Promote Your Book on Social Networking Sites
If you participate on a social networking site, don’t forget to promote your book to your network. Just looking at the industry statistics should tell you why social networking book promotion is a smart idea:
- In June 2008, MySpace had 118 million unique visitors worldwide; Facebook had 132 million (an increase of 153 percent from the previous year).
- In December 2007, YouTube had 77.6 million viewers who watched 3.2 billion videos.
- Worldwide online social network ad spending is predicted to increase from $1.2 billion in 2007 to $2.2 billion in 2008.
- Mobile social networking is predicted to rise from 50 million to 174 million users by 2011.
- The top search term for all of 2006 was MySpace.
- Social networking isn’t just for teens. The largest audience segment is between 35 and 54, comprising 40 percent of total users.
Looking for a way to get started? Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, XING, and MySpace. Also look for niche sites that fit your target reader profile. There are social networking sites for dog lovers, moms, skiers, surfers, mystery lovers, romance readers, and dozens more. To find them, just Google “social networking.”
Remember to follow the required etiquette of each site in terms of promotion. In general, you’ll get better results as an active participant than you will as a mere promoter.
Tags: book marketing, book publicity, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, online book promotionRelated Posts
15 Favorite Ways to Develop Your Author Platform
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
Related Posts
Interactive Social Media Site for Book Lovers
An author/publisher friend of mine recently alerted me to another new opportunity for promoting books online. It’s called Shelfari and is a free, interactive social media site for book lovers. I just joined today so am still exploring this site, but can already see many ways that you could use it to promote your books as well as interact with readers and other authors. If you do join, feel free to search on my name and add me as friend.
Tags: ShelfariThe Book Marketing Network
Here’s yet another social networking opportunity for authors, the Book Marketing Network on Ning, created by book marketing guru John Kremer
You can also start your own social network on Ning on a topic related to your own book.
Do You Digg It?
A reader recently asked me about the little icons under the Share and Enjoy heading on each blog post. They come from a WordPress plug-in called Sociable, which makes it easy for you to link any of your favorite postings on The-Web Savvy Writer blog to your favorite social bookmarking site, such as del.icio.us or Digg.
I recommend that you use a similar tool to make it easy for readers to do the same on your blog. Social bookmarking has a viral affect and a popular post that many people bookmark can draw more traffic to your site. My blog analytics already indicate a number of new site visitors who found out about my blog through a social bookmarking site.
Online Networking for Author-Entrepreneurs
I just came across this article and enjoyed it: Online Networking for Author-Entrepreneurs.
I definitely recommend developing at least two online networks of your own. One should focus on the author/publisher community and the other on the topic of your books. If you write about more than one topic or write both fiction and nonfiction, you could have more than one network.
In addition to generating book sales, these online networks can be a source of valuable advice and information that’s simply not available in your own limited geographic location.
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About the Author
I'm a freelance writer and author specializing in business technology.
