Articles by Dan London

by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
November 20, 2008
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Lulu.com Author Interview: Bob McDonald

In Author Spotlight — Tagged: , ,

I love using Twitter to find out what the Lulu community is up to.  Often, I head over to Summize.com and type Lulu.com in the search field to see how our authors are promoting themselves via Twitter.  There are hundreds of recent messages from authors and buyers that have been sent talking about Lulu.com.  I decided to find one of the Lulu.com authors who actively uses Twitter to find out what kind of success they have had promoting their work.

Bob McDonald, author of Flagrant Foul and Dilemma, was kind enough to conduct an interview with me via Twitter today about how he has used the latest social networking tools to promote his books.

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by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
October 7, 2008
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So You Think You Can Write a Book

In Howto, Marketing Tips — Tagged: ,

Anthony S. Policastro is not just the Senior Business Analyst at Lulu.com, he is also an author. He was kind enough to take the time out of his day to write a great post on how to write and market your book using Lulu.com and other great tools.

The Jenkins Group , an independent publishing services company, says four out of five people they surveyed said they believe they have a book to write. Even fewer actually sit down and write a book and even fewer get published. Many established literary agencies in New York and elsewhere get upwards of 500 email and snail mail book queries a week and less than one percent of them are considered for representation.

So how do you get published with those odds?

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by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
September 29, 2008
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Gain an Audience Using Twitter

In Lulu News, Marketing Tips — Tagged: , , ,

One key to selling your book, photo book or calendar is finding an audience who is interested in your topic. Website forums have been a good way to speak to people who share your same interests, but finding the right websites to post on can take quite a bit of time and effort.

In the past year, another great way to find and communicate with people who share your interests has emerged: Twitter. This web-based communication tool allows you to have conversations with numerous people whether they share your interests or are simply interesting in their own right. If you’re shy, you don’t have to actively engage people in conversation; you can follow people that interest you and sit back and watch the conversations unfold.

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by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
July 9, 2008
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Lulu Author Interview: Georgina Spelvin

In Author Spotlight, Walkthroughs — Tagged: ,

In June, the star of one of the most famous adult films published a book through Lulu.com about how she became an erotic film star with the making of “The Devil in Miss Jones” in 1972. The book reveals her life for the next 30 years after the release of the film.

Her full biography can be found at her website: www.GeorginasWorld.com

Her Lulu Storefront can be found here.

She was kind enough to take the time to answer the following questions via email.

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by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
June 18, 2008
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In Memory of Lulu Author Kit Gleave

In Author Spotlight, Lulu News — Tagged: ,

Lulu lost a good friend and a great author on May 23rd.

Kit Gleave

Kit Gleave, author of the Stone Messiahs series passed away in Bath, England last month. I never met Kit, but corresponded with him numerous times about marketing his writing.

I was born in London and enjoyed, or more to the point, detested the cheapest education money could buy. Luckily this fiasco didn’t last long and six weeks after my 15th birthday, proudly holding my diploma for swimming 100 yards, I was sent to No 10 Downing Street where, in recognition of this accomplishment, I was given the task of handing tools to the guys who hung the doors in the corridors of power.

After three years of mind bleaching boredom I quit carpentry and started life afresh. Fortune smiled and I landed the lead role in Duffer, a well received independent movie. This led to stage management with the Quipu Theatre, the infamous Angie Bowie Road Show and Crisis Cabaret. But painting had always been my great passion and after marrying my wife, Isobel, and moving to the heritage city of Bath I dedicated more and more time to it.

However, I also had a passion for words but due to dyslexia putting them down was a problem. Then entered the computer age and I was free to start teaching myself to write. My first full-length novel “The Stone Messiahs”, told in two parts, “A Child of Two Worlds” and “The Circle”, is the story of a lost human history and of those whose struggle it is to rekindle the promise of its ancient and unimaginable secrets.

His widow, Isobel, is currently editing Kit’s third book. Head to Kit’s storefront to learn more about Kit and his writing.

by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
May 30, 2008
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Make Money Online at Lulu.com

In Lulu News —

Looking to make a few extra bucks with no risk and minimal hassle?

Just upload your novel, story, etc through Lulu’s Wizard, pick a book type, and put it up on Lulu’s global book marketplace for FREE!  You set the price of the book and you get a cut of the sale.  It’s just that simple.

1)    Create your title
2)    Upload your document (Word, PDF) and cover
3)    Set the price
4)    You’re done!

You pay nothing out of your pocket unless you want to buy a copy for yourself.  If that’s the case, a 100 page black and white book will cost you only $6.53! You can set the price of the book at $17.99 and you will make 80% of the profit. That is a profit of $9.16 each sale!

Lulu.com makes it easy to make money online. Find out about more products you can sell online at Lulu.com here.

by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
May 20, 2008
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Lulu Author Interview: Alison Wade

In Author Spotlight — Tagged: , ,

Alison Wade has compiled a great cookbook of recipes by some of the greatest runners in history including Joan Benoit Samuelson, Sebastian Coe and more. The book features 100 recipes from 90 contributors.

Runners Cookbook

All of the profits from the book go to two special causes; the Ryan Shay Memorial Fund and the Jenny Crain “Make It Happen” Fund.

Alison was kind enough to take the time for an email interview with me this week.

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by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
April 10, 2008
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Lulu Author Interview: Ken Henderson

In Author Spotlight — Tagged: , , , ,

I stumbled across Ken Henderson’s NHL editorial comics while reading an NHL fansite. A visit to his website led me back to www.Lulu.com and his storefront.

From Ken’s Bio:

I grew up playing in the coal hills of Union Bay dreaming of designing future worlds and creatures for George Lucas. Decades later, after working for numerous companies, including LucasFilm, I find myself back at home being amazed at the beauty of the island I left. I’m thrilled to say that technology has enabled me to bring my wonderful young family back to Courtenay where I continue to pursue my craft.

Ken’s artwork ranges from sports to fantasy. His career has led him to producing the artwork for video games and kid’s television shows. He also spent time working for Lucas Arts, any geeks dream come true.

Ken has made his artwork available through Lulu.com and also can be found on his website and in and online at the Georgia Straight (Vancouver area).

Some Examples:

Ken was nice enough to conduct an email interview with me this week. Read it after the Jump.

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by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
March 11, 2008
Comments (1)

Get Creative…Get People to Your Lulu Creation

In Marketing Tips — Tagged: , ,

Now that you have published on Lulu, it is time to get some people to buy what you have created. The Lulu Search Marketing Program can get your creation on the major search engines, but there are many other ways to get traffic to your Lulu storefront.

-Post on Internet Forums

Internet forums are a great way to let people know about what you have written. Find a website that relates to what your Lulu creation is about and become an active member. Make sure each post has a link to your Lulu storefront. This is a great way to get people who are more likely to buy your item to your storefront.

-Bookmarks and Postcards

Lulu offers a great service to help budding authors promote their creations. Get bookmarks, postcards and even business cards to help you promote your book. I had some made for my Lulu creation and left some at the coffee shops around the area. Click HERE to learn more.

These are just a few ways you can get people to your Lulu storefront. Visit the Lulu Forums for more great ideas.

-Dan

by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
January 30, 2008
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Lulu Search Engine Marketing Service

In Marketing Tips — Tagged: , ,

So you’ve published your creation on Lulu. . .now what to do? As the director of Lulu’s Search Engine Marketing program, I am excited to introduce a new way to promote your books, calendars and other content on Google and other search engines. Our new Search Engine Marketing program is powered by Lulu’s own internal Search Engine Marketing staff, capitalizes on our years and years of experience and is a great way for people to find your creations.

Wondering how it all works? The Lulu Team uses our research tools to find relevant keywords that relate to your content. First we look at each piece of content and craft a list of words that describe it perfectly. Relevant search terms are the essential ingredient of a good search engine marketing campaign.

search engine marketing

We then create engaging text ads based on our research that exactly convey what your book or calendar or other content is about. Your ad will be seen by thousands of people per day, but only those who are truly interested in it will click on the ad. This way, when they visit your Lulu product page or storefront, they are more likely to buy your work. Excited yet? Click Here to get more information and check out the different plans we offer. If you have any questions, check out our FAQ page.

Dan London