"My business book recently had the good fortune to land on the best seller lists. You are one of the people I've followed over the previous year to learn about book promotion . . . obviously it works!"
— Kevin Kruse, author of We: How to Increase Performance and Profits Through Full Engagement
"You have the best, most useful site for authors that I've ever come across! Thank you for all your hard work and for sharing your expertise!"
— Christine Bode, Social Media Manager at Scully Love Promo
"You are such a treasure, a wonderful asset to all of us who write . . . thank you again for all you do."
— Maureen McDermott Gill, author of January Moon
"Your site is so packed with good information I've been absorbed with it most of the day. Thanks!"
— Mystery Author Billie A. Williams
"You are one of the few true, knowledgeable book marketing experts online or probably anywhere else!"
— Juli Schatz, Author! Author! Book & Author Marketing Network
"Special thanks to Dana Smith, who is an angel in disguise for new authors, sharing her valuable resources and excellent tips."
—dedication page from Take a Peep Inside Our Lives by Roberta Blango
"Words can’t express my gratitude toward you! You are the best at marketing and helping authors promote themselves."
—Bridgette L. Collins, author of Imagine Living Healthier: Mind, Body and Soul
"Like all great teachers, Dana’s step-by-step approach shows how big projects become manageable when broken down into individual tasks."
—Roger C. Parker, Published and Profitable
"I took a seminar on marketing with social media today. Dana Lynn Smith filled up the hour with excellent information."
—Joy DeKok, author coach
"Dana, you give such amazing, detailed content. It's great to know that there are still people online who are willing to give like you do."
—Erin A. Kurt, author of Juggling Family Life: A Step-by-Step Guide to Stress-Free Parenting
“During the year before publication, we used Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual as a primary reference book. As much contact as I had with Poynter's book, the information on your website is equally valuable to me!"
—Pat Garrison, for Dr. Gayle Rozantine, author of At Ease, Soldier!
"I shared your website with a number of my writer/author Facebook friends . . . every comment included the word AWESOME."
— Wanda Winters-Gutierrez, author of The Search for Peace
"Dana Lynn Smith is a multi-talented book marketing consultant."
—Rabbi Ed Weinsberg, author of Conquer Prostate Cancer
"All of Smith’s books are easy reads and exhibit her ability to use creativity in a practical way in book marketing. Following her marketing advice is sure to boost your sales."
—MaAnna Stephenson, author of BlogAid and The Sage Age
"My book sales have increased since I put into practice the things I learned . . . You are a great help to newbie authors as well as those who have been marketing books online for a while."
—Yvonne Perry, author of Whose Stuff Is This?
"I highly recommend Dana as a speaker and resource for authors."
—Shelley Hitz, Self-Publishing-Coach.com
"I have one word to sum up my feelings about Boost Your Book Sales with Social Networking teleseminar — Fantastic!"
— Jennifer Aderhold, writer
"If you want to get up to speed with using Facebook as a promotional tool, I highly recommend Facebook Guide for Authors. It's definitely going to be my "bible" where Facebook is concerned from now on."
—Nick Daws, author of 80 books
"Finding the Savvy Book Marketer website has been a blessing. Dana's clever tips and informative ebooks have been a great way for me to extend my knowledge of how to market myself."
— Debi Slinger, author of Poppy Pretzel - Passage into Puberty
"Dana, what a wonderful tool you have created for authors!"
—Tony Eldridge, Marketing Tips for Authors blog
“You are fast becoming my only go-to place for book marketing guidance!”
—Frances S. Ponick, author of Only Angels Can Wing It
“I am really loving your newsletter. Keep up the good work.”
— Sharon Williams
"This is a great new ebook from Dana Lynn Smith on maximizing your sales on Amazon. Her ebooks are so easy to understand and implement!"
— Barbara Techel, author of the Frankie the Walk 'N Roll Dog books
"I always enjoy and learn something new through your newsletter. It is one of my favorites."
—Carole London, Lifetime Chronicle Press
“I really enjoy the Savvy Book Marketer website and newsletter. The information is upbeat, concise, well written, and practical.”
—Carol Schultz-Weil, author of In The Trenches: Financial Survival During Times of Hardship
"The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing is absolutely amazing."
—Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of The Frugal Book Promoter and the Sharing With Writers blog
"After you read The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Selling Your Book to Libraries, you'll be able to tap into this valuable market with ease. Highly recommended."
—Lynne Klippel, Managing Partner, Love Your Life Publishing
"I'm amazed at how awesome your newsletters are and how much I get from them every time."
—Jenni James, author of Northanger Alibi
"This is one of the most helpful marketing websites out there for debut authors (such as myself). Great advice, timely as well. Keep it up!”
—Lynn Dove, author of Shoot the Wounded
"I enjoy your newsletters. I must say, they're the only ones from various book marketing 'gurus' that I actually read, because there's usually something very practical I can use."
—Timothy James Dean, author of TEETH - The Epic Novel With Bite
"Thank you SO MUCH for sharing the Savvy Book Marketing Secrets ebook. I used some of your hints the first day I read the book and they helped so much! I recommend it for every writer BEFORE they publish their first novel!"
—Carol Morgan, novelist
“I have learned so much from your writing and I feel truly indebted to you for your generosity.”
—Marcie Lovett, author of The Clutter Book
"I enjoyed reading your article, The 7 Deadly Sins of Online Networking. As always, a great article with specific advice!"
— Marsha Toy Engstrom, The Book Club Cheerleader
"Thanks for your work helping budding authors, please keep it up!"
— Heather Woods, author of Finding Anna
"You continue to be one of the few marketing bloggers and consultants I consistently read."
— Babette Donaldson, author of The Emma Lea Books and Family Tea Time
"Your blogs are a total education. I usually don't gush, but I can't tell you how much help you have given me."
— Pat W. Kirk, author of Escape from the Prison System: Finding the Narrow Door
"Thank you for your support and motivation...you are an inspiration and really make it easier to continue on with the writing process."
— S. Thomas Bailey, author of The Gauntlet Runner: A Tale from the French and Indian War
Wow, the form on facebook.That's good marketing.
Posted by: Hyper Facebook Traffic | September 02, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Yup....Facebook
My traffic increased greatly once I used Facebook....good advice
Posted by: Peter Charalambos | September 06, 2010 at 12:17 PM
Thanks Dana! That was just the information I was looking for. On your list of priorities, where would you put "using Facebook" in the mix. As authors we all have limited time. In order to keep up with friends on Facebook, we can't use that time to send press releases, research the most popular thought leaders in our niche to send review copies to, etc. Thus, would Facebook be a top priority or lower priority? Do you see lots of actual sales coming from your Facebook presence?
J. Steve Miller
President, Legacy Educational Resources
Author of Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It
"The money book for people who hate money books."
http://wisdomcreekpress.com/press_kits.html
Posted by: J. Steve Miller | September 10, 2010 at 10:32 AM
Hi Steve - well that's a tough question but I'll give it a shot. The most effective marketing strategies for any particular book depend factors like the type of book, the target audience, time constraints, budget, etc.
On average, I'd say that for nonfiction books Facebook would fall into the "medium" priority range, assuming that people in your target audience are Facebook users. I'd give a higher priority to some other activities like blogging, article writing and speaking, but I definitely recommend making time for social networking.
Yes, I do believe that Facebook and Twitter contribute greatly to my book sales, although it's probably more indirect than direct. See this article for more: http://ow.ly/2dsWG
Good luck with your book. (By the way, I love your book's tag line -- nice job of defining your market!)
Dana
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | September 15, 2010 at 03:59 PM
Hi Dana, Thanks again for some great insight! I wholeheartedly agree with you in that I have a Facebook profile for just family and friends and a business page called Global Writing Solutions Online (for my copy writing business). After reading this post it's clear to me that as I come into the home stretch of writing my first book, I need another page specific to that. I'm going to go now and set up my Anne the Writer page (my Twitter and Blogspot handle).
Thanks and keep that good advice coming!
Anne
Posted by: Anne O'Connell | October 02, 2010 at 10:04 AM
Hi Anne-
I love your advice. We publish little books in a niche market and have our own page (www.facebook.com/ourlittlebooks) which has been incredible for business.
We always tell out authors, even before we publish their little books, to set up their book page on FB. Most of them 'get it', but unfortunately, not all do. Your post is excellent in telling them WHY they need to.
Now, we just need to customize our page more! Thanks.
Candace Davenport
www.ourlittlebooks.com
Little Books with a Big Message
Posted by: Candace Davenport | October 02, 2010 at 10:48 AM
lol- Sorry Dana- My fingers grabbed Anne from the post above while my brain was elsewhere. That's why "preview" is a good option!
Candace
Posted by: Candace Davenport | October 02, 2010 at 10:51 AM
Thanks Candace - and I just Liked your page! That word of the day thing is fun - I could sure learn something there.
Dana
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | October 02, 2010 at 09:05 PM
Thanks Anne, and good luck with that book. It's never to early to start promoting!
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | October 02, 2010 at 09:07 PM
Thanks Dana, it seems I can learn to expand my facebook page, which is not doing too much at the mo.
Posted by: Lesley / sloanwriter | November 03, 2010 at 11:14 AM
Glad you had time to write about Facebook Fan Page, Dana. I've been seeing a lot of businesses using that feature as a local internet marketing (New Jersey is where I live and the biz district is still booming with companies - big and small) strategy. Most people say that it's effective. And fast, I believe. I haven't visited my Facebook page lately, so I'm not sure about the latest features of Fan Pages. Is it free of any charges?
- Hillary Carter
Posted by: Local Internet Marketing (New Jersey) | February 01, 2011 at 12:34 AM
Hillary, there's no charge (yet) for anything on Facebook except advertising. The fan page needs to be promoted to attract visitors, and it's best to offer people some kind of incentive for visiting or joining. To get a benefit from the page, you need to be active in posting and commenting on other people's posts.
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | February 01, 2011 at 07:03 AM