What is an Author Platform?

Every time I interview a new author for my services I always ask “What is your current author platform?” Usually I get either a blank stare or silence on the other end of the phone.

Basically an author’s platform is a collection of marketing strategies. Because I’m very connected to the Internet and all that it contains, I like to think of an author’s platform literally as an interconnected web of marketing strategies. Think “website” in the center connected to a blog, connected to Twitter, connected to LinkedIn, connected to Amazon.com, connected to Facebook and then connected still to other sites that have backlinked to any of the above.

Starting with the website please check out this “how-to” blog entry from The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Promotion, Building Your Author Platform.

10 Tips to Successfully Promote Your Book Online

Self-published authors know that their book’s success depends on their ability to promote it. The good news is that you can easily and inexpensively promote your book online!

Here are 10 tips to kick-off your online book promotion:

1.   Create a web site for your book

Choose a web site address based on the title of your book, not your name. Your book’s title will be easier to remember than your name and having the title appear in your web site address will boost search engine rankings.

2.   Make sample content available

On your web site you can make your table of contents or even a chapter or two available for download. Unlike a bookstore where potential readers can thumb through your book online readers can’t. Make it easy for them to get a taste of your writing style as well as offering something intriguing about your book.

3.   Use your web site address in your book for downloadable bonuses

Give your readers a reason to visit your web site by offering special materials for download in your book.  Special reports, checklists or worksheets will further engage your audience.

4.   Link to your blog

If you don’t have a blog, get one. Through your blog you can encourage reader feedback, comments and questions. Set up RSS feed (real simple syndication) on your blog so that you can be alerted and respond immediately when some leaves a comment.

If you have a static, traditional web site now for your book, consider adding a free blog site for your readers to interact with you. You can easily link your blog to your web site.

5.  Include testimonials and reader reviews

If someone leaves a favorable review or comment on your blog or sends you an email, ask for permission to use it on your web site or blog.

6.  Create a media or press room

Make it easy for the media to find and distribute information about your book. Set up a press room on your blog or web site. Remember to make any downloadable files available in PDF format and text.  Search engine spiders can crawl text but not PDF files (PDFs are basically a graphic).

7.   Share your expertise with your readers

Create additional products or services based on your book’s content. It’s easy to produce a podcast (very short audio format 1 to 3 minutes), hold a teleseminar or webinar. Create an e-book to sell directly from your web site or blog.

8.   Include a subscription box on your web site or blog

Using an autoresponder service such as Aweber to capture your readers email addresses you can build a database of your book’s audience. This database can be use to promote a new book, notify your readers about book signings or awards or even your Virtual Book Tour. You can develop a monthly newsletter with premium content for your subscribers.

9.   Use social media to create a viral environment

Online book promotion means building a social network to create a viral buzz about your book. Don’t discount MySpace.com, Facebook.com, LinkedIn.com or Amazon.com when promoting your book. Did you know that Amazon.com let’s you create an author profile that is crawled by search engine spiders? Just another way to get the work out there.

10.  Link to your web site or blog

In your author’s box or bio make sure you include your web site, blog and email address. If you have social media sites such as MySpace.com or Facebook.com include those links as well. These links will allow your readers to find your information but by backlinking to your web site the search engines will take notice.

© Copyright 2008 The Author’s Assistants. Cheryl K. Callighan is a Master Virtual Assistant (MVA) and professional Author’s Assistant (The Author’s Assistants). We specialize in online book promotion using social media marketing tools and strategies.

Author Sells Out Book With LinkedIn

First time author, Gary Unger, sold out his book How To Be A Creative Genius (in five minutes or less) at Barnes & Noble, Borders and Amazon.com using LinkedIn. How? Listen to his interview with Stan Relihan on The Connections Show.

Click here.

If Gary used just one social media marketing tool to sell out his book, what if authors started using more than one? Maybe Facebook, MySpace, Friendfeed, or Twitter? Social media marketing is worth the initial setup time, maintenance is minimal.

© Copyright 2008 The Author’s Assistants. Cheryl Callighan is a Master Virtual Assistant (MVA) and professional Author’s Assistant (The Author’s Assistants) with over 30 years of administrative and managerial experience, as well as extensive online marketing and technology experience. Cheryl has run her successful Virtual Assistant business, eOffice-Virtual Assistants LLC, “the original multi-VA Team”, for 19 years. Cheryl loves working with creative self-motivated professionals who need someone to hand off the details.

Gook Luck!

Video Interview of What is an Author’s Assistant?

Interview by Melanie O’Kane of MODCOM Radio -

Capturing Thoughts On The Run

Sometimes our creativity works on demand. Other times it comes out of nowhere. Perfect story ideas, article topics, the perfect string of words for your current project pops into your head at the grocery store, in line at the bank, never at a convenient place or time. How do you capture these creative tidbits?

We all know the standard pen and notebook but I would like to point out how to employ today’s technology to capture these elusive pieces.

Digital recorder – Many new models are very small and easy to use. Download the audio right to your computer for future transcription.

PDA or cell phone – Send yourself a text or e-mail message. Some PDAs have word processor or note applications that download right into your computer too.

Phone – Leave yourself a voicemail.

From work – E-mail your home e-mail address or set up a GMail or Yahoo e-mail address just for your writing.

Pen and Notebook – The old standard. You might buy a notebook for each writing project or simply buy one notebook with several divider tabs.

No matter what technology you choose, don’t leave yourself any excuse for not writing!

Cheryl Callighan is a Master Virtual Assistant (MVA) and professional Author’s Assistant (The Author’s Assistants) with over 30 years of administrative and managerial experience, as well as extensive online marketing and technology experience. Cheryl has run her successful Virtual Assistant business, eOffice-Virtual Assistants LLC, “the original multi-VA Team”, for 19 years. Cheryl loves working with creative self-motivated professionals who need someone to hand off the details.