Be creative when you market yourself!

So, you wrote a book. You got it published—whether you self-published it or got someone else to publish it for you, you still need to market yourself and stay in touch with your readers. Even a very successful writer like Jennifer Weiner has a blog, a facebook page and a website…And she’s always connecting with fans and future readers. So what do you do? Whether you publish your book or not, you still need to keep your online presence current. Here are some tips:

Guest-blog. Read other people’s blogs and leave intelligent, friendly, helpful comments. Get to know the blogger and then maybe you can be a guest blogger. With that, you can provide a link to your blog. I did this for Laura Vanderkam, who has great information on time management.

Write your own blog. This might be a traditional website but you need to add fresh content. People are curious about you. What can you write about? Do you have good tips for baking zero-calorie cookies that taste like they have butter and chocolate chips? Do you know how to grow shitake mushrooms (my son, Ari, has managed to grow just one!) How to build a zipline from your window to your neighbor’s pool? How to write a novel synopsis? Find something you do—or like to do—and want to share. Some people add to their blog once a week; others aim higher. Decide what works for you. Check out Catherine Ryan Howard’s blog, Why Blog? There are more reasons there.

Write. Write a book review about someone else’s book, for example. I I wrote a review for Amy Sue Nathan’s fabulous book, The Glass Wives in the Jewish Book Council Newsletter here. My interview with Amy will be coming soon! I didn’t get paid for it but part of marketing your book—whether you published it yourself or not—is putting your name out there so people can find you.

Ask your friends if their book club will read your book. Offer a gift. I made little matchbooks as mini-books of The Mom Who Took Off On Her Motorcycle.

Twitter. I don’t know why but you gotta do it. I have connected to readers and other writers through twitter. You can comment on someone else’s comment and jump into the conversation.

Finally, utilize your amazon author page. You can get a lot of information on this page, including your youtube videos (you have one of these, don’t you?)

It doesn’t matter who publishes your book – it’s still up to you to promote it. Have any suggestions? Feel free to share them!

Related articles

• 11 Great Authors and Their Incredible Marketing Ideas (meglenaivanova.wordpress.com)
• Which Social Network is Best for Authors? (savvybookwriters.wordpress.com)
• The Art Of Guest Blogging: How To Hit It Right With A Strategy? (benchmarkemail.com)