As an author, you’ve poured your heart into your book. Now, it’s time to get it into the hands of readers.
Guess what? Being a guest on podcasts is a fantastic way to spread the word and boost your book’s visibility. It’s like having a friendly chat about your book that magically reaches people far and wide. But keep in mind that podcast appearances aren’t just about the interview itself — they also introduce you to a whole new group of people. This includes the podcast host, other guests, and of course, the listeners.
Like an expectant parent, you anticipate the arrival of your newly printed book with eagerness and excitement. But the work isn’t over yet. It’s time to go into publicity mode.
Your next move is to hire a PR agency that specializes in book marketing. You want a firm with experience, a great reputation, and a proven track record to get your book off and running.
You and the firm will create a digital marketing strategy — building a brand, creating (or refining) a website and social media channels, establishing an engaging tone for your messaging, and adding appropriate, appealing images, videos, interviews, and other relevant content. Together, you and your publicity team will establish timelines for fresh material to keep your online presence fresh and relevant. If you’re incorporating digital advertising, additional appropriate content will be created for that, including images, videos, cinemagraphics, and copy.
Targeted online article placements are an author’s ticket to success — the quickest, easiest, and best way to boost a book publicity campaign. Especially en masse, they help build awareness, momentum, and social media traffic better than any other strategy.
In Part I of this three-part series on search engine optimization (SEO) for non-fiction author websites, I explained the importance of understanding how the Google algorithm indexes your website—determining whether your site will appear on the first page of a Google search or the tenth.
Here, Part II features 13 insider tips and strategies that will help you get your author website to show up near the top of Google searches. This translates into more visitors to your site, more publicity for you and your book, and hopefully more book sales, speaking gigs, new client acquisitions, and fresh publishing opportunities.
Follow these tips to make Google SEO work for you.
Some Basic Google Recommendations for Your Book Author Website
For good basic SEO for your website, follow this logical concept. Google has to totally understand what your website is all about, determine the focus of the site as well as what each page is about, and evaluate the content as credible and resourceful information that is appropriate to show people searching for exactly what you are offering. That sounds like a relatively simple thing—but you’d be surprised how many websites do NOT do that!
Here are a dozen tips for your SEO that will help focus your website better:
When I initially interview authors to assess whether they’re a good “fit” with what we do, I always remind them that book publicity is a collaborative effort. Contrary to what many authors think, writing the book and getting it published isn’t the end of their job. It’s the beginning. Book promotion works best when the author actively participates in coordination with their publicist.
When a book publicist has a highly motivated and involved author to work with, one who’s willing to put time, energy, and creative ideas into the publicity campaign, the synergy of efforts can produce results far greater than if the publicist worked on her own.
Bottom line: If you want to maximize your publicist’s success, reach a lager audience in your book promotion campaign, and increase book sales – try these six book publicity strategies.
This blog was originally published at Sellbox.com, an ebook consulting and publishing service for businesses, publishers, and authors.
You have a great idea for a book. Everyone has been urging you for years to write it. Your concept is truly original—it’s destined to be a bestseller, right? But here’s some news that may surprise you: It’s easier to write a good book than to sell one.
According to the most recent Bowker Report, 3 million books were published in 2010–and that number is growing. That’s a lot of competition for shelf space and media time. Meanwhile, book sales have been on a downward trend since 2007, according to Publisher’s Weekly.
Are you going to be among the 99% whose book languishes boxed up in the warehouse, or the 1% who gets noticed by the media, generates a loyal fan base, and achieves steady and growing book sales?
