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Don’t spend valuable time creating your viral marketing video until you examine these simple-but-important tips. All of them are FREE, but essential.

If you’ve heard about video marketing, but are unsure how to really hit the streets with it, all that we’re talking about is creating a small video that helps to generate awareness and enthusiasm around your book, ebook, or other product. You can easily create videos yourself, or hire the pros to do it for you. The video is then distributed through social media channels like YouTube (and other video outlets), FaceBook, Twitter, on blogs, etc. The idea is to use the video as an automated sales device, driving buyers back directly to you or your retailers. You can read an earlier article I wrote about this subject by clicking here.

1. Display the URL on every single frame. Any simple video editing software (yes, including Windows Movie Maker) will allow you to do this in one way or another such as a simple band across the bottom of every frame that displays the URL where people can go to purchase the book.

2.Be sure you have a landing page in place before you release the video. It’s no use inviting traffic unless you have a place to drive that traffic. Simply driving traffic to your standard website is not enough – be sure that you create a page or mini-site especially designed to sell your book.

3. Keep it short and sweet. Videos with long, useless intros or dragging scenes that frustrate the viewer are wasted screen time. Chop them out. The entire video should be less than 90 seconds, and 30 seconds is ideal.

4. Include the techy stuff. In the book universe, people need to know stuff like page count, ISBN, distributors, etc. A teeny splash page at the end is enough to convey this clearly. All products have some sort of techy details, like pricing, style and size choices, etc. Be sure to give the basics for interested potential buyers.

5. Take into account multiple audiences. Authors need to direct the video at not just readers, but also booksellers, reviewers, librarians, etc. These may have many of the same needs, but including a few different details to address each of these viewers is important. This can be done carefully without diversifying too much.

6. Use humour. Who wants to watch a boring, dry, video? Unless your video is about the stress of bankruptcy or the death of a loved one, there’s always a way to use a gentle hand with a bit of a smile. Your goal is to keep them watching until the end. (And in the case of death or bankruptcy, the smile comes from the relief you provide.)

7. Don’t neglect the metadata fields. In YouTube (98% of all viral web videos are distributed by YouTube*) there are fields that you can add a description, keywords, and other behind-the-scenes stuff that gets picked up by the search engines. This is what makes the video viral – it gets found when people search. Do your keyword research and get that stuff nailed down before you even start creating the video.

See a future article very soon about keyword research, which should be the first thing you do before you even think about creating your video.

* See this additional article for similar stats and info.

I can’t stop watching the iPad video over and over. But how will this device work as an eBook reader, and what do eBook producers need to know?

The iPad is (partly) designed to elevate eBooks to the next level, and it’s really the first practical, portable incarnation of a reader designed to take advantage of what I’ve been calling “next generation eBooks”. (Despite the fact that ‘eBook reader’ is pretty far down on the list of all the apps and features of this device, long after video and web surfing.) This means total integration of my “Three M’s of eBooks”, which are: multimedia, modular, and mobile.

As eBook creators, here’s what we need to consider as we prepare to launch eBooks for this elegant new platform;

eBooks are no longer just applications, as they have been since their adoption of books into the iTunes app store in late December 2008. eBooks are managed through eBook reader applications like iBook, the fully integrated eBook reader in the iPad, (!!), which offers books in the ePub format. This format is also supported by readers like Lexcycle’s Stanza, Mobipocket, and Adobe Digital Editions. iBook will allow you to purchase, download and read books wirelessly, right from the device, without the connection of a computer.

We don’t know what the selection of books will be like in the US-only (for now) iBooks store. Will they eventually have an inventory similar to Amazon? The publishers reportedly offering books in the store include; Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette, but who knows about others.

Neither do we know what sort of specs developers will have to deal with, but we can surmise that it will be similar to Kindle, as the iBook store will support books in the “re-flowable” ePub format.

The display of an ebook will be more like an actual book, as seen briefly in the video. Page flipping is more natural, and perhaps to take advantage of the superior screen, the format will expand to allow producers to control more things like font styles, embedded graphics and so on, but still allow the user to control things like zoom and font size. We’ll have to see the finer points of this.

We don’t know what support iBooks will have for independent publishers and self-publishing Authors. Kindle is relatively kind to self-pubs, (compared to some retailers that will remain unnamed) and Apple has a great history of inviting in independent iPod app developers, so let’s hope their relationship with independents through iBooks will also be a good one.

Kindle books will apparently still work, as the iPad claims that is will still be compatible with all the iPhone and iPod apps, including Stanza and the Kindle app. However, apps designed for the iPod and iPhone will only display as a small part of the screen, so books read through existing apps won’t take advantage of the new screen size, which is rather dumb, if you ask me.

More apps mean more eBook formats, such as multimedia PDF’s and so on. But since Flash support has not existed up until now on any Apple devices, (Apple is totally *not* buds with Adobe – like, whatever, just get over it…) we still won’t see the full potential of all that a “next generation” ebook could be without embedded flash in PDF’s. In other words, it’s still not likely to display all that a multimedia PDF would if you opened it on your PC.

We don’t yet know what role DRM will play in this new iBook universe. It’s pretty tough to imagine Apple allowing eBooks to download in a DRM-free manner, even as an option, but you never know. Apple has surprised us before. Many, many times before.

Books can possibly be more than just pages, because with a beautiful display like that available to us, we can really get creative when it comes to adding multimedia content, or adding value to book bundles with things like audio content and printable extras all zipped into a friendly package.

Yes, there are still plenty of big question marks. But, I know I’m going to seriously consider purchasing an iPad for myself. I’ve been waiting for the release of this device to make up my mind about a portable eBook reader that I can really live with.

But no matter what, I can’t wait to start developing eBooks for this thing!

From The Associated Press today:

Amazon offers new royalty program for Kindle books SEATTLE (AP) _ Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday it will begin offering do-it-yourself authors and publishers a bigger cut of book sales on its Kindle e-reader _ but with strings attached aimed at keeping prices down for consumers. The company said that starting in June, it will offer users of its e-book self-publishing program, the Kindle Digital Text Platform, royalties on book sales of 70 percent after delivery costs. With those costs equaling less than 6 cents per book, Amazon said authors will be able to earn $6.25 per copy on a book that sells for $8.99, rather than the old rate of $3.15.

Check out this vid of Wired Editor Chris Anderson talking about his book released this past Summer, titled Free, where he discusses the concept of how to make money giving away content.

Thanks to commenter Mindi for bringing this to my attention. Cool.

The debate surrounding free content has become so heated it melts the keyboards of most Bloggers, Musicians, Visual Artists and other Creators. But does it work for Authors?

Anyone who’s published a book knows that you’re expected to give away a few things for free, including sample chapters, and of course review and publicity copies of your book. Most Authors have done free lectures in exchange for a table at the back of the room from which to sell their stuff.

But what if you gave away the entire book? All the time? To everybody?

Bloggers have been particularly frustrated by the issue of what to give away, and what to sell, at any of the conventions and gatherings I’ve been to in 2009. Most of them have written the equivalent of several books and not gained a penny from their efforts. Bloggers are getting a bit angry about this, because we’ve all seen so many promises of things like huge waves of blogging ad revenue that simply haven’t come true. In addition, people have become quite jaded by a proliferation of quality free content, and don’t seem willing to pay for information that helps them, entertains them, or even makes them money in turn.

But there are people making decent money – in fact, some making fantastic money – giving away content. How are they doing it?

According to Blogger and Podcaster Magazine, there are a few basic ways that people profit from free online content, including (for the most part) advertising, merchandise, and using the content to sell something more valuable: their consulting expertise. Like you, I was worried that this meant that if Authors wanted to learn from other industries and try giving away their books while making money in some other fashion, we might need to place completely unrelated and distracting ads alongside our books, which are now published as websites. This might work for some, but definitely not for all Authors and their creative works.

Seth Godin argues that  “…The book is a souvenir.” In the previous link, he discusses several cases where Authors – including himself, of course – who have released their books for free on the internet, are still selling paper or downloadable copies. Why? Because what people pay for is the instrument of delivery. Special leather-bound editions might only sell 250 copies, but they could sell for upwards of $250 per copy. CD’s containing eBooks, along with perhaps some bonus material, are still capable of significant digital cachet. Here’s an Author’s opportunity to partner with a graphic artist and create something elegant, beautiful, and distinctive – something irresistable.

Even 37Signals, the company who created the online project management system called Basecamp (that last one is an affiliate link), offered their ebook Getting Real for free if you read it off their website. They sell a downloadable version for $19, and a paper copy for $25. Despite offering it for free, they’ve sold over 30,000 copies of the downloadable version alone.

Examine this additional model from filmmaker Nina Paley, who created the film Sita Sings the Blues, based on the Ramayana of Valmiki. (Well, why the hell not?) Her very public accounting (see the link under her name) of the ways and how much money she’s made by not selling her film tells us something very important: this model does work, but you have to take a wholistic approach. Just one of those revenue streams is not enough – you need to present a well-rounded series of offerings.

As Paley says on her website, “There is the question of how I’ll get money from all this. My personal experience confirms audiences are generous and want to support artists. Surely there’s a way for this to happen without centrally controlling every transaction. The old business model of coercion and extortion is failing. New models are emerging, and I’m happy to be part of that. But we’re still making this up as we go along. You are free to make money with the free content of Sita Sings the Blues, and you are free to share money with me. People have been making money in Free Software for years; it’s time for Free Culture to follow. I look forward to your innovations.” (Links in previous paragraph are from Paley’s original website. I encourage you to give her money.)

Even with all the heat, I think I’m up for the challenge. Even if it melts this keyboard.

Check out the Facebook page run by Self-Published Author Carla Johnson-Roorda about her book “Magnetic Real Estate Photography”, which by the way, is a really great book. (Now also available at Chapters.ca.)

Hers is an excellent example of how to “work the page” – she updates it regularly, keeps it focused yet interesting, and spreads her reach to parallel industries, such as real-estate investing. Nice job again, Carla!

I’m dying to know more about the animation process behind this video from the New Zealand Book Council. “Bringing books to life”, indeed.

Well, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month online writing contest) is over for another year.  I didn’t reach my goal of 50,000 words either, but if like me, your goal was not to just push out junk, you’re in good company.

Check out this post from MenWithPens.ca about what it means to write something that you can build from, and why it’s OK if you can’t pump out a decent 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

I’m ready to try again for next year. November is always busy, but perhaps by this time next year, I’ll have finished this years’ novel.

Writer’s tools are extremely expensive, especially in terms of software. Here’s a great list of free open-source software designed just for writers.

First, lets define exactly what open source software really means. The term “open-source” comes from the idea that the source code of the software is revealed to the public, unlike Microdaft where everything is super-duper secret. (Or at least, so they think.) When the source code of a piece of software is available to anyone, it means that anyone in the software community can use it – within certain very loose guidelines – to create new software, create add-ons, refine the program, and so on. The one major caveat: they cannot take this free source code and sell it for a direct profit.

Does that mean it’s free? Well, sort of. There’s a strong code of ethics in the open-source community, and almost nobody abuses the grass-roots system that has grown up around this concept. Most people who contribute to open-source projects make their living by consulting, designing, supporting, and doing other things alongside the product of the open-source project, not the project itself.

However, this same code suggests that if there’s a donation button, and you’re happy with the software, then by all means, buy the programmer a virtual coffee. Realize that programmers of open-source software make only marginally more than your average freelance writer. Yep – a couple of bucks wouldn’t hurt either of you.

The website osalt.com has a massive database of open-source software for almost any purpose. (Be aware that they also offer downloads of commercial software – scroll past that to get to the free stuff.) But here are some of my personal recommendations for writers;

- OpenOffice, an alternative to Microserf Office. I have not used any MSO products for several years – this does more than MSO ever will, and looks almost identical. Virtually no learning curve, except for some exceptionally cool new stuff. Imagine this: free, does more, and fewer crashes. I once used this to layout an entire book for print, which I’ll talk about in a future blog post.

- WordPress, the blogging platform that this blog you’re reading is based upon. (This is different from WordPress.com, which is when you use it on a public server, which I do not generally endorse for writers.) I’m talking about WordPress.org, which offers the version that you can download and install on almost any webhost. A zany array of plugins and graphical themes are also available at WordPress.org/extend/.

- XMind, a mind-mapping application that can be used not only to distill your writing ideas, but also to map out characters, plot lines, and even help you figure out who the murderer is.

- PDF995, which although not really an open-source project, it is still free and very reliable. Even though you’ve read in other posts what a fan I am of Adobe products, I still use this for creating most of my PDF documents from typed documents, because it’s lighter and faster than the real thing. This version displays ads each time you use it, but you could just slap down the $10 and not see the ads.

- Celtx (pronounced “Kel-tix”) offers an alternative to the writer’s plague of crazy pieces of paper in every room of your house. Designed as a pre-production and planning tool for screenwriting and similar story-based art forms, it’s very useful for writers. Think of this as a digital binder, collecting your ideas and storyboards, not to mention the actual script, all in one place. Great collaboration tools for more than one contributor.

And for Writers Who Podcast…

- My beloved Audacity, the program that I use to record and edit almost all my audio podcasts. Easy to use, with cool built-in effects and a very forgiving undo button. Even the kids will love this.

- I recently discovered The Levelator, a dandy yet tiny application with big benefits for any podcaster. Smooths out levels and jumpy volume levels. This saves me hours of work.

If you can find a way to give back to the open-source community, please do so by donation or by promotion. It will keep writers in software for a long time coming.

Here’s my short video spilling some of the great items I found on the show floor (figuratively, not literally…) at Blog World Expo 2009.