Hello everyone!
I wanted to take today's blog to talk about how to market your writing work. I get alot of emails not just about my writing work but about how to market a book. I am so excited to see so many up and coming authors!
I want to give you a few recommendations that will help anyone in marketing their book or writing work in today's competitive publishing and writing market.
1) You need an author website. The website www.wix.com offers free websites and they are so easy to set up and use. I highly recommend a Wix site! You can also connect your domain and get help getting searched on Google. Keeping your website up to date is also very important!
2) You need a social media presence on Twitter and Facebook or any other social media you like. I have a Twitter and Facebook page for my writing. They have been very helpful. Please visit www.facebook.com/trltbyelizabethbillingsley or www.twitter.com/pianobeth1 to see how I have set up my sites.
3) Find a good promoter. This person can help you with graphics, advertizing and getting into book signings. I work with Kari Chaplin and Elegant Ink Entertainment LLC. You can find them on Facebook or online at http://karichaplinkc.wixsite.com/elegantink
4) Advertize on social media for all the formats of your book. I highly recommend you go with a publisher who can do paperback and digital (Nook, Kindle, iTunes). I would also recommend putting your book into audio format with Amazon ACX.
5) Promote your page and posts on both Facebook and Twitter. For a small amount of money you can reach many people you would otherwise not reach! Facebook is cheaper than Twitter but Twitter can have a further reach at times.
6) If you blog, do at least one blog hop a year or more depending on your subject matter. Blog hops bring people to your website so they can see all of your content. I have used a blog hop with Stuck in Books, they offer a varierty of blog hops for a variety of genres. Please be sure you follow all the guidelines provided by the blog hop administrators.
7) If you are a Christian author, don't be afraid to mix with secular authors. People are people and our job is to be the light and love regardless of what others write about. We are not to be their judge. We don't have to choose to read their books just like they they can choose not to read ours.
8) Be available to people to talk to them about your work. People want to know they are valued and that you appreciate them as people and their support for your work.
9) Have business cards with you at all times. You want to be able to give someone something when they ask about your work.
10) Branch out and write for magazines or blog for other organizations besides your own website. I have an article coming out in Brilliant Awakening Magazine (www.brilliantawakeningmag.com) and I am volunteer blogging for Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence (BTS). This widens your readership and helps you advertize.
11) If you want to turn writing into a full time career or even a second career, I recommend an LLC for your work. It protects you and your work and it give you greater tax incentives. I am finalizing mine this week! Keep watching my blog, website and social media pages for details!
My hope is that these suggestions will be able to help any author market their books and writing. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me from my website or contact me on my Facebook book page or Twitter account.
Happy Marketing!
Elizabeth