Promote This!
Promote This!
There are many ways to market that don't cost you anything but time and effort.
Here’s a good website to start with:
http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive...romotion.shtml
Giving the book away for a donation.
For this to work, you can’t just hand it out and hope people will donate. You have to follow these steps:
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- You put the book up behind a place where people have to give you their name and email address. that adds them to your mailing list.
2. you give them an excerpt from the book for free on the page, then tell them that they'll be mailed the entire book for a donation of any amount they choose. They click a donate button, which takes them to paypal. They fill in the amount. They are then either automatically emailed the book or you send it to them yourself once paypal sends you the notice that they've donated.
3. you put their name on a "thank you page" of people that have donated and you email them 3 days later, asking for their comments and feedback on the book. Anything that they send back that's positive, you put up as reader feedback.
you're selling books, getting reviews and building a mailing list all at once.
How to set up an effective website for your book:
The elements you absolutely have to have are some excerpts of your book, a link to a blog where you can post a new bit of writing every few days, a page for your book with excerpts from it and the cover art, as well as a buy now and shopping cart link. If you have a paypal account I can show you how to set up those buttons fairly easily. You’ll also need a page where you can embed any trailers you make for your book. A trailer can be nothing more than you sitting, reading from your book, as long as you read well. Or it can be fairly fancy. Think movie trailer like you see before the movie begins.
You're also going to need two blogs. I recommend using blogger.com since it has a nice interface and is easy to use. You’ll need:
1 that you'll post a new bit writing on every few days (see above) with links on it to your book and your website
1 that you'll post other information on: book signings, readings, information about what's going on with you, videos, photos of stuff you're doing that your readers would be interested in, and so on.
(marketing, all of it is marketing).
it's important to make sure you upgrade those blogs every day, every couple days or at least 3 times a week. people will find them and then they'll come back... but they'll stop coming back if there's nothing new.
You truly do need links to your book scattered all over the net. To the specific page your book can be found on, not just your home page.
Post a review, or a concise blurb, about your book on appropriate blogs, websites, forums and so on.
There are 2 reasons why you must do this (and try to get your friends to help you do this)::
1, get the word out so people find out about the book
2. get backlinks back to the book which google and other engines use.
Make sure you put good key words in the first paragraph of the post.
There are 2 reasons for that too.
1. People tend to read and pay attention to the first paragraph, then their eyes glaze over and they dont' retain the rest of the commentary
2. The search engines display the first bit of the first paragraph in search results.
So the first few sentences are key to telling people what the book (or thing) is and why they want to go see it.
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Promotional ideas:
1. Are you on Twitter? Get there and start tweeting little bits of tantalizing information about the book. Invite everyone you know to follow you on twitter, put up a follow me link to your twitter profile on your webpage or blog.
2. Do you have a blog? You'd better and you'd better update it frequently.
3. Do you have a website? If not, Weebly has great, websites for free. Go here: http://www.weebly.com set one up and update it on a regular basis. Focus on the book at least for a while.
4. Do you have short stories and articles out there published by different e-zines? Get to work and make that happen.
5. Do you have a facebook and myspace page, and a lot of people in your friends list? Get those and populate the friends lists with everyone you can that are already on those sites. Search the membership for various keywords that match your book and then invite everyone that shows up in the searches.
6. Have you contacted blogtalk radio and gotten interviews set up? Do so. Also contact all the other internet radio sites you can find, such as http://www.globaltalkradio.com/, and http://www.podomatic.com and get interviews or at least a review of your book from as many shows as possible.
7. Have you gone through all the various internet radio stations, found the ones that are appropriate to your book and contacted them for interviews? Do so.
8. Have you contacted your local media and set up interviews? You need to.
9. Have you contacted every bookstore you can think of in your local area (within an hour or 2 driving distance) and set up signings? Do that immediately.
10. Have you contacted organizations such as the rotary club, lion's clubs, school groups and so on that are appropriate for your book and arranged to give talks (with the agreement you can sell copies of your book after the talk)? Do that as well.
11. Youtube. Good book trailers that are professionally produced, or at least look professionally produced, are extremely important to put up on youtube.
12. Contact webzines that fit the book and see if they would be willing to run an interview or an excerpt from the book in exchange for some advertising on your website or blog
13. Exchange banners with websites that match what the book's about
14. For authors with American publishers who are living overseas, the US embassy is a great place to make contacts. They generally work truly hard to promote local authors (the cultural side of the embassies is very active).
15. There are usually associations in every community which promote the cultural side of life. Contact them and set up events.
16. Contact your local library to set up a talk and/or reading. You can't usually sell your book there, but people who come will appreciate that you came and will often go out and buy the book.And make sure your library has a copy. Give them a free copy of the book. Don't underestimate the power of libraries. Librarians talk to each other and will tell other librarians about your book, which will encourage other libraries to buy the book, which generates a lot of sales. There are THOUSANDS of libraries in California alone. That's a lot of potential sales.
17. Contact local colleges and universities. Most colleges of any size will have tons of different groups and/or classes that would be interested in having a writer visit or speak.
18. Contact various student groups, from beginning writers to speaking organizations to the local role-playing gamers' group, that might be interested.
19. Speak with creative writing professors at local colleges and universities, as well as adult education programs, about visiting their class and discussing your experiences.
20. If you're an alumni, contact your various alumni organizations; see about speaking at a conference and before to mention you have a new book. or story about to be published. Request to have it listed in their alumni literature or on the websites.
21. Let the members of every group, organization or club that you belong to in know that you have a book out. Ask them to help promote the book and ask if they would be willing to schedule you as a speaker. If your royalties aren’t too small, offer to donate part of each book sold to org. if they’d like to sell it as a fund raiser.
22. Create an account on linkedin.com, then join various groups on Linkedin which pertain to your book. Post. Get involved with the groups and get to know people. Post updates about your book in your profile. Anyone linked to you will see those updates.
23. Every time you speak to someone who is reading/has read your book request that they post a review on Amazon.com. Also on B&N.com
24. Contact the local newspapers and see about writing opted articles or writing a column. Even if such has nothing to do with your book, it gets your name out there.
25. Update your bio with information about your book an post that bio every where you possibly can.
26. If there is a book fest in your area asking for volunteer authors to visit schools, volunteer, have a 30 to 45 minute presentation which may mean reading part(s) of your book(s), discussing the importance of reading and writing, etc. Even if you don't sell books during the visit, you can let listeners know your book(s) will be available at the book fest, and you'll be there to sign them.
28. Make appointments on your own to do author visits at schools as well as libraries. Some libraries will allow you to do book signings, too.
29. Send copies of your book out for review. Printed copies. Make sure the review sites you pick are compatable with what your book is about. Here’s one to start with http://www.bookreporter.com/book-submission.asp
30. Compile a carefully researched, up-to-date list of journalists and producers who could feature you in their publication or program. Compile a list of key contacts at
top magazines, newspapers, radio/TV shows and Internet sites who could give you coverage. Find out the name of the specific person at each outlet who covers your topic and get their direct phone and email. Before you pitch to them, ask questions: find out exactly they want to be pitched.
31. Get reader reviews posted on Amazon. This step is easy. When you sell copies, ask the people you sell them to, to post a reader review on Amazon.com after they finish the book. Post a note on the book’s page on your website, on facebook, on myspace. Say something simple such as “reader reviews are important to all authors. We need to know what our readers thought of our work. Please, once you finish the book, go to Amazon.com and Barnes&Nobel.com, and post a reader review.” Not only will you get candid feedback, you’ll find that it helps sales. All the online bookstores around the world pick those reviews up and mirror them. People hunting for a book DO read them and can be swayed to buy your book by what they read in those reviews.
32. Use peer pressure. Ask the people who buy your book to tell ten of their friends about it. People listen to their friends. Don’t assume your readers will automatically tell their friends. They probably won’t. But if you ask them to, they probably will. Be specific about the number, too. Ten is a small number, but significant. If you simply say ‘tell your friends” they might tell one or two. Ten gives them a solid goal and will do you a lot of good.
For authors with book in English who are living in non-English speaking countries:
1. Seek out chain bookstores that specialize in English-language literature. For example, Argentina has a chain called KEL, which is English Only and has five or six outlets. Provide contact information to your publisher if they won't speak to the author.
2. School libraries are definitely a great place to sell books as long as the book is clean and wholesome enough that no one will ever object to their presence.
Think of the image you're trying to create about the book and the author. That will help guide your media efforts, especially with your website and blog. Everything you do should tie together.
There are hundreds more things you can do. How many of the above have you already done?
========================Tips from the Book Marketing Expert newsletter======================================== =================================
The following information is reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com
Savvy SEO: What is Anchor Text and Why it Matters
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If you ask any Search Engine Marketing Expert they will tell you the importance of anchor text. What is this exactly? It's the hyperlinked text that you click on to follow a link. Most people overlook this text, using words like "click here" or other nebulous terms. If used correctly, anchor text can really help with your site ranking. It's not that difficult to implement really, you just need to understand a few basic concepts.
First, anchor text should be descriptive. It should describe the link you're sending people to using keywords that reflect the page you're recommending.
Second, if you know the high traffic keywords for your market you can use those as well to describe the link (but only if the keywords relate to the page you're sending visitors to).
Third, knowing where to use anchor text is almost as important as the text itself. All external links should be anchor text, but often web designers forget internal links (i.e. links leading to pages within your site) although they are equally as important. Your home page is also critical for anchor text links. If you have a blog (and you should) make sure that any article, web site or blog you reference has anchor text in the hyperlink.
Creating these hyperlinks is easy, especially if you're using them in a blog. Most blog software have some very simple one-click anchor text creation widgets.
So take some time and go through your site, make sure that anything you have hyperlinked is anchor text. Stay away from nebulous terms like "click here" or "follow this link" because you won't get picked up by search engines that way. Make sure the text is focused and specific. How long can anchor text be? It doesn't have to be long, but if need be, it can be multiple words. Keep in mind that as long as the words are relevant to your topic, the anchor text verbiage is all that matters.
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Why Your Book Isn't Selling
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Over the past several days, I've fielded a number of calls from authors frustrated with their progress. "Nothing is happening", "Am I doing this right?" and "My book isn't selling" are some of the biggest complaints I hear when authors are marketing on their own. Especially now, when we feel the pressure to make every marketing effort count, marketing effectively is becoming more of a concern. Authors like to blame it on the downturn in the economy but the truth is, books are a low dollar item and likely to sell better over the holidays than the spiffy new iPhone. So here's a little reality check, mixed with some inspiration and a few ideas to hopefully kick start your momentum!
1) Goals: it's good to have them but make sure they are realistic. If you're not sure, ask someone who can be objective. (We're here to help, email us at info@amarketingexpert.com if you have nowhere else to turn for an honest answer). Yesterday I was speaking to an author who was really discouraged she hadn't met her sales goal for the year. She had set herself a goal of selling 20,000 books. Now that's a great number to aspire to, but not a realistic figure. Why? Because it was her first book, because she self-published it and because she didn't have a distributor in place and didn't have a platform. All of these things are factors to consider when setting these types of goals. What's more realistic? Well, it depends on your market, but 2,000 to 5,000 especially if you're starting out is a much better target. Keep in mind though, that if your book has limited distribution, this number could drop drastically.
2) What's your plan? While setting goals is important, it's equally important to have mini-goals or milestones that you can reach and check off your list. I outline my big goal, let's say it's finding a traditional publisher for my book, and then I outline the hundreds of mini-goals I need to reach before I can even be considered by a mainstream house. When you work your goal setting this way, it will feel like you are accomplishing things because you are. So often the larger scope of what we do is comprised of micro-efforts, things that might go unnoticed and unseen if you don't write them down or somehow keep a log of them.
In all the years I've worked in marketing and publicity, the single most discouraging thing is when you do a million pieces of invisible work and don't keep track of it. Make a roadmap: you would never drive from San Diego to New York and not have a map. Much like a trip from West to East you'll need a map to keep you on track. It doesn't have to be formal, just a list of things you want to accomplish today, this week, this month and the next six months. Keeping yourself on track will keep you on the right road, if not you could end up being someplace you never planned on. Like Peoria.
3) Am I doing the right thing? No one markets well in a vacuum, so if you have questions, get answers from someone you trust. You might be doing all the right things, but it might just be a matter of timing, patience, effort, and oh, did I mention patience? The important thing is to ask someone in the industry and someone who will give you honest feedback without trying to sell you their stuff.
4) Brainstorm and get creative: again, no one works well in isolation so get out there and brainstorm with people who are in a similar situation. If that's not possible, then start attending classes whether in person or teleclasses - we offer these, they're totally free: authors@amarketingexpert.com. The point is, get out there and start those creative juices flowing or just sit with a speaker you like and get inspired. Re-ignite your campaign.
5) Reevaluate: if you keep hitting a brick wall, it's time to reevaluate your marketing. Are you hitting the right targets? Are you going after your niche market or are you shooting too wide? Are you spending time and money on things that aren't leveraging results? If so ask yourself why? Are you doing it because everyone else in your writing group is? Ask yourself some critical questions.
6) Stuff only works if you do a lot of it: whatever you focus on, you should plan to do it consistently. If you blog, blog consistently. Radio? Same thing. Get yourself in a social networking site then be social. Don't "dabble" - someone once told me they've dabbled in this and that. Trust me, dabbling doesn't work. Diving headlong into marketing does.
7) Put a lot of lines in the water: I don't fish, so I'm not sure where that analogy came from, but you get the idea. Put a lot of stuff out there. Don't just blog and expect that to be your singular source of marketing. Blog, social network, do radio if it's appropriate to your book, do talks, book events, network, and go to conferences.
8) If you do nothing, expect nothing: your book is not the field of dreams, if you write it people won't just beat a path to your door. Get yourself out there, do whatever you need to market the book. Sending postcards to your mailing list might get you a few "Hey, great to hear from you" emails, but it won't sell books. Surprisingly enough, most authors don't sell but a few books to their immediate social circle. Break out of that circle. Mom can only buy so many of your books. I queried this on my Facebook page earlier, and someone responded by saying that she's frustrated that her clients don't market the books they publish. Hmmmm.
9) Realism will keep you sane: the truth is that unless you get a ticket to her show, you'll probably never meet Oprah. That's ok. There are a million other things you can do instead of sitting by the phone waiting for her to call. Realism will not only keep you sane, it'll keep you on target. Having dreams is a great thing, everyone should have a dream, but realism will keep you from being discouraged and keep your marketing momentum on track.
10) Don't throw money at something just to feel like you're doing something: throwing money at a problem isn't always a good thing; in fact, sometimes it's the worst thing. If you're going to invest in your marketing (and you should), make sure you're investing your money wisely. There are great deals out there, but some of them are a waste of your time and certainly, your money.
Make investments wisely. I've known authors to blow through a $5,000 marketing budget $99 at a time and still have nothing to show for their efforts. Also, while it's tempting and easy to do, don't place ads. Ads (especially online) don't work. Media blasts aren't recommended either. It's tempting, I know. Blasting thousands of media at one time with your message should result in something, right? Not always. Be smart with your marketing dollars. If you're blasting the media, ask to see the media targets first. You don't want to be pitching your romance novel to Car and Driver.
So what's the solution to all of this? Here are some guidelines to help you navigate this marketing and PR path:
1) Become part of the conversation, wherever that conversation exists. If your book is a New Age topic, go to web sites, blogs, and even consider attending some conferences. If you're following blogs, comment on those blogs, get to know the big bloggers out there. If you have a social networking site work it, make friends, comment, be helpful.
2) Don't get into the Internet with the idea you'll make a lot of money. Get online and be helpful, the money will follow. If you do it in reverse you'll have a very short-lived time online. Offer tips, link to other blogs or web sites you find helpful. Offer guidance, insight, wisdom, inspiration, whatever works for your market.
3) Want to sell books? Then go for exposure. Repeat after me: marketing and PR doesn't sell books - it gets you exposure. Exposure gets you an audience, and an audience gets you book sales. Whatever effort you're going to put into your book, understand it's for the exposure, not for sales. Much like point #2, if you attack your marketing with the idea of selling books, you'll be disappointed. If you tackle it with the idea of gaining exposure, you'll be pleasantly surprised, and it's likely that book sales will follow.
4) When you make up your list of things to do to market your book, ask yourself what can give you the best exposure. That's one of the reasons I love the Internet, because the exposure is limitless. Don't go for flash in the pan marketing ideas, go for substance.
5) Having 35 social networking accounts is only a good thing when you use them all. People ask me how many social networking pages should they have, I say: how many can you manage? If you can't keep up 35 pages, then start with one and go from there. Better to have one very active page than a bunch of pages that are blank.
6) Do one to five things a day to market yourself and your book. Keep on track with your marketing efforts and stay in the marketing "zone" by crafting a list that lets you chip away at your goals, one goal at a time.
7) Please, please, please get a web site. It's your 24/7 sales tool and should be one of the first things on your list of must-do marketing tasks.
8) Get help from a professional you trust. I know you're loving this "going alone" thing, but let's face it, at some point it might make sense to bring in a professional who can help you, someone you trust who will give you a straight answer and good, solid advice. Stay away from anyone offering guarantees in sales. This is a huge red flag, no one can predict this, nor can anyone predict a bestseller.
The more you can approach your marketing plan with goals, a dash of realistic expectations and a lot of hard work, the more successful you'll be. The truth is there are hundreds of thousands of books that get published each year that end up dying a quiet death due to lack of focus, goals, and exposure. Get yourself on a path and then find a manageable plan that will work with you, not against you!
Blogger LinkUp
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Blogger LinkUp is the creation of Cathy Stucker, the Idea Lady.
This is a free service that is all about helping bloggers - or anyone who wants to contact bloggers.
You can:
* Request guest posts
* Request sources for interviews and round-ups
* Offer guest posts to bloggers
* Offer products to bloggers for review
Who Should Join? You should join Blogger LinkUp if you are:
* A blogger who uses guest posts to fill in when you are away or just want to give your readers another point of view
* A blogger or web site owner who wants to get links and exposure by writing guest posts
* A blogger who does interviews or round-up articles and needs sources
* A representative of a company that wants to get your products reviewed by bloggers
* A PR person, publicist or social media consultant who helps clients with any of the above.
Here is how it works: Join the Blogger LinkUp list and you will get emails once or twice a day, Monday through Friday. These emails will list bloggers looking for expert sources, requests for guest posts, bloggers and web masters offering guest posts, and PR reps and others seeking reviews of products. When you see a request that you can fulfill, just respond directly to the requester.
Have a request of your own? Simply submit a request, and it will be forwarded to the list.
Blogger LinkUp
http://www.bloggerlinkup.com/
Email Cathy Stucker: cathy@idealady.com
Making Money Online
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I just found a post on Seth Godin's blog where he talks about using the Internet as a "tool" for your business and not as the business itself.
Working with authors who want to build their book, speaking, product sales, I think it is important to understand what the Internet can and cannot do for you.
Seth says that you:
"Make money: not by building an internet company, but by using the net as a tool to create value and get paid. Use the internet as a tool, not as an end. Do it when you are part of a big organization or do it as a soloist. The dramatic leverage of the net more than overcomes the downs of the current economy.
The essence is this: connect."
As someone involved in the social networking movement, Seth says why you should connect while my work is showing you how.
Seth listed many ways that you can connect and the two that seem most relevant to me for authors are:
Connect like-minded people into a movement.
The secret: Don't write your blog for everyone. Instead, they use the blog as the center connecting point for a niche, and then go from there.
Connect information seekers with information.
What information do you have to offer that other people want? Which industry needs you to channel and collect and connect?
More feedback on this post and a link to Seth's full post can be found at: http://www.susangilbert.com/how-to-make-money-using-the-internet/.
Tip offered by Susan Gilbert, AME's Search Engine Marketing Expert and Web 2.0 company owner, http://www.JoomlaJump.com, which provides Social Networking websites and services. How to Look Good Online
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There are those that say it's all about appearances, this is very true online. Why? Because everything you do online not only leaves a footprint but it's also your 24/7 resume. If the footprint you're leaving looks unprofessional and half-finished, it might not bode well for your online reputation and sales. Here are some quick tips on how to look good online:
Social Networks: with social networks it's not about quantity but quality. I often have authors tell me they are on numerous social networking sites (some are on as many as 50). That's great if you can keep them all current - if you can't, find the ones you can participate in and stick with those. Remember that the first word on social networking is "social," so if you're not able to participate actively (at least once a week) then get out.
Sign up for Google alerts: who's saying what about you? If you don't know, you should. This is (usually) a good thing. You want to know where reviews appear so you can a) link to them and b) thank the person who reviewed you or mentioned you on their blog or web site.
Get a blog: in order to get on blogs, you must have a blog but it's more than just having one, it's about keeping it updated. (see Participate)
Participate: In order to reap the benefits of the online world, you must participate. This goes back to the social networking site and your blog. Participate, communicate and listen. Three rules online that will never steer you wrong.
Don't get greedy: lead with the benefits, not the dollar signs. What I mean by this is that if you're going online to make a quick buck, get out. You might make a few dollars, but success will be short-lived.
Network: it goes without saying that networking (especially online) is important. Network, lend a helping hand, show people how you can help them.
Get a web site: don't just get one, get a good one. You'd never think to show up for a car race with a scooter. Don't even try to go online with anything less than a professional web site. While I know it's tempting to do it yourself, most authors always end up regretting it. "My web site is fine," they'll say until you ask them how well it's selling for them. If the answer is: "it's not," then you need a new site. Show up online with a site that reflects your expertise, creativity, and message. This is one race you can't afford to lose.
Got Blog?
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Don't forget to add it to:
* www.google.com/blogsearch
* www.technorati.com
* www.blogpulse.com
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