If you subscribe to Microsoft Office, you have access to the new Microsoft Clipchamp program for creating videos using AI, images, videos, and text to speech.

Above, I showcase a text to speech video I created using the words and image from my previous newsletter. To create this video, I used Microsoft Clipchamp.

Check it out!

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Website: https://www.bookmarketingbestsellers.com

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The first secret of success is very simple: Tell the truth. That is how you build relationships with potential customers. This first secret does not change, no matter how successful you become. You must always tell the truth. — John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books

Truth is the easiest thing to sell. — Daymond John

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. — Socrates

Be truthful, gentle, and fearless. — Mohandes Gandhi

Web: https://www.BookAuthorAuthority.com

Web: https://www.BookMarketingBestsellers.com

Have you thought of creating videos to market your books, writing, and other products and services? If so, here are a few statistics that should encourage you to do more with video in the coming year.

Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% in text.

More businesses are now using video than ever before. 90% of businesses plan to use video for marketing in 2024.

85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound.

66% of people will watch the full video if it’s less than 60 seconds.

1 in 4 consumers have made a purchase after seeing a video story on Instagram.

The sweet spot for video ad length is 6-10 seconds. Short-form videos offer a great return on investment.

80% of consumers want to see more short-form videos this year.

For American adults, the average daily social media time for video is plateauing. Still, video consists of 60% of social media time among American adults.

84% of people claim to have visited a website after watching a video promoting a product or service.

Video production is often outsourced. Many marketers also use AI to create marketing videos.

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I’ve just completed a new book, A Is for Asterisk * - An A to Z Guide to Punctuation and Related Symbols (from the new ABC Book Series).

According to the grammar experts, there are either 14 or 16 primary punctuation marks, but there are also mathematical operators, newly invented punctuation marks, emojis, and other symbols that are becoming popular as people write and post to social media.This new book is an A to Z guide to many of these punctuation marks and symbols. Enjoy!

My hope is that this short book will help you become a better writer. I think you'll enjoy the book.

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One of my readers shared another key idea for back cover copy: testimonials. Linda Condrillo had a suggestion for the back cover:

Visualize what you want on the back cover—including rave reviews from prolific authors. Then send your final (perfect) manuscript to those authors, or other prominent people you admire or even know. Ask them to write a review for your back cover (and also have a sample of suggested text waiting, just in case they ask you for it).

You may be very surprised at the responses! I did just that. Voila!

Linda’s strategy outlined above is the same strategy I’ve used on the back cover of my 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. Here’s the latest version of my back cover:

If you collect the right testimonials from a variety of people talking about how they use your book in a variety of way, those testimonials can really sell a book. Are you convinced by any of the testimonials above. I know that I get inspired by the testimonials whenever I read them. They keep me going.

Web: https://www.BookAuthorAuthority.com

Web: https://www.BookMarketingBestsellers.com

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First, a few notes from yesterday’s podcast episode.

1. The author of Power and Petroleum died shortly after I reviewed her back cover copy. Apparently her book was never published.

2. I write promo copy for all authors, no matter where they are on the political spectrum. My job is to write great copy for any author who hires me to copywrite for them.

Here’s my copywriting on environmental policy and promotion:

If you want people to be worried about global warming, don't talk about global warming.

Too big. Too hard to grasp. Too hard to figure out how to help.

Tell the story of one lone polar bear cub who is losing its home as it melts around him.

We will respond to that.

3. I have no problem with people speaking Spanish. For the past 18 years, I’ve lived in two bilingual states: New Mexico and now Arizona. I interact with Spanish speakers all the time. I studied Spanish in college. It’s a beautiful language. But in the context of the sales copy for the book, I did essentially denigrate Spanish. I apologize for that.

A Novel of Ancient Rome

This novel had a front cover that looked much more like a nonfiction academic title than a novel. It needed fixing.

The back cover read: “A thought-provoking story that is truly original — Copernican in nature. The premise meshes well with historical evidence, which lends startling merit to a sequence of events exquisitely revealed in this gripping novel. The theory proposed will inspire intriguing debate among readers, historical scholars, and theologians for decades to come.” That’s it.

There's nothing in the back cover copy to draw the reader into the drama of the novel. Is the novel truly gripping just because the back cover says so? The cover also says other things — none of which indicates the novel is gripping. The rest of the copy says that the book is a theory, an academic think piece. Nothing wrong with an academic think piece, but think pieces are not novels. Not ever.

My guess — and it is only a guess based on the jacket — is that this book has a great story to tell, but where is it? Stories involve people, not ideas. Focus first on people. Then focus on the plot. Only then can you move on to tell stories about those people struggling with ideas or conflicts.

Besides better descriptive copy, the back cover needed a few testimonials or reviews. The copy was too sparse to sell the book to most readers.

Website: https://www.BookMarketingBestsellers.com

Website: https://www.BookAuthorAuthority.com

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As you may know, I critique book covers as part of the consulting services that I offer. A number of years ago I had the challenge of reviewing a number of book covers for a client. One of the books was titled Power and Petroleum. Now, the front covers of the books were okay, but the back cover copy was terrible. In this episode, I’ll critique the back cover of Power and Petroleum.

First, the title is boring. It has no power to convince people to pick the book up.

The back cover of this book was too focused on abstract ideas rather than immediate impact. Here is the original back cover copy:

A Wake-Up Call!

Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is the successor to Fidel Castro as the enemy of the United States in the Western Hemisphere!!

Read quotes from Chavez's speeches to know his intentions: To absorb Colombia and form La Gran Colombia, with Castro as his guide; and with China assisting in future adventures!

This warning is by a former resident of Venezuela, and former advisor to the Venezuelan oil industry.

In writing the above copy, the author used four exclamation points. There’s only one reason why the writer used so many exclamation points: The copy was weak.

Note: Exclamation points do not create excitement. Details create excitement. If you don’t believe me, read my rewrite below:

In the coming years, gasoline prices will triple.

Cocaine will be on every street corner.

Cuba will dictate U.S. policy in the Americas.

South America will be ripe for revolution.

Mexico will fall.

Communists will be knocking at our door.

Terrorists will be streaming in through our porous borders.

You will be sitting in jail—along with three of your children.

No one will be safe.

Are you listening?

If Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, has his way, the above headlines will be the norm in just a few years. Venezuela and Columbia will join with Cuba and China to create a new reality for the Western Hemisphere. It's time Americans woke up.

In Power and Petroleum, Emma Broussard, a former adviser to the Venezuelan oil industry, reveals the hidden intentions of Chavez and his cohorts. You have a choice: Read this book, or learn how to speak Spanish and keep your head down.

Notice how the details above created more drama, more urgency. Now that’s drama (whether it’s a true projection or not). It gets attention. And it’s not out of line with what the old cover copy hinted at.

Whether the book matches the back cover copy, that I don’t know. I didn’t read the book. But I could certainly sell lots of copies with a back cover with the drama outlined above.

How is your back cover copy?

Ask yourself:

Does your back cover copy get readers excited about picking up your book and buying it?

Does it make them want to start reading the book right away?

Does it create urgency and excitement?

If it doesn’t, rewrite it. Add more details. Create more urgency. Give people reasons to open your book.

If your back cover copy does succeed, congrats. You’ve take the first step in selling more copies of your book.

Website: https://www.BookAuthorAuthority.com

Website: https://www.BookMarketingBestsellers.com

Book Marketing Success is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.