In as much as I’ve taught Internet marketing and publicity classes, the idea of marketing yourself online is still very confusing to a lot of people. Let’s face it; our company has a department dedicated to this. Why? Because stuff changes all the time on the Internet; if we didn’t have a dedicated department researching this and reading all the “geek stuff,” we’d never be able to keep up. But for right now I want to give you the bottom line basics because at the end of the day, we all need to start somewhere and the best place to start is online.
Blogging: If you don’t feel like you can do anything online or you don’t have the time for extensive promotion, the quickest and simplest thing you can do is have a blog. A blog is a great way to keep your site fresh (search engines love sites that are updated often) and a blog is great way to reach your reader. If you don’t have a blog or haven’t blogged in a while, take heart: start somewhere and plan to blog a minimum of twice weekly. You’ll need at least two posts a week to keep it current. The biggest problem though with new bloggers is deciding what to blog about. Well, here are some ideas:
• Talk about trends in the industry you’re in (this works even if you write fiction, talk about the publishing industry…)
• Review other (similar) books – this is a great way to network with other people in your market (IF YOU WANT TO REVIEW BILL WINSTON'S BOOK ON YOUR BLOG, EMAIL ME AT WAABIZ@AOL.COM AND PUT BILL WINSTON IN THE SUBJECT LINE - INCLUDE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS FOR THE FREE BOOK)
• Comment on other blogs or feature them on your blog
• Interview people on your blog
Feedback and blog comments: if you aren’t getting people commenting on your blog, don’t despair, it takes a while to get folks commenting and offering feedback, but the more you can tap into issues your reader cares about, the more comments you’ll see popping up on your blog.
Publishing content: The internet has really opened the door to publishing and pushing a lot of content online. Whether it’s articles, audio, or video, there’s a home for all of it on the ‘Net. Consider doing article syndication as a good place to start pushing content online. Here are some basic guidelines for article syndication:
• You don’t get paid for this syndication. This is always the first question I get when I talk to authors about syndicating their articles, book excerpts, or tip sheets. You post it online for others to use and promote you, what could be better?
• Your articles need to be helpful, not self-promotional. The more helpful they are, the more likely they are to be used. Yes you can mention your book but my recommendation is to keep any and all promotion of it to your byline.
Participate: when it comes to online promotion, it’s really about participating. Think of the Internet as one big cocktail party. Go strike up a conversation with someone who you’d like to get to know better. Here’s a great way to do that. First, go to Technorati.com and find the top five blogs in your market, then watch them for a week or so and when you’re comfortable with what they’re talking about and the angle of their message, start posting comments and offering your own insight into their postings.
Bloggers love comments and by participating you’re doing two things: you’re doing some virtual networking (aka cyber-schmoozing) and you’re promoting yourself via the link back to your site that’s part of your post every time you comment.
There’s a lot more you can do online, the possibilities are really endless but what I’ve found is that the confused mind doesn’t take action, so the simpler you keep it, the more you’ll do. If only one thing on this list appeals to you that’s great. Keep in mind, doing one more thing this week than you did last week keeps you moving forward and helps you continue to create marketing momentum for your book!
Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of five books, including Book to Bestseller which has been called the “road map to publishing success.”
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Bonus!!!
If you are blogophobic...this is for you:
How to Blog for Book Success – MBR Author PR Series by Pam Perry, PR coach
When: Monday, March 30 at 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST
Dial-in Number: 1-218-936-4700
Participant Access Code: 528281
This FREE Teleseminar will answer the most burning questions:
· What is a blog?
· How do I set one up?
· How do I get people to read it?
· What is a widget? Where do I get one?
· Should I put it on my website?
· Is Wordpress best or Blogger?
· How do I do a Blog Tour? And participate in one?
· What about Podcasts? How do I do that?
· Where do I get information to blog?
· How much time will this take?
· How often should I blog
· Can I sell my book on my blog?
· What is an RSS Feed? Feedburner? Is it dangerous?
· And finally we'll go over the biggest mistakes bloggers make!
Instructor: Pam Perry, PR Coach, Ministry Marketing Solutions Inc. with a surprise guest!!!
www.PamPerryPR.com and creator of the CHOCOLATE PAGES NETWORK AND SHOW
Seminar to include free special report “The Benefits of Blogging & What to Blog About” and Recommend Reading list for those that send email to: info (at) ministrymarketingsolutions.com also get free stuff at
www.synergyenergymarketing.com
Posted By: Pam Perry
Wednesday, March 18th 2009 at 11:29PM
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