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February 15 2017

Meeting called to order at 6 p.m.

In Attendance: Vicki White, Laurie Hanan, Gail Baugniet, Jenny Delos Santos, Roemary and Larry Mild, Dawn Casey, Quincy Solano, Gay Gale, Lizbeth Hartz.

1) GUEST SPEAKER - Quincy Solano is one of the top marketers in Hawaii. q@cleverwolfmedia.com

Solano has been in the marketing industry for 12 years, including currently works at Clever Wolf Media as well as serves as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army for the last 17 years.

His previous campaigns and clients include working with Kamehameha Schools, Hawaiian Telcom, Pepsi, Genki Sushi, Marriott Hotels, Kisseten Cafe and Teddy’s Bigger Burger. He also served on the board for TedxHonolulu and was once awarded as one of the Top 10 Sales and Marketing Professionals by SMEI 2010.

Solano has a Bachelors of Science in Information Computer Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Masters in Business Administration from Argosy University.

IDEAS to aid in marketing:

Streamline your postings: eliminate the daily pain, sit and select a topic for each days posting. Write your blurb in a grid or document and then you only need to cut and paste on each separate day or use the scheduling for posting.
Do guest posts or bring in a guest to post.
Multiple sites to guest write.

QUESTION: How many people visit your website and have the tracking in place?

Search is really important as well as the SEL when it comes to traffic.
Add links in your websites/blogs
Get others to add your links to their sites. The more people that link back to you…the higher you push up in the ranks.
Alexa.com – site ranking - Gives you statistics
Similarweb.com - It compares website to website. If you put in your website and it aggregates no data, which means you aren’t getting any traffic.

QUESTION: is it true that you have to pay them money in order to be on the top with google search?

The three main interchangeable terms for the number one spot: SEM – Search Engine Marketing , PPC Adwords . Marketing issues take priority.

Options to pay experts to engineer like organic and link building. SEL – organic search/SEM – the paid search
You can manipulate the search engine many different ways into creating the advertising outcome where people can search for you.
When being repetitive in posting to get search priority - Google finds and penalizes. It looks like you are trying to pull a fast one.

QUESTION: Write for people rather than writing for machines.

Google felt it was really important to count how many links back were on one page, which was an indication of a good search.
Writing quality work, people will share it naturally. Or, you can ask “Hey, I wrote this really good novel, would you mind sharing it?” That will bring authority.

QUESTION: How do i create a word link?

Highlight it. And there should be a chain icon. Click on the icon.

QUESTION: Is it better to do pictures or a video?

In Facebook and Instagram, video is king.
Before, you couldn’t write text without adding a picture.
Growing popularity is FACEBOOK LIVE.
You talk about your book at a scheduled time and it can replay later as well.
Announce it - I’m going on line and answer whatever questions you have and that’s going to create a personal touch.
Currently being done by Hawaii News Now.
Make sure when doing a live feed there isn’t a distinct landmark that tells where you live. So you have to be careful!
FACEBOOK LIVE has been the highest in organic reach where you don’t have to pay for it.
Advertise your upcoming FACEBOOK LIVE
FACEBOOK LIVE was created for phones.
Always practice first. Get comfortable.

SOCIAL MEDIA TRAFFIC - you want to make sure that people come back.

Blogging: 600 words minimum/4,000 threshold
Break up long blogs into sequential postings, use the cliff hanger to bring them back.
Once people fall in love with your writing, they most likely would like to purchase your book all the time.

CHIMP MONKEY or E-mail list is gold.

Right now e-mails are one of the strongest tools in terms of marketing and sales and advertising, and it’s free. Every time you send out an e-mail - it’s free.

LANDING PAGES:

A landing page is just a regular page. Put a picture of the cover of your book on the landing page, and that will help a lot. Are separate from your website.
It takes away all the distractions.
It strips away all the navigation and all it shows is a page, and it talks about testimonials on the bottom.
You can add a form to get their e-mail address, “If you want a chapter of my book, put in your name and e-mail.
Promise updates on how the authors doing, things of value, and when next book comes out.
Add disclaimer. I promise I won’t spam you
Its main purpose is to convert people to e-mail or have them sign up for their one chapter of their book, and they give you their e-mail address. It’s a real trendy thing here in digital marketing.
When they sign up page to get a free chapter they will need to provide information.
After completion of form - redirect to the thank you page which also says you are looking forward to connecting with you.”

Strategies for people buying your books.

Reviews help a lot to have people buy your books.
Reviews create that automatic influence in terms of sales.
Strong reviews sell a lot more, which is what we experienced.

MAKIKI LIBRARY: There is yearly dues for your membership. If you want to have your books at Makiki Library, please sign up for your membership.
DUES: The dues need to be renewed in the Sisters in Crime Hawaii as well as for the National one as well.
BOOK AND MUSIC FESTIVAL is coming up in May.
EXCITING NEWS: There are two coffee shops that are interested in doing book signings with us. We will plan for April 2017. There are Kissaten Coffee Bar on 88 Piikoi Street and Local Joes on 110 Marin Street.
MARCH MEETING: There’s NO March meeting for Sisters in Crime Hawaii.
SINC WEBSITE: Vicki started a Sisters in Crime website. If you have a website, she will introduce you and link them to your website.
RETREAT ANNOUNCEMENT: There’s a Mokuleia Writers Retreat from May 7 to 12. It’s a retreat for serious writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays and memoir. Location is on the North Shore. Cost: $1,300 for private rooms and $1,100 if sharing rooms. For more information, visit campmokuleia.com/retreats/writers.
LAURIE HANAN ANNOUNCEMENT: As a result of my Facebook Ad asking for reviewers, a publisher in Germany saw my ad and offered me a contract for five of my books. They have offices in Spain and South America. So my books will be translated in German and Spanish. Sixty percent royalty goes to me, 30 percent goes to publisher.
LEFT COAST CRIME UPDATES: Needs volunteers. Friday night is a fundraiser of $10 to help Read Aloud America, which started in Honolulu and now it’s worldwide. Gay said they have to pay the hotel $70,000 for the food budget. She thought they were going to have 500 people, but they are down 70 people.
Meeting ended at 8 p.m.