Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, Book Publicity through Social Networking

by Steve Weber

Praise for PLUG YOUR BOOK!

    "I don't care if you're writing a computer book, a science fictionnovel or the next great self-help guide, you need to get your hands on a copy of Steve Weber's Plug Your Book! ... I highly recommend this one toevery author out there."
-- Joe Wikert, executive publisher, John Wiley & Sons Inc., professional/trade division

"An amazingly rich collection of cutting-edge promotional tactics andstrategies. Makes most other books about online publicity look sickly."
-- Aaron Shepard, Aiming at Amazon

"In-depth information about using Amazon as a marketing platform."
-- Christine McNeil Montano, Amazon Top Reviewer

"...I have launched online campaigns for more than 1,000 books. I'veworked with most of America's largest book publishers, helping many ofthem build online marketing departments. The book you're holding now isthe new training manual."
-- Steve O'Keefe, Publicity on the Internet

"Practical, pragmatic, low-cost ideas for promoting the heck out of your own book, whether it's fiction, nonfiction, technical, business oranything else."
-- Dave Taylor, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Growing Your Business with Google

"The first comprehensive guide to Internet book publicity."
-- Morris Rosenthal, publisher, Foner Books

"A wealth of ideas for making your book stand out, including many techniques for Internet buzz you won't find elsewhere."
-- Jane Corn, Amazon Top Reviewer

------------------------------


Taking control of your book sales
One big caveat
How to use this book
Staying current

Electric word of mouth
Riding the big river
Amazon's 'long tail'
Getting recommended
Personalized bookstores

Amazon Bestseller Campaigns
Making the list
How Bestseller Campaigns work
... and this is success?
Haywired recommendations
Is it worth it?

Amateur book reviews
Credibility through peers
Getting more Amazon reviews
Amazon Top Reviewers
Contacting Top Reviewers
Etiquette in approaching reviewers
Finding more Amazon reviewers
More ways to get reviews

Building your author Web site
Getting involved
Your domain
Building blocks of your site
A survey of author Web sites
Your online press kit
Multimedia for books

Advanced Amazon tools
Buy X, Get Y
Weaknesses of BXGY
Free paired placement
Single New Product e-mails
Amazon Connect
Listmania

Google, Amazon, digital content Google Book Search
Accidental book discovery
Instant Online Access
Ad-Supported Access
Google Print on Demand

Pay-per-click advertising
Google AdWords
Yahoo Search Marketing

Power tools
Amazon Sales Rank
TitleZ
Affiliate partnerships
Analyzing your traffic
Linking strategy
Search engine optimization
Keyword density
Length of your lease
Publishers Portal
Privacy policies
Web site cardinal sins

Selling on Amazon, beyond
Print on demand
Amazon Advantage
Amazon Marketplace
Catalog accuracy
Handling sales on your site
Google Checkout

Other major online retailers
Barnes & Noble
BookSense

Ethics of online marketing
Shill reviews
Spam

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Business, Internet

204 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2007

Reviews

[Sean Grigsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the information in this book is stuff I've learned on my own over the years. That's not to say Weber doesn't do a good job covering book marketing. It's also heavily-aimed at self- publishers. So as a traditional author, much didn't pertain to me.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone once warned me that writing and publishing a book isn’t as hard as promoting it. When I first started promoting my own novel, I quickly understood what he meant. How do I go about it? How much should I spend? Where should I focus my energy? Will I even get my novel into the bricks-and-mortar stores when thousands of other new books are also being released? If I can’t, what do I do?

I found the answer in an extremely useful guide called PLUG YOUR BOOK by Steve Weber. Weber tells us how to navigate the enormous online opportunities available to all authors whether self-published or traditionally published. Weber discusses the benefits of building your own website, selling on Amazon, blogging and blog tours, plus social networking at places such as MySpace, and a host of other things to assist authors. What I especially like about this book is the amount of how-to detail offered, including e-mail addresses for various resources. As a bonus, Weber offers updated information on his website.

If you’re stressing about promotion and don’t know how to go about it, then this book is a must-read.

[Lee Goldberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I knew a lot about promoting my books online. It turns out I was wrong. I recently received a review copy of Steve Weber's PLUG YOUR BOOK: ONLINE BOOK MARKETING FOR AUTHORS and while it told me a lot I already knew, he provides plenty of good advice, many useful short-cuts, and lots of real-world examples drawn from all over the web. My only quibble is that he gives too much emphasis to Amazon, their reader reviews, and their sales rankings than I think they merit (Weber wisely urges authors to stay away from hiring a service to boost their Amazon rankings and gives evidence why it's a foolhardy investment). And he doesn't follow his own advice -- over-cramming the Amazon listing for his own book with way too much text. Quibbles aside, there's no doubt that his promotional strategies genuinely work because here I am, plugging his book online.

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Weber has done a fantastic job providing a roadmap for authors to market their books online. He provides a peek behind the curtain with details about what works and how to do it. Although some things have probably changed since the publication date (2007), he lists key sites/links along with trends in the publishing and book industry.

[pianogal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Half of this book was good. The other half was completely outdated (promoting your book on MySpace anyone?). I liked the author and it sounds like he knows what he's doing, but this really needs an update.

[Ghassan Samaha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plug Your Blog, Bible and get a copy of this book!
I am choooooosing this book to be a "bible" for me as i need it DEARLY. Not only for my books

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of its time!

[Hermania · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE manual on how to sell your book online.

[Eloise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough

It's not a tome but manages to cover every which way of using the marketing tools of the Internet to sell your books by describing the unique features of Amazon, Face Book, and lesser known sources.

[Jean Oram · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a study guide for Book Promotion 101. Even though I have been studying up here and there on book promotion–should the time come when I have a book to promote–there were many, many goodies and explanations for how and why to do things in this book that taught me more than a few new things.

In the past 5 years, things have changed dramatically in the ways authors successfully promote their books and this book has a bit for every kind of writer. Fiction, nonfiction, self-published or not. Even if you are just writing up a proposal for your planned nonfiction book, Plug Your Book can be very helpful. (Particularly helpful in terms of outlining your book’s marketing plan seeing as more and more writers are expected to do the majority of their own publicity.)

If you are a technophobe, fear not. Webber takes the time to describe and explain different aspects of online marketing as well as provide examples. Generally, he also takes the time to relate it back to the writer publicizing their book.

With the use of online marketing as described by Webber, books in niche markets are no longer subject to languish as ‘unknowns’. With a little well planned online marketing, they can take the book market by storm by using the web to find their diverse, wide-spread market–and at little cost. This book explains how to reach that niche market. (And bigger markets too, of course.)

Plug Your Book walks authors through online social communities/social networking, online book sellers (with a lot of attention spent on Amazon–dispelling myths, gimmicks and describing how to really make Amazon work for you), blogs (yours and others), blog tours, social searches, and basically 101 ways to drum up electronic word of mouth with little cost to you other than time.

Webber frequently provides online examples (one or two URLs are listed in the book for readers to use as further research) to further flesh out a topic. As well, Webber also has a website dedicated to the topic of online promotion and updates as well–essential seeing how fast things change online.

All in all, it is a book you will want to read slowly, pen in hand to mark all the good stuff. And if you are a writer, it is never too late or too early to pick it up.

[Mick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The World Wide Web is a wonderful Al Gore invention; at long last, authors from small houses or authors who have self-published can finally compete with the big boys in terms of marketing and promotion. But for those of us rather technically challenged (myself included) the Internet--and its virtually limitless options--can be a rather intimidating accomplice when it comes to how and where to most effectively promote your book. Enter Steve Weber and his little gem of a how-to: PLUG YOUR BOOK! ONLINE BOOK MARKETING FOR AUTHORS.

Weber starts with the obvious--Amazon, the world's largest bookseller. Most of the features here I already knew about and had played with, yet Weber effectively covers all the bases and offers enlightening tips to make your title soar in the Amland sales rankings. Of more interest to me were his discussions of promotion elsewhere online, including blogging, setting up an account on MySpace. . .even utilizing ebay. Wow. None of this stuff would have occurred to me if I had had a gunnysack full of epiphanies.

Weber not only tells you about these websites, he gives you links to everything. The information is presented in a concise, informative, and organized manner (just like I like it), and Weber doesn't wax poetic on anything--just the facts.

I have implemented several of Weber's suggestions, but have only scratched the tip of the cyber iceberg. For those of you who have written or are writing a book, I highly recommend you use PLUG YOUR BOOK! as your online marketing guide. Your pocketbook will thank you later.

[David Goodberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason I am noting giveing this 5/5 stars is because it is not 100% up to date. I realize that anything internet related changes by the day and this book awknowledges that in the opening pages. This book would work great as a a reference collection, updated every 2-3 years.

TO GOOD:
*Filled with numerous sites, methods, and tips to market your book
*Will give you countless ideas and encourage you to think of new methods
*Even for the Amazon/Ebay/internet Savvy, this book will offer new ideas
*Presents all ideas within a subject and discusses the ups/downs to different apprpaches
*Teaches you how people become interested in products online with great examples

THE BAD:
*From 2007, so some ideas will be outdated (there is an entire section on myspace and nothing to do with facebook)
*The internet is always changing, so some chapters may not be on track

To sum it up - most information in this book is vital and is a must read. If a particular chapter doesn't interest you, it will spark your mind on more outside the box marketing and means to sell your book. I am an amazon.com junkie and this book still introduced me to a variety of creative methods that are key in listing your book. If you have a book you need to market, reading this book should be on the top of your list to read immediately. The methods of marketing have changed with the internet and it is necessary to obtain an understanding of it, if not a mastering of the system.

[LeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Weber thoroughly describes a number of ways to publicize books online, especially non-fiction books. I found the resources almost overwhelming and the news (warning?) that it can take three years for an author to build up an online presence that can positively influence sales of her books more than a little daunting.

A particularly hard-working and clever novelist might be able to succeed in self publishing with Weber's advice, but the same caveat that holds true with traditional publishing holds true online no matter how much she extends herself: recommendations by word of mouth are what drive fiction sales and no amount of clever online publicity is going to make a bestseller out of a poorly written book.

Nevertheless, as a novelist and would-be author, I found Weber's book reassuring and full of useful advice even if I'm still without an agent or a publishing deal. The beauty of the Internet is that it allows books of all types to reach the readers who are most interested in them. No longer do publishers have to find the handful of books that will sell the most broadly. Amazon and Google have revolutionized book publishing just as microbreweries invigorated beer making. That's a good thing. Now we don't have to drink tasteless swill unless we want to.

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that the reality of the writing world can be extremely overwhelming for new authors. It takes a great deal of courage to start writing in the first place. Finishing the text can take every ounce of commitment, time, and energy available. Once complete the new author finds out that the real work is about to begin: editing, trying to find a publisher who will publish the work, and then finally marketing.

Of all of the steps in the publishing process, I think that marketing is the most challenging. Most first time authors assume that if they write it people will automatically flock to read it. The harsh truth is that if no one knows about the book, they can't buy it. To make matters even worse spreading the word isn't as easy as it would seem. Authors can spend thousands of dollars on publicity campaigns and not even break even.

Plug Your Book is a good resource for new and not so new authors. The majority of the ideas detailed are low cost easy to do activities that any person can undertake. Many of these notions focus on making full use of the features of high density sites such as Amazon and Google as well as a variety of social networks such as Book Crossing, Library Thing, and MySpace. These kinds of connections are essential for word of mouth promotion.

[Matt Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

PLUG YOUR BOOK! is the Bible of book marketing. Steve Weber has put together an outstanding guide that will benefit both traditionally published and self-published authors. He teaches authors how to find success on Amazon and how to use social-networking and other online tools to create connections between a book and its potential audience.

The book is dated--Facebook wasn't even really on the map when PLUG YOUR BOOK! was published--but it would be a losing battle for Weber to try to keep this book current. Any book that deals with plugging into something as wildly popular (and rapidly evolving) as social media will become dated before its pages cool. Many of Weber's tips for using other social-networking sites can be applied to Facebook as well.

In a time when even traditionally published authors are responsible for doing the bulk of their book marketing, this is the best book you can buy to help make your book a success.

[Donitello · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I wrote my books (2000 and 2002), the marketing strategies that Weber describes largely didn't exist. Meanwhile time has passed, and it turns out these strategies don't just sell books -- they're a GREAT way of meeting interesting people and finding ideas and info you'd never have found otherwise. Weber got me excited about reading blogs (I had always assumed they were just a bunch of boring, misspelled rants -- who knew??), and then he gave me clear, concise directions for setting up blogs and communicating with other bloggers. The acid test: I've always hated marketing, but if this is "marketing," BRING IT ON! Great job, Mr. Weber!

[Kelly Schuknecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plug Your Book! is full of helpful online marketing tips for authors. It's a resource guide every new author should read. Developing a platform as an author (online) is important for the overall success of a book and Weber tells authors how to do that. From creating a website to blogging (step-by-step) to promoting the book on Amazon - Weber covers it all!

I would like to see a second edition come out as technology changes so fast and new resources pop up all the time. For example, an entire chapter on Twitter could be added.

Thanks Steve Weber for all of these great ideas!!!

[Nate Jordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there is some useful information here, much of it needs to be updated. That isn't so much a knock on the author as it is a fact of the ever-and-quickly-evolving nature of technology and the Internet. However, one thing to be careful of here is the book tends to be more of a plug for Amazon, explaining how Amazon works - not how You can make Amazon work for You. Beyond Amazon, there's some good tips regarding blogs, Google, Yahoo!, etc. but they're already dated and by 2012, the info will be obsolete.

[Dane Batty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marketing books for marketing books definitely have a shelf life, so when I found this book it seemed new and I got excited.
It was new enough, 2007, to help in promoting books online, and it had the best tips of any book marketing book I've read. But, it was dated - it focused on using Myspace instead of Facebook for authors, and YouTube barely got a mention.
All in all it was well-written, easy to read, helpful and worth the money, but it needs to be updated (maybe I didn't read the newest edition) to try to stay up with the daily-changing book publishing business.

[S. Spelbring · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is fairly dated, from about ~2007. He goes on and on about Amazon, delves a little into blogs, and press releases, but for the most part it just sounds like he's a publicist for Amazon's Kindle.

There are a few good points, I found the press release section to be alright and picked up a couple of pointers. For the most part, I've read better, pick it up if you want (it is free after all), but don't expect much.

[Rebecca Berto · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're an amateur in publishing this book is a nugget of gold: 5++ stars

Although I flicked through the last 45% as I'm old in this industry, the start of the book is so rich full of information I can't believe I only paid $0.99 for all that.

I highly recommend this for self-publishers. Take control and use your time effectively. This will fast-track you into being productive and hopefully profitable.

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het boek, geschreven door Steve Weber, staat vol tips voor schrijvers die hun boek online willen promoten. Daarbij wordt onder meer ingegaan op de werking van een website als Amazon en de kracht van bijvoorbeeld weblogs voor de marketing van een werk.[return][return]Ik denk dat vooral schrijvers die wat minder bekend zijn hier hun voordeel mee kunnen doen.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Plug Your Book" contained some helpful information; however, having been published in 2007, it is definitely dated. The extensive section on My Space was especially antiquated. It would be nice to see the author print a new edition of his work. Otherwise, I recommend looking for something more current.

[Cecily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is extremely valuable for anyone who has written a book or wants to do so. Steve Weber presents all the ins and outs of online marketing in reader-friendly, step-by-step style. His suggestions are easy to deploy, effective and oh so valuable!

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best guide on book promotion I've ever read--and I've read a lot of them! I can't wait to put Steve Weber's road map into play for my own book. If you're an author, don't delay. You need a copy of "Plug Your Book" by Steve Weber!

[Shalonda Williams-Lynard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one that I will be reading over and over again. Why? Because it has so much juicy information for promoting your book. It is easy to follow and full of resources to further help you along. I give this one a big thumbs up.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not on MySpace but it was interesting to learn more about it and apply the same principles to FaceBook. Plus it gave some information on sites that I've heard about but didn't really know what they were.

It's a good book if you are thinking about blogging to increase your business presence.

[Paula Quinene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands-down a MUST-HAVE book for this day and age!!!! It has lots of great tips even though a few are outdated. You'll read and reread this book -- but what counts is actually incorporating the author's advice.

[Debbie Takara Shelor · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it was time to publish my first book, this was the book that stood out as the one to follow. Following Steve's advice, I've had 2 books on the Amazon bestseller list and continue to get book sales even years after the books were published. An easy to follow how-to for online book promotion.

[Michelle Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book fairly quickly and used many sticky notes to mark the pages. If you are looking for good ideas on publicizing your book, this book can help you.