Writing a Book? 10 Ways to Build Your Author Platform Online, Part Two

We are very pleased today to have for Our Little Books Guest Post Wednesday, Part Two of a repost by Stephanie Chandler, CEO of Authority Publishing which outlines the 10 ways to build your author online platform. We think, for anyone that is considering writing their own book, that these 10 ways are important enough to set out again. Enjoy!

6. Promote with Articles: Write for industry publications and related websites to build your credibility. Writing opportunities are abundant on the Internet! You can also make your articles available for reprint through sites like www.ezinearticles.com, www.ideamarketers.com, and www.goarticles.com. 

 7. Contact Bloggers: Search blog directories such as www.Technorati.com to locate blogs that cover subjects related to yours. Contact bloggers to inquire about book reviews, guest posts, interviews and other ways you can work together. 

 8. Be a Guest on Internet Radio Shows: Podcasts, teleseminars and Internet radio shows provide a fantastic opportunity for exposure. Unlike traditional radio where you might be interviewed for 10 minutes, online shows typically have guests on for up to an hour. An added bonus: listeners are often at their computers ready to buy. To find relevant shows, search Google for keywords and look at shows archived on iTunes. Also check out sites like www.blogtalkradio.com, www.alltalkradio.net, www.wsradio.com, www.womensradio.com, and www.planetteleclass.com.  

 9. Leverage Social Media: Sites like LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com and Twitter.com are ripe for finding and building an audience. Create an interesting profile and get active in social networking communities. The biggest cost here will be in your time so spend it wisely and identify the best opportunities to expand your reach. Here are some helpful tools: www.tweetdeck.com, www.hootsuite.com and www.ping.fm. 

 10. Be Seen and Heard Everywhere. Marketing is all about repeat exposure. Build your brand by getting known for your expertise. Participate in all of the above suggestions and more. Contact the media, go out and speak, write articles for trade publications and find new ways to reach your target audience.

Stephanie Chandler is an author of several business and marketing books including “The Author’s Guide to Building an Online Platform: Leverage the Internet to Sell More Books,” “From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur: Make Money with Books, eBooks and Information Products” and “LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business.”

She is also founder and CEO of  AuthorityPublishing which provides custom book publishing and author marketing services for business, self-help and other non-fiction books. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, Stephanie has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, BusinessWeek, Inc.com and many other media outlets. Visit  StephanieChandler for author and speaker information.

Are you having trouble getting started on your author platform? Do you need help setting one up? We will provide you with a free consultation.

Writing a Book? 10 Ways to Build Your Author Platform Online

We are very pleased today to have for Our Little Books Guest Post Wednesday, a repost by Stephanie Chandler, CEO of Authority Publishing which outlines the 10 ways to build your author online platform. We think, for anyone that is considering writing their own book, that these 10 ways are important enough to set out again. Enjoy!

Did you just finish your first  book or are you thinking about writing a book? Establishing a web presence will be essential to your success.

1. Launch and Optimize Your Website: No matter where you are in the process, a website essential to build an audience, share samples of your work, showcase your accomplishments, attract media and impress publishing professionals.

 2. Host a Blog: A blog can be a wonderful creative outlet for a writer, not to mention a savvy promotion tool. Update it frequently (three times per week) and your audience will find you. To start yours, check out  typepad or  Wordpress.

 3. Update Online Profiles: Many sites allow you to post a bio with your public profile. Make sure you have several versions of your bio readily available in short, medium and long formats. Showcase your expertise in your subject matter, mention your book(s) and always include a link to your site and/or blog.

 4. Publish a Newsletter: Build loyal fans for life by publishing an interesting electronic newsletter with content related to your book(s). Include a sign-up box on every page of your site. Get started with  ConstantContact   or  iContact.

 5. Form Online Partnerships: Find people who reach a similar target audience and look for ways to team up and promote each other. You can publish articles on each other’s websites or newsletters, host an event or contest together or even share a blog. Be creative and pool your resources.

Stay tuned to next week where we will post the final 5 steps from Stephanie.

Stephanie Chandler is an author of several business and marketing books including “The Author’s Guide to Building an Online Platform: Leverage the Internet to Sell More Books,” “From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur: Make Money with Books, eBooks and Information Products” and “LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business.”

She is also founder and CEO of  AuthorityPublishing which provides custom book publishing and author marketing services for business, self-help and other non-fiction books. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, Stephanie has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, BusinessWeek, Inc.com and many other media outlets. Visit  StephanieChandler for author and speaker information.

Are you having trouble getting started on your author platform? Do you need help setting one up? We will provide you with a free consultation.

6 Keys to Building an Online Platform Before You Publish Your Book

When an author submits a book proposal to a publisher, that publisher will likely examine a variety of things about the author that do not have much to do with the author‘s manuscript. This includes things like an appearances on radio and television talk shows, any articles or books the author has previously published, whether or not the author has obtained the status of expert in the topic they are writing on (if it’s nonfiction) and, perhaps most importantly, the author’s online platform.

What is an online platform? It consists of the author’s presence in online forums and social networks, experience in blogging and podcasting, previous online publications, and any interviews the author has had on other people’s podcasts. The publisher will also look at whether or not the author has a large number of followers on social networking sites. Here are a few keys that will help you build your online platform:

1. Build a professional website. Include a short autobiography, your contact information and a list of books or articles you’ve had published.
2. Start your own blog. By updating your blog often, you’ll build an audience that will follow your published work in the future.
3. Publish a newsletter. Send the newsletter to people who frequent your website or blog and include information about your book.
4. Find people online who cover the same topic as you and form partnerships. You can promote each other on your respective web sites and in your blogs - this will help everyone involved to build a larger audience and impress publishers.
5. Promote yourself through online articles. Write for websites that are related to your topic to build credibility.
6. Contact online interviewers or podcasts that might be interested in your topic and offer them an interview.

In addition to these tips, the best way to build your online platform is through repeated exposure. Be seen and heard everywhere - this will help you build credibility and market yourself and your books.

==>Amanda Free is a Communication Major at University of Louisville.

The Importance of Blogging in Developing an Author’s Online Platform.

Part 2 of 2  Last post we gave you several reasons why you might want to blog to increase your online author platform. In this post, we will continue the same ideas and provide you with some more reasons why blogging is a great way to increase exposure for you and for sales of your book.

• You can sell your book on your blog.  If people follow your blog on a regular basis, they will likely be interested in purchasing your book and you may have a built in audience before you have your next work finished! You can have a special page just for the sale of your book on your blog. This is very helpful especially if you do not have a dedicated website for the sale of your book. It is easy to connect your blog site to Paypal so that you can easily accept payment. 
• You can be found on the internet. Google loves blogs because you are constantly updating your content. This will increase your internet presence so that when people search for your name it will likely be found in the search.  The more you appear, the higher you rank!
• Blogging is great for practicing writing. You can have a constant flow of ideas with little research for each post. These posts can often be combined to make an article and ultimately, a little book!

 Article marketing is another way to increase your online presence and we will address that in a future post.

Ready to publish your book? Contact us for a free consultation on how to get started at info@ourlittlebooks.com.

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The Importance of Blogging in Developing an Author’s Online Platform.

Part 1 of 2

 A few weeks ago we had a guest blogger, Stephanie Chandler, CEO of Authority Publishing. In her blog, Stephanie outlined 10 ways to increase your online author platform. One of the ways she suggested was to begin blogging. Let’s look closer at some of the reasons authors should have a blog as we delve deeper into ways to increase your online author platform.

• Blogging connects you to people who think like you do. Blogging will open up a new way to connect to other authors, publishers and literary agents all over the world. By connecting with them you will establish a presence that you could not establish otherwise.
• You can begin communicating with readers and build an audience.  You can allow comments on your blogs and then respond to them. This will allow you to learn the likes and dislikes of your reading community. This interchange cannot be achieved on a website or by press releases. Blogging allows you to build an online platform of people who like (or dislike!) your work. The more discussion, the more attention you attract to your book.
• You can market yourself as an author. Your blog can have information about you as the author, information on your current work as well as all your other works. You can offer readers other products such as e-books, tips or articles to help capture emails. You can provide media information such as press releases or schedules for book signings. Finally, you can list your book awards and other achievements.

Check back on Thursday for our next few points on why you want to blog to increase your online author platform.

Ready to publish your book? Contact us for a free consultation on how to get started at info@ourlittlebooks.com.

   

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