55 Tips for Authors

By Alice Anderson

Increase Your Visibility

Solidify Your Brand

Sell More Books

55 Tips for Authors © Copyright 2011 Alice Anderson All rights reserved.

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1. Start with your name. You want it big across the top of every page on your website. But you should also have it in text somewhere on the page. This is a great way for search engines to find you. Also, if your name is written across the page in a weird color or a hard to read font, this lets people know how to correctly spell your name.

2. The Title of your book. And not just in an image. You want it written in text. Again, for ease of spelling and for search engines.

3. Your publisher, if you write for one. This something so many authors forget, especially if they write for more than one publisher. Don’t take for granted that your readers know which publishers you write for. Make it easy on them to find the book and more information. Make it easy for others to promote you and your books.

4. A way to contact you! Via email, a contact form, snail mail or a publisher. Have a way to contact you on your home page, very visible! You never know who will visit your site and want to contact you. Say, the Boston Globe. Or perhaps someone is giving away free promo and you’ve won.

5. Your book cover. Whether you like your cover or not, it’s your book’s face to the world. The cover takes your book from invisible to visible and you want readers to see it, remember it, and pick it up at the book store. So include your current cover prominently on your homepage. Keep all other covers to a minimum, in size and number, on your home page so not to confuse anyone.

6. Check your links. Once your book is released, double check the links on your website. Any link to your publisher, to buy the book, etc. should now link to your book’s personal page on your publisher’s website or to amazon/barnesandnoble or where ever readers can buy your book. While checking your links, check the links and covers on your blog. Are they current?

7. Update your signature. I’ve seen lots of outdated and huge signature’s lately. This is annoying for readers. They want to know what’s new and they want to know quickly. Limit yourself to one book and two links.

8. Get on Goodreads. Forget myspace. Forget bebo. Forget Facebook. Get on Goodreads and start keeping track of your virtual library. Rate books, review them, give recommendations, comment on people’s profiles. Make connections. Give back to the community. And make sure YOUR books are listed in the Goodreads database so that others can add them to their virtual library.

9. Contact someone you haven’t talked to in a while. An old friend, a fellow author, a reader, or a host at a romance community. See how they’re doing.

10. Step out of your comfort zone. If your favorite way to promote your books is advertising, try something a little more hands on like a guest blog or a drive by book signing. Don’t be afraid to shake things up and try something new. You just might meet new readers and have fun.

11. Go on a blog tour. Schedule days with various blogs and write some really awesome guest posts. Engage and entertain their readers. Thank the blogger for letting you take over for a day. Be sure to check back and reply to comments. Check back a few days later and comment on other posts. This will increase your name recognition and good will with readers.

12. Designate time to joining the blogosphere. Even if you don’t normally read blogs you should take some time to join the blogosphere occasionally. Dedicate a week or a month to finding great blogs with engaging content and lots of reader interaction. Keep a list of these handy or bookmark the links. Then stop by these blogs every day or two for a week or a month and post an interesting comment. Engage the author and readers in conversation. Make sure you’re adding something to the conversation. You don’t have to stay active forever but many readers are active on blogs so this is a great way to get your name out there.

13. Join social networks. You don’t need to be active on a social network to take advantage of them. Set up a profile. Fill it out. Take advantage of any cross promotion you can do such as hooking your blog up to your profile. This way, if someone looks for you on that social network, they’ll at least find your profile.

14. Take advantage of ping.fm. None of us have time to be active on every social network. Or do we? Ping.fm makes it super easy to keep all of your social networks updated and active with a single click. Hook your social network accounts up to your free ping.fm account and then just go to ping.fm. Instead of updating your status at twitter, facebook and then myspace, send a status update out via ping.fm and let all your friends on all you social networks know what’s new with you.

15. Give back. Don’t forget to give back. It’s easy and tempting to talk about yourself and your book non-stop. But don’t forget to help other writers out. Promote their books on your blog or social networks. Share articles you find interesting. Share inspiring quotes. Write articles that will help others.

16. How does your website look on a smart phone? More and more people are purchasing smart phones these days. They’re reading ebooks on them. Playing games. Visiting websites. In other words, they’re using their smart phone to help with their purchasing decisions. Can they access your website?

17. How accessible is your website? Can visually impaired readers access your booklist? Read your blog? Find out more about you? Do a search for text to speech and download a free program that will read your webpage to you. Then make adjustments as necessary.

18. Have bookmarks, will distribute. Leave a bookmark with your tip at a restaurant. Pin them to a local bulletin board. Take a stack with you to the library. Have them ready to hand out at all times.

19. Watch your stats. You do have stats on your website, right? If not, check out google analytics for awesome (free) statistics. Where are your readers coming from? Look at your

website referrers to find out. Return the favor. What keywords are they using to find you? Find out and include those in your website copy.

20. Pick a promo item and stick with it. Similar to branding yourself, a specific type of promo item can become part of your brand. I know one author who has gorgeous bookmarks made for each of her releases and she orders thousands of them and sends them everywhere. I’ve come to watch out for them. I know another author who always attaches chocolate to her bookmarks and I always watch out for those as well.

21. Repetition is key. This is why it’s important to always have another book in the pipeline. Something new to talk about and promote. When it comes to promotion, wash, rinse, and repeat. People must see your name numerous times before they’ll remember it.

22. Promote yourself, because no one else will. Okay, so not entirely true. Your friends will promote you. And Mom will too. So will your publicist. But it’s her job. No one will promote you like you will. In order to do well, promote yourself. Not just your books.

23. Know when to draw the line. Too much self-promotion can be a turn off. So know when to hit the off switch. Concentrate on networking in addition to promotion and you’ll have a more balanced brand.

24. Get a plan. You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint would you? You need a plan when it comes to promoting your books. Enlist the help of your publisher and see what they’re willing to contribute. Then figure out what you’re good at, how much time you have to dedicate to promotion, and a budget.

25. Set a budget. Don’t throw your money around. Set a budget. Stick to it. Determine what makes sense for your promotion. Is it a trip to a big conference? Ten thousand bookmarks? Advertising on seven of your favorite web communities?

26. Try a three pronged approach. Purchase advertising on a book site to gain 24/7 promotion. Write a guest post for the site to introduce yourself to readers. Engage and entertain them. Then offer an excerpt to the site so that readers can discover your book and your writing style. Each of these methods targets a different type of reader and increases the number of times they encounter your name.

27. Send out your newsletter on time. Consistency is key. If you routinely miss sending out your newsletter, figure out a schedule. Pair it down to four times a year. Hire a newsletter designer to keep on top of it. But make sure you send out an exciting newsletter every few months to keep in touch with your readers. And make it easy for new readers to sign up!

28. What should you include in your newsletter? Ask yourself two questions. What sorts of newsletters do you like to read? What attracts your attention? What are your favorite features? Use the answers to these questions as a guide when developing your newsletter.

29. Make friends with the locals. Introduce yourself to local booksellers and librarians. Don’t ask anything of them. Just network. Then, keep in touch. One day you might need their help.

30. Send press releases. Make them timely. Develop a good hook. Don’t make it all about you, you, you. Include quotes. Include contact information.

31. Develop relationships. This goes beyond networking. It takes time to build friendships. It takes time to nurture those friendships. But the friends you make now can further your career later. No one will be happier for you than your friends when release day gets here.

32. Step outside your niche. Sometimes a change of scenery can work wonders. If you’ve been focusing exclusively on non-fiction readers, try meeting fiction readers. Find novels that relate to your topic and make friends with the authors. If you write cook books, find authors who write novels about food. Develop a relationship via their blog or via social networks.

33. Do a drive by signing. Stock up on Sharpies. Grab your “signed by the author” stickers, and head to your local booksellers. Introduce yourself and ask if they have any copies of your books to sign. Don’t forget to leave behind bookmarks, remember tip #29, and thank them for their time.

34. Get together with other authors. Sometimes the only person who can understand what you’re going through is another author. So get together with some fellow authors and kick back over a cup of coffee. Talk. Laugh. Relate. Make friends. Relax. Recharge.

35. Plan events with other authors. Sometimes a crowd draws a crowd. Instead of being the lone author at the book signing, make it an event. Bring cake. Read from your books. Meet and greet readers. Sign books and bookmarks. Don’t let anyone leave empty handed. Have fun with your friends and dazzle new acquaintances.

36. Check your calendar. Is a holiday coming up? Something you can tie book promotion to? Have you written a book about grandparents? Grandparents day is a great time to promote it. Write romance? Valentine’s day should big circled with a big heart!

37. Contact your local paper. Writing a book is a major accomplishment. Getting it published, even bigger. So many people want to write a book and have it written down on their “to do someday” list that it’s bound to be big news that you, a local, has published a book. Go you! Spread the word.

38. Phone home. While you’re at it, contact your hometown paper and media. No doubt they’ll be proud of you.

39. Look for alternate distribution. Keep an eye on what rights you sell and which ones you keep. Always be looking for alternate ways to distribute your work. If you sold print rights but not digital, work with a designer to digitally publish your book. And then get it into as many bookstores as possible.

40. Alternate products. Look for ways that you can bring in more money based off of your book. If you write about interior design, consider selling your services online. Let clients submit photos of their rooms and have you make suggestions for arrangement, new pieces, new paint, etc. If you write cookbooks, can you join an affiliate program to sell kitchen ware?

41. Join affiliate programs. Join amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com’s affiliate programs and then use those programs to sell your books on your website. Every sale will add money to your checking account.

42. Be available for interviews. Do as many interviews as you can. People love listening to and reading interviews. Try to make each interview unique. Promote the interviews on your website.

43. Promote your reviews. These are like testimonials.

44. Solicit testimonials. Ask your readers if you can quote them.

45. Create a mailing list. Gather snail mail addresses of readers and booksellers. Then have postcards printed and mail them to those addresses. It’ll be a nice surprise to get a postcard from you rather than another bill.

46. Make contacts outside of your local bookstore. Get out into your community. Look for stores that would complement your book and vice versa. If you write about sports medicine, visit the local sports store. Talk to the manager about placing your books for sale or ask if you can leave bookmarks. Write cookbooks? Stop in the local kitchen center. Write inspirational or motivational books? Christian literature? Try local churches.

47. Have shirts printed with your book title, your name, and your web address. You could get fancy and include your cover. Wear these around town. You’ll be a walking billboard. If you have several books out each year, forget the title. Add “ask me about my books.” Or do a shirt with the cover for each book. Turn them into collectors’ items and give them away to readers.

48. Have a magnet printed with your book information or just your web address. Stick it on your car and become a moving billboard.

49. Tag your books on amazon. One way that readers find new books on amazon is via book tags. Make sure your book has accurate tags so that more readers can find you.

50. Speaking of Amazon... You’re taking advantage of your amazon connect account, right? It’s free. And it’s a fabulous way to get involved on amazon, where millions of readers hang out. Make sure your page has plenty of information about you and where they can find more information about you and your books. You can even connect your blog to your account so whenever you post to your blog, the content will show up on your amazon connect profile.

51. Join message boards that relate to your book’s topic. Don’t promote outright. Join the discussions. Offer advice. Help others. Include a link back to your website in your profile. Include a brief signature if possible. Get involved. Be seen as an expert. Enjoy the rewards.

52. Write an article for a trade publication.

53. Work on your elevator pitch. Write one for yourself as well as your book.

54. Set promotion goals. Daily. Weekly. And/or monthly.

55. Always be willing to learn and try new things.

Like these tips? Download the expanded edition: Tips for Authors. Hundreds of tips and access to a bonus site full of tips, tutorials, and free downloads for writers. Find out more at http://www.alice-anderson.com.

About the Author

Alice Anderson writes romantic suspense. She lives in the Southeast with her husband, dog and two kitties. When she’s not slaving over her latest novel, she’s hard at work creating designs for other authors and promoting romance to the world through her creation, the CataNetwork. Her website for writers has been named one of the Top 101 Websites for Writers by Writer’s Digest. Twice.

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