You're a writer--not a salesperson. You don't want to have to sell your books after you write them. Well, I have some good news for you. Writing is selling in the online world. Writers are natural online marketers. What you already do instinctively is exactly what it takes to grow your readership throughout the world wide web.
Every day, people are searching for books like yours online. They perform those searches by typing various words and phrases (known as keywords) into search engines like Google and online bookstores like Amazon and Kobo. The more keywords you can associate with your books, and the higher your ranking grows on each of these websites, the better your chance of being found by the people searching for you.
So, how do you optimize your ranking on each of these websites? It takes the patience of a spider to weave an intricate web that can repeatedly attract--and catch--her prey. Spiderwebs are true miracles of organic engineering, and online marketing works in much the same way. You can grow your readership using various search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, and almost all of them include effective writing.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing the quantity and
quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results. (Moz, n.d.)
What constitutes quality traffic? It is relevant visitors to your website--people who are looking for the types of books and information that you offer. What is an organic search engine result? It is a search result that you didn't pay for--a result that occurred naturally through an intricate web weaving process. The more clickable links that direct quality traffic to your website, that also show up in the top five or 10 organic search results of any search engine, the more potential customers will likely visit your website. This will improve the readership of all your books and help you build your name as a reputable author within your genre over time.
It's easier than you may think. Sales success isn't reserved for extroverted salespeople, nor is online marketing talent reserved for technical experts. You may be pleasantly surprised by what it takes to achieve success online because you'll see--possibly for the first time--just how achievable this is for you as a writer. You're at an advantage online, believe it or not. Writing is selling in today's online world, and writers are natural online marketers.
Staflund, Kim: - So many people are publishing books of all kinds nowadays, and they need guidance regarding best practices with everything from writing to publishing to selling those books. I've made it my life's mission to help others navigate this mysterious business littered with acronyms, peculiar old-fashioned practices, and unforeseen pitfalls. As a bestselling author and TESOL certified sales coach for authors with 25 years' experience in the North American English book publishing industry (in both the traditional and contemporary markets), I can show you how to write, publish, and sell your book(s) using all the effective traditional and online tricks of the trade. Add my substantial advertising sales and marketing background into the mix, and you have a serious mentor in front of you who can help you achieve commercial success as an author. If your goal is to produce a professional quality book that you can sell commercially, the team at Polished Publishing Group (PPG) can help. We teach authors how to write a book, how to publish a book, how to sell a book. Professional project management services also available.
