3 Essential Marketing Skills Every Author Should Have

The book publishing business can get tricky the more you delve into it. And if you are a writer who wishes to gain publishing success, you are going to need more than just great writing skills. Although good writing skills are a prerequisite to success, there are also other skills that you will need in the long run. One truly essential skill is the ability to effectively and efficiently market your book. You can be the most competent writer in the world, but if you lack the skills to market your book, then no one will be able to get a hold of your book let alone read it. Here are some essential skills you will need to succeed in the book publishing business.

1. How to create an affordable and efficient author platform

When it comes to marketing your book, it is always necessary that you have an effective author platform. An author platform can be likened to a headquarters from where you can market and sell your book. And seeing as a majority of people of nowadays tend to use the internet, the most effective option would be to create an author blog or website. Creating an author blog is quite easy, seeing as there are very affordable and easy to use blog sites available nowadays. There are even sites such as WordPress.com and Weebly.com that offer free yet efficient services.

Through you blog site you can do practically anything. You can post excerpts of your book to entice potential readers to buy it. You can also post articles and short stories that you have written in order to form a fan base. You can even contact fellow authors and create a rapport with them, thus widening your circle of influence in the writing community. The best thing about having an author platform of your own is the relative affordability of it and its multifaceted nature.

2. How to optimize your book’s discoverability online

Seeing as we are living in a very internet dependent society nowadays, it is very important that you optimize your book’s discoverability online. By optimizing your book’s online discoverability you are making it easier for potential buyers to find your book. Here are some easy to follow tips to optimize your book’s online discoverability.

• Consistently update your author blog. It is a well-known fact that sites that update their content more frequently are more likely to appear at the top of the search results. The more you update your content, the more interested potential readers will be.
• Make sure that your SEO or Search engine optimization is as efficient as possible. To improve your site’s SEO you can use techniques like Keyword selection, Linking Strategies and Meta Tag development
• Conduct book marketing strategies through your author blog. 

3. Learn how to utilize Social Media to your advantage

With the advances of social media nowadays, it has never been easier to be a book marketer. This is because book marketing has become so much more affordable and accessible. With social media authors no longer need to spend a fortune just to market their books. Now they can effectively market their books if they put in the time and plan their marketing strategies right. This is especially useful for self-publishing authors who don’t really have the access to traditional book marketing services such as magazine ads and radio talk shows. But with social media you are given something just as good. Which is versatility and the chance to reach a wider demographic. This is because a huge majority of people are active on social media nowadays. So if you only knew how to effectively market your book through social media, then you are pretty much all set. Here are a few tips to get you started.

• Facebook is the most popular and widely used social media site today. It is estimated that more than 1 billion people are active in Facebook and the numbers are growing every day. So it stands to reason that you learn how to use Facebook extensively in your book marketing campaign. Facebook is an incredible marketing platform because you can post advertisements without spending a thing. There is also the fact that through your Facebook friends you are given the chance to further expand your circle of influence.
• Learn to use Twitter strategically. Twitter is a highly influential social media site and a very powerful book marketing tool if you know how to properly use it. The trick to using Twitter is to ease up on marketing your book, and instead focus mostly on enticing readers by sharing excerpts and interesting trivia about your book. 
• Enhance your social media circle. It is a well-known fact that the more friends you have on Facebook the easier it will be to market your book.

Overall, knowing how to effectively market your book is a must if you want to succeed in the ever changing book publishing business. Luckily, there are so many book marketing options that you can choose from in this day and age.