One of the most common mistakes that businesses make with their websites is to talk about themselves — not their customers (or, in the case of authors, readers). And if you’re a non-fiction author, this common pitfall may be costing you readers. Your website should clearly tell people what they would get out of your […]
Who Is Your Author Site About: You or Your Readers? Read More »
The NY Times posted an article the other day about an author who achieved a great deal of success through self-publishing … and is now getting offers from major publishing houses. It just goes to show you, do everything right via self-publishing and you, too, could have the big-wigs fawning over you soon enough! Read
An Encouraging Story for the Self-Published Read More »
In the first of our series of author success stories, we hear from David Gerard, author of Lost In Plain Sight (www.lostinplainsight.net). His website launched in October, 2010. Since then, he has had well over 800 views of his book trailer on YouTube, was interviewed for a news program, and received good review by the
Author Success Story: David Gerard Read More »
There was an interesting article in the NY Times recently about the increase in book sales in places other than bookstores (which is good … because bookstores are few and far between nowadays). And this gets me to thinking about authors who are promoting their books themselves … which is nearly everyone. Authors really need
Think Beyond Bookstores When Marketing Your Books Read More »
One of the best things an author can do through an online presence — be it a website or social networking — is build followers. This becomes your ready-made marketing list — people you can pitch your book to, inform of your next book, and share your success stories. How many followers you have can
4 Reasons a Reader Will Become a Follower Read More »
I am currently in discussions with a company who handles social networking and other online marketing tools for authors. I hope to have a formal announcement on that later… But something cam up in our email chain yesterday that I thought was worthy of mentioning here. It has to do with the benefits of an
Author Websites vs. Social Networking: Why You Need Both! Read More »
I came across an article in The Internet and Marketing Report this week that talks about the latest trend in log-ins/registrations: social sign-ins. But what are social sign-ins and how should authors use them? You know how you’ve spent the last fifteen years setting up usernames and passwords on every website you visit — from
Why Authors Should Offer Social Sign-In Options Read More »
This article, posted just a few hours ago by Mark Coker in the Huffington Post, says it all about the state of book publishing today. Not a day goes by when I don’t speak with an author who’s self-publishing — not because they can’t find a publisher, but because there’s very little benefit to going
Why More Authors Than Ever Are Opting to Self-Publish Read More »
One of the most important decisions that’s made in the process of designing an author website is how much the site should resemble the book cover. In an attempt to answer that question, here’s a list of dos and don’ts, based on my personal experience with authors: Do put yourself in the position of a
Authors: Does Your Website Look Too Much (or Too Little) Like Your Book Cover Read More »
You’re an author. Which means you certainly know how to write! Here’s a new way to put your writing skills to good use in increasing your website traffic. Have you heard about article syndication? In short, it refers to writing an article and then giving up all rights to it. Essentially, you would post this
Authors: Consider Article Syndication to Up Site Traffic Read More »
