Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian mystery author that Booklist describes as “a big hit…a name to reckon with”. Tardif has written the following novels: The River, a terrifying, action-packed thriller; Divine Intervention, a scorching psychic suspense, and Whale Song, an emotionally heart-wrenching mystery. For more information, please visit: http://www.cherylktardif.com or http://www.whalesongbook.com.
October to December is usually the busiest season for anyone wishing to promote their books. This is the time to schedule book signings at bookstores, readings at libraries and cafes, and it's also the time to fork out advertising dollars. Books don't sell themselves! Well, not unless you’re Michael Crichton, Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. For the rest of us, we have to rely on smooth selling styles, setting up tables in our local bookstores, and finding unique and cost effective ways to advertise our books.
Affordable advertising can be difficult to come by for a self-published author. But there are ways around it. There is one thing you can do that will help to bring attention to you and your books. And that is to create an "internet identity".
Quick! Go to Google and conduct a vanity search. If you don't know what this means, it's simple. Type in your name. See how many direct hits to your site (or anything that pertains to you) come up.
Since then, I have learned a few tricks of the trade, and I am now deeply entrenched in the top 30 pages (or more) in most search engines. What does this mean? It means that anyone, anywhere, can view information about my books and me. What this means to you is that if you are not at least 10 pages deep after a vanity search, you have a lot of work to do.
Here are a few ways an author can build up an internet presence or identity:
The first and most important tool you will need is a web site. If you have a published novel, this is a MUST! Go toNameSecure.com, GoDaddy.com or any other domain registry service and register a domain name. For authors, you should select your name or pen name. Choose .com or .ca over other domain extensions.
One of the best ways to establish a web presence is by writing Press Releases. A press release is a news article or announcement, usually averaging 400 words, that should be sent out two and a half weeks to one month prior to any event as it takes time for the release to be picked up by other media sources. Press releases can be written by professional companies or by the writer themselves, and you can send one out weekly.
You will also want to find places you can advertise your books. I highly recommend that you apply for a membership atBookAdz.com. The rates are very affordable and you can promote your books through BookAdz without having to give up a percentage of sales. Sales can be directed to any outlet, your publisher or yourself.
©2007 Cheryl Kaye Tardif
October to December is usually the busiest season for anyone wishing to promote their books. This is the time to schedule book signings at bookstores, readings at libraries and cafes, and it's also the time to fork out advertising dollars. Books don't sell themselves! Well, not unless you’re Michael Crichton, Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. For the rest of us, we have to rely on smooth selling styles, setting up tables in our local bookstores, and finding unique and cost effective ways to advertise our books. Affordable advertising can be difficult to come by for a self-published author. But there are ways around it. There is one thing you can do that will help to bring attention to you and your books. And that is to create an "internet identity".
Quick! Go to Google and conduct a vanity search. If you don't know what this means, it's simple. Type in your name. See how many direct hits to your site (or anything that pertains to you) come up.
A few years ago I did this and was quite depressed to see that I was nowhere to be found. In the internet world, I simply did not exist.
Since then, I have learned a few tricks of the trade, and I am now deeply entrenched in the top 30 pages (or more) in most search engines. What does this mean? It means that anyone, anywhere, can view information about my books and me. What this means to you is that if you are not at least 10 pages deep after a vanity search, you have a lot of work to do.
Here are a few ways an author can build up an internet presence or identity:
The first and most important tool you will need is a web site. If you have a published novel, this is a MUST! Go to
Next, you need a host, a place to store your web site. You can purchase web-hosting packages from a variety of sources, or you can use free web spaces that may come with existing internet accounts. If you use a free space, then you will definitely need to buy a domain name. With NameSecure.com, you can then forward the domain name to the free web space. It keeps things looking professional. You’ll have http://www.yoursitename.com/, versus a clunky looking: http://members.shaw.ca/yoursitename.
Once you have a web site, then comes the job of submitting it to search engines. There are a variety of tools and downloads that will assist you in submitting your site, such as Web CEO, or you can submit manually. I recommend that you submit once every three months in the beginning, to make sure you get listed. Don’t do this too often or SE's may consider it Spam.
To submit manually, go to a search engine’s site and look for "Add URL" or "Submit your site" on their home page. Keep in mind that it can take months before your site shows up, and then most likely it will be many pages in. To increase ranking, make sure you swap links with other authors or add yours to sites that pertain to writing. Add a Resources page with links you've researched, links that other authors will find valuable. Get a Google AdSense account and place their ads at the top of your web pages. Remember, content is key on any web site!
One of the best ways to establish a web presence is by writing Press Releases. A press release is a news article or announcement, usually averaging 400 words, that should be sent out two and a half weeks to one month prior to any event as it takes time for the release to be picked up by other media sources. Press releases can be written by professional companies or by the writer themselves, and you can send one out weekly.
Releases should be sent to local media sources (fax them to TV, radio, newspapers and magazines), and to PR feeds online. I highly recommend
24-7PressRelease.com. This is the company I use almost exclusively. Their rates are affordable, they have a more personal approach and they are extremely generous in cases of emergency. 24-7PressRelease.com has even sponsored some of my projects over the years. With their high attention to customer satisfaction and great customer service, they are the crème de la crème of online PR services. There are also a number of free press release services that you can submit your news release to. Press-World.com, Free-Press-Release.com, TheOpenPress.com and more. Your releases will get picked up by hundreds of RSS feeds and distributed internationally.
You will also want to find places you can advertise your books. I highly recommend that you apply for a membership at
With a GoldAdz membership you can advertise an unlimited amount of book titles. You can also advertise through AuthorsDen.com and many more membership sites.
Your job as a published writer is to "get known". The fact is, the more your name is out there in cyberspace and the more people who read about your exciting action-packed thriller or suspenseful murder mystery and the more people who see your name pop up when they search for ‘Canadian mystery authors’ or ‘American romance novels’, then the more potential customers you have reached. People buy more of what they know, what they frequently see. This is branding. Online, it is known as creating an internet identity.
Your job as a published writer is to "get known". The fact is, the more your name is out there in cyberspace and the more people who read about your exciting action-packed thriller or suspenseful murder mystery and the more people who see your name pop up when they search for ‘Canadian mystery authors’ or ‘American romance novels’, then the more potential customers you have reached. People buy more of what they know, what they frequently see. This is branding. Online, it is known as creating an internet identity.
Great information, especially for us not-so-with-it in the area of internet wisdom.
ReplyDeleteHi, Gina. I had trouble reading this interview. The font was very large, but I enjoyed what I could read.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips - thanks for the links too! :)Marcia
ReplyDelete