Marketing Monday - eMarketing for Authors

I had a great question today on The SCBWI listserve so I thought I would include it in Marketing Monday!

Question: How effective is Internet marketing for selling your book or just getting the title in front of people?

Answer: Internet marketing or "emarketing" is fast, cheap and can quickly reach a global audience. The trick is to have targeted messages to targeted audiences. It must be done right.

Here are some great emarketing techniques...

1) Web Promotion Plan - get an Author website up and running. A good quality web site not a cheesy one. There are many low-cost providers that have easy tools you can use - godaddy is one of them. It should not be too verbose and should be concise.

2) Search Engine Optimization - get your web site ranked high. This can be done through keywords. http://www.seoconsultants.com/seo/tips/

3) Email Marketing - Set up email marketing to subscribers or contact emails you collect as you begin networking for your book. This keeps audience informed of your upcoming events and news. I use constantcontact.com for my business but godaddy.com has a package that includes email marketing - again with templates that are easy to use. It must be an opt in - have people add their emails at signings/ presentations/school visits etc.

4) Vlog/Blog/Blog tours/Interviews - Blogging can help create a network and a buzz about you as an author. If you can find a niche to blog about. The Kitlitosphere is a great community of bloggers and you can post your blog on amazon for those who buy your book. Commenting on blogs is a great way to make connections online as well. Vlogging is video blogging where you tape your journal entry. Its a way for readers to connect with author.

5) Online Articles - submit articles to online ezines. There are hundreds of them. Find the best one in your target audience. It gets your name out and you usually get a tag where you can promote your book. Don't do articles on your book - do them on a topic.

6) Online press releases - http://www.prnewsonline.com/ Some groups already have

7) Run online contests - give away a book. maybe ask for an article or illustration of the week or month. This keeps people coming back.

8) Social networking sites - Get a facebook or myspace or twitter page or goodreads. Find out where your target audience goes and create a page. Link to your blog and other pages on your web sites. Link in friends - this also helps create a buzz

9) Podcasts - Post radio style interviews.

10) Online Video/ Book trailers- This is the newest trend. It's helpful for

Using the internet is easy and fun and essential to reaching audiences. Don't leave it out of your plan.

Hope this helps!