www..kevindohertyonline.com

I want so share with you what I believe to be one of the most important author marketing strategies that should be a primary focus of yourbook marketing plan.  What happens to most authors is that they get so consumed by the writing process that they literally forget about the marketing piece until they are very close to the publishing stage.  By then, it’s almost too late.  As an aspiring author, you’ll have an exponentially greater chance of selling a lot of books if you understand that the marketing process begins at the very beginning.

I am speaking from my own experience after writing my first published book called The Purpose Principle.  I was so immersed in the writing and design process that I barely gave any thought to marketing until I had the first copy in my hand and found myself saying, ‘Wow!  This is great… Now how am I going to get people to notice this thing??’ What I am sharing with you here is what I will definitely be doing if/when I decide to write my second book.  This tip will give you a major advantage that most authors completely overlook.

Blogging and Your Book Marketing Plan

So, the main point I want to convey is that you should start blogging about your book from day one of the writing process.  It’s a natural tendency to make the writing process a very private time, where it’s just you locked in a room with your computer and your thoughts.  I highly recommend that you make the book writing process a highly public affair.  The best way to do this is to set up a WordPress blog, integrate it with social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube, and build a large following of interested readers through social media.

This is relatively easy to do, especially if you have unique and compelling content that naturally attracts a certain audience.  Your blog would actually include writing snippets of your book, along with any personal commentary on the writing process that people would find interesting.  By the time your book is finished, a large portion of the book would already be in the public eye in the form of blog posts.  Don’t worry — a lot of the most savvy authors do this.    You may think it’s a mistake to post a lot of your book material on a public domain like a blog, but this will actually work to your advantage.  The more you’re willing to give away for free, the bigger, more receptive, and loyal your audience will become.

You can use Twitter and Facebook to target your audience by following people who are associated with others in your niche.  Then, be sure to engage with people who come to your blog by encouraging blog comments, asking for feedback, and re-tweeting and liking their content.  This is a great way to refine and improve upon your book content as well, as your blog readers will offer you candid feedback in the comments area (if you ask for it).

The Only Way Your Book Marketing Plan Will Pan Out…

Is if you start building your network NOW instead of waiting until your book is completed and ready to be published!  I recommend setting aside equal amounts of time for writing and marketing.  If you’re going to write for an hour, it’s worthwhile to spend another hour building out your social media networks, posting to your blog, and engaging with readers.

Essentially, there are 2 formal ways to stay in regular contact with your blog network.  This is another very, very important point.

1.  The RSS Feed ~ You can have your blog visitors subscribe to your RSS (real simple syndication) feed so that every time you publish a new blog post, they will be automatically notified.  To do this, you would put an RSS Feed link at the top of your blog with a call to action to subscribe.

2.  The autoresponder series ~ The best way to build your network is to use a service like Aweber to collect names and emails from your blog so that you can send out regular email broadcasts and set up automated email follow up messages called autoresponders.  One of your main goals should be to convert as many of your blog visitors into leads as possible by having them sign up for some free information in exchange for their name and email address.  To do this, you could offer the first chapter of your book or a special report or video series that highlights some of the main concepts in your book.

Imagine having an email list of thousands of people who already know your work and value your insights that you can promote your book to once it’s ready.  This truly is one of the most cost-effective and powerful ways to sell books in the digital age!  Make sure that you have a well thought out online sales funnel as part of your overall book marketing plan.

The Last Word On Creating a Book Marketing Plan That WorksThe more traditional book marketing plan can still work,

but I think it’s a lot more labor-intensive and potentially expensive than leveraging online technology and blogging.  The beauty of internet marketing is that it’s relatively cheap, risk-free, and FUN when you compare it to more traditional methods.  Once you have a blog that is well-established, you can monetize your blog in a number of ways– not just your book.

You can offer more expensive products that you create, consulting services, or affiliate products that you recommend.  Building a popular blog in your niche is truly one of the greatest assets you will have in your business and should be a cornerstone of your book marketing plan.

www.kevindohertyonline.com