I often hear people say, “I cannot write.” or “I’m not a writer.” and I wonder to myself, “Have they tried?” The truth is, I believe everyone can write.  Who says it has to be well-written or even good?  Not at first at least, the important thing is to just start.  Writing can be freeing and stress releasing, a good practice for everyone, really.

There are almost 1,000 fans of writing over here on Facebook.  We believe, “The written word will impact someone’s life today.” This page gives you  writing prompts as well as inspiration for writing.  Above all, we encourage you to just begin writing and see where it can take you and what it can do for you.

So, go pick up a pen, or open up a word document on your computer, and just start writing.  You’ll be glad that you did!  And if you get stuck, come and join us on the Writing Fans page and get some inspiration.

So, you wrote your book and you thought that was the hard part, then you had to get it published and you thought for sure that was the hard part, but no, now you’re marketing your book and you’re convinced that this is the hardest part. That may seem like the case, but it doesn’t have to be. This article will give you an easy three-step marketing plan to market your book.

Marketing your book can really be as easy as one, two, three.

ONE:

Jump on the social media bandwagon. One of the first things that you will want to do is get listed on social media sites. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter (hook up with me by clicking on any of the site links) are some of the top social media sites I recommend to start with. With the power of social media you can literally be your own promotional tool, allowing you to spread the word about your book quickly and easily to a larger audience than ever before. That is the power of social media.

TWO:

Build your web presence with a website or blog. In days past you might have purchased and distributed business cards when promoting a book or your business, however in today’s society a website or blog is your “digital” business card. It is a necessity no author should be without. A website or blog will be the place for you to showcase your book and you will use it to link to every other outlet that you utilize to spread the word about your book. For example, link to your website or blog from Facebook, Twitter and all other social media sites as well as from articles that you write or that others write about you and your book. You can also include your URL (website address) on any press releases that you send out as a place for them to learn more about you and your book.

THREE:

Hire a team. We aren’t all experts at everything. You are an expert on the topic you wrote your book about, but you are not likely an expert at everything. That is why you should hire a team, specifically a PR team. A PR team has the skills and knows what it takes to promote your book to create the biggest buzz and to sell the more books. After all, that’s what you want, right? So, why not get the professionals to help you make it happen!

I told you that it was going to be easier than you thought. Just work the steps: one, two, three, and watch where it takes your book! I’ll bet you go straight to the top!

Hey authors, are you on Facebook? No, well, why not? It isn’t just a playground for teens and college kids anymore. It is now also full of adults and businesses, and it is a great place to market your book. How, you wonder? The best way to promote your book on Facebook is with an author fan page. Yes, you will ask others to become your fan, but the truth is you probably have a few fans already, so why not use it to your advantage and get the word out there at the same time?

You can create your author fan page on Facebook in three easy steps.

Step 1: Sign In or Sign Up! If you’re already a member of Facebook with a personal profile, all you’ll have to do is sign in to your Facebook profile and begin the fan page process. If not you’ll have to first go to Facebook.com and sign up for your Facebook account. They make it super simple, so don’t be scared.

Step 2: Build it so they can come! Next, you’re simply going to build your fan page. Once signed in or signed up on Facebook, you will need to go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php to set up your page. You will want to be sure to include a professional picture of yourself and links to your official website, and of course info about your book.

Step 3: Promote, promote, promote! After you’ve built the page, you’ll want to put it to work for you. Promote it, share it, tell everyone about it. Share it on your blog, put a link to it in your sidebar, share it on message boards, on Twitter, and even offline. You can always put the URL to it on your business cards or any fliers or bookmarks you make to promote your book. And Facebook makes that easy with their “vanity” URLs. Once you have your fan page set up and 100 fans, go to http://www.facebook.com/username and create a custom URL that is easy to advertise. And while you’re at it, check out http://www.facebook.com/writingfan and become a fan of writing!

Studies show that it take a person eight times of seeing something before they take action on what they have seen. That means a person may have to see you and your book eight times before they’ll buy it. You want to help contribute to those eight times and a Facebook fan page can help. It will help give you yet another place to communicate with those interested in your topic, allowing you to send them updates and information. It will also drive traffic to your website or any other social media site you are on. So, what are you waiting for? Go sign up, build and promote! Ready! Set! Go!

In Part 1, we discussed the Cons of blogging. Now check out some of the Pros.

The Pros

Argument #1: I can exercise my writing skills.

Blogging every week, or even once a month, is an exercise in writing. Whether you’re writing an article or posting a few thoughts, it gets you into the process of writing. It improves your typing speed and accuracy, helps you become more creative, and regular blogging will help you create your writer’s “voice.”

Argument #2: It is free promotion for my book.

If you write an article and post it to your blog, you can include a link for readers to purchase your book. You can also include links to your website and other social media sites (such as Facebook), drawing more attention to your work. Through your blog’s comments section, you can post a piece you are working on and gain feedback from readers. It’s like having your own private critique room and editing staff. The main con to the free promotion is you need to keep your blog updated and the content of good quality. There are a lot of blogs that are not accurate or up-to-date. If you are promoting your book, keeping it updated will not only draw readers back, but show them you are active in your own promotion on an ongoing basis.

Argument #3: A blog will improve my website’s search engine ratings.

This statement is both true and false. A blog can be like a newsletter, but unlike a newsletter it can be indexed by search engines, thus helping your search engine ratings. If you embed your blog in your domain name (very technical process), it will directly affect how your website is rated by search engines. However, if your blog stands on its own (not a part of your domain name), your blog may get good ratings but it won’t affect your website very much. If you link to your website from your blog, or to an order page for your book from your blog, it doesn’t matter how search engines find your website. Your blog will point buyers to your book, and that is all that matters.

Argument #4: A blog will help my writing become popular.

Your blog will help you create relationships with your readers, engage new potential book buyers, and even be a connection for mainstream media. It does help improve how others see you and your book, if you use personal experiences to connect with your readers. By tying in your blog’s topics with current events, you stay connected and keep the content fresh. These are all things that will help you sell books.

So if you have decided to start a blog, or have one you haven’t visited in a while, how should you use it? First off, give your professional opinion on topics you write about. You are an expert in your field, so present yourself as such. Review other books and products related to your book’s topic and share information with your readership. Write about topics others are interested in, such as current events, finances, or writing in general. And most of all, don’t start a blog to make money. It is a promotional tool, but if money is your primary objective your writings will come across as superficial and you will lose readers and potential book buyers.

You have probably heard the term “blogging,” but may not know exactly what it means. According to Webster, a blog (or weblog) is an online personal journal. However, that definition has changed and grown since it was originally conceived almost 20 years ago. Wikipedia has the more updated definition as a method of tracking and commenting on events, articles, graphics, and even videos.

So as an author, why should you have a blog? After all, it is free promotion. Why shouldn’t you? In this article, we will track arguments for and against blogging.

The Cons

Argument #1: The technology is too complicated.

True, technology, the internet, and computing in general can be complicated. There are blogs that feature scripts, programming, and many other mind-boggling tech features that can be hard to grasp. It can be overwhelming, especially at first. If you are not internet savvy at all, it may seem nearly impossible to set up a blog. However, there are pre-created blog templates available for you to use. Most of them are free and you simply plug in your title, content, and click, “Publish.” Blogger.com, Wordpress.com, and Typepad.com are three of the blogging industry leaders for templates.

Argument #2: I don’t want to share my private thoughts with the world.

Originally, blogging was created as a way for journalists to track their daily thoughts as they were on assignment. It was an easy way for them to stay in touch with the outside world and generate a following of readers. It was very personal. Today, however, you can choose what you want to say on your blog. You can be as open or closed as you like. Many people enjoy reading blogs of authors because they can get a personal sense of connection with the author. Think of some famous authors you enjoy and visit their websites. Read their blogs. Are they interesting? Do they engage you as a reader to grab the next book the author has published? By becoming more “real” to the reading public, you are in a sense creating a fan base of people who are interested in the real you, as well as your next title.

Argument #3: Publishing material on the web will make me more vulnerable to criticism.

If you are a writer, you should be used to taking criticism. More than the average person, you realize you cannot please every reader out there. If your goal in writing is to please others, you will end up frustrated. Yes, something you write will probably tick someone else off. You can set your blog’s comments section to approve comments before you allow them to be made public, so you can avert some of the criticism. Don’t let criticism keep you from writing a blog. In fact, you can use it to inspire you to write stronger pieces.

Argument #4: I can’t keep up with the maintenance a blog requires.

Creating and maintaining a blog can be very time consuming. There is maintenance for the site itself (adding widgets, buttons, etc.), the initial design, and backing up of the content. If you are extremely busy, but feel a blog would be a good promotional tool for your writing, you may want to hire a virtual assistant to set up, maintain, and post the blog content for you. As with anything, the sacrifice is either with time or money. There is time to learn how to create and design the blog, time invested in learning how to maintain it, and the actual maintenance itself. It is relatively easy to set up a blog, but much harder to maintain it.