Blogging is a big subject with most businesses and entrepreneurs (like writers and authors).

It is one of still ongoing confusion and questions arise around when should someone start blogging and why should a business or entrepreneur, such as a writer or author even blog?

Well, in this week’s Tuesday Book Marketing Minute Tip I answer both of these questions to help clear away the confusion.

July 26th 2010 TMT

For marketers the traditional holidays can provide an extra boost of recognition if a product or program aligns nicely with a specific holiday. Authors and writers have the same opportunity to use these holidays to create a jolt of exposure for their book.

But did you know there are special and unique holidays along with the traditional ones that writers and authors could use to gain more exposure for your book.

Below is my Tuesday Minute Tip to help you think about how to use these special holidays for your book marketing.

July 20 2010TMT

Be creative when putting your book marketing plan together and use these special holidays to put together a discussion, contest or event that will incorporate your book.

And there are two resources on the web to find more information about these special holidays—

Quirky Marketing Calendar (an ebook) by Heidi Richards Mooney
This ebook contains the full monthly calendar templates to use for your book marketing plan plus more great marketing tips, advice and ideas for any business, including writers and authors.

And Brownielocks – website that lists these special holidays by month, week, and daily holidays within each month.

I stress with my clients the importance of knowing your target market early in the writing process. And while I was having my first session with my writing coach, Julie Salisbury, a little bit over a week ago she shared a great way of thinking about how authors can think about how to better identify the genre of their book and the keywords they can use for their book.

That is what I share on this week’s Tuesday Minute Tip for Authors—

Enjoy!

Now you may assume that because I am an online promotion strategist, I don’t believe in the traditional book signing events at bookstores. Well, you would only be partially right.

I do believe in book signings and even encourage them, but I also remind authors that they need to use their online presence to expand reach and help spread the news of the local event. Let’s face it: we dwell in the digital age where social media has replaced pounding the pavement, blogging has become the new editorial, and our information comes in 140-character blasts.
And yet authors can’t rely on their online presence alone. Traditional readers still come out in force to shake hands and get a book signed by their favorite writers. Even people who download those same books on their Kindles and iPads can’t resist a chance to meet you, the author, in person. But they have to know about it first.

Here are some things to remember when preparing for a book signing:

1) Gather a list of book stores you wish to visit. To do this, you can research on http://bookweb.org and http://booksense.com. Of course, you can check out the chain stores websites such as Barnes & Noble and Borders.

2) Once you have your list of bookstores, contact the local community or event coordinator at each store.

3) Be sure you have readily available a .jpeg image of your book cover, a .jpeg image file of you (the author) and a press release you can share with the book store.

4) Ask each store if they offer the authors any online exposure via their corporate social media outlets to send out to their mailing lists to share with visitors about their book signings coming up.

5) Ask if the store plans to contact any local newspapers or neighborhood publications about the event. And if they don’t, you can make the calls. Be sure that you ask the local press about their usage with social media and how they may be able to help spread the message of your event.
Once you have booked your local events, be sure to showcase these events in three places on the web: your website, Facebook (create an event), and http://www.booktour.com or http://netread.com.

6) As an added bonus for your event, add more buzz by creating a contest or giveaway for the first 25 people who show up at the book signing.

7) Remember to have a game plan and treat each book signing as a project; you need to have an outline with all the necessary details and contacts.

The point is, with each event, whether online or off, you need to exercise due diligence in realizing how you can use the Internet to enhance the awareness of your book.

Some may say gone are the days of the traditional press kit where you have a two pocket folder with your press release on one side and the sheet of endorsements or reviews on the other. Even though these may still be relevant, there is something that is more vital than ever for authors to have and that is an online media (or press) kit.

Like the traditional press kit, you will want to include a recent press release and a list of reviews in your online press kit, however, a few more things will help round out the online press kit such as:

1) Book Cover Image – In a jpeg file format and in a few different sizes to help facilitate placement on websites and print.

2) Author Pictures – In a jpeg file format and in a few different sizes to help facilitate placement on websites and print.

3) Book Description – Use the book description to convey the key points or message of your book to help it stand out.

4) Author Bio – Share with your readers about you and your expertise on the subject matter of your book. You should have versions available–short (about 200 words) and long (about 500 words).

5) Q & A – Allow this Q&A to be your ideal interview. Showcase those questions you want an interviewer to ask you about your book.

and I will add the other two must haves back on the list–

6) Press Release – Remember with a press release,make the information newsworthy, do not include opinions. Just give the facts.

7) Endorsements or Reviews – Offer to the media, what others have said about your book. You can give this a bit more pizazz with pictures and titles of the people offering their reviews or reviews.

As the digital age of publishing is increasing and the popularity of ebooks has risen over the last couple of years, so has the need for ease of availability for the press to be able to find your author and book information on the web in the form of a online press kit.

With your online promotion you do not want to rush or push it into getting done. You may have heard that “Having something up there is better than nothing.” Well, not really. Yes, it is important to have a web presence, to include a website and blog. But it is more important to have a cohesive online promotion layout.

When you tend to push yourself into having something up online, either on your website, blog or even an program, you may lose out in the following ways:

1) Things get missed: Many times when you push something to get done, something will get missed such as a page title, or keyword importance, or checking the formatting, spelling or grammar errors

2) Possible connections can be delayed: Before you realize of the errors on the page, you may have several potential connections come to your site but be destracted by the errors and leave your site, not to come back for awhile or at all.

3) Deflates your professionalism: When someone comes to your website, it is reflection of who you are and what you represent. Be sure your website enhances and conveys the message you wish to portray to the visitors.

When you are putting your online promotion pieces together, remember it is better to take the time you need instead of rushing it so you don’t put out something less than what you wish to put out there in front of others.

Do you use one internet browser over another ?

I do. I used to use Internet Explorer until I discovered Firefox. Well, because I don’t use Internet Explorer anymore, I don’t go in and check anything from Internet Explorer. Well, did you know that just because you see everything fine in one browser, your website/blog may not be seen the same way in another browser?? And did you know this can have an effect on your online promotion efforts?

Here is a short Aug 26thTMT. of what happened to me and what I did about it regarding online promotion and internet browsers–