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Marketing Your Book
Online Marketing
Establish a Visible Web Presence - Attracting readers to your Web site requires a coordinated effort to make your site visible among the millions of other sites out there.
Create Effective Content for Your Web Site - Choosing useful and compelling content for your site will attract your target audience.
Driving Traffic to Your Web Site - An essential element in your Web marketing plan is driving users to your site and ensuring they return.
Marketing through E-mail Newsletters and E-zines - E-mail newsletters and e-zines reach hundreds of thousands of readers every day. Learn how to effectively target your reader demographics with e-mail newsletters and e-zines.
Establishing a Visible Web Presence
This is the first in a three part series on Web Marketing.
The closest, easiest to use, and most effective marketplace available to authors is on the Web. What’s more, the Internet is the fastest-growing marketplace for books, and on-line book sales are poised to surpass sales through traditional retail outlets. As a published author, you’re in a great position to take advantage of the Web as both a powerful marketing and sales tool.
The rise of the Internet has created a double-edged sword for authors who want a presence on the World Wide Web. It is larger and more accessible than ever before, so competition for Web surfers’ attention has grown intensely over the past few years. Attracting readers to your Web site requires a coordinated effort to make your site visible among the millions of other sites available.
Choosing Your Domain Name & URL
Your first decision when creating a visible Web marketing site is the choice of your site’s domain name, which appears in its Web address, or URL (uniform resource locator). A URL identifies the location of Web pages on the Internet. In the URL “http://www.yoursampledomainname.com”, the domain name is “yoursampledomainname.” The letters preceding the domain name identify the protocol used to access the address and the suffix “.com” is the most commonly used suffix for commercial sites. More than one domain name can point to the same Web site. Registering a domain name requires a fee, which may need to be paid yearly.
Of course, you can’t choose a domain name that’s already in use. Looking beforehand can pay off in the long run, and ultimately generate more visits in the future. A public domain name database, known as Whois, tracks domain names and can verify whether specific names are already registered; visit www.whois.net for more information. Ideally, your domain name should reflect the way potential visitors will think of you and your book, making your URL relatively “intuitive” for the public. You need to choose carefully to make your URL address easy to learn and use. Here are some simple rules for choosing a good domain name and URL:
1. Short & Logical Choose a domain name and URL that are easy to remember. You might choose some form of your name (susansmith.com), for example, or the title of your book (darkwater.com). If your book title is long, considering shortening it; goodeats.com, for example, would be easier for visitors to remember than goodeatingfrommainetocalifornia.com.
2. Simplify Spelling Try to avoid words that are difficult to spell or hard to remember. If your name is Michael Zabloskonowsky, for example, you may not want to use that name as a basis for the URL of a Web site marketing your first book, because many people will have difficulty remembering the spelling. MichaelZ.com, on the other hand, might work well. If your book title includes a word that’s commonly misspelled, you might want to register your domain name for multiple addresses. So, if your book is titled The Proud Misspeller, you might register the domain names proudmisspeller and proudmispeller to point to your Web site’s URL, so that readers will find you under both spellings.
3. Add Multiple Suffixes You might want to register multiple versions of your domain name with different suffixes, such as susansmith.com and susansmith.net, just to be sure that someone else with a too-similar domain name doesn’t end up with visitors who were looking for your site.
Choosing a short and logical domain name that is easy to spell is the first step in creating a visible web presence. Using a combination of keywords, metadata, and links on your pages will optimize your site for search engines and make it easy to find for Web users.
Utilizing Keywords
Using search terms and keywords in your site’s copy that are popular with your Web audience will increase your visibility on search engines. Web users naturally search for terms they are familiar with, so it essential to include terms from the vocabulary of your audience. The popular axiom of “speak the user’s language” has long been a guide for writing copy with keywords that will optimize your search engine visibility.
Making Data Easy to Find
Adding metadata to each of the pages on your site can increase your search engine visibility. Metadata is essentially “data about data” and gives you the ability to choose a description and keywords for the content on each page of your site. Metadata, along with keyword content in your written copy, links to your site, and several other factors determine your page’s rank among search engine results. Including a concise description and four to five keywords in the metadata for each page can help search engines locate and list your site.
In addition to boosting credibility and providing additional sources for readers, links out from and into your site will boost your pages’ standing with search engines. The specific algorithms search engines use to rank Web pages are constantly changing, but including links on your site and having other sites link to your pages will increase your search engine rankings.
Author Web Site Service
Having your own Web site is a great way to maximize your book's exposure in the marketplace. But if you're not a technical expert, how do you develop a site that won't drain your marketing budget? iUniverse has the answer! For only $299 and a monthly hosting/customer support fee of $29, you can promote your book with your very own customized Web site.
Offered in partnership with American Author, our Author Web Site Service enables even the least computer-savvy individuals to set up their own Web site with easy-to-use templates, numerous graphics, a wide variety of background colors and helpful e-mail and telephone support. If you can use a computer, then you can create a Web site with a personal touch that truly represents you and your book.
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Creating Effective Content for Your Web Site
This is the second in a three-part series on Web Marketing.
Once you’ve handled the logistics of setting up a Web site and established a visible Web presence for your book, you’ll need to choose content to feature on your site. Your Web site should be designed to market your book, so you can include much of the same material that you make available in your media kits and other marketing materials.
Here are just some of the types of information you might want to include in a basic Web site:
Home Page—one central location or "home base" that links to the specific pages on your site
Your Books—a unique page that lists your books with their covers, an About the Book paragraph and a link to online bookseller outlets
Book Reviews—a page where you can post reviews of your book to build interest and feature published articles, interview transcripts or testimonials about your book
Events—a digital calendar provides information to boost attendance at your upcoming events and lets your reader easily track important dates
Weblog—a forum where you can add text posts about writing and book events
Links—connect to other sites related to your book’s genre and topic
Attracting readers to your Web site—and keeping them coming back—requires a coordinated effort to make your site fast, convenient and packed with information that is useful, specific and regularly updated.
Writing Effective Copy for the Web
The first step in developing successful content for your Web site is the copy, or text, you write for your site’s pages. Writing for the Web is significantly different in tone, content, and form than writing for a literary audience. Successful online content is simple, useful, and relevant. Using concise text and recognizable keywords is more effective than a lengthy explanation, because Internet readers tend to scan text online rather than reading word for word. A good rule of thumb is to use half the words on the Web that you would use in other media.
Because readers may only take a few seconds to look over your site, there are more efficient ways of organizing than only using paragraphs, even if they are short and focused on a single topic. Headings and subheadings are effective tools to help the readers scan your page for the information they are looking for. Bolding headings and other keywords makes them stand out from other text. Bulleted lists can also be an effective communication tool on the Web, as they naturally tend to be short and emphasize keywords.
Editing & Pre-Publishing Process
The Author Web Site Service was created to streamline Web content creation and allow you to easily publish directly to your site. But publishing your copy to the Web is actually the last step in a process that begins with writing and editing. There are many ways to check your copy before you post it online:
Organizing a Site for Easy Navigation
Once you have decided on your page structure and created original copy for your site, consider how all the pieces of the puzzle come together before your site goes live. Once a user arrives at your home page, navigating within the site should be obvious, streamlined and natural. For sites with ten pages or fewer, use your home page to link to every other page on your site. Organize the pages in a list or a sidebar, with the most useful pages first, and the rest following. Users should arrive at your home page and quickly be able to find the information they are looking for.
Once you have set up your home page, make sure that each subsequent page has a link back home so users can easily return. You can also create a natural progression for users to click through your site. Put an obvious link on the bottom of your home page that connects to your featured books page. Once users have seen your book covers and read about the books, provide a link that connects with your book review page so users can see what other readers are saying about your books. By creating a progression of links throughout your site, users can continually find more information easily and naturally.
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Driving Traffic to Your Web Site
This is the last article in a three-part series on Web Marketing.
Online marketing and promotion provides authors with a resource that was unheard of only 10 years ago. With your visible Web site up and running and effective content published online, your next task is to find ways to use it as a marketing tool. More Web site visitors equal more sales. Fortunately, with your targeted marketing plan, you can implement a number of techniques to drive readers to your Web site.
Integrate Your Marketing Campaign
Including your Web URL on all of your marketing and promotional materials will create an integrated marketing campaign designed to increase your book’s visibility, personally connect with readers, and drive book sales. Once your Web site is operational, mention your URL every time you refer to your book, including interviews, media appearances and book signing events, as well as on press releases, business cards and event posters. Integration offers your readers the ability to learn more about your book, purchase copies and get involved in future events in one accessible online location.
Drive Site Traffic through E-mail
An additional way to generate repeat traffic to your Web site regularly is to generate an e-mail list and distribute updates, media coverag or a newsletter with links to your site. You could include the first few paragraphs of a news article or information for an event in an e-mail and then link to the full text on your site, but be aware that some publications require permission before reproducing their content. You can send e-mails out on a regular schedule or each time you have a new development, but you can expect a stronger response from a small number of well-written and relevant e-mails.
Promote Offline Events
You can also drive readers to your Web site when you announce offline events, such as book signings and speaking engagements. Include your URL on all advertising, press releases and announcements for your event, and include details about the event online. When readers visit your site for information, they will see additional appearances on your events page.
Optimize Data for Search Engines
Adding metadata to each of the pages on your site can increase your search engine visibility. Metadata is essentially “data about data” and gives you the ability to choose a description and keywords for the content on each page of your site. Metadata, along with keyword content in your written copy, links to your site and several other factors, determines your page’s rank among search engine results. Including a concise description and four to five keywords in the metadata for each page can help search engines locate and list your site.
Link Up Your Site
In addition to boosting credibility and providing additional sources for readers, links out from and into your site will boost your standing with search engines. The specific algorithms search engines use to rank Web pages are constantly changing, but including links on your site and having other sites link to your pages will boost your page rank in search engine results.
Regular Updates Bring Readers Back
When word of mouth and marketing materials direct Web users to your site, they tend to approach with an open mind. The key to generating traffic and gaining traction in your marketing campaign is to create a favorable first impression—and then bring readers back to your site over and over again. The more frequently you add new content to your site, including blog posts, events or book reviews, the more incentive readers will have to return to your site in the future. One rule of thumb for Web publishing is to add new or updated content to your site every two weeks, with once a week being ideal.
The blog page is one of the most potent features of the Author Web Site Service and provides an ideal forum for regular content additions. Your Blog also gives you the ability to connect with readers by writing and communicating in a style more personal than your book or marketing materials.
Blog posts follow the same guidelines as other Web copy—concise, useful and relevant—and also give you a chance to be more lively and conversational than on the other pages in your site. Offer your readers some personal insights about your writing style and experiences, the events you’ve hosted and comments on media coverage or book reviews. Consider questions readers frequently ask you at events for content on your blog.
Formatting within blog posts is similar to other Web copy, but successful blogging incorporates other techniques as well. In addition to writing catchy headlines to gain the readers’ interest, incorporate mixed media such as pictures and videos, and include as many links as possible in your blog posts. By providing links to other blogs, news stories and press releases you gain legitimacy and provide your readers with opportunities to dig deeper on any particular subject. Linking is also a prime opportunity for increasing your presence on the Web, as sharing links with other sites will increase traffic and improve your chances that search engines will find your site.
In addition to writing and maintaining a blog, hosting a Web site and sending out e-mail updates, you have a number of other options for promoting your book online. These include participating in chat rooms, joining online communities and social networking sites, signing up for pay-per-click promotions through the Google™ and Yahoo!
® advertising services and participating in the
Amazon® and Google™ Book Search Program. Once you begin brainstorming, you might be surprised at how many creative and non-traditional methods and opportunities you can come up with for marketing your book on the Web.
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Marketing through E-mail Newsletters and E-zines
You can gather names for your e-mail newsletter mailings through your Web site. Adding interactive capabilities to your Web site, such as an e-mail contact link, links to book sales portals, and reader subscription lists is an absolute must if you want to draw repeat visitors and gain the most marketing value possible from your site. By providing readers with the ability to sign up for e-mail newsletters and other informational mailings, you can build a valuable e-mail contact list, and you can avoid regulatory issues that govern the use of e-mail and faxes for communicating promotional information without the express consent of the recipient.
E-mail newsletters and e-zines reach hundreds of thousands of readers every day. Like their print counterparts, most electronic newsletters and e-zines carry advertising for products of special interest to their readers. Some e-mail newsletters and e-zines enjoy large subscription lists, so they offer a powerful vehicle for getting your advertising message in front of a targeted readership. These venues can be useful for marketing both fiction and nonfiction books.
Again, check out the newsletter or e-zine carefully before committing to an advertising program. You want to be certain that the online publication is crafted to appeal to your targeted audience and that your book’s advertisement will be a good “fit.” Typically, you can buy advertising packages or pay for one-time-only advertisements.
You also might want to consider starting your own e-mail newsletter or e-zine to market your book. As with blogs, these electronic publications can offer a number of marketing opportunities. You can use your e-zine or newsletter to distribute press releases, announce upcoming appearances, highlight favorable reviews of your book and to issue other alerts about your book. And you can carry your own advertisements free of charge within your newsletter or ezine.
Running an E-mail Campaign
You can distribute your own e-mail newsletter and advertise your Web site—and your book—through your own e-mail marketing campaign. By compiling a contact list of potential readers, book buyers, journalists, organizations and others who have a shared interest in your book’s topic area or genre, you create a target group for periodic e-mail distributions. Your e-mail campaign might involve distributing press releases, announcing upcoming speaking engagements, highlighting or linking to current events or articles on topics associated with your book. You might also use e-mail to distribute information about special promotions for your book, contests, seminars and other marketing events. You can distribute e-mail newsletter and marketing messages yourself or you can hire an e-mail marketing business to take care of the distributions for you. Don’t simply put together a list of e-mail addresses and start blasting them with advertisements for your book—that’s spamming, and it’s annoying, counter-productive and against the law.
"Spamming" is the term used to describe bulk-distributions of electronic sales information. Most federal, state, and local anti-spamming laws (many ISPs have anti-spamming rules) prohibit the use of fax machines and ISP addresses in the bulk distribution of advertising messages. When you send out messages that contain sales information—pricing information, links to purchase portals and any other information that is designed solely to promote the sale of your book—you need to take care to avoid violating state and local anti-spamming laws.
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