Today’s Book Marketing Update is chock-full of super blog posts from the past week. Here are some highlights:
If you enjoy using book promotion websites, David Gaughran published a comprehensive list for you to review.
On Sabrina Ricci’s blog, there’s a post about increasing sales through “lean publishing.” This was a new term for me.
Finally, I adored the podcast with Orna Ross. They interviewed Kevin Kelly, who maintains you don’t need to be an influencer to make a living as an author. I’m all for that!
On a personal note, I live in Northern California where fires besiege the area. Please keep our firefighters in mind as well as the families who are evacuated and the forest animals.
Book Marketing
Best Book Promo Sites in 2020 by David Gaughran: David Gaughran is a masterful book marketer. Be sure to check out this post to discover current sites that can help you sell more books.
How to Change Your Kindle Keywords from Anne R. Allen’s blog and by Dave Chesson: “Many authors don’t know that Kindle keywords aren’t something you should set and forget.” I would say that this is especially true for traditionally published authors. Make sure your publisher is adjusting your categories and keywords as needed.
Orna Ross and Joanna Penn consider Kevin Kelly’s 2008 idea that you don’t need to be an influencer with a million followers to make a living from your work: Check out this video to learn what you do need to do to make your success happen.
How to Market Your Books with Social Media: New to social media? No problem! I describe my adoption of social media and how I did it gradually. Check it out; it will encourage you.
Publishing
15 Steps to Self-Publish Your Book from KM Weiland: If you want to have more control over your publishing and Amazon categories and keywords, then self-publishing is the choice for you. Plus, you will earn more money. Be sure to read the post before self-publishing your next books.
Lean Book Publishing: How to Drastically Increase Success Rates by Publishing Books the Lean Way by Albert Griesmayr and from Sabrina Ricci’s blog: “Its core idea of lean publishing is to publish books that readers like, love, and want. And you do that by quickly and cost-effectively finding out what works and what doesn’t, all based on your target readers’ feedback.”
Indie Publishers Ride the Pandemic Roller Coaster from Publishers Weekly: Publishers weekly surveyed six independent publishers. Their responses were mixed. Three of them said that business was up while three said sales had dropped. Find out which genres are doing better and what the outlook is.
Social Media News
15 Social Media Marketing Fails from Social Media Today: I’ll point to three tips. First, don’t wing it. Always provide the best content you can, including images. And don’t ignore your followers. Pay attention to them by liking their content and leaving positive comments.
Pinterest Outlines Recent Improvements to Feed Ranking, and Focus on Video Content by Andrew Hutchinson: “… Pinterest is on the rise, with the platform seeing significant increases in overall users (now up to 416 million MAU) and engagement ….”
Blogging
8 Blogging Tips for Writers to Find Success by Robert Lee Brewer and from Writers Digest: Blogging is an integral aspect of a writer’s platform. This post includes eight essential tips for writers who blog.
Email Marketing for Authors
The Ultimate Guide to Mailing Lists for Authors Part 3: Maintaining a Mailing List from the Alliance of Independent Authors: Self-Publishing Advice Center: “Once you have a mailing list, it’s important you optimize it. That means even if your autoresponders are evergreen, they may need a touch up.”
Of Note
6 Organizations or Groups Promoting Latinx Literature from Book Riot: Hispanic Heritage Month is from September 15 to October 15. This post lists organizations that promote Latinx literature.
Creativity, Business, and Ambition with Emily Kimelman and from Joanna Penn: This podcast/blog post covers so many topics. They include the pros and cons of having to pen names, being a dyslexic writers, the blurred line between fact and fiction and so much more!
Quote of the Week
Today’s quote is by Charles Bukowski.
I am an author and social media consultant for writers. My emphasis is on building author platforms. I also provide content writing and email marketing services. Be sure to download my free Twitter ebook.