Wednesday, 01 December 2010 15:36 Written by Keith Shay 0 Comments

This article was distributed from Gibbs Smith Publisher. We felt that this was a proactive and positive set of guidelines for authors to promote an upcoming book and generate. Below is the article. For more information and to be linked to the Gibbs Smith Publisher website, click here.

Author Marketing Toolkit

As the author, your efforts are indispensable
You are the expert on your topic and your assistance in promoting the book is essential to its success.

Online Marketing and Promotions
A major shift has taken plan over the years regarding traditional forms of book marketing towards online marketing and promotions. A savvy author will navigate the web and create buzz about their book through a variety of outlets. Your goal is to have quality, online content about your book and you, the author, in as many outlets as possible.

It is important for authors to start promoting their books ‘before’ they are published!
Promoting your book should begin prior to a books release date. You should spend as much time promoting your book as you have in researching and writing it. Authors need to begin creating buzz about their book on blogs, podcasts and with e-releases pre-publication. This tool box is designed to introduct you to these online marketing avenues.

Social Media and Online Marketing Outlets: Getting Started
There are many ways to promote you and your book online. This prioritized list will help you lauch your book in the online marketplace…

Blog and/or Website
There are several free sites that provide easy-to-follow templates and instructions on how to create a blog. These include: www.blogger.com and www.wordpress.com among others.

Facebook (personal page and a fan page for the book)
Facebook is one of the most popular site to connect with friends and fans around the world. Facebook allows you to do just about everything a blog does but it reaches a large group of people in a short amount of time.
A fan page for your book is a great place to post reviews, media events, videos, or anything else related to your book. You can also link your blog to your Facebook page. That way, you don’t have to post updates to all your social networking sites.
To set up an account, go to www.facebook.com. After you have joined, don’t forget to create a fan page for your book as well. Doing so will make it so fan of your book will see updates as soon as they are posted.

Twitter
Twitter is a mini-blogging site consisting of entries that are 140 characters or less. Is is a brief way to alert people of what is happening with your book. You can post links and we highly recommend you “tweet” about where people can find your blog and Facebook pages.
Once you have set yourself up on Twitter, you can also research what is going on in the book world and your market. It is important to be updated on changes in your market and this is a great way to do that.
To join Twitter, go to www.twitter.com. For more information about Twitter and specific book promotion benefits, visit http://booknetcanada.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=541&Itemid=450 and get those birds tweeting about your book!

Booktour.com
Booktour.com is the world’s largest, free directory of author events. You can calendar all your book events on this site. By posting your events here, readers will not only be able to track where you are going, but also be alerted when you are in their area. It’s as easy as filling in a few blanks to add events to your page. For you, it is a one-stop tool for book promotion. Post pictures, bios, events, reviews, and other sites to your page. To sign up visit www.booktour.com.

Amazon Author Central
Amazon is the greatest online sales venue! One of the newest additions to Amazon.com is the ability to build an author page. To sign up, go to http://authorcentral.amazon.com.

YouTube
Book trailers are a growing trend in the industry. Creating a book trailer or video related to your book is an excellent way to promote your book prior to publication. With over 13 billion views each month, YouTube is the largest and best video website. You can also create a channel and post media clips from your television broadcast interviews. To set up an account, go to www.youtube.com.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a professional network where you can connect with colleagues and college friends. It’s an easy way to broadcast news about your book to people in the professional world. You never know how someone in your network will be able to help you in promoting your book. To sign up, go to www.linkedin.com.

Know the Market
As an author, it is important to understand your market: where they are, what they’re doing, how to reach them, and growing trends in the marketplace. Here are some things you can do to stay up on the industry and your market:
1.    Subscribing to industry newsletters such as Shelf Awareness (www.shelf-awareness.com) and PW Daily (www.publishersweekly.com). There are free daily newsletters that keep you updated on the things that are going on in the industry.
2.    Joining online book clubs/discussion groups like GoodReads (www.goodreads.com) and Shelfari (www.shelfari.com) . There sites are all about books and can be great tools in getting information about your book to the people using and reading them.
3.    Research blogs related to your topic. Blogging is becoming more and more popular with more and more people following them. Find the people who are writing about your topic.

Additional Marketing Websites for Authors
www.author-promotion.com/tips.html
http://marketingforauthors.wordpress.com
http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/2009/08/content-win-ultimate-book-marketing_06.html

Now Get Started!
Your self-promotion is in your hands. Don’t underestimate the power of social networking. It is a tool that will bring your book to a much larger audience. When a great book is more accessible for an audience that wants to find it, added to book tours and signings. You can reach more people than you ever knew. Word of mouth marketing is a powerful tool.

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