by Sherrie Wilkolaski
Social media is a must have marketing tool for authors to use to market their books and particularly to readers. Social media is how so many people are connecting to one another. Don’t think of it as a hindrance! Use it as a tool to better connect with your audience to promote and market your work.
What are three good tools to market to readers?
The three top online tools I recommend to connect with readers are Amazon Author Central, Goodreads and Library Thing. Three of the biggest (and arguably the best) tools authors, writers, publishers and consumers use to spread the word on the books they’ve written and the books they love.
So here’s a breakdown on what these sites are and how to make the most of them:
1. Amazon Author Central. Amazon provides a FREE author page to each and every author who has an ISBN and listed on their site. So take advantage of it! By having an Amazon Author Central page you are reclaiming and taking control. You as the author will be able to manage what buyers see on your page including the book synapsis, search inside the book feature, etc. As well, this page will improve your Amazon and internet search results, allowing for more marketability to both you and your books. Within your Amazon Author Central account you can even monitor and track your sales, allowing you to see who bought your book (in terms of demographics) and where they are in location (in terms of geographics). This in turn can allow you to plan and update marketing strategies for your book sales, and give you an inside look into your target audience!
2. Goodreads. Goodreads is the largest site for readers and book recommendations in the world. They have more than 6,200,000 members who have added more than 210,000,000 books to their shelves. Once you create an account on Goodreads, you can invite other authors and readers to become your friends. The more people you connect with, the more exposure you have and vice versa. There is nothing like the good old “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” marketing advice. And with Goodreads you can make it happen! The site also allows you to connect directly with people who have read your book, and allows you to rate and review books you may be reading at the time.
3.Library Thing. LibraryThing is an online service to help people catalog their books easily. You can access your catalog from anywhere—even on your mobile phone or tablet! Because everyone catalogs together, LibraryThing also connects people with the same books, comes up with suggestions for what to read next, and so forth. Think of it as a Pandora, but for books! Connecting to other readers and authors always allows for great marketing and exposure.
*Friendly Tip: Be sure NOT review or rate your own books on any of these sites. It’s a BIG “no no” to most of the consumers on these sites and the last thing your book needs is bad media traffic.
Used these sites before? Comment below with tips and personal experiences!