Book Marketing Resources - Part 1

As an author, I spend a lot of time, perhaps too much time, promoting my books. I want to share with you a few online and print resources I have found particularly helpful. The help here comes from dynamic women who are authors themselves and who take the trouble to make their advice as user-friendly as possible. I welcome your additions to this list, preferably resources you have personally used, and I'll add more resources in future blogs.

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Websites

Mari Smith

http://www.marismith.com

The dynamic author and speaker Mari Smith is, in her words, a “leading social media strategist.” She offers webinars, media training courses, and social media services and you can sign up for her free Social Media Updates delivered via e-mail.

Sharing with Writers

http://www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/

Author/editor and marketing expert Carolyn Howard-Johnson offers up-to-date advice for writers at her blog site. You can subscribe to receive blog updates via e-mail and you can also subscribe to her free newsletter Sharing with Writers. (Also see her book, below.) In addition to editing services, Ms. Howard-Johnson also offers book publicity services.

The Publicity Hound

http://www.publicityhound.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/id-iom/3365704918/

Joan Stewart offers a plethora of publicity advice in her ezine, Tips of the Week. You can subscribe free of charge. She covers a wide range of topics related to the use of publicity in book promotion including how to use social media sites such as Pinterest and LinkedIn to your advantage, how to write and distribute effective press releases, how to use broadcast publicity, and a great deal more. Ms. Stewart (The Publicity Hound) also offers paid consulting services and mentoring services and referrals to professional publicity services. 

Writing and Marketing, Writers on the Move

http://www.karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com/  

http://www.writersonthemove.com/  
Author and marketing expert Karen Cioffi at and offers tips on everything from using Paypal to search engine optimization (SEO). At her Writers on the Move website you can subscribe to her free newsletter TheWriting World (delivered via e-mail) for regular updates, and sign up for an online workshop/webinar/course, coaching, or website-design service.

Books

Help with Amazon

Marketing Your Book on Amazon by Shelley Hitz

This useful little book offers a ton of tips on how to take advantage of Amazon’s author central tools to promote your books. I haven’t finished reading it yet, but I’ve already discovered that my own books did not have the correct search keywords linked to them, nor were they listed in the correct  book categories. A lot of the book’s advice is for self-published authors, but others can also benefit.

Help with Amazon and Facebook

Top Tips for How to Market Your Book on Amazon and Facebook by Internet marketing specialist Phyllis Zimbler-Miller.
At her company website she offers services related to e-book publishing, website design, and social media marketing: http://www.millermosaicllc.com/

Help with All Aspects of Marketing

The Frugal Book Promoter by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Another very useful guide for both self-published and traditionally (or small press) published authors. Ms. Howard-Johnson’s book covers a particularly wide range of topics from creating media kits to using social media and postcards.