BookMarket.com Makes the News

My web site, Bookmarket.com, made the web news today. Even Google picked up the news.

What did I do? Not much. Just added another useful web site to my Top 101 Book Marketing sites.

Here's the news:

The Freelance Writing Organization International (www.fwointl.com) now has the distinction of being named on BookMarket.com's Best Book Marketing Sites of the Year List (http://www.bookmarket.com/101bm.html).

Giving awards. Highlighting good web sites. Creating halls of fame. These are just a few of the things any web site can and should do if it wants to attract attention and visitors. These are some of the best ways to create link exchanges with other relevant web sites.



We offer the Independent Publishers Hall of Fame, the Self-Publishers Hall of Fame, and the Independent Book Publishers Best-selling Books Hall of Fame as well as our Top 101 web sites for book marketing, book printing, editorial and design, etc. Check them out at http://www.bookmarket.com/files.html.

Coffee Sleeve Advertising

If you have a book that might appeal to coffee drinkers, you might think about advertising on coffee sleeves. One company that offers such advertising is BriteVision Media. If you'd like to know more about their services, call 877-479-7777 or check out their web site at BriteVision.com.

* They circulate 200 million coffee sleeves every year via 6,000 coffeehouses nationwide.

* Customers spent 49.2 minutes on average with their coffee cup.

* Heat activated color changing ink allows for special effects.

* Can be combined with coupon sampling, in-store signage, or other events.

As you might have noted above, I think this advertising opportunity is marginal at best for most books. That's why I put two "mights" in the first sentence. But I still like the idea for the right book.

Phone Service Returns: Hip, Hip, Hurrah!

Well, I'm finally back online after a long wait to have my phone/DSL situation fixed. Ten days without phone service is intolerable when you are running a business. And most of that time without email as well.

My advice: Never switch phone service providers when you are making a move. You are then at the mercy of your previous phone service provider, who can hold up transferring your line for days, if not weeks. That's what Iowa Telecom did to me. They'll have all sorts of technical reasons why they can't move faster. And, the deal is, if you have phone service with them, that is normally sufficient until the other service picks up. BUT, when you move like I did, I no longer had Iowa Telecom and could not hook up with my new provider until Iowa Telecom did their thing.

So I learned a lesson. Only switch telecom providers when you are in a stable situation. Don't switch during a move unless, of course, you are moving to a new city and will be getting new phone numbers anyway. Since I needed to retain my current numbers (they are listed everywhere on my web site, in my books, etc.), I was at the mercy of Iowa Telecom.

My phone number is now active at 641-472-6130.

In one way, of course, it's been nice not having lots of phone calls to answer and/or return. But it also means lost business, unhappy customers, etc.

This has been one of the toughest moves I've made. I'm still waiting for complete electric service. I need more outlets in my office before I can go back to multitasking at high efficiency.

The good thing is that now we live in a smoke-free area where the neighbors are not burning wood and smoking us out of our home. The dogs love the fresh air as much as Gail and I do.