Writing your book is just the beginning. Once it’s published and out there, you need to market it, both in the real world and online. How much time and energy you spend on this depends completely on how much you’re happy doing. And don’t forget, one of the best ways to promote yourself as a writer is to write another book!
However, having an active online author platform is one of the best ways to drive potential readers to your book. Here is a quick checklist of some things that are fairly straight forward to set up.
Amazon Author Central
www.authorcentral.amazon.co.uk
Once your book is listed on Amazon and Kindle, make sure you join Author Central and set up a profile with a pic, bio and a list of your books.
Twitter
www.twitter.com
Setting up a Twitter account just needs an email address and a password. Once there, edit your profile, upload a cool image from your book cover as your profile pic and add a link to your website or book. Follow accounts you’re interested in, especially if they’re related to the subject of your book. These are some cool hashtags to keep an eye on: #amwriting #IARTG #writetip #writingtips
Facebook
www.facebook.com
If you don’t have a personal Facebook account, set one up and then create a Facebook Page for your book or yourself as an author. This keeps your writing separate from your personal life. Invite people to like your page and use it to post links and info about your book.
Goodreads
www.goodreads.com
Goodreads is a site aimed at readers so it’s a good idea to join it and create an author profile so you can interact with a massive potential audience. Goodreads allows you to add links to your books and lets readers give you ratings and reviews. You can also run giveaways if you have a paperback book to promote, arrange fairly low cost adverts and offer Q&A sessions.
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com
LinkedIn is a social media platform aimed at professionals. It’s a good place to have a profile if you like getting involved in discussions.
Blog
www.blogger.com
Running a blog is quite a commitment but they’re fairly easy to set up and are a good way to be able to quickly post updates and news. Use something like Google’s blogger or WordPress and upload a pic, bio and links. Try to post a blog item regularly and consider your content and what may be interesting to potential readers of your book. It doesn’t always have to be about you, your book or writing. Think about the themes and settings of your book and blog about those.
Mailchimp
www.mailchimp.com
Having a mailing list of readers and fans is a great way to contact people you know are interested in your writing. Something like Mailchimp is a free tool that allows you to set up lists and send out mails, as well as letting readers sign up for your list.
Author website
Having your own author website is a great way to gather your online presence into one place. You can include links to your Facebook and Twitter feeds, link to your blog and mailing list, feature reviews and news, and link people to the sites where they can buy your book.
General points to remember:
1. Have a cool bio that is snappy and quirky, not just dry and factual. Include a few things that you like or strange things you’ve done.
2. Make sure you have a good professional-looking picture.
3. Have profile pics and headers that are designed to fit the space, not squashed or stretched.
4. Check regularly that the links to your book work.
5. Keep an eye on your reviews and ratings and tweet/facebook about them.
6. Don’t just tweet and facebook about yourself and your book – people tire of you if you’re constantly selling. Be interesting and be interested in other people too.
7. Have fun. Don’t force it. And don’t spend more time on the Internet than you do writing your next book.
6E offers one-to-one mentoring on book promotion and how to set up an online author platform. If you’d like to know more, call us on 07970 065628. We also provide an awesome author website design service at a specially reduced rate. Call or email us on hello@6e.net for more details.