Exposure and visibility are two key goals for any author hoping to sell his or her book. As the world's #1 online bookseller, Amazon is pretty much the top dog in terms of places where potential customers search for books, so the higher up in the search that your book lands, the better off you are.
One feature within Amazon is "tags." Tags describe the book and are common search words that are used to find books in that category. As people review books, they can enter tags that they feel most accurately reflect the content or concept of the book. As tags are added, a drop down box shows that reflects the different tags that have been added and how often they have been used.
The reason this is important and useful is because the more tags you have on a key word, the more likely it is to pop up higher in the search results.
An experiment is taking place in an online reading group where each member is tagging the books of the other authors. The more people that tag your book with the same keywords, the more likely that your book is going to be listed in the top spot of the search results. The books that get to the top of the list aren't the ones who sold the most copies; they're the ones who got tagged the most often with the same tag names.
Think about it for a minute. With tagging, your book could be first book that people see when searching that topic and there are thousands of people daily going to search on a topic. Wouldn't you like your book to be the first one they see?
My book went on Amazon a week or so ago and was pretty far down in the search engine. But now, it is the first book listed at the top of the search for the tag "christian fiction." Pretty cool, huh?
The other good thing about it is that it doesn't cost anything. It's simply a matter of time and friends who reciprocate tit-for-tat, tagging your book as you tag their books. So, this isn't a solo activity and requires the use of your friends in social media communities and groups.
Lori A. Moore is the author of From Zero to Christian in Just 35 Years.
Website: http://loriamoore.tatepublishing.net
Twitter: @Lori_A_Moore
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lori_A_Moore
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Twelve Ways To Use Twitter to Promote Your Book.
By now we've all heard the analogy of Twitter to that of a cocktail party where people are communicating and working the room to network with one another. The biggest thing to remember about Twitter and any other social media networking site for that matter, is that you're establishing relationships and connections, so don't use Twitter only to push your book with sales messages.
12 Ways To Use Twitter to Promote Your Book
1. Tweet daily if possible. No, don't make those annoying posts 17 times a day such as "Going to work." "At work." "Home from work." But do tweet regularly and make it relevant and interesting because nobody cares what you had for lunch.
2. Tweet excerpts from your book.
3. Tweet links to book reviews.
4. Tweet about other authors or books that you enjoyed or reviewed.
5. Tweet links to websites that has useful information for your audience.
6. Follow other people and communicate with them. Others will start to follow you once you follow them.
7. Tweet an offer for a book giveaway, something like, the first 10 people who re-tweet about my book will receive an e-book copy of my book.
8. Tweet something funny or silly that will make people laugh.
9. Use an actual photo of yourself on your profile so that people can feel connected to you.
10. Customize your Twitter page to reflect the book cover of one of your books.
11. Tweet about your events or book signings that people can attend.
12. Tweet a link to an online bookstore such as Amazon when your book is available on each site.
If you want to monitor and track your Twitter activity, there are tools available such as TwitterGrader.com where you can find out your "grade" according to their analytics. Another website that might come in handy is http://friendorfollow.com where you can easily see who you're following that isn't following you and who is following you that you're not following.
Happy Tweeting!
Lori A. Moore is the author of From Zero to Christian in Just 35 Years and Missing Andy: The Journey From Grief To Joy.
Twitter: @Lori_A_Moore
http://www.loriamooreonline.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lori_A_Moore
12 Ways To Use Twitter to Promote Your Book
1. Tweet daily if possible. No, don't make those annoying posts 17 times a day such as "Going to work." "At work." "Home from work." But do tweet regularly and make it relevant and interesting because nobody cares what you had for lunch.
2. Tweet excerpts from your book.
3. Tweet links to book reviews.
4. Tweet about other authors or books that you enjoyed or reviewed.
5. Tweet links to websites that has useful information for your audience.
6. Follow other people and communicate with them. Others will start to follow you once you follow them.
7. Tweet an offer for a book giveaway, something like, the first 10 people who re-tweet about my book will receive an e-book copy of my book.
8. Tweet something funny or silly that will make people laugh.
9. Use an actual photo of yourself on your profile so that people can feel connected to you.
10. Customize your Twitter page to reflect the book cover of one of your books.
11. Tweet about your events or book signings that people can attend.
12. Tweet a link to an online bookstore such as Amazon when your book is available on each site.
If you want to monitor and track your Twitter activity, there are tools available such as TwitterGrader.com where you can find out your "grade" according to their analytics. Another website that might come in handy is http://friendorfollow.com where you can easily see who you're following that isn't following you and who is following you that you're not following.
Happy Tweeting!
Lori A. Moore is the author of From Zero to Christian in Just 35 Years and Missing Andy: The Journey From Grief To Joy.
Twitter: @Lori_A_Moore
http://www.loriamooreonline.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lori_A_Moore
Promote Your Book With Facebook Groups.
Facebook groups are a great place to meet people who share your interests and to subtly promote your book. For maximum exposure, join existing groups and start your own Facebook group.
To find groups to join, enter keywords in the Facebook search box. When the search results come up, click on the Groups tab to view groups focused on your topic.
Click the Join Group button to join a group. Write an introductory greeting on the group's wall, and post your book cover in the photo section. Your book cover will show up on the group page and also in the newsfeed of your friends, a great way to subtly promote your book. You can also post videos on group page. It's not wise to post wall messages and images on more than one group page per day.
Most groups have a discussion board. Scan the list of questions to see if there are any you can answer. As with other online forums, observe proper etiquette and don't be too promotional in your answer.
Groups are also a wonderful place to find Facebook friends. After all, if someone joins a group related to your topic of interest, they presumably share your interests.
Forming a Facebook Group
Forming your own group can be very beneficial, but to keep the group growing and active you will need to provide benefits to members by offering valuable information and/or active discussions.
To form your own group, log into your Facebook account then go to the create groups page and fill in the simple form to create your Facebook group.
Groups should be used to provide information and interaction to people interested in particular topic. Be subtle about promoting books through groups. A Facebook Page is more appropriate for promoting your book or business directly.
Nonfiction authors can form a group based on their book's topic. Fiction authors will need to be creative. For example, you might form a group for people who love to read historical romance. You could subtly promote your book while also discussing the genre and the writing process, offer free chapter downloads, and invite group members to share other historical romance books they enjoy.
Promoting Your Group
If you create an "open" group, anyone on Facebook can join, not just your friends. To invite people to join, use the Invite People to Join or Share buttons on the right side of the group's page.
One way to attract members is to design your group page as an information hub, offering links and resources in the Recent News section of the page. You can offer a free downloadable report as a thank you to group members.
Another way to attract and reward members is to have a contest. For example, you could give away an autographed copy of your book to a member of the group chosen randomly by selecting a number from Random.org.
And don't forget to promote your Facebook group on your website, in your email signature and elsewhere.
Networking Through Your Group
As group administrator, you can send messages to members (up to a maximum of 5,000), delivered to each person's Facebook Inbox. Click the Message All Members link on the right side of the group page.
Be sure to communicate with the members periodically by sending something of value such as tips or helpful links. Just be careful not to send so many messages that you annoy people. Administrators can also post to the wall and start discussions in the forum, to encourage interaction.
If you're not already using Facebook groups to promote your book, give it a try!
Dana Lynn Smith is a book marketing coach and author of the Facebook Guide for Authors. For more tips, follow @BookMarketer on Twitter, visit Dana's book marketing blog, and get a copy of the Top Book Marketing Tips ebook when you sign up for her free book marketing newsletter.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dana_Lynn_Smith
To find groups to join, enter keywords in the Facebook search box. When the search results come up, click on the Groups tab to view groups focused on your topic.
Click the Join Group button to join a group. Write an introductory greeting on the group's wall, and post your book cover in the photo section. Your book cover will show up on the group page and also in the newsfeed of your friends, a great way to subtly promote your book. You can also post videos on group page. It's not wise to post wall messages and images on more than one group page per day.
Most groups have a discussion board. Scan the list of questions to see if there are any you can answer. As with other online forums, observe proper etiquette and don't be too promotional in your answer.
Groups are also a wonderful place to find Facebook friends. After all, if someone joins a group related to your topic of interest, they presumably share your interests.
Forming a Facebook Group
Forming your own group can be very beneficial, but to keep the group growing and active you will need to provide benefits to members by offering valuable information and/or active discussions.
To form your own group, log into your Facebook account then go to the create groups page and fill in the simple form to create your Facebook group.
Groups should be used to provide information and interaction to people interested in particular topic. Be subtle about promoting books through groups. A Facebook Page is more appropriate for promoting your book or business directly.
Nonfiction authors can form a group based on their book's topic. Fiction authors will need to be creative. For example, you might form a group for people who love to read historical romance. You could subtly promote your book while also discussing the genre and the writing process, offer free chapter downloads, and invite group members to share other historical romance books they enjoy.
Promoting Your Group
If you create an "open" group, anyone on Facebook can join, not just your friends. To invite people to join, use the Invite People to Join or Share buttons on the right side of the group's page.
One way to attract members is to design your group page as an information hub, offering links and resources in the Recent News section of the page. You can offer a free downloadable report as a thank you to group members.
Another way to attract and reward members is to have a contest. For example, you could give away an autographed copy of your book to a member of the group chosen randomly by selecting a number from Random.org.
And don't forget to promote your Facebook group on your website, in your email signature and elsewhere.
Networking Through Your Group
As group administrator, you can send messages to members (up to a maximum of 5,000), delivered to each person's Facebook Inbox. Click the Message All Members link on the right side of the group page.
Be sure to communicate with the members periodically by sending something of value such as tips or helpful links. Just be careful not to send so many messages that you annoy people. Administrators can also post to the wall and start discussions in the forum, to encourage interaction.
If you're not already using Facebook groups to promote your book, give it a try!
Dana Lynn Smith is a book marketing coach and author of the Facebook Guide for Authors. For more tips, follow @BookMarketer on Twitter, visit Dana's book marketing blog, and get a copy of the Top Book Marketing Tips ebook when you sign up for her free book marketing newsletter.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dana_Lynn_Smith
Amazon Offers Great Opportunities To Build Your Book Sales.
Every new writer's dream is to have his/her book listed on Amazon. There is no question the site is one of our top bookstores and the online leader in book sales. When you simply place your book on the site, it will generate purchases. But with a modest amount of effort, you'll find yourself really building sales.
You can increase your numbers substantially by taking advantage of the promo programs Amazon offers its authors. Begin the process by providing a good photo of your book cover. Amazon will place it on your Listing Page, the basic page that every visitor sees first. A page without a cover photo immediately loses sales strength.
Write a description of the book that will excite potential buyers, and submit it with your book cover. It will appear under "Product Description." This is your chance to express whatever you wish about the book you've written.
Click on to Amazon's "Author Central" site and discover the simple process required to add "Search Inside." This is a special program the site offers that allows potential readers to view limited segments of your book at no charge. It has proved to be a very effective sales tool, and more than 50% of the books Amazon lists now offer it.
Editorial Reviews
Very often publications review a book and will not take the time and effort to post it. Smart authors then extract several sentences from the review and post them as an endorsement which is allowed on the site under "Editorial Reviews."
In addition to extracts from publication reviews, you should reach out for as many endorsements of your book as possible. These are shorter blurbs written by well known people that praise the book. They too are placed in the "Editorial Reviews" section of your listing page
Book Reviews Enrich Your Listing
Build the power of your listing by including reviews by a good cross section of reviewers. Include members of Amazon 1,000 top reviewers, experts in the subject your book is about and well known people in the writing/publishing industry.
A list of top Amazon reviewers can be found at www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/top-reviewers.html. Make sure your friends and acquaintances submit reviews as well. The more the merrier.
You are probably familiar with the Amazon rating system of one to five gold stars. The better the book in the opinion of the reviewer, the higher the number of stars.
The site will allow only the person writing the review to post it, and that person must be a customer of Amazon's.
Author's Page
Amazon urges its writers to create an "Author's Page." The company will do the basic design, but you must supply photographs or yourself and your book cover, as well as some of the text involved such as the author's bio.
The Author Central program that was required to create Search Inside for your book is also the tool for adding, deleting or altering text or artwork on the Author's Page. Click on to it, and you can add the elements we are talking of here.
When you create the bio, be certain to stress the professional aspect of your life, your accomplishments, books you've written and published, awards you've received and so forth. This is not a personal bio; it is designed to assist in the sales of your book.
Amazon also relies on you to provide a bibliography, if you have written more than one book. This too is done through Author Central.
One of the newer and more exciting additions to the page is the segment called "Latest Blog Posts." Amazon allows you to create an RSS feed from your blog to the page. If you don't have a blog, you can create a simple one and post directly to the page.
Other Amazon Programs
For those of you who enjoy writing short stories and essays, Amazon has provided a "Amazon Shorts" in which your selected pieces will appear in e-book form and sell at 49cents. You receive a percentage of the sale. I know this sounds like nothing, but consider the volume of this bookseller, and realize there is some healthy income to be derived from the program.
Another money-making program available to you is to become an "Amazon Affiliate." You advertise a book or other product from the Amazon list on your own web site. A link is established to Amazon where the actual sale is consummated. You receive 15% percent of the list price of the item sold. Amazon will provide banners to place on your site advertising the arrangement.
There are other tie-ins with this master retailer that you can investigate on your own. You can find many of them in the excellent book "Sell Your Book on Amazon." But be certain at the very least to follow through on the suggestions in this article and watch your book sales boom.
Charles Jacobs is an author, book coach and writing instructor. His latest book, "The Writer Within You," has been named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR seven times. It has won gold and bronze medals. The book can be purchased at http://www.retireandwrite.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Jacobs
You can increase your numbers substantially by taking advantage of the promo programs Amazon offers its authors. Begin the process by providing a good photo of your book cover. Amazon will place it on your Listing Page, the basic page that every visitor sees first. A page without a cover photo immediately loses sales strength.
Write a description of the book that will excite potential buyers, and submit it with your book cover. It will appear under "Product Description." This is your chance to express whatever you wish about the book you've written.
Click on to Amazon's "Author Central" site and discover the simple process required to add "Search Inside." This is a special program the site offers that allows potential readers to view limited segments of your book at no charge. It has proved to be a very effective sales tool, and more than 50% of the books Amazon lists now offer it.
Editorial Reviews
Very often publications review a book and will not take the time and effort to post it. Smart authors then extract several sentences from the review and post them as an endorsement which is allowed on the site under "Editorial Reviews."
In addition to extracts from publication reviews, you should reach out for as many endorsements of your book as possible. These are shorter blurbs written by well known people that praise the book. They too are placed in the "Editorial Reviews" section of your listing page
Book Reviews Enrich Your Listing
Build the power of your listing by including reviews by a good cross section of reviewers. Include members of Amazon 1,000 top reviewers, experts in the subject your book is about and well known people in the writing/publishing industry.
A list of top Amazon reviewers can be found at www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/top-reviewers.html. Make sure your friends and acquaintances submit reviews as well. The more the merrier.
You are probably familiar with the Amazon rating system of one to five gold stars. The better the book in the opinion of the reviewer, the higher the number of stars.
The site will allow only the person writing the review to post it, and that person must be a customer of Amazon's.
Author's Page
Amazon urges its writers to create an "Author's Page." The company will do the basic design, but you must supply photographs or yourself and your book cover, as well as some of the text involved such as the author's bio.
The Author Central program that was required to create Search Inside for your book is also the tool for adding, deleting or altering text or artwork on the Author's Page. Click on to it, and you can add the elements we are talking of here.
When you create the bio, be certain to stress the professional aspect of your life, your accomplishments, books you've written and published, awards you've received and so forth. This is not a personal bio; it is designed to assist in the sales of your book.
Amazon also relies on you to provide a bibliography, if you have written more than one book. This too is done through Author Central.
One of the newer and more exciting additions to the page is the segment called "Latest Blog Posts." Amazon allows you to create an RSS feed from your blog to the page. If you don't have a blog, you can create a simple one and post directly to the page.
Other Amazon Programs
For those of you who enjoy writing short stories and essays, Amazon has provided a "Amazon Shorts" in which your selected pieces will appear in e-book form and sell at 49cents. You receive a percentage of the sale. I know this sounds like nothing, but consider the volume of this bookseller, and realize there is some healthy income to be derived from the program.
Another money-making program available to you is to become an "Amazon Affiliate." You advertise a book or other product from the Amazon list on your own web site. A link is established to Amazon where the actual sale is consummated. You receive 15% percent of the list price of the item sold. Amazon will provide banners to place on your site advertising the arrangement.
There are other tie-ins with this master retailer that you can investigate on your own. You can find many of them in the excellent book "Sell Your Book on Amazon." But be certain at the very least to follow through on the suggestions in this article and watch your book sales boom.
Charles Jacobs is an author, book coach and writing instructor. His latest book, "The Writer Within You," has been named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR seven times. It has won gold and bronze medals. The book can be purchased at http://www.retireandwrite.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Jacobs
Cool Free Tools to Help You Sell Books.
Whoever coined the phrase, "You get what you pay for", was not an author. There are countless free tools available on the Internet that can help you sell more books than you ever thought possible. Below are a few of my favorite free tools for authors.
Google Talk
Google talk is an instant messenger service with some nice features. As an author you should have a website. Wouldn't it be nice to communicate with potential customers in real time via the Internet whenever they had a question about your book? Well now you can, for free! Google Talk has a nice feature called Google Chatback. Google Chatback allows visitors to your website to see if you are online and available to chat.
Whenever I open the program Google Talk on my computer, my status automatically changes to "available". Whenever I close Google Talk on my computer, my status automatically changes to "unavailable". Now, any visitor to my website can click on that box when I am available and connect with me instantly. I will get a message on my screen through Google Talk informing me that someone wants to talk with me through Google Chatback.
Almost instantly, I am connected to that web visitor who proceeds with a question about my book. Many times, the question will not be about the book, but it will be about the subject matter of the book. These questions are essentially gateways to a future book purchase. At this point, I answer their question and then offer the web visitor a small coupon code -see the coupon codes section of this chapter. By this time, they are so impressed that their question was answered by the author and they have a coupon code, that they will order the book. Google Chatback is a wonderful way to instantly be available to any web visitor.
Issuu.com
Issuu is a free, user-friendly website with a few, handy applications for authors. First, if you have any kind of marketing material from a brochure to a catalog to a presentation, they can be uploaded to Issuu and viewed in full color in flip-book format. This is a great way to save on printing and mailing costs. Instead of printing and mailing expensive marketing materials, upload your marketing material to Issuu. Now readers can view your documents in full color and turn the pages as if they were holding and flipping through the pages in their hand. Readers can even zoom in or out on a particular section of the marketing material.
Once you have uploaded your marketing material to Issuu you can create a thumbnail view to put on your website. Visitors to your website can click the small thumbnail picture of your marketing material and be taken to the full sized version. I would recommend adding audio to your marketing material pieces. You can read the text contained in the marketing material or give a short audio introduction about the marketing material they are about to read. This will give your marketing material a high-tech feel.
You may also want to use Issuu as an option to sell e-books. Issuu gives you the ability to upload your publication and set the link as private. Setting the link as private means that no one can find the link without knowing the exact web address at which the publication is stored. Only you know that web address.
TIP: Setting a document to private only allows you to keep the web address private. If you use this service as an e-book option, please be aware that users can still download, and even embed this private document in their website,.
Issuu does offer premium services, but for authors, the free version of Issuu is adequate.
Screen Recording Software
Your book should be a gateway to more sales. Many times a single book sale will convert into 3 more sales through your website. If your book lends itself to this type of follow up sale, check out Camstudio.org and utipu.com. Both offer a free program that allows you to record your every movement on your desktop. This recording can then be transferred to a video format, where you can then post it anywhere on the Internet or your website for free or paid viewing. Tip Cam is a more feature rich program but a bit more difficult to use than Cam Studio.
OoVoo
Oovoo.com adds a human experience to online interaction. With OoVoo, you can experience free video conferencing with an easy to download and install software program. All you need is the OoVoo software and a couple buddies with a webcam and you can all connect live, via video, on one screen. The free version allows three people to connect at once. If you want more than three, a paid version is available. As an author, OoVoo can be used to connect live with customers on your website. Go to OoVoo.com and follow the instructions to add the "Call Me button" to your website. You can even add it to your e-mail signature. Once a contact sees this Call Me button, they simply click the button and will connect to you live via streaming video. This software easily puts your face directly in front of customers.
Michael Volkin is the author of Social Networking for Authors-Untapped Possibilities for Wealth. If you sell any product or service online, please go to http://www.SellaTonofBooks.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Volkin
Google Talk
Google talk is an instant messenger service with some nice features. As an author you should have a website. Wouldn't it be nice to communicate with potential customers in real time via the Internet whenever they had a question about your book? Well now you can, for free! Google Talk has a nice feature called Google Chatback. Google Chatback allows visitors to your website to see if you are online and available to chat.
Whenever I open the program Google Talk on my computer, my status automatically changes to "available". Whenever I close Google Talk on my computer, my status automatically changes to "unavailable". Now, any visitor to my website can click on that box when I am available and connect with me instantly. I will get a message on my screen through Google Talk informing me that someone wants to talk with me through Google Chatback.
Almost instantly, I am connected to that web visitor who proceeds with a question about my book. Many times, the question will not be about the book, but it will be about the subject matter of the book. These questions are essentially gateways to a future book purchase. At this point, I answer their question and then offer the web visitor a small coupon code -see the coupon codes section of this chapter. By this time, they are so impressed that their question was answered by the author and they have a coupon code, that they will order the book. Google Chatback is a wonderful way to instantly be available to any web visitor.
Issuu.com
Issuu is a free, user-friendly website with a few, handy applications for authors. First, if you have any kind of marketing material from a brochure to a catalog to a presentation, they can be uploaded to Issuu and viewed in full color in flip-book format. This is a great way to save on printing and mailing costs. Instead of printing and mailing expensive marketing materials, upload your marketing material to Issuu. Now readers can view your documents in full color and turn the pages as if they were holding and flipping through the pages in their hand. Readers can even zoom in or out on a particular section of the marketing material.
Once you have uploaded your marketing material to Issuu you can create a thumbnail view to put on your website. Visitors to your website can click the small thumbnail picture of your marketing material and be taken to the full sized version. I would recommend adding audio to your marketing material pieces. You can read the text contained in the marketing material or give a short audio introduction about the marketing material they are about to read. This will give your marketing material a high-tech feel.
You may also want to use Issuu as an option to sell e-books. Issuu gives you the ability to upload your publication and set the link as private. Setting the link as private means that no one can find the link without knowing the exact web address at which the publication is stored. Only you know that web address.
TIP: Setting a document to private only allows you to keep the web address private. If you use this service as an e-book option, please be aware that users can still download, and even embed this private document in their website,.
Issuu does offer premium services, but for authors, the free version of Issuu is adequate.
Screen Recording Software
Your book should be a gateway to more sales. Many times a single book sale will convert into 3 more sales through your website. If your book lends itself to this type of follow up sale, check out Camstudio.org and utipu.com. Both offer a free program that allows you to record your every movement on your desktop. This recording can then be transferred to a video format, where you can then post it anywhere on the Internet or your website for free or paid viewing. Tip Cam is a more feature rich program but a bit more difficult to use than Cam Studio.
OoVoo
Oovoo.com adds a human experience to online interaction. With OoVoo, you can experience free video conferencing with an easy to download and install software program. All you need is the OoVoo software and a couple buddies with a webcam and you can all connect live, via video, on one screen. The free version allows three people to connect at once. If you want more than three, a paid version is available. As an author, OoVoo can be used to connect live with customers on your website. Go to OoVoo.com and follow the instructions to add the "Call Me button" to your website. You can even add it to your e-mail signature. Once a contact sees this Call Me button, they simply click the button and will connect to you live via streaming video. This software easily puts your face directly in front of customers.
Michael Volkin is the author of Social Networking for Authors-Untapped Possibilities for Wealth. If you sell any product or service online, please go to http://www.SellaTonofBooks.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Volkin
Produce Hefty Sales Results With These No - Cost Promo Tools.
We're in a darn tough economy. Add to that the fact that writing generally is not the most lucrative of professions even in better times. So it's little wonder that the average author finds the cost and the challenge of promoting his/her book daunting.
Long months of writing. Days of intense anticipation. And at last this new gem rolls off the press. What should be time for glee often turns into somewhat of a horror with the sudden realization that the challenge is yours, not your publishers. Your plans to hire a PR firm are dashed when you see the fees they expect. You flounder when you realize you are there alone with no one to help you.
While this is particularly true for novice authors-and there are thousands of them coming out of POD houses-more experienced writers discover the old days of subsidized book tours and fancy launch parties are relics of the past. Publishers today expect YOU, the author, to pay the bill and do the work necessary to make the public aware of your masterpiece.
There is no question a quality PR firm, and there are several in our industry, can jump start your book on the path to success. But you likely don't have the thousands of dollars to retain them. Don't despair. There are ways to promote your book and build sales without breaking what little budget is available.
Writing articles on the Internet, much as I am doing right now, bears great fruit, but costs you nothing. Syndicators like EzineArticles and isnare are free to use. Yet they place your article in front of up to 40 or 50,000 readers. You add an appealing Resource Box at the end of your piece touting your book and giving full information on where to find it. You'll see your numbers grow quickly.
Reach out for quality book reviewers. Readers always pay more heed to favorable comments from an objective third party than they do to your pitch or that of your publisher. Cherry pick those you think are right from Amazon's Top 1,000 Reviewers. Head to Jim Cox's Midwest Book Review on the Internet for great advice and highly respected reviewers. Try Dan Poynter's ParaPubnewsletter for more possibilities. And you won't have to spend a penny.
Carefully dip your toe into social networking. Try Facebook because it has such a huge membership, Twitter because of its current popularity and if you have the time, LinkedIn particularly if your book deals with business or professional issues. Schedule a limited amount of time each week to keep your site updated and active, but don't let the fun of participation steal hours from your basic routine---writing.
Never overlook the incredible reach of broadcast. Radio talk shows are the activity of choice. There are many of them that deal with a wide variety of subjects, many of which will be related to the topic of your book, whether fiction or nonfiction. If your home area has a local TV station, go for it. National television is tough to crack, but it becomes a lot easier if you have a track record of regionals and lots of talk radio.
Getting booked on the air costs nothing. But it will take some effort on your part to reach and convince producers of your worth as an interviewee. There are companies that can help to place you on air. Steve Harrison's Bradley Communications, Annie Jennings PR, Rick Frischman's Planned TV Arts and Francine Silverman, author of "Talk Radio Wants You."
With the exception of broadcast, most of what I have introduced you to can be accomplished online. But don't ever forget the value of print publications. Whether you are seeking reviews from a newspaper or magazine or want to place an article, the exposure will benefit you tremendously.
Newspaper book sections have shrunk or disappeared completely. But think of the value of a review in a section of the paper that relates to your subject. Perhaps it's business or food, sports or finance, travel or the arts. Possibilities abound. The situation is similar for magazines. They are published in every imaginable field. Use directories like "Writer's Digest," published in on and offline versions or "The Wooden Horse" which I think is the best of the online directories.
There certainly are many other low cost or free promotional possibilities, but space does not allow me to cover them all. Use your imagination. Study what other authors are doing on the Web and off.
Most of all, make sure you have an active, interesting website crammed full of worthy information. (Post every article you write on your site,) Give the visitor an easy pathway to learn more about your book and hopefully to buy from a sales page on your site.
With these simple techniques and a strong website to act as a base to send material from and to receive responses, you will catapult your book to unexpectedly strong sales. But always remember: while it may take no money, it will take effort. Without real participation, no promotional program will succeed. Good luck!
Charles Jacobs is an author, book coach and writing instructor. His latest book, "The Writer Within You," has been named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR seven times. It has won gold and bronze medals. The book can be purchased at http://www.retireandwrite.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Jacobs
Long months of writing. Days of intense anticipation. And at last this new gem rolls off the press. What should be time for glee often turns into somewhat of a horror with the sudden realization that the challenge is yours, not your publishers. Your plans to hire a PR firm are dashed when you see the fees they expect. You flounder when you realize you are there alone with no one to help you.
While this is particularly true for novice authors-and there are thousands of them coming out of POD houses-more experienced writers discover the old days of subsidized book tours and fancy launch parties are relics of the past. Publishers today expect YOU, the author, to pay the bill and do the work necessary to make the public aware of your masterpiece.
There is no question a quality PR firm, and there are several in our industry, can jump start your book on the path to success. But you likely don't have the thousands of dollars to retain them. Don't despair. There are ways to promote your book and build sales without breaking what little budget is available.
Writing articles on the Internet, much as I am doing right now, bears great fruit, but costs you nothing. Syndicators like EzineArticles and isnare are free to use. Yet they place your article in front of up to 40 or 50,000 readers. You add an appealing Resource Box at the end of your piece touting your book and giving full information on where to find it. You'll see your numbers grow quickly.
Reach out for quality book reviewers. Readers always pay more heed to favorable comments from an objective third party than they do to your pitch or that of your publisher. Cherry pick those you think are right from Amazon's Top 1,000 Reviewers. Head to Jim Cox's Midwest Book Review on the Internet for great advice and highly respected reviewers. Try Dan Poynter's ParaPubnewsletter for more possibilities. And you won't have to spend a penny.
Carefully dip your toe into social networking. Try Facebook because it has such a huge membership, Twitter because of its current popularity and if you have the time, LinkedIn particularly if your book deals with business or professional issues. Schedule a limited amount of time each week to keep your site updated and active, but don't let the fun of participation steal hours from your basic routine---writing.
Never overlook the incredible reach of broadcast. Radio talk shows are the activity of choice. There are many of them that deal with a wide variety of subjects, many of which will be related to the topic of your book, whether fiction or nonfiction. If your home area has a local TV station, go for it. National television is tough to crack, but it becomes a lot easier if you have a track record of regionals and lots of talk radio.
Getting booked on the air costs nothing. But it will take some effort on your part to reach and convince producers of your worth as an interviewee. There are companies that can help to place you on air. Steve Harrison's Bradley Communications, Annie Jennings PR, Rick Frischman's Planned TV Arts and Francine Silverman, author of "Talk Radio Wants You."
With the exception of broadcast, most of what I have introduced you to can be accomplished online. But don't ever forget the value of print publications. Whether you are seeking reviews from a newspaper or magazine or want to place an article, the exposure will benefit you tremendously.
Newspaper book sections have shrunk or disappeared completely. But think of the value of a review in a section of the paper that relates to your subject. Perhaps it's business or food, sports or finance, travel or the arts. Possibilities abound. The situation is similar for magazines. They are published in every imaginable field. Use directories like "Writer's Digest," published in on and offline versions or "The Wooden Horse" which I think is the best of the online directories.
There certainly are many other low cost or free promotional possibilities, but space does not allow me to cover them all. Use your imagination. Study what other authors are doing on the Web and off.
Most of all, make sure you have an active, interesting website crammed full of worthy information. (Post every article you write on your site,) Give the visitor an easy pathway to learn more about your book and hopefully to buy from a sales page on your site.
With these simple techniques and a strong website to act as a base to send material from and to receive responses, you will catapult your book to unexpectedly strong sales. But always remember: while it may take no money, it will take effort. Without real participation, no promotional program will succeed. Good luck!
Charles Jacobs is an author, book coach and writing instructor. His latest book, "The Writer Within You," has been named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR seven times. It has won gold and bronze medals. The book can be purchased at http://www.retireandwrite.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Jacobs
Marketing For Self - Published Authors.
As a writer trying to sell his book online, you're not different from all these people attempting to sell their own products on the Internet. You require of course a good book, where you put all your thoughts, a well-written book, with a nice cover and a professional layout. But it's not enough to make a sale.
You have to be visible: Are you on Google?
What's about your own USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?
Do you really know your reader/customer? Is it a man or a woman, how old is he/she? Do you sell a story or do you solve a problem? Are you a storyteller or an expert in your field? You can't be everything to everyone, so make a choice, find your niche.
Most of the time, writers think they will reach their audience by just putting their book on a web page. But it's not enough, it's just the beginning of your journey as a self-published author.
What I teach to my clients may sound a bit odd to you, but you really must learn Internet marketing. If you don't write a good squeeze page, a brilliant sales letter, if you don't use an autoresponder, you won't make anything, even if you're a wonderful writer. You need a blog, full of backlinks, you must build a presence on social media.
It takes times, it will cost you money, time and effort, but without all these tricks and methods, nothing will happen, I tell you.
Internet marketing got nothing to do with magic, it's all about smart thinking, deep research and perseverance and obstinacy.
So how can you get started with your new career as an Internet marketer?
First of all, type Internet marketing in Google and download all the free special reports, articles, ebooks, videos, powerpoint slides available. Read specialized blogs, look for good and serious membership sites and forums.
When your master fundamentals and basic knowledge, start buying courses, books and magazines.
Internet marketing changes all the times, a good strategy can miserably failed if you wait too long to use it.
Don't be fooled by « get rich quick » schemes and ways of making easy money, taking a shortcut to success, or otherwise performing miracles with money. Most of the time it's just pointless rubbish, but occasionally you will find a very unusual trick nobody else talks about it.
So learn everything you can, compare, analyze, take notes.
You can really sell your book online with marketing for self-published authors, but it won't happen overnight. It takes months, but with the right skills and tools, you can do it too!
Alain Jamot is a writer, publisher, and Internet marketer. If you enjoyed reading this article, go to http://sell-your-book-online.com where you will discover new marketing, writing strategies, and free tools, to sell more books.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alain_Jamot
You have to be visible: Are you on Google?
What's about your own USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?
Do you really know your reader/customer? Is it a man or a woman, how old is he/she? Do you sell a story or do you solve a problem? Are you a storyteller or an expert in your field? You can't be everything to everyone, so make a choice, find your niche.
Most of the time, writers think they will reach their audience by just putting their book on a web page. But it's not enough, it's just the beginning of your journey as a self-published author.
What I teach to my clients may sound a bit odd to you, but you really must learn Internet marketing. If you don't write a good squeeze page, a brilliant sales letter, if you don't use an autoresponder, you won't make anything, even if you're a wonderful writer. You need a blog, full of backlinks, you must build a presence on social media.
It takes times, it will cost you money, time and effort, but without all these tricks and methods, nothing will happen, I tell you.
Internet marketing got nothing to do with magic, it's all about smart thinking, deep research and perseverance and obstinacy.
So how can you get started with your new career as an Internet marketer?
First of all, type Internet marketing in Google and download all the free special reports, articles, ebooks, videos, powerpoint slides available. Read specialized blogs, look for good and serious membership sites and forums.
When your master fundamentals and basic knowledge, start buying courses, books and magazines.
Internet marketing changes all the times, a good strategy can miserably failed if you wait too long to use it.
Don't be fooled by « get rich quick » schemes and ways of making easy money, taking a shortcut to success, or otherwise performing miracles with money. Most of the time it's just pointless rubbish, but occasionally you will find a very unusual trick nobody else talks about it.
So learn everything you can, compare, analyze, take notes.
You can really sell your book online with marketing for self-published authors, but it won't happen overnight. It takes months, but with the right skills and tools, you can do it too!
Alain Jamot is a writer, publisher, and Internet marketer. If you enjoyed reading this article, go to http://sell-your-book-online.com where you will discover new marketing, writing strategies, and free tools, to sell more books.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alain_Jamot
Promote Your Book on Twitter - Top Ten Strategies For Authors
Twitter, the wildly popular micro-blogging site, is a great place to network with others and subtly promote your book. Here are ten ways authors can benefit from Twitter:
1. Help others by sharing information, while you gain a reputation as an expert. You can post links to helpful articles, recommend resources, and teach mini-lessons. It is okay to link to your own blog posts and articles, but don't make that your main focus.
2. Meet potential customers and stay in touch with existing customers. Promote your Twitter URL everywhere you're listed online, and include keywords in your tweets to attract followers who are interested in your topic or genre.
3. Stay on top of news and trends in your field, and get ideas for your own articles and blog posts by reading the tweets of the people you follow.
4. Promote your book by tweeting about live and virtual events such as book signings, podcasts, virtual book tours, teleseminars, and book launches.
5. Gain visibility and new followers by hosting a Twitter contest where you give away a prize to a randomly chosen winner, or give a free gift to everyone who follows you and re-tweets your contest message. See this article for tips on creating a Twitter contest.
6. Ask for help and get instant responses. When you request product recommendations, referrals to experts, or help with a technical issue, it's amazing how helpful folks are.
7. Spread good will by promoting your peers. Introduce other people in your field or genre, or recommend other related books or products. Re-tweet interesting posts from people that you follow.
8. Promote your book and other products and services. The key is to be subtle and make promotional tweets a small percentage of your overall communications, so people feel like they gain value from following you, not just a stream of sales pitches.
9. Meet other authors, experts, publishers, marketers, and vendors. Twitter is ideal for networking and it's a great place to meet potential joint venture partners that can help you promote your book.
10. Keep in touch when you're on the road. There are a number of applications that facilitate twittering from mobile devices.
Have fun! It's fascinating to meet people from all over the world, gain a glimpse into their lives, and develop a cyber-relationship.
Dana Lynn Smith is a book marketing coach and author several books, including Twitter Guide for Authors. For more tips, follow @BookMarketer on Twitter, visit Dana's book marketing blog and get a free copy of the Top Book Marketing Tips ebook when you sign up for her complimentary book marketing newsletter.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dana_Lynn_Smith
1. Help others by sharing information, while you gain a reputation as an expert. You can post links to helpful articles, recommend resources, and teach mini-lessons. It is okay to link to your own blog posts and articles, but don't make that your main focus.
2. Meet potential customers and stay in touch with existing customers. Promote your Twitter URL everywhere you're listed online, and include keywords in your tweets to attract followers who are interested in your topic or genre.
3. Stay on top of news and trends in your field, and get ideas for your own articles and blog posts by reading the tweets of the people you follow.
4. Promote your book by tweeting about live and virtual events such as book signings, podcasts, virtual book tours, teleseminars, and book launches.
5. Gain visibility and new followers by hosting a Twitter contest where you give away a prize to a randomly chosen winner, or give a free gift to everyone who follows you and re-tweets your contest message. See this article for tips on creating a Twitter contest.
6. Ask for help and get instant responses. When you request product recommendations, referrals to experts, or help with a technical issue, it's amazing how helpful folks are.
7. Spread good will by promoting your peers. Introduce other people in your field or genre, or recommend other related books or products. Re-tweet interesting posts from people that you follow.
8. Promote your book and other products and services. The key is to be subtle and make promotional tweets a small percentage of your overall communications, so people feel like they gain value from following you, not just a stream of sales pitches.
9. Meet other authors, experts, publishers, marketers, and vendors. Twitter is ideal for networking and it's a great place to meet potential joint venture partners that can help you promote your book.
10. Keep in touch when you're on the road. There are a number of applications that facilitate twittering from mobile devices.
Have fun! It's fascinating to meet people from all over the world, gain a glimpse into their lives, and develop a cyber-relationship.
Dana Lynn Smith is a book marketing coach and author several books, including Twitter Guide for Authors. For more tips, follow @BookMarketer on Twitter, visit Dana's book marketing blog and get a free copy of the Top Book Marketing Tips ebook when you sign up for her complimentary book marketing newsletter.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dana_Lynn_Smith
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Marketing For Self-Published Authors.
As a writer trying to sell his book online, you're not different from all these people attempting to sell their own products on the Internet. You require of course a good book, where you put all your thoughts, a well-written book, with a nice cover and a professional layout. But it's not enough to make a sale.
You have to be visible: Are you on Google?
What's about your own USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?
Do you really know your reader/customer? Is it a man or a woman, how old is he/she? Do you sell a story or do you solve a problem? Are you a storyteller or an expert in your field? You can't be everything to everyone, so make a choice, find your niche.
Most of the time, writers think they will reach their audience by just putting their book on a web page. But it's not enough, it's just the beginning of your journey as a self-published author.
What I teach to my clients may sound a bit odd to you, but you really must learn Internet marketing. If you don't write a good squeeze page, a brilliant sales letter, if you don't use an autoresponder, you won't make anything, even if you're a wonderful writer. You need a blog, full of backlinks, you must build a presence on social media.
It takes times, it will cost you money, time and effort, but without all these tricks and methods, nothing will happen, I tell you.
Internet marketing got nothing to do with magic, it's all about smart thinking, deep research and perseverance and obstinacy.
So how can you get started with your new career as an Internet marketer?
First of all, type Internet marketing in Google and download all the free special reports, articles, ebooks, videos, powerpoint slides available. Read specialized blogs, look for good and serious membership sites and forums.
When your master fundamentals and basic knowledge, start buying courses, books and magazines.
Internet marketing changes all the times, a good strategy can miserably failed if you wait too long to use it.
Don't be fooled by « get rich quick » schemes and ways of making easy money, taking a shortcut to success, or otherwise performing miracles with money. Most of the time it's just pointless rubbish, but occasionally you will find a very unusual trick nobody else talks about it.
So learn everything you can, compare, analyze, take notes.
You can really sell your book online with marketing for self-published authors, but it won't happen overnight. It takes months, but with the right skills and tools, you can do it too!
Alain Jamot is a writer, publisher, and Internet marketer. If you enjoyed reading this article, go to http://sell-your-book-online.com where you will discover new marketing, writing strategies, and free tools, to sell more books.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alain_Jamot
You have to be visible: Are you on Google?
What's about your own USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?
Do you really know your reader/customer? Is it a man or a woman, how old is he/she? Do you sell a story or do you solve a problem? Are you a storyteller or an expert in your field? You can't be everything to everyone, so make a choice, find your niche.
Most of the time, writers think they will reach their audience by just putting their book on a web page. But it's not enough, it's just the beginning of your journey as a self-published author.
What I teach to my clients may sound a bit odd to you, but you really must learn Internet marketing. If you don't write a good squeeze page, a brilliant sales letter, if you don't use an autoresponder, you won't make anything, even if you're a wonderful writer. You need a blog, full of backlinks, you must build a presence on social media.
It takes times, it will cost you money, time and effort, but without all these tricks and methods, nothing will happen, I tell you.
Internet marketing got nothing to do with magic, it's all about smart thinking, deep research and perseverance and obstinacy.
So how can you get started with your new career as an Internet marketer?
First of all, type Internet marketing in Google and download all the free special reports, articles, ebooks, videos, powerpoint slides available. Read specialized blogs, look for good and serious membership sites and forums.
When your master fundamentals and basic knowledge, start buying courses, books and magazines.
Internet marketing changes all the times, a good strategy can miserably failed if you wait too long to use it.
Don't be fooled by « get rich quick » schemes and ways of making easy money, taking a shortcut to success, or otherwise performing miracles with money. Most of the time it's just pointless rubbish, but occasionally you will find a very unusual trick nobody else talks about it.
So learn everything you can, compare, analyze, take notes.
You can really sell your book online with marketing for self-published authors, but it won't happen overnight. It takes months, but with the right skills and tools, you can do it too!
Alain Jamot is a writer, publisher, and Internet marketer. If you enjoyed reading this article, go to http://sell-your-book-online.com where you will discover new marketing, writing strategies, and free tools, to sell more books.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alain_Jamot
What Every Author Should Know About Book Marketing.
Writing a novel can be a long grueling and exhausting process, but the work doesn't stop when you've written the last word, in fact writing the novel is only the beginning. You could argue that a book without readers is not a book at all, so in this article I will explain the steps you need to take to successfully market your work of fiction.
The first thing you need to do is see the big picture. Get a white board or the biggest piece of paper you can find and map out all of the activities you need to complete to successfully market your new book. This could be from finding a publisher or a reputable Print on Demand company to book signings at popular retailers.
If you have already started working on some of the activities then note the outcomes and think about how successful they have been. Looking at the activities from this high level can highlight any gaps in your marketing campaign and also show you whether you are spending your time wisely. Let's say you've spent a lot of time sitting in book stores but haven't signed a lot of books. Perhaps you're actually too far ahead in your plan and need to go back a few steps. Think about spending that time doing radio interviews or speaking events to actually spread the word about you and your book.
When you have your high level plan mapped out you should think of it as your flight path. This is how you will go from writing a book to being a successful author. Now in order to get there you need to actually take some action, so your next step is to write a to do list or an action plan.
Break down each of the high level steps into smaller pieces. Let's say you have promotion as one of your steps on your flight plan. This could be via radio interviews, and speaking events, but have you thought about guest blogs and interviews with book bloggers? A positive review spreads like wildfire in the book blogging community so make some connections and send out Advanced Reading Copies of your book.
Don't forget that a book isn't a good book until someone has read it, so review your flight path and work out what actions you need to take to achieve your goal of being a successful author.
Clare Swindlehurst has been writing articles for nearly eight years and manages a successful book review blog at http://www.bluearchipelagoreviews.com/. If you are an author and are looking for a book blogger to review your latest novel please contact me.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Clare_Swindlehurst
The first thing you need to do is see the big picture. Get a white board or the biggest piece of paper you can find and map out all of the activities you need to complete to successfully market your new book. This could be from finding a publisher or a reputable Print on Demand company to book signings at popular retailers.
If you have already started working on some of the activities then note the outcomes and think about how successful they have been. Looking at the activities from this high level can highlight any gaps in your marketing campaign and also show you whether you are spending your time wisely. Let's say you've spent a lot of time sitting in book stores but haven't signed a lot of books. Perhaps you're actually too far ahead in your plan and need to go back a few steps. Think about spending that time doing radio interviews or speaking events to actually spread the word about you and your book.
When you have your high level plan mapped out you should think of it as your flight path. This is how you will go from writing a book to being a successful author. Now in order to get there you need to actually take some action, so your next step is to write a to do list or an action plan.
Break down each of the high level steps into smaller pieces. Let's say you have promotion as one of your steps on your flight plan. This could be via radio interviews, and speaking events, but have you thought about guest blogs and interviews with book bloggers? A positive review spreads like wildfire in the book blogging community so make some connections and send out Advanced Reading Copies of your book.
Don't forget that a book isn't a good book until someone has read it, so review your flight path and work out what actions you need to take to achieve your goal of being a successful author.
Clare Swindlehurst has been writing articles for nearly eight years and manages a successful book review blog at http://www.bluearchipelagoreviews.com/. If you are an author and are looking for a book blogger to review your latest novel please contact me.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Clare_Swindlehurst
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