Yesterday I shared with our SPAWN Discussion Group that I had posted my 1000th blog post. One SPAWN member asked me if I have noticed any benefit from my blogging efforts. After all, we all do what we do for reasons, right? We hope to get something back. And one pleasure I derive from blogging is knowing that I am helping new and struggling authors and freelance writers. I also enjoy the process. Most days, I look forward to sharing something of value with you. Like many of you, writing somehow soothes my soul. And writing a blog post is as much a morning ritual for me as is pouring a tall glass of orange juice upon rising. <\/p>\n
This woman asked if I was selling more books or if I had more traffic to my website as a result of my blog. I will respond to her questions this morning and I plan to answer her in this way:<\/p>\n
There is really no way to precisely track your book sales or even your web traffic when you are promoting in many different directions. It used to be that you assigned different codes to your mailing address for the various advertising that you did. This helped you determine whether someone ordered your book through an ad in Woman\u2019s World Magazine<\/em>, your article appearing in the Los Angeles Times<\/em>, from a book review in Publishers Weekly or from a radio gig. This is how you tracked sales. You can still use little tracking tricks, but it is more difficult since so much of your promotion and many of your sales are done online. <\/p>\n If the only way you are promoting your book is through a blog and your website, and you display your books at one book festival per year, then you pretty much know what is and what isn\u2019t working for you.<\/p>\n A savvy author\/publisher today, however, will promote much more widely than that. I post daily to my blog. I have two websites\u2014one introducing me and my services and another displaying my books and offering them for sale. But I also post comments on other appropriate blogs, write many articles for magazines and ezines and solicit book reviews. I go out and speak on publishing and book promotion, I hand out brochures and business cards wherever I go, I attend several book festivals each year and I run a networking organization for authors. I review books related to writing, publishing and book promotion and I write a newsletter for the member area of the SPAWN Website. When I produce a new book, I contact my extensive mailing list and make an announcement. Oh yes, and I also have a Facebook page and Twitter account.<\/p>\n So, unless someone tells me they visited my website or bought a book because of my blog, I really don\u2019t know what inspired them. All I do know is that, in order to be heard, be read and be helpful to your audience, you must put yourself out there in as many ways as makes sense to your project.<\/p>\n You Have Access to Over 125 Articles on Publishing and Book Promotion<\/strong> \u201cWhen the Book Promotion Well Runs Dry\u201d
\nWe\u2019ve just added over thirty new articles to my Matilija Press website. You\u2019ll find articles on writing, publishing, book promotion, writing a book proposal and public speaking. Here\u2019s a sampling of article titles:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWriting and Promotion Go Hand in Hand\u201d
\n\u201cHow to Give an Awesome Author Interview\u201d
\n\u201cNovel Ways to Promote Your Novel\u201d
\n\u201cHow to Turn Your Book Idea Into a Product\u201d
\n\u201cWhat Can You Expect From Your Editor\u201d
\n\u201cGuarantee Your Publishing Success\u201d
\n\u201cWrite a Better Book: Produce a Better Product\u201d
\n\u201cAre You Writing for the Right Reasons?\u201d
\n\u201cFive Reasons That Publishing Might be a Bad Idea\u201d <\/p>\n