If you couldn’t make it to BookExpo America this year, take a look at its official podcast site. Several interesting podcasts are already available with more to come over the next few weeks.
Here are my 15 favorite ways to develop your author platform. Please use comments to add your own. And don’t forget to read my original post on author platforms below!
- Get credentials related to your specialty
- Join and participate in professional associations
- Create a website that demonstrates your expertise
- Publish a blog
- Publish a podcast
- Write and publish articles (online or in print publications)
- Publish an ezine
- Volunteer or do perform pro bono work
- Serve on committees and panels
- Teach — online and off
- Get quoted in magazines and newspapers
- Participate in social networks
- Give speeches
- Get on radio and TV
- Create a PR campaign — both online and off
Mark Juliano from TalkShoe recently contacted me to talk about their live interactive podcasting services. I haven’t used TalkShoe yet myself, but it looks interesting and worth checking out if you would like to create a live talk show or discussion group to promote your book.
Several people have asked me for tips on promoting fiction on the web. Here is the first tip in a series. Non-fiction authors: these tips can easily work for you as well. They just represent my favorite ways to promote fiction online.
Tip #1: Get Talking
Many fiction authors do readings, but reading an excerpt from your book to a small local audience is unlikely to lead to a large stream of sales. To have your spoken words attract a worldwide audience, you need to go online. You can record and post a basic excerpt on your website or blog (try Flash Audio Wizard, Audio Acrobat, or Gabcast) or or create a podiobook, a serialized audio book delivered via podcast (see Podiobooks for an example).
If you follow the serialized approach, it is up to you to determine how much to provide for free. Some authors podcast their entire novel with the goal of selling print books to new fans; others deliver only a few chapters and encourage sales to listeners eager to find out what happens next. Another option is to podcast a series of short stories for free that may help develop an audience for your novel.
The advantage of a podcast is that you can generate additional publicity by listing it in podcast directories such as Yahoo! Podcasts or iTunes and by encouraging subscribers. The advantage of an audio excerpt is that it’s faster and easier to create.
If you missed this year’s BookExpo America, don’t worry. You can listen to podcasts from the Expo at BookExpoCast. Here’s another interesting article about the Expo: BookExpo Confronts Changes in Publishing.
I recently interviewed Tom Evslin for my upcoming book The Web-Savvy Writer: Book Promotion with a High-Tech Twist. Tom is the author of hackoff.com, an Internet murder mystery due out in print format this week (you can buy it on Amazon
The web is all about choice. Different people prefer to access their entertainment in different ways. So each edition broadens the number of people reading and listening to the story. RSS serialization of text has been the most popular so far but podcast serialization started recently and is growing very fast. Note that either text or audio can be accessed online or through text or email serialization and the podcast is also available through podiobooks and iTunes. The email option is getting a steadily higher share of serialization as our audience, which initially started as almost all blog readers, expands to those who don’t know what RSS and feed readers are.
You probably know by now that I think podcasting is a great online book promotion tool. If you’ve considered distributing an online press release to promote your podcast (and book, of course), February is a great month to do so.
PRWeb, the low-cost online press distribution service, has declared February 2006 Podcast Month. Their editors will offer up to five podcast-related releases a day a free upgrade to their $200 service. To increase your chances of being chosen for the free upgrade, you can nominate your news release for selection in the program. PRWeb offers staggered pricing (free, for a basic release) based on the services and coverage you choose.
More on creating a good search engine optimized release coming soon …
Are you podcasting yet? Think of a podcast as an internet radio show on demand. By creating your own podcast on a topic related to your books, you can develop an audience that is interested in what you have to offer. In future blog postings, I’ll cover how podcasting can have a direct impact on your book sales. But for now, just explore the world of podcasting to get an idea of what’s already out there and what you can do to target your message to your audience. Some sites to check out:
- Yahoo! Podcasts. A brand new site offering podcast search as well as news and info on getting started in podcasting. Yahoo is the first major player in the search industry to offer podcast search functionality. But according to a report by the washingtonpost.com, industry analysts predict the others won’t be far behind as podcasting moves more into the mainstream.
- Podcast Alley. Lists thousands of podcasts and includes an active podcasting forum.
- iTunes Podcast Directory. Features more than 15,000 free podcasts that you can download and play on your iPod–or listen to on your computer.
Are you making the most of the latest technologies that can help take your writing career to new levels? What do you know about websites, blogs, RSS, ezines, podcasts, search engine optimization, online media kits, virtual book tours, multimedia brochures, and web marketing campaigns? Take the Web-Savvy Writer quiz and find out.
