s good to be seen doing the right thing.

Whenever you think “I’m too busy” or “I’ve got to make some money first”.. remember how successful businesses and entrepreneurs stand out.. They do the right things when it hard to do the right things.

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There are many seminar events where you can learn more about learn about blogs, online marketing, speaking, writing and publishing, but one group stands out for having the best group of veteran web people who have been working in the trade for as long as it’s existed

The education choices at PubCon are emended, but make sure you attend the expo, the parties and mingle with the people outside the sessions too. Easy to meet people who have worked full time on designing the web for 15 years, or bought and sold multi million dollars companies.

The networking is what makes any such event. Pubcon is founded on that. It literally started as a conference in a pub when WebMasterWorld folks decided to get together to strengthen relationships formed online and help each other build better performing sites.

If you ever had a job like this, you know about PubCon. If you are new to business on the Internet, Pubcon is a great place to mingle and learn fast. That why I’ve attended for many years, and why I’m speaking at Pubcon again this year.

Come Join Me And Save 20%

When you come to Vegas, let’s plan to meet. Click on the banner above and use Code: rc-4514615 to save 20% on your already reasonably priced ticket when you order now. Then drop me a note and let me know you are coming. We can meet after my session, or at one of the tweet ups or parties.

Tweet me at @WarrenWhitlock or a comment below to let me know you will be here.

In almost every field, there are people who are extremely good at getting publicity.

The media loves them and they’re regularly on radio/TV shows and written-up in print publications.

They not only know how to get a ton of free coverage, but also how to profit from the coverage in the form of increased sales, name recognition, speaking engagements and more.

To discover how these "publicity superstars" do it and how you too can use their strategies, join Steve Harrison this FREE WEBINAR

Here’s just some of what you’ll learn on Thursday:

• Advice from a former NBC producer who booked guests for the Today Show and Dateline NBC on how to become a regular guest on national TV and/or even get offered your own show (think Dr. Phil).
• How to brand yourself for the media in a way that celebrates your uniqueness while also separating you from all the other experts in your field.
• Three things Donald Trump does to speak in compelling sound bites.
• How Jennifer became a regularly-featured lifestyle expert on Fox News Channel and the Early Show as well as scoring coverage in hundreds of print media outlets including O the Oprah Magazine, Redbook, US Weekly, Success and Entrepreneur.
• Why most authors and experts fail to make the leap from just getting local publicity to scoring big-time national media coverage.
• Why your credentials don’t matter as much as you might think, but what DOES matter when the media is deciding whether or not to feature you.
• "The Book Plus Strategy" and how an unknown self-published author used it to become a regular on radio, making a six-figure income doing phone interviews.
• The hook that helped a nutritionist score so much media coverage it generated over $60 million in sales of his books and information products.

Click to register for this FREE WEBINAR

I’ve worked with Steve Harrison for years and can endorse the programs he recommends because I have seen the results.

You will see that Steve’s free training such as this seminar give you a ton of actionable information… regardless of whether you sign up for his paid programs. (Imagine how much more you get when you do though :)

Don’t miss out on this chance to learn some of Steve’s secrets

Every time I see a site that will analyze my writing style, tell me how search engine friend I write or judge my vocabulary level, I get mixed emotions.

A bit scared that I’ll be found out.. my skills put down by a machine that tells me I don’t measure up in some way. :)

But MOSTLY excited… I love getting tips to write better.

I Write Like told me that a recent blog post was like Dan Brown.

I don’t quite get it.. but it was 30 seconds of fun.

I think Mrs.. Preston, my 4th grade teacher nailed it best. I once told her that I couldn’t write. She kept me in from recess, made me do the assignment and told me “you can write.. you’re just lazy”

I help authors sell books, build a business and take their messages to the world.

We do that in two ways here.. a lot of free information on the web, and high paid clients. Unless I get a crazy idea to test new software and give away the paid consulting.

I am trying out a new webinar system for my private coaching sessions. So you get this same ME, hopefully a great show, and the fun of watching me bumble through with new technology (OK.. you can get that anytime)

The only catch.. I’m just doing this ONCE.. it will NOT BE RECORDED (no evidence if I screw up) and it is on SHORT NOTICE.

Friday at Noon Eastern (9am Pacific) on July 16th (yes, that is tomorrow.. I did say SHORT NOTICE)

Grab a slot here –> Warren’s free coaching session

I’m going to share some new tests from what is working on FACEBOOK, how partners are getting 10x the publicity on the MEGA SUCCESS DAY promo for next week and other freebinarific advice. I may talk about Twitter if you twist my arm.

I will answer ANY question… show any secret site.

You can still ask your question in a comment, on Twitter or whatever.. but you won’t get the real live me with a mouse in my hand showing you exactly what YOU need to succeed unless you register here

Guest Post by Denise Wakeman.

Denise will be our guest on Profitable Social Media radio on March 26th. Details on the Profitable Social Media show page

Are you getting results from your book blog? Is it getting harder for you to spend time on your blog because you’re just not seeing how it is going to pay off? If so, you’re not alone. Hundreds of blogs are started each day and many of them are abandoned after several months because it takes time and energy to keep a good book blog going.

Make no mistake, blogs are a great tool for building community, interacting with readers, and marketing your book. And, it’s not enough to set one up and post occasionally. You have to use it effectively to drive traffic and attract readers.

I’ve discovered several common mistakes authors make with their blogs. Most aren’t using features available with blogging software. Eyes glaze over with the mention of RSS, pinging, trackbacks and permalinks. Does this describe how you feel? You may be ignoring these things, hoping you don’t really need to know. But you do if you want great results from you book blog.

Here’s a list of what I found on a recent trip around the author blogosphere:

Content:

1. Not posting frequently enough.
2. Content is not focused or optimized for the search engines.
3. Articles are too long.
4. Not linking profusely to sources. Links are the currency of the blogosphere.

Design

1. No author name on the blog home page.
2. No author photo.
3. No subscription form; no way to get blog updates through RSS or email.
4. Readers can’t leave comments or have too many hoops to jump through.
5. Too many categories or none at all.

Marketing

1. Blog isn’t listed in the 200+ blog directories.
2. Blog posts are not being syndicated to social networking sites.
3. There’s no call to action to buy the author’s book.
4. No contact information.

If you’re using a blog to build your online visibility, optimize it by taking time to learn how to leverage your content to get the widest reach. A blog is like any other marketing tool – you’ve got to use it effectively to get positive results.

© Denise Wakeman, The Blog Squad, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Denise Wakeman is Founder of The Blog Squad and is an Online Marketing Advisor. Get more blogging tips at http://Facebook.com/BlogSquad. And, you’re invited to claim your free instant access to a 5-part video course on how to get the best out of your blog. Visit http://masterbusinessblogging.com

Last night was the launch of the International Association of Aspiring Authors.

The program was kicked of with a webinar with publishing industry trainers and I was included to talk about social media and book marketing.

You can view or listen to the presentation here

Are you aspiring to be an author? Start with the FREE Book Marketing Strategy Course for Authors I gave away during the call. As a reader of Best Seller Book Marketing Blog, you get it too.

As we prepare to go into 2010 I want to share with you how we can make a real difference and help each other.

This time last year I had an idea to give away some gifts for New Year’s Day.  I wrote this blog post on Twitter Handbook and started using the #Happy09 tag on tweet for a little contest.

Soon it seemed that everyone on Twitter was using #Happy09 and it became the most popular term on Twitter for 3 days.

We had a lot of fun, and soon went way beyond the contest to talk about what we thought was really important.. conversations, relationships, happiness. I ultimately gave away the gifts to April Tara when she asked if it was okay to share all the gifts (April got the message! Read her post about it here).

Since #Happy09, I’ve heard from the people involved many times. New friendships were made, joint ventures started and even some new clients for myself and others, but Twitter has grown by over 1000% and it’s very unlikely that we’ll ever see this again.

But why not try?

Yesterday, I got thinking of what would make for a great #Happy10. The hashtag (that’s the made up word staring with #) was easy enough to come up with and I felt a contest wasn’t right. What we need today is a way to share the spirit of GIVING that makes social media perfect for authors and others sharing a message.

For every business person that want to succeed in the age of social media

I connected with @ThomScott, Colleague of @BobBurg who co-authored the best selling book The Go-Giver with John David Mann. Thom is one of the most giving people I know. I asked if he and Bob could join me on Friday night for my Twitter radio show and do a special on  giving and show an example of how Twitter users are going to give more in 2010. Thom and Bob said yes and the #Happy10 idea was good to go.

We will have lots of examples of authors, business people and entrepreneurs who have used GIVING to get more results in marketing and can say they have a more fulfilling life. I’ll also be asking Thom and Bob about their philosophy of book promotion and how they have sold hundreds of thousands of copies of Bob’s books and made multiple best sellers.

Important Notes for Authors, Book Marketing and Others Promoting on Social Media

What you’ve read above is exactly what happened. I didn’t have to rent space, pre-order equipment or get an approval for Twitter or a government agency. More important.. I absolutely did not, and will not set hard and fast rules about how the promotion needs to go.

I have objectives.

I want to see my readers, listeners and everyone get the message of “giving”

I hope to see Bob and Thom sell a few more books and some people remember the radio show

It will be nice that some new people read this blog post and notice what business I’m in

That’s about it. All this will happen and MORE. I can imagine hearing stories in comments here, tweets on Twitter and likely will run into people during the next year who will say “Hi Warren.. You don’t know me but I watched #Happy10.” I also fully expect to see an outcome I have not thought of. I know this can happen because it always does.

Social media marketing is not something you can or would want to completely control. The thousands (and sometimes millions) of people that get involved will have ideas you could not dream of and will carry your message far beyond what you expected.

Please join me in sharing #Happy10. All you have to do is add “#Happy10” to any tweet you think appropriate. There are NO RULES… If you have an idea of how we all can give more for 2010.. more value, more service, more love, more sharing, more content.. just tweet them to me (use @WarrenWhitlock in the message if you want to make sure I see it) or comment here.

Share a link to this blog post by using the RETWEET button or the sharing options below… then watch for #Happy10 tweets using TweetChat or Twitter Search. When you see someone talking about giving (or whatever interests you) REPLY to them and start a conversation. If you use the #Happy10 tag for these conversations it would be nice.. but please don’t feel you have to (NO RULES).

Let me know if you have a positive outcome. I’ll be doing interview on the Social Media Radio Show and will be looking for authors and entrepreneurs who find new people they can help, readers or business ideas so I can feature you in an upcoming blog post.

Most of all.. HAVE FUN… Share your ideas about GIVING and have a prosperous New Year (or #Happy10 as we say on Twitter)

the age of social media, we often hear that email is dead or at least an outdated technology for connecting with your readers.

True, email mailing response is down, but unless you have a huge following online already, you need to have a mailing list and stay in touch with readers and prospective readers.

Even more.. people working in publishing, vendors, media and a large number of readers (your end customers) will still want have a way to connect with you and stay in touch that they are comfortable with. For the time being, that certainly includes email.

I recommend building a database of those that opt in to hear form  you, answering email enquiries as fast as you can, and giving readers in any medium easy ways to close the loop and stay in touch. Communicate on your blog (and others through comments), social media, and email.

To grow your mailing list with people that would like to hear from you, join my FREE Email List Buliding Network

Here’s some help managing the email overload we all face today.

1. Read Keith Ferrazzi’s blog post on email. These 7 Mistakes to Avoid from a best selling author and master networker, inspired this post
2. Be careful about auotmatic replies on your email. When I read a “I’m swamped and only read my mail…” message, I question whether the person has the bandwidth to take on new business or grow. A “vacation reply” politely tells others about a temporary hold on responses
3. Nothing wrong with setting a policy that you’ll check once a day, have reader emails screened or assigned to others. Just be authentic, and remember that each writer took the time to reach out and will appreciate a human response.
4. Use a ZeroInBox strategy. I’ve increased my own capacity to handle mail volume each time I put strategies like this in place.

Think of email as if you were are store with customers coming in the front door. A busy store will hire help, change pricing, set hours or publish guidelines on signs, but never think of closing the doors when customers are flooding in.

Like the store with vistors, buyers and VIP customers, put policies into place to handle everything.

Most of all, don’t wait till you are on top of the best seller list. Building capacity to handle the crowd will be a key asset in getting you there.

Free Training for authors.. click to register

You put so much into your book.

Not just the time it takes to write and edit, not just the publishing and promotion and marketing of your book. The content in your book represents you, your life experience and everything your had up to the release of your book.

That’s a sizable investment.

Many of our most successful authors report that an audio CD product based on their book has produced more income, created more opportunities for the author and reached people that would have never gotten around to reading their book.

I believe that any author can easily create an audio CD information product from their book, so I’ve asked my friend Mike Stewart, the Internet Audio Guy, to come on a FREE Webinar this week and show you how.

There is no charge for this event. You see, Mike has the contacts and the technology to produce instant audio and video. He has built relationships with hundreds of online entrepreneurs and supplies equipment, software and services for their studios. If you decide you want to buy equipment to make better audio and video, Mike is the guy to see.

But here’s the SECRET.

We know you you will buy from people that you know, like and trust. We don’t need to give you a sales pitch.. in fact both Mike and I have found that most of what you need is in the computer you already own, and you don’t need a high pressure sales pitch when you are ready for new stuff. We’d rather see that you are profitable from the start.

So here’s my promise to you…

Register for the webinar for free. I’ll be there with Mike and we will pour in every bit of information we can. Including STEP BY STEP instructions on how you can produce your own income producing audio CD programs. If you’d like, we’ll let you know how to get more from Mike. If not, we just hope you’ll tell your friends that Warren and Mike give real value when they teach a class.

Here’s how you register.

1. Make sure you have a computer to connect to the webinar. A Windows or Mac will work fine.
2. Click on this link to get your codes. We will have an interactive presentation, so seats are limited and you do need the code to get in.
3. When you click you will see the screen below. Just give us your name and email so we know who is in the session

If you have a question about the program, you can ask in a comment here and I will personally answer.

The training is completely free. All you need is a computer with a live Internet connection.

As an author you are considered an expert in the field in which your book is written.  The press is always looking for experts to interview, especially during a timely news release. For example, my book on Social Networking for Authors recently drummed up some good press as someone interviewed me about the popularity of Facebook.  The press called me because they noticed I was an expert in the field of Social Networking.  You can get the same exposure for free, by going to PitchRate.com.

Pitch Rate is a free service that connects journalists with subject experts for free media coverage.

Simply create an account at Pitch Rate and fill in your profile as completely as possible. Your profile is what members of the press read before they decide to contact you.  This is your chance to show the world what you are an expert at and why you should be considered an expert. 

You can set your account to receive daily emails from Pitch Rate to see who is looking for experts in your area.  Requests can be easily sorted by category or keywords by visiting the “Search Requests” tab once you’ve signed in.  Once you’ve found a request you’re interested in, simply make a pitch and all of your contact info contained in your profile will automatically be attached.  At this point, it’s just a matter of playing the waiting game to see if someone is interested in you and your book.

One of the constant struggles I see with authors is the need to be continually marketing your book to be successful.  A website like PitchRate.com is great for authors to be able to quickly set up an account and receive marketing opportunities for an extended period of time.  With just a few minutes of work, an author can expose him or herself to potentially hundreds of press opportunities.

For more tips and tricks on how to sell a ton of books, go to Michael Volkin’s new website SellaTonofBooks.com and purchase his new book Social Networking for Authors-Untapped Possibilities for Wealth.

Viral videos are a great way to sell books.  According to Wikipedia “A viral video is a video clip that gains widespread popularity through the process of a Internet sharing, typically through email or a Instant messaging, blogs and other media sharing websites. Viral videos are often humorous in nature”.

There are three key points to consider when creating a viral video campaign:

1. Provide great, but ambiguous, content – Everyone loves to hear a great story. But in a viral video, the story has to be short (less than three minutes). Don’t think of creating a video that will sell your book, think of a video that will keep people entertained.
2. Generate a “residual” fan base – Once your video is built you can integrate other social media tools to build a user base and communicate with them.  To do this, follow the lessons learned in Social Networking for Authors-Untapped Possibilities for Wealth. It could be as simple as a subscribe link that notifies users of your updates.
3. SEO it– Your video has to be easily discovered through YouTube search and other popular online video sharing sites. Videos
   should have clear titles, an accurate description and appropriate
   keyword tags so that they can appears correctly in a YouTube search and
   targeted specifically.

A good viral video will spread over the Internet like wildfire. See the
top 20 viral videos circulating around the Internet now at:

http://viralvideochart.unrulymedia.com/

Check out this viral video I created for an author during the last
presidential election. It got great coverage. The video is ambiguous
but gets people curious as to what is coming next. A typical viral
video will cost about $2,000 but will be a great return on your
investment if it works properly:

http://revver.com/u/jspinx

Michael Volkin is the author of the new hit book: Social Networking for Authors-Untapped Possibilities for Wealth. His book can be found at SellaTonofBooks.com