This column is for new writers and those without the financial or time resources to properly promote and market their books.
JOHN KREMER, MASTER BOOKMARKETER
This month’s column is the first in a series of introductions to master marketers.
There are many good book marketers and it is time-consuming to get to know about them, never mind know their guidelines and even more time to employ their strategies.
Today: John Kremer: Ten tips to promote your books using Facebook.
Mr. Kremer is the author of the book marketing bible,1001 Ways to Market Your Books.
TEN TIPS TOP PROMOTE BOOKS ON FACEBOOK
1 – Put your Facebook page URL in your email signature.
2 – Write a blog post about your new Facebook page.
Give people reasons to like your Facebook page. Make a list of 5 to 7 reasons on how they will benefit by liking your page.
3 – Tag other people’s high-traffic Facebook pages in your updates.
Hitch your wagon to a star. Refer to, tag, and link to other Facebook pages, especially those with tons of fans or those targeted to your interests or Facebook page focus. Their fans will often come back to check out your page.
4 – Ask your Twitter followers to like your Facebook page.
Don’t just ask them to like your Facebook page. Ask them to join in the conversation. Give them reasons to get involved. I liked Justin’s suggestion here: “Wanting more conversation than 140 characters will allow? Join in…”
5 – Invest in Facebook ads.
A great Facebook ad can get you tons of likes. Then you just have to retain those likes by giving them great content and interaction. Facebook ads are easy to set up – and you can control the cost. So, you can test ads until you find one that produces the results you want.
6 – Put a Facebook social plugin on your blog or website.
A Facebook social plugin is a great way to introduce your website visitors to your Facebook page. When your website visitors see the activity on your Facebook page, they’re far more likely to want to join in.
7 – Implement Facebook comments on your website or blog.
Here, for example, are a few comments showcased directly on the home page of my BookMarket.com website. Note how both other book authors and I as well can write comments on my home page.
You can implement Facebook comments on as many of your website pages as you like. For blogs, you can implement them on all your posts and pages. Facebook comments make your static web pages far more social. That’s a good thing.
8 – Customize your Facebook page URL.
Today I was surprised to find a Facebook page with more than 45,000 fans – and yet no vanity URL. Vanity URLs make your Facebook page much easier to remember – both for you and your potential fans. You can set up a vanity username by going to http://www.facebook.com/username (after you get 25 likes for your Facebook page).
My book author page: http://www.facebook.com/thejohnkremer.
9 – Put your Facebook page URL on your business cards.
Don’t just promote your Facebook page online. Also share it offline – on your business cards, posters, letterhead, envelopes, etc.
10 – Put a link on your personal Facebook profile.
You can put a link to your Facebook pages under Contact Information, Websites, like this:
You could also feature a link in the About You section of the Basic Information of your personal profile.
Finally, you can also feature your pages on the sidebar of your personal profile. This is actually the best place because it shows up directly on your personal profile page even if visitors don’t check out your Info page.
FOR 21 MORE TIPS FOR USING FACEBOOK from Mr. Kremer, GO HERE!
John Kremer’s main site: http://www.bookmarket.com/
Frank Daley writes fiction and nonfiction in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Get his new courtroom thriller, Murder in Moscow: The Oblast Court Trial, here, free!
