We want to thank Brenna Lyons for offering This series in support of Small Press Month. Her experience as a senior editor, President of EPICauthors, and a 20 book (in print) published author is invaluable for our authors.
Book Marketing 101
By Brenna Lyons
http://www.brennalyons.com/ http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons
Make sure your page has the correct key words- Pick as many APPLICABLE key words as you can to alert the search engines to your site. Don't use anything that doesn't fit (for instance...ducks, if your page has nothing to do with ducks), or you will annoy people running searches. Contrary to popular belief, most people running an internet search really don't want to see a porn site when they searched for public schools.
Make it interactive- Readers love interacting in any way you allow them. Have e-mail links to talk to you on your site...or to ask questions of characters. Have a guest book. Have a pin map for readers to put themselves up on the page. Do SOMETHING to let the reader feel involved. In the same way, let the readers request new pages on the site! It shows their importance to you that you let them make suggestions.
Make it easy to navigate- Making navigation panels on each page makes it easier for readers to find what they want. Having links on graphics/covers or buttons is another good move, rather than having a graphic or cover and a separate link below.
Hidden links and associated fun stuff- Having games, hidden recipes, outtakes from books, free short stories, anecdotes about writing the book... All of these things will bring readers back again and again. Keep your page fresh and new. Keep adding new things on. My site has grown so large that I literally have it split onto three separate FTPs (six of them, when you consider that I have three full copies of my site for months that I approach my data limits). That does make updating interesting, but if you are organized, it's not so bad.
Contests- Holding a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly contest on your site will bring readers back for more. It's not always a good idea to give free copies of your books, especially not your new books, since you want people to buy them and not wait to see if they won it first. Instead of offering your book, why not offer a prize that connects to your book: a necklace like the one described in the book, a pamper yourself/romance basket, a tin of regional cookies, a promo pack (many readers love promo packs with signed items), exclusive read of a short story connected to the book the month or two before it goes on your site (this was one of my best contests!). Some authors even give a copy of another author's book that they like...a new one, of course. Remember, contests are not your best way to sell books. HOWEVER, they do bring loyal readers back for a look.
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