tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76109567110987855202024-03-17T20:04:04.464-07:00Gisela's Straightforward BlogGisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610956711098785520.post-25747964855650860272023-05-04T15:48:00.004-07:002023-05-10T12:16:44.252-07:00Why Jeff Bezos "Flywheel"-concept doesn't work for Amazon anymore<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjceYPCKT69wIh1AmmwGV2mnvWBwERypCktuLbOu-ZruxMnzMR5xxYU6q1i517fjuWoMEnCcj0zvj0mLUtrYmmPU2cH0ssON-21bHYUUmueFZQgUg9k6ar2lrd8nyllBuQpH8AXVEIQtmPGlAz74aorvJnw7lvZJnxFn_8idLcp9zSGKoFoBq5auAUA/s1173/FLYWHEEL%202%20blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="1173" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjceYPCKT69wIh1AmmwGV2mnvWBwERypCktuLbOu-ZruxMnzMR5xxYU6q1i517fjuWoMEnCcj0zvj0mLUtrYmmPU2cH0ssON-21bHYUUmueFZQgUg9k6ar2lrd8nyllBuQpH8AXVEIQtmPGlAz74aorvJnw7lvZJnxFn_8idLcp9zSGKoFoBq5auAUA/w640-h317/FLYWHEEL%202%20blog.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Shutterstock</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These days, the Internet presents hundreds of articles, blogs, videos, courses etc. praising Jeff Bezos’ “Flywheel Theory” — the concept that</div><p></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>“taking care of customers” by offering a best selection of products at a fair price inevitably increases customer traffic and sales, </li><li>which leads to more sellers flocking to Amazon with their newest and best products (which accelerates the flywheel's energy even more)…</li><li>and therefore attracts more customers …</li></ol>and so on… And that this is what is happening at Amazon.<p>* </p><p>But — Is this true? Can Amazon's "business flywheel" <i>really</i> work "this way"? </p><p><b>Flywheels are mechanical devices, which perform according to their design, regardless of what's going on in the world (inflation, recession, depression, etc.). </b></p><p><b>In contrast, Amazon's "business flywheel concept" depends on HUMAN warehouse workers, who are NOT mechanical devices and who care about their payrate, working conditions, and how their managers manage operations. </b></p><p>Logically, the more Amazon's "business flywheel" accelerates — and the more warehouse workers the company has to employ to fulfill and deliver all orders — the more all "human issues" increase.</p><p>Which is reflected in Amazon's extremely high turnover rate, rate of serious accidents at their warehouses, and in how much money Amazon spends on trying to keep "human issues" in check. </p><p>*</p><p>There was however a time when Amazon managed to make HUMANS part of their “flywheel” — during the company’s early days. </p><p>Then, Amazon courted indie authors, small publishers, top reviewers and affiliate marketers and “offered them opportunities” they did not get anywhere else. </p><p>As a result, these indie authors, small publishers, top reviewers and affiliate marketers became <b>Amazon's fans</b>. They behaved like Steve Jobs' fans, not talking with but "preaching" to their family, friends, fans, and social media followers that <b>Amazon would help them too to make their dreams come true</b>: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>publish books, </li><li>sell any other kind of product, </li><li>have access to a recognized venue to sell products, a space to garner reviews, and the option to brag about their products’ sales rank,</li><li>collect affiliate fees for featuring/selling Amazon's books and products,</li><li>and more...</li></ul><div>And in preaching their gospel — these <b>HUMANS powered Amazon’s flywheel</b> with all their might. </div><p>Of course, all of that went downhill once scammers invaded Amazon's ecommerce platform, posting fake reviews, selling fake products, and running all kinds of schemes, which forced Amazon to fight the scammers' efforts in the toughest ways possible, thereby also destroying their fan flywheel, as a side effect. </p><p>*</p><p>Unfortunately, at the time, the company missed the opportunity to "replace" the author/vendor/affiliate marketer flywheel with another human flywheel — their 1 million+ warehouse workers. </p><p>The company's best opportunity to do that came during Holiday Peak 2020, when the pandemic caused incredible stress for their workers. </p><p>Then, Amazon could have announced that every warehouse worker would receive an additional Christmas bonus – a free Prime membership, for as long as they worked at Amazon.</p><p>It would have been a fitting move; after all, it was the warehouse associates who moved the goods. </p><p>Gifting free Prime memberships to the warehouse associates would also have resulted in a major marketing campaign, because in "rewarding their hardworking workers with a Prime membership" – in times of a crisis – would have suggested that the membership is a special, valuable gift. </p><p>Alas, Amazon missed the opportunity.</p><p>Maybe not surprisingly, the following year, 2021, Amazon spent $4.3 million on union busters and in 2022, more than 3-times as much — a whopping $14.3 million. </p><p>*</p><p><b>I believe, </b><b>for Amazon, </b><b>making their warehouse workers the spokes of a new, enticing flywheel will be key to reducing their operational costs and accelerating a new and improved flywheel</b>. </p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #38761d;">*</span> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Gisela Hausmann is the author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Amazon-Gisela-Hausmann-ebook/dp/B0C3FLP4FS" target="_blank">Winning @ Amazon</a>,” released on May 1, 2023. She has worked with and for Amazon for a quarter of a century, as a small publisher, an author, a top reviewer, a former stockholder, and eventually an associate at one of the company’s delivery stations. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Some of her ideas how Amazon could become a better employer have been featured on Geekwire's podcast "<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2021/amazon-earths-best-employer-5-ideas-logistics-pro-turned-warehouse-worker/">How Amazon could be Earth’s best employer: 5 ideas from a logistics pro turned warehouse worker</a>" and in <a href="https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/amazon-worlds-best-employer-warehouses-gisela-hausmann-inside-amazon.html">Inc. Magazine</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">(C) Gisela Hausmann</p><p class="MsoNormal">Images: via Shutterstock - Viktor Chursin (flywheel), Frederic Legrand - COMEO (Amazon workers) </p>Gisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610956711098785520.post-18435256399210184002019-07-03T10:05:00.002-07:002021-04-28T11:03:41.513-07:00Authors: 3 Reasons why you may NOT want to use the phrase, “If you liked this or that book..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBOiPMcubsCSH1MqAA3p94DlXdqP0FNlf3yOlysHnomAambVpgbi18fQHYWlMNGb-iaLvNMTToCBJdjFzoE2GQ7KkM9Rj36zmQMX43KUpDjxwHg-7yTrlypERU-3QJQ6NeOe-vUCtWM_v/s1600/advice-2323887_960_720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBOiPMcubsCSH1MqAA3p94DlXdqP0FNlf3yOlysHnomAambVpgbi18fQHYWlMNGb-iaLvNMTToCBJdjFzoE2GQ7KkM9Rj36zmQMX43KUpDjxwHg-7yTrlypERU-3QJQ6NeOe-vUCtWM_v/s400/advice-2323887_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lately, I see quite many postings discussing the question what gets fellow authors and reviewers to take an interest in a book.<br />
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Though wannabe book marketers keep pushing the advice that authors should explain: “If you liked this or that book you’ll like my book,” in emails and on social media platforms, this advice is outdated <span face=""calibri" , "sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt;">–</span> by about three years or the publication of four million new books, since 2015.<br />
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For example, during my years as an active Amazon top reviewer, I received about 200 (!) emails from authors who wrote me:<br />
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“Hi, I appreciate your insightful review of “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie... I wrote a similar book... I would appreciate it if you’d read my book and post an objective review...”<br />
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<b>Why does this type of message not work anymore?</b><br />
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1) There are too many "similar books."<br />
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<li>Since I already read “How to Win Friends...” <b>why</b> should I read a “similar” book? Does the author think I have unlimited time to read 'similar books?' </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Of course, I might be interested in reading the book if the author explained that they wrote about an issue Carnegie "overlooked." Then again, the email writer did not offer any such information.</li>
</ul>
2) Which, BTW, is the same for fiction. If you wrote a book about a whale you are going to have to fend off people who want to compare your work to 'Moby Dick,' even if your whale story is a love story.<br />
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<li>And, like it or not, if you wrote about a whale some people will try to compare your writing style with Melville's. Will that be good for you? </li>
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3) Also: Not one famous author/inventor/entrepreneur ever said, "my work is similar to so-and-so's..." All of them said, "my work is unique." So - maybe - neither should you?<br />
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<b>Instead "think <a href="https://youtu.be/cpzvwkR1RYU">Apple</a>" and dare to be different?</b></div>
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Food for thought:<br />
Many people are willing to pay more for a product that's "different," just because it's different.<br />
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<a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">Gisela Hausmann</a> dares to write what others' won't say or don't know. Her work has been featured in regional, national, and international publications including Success magazine and Entrepreneur, and on Bloomberg's podcast "Decrypted."<br /><br />Gisela tweets <a href="https://twitter.com/Naked_Determina">@Naked_Determina</a>,<br />
<span style="text-align: left;">Her latest book is "</span><a href="http://smarturl.it/7fwyel" style="text-align: left;">73 Ways to Turn a Me-mail Into an E-mail</a><span style="text-align: left;">." </span></div>
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Gisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610956711098785520.post-26253886347799370012017-08-23T09:25:00.001-07:002021-04-28T11:04:45.638-07:003 Ways How to Respond to Blogs on LinkedIn So You Look Like an Ace<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpaVL0PYvGjgv8-Sb_efnfGcYs5M3uF1qQGhs7a81ASVgMT4mjBIJRVb3B1LM5yZZlik2CzOFJBxg9QiM-bD1O_9hQBqNHoEIFJIBdm6kycRl2iqCve-Y0qpMWG2FCQhA8m7cZ83Jo0OK/s1600/3dman_eu.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpaVL0PYvGjgv8-Sb_efnfGcYs5M3uF1qQGhs7a81ASVgMT4mjBIJRVb3B1LM5yZZlik2CzOFJBxg9QiM-bD1O_9hQBqNHoEIFJIBdm6kycRl2iqCve-Y0qpMWG2FCQhA8m7cZ83Jo0OK/s320/3dman_eu.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Illustration: 3Dman_eu</td></tr>
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Most social media gurus recommend that professionals comment on influencers' LinkedIn blogs so they<br />
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a) might get <b>noticed</b> by the influencer-blogger<br />
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b) can <b>help</b> their own professional contacts by sharing valuable content<br />
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c) can <b>polish</b> their image/brand demonstrating that they follow influencers, for all to see.<br />
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Still, maybe after reading an important blog you don't have to offer any insights because you are still digesting the blog's content.<br />
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1) Posting unspecific acknowledgements like<br />
<ul>
<li>"Great blog. THX for sharing."</li>
<li>"THX for sharing this valuable content."</li>
<li>"Thanks for the insight!"</li>
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won't help. None of these comments indicate that you even read the blog.<br />
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<b>BETTER STRATEGY 1</b>:<br />
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Don't comment on the blog at all.<br />
Instead share the blog with your followers and announce, "Friends, please read this truly interesting blog by @..." and copy the influencer-blogger. Though you don't add any valuable input, you make yourself look like a player.<br />
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2) Equally "nonstrategic":<br />
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"THX, I will read this later..."<br />
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Nobody cares what you will do in the future. Basically, this response says, "I noted that you wrote this blog but I am <i>not</i> making time to read it."<br />
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<b>BETTER STRATEGY 2</b>:<br />
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Copy the URL so you will find the blog again. After you have had time to study it respond with an insightful comment. The time frame does not matter. In fact, if you post your response two to three days later you help the blogger to get their blog seen on LinkedIn's news feeds - again. Most influencer-bloggers will appreciate that.<br />
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<b>BEST STRATEGY 3:</b><br />
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If you want to get noticed:<br />
<ol>
<li>Make time, </li>
<li>study the blog in-depth, </li>
<li>come up with a meaningful response in which you</li>
<li>refer to the content so you demonstrate that you read the blog,</li>
<li>edit your response at least twice, and </li>
<li>post your response, also cc'ing the influencer. </li>
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Here is proof that this strategy works. Two influencer heavyweights, Pete Cashmore and Peter Guber, <i>shared my response with<b> their</b> network</i>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQjxPtEp14B1okNWZ30qAGzz_vZ-47tmMAvL7yZRZwWj7NFx6hRu8VJfc83r7eCbIIr-1bk8ICPdnXCX3MkMANJS2evmjAslu84QQpA87wk97dg5v1S-QzlT-Aj46y6zN3rI_Fzb4otrAM/s1600/guber+cashmore.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="650" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQjxPtEp14B1okNWZ30qAGzz_vZ-47tmMAvL7yZRZwWj7NFx6hRu8VJfc83r7eCbIIr-1bk8ICPdnXCX3MkMANJS2evmjAslu84QQpA87wk97dg5v1S-QzlT-Aj46y6zN3rI_Fzb4otrAM/s400/guber+cashmore.png" width="366" /></a></div>
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Pete Cashmore is the CEO and founder of the popular blog <i>Mashable</i>, a Technorati Top 10 blog worldwide.<br />
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Peter Guber is an executive, entrepreneur, educator, and author. His films have earned over $3 billion worldwide and 50 Academy Award nominations.<br />
Peter Guber’s most recent business book, Tell to Win – Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story, became a #1 New York Times bestseller.<br />
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~ ~ * ~ ~<br />
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<a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">Gisela Hausmann</a> dares to write what others' won't say or don't know. Her work has been featured in regional, national, and international publications including Success magazine and Entrepreneur, and on Bloomberg's podcast "Decrypted."<br />
<br />Gisela tweets <a href="https://twitter.com/Naked_Determina">@Naked_Determina</a>,<br />
Her books are available at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gisela-Hausmann/e/B000APN192">Amazon</a> and other ebook retailers.<br />
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© 2017 by Gisela HausmannGisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610956711098785520.post-29666136108575912382017-07-21T06:14:00.000-07:002019-07-08T09:52:47.403-07:00What authors can learn from car salesmen <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyNqW6ceK4U85hhpTlF5wDk_62lTCfUhfelgTigohh13QbNUjpNyhii_4uBIDV4woj5eLmXZoLngbUJRNv-JvN2CL88ehkFiXzTfh8M7qMXfMlmxfq0p4A2g7_VrE2zxW_S0F5Sr2VSSN/s1600/car+sales+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyNqW6ceK4U85hhpTlF5wDk_62lTCfUhfelgTigohh13QbNUjpNyhii_4uBIDV4woj5eLmXZoLngbUJRNv-JvN2CL88ehkFiXzTfh8M7qMXfMlmxfq0p4A2g7_VrE2zxW_S0F5Sr2VSSN/s640/car+sales+man.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"This car could really use a new owner."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"I am in desperate need of a buyer for this car."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"I know that you drive a Honda, so I thought you might like to buy my Honda."</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Can you imagine a car sales man saying any of these things? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Probably not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Therefore, avoid phrases like</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"My book could really use a more reviews."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"I am in desperate need of reviews for my book."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"I know that you read ...xyz... (book title), so I thought you might like to read my book which is similar. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b> Car salesmen say things like</b>,</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> "... 6-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx described the Audi R8 as "the best handling road car today"</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> "... This Ford Mustang's design characteristics include a fastback profile and a lower-set grille..." </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> "... This 1967 Thunderbird Apollo's features include writing tables (for rear seats) and rear seat reading lamps..."</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Be as specific as car salesmen are. </span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What are your book's best "features?"</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Please comment in the comment section. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Think like a car salesman before you post!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ffe599; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Feel free to mention your book title. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #ffe599;">Please do not post a link</span> because if blog readers do that I have to delete the blog.- I write #NakedBooks; hence you can believe that I do what I say. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">Gisela Hausmann</a> dares to write what others' won't say or don't know. Her work has been featured in regional, national, and international publications including Success magazine and Entrepreneur, and on Bloomberg's podcast "Decrypted."<br />
<br />
Please subscribe to the RSS feed at the top of this page.<br />
To receive summaries please sign up at <a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">http://www.giselahausmann.com/</a><br />
<br />
Gisela tweets <a href="https://twitter.com/Naked_Determina">@Naked_Determina</a>,<br />
Her books are available at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gisela-Hausmann/e/B000APN192">Amazon</a> and other ebook retailers.<br />
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© 2016 by Gisela Hausmann</div>
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Gisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610956711098785520.post-61014677432867162972017-07-06T02:22:00.001-07:002021-04-28T11:18:18.805-07:00The 5 Most Common Mistakes When Seeking Book Reviews From Amazon Top Reviewers<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyt-qyTSQbJuVH5o36Ap_evb4R74f0dhWkkUMbmHsNypnL9_g-isS0oLFJopzJRDok5PxB38quYR3c0mRJ3Fmk2viIVxszAkj2bngnlC4hMMeBocVMgGVmwpQd3yo3xR-Duc0DCCXuACR/s1600/tweet+was+wondering.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="914" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyt-qyTSQbJuVH5o36Ap_evb4R74f0dhWkkUMbmHsNypnL9_g-isS0oLFJopzJRDok5PxB38quYR3c0mRJ3Fmk2viIVxszAkj2bngnlC4hMMeBocVMgGVmwpQd3yo3xR-Duc0DCCXuACR/s320/tweet+was+wondering.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">VLADIMIR KOLEN’S/SHUTTERSTOCK - WOMAN TYPING</span></td></tr>
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(Reblogged upon request)<br />
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The day before yesterday, I received an email asking me to review an indie author’s book. Somewhat ironically, this request email stated, “... as you liked... (title of book)... you might also love my newest book,... (title)..., because it’s in the same category as the book you already reviewed...”<br />
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I remembered the book I supposedly “liked.” I didn’t like it at all; I had awarded it with a negative review.<br />
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Obviously, this indie author made a mistake; most likely, because he rushed trying to find as many top reviewers as possible to whom he could offer his book “in return for an objective and unbiased review.”<br />
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Seeking reviews from Amazon top reviewers is a common practice among indie authors. Since only about one percent of readers review the books they read, indie authors, who don’t have a huge marketing budget, try to build up the number of reviews their books receive by asking top reviewers like me to read and review their books.<br />
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In doing so, indie authors’ marketing skills are ahead of Fortune 500 companies’. Today, eight out of ten customers consult online reviews when making the decision to buy. Trying to get as many reviews as possible is the “Next Great Thing” to boost sales.<br />
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As a result, Amazon top reviewers’ Inboxes are flooded with request emails. On average, the crème de la crème, Amazon’s Hall-of-Reviewers, receive more than 200 requests per week. Consequently, indie authors need to put in extra effort to make their case.<br />
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For instance, if this indie author would have written, “while checking out reviews at Amazon, I noticed that you weren’t quite happy with … ( the competitor’s book)… My own book takes a different approach; it …” he would have had a much better chance at succeeding.<br />
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Here are five major mistakes to avoid:<br />
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<b>Never Tailor a Template – Use Your Own Words!</b><br />
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You are a writer! Most likely you want to make a living off writing! So, use your own words to show off! Tailoring a template is the direct opposite of making something look interesting and remarkable. Since almost all reviewers receive dozens of request emails per week they are able to spot a template faster than you can say “template.”<br />
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<b>Make Your Case For Your Book!</b><br />
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Book reviewers enjoy reading outstanding books! Therefore, avoid worn-out phrases like “my book is similar to a book you have reviewed.” Instead, dazzle potential reviewers by telling them why your book is different from any other book they have read.<br />
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<b>Avoid writing a me-mail!</b><br />
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Always remember that your request email is about your book. Writing “I have written a book about…”, “I was wondering…”, and “so that I can get some feedback...” suggests that your email is about your needs rather than about your book. Instead, rephrase and write “you’ll love my book’s story-line/ protagonist/ setting because...”<br />
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<b>Don’t waste words!</b><br />
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An effective email is about 150 words long. To make your case convincing, don’t waste words. There is no need to write “I found your name on the list of top reviewers.” All top reviewers know that their name is on this list.<br />
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<b>Don’t give up & Don’t ignore the bottom line!</b><br />
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Without a question authors’ worst mistake is giving up. They stop contacting reviewers and they don’t interpret rejections as signals to improve their emails. The bottom-line of the whole process is: Top reviewers cannot read and review all books they get offered. Therefore they see request emails as writing samples.<br />
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The most effective request emails are personalized emails which demonstrate that the author has done his homework. They will almost always get a reply, even from Hall-of-Fame reviewers.<br />
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Sometimes it helps to look at a reviewer’s profile for clues to personalize the request. Relatively recently, I contacted a top reviewer myself and wrote, “Saw that you write lyrics for operas. I certainly appreciate that; I was born in Vienna...”<br />
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This is not flattery. The Vienna State Opera is one of the most famous opera houses in the world, where stars like Maria Callas, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti sang. Certainly this reviewer would know that.<br />
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The reviewer took well to that approach and replied in less than thirty minutes. He began his email with the words, “... I appreciate your taking the trouble...”<br />
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All of us open our Inboxes in the hope that we receive unexpected, awesome or interesting news. We want to be surprised by emails from people who tell us that they can deliver what we want or need. The people who send us such emails receive our undivided attention.<br />
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<a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">Gisela Hausmann</a> dares to write what others' won't say or don't know. Her work has been featured in regional, national, and international publications including Success magazine and Entrepreneur, and on Bloomberg's podcast "Decrypted."<br />
<br />
Please subscribe to the RSS feed at the top of this page.<br />
To receive summaries please sign up at <a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">http://www.giselahausmann.com/</a><br />
<br />
Gisela tweets <a href="https://twitter.com/Naked_Determina">@Naked_Determina</a>,<br />
Her books are available at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gisela-Hausmann/e/B000APN192">Amazon</a> and other ebook retailers.<br />
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RYX6ZF8QT9YW</div>
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Gisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610956711098785520.post-10026219114383130972017-05-24T13:17:00.000-07:002017-09-09T15:48:47.100-07:00"Starting a romance" and "writing great emails" have a lot in common (#humor)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>*** </b></div>
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<b>Probably not surprisingly, as an email evangelist </b></div>
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<b>I think about"writing best emails" all day long </b></div>
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<b>(no pun intended). </b></div>
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<b>And, that's how I noticed: </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdcLhQE1F31ohrE5h0z_izns99SNzovKJ5deCaOgI2fkeoUg0N2z6U35XCYSWfrWVbMC-DIZlFEodTcRLIAAUV4IxAQXxO9NcDEGt9YbDWLMLKAdiXF5XG0xso1G-l3ZvjnJPRFLa8PP5/s1600/part+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebjUhBI8ZAZ5cav1wPXFRBXjFE2ygiC6CwhOSZGjjY-xojqrrYKaobpFgjEn4Tck7NiNI6iH2iT6jzkY8wpGcrHoqz-HCH5P2YEX0Eimvoz7wsdkghYBIm1fMNYRQksc0jniuIwkDOOZ_/s1600/part+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="941" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebjUhBI8ZAZ5cav1wPXFRBXjFE2ygiC6CwhOSZGjjY-xojqrrYKaobpFgjEn4Tck7NiNI6iH2iT6jzkY8wpGcrHoqz-HCH5P2YEX0Eimvoz7wsdkghYBIm1fMNYRQksc0jniuIwkDOOZ_/s640/part+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The similarities don't end there. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Here are four more: </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGWJZhxhvYrxbBH1jk_kzUPJqtpo5_1mMj4vEBt8FbomMXbEMoFveKxTyNbvKoqeUYomCwjbb_3uBxi-cyPfAvPnSz_yeo9-wdPnTVLJ7XiROoV9mLoaOIrmEm77Gch8rVLeXxS9xI8qL/s1600/part+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGWJZhxhvYrxbBH1jk_kzUPJqtpo5_1mMj4vEBt8FbomMXbEMoFveKxTyNbvKoqeUYomCwjbb_3uBxi-cyPfAvPnSz_yeo9-wdPnTVLJ7XiROoV9mLoaOIrmEm77Gch8rVLeXxS9xI8qL/s640/part+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRK4hAilfiUA6hUIXNOkVZ9tBGADkuKgvuI5oysWKkKd8Um_OablKrEdHN2eHCapeP3HZdUmq4TfadufGzw1oyqXDQVlc9lq4ZaaRRg_CRkQWyxJDBBZlNFsd3xAm1I8k5PSLAN5VD8ru/s1600/part+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRK4hAilfiUA6hUIXNOkVZ9tBGADkuKgvuI5oysWKkKd8Um_OablKrEdHN2eHCapeP3HZdUmq4TfadufGzw1oyqXDQVlc9lq4ZaaRRg_CRkQWyxJDBBZlNFsd3xAm1I8k5PSLAN5VD8ru/s640/part+3.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLWC4eRnjx9znu6pVWUSxGZBLDeioMmR64koMhAdS_lQzT2hHfTYhgGq65IelJ2U-L10nuiVpZCE_GaEoi9mNFwSk6LxKrLt23xyjM_MVHnaMUYAN-rVgJarWWXqpWm9koe-_XO9cMFxn/s1600/part+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLWC4eRnjx9znu6pVWUSxGZBLDeioMmR64koMhAdS_lQzT2hHfTYhgGq65IelJ2U-L10nuiVpZCE_GaEoi9mNFwSk6LxKrLt23xyjM_MVHnaMUYAN-rVgJarWWXqpWm9koe-_XO9cMFxn/s640/part+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Multi-award-winning email evangelist <a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/main.html">Gisela Hausmann</a> is the author of "NAKED WORDS 2.0 The Effective 157-Word Email" and 'NAKED TEXT Email Writing Skills for Teenagers." She is also the 2016 Winner of the Sparky Award "Best Subject Line."<br />
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Her work has been featured in <i>SUCCESS</i> and <i>Entrepreneur</i>, on <i>Bloomberg</i> (podcast) and on <i>NBC News</i> (biz blog).<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gisela-Hausmann/e/B000APN192"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="960" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBwFmUkGzY_XRQZg15YztiLbTt7yeB_l2lLkkhoZsrHbgGVOeKlvUwX_eZ_itFcdHSbKGpzO81rDxFz97qudx9U24dDNeVqww_PLqyAZfKm5iFGnd5N-emxj35OBvnF06x6oFbsXjz1rDD/s400/3+biz+books.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Gisela's website: http://www.giselahausmann.com/<br />
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Gisela tweets <a href="https://twitter.com/Naked_Determina">@Naked_Determina</a><br />
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© 2017 by Gisela Hausmann<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span>Gisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610956711098785520.post-54845283831763404782017-03-05T19:48:00.003-08:002023-04-28T07:02:13.764-07:00What does Jell-O have to do with your success as an indie author? <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlllMEzIatLX686gE7iw1bvd1wpacR23IvL9fGtKSBrCS9pM7ps8w5simQXVhELzsFQXnO2Yac8fzev20suYjlaOBXDEzRQNWrO2DaoKePcU59VZf79NySU7C7tp17qMgzdA3QC2JOtE_bC5Zk9DJIpaObb4Z732ICKtpFZkTyVLN0xeF7_jSwic9sg/s2000/jello.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1413" data-original-width="2000" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlllMEzIatLX686gE7iw1bvd1wpacR23IvL9fGtKSBrCS9pM7ps8w5simQXVhELzsFQXnO2Yac8fzev20suYjlaOBXDEzRQNWrO2DaoKePcU59VZf79NySU7C7tp17qMgzdA3QC2JOtE_bC5Zk9DJIpaObb4Z732ICKtpFZkTyVLN0xeF7_jSwic9sg/s320/jello.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal">Over the last six months I’ve noticed hundreds of blogs cropping
up, telling aspiring indie authors that Americans read “more ebooks than ever.”
Hence, it’s time to publish that manuscript!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of these blogs refer to <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/09/01/book-reading-2016/">Pew Research
Center’s September 2016 study</a>, which announced that the number of people
who read ebooks has increased by 11% since 2011. Unfortunately, most of the blogs fail to mention the study’s
claim that during the same time period the number of people who read at least
one book—in any format—declined by 6%.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Though the Pew Research Center’s study does not offer any
explanations why 6% of people have stopped reading books, I am guessing that
this number includes people who may have read one or more nonfiction books to
learn important professional skills; now they’ve switched to blogs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Blogging is not only a respected art form, it is also a content
marketing tool. Blogging at least once per week helps content marketers to stay
in touch with their existing clients, win new clients, and sell product or
services. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it’s only effective when the blogger cares enough about
the reader to research the topic and provide valuable information. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Example: The Jell-O campaign
benefited both American housewives and the company.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Blogging is new, but content marketing has been around for
more than 100 years; one of the early examples is the Jell-O marketing campaign
of 1904. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even though Jell-O has been sold since 1899, it didn’t sell
well in stores. American housewives didn’t know what to do with it. Finally, the
Genesee Food Company who owned and distributed Jell-O placed an ad in <i>Ladies’ Home Journal</i> offering free
“best-seller” recipes. The campaign was an instant hit. The fact that
housewives didn’t have to figure out how to prepare delicious Jell-O desserts
did the trick. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikl9MxgXykwu4-1H4MfFd9WYi7RD1osK_Ghlis9NiW9gsxYgwox281OOOf1y6MqNQg23SFvLqV-p8vTFpozWj1gx9NAracrFRdNJlP45_FfwZhUu8m9pPujvT9LyEXRusAJHlD64mdQXYo/s1600/jello+pic+blog.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikl9MxgXykwu4-1H4MfFd9WYi7RD1osK_Ghlis9NiW9gsxYgwox281OOOf1y6MqNQg23SFvLqV-p8vTFpozWj1gx9NAracrFRdNJlP45_FfwZhUu8m9pPujvT9LyEXRusAJHlD64mdQXYo/s640/jello+pic+blog.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Public domain, the first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1923.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More recently, content marketing is being used by experts
like lawyers, cover designers, and editors to explain to potential customers
how they will benefit from using their more expensive services.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For instance, though most authors have at least some working
knowledge about the copyright, very few know how to proceed if their copyright
is being infringed. The blog of a lawyer who has handled actual copyright
infringement cases will deliver helpful information. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Content marketing should be beneficial for both the blogger
and the reader. The problem begins when bloggers choose topics they don’t know
too much about <i>and</i> also have no
vested interest in.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>What this means for
indie authors and author-bloggers.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whereas a copyright lawyer’s blog is being written by the
lawyer or a law student who interns at their firm and the Jell-O recipes were
created by cooks employed at the Genesee
Food Company, there are hundreds of non-experts blogging about indie author
topics.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most recently, I saw an indie author’s blog about how to get
book reviews from Amazon top reviewers. The blog contained two traps that will most
likely lead to all top reviewers ignoring their request.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The author-blogger suggested to begin the request email by
stating something like “I found your name on the list of Amazon top reviewers.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Problem #1: These are
useless filler words. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How do I know? I really am an Amazon top reviewer. Since it
takes at least two to three years of steady reviewing to become a top reviewer,
it is wasted words telling a top reviewer how indie authors find us. We know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Problem #2: Too many
authors don’t edit their emails for personal appeal. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many emails seem to suggest between the lines, “I don’t really
care what books you like. Since you are a top reviewer I hope you will read and
review <i>my </i>book.” Making this error is
detrimental to authors’ efforts. Top reviewers read books because they enjoy
reading and reviewing books, not because they want be used as unpaid marketers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Obviously, this second problem only arises because the blogger
suggests mentioning the top reviewer’s status. It is difficult to mention
somebody’s special status and then pretend that this status has nothing to do
with why one person contacted the other. As a result, too many emails sound like bad
flattery. If, in this case, the indie author would focus only on presenting
their book to a <i>person who is known to
enjoy reading this particular genre</i> the problem would not even come up. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hence, following this blog’s advice hinders indie authors in
succeeding instead of helping them. Since this blog was shared more than 1,000
times I don’t even want to speculate how many indie authors wasted hours and
hours writing and sending emails that won’t lead to positive results. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The rise of false
information.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During the outgoing 19th century no hobby cook who used
Jell-O would have published a book or an article about Jell-O recipes; today,
even people who have no insider knowledge about a certain topic write blogs about it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The hundreds of bloggers who advise to use hollow phrases
and silly templates have no idea how annoying these emails are—especially when
one receives dozens of emails like that every month. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The simple truth is that to write good content the blogger
has to be invested in a positive outcome for the reader and for themselves. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The cook who created the Jell-O recipes in 1904 had a vested
interest that their recipes come out perfect every time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A lawyer who blogs about their field of expertise has a
vested interest that they present arguments which help potential clients to
make the best decisions. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In contrast, author-bloggers who just want clicks couldn’t
care less if their blogs prompt thousands of other authors to send emails to
top reviewers; since they themselves aren’t top reviewers, they won’t receive
this flood of annoying emails. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Equally, the bloggers who encourage others to write a book
because Americans read “more ebooks than ever” without mentioning that the
number of people who read at least one book—in any format—declined by 6% don’t
have to face the consequences because they are not publishing the books. They
just want to hook aspiring writers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t be that blogger. Don’t be that blog reader.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>How to find great
blogs.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Though at this point it may not be obvious, I really love blogs—great blogs that is. As an author I
am aware that books cannot be updated every six months to include interesting new
information. Writing a blog gives indie
authors the opportunity to present additional information whenever an
opportunity arises. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fact that I love blogs is also the reason why I call out
bloggers who write wishy-washy blogs just to make sales, instead of writing
blogs that create value. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what can blog readers do to avoid acting upon incorrect
information?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>1) Remember the First
Amendment<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When reading a blog always remember that in the United States
the First Amendment guarantees people the right to write, even about things
they know nothing about or can’t prove to be true. Therefore:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2) Check the
blogger’s background! <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every blogger features a short resume at the beginning or the end of their blog. Always study it;
if need be—verify it. Don’t hesitate to ask poignant questions. If anybody asks
me why I give advice on how to contact top reviewers, I will be happy to provide
them with a link to my top reviewer profile. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>3) Check the date!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If a blog is older than six months, chances are at least
some parts may be outdated. Things change quickly these days.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>4) Do the math!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Add the number of shares the blog received on all social
media platforms. Because not everybody shares blogs, multiply that number by
30. Since probably no more than half of the blog readers acted on the blog’s
recommendation divide that number again by 2. Then, evaluate if the presented
concept will work if this number of people do what is being suggested or
recommended.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a practical example: A blog suggests that authors should
contact all reviewers who read their book’s genre with an email that begins
with the words, “Hi, I saw that you reviewed (title of book). I just recently
published a book that is similar...” The blog was shared 450 times on all
social media platforms. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
450 x 30 = 13,500 : 2 = 6,750. Of the 6,750 indie authors
who may have contacted reviewers and bloggers, about 30% may write romance
novels. That means that a reviewer who reviews this popular genre might have received
already between 750 and 1,500 emails stating the same silly sentence. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do you believe that if you do the same, the reviewer will
reply, “Sure, please send your book”?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>5) Get some Jell-O <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then—sit down in your favorite chair and ponder the blog you
read while slowly eating the Jell-O dessert.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kids will tell you that the best thing about Jell-O is that
you can see through it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s the same for blogs. A great blog has a see-through concept.
The blogger explains why their idea will work and list facts and sources. A
great blog can be sliced and diced and each part will be good. A great blog
will be revelatory even without any decor.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you evaluate all blogs by this standard, you won’t waste
time and you’ll achieve much better, sweeter results.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
~~ *** ~~~</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">Gisela Hausmann</a> dares to write what others' won't say or don't know. Her work has been featured in regional, national, and international publications including Success magazine and Entrepreneur, and on Bloomberg's podcast "Decrypted."<br />
<br />Gisela tweets <a href="https://twitter.com/Naked_Determina">@Naked_Determina</a>,<br />
Her books are available at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gisela-Hausmann/e/B000APN192">Amazon</a> and other ebook retailers.<br />
<br />
RYX6ZF8QT9YW</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
© 2017 by Gisela Hausmann </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7D4eYFn3qPL2fBHAamfELiLgiFwEuxYhXbss8_MuuLc5UgVvyB-RL5vTFUiCrymCgDF7hTgcxnnmEenyN08RRDnPbfwUGAXihcPoVbGYW-RwuwZNg1_14EEa0Ue5Apr7tydJjmvy3iT6D/s1280/mock+title+pic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7D4eYFn3qPL2fBHAamfELiLgiFwEuxYhXbss8_MuuLc5UgVvyB-RL5vTFUiCrymCgDF7hTgcxnnmEenyN08RRDnPbfwUGAXihcPoVbGYW-RwuwZNg1_14EEa0Ue5Apr7tydJjmvy3iT6D/s320/mock+title+pic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Gisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610956711098785520.post-34906228095795081412017-02-19T10:00:00.000-08:002018-08-09T06:44:21.863-07:00Insights, facts, & numbers from an Amazon top reviewer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNc0WaqKZGr5kxs9aLFUAlO9uLh8GeTd24SpX4cVfEsEJ3dmtRX_BQjDxQ43xfiP0tt7cnfS1nvGF-Ag354I3Q3h-dcTa2FHsFLniNXtI1zGaC7haCyJfwYKxfWxP1v-jhX5IIMAJs30vE/s1600/sights+and+facts.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNc0WaqKZGr5kxs9aLFUAlO9uLh8GeTd24SpX4cVfEsEJ3dmtRX_BQjDxQ43xfiP0tt7cnfS1nvGF-Ag354I3Q3h-dcTa2FHsFLniNXtI1zGaC7haCyJfwYKxfWxP1v-jhX5IIMAJs30vE/s320/sights+and+facts.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
[THOUGH THIS BLOG WAS PUBLISHED A YEAR AGO, it is still relevant. In fact, I'd argue, considering how many reviews Amazon deletes, and how many reviewers they "retire," this blog may be more important today than it was then.]<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br />
It is a common myth that indie authors just need to get a few/some/many reviews from friends and acquaintances, then buy an online promotion and their book will (probably) take off.<br />
<br />
I am an Amazon reviewer since 2012 and a <a href="http://smarturl.it/cks7uv">top reviewer since 2014</a>, hence I can contribute some factual information.<br />
<br />
In 2014, I reviewed 75 items on Amazon, including 45 books penned by self-publishing authors.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
Combined, these <b>45</b> books received <b>5,448</b> reviews.<br />
<br />
I know you are raising your eye-brows right now, but it's true.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>***</b></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>4</b> books received only one single review (mine),<br />
<br />
<b>6 </b>/ 45 books received more than 100 reviews.<br />
<br />
<b>11</b> / 45 books (including the previously mentioned 4 books) received less than half a dozen reviews since 2014.<br />
<br />
<b>Ponder this fact for a second</b>: Almost <b>25%</b> of all indie author books I read and reviewed in 2014 received less than half a dozen reviews since then – in more than two years. <br />
<br />
<b>28 </b>/ 45 books received a dozen or more reviews but less than 100.<br />
<br />
The<b> 6</b> books with more than 100 reviews received 186, 217, 234, 375, 419, and 872 reviews, respectively.<br />
<br />
The astonishing surprise:<br />
The book that received the most reviews is a book that I awarded with only a 2-star review. Obviously, the secret to success is not all about a book being a best book.<br />
<br />
I decided to check out this book after I read about it in an online article. Then, in 2014, the book had barely more than 100 reviews. I really thought posting my review would make a difference and encourage others to think twice about spending $2.99 for this particular book.<br />
<br />
Still, it is listed an Amazon bestseller with <b>2,329</b> reviews.<br />
<br />
How does the author do it?<br />
<br />
Probably, he has a huge email list. Occasionally, he runs promotions (I personally have seen one 99 cents promo and three promos at <i>full price</i>). Most importantly, he succeeds in getting influential journalists and top bloggers to talk about his book. Not only did I learn about the book from an article, he has been "in the news" <span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">–</span> getting featured in seven articles <span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">–</span> since January 2017, in only six weeks. Even now, he does not stop promoting his book in media outlets. Altogether, he and his book have been featured in 86 articles.<br />
<br />
What is to be learned from this information?<br />
<br />
Getting reviews from friends, acquaintances, and colleagues does NOT do the trick.<br />
<br />
Remember, four of the books I reviewed did not get reviewed by anybody else, in more than 2 years...<br />
<br />
even though ... all four authors networked in FB groups and tweeted their heart out.<br />
<br />
<br />
According to Pew Research, in 2016:<br />
<br />
<b>68% of all online U.S. adults</b> used Facebook, (What about the other 32%?)<br />
32% of all online U.S. adults used Instagram,<br />
29% of all online U.S. adults used Linkedin,<br />
26% of all online U.S. adults used Pinterest,<br />
21% of all online U.S. adults used Twitter.<br />
<br />
<b>Only 76%</b> of the U.S. adults who used Facebook logged in daily<br />
(that's only <b>51% of all</b> <b>online U.S. adults</b>)<br />
<br />
<b>only 51% </b>of the U.S. adults who used <i>Instagram </i>logged in daily,<br />
<b>only 42%</b> of the U.S. adults who used <i>Linkedin</i> logged in daily,<br />
<b>only 25% </b>of the U.S. adults who used <i>Pinterest</i> logged in daily,<br />
<b>only 18%</b> of the U.S. adults who used <i>Twitter</i> logged in daily.<br />
<br />
Therefore, to really get your book out you and your book need to have a presence in <i>many</i> venues. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
*</div>
<br />
Routinely, financial advisers preach, "Diversify your portfolio!"<br />
<br />
The same advice applies to book marketing,<br />
<br />
Here are <b>10 ways</b> to get your book seen, bought, and reviewed:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Join a real "live" book club, e.g. a Meet-up group or book club at your local library,</li>
<li>Join online book groups (FB, Goodreads, etc.), </li>
<li>Arrange for book signings at independent book stores,</li>
<li>Try to get gigs at local library events (about 20% of all US libraries host local author events once or twice per year),</li>
<li>Offer to guest blog,</li>
<li>Pitch your local TV-station,</li>
<li>Pitch magazines (print and online), </li>
<li>Pitch bloggers who don't blog about books. Remember <span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">– </span>you want to get found and noticed by new and different audiences, </li>
<li>Pitch radio hosts and podcasters,</li>
<li>Throw a private book party (at a bar or a coffee house) or team up with other local authors to throw a party, together.</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: center;">
* </div>
<div>
Naturally, pursuing a minimum of 5 or 6 of these options requires more work than networking on Facebook (in your pajamas), but it helps to reach many tens of thousands of people who otherwise would have never heard about you and your book, as shown by Pew Research's data.</div>
<br />
Many indie authors spend so much time on Facebook that they could pitch two or three publications every day, in half that of the time they spend networking on Facebook.<br />
<br />
<b>BEST OF ALL, media coverage doesn't go away. In contrast to online promotions media coverage stays "live" and will promote you and your book – forever!</b><br />
<br />
When during the research for this article I looked up this bestselling author's name I found the 7 articles that had been written about him and his book on Google, in less than 2 seconds. Even potential readers who have never heard of the author and search for different search terms on Google will find the book, by accident, just like I did, too.<br />
<br />
Summing it up: Every author needs starter reviews, but the majority of reviews will come by themselves once you expose your book to many audiences.<br />
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<a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">Gisela Hausmann</a> is an industry veteran and the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gisela-Hausmann/e/B000APN192/"><b>seven </b><b>award-winning author books</b>.</a></div>
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<u style="text-align: left;">Gisela tweets</u><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Naked_Determina" style="text-align: left;">@Naked_Determina</a></div>
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<b>FREE EBOOK FOR AUTHORS - TODAY (8/8-8/12/2018)</b></div>
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Gisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610956711098785520.post-74734149963535249482016-09-28T12:01:00.000-07:002019-07-08T10:08:05.516-07:005 quick-fixes for common author grievances <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Those of us who spend a lot of time in indie author groups
may have heard these complaints before. Here are five suggestions to avoid
these common grievances.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Show, don’t tell</b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i>“... So, I went to this networking
party and I told everybody about my book, and everybody said, ‘How cool is
that... ’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but nobody bought it.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t overrun people you meet randomly, by telling them, “I
just published this fantasy novel called... xyz... My protagonist...
yadayada...” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most likely, the people you meet will feel overwhelmed and
will not buy your book. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead, have double-sided or folded, hot-looking business
cards printed. This allows you to put twice the content, including a picture of
your book and a quote from your book, or an excerpt of a review, on the card. Studies
prove that visuals are among the most popular shared content on social media.
Put simply: People like looking at pictures. Make it work <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">for </i>you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFNqK6FinangShD53bn79NXIqwmQm1Zicr4AiQhWubuw1jUw4Hw5hNLG7gSVJir9KOWx6E8jxGV28P-Gm6bp6HUhuNLkikY9Z1GxKSWsbPnUxn22aDEErc8-lDib1EqywZzfFPgJyRkCU/s1600/1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFNqK6FinangShD53bn79NXIqwmQm1Zicr4AiQhWubuw1jUw4Hw5hNLG7gSVJir9KOWx6E8jxGV28P-Gm6bp6HUhuNLkikY9Z1GxKSWsbPnUxn22aDEErc8-lDib1EqywZzfFPgJyRkCU/s200/1.gif" width="198" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Thinking ahead</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i>“...This reader gave me a 1* star
review but in his review he wrote that he didn’t even finish my book. Writing a
book is hard work. I think the reader should have at least finished my book...”
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who has time to finish a book they don’t enjoy reading?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whether we like it or not, once we make our work available
to the public, they are entitled to have an opinion about our books. It’s the
same as with all other products and services. Have you ever read <a href="https://www.consumeraffairs.com/cell_phones/cell_phones.htm">cell phone service reviews</a>? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Well, then you know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only way you can counter potential negative reviews is to
offer a telling book description. Also, run promotions only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">after</i> your book has received a few thoughtful reviews so readers know what to expect when they buy
your book. If the reviews your book received are honest and authentic, people
who probably won’t like your book won’t even buy it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLEGQWpremaYREsYYNzoHNAWkRk2qcdOIf_CWxyroZQqwboNHIKLK6D8b5vmYRDvkFGLzpudBdAjnHaxSLpd9K7L16YgI3KG7VoQ9ANtkL2GBkpOm8aZ6sWceQNZhsyqmdpjbPCLbkkTVE/s1600/2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLEGQWpremaYREsYYNzoHNAWkRk2qcdOIf_CWxyroZQqwboNHIKLK6D8b5vmYRDvkFGLzpudBdAjnHaxSLpd9K7L16YgI3KG7VoQ9ANtkL2GBkpOm8aZ6sWceQNZhsyqmdpjbPCLbkkTVE/s200/2.gif" width="198" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Asking basics</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i>“... My book has 5* reviews on
Amazon.co.uk, but these reviews do not show on Amazon.com. How I can I get my
UK reviews to show on the US site?” </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Never ask a question to which you haven’t tried to find an
answer on the Internet first. The <a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/community/index.jspa">Amazon KDP support files</a> offer the answer to
this question and much more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you ask too many basic questions, like this one, you’ll
create a “don’t cry wolf”-effect. Eventually, people will stop tutoring you.
Publishing books is a business like every other. Consequently, you need to
learn basics before you start publishing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In contrast to asking basic questions, asking sophisticated
questions which can’t be researched on the Internet, will make you look like a
savvy author who is working on an advanced level. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOF_5Su5DLA1pEOkUQeEoMkfi1i4fiyG1udXtWX-ucYriPlsnLW24p2Fwg-d1KYvlBfGgmk8CIvHwlBhDnlt6jxKpnGpEJGYDOcvzU1N-DSYRX4xyXOZuJHjiH1-tj2Mf14wLbiw5bw4T4/s1600/3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOF_5Su5DLA1pEOkUQeEoMkfi1i4fiyG1udXtWX-ucYriPlsnLW24p2Fwg-d1KYvlBfGgmk8CIvHwlBhDnlt6jxKpnGpEJGYDOcvzU1N-DSYRX4xyXOZuJHjiH1-tj2Mf14wLbiw5bw4T4/s200/3.gif" width="198" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Test – test – test</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i>“... I did a Twitter promotion and
did not sell a single book/recover my costs...” </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To run a successful twitter campaign, you need to test your
tweets first. The cheapest way to do this is to run the tests yourself. Post
various tweets, collect the data on which ones gets shared most often, and run
a campaign only once you have these insights.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqUNPISc7XHUoL8an5qmoSxskjbe0Xs8Cxf0YEUwQCet6QK58ipEyiGX53druNcv00UjGwg39jRWZ1PNuGSxvwMHDWGPE5Cg9raf-BMazTzTM6gFZezDlvwW9i9KE-ZBYb4szWogcxF4k/s1600/4.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqUNPISc7XHUoL8an5qmoSxskjbe0Xs8Cxf0YEUwQCet6QK58ipEyiGX53druNcv00UjGwg39jRWZ1PNuGSxvwMHDWGPE5Cg9raf-BMazTzTM6gFZezDlvwW9i9KE-ZBYb4szWogcxF4k/s200/4.gif" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Give before you
expect to receive</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i>“I gave away x number of ebooks and
did not receive a single review. Readers don’t know how important reviews
are...” </i></div>
<i>
</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Remember the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to
be treated! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many other professionals will benefit from reviews, too. For
instance, tens of thousands of employees work for $8.50 per hour in the retail
industry. These employees’ advancements may depend on your “review.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Start paying it forward! Ask these excellent employees if
you can deposit a review on their company’s website. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Occasionally, an opportunity may arise, where you can mention
that you are an author. With a bit of luck, people will ask you what kind of
books you write, especially if you are nice and show concern for their needs.
Hopefully, you’ll <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have one of the cards I
mentioned earlier, at hand.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the words of Mark Twain: “Kindness is the language which
the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVKE-eucqKCiajgpKEXTy0pwBOVFhqv6BLuLloTc0-mKx9pLYLAuNsTuc0onfEd7m7GHYCuxcMkUHN6kqxhD7z41h_-8nsUiLntF4HXzG4L_pqZBsEuTFNDiXVf1g1hw4Va9cQlmlziiA/s1600/5.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVKE-eucqKCiajgpKEXTy0pwBOVFhqv6BLuLloTc0-mKx9pLYLAuNsTuc0onfEd7m7GHYCuxcMkUHN6kqxhD7z41h_-8nsUiLntF4HXzG4L_pqZBsEuTFNDiXVf1g1hw4Va9cQlmlziiA/s200/5.gif" width="198" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
~*~<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">Gisela Hausmann</a> dares to write what others' won't say or don't know. Her work has been featured in regional, national, and international publications including Success magazine and Entrepreneur, and on Bloomberg's podcast "Decrypted."<br />
<br />
Please subscribe to the RSS feed at the top of this page.<br />
To receive summaries please sign up at <a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">http://www.giselahausmann.com/</a><br />
<br />
Gisela tweets <a href="https://twitter.com/Naked_Determina">@Naked_Determina</a>,<br />
Her books are available at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gisela-Hausmann/e/B000APN192">Amazon</a> and other ebook retailers.<br />
<br />
RYX6ZF8QT9YW</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
© 2018 by Gisela Hausmann<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"> </span> </div>
</div>
</div>
Gisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610956711098785520.post-19124452931159947882015-05-26T11:10:00.002-07:002023-05-12T06:45:01.274-07:00The Project Management Triangle Applied to What We Do<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
#ProjectManagment #scope #quality #time #costs<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtQ2kiI6JUFO2e-HiJXrmIyGhvNMAum3TwDHgmflSop-R6FHnfq8ztzTa8PYQaKMcyViSUyjlkz-pbzA98vrvU1n2-rKgqna77OYFTvAQEz_NIA3_9OiBdHeZkR0MRdtejyJ-94xzbABq/s1600/shutterstock_86286064.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtQ2kiI6JUFO2e-HiJXrmIyGhvNMAum3TwDHgmflSop-R6FHnfq8ztzTa8PYQaKMcyViSUyjlkz-pbzA98vrvU1n2-rKgqna77OYFTvAQEz_NIA3_9OiBdHeZkR0MRdtejyJ-94xzbABq/s320/shutterstock_86286064.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><ul class="pic-info unstyled" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<li style="text-align: right;"><span class="lighten">Copyright: winui/Shutterstock </span></li>
</ul>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In 1988, when I was busy with writing my thesis I needed to use a reference library (in Vienna, Austria) which was open to college students and "the public" only once per week, on Wednesdays from 3:00 to 5:00
p.m. Because the library's books were rare books, they were locked away; a clerk had to retrieve them from a backroom. To make things more complicated, the reference library’s books were never lent out but had
to be read in the small reading room. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<i>Why do I still remember all of this,
twenty-seven years later? </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Because I lived through working with these constraints - every Wednesday - for many weeks. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The clerk was an elderly lady who had a limp. To gather a
dozen, typically heavy, reference books and bring them to the counter could
take her twenty minutes. That meant, fifteen percent of the entire visitor time
might be spent on waiting for her to deliver the books the first
visitor requested. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If I wanted to proceed according to my plan, my time line, I simply could
not allow any student to beat me to being the first person to receive books. So,
I arrived every Wednesday an hour early, at 2:00 p.m. Sitting on the cold stone
stairs in front of the door, I studied while I waited. On many Wednesdays, one
or two other students arrived closer to 3:00 o’clock. If I saw the same student
twice, the following week I made an effort of showing up even earlier. I
figured that one of them would try to beat me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
As soon as I received the books, I leafed through them and
inserted paper strips (sticky notes were not allowed) to mark the needed
information. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Promptly at 4:15 p.m., I began to copy all relevant pages. Copying
was not a quick process; the library had posted procedures which needed to be followed.
Wrinkling a page might get a student expelled. Each copy cost ten cents;
adjusted for inflation, that would be 21 cents per copy today. Because I also worked I could afford copying every page I needed, other students had to copy by hand which delayed their progress.<br />
<br />
*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
These were the days when I learned the value of <b>PROJECT MANAGEMENT</b> and <b>THOROUGH RESEARCH</b>.<br />
<br />
If I forgot to look
up something, I had to wait an entire week to get access to the library again. If
I did not check the page precisely before I copied it, I might come home and find out that the
text was referring to other text printed on pages that I had not copied. Only once,
at the beginning of my research, I had to ask the clerk to pull the same book a
second time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtQ2kiI6JUFO2e-HiJXrmIyGhvNMAum3TwDHgmflSop-R6FHnfq8ztzTa8PYQaKMcyViSUyjlkz-pbzA98vrvU1n2-rKgqna77OYFTvAQEz_NIA3_9OiBdHeZkR0MRdtejyJ-94xzbABq/s1600/shutterstock_86286064.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtQ2kiI6JUFO2e-HiJXrmIyGhvNMAum3TwDHgmflSop-R6FHnfq8ztzTa8PYQaKMcyViSUyjlkz-pbzA98vrvU1n2-rKgqna77OYFTvAQEz_NIA3_9OiBdHeZkR0MRdtejyJ-94xzbABq/s200/shutterstock_86286064.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The project management triangle shows that we cannot execute
projects of high quality also cheaply and quickly. At any given moment, at
least one of the three cornerstones (scope/quality, time, costs) is a
constraint. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Though, typically, "costs" is the most common constraint, in this instance, my constraint was time <span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt;">—</span> I could not access the library whenever I wanted or needed to; plus, I had to ensure that could make the complete two hours the library was open <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">— per week, work for me. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In short: While the quality of my
thesis would always be the result of how much work I put into it, the “time I was
able spend at the library” was the real constraint. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The lesson learned from executing this project was far more
valuable than what I learned about the topic of my thesis. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">~~*~~</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.giselahausmann.com/">Gisela Hausmann</a> dares to write what others' won't say or don't know. Her work has been featured in regional, national, and international publications including Success magazine and Entrepreneur, and on Bloomberg's podcast "Decrypted."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He latest book is "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Amazon-Gisela-Hausmann-ebook/dp/B0C3FLP4FS">Winning @ Amazon</a>."<br />
<br />Gisela tweets <a href="https://twitter.com/Naked_Determina">@Naked_Determina</a>,<br />
Her books are available at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gisela-Hausmann/e/B000APN192">Amazon</a> and other ebook retailers.<br />
<br />
RYX6ZF8QT9YW</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">© May 25, 2015 by Gisela Hausmann</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
If you liked this blog, please share. </div>
</div>
Gisela Hausmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02809836795729475947noreply@blogger.com24