Posts Tagged ‘book marketing’

You might love social media. You might hate social media. But there’s one thing you can’t deny: it’s practically a necessity in today’s world of author marketing.

So how can you integrate social networking tools into your author website without creating even more work for yourself? Here are some ways to do just that…



1. Links to your social networking profiles. This is practically standard nowadays. On just about any author website, you’ll see little buttons that represent Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc… Most people understand exactly what those icons mean and know that if they click on them, they will be taken directly to your profile on the corresponding site.



2. Like buttons. Have you ever seen that little thumbs up sign with the word “like” next to it? That’s a Facebook like button. That allows site visitors to tell all of their Facebook friends that they “like” your website. Plus, Facebook will keep track of how many people have “liked” your site, and even show the faces of those who did. See our example on the left.



3. Blog-post-to-tweets. You’ll be happy to know that there’s a relatively simple way to set things up so that every time you post a blog entry on your site, Twitterfeed automatically takes the first 140 characters and “tweets” it out to your fanbase. That tweet then ends with a link to read the full post on your site. Again, this is a great way to get your message out through multiple channels without having to do any additional work.




4. Share buttons. In today’s social media world, there’s no better way to get more eyeballs on your site than to have readers “share” your articles, blog posts, etc… with their friends. It’s the equivalent of a personal recommendation. Make sure that every piece of content on your site includes share buttons that allow readers to spread the word about your good read through their social networking site of choice. See the example on the right.

5. Widgets. I just love Facebook and Twitter widgets on author websites. These little snippets of code that you can embed on your site mean that your latest posts, comments, pictures, etc… on your favorite social networking channel will automatically feed into your website. Put this on your homepage and you’ve got a site that always looks fresh and up to date … without your having to even touch it. See an example on the left.

Remember: every one of your readers has a preferred way of staying on top of what you’re doing. Some prefer to visit the site. Others prefer to follow you on Facebook or receive your Tweets. By seamlessly integrating all of these methods, you’re allowing your readers to follow you in the way that they like best. And that can only be good for you.

Nearly every new author today is opting to self publish. Okay, not always opting. Often, it’s their only choice. But regardless, there are thousands of authors out there self-publishing their books, and each of them is looking for a way to make their book stand out. Enter Kindle Select.

In case you haven’t heard of it, Kindle Direct Publishing Select (KDP Select) is a program that Amazon offers to their self-published authors. According to Amazon, here are the benefits of such a program:

• Earn higher royalties Earn your share of the KDP Select Global Fund amount when readers borrow your books from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. Plus, earn 70% royalty for sales to customers in Japan, India and Brazil.
• Make your book free to readers worldwide for a limited time The Promotions Manager tool will allow you to directly schedule and control the promotion of free books.
• Reach a new audience Distribute books through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and reach the growing number of Amazon Prime customers on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de and Amazon.fr.

But, as with anything, there is a drawback. As Amazon explains: When you choose to enroll your book in KDP Select, you’re committing to make the digital format of that book available exclusively through KDP. During the period of exclusivity, you cannot distribute your book digitally anywhere else, including on your website, blogs, etc. However, you can continue to distribute your book in physical format, or in any format other than digital.

So how does an author know whether Amazon Select is the right option for their newest release? Well, they turn to other authors, of course. I came across a conversation among authors on LinkedIn this morning about just that, and I thought I would include some excerpts so that you can make an informed decision for yourself.

Here are some of what the authors had to say:

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The Positive

I have eight books in the Select program and think it has been the greatest thing since sliced bread,

I use the give-a-way program carefully. The first month I was in it I gave away about 2200 books for free, However, I also raised my sales over 1000%. After that for the next five months it dropped down to where I was giving away maybe twenty books a month but still selling about an average 200% above my starting sales numbers.

I am now going to drop out of the program and put my books back into all the markets and see how I do. I am quite happy with my six months results and would recommend it to anyone. But my name and books are much more well known now and I am getting a nice little following. So it’s time to spread out.

When I say I use it carefully here are some of the things I learned. If you are only going to try one book in it, don’t waste your time. You only get five days in three months to use the free book bit. Of course that isn’t going to get any notice. Eight books worked out wonderfully for me. What I found worked best for me is I give away a different free book every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I start the rotation with one of my best books. The second book is also one of my best, the third (or Sunday book) would be one that wasn’t doing so well, and I just keep rotating them in this order through the ninety days. I don’t give away any books om Monday thru Thursday. I found the response to be very low on those days.

Some people have told me that I would have still had a lot of sales for that period if I weren’t giving away the books. I guess that could be true, but for the two years leading up to that point my sales were poor so what else could have jump started my income?

A lot of the success still depends on your marketing. There is no substitute for good marketing. I am learning all the time…

–Michael “Duke” Davis “The Dukester”

I gave away a lot of free books, but I’m not sure how much it helped my sales. But as a new novelist, I felt it was more important to get the first novel out rather than try for a big profit.

From the standpoint of getting my name out there, the select program worked. I’ve recieved lots of “fan mail” via twitter/facebook/email and have to field daily questions about when the next book will be out. So it looks like I’m on my way to a loyal following.
–Alex Reissig

The Negative
This issue has been fully debated on various blogs, forums, and especially the Smashwords blog and on Mark Coker’s updates. Coker makes very strong points that it’s not good to have books exclusively on one site since you’re sacrificing sales at all other sites, i.e., iTunes Store, Nook, Sony Reader, and smartphone apps. Amazon may still be the largest seller of ebooks, but their share of the market is declining.

You’re giving readers more places to find your books if you have them distributed widely across all tablets, readers, smartphones.
–Jack Erickson

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Not a lot of comments, but some insightful ones. If you have any experience with Amazon Select that you would like to share, do so in the comments box below.

And for the rest of you … good luck making your decision!

“If you build it, they will come.” That may be a great slogan when it comes to baseball fields, but it’s definitely not true when it comes to websites. In fact, I’ve worked with a multitude of authors who have launched author websites, expected to see thousands of visitors, and just sat back and waited. And waited. Not surprisingly, they didn’t come.

You see, building an author website is just one step in the process of building an author website presence. Next, you have to figure out how you’re going to get people there.

Here are five ways you can do just that.

1. Optimize. You’ve been told all about search engine optimization. What you probably don’t know is what it is, how it works, or how to implement it.  I could talk about this for days, but I’ll try to make it brief. Do your keyword research (or hire someone to do it for you). Pick the keywords in your genre that get the most searches and have the least competition. The more specific, the better. Then make sure to work those words into your site – both in the metadata (which visitors can’t see) and the actual text on the page. It may take some time to work, but this optimization can help you tremendously. Learn more from our post on SEO tips.

2. Blog. You probably don’t want to hear this, but it’s true. Blogging about the topic that your book covers can increase your site traffic exponentially. Why? Well, because a blog is chock full of information – not just marketing copy – which makes your site much more likely to show up on search results. It also makes your posts much more likely to get clicks. Think about it: if someone goes to Google and searches for “how to write a perfect resume,” what are they more likely to click on? A page that touts your book about how to write a perfect resume or a brief blog post that you wrote with resume-writing tips. You have the answer. Find out why and how authors should be blogging.

3. Go social. Social networking is the singlemost effective form of marketing in today’s online world. Think of it as an interactive form of advertising. You build a website to really sell your product. Then you use social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc…) to get people there. Sure you can’t write too much in a Facebook status update or a tweet. But the point isn’t to share your story there. The point is to get people to click on that link to your website.

4. Update your email signature. Quick … what does your email signature say? Probably not much. But think of all the people that you email on a regular basis. How many of them know about your website? Make sure that your email signature contains your name, your book title(s) and the URL of your website. You’d be surprised just how much traffic this could bring you.

5. Reach out. There are probably dozens of other websites out there that cover similar topics as you. Why not reach out to them about some sort of cross-promotion? Maybe you can each include a link to one another on the site. Maybe you can each write a guest blog post on the other’s site? The opportunities are endless, depending on the subject matter you cover. If someone else has the ready-made audience that you want, then see how you can finagle your way into their world!

Finally, my last piece of advice: set up and monitor your Google Analytics account. This will tell you how many people visited your site, which pages they visited and how long they stayed. Without this information, you’re working blindly when you try to analyze what’s working and what’s not. After all, why spend your time doing all the things above if you have no idea how effective they are?

If you want help with any of these strategies, contact us at Smart Author Sites. We’ll be happy to help!

I know. You’re probably cringing. Because after all this advice that you’ve been getting about blogging and building presences on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads, etc… the last thing you probably want to hear is about why you should dedicate a little time to LinkedIn. But that’s what I’m about to tell you.

Now, LinkedIn isn’t necessarily for each and every author. But if you fit into one of the following categories, you should seriously consider it:

1. You’re a nonfiction author. Yea, that’s about half of you. If you’ve written a nonfiction book, then you’re an “expert” in that field. So it’s important that you build a LinkedIn presence that establishes you in that genre. Because when the media is looking for someone to interview on the subject, LinkedIn may be one of the first places they go.

2. You’re looking for a book deal. Okay, that’s a lot of you, too. Unless you’ve self-published your book and are dedicated to doing the same going forward, you’re probably open to inquiries from agents and publishers. In that case, creating a professional author presence on LinkedIn will help you get noticed by those in the publishing field.

3. You want to build connections. Well, who doesn’t? The truth is that there are tons of other authors (or people in the field that you write about) who may be very good people for you to know professionally. LinkedIn is all about these professional connections … and those are hard to make without a professional profile.

Okay, so are you convinced? Now that you know you should create your profile, here’s some advice on exactly what (and what not) to do, courtesy of Social Media Today…

1. Make sure that your profile is “complete.” This means adding (at least) your industry, location, special skills, education, a summary, and two past positions.
2. Make sure that your headshot is a good one! Don’t just crop a picture out of a recent family photo. Make it friendly, appealing, close range (filling the frame), and professional.
3. Add “Author” and the name of your book to your work experience. Be sure to include a description of the book, and a link to purchase in the work history.  …  Also be sure to upload your book cover image and if you have a book trailer, add that as well. You can even offer a sample chapter here as well.
4. Create a vanity URL. People won’t remember the system-generated URL, but they may remember your name.
5. Connect your author website and/or Amazon page to your profile. LinkedIn lets you connect three other URLs to your profile. If you have an author website, always use that one. Other choices include your Facebook page, your author page on Amazon, or a glowing book review.
6. Write your background summary in a conversational style. I use first person. Making your summary conversational demonstrates that you’re accessible and easy to communicate with.
7. Think keywords! Make sure that the summary includes keywords related to your topic of expertise. Keywords for LinkedIn profiles can be sprinkled throughout the profile (in the headline, job descriptions, summary, etc.), and should be done without naturally.
8. Add your book titles to the Publications section, as well as any guest posts you’ve written. Consider this an opportunity to showcase your work beyond what they can find on your website.

And I would like to add another tip to this list. Join author groups on LinkedIn and chat with your fellow authors about what they’re doing, what’s working, and what they feel is a waste of time. I belong to about five such groups and I find the advice extremely useful. Heck, I get most of the ideas for blog posts from those conversations.

In short, take a few minutes and set up your LinkedIn profile. It’s a lot less time consuming than Facebook, and may be a whole lot more helpful.

For those of you who think Amazon is about to take over the world, get a load of this …

—————————

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Goodreads, a leading site for readers and book recommendations that helps people find and share books they love.

“Amazon and Goodreads share a passion for reinventing reading,” said Russ Grandinetti, Amazon Vice President, Kindle Content. “Goodreads has helped change how we discover and discuss books and, with Kindle, Amazon has helped expand reading around the world. In addition, both Amazon and Goodreads have helped thousands of authors reach a wider audience and make a better living at their craft. Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike.”

“Books – and the stories and ideas captured inside them – are part of our social fabric,” said Otis Chandler, Goodreads CEO and co-founder. “People love to talk about ideas and share their passion for the stories they read. I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to partner with Amazon and Kindle. We’re now going to be able to move faster in bringing the Goodreads experience to millions of readers around the world. We’re looking forward to inspiring greater literary discussion and helping more readers find great books, whether they read in print or digitally.”

“I just found out my two favorite people are getting married,” said Hugh Howey, best-selling author of WOOL. “The best place to discuss books is joining up with the best place to buy books – To Be Read piles everywhere must be groaning in anticipation.”

Following the acquisition, Goodreads’s headquarters will remain in San Francisco, CA. Founded in 2007, Goodreads now has more than 16 million members and there are more than 30,000 books clubs on the Goodreads site. Over just the past 90 days, Goodreads members have added more than four books per second to the “want to read” shelves on Goodreads.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Subject to various closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013.

Credit: JaneFriedman.com

A decade ago, blogging was a relatively new concept. Authors who jumped in grabbed a hold of the marketshare and never let go. Blogging was the hottest new thing.

Fast forward to 2013. Just about every author is told to start blogging when their book is released (or earlier). But does it have the same value that it used to?

I argue that it’s still worth an author’s time. After all, how are people going to learn about an author and his/her book if he or she doesn’t post regular blog entries about topics in the news related to the book’s subject matter. Sure, you can do something similar via Facebook/Twitter, but come on … you’re a writer. You need a place to … you know … write.

But not everyone agrees with me. In fact, I just read an article this morning by L.L. Barkat about why blogging is a waste of time for authors. Here’s an excerpt:

Does this mean I would recommend that everyone stop blogging? No. I encourage new bloggers, just the way I always have. It’s an excellent way to find expression, discipline, and experience. But if writers already have experience, and they are authors trying to promote themselves and their work, I tell them to steer clear. If they’ve already found themselves sucked into the blogging vortex, I suggest they might want to give it up and begin writing for larger platforms that don’t require reciprocity (an exhausting aspect to blogging and a big drain on the writer’s energy and time).

Someone will disagree with me and point to a case like best-selling author Ann Voskamp, and I will point them back to the facts. Yes, Voskamp made it big largely because of the power of her blogging platform, but she had the power of being first. Before blogging was a “thing,” Voskamp was already blogging quietly and steadily in 2003. Before blog networks came of age, she was writing for one of the few women’s sites that also had the power of being first. Time cannot be turned back. Few authors can make of themselves what Voskamp did—not for lack of talent but for lack of timing and sheer cyber-longevity.

Sure, he has a point. Blogging isn’t what it used to be. But is it time to give it up? I’m not sure I would quite go that far yet.

What do you think? Is it time for authors to quit blogging? Tell us your thoughts!

Photo: Angela Mann, Kepler's

I came across an interesting read on PublishersWeekly.com this week. It’s about four YA authors who got together and organized their own book tour.

Here’s a summary of the article:

• The touring authors – Martha Brockenbrough (Devine Intervention, Scholastic/Levine), Sean Beaudoin (The Infects, Candlewick), Kevin Emerson (The Lost Code, HarperCollins/Tegen), and Cat Patrick (Revived, Little, Brown) – are friends who met through the Seattle writing community.
• The “You Are Next” tour, a nod to what the group calls “the next generation of books for the next generation of readers,” launched in January, with visits to schools and bookstores in Las Vegas, and San Francisco, and Portland, Ore.
• To chart their itinerary, the authors brainstormed about West Coast cities they’d like to go to and bookstores they’d enjoyed visiting in the past. They contacted booksellers to arrange store and school visits, and circulated flyers announcing the tour.
• The tour will next touch down in greater Los Angeles, where the quartet will make several store appearances during the week of March 25.
• Capping off the week is a visit to Disneyland on March 30, when they will be joined by several other YA authors, plus bloggers, librarians, booksellers, and fans for a day of play.
• At each stop on the You Are Next tour, which the authors are publicizing through its Facebook page and through their respective Twitter feeds, the authors offer a panel presentation that involves significant audience participation.
• The authors show embarrassing photos of themselves (“including but not limited to prom photos,” she says), read from their books in voices mimicking those of celebrities, and give kids prizes if they guess correctly which “fun facts” pertain to which authors.

What a brilliant idea! These four YA authors came up with an innovative way to get their books in front of their target audience … and have fun all the while. I’m not sure who is paying for this trip — or how much the total cost will be — but this should be a model for authors everywhere.

Communicate with other authors in your genre. Think of them as idea-generators, not competitors. Together, you can think outside the box and come up with creative ideas like these four women did.

I’ll confess: I love Allie Phillips. Not only is she one of the kindest, politest people I’ve ever worked with, but she dedicates a chunk of her time to protecting animals: a very noble cause. So I was beyond thrilled when I noticed that, in a recent month, Allie got over 1,100 visitors to her site, AlliePhillips.com.

So what is she doing to get so much publicity for her books and her cause? Here’s what she had to say…

Who built your website? How was the experience?
Smart Authors built my book website and the experience was so seamless and wonderful that I had them build my coaching/healing website too (ManifestedHarmony.com)! They have always been available for follow up questions and tweaking both sites. The customer service has been fantastic!

Which social networking sites do you regularly participate in? Facebook? Twitter? GoodReads? LinkedIn? Any others?
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. But I spend most of my time on Facebook because that seems far more interactive.

How many online followers do you have?
LinkedIn = 326
Pinterest (new) = 26

Alliephillips.com
Facebook = 1735
Twitter = 110

Manifestedharmony.com
Facebook = 638
Twitter = 115

How has your online presence (be it through a website or social networking profiles) increased your visibility/book sales?
The website, since the outset, has ended up being an educational portal where people can talk about how to help animals through my blog and other social media sites. My purpose in writing 2 animal protection books was to raise awareness about helping animals. So even though book sales have not [skyrocketed as a result of] the website, my mission of helping animals has.

For the manifestedharmony.com website, I believe that the website has increased my visibility. Since the website is global and has connected me to people from all over, it has encouraged me to move my practice to more online work (trainings, etc.) rather than in-person work. So the web presence is helping me to grow!

What is your “secret” to achieving this success? Were there any tricks or creative ideas (i.e. a contest) that you used?
I still struggle with marketing and outreach. So it’s just perseverance everyday, posting on social networks and linking back to the websites, keeping people engaged and my two sites front and center. For the coaching/healing website, I started posting free videos which has been a huge success for getting views. I just use my camera to tape the footage and then use the IMovie feature on my Mac to edit them. I’m so not tech-savvy and I was able to figure it out. I think people like to see who we really are and videos are a great way to do that. I don’t think you need to do anything fancy with videos either. Just be yourself, be real. I also respond to every posting (whether on the website blog or social media) to show that people have a connection with me and in an age where we relate better to technology than people, I think that’s a bonus!

Is there anything you would do differently if you were starting over again?
Get more help on marketing. It’s not my forte.

What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned in the process of building your online presence as an author?
The publishers are not helpful at all … it is up to the author to market their books and themselves. I was not prepared for that at all. One of the best moves that I made was getting myself into a professional writing network (the Cat Writer’s Association). I’ve learned so much about writing and publishing just by watching the numerous emails everyday that are posted to the group.

How and where do you promote your website? Is the URL on business cards? Your email signature?
For alliephillips.com, I have business cards and post cards that I place inside books that I sign. I have all of my URL’s in my email signature. For manifestedharmony.com, I have multiple brochures, business cards, flyers. I have the URL’s on all printed materials, on videos, in my email signature.

Final words of wisdom for any new authors wondering how to get started….
Outreach is crucial to being an author or online business person. Creativity will get you noticed, so do not be afraid to be yourself. In fact, it is essential that you portray who you really are and get comfortable with being different. If you are comfortable with videos, I highly recommend posting those on your website. Just realize that the outreach and marketing never ends … it is hand-in-hand with the creativity of being an author.

Ready to talk with us about building your own author website? Contact us today for a free consultation!

I chimed in to a discussion on LinkedIn last week with this very same title: Is An Author’s Platform Now A Prerequisite?

Little did I know just how much commentary there was going to end up being.

A few people had commented before I found the post, saying that they felt an author platform was important. One of my favorite responses was from Ian Miller, who said, “You don’t need a platform to, write, but you need one to attract readers.”

I then chimed in with the following:

I agree with most of the comments here. That doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to get published without an author platform, but it means that you’re starting with a great disadvantage if you don’t have one. Put yourself in the position of a publisher: if you’re deciding between two or three authors, which one would you choose to publish? The one who has shown that he or she knows how to market books and has already built a following, or the one who hasn’t?

There have probably been 20 responses to my comment, mostly in agreement. But I thought I would give you some of the excerpts so that you can decide for yourself:

Beverly Bistransky • @Karen, Yes and No. I think the connection between the writer/author and editing publisher have quite a bit to do with who they choose to deal. At least the better publishers etiquette if you will, know that this is just as important as the author already having a current following especially if the author is changing their subject demeanor.

Elly Taylor • And, as I’m just finding now, there is a lot of platform building to be done between being published and achieving commercial success. In hindsight, I could have done more while waiting for the book to be published, especially as far as social media is concerned.

Nancy Root Miller • Karin sums it up nicely. I am in the process of researching agents and publishers for my cookbook. Nearly every one asks for details on your platform: what social media do you use, do you have a blog and/or website, do you teach, are you a regular guest on television or radio. If you’re a terrific writer without a “platform” and you’re lucky, you may be able to find a publisher or editor who will take a risk on you anyway. You’ll increase your chances if you participate in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (!), Pinterest, and so on.

Sean Concannon • A unique proposal, and demonstrated ability to write are just as important in getting published as having a platform. With a high quality project, and a strong platform, you are almost certain to get published. If you have a high quality project to sell, and no platform or very little in the way of a platform, it’s worth getting started. A strategy for nurturing your platform will make your project more attractive to potential agents, who will know that they can use the quality of your project in combination with the potential of your platform to sell your proposal to a publisher.

Tannera Kane • I recommend authors develop a platform before publication. ONe can always adjust the platform after publication if one aspect of marketing doesn’t work.

Brad Windhauser • Today, I think a writer needs a platform more importantly, an author needs to figure out how to construct a sensible platform. How can you attract an audience that compliments your work? I have a traditional website where people can find samples of my work, etc. I plug away on Twitter. I have FB. along with four other writer friends, I started a group blog (5writers.com), a blog site we use to discuss writing. Since it’s a group blog, the burden of posting is spread out–and we all benefit from the attention each writer brings. I also started my own blog project (BibleProjectBlog.com) where, as a gay author, I chronicle my reading of the Bible for the first time. Since I don’t openly court “Christian” readers, I’m using this blog to develop my voice and expose my style to a new audience (hopefully).

Allison Bruning • I think its especially important nowadays for authors to build a platform. There are so many books in the market it’s easy for a new author to get lost in the sea. But if they can work on making their presence known throughout the social networks and various writing oppurtunities out there then they may be able to drive traffic towards the fans they have acquired.

James Hockey • I think we are falling into the error of comparing apples with pears. Elly’s case above demonstrates the classic route forward for non-fiction where there is a manifest social need whether it be parenting or home electrics.
Fiction on the other hand is very different and without building a platform the author is likely to die the death of total invisibility.

Beverly Bistransky • The subject also in itself can end up being the platform. For example: a disorder that is rarely ever talked about. If it is well written and touches the audience in a tangible way, it will be its own platform, the subject disease that is.

Reynold Conger • In spite of all the articles about platforms, I still do not understand what a platform is. Obviously a good publicity campaign helps the sales of a book, but does this need a platform?

Gaurav Bhatnagar • Coming to the answer on the original post from @Gemma, yes, indeed, it’s required. Problem is not with book discovery or authors discovery… Today’s book lovers are much aware on what they want to read than ever. A platform can give an author a boost to their books, an enhancement to their knowledge, increased fan base, new friends helping each other and so on.

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There are about 20 more comments in the conversation, but I’m going to stop there. The general consensus? “Yes, authors do need a platform to sell books.” That platform can manifest itself in various ways — an author website, a blog, a presence on social media, etc.. — but every author needs to be doing something. Just writing isn’t enough to be a professional writer any more.

If you’re interested in discussing your needs for an author website, contact us today for a free consultation. Good luck!

Clare O’Donohue is a published author with multiple book series under her belt. She’s also a savvy marketer of her own work; Clare regularly gets over 500 visitors to her website, ClareODonohue.com, every month.

So how does she do it? Here’s what she had to say…

Who built your website? How was the experience?
I’ve had three websites since I started. The first was built by a friend and I did that because I thought it would be cheaper, which it didn’t really turn out to be because it took her so long and I paid her by the hour. Plus I didn’t really like it. Then I had godaddy. It was okay, nothing special or personal and I was limited in the number of pages. Then after doing a lot of research I chose Smart Author Sites for my current website. I like that they specialize in authors because I didn’t need to explain what I needed – they already knew. They were able to offer suggestions based on their experiences that made my site better. It was fast, adaptable to my changing needs, and a great value for the money.

Which social networking sites do you regularly participate in? Facebook? Twitter? GoodReads? LinkedIn? Any others?
I use Facebook and Twitter mostly, though I have a presence on GoodReads. I still have a day job, so I keep LinkedIn for that.

How many online followers do you have? How many pageviews have you gotten on your website?
I have about 3,400 Facebook friends between my personal and book sites. And I had just over 500 visits to my website in December alone. I’m pretty excited about that. Half the battle, maybe 90% of it, is just getting people to have heard of you; so when 500 people visited my site in a single month I knew that lots of new folks were checking me out..

Has your online presence (be it through a website or social networking profiles) increased your visibility/book sales?
Absolutely. People expect a website – that’s where they go to find out about the next release or to send an email. If you don’t have one, it’s like not have a phone in the regular world. No one can reach you. Facebook is the way for me to maintain contact with a large group, but a website is an absolute must.

What is your “secret” to achieving this success? Were there any tricks or creative ideas (i.e. a contest) that you used?
I’ve done all sorts of things. One of my most successful was having a character-naming contest. If you wanted your name in my book, you had to get friends to vote for you. It was a fun way to get people who are already fans to spread the word to her friends.  I’ve also given away books, guest blogged, had other authors blog on my site… there isn’t one secret (at least that I know) it’s doing lots of things, being part of the larger community of writers, keeping an on-going presence on social media, and of course, constantly creating new books. I’ve also branched out to writing e-only stories, which is another way to generate new readers because the price point is so much lower than a full novel.

Is there anything you would do differently if you were starting over again?
I’d start with a more professional website so I didn’t have to keep changing it. In an effort to save money, I cost myself more. I also would have gotten involved in the mystery community sooner, as this is a valuable resource and great friendships. And I would have taken more control of the marketing and publicity. I love my publisher and the publicist they assigned me, but the truth is no one will harder for you than you.

How and where do you promote your website? Is the URL on business cards? Your email signature?
My website is on business cards, bookmarks, the back jacket of my books, bathroom walls in men’s rooms….anywhere I can put it.

Final words of wisdom for any new authors wondering how to get started….
In terms of an online presence, first check out lots of author websites to help you decide what you like and don’t like. Join all the social media sites you think you will keep up with. I joined lots of sites, and realized there were some  I rarely go to because I only have so much time. I’ve pared down my social media to a few places and I post frequently. That helps you stay connected and create a base of “early adopters” who will help spread the word. In the off-line world, join professional organizations and get involved in them. The best way to get blurbs, be asked to guest blog, get recommendations for everything from building a website to the best writer conventions, is by connecting with other writers. Plus no one knows what you’re going through like another writer.