Stephanie Chandler didn't originally plan on publishing The Author's Guide to Building an Online Platform: Leveraging the Internet to Sell More Books as a book at all – it was an information she sold to her readers online. Regardless of the author's intentions, this book is full of specific strategies for authors to build and leverage an online presence to promote and sell their own books. Chapters drill down on topics like website development, building expert status, online marketing strategies and tips on working with retail giant Amazon.com.
Leveraging the Internet to Sell More Books
The subtitle of Chandler's online strategy guide underlines the key to Chandler's success: leveraging existing assets. Throughout the Author's Guide, Chandler weaves in examples from promoting her own first book via her existing web site, the Business Info Guide. The lesson is clear: start building an online platform as soon as possible – don't wait for the book to go to print. The online presence that demonstrates expert status and invites media attention cannot be created overnight.
Chandler demonstrates her knowledge of best SEO practices, noting that keywords “should be naturally included in the content on your Web page,” which results in a more relevant and appealing page, which is ultimately rewarded by a high Google PageRank. Her advice delves into the use of “long tail keywords” to gain top web exposure, and she explains why it's crucial to get the right keywords embedded into links back to the author's site.
Author Interviews About Online Promotion
Sprinkled in amongst the chapters of The Author's Guide to Building an Online Platform are the stories of authors that have successfully promoted and sold their books online. Chandler's interviews have a standard set of questions, which is helpful for organizing the information. Each author is asked to detail specific parts of their experiences, including:
- Favorite online and offline marketing methods
- Least successful marketing strategies
- Ways they leverage being a published author
The authors also are given a platform to promote their own recent book offerings, which is another case of Chandler following her own advice. The interviews are not only informative, they also serve as examples of how to make alliances with authors in the same or related fields.
Best Social Networking Tips for Book Promotion
Having promoted each of her books through her own online platform, Chandler successfully positions herself as an expert in this field. Some of her tips for promoting via social networks include:
- Keep a blog and update it regularly
- MySpace and Facebook can draw a large fan base
- Virtual book tours can have as much impact as real ones – if not more
She is also an advocate of writing as a means of promotion – whether it be distributing a regular ezine to fans or writing articles for free distribution, as long as the piece is related to the book and includes information on where to buy it, it's a valuable promotional opportunity.
Terence P Ward - Terence P Ward has a business writing website, but spends a bit too much time writing press releases, blog posts, and thought leadership ...
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