Boost Your eBook Sales Success!

Essential Resources and Strategies to Online Book Marketing

Marquita Herald

Special Free Preview Edition

Copyright

Copyright © 2013 Marquita Herald

License Notes

This special preview is licensed for your personal enjoyment. Although this is a free

publication, it remains the copyrighted property of the author and it may not be sold or

used for commercial purposes.

What readers are saying …

"I love this book! It's the antidote to every vague, motivational-but-not-so practical book you've

read about becoming a published author.”

~Carol Lynn Rivera, The Websearch social Marketing Magazine

“Can’t I give it more than 5*? Love it! Most of the books I have read that are geared to

authorship self-help are repetitive, repetitive, repetitive (did I say repetitive?), and cheerleading.

Just tell me once, and I don't need a cheerleader. This book says it once, and then moves on to

another extremely useful topic.”

~Java Davis

“I have been an online marketer since the net began for the general public in 1989. I have used

just about every marketing program including some I have written and published on Amazon. I

usually do not purchase books on Internet marketing but I am glad I purchased this one since it

is geared to self publishing authors. You cannot go wrong with this book. I highly recommend

this book to all authors.”

~Leland Benton

“This book is a fantastic resource for new and aspiring authors. It's broken down into a couple

of really useful sections to help you navigate from "I wrote a book" through "now what?" to "I

made a sale!" Marquita has put together a thorough reference guide and written it in a friendly

way that is easily accessible and usable.”

~Foo Bar

“I've been in the marketing game for quite some time and read some of the worst, fluff filled

books ever. This one was anything but. This book was packed jammed from start to finish with

real information, real things that can actually make you money, help you with your marketing,

and at the end of the day make you very happy you picked up a copy. It's not a short read, which

is great, because there is so much information in here, any less the author would have been

leaving things out.”

~Elizabeth Rose

Table of Contents

Introduction

Why You Need a Book Marketing Plan

The Role of Marketing Partnerships and Key Influencers

Digital Book Marketing Strategies

Amazon: KDP Select

Social Media

Interviews & Book Reviews

Networking: Connect With Readers

To Blog or Not to Blog

Support Groups & Forums

Resources

Book Promotion Sites

“Free” Sale Promotion Sites

Using Twitter for Promotions

Alphabetical Listing of All Promotion Sites

Preview: Beyond Your Book

About the Author

Introduction

There has never been a more exciting time to be an author! Opportunities and resources are

virtually unlimited, and your ability to succeed is only limited by your willingness to embrace the

challenges, and take action to make your dreams come true.

You may or may not agree with this statement, but your gut reaction to it will be a clear

indicator of your current mindset; in other words, your overall view of life. So what does

mindset have to do with selling eBooks?

While the immediate goal of this book is to help you cut through information overload so

you can start getting your name and book in front of potential readers as soon as

possible; it’s also aimed at encouraging you to begin thinking of your writing as your

“author business.” And believe it or not, your mindset has the ability to either help or

hinder your success on both counts.

To better understand the connection, let’s look at how people with differing mindsets

might view the opening statement.

Those who reside comfortably within the context of traditional thinking will be more likely

to respond negatively because they resent having to “waste” time on any activity that

takes them away from writing. Many feel abandoned by the publishing industry, and

others simply don’t like how things just keep changing on them.

Then there are those who see the potential, but feel overwhelmed with so many options

and lack of clear direction; because what they really want is for someone to take them

by the hand and show them the way.

We also need to recognize the writer who is a dabbler … inspired to write a book for no

other reason than thinking it might be a quick an easy way to make a few extra bucks,

only to learn in short order there is nothing quick or easy about the process. Chances

are high this writer will eventually give up and walk away bitter about the experience -

unless they can discover a compelling reason to change their thinking and ultimate goal.

Finally, there is the author with the entrepreneurial mindset who would be inclined to

enthusiastically agree with the opening statement because - while they fully recognize

the enormous challenges - they thrive on controlling their own destiny.

Of course, there really is no right or wrong response, and attitudes are rarely so clear-

cut. The good news is that attitudes can be changed - and new mindsets formed - which

matters a great deal if you want to become known and sell more books, because the

journey to becoming a successful author is more challenging - and more rewarding -

than ever.

Could this book be for you?

If you are tired of spending countless hours searching for answers to the question of

how and where to market your book, and if you find you are attracted to the notion of

growing a successful and sustainable author business, or are at least open to

considering the opportunities … then this book is for you!

All writers think of what they do as an art. Smart writers understanding writing is also a

business. Really smart writers also see themselves as entrepreneurs.

~Barry Eisler, Author

The first challenge facing any new author is coming to terms with what is involved with

getting their book into the hands of readers. This is because, despite all that has been

said about the challenges associated with writing books and self-publishing, there

remains a great misconception that once a book is published an author’s work is done.

The reality is that writing your book is only the first step, and often turns out to be the

easiest part of the process. If you want your book to be successful, marketing your book

will be up to you.

How will you respond to the challenge?

As a former small business coach, over the years I’ve worked with hundreds of

entrepreneurs, and found time and again that there is nothing that will bring a smart,

talented individual to a screeching halt faster than falling into overwhelm.

It usually goes something like this. They know they want to make this thing they are

passionate about happen, they even know pretty much what they need to do to make it

happen, but they get stuck thinking about how much work there is to do. The next thing

they know those pesky little internal voices start planting seeds of self-doubt, causing

them to begin questioning everything they do, and every decision they make. As a result

they either end up getting busy doing a whole lot of things just for the sake of doing

something - only to end up going nowhere fast - or they procrastinate by jumping from

one “how to” book to another, while haunting online forums asking the same questions

over and over - hoping to find the magic formula.

Just to be very clear, this book isn’t it.

Deep breath now … say it with me: “There is no magic formula, there is no magic

formula.”

And make no mistake about it; traditionally published authors are facing many of the

same challenges as those who opt for self-publishing.

Boost Your eBook Sales Success contains a wealth of resources, tools and tactics to

help you effectively market your book, including over a hundred websites, blogs and

Facebook Pages ready to get your book in front of more readers. But it’s important to

understand that using tactics without a strategy is worse than doing nothing at all … and

the single most important first step to developing your strategy is to become very clear

about what you want to achieve as an author.

And it all begins with your book marketing plan …

Why You Need a Book Marketing Plan

“I’m about to self-published my first book and I could use some help. I read somewhere that a

writer should start getting word out about their book before it is published. As I understand it, I

should create a buzz, so more people would know about the book. Is this correct? I'm a little

confused. How do I go about doing that and what kind of things should I talk about? I don't know

what to say or who to say it to. Does anyone have suggestions or how to go about it?”

This was a real question posted in a forum. It took me less than 5 minutes to find an

example of someone struggling to figure out what to do now that they’ve written their

first book.

While my heart goes out to this author, I’m confident there will be no shortage of people

offering well-intentioned guidance. In fact the one thing these forum threads all have in

common is they tend to take on a life of their own, with one tidbit of advice posted after

another.

What’s wrong with taking advantage of free advice and the experience of others?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking questions or researching “how to” articles

online to fill in knowledge gaps. The problem is that when you are new at something you

don’t even know yet all that you don’t know - and a lot of time can be wasted while you

sort through information trying to determine what is relevant or not. Even when you find

what appears to be a valuable bit of advice - unless it’s a training situation where the

subject is fully covered from start to finish, you could easily end up missing critical steps

in the process without even realizing it.

Attempting to build your author business in this way is like trying to assemble a large

puzzle when you’re missing half of the pieces.

I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can

be judged...I had poems which were re-written so many times I suspect it was just a way of

avoiding sending them out.

~Erica Jong, Author

Regardless of your long-term goals, developing an effective book marketing plan

is the key to getting your book in the hands of enough readers to make a

difference to you - financially and emotionally.

Consider your marketing plan a step-by-step guide to provide focus and direction for the

actions you will take to achieve your goals. Having a plan will also go a long way toward

getting (and staying) organized, minimizing stress and maximizing sales.

Please don’t make the mistake of thinking you need to create the “perfect” plan,

because that is the surest way to turn a valuable exercise into a reason to procrastinate.

Consider this first version of your marketing plan a starting point - a work in progress.

The more books you write, and the more you learn along the way, the more confident

you will become about your decisions and the foundation you are building for your

author business.

There are many ways to approach developing a book marketing plan, and in the

remainder of this section I’ve outlined the basic steps to get you started in the right

direction. But first, your heartfelt answer to the following question will determine all of

your strategies and tactics from this point on …

What do you ultimately want to achieve as an author?

The first and most important step in your planning is to decide what it is that you

ultimately want to achieve with your writing. If your desire is to build a life around your

writing then that goal needs to become a factor in everything you do to develop your

brand identity and market your book(s). On the other hand, your plan will look very

different if your writing is a means to an end, for example a way to demonstrate your

expertise in a particular area or promote a business. Maybe you are focused on telling a

single compelling story, and may or may not ever write another book. Whatever your

ultimate goal is, it will serve as the foundation to create a successful book marketing

plan.

I hope you found this special preview of Boost Your eBook Sales Success informative

and compelling enough to give it a try.

Boost Your eBook Sales Success is the first in the

Author Business series of books - a “no fluff” guide to

begin marketing your book and growing your reputation

as an author.

You’ll find a wealth of tools and resources - including over

100 websites, blogs and Facebook pages ready to

promote your book(s) - Boost Your eBook Sales Success

has consistently earned a 5* rating on Amazon.

Readers continue to praise the value of the information

and how the book has helped them save time, cut

through information overload, and get their book(s) into

the hands of more readers.

Beyond Your Book: A Practical Guide to Growing Your

Audience Online is the 2nd and newest book in the

Author Business series and delves deeper into precise

strategies and tactics to grow your author business.

Both of these books are geared toward the independent

author who is either about to publish their first book, or

already has one or more published books, but who has yet

to establish a brand or a following.

The emphasis is on growing an audience online simply

because this is the fastest, most economical way to begin

building your author platform.

Read on for a preview of Beyond Your Book …

Preview: Beyond Your Book

It takes time, energy and no small amount of determination to write a book, which is why

it’s so easy for new authors to fall into the age-old trap of assuming that everyone will

(or should) appreciate the value of their writing, and be ready and eager to buy their

creation.

Except that readers don’t much care about the time or effort that goes into writing a

book - and more importantly - they may not even be interested in the subject. The reality

is there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all audience, which means as an author you

have two choices.

Sit back and hope that readers who will be interested in what you have to say will

somehow find their way to your book solely based on the title and genre … or,

You can get busy identifying the readers most likely to be interested in, and

benefit from your book; and then do the work to connect with them and start

building a loyal audience … a process known in the publishing trade as growing

your “author platform.”

Unfortunately, many writers sidestep the entire notion of building a platform, either

because they simply don’t understand the term, are intimidated by the thought of self

promotion, or because they can’t imagine how they could possibly fit even one more

activity into an already overflowing schedule. But the harsh truth is it’s going to be

nearly impossible to get your book into the hands of enough readers to make a

difference to you as an author (financially or emotionally) if you don’t do the work to

grow some kind of fan base that is going to be ready and willing to buy your books.

The Curse of “Best Practice”

Another challenge that new authors face is that much of the information and advice

available today on how to go about building an author platform is based on “best

practices” in traditional publishing. Best practice is a business term which basically

means optimal solution; in other words, “This process worked so well in the past, that if

everyone continues to follow the same process precisely, then, regardless of the

circumstances, they should experience the same results.”

For example, let’s take the question of when to start building your platform. Experts in

book marketing and publishing recommend that you start building your fan base

anywhere from 1 to 3 years prior to publishing your first book. I have no idea how

many authors actually followed that advice prior to the digital revolution, but I do know

that in today’s world of eBooks and self-publishing many - if not most - new authors

won’t begin thinking about how to get their book into the hands of readers until they are

ready to publish.

So the question is what can you do NOW if you’re an author with a book and no

following? Should you even try to play catch up, and if so where do you begin?

The good news it is never too late to begin building your fan base, however it will take

time, patience and persistence. For that reason I want to be clear that if you’re more

interested in the romantic notion of being an author than selling books, then

please do not waste your money buying this book.

While there are no magic formulas or short cuts, Beyond Your Book will help you learn

how to communicate the value of your book and who you are as an author, while

developing trusting relationships with those who will care about what you have to say.

The focus is on building an audience online simply because that is the fasted and most

efficient way to achieve results, regardless of how you publish your book.

They say your destiny is already written, but sometimes you just have to grab a pen

and become your own author.

~Author Unknown

If you liked Boost Your eBook Sales Success you are going to LOVE

Chapter Highlights

The Business of Being an Author * Fearless Branding * Crafting a Long-Term Author

Business Plan * Targeting Your Audience * Your Author Website * The Art of Non-

Sleazy Self-Promotion * 6 Steps to Develop Your Social Media Strategy * 101 Tactics to

Grow Your Fan Base * How to Manage it All and Still Have a Life * Defining Your

Success

Coming in Fall 2013

Book 3 of the Author Business Series!

The third and final book in the Author Business series will be geared toward the author

who is serious about building a business around their writing and will include a

comprehensive review of lesser known sales platforms such as Kobo and Lulu, and

explore advanced marketing and business strategies and techniques including selling

your book(s) from your author website/blog and developing promotional partnerships to

amplify your marketing efforts.

About the Author

Inspiring you to create your own life experience …

Marquita Herald is a personal growth specialist, small business marketing consultant

and the author of 5 books on living life by design and 2 books on the business of being

an author. She is also the creator of the award winning personal growth blog IGG - Tips,

Tools & Tantalizing Ideas, and the new Business of Being an Author blog.

Her professional background includes a successful 20 year career in sales and

marketing, followed by nearly a decade as a life and small business coach working with

new and emerging entrepreneurs.

Marquita makes her home in Maui, Hawaii and her mission is to inspire readers to

embrace that we are each as powerful as we allow ourselves to be … that we can

choose to create our own life experience.

To connect with Marquita online:

Blog: The Business of Being an Author

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorbusiness

The Business of Being an Author on Google+: http://gplus.to/authorbiz

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/martyinmaui/

Twitter: http:/twitter.com/MarquitaHerald