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This interview was printed in the January 2, 2004 issue of BIG MONEY PUBLISHING NEWSLETTER, published by
Norm Williams. "This newsletter
is about people, not about products or stuff
or hype or baloney," says Norm. Subscribe by sending an email to norman.williams26@verizon.net
with "subscribe" in the subject.
Francine Silverman, franalive@optonline.net
Q - Can you tell me about your business background?
A - I am editor and publisher of Book Promotion
Newsletter, a free, bi-weekly ezine for authors of all
genres and expertise. I am also author of two New
York State guidebooks published by Hunter Publishing:
Catskills Alive (second edition 2003) and Long Island
Alive (2003).
Q - As a person on the Internet, how did you get started?
A - After my guidebooks were published and I had spent
so much time promoting them, I decided to start an on-line
newsletter on book promotion since I really loved learning
about the strategies authors used to promote their
books.
Q - How long have you been in business online?
A - I began the newsletter on March 5, 2003 with 10
subscribers and at this point have more than 1050.
Thus far, paid advertisers have been subscribers
but I'm hoping to turn this into a business with outside
advertisers as well, given that I do not charge subscribers
for the newsletter.
Q - What online businesses are you are involved with?
A - I am not involved with any businesses yet on an
on-going basis. That will happen when businesses start
to advertise their services.
Q - How did you learn what it takes to succeed?
A - I used my knowledge of book promotion and read
all I could on starting an on-line newsletter before launching my own. As subscribers have increased and shared their promotional coups and disappointments, so has the
newsletter. I learn what it takes to succeed by sending
out a questionnaire to every new subscriber and get
back some really great ideas.
Q - What office equipment do you use?
A - I use Windows XP and Microsoft Word.
Q - Do you do all of your business online?
A - The majority of it is on-line. If I meet other
authors, I hand them a flyer about the newsletter,
but the number of new subscribers gotten that way has
been miniscule.
Q - What are your biggest gripes about the Internet?
A - I don't have any. The Internet has given me a whole
new lease on life. My subscribers are wonderful and
I love getting e-mails from them.
Q - Do you mostly do publishing or other enterprises?
A - As I said, I have two guidebooks to promote.
Q - Are there any tips or advice you would like to offer?
A - The only tips I can offer to someone contemplating
starting an ezine is to really be interested in the subject
and to treat subscribers as special people. Without
them, there would be no newsletter.
Q - Do you use any clip art in your publications?
A - I would like to but haven't been able to master it.
When I asked subscribers for help, my mailbox was
flooded with responses but to this date there is no
clip art.
Q - Are people more interesting than product stories?
A - In our case, the people are authors and the product
is books. I'd have to say that authors are inherently
interesting. Since I haven't read their books, I cannot
speak for them.
Q - What are your goals and aspirations for the future?
A - I would like this newsletter to grow and to find
advertisers so that I can keep it free. It would also help
if more authors found me so I wouldn't have to send out
so many pitch letters seeking subscribers. Book Promotion
Newsletter is on the first page of the top search engines,
but authors have to be searching in order to find it.
Q - What software do you use to make your websites?
A - I use a list manager, www.mailermailer.com, to send
out my newsletter.
Q - What are your favorite books or computer programs?
A - I am thrilled with high speed cable. We have Optimum
Online and I receive my mail in Microsoft Express. I also
like Internet Explorer as my browser.
Q - What is your best time for working on your computer?
A - I work on the computer all day. There is no best time -
except when new subscribers come rolling in.
Francine Silverman, franalive@optonline.net
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Francine Silverman is editor/publisher of Book Promotion Newsletter, a bi-weekly ezine for authors of all genres, and author of Book Marketing from A-Z (Infinity Publishing 2005), a compilation of the best marketing strategies of 325 authors from all over the English-speaking world. Visit Book Promotion Newsletter
http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com
and click “Ask The
Experts” for answers to your book marketing questions.
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