My books are not self-published. I say that right off the bat because there are many things I cannot control. Self-published authors have an advantage in many ways I do not. Here are some examples:
- They control the price of their books and thereby the specials that are run.
- They select the key words on Amazon and can change and update them as needed.
- They have good sales information. They can track what is working and what isn’t.
Given these limitations, those of us who are traditionally published still can do a lot of things to get the word about about hour books.
If you don’t have a website, get one. People want to see more about the author than your name. Make sure your website is professional but has some personal information. Include a blog. Many writers use blogspot which enables them to have a blog and a website all in one. You should blog regularly. Think about things you can share about being a writer or about reading in general. Share posts from other websites and invite other authors to guest post or to visit your site for an interview.
Select the social medium or media you want to focus on, whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or something else. If you post on any of those, do so regularly, like every day. I post ten updates, tweets a day on four networks, including Google+ and LinkedIn. These posts should include all kinds of things, not just promotions about your book. People want to get to know you before they start investing in you. These days it takes a long time for that to happen.
You can’t promote your work in the articles, but your bio will include all your books. If you write investing, intriguing, professional articles, you’ll attract interested readers to your website and to your books.
Mine goes out once a month. I keep it simple but include lots of tips for writers and for readers. I want it to be interesting but not inundate my community with too many emails. I know what that’s like! This e-newsletter should go to everyone in your community, including the people who sign-up on your website (and there should be a sign-up and a giveaway there) and the people in your LinkedIn community.
Most publishers have a Facebook page, a website with shopping opportunities, and a Twitter account. Be sure to post on these sites. Your publisher has many writers. You only have one. This activity will increase the eyes on your content. That’s the goal after all, right?
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