Savas Beatie in Book Business Magazine

Lemonade, cigars, and steak. While it's clear which item might not make the best pairing to your palette, all three work together to form a perfect book marketing example in a recent article written by Savas Beatie Managing Director Theodore P. Savas for Book Business Magazine. 

Enjoy the article and story, and here's to hoping it gets your creative juices flowing as well. 

Read the article here.

Using LinkedIn to increase author event attendance

Two and a half years after the release of Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason, authors Dan Van Vaften and David Hirsch continue to gain media coverage and have successful book signing events. While updating me on another well-attended presentation, co-author Dan Van Haften mentioned that using his LinkedIn connections helped spread the word about his events. Below you'll find the simple step-by-step method he used to increase his reach. It's a straightforward approach for other authors to replicate. - Sarah Keeney

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When I retired from Alcatel-Lucent in 2007, I had 40 LinkedIn connections.

Shortly after Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason was published, I started sending out LinkedIn connection requests to everyone on LinkedIn I had contact with during my 37 year Bell Labs/AT&T/Lucent/Alcatel-Lucent career.

Over time I got to 330 LinkedIn connections.

After Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, and the Structure of Reason was released as an ebook in June, 2012, I sent email notices to a large number of media people identified through the Bacon’s Media Guide.

After sending out a few hundred emails to publicize the ebook, I clicked on the LinkedIn option to send a LinkedIn connection request to every person in my email contact list. I received numerous acceptances, some as many as six months or more later. My first media acceptances were an editor from Duluth and from Green Bay.

I then realized I could send LinkedIn connection requests to all people connected to my new media “friends”. I sent out a large number of requests, over time building up media contacts across the country.

I got to 500+ LinkedIn connections (currently about 750). These connections included people such as Judy Woodruff. They included many people in the Washington, D.C. area, as well as the New York City area.

When I had an event at Ford’s Theatre, I sent out LinkedIn InMail to my contacts in the Washington, D. C. area. One hundred fifty people showed up.

When I had an event at the DuPage History Museum, I sent out LinkedIn InMail to my Chicago area contacts. Some people I knew sent their regrets (they were in China, they had a conflict, etc.). Twenty three people showed up, and I sold ten books. I knew at least three people in the audience already had one (or both) of our books.

When David and I participated in the Redoglake Book Salon, I sent out LinkedIn InMail to media people in the New York City area, plus most areas outside Chicago.

- Dan Van Haften
The Structure of Reason

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