How to Sell your Book with an Author Blog

How you plug your book can impact upon your book sales. But unlike networking your book with tweets and facebooking, or pitching your book on Amazon, an author blog gives the writer free reign to offer information about the book to an audience wanting to find out more about you and your work.

Where to Plug Your Book Free

Numerous publishing platforms can be used to market your book, namely Shelfari, Librarything, Linkdin, Smashwords and of course, Amazon. I have written a separate article on the best websites to plug your book. An author blog however gives you the opportunity to go more in depth about your book(s) in a way not always possible when posting material about your book on a host site. This is the key to ebook marketing.

Blogging for Book Sales

A book synopsis is the only requirement on a typical ebook publishing platform such as the Kindle store or Smashwords. Both allow authors to back link to their own website so that readers can find out more about the author’s work. You can of course link it from your Facebook page or Twitter. Amazon’s Author Central however enables the writer to link a live feed direct to his/her blog, so that the latest post is visible on the Author’s page. Why not use this book marketing resource?

What Does the Writer Blog About?

Rather than repeating lengthy information about your book on various sites, provide a link back to your blog from book marketing sites. Offer information that will enhance the sales of your book, suggestions of which might be the following:

• Background information on your book(s) such as what inspired you to write the story, how long it took you to write and how you overcame technical issues with the plot.
• When your next book will be out; similarly if your latest book is to be the first of a series and how many books will be in the series. When will each be released?
• Provide a book sample that might not be accessible on the Look Inside feature of Amazon or Smashwords. This might be a pivotal part of the novel midway through.
• Dates when your book(s) will be offered at a reduced price.
• Free promotion days when your book(s) can be uploaded free.
• If and when your book will be available on the Kindle Lending Programme, allowing Prime Members to borrow your ebook for free.
• Where print copies of your book can be purchased.
• Where and when books signings are to occur.
• Novel writing competition short-listings or winnings.
• Reviews of your books by noted individuals, book magazines or periodicals.
• Author interviews.
• Write a Novel in a Month updates.

Market You Book by Blogging

Blogger and Wordpress are two examples of free blogging platforms. I personally prefer Blogger because it is part of Google. So long as Google stays around, so will Blogger; it is easy to use, easy to perform analytics and easy to Adsense for additional income to royalties. The original purpose of Blogger was to keep a weblog, an online diary, hence the name. The tradition has continued. Bloggers still use a more informative and personal writing style than on hosting websites. This allows the writer to connect with the audience in a way not always appropriate on a hosting website.

Book Marketing with an Author Blog

Most readers require only the synopsis (or pitch) of an author’s book and a clear decision on whether to purchase. Others might like to find out more about the author’s work. An author blog is the ideal method. There are few guidelines to adhere to, you can freely plug your book in a way that most suits you. You can offer additional information on your book regarding dates it will be free, if sequels will be released and your ideas behind your novels. Such a writer’s blog will enable you to link back to this information from networking and marketing websites for an audience that wants to find out more about your books.

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