Author Archives: Phil Sexton

The Back Story on Marketing Fiction

By: | | Comments 0

By Rob Eagar A survey of 21,000 book shoppers by the Codex Group revealed that the #1 way to attract people to a fiction author’s website is to offer exclusive unpublished writings, such as short stories, novellas, lost chapters, alternate openers or endings, etc. This desire for content is especially popular...

5 Digital Discoverability Tips

By: | | Comments 0

By Rob Eagar Recently, I spoke at the inaugural Discoverability and Marketing Conference hosted by Digital Book World (www.DigitalBookWorld.com) in New York City. The theme of my presentation was “Discoverability starts with psychology, rather than technology.” My point was that you can get your book discovered, but if you fail to...

5 Marketing Lessons from Fly-Fishing

By: | | Comments 0

By Rob Eagar In the last year, I took up fly-fishing as a hobby. There’s something surreal and invigorating about standing in the middle of a river. However, catching rainbow trout is no easy task. They’re smart, skeptical, and elusive. In fact, there are a lot of similarities between the challenge of...

3 Steps to Successful Book Marketing – Part 3

By: | | Comments 1

By Rob Eagar Earlier, I covered parts one and two of this 3-part series called “3 Successful Steps to Marketing.” To summarize, I’ve explained how effective marketing can be boiled down to three fundamental questions. Whether you’re an author, business owner, or non-profit director, you can achieve success by asking yourself the following: Step 1...

3 Steps to Successful Book Marketing – Part 2

By: | | Comments 2

By Rob Eagar Previously, I covered part one of a 3-part series called “Successful Steps to Marketing.” The gist is that effective marketing can be boiled down to three fundamental questions. Whether you’re an author, business owner, or non-profit director, you can achieve success by asking yourself these three questions: Step 1...

3 Steps to Successful Book Marketing

By: | | Comments 2

By Rob Eagar Marketing is a simple process when you boil it down to the fundamentals. Whether you’re a fiction or non-fiction author, you can achieve marketing success following these three simple steps. Ask yourself: What is your value? Who needs your value the most? Where do those who need your...

Stop, Look, and Listen for Better Book Marketing

By: | | Comments 0

By Rob Eagar Young children are often taught to “stop, look, and listen” before they cross the street. Stop to see what’s in front of you. Look both ways to make sure no cars are coming. And, listen for any oncoming traffic. This same principle works in marketing. For example, I...

Leak Exclusive Information to Maximize Social Media

By: | | Comments 0

By Rob Eagar If you want more people to follow you on social media, get into the habit of “leaking” exclusive offers or inside information that can’t be found anywhere else. By doing so, you tap into people’s natural curiosity and entice them to stay connected. For instance, if you’re an...

How to Control a Media Interview

By: | | Comments 4

By Rob Eagar A good way to gauge your interview prowess is by mastering the ability to steer a conversation to only the topics that you want to discuss. Just because a radio or TV host asks you a question does NOT mean that you must answer it. Sure, it’s polite...

Marketing is About Success Not Perfection

By: | | Comments 0

By  Rob Eagar Life is about success, not perfection…and so is marketing. Case in point: A few weeks ago, I sent out my weekly newsletter that wound up having a couple of typos in it. Obviously, I didn’t think twice about the issue. But, several people emailed me right away to...

Money is All that Matters in Marketing

By: | | Comments 1

By Rob Eagar Call me crazy, but I like money. Cash, check, direct deposit, wire transfer…I’ll take it. No, I’m not hyper-materialistic. I just like how money allows me to pay my bills, enjoy vacations, and generously donate to others. Therefore, I like the ability to make enough income to do...

Logos, Brands, and Does It Really Matter?

By: | | Comments 0

By Rob Eagar Logos, brands, taglines, slogans…what’s the difference? Some authors think that having a logo means they have a brand. But, these are separate entities. Your brand is a phrase that communicates the value of your books. You could also call it a tagline or slogan. In contrast, a logo...

LeBron’s Lessons for Authors

By: | | Comments 1

By Rob Eagar I’m a 5-foot, 10-inch man who can barely jump. LeBron James is 6-foot, 8-inch basketball superstar who can jump so high that people wonder if he’s human. So, we’re polar opposites on the basketball court. But, after watching LeBron win his first championship last week, I felt a...

Marketing Lessons from My Father

By: | | Comments 0

By Rob Eagar Marketing and sales are in my blood. That’s because I come from a distinguished line of salesmen. My grandfather was in sales. My father was in sales. In college, I tried to buck the trend by majoring in landscape architecture. But, my inability to recall the Latin names of...

Happy Authors Embrace Personal Responsibility

By: | | Comments 0

By Rob Eagar As humans, we were created to be responsible individuals. We know this is true, because we’re usually happiest when we have responsibility and take care of it, such as handling our job well or being a loving parent. In contrast, irresponsibility usually leads to blame, which leads to...

UPDATED! Success Stories – Gotta love ’em

By: | | Comments 0

UPDATED No sooner had I written the post below than I received a number of great reports, some of which I’ve noted elsewhere. The one I received today comes from Sheri Graz who reports that her story, “Last Call,” just won the mysterious photograph contest in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. It’s on newsstands...

All Marketing is a Felt Need

By: | | Comments 1

By Rob Eagar In my work as a marketing consultant, I’ve met numerous authors who work in academic circles, such as counselors, professors, pastors, and specialty book publishers. A common problem among these scholastic groups is the tendency to believe that their marketing should be exempt from the need to answer...

Promote Your Book with Power-Bites

By: | | Comments 1

By Rob Eagar The more you rely on technology to spread your message, the more you must be brief. We live in a world of smaller screens, smaller attention spans, and smaller conversations where media platforms continuously shrink discussions. For instance, radio and TV interviews these days are typically no longer...

How to Build Online Community

By: | | Comments 1

By Rob Eagar If you want to build a following, especially online, the key is to position yourself as someone who is worth following. The best way to attract a large group is by becoming an object of interest, which means the ability to draw people to you by dent of...

Amazon Lets Authors Spy on Readers

By: | | Comments 1

By Rob Eagar, author of Sell Your Book Like Wildfire Did you know that Amazon lets authors see who is highlighting notes in their books and tweeting content to friends? When someone reads a book using a Kindle device or app, Amazon stores the information they highlight. Plus, Amazon displays who...

Steal from Yourself for Better Book Marketing

By: | | Comments 0

By Rob Eagar When I consult with authors on book marketing issues, a common complaint arises about the need to generate content for free resources, newsletters, and social media pages. The necessity to write new articles, blog posts, or updates gets labeled as a nuisance, because the client thinks it will...

Amazon Reviews and the War of the Words

By: | | Comments 2

By Rob Eagar The power of the collective voice on Amazon works as a major influence over many people’s buying decisions, especially when it comes to books. For example, if someone recommends a book to me, my habit is to go find it on Amazon and read through some of the...

When It Comes to Getting Published, There’s No Shortage of New Ideas

By: | | Comments 1

Today I’m talking with Jesse Potash, the founder of PUBSLUSH (www.pubslush.com), which presents a unique new model for getting published. Because it’s so unusual – and because they’re a non-profit – I thought you might find it of interest. Jesse was a panelist at last month’s Writer’s Digest Conference. Here’s the...