{"id":1262,"date":"2010-04-21T09:30:12","date_gmt":"2010-04-21T04:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/?p=1262"},"modified":"2014-12-23T16:47:08","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T11:17:08","slug":"start-your-online-book-promotion-strategy-before-you-finish-your-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/start-your-online-book-promotion-strategy-before-you-finish-your-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Mid-Week Book Marketing Tips: Start Your Online Book Promotion Strategy Before You Finish Your Book"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/PhyllisZimblerMiller.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1263\" title=\"PhyllisZimblerMiller\" src=\"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/PhyllisZimblerMiller.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"83\" height=\"84\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/PhyllisZimblerMiller.jpg 83w, https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/PhyllisZimblerMiller-65x65.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 83px) 100vw, 83px\" \/><\/a><em>Our guest blogger this week is Phyllis Zimbler Miller; she has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, is the co-founder of the Internet marketing company Miller Mosaic, LLC, and is the author of the novel \u201cMrs. Lieutenant\u201d and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book \u201cSeasons for Celebration.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">SPECIAL OFFER:<\/em><em> Read about the Miller Mosaic information product &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.millermosaicllc.com\/launching-book-internet\/\" target=\"_blank\">What You Should Know About Launching a Book on the Internet<\/a>&#8221; and then, to get this information package at the special BookBuzzr price of $10, click <a href=\"http:\/\/budurl.com\/bookbuzzr\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Start Your Online Book Promotion Strategy Before You Finish Your Book<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whether you are writing your first book or your 15<sup>th<\/sup>, the best time to start your online book promotion strategy is before you finish the manuscript.<\/p>\n<p>Why is this?\u00a0 Because effective online book promotion is relationship-based.\u00a0 You want to connect with people online before you ask them to buy your new book.\u00a0 In other words, you need time to develop a relationship with them.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, not every person online is the target market for your books.\u00a0 You need to carefully consider who your target markets are and then figure out where to connect with those markets online.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s my recommended list of top ways to establish relationships with your potential target markets.\u00a0 Note that I don\u2019t mean for you to do these all at once.\u00a0 Start with one or two ways and then gradually add more ways.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Blogging<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You are a writer, so write.\u00a0 Encourage people to be interested in what you have to say by providing well-written information now.\u00a0 This need not be long pieces; in fact, shorter is better.\u00a0 And this need not be every day.\u00a0 But you should try for three blog posts a week to demonstrate to your readers (and the search engines) that you are a committed blogger.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Caution:<\/strong> If you do not already have a blog, read this post of mine on \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/budurl.com\/blogchoice\" target=\"_blank\">How to Have a Blog<\/a>\u201d \u00a0&#8212; it can save you from making the mistakes that I did when I first started blogging.<\/p>\n<p>If you are a nonfiction writer, what you write about is pretty clear \u2013 you write on your topic to help establish yourself as an expert.\u00a0 With fiction writers the question of what to blog about can be harder.\u00a0 You can get ideas for this by getting the free blogging chapter at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.FictionMarketing.com\" target=\"_blank\">FictionMarketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Your own website<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your own website, which can include your blog, is the one place online that you can totally control.\u00a0 For example, Facebook can\u2019t suddenly decide you\u2019re doing something incorrect with your Facebook profile and, without any warning, remove your profile.\u00a0 (Yes, I know of people to whom this has happened.)<\/p>\n<p>You do NOT need a fancy website with Flash animation.\u00a0 In fact, Flash is frowned upon today by online marketers because it slows the loading of a website.\u00a0 You want people who come to your website to instantly know what\u2019s on offer.\u00a0 If these people aren\u2019t your target readers, they\u2019ll leave.<\/p>\n<p>But if they are your target readers, you do want them to stay on your site and check out the information you\u2019ve provided.\u00a0 (Tip: Be sure to include suggested book club discussion questions on your site.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Facebook profile and Facebook fan page<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Facebook.com profile is obvious, but be sure that you don\u2019t have any unflattering photos or information on your profile.\u00a0 (I recently suggested to someone that she remove the glass of wine prominent in her Facebook photo.\u00a0 My eyes fastened on the wine glass and ignored her face.\u00a0 She was grateful for the suggestion.)<\/p>\n<p>A Facebook fan page is actually a \u201cbusiness\u201d opportunity on Facebook.\u00a0 You must have a profile in order to start a fan page.\u00a0 Recently Facebook has improved the functionality of fan pages. \u00a0(On my company\u2019s site we have an information package on how to set up an effective Facebook fan page.)<\/p>\n<p>One important fan page element is that the title can be 75 characters and is searchable inside and outside Facebook.\u00a0 Use keywords in the title, but choose wisely.\u00a0 Once you save the title you can\u2019t rename the page.\u00a0 For an example of a keyword-filled Facebook fan page title, see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/powermarketing\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/powermarketing<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Twitter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you think Twitter.com is only about tweeting (sending 140-character updates) about what you had for lunch, you are mistaken.\u00a0 Twitter can be an extremely powerful tool for people to connect with like-minded people.\u00a0 There are even real-time tweetchats on book topics that offer the opportunity to connect with agents, publishers, etc.<\/p>\n<p>If you provide worthwhile information (usually including a link) on Twitter, people will retweet you, sending that link out to their own followers on Twitter.\u00a0 I am personally very grateful for how often @Bookbuzzr retweets my book marketing articles.\u00a0 (You can follow me on Twitter at <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/ZimblerMiller\" target=\"_blank\">@ZimblerMiller<\/a> )<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/power-of-3-freebie-cover-advanced-finished-250.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1273\" title=\"power-of-3-freebie-cover-advanced-finished-250\" src=\"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/power-of-3-freebie-cover-advanced-finished-250-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/power-of-3-freebie-cover-advanced-finished-250-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/power-of-3-freebie-cover-advanced-finished-250-65x65.jpg 65w, https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/power-of-3-freebie-cover-advanced-finished-250-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>If you want to learn how to start on Twitter, or check that your profile is optimized, you can get my free report \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.MillerMosaicPowerof3.com\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter, Facebook, and Your Website: A Beginning Blueprint for Harnessing the Power of 3 for Your Business<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold;\">LinkedIn<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I personally find LinkedIn.com better for researching people than for making connections for book marketing.\u00a0 Yet you should definitely consider creating a profile on LinkedIn if you are a nonfiction book author.\u00a0 Again, you aim is to help establish your expertise, and the more complete your profile the better.\u00a0 As an example, you can check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/phylliszimblermiller\" target=\"_blank\">my profile<\/a> &#8212; and note how I can bring my WordPress blog posts into my LinkedIn profile.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Video<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For an author or aspiring author, this is a great way to really connect with prospective readers.\u00a0 You can upload your BRIEF (three minutes at most) video to YouTube and then embed the YouTube video on your own website or blog.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/Miller_Cover_Image1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1286\" title=\"Miller_Cover_Image\" src=\"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/Miller_Cover_Image1-e1270566495749.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"120\" height=\"178\" \/><\/a>Again, if you are a nonfiction writer, you can talk about your area of expertise.\u00a0 Fiction writers can talk about numerous things in connection with their writing.<\/p>\n<p>For example, I talk about why book clubs should discuss my novel \u201cMrs. Lieutenant\u201d that takes place in 1970.\u00a0 You can see this video at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mrslieutenant.com\/book-discussion-questions\/\">http:\/\/www.mrslieutenant.com\/book-discussion-questions\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, if you want to bond with your potential readers, you need to be authentic and willing to share information with your followers on Twitter, your friends and fans on Facebook, your connections on LinkedIn and wherever else online you participate.<\/p>\n<p>Once your book is published you can then take advantage of participating on specialized book sites, including <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bookbuzzr.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bookbuzzr<\/a>, which continually adds new features to help authors promote their books.<\/p>\n<p>You can put your <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bookbuzzr.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bookbuzzr<\/a> link on your website and blog.\u00a0 You can tweet the link on Twitter, post the link as an update on Facebook and LinkedIn, and even provide the link in a video you upload to YouTube.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve invested consistent and continual time and effort in your pre-publication online activities, by the time you post your Bookbuzzr link you will have already bonded online with many, many potential readers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our guest blogger this week is Phyllis Zimbler Miller; she has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, is the co-founder of the Internet marketing company Miller Mosaic, LLC, and is the author of the novel \u201cMrs. Lieutenant\u201d and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book \u201cSeasons for Celebration.\u201d SPECIAL OFFER: Read about the Miller Mosaic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":1286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,123],"tags":[9,3,18,158],"class_list":["post-1262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-marketing","category-mid-week-book-marketing-tips","tag-authors","tag-book-marketing","tag-book-promotion","tag-book-promotion-strategy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}