Speaking of Marketing…

July 28th, 2010

Most writers like to write instead of verbally connecting with people. Writing is a much easier way for them to get out their emotions or their thoughts, but that doesn’t necessarily help when you’re talking about marketing an ebook. You may have written your ebook and know that it’s great, but you need to get people to purchase it. One great way to do that is to learn a bit about how to use your verbal skills to your advantage.

It doesn’t matter whether you live in a small town, or a large city, but there will always be speaking opportunities available for you. One option, for instance, may be for you to speak with college students. Do you have a college in your vicinity? If the college has writing courses, connect with the people in charge and ask about talking with the students. You can discuss your writing methods with them and you can discuss your work.

So what does this accomplish? It helps, first of all, to get your name out there. When you stand in front of a group of people, and if you make a connection with them, you’ll know for sure that every person will talk with at least two people, so if ten people talk with two people, and ten of those people talk with two more people, you’ll quickly have a lot of people learning about your work. Another thing that you can look forward to in speaking with groups like college classes is in getting ideas to write! You never know when you’ll run into someone who has an interesting story to tell and who inspires you!

Marketing Your Book for Free

July 19th, 2010

When you own your own business, it’s almost an instant reaction to spend money on advertising. That’s why, when you publish your own ebook, it’s an instant reaction to think about spending money to advertise, or market, your ebook to the rest of the world. But the truth is that you don’t need to spend a great amount of money, or, really, any money to market your ebook. There are a lot of things that you can do to market your ebook absolutely free.

The first thing that you should definitely do is to make sure that you are known on the internet. If you don’t have a website, or aren’t on a social marketing site, then you likely aren’t known on the internet. By creating a presence on the internet, you’re able to get the word out about your new work. Once you’re online, take the time to look for other authors. You will likely be able to find blogs of other authors who write work that is similar to yours. Befriend them! Start by writing a message on their blog (and it’s a plus if you actually take the time to read their work) and letting them know that you’re out there.

Message boards are a great way to get the word out about you and your work. Find some message boards and join them. Answer questions that new people have, and don’t forget to add the address to your website in your signature on the blog. Make sure that you pop in on the site regularly, so it doesn’t look like you’re just there to advertise. It’s also a great idea to join writers groups online, which are similar to message boards, and to get in touch with writers this way! It’s entirely possible to market your book online without ever spending a dime, so make sure that you take advantage of the internet!

Marketing When You’re An Introvert

July 9th, 2010

There are a lot of writers who are introverted people. They don’t like to talk about themselves, and they have a difficult time marketing their ebooks. This makes sense, as many writers are so good at writing because they don’t like to be vocal about everything. This can make it tricky, however, for marketing purposes. There are a number of ways around this problem that can help you to market your work while, at the same time, staying comfortable.

Starting a website or blog is key. When you start a blog, you’re able to get your thoughts out through writing instead of through speech. One way to make the blog easier is to write in third person. Don’t write “I”, write “she”. It may be a bit strange to get used to doing considering that you’re talking about yourself, but it can be a great way for you to practice your tenses as well as a much more comfortable way for you to get your marketing done and to become more comfortable with the marketing process and talking about yourself.

Another tip is to start by connecting first with people that you know. By connecting with your friends first, you’ll be able to practice your marketing so that you understand what is expected of you and so that you learn how things sound, and you’ll also be able to get more comfortable with marketing. And why not practice talking in the mirror? Speaking to groups in your area can be a great marketing technique, but it’s not so fun if you’re uncomfortable. Instead, start by writing things down and practicing saying them in the mirror. This will help you to get more comfortable with everything!

Twitter for Marketing Your Ebook

July 7th, 2010

When Twitter first started, most people began using it as a way to talk about trivial things. They’d post “Tweets” about how they were making dinner, or about what they wanted for their birthday. But now people realize that Twitter can be used for much more than for just talking about trivial daily stuff. If you use Twitter right, it can be a perfect way to network market and to boost sales of your ebook.

To start, the first thing that you need to do is to open up a Twitter account! Twitter is absolutely free and is very easy to sign up for. When signing up for your account, it’s important that you use some sort of name that makes sense. Don’t use a Twitter name like “Lake Guy”, unless you’re someone who writes only about lakes. Most authors tend to use their real name on Twitter, as it makes it easier for your name to pop up on search engines and it is much more professional looking.

Once you’ve signed up on Twitter, you then need to start posting and to find other people to network with. The first part is easy – post about anything related to your work. Post about your writing process, post little parts of your book through the Twitter (little quotes), post about new works that you’ve got going on. Finding people to read your Tweets can be the frustrating part. When you start looking for people to read your posts, start by finding your friends online. Connect with them and you’ll be able to have a wealth of people available to read your Tweets. The more interesting your Tweets are, the more readers you’ll get, and the more you’ll be able to sell your book!

Writing a Press Release to Market Your Ebook

April 30th, 2010

One of the most important things to learn how to do when it comes to marketing your ebook is to learn how to write a press release. Many large companies hire experts to write their press releases for them because they want to ensure that they get the most well-written ebook possible. But if you are a writer, you can learn how to write an ebook for yourself, which will save you money and will also allow you to get the news of your ebook out there for the public to learn about!

The first thing that you have to learn how to do is to write an eye-catching headlines. Headlines are the first thing that catches the attention of the readers. If you have a great headline, the person is much more likely to read what you’ve written about your ebook, which means that you will have a much greater chance of having your ebook gain more attention as well. For instance, instead of writing a headline like “John Smith’s New Novel”, try something like, “Future Bestseller Sure to Create Controversy”. It’s like fishing – you want to give the readers something to nibble on in order to reel them in.

Another important tip to remember is that writing a press release is different than story telling. When you tell a story you put the most important part, the climax, often somewhere near the end. In this style of writing, however, the most important information should go at the very beginning. The statement that you’re trying to make goes in the first paragraph, and you then spend the rest of the press release giving more information about your subject. Before you write a press release, check out some other press releases. You’ll soon get the idea of how they work and how to write one.

Facebook to Market Your Ebook

April 14th, 2010

Facebook has exploded and has become one of the easiest ways for everyone to stay in touch with each other. When you log onto Facebook you’re instantly able to see what is going on with all of your friends, and you can leave messages for them as well. Many families find that it is the easiest way for everyone to be kept abreast of what is going on in everyone else’s lives. But did you know that you can use Facebook to help you to market your ebook?

If you’re looking to use Facebook to help you to get attention to your ebook, you first need to have your own profile. Starting a Facebook profile is extremely easy, and takes only minutes to start. Because you don’t have to design any backgrounds and there is nothing else to fuss with, it is something that can be done when you only have 20 minutes to spare. Once you’ve gotten your Facebook page started, you can then make a fan page.

A fan page is a way to allow all of your friends to become fans of one thing. There are fan pages on Facebook about almost anything, and many business owners find that using Facebook fan pages allows them to get information to all of their customers or clients in a rapid manner, and without spending any money on advertising. Start a fan page on the ebook that you’ve written, then suggest it to all of your friends. You can do this by using the “suggest to friends” button, where you’re able to select all of your friends and request that they fan the page. The more fans you get, the more will come to see your work, which is a great quick and easy way to market your ebook.