Many people dream of being a writer, an author. Once, this dream was incredibly difficult to achieve. If you could not get a publishing house to buy your book, you would not be able to get the book out to the public. Now, however, there are many self-publishing options that allow people to get their books in the public eye without the aid of a major publishing company. Self-publishing is constantly evolving and becoming easier. The main problem remaining is promotion and advertising. Without the backing of a publishing company, it can seem quite daunting to achieve any amount of successful advertising. The good news is, reaching a large audience is entirely achievable if you use the proper marketing strategies. With the advances made in digital marking, it is easier than ever for an indie author to successfully market their book and reach a great many people. The key is knowing how to best utilize various digital marketing methods. One of the best tools in the marketing playbook is SEO or search engine optimization. If you can use SEO, you can have a marketing campaign to rival that of a professional publishing company. Here, you will learn everything an indie author needs to know to market their books using SEO.
The first thing you must do is determine whether you are going to handle the campaign on your own or need the assistance of an SEO professional. There are a few factors that will help you definitively decide which route is best for your situation. The first factor is the budget. Many indie authors are working on a very tight budget to get their books into the public eye, which is one of the reasons many hesitate with self-publishing. If your budget allows, it is a good idea to hire a professional, but keep in mind that it is entirely possible to have a fantastic marketing campaign without the aid of a digital marketing professional. Also, the budget will play a big part in later decisions, this is why it should be one of the first things that you take into consideration. The next thing to consider is your personal experience with digital marketing. If you have experience, it should be no problem to tackle your own marketing campaign. On the other hand, if you do not have any experience, you may be more hesitant to go it alone. However, it is important to note that with enough perseverance, you can handle digital marketing. Other considerations may include time constraints, location details, and many others.
If you have decided that need the assistance of an SEO professional, there are a few steps that you can follow to ensure that you hire the best professional in your area. The first step is to research all of the options. Because of the digital nature of digital marketing, you do not have to only rely on local companies and freelancers. You have access to professionals all of the worlds that can telecommute the job. Depending on where you are located, it is entirely possible that you may not have any local professionals. The reason for this is that they tend to be located primarily in larger cities to maximize their client base. This leaves small towns and suburban areas bereft of digital marketing professionals. Regardless of whether you are looking for someone local or abroad, the best place to begin is with an internet search. To get the best possible results, you need to add specific keywords that describe what you need. If you are looking for someone local, be sure to add a location descriptor in the search. If location is not a concern, you will want to add words like "great" or "best". An excellent example of a local search is "Local SEO Company". As for a broader search, a good example is "great SEO companies".
If you have decided to handle your own SEO campaign, the first thing you will need is a fantastic website. You will be faced with another decision at this juncture. If you did not hire an SEO expert, are you going to hire a web designer? While this is a popular option because it guarantees a more professional look and feels to the website, it is not always possible. There are many times when an indie author's budget simply will not allow for hiring any additional help. Of course, there is always the option of building the website yourself, but not many will have the knowledge and experience to do so. This really only leaves one option, a web hosting service. These services allow anyone to be able to build their own website, even if they do not know anything about website design. These are also great when working on a budget. The vast majority of web hosting services offer a free plan that allows you to build your own website without having to pay out a dime. Of course, if you later get to a better financial situation and want to upgrade with more features and a personalized URL, they have those options as well. There will inevitably be tiers of plans, each one a different price with different features. Even the tiers that are not free are very reasonably priced. If you choose this option, do not settle for the first one that you come to. Shop around and find the one with the features and price levels that best meet your needs and expectations. Rest assured that there will be step-by-step instructions on how to set-up your new site.
After your website has been built, you will need to begin filling it with content and then move on to setting up social media accounts. First, look to the content on your website. There should be all of the basic information including contact info, author bio, links to purchase your books, blurbs, and information about the books, and any other relevant information. As you are putting together the content for your site, be sure to include keywords. You will need to choose appropriate keywords to suit your books and your website. Keywords should include things such as the genre of your books, book titles, series titles, the word "author", and several others. After this point, you need to set up social media accounts and connect them with your website. It is best to have an account on all of the most popular social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Tumblr. Each of these should be updated frequently with fun pictures, status updates, videos, and links. Keep your followers engaged. Each of these social media accounts should also have a link to your website and links to purchase your books. Share posts across platforms and use hashtags and links. You should use your keywords on your social media sites as well as your website. All of these things together will pull in views, up your search result status, and ultimately bring in more sales.
Author, Freelance writer