Social Media

It may seem like the only way to sell a lot of books is to use social media. There is texting, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and a thousand other social programs with a new one launching every week.  Should you use each one or select just one?  Or, is it possible to sell books the old-fashioned way with simple word of mouth?

Granted social media is an integral part of communication today, I am here to say there is still a place for word-of-mouth communication.  Calling someone on the phone and sharing about your book may seem like an ancient process used by authors who lived in the pre-digital era, but a one-on-one conversation can still have some amazing results.

There is something to be said for a conversation between two people that is not immediately broadcast around the globe.There is something valuable in a conversation that goes no further than the moment […]

Are you looking for a fast and easy way to connect with your readers?  Don’t have time or the desire to keep up a blog? Here is an easy fix: provide a guestbook.

A guestbook is basically a page on your website on which readers can leave comments. All comments are then found in one place on your site. This is great for first time visitors to get a feel of your writing, your following and, best of all, for them to find out that other people love your book(s).

While it’s great to blog regularly and get comments on your posts, sometimes getting those comments is difficult for new bloggers. A few comments spread out over 15 or 20 posts can seem pretty sparse, but if you put all those comments in one place, you have instant reader appeal.

Here are 13 reasons why a guestbook should be next on your “To […]

Want to meet your readers?

Offer an opportunity to have a phone chat.

Phone chats can be as simple as using a speaker phone within a group setting or creating a virtual phone chat by using a teleconference service like freeconference.com.

Both methods offer a way for readers and authors to get together.

Six simple steps to set up your first phone chat:

1. Decide what book or books you will discuss during the phone chat.

2. Select the length of time you will be available for the chat. 30 minutes seems to be a time that works for many authors and readers alike, but you can adapt to what suits you and your readers best.

3. Create a separate web page about the chat opportunity. You can let readers know what times and dates are available for you to participate, or you can simply include a form or other contact information for them to get […]

Just starting out? Have one review but feel that you need a hundred more before your book will take off? Fear not. Here are ten ways you can spin that one small review into ten fantastic book promotions:

1.  Put the review on your website. If it’s short, include it on the sidebar. If it’s longer, put an excerpt on the sidebar and the full review on an inner page.

2. Include a snippet of the review in your email signature. This is an easy way to get a lot of mileage every day with no extra effort.

3. Use a sentence or two of the review on the back cover of your book. Easy to do if your book is in digital form or you are using POD (Print on Demand). If you have hard copies, print stickers on gold foil and add them to the copies.

4.  Include a reference to […]

It used to be quite easy for someone to start a small business in a small town and make a success of it. Granted there weren’t ten million customers available for whatever they did, but there was a small group of people that were available and these people would stop by and give the new shop a try. Or at least take a peek in the window. After all, there wasn’t that much going on in the small town and you were something to look at.

Today with the Internet, every business is toted to be available to a millions of people all at once.

It’s true. It’s amazing. Millions of people.

But there’s a catch!

Just because your online business is available to millions of people doesn’t mean millions of people are going to take a look.

In fact, maybe none of them will.

There’s nothing wrong with your business perhaps, but your business itself […]

Looking for a better way to sell books?

Not comfortable with standing on a street corner and waving your latest edition in the air?

How about doing something that authors forget to do?

It works perfectly for the introverted author who’s more comfortable listening than speaking. In fact, that is what the way is. Listen your way to selling more books.

You see, most people would rather have someone listen to them than listen to someone else.

Wouldn’t you like someone to listen to you? Really and truly listen?

In this day of mass communication and social media overdose, many people are overwhelmed with tons of words being thrown at them from every direction. Everything is coming in mega doses. Email boxes overflow, Facebook contacts pop in from every corner of cyberspace, and Twitter, text and instant messages multiply faster than the national debt. Who’s listening?

If you give some quality listening time to your readers, you […]

Finding the best market for a book is a challenge for every author. Below is a list of ten ways to find markets for your book.

1. Identify three categories of book genre for your book. For instance, fiction books can be broken down into age group, type, such as romance, mystery, thriller, audience, location, etc. Nonfiction books can be categorized as business, finance, science, history, etc. Each of these categories will have subcategories that will narrow your audience and offer best marketing positioning.

2. Go to Amazon.com and look up each of these categories and note the most popular books. Go to the website of each author and look for leads that will show you where they are promoting their books. For instance, websites they have featured guest posts on, articles from magazines, newspapers they are reviewed in, etc.

3. Look on their website for places they make public appearances, such as […]

Publicity does not have to be big to make an impact on book sales. Something as simple as leaving a comment on a blog post with a link back to your book can be the start of a publicity campaign.

Here are 5 simple ways that you can publicize your book in less than five minutes.

1. Create an email signature that promotes your book. It can be as easy as writing the title of your book with a link to Amazon or your website. You can add a simple statement such as, “Read my new book.”

2. Write a quick comment to a blog post with a link back to a page on your website about your book. If your comment is interesting enough for people to want to know who you are, they will click through and find out about your book(s).

3. Send a fun note about your book to family […]