Writing for Your Wealth

Those of you who have been lurking/perusing/wandering aimlessly around this blog for a while know I usually talk about making money from writing non-fiction. We create websites, blogs, books, information products, and other assets I never dreamed about as a kid writing Black Stallion knockoff stories in the back of the classroom.

But as a wannabe novelist myself, I have a warm fuzzy spot for authors, so I’m going to start a category designed to help novelists market their books online. Hey, if internet infopreneurs can have million dollar product launches, there’s no reason you can’t use some of the same techniques to sell your stories!

Today, we’re going to talk about your blog and why–if it’s like so many author blogs I see–it’s not helping you sell your novel. At all.

And then–this is the good part–we’re going to talk about how to fix it.

The Problem…

Due to the fact that authors are very good at finding distractions and reasons not to work on their latest novel, they make fantastic bloggers. They post all the time!

We know that search engines love fresh content, so that’s not the problem.

The problem is that they tend to write about themselves, their writing, and their books.

If you’re Stephen King, and people are Googling you 24/7, this is not a problem. For the rest of us it is.

Why?

Nobody is Googling you, your book, or information on your latest convention/rejection slip/random life fact.

I know… we live in a messed up world.

In the internet biz, you don’t create a site on a topic very few people are looking for information on (no, mom doesn’t count). That’s no way to make money, and it’s no way to sell a book. Instead, you want to stand in front of the parade–write about things people are looking up in the search engines.

Of course you care share personal information, and you’ll definitely want to have an “about me” page and information on each of your novels (and links to your books in your menu), but that alone, my friend, does not a popular blog make.

Until you become someone Google-worthy, there’s very little point in spending a lot of time writing about yourself. Go ahead and do that on Livejournal or your personal blog, but let’s try a different approach for your professional-please-buy-my-novel-so-I-can-quit-my-day-job blog.

A New Strategy

The purpose of your blog is to attract your target readers (AKA people who will plunk down cash) for your novel.

We’ve already established that your target readers–alas!–currently don’t know who you are. Thus it’s time to scheme ways to bring them to your blog, get them to appreciate your words, and convince them to buy your novel.

Let’s look at three ways to accomplish this:

1. Take Advantage of Someone Else’s Fame

Remember when I said it pays to stand in front of the parade?

Where’s the parade in your genre?

Who or what is popular right now? Harry Potter? John Grisham? George Martin? Star Wars? Stephen King? Patricia Cornwell?

Chances are there’s someone in your genre who is famous and who writes novels similar in style to yours (or, at least, you feel that if someone enjoyed that author’s books, they may enjoy yours as well).

Let’s get some of those fans to come to your camp.

Consider reviewing the popular author’s novels (sure, you’ll want to review other books as well, but especially focus on those authors who share the same target audience as you). You get bonus points if you can get advanced copies of said popular author’s new novels (hey, you’ve got an eBay account, right?) and post your reviews before everyone else in the world.

It probably goes without saying that your review shouldn’t be scathing. If you didn’t like the novel enough to say good things, consider finding someone to “guest blog” a review for your site.

The whole idea is to come up in the search engine results when someone types in so-and-so book-name review.

2. Target Frequently Searched Keywords in Your Genre

Brainstorm with the Google Adwords Keyword Tool to figure out what terms people are typing into the search engine that are related to your genre. Chances are the people on the other end of those searches are your target audience, so it’s worth attracting them to your blog.

How?

Write about the very topics they’re looking for information on.

If you’re a mystery writer, you might pick out these keywords:

• mystery novels

• mystery stories
• Agatha Christie stories

Now write blog posts around them. Think about how you can provide the information these readers are looking for in an enticing way.

Some titles might be…

• Top 10 Agatha Christie Stories

• 7 Great Mystery Novels You’ve Never Read
• The Best Sites for Free Mystery Stories

When folks looking up these keywords find your site through the search engines, and they find your posts useful, they might just become fans before they ever pick up your novel. You don’t have to plug your book in every post–just make sure links and pictures of your books are prominently displayed in the menu. If these visitors like what they’ve read, they’ll surf around your site and check out your work.

Your blog can be more powerful for selling your book than any book review site, Amazon included.

3. Network with Future Fans, Not Your Peers

You’re into blog commenting, Twittering, forums, MySpace, and other social media networking activities–great!

This can be an effective way to get people to visit your blog, but are you attracting the right people? Are you networking with your future fans… or your peers?

While it’s true that there can be some overlap, ultimately it’s your fans who will buy your novels, not your peers.

I see a lot of writers talking to… other writers online. Hey, peers are fun to chat with, and I’m not telling you not to post comments on fellow authors’ blogs, but also look for prolific reader-bloggers who write about your genre. Find the folks who have a big following and get them to notice you.

In other words, find the internet Operah of your genre, and network with that person.

Comment on her blog, link to her from your blog, Tweet her on Twitter, Stumble her posts, etc. You know the social media deal.

Don’t ask for favors–do favors for her. Trust me, people notice when you help them promote their sites, and maybe one day, they’ll do something nice for you. Like write about your novel and send a flood of targeted readers (book buyers!) to your site.

Likewise, don’t spend all your free time posting on writing forums. Post on forums where your target audience congregates, whether it’s the Star Wars Novel Discussion Forum or the Dean Koontz message board. Stick a link to your site in your signature space, and start intelligent threads that people will notice and contribute to.

In Closing…

I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much homework, so I’ll stop there. Ultimately, the big thing we all need to remember is that a blog is only truly effective when it helps others.

If it’s all about us…. enh, who cares?