I have a friend who has an aversion to marketing. That would be fine if she didn’t have to sell anything. But she’s a writer, so by definition she has to sell two things: herself and her latest project. That’s truer than ever these days for authors. Even if you get a book contract with a traditional publisher, expect to do as much marketing as you would have had you self-published. Indeed, you need to start marketing your book now.
Your marketing efforts can and should start before you’ve even completed your book. For starters, you’ll want to create—and drive traffic to—a website for the book. Your SEO (search engine optimization) should include the use of keywords; optimized meta tags, permalinks, and headlines; blog posts with relevant content; commentary on other people’s blogs with a link back to your main site; and articles (ditto re back links).
Videos are quickly becoming the preferred way to obtain information on the Internet. By 2013 it is anticipated that videos will represent 90% of all online traffic. Clearly this has become the way to reach, educate and sell to the consumer. Even if you don’t upload them right away, start shooting short videos (two to five minutes) to promote your book and yourself. One strategy is to produce a video that is emotional, funny, or controversial. These videos can go “viral,” spreading like a virus from person to person. Talk about marketing your book!
Start doing public speaking about your topic whenever and wherever you can. You’ll not only begin to build a following, you’ll gain invaluable experience. Click here for some great writer speaking tips.
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