Things You'll Need:
- Access to a computer
- Access to the Internet
- A blog
- A website
- Accounts on social networks
-
Step 1
Create a website and a blog.
Once your book has been launched, the next step is making it easy for your audience to access information about your book and how to easily purchase it.
There are many website hosting companies out there, but I recommend Bluehost.com because for one fee they offer a website with your unique domain and a blog on Wordpress with your domain. -
Step 2
Optimize your sites.
Now that your website and blog are up and running make sure you have links on the sites to the publisher's website and your book and to any and all online retailers such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Borders.
You should post a new article on your blog at least once a week, preferably twice a week or more. Blogs and web sites are like seeds - the more your water them the more they grow. The more you populate or update them the more visitors will find your site.
Frequently updating content with links also increases your ranking on the search engines. When keywords are searched that relate to your book, your sites pop up higher on the list than others and people tend to find your sites. -
Step 3
Post content that is relevant to your book and will be helpful to others.
Book lovers love to know as much as possible about their favorite authors, why they write, how they write, and how a particular book, its plot and characters came about. They may not necessarily be interested in when you took the dog for a walk or the last time you washed your car. Keep it relevant. The blog and website are really extensions of your book so keep your audience in mind when posting articles. -
Step 4
Create "Buzz" about your book.
Don't be shy about announcing to the world that you've written a book and it's published and available for sale.
Email all your contacts announcing that your book is published and available for sale. Ask for reviews and give a signed copy to anyone who agrees to read and review your book.
You can also hire a company that will do the emailing for you to the specific audience you want. This is more effective for non-fiction books since you know your audience and you can be very specific in your marketing. One such company offering emailing services is iContact.com Their email programs start at less than $10 a month. -
Step 5
Join online social networks.
More and more mainstream authors as well as those just starting out are promoting and selling their books through online social networks. As less books are being purchased in brick and mortar bookstores, the social networks are the new retail portals.
Join networks like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Linkedin, Book Masons, Gather.com, weRead, GoodReads, and Shelfari just to mention a few. Post a photo of your book cover on these sites rather than your mugshot. Remember, the more eyeballs that see your book increase your chances of a sale and a review.
Again, when posting material to these sites, make it relevant and helpful to your "friends," and don't hard sell your book. -
Step 6
Make your book available as an eBook.
With the launch of Amazon's Kindle eBook reader, the iPhone, and other eBook readers, the electronic book market has exploded in recent months. New sites offering eBooks are popping up like weeds.
Many of the online self-publishing sites offer to host your book as an eBook as well as a print book, but I found one of the most effective sites dedicated to just eBooks is Smashwords.com
It is free to host your book and the site automatically converts your copy into several eBook formats so your book can be read on several devices from the iPhone to the Sony book reader as well as on a computer. -
Step 7
Continually drive traffic to your sites.
Now that you've blasted your book into cyberspace, the dust from your efforts begins to settle and you are no longer that week's "buzz."
You have to start again and create additional buzz. One of the most effective ways to do this is to leave comments on other blogs with links back to your sites.
Go to Google Blog Search or Technorati and search for blogs that are similar in subject matter to your book. You can even set up email alerts on Google that work like a clipping service so you know when articles related to your book are posted.
Bookmark the blogs that are similar to your work and begin reading the posts. Leave comments after the posts with a link to your sites in the copy or associated with your name.
If you leave an intriguing comment about a post, you will be surprised how that single comment drives traffic to your site. I once left a comment on a national magazine's blog and saw my traffic increase 600% in two days!
