Comments on: Web marketing wizardry: Q&A with an expert http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/ A veteran publishing insider's views on how to get published in today's marketplace Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:53:12 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Gretchen Atwood http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/comment-page-1/#comment-1259 Gretchen Atwood Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:17:24 +0000 http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/#comment-1259 The key to any of these online efforts is to target the right audiences for the book. I went to the San Francisco Writers Conference two years ago and editors and agents were encouraging writers to do blogs. Then, it was MySpace and Facebook. Now it's Twitter. As someone who transitioned from a career in web design and development to writing this just cracked me up. Tweeting for the sake of Tweeting only marginally raises your general author profile. That isn't a bad thing but probably isn't the most efficient use of your time (depending on where you are in the publishing/promotion process). Shane in post #3 is on the right track with messageboards. You have to find where your target audience is online and approach them. If your book is about making the most of your retirement why in the world would even go on MySpace? Its users are mostly in high school. Meanwhile, if you're writing a young adult novel set in Detroit, Michigan it might be worth finding out how many teens in Detroit are on MySpace or Facebook. The "networks" and "fans of" pages on Facebook could be great audiences for writers who deal with specific topics, whether the topic is Martin Luther King, Jr.; low carb diets; or vampires. It's easy to join the location-based networks or alumni groups or sign up as a fan of the people/events/topics related to what you write. Real world fan clubs often have an online presence as well. The book I am writing is about the racial integration of pro football in 1946 (yep, the year *before* Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball). The Cleveland Browns figure prominently so I went online to find out about their fan clubs. There's more than 100 clubs worldwide with more than 85,000 members! A group local to me (in SF) has more than 200 members. Can you imagine what an excerpt of my book in the umbrella group's email newsletter could do for my book sales? I imagine a lot more than a promotion that goes out to a general audience of 500,000. So, first think about where your primary, secondary, etc., audiences are online and target them with more of your time, energy, and money rather than trying to get people to come to your blog, etc. Note the link to my blog, ahem ;) The key to any of these online efforts is to target the right audiences for the book. I went to the San Francisco Writers Conference two years ago and editors and agents were encouraging writers to do blogs. Then, it was MySpace and Facebook. Now it’s Twitter.

As someone who transitioned from a career in web design and development to writing this just cracked me up. Tweeting for the sake of Tweeting only marginally raises your general author profile. That isn’t a bad thing but probably isn’t the most efficient use of your time (depending on where you are in the publishing/promotion process).

Shane in post #3 is on the right track with messageboards. You have to find where your target audience is online and approach them. If your book is about making the most of your retirement why in the world would even go on MySpace? Its users are mostly in high school. Meanwhile, if you’re writing a young adult novel set in Detroit, Michigan it might be worth finding out how many teens in Detroit are on MySpace or Facebook.

The “networks” and “fans of” pages on Facebook could be great audiences for writers who deal with specific topics, whether the topic is Martin Luther King, Jr.; low carb diets; or vampires. It’s easy to join the location-based networks or alumni groups or sign up as a fan of the people/events/topics related to what you write.

Real world fan clubs often have an online presence as well. The book I am writing is about the racial integration of pro football in 1946 (yep, the year *before* Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball). The Cleveland Browns figure prominently so I went online to find out about their fan clubs. There’s more than 100 clubs worldwide with more than 85,000 members! A group local to me (in SF) has more than 200 members. Can you imagine what an excerpt of my book in the umbrella group’s email newsletter could do for my book sales? I imagine a lot more than a promotion that goes out to a general audience of 500,000.

So, first think about where your primary, secondary, etc., audiences are online and target them with more of your time, energy, and money rather than trying to get people to come to your blog, etc. Note the link to my blog, ahem ;)

]]> By: Shane Durgee http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/comment-page-1/#comment-884 Shane Durgee Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:15:49 +0000 http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/#comment-884 Thanks for that link, Rob! Thanks for that link, Rob!

]]> By: Shane Durgee http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/comment-page-1/#comment-883 Shane Durgee Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:14:22 +0000 http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/#comment-883 I'm about to self-publish my first novel and though I'm still in the early stages of planning, the marketing aspect of it has been heavy on my mind since I started writing it. The great thing about web-marketing is that the cheaper avenues of advertising are still really abundant. Messageboards are a great start because it costs nothing to post a link to your book in a relevant thread. Community sites like Myspace and Facebook are free as well, though the exposure is limited to the folks you're attached to on the site. Try posting a comment on all of your friends' pages with a link to your book. That way not only your freinds will see it but their friends will see it as well. I have about ten blogs in mind that should get promo copies to review, which means we're out of the free zone and in the cost-of -a-book zone. Still pretty low budget. I haven't really investigated the territory much; those are just ten sites I already frequent. Beyond this point, I'm really uncertain, and I can't wait to read some anecdotes about paid advertising on bigger sites. I'm really interested in Amazon's matching deal where your book is matched with another popular book on their page for $1000 a month. I'd like to know if anyone has used that and if they saw a bump in sales connected to it. I’m about to self-publish my first novel and though I’m still in the early stages of planning, the marketing aspect of it has been heavy on my mind since I started writing it. The great thing about web-marketing is that the cheaper avenues of advertising are still really abundant.

Messageboards are a great start because it costs nothing to post a link to your book in a relevant thread. Community sites like Myspace and Facebook are free as well, though the exposure is limited to the folks you’re attached to on the site. Try posting a comment on all of your friends’ pages with a link to your book. That way not only your freinds will see it but their friends will see it as well.

I have about ten blogs in mind that should get promo copies to review, which means we’re out of the free zone and in the cost-of -a-book zone. Still pretty low budget. I haven’t really investigated the territory much; those are just ten sites I already frequent.

Beyond this point, I’m really uncertain, and I can’t wait to read some anecdotes about paid advertising on bigger sites. I’m really interested in Amazon’s matching deal where your book is matched with another popular book on their page for $1000 a month. I’d like to know if anyone has used that and if they saw a bump in sales connected to it.

]]> By: Rob Eagar http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/comment-page-1/#comment-879 Rob Eagar Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:14:37 +0000 http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/#comment-879 Alan, Great blog post and a wonderful interview with Fauzia...she really knows her stuff and I recommend her services. You are right that now is the time for big change in the publishing industry. As publishers struggle, authors have more influence over their success than ever before. However, the right kind of strategy must be created. There is no "one-size-fits-all" plan that works for every book. Jim, per your earlier comment, I understand your concern about being a first-time author on a limited budget. At WildFire Marketing, we've taught over 100 authors at all levels how to capture online exposure for their books, plus grow their platform through public speaking and direct contact with leaders. Our services range around $2,500 - $5,500, which fit today's budget-conscious author. I invite you to take advantage of over 20 free book marketing articles at: http://www.startawildfire.com/freeresources.html Alan,

Great blog post and a wonderful interview with Fauzia…she really knows her stuff and I recommend her services. You are right that now is the time for big change in the publishing industry. As publishers struggle, authors have more influence over their success than ever before. However, the right kind of strategy must be created. There is no “one-size-fits-all” plan that works for every book.

Jim, per your earlier comment, I understand your concern about being a first-time author on a limited budget. At WildFire Marketing, we’ve taught over 100 authors at all levels how to capture online exposure for their books, plus grow their platform through public speaking and direct contact with leaders. Our services range around $2,500 – $5,500, which fit today’s budget-conscious author. I invite you to take advantage of over 20 free book marketing articles at:
http://www.startawildfire.com/freeresources.html

]]> By: Jim Duncan http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/comment-page-1/#comment-874 Jim Duncan Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:29:45 +0000 http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/02/20/web-marketing-wizardry-qa-with-an-expert/#comment-874 Being a regular (meaning middle-class income) sort of family guy, who is an aspring author, I try to keep tabs on what is going on with online publishing. I wonder at how I can put my name out there and get recognition if/when I get published, or how I can get it out there to increase my chances of getting published. I would probably give up significant body parts to have a marketing campaign like the one mentioned above if I were published, but there's no way, unless I had a pretty significant advance, that I could afford it. I'm guessing the vast majority of debut authors don't see or have that kind of money, and most publisheres aren't going to get behind them with that kind of upfront investment. This is the higher end of publishing to my way of thinking, and not something I would ever have available to me. I would like to see how to do similar things on a budget. J Duncan Being a regular (meaning middle-class income) sort of family guy, who is an aspring author, I try to keep tabs on what is going on with online publishing. I wonder at how I can put my name out there and get recognition if/when I get published, or how I can get it out there to increase my chances of getting published. I would probably give up significant body parts to have a marketing campaign like the one mentioned above if I were published, but there’s no way, unless I had a pretty significant advance, that I could afford it. I’m guessing the vast majority of debut authors don’t see or have that kind of money, and most publisheres aren’t going to get behind them with that kind of upfront investment. This is the higher end of publishing to my way of thinking, and not something I would ever have available to me. I would like to see how to do similar things on a budget.

J Duncan

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