Howdy, been a while since I blogged so I thought I would pop in and open a discussion with a few questions. I’m posing these questions to authors who have books they are promoting (or supposed to be).
1. Has your website/Blog been updated within the last two weeks?
Seriously. People tend to visit their favorite websites every couple of days, or at least once a week. If you have not updated your site in more than two weeks, chances are those people will no t make a third trip back and you will be replaced with the “California Cows” website.
2. Have you finally added a SUBSCRIBE button to your website/Blog?
I don’t know about you, but my list of favorites on Internet Explorer is long and chaotic. I try to keep it organized, but that is not my strong suit. By adding a SUBSCRIBE or Follow button, you offer your readers a chance to find you with a lot more ease than having to sift through all the clever little sites (like: Army Wives) to try to find yours again.
3. Don’t you want readers to tell others about your website/Blog? Okay, so do you have a SHARE button on the upper screen of your site?
There are so many social networking sites out there now that it is just crazy for you not to encourage your readers to share the link to your website/Blog. Make it easy for them. This is all ab out exposure and I would be remiss if I did not tell you all to get out there and EXPOSE YOURSELF. I mean, not full frontal or anything, but in a big way.
The book industry is in a constant state of change and as authors and readers, we need to make every effort to keep up. Authors need to find new and creative ways to introduce their works to readers. With every book or story an author puts out, they need to be writing with one question in their mind: What makes this book stand out above the rest and how do I convey that to readers?
Readers, I beg of you, please be open-minded when you are browsing the bookshelves and online catalogs. Just because you have never heard of an author doesn’t mean they are not great at what they do. Variety is the spice of life and by opening your mind to new an exciting things, you may just come across a new favorite author, or two.
Tell you what. The first five people to post their thoughts on this Blog will get their choice of one of Echelon Press’ eBooks. You can check out our catalog by clicking on this link.
Journey of the Heart 
Hi Karen, great post … I’m so far behind w/my emails, just got to it. Your suggestion about the “subscribe or follow” button on the website is a great idea. Where do I get this thingy? I have share buttons already.
And I do update my website fairly frequently, tho I admit perhaps not 2x a month. 🙂
My next crime thriller is about to launch … Kindle and Nook versions should be available soon. Print distribution takes longer, 6-8 weeks, to show up on amazon and B&N, but it’s available from the publisher now. So I’m on to the marketing frenzy.
Mea culpa …and I was doing so well for a while with the blogging. Time t get back to it! And regarding discovering new authors, it really is true. I’ve been reading Echelon authors almost exclusively lately and having a blast with really original stories and characters.
I try to post once a week, don’t always make it, but I’ve kept up pretty well this year…ish.
*Sigh. . .* I’ll get on it right away. I’m still reading that little book you gave me over the weekend.
Great post. Before I started promoting my novel, I really didn’t give much thought to blogging or even reading blogs. Now I get it and read my favorite ones every day. I try to post to my blog with something often. For one thing, writing in my blog is better then not writing at all and we get feedback to push us to write more. It’s addictive in a good way. Have a good day Karen. 🙂 Reggie Ridgway. http://characterswellmet.blogspot.com
Karen, fantastic information as always. I am working on my author website now, and I hadn’t even thought of putting either a “Share” or “Subscribe” button on the page, but you can bet I will be doing that now. Thanks for the great advice.
I am an unpublished writer who created a website a few months ago. I am ascribing the tenet of “act like you’re already there” so I wanted to create an online presence to keep me on task with my goal of being a published writer. I usually post a blog once a week, more if I have time, but I definitely try to update it 1x. I have a subscribe button on my blog (that lives within my website) but I also have a Blogger account that I update with the same information. I had an old blog that I repurposed and am debating which blog application I prefer to use. I’m still debating. I do not have a share button on either one and I honestly never thought about it so that’s for the idea on that one. When I update my website, I do a broadcast on Twitter a few times and I also update Facebook to let my non-twitter friends know that there’s a new post. I also linked my FB notes to my blog to also have another avenue of traffic to the sight.
I agree, Karen! Posting frequently is a goal of mine that I need to do better with. Thanks for the swift kick:)))))
Hi Karen, good post to remind bloggers we need to be consistent in touching our readers. Also, I have found many great books by writers I never heard of – so its true. Don’t let the kings of the publishing world dictate what you read – its fun to find a fabulous read by an unknown author and then go promote them!