Tag Archives: PR

Brit Babes Recruiting for the Brit Babe Street Team

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I’m a Brit Babe, and I talk about how cool the Brit Babes are all the time. But just in case you’ve been off world on holiday and have missed my bragging and blogging for the past year and a half about the Brit Babes, then I’ll just say the Brit Babes are a group of eight critically-acclaimed British-based authors who write super-sexy stories — everything from sweet sexy romance, to Rubenesque, to hard BDSM, to paranormal erotica, to kink, to menage *deep breath* and everything in between. The Brit Babes’ goal is to offer quality stories and to offer something for everyone.  Oh, and I almost forgot … world conquest of course.

And to help us in our goal of world conquest, the Brit Babes have a Street Team, and a fabulous Street Team it is! We brag about the members all the time because they’re fun and cool and energetic and encouraging and … well they’re just flat out amazing! For those of you who don’t know, our Street Team is a group of dedicated readers who receive free books in return for honest reviews. They also shout about our new releases on social media and gossip with us authors and each other on a private loop. Even cooler, sometimes we actually get to meet some of them in person at events like Smut by the Sea and the ETO Show.

And then there are just flat-out fun events especially for the team, like the Read and Review Rave coming up this Sunday July 6th. The Street Team will be getting together with the Brit Babes on Facebook to talk about and review the Brit Babe books they’ve been reading, to chat about their favourites, to talk about sizzling heroes and sexy heroines, to enjoy character interviews, asks probing questions ..oooh … er … and just celebrate erotica and romance. It’s gonna be a great time for the Team and the Babes.

Our Street Team is a very open, very welcoming group, and the Brit Babes are always looking for new, enthusiastic readers of erotica and erotic romance to jump on board.

 

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What our Street Team does:

As authors we all want our work to be read and enjoyed by as many people as possible. The best way to get the word out about our books is through the medium of reviews, which is why we need readers who are happy to tell the world what they think of our stories.

Members of our team along with a select group of other readers have access to all of our books for FREE. Plus, we use our Brit Babes’ Facebook and Yahoo Group to chatter with each other and with the team, to discuss stories, characters, and just to gossip. Aaaand! We host contests with cool monthly prizes.

Street Team members need to be comfortable posting reviews for erotic romance and erotica books on Amazon and Goodreads as well as their Facebook and Twitter account because this is how we spread the word on the ‘street’ about our books. If they’re as hooked on Pinterest as we are that’s cool too.

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READ, REVIEW, & SHARE!

And have a great time with the Brit Babes!

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Keep Calm10350544_501578259969488_8488128928937746351_nWanna Join the Fun? Here’s How:If you, or someone you know, might be interested in joining the Brit Babe Street Team drop any one of the Babes a private message on Facebook or a direct message on Twitter. Also, all of our links are on the Brit Babes’ Blog on the author biography pages. Or you can leave a comment on this post with your email address and one of us will be in touch.

For More Information Contact the Brit Babes Here:

http://thebritbabes.blogspot.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/8britbabes?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/8britbabes

Also, find all of our links are on the Brit Babes’ Blog on the author biography pages.

The Importance of Website Updates by Lucy Felthouse

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Firstly, I want to give huge thanks to K D Grace for having me here to blog about websites and why they should be kept updated. I’m writing with both my author and publicist hats on, but the information is relevant to any website.

So, why should your author website be kept updated? I’ll try not to waffle on for too long, but here goes…

Because it’s good for search engine ranking. If Google, for example, index your website (which they do periodically) and find that it’s not had any changes made to it in a while, it’ll lose popularity with them, making it less likely for people to be able to find you when they search. The search engines love fresh, relevant content.

Because it’s good for your readers. If they land on your website and find out the last time you made changes was two years ago, they’re going to get the wrong impression. Perhaps they’ll think you’ve stopped writing and not bother to look for any more of your books. Maybe they’ll think that you just don’t care about keeping your site updated – which will make them wonder how much care you’re taking in your writing, how committed you are. This is why it’s a good thing to have your blog integrated into your website, as per this very site. It means that even if you’re between book releases and have no more information to add on that front at the moment, you can still add new content to your website. Whether it be your new blurb, a cover reveal, excerpt, a post about your work in progress or what’s coming next for you, or even a guest blog. As long as the content is fresh and relevant, your readers will remain interested in your website.

Because it’s good for the industry. You never know who is looking at your website. Aside from other authors and readers, agents, publishers, journalists and many more people may be browsing around your pages. Your publishers will like to see that you’re keeping on top of updates and that you’re promoting your books. Agents may read excerpts and take a liking to your work. Journalists may arrive and see what you’re all about and contact you in order to feature you in an article or interview. You just never know.

Because it’s good for you. More visitors to your website means more exposure, and in turn, more sales. Happier readers, publishers and potential contacts from agents, journalists and more. What’s not to like?

If you’re not technically-minded, then why not hand off your website upkeep to someone else? As well as looking after my own websites (four so far!), I take care of updates and technical for several of my clients, including K D Grace! Visit the contact page on http://www.writermarketing.co.uk to get in touch.

Thanks for reading!

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Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman. As well as writing and editing, she also runs her own promotions company, Writer Marketing Services. You can find out more about the services she offers, along with pricing at http://www.writermarketing.co.uk

Thinking Outside Your Box … Or Writing Isn’t Always About Writing

By M.Christian

Sure, we may all want to just cuddle in our little garrets, a purring pile of fur in our laps, leather patches on our sleeves, a pipe at the ready, and do nothing but write masterpieces all day and night – with periodic breaks for binge-drinking and soon-to-be legendary sexual escapades – but the fact of the matter is that being a writer has totally, completely, changed.

M CHRISTIAN-17-2I’m not just talking about the need to be a marketing genius and a publicity guru – spending, it feels too often, more time tweeting about Facebook, or Facebooking about tweeting, than actually writing – but that authors really need to be creative when it comes to not just getting the word out about their work but actually making money.

A lot of people who claim to be marketing geniuses and publicity gurus will say that talking about you and your work as loud as possible, as often as possible, is the trick … but have you heard the joke about how to make money with marketing and PR? Punchline: get people to pay you to be a marketing genius and/or a publicity guru. In short: just screaming at the top of the tweety lungs or burying everyone under Facebook posts just won’t do it.

Not that having some form of presence online isn’t essential – far from it: if people can’t find you, after all, then they can’t buy your books. But there’s a big difference between being known and making everyone run for the hills – or at least stop up their ears – anytime you say or do anything online.

Balance is the key: don’t just talk about your books or your writing because, honestly, very few people care about that … even your readers. Instead find a subject that interests you, and write about that as well. Give yourself some dimension, some personality, some vulnerability, something … interesting, and not that you are not just an arrogant scream-engine of me-me-me-me. Food, travel, art, history, politics … you pick it, but most of all have fun with it. Forced sincerity is just about as bad as incessant narcissism.

Okay, that’s all been said before, but one thing a lot of writers never think about is actually getting out from behind their computers  or out of their garret to take in the opening to this. Sure, writing may far too often be a solitary thing, but putting yourself out there in the (gasp) real world  can open all kinds of doors. I’m not just talking publicity-that-can-sometimes-equal-book-sales, eithe. There’s money to be made in all kinds of far-too-often overlooked corners.

Not to turn this to (ahem) myself, but in addition to trying to do as many readings and appearances as I can manage … or stand … I also teach classes. One, it gets me out of the damned house and out into the (shudder) real world, but it also, hopefully, shows people that I am not just a writer. Okay, a lot of what I teach – from sex ed subjects to … well, writing – has to do with my books and stories but it also allows me to become more than a virtual person.

MChristianIMG_0071.JPGBy teaching classes and doing readings and stuff-like-that-there I’ve made a lot of great connections, met real-life-human-beings, and have seen a considerable jump in book sales. Now don’t let me mislead you that this has been easy: there are a lot of people out there who perform, teach, lecture, what-have-you already so often it means almost starting a brand new career. Sscary and frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe it. But, in the end, the rewards have more than made up for the headaches.

Now you don’t have to read, or teach, or whatever. The main point of this is to think outside of your little writing box. If you write historical fiction then think about conducting tours of your city and it’s fascinating secrets and back alleys; if you write SF then think about starting a science discussion group – or even joining one. Like art? How about becoming a museum docent? Write mysteries? Then organize a murder party – or just attend one.

You don’t have to make you and your work the focus of what you are doing. As in the virtual world, connections can come from all kinds of unexpected directions – which can then even lead to new opportunities … both for your writing but also as a never-before-thought-of-cash stream.

My classes and lectures and whatever have not just brought me friends, book sales, totally new publicity venues, but also ($$$$) cash!

It’s also a great way of balancing my inherent shyness with the need to get out there and be a person – which always helps not just sell whatever products you happen to be selling but can also be extremely good for (not to get too metaphysical or something) the soul. Sure, we all might want to be left alone in our little garrets to writer, write, write, but the fact is that writing can be very emotionally difficult …. to put it mildly. But thinking outside of your box you can not just reach new, potential, readers but also possibly find friends and an unexpected support system.

Teaching may not be for you, readings may not be for you, but I’m sure if you put your wonderfully creative mind to it, you can think of a way to not just get the word out about your work but also enrich yourself as a person. It might be painful at first, but – believe me – it’ll be more than worth it.

M ChristianChris 3About M. Christian:

Calling M.Christian versatile is a tremendous understatement. Extensively published in science fiction, fantasy, horror, thrillers, and even non-fiction, it is in erotica that M.Christian has become an acknowledged master, with more than 400 stories in such anthologies as Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Bisexual Erotica, Best Fetish Erotica, and in fact too many anthologies, magazines, and sites to name. In erotica, M. Christian is known and respected not just for his passion on the page but also his staggering imagination and chameleonic ability to successfully and convincingly write for any and all orientations.

But M.Christian has other tricks up his literary sleeve: in addition to writing, he is a prolific and respected anthologist, having edited 25 anthologies to date including the Best S/M Erotica series; Pirate Booty; My Love For All That Is Bizarre: Sherlock Holmes Erotica; The Burning Pen; The Mammoth Book of Future Cops, and The Mammoth Book of Tales of the Road (with Maxim Jakubowksi); Confessions, Garden of Perverse, and Amazons (with Sage Vivant), and many more.

M.Christian’s short fiction has been collected into many bestselling books in a wide variety of genres, including the Lambda Award finalist Dirty Words and other queer collections like Filthy Boys, BodyWork, and his best-of-his-best gay erotica book, Stroke the Fire. He also has collections of non-fiction — Welcome to Weirdsville, Pornotopia, and How To Write And Sell Erotica; science fiction, fantasy and horror — Love Without Gun Control; and erotic science fiction including Rude Mechanicals, Technorotica, Better Than The Real Thing, and the acclaimed Bachelor Machine.

As a novelist, M.Christian has shown his monumental versatility with books such as the queer vamp novels, Running Dry and The Very Bloody Marys; the erotic romance, Brushes; the science fiction erotic novel Painted Doll; and the rather controversial gay horror/thrillers Finger’s Breadth and Me2.

M.Christian is also the Associate Publisher for Renaissance E Books, where he strives to be the publisher he’d want to have as a writer, and to help bring quality books (erotica, noir, science fiction, and more) and authors out into the world.

Find M.Christian Here:

www.mchristian.com

amazon.com/author/mchristian