|
Published Article
by Patricia Fry
15 Ways to Successfully Promote Your Book Through the Web
Appeared in the February 2007 issue of Book Promotion Newsletter
Are you promoting your book through the Web? I mean are you really using the Web to gain exposure and sales? Sure, your book is listed at Amazon.com and maybe you have a Web site, but what else are you doing online to attract an audience?
There is more to generating sales via the Web than just sitting back and waiting. I challenge you to become proactive. Express your adventurous side. Go where you have not gone before. You may just discover ways to minimize that stack of books in storage and maximize your bank account.
Make Your Web Site a Valuable Marketing Tool
Invest in a Merchant Account
I drug my feet for a long time before finally signing up for a merchant account that enables me to sell books through my Web site. This proved to be an extremely worthwhile expense.
Create a Web Site That's Useful to Potential Customers
Offer articles, information, resources and links that are pertinent to your particular customer. And add to your site often. The more aspects you have at your site, the more there is for the search engines to register. And the more you have going on at your site, the more your customers will want to visit.
Shout About Your Site From The Highest Mountain
Promote your Web site through business cards and other handouts. Include it in your "signature." Promote your site through appropriate newsletters and forums by announcing when you have added something new or when you are running a special, a contest or a series of online classes.
Provide a Free E-newsletter
Whether your genre is historical fiction, young adult novels or fantasy or you write nonfiction books on a specific subject, you can extend your reach by producing an e-newsletter. Use your e-newsletter to entertain and inform, to make announcements and to make friends.
Promote Your Book Through Other Web Sites
Study other sites related to the theme and/or genre of your book. If you haven't done this already, shame on you. If you have visited other sites, just to see what others are doing, that's a start. But now I want you to find ways to participate. How can you participate? Let me count the ways:
Ask For a Review or Recommendation
Locate sites where they recommend and/or review books in your genre or on your topic. I suggest spending a few hours every week seeking out new sites and requesting reviews/recommendations.
For a book of fiction, look for general review sites, literary sites and sites related to the theme of your book and the setting. For example, maybe your book is a romance novel set in Atlanta and your main character has diabetes, flies small planes, owns an Abyssinian cat and runs a rescue center for elephants. Consider sites focusing on the state of Georgia, diabetes, aviation, elephants, Abyssinian cats and wild animal rescue.
Check the site to see if they review books or have a "recommended book" section. If appropriate, contact the site owner, describe your book and ask for a review or recommendation.
Of course, once you've landed a review or your book is listed on another site, add this information to your site along with a link to the review or recommendation page.
Get Involved With Their Visitors
Many sites have forums and chat rooms where like-minded people can discuss issues related to the topic or genre. This is a good opportunity to express your knowledge, teach and promote your book. I would also recommend opening up to what others can teach you. You may want to write a sequel to your book. I often participate in forums with writers and authors. I enjoy responding to questions, offering encouragement and trying to guide hopeful authors and writers in the right direction. I also learn from others and glean article and blog ideas from them. Of course, I mention my book when appropriate. When not appropriate, I at least use my "signature."
Submit Articles to the Site
Ask the site owner or director if you can submit an article for consideration. Study the submission guidelines and the other articles and come up with a useful article designed to inform, educate and/or entertain. Be sure to include the title of your book and ordering information.
Take Advantage of Newsletters Generated From the Site
Many site owners publish print or electronic newsletters. Newsletter editors are usually hungry for material. They appreciate good, worthwhile, informative submissions. Read back issues of the newsletter, create an appropriate article idea and follow their submission guidelines.
Also use newsletters to announce your activities. If you're going to lead a workshop on a cruise ship in June, send this information to all pertinent newsletters far enough ahead of time to be included. Maybe you're donating a portion of sales to a charity during the month of May. Get more coverage by sending this announcement to every newsletter on your list.
Subscribe to these publications and read them. You may come up with reasons to write letters to the editor from time to time.
Always Be in Research Mode
Locate Conferences, Shows and Expos
If you like to travel and participate in book festivals and trade shows or if you can present workshops in your genre or topic, use a search engine to locate venues throughout the world. I use www.lights.com/publisher/bookfairs.html to locate a directory of book fairs and www.writing.shawguides.com to find writers' conferences nationwide. To find shows and conferences in your field, type in keywords: "conference exotic cats" or "aviation shows directory" or "convention novel authors."
Whether your subject is gardening, beauty tips, dieting, nutrition, how to invest in real estate, how to successfully negotiate a contract in your favor, aging, pet care or bird-watching, there are anywhere from 100 to many thousands of related sites. Many of them will welcome information about your book.
Think about it. The World Wide Web is literally at our fingertips. You don't have to get dressed up to surf the Web. You don't have to drive anywhere or wait for doors to open. Like Las Vegas, the Web is always open for business. Use the World Wide Web in the ways described here and you will sell more books.
Patricia Fry is the President of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) www.spawn.org. She is also the author of 27 books, including, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html. Visit her blog often at www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog.
|
