Marketing on the Internet

Getting ready for my talk at VWC Symposium August 4, 2012

When I was preparing my talk on e-book internet marketing for the Virginia Writers Club Symposium, I gathered a few tips to mention at the end. Regrettably, I ran out of time and didn't get to tell this group of writers my extra thoughts. 

Here are the tips and thoughts I didn't get to share:

1.  Hardsell doesn’t work well on the Internet. You want interaction, not marketing.   

2.  Be a genuine person on line. Make friends and enjoy knowing them and helping them when you can.

3.  Your web site should be the foundation of your promotional and marketing plans. That’s where you post:

   1.  Excerpts from your writing.

   2.  Book links with cover photos and description of your books separated by genres.

   3.  Buy links from your publisher, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and any other link that’s appropriate.

   4.  Your bio.

   5.  Contact information—how you can be reached on line.

4.  Your blog is the site you should visit and update daily, if possible. Your web site is updated periodically and is more static.

More Tips:

*Make banners for your books and find suitable places to post them.

*For book signings, write short blurbs in large fonts about your books and have covers on view if the books aren't available. That will enable readers to know more about your books and hopefully interest them in purchasing one.

*Always sign your bookmarks and your postcards (which I prefer over bookmarks). Most people won’t throw away signed stuff.

*It's important now for the author to have a goal of increasing the number who read their blogs. They may become your followers who want to buy your books.

*Write short stories or articles set in your book’s universe and give those away.

*Join blog hops. That's a good way to gain more followers.

*Get reviews for your book. Reviews can enhance the success of your book. 

*Plan blog book tours and guest blog when possible. Also invite authors to be guests on your blog. Try to leave comments whenever you can on the blogs of others. 

*Make and use book trailers. If you can’t do it yourself, hire someone to do it for you. Once you have one, post the link on your webpage and tell everyone via all the online possibilities, including your newsletter and all your social networks. 

So much of marketing is commonsense for both print and e-books. We need to organize our efforts and follow our plan. The possibilities for success are endless. 

Mary Montague Sikes