Book Marketing – Page 31 – Self Publishing Advisor

Books a Million: Marketing in the Digital Age

It was nearly a year after Google was founded that they saw even their first mention in the New York Times, as a mere parenthetical. In fact, most major online companies—Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, even Amazon—began in relative obscurity.

In today’s instant gratification, online world that dynamic seems almost backward, especially when as publishers and authors we often conceptualize a big-launch book publication as a measure of success. The big launch is what we’re used to. Think Harry Potter.

It can be helpful to plan major marketing events around your book launch. But, in today’s marketplace and through the long-tail effect, it’s time to take a different approach. There are virtually millions of books published every year, a massive increase in volume from just a decade ago, thanks in large part to POD and full-service self-publishing. Book marketing has changed as well. Think long-haul. With a bit of work and support, you may be surprised what success you find not one day or even one year after publication.

Book Marketing, Book Promotion

Using Ezine articles to build your self-publishing platform

Digital technology provides a virtually unlimited number of ‘Ezines’ straight to our computer screens, each focusing on a unique niche topic or category. Ezines are a great way to generate content AND promote your book, either before it is published by building a “name” for yourself, or after your arsenal of unlimited POD self-published books are ready for distribution. With so many free and competing factions most Ezine providers are hungry for content.

Rather than seeking them out individually, you can place your articles into databases that Ezine editors frequent for content. They use your article free of charge, and in exchange, include your biographical byline, which includes information about you and your book.

Here are some to check out:
http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://www.ebooksnbytes.com
http://www.connectionteam.com
http://www.netterweb.com
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.goarticles.com
http://www.knowledge-finder.com
http://www.articlecity.com

Don’t send them the same article you published last week. Instead, write another chapter of your book first (since finishing your book IS the main goal, after all.)

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Book Marketing, Book Promotion

Tim Ferriss, The 4-hour Work Week, Self-publishing & the importance of your book title

How did Tim Ferriss come upon the title for his recent bestselling book, The 4-Hour Body? Not at all by chance of creativity. He began in reverse, by asking. He ended up surveying online some 4,000 readers through three separate waves in the effort to discover what combination of words readers found compelling. And then he tested the title through online search engine performance – what we call SEO.

You may also be familiar with his epic bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek. With this book he tested a number of titles directly through Google Adwords, playing with the performance of various keywords related to the book (such as “world travel” and “401K”). The ads displayed the title of the book as the headline and the subtitle as the ad text. Then he checked the clickthroughs to see which combination generated the most interest based on what Google users provided in actual searches.

In today’s book marketing environment, the importance of your book title goes a beyond simple abstract creativity. Not an internet or SEO expert? No sweat, that is what full-service self-publishing is here to help with.

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Book Marketing

Social Media Marketing for Self-publishing Authors

As of June 2010, about 65 million “tweets” are posted each day, equaling about 750 unique 140 character “micro-blogs” sent each second, according to Twitter. This massive communication stream has elevated Twitter into the Big 3 social networking sites according to ebizmba.com.

If Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd most populated in the world right now with over 400,000,000 users.

Many will contend that LinkedIn is the most valuable social networking sites for gaining business connections, and Evernote just hit 5 million users in record time. And there are countless others – Myspace, Foursquare, your personal blog, Meetups – that you can and should be utilizing to network with others and active promote your self-published book.

Sure, if you’re not a current social media wizard, there will be some upfront work involved – gaining the learning curve and building connections. But here’s the kicker: social media is exploding, its completely FREE, and there are increasing ways to measure its ROI. With self-publishing POD services your book will also be available virtually everywhere books are sold, an additional digital advantage since you’ll never need to stock an inventory or personally ship pre-printed copies. It’s all connected for you.

Over the coming weeks, Self-publishing Advice will be sharing social media news, information, tips, and resources to help you gain the most oomph for using these dynamic and powerful venues for generating buzz for your books.

We’ll also be actively implementing them here on our blog and other social media sites. So stay tuned, and in meantime, check out these new icons below and visit us on Facebook and Twitter, or send a Digg. We are eager to connect.

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Book Marketing

Your Publicity Goody-bag from Self-publishing Advice

The most powerful marketing tool for most self-published authors is themselves. Here are some cool media resources used by publicity professionals to help garner publicity for your self-published book without shelling out tons of money to actually have a publicist do it for you.

HARO (Help a Reporter Out): Tap into the largest source repository in the world with over 80,000 mainstreet and expert sources who will respond directly to your query on your terms. No more flipping through your rolodex; searching out-of-date databases, or being bothered by unsolicited sources with off-topic pitches. Submit your query and let HARO deliver the perfect sources right to your inbox.

All-in-One Media Directory: There is a print version and a CD version available. If you want up-to-date media contacts, this is it, all in one place:www.gebbiepress.com

Cision’s Media Directories: These directories are available for specialized outlets and channels and include in-depth profiles on reporters, editors, and columnists. Some of these reports aren’t cheap, but they are the same top-of-the-line reports used by many libraries: http://us.cision.com/

The Gale Databases: Here you will find thousands of listings for radio and television and cable companies. All the relevant data is here including there addresses, phone number, and email addresses: www.gale.com

Bulldog Reporter: National PR Pitch Books media directories include contact information for up to 43,000 journalists:www.bulldogreporter.com

Newspaper Directory: A useful online resource for local, daily, and weekly newspapers: www.bizmove.com

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