Mark Bradley will be here on April 1st

Mark Bradley is a member of Virtual Book Tours and will be my guest for the April tour.
Stop on by to visit with this young and talented author and poet.

See you in blog world,
Karen

How to Improve Your Website 2

Going over my notes from Jennifer Thompson’s Web Site Wow I and II teleclasses and surfing the web, I realize content and the specific text you use is another important tool in creating an attention grabbing and user friendly site. Readers want information fast.

As mentioned in the previous article, you have less than a second to engage a reader. They don’t want to have to search through an article to determine if it will be useful to them – your title and first line or two needs to grab their attention or they’ll be gone.

This is where your elevator pitch comes in. You have 30 seconds or less to inform your reader why they should stay put and continue reading. With thousands upon thousands of sites offering products, services and information, you need to quickly grab the reader's interest. You need to inform them that your product, service or information is the one they must have.

Cliff Ennico (Entrepreneur.com, dated January 20, 2003) sums up the elevator pitch in one sentence, “It's the verbal equivalent of your business card, but it needs to say much, much more, and it needs to say it very quickly.”

I know this is true from personal experience. When I visit a site that is offering a product or service I’m looking for, if they don’t hook me within a few seconds, I’m gone. What I mean by ‘hook’ is I need to know within the fist few sentences that they are providing what I want or need. If the elevator pitch is effective, I’m hooked. So when thinking of an elevator pitch instead of applying the saying short and sweet, go for short and jammed packed.

Another effective tool to use to hold your readers' attention is to create powerful titles with a power packed first paragraph. Then use Read More buttons so your reader can view a number of posts at one time – these are called shorts. This allows the reader to skim over the titles and pick the ones they find the most interesting. If your site has the entire article visible the reader may not brother scrolling down to find other titles that are of interest. Always remember: readers want information fast.

Also, make sure your content is useful. This will keep your visitors coming back. You can also include an Email to Friend button on your site. Visitors who find your article or content helpful can share it with others with the click of a button.

In addition, it’s important to make sure the information you provide is current – you need to check for dead links. Go to Deadlinks and enter your url – it will check for any links that are no longer working.

My next article, How to Improve Your Website 3, will discuss Viral Marketing, Sale Buttons, 3D Images, and more.

See you in blog world,
Karen

Virtual Book Tours' April 1st Tour Schedule

Hi, All,

Since Virtual Book Tours has its own blog site now, the schedules will be posted there. Just go to VBT - Virtual Book Tours for the April 1st schedule.

I'll post a reminder here each month!

Karen

Check out 100 Twitter Tools to Help You Achieve All Your Goals

Hi,

I want you to take a look at: 100 Twitter Tools to Help You Achieve All Your Goals 

How to Improve Your Website

I attended two great teleclasses hosted by Jennifer Thompson of Web Site Wow and sponsored by Author Marketing Experts.

Jennifer discussed the importance in choosing colors, font, imagery, and so much more.

Your primary purpose for having a website is to promote your book/s, work, or product/s. You want a site that will motivate visitors to purchase what you have to offer.

Important Tips:

1. You have less than a second to engage a reader.

2. Surfers read in a D format starting at the upper left hand corner. You should have an ACTION CALL at the starting point.

3. Keep your site current.

4. Have a link to your blog on your website.

Tools you can use to create a great site:

Colors are a key component in having an engaging site. Action colors are yellow, red and orange. Blue evokes trust and green is soothing. Depending on what you are selling, you should use these colors accordingly.

Colors should also be web safe. Colors are like fonts, not all computers will read it the way it appears on your computer. If you want to make sure your ‘soft green’ background looks the same on every computer you need to use web safe colors. Netscape has a fixed color palette that you can use. Go to:

Techbomb to view these colors.

Imagery is another tool that can be used to create a desired affect. For example, I have a children’s bedtime picture book. I could use a picture of me holding my grandson while reading the book to him. Include pictures that create the image you are conveying. This will help sell your work or product.

Fonts need to be web safe as I mentioned above while discussing colors. It would be a waste of time if you create an enticing website only to find the font you’ve used isn’t readable on some visitors’ computers. A few web safe fonts are: Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, Century Gothic, and Cambria.

Well, that’s enough for now. I’ll post more of what I learned from Jennifer’s teleclass and surfing the web in a day or two.

You can check out Jennifer Thompson’s site at: Monkey C Media.

See you in blog world,
Karen

More With Simon Rose

We’re back with Simon Rose. I mentioned in my last post that I read The Sorcerer’s Letterbox and thoroughly enjoyed it. I love Jack’s struggle. He’s a carefree average boy who is called upon to do extraordinary things. Why was he chosen to undertake this dangerous mission? Why should he get involved? Can he actually change history? These are questions that the story cleverly answers while weaving in and out of a historical time period. The author, while keeping it very kid friendly, has managed to include a dab of history using details of medieval England. It has mystery, suspense, plenty of action, time travel and magic. What kid wouldn’t love it.

This is an excerpt from The Sorcerer’s Letterbox:

My uncle, the duke of Gloucester, has placed me in the Tower where I
am under constant guard. He says it is for my own safety, but I fear
for my life. Do you think you can help me?

King Edward V
June, 1483

I wonder how this thing works, Jack thought, closing the bedroom door.
It has to be something to do with the wheel.

He examined the wheel. He tried turning the wheel clockwise, but it
wouldn't budge. As he twisted it counter-clockwise, however, a damp
shiver ran down his spine, and the lamp began to fade from view. Then
he felt a lurch and was no longer sitting at his desk.

He stood in a room with stone walls and a small window overlooking a
river. On a low table in front of him, Jack saw a duplicate of the box
he held in his hand. Its lid was open, but there was no wheel inside,
and the artwork on the sides was shiny and new.

"Who are you?" demanded a voice behind him. "Where did you come from?"


Here are a few wonderful reviews of The Sorcerer’s Letterbox:


"This is a great book for kids who like both fantasy and history ...
Rose includes terrific details from 1483 (all the while keeping the
language accessible for young readers) that might just inspire kids to
check out some history books from the library. An entertaining read,
with a great feel-good twist at the end."
Cincinnati Family Magazine

"As with the best timeslip fantasy, the author's obvious zest for
interesting historical detail is transformed into both a compelling
story and an exciting adventure [...] a delightful book, and one that
has a rightful place in every library in the country."
University of Manitoba CM Magazine

"Simon Rose has managed to deliver another satisfying read with The
Sorcerer’s Letterbox"
The Calgary Herald

"Intended for children, this book will also be enjoyed by all grown up
fans of Harry Potter"
Avenue Magazine

"A well-written, suspenseful time travel story sure to keep readers
engaged till its very clever ending."
BC Parent

Please stop by Simon Rose’s website to check out all of his books.

Simon Rose Website

Simon's Blog

Thank you, Simon, for visiting with us this week. It has been a pleasure!

Karen

Are All Virtual Book Tours The Same?

The Difference Between virtual tours and our Virtual Book Tours group:

A virtual book tour is a means of getting your book visible. It is a means of promotion. While it is only one strategy in a marketing plan, it does help make readers aware of you and your works. It is also a helpful tool in drawing traffic to your site.

With most virtual book tours, you ask a blogger to host you. Or, you may be asked by a blogger to visit their site as a guest. There are many bloggers who are looking for content for their blogs and hosting an author is great content. There are also some organized tours in which you make the rounds (usually for a week of other specified amount of time) as a guest on several blogger sites in a circuit tour. These types of tours may be initiated by a publisher, promoter, or the authors themselves. While these circuit tours do produce a wider range of visibility, it is for a specific amount of time.

It's true that these tours are a useful way to help bring you and your book/works into the limelight, but they are limited. You continually need to look for opportunities to be a guest on bloggers' sites. Depending on how large your network is, this can become a little challenging. In addition to this, I'm sure your goal is to sell your book for as long as you can - this means ONGOING promotion.

This is where Virtual Book Tours is different. Imagine having the ability to be a guest on other authors' sites on a regular basis - having guaranteed exposure every month, without the burden of finding bloggers who are willing to host you. In addition to this you won't have to find host sites that have good reputations and have a decent amount of traffic. Well, the Virtual Book Tours group is one of the only groups I know of that offers this type of exposure.

Virtual Book Tours is a group of 30 authors. Included in our group is a publisher of children's books; an editor; a coach and teacher of writing for children and freelance writing; a marketing guru; and an array of wonderful, and some well known, authors. What's great about this group is that we cover a wide range of writing genres - from ghostwriting to poetry. This allows our books/works to be visible to a much larger audience than if we promoted within one genre.

Along with the ongoing virtual tours, Virtual Book Tours offers a couple of other marketing tools to help promote you and your work. We have a Link Exchange, Book Reveiws (for those members who are interested), and a Library strategy. We also are constantly moving forward and always looking for new tools to create visibility and increase sales.

One of Virtual Book Tours goals is to broaden our horizons by increasing membership. Since the name of the game is promotion through visibility, the more members the more visibility. This means more readers get a chance to learn about you and your book - this encourages sales.

If you are interested in joining our merry band of authors. Leave a comment with contact information.

See you in blog world,

Karen Cioffi
http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/KarenCV
Facebook: Karen Cioffi-Ventrice

A Visit From Author, Simon Rose

I am so pleased to have Simon Rose, author of science fiction and fantasy novels, visit with us this week.

Simon was born in Derbyshire, England. He graduated from university
with a degree in history and has lived in Canada since 1990. He is
also a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature of West
Redding, CT. Simon and his two children, dog and cat live in Calgary.

Simon’s first novel for young readers, The Alchemist’s Portrait, was
published in 2003 followed by The Sorcerer’s Letterbox in 2004, The
Clone Conspiracy in 2005, The Emerald Curse in 2006, The Heretic’s
Tomb in 2007 and The Doomsday Mask in 2009. He is also a contributing
author to The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction Volume One.

He is a regular presenter at conferences and festivals, and served as
a juror for the Governor General's Literary Awards for Children's
Literature, the Saskatchewan book Awards and the Sunburst Award for
Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. He offers a variety of services
for writers, including manuscript evaluation, editing, writing
workshops and coaching, plus writing services for the business
community.

Simon offers a wide variety of presentations, workshops and author in
residence programs for schools and libraries, plus services for
writers, including editing and online workshops, and writing services
for business, full details of which can be found at his website
www.simon-rose.com. You may also visit his blog at
http://simon-rose.blogspot.com/

Here is a little synopsis of the book to wet your whistle:

'In a hidden drawer in the base of an old wooden box, Jack discovers a
letter from a boy calling himself Edward. Penning a reply, Jack is
astonished to be corresponding through time with the boy king Edward
V, one of the famous Princes in the Tower, murdered by King Richard
III. Travelling back in time, Jack attempts to rescue Edward V and his
brother from their fate, but is soon fighting for his life in the
terrifying London of 1483.'

You can email Simon Rose at: sorcerersletterbox@gmail.com

To visit his website or blog, click below:
Website
Blog

And, check out Simon's video:
YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TipYYEIgOtE

Please be sure to come back on March 17th for more with Simon Rose. We will feature The Sorcerer’s Letterbox. I read it recently and it is fantastic. It’s action packed from beginning to end – kids are sure to love it.

See you in blogworld,
Karen

Exciting Virtual Book Tours News

Rather than stay stagnant, Virtual Book Tours is on the move - just like our authors. We now have a logo - check out the right sidebar - and will soon have a group blog site on blogger.

I will post the April 1st tour schedule within a day or two, so please stop by and check it out.

See you in blog world,
Karen

We're Back With Sally Murphy

Well, we learned a little about Sally last post, now we'll learn a little about her books.

Pemberth Bear:

Pemberthy Bear might be covered in fluff, but he is also very gruff and grumpy. So, when the carefree Primula Doll invites him for a sing along, he refuses to join in. Later, however, he finds himself paying an unexpected visit to Primula. Can she convince him to sing with her?
Pemberthy Bear, a picture book in rhyme was released by New Frontier Publishing in May 2006.

Pemberthy and his toy room friends have been brought to life in stunning illustrations by the very talented Jacqui Grantford. This is perfect for reading aloud and would make an excellent gift for a newborn baby.

The Floatingest Frog:

My first picture book, The Floatingest Frog, illustrated by the wonderfully talented Simon Bosch, was released in hardcover in August 2004.

Ferdinand the Frog wants to outdo his brother Frankie in every possible way. He can jump the farthest, croak the loudest, and even has the longest name! Sibling rivalry soon reaches hilarious heights when Ferdinand pushes his luck too far. Based on an Aesop's fable, The Floatingest Frog is a cautionary tale about being too full of hot air.

This is a great book for sharing at home, with plenty of humour and bold, bright illustrations which littlies will adore. It would also make an excellent classroom sharing book for all ages and fit right in to a unit focusing on frogs or on fables.

Doggy Duo:

Doggy Duo contains two stories - 'Little Dog' and 'My Dog Ate My Homework' - back to back in the one volume, illustrated by the extremely talented Teresa Culkin-Lawrence. Published by innovative Aussie publisher Banana Books in September 2003.

In Little Dog Mira is desperate for a dog.
So when she finds a tiny dog down a drain, she thinks all her dreams have come true.
Surely Mum won't mind a teeny-tiny dog?
But owning a dog is more difficult than Mira first thought - especially as her tiny dog grows at such an alarming rate...

In My Dog Ate My Homework, Jeremy doesn't have his homework.
Again.
Miss B. is going to be good and mad.
But at least he has an excuse.
Why is it, that adults will just not believe you, even when you are telling the truth?

Join Jeremy as he tells the hilarious tale of how his dog came to eat his homework!

The Big Blowie:

When a drought dries up Lake Blowie and stops the tourists from coming, Syd knows he must do something to get them back. What tourists love better than natural attractions is big things, so Syd decides to build one – a Big Blowie. But will the tourists like it?

The Big Blowie is part of the wonderful Aussie Aussie series from Aussie Schoolbooks, distributed by Blake Education.

ZigZags Series:

I have three titles in the new ZigZags series from Oxford University Press. ZigZags is an engaging series of 30 fiction titles that use humour and appealing full-colour illustrations to involve students actively in the reading process.
It is a comprehensive, easy-to-use instructional reading series for students in their third, fourth and fifth years of primary school, and is designed to support and extend young readers who can already read many books independently.

There are just a few of Sally Murphy's books in print. Check out her sites to learn more! Visit at: Sally Murphy

Thanks so much, Sally, for visiting with us this week through Virtual Book Tours. It was certainly a pleasure learning about you and your books.

See you in blog world,
Karen

Sally Murphy, author

Sally is a member of Virtual Book Tours and should have been hosted on March 1st as the schedule indicated, but unfortunately there was a problem. So, it is my pleasure to host author, Sally Murphy today and Tuesday, March 10th. I know Sally's biography has been posted before, but if you're like me you pick up on something different each time you read an article, book or bio. Sally lives in Australia and has 27 books in print and 8 in production - yes, that's right, 27 and 8! Well, let me have Sally tell you about it.

Okay, Sally you're on:

Hi, Karen and readers, it's great to be here. Well, I'm a mum, wife, daughter, teacher, speaker, web site manager, reviewer, story teller and, of course, author. While that sounds like a lot of things to be at once, I still find time to play with my kids, read books, watch tv, cook, clean and a million other things. I seem to thrive on being busy and, when I see a gap, I quickly plug it with another project.

I was born in 1968 in Perth, Western Australia. I had four older sisters and an older brother but it is a lie that the youngest child gets spoilt - even if my siblings don't believe that! As one of six kids I guess I always had someone to play with, but when they were all at school I also had lots of time by myself, when I would invent little fantasy worlds. Should have known then I'd grow up to be a writer!

Some of my earliest memories are to do with books and writing. I remember sitting in my Mum's office writing on a rainbow notepad. The fact that I couldn't write didn't stop me. I filled page after page with little squiggles and then made Mum post these letters off to my various relatives. I also remember sitting on the mat at kindergarten reading Are You My Mother? to my classmates. I felt very smug that I was the only one who could read, even though I had probably just memorised the book.

When I was three we moved to a country town called Collie, where my parents had a hotel. Growing up in a country pub was interesting. My memories are mostly good but there were some traumatic times in 1978 when a bomb was planted in the pub. Luckily no one was injured when it exploded, but the building was damaged and there were some tense days before the culprit was arrested.

I went to school in Collie until year ten, then did the last two years at boarding school (which I hated) before going to university. I met my husband Julian in my first week at uni. We now have six children - five boys and a girl.

Having lived in lots of places since we got married - mostly around Western Australia, but we also spent a year in Papua New Guinea - we now live in a smallish town in the Wheatbelt, two and a half hours from Perth.

I find life in the country wonderful and very conducive to a writing career. In 2001, when we were living in a really tiny town (about 60 residents) I decided to put everything I could into fulfilling my dream of being a children's author.
It worked. In six amazing weeks later that year I had first a chapter book, then another, then two reading books and, finally, my first junior novel accepted. I was flying!

Since then I haven't looked back and I now have twenty seven books in print and another eight accepted for publication. I still have lots of things I want to achieve with my writing and loads more stories I want to see published, but for now I am happy to be able to say I AM a children's author.

As well as writing for children, my other passion is spreading the word about great books. I run a review web site called Aussiereviews where I review as many Australian books as I can find time to read. I also review children's books for Reading Time, the magazine of the Children's Book Council of Australia.
I also appear at literary festivals and do school visits. I have appeared at events including the All:Write festival in Adelaide and the All Saints Festival in Perth, and love visiting school to share my books with kids.

To find out more about Sally Murphy just click on her name.

And, be sure to stop back on Tuesday, March 10th for more with Sally. We'll be taking a look at several of her books and maybe have a little interview.

See you in blog world,
Karen

Free Marketing Teleclasses March 18th and 19th

I am posting this again as a reminder: I have exciting news: On March 18th and 19th at 4pm PST (7pm EST) Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., will be giving two marketing teleclasses for Virtual Book Tours, but everyone is welcome to join in.

If you don't know who Penny is, she is a marketing guru. Her articles, blogs, teleclasses and lectures are jammed packed with timely, pertinent and valuable marketing and promotional advice and tips. I have attended a number of Penny's teleclasses and read a number of her articles. The best way to describe the information Penny provides is it's useful, practical and doable.

The first teleclass on Wednesday, March 18th is:

Red Hot Internet Basics: Touring Yourself Online
If you’re ready to market your book online but don’t know where to start you’ll love this class. We’ll look at creating and launching your very own Virtual Author Tour. During this class we’ll look at:

• How to find sites to pitch yourself to
• How to set up a social networking page
• How to find bloggers and contact them
• Crafting your pitch
• Networking online, how to do it and why you *must* network with bloggers
• What is social book marketing and how to use it

Come with ALL of your Internet questions, this class will get them answered!

The second teleclass on, Thursday, March 19th is:

Red Hot Internet Publicity 2.0

If you think you have your Internet marketing covered with just a web site, you might be missing out on a bucket of Internet gold. This class is packed with information with everything from understanding social media to monetizing sites like Facebook, Squidoo, and Twitter. We’ll also talk about what you should never do on your web site and why a blog is a must-have part of any Internet campaign. We’ll also look at some of the hottest online trends too!

• The secret to getting thousands of hits on your web site and then converting them into sales!
• Top internet promotion techniques that won’t cost you a dime!
• The Virtual Author Tour™, how you can “tour” yourself on the net
• How to use site like Facebook and Squidoo to build your customer base
• What is Twitter? We’ll talk about Twitter and how to use it to drive more sales to your web site
• How to create a web site that sells your book
• Simple steps to blogging effectively!

Bonus: We’ll even include some time-saving hints to maximize your online efforts without spending HOURS online!

Sign up now by simply sending an email to Redhotpub@gmail.com with ‘sign up’ as the subject. An email will be sent to all those who sign up - it will include the dial in information, and any other information needed to participate in these great teleclasses.

See you in blog world,
Karen

We're Back With Pamela Devor

Welcome back, Pamela.

It was so nice to visit with you on Sunday. We learned a little about you and The Troll, The Trunk & The Compass. Now we’d like to learn a little more.

What other books do you have coming soon?

I am nearly finished with the sequel to “The Troll Door, The Trunk & The Compass”. The title is not set in stone, but may be: “The Dragon Egg, The Trunk & The Magic Carpet”. This book starts right where the first book ends. I am still using my imagination in the sequel to make it exciting for children and adults alike.

What can readers expect when they read your books?

My books are filled with good family values, happy family relationships, and exciting magical experiences. I have had extremely positive feedback from kids from age 8 to 80.

Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a “real” writer?

When the publisher sent me a contract, I realized that I was actually going to be published. I was so excited!!!

What are your future goals for your writing?

I would like to write at least four books in my current series. I would really like to get my books into Scholastic.

What types of books most inspire you? Why?

I have always read to my children, even when they were old enough to read to themselves. My two youngest and I all got hooked on the Harry Potter series. I like books that stretch the imagination and make your mind open up to imagine the impossible as believable.

How long have you been writing? How did you get started?

I’ve only been writing for three years. I started writing a story just for fun using my grandchildren’s personalities for the characters in my story. The story just kept getting longer. I kept coming up with more ideas. So I started calling it a book. I did not intend to get it published. But I met a published author & his wife. They encouraged me to submit my book. It has been a lot of fun. I am nearly finished writing the sequel. I plan to write at least four books in this series.

It’s great to get to know you better, Pamela. Thanks for coming back today and sharing with us.

To learn more about Pamela Devor and to order her wonderful children’s book you can visit her at:

http://www.PamelaDevor.com

http://pamdevor.blogspot.com


Thanks for visiting our blog, please leave a comment and be sure to sign up for our mailing list so you’ll get updated tips and advice on writing, self-publishing, marketing, promotion and more.

See you in blog world,
Karen

Pamela Devor, Author

It’s my pleasure to start the NEW monthly Virtual Book Tours rotation with Pamela Devor.

Welcome, Pamela. It's always so interesting to learn about authors. Would you tell us a little about yourself?

Hello! I am an author of children’s novels. My first book is available at my website: www.PamelaDevor.com. I have a lively imagination and include a lot of fun and magic, as well as good family values in my books. Many of the experiences in my first book originated from visits to my cousins’ farm as a child. I am currently finishing my second novel, which is a sequel to The Troll Door, The Trunk & The Compass.
I am a wife, mother, and grandmother to ten beautiful talented grandchildren.
I live in Southern Illinois with my family.

I love the cover of your book. Please tell us a little about the story.

“The Troll Door, The Trunk, and the Compass” is about five siblings who spend the summer with their Aunt on the farm. There are lots of fun farm experiences for the kids who are thrilled to be there. Their aunt has had a hard time for about six months because her fiancé disappeared (literally). She needs the children to distract her from her problem.

Alexander explores in the attic & finds an old trunk. Inside the trunk is a diary from a scientist who lived in the house over 20 years before. In addition to the diary is a compass that the scientist invented. The compass has dials for different years and different worlds. Alexander tries it, travels back in time and meets the scientist. Then together they set off to try to rescue his Aunt’s fiancé from another world, if it is not too late.

Wow, life on a farm and time travel. This sounds like a wonderful fantasy story.

Please let us know where we can find out more about you and your book.

The Troll Door, The Trunk & The Compass can be purchased on my website: www.PamelaDevor.com.

It is also available online at Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

You can also visit me at my blog:
http://pamdevor.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for visiting today, Pamela!

And, to our readers, please stop by again on March 4th – we’ll have questions and answers with Pamela.

See you in blog world,
Karen