How to get started.
You’ve sold a book and have been told your best tool for
selling digital books is a digital presence. But where to start.
Every author should have somewhere to call home on the
internet. Do you build a website? Start a blog? Or should you tap into social
media?
Or can you do all three?
Some key points to consider. Regardless of what you choose
to do, think of your efforts from the reader’s point of view. For instance, if
I wrote under the name Lisa Dawn, how will a reader find me on the internet if
my website is www.morningwriter.com?
I see this problem most on Twitter. If your author name is
not available, be sure to include your name on your Twitter header. In the
marketing department at The Wild Rose Press we make continued efforts to reach
readers through social media. However, many times when looking for an author to
link a tweet or Facebook post, the author isn’t found. Only to discover later,
the Twitter handle was nothing I could have ever guessed was the author of the
book being tweeted. As an author, you want readers to easily locate you on both
Twitter and Facebook.
If reading this post you realize you are hard to find on
Twitter or Facebook, be sure to make is easy to see you are the author being
searched for. Use your book cover as your avatar or wallpaper of your FB or
Twitter page.
There are many ways to generate a presence on the internet. Not
ready for the expense of a website? Or not sure how to get a website built. Try
blogger (or another blog service). It’s easy to create pages on a blog for your
books. The tools and options are limitless…and it’s free. It has public access
without having to be a member of blogger and it’s interactive.
Facebook and Twitter are easy to maintain a high level of
activity. Retweeting, sharing posts, finding and accepting friends and
followers. Network with other authors and build your reader base.
Regardless of where you decide to make your internet home,
be sure you’re easy to find for your readers. Always include your author name
and buy links to your books. Remember that an internet presence is to connect
with readers, network with other authors and to sell your books.
If you have questions, post them in a comment.
Lisa Dawn
Marketing Department
The Wild Rose Press
3 comments:
Great post, Lisa. I have FB, Twitter, a blog and website. I also have set up author pages on Amazon,Shelfari and Goodread. I've felt like that is a sufficient internet presence, but I've wondered about other social network sites like Pintrest and Tibbr. Should I also be cultivating those? Thanks for your insights.
It's amazing the simple things we miss. Social media is so "friendly" we forget it's also our business. Branding is so crucial. I hadn't thought to use my cover as my background on Twitter. I'm not a big fan of Twitter, but I do have a presence! I loved how it turned out. Thank you so much for the suggestion. Again, it's the simple things, or as they say, the devil's in the details!
I love Pinterest. It gives an added dimension into what you share with readers. Not only can you pin story boards on your books, but you can let readers into your personal tastes and styles by pinning recipes, clothing and other authors you read. I use my Pinterest for pleasure as much as for a marketing tool.
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