The Author's Assistants Blog

The 7 Deadly Sins of Writing – http://ti

authorsassistants — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:06:55 +0000

The 7 Deadly Sins of Writing – http://tinyurl.com/6efy5jd

LinkedIn Tips for Writers – http://tinyu

authorsassistants — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 22:40:02 +0000

LinkedIn Tips for Writers – http://tinyurl.com/4pz4hgo

BEA to be in New York City indefinitely.

authorsassistants — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 18:15:06 +0000

BEA to be in New York City indefinitely. Midweek (Tues to Thurs). Cheaper for the organizer but not good for the publishers or booksellers.

BookExpo America is dying. Many publishe

authorsassistants — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:15:09 +0000

BookExpo America is dying. Many publishers not intending to attend the next BEA. Sadly, the show promoter is killing the show.

Social Media Marketing Machine – Watch t

authorsassistants — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:15:08 +0000

Social Media Marketing Machine – Watch this video and do what it says. You’ll like the results: http://bit.ly/hIBias

499 Indie Booksellers on the Independent

authorsassistants — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:10:16 +0000

499 Indie Booksellers on the Independent Bookstores Twitter List @bookstores and 50 more Indie Booksellers @bookstores2

499 Indie Booksellers on the Independent

authorsassistants — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:10:10 +0000

499 Indie Booksellers on the Independent Bookstores Twitter List @bookstores and 50 more Indie Booksellers @bookstores2

Nautilus Book Awards 2011 Now Accepting

authorsassistants — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:00:14 +0000

Nautilus Book Awards 2011 Now Accepting Submissions! http://tinyurl.com/yls7gmr

What is an Author Platform?

authorsassistants — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:45:00 +0000

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

authorsassistants — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:56:48 +0000

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.