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//January

25 Goodie Bag Ideas for Your Book Launches, Readings, Signings and Other Promotions

book bag

Image credit: Hammer & Thread

 

Goodie bags are not just for birthday parties anymore. Just like companies give goodie bags filled with small presents to promote their products, authors can fill goodie bags with little literary treasures to excite and delight the hearts and minds of book lovers. You can use them as gift bags for your VIP clients and strategic partners, as well as prizes in giveaways and contests.

Everybody wants to feel special, and with a little imagination, you can put together your own signature goodie bag to make your readers and clients happy. Here are 25 bookish goodie bag ideas for your book launches, readings, signings and other promotions:

  1. Your book autographed by you (Duh!);
  2. Bookmarks: check out some cute DIY felt ones on our Bookphoria Pinterest board or turn your photo collage into a bookmark with an added quote ;
  3. Reading lights;
  4. Fabric book covers;
  5. Pens custom-branded for you;
  6. Calendars with illustrations or quotes from your book;
  7. A set of cards featuring illustrations and quotes from your book;
  8. Stationary, such as notepads, cards and envelopes, custom-branded for you;
  9. Magnets with quotes from your book;
  10. A set of printed library cards that can be used as gift tags, invitations, records of book exchanges, or little notepads (see examples here);
  11. Gummy worm candies for bookworms;
  12. Book-themed mugs;
  13. Feeling crafty? Make some DIY Tile Photo Coasters or pick from the existing styles, colors and shapes, add your words, and then personalize your coasters with your own photo or art.
  14. Favor containers personalized with your quotes;
  15. Recipe cards if your book contains any recipes;
  16. Fortune cookies with your book quotes inside;
  17. A pack of custom heart candies with your clever sayings;
  18. A spice jar filled with your favorite spices and a label with your quote;
  19. A whimsy literary charm to mark a drink glass, like this set of 6 double-sided Fairytale Wine Glass Charms that include Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella;
  20. Copied book pages to wrap small items;
  21. Bookish socks, like Curl Up With a Good Bookworm Socks or Typewriters: “Your feet will want to tap, tap, tap the day away in our fun Typewriter women’s crew socks!”
  22. Origami made out of paper with your printed press releases, book reviews and other marketing materials that look impressive but not salesy in a cute origami form;
  23. A flash drive with audio files of your interviews, book readings, etc.;
  24. A DVD of your public appearances, talks or presentations;
  25. A custom designed library tote bag to hold your creative goodies.

What bookish gifts have you enjoyed giving or receiving? Share in the comments below.

P.S. Want our opinion on how you can multiply your impact and income?
Click here to join other experts invited to our free rapid fire mentorship session.

By | 2015-01-28T19:38:59+00:00 January 28th, 2015|Books, Communication|0 Comments
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3 Surprising Patterns of Reading Online

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While writing content for online environments you must think of the following paradox: reading is the PRIMARY action performed on the web. AND people try to read as LITTLE as possible (online) 20%!

So the goal for any visitor of your site is to scan as efficiently as they can to understand whether they like what they see or not (in which case they will click away).

Because users read differently online than they do offline – we need to utilize different techniques while writing for the web.

There are 3 main patterns that users employ when they access a website according to Nielsen et al.

1. F-Pattern

When users first come to your site, they will most likely implement an F pattern
F pattern

They will first move in a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the content area.

NOTE: sometimes users disregard the whole line if the 1st word is not appealing!

Then, if they like what they see in the first line, they will proceed along the  second horizontal movement that typically covers a shorter area than the previous movement.

Finally, they will explore the left side in a vertical movement.

If their initial scanning fulfills their needs, they will move to the second pattern:

2. Layer Cake Pattern

Now they are using a more committed pattern, a layer cake pattern- where they explore horizontal lines quickly to see if the section they chose strikes their interest.

jucy cake 2

3. Spotted Pattern

If the layer cake scan pattern shows that the user is still interested, he/ she will proceed to a spotted pattern- choosing looking for the main ideas.

So how can you implement this knowledge for your online writing? You need to make the text more scannable.

Make sure that you position most important words and ideas along the F line breaking the text into convenient paragraphs; that each line starts with the catchy word, and that you utilize the following elements for better scanning:

~ bolded words

~ underlined text

~ words in color

~ numbers as numerals

~ words in capital letters

~ long words

~ words in quotation marks

~ words w/ trademarks, copyright

~ words around any of these elements

Using these techniques will increase the usability and convertability of your site.

Now, in the comments below suggest YOUR strategies for breaking the text for better scannability.

P.S. Multimedia solutions, such as brief video explainers, games, assessments, scenarios, and animations, can make your content marketing more engaging. Visit www.bookphoria.com to learn more. Want our opinion on what kind of multimedia solution you could create? We’ll mentor you for free.
Click here to set up a free rapid fire mentorship session with us.

By | 2015-01-23T15:52:24+00:00 January 23rd, 2015|Attention, Communication|0 Comments
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52 blogging ideas for authors and experts, based on their book content

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Many authors choose to publish a blog as a way to stay connected with their readers, promote books, build their brand, share ideas, grow and engage their readership. A blog helps you stay visible and relevant to your audience. Publishers look for authors with active, buzzing and growing communities of readers and a robust social media presence.

If you have just written a book, you may feel like you have exhausted your creative potential and squeezed every original thought out of your head. What else could you possibly write about in a blog? Don’t despair! Get your blog publishing calendar out and start filling it with these 52 blogging ideas. If you publish once a week, they will give you the whole year worth of material!

  1. Things that didn’t make into the book, such as background stories of the characters, descriptions of people and places, or details of the events;
  2. Your personal elaborations on the characters and the plot;
  3. Your motivation for writing the book;
  4. Your mission, goals and inspirations as an author;
  5. A brief video introducing you and your book to your audience;
  6. Alternative plot developments that could have happened;
  7. Questions that you struggled with as you were writing the book;
  8. Your answers to the readers’ questions;
  9. Your responses to the readers’ reviews and comments;
  10. The summary of benefits your readers can expect when they study and implement your ideas;
  11. The summary of pain points that your book addresses;
  12. Lessons, case studies and examples of application of the ideas in your book;
  13. Your personal favorite or least favorite parts of the book and why you chose them;
  14. Anchors, such as catchy phrases, memorable metaphors or anecdotes that can improve the recall of your book content;
  15. Tests and assessments that allow readers to evaluate their knowledge and skills;
  16. Your questions to your readership;
  17. Photos of any physical artifacts that became a part of your book or helped you in the writing process, with your commentary;
  18. Recipes of any food or drinks mentioned in the book;
  19. Sharing of how you implement your own ideas – live your truth – your personal successes and failures along the way;
  20. Your habits as a writer and your creative process;
  21. Guide questions and activities for book clubs that want to discuss your book;
  22. Your own interviews about the book;
  23. Interviews of other people who have read and used your book;
  24. Stories, scenarios, problems that build on your material and encourage readers to apply the strategies in your book;
  25. Additional activities and exercises to help your readers implement your ideas;
  26. Daily observations and spin offs that relate to your book content;
  27. Giving voice to different characters in your book by writing a post from their perspective on a situation or interviewing them;
  28. A collection of quotes from your book that can be easily shared on social media;
  29. A collection of quotes from book reviews;
  30. Endorsements of your book by other distinguished writers and experts;
  31. Press releases about your book signings and other public appearances;
  32. Unfolding a passage of your book with additional thoughts, illustrations, etc.;
  33. Making your characters and places come alive through drawings, cartoons, maps, photos, etc.;
  34. Creating and sharing an infographic or visual illustration of your book content;
  35. Commentary of the news and current events that can be related to your book content;
  36. Guest posts from your readers or other writers;
  37. Reader contests where you ask your readers to submit some content, such as their stories, reviews, designs, for a chance to win a prize;
  38. Participating in a blog tour where other bloggers get to interview you about your book;
  39. Clips from newspapers, magazines and other publications about you and your book;
  40. How-to lists based on your book content;
  41. Before and after photos that illustrate the implementation of your system or strategies;
  42. Reader “makeover” challenges where you follow and write about some readers who are using your book to improve their lives;
  43. DIY projects based on your book content;
  44. Crossword puzzles based on your book content;
  45. Reviews of other books with complementary topics;
  46. Product and service suggestions based on your book content;
  47. Recap of your social media activity with most popular tweets, Facebook updates, LinkedIn discussions, readers’ comments, etc.
  48. Brief audio or video tips based on your book content;
  49. Teasers of your upcoming books;
  50. Brainstorming future book ideas with your readers;
  51. Asking readers’ opinions on your titles, book covers, etc.;
  52. Sharing your work process and progress if you are writing another book.

What do you write about in your blog? Share in the comments below.

P.S. Multimedia solutions, such as brief video explainers, games, assessments, scenarios, and animations, can make your content marketing more engaging. Want our opinion on what kind of multimedia solution you could create? We’ll mentor you for free.
Click here to set up a free rapid fire mentorship session with us.

By | 2015-01-13T14:23:12+00:00 January 13th, 2015|Books, Communication|4 Comments
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Transform your fear of public speaking and test your presentation skills

Do you feel nervous when you have to speak in public?  Does your heart start beating faster? Do you get butterflies in your stomach? Does your throat get dry or palms – sweaty? The trick to overcoming the fear of public speaking is not to fight your anxiety but to transform it into energy that can propel you to perform better. According to research,  you can boost your performance in high-stake  situations when you interpret the signs of anxiety as excitement and focus on things that can energize your even more.  Make your fear facilitating instead of debilitating.  Here are a few things you can focus on to generate excitement:

  • your passion about the topic;
  • the importance of your message;
  • the interests, pains and concerns of your audience;
  • the connection with your audience;
  • the wisdom, care and support you can get from the audience;
  • the quality of your content;
  • the depth of your expertise;
  • your readiness and willingness to share and co-create with your audience.

You get the idea…While the eyes are on you (by the way, you are competing with the phone screens), you are not the most important person in the room. Your audience members are. Your flop is their pain, and your win is their gain.

Play can both relax and focus the brain to help you learn better. Click the image below and play the Thumbs-up / Thumbs-down game developed by our Bookphoria team to test your presentation skills and learn how to improve them.

Presentation Skills Game

Multimedia solutions, such as brief video explainers, games, scenarios, and animations, can make both live and virtual presentations more engaging while briefly shifting the focus from you as a speaker to allow you to regroup and recharge. Want our opinion on what kind of multimedia solution you could create? Need to develop a brain-captivating presentation or signature talk? I’ll mentor you for free.
Click here to set up a free rapid fire mentorship session with me.

 

By | 2015-01-06T15:57:58+00:00 January 6th, 2015|Learning, Miscellaneous, Peak Performance, Public Speaking|0 Comments
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Happy New Year! Our “geek” wishes for 2015…

happy new year

May we all be healthy, joyful and prosperous beyond any measure that the Facebook year-review algorithm can surmise.

May we grow stronger and happier with each friendship, love and like.

May the number of heart-to-heart conversations surpasses the number of selfies we take.

May our meals be as delicious and nutritious as the food on our friends’ walls.

May our memories be as good as #tbt’s.

May our virtual and real walls reflect the world we want to live in.

Cats and dogs and other cute creatures are always welcome!

Happy New Year, Dear Friends!

Bookphoria wishes everyone a Happy New Year! Don’t postpone your dreams… make your ideas come alive in 2015. Transform that awesome expert content or your book into an engaging, multimedia online course to multiply your impact and income! Make your presentation shine in multimedia!

Want our opinion on what kind of multimedia solution you could create? We’ll mentor you for free.
Click here to set up a free rapid fire mentorship session with us.

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By | 2015-01-01T18:11:57+00:00 January 1st, 2015|Communication, Learning|0 Comments
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