To learn more about what books are selling and what books aren’t sign-up for the Publisher’s Lunch at publishersmarketplace.com. You’ll receive a weekly recap of the previous week’s top book deals which provides some great insight into what genres are gaining traction. You can use this to focus your own strategy before you put a pen to paper or fingers to a keyboard.

Another break in technology that seems to be gaining momentum is the use of digital autographs. By using a services like Long Pen, authors can virtually sign their books for fans and cut costs associated with travel and touring for book signings. Award-winning author Margaret Atwood has employed and utilized Long Pen with great success. For more information visit Syngraffi.com.

There are many outlets that are beginning to use on demand print options like the Espresso Book Machine (EBM). The equipment allows businesses to print as needed and when requested which is a huge cost saver compared to traditional book publication methods. This technology is available throughout the United States at select libraries and book stores and is anticipated to become more widely available as others integrate EBM into their list of services. A complete list of EBM publishers can be found at ondemandbooks.com.

Access online communities for authors like Redroom and BookTalk and visit the forums to learn more about how other authors and readers are discovering trends and innovative ways to market and publish their books.

Authors can use content marketing to develop PDF versions of select chapters from their current work, or even upcoming and in progress pieces, and make them available on their website for fans to download. Using available social media strategies like Twitter, forums and other platforms, authors can promote the availability of new content.

Beyond promoting their current books, authors can also develop content that can be positioned as a resource for other struggling novelists and writers. If you’re an author that has had great success in getting your book published my a major firm you might consider putting together an e-book that passes on your knowledge and experience to other writers. You’ll position yourself as someone who’s willing to help and who has hands-on experience. People value and respect both of these characteristics.

As an author, try to keep your content marketing efforts sincere. In other words, don’t get caught up in sounding too much like someone with a sales pitch. Sincerity will take you much further if you introduce your content as something that you feel could actually benefit others.

When you begin creating your content, think about putting it together in much the same way that you would write a book. Get organized, create a plan and begin assembling. Make your content shareable, show that it value, optimize it with keywords and don’t forget to set-up analytics so that you can track how many people are downloading what you’re giving them.

Authors may find that building good content might take some time, but the end-result is well-worth it.

The question that many authors ask is whether social media advertising actually works? Sure it’s great to set-up your Facebook Page, but will promoting it with pay per click ads do anything for you and your novel? Actually, it can. It’s important to understand your social media channel that you’re using. This means if you’re going to advertise on Facebook, educate yourself on the process. Same thing goes for LinkedIn DirectAds. Know the channel before you dive in.

As an author, keep in mind that social media is about connecting with people who want to read your book and who enjoy what you’ve written so far. They’re your target audience. Advertising via social media should be focused on bringing more of those same potential fans to your book’s social media profile. Target these users with advertising messages that will resonate with them, not with the general populace.

You’ll also want to make sure that the social media ads that you’re creating build on the social media content that you’re creating. For instance, if you’re sharing a chapter from your upcoming book on your blog then make sure that you’re teasing readers about it through your ads. As buzz is generated don’t forget to take part in the conversations. Traditional advertising methods no longer work in new media. It requires interaction on your part so be prepared to jump in and discuss what you’re promoting.

Advertising and social media can work well together as long as you’re taking a planned approach rather than haphazardly throwing dollars into a random click campaign. Take the time to get learn about your audience and how they typically respond to ads on each channel. Your diligence will pay off.

For authors, the freemium model is a fantastic way to give loyal fans and readers incentive to become paid members of your online site. This can be accomplished by sharing a white paper, ebook or even a report. Knowing what the difference is among each of these will help you develop content accordingly and make it available to win over interested individuals.

A white paper is a great tool that can be used to sell your services. Typically, a white paper contains quite a bit of copy and a few graphics that are assembled in a persuasive way. The purpose of the white paper is to sell your point of view and usually argue from a specific position. Think of a white paper as written form of opinion that uses facts to support what it is you’re boasting about.

Sometimes, people confuse white papers with reports, but they’re not the same. A report is more along the lines of an article. It’s purpose isn’t to sell, but to convey, or educate. For many writers, a white paper or report won’t be as frequently used as an ebook. Ebooks are electronic versions of a book and they can be written on just about anything you can think of.

Now that we have a better understanding on what these three items are we can use them with the freemium website model. Consider creating a white paper, report or ebook that can be downloaded for free to entice your audience to learn more about your written body of work and you as an author. These free ‘teasers’ can demonstrate your experience, credibility and even highlight your accomplishments. All of these things are contributing factors to who you are as an author and why someone would want to read more of what you’ve written.

Once you’ve hooked your reader, turn them into paying fans and site members by providing them with access to content and material that basic members can’t receive. It’s an exclusive way to say thank you for their support.

Let’s say that you’ve just written a publication roasting coffee beans. Your SEO efforts would include specific words, like roasting, coffee and book, so that your video would be more likely to appear in Google’s search results. In addition, there are many other SEO steps that you can take to promote your book’s video.

1.  Title

Start with a catchy keyword title. Remember that catchy is different from obscure so try to avoid getting overly creative. Keep it simple and use keywords that can be directly associated with your book, subject matter and general content.

2.  Video Transcript

YouTube is evolving and this is a good thing. Word on the street is that it will begin to use voice recognition to capture audio which will then be made searchable. This will bolster the likelihood of your book video appearing in related searches. This technology is coming down the pipeline so prepare for it now by creating a keyword focused transcript to accompany your video trailer.

3.  Meta Data

Meta data is a fancy term of descriptive keywords, or tags, that are used to find your video book trailer. There are many free online tools available that can help you discover popular and relevant keywords that you can use in your meta data. Use single words, two-word phrases, even three-word phrases. A word of caution on meta data – try to limit your meta data collection to around 16 to 18 word, otherwise you’ll appear to ‘spammy’.

4.  Sharing

Put all your hard SEO work to good use and share your book trailer video on other video sites. Beyond YouTube, there are countless other video sites and uploading to each one can be time consuming. Try using a video distribution service like TubeMogul to get your SEO video out to the masses.

5.  Syndicate

Publicize your video by using RSS feeds like Blinkx. Send the URL link to your video and you’re done. Millions of people will now have instant access to your book trailer.

Ebooks

These days, quick access is the name of the game. With the advent  of the internet, people have become more impatient and used to clicking a button to download what they want. Fortunately, you have the ability as an author to tap into the world of instant gratification for consumers by creating an ebook. Convert your printed version into a PDF document and charge for live downloads and online purchases.

Audio

We’re a race of people on the go. From working out at the gym to extended commute times to the office, there seem to be fewer hours available to curl up and enjoy a good book. Not anymore. Authors can adapt to the fast-paced lifestyle of people by developing an audio version of their books. It can easily be downloaded and burned to a CD or MP3 player for portability and listened to while on the move.

Ecommerce

Brick and mortar retail locations are great and they’re certainly not going extinct anytime soon. However, make it more convenient for readers to purchase your book by incorporating ecommerce into your website. Customers can avoid long lines and inventory fluctuations when they buy directly from your site.

Affiliate Programs

The largest affiliate program comes from Amazon Associates and if you’re an author it’s a must that you join. Through the program, website owners feature Amazon.com ads on their sites for books and products. When site visitors click on your ad, you receive a commission for the sale of your book. There are many affiliate programs available, as well as resources that compare and contrast their features and benefits. Do your homework and find one that suits your needs and you’ll be on your way to sales and profits in no time.

There are many other ways to generate additional points of income from your book. Explore the web for inspiration and test the waters for yourself.

If you’re just starting out and wondering what you’ll need to include in an e-commerce site, consider reading 5 Universal Principles for Successful eCommerce Sites. Smashing Magazine has written a detailed piece that walks you through some of the core features that an e-commerce site needs in order to be effective.

Unlike a basic website or a simple blog, e-commerce sites require additional functionality in order to process financial transactions safely and securely. Depending upon what your needs are, the amount of inventory that’s being sold and what your budget parameters are, you may want to consider using Magento. As an open-source e-commerce platform, Magento has a tremendous amount of support and customization options for users. The high-level of flexibility makes it a leader in e-commerce software solutions.

Conducting research on e-commerce trends, industry changes, new technology and consumer demographics is vital to remaining competitive and staying business. Knowing that consumers are growing averse to using credit cards for online purchases or why they’re abandoning shopping cart sites can help you avoid failure before you have a chance to get started. Research can also dispel any myths or preconceived notions about e-commerce. For instance, men spend more than women online not vice versa.

Launching an e-commerce site sounds like a great idea, but if you don’t really know where to begin it can seem pretty intimidating. A quick read of E-Commerce Explained: A Research Paper will help synthesize the process and make the concept and process easier to digest.

It’s important to keep your finger on the pulse of the e-commerce industry. Knowing that e-commerce growth is slowing, but still out-pacing retail can help with profit forecasting and expenditure reduction. Digging up data that shows how Facebook and social media is influencing the buy process can be used to adjust your marketing strategy.

Take some time to get familiar with what works, before you spend your resources on implementing an ecommerce plan. If you do it right, you’ll have your e-commerce shopping cart full in no time.