How do you get recommended?

Recommendations from other people are the lifeblood of most businesses.  It's what is known as 'third party validation' and the reason most business owners actively seek testimonials and feature a testimonial page on their website.  It's saying 'It's not just us that think we're good - other people like what we do too!'

Online companies like Amazon and Trip Advisor ask people to write reviews of the purchases they've made and holidays they've had - and that 5 star rating system is everywhere.  But what do 5 stars really mean?  Does 1 star indicate bad or just not great?  The implication of stars is that ANY stars are a positive indication, but most people read one or two stars as a bad review and yet one Michelin star is highly prized by restaurant owners!

Every recommendation is an addition to your reputation - so what you really need are lots of fans who RAVE about you and can provide evidence of your fantastic services (or products).  If you give your clients 5 star service they will almost certainly do this anyway, but are your clients the only people who will recommend you?

Getting recommended happens for all kinds of reasons:

• A delighted customer wants to share their experience with others
• Someone who reads your blog regularly rates you as knowledgeable in your core area
• People who have heard you do a short presentation at a networking meeting think you're good
• People who follow you on social media like what you post
• Someone who you've met a few times, maybe networking, likes YOU

As you can see there are varying levels of experience and knowledge in the mix here.  Someone who likes you as a person doesn't have the same weight as a delighted customer - but when someone gives you a recommendation how carefully do you check their actual experience of the service they're recommending?

I've been recommended for all the above reasons - and they have all resulted in work!  However, if you're on the receiving end of a recommendation it's wise to check what has led the recommender to suggest this particular person.

In all the cases where I've been recommended I always have a preliminary discussion with the potential client first, produce a proposal based on their needs and have a process that allows for development of the work in line with what they want.  Not all businesses can do this, so it's quite important to ensure recommendations are robust and you should always do your due diligence.  However, I do believe that creating high value content in the form of blogs, articles and tips is an excellent way to help people who are not clients to see your expertise.

Obviously, existing or past customers are the best kind of recommendation to get, but that doesn't mean the others have no worth.

I regularly read blogs by a selection of people who I rate as knowledgeable - over time I've learned from them and would not hesitate to recommend them to other people (and often do so) as experts in their field. I probably wouldn't recommend them on the basis of a single post, but cumulatively the consistency of high quality information gives me the confidence to recommend them.

Even a 10 minute presentation will tell you quite a lot about someone:

• How well-prepared they are shows how 'bothered' they are about delivering high quality in every situation
• How well-focused the material is for the group shows how customer-centric they're likely to be
• Providing take-away material indicates the level of attention to detail they are likely to apply

There is an argument that not everyone is a natural (or trained) presenter - and that's true, some people are stricken with nerves standing up in front of a group.  Even so they should have invested some time in the content of their presentation so you should be able to get an idea of their value.

People who are social media connections aren't exactly strong recommendations - but if they have been following your posts and maybe reading some of your articles on LinkedIn they could have quite a good idea of your abilities and expertise.  Having said that I was once recommended by someone I know from networking and has seen the work I've done for a client to a random agency in Canada.  We had a Skype chat and I was able to fulfil their needs.  You really never know!  It's probably more effective than simply choosing someone from the yellow pages or any other directory.

People who like you are definitely good to have around - we all want to be liked - but are they a good recommendation?  If you've met networking a few times, they've probably heard your minute-pitch and almost certainly have had a chat with you.  It's always worth having a 1-2-1 with people you get on with at networking - you get to know each other better and what each is capable of - then recommendations have more weight.

The secret of getting recommended is to be a good recommender!  People tell others when they've been recommended - often by whom - and your reputation gains another star as a result.

So you've written a book ...

If you’ve read the previous blogs:

Will becoming an author improve your credibility?

How to write a book

How to get a book published 

You just have one very important step to complete now: Marketing!

Whether you publish your book through a conventional publishing house or you go down the self-publishing route, your book will not succeed if you don’t make any sales. Even with an established publishing house on board, don’t expect them to do lots of marketing for your book, unless you are an established author with a good track record. They will probably promote the foreign rights for you and send out notifications that the book has been released to book reviewers, but that’s probably about all you can count on.

If you have written a book that you don’t think has a market then you’re probably treating the book-writing process more as personal therapy than as a commercial activity. Ideally, you were writing with a specific market in mind and now’s the time to get your book in front of them.

So, back at the beginning, who did you think would find your book useful and interesting? This might be more than one group of people.

Where do those people hang out and how can you reach them to let them know that your book is available? This might be online as well as offline. If you’re writing for people who are professional speakers, which online forums are full of people who are speakers and trainers? Are there websites that provide services to this group? Do they meet as a group anywhere?

This is where your network comes in – ask them who they know in your target audience and ask if they will let them know about your book. If you provide the right words many people will include your announcement in their newsletter or put a link on their websites.

If your publisher hasn’t done so, get your book on Amazon – ideally in hard copy, Kindle and as an ebook.

Tell all your clients and your extended network about it – not once, but regularly, to keep it in their awareness. That doesn’t mean spamming them, but ensuring a series of messages with ‘teaser’ content in is posted in all the places you think they’ll be looking – Twitter, Facebook, relevant groups that you belong to (and allow promotional content), etc. Don’t just do one hit and wonder why your sales aren’t ongoing. Keep the messages going over the next weeks and months to keep awareness high.

Run a competition with the book as a prize.

Get other people to give you material you can include in a winning ‘bundle’ for everyone who buys the book in a specified time frame. That might include reports, ebooks, teleseminars, coaching, access to a Q&A session on a related subject; be creative!

Give away a summary of the book as a thank you for people who complete a survey (make sure the survey gives you useful material to feature in your next book!)

If you are training or speaking anywhere add a copy of the book for a specified number of delegates. For example, if you’re speaking to an audience of 100, then offer 20 books free; the organisers will probably want to give every delegate a book and may buy additional copies.

Get on local radio and digital radio stations to talk about your book.

Don’t forget to let your local press know you’ve published it – they like stories of local people who have achieved things.

Swap copies of your book with other people who have written books in a similar subject area and offer your market a wider choice (on the proviso that they do the same, of course).

Don’t do this for the few weeks after your book is published – but keep doing it as long as your book is in print and, over time, it will develop visibility. If you don’t do anything, your book sales will look very slim!

How to get a book published

If you’ve done your planning (Will becoming an author improve your credibility?) and started writing your book (How to write a book), you’ll need to think about publishing. There are a number of options:

1. Get a publishing house interested and get a contract
2. Self-publish
3. Publish it as an ebook and sell it online

There are pros and cons to all these. Let’s take a look at the realities of these publishing methods.

Finding a publisher
This is most writers’ dream. Get a publishing contract and then sit back and wait for the royalties to roll in! Most people have heard of rejection slips and although there are things you can do to improve your chances of success, book contracts are still not easy to come by and require the hide of a rhino and buckets of persistence.

The first step is to know what a potential publisher will want to see in your submission. Most don’t want your entire manuscript – just a couple of chapters – but they will want you to have a clear idea of who your competition are and what your book offers that is new or different. Anything that is totally unique is unlikely to hit the target as the market has not been proven and book publishers are cagey about breaking new ground!

Find out which publishers publish books in the genre you’re writing in – Mills and Boon won’t be interested in a Horror story or a self-help book. Take a look at the publisher’s current catalogue and approach those who publish your genre, but haven’t published anything close to your niche subject in the last year or so. They are more likely to be interested if it fits their profile and they’re not competing with their own existing titles.

Advances are not unheard of, but less common with so many people writing books, so don’t count on it. A publisher will edit the book for you and do the cover design and layout. However, the marketing effort they put in is minimal for all but established authors or celebrities.

This means that if you want to become a best seller you'll need to get stuck into a marketing campaign and make as much effort as you would if you self-publish

What will you make from each book sold? Between 7.5% and 10% of net sales. In other words, not very much.

Self-publishing
There are dozens of self-publishing houses, AuthorHouse, Shaking Tent, iUniverse, Trafford, Summertime, and many more. They all offer different packages and deals and you need to investigate what’s on offer before you make your choice.

Many self-publishing services are digital and offer print on demand (POD), which means you can have one book or 1,000 (or any other amount). You pay the same per copy regardless of the quantity as each book is published digitally. This is great if you don’t have a garage or spare bedroom to keep large quantities of books in, but, if you are planning on selling a lot of books it’s not the most cost effective way to print. Once you are printing more than 500 you probably need to look into offset litho printing. It’s much more cost effective.

They usually provide an ISBN number for your book so it can be listed. If you want the high street bookshops to stock it you’ll need to find out if your chosen self-publishing house offers distribution through the big book wholesalers (Gardners and Bertrams in the UK).

Just because you are self-publishing, doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be professional. If you want to build a good reputation you’ll need to invest a good editor. Typically, self-publishing houses don’t offer editing services, they will publish anything you give them.

Don’t fall into the trap of getting a friend to edit your book – there’s a lot more to editing than simply proof reading for spelling, punctuation and grammar.

A good editor will charge anything between £15-£100 per 1000 words, depending on the quality of the raw material and the expertise of the editor. Most books go through at least two edits and a final proof read so, if your book is a modest 50,000 words you’ll be looking at somewhere in the region of £2,500 to get it edited.

Your revenue per copy vary depending on the self-publishing house you choose – but it’s likely to be much more than 12.5% and you have control.

Ebooks
In today’s digital world you can get your book converted to e-format, either as a pdf document or in Kindle format.  You can sell pdf books on Amazon (they invented the Kindle) as well as on your own website.  There are other websites that specialise in ebooks too.

The challenge is for those people who like to have a ‘real’ book in their hands. You are much less likely to sell to them in digital format, but more and more people are getting to grips with the advantages of reading on an electronic device.

Just because it’s an ebook, doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be professional. Everything that applies to self-publishing applies to ebooks – you need a budget for editing, the graphics and maybe a template for your page layout.

What’s your return on this investment? If you sell it on your own website you get to keep all the revenue. If you sell it on Amazon, they get to keep a chunk, but you get the advantage of having readers leaving you testimonials and being on a site where a lot of readers visit.  Amazon have a publishing package for both paperback and ebook formats - read all their terms and conditions before deciding to to take the plunge.

With a good marketing campaign you can make considerably more than you would with the same amount of effort when you have a book contract with a publisher.

How to write a book

If you've read the last post, Will becoming an author improve your credibility?, you should know where to start so you deliver a book that actually has a market, how do you go about putting it together?

If you’re a professional writer it shouldn’t be a problem, however, I’ve met a few people who have no problem writing business material, but, when faced with a blank screen and a book to write, get that well known ailment ‘writer’s block’.

Being a systems freak I long ago worked out how to eliminate this – and it’s not just because I’ve got that kind of mind. It is a process that ensures you have all your ducks lined up before you begin.

Step one: Get a piece of paper and draw a mindmap showing your chapters, give them a name relating to the subject matter (you can always change the name later, but it helps you to focus). 

Around each chapter heading add the subheadings that you think should be in that section of the book. If you’re writing fiction you can use this to create your synopsis for a potential publisher.

Step two: Take a fresh piece of paper and mindmap each chapter in the same way. If you’re writing non-fiction include anecdotes, case studies, examples, things to do (if it’s that kind of book), books you want to refer to and any other bits of information that contribute. If you’re writing fiction you’ll need to plot out the events and introduction of characters.

Step three: Create your chapter ‘recipe’. This is the structure that will underpin each chapter so that your reader feels comfortable as they move from chapter to chapter. If you’re going to start with a quote or a story, then do that for every chapter. Have a style and structure that you can maintain throughout the book. This is less of an issue with fiction, but don’t ignore this step, it’s a good discipline to consider how to put your story together – do you end each chapter on a cliffhanger or tie up the ends for that part of the story?

Step four: Do any reading or research you need to do for your chapters and add the information you’ve gathered to your chapter maps. For fiction writers this will include developing your characters and researching locations you plan to use.

Step five: Take each chapter content page from step two and fit it into the recipe you’ve created in step three. You should end up with an ordered list of headings for each chapter.

Step six: Take a chapter list and start writing following the order of subjects and writing about each one as you come to it. If you’re writing a fiction book, you probably need to start at the beginning. If you’re writing non-fiction you can start with whichever chapter you feel most comfortable about.

If you follow these steps you will find that your book progresses without the anguish of ‘I can’t think what comes next!’ It doesn’t mean you can’t move things about later on, but at least all the information will flow well and give you a great first draft to work on.

Will becoming an author improve your credibility?

They say we all have a book in us somewhere, but how many people actually get that book out and use it to help them establish their reputation for being an expert in their field?

This is the first instalment of a guide to getting your book from an idea in your head to a finished production in your hand.

OK – let’s start at the beginning, but it might not be the beginning you had in mind!

Before you start to think about writing you need to know your marketplace. Who are you writing for? How do you know they will buy your book? How will you ensure your book gets in front of them? If you don’t know who you’re writing for, then you’ll struggle to sell your finished product.

MYTH #1: If you get a contract with a publishing house they’ll market your book for you.

A few do some marketing, but conventional publishing companies will usually send a letter (not your book) to all the reviewers stating that it’s been published, a thumbnail of the content and a one line biog of the author, suggesting that a copy is requested to review. They might also sell the foreign rights – eventually. If you’re a first time author or unknown, be prepared to do your own marketing.

MYTH #2: If you find a publisher who hasn’t published a book like yours they might be interested to add to their catalogue.

On the contrary – if a publisher hasn’t published a book like yours, they have probably made a decision to stick to the genres in which they’re already successful. If you decide to pursue the publishing contract route you need to approach publishers that do publish books like yours, but haven’t published anything similar in the last year or so. Do your research.

MYTH #3: Getting a contract with a publishing house will ensure you earn more money from the book.

Nope! A first time book will usually get 7.5%- 10% of gross. You have to sell a lot of books to make much. Remember that a book can be rated a best seller with just 3000 copies sold.

The upside is that you don’t pay for editing, layout, cover design and publication, which you would have to do if you self-publish, but you keep much more of the money the book makes when you publish the book yourself.

When you arrive at the writing stage you’ll need to ensure you are writing for your target marketing, answering the questions they have and delivering information they will find valuable. More about that in the next instalment.

Is your head above the parapet?

In business everyone has competition, so to get ahead of the pack you really have to stand out - and that can be difficult.  There are lots of ways you can stand out:

• Dye your hair green
• Drive around in really noticeable car
• Always wear the same colour - ideally something bright
• Turn up to meetings on a motorbike
• Get tattooed

I've done variations on all of these - and it's got me noticed - but doesn't demonstrate that I'm any good at what I do!  It definitely ensured I stood out from the crowd and may have got me talked about a bit, but not in relation to my expertise.

So now I've just made the challenge even harder.  Standing out from the crowd has to tick all the RAVE boxes - Reputation, Authority, Visibility and Expertise.  That means whatever you do to get your head above the parapet (like the palm tree in the picture) you need to be:

• Building your reputation with positive information
• Getting to be the 'go to' person for your area of expertise
• Staying visible so people don't forget you
• Showing off your expertise so people know how good you are

There are all kinds of ways to do these things and some work well to tick more than one of the RAVE boxes.

Social media posts and updates:

What did we do without it?! It's a fantastic way to stay visible with daily posts that deliver value, either as a stand alone tip or as a link to a longer piece like a blog or article that demonstrates your expertise.  Over time you'll have a substantial bank of material that show your specialism off as posts and articles on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.  Don't overlook the value of an image - post on Instagram and Pinterest too (like the one above here).  R A V E

Blogs and articles:

Writing blogs regularly will help you to show off your knowledge and expertise so people get a good idea of what you do and how you help people.  You can write on your own blog, either on your website or on a separate blog - or both.  You can also write articles and post them on your LinkedIn profile to gain visibility.  R A V E

Online networking:

Having a profile on various social media platforms is not networking - to do that you need to take action.  Open conversations with people you think would be good contacts - either as clients or as advocates.  Don't try to sell at them, just be interested in them and their business.  Offer help in LinkedIn and Facebook groups and on Facebook Pages and you'll soon find your reputation growing as someone who knows stuff!  R A V E

Offline networking:

Some people like to get out and about and meet people - others hate face-to-face networking.  I think you need to pick your groups, but if I stop doing it I definitely notice my business slipping down the curve after about 3 months.  It's not a quick hit, but a slow burn.  However, regular networking gives you plenty of opportunities to tick the RAVE boxes.  Firstly, if you do a 1 minute (or 40 secs or 2 minutes) presentation include a tip.  I always talk about something I've helped clients with - subtly giving tips and also showing my expertise off.  Secondly, if there's an opportunity to do a 10 minute (or longer) presentation, take it.  Don't do your history - it may help people to get to know you better, but doesn't do much for your business, I use it as an educational slot and give the group a short training session on something.  Give them information takeaways and they'll certainly get a good idea of what you can do.  R A V E

Give aways:

Have a high value giveaway on your website that has really good stuff inside - either a Tips document, a How to ... or a Checklist that walks people through essential processes, or even a 3 things to avoid or 5 mistakes people make.  This also gets people onto your marketing list and sets you up as an expert.  R A V E

Email marketing:

As all the internet marketers say 'the money is in the list'!  People sign up for your give away and then they're on your list and have, effectively, given you permission to contact them.  If you now spam them with sales pitches every day they're likely to unsubscribe fast.  Firstly, mix your messages so that they get at least four value-based messages to each sales related item.  Secondly, don't bombard them with messages (even with good value content) - people stop reading them and just delete them ... or unsubscribe.  However, it is a powerful way to build the relationship and show them how good you are at what you do.  R A V E

I could go on and on - but at least the key elements are here - we haven't even started on Radio station interviews, press releases, or getting articles published in relevant journals, magazines or newspapers.  I'm sure you get the message though - get people to RAVE about you by being the person that stands out from your competitors.

It's all about having a good system and sticking to it - most of your competitors won't sustain their activities.

Are you seeing your business clearly?

Be honest - when you're planning to promote one of your products or services where is your focus:

• On the product/service?
• On the customer?
• On getting it all to the printer/publishing online 'in time'?

If the answer is any of these your marketing probably needs a sight test!

What do I mean by this?  Well, it means that your marketing is a bit (or a lot) out of focus.

Do any of these sound familiar?

You've had a brilliant idea for a new (or repackaged) product or service and are sure that there is a really strong market for it.  It may even be something that you wish you'd had at some stage in growing your business.

You've been working hard at your business and your existing clients love what you do, so you want to attract more clients who might find what you do useful too.

Someone suggested that you need to write press releases regularly to get your business in the spotlight and more awareness of what you do.

You know how good your service is and want to tell people that so you think that a marketing flyer will be a good idea to distribute at networking events - and maybe do some drops in local business areas.

You've heard that social media is very effective so you thought a bit of Facebook activity and maybe a couple of ads would be good - after all, you can really target the right people with Facebook ads.

They are all things that most small business owners have done or considered at some point - but they are missing a key ingredient - focus.  It's a bit like looking at that eye chart without the glasses you really need.  If you have specs you'll be familiar with the 'er, N, no it might be M, Q - or is it O - or it might be D ...'  scenario.  Using any of the above approaches is exactly the same.

Focusing your vision

To really get your marketing on target - you need to be able to see your target very, very clearly. That means knowing exactly who you want to reach - not just 'small business owners', but men who own a small business that specialises in logistics, who are 45, very entrepreneurial, love schmoozing with clients, see marketing as a necessary evil and are very busy.  And are called Darren!'  OK, I put that last bit in to tease, but the more detail you have the better.

Once you've got this you're armed with some of the information you need to focus better - but there's more.

What bugs this chap?  What irritates him and frustrates him?  What keeps him awake at night?

What could your product or service do to fix these things?

Now you have the information you need to get the message right on target, but that alone is not enough.

Finding Darren's hang outs

Having a great message is no good at all if you don't put it where your ideal clients are looking.  So now you need to explore where to find lots of 'Darrens' in one place.  What does Darren read?  Where does he spend time - online and offline?  Who are his influencers?

If your message is where Darren is looking he's much more likely to get it.  It's no good getting featured in the local weekly newspaper if Darren only reads the Telegraph - or doesn't read newspapers at all.  It's no good trying to talk to him on Facebook if, when he's on Facebook, he's more interested in what his sister in Australia has been up to or what happened after he left the Rugby Club do last weekend.

This means that you need to be getting your press coverage where he's likely to read it and be on the social platforms he visits when he's in business head-space.

The right presription

A little time invested in these exercises will result in much, much more effective PR and marketing activities.  It's like when the optician puts the right lens in front of your eye and suddenly you can see clearly!