So You’re an Author Without a Social Media Presence: Now What?
Social media is just one component of your author platform, and not necessarily the most important component. It works best as part of a holistic book marketing and promotion strategy.
Tag Archives: online marketing
The Difference Between a Press Release and a Pitch (You Need Both)
The two biggest mistakes in book publicity pitches: they are too long in length, and not pointed or provocative enough.
Fan-Friendly Marketing and Kindle Worlds Licensing: Q&A with Aleatha Romig
Primarily an indie published author, Aleatha Romig participates in Kindle Worlds, which allows other authors to write about the characters in her work.
How Do Books Become Bestsellers? (Can Authors Increase Those Chances?)
Is a book’s success all luck, even if ‘luck’ includes hitting the right subject matter at the right time, or is it marketing—and can an indie author in any way compete with a publisher?
Improve Book Sales Through Better Descriptions and Keyword Targeting
Is it better to have a long or short book description on Amazon? What should go in the first line? How do you research appropriate categories and keywords? Learn principles and tools to master the power of descriptions and reach your target market.
Case Study: Using NetGalley and Goodreads for Book Marketing and Publicity
Sarah Miniaci at Smith Publicity and Kristina Radke at NetGalley review the marketing and publicity strategies that can help increase your book’s discoverability, word-of-mouth, and reviews, using NetGalley and Goodreads in particular.
Is Amazon Exclusivity Right for You?
There are advantages to selling ebooks only through Amazon, and makes most sense for authors who are just starting out or who are relatively unknown.
Book Marketing Resources for Authors: The Best of 2016
Every year, I share hundreds (even thousands) of articles and reports on book marketing. Here, I look back on the best of what I found in 2016.
A Self-Published Poet’s Path to Her First Book Deal
How a self-publishing poet achieved visibility for her book—and landed a book deal with traditional publisher Andrews McMeel.
Marketing and Publishing Checklists for Writers
When embarking on a process that is new or unfamiliar, often you don’t know what you don’t know. A checklist helps you recognize what you don’t know, so that many months later, you’re not beating yourself up for complete ignorance. Without further ado, here are some of my most favored checklists, from sources I trust.
How to Get 10,000 Visits to Your Blog in One Day with No Platform
Getting traction for your online presence—especially a new blog—can feel like an impossible task when you’re an unknown writer. But it can be done.
3 Things Your Traditional Publisher Is Unlikely to Do
The No. 1 disappointment of published authors is the lack of marketing support from their publisher. Here’s how to prepare for what will—and won’t—happen.
How to Use Reddit to Market Your Books (Carefully)
Reddit is an online community where you can get your book in front of hundreds of thousands of readers for free. That is, if you have the right strategy.
How to Run Short-Term Social Media Campaigns
A short-term marketing campaign is a series of strategies designed to reach a goal in a defined period of time, and include projects such as book launches. A short-term campaign has four definite phases: planning, pre-launch, launch, and follow-through.
What Writers Too Often Overlook: Having a Call to Action
Just about every writer would love to have more readers—more readers of their books, their blog, their articles, or whatever creative work they’re producing. But few writers have given much thought to having a call to action that’s associated with their work.
Are You a Push Marketer or a Pull Marketer?
If you want to be successful at selling today, you need to quit pushing your needs (please buy my book) and messages at potential readers and concentrate on figuring out how to pull them in by putting their needs above yours. Give them something valuable.
Why You Should Join All Social Media Networks
I think it’s fair to say that most of us are not looking to add more social media activity to our lives. In fact, we prefer to trim online activity or drop entire networks if possible. So the advice I’m about to offer may feel objectionable and time-wasting at first, but if you stay with me until the end, […]
Are Paid Book Reviews Worth It?
The majority of authors will not benefit from paid book reviews, and should invest their time and money elsewhere. Here’s why.
Using Kindle Scout as Part of a Book Launch Campaign
Learn how to use Kindle Scout as part of a pre-release marketing strategy for a self-published book.
Feeling Like an Old Geezer at the New Social Media Party
A closer look at a few of the “new” social media networks I’ve tried lately, which offer potential for writers who want to enjoy being an early adopter and creating a space for themselves in a community or environment that hasn’t become completely filled with marketing and promotion messages.
5 Observations on the Evolution of Author Business Models
As publishing becomes increasingly digital-driven, how are the business models for authorship changing?
Beware of One-Size-Fits-All Advice for Social Media
Be careful before applying someone else’s social media advice to your situation.
5 Ways to Quickly Improve Your Email Newsletter Performance
How to improve the effectiveness of your email newsletter through very specific changes to your sign-up forms and content.
Using Pinterest to Market Children’s Picture Books
A children’s author shares her strategies for promoting her picture books on Pinterest—as well as what adult fiction marketing techniques haven’t worked for her.
My 5 Philosophies of Social Media
If you need a place to start, then focus on talking about or posting about others you admire.
Platform Building for Authors [30-Minute Video Interview]
In a 30-minute video interview, I discuss the basics of author platform.
Facebook for Authors: Getting Started Guide
This 101 guide describes best practices for authors using Facebook for book marketing, with tips on when you should set up a fan page.
WRITING ON THE ETHER: Writers in the Inferno
How many authors do you know who seem more renowned among their peers than readers—not because these “thriving ink-slingers” (Michael Deacon) are writing books only other authors could love, but because their output seems to focus on these redundant how-to’s designed to crib a few more bucks from fellow would-be renowned authors?
3 Ways to Improve Your Website Design
Today’s guest post is adapted from Red Hot Internet Publicity by Penny Sansevieri. Between Los Angeles and Las Vegas there’s a stretch of I-15 that’s just barren desert with you, sand, a cactus or two, a few vultures hoping to get lucky, and endless billboards. Most people speed down this stretch of highway as fast […]
How One Introverted Author Successfully Markets His Work
The following Q&A is with author Bob Tarte. Bob lives in Michigan with parrots, ducks, geese, parakeets, rabbits, doves, cats, hens, and one turkey. I met Bob at a Florida writers conference, where he was speaking about the success of his pet podcast. He has published three books with Algonquin; the latest, Kitty Cornered: How Frannie and Five […]
Facebook Strategy for Authors: In-Depth Discussion
If you’re like most authors I know, you’ve wondered about how to best use Facebook. Should you stick to your personal page, should you create a fan page, how do you promote a fan page, and what exactly does a marketing strategy look like on Facebook? I’ve written several posts addressing the basics, as well […]
What Is an Author’s Marketing Responsibility With a Traditional Publisher?
It is a pleasure to share this interview with two authors who are also marketing geniuses, Avery Monsen (@averymonsen) and Jory John (@joryjohn). A couple years ago they authored a brilliant illustrated book with Chronicle, All My Friends Are Dead, which became an online sensation and breakout bestseller with more than 100,000 copies sold. This year, […]
The Tension Between Art and Commercial Realities
Today’s Q&A is with Ron Hogan. For anyone who’s worked in publishing for more than two minutes, Ron hardly needs an introduction. In 1995, he launched one of the most legendary sites in the literary community, Beatrice, which features interviews with authors. Even when Ron was working for Amazon in the late ’90s on book reviews, he kept up […]