Book Marketing Maven

Promote Your Book and Yourself With Facebook

Social networking sites like Facebook are a great place to connect with others and subtly promote your book and yourself.

In addition to meeting potential customers, you will make lots of other valuable contacts, such as other authors in your field or genre, publishing and marketing folks, bloggers and editors.
There are several ways to network and gain visibility on Facebook: through your profile, fan page, groups, events and pay-per-click advertising.

For tips on how to use Facebook (as well as Twitter) to promote your book and build your author platform, listen to my new podcast, hosted by MaAnna Stephenson. See the articles below for more ideas on how to promote your book though Facebook:

Six Ways Authors Can Promote on Facebook

Promote Your Book with a Facebook Group

For detailed instructions on harnessing the full power of Facebook, check out my new ebook, Facebook Guide for Authors. I'm Dana Lynn Smith on Facebook, and I invite you to befriend me there.

Promoting Your Book on LinkedIn: Do's and Don'ts

In today's guest post, I am delighted to have online book marketing expert Patrice-Anne Rutledge share her tips on how to promote a book through LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is one of the world's most popular professional networking sites, with more than 47 million members around the world. It's also a great place to promote books. Here are five ways to promote your book on LinkedIn, plus two ideas to avoid.

1. Feature your book prominently on your LinkedIn profile. You can draw attention to your book on your profile headline and summary.  Another idea is to create a separate position as an author, which gives more emphasis to your book. Be careful not to overdo this promotion, however. You don't want your profile to read like an advertisement for your book.

2. Update your status regularly. Your LinkedIn status is one of the best ways to communicate news about your book to your LinkedIn connections. You can start when you first land your book deal (or begin the writing process on a self-published book). Then update your status as your book progresses. Don't stop when your book is released, however. You can also update your status when you receive any media mentions or post something interesting on your blog that relates to your book.

Promote Your Book and Yourself With Twitter

Twitter is a terrific tool for building your network and subtly promoting your book and yourself.  

In addition to meeting potential customers, you will make lots of other valuable contacts, such as other authors in your field or genre, other people in the publishing business, marketing experts, editors, and bloggers. The best part is that everyone you meet on Twitter has the potential to share your message and recommend you to others, so you can expand your reach tremendously.

For tips on using Twitter, as well as Facebook, for book promotion, listen to my new podcast, hosted by MaAnna Stephenson. Here are some articles with tips on using Twitter to promote your book:

Top Ten Ways Authors Can Use Twitter

What Authors Can Tweet About on Twitter

How to Use Replies and Mentions on Twitter

And check out my new ebook, Twitter Guide for Authors, for detailed instructions on harnessing the networking power of Twitter. 

If you don't yet have a Twitter account, sign up today and follow @BookMarketer for book promotion tips. Go forth and tweet! 

Using Replies and Mentions on Twitter

If you're not already using Twitter, you probably will be soon. It's a terrific way to meet and develop relationships with potential customers as well as other authors, experts, and key influencers in your field or genre.

Earlier this year, Twitter made some changes to the Reply function that many users are not aware of. In the August issue of The Savvy Book Marketer newsletter, learn about the difference between a Reply and a Mention on Twitter, and how to use each of them.

Other articles this issue include:

• Upcoming book award contests
• Promoting yourself and your book through Facebook
• Learn how to profit from information products
• Last chance for discount on Texas Book Marketing Handbook
• Sources for photos and illustrations

To get each monthly issue of The Savvy Book Marketer delivered to your inbox, use the sign up form on the upper left side of this page.

For more information about using Twitter, check out my new ebook, Twitter Guide for Authors.

Build Buzz With a Twitter Contest

Twitter contests and giveaways are a fun way to build buzz, increase your followers, and promote your book at the same time. 

With a prize drawing, a winner is drawn from the contest entrants. You can give away a free copy of your book or put together a prize package that includes several related books or products. One advantage to inviting others to contribute to the prize package is that they can help promote the contest. You may want to create a web page or blog post that describes the contest, so you can link to it.

Typically, people enter a Twitter contest by following you and then re-tweeting a specific message such as this: "Just entered to win an autographed book: The Garden of the Soul. Just follow @LynnSerafinn & Retweet. See http://bit.ly/beq28 #GOTS"

You get the promotional ball rolling by tweeting about your contest, then others pass the message on for you by re-tweeting.

Secrets to Networking Success

The recorded version of my June 18 Secrets to Networking Success webinar with Brian Jud is now available. You'll learn how to build your book sales through networking, both online and in person. I reveal the secrets to developing profitable relationships online and show you how to get the most benefit from networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Brian will offer tips for building and nurturing relationships through more personal means. This free webinar is part of a series of educational programs sponsored by BookSurge.

Attract More Followers With Your Tweets

There are some people who will follow anyone on Twitter. Hey, the governor of California follows me, along with 42,000 of his other closest friends.

But most of the people who follow you probably do so because they find your tweets of interest. So, be interesting! Share useful tips and links, recommend resources, introduce your colleagues, and comment on current events related to your topic or genre. Make some personal and humorous tweets too—just don't tweet about what you had for lunch!

One of the most important things you can do is try to write tweets that other people will love to re-tweet. Every time someone re-tweets your message, you are visible to their followers. You even get exposure when someone re-tweets a message that you had re-tweeted from someone else. So re-tweet interesting tweets that you think your followers would enjoy.

For more ideas on what to tweet about, see my article 21 Things to Tweet About on Twitter, excerpted from The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing.

Build Your Author Platform With Online Forums

Forums are online communities where people who are interested in a particular subject can ask questions, offer solutions, and share experiences. They are also called discussion groups, list serves, bulletin boards, and newsgroups. Some are web based and others function as email lists.
 
Typically, members post questions and others offer answers. Some posts are informational, passing along a resource that would be of interest to the group. Many forums are moderated, which means that each message must be approved before it is posted to the group.

Forums are free and they are a great way to network with people who share your interests, build your reputation as an expert, learn from others, and subtly promote your book.

Promote Your Book Through Virtual Reader Communities

Virtual reader communities are a specialized type of social networking site where readers and authors network, and readers recommend books to others. In the May issue of The Savvy Book Marketer newsletter, you'll learn about some of the most important reader communities. Other articles in this issue include:

• How to Find a Publicist
• Blogger LinkUp Matches Bloggers With Content
• Learn to Promote Through Social Media
• Writer's Resources: Grammar Girl and Grammar Done Right
• Dresser After Dark Radio Show Features Nonfiction Authors

For more book marketing tips, see the previous issues of The Savvy Book Marketer

Learn How to Promote Through Social Media

Promoting through online social media is the hottest trend in marketing today, embraced by everyone from solo entrepreneurs to major corporations, and it's a terrific tool for authors.

Join me on the virtual book tour for my new book, The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing, as I visit a dozen leading blogs, ezines, and podcasts to talk about the many ways that authors can develop valuable contacts and promote themselves and their books though social marketing.

Visit each stop on the tour to learn how to develop a social marketing plan, how to use blogging as a social tool, how to promote through virtual reader communities, tips for using Facebook and Twitter, how to promote with video, common mistakes to avoid, and much more!

How to Clone Yourself on Twitter

Twitter is one of the fastest growing social networking tools, and I highly recommend it as a fun way to meet and communicate with customers, prospects, influencers and partners.

When you set up an account at http://twitter.com, you'll need to select a user name that's visible on all of your posts. There's a 15-character limit. Capital letters and numbers are permitted, but no spaces or punctuation.

One way to maximize your visibility on Twitter is to have multiple accounts: for your real name, your brand name or book title, and perhaps a topical name. I recommend using one name for your primary account and then using the others just to direct traffic to that account. Or, you can post on multiple accounts—for example, post different messages under your name and your book title.

Do You Make This Social Networking Mistake?

About 90% of the network friend requests that I receive have no introduction at all, and most of the others have generic notes like "let's be friends." The trouble is, I don't know who most of these people are.

Don't make this mistake when you send friend invitations. Be sure to introduce yourself—tell the other person who you are and why you want to connect. What interests do you share in common? If you know something specific about the person, say so.

On Facebook and many other networks, you can click the "add a personal message" button in the "add as a friend" box, and type in a personalized greeting. Here's an example of a friend request:

Hi Jason,
I'm a book marketing coach and I really enjoy reading your Writer's Life blog.
Warm Regards,
Dana Lynn Smith

Social networking isn't about trying to collect as many contacts as you can. It's about meeting and developing relationships with people who share common interests. Inviting friends the right way will increase your chances of making those connections.

Holiday Gift Ideas for Your Loyal Customers and Associates

This is a great time of year to say thank you and happy holidays to your clients, book buyers, affiliates, subscribers, and other professional associates with a holiday gift.

For your VIPs (such as consulting clients and top affiliates) consider sending an autographed copy of your book or an Amazon gift card. To send a gift card, click the Gift Cards link at the top of Amazon's home page and choose to email the card or print and mail it.

For subscribers, blog readers, and social networking friends, here is a great idea from Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound. Joan has compiled an ebook featuring top tips from her Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week ezine.

Joan posted a thank you note and link to the free ebook on her blog and sent out an email to her subscriber list. The ebook downloads with one click (no need to enter an email address) and she encourages readers to share it with others.

Could you create a similar gift ebook using tips or articles from your blog or ezine? If you're running a bit short on time, you could send the ebook link out on January 1 as a Happy New Year gift. This promotion can work for other holidays as well, especially if the holiday ties in somehow to your topic. For example, if you write about parenting, send out a Mother's Day gift book.

Check to see if your email marketing company offers a template for holiday email greetings. You could also post the ebook's availability in your status update on networks such as Facebook and Twitter, to thank your friends and followers.

Unleash the Power of Viral Marketing

In the December issue of The Savvy Book Marketer newsletter, you'll find a real-life example of how blogs, eZines and social networks can converge to create viral marketing opportunities.

Use Online Networking to Build Your Author Platform

Networking with other authors or experts in your field is a great way to gain visibility. As you meet others who provide products and services to your audience, you can introduce them to your blog and ezine readers. Often, those folks will return the favor.

Here’s a great tip from my colleague Yvonne Perry:

“I enjoy reading newsletters, so I have subscribed to several. In them, I find people and services that interest me, and I take the time to email or call the person to say hello. Many times, I'll add their announcement to my newsletter or offer to interview them for my podcast. This gives them an opportunity to get their names or products in front of people on my subscriber list. In return, I have content-rich material to offer my readers and listeners.”

Yvonne Perry is the owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services, offering writing and editing for books, eBooks, Web text, bios, articles, and media releases. Visit http://www.writersinthesky.com to sign up for her ezine and get a free eBook, Tips for Freelance Writing.

If you have an online networking tip to share, please use the Comments link below.