Many first time authors and even veteran authors have relied on their agents and publishing companies to market their work, but times have changed and those companies have shifted their marketing efforts. Many publishers rely on you to market your self pre and post book launch.
Unfortunately, many authors don’t know where to start or what to do as their days have been spent writing their next novel.
Not to worry, this is where this article comes in handy as I will help explain how to get started on your marketing plan and how an official website is a great place to start.
So lets started, first off…
1. Purchase a Domain (i.e. TonyEnterprises.com)
The first step to branding yourself, especially on the internet, is to purchase a domain. My go to for purchasing domains is Namecheap.com as they offer very cheap domains that include a Whois Protection (this hides your personal details from someone wanting to find out who owns the domain i.e. address, phone number, etc).
*Side Note: Many authors purchase the name of their book or book series… this is a great time to do this all at one.
2. Develop a Website
Think of this as the platform that will forever promote your brand, your books and any future ventures you may do in your writing career. As we all know we are in the digital age and the first thing most of us do is Google our interests. So with Search Engines in mind and your brand in mind, a good website should rank in Google when searching for:
- Your Name
- Books
- and any other work you published or worked on
One of the benefits of this is you are now in CONTROL of your brand and the image that is put out because its YOUR WEBSITE that is being found for these things. Many of us fall victim to having 3rd party articles show up when searching for the above topics and in some cases its good, but in other cases it can be damaging.
Learn About our Author Website Services3. Develop a Logo / Iconic Symbol
Brand recognition is incredibly important no matter what stage of your writing career you are in. Some authors are blessed with slapping their name on the book and having everyone run to the nearest book store and pick it up, but until that day its important that you have a symbolic icon/logo that reminds them its your work. To the right you will see an example of a logo I designed for an Author.
You may still ask yourself why have a logo? We are a society of labels and icons .. think of the last time you went to buy clothes, groceries, computer, etc.. you typically reached out and grabbed the product in which you recognized the BRAND or LOGO. You want that same reaction the next time someone wants into a bookstore sees your new book and grabs your book because its by “X” author and the logo is staring right at them.
4. Start a Sign up for Book Release Notification
Think of this as your personal lead list or list that have shown interest in wanting to learn more about your book. As I mentioned before, so many authors have relied on their publishers to grow their readership and audience, but what if one day you decide to self publish.
I’ve spoken to authors in the past who worked with publishers, had great success, but then the relationship took a turn and all the marketing and branding was done by the publisher so there were left at square 1.
While your readers won’t run away, it’s important to keep them engaged and have them in your back pocket to let them know of upcoming books, book signings, book tours and much more.
5. Blog about your Experience and Upcoming Book
Engaging your audience and keeping them interested throughout the duration of the book process may be one of the most critical parts of marketing for an upcoming book or even after a book is launched. A perfect example of keeping your audience engaged is what I did with first time author Dawn Bell where we blogged about her experience as a self-published author as well as a look in at the ups and downs while writing a personal memoir.
During the book writing process, this kept those who were on the fence of buying the book a look in at what they can expect as well as a way to connect with a new audience. At the bottom of each post, we set it up where someone can sign up to be notified when the book was available i.e. building the book list like I mentioned in #4.
6. Get Social (Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads)
If you are like most writers, you find yourself on the computer atleast 10 hours a day. During those 10 hours, you typically jump on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) to break up the time and to catch up on the latest news.
The question is how can we turn that into business? Great question, create yourself an official Facebook Fan Page for your brand i.e. a separate account for people to able to just like your page versus having to send a friend request. Feel free to keep your same Twitter account or in the case you don’t have one, make sure to sign up!
Facebook and Twitter gives you an opportunity to promote #2 (Your New Website), Use #3 (Display your Logo), Grow #4 (Grow Your Book List from Twitter and Facebook), Market/Share #5 (Share with People your latest blog) and #6 helps bring it altogether.
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About Tony Enterprises:
Our company assist authors with websites, logos, social media (Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and etc), marketing, press, and much more!
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