Book Marketing Blogs

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We’ve collected several of the best book marketing Tweets during the past week to guide your marketing efforts. These tips come from bloggers, marketers, authors and others and cover a variety of topics, such as building your email list, choosing the social media that is right for you and tips for beginning bloggers. Happy marketing!

* 14 Ways to Make Your Facebook Page Fun and Lively, http://dld.bz/6b3T.

* Should I Tweet? (the Author Platform From a Publishing Perspective), http://dld.bz/6tBG.

* Tips for Beginning Bloggers, http://dld.bz/7DPD.

* 3 Tips for Maximizing Engagement With Facebook “Likes” and Shares, http://dld.bz/7DQd.

* Preying on Writers – What to Watch Out For, http://dld.bz/8y5P.

* Use Facebook and Twitter to Drive Crowds to Your Blog, http://dld.bz/7DMH.

* New Data: Facebook Nabs 1 in 4 Pageviews in US, http://bit.ly/a8MuxL.

* Choosing Social Media That is Right for You, http://dld.bz/8y6g.

* Self-Publishing, The Carnival of the Indies, http://bit.ly/eRGNOU.

* How to Run a Blog Contest with Panache, http://dld.bz/872J.

* Getting Press Releases for Your Book Right, http://ow.ly/3fJHb.

* How Many Connections Should You Have on LinkedIn? http://dld.bz/872U.

* Building an Author Platform from Scratch, http://shar.es/X3xfF.

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* The 7 Immutable ‘Blogging’ Rules to Keep in Mind and Then Crush! http://uber.la/archives/10502.

* How to Get More Subscribers for Your Email List, http://dld.bz/873P.

* 54 Tips For Writers, From Writers, http://bit.ly/ccGs0U.

* Top 5 Tips to Making a Successful Podcast, http://j.mp/ey9Vvo.

* Twitter: It’s Not Just About the Numbers, http://dld.bz/8744.

* 5 Reasons People Get Unfollowed on Twitter, http://dld.bz/875n.

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We had another great show hosted by Penny Sansevieri titled ‘Secrets to Getting Your Book into Libraries.’

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Before moving onto the show topic, we discussed some publishing news, including a campaign to get people into bookstores this holiday season. Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day is Dec. 4, 2010. Modeled after Take Your Daughter to Work Day, this is designed to help bookstores flourish and thrive. You can learn more – and see if any bookstores in your area are participating, by visiting http://takeyourchildtoabookstore.org.

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In an economically challenged climate guess what starts to soar? Libraries. The library market is strong and getting stronger. If you haven’t made libraries part of your target market you should. And despite all the book buzz online, it’s still nice to get your book onto a library shelf. For most of us, this seems like an exclusive right devoted to an exclusive group of best-selling authors. While some piece of this is true, the reality is that if you have a good book, you can get into the library system. You can download the full show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2010/12/01/secrets-to-getting-your-book-into-libraries.

Some library statistics:

According to the American Library Association (ALA) -

* There are approximately 122,101 libraries in the U.S.

* Over $5 billion worth of books, periodicals, audiovisual, and other materials were purchased by libraries in 2007, with over $1.9 billion spent on book purchases alone.

* More than one-tenth of publishers’ net book sales are to libraries.

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* Libraries purchase books for adults, young adults, children, and special readers (emerging literates, large print, braille).

How can you get your book into libraries?

Libraries tend to buy hardback and trade books but some do pick up mass market, Penny noted.

Reviews: Librarians mainly use the following periodicals to determine which books to select for their collections (the links will offer information about the submission process, which varies for each publication):

* Library Journal – http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/book/885142-421/library_journal_book_review_editors.html.csp

* Booklist – http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=general_info&id=65

* Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries – http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/choice/infoforpub/informationpublishers.cfm

* The Horn Book Magazine – http://www.hbook.com/aboutus/publications/submissions.asp

* Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books – http://bccb.lis.illinois.edu/pubguide.html

* Kirkus Reviews – http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/about_us/submission.jsp

* Publishers Weekly – http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/corp/submissionguidelines.html

There are also librarians online who review books, and they may choose to donate your book to their library or recommend that it be added to the collection. You can find librarians on Twitter: http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/best-library-people-on-twitter_b11945.

Mail your book: You can mail libraries directly with a copy of your book and a request; obtain a list of libraries through the ALA or the library locator listed below.

Trade shows: See if you can exhibit at library trade shows; learn more at http://exhibitors.ala.org/.

Library events: Ask if your library will let you do an event or participate in one of their reading groups.

Become acquainted with your library: See if you can donate a copy of your book, or if they can add your book to their collection. Discover what they buy, and then you can talk to them about how they make purchases, their purchase timeframe, etc. Building relationships with your local library personnel is a good idea; if pitching your book or event doesn’t work, you may find another way to fill a need for them (and promote your book at the same time).

Recommendations/requests: Since libraries have websites, often with places for book recommendations, get requests/recommendations for your book listed there.

Self-publishing considerations

Image by Terry Dawson via Flickr

If your book is self-published, you need distribution. There are three main distributors to consider:

Quality Books Inc.: http://www.quality-books.com/

Unique Books Inc.: http://www.uniquebooksinc.com/

Baker & Taylor: http://www.baker-taylor.com/ (technically they are a wholesaler but they can also help you access the library market)

However, before you approach a distributor you need to work several months in advance of your book’s publication and develop a marketing plan. Your marketing plan needs two key components. First is the market segment, which is the WHO of who you will market to and HOW you intend to reach that audience (online and offline), including target group(s), media you’ll seek, events you’ll do, etc. The second piece consists of your sales outlets, the WHERE your book will be sold and HOW you will sell your book (online and offline).

Additional resources

If you need a library locator, check out: http://www.libdex.com (libraries worldwide).

Find additional information on all of the above at Marketing to Libraries, http://www.ala.org/ala/professionalresources/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet05.cfm.

And be sure to refer to our own blog post, http://ame.wpengine.com/7-secrets-to-getting-into-libraries/.

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Upcoming Episodes:

Please join us Dec. 14, 4 p.m. Pacific for Top Publishing Trends for 2011, our final show of the year, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2010/12/15/top-publishing-trends-for-2011.

It’s hard to believe, but 2010 is winding down. We’ll take a look at the hot publishing topics and issues of the past year and then look into our crystal ball to forecast what lies ahead. One hint: our projections are sure to include e-books, digital readers and indie authors.

Where do people do a substantial amount of communicating, finding, comparing and buying? Online. Social media, including Twitter, blogs, Facebook, YouTube and a plethora of additional sites have become communities in which people can share their interests, generating authentic word of mouth promotion in a way money can’t buy. This kind of word of mouth can be critical to success, and social media is clearly the most effective technique.

It’s all in the numbers; consider these social media factoids:

Twitter:

* 54% of bloggers post content or tweet on a daily basis

* There have been over 50 million tweets in 2010

* There are more than 110 million Twitter users currently

* More than 600 million searches happen on Twitter every day

Blogging:

* There are over 181 million blogs

* 60% of bloggers are in the 18-44 age range

* 1 in 5 bloggers updates their blog daily

* 15% of bloggers spend 10 hours a week blogging

Facebook:

* Facebook has over 500 million users

* An average Facebook user spends about 55 minutes per day on the site

* An average Facebook user spends about 6.50 hours a week on the site

* An average Facebook user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events

Source: Fascinating Social Media Facts of the Year 2010, http://kathyhogeveen.posterous.com/fascinating-social-media-facts-of-year-2010-s

This is why we strongly urge authors to have blogs, and use Facebook and Twitter. We also spend a lot of time writing about social media for this blog, our Book Marketing Expert newsletter and elsewhere.

Your blog is your home base, a place readers, prospective readers (and buyers) can find out all about you and your book. You can run your blog feed through both Twitter and Facebook in order to help generate content, and then use both to connect further with your audience. For instance, on Twitter you can join in on Twitter chats (there are many book related chats held each week), connect with book reviewers, other authors and book lovers. On Facebook you can join book and author related groups as well as connect with some of the people you’ve found on Twitter.

When promoting your book, you want to go where the people are, and the statistics clearly show they are online. Be sure to join them!

Related articles

• Top 20 Apps For Managing Social Media (informationweek.com)
• 10 Essential Tips for Social Media Brand Engagement (marketingconversation.com)
• Six years of blogging – perspectives on social media (getgood.com)

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by family, friends and great food! We’ve rounded up some of the best book marketing Tweets during the past week to help you on your marketing journey. These tips come from bloggers, marketers, authors and others and cover a variety of topics, such as best blogging practices, mastering social media and professional speaking advice. We hope you find these tips useful!

* We’ll always have blogging – and why that’s a good thing, http://dld.bz/69JU.

* Judging a book by its cover, http://dld.bz/7ebp.

* 5 Ways to have your Author Website Work for You, http://bit.ly/bTnol2.

* How to write a blurb for your book, http://dld.bz/7eaX.

* 5 fresh places to find great online video, http://dld.bz/7eb2.

* 6 Keys to Self-Publishing Success in the Age of the Ebook, http://ht.ly/3b30O.

* How to write three blog posts a day, http://dld.bz/7ecG.

* 5 tools to make the most of Twitter hashtags, http://dld.bz/7ecR.

* 7 Twitter strategies for growing a great following, http://dld.bz/7edb.

* Use Facebook and Twitter to drive crowds to your blog, http://dld.bz/7DMH.

* Fascinating Social Media Facts of the Year 2010, http://dld.bz/7DMY.

* 9 Ways to Create and Maintain a Successful Blog, http://nblo.gs/aXgqc.

* 7 tips on how to build a following online, http://dld.bz/7DM6.

* What Do Bestselling Authors Have In Common? 10 Things That May Surprise You, http://bit.ly/10BeSe.

* Professional Speaking Tips – How to Get Started, http://dld.bz/7DN4.

Image by ginnerobot via Flickr

* 5 steps to Squidoo success! http://dld.bz/7DNm.

Related articles

• Social Media + eBooks = Social Books (e27.sg)
• 30 Day Guide to Social Media Success Shows Business Owners How to Use Facebook, Twitter for Economic Recovery (prweb.com)
• 8 Tips to Get More Out of LinkedIn (justinrlevy.com)

You took the advice and started a blog, and there you are – staring at the screen of the newly opened post, cursor blinking and your mind blank… what on earth are you going to do now?

The beauty of blogging is there are so many things you can do, and once you get organized you should have no trouble scheduling posts and keeping your content fresh and interesting. In order to blog effectively, it’s not the actual topics you write about that matter as much as posting to your blog at least three times a week, ensuring that your blog is regularly updated. You can’t grow your blog and readership without having content that brings people back again – and again – to your blog.

Continually adding content is important because search engines like Google and Bing always seek new content; your blog will grow as the search engines discover more new content on your site to share. Then, your blog will benefit by moving up higher in search engine results, making your blog and you easier to find online because you will show up sooner in search results for your topic.

Once you have your blog posting down pat, you can use social networking sites and techniques to help spread the word and gain more readers. To get started, here are some ways to keep your blog content fresh:

* Blog on your industry. As an author, the publishing industry is always ripe for commentary. What do you think about e-book pricing? Is Amazon killing bookstores? What do you think about the latest book deals? All of this news that you can comment on is available for free at sites like http://books.alltop.com and http://publishing.alltop.com. You’ll find a roundup of top news from a variety of blogs and websites there.

* Your “industry” could also include your area of expertise. Even a fiction author may find that writing about 17th Century China opens the door to blogging about conditions/news/issues in that country today. As a nonfiction author, your topic is fodder for blog posts – breaking news, trends, opinion pieces – the sky is the limit. Set Google alerts on those topics so you can see what’s going on.

* Blog on hot topics. That’s one sure way to get more readers to your site. See what’s hot at http://www.google.com/trends for instance, or blog on what everyone is talking about. Be sure to encourage others to share their thoughts so you will have some lively and timely comments on your blog.

* Write about writing. Even fans of your writing will enjoy learning about your writing process: what are you working on now? How do you handle writer’s block? What are your tips for getting your writing done? What have you learned from other blogs, writers, experts that you can share?

* Hold contests. Have readers vie to name a character in your book. Or hold a contest for a signed copy of one of your books. Post polls – these could be on topics related to your books, the industry at large… whatever you like. Check out sites like http://www.simple-polls.com/ and http://www.surveymonkey.com/ for options.

* Have a wordless day. Post an inspiring, thought-provoking or interesting photo. You’d be amazed (or perhaps not) at how a photo can get your readers commenting!

* Invite guest bloggers. Perhaps there are other writers, publishing pros or writing experts whose advice you’d like to share with your readers. Or you’ve read a blog post that you just love – why not ask the author if you can reprint the piece for your own blog? Most bloggers are happy to have their posts picked up (as long as they receive credit of course), and you might receive a guest post offer in return.

* Keep it Short and Sweet. Another area that trips up bloggers is the myth of blog post length – you don’t have to write 500 to 1,000 words every time out. In fact, 250 to 500 words is just fine for the average post. But you can also post quick tips and observations of one to three paragraphs with links to something that you find interesting, or photos … so you don’t have to drive yourself crazy thinking you have to generate a lot of material for every post in order to maintain your blog. Sit down and brainstorm some ideas so you can work ahead and before you know it, your blog will be buzzing along, bringing you readership and ranking. You can also do a post that is a roundup of news or items of interest from the week – having something like that on your blogging schedule takes some of the pressure off you thinking you must write fresh content for every post.

* Spread the Word. You can help spread the word about your blog by using sites like Twitter and Facebook; in fact, you can set up your blog feed so that new posts are automatically posted to Twitter and Facebook as soon as you hit “publish.” You can also join free sites like http://www.stumbleupon.com, http://digg.com and http://delicious.com – where users share content – and make sure your blog posts feed through those sites as well. As you grow your followers, you’ll have a new batch of readers for your blog! You should also follow other blogs and make sure to schedule time to stop by your favorites and post a comment. Blog commenting allows you to join the conversation, leave a link back to your site on other sites, and it also helps you grow your own site as bloggers love comments and many, if not most, will want to visit your site to return the favor.

Also, make sure you submit your blog to directories like DMOZ, http://www.dmoz.org/, Yahoo, http://dir.yahoo.com/ and Best of the Web, http://botw.org/. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to find your blog online.

You’ll spend some time up front planning and scheduling and joining some social networking sites (if you don’t already belong), but once you get your blogging underway you’ll find it’s a great way to keep your creative juices flowing, attract new readers and branch out professionally. Happy blogging!

Related articles

• How Writing Can Increase Traffic to Your Affiliate Website (networksolutions.com)
• The 7 Harsh Realities of Successful Blogging (davidrisley.com)
• 21 Steps Towards Creating An Effective Business Blog (simplyzesty.com)

Many people had probably never heard of the New England-based Cooks Source magazine, and the regional publication probably would have plodded along that way indefinitely. That is, until one ill-timed and inappropriate email from editor Judith Griggs generated a huge online controversy that brought the magazine to its knees.

The real moral to this story is that everything you do online is your resume. When dealing with email, websites, blogging and social media everything and anything can be examined under a microscope. Any shortcuts – or worse – can not only be publicized but could result in waves of negative publicity that are impossible to overcome. In this case, Cooks Source lost; as of Nov. 18 it’s believed the magazine folded. The company’s website is gone, and so is its Facebook page, which had been hijacked by angry commenters. You can track the entire story on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooks_Source_infringement_controversy.

It all started when a writer, Monica Gaudio, learned one of her articles had appeared in the magazine. A friend alerted her to its publication and hoped Monica could tell him how to get published in Cooks Source. There was just one problem: Monica had never submitted an article to Cooks Source. When she called up the article in question, however, it was her article, a copyrighted piece that Cooks Source was not permitted to run. Monica sought an apology and a donation to the Columbia University School of Journalism from the editor and instead received an arrogant, dismissive reply via email. That email appeared on Monica’s blog and suddenly a number of bloggers flew to Monica’s defense and angrily denounced Judith. (For the best background on this story, read http://www.edrants.com/the-cooks-source-scandal-how-a-magazine-profits-on-theft/).

It didn’t end there.

Angry bloggers to the tune of 6,000 or so “Liked” Cooks Source on Facebook so they could then flood the page with cutting comments. A Google bomb campaign suddenly appeared for griggs (as in editor Judith Griggs) with following definition:

1.    To use content on the web without permission, then request payment from original author for rewrites and editing.
2.    To remain ignorant of plagiarism, ethics, copyright, and asshat behavior.

Within a few hours, that definition of Judith Griggs appeared on Page 1 of Google results. The death knell was the investigative post that appeared on Edward Champion’s Reluctant Habits which revealed at least six other plagiarized articles – all verified by the authors of those articles after Ed contacted them.

What made this issue an Internet sensation in the first place was the arrogant and dismissive way in which the magazine’s editor initially rebuffed Monica’s demand for an apology:

“But honestly Monica, the web is considered ‘public domain’ and you should be happy we just didn’t ‘lift’ your whole article and put someone else’s name on it! It happens a lot, clearly more than you are aware of, especially on college campuses, and the workplace. If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally. Now it will work well for your portfolio. For that reason, I have a bit of a difficult time with your requests for monetary gain, albeit for such a fine (and very wealthy!) institution. We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me! I never charge young writers for advice or rewriting poorly written pieces, and have many who write for me… ALWAYS for free!”

If Griggs had apologized as Monica had requested, the matter might have just disappeared instead of becoming a cause célèbre for writers all over the Internet. In the end, Griggs only made it worse in the end by trying to blame Monica for everything (which generated a fresh round of online derision). And that’s the lesson we’re emphasizing: everything you do online, from the email you send, the blog posts you write, the chats you have on Facebook – anything that is online can be made public at any time. We’re not kidding when we advise clients to make sure everything they put online is something they’d be comfortable with their grandmother seeing. It should also go without saying that correspondence online, whether through email, IM, chat, etc., is not necessarily private. How you conduct yourself matters. Always.

We’ve seen authors blast reviewers via email for a review they didn’t like, assuming the email was private. But in many cases, bloggers have posted the emails on their blogs, ensuring that hundreds (if not more) see firsthand how unreasonable the author is. That is not good for business. Other authors have posted angry, rude, insulting and even threatening comments on reviewers’ blogs in response to a review. Needless to say, such rants have not helped those authors’ careers.

While Judith Griggs and Cooks Source have received extraordinary publicity, it’s not the kind that worked in their favor. You spend a lot of time building your brand online via your website, blogging and social media. Don’t let careless (thoughtless, angry, inaccurate, unkind, untrue…. etc.) words expressed somewhere online tear it down!

Related articles

• Lesson Learned: Print magazine implodes after editor plagiarizes, then flames, blogger (techvibes.com)
• Cook’s Source: When The Source is Plagiarized, The Source Should Feel Grateful – and Guilty (smartbitchestrashybooks.com)
• Cooks Source ‘Apology’ Really A Rant Blaming The Woman It Copied For Daring To Tell People (techdirt.com)

We’re providing you with some of the best book marketing Tweets during the past week to learn from and use. These tips come from bloggers, marketers, authors and others and cover a variety of topics, from using video, to better blogging, Facebook marketing and gaining Twitter influence. Happy marketing!

* HOW To: Become a YouTube sensation, http://dld.bz/6bzy

* 4 surprising conclusions about author websites, http://dld.bz/6bzQ

* 7 tips for your site to get linked to, http://dld.bz/6b2j

* 14 Ways to Make Your Facebook Page Fun and Lively, http://dld.bz/6b3T

* 7 ways to promote your book with video, http://dld.bz/6b3v

* How to Backup Your Social Media Life, http://dld.bz/69Es

* What makes a book publisher drool? Can you say “series”? http://dld.bz/69DA

* 7 clever ways to find more time to blog, http://dld.bz/69CZ

* How to grow traffic to your blog, http://ow.ly/3a6SL

* 17 ways for writers to publish their content, http://dld.bz/69Ff

* Facebook Marketing For Authors, http://dld.bz/6sMQ

* HOW TO: Gain Twitter influence, http://dld.bz/56vm

Related articles

• Social Media Marketing: 5 Lessons From Business Leaders Who Get It (mashable.com)
• Why you need to jump back into Facebook (thinkvitamin.com)
• Promote Your Website With YouTube Comments | Top Website Placement … (topwebsiteplacement.com)

We had another great show titled ‘Getting Your Book Into Bookstores,’ with special guest Elaine Wilkes, who offered timely and useful tips for getting your book into stores – just in time for the holidays!

To kick things off, we consulted Search Engine Marketing Expert Susan Gilbert for a tip.

Susan discussed the need to resize or edit online photos and images. Programs like Photoshop are difficult for some people to master, but a free site, http://fotoflexer.com/, allows users to upload images there. While it’s similar to Photoshop, fotoflexer is easier to use. You can edit photos from Photobucket, MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, Picasa and many other sites. Features include animation, scissors, smart resizing, recoloring and more.

For additional resources and tips check Susan Gilbert’s website, www.susangilbert.com.

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About our guest: Elaine Wilkes, Ph.D., N.C., M.A., LEED is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Nature’s Secret messages: Hidden In Plain Sight, that was awarded a rare star recommendation from the prestigious Publishers Weekly — known as the Bible of the book industry. She has been an interviewed on numerous radio and TV shows such as CNN, Headline News, E! Entertainment, and has been quoted in major media such as Forbes, CNN, Chicago Tribune, and Woman’s World, to name a few. As an actress, she was under an exclusive contract with NBC, and appeared with “A” list actors in numerous TV shows, movies, and in over 75 TV commercials. She’s a motivational speaker who gives dynamic presentations on marketing, health, and well-being. Visit: http://www.ElaineWilkes.com.

It doesn’t matter whether your book is soon to be released or is already released; you don’t want your books sitting in a distributor’s warehouse or in a garage. Did you know there are thousands of stores that sell books? It’s true, it’s not just bookstores but: gift stores, health food stores, farmer’s markets, military bases, hospitals, souvenir stores, specialty stores and much, much more. And 70 percent of books sold are sold in brick and mortar stores.

When Elaine’s book was published by a major publisher she assumed her book would be carried in all the stores. It had even received a coveted starred review from Publishers Weekly. After publication she went to a local bookstore to see her book on the shelves, but the store didn’t have it. In fact, none of the local stores stocked her book. It wasn’t ordered for the stores because six months before a book comes out, the publisher’s sales rep meets with bookstore people – and at that point her book wasn’t finished, the sales rep didn’t know much about it and as a result, no bookstores picked it up.

This shows how important it is, if you have a publisher, to make sure you get to know the sales rep right away. The sales reps have a lot of books to shop so make your book stand out – pitch your book to them and get them fired up to make the sale.

Typically for a bookstore to pick up your book you need to have a distributor (such as Ingram) in place. Bookstores are not the only sales venue for your books, however.

Where can you sell your book?

Think of all the different places for your book depending on its topic: farmer’s markets, Kinko’s, Office Depot, Kmart, beauty salons, hospitals, health food stores, specialty stores, gift shops, Hallmark, natural food stores, Walgreens… What are you waiting for? See if they’ll carry your book!

Ask for the manager in person and start with one store. If you do get into one store, and your book is selling there, go to other store managers and see if they’ll stock your book based on its sales at the first store.

Be proactive; if you’re doing media then let the local stores know about it; authors often lose sales by not letting stores know they’re doing media in the area. People come in looking for the book and it’s not there. Make sure that doesn’t happen to you.

If you email bookstores to request they stock your book, they can use that information to prequalify you. You should include your book’s ISBN, your contact information, and let them know if you have a distributor and if your book is returnable (it’s easier for stores to order your book if it’s returnable because then they incur no loss for leftover books).

Tell them you’ll do a book signing – sometimes they’ll put your book on a front table to promote the event – and get a lot of additional authors to do a signing with you so you don’t have to carry the burden of the event yourself. By combining efforts with other authors you can get a better turnout, too, with each of you inviting all of your contacts to attend.

If a store takes your book on a trial basis and they sell copies, they’ll re-order, and now you’re in the computer as a book that sells.

Don’t take ‘No’ for an answer

When you get “no,” it means you have to be a little bit more creative: think of all the places you can get your book sold. Also don’t call or ask just once and then quit, follow up, make your case, you can’t give up. Be persistent in a nice way.

The good news is that it’s not too late to get into bookstores or other stores for the holidays – start calling or emailing now!

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Upcoming Episodes – Please join us Nov. 30 for Secrets to Getting Your Book Into Libraries, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2010/12/01/secrets-to-getting-your-book-into-libraries.

In an economically challenged climate guess what starts to soar? Libraries. The library market is strong and getting stronger. If you haven’t made libraries part of your target market you should. And despite all the book buzz online, it’s still nice to get your book onto a library shelf. For most of us, this seems like an exclusive right devoted to an exclusive group of best-selling authors. While some piece of this is true, the reality is that if you have a good book, you can get into the library system. We’ll show you how. Learn more at http://ame.wpengine.com/7-secrets-to-getting-into-libraries/.

Related articles

• Think Beyond The Bookstore (terrywhalin.blogspot.com)

Here’s a roundup of some of the best book marketing Tweets during the past week for you to add to your resources. These tips come from bloggers, marketers, authors and others and cover a variety of topics, including guest blogging tips, why Facebook is so vital for online marketing, how to pitch your book successfully and how to be noticed on Twitter. Enjoy!

Image via Wikipedia

* 10 guest blogging secrets, http://dld.bz/44Tq.

* 5 steps for crafting the perfect book review pitch, http://dld.bz/5asv.

* Book Publicity: How To Develop Key Messages and Get Them Across Quickly, http://bit.ly/atLYTt.

* Blogger survey shows Facebook and Twitter are key to building traffic, http://dld.bz/5ane.

* How to get more YouTube views, http://dld.bz/56hn.

* Facebook accounts for 10% of time online. If your audience is there, you should be, too, http://bit.ly/ciIBXC.

* 4 tips on what NOT to say (or pitch or do) to get your book reviewed, http://dld.bz/56pE.

* How to find ideas for your blog posts, http://dld.bz/56nj.

Image via CrunchBase

* The 11 Questions to Answer Before Working On Your Pitch, http://dld.bz/2P7M.

* 11 Twitter and social media tools to try in 2011, http://dld.bz/56qQ.

* HOW TO: Make the Most of Your Twitter Profile Page, http://ow.ly/2WUEK.

* 3 ways to get a Twitter user’s attention, http://dld.bz/56qX.

* 10 tips to hosting better events with social media, http://dld.bz/56tV.

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• Promote Your Website With YouTube Comments | Top Website Placement … (topwebsiteplacement.com)

Congratulations! Now you have a Facebook Page, but that’s just the beginning.

Unlike a profile, which can and should be personal, a Page can be used to promote you and your book since it has fewer restrictions (such as number of followers). Pages offer a lot of great options to connect with your fans: you can post photos and videos from events, create groups based on shared interests, hold live chats, publicize your events and allow attendees to RSVP.

The first question is usually the same, however: now that I have a Page, what should I do next?

Let the world know you have a Facebook Page!

• Make sure you have a Facebook widget on your website and blog so it’s clear that you have a Page and people can click on the widget and reach your page. There is also a “share” button on the bottom left of your Page that allows you to send the page to your Facebook friends and/or post the Page to your personal Facebook profile if you have one.

• If you do have a personal Facebook page, be sure to “like” your Page.

• If you have an e-newsletter or mailing list, be sure to alert them to your Page so they can click the link and join! The same goes for your personal Facebook page; invite your friends to “like” your Page and to follow you over there for the latest news and updates.

• Add your Facebook Page link to your email signature.

• “Like” other authors and/or books in your topic; authors can and should support each other and this also increases your exposure and allows people interested in your topic to find you through these other Facebook pages.

• Join groups on Facebook with topics related to your book – another way to network and make contacts. This can include publishers, bookstores, genre-specific groups and book lovers/reviewers.

Update your content regularly

• Your Wall is the most important piece of real estate on your Page. The truth is, busy people may not spend much time visiting the other tabs on your Page, so making their first stop at the wall lively and interesting is key.

• When you update your wall regularly and frequently, the updates will appear in your fan’s newsfeeds – don’t just post messages but consider adding photos from events, video – anything visual is a big draw!

• Think about making it a two-way conversation: you can hold contests, have a question of the day, run polls, post your reviews and interviews and even ask your fans to post some content.

• Run your blog feed through your Facebook Page so you automatically have new content available on your Facebook Page whenever you update your blog. Do the same with your Twitter feed so it will automatically send out a Tweet when your Page is updated.

• You can also post book excerpts, and if you have a topic that’s in the news, or find something newsworthy that’s writing/book/publishing related, you can post the link to the news item, add your own comments and invite others to join in the conversation.

• The Page is quite easy to update – when you’re signed in you’ll see, on the top left side under the photo, “edit this page.” When you click on each tab, you’ll see the “edit information” logo on the top right. Facebook is pretty streamlined in its setup, so using the Page is relatively easy to learn.

Other ways to connect

You want to get out there and connect on Facebook with potential fans, who can then “like” your page. Use the Facebook search function to find people or search by keyword terms to find them and invite them to your page.

Don’t forget to interact with your friends and fans – that’s what social media is all about.

Is it working? The stats tell the story

Don’t forget to check your stats; the Insights tool on your Page will let you know how many visitors your Page gets, what they liked and so forth. This will give you a good sense of what your fans are interested in, what causes them to like something on your page or which topics lead to comments. It will look like this:

+41 Fans this week (3,284 total Fans)

31 Wall Posts, Comments, and Likes this week (68 last week)

1,477 visits to your page this week (1,869 visits last week)

And finally… have fun!

Additional resources

http://www.facebook.com/FacebookPages – there are myriad links so you can learn the ins and outs of Facebook Pages

Related articles

• Facebook Pages Tip – How to manage spam on your Facebook Page (krishnade.com)
• So You Have a Facebook Page … Now What? (blogs.constantcontact.com)