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Online Promotional Tools |
| By Jamie Engle |
 ree promotion! How would you like to keep your name in front of your target audience and provide them with current information—at no cost to you? The Internet delivers your message instantaneously and keeps it available for people to see—and delivery is free. Online promotion directs your information to a tightly-focused market. What no-cost promotion tools are available?
CHATS Host an online party for your fans, and benefit in four ways:
In addition to your own chat-promotion efforts, sites and online services actively promote chats to increase their traffic. Word-of-mouth advertising from people who enjoy and benefit from the chat/workshop is another promotion benefit. At some time during the chat, mention your e-mail announcement or e-newsletter, and tell how to join the mailing list. During the chat, a log is run to provide a transcript. The transcript is usually posted at the site, available for viewing and maintaining your promotion effort long after the chat is over. This also works wonderfully in a workshop format. For workshops, keep in mind the first purpose is to provide information; you can use examples from your current or upcoming releases to illustrate your points where applicable. In your biography, include information on how to join your e-mail announcement or e-newsletter list, and ask the chat moderator if you can repeat the information at the end of the chat. E-MAIL ANNOUNCEMENTS Send current and upcoming release information, chat, and book-signing announcements via e-mail to family, friends, fans, acquaintances, and others who have asked to join your list. Don’t spam your message (indiscriminate distribution)—only send to people you believe have an interest in your message. Keep the message short, about one screen. Look for opportunities to add to your e-mail address database, and keep it up-to-date so you’re ready to send an announcement at any time. LINK EXCHANGE To increase traffic at your web page or site, link to search engines, other authors, your publisher, and genre organizations for readers and writers. Reciprocate by linking them to your web site. Be sure to review the site before linking to make sure it’s acceptable to you. Linking information will either be on site, or available through e-mail. MAILING LISTS, DISCUSSION GROUPS, AND NEWSGROUPS Thoughtful and active participation in mailing lists and discussion groups is an effective promotion tool, as well as an opportunity for networking with readers, writers, and sometimes, even publishers. Maintain a professional attitude and observe the rules of the list or group; give information as well as absorb it. Be aware of the time commitment needed for active participation in a list or group—some generate upwards of 20 messages a day. To help manage time, receive the digest version, if available. Many lists will allow you to post announcements of upcoming and current releases, chats or book signings—check the rules before posting. NEW RELEASES Develop an e-mail media list for sending news releases. Include ezines, web sites, as well as regular media contacts. Online news releases are three to four paragraphs long (about a screenful), and not as casual as an e-mail announcement. NEWSLETTERS Send your own e-newsletter, or have promotion information included in a web site’s e-newsletter. Your newsletter can be your e-mail announcement, or sent in addition to e-mail announcements. Include web sites with e-newsletters on your e-mail media list. E-MAIL SIGNATURE Added to the end of all your outgoing messages, the signature is your online letterhead. Include your URL, e-mail address, current or upcoming release titles, publisher, and release date. Keep it to three or four lines; it’s good netiquette, and most mailing lists and discussion groups limit the number of signature lines allowed. WEB RINGS Web rings are a group of related sites that connect through the ring link, and help bring traffic to your page or site. When surfing the Web, note which web rings are on sites related to yours, and click to find more information on joining the ring. A searchable list of web rings is at http://www.webring.org. WRITE ARTICLES Many web sites and online services accept articles for their site or e-newsletter, keeping your name and article accessible. Articles can come from book research, a writing technique you’ve mastered, the writer’s life, or the business side of writing, and can tie in to your online workshop topic. Check the site’s article/newsletter library or archive to see topics recently covered and styles preferred. BOOK REVIEWS Reviews showcase your book and act like word of mouth recommendations. Having reviews available at web sites that match your target audience is a continual ad for you and your book. Ezines, bookseller web sites, and reader and writer sites post reviews on site, and/or include reviews in their e-newsletters. Books can be reviewed, or sites may accept pre-written reviews. If directions for sending books or posting reviews are not on the site, e-mail a request for information before sending or posting. Time and effort is required to maintain active participation in online promotion. Weigh each tool carefully against your marketing goals, and select web sites that tightly focus on your target audience to wage the most effective online promotion campaign.
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