One of my tour coordinators, Cheryl Malandrinos, brought up an interesting conversation in the staff group today. She was saying how important networking was because it leads to other things such as great contacts which might be used in the future for other things.
But, the point she was making was, why don’t authors realize how important it is to network?
Between the staff and myself, I bet we have represented almost 200 authors. I’d have to do a check, but it’s funny what I, as the tour coordinator, learn about the promoting habits of these authors and it’s very important for us to know this because we then know where to aim or what has already been taken care of as far as promotions go.
For starters, I put all my authors in
Google Alerts. The main reason I do this is because I want to see how well we are doing promotion-wise. Are our authors’ interviews, guest posts and reviews coming up in Google Alerts? Are our key search words helping and what can we learn to make them show up better? Are other people talking about our authors? How are our blog hosts promoting these authors and are they showing up well in Google alerts, also?
Lots of reasons to use Google Alerts.
But, when I first start working on a tour, Google Alerts will also help me narrow down what’s already been done online for the author, so that’s a good thing, too. Are they out there promoting their books online? Where are they showing up? And, the most important, are they showing up at all?
It saddens me to tell you that about half the authors I have represented are barely showing up at all. Either they are new at online marketing or they expect others to do all the work for them. Shame. Shame. Shame.
But, the ones who are – let me tell you, they make me smile because they understand how important online marketing is; and more importantly, how crucial networking becomes if you want to sell your book.
For example, in Cheryl’s case, she was telling us about an author she has – LaConnie Taylor-Jones – who has done a marvelous job of networking. Cheryl reported that she has had two people contact her since the tour started and want to join in – one of which she had contacted earlier when she was looking for stops and the other one contacted her because she knew LaConnie and wanted to be a part of her tour.
Because of LaConnie’s wonderful networking abilities, her tour is maxed out and Cheryl has had to double up on some days.
Now, that’s a tour.
What’s LaConnie’s secret? It’s no secret. It’s about hard work and high visibility and reaching out to authors without selling your book or yourself.
Networking is not all about what you can gain out of others, but what others can gain out of you. Reach out and they’ll reach back.
How do you do this?
Simple.
A blog is the best way I know how if you know how to work it. When you set up your blog, don’t wait for people to come to you. Go to them. Make it a point to comment on at least ten different blogs a night and watch how over time, these people come back to you and comment on your blogs. Voila – instant contact. But, keep going back. Don’t let them think you’re a one-time fly-by-night out there to promote your books. Whoa…a spammer is not a good thing. Really get involved in their blog. Put them on your Blogroll. Give them a link on your blog. Let them know how valuable they are to them.
Our tours are set up for comments on the different blogs our authors appear on. Who is to say your comment doesn’t result in a book sale for yourself? It most certainly does happen.
But the key thing you want to remember is to not go into this selling books. When I see a book mentioned in a comment, I cringe because I know very well why this person commented. No. No. No. That’s not the way to do it. A person can very well click on your name to find out all about you as it leads to either your blog or your website.
I have made lots of contacts through bloggers and, to tell you the truth, it wasn’t to sell books. Although, I did have people buying them because we became friends first and when they found out I had a new book, they were first in line to buy one.
It’s like a relationship. Friends first, lovers second.
Network, baby, network.
Connie Briscoe of Page One interviews Dorothy Thompson and Cheryl Malandrinos of Pump Up Your Book Promotion, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion.
Book Marketing Buzz will be starting a new series starting in March called Book Promotion 101: How to Promote Your Books. This is a free book promotion opportunity for all published authors.
How would you like to be interviewed by a ghost?
Rachel Greene Baldino and Judy Ford, authors of the self-help book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Enhancing Sexual Desire (Penguin, Dec. ‘07) will be stopping off at Long Relationships for part four of their their week-long stay to talk about increasing sexual desire and other relationship issues. Today’s discussion is, “What can we do this Valentine’s Day to create an intimate rendezvous with our lover?” Rachel will also be stopping off at TWL Author Talks and will be answering your relationship questions on a one-on-one basis!
One of my tour coordinators, Cheryl Malandrinos, brought up an interesting conversation in the staff group today. She was saying how important networking was because it leads to other things such as great contacts which might be used in the future for other things.
