The key is to find a few things you're comfortable with doing and not to feel like you have to do all of them.
So, if you haven't already, check out:
- Four Ways to Make Your Own Luck Using Social Media - Today's guest posting at the agent blog Rachellegardner.com
- And from last week at Writer Unboxed: Advice for Indie Authors. Right of the bat, I was drawn to that term "Indie" in the title. It just sounds cool. Three different Indie writers share their experience in great detail for a well-rounded perspective on the different combinations of things you can do to self-promote.
I'm thinking ahead a bit and being a bit presumptuous on the need for promotion since I seem to be running short on original storytelling thought these days (hope it's a temporary thing!), but I know I'll be getting back to these for the great tips!
Already, one of the tips at the Writer Unboxed site has struck a chord, and that is about having a blog. I'd heard this before, but sometimes it's hard to see this value. However, one or two posts can make a big difference. For instance, I don't get a lot of traffic on the new postings, but there are a couple of posts in the archives that seem to have found a greater audience, like Marriage Customs in Georgian and Regency England. Thanks to links to this post from a couple of well known sites like Jane Austen's World and even Yahoo Answers, this post gets somewhere between 50-100 visits a week.
And another post proving popular according to the numbers is pre-made ebook covers: a list of where to find them. When I "threw together" this list of links I admit I posted it largely for myself as a resource to get back to, much like this post! But when it comes time to put a book cover on the blog, I'll be happy to know those covers just might be seen from a popular post. I also pay particular attention to update and add to the links on those posts because, well, you know you have to clean up for company!
So that's my own little tip for the day. If you have a blog, consider writing a post with a list of links to something of broad interest. You don't have to make a habit of it, but one or two of this type can do wonders. You never know, some day you might be glad that little post is sitting in your archives.
Melissa, this is such a great suggestion. I've gotten so busy lately that I'm struggling to keep up my blogging. But you've reminded me of a couple of my posts that always seem to be on the Search Hit Parade. One is on Character Goals, and I hope it's proved helpful to people. It sure does bring in a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteThe other one is my post on Jessica Fletcher. I wrote about how she inspired me with her typewriter on the kitchen table -- I wanted (and still want!) that job. Most of the people who search for her want to know what she's typing. LOL But again, it does provide the hits.
If it's helpful to you, I've been gathering links and articles and advice about promotion and storing them all at a squidoo site so other authors can benefit from them. It's at http://www.squidoo.com/indie-book-marketing-resources
ReplyDeleteDonna, that post of yours on Jessica Fletcher is one of my favorites! And the character goals post I can't remember off the top of my head, but now I want to reread that one. :) (I seem to be doing a lot of rereading lately!)
ReplyDeleteI think what I love is knowing what I write can have a longer life than the few days, hours or even minutes following its debut. That thought inspires me to write more. :)
Ruth, thanks so much for sharing the link to your resources! And also, thank you for sharing all the marketing information. This is very very helpful and you're right...some of the marketing is actually fun. :)
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