Once considered the black sheep of publishing, self-publishing is now the mainstream. No longer deemed amateurish or even unglamorous, writers who have even been published by traditional publishers are choosing self-publishing. Why? Control and profitability!
By having control, the author now must take the book’s marketing into his or her own hands. This is not so difficult any more, considering that the author can create an online presence on her own. A web brand is a sure-shot way to market the book. A strong web presence is the first step in an author’s marketing campaign.
Here’s three ingredients that help create a successful online book marketing campaign –
- An author centric website which informs as well as acts as an outlet to purchase the book.
- A social media profile on all the major social media sites – like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc
- The author’s personal blog that will create comments and bring readers to the book. Interaction is essential for a successful online marketing campaign.
With all marketing content linked back to your website, those interested in purchasing your book can do so easily. That is the purpose and design of a successful online presence. With all of these efforts, be prepared for the long-term, nothing happens overnight. Take you time and build your audience.
Let’s look at these essential ingredients.
Your website
Websites come in every shape and size. You can have just one sheet – that just introduces the book and gives the reader a place to purchase it. You can build a 10- page site, with photos, your bio and excerpts from the book, as well. To develop a site can be very inexpensive and a very cost-efficient method to reach readers. If you are not tech savvy, there are many different ways to manage your site. It will be the major platform where your readers can reach you.
A Social Media Profile
The next aspect to your web presence is your social media interaction. Everyday it seems like there is a new social media site emerging. Facebook is still the #1 way people connect on the web, with 250 million users a day. Google says that YouTube airs 4 billion videos per day and Twitter is the third most popular. Some more potential sites in the image below:
All of these sites translate to millions of potential fans and buyers for YOUR book. Plus, every social media page/profile you create will be linked to your site so purchasing your book is easy and quick. All that is needed is your willingness to create pages/profits for each social media site (almost all free) and invite everyone you know to join. Yes, it can seem like a full time job. And once again, there many ways to manage your social media posts. (We will go into this further in subsequent posts)
Your Blog
Blogs are controversial because there are so many. But more than 50% people online read more than one blog a day. Blogs are how people are getting their news, their opinions and advice. For a writer, a blog can be a fun experience or seem like a chore. But you will be glad you have one. Your blog will create interaction and feedback. Exactly what Internet marketing is all about. Here are a few tips on what makes a successful blog –
- Speak to your target audience. Be direct and interesting.
- Don’t make them too long… 400- 600 words
- Make them easy and fun to read
- In other words, show don’t tell. Stories sell, facts tell. Tell a great story.
- Try to engage the reader – include a call to action at the end that gets them excited and involved.
More online marketing tips to come. Stay tuned!
Gaining the support of influencers is a hard-won process and doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t flood someone’s inbox with emails and demand that they tweet about your book. It has to be on the basis of trust and this will take time plus you’ll have to return the favor as well.