New authors have been blessed with many great ways of getting their books out there through self-publishing. There are a number of different sites where authors can start selling their books, with Amazon and Smashwords being some of the most well-known. A common mistake that new authors can make is forgetting about how accessible these sites are to other writers as well. Basically, what this means is there’s going to be a number of other authors self-publishing their own writing. That means authors have to compete with one another if they have any hopes of actually being noticed. Many writers agree that actually creating a book is far easier than advertising it.
As with the idea of self-publishing, advertising has also changed thanks to the popularity of the internet. Authors are highly encouraged to make their own website as a way of getting their name a little more known. Authors might mistakenly think that they should have their books finished before they start marketing. Technically speaking they aren’t incorrect. An author shouldn’t really start marketing their book before it is finished. What they get wrong though is believing that an author website is only supposed to be for their book. Authors aren’t just going to be selling their book, but they’re also going to want to essentially sell their name as well.
What this means is authors want to establish an audience for themselves even before their book is complete. This is accomplished through the use of a blog where the author can discuss any variety of subjects that appeal to them. It doesn’t just have to be something that somehow relates back to their book either. Basically, the idea is the author wants to develop a strong online presence as well as an audience. Then, once their book is complete they can release information about that and already have potentially interested readers familiar with their writing style. Not only that, but loyal readers are going to be more likely to take the time and leave a positive review. This helps draw in new readers from wherever they decided to self-publish. In addition, the author can also link their blog on that site to draw in those interested readers.
If the author is likely they will even get featured on other sites because of what they write. Authors also have the chance of being asked to write guest posts. Usually at the end of these the site owner will include a small blurb about the writer, such as their own site and whatever works they might have published. This can also work in the opposite, with popular authors reaching out to other people to write guest posts. This lets the guest writer advertise it on their own site and encourage their audience to give it a look.
Authors are sometimes encouraged to come up with a tagline for their site. A tagline is basically a very short and concise saying that expresses what the author is about. An example is Thomas Richard Harry, who has the tagline of “Challenging today’s party politics.” Another example is author Jim Flinchum, “Advisor for the rich and author for all.” Taglines are a nice touch to add to a website, but ultimately they aren’t going to make or break whether an author is successful. It can help to make a website a little more memorable though. Ultimately, it is up to the author whether or not they want to include one. There’s technically nothing saying that an author needs to have one, but having one certainly won’t hurt a website either.
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