Earlier this year, I wrote a post on grassroots marketing tips, and given how much traffic it got, I thought I’d write another one. Here are two things you should be doing on a regular basis: 1. Respond to reader emails. I reply personally to every single reader email, and I’m always surprised at the […]
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I recently had dinner with my friend Lauren Lyons Cole, a certified financial planner based here in New York City. She’s gaining quite a following, as evidenced by this feature in the New York Times. Lauren mentioned that she was planning to write a book, which didn’t surprise me given how much knowledge she has to share. […]
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I give workshops on book marketing, and a common question I get from attendees is, “What should I blog about?“ Good question. Blogging is an art, not a science, so there’s no exact formula for doing it right. However, if you’re an author, I think it’s best to blog about things that have to do with […]
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Twitter can be a great marketing tool, but many authors have no idea what to tweet after they’ve announced that their book is available. On the flip side, many authors tweet all day long about things that are so irrelevant and/or annoying that it makes me not want to read their books. Here’s my advice for […]
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Once your book is out there for the world to enjoy, some of your readers are going to express their opinions via online reviews. Their comments might be glowing, savaging, or somewhere in between. Read them if you want (I don’t recommend this), but tempting as it may be, do not comment on them. I […]
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My friend Nancy Ancowitz is a business communication coach and author of Self-Promotion for Introverts®: The Quiet Guide to Getting Ahead. I asked if she’d be willing to share some marketing tips for introverted authors, and she graciously agreed. Here’s what she had to say: Do you break out in a cold sweat at the thought […]
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I’ve mentioned a few times in this blog that public speaking is a great way to promote your work. Book clubs, libraries, alumni organizations, writing groups, conferences – the possibilities are numerous. However, I realize that for most people, getting up in front of an audience of any size is scary. Does the thought of […]
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Recently a man I’ve never met, and who hadn’t read or even bought my novels, emailed me asking for (free) advice on how to promote his self-published book. Overlooking his faux pas, I told him I have several consulting options available on my website and sent him a link for his review. However, I wasn’t […]
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I received an email recently from a self-published author with a description of his book and a link to where I could buy it. I had never met the man, and the email was generic, so it was obvious that he was spamming a lot of people with the same message. I replied politely, asking […]
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I recently stumbled across an eight-minute video in which a young book reviewer named Liz ranted, for lack of a better word, about self-published authors. Liz has nothing against indie books; it’s the way some authors approach her that drives her nuts. Full disclosure: Liz is not a professional book reviewer. She’s a college student […]
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