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.

Technorati Tags: author, authors, Book Marketing

Find Your Tweeps

Recent stats estimate that nearly 26 million people are using Twitter. Your job as an author is to try an find your niche within the mass. Search for other well-known authors and writers in your genre and follow them. More than likely you’ll begin to build a following of similar individuals who are interested in what you have to share.

Make Your Tweets Relevant

As you’re developing your follower base, make sure to stay on topic when you construct your tweets. Although it may be tempting to give a play-by-play on cooking scrambled eggs for breakfast you’re much better off sticking with book-related tweets. Save the personal aspects for later after you’ve built up a considerable following.

Use Hashtags

Hashtags are a fantastic way to organize and stream your tweets into a searchable category that people can find and read. Consider creating your own personalized hashtag or using some of the more popular ones like #book, #authors or #mysteries. Try not to use them for every single tweet that you send out so that you don’t appear to spammy. Use them sparingly and for tweets that you want to make a bigger impact with.

Twitter Requires Patience

Unless your last name is Kutcher or Spears, you’re not going to end up with millions of followers overnight. Slow and steady wins the race for the rest of us. Take the time to build relationships and engage in conversations with your followers. Tweeting takes time and dedication. If you’re only sending out a single tweet once every month then you’re not likely to see a rapid increase. Participate daily and stay on topic to reap the benefits of Twitter.

If Twitter is new for you, spend some time following others to get a sense of the flow of conversation and interaction. Once you’re ready, get ready for fun and launch your own account.

Technorati Tags: author, Book Marketing, Twitter

For all the authors out there this next mention will sound familiar. Just like a query letter, your press release needs to have a great headline. The purpose is to hook the interest of the reader, but also be succinct and direct at the same time. The headline should summarize what the press release about, but be catchy enough to entice further reading. Important: don’t include jargon or slang in your headline.

When you begin writing the body, or content of your press release, remember to stick to the facts. Press releases should contain a who, what, where, when and why. Additionally, they need to be written in a third-person voice and should be kept free of opinion. Editorializing should be avoided. Think of the release just like a news reporter would approach a story. Personal opinion is pushed aside so that people can make conclusions on their own. This is true with how your present the content in your release.

There are many different press release distribution sites on the Internet. To get a good sense of the style and tone of a release do some browsing on the web. Soon enough you’ll be able to distinguish between good and not so good, plus you’ll get a better understanding of how the components work synergistically to develop an informative piece.

The last part of your press release should be your boilerplate. The boilerplate is standard on every release and once you’ve written yours you will use it on all your releases going forward. It should contain a four to five sentences about who you are, your website and any other relevant information, such as a social media address or blog site. Boilerplates aren’t fancy, they simply summarize who the press release pertains to.

Visit corporate newsrooms to see good press release examples and to get inspired to write your own.

Technorati Tags: author, blogging, blogs, Book Marketing, public relations, SEO

One of the great features of Amazon is that is has a self-publishing company known as BookSurge. Through BookSurge authors can use features like print-on-demand and get organized with inventory management and distribution assistance. What’s really nice about BookSurge is that it offers scalable options to meet the needs of each author. If you want to be guided through the process step-by-step or if you’re looking for a more self-guided approach, BookSurge is the perfect solution.

Here’s a short breakdown on how the process comes together. The first step an author needs to take is to upload their completed manuscript in a PDF format. Don’t forget to include the cover for your book too. Next, you’ll develop your sales page which will feature price, tax and how royalties will be paid.

After you’ve assembled this first stage you’ll want to actually order one of your books so that you can confirm that everything is in order from the time that you add the book to your shopping cart, submit your credit card information and receive the final product. Once you’re satisfied with the outcome you’re ready to authorize distribution.

Head on over to Amazon to build your book’s page. Upload images and try to include reviews, testimonials and other relevant information that will help drive books sales among consumers. It might be a good idea to research how some well-known author have built their Amazon book pages and then borrow and customize your own ideas.

Although this is one method for getting your book printed and loaded onto Amazon, keep in mind that you have many other options to choose from. Self-publishing is as unique as the author and subject of the book itself. Do some research and find out what will best fit your needs before making a final decision.

Technorati Tags: Book Marketing

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.

Technorati Tags: Book Marketing, Pay Per Click, Social Media

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.

Technorati Tags: blogging, Book Marketing, Business, freemium

The best way to get an agent is to start thinking like one. Literary agents get thousands of manuscripts every week. The vast majority are delivered without a request and as a result, many of them are shelved for review sometime later, if at all. Keeping your manuscript out of the dust pile means networking with agents and introducing yourself first so that when they ‘invite’ you to submit your manuscript it’s because they truly want to read it and they’re expecting it.

Networking with agents is much easier today that it was in the past thanks to technology. Find out the names of the agents that you’d like to pursue and connect with them through social media. Support them on Twitter and ‘like’ them on Facebook. Interact with short, brief dialogues, but don’t make them about you or your sales pitch just yet. Once you’ve built some momentum, indicate that you’d enjoy sharing your author’s resume for consideration and review. With a little luck, you’ll have an invite to share more.

If social media networking seem a bit tedious try joining a writer’s group or even attending workshops with other published authors. Connecting with other published authors, and editors, is a good way to build relationships and even request permission to name drop. Agents are much more receptive to people who are in the know with their clients than perfect strangers.

Take the time to investigate how each agent prefers to be approached. Just because a one person enjoys receiving an unbound printed manuscript with a business card stapled to the front doesn’t mean that they all do. Doing your home work shows that you’re professional and that you’re following guideline and protocols that agents have put in place for a reason. This will set you apart from the flood of others who haphazardly submit without a thought. In this business, having a leg up is vital and rising above your competition can be just the ticket that you need to succeed.

Technorati Tags: author, Book Marketing, publishing

1.  Research

Your book cover should appeal to your audience’s interests, reading levels and background. Knowing what they want or what grabs them can help you determine how to present your layout and deliver the message on your cover.

2. Images

Make absolutely certain that you’re using high-quality and high-resolution images in your design. You want your artwork to look clear and crisp regardless of it’s size. If you take shortcuts with your images you can potentially end up with pixelated and fuzzy graphics.

3.  Themes

If you’re an author, chances are that you’ve written more than one book or that you’ll be writing more than one book. For this reason, think about creating a theme in the designs that you build and look at ways to tie the aesthetics of your publications together. Even though your books may be about completely different subjects, your theme can bring a cohesive feel to them that lets readers identify with you as an author of the work.

4.  Typography

The choice of font that you incorporate into your cover can play a major role in giving the reader a tease about its contents. Use a script font to show off a feminine theme or an angled serif to create an Asian feel. The rule here is don’t flood the cover with too many different fonts and keep it legible. You don’t want people de-cyphering what your cover says.

5.  Feedback

Instead of coming up with just one great design, try to develop a group of three or four. Once you’ve got them laid out you can share them with others to get honest opinions about what they prefer and why. Although friends and family might seem like an obvious choice try hitting up strangers and conducting your own poll. It’s a great way to learn about what works and what doesn’t.

Technorati Tags: author, Book Marketing, book sales

Understanding the transformation can provide you with some insight on how to take your own video trailer to the masses successfully. First off, the video wasn’t exorbitantly long, just more than four minutes. Although most video attention spans rank at one to two minutes, Socialnomics has a fast paced format that keeps the visuals coming quickly and creatively.

The content is condensed into eye-raising statistics that leave viewers feeling surprised and mesmerized at the same time. Each fact relates back to the book and a specific social media reference. Regardless of whether you’re a social media novice or a guru, the content that Socialnomics shares is exceptional. Plus, it’s set to a trend Fat Boy Slim song that creates a sense of urgency and movement.

So how does this factor into going viral and what can you do to tap into its power? Truth be known, most people want to be entertained. There’s a time and place for being conservative, but if you want to grab someone and shake them into a response, you’re more likely to get it done with something amusing.

Think about compiling tidbits and pieces in a unique way so that viewers will want to discover more. If that seems challenging, consider adding a bit of controversy by taking an opposing view point through your video. Anything clever is sure to get noticed and that’s what can bring you epic numbers of viewers.

Once you’ve accomplished what you want with your video, don’t rest on your laurels. Take a cue from Qualmann. Instead of deciding ‘mission accomplished’, he has created a reloaded version of the video to continue driving and building its momentum. Guess what? It’s working. Once you’re satisfied with your own video trailer, test it out and don’t be afraid to make adjustments and release fresh versions. There’s no right or wrong way.

Use Qualmann’s video as inspiration to craft your own and see where it will take you. You might be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Technorati Tags: Book Marketing, book publicity, SEO, Social Media, social media marketing, Video, video book trailer, viral video

The first step in developing a marketing strategy is to decide what you want your promotional efforts to accomplish. Do you want to sell more books in Texas? Are you interested in increasing your audience base to include auto-biography fans? Create a detailed list of what your short-term and long-term objectives are and they will become the foundation that your marketing plan is built upon.

Your marketing plan will include in-depth details such as budget, sales forecasting, strengths and weaknesses and market data such as, market growth rate, consumer trends and competitive information. The combination of all marketing plan components will provide you with a working document that can be used to focus your efforts and measure their outcomes. This is important because it illustrates success and failures and allows for fine tuning your plan if needed.

You can’t have a marketing plan without a strategy and a strategy without a plan is worthless. They both are needed in order for your marketing efforts to work effectively. Think of these two pieces like a pair of legs – they’re both required if you want your marketing to stand on its own.

The nice thing about a marketing strategy and plan is that they aren’t set in stone. If you’re headed down a path that doesn’t seem to be producing the outcomes that you had hoped to achieve all you have to do is sit down and re-focus. Because these are working documents, they’ll grow as you grow.

Technorati Tags: Book Marketing, book marketing plan, book promotion, strategy