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Marketing Your Book Online to Promote your Offline Book

by L. Drew Gerber on July 30, 2010

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by L. Drew Gerber.  Please read bio below for more information on L. Drew.

So you’ve written a book, had it published and now you want to sell it… but there’s just one problem: You’re a writer, not a salesperson! Just like the writing process, marketing your book should be a fun endeavor. But it’s important not to let it break your bank, nor drain your time and resources.

Using the Internet as a platform for book promotion offers endless economical and time saving possibilities.

Online Marketing Resources

Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn allow you to deliver your message and connect with thousands of potential readers with the ease of a few mouse clicks. Video portal sites like YouTube and Vimeo make it easy to publish promotional videos or trailers for your book so readers can get a taste of the person behind the words.

Online press kits make it easy for the media to find you and at the same time increase your online presence. And then you have bloggers to connect with who may want to review your book or give you a guest blog spot, giving you an opportunity to reach an even wider audience.

The time will come when you can have a bestseller without ever having to go down the traditional PR route of television, print and radio — you’ll be able to do it all online!

Research your Target Market

Increasing your readership and boosting book sales is all about getting the word out. Creating awareness is crucial and can’t be done unless you give your audience what they want, so it’s safe to say promoting a book online can’t be done without a little prep work — you have to know their needs. Before you begin, you’ll have to research. Start in the social networking communities and find out what your target market is already reading, watching and listening to.

Everyone is sharing what he or she is interested in these days. Get on Twitter and you’ll see “so and so is currently reading this.” Visit social bookmarking sites like Digg! or Delicious, type in the keyword related to your book and see what comes up. You’ll easily find out who your competition is, but most importantly you’ll be able to figure out what you can offer readers that others aren’t. Do your research, then have at it!

Build your Credibility

If you can successfully promote your book online, then you shouldn’t have any problem landing media coverage. The best and most cost-effective way to increase your book’s sales, what media coverage does, that no ad can do, is build your credibility among your target audience.

When they hear an interview with you on a local radio program, read a newspaper article where you’ve been used as an expert source or watch a television segment featuring you, your book and your expertise, the audience is engaged. Most people skim right over ads in magazines or newspapers, not paying any attention to them.

But interviews and stories — people read them because they want to; because they trust the source; and because they want to broaden their horizons. These are the people you want to read your words; these are the people who will buy your book.

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Stop Designing! Start Writing!

by Julie McElroy on July 29, 2010

These words are mostly directed at me, but maybe others can relate.

Stop designing and start writing!

After changing over to the Thesis Theme and creating another blog, Love Musings, I have found myself obsessed with changing the look of each of these blogs.  As a bit of a perfectionist, it almost seems I can not just stop doing it – designing – and get back to the whole reason for having a blog – writing!

I wonder if others have been this obsessed overly zealous when they started a new website.  At what point do you say, okay it is good enough, and get back to the real business of writing?

Well, when I found myself searching for code to change a very small, trivial design on my blog, and spent a very large amount of time doing this, I realized I needed to stop designing, and start writing.  I have to accept that my blogs will never be perfect (at least not without more fine tuning).

The point is content keeps people coming back, not font size or the padding between the blog title and the post.  Now, design is important, yes.  It is the professional look of your page. Do not neglect this and portray a poor image.  However, once your blog has a pretty good design, it is time move on!

It is All About Balance

Everyone’s time is valuable, whether you are a part-time blogger, or it is your full-time gig.  Being productive is essential. When you find yourself spending valuable time making minor design changes to a blog so you don’t have to time to post, it is time to stop.  Even just for a couple days.  People will not stop looking at your blog if the color in the header does not quite match the exact hex code in the post title.  Seriously! Right?  Sometimes, there may not even be a fix for the exact, perfect design look you are going for.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
~ John Wooden

Tweaking your design here and there is a good thing especially if you have many site errors. However, don’t spend so much time on the design that you lose your writing inspiration. It is all about balance.  There’s that word again. Balance.

So, find that happy medium on your design, and step away from the CSS and HTML settings on your blog. Yes, I know. Firebug can be addictive when looking at yours (or others) blogs! Give up being a perfectionist and get back to the main reason for having a blog – writing!

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Simple Tips For Squeezing in Time to Write

July 28, 2010

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Danielle Bullen. Read more about Danielle in the footer bio. As a freelance writer, finding the time to write can be challenging. With responsibilities to your home, family, and health, it’s easy to let the entire day slip by without any progress. Luckily, there are ways to [...]

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What Today.com Taught Me About Freelance Writing

July 27, 2010

As a freelance writer, it is important to pay attention to who you write for. I learned some lessons from a site called Today.com. If you look it up, you will see it has been bought out by the Today Show.  It no longer exists as a place to blog. The blog has now moved [...]

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Does this Tweet Make my Brand Look Big?

July 26, 2010

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Traci Hayner Vanover. Please see the bio in below to learn more about Traci. You’ve decided to finally jump on the social media band wagon — congratulations. Before you go head out into the social media jungle and begin tweeting, Facebooking and YouTubing with reckless abandon, I [...]

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5 Essential Reasons Having a Blog is Good for Your Business

July 25, 2010

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Elizabeth Cutten. Please see bio below for more information about Elizabeth. If you have a website online today and you haven’t started up a blog, you’re already missing out on so many potential future visitors, it’s crazy!  I wanted to show you how a blog worked for [...]

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