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Today's guest post is by Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott.

7 Wise Book Marketing Tips for Writers
by Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott

It is incredibly tough for a writer to grab attention in this competitive market. Here are 7 marketing tips to help the self-published author.

1. Always answer your e-mail. - No matter how busy you get, authors should always answer their own email. Communicating with the public helps you learn their likes and dislikes of your work. It's the best focus group you can get. TIP: answer within 48 hours or you risk losing a visitor and potential reader.

2. Conduct an online chat. - In a chat room you may draw up to 100 readers, compared to bookstores that may only draw 10. When a new book is about to launch, chat rooms can be beneficial in spreading the word.

3. Borrow successful ideas. - Face it, we all get a little envious of the greener grass in our fellow authors yard. One way to stay abreast of things in the publishing business is to set up Google Alerts for keywords or phrases you want to know about. Every time someone posts an article on one of your keywords, you receive notification by email. It is a great way to follow your favorite authors. It is also an excellent way to generate unique and creative promotional ideas.

4. The power of social media. - Don't underestimate the value of social media. Social Media, such as Twitter or Facebook, is a great way to form a community. Consider writing about other people in your genre that you admire by doing an interview or podcast. These articles will draw readers to your blog through association of names they are familiar with.

5. Brand yourself by varying your writing styles. - Write everything from magazine articles, newsletters, plays, greeting cards, and comic books. When offered the chance to write a type of writing unfamiliar to you, view it as a learning experience. Deconstruct successful techniques to see how they handled elements of plot, tension, or point of view. Successful books are a blueprint for successful writing.

6. Reach out to Groups that will want to promote your message. - If you write a book stating your personal and political beliefs less people will be apt to buy it. But if you focus your novel on the positive aspect, such as how the vegetarian diet can help you lose weight (animal rights), or how yoga reduces stress and prolongs your life (anti-video game; anti-smoking; anti-couch potato syndrome), then you can get your message across and certain organizations would be excited about promoting your book to spread their message.

7. Choose topics with a built-in audience. - Many topics have a sizable following such as the NFL, NASCAR, X-Factor, or the Vatican. Enthusiasts or fans of these topics are ready-made readers.

RESOURCES
• Set Up Google Alerts - for keywords or phrases
• Twitter
• Facebook

-Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott is the founder of http://UnrulyGuides.com, a resource for self-published authors. She also operates OneWay Advertising. and Design, a Christian advertising and marketing agency focusing on the Book and Ebook market. Since 1988, she has provided professional services including book layout and design, book and e-book formatting, Internet marketing, website design and SEO. She has published several books including the "Ebook Formatting Kit for Epub and Mobi" and "How to Create a Book Cover Desig

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Writers on the Move is always striving to find the most effective book marketing strategies. But just knowing what to do without taking action will keep you running in place.

Business philosopher, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur Jim Rohn put it best:
“Don't let your learning lead to knowledge; let your learning lead to action.”

That’s what we at Writers on the Move continually try to do.

Within the past few months, our group has under-gone a number of changes and now we seem to have a very effective marketing group strategy.

Since, we are gaining in visibility and readership through our blog posts and the writing and marketing workshops we offer, we've decided to open our doors to new members.

I'll answer a few of the potential membership questions that might come up for those who are interested in joining our 'visibility generating’ writing and marketing group:

1. Is the group membership free?

YES IT IS!

2. Do I have to be a published author to join?

No, you don't have to be a published author. You can be a writer, or an aspiring author. And, if you're published, it doesn't matter if you're traditionally published or self-published.

3. What are the requirements to being a member?

It's pretty simple - you will need to post one article per month to the group blogsite (here). That means you'll need to be a contributing author on the site - which I'll take care of. The articles should be focused on writing, book publishing, or book marketing

And, if you have something to share, you can present a Writers on the Move workshop on writing, publishing, or marketing. Participating in this feature of the group will help build your mailing list, and we offer After Workshop Packages - take a look on the related page on this site.

4. The WIIFM (What's in it for me)? In other words, What are the benefits I'll get out of joining?

Well, if you're an author, aspiring author, writer, freelance writer, ghostwriter, or other, you'll be wanting to promote either your books, e-books, articles, podcasts, workshops, teleclasses, services - you get the idea. This group gives you a platform to do just that.

Through article marketing (the posts we share on this site) and monthly workshops, Writers on the Move is gaining in visibility and readership. Joining our group will allow you to join in on the 'visibility' ride.

You have the association of other members who are all talented writers, and who are generous with their knowledge and experience.

5. Can my posts be promotion for my books?

While you can add a bio and your books information at the end of your article, our posts are geared toward helping our readers. We want to provide information on writing, book publishing (self-publishing and traditional), and/or book marketing. Our intent is pay-it-forward and help writers on their writing journey.

Also, remember that in your bio, you can link to your site/s, your landing, or selling pages - your posts are a conduit to you and your offerings. Don't underestimate the power of article marketing!

If you have a question I've missed, please leave a comment or email me at karenrcfv [AT] yahoo {DOT} c o m. Please put "WOTM" in the subject box.

If you'd like to join our group, you can go to our Yahoo Group and request to join:
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/vbt-writersonthemove/

Or, you can email

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