SPA Girls Podcast – EP179 – Interview with Tara Cremin from Kobo
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This week we talk to Tara Cremin, Author Experience Manager from Kobo Writing Life. It’s always great to chat to someone from each of the platforms for the real insider information, and Tara didn’t disappoint!
For those of you who’ve never loaded a book to Kobo, Tara talks us through the process and why you should load direct instead of through one of the other aggregators. She also gives us the down-low on boxed sets, pricing, and promotions through Kobo, and how to make sure you get the best possible results. Then she talks about some of the exciting new opportunities, including their brand new audiobook service, which is super exciting!
What we really like about Kobo is that they’re innovators and experimenters, just like us. We’re all ready to take up jobs in the New Zealand office of Kobo when it opens, *wink, wink*.
“We’re just a bunch of book-nerds,” was our favourite quote from the interview, and sums up Kobo quite nicely, we think. 🙂
Check them out at Kobo Writing Life
Episodes 100 – 200 List
200 What we’ve learned so far…
199 Interview with Adam Croft – Mindset and Marketing
198 Find Your Sparkle – with Julie Schooler
197 Hack Your Muse – with Kelly McClymer
196 Public Speaking For Authors – with Alena Van Arendonk
195 The Magic Pill – with Laura Van Arendonk-Baugh
194 A Day In The Life Of A Writer
193 Keep It Simple
192 Interview with Skye Warren: Money Mindset and Facebook Ads
For Authors (Part Two)
191 Interview with Skye Warren: Time Management & Advertising
For Authors (Part One)
190 Dragon Wrangling with Scott Baker: secrets for
Successful dictation
189 Interview with Patricia McLinn: Writing by the seat of
Your pants
188 Interview with Morgana Best: Writing & Marketing
Cozy Mysteries
187 Interview with Geoff Symon: Wounds & Crime Scenes
186 Interview with Natasha Bajema, WMD for Authors
185 The Writer’s Detective with Adam Richardson
183 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part Two
182 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part One
181 Learn dictation with Kilby Blades
180 Interview with Brian Meeks, Mastering Book Descriptions
179 Interview with Tara Cremin, Kobo Writing Life
178 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part Two
177 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part One
175 Wrangling Facebook: How To Make It Work For You
174 How To Write A Regency Romance
173 How Do You Identify Your Writing Weaknesses?
172 Interview With Dan Wood, D2D
171 Interview With Serenity Woods
169 5 Goals You Need To Make In 2019
168 Jumpstart Your 2019 Marketing with 31 Quick To Dos for Jan.
167 Scheduling For Writing Success
166 Our 2018 Roundup
165 He Said, She Said: Creating Dazzling Dialogue
164 Interview with Steffanie Holmes: Reverse Harem
163 Interview with YA author Kelly St Clare
160 Amazon Excl v Wide – things to consider and how to market
159 Interview With Kathryn LeVeque
158 Some Like It Hot – Or Not. Heat Levels In Romance
157 Interview With Louisa George
156 The Kindness Factor: Helping You Achieve More and Stress Less
155 Editing
153 Characters: From Cookie Cutter to Kapow
152 Interview with Tina Dietz: Audiobooks
151 Interview with Grace Burrowes
150 Should You Prune Your Mailing List?
149 RWNZ18 Interview with Damon Suede & Geoff Symon
148 Interview with indie superstar, Bella Andre
147 Top Ten Traits for Success
146 Write Better Faster with Becca Syme
145 Newsletter Ninja Tammi LaBrecque
144 Looking After Your Creative Health
143 Interview with Carlyn Robertson from Bookbub
142 Personal Branding For Authors with Lauren Clemett
141 Ten Free Online Tools For Authors
140 Tempting Taglines & Heartstopping Hooks
139 Findaway Voices with Kelly Lytle
138 Get Your Writing Mojo Back
137 Interview with Toni Kenyon: facebook live & serials
136 Dealing with misinformation and change in Sp-ing
134 Interview with Kevin Tumlinson, Draft2Digital
133 Interview with Sara Rosett
132 Organization For Authors – how to keep track of your
research and book details without losing your mind
131 Interview with Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy
130 Critical Care: Leveraging feedback for success
129 Brand You
128 SAS Special: Interview with Johnny B. Truant & Sean Platt
127 Industry Insiders with Damon J. Courtney of Bookfunnel
& Christine Monroe of Kobo
126 SAS Debrief with Jami Albright
125 SAS Special: Interview with Michelle Spiva
124 SAS Special : Interview With Michael Anderle
123 Sports Psychology for Authors – Interview With Nate Vella
122 Using Sub Plots To Amp Up Your Writing
121 Interview with Scott King: Outlining Your Novel
120 Pen-names Pros, Cons and Possibilities
119 Reader Engagement with Nalini Singh
118 Writing the Small Town Setting
117 Handling Negativity and Naysayers
116 Tough Mindset Questions For 2018
115 Interview With Nicola Davidson: Sex and Sensibility
114 Tropealicious
112 Interview With Honoree Corder & Ben Hale: Write Like A Boss
111 Ten Health Hacks For Writers
110 Interview with Kathryn Burnett: Your Writing Audit For Future Success
109 Interview with Melissa Storm: What Readers Want
108 Interview With Zoe Dawson: Writing Across Genres
107 Interview With Dave Chesson, The Keyword King
106 Pros and Cons of Kindle Unlimited
105 Why YOU should do Nanowrimo
104 Ten Truths For New Self Publishers
103 Find 30 Minutes A Day EXTRA!
102 Your Christmas Presence: Maximizing the Holiday Season for Authors
101 The Writing Life: Interview with Katie Cross
100 100 Episodes! Retrospective with funny moments; changing AO title
SPA Girls Podcast – EP241 – Power Words
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In this episode we talk about power words. Those take action words that entice your readers to click that BUY NOW button!
Research and numerous studies from psychologists and social scientists have come to a consensus on the five most powerful words in the English language.
You
Free
Instantly
Because
New
But first, remember it’s really important to know:
– Who you’re writing your advertising copy for
– How that person thinks
– What that person needs
So before you craft your beautiful book description or facebook ad, keep top of mind your understanding of your readers – what tropes they like, what type of hero, what you actually want them to DO (eg buy now, read more, visit website, enter giveaway etc).
David Ogilvy (“The Father of Advertising)*’s top twenty power words were:
Startling
Miracle
Revolutionary
Bargain
Announcing
Sensational
Compare
Improvement
Now
Suddenly
Magic
Quick
Easy
Hurry
Wanted
Offer
Remarkable
Amazing
Greed words – we want more!
Bargain, bonus, cheap, discount, 99c, ultimate, expires, limited, new, now, before, ultimate, value, running out. (don’t miss out!)
Curiosity words – what’s going on?
hush-hush, banned, be the first, behind the scenes, class full, little known, login required, sneak peek, strange, top secret, unauthorized, insider. (not everyone knows about this…)
Sloth words – how can I make this easier?
All-inclusive, cheat sheet, downloadable, easy, effortless, kickstart, how-to, in less than, piece of cake, roadmap, freebie, gift, guide, no problem. (I want to do it but only if it’s easy)
Lust words – I really, really want this!
Captivating, compelling, crave, dirty, mind-blowing, steamy, sex, urge, forbidden, exposed, mouthwatering, naughty. (How can I not want this?)
Vanity words – I don’t want to look bad…
At the top, amazing, awe-inspiring, boost, booming, fearless, sassy, saucy, spectacular, jaw-dropping, kick-ass, legendary, conquer, courage, hero, dazzling. (How can I be like this?)
Trust words – They know what they’re talking about.
Approved, accredited, authority, official, results, secure, refund, proven, well respected, world wide, USA Today bestseller, NYT bestseller. (I can trust this to be good)
Anger words – This makes me angry!
Abuse, agitate, arrogant, backstabbing, foul, greedy, hostile, lies, loser, ruthless, smug, sneaky, brutal, morally bankrupt, diminish, evil, victim, violent, payback. (I hate those nasty peeps, I love it when they get theirs)
Fear words – I don’t want to miss out! (most powerful motivator of all)
Hack, danger, dangerous, fail, looming, mistake, pitfall, catastrophe, agony, annihilate, backlash, beware, bloodbath, corpse, destroy, poor, prison. (I don’t want to make this mistake, so I’ll do what you ask)
As a writer there are many areas we can amp up with power words:
Your manuscript – think about word choice: Eat vs devour or nibble, walk vs stride or stalk, smile vs smirk or grin.
Your blurb – this is sales copy. You need to use a strong hook, and even stronger words to evoke emotion.
Your tag line – Short, sharp, evoking emotion.
Your FB Ads – use power words to trigger emotional or psychological responses in readers.
Your AMS Ads – limited words, make sure you use powerful ones.
Your FB Posts/ Your Instagram Posts / Your Twitter Posts – appeal to your readers by knowing the emotion you’re trying to elicit, and the action you’d like them to take.
Your Newsletter – again, know the emotion you want to elicit. Know how you want them to feel about your book.
Further Reading:
* Highly recommend reading his book if you’re interested in this https://www.amazon.com/Ogilvy-Advertising-David/dp/039472903X)
Blog post: Magic Power Words for Conversion
https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/magic-power-words-for-conversion/
You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com
Make sure you’re signed up to our weekly self-publishing tips newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bGkz8L
Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast
SPA Girls Podcast – EP209 – Editing with Anne Victory
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Confused about the editing process? Today we talk with talented editor Anne Victory, founder of Victory Editing.
Anne has always been a stickler for grammar, and at every job she was “volunteered” (or volun-told) to either write or proofread everything from menus to game manuals to advertising copy. That business writing and editing experience came in handy when she started to work in fiction.
She enjoys reading, and polishing the written word. Common wisdom says do what you love and you’ll live a long and happy life. With her background in English literature, grammar, and library science, it was a fairly easy decision to work with authors.
We discuss what it takes to work with an editor. What you need to think about when you are editing your manuscript and much more.
Anne has written a wonderfully informative book that is a must-read!
How to Polish your manuscript in 10 days: https://www.amazon.com/How-Polish-Your-Manuscript-Days/dp/1793364052
Check out Anne at her website: http://victoryediting.com/
SPA Girls Podcast – EP167 – Scheduling To Save Time
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If you’re trying to find a few more minutes in your day for writing, then this episode is for you. We talk about how you can use scheduling to be more productive, free up time and get stuff done.
Each of the SPA Girls uses different kinds of scheduling to make certain repetitive tasks easier and faster, and we share them all for you in this informative episode!
SHOW NOTES:
WHAT IS SCHEDULING? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
It’s easy to let the time fly away through your fingers, telling yourself it’s only five minutes on Facebook, a quick check on Twitter. But if you add up all the procrastination, the tiny bits of time each day that you spend doing nothing… It’s scary how much time you actually spend NOT WRITING.
Scheduling your day, your time is one way to claim back your writing time, to make sure you’re using your day to the best of your ability.
We’re all busy, have limited time in our day. Scheduling is the best way to claim back more hours in your day for what’s important. Writing!
There are several different aspects to scheduling. One is scheduling your day, planning out what you’re going to do. You could also schedule on a longer term basis, like how much you want to write that week etc. You can also schedule things like Facebook posts ahead of time, using blocks of time, instead of small amounts of time all over the show.
HOW DO YOU SCHEDULE?
There are different ways you can schedule. Here are a few examples:
- Chunking – where you plan your day in chunks of time, and do something for that period of time, then stop.
- Timed activities – You could do on the hour writing, so that at 9am, you start writing, until you read 1000 words, then you can stop and do something else (like washing, or marketing or whatever) and then at 10am an alarm goes off and you sit back down and write another 1000 words. Same again at 11am and so on.
- Plan big and then make it small – Get a diary, plan out what you want to achieve over the whole year, divide it into manageable weekly and daily chunks, and then use those goals in your daily work like.
- Write lists – Write daily lists and make sure you cross everything off the list
- Schedule social media in chunks – Instead of going in every day for a few minutes and then getting lost in the abyss of social media, try scheduling posts in chunks on one day a week. Sunday night, do all your posts for hte week, and then you just have to pop back in to check on comments.
- Working out a writing schedule
- Dividing the time allocated to your writing into writing time, and marketing time etc
- Work out when you do your best work – are you a morning person or an evening person? Monitor yourself for a few weeks, work out when you’re doing your best work, and then make sure you save that time for writing.
- Also collect data – each time you sit down to write, make sure you write down how much time you spent, how many words you wrote. That will help with planning your schedule.
- Know how you work best – work out your writing routine. (music, silence etc)
SETTING GOALS AND PLANNING AHEAD
- Set goals that will motivate you to stick to your schedule
- Parkinson’s law – things will expand to fit the time you have.
- Pareto rule – 80/20 – get the data
WHAT TOOLS CAN YOU USE TO SCHEDULE?
Facebook Scheduling
Keep a file with quotes or facebook pre-prepared tiles/Share others posts
To schedule a post:
Start creating your post at the top of your Page’s timeline.
Click next to Publish and select Schedule.
Below Publication, select the date and time when you want the post to publish.
Click Schedule
Twitter Scheduling
Keep in the same file as above and use the Facebook content that you have prepared/Share others posts
Use Tweetdeck which is a free app. https://tweetdeck.twitter.com
- pomodoro,
- Cut and paste document/outlook shortcut keys.
- writing with others
- Sprints, in person or online.
HELPFUL LINKS:
Bria Quinlin’s Author Life Planner: http://briaquinlan.com/authorlife-planner-is-now/
Audrey Ann Hughey’s 2019 Author’s Journal: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1790831105/
Marie Force’s blog: https://blog.marieforce.com/for-writers-how-i-doubled-my-productivity-this-summer/
Trello: www.trello.com
Pomodoro Technique: https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique
Online Time Trackers we’ve tried (free plans):
Hours Stack: https://hourstack.io/
Harvest: https://www.getharvest.com/
Toggl: https://toggl.com/
Officetime (paid phone app) : http://www.officetime.net/
Complete Guide to Bullet Journalling for Writers: https://writersedit.com/fiction-writing/complete-guide-bullet-journaling-writers/
SPA Girls Guide to: Kick Overwhelm To The Curb
https://www.getapp.com/p/sem/scheduling-software
