Greetings All,

You’ve got your book marketing platform built, blog or website in place, buy-links to purchase your e-Book accessible and user friendly; but still you have one question; where are all the customers? Where are the other authors for mutual support and camaraderie in the field?

The answer is: If you build it, you must get out there and mingle and put your work into their hands; then they will come. You can do this on the internet or in person, just as you would in any face to face environment. Once you’ve built an online reputation that is welcoming and shows a genuine interest in supporting your fellow scribblers, they will come. Readers, however, sometimes need a little bit more to sweeten the pot before they come out of hiding.

Let’s face it; people like free. Doesn’t matter if someone is hawking an old stick. The question becomes, “What will it cost me?” And if the answer is , “Here, it’s free!” I feel safe in saying that in a crowd, someone will imagine all the things they might create with that old stick. Polish, carve, paint it, whatever; the point is they will step up and say, “I’ll take it!” But people are like a flocks of birds. We are creatures of habit. That same person may return to see if there is anything else you’re handing out, and so will the crowd in general; after all did you see the fantastic cane that guy made from an old stick? As a new author, or an up and coming author, how about enticing them with a free copy of your book for a limited period of time, or perhaps a gift card to Amazon for visiting and subscribing to your blog?

One of the best ways to earn a following is to reward your readers to be. Post a free excerpt on your blog if it is copyrighted. If you aren’t worried about copyright, post work just for the enjoyment of writing it and inviting people to read it. One of my favorite blogs belongs to a friend, author Nishi Serrano. For a glimpse of a great horror author in action, she posts free samples of her writing a chapter at a time. Essentially, people who visit regularly get to read an entire book for free just for showing up. How cool is that? There’s a cracking good horror tale in the works right now, just scroll down past the fun and creepy cars of horror films, over the pics of cute animals, and there you will find a lovely little tale called the Bilge. I’ve read it and anticipate the next installment with bated breath–and with the lights on. Check it: Author Nishi Serrano

Giving a way a title for free now and then creates interest in your brand. Another way to do this is joining a blog hop or two. Bloghops seem complicated to a noob, but they are simply a way for authors and readers to find each other. A site hosts a bloghop, sometimes based around a theme. Authors prepare a writing or a welcome for the given day and post it to their blog or website. All the sites are linked through the bloghop host, and all authors give away a prize of some sort; generally a free copy of their E-book or paper print book to one lucky hopper.  I participated in a blog hop before my book ever came out! It was fun meeting all the authors and visiting their sites, too. I even won a book myself! Not too shabby. For that hop, with express permission from my publisher, I gave away in advance two copies of Stealing Time. Now that my book is released, I’ll send them their copies as a download. That’s it! I found the bloghops well worth my time. Connections I made through participation in that hop are invaluable. I’m participating in another hop coming this October.

Many authors out there will balk at giving away their work for free, but there are an equal number who swear that a giveaway for a short length of time pumps up their readership and sales; this is true for traditional-pub or self-pub authors, but if you are with a traditional company, check with them first to see if you can. Self pubbed authors can do it whenever they feel the need to stir up some interest in their books! Here’s a site to read it for yourself: lindsayburoker 5 reasons to consider giving away a free ebook.

There is a money guru by the name of Suzy Orman who is constantly saying that to receive money, you have to be willing to release that money back into the universe, you must give back to society to keep the money flowing to you. At least that is the gist of what she says. I believe her. I might not have a lot to offer right now; but I can giveaway a free read every now and then, and I have traveled the long road form writer to published author. It is my mission to give back to all of you who still travel this road and help me have a better understanding of the best in human nature, and to share it along the way. Remember to be nice because you are making connections, not burning bridges; share what you learn, give away a little bit of yourself and your brand, and mingle at the bloghops!

Cheers!

C.K. Garner