Once your book is available for
distribution, Cosimo's team of online and
niche marketers will do several things to
promote your book. But that's not enough! As
an author, it's incredibly important that
you do your part to promote your book as
well. In our experience, the books that
truly succeed do so when an author is
actively promoting his or her book.
You should not only have a good idea of who
your audience is, you should have an
already-established relationship with them
and a platform with which to communicate.
Outlined below are the activities included
in your contract that we will do to promote
your book. Also included are optional extra
services we provide for authors who want
more extensive promotion or who need
promotional materials but don't know where
to start. Finally, there is a list of
suggestions, tips, and tools you can use to
promote your book. Good luck promoting your
book!
A. WHAT COSIMO IS DOING TO DISTRIBUTE,
PROMOTE, & MARKET YOUR BOOK
International Online Bookstores
Cosimo will make your book available for
purchase by individual readers at:
Whenever possible, your book will take part
in online marketing initiatives offered by
online bookstores, such as Amazon's "Search
Inside the Book" program.
International Wholesalers, Bookstores, and
Libraries
Cosimo sells your book to leading
wholesalers in the U.S., Canada, Australia
and the United Kingdom. In addition, the
leading wholesalers in the U.S. and Canada
(i.e.
Ingram and
Baker &
Taylor) and in the U.K. (i.e.
Bertrams and
Gardners) reach thousands of
bookstores and libraries in those countries.
Availability through Espresso Book Machine
Your book will become part of the
Espresso Book Machine (the "EBM"),
a Time Magazine "Best Invention of 2007,"
which provides a revolutionary
direct-to-consumer distribution and print
model for books. This so-called "ATM of
books" is being placed in a growing number
of libraries and independent bookstores in
the U.S., U.K., Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Visibility with Google Book Search
Our books are part of the "Google
Book Search" program: this program
enables online users to search the text of
your book and directs them to online
bookstores where they can buy your book.
This program will increase your book's
visibility, attract new readers, and
positively influence book sales.
Cosimo's Website
We will present your book on Cosimo's
website, and in our
blog.
Press Release
We will create a press release announcing
the publication of your book, distribute it
over major wire services, and use it in
approaching selected media. This release
provides the media with specific information
about your book and why it could be of
interest to them. You will obtain a copy,
which you can use in your own efforts
approaching media or other parties
interested in your book.
Niche Marketing
We will present your book for review,
discussion, or other online presentation to
selected book reviewers and media, book
bloggers, and specialized websites dealing
with your book's subject.
Linking to Each Other's Websites.
If you have a personal, business, or
university website, we will link from our
site to yours. Simply email your URL to
[email protected] so we can
add the link to our site. In turn, you could
also link from your site to your book page
on our site, so that visitors can find out
more about it.
* Please note: your book will take advantage
of the benefits of Cosimo's innovative
on-demand publishing, such as never going
out-of-print and continuous worldwide
availability. Although bookstores will have
the opportunity to order your books, this
does not mean that your book will be
automatically stocked in every bookstore.
B. COSIMO'S OPTIONAL PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
Promotional Postcards
We offer attractive custom-made full-cover
postcards featuring your book's cover,
title, your name, and a short description of
the book. You can use this card to inform
your professional and media contacts, to
invite people to your events, to increase
awareness for your book with selected
audiences, or for general promotional
purposes.
Our Offer: 100/250/500 cards for resp.
$199/299/349
Promotional Bookmarks
We offer attractive custom-made bookmarks
featuring your book, title, your name and a
short description. You can use this bookmark
to include in your mailings, to distribute
at events, or for general promotional
purposes.
Our Offer: 100/250/500 bookmarks for resp.
$224/299/349
Customized Sell Sheet
Our professional designers can prepare a
sell sheet specifically for your book that
you can use to help publicize your book at
book events, or any other events you may
organize.
Our Offer: downloadable sell sheet,
including 20 color copies, for $249
Additional Review Copies
We will approach selected media outlets with
a combination of press release and review
copies for each of our new titles. If you
would like us to send additional review
copies to our selected media, we can do so
in increments of 25 copies.
Our Offer: 25 review packages for $349
Online Book Review
A professional book reviewer will write a
book review, which, upon your approval, will
be posted at Amazon.com and BN.com, and
submitted to additional multiple websites
that publish reviews.
Our Offer: custom online book review for
$299
Kirkus Discoveries Book Review
Although we approach book reviewers (per
above), and also encourage you to use your
own network to obtain book reviews, getting
a book review is often an uncertain and
lengthy process. In order to shorten the
waiting period and enable your book to be
reviewed by a leading book review
publication, we offer a review service to
Kirkus Discoveries: reviews will be
posted to their website, which has a wide
audience of librarians, agents, rights
representatives, booksellers, and film and
television producers. Reviews may also be
included in their monthly eNewsletter. In
addition, we encourage you to use positive
reviews in your own promotions and marketing
campaigns.
Our Offer: Kirkus book review for $495
Clarion Book Review
A professional review service is now offered
by Clarion Review, part of
Foreword Magazine, a leading book
review magazine. In addition to being
presented on their website, this review will
be registered with the top three title
information databases, used by booksellers
and librarians: Bowker's Books-in-Print,
Baker & Taylor's Titlesource 3, and Ingram's iPage. Again, we encourage you to use
positive reviews in your own promotions and
marketing campaigns.
Our Offer: Clarion book review for $395
Personal Book Publicist
When you are trying to make a decision about
whether to hire a publicist or not, you
should consider your goals for the book: Do
you want to increase sales? Do you want to
support your other (speaking/ teaching/
consulting/ business) activities? Do you
want to get additional speaking engagements?
Although there are no guarantees when
hiring a publicist, if your investment in a
publicist is an investment in your
big-picture goals, then it will probably
make sense. There are many established and
dedicated publicists around the country.
Cosimo can make recommendations about
publicists who might be most able to assist
your goals.
C. WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROMOTE YOUR BOOK
Create a Website
If you don't already have a website, it would be a good idea to look into getting one. If you know anything about HTML coding and CSS, you may be able to create and maintain your own website. If not, there are companies and web designers that can create your website for you for a fee. One great service where you can create your own website (in HTML or Flash) using a template is www.wix.com. Whichever method you choose, having a website can be the single most beneficial way to gain fans and boost your credibility. You can hold contests, share extra valuable content, send out newsletters, and blog from a website. Additionally, keep in mind that the site should be centered around you as an author and not necessarily around your book.
Twitter
If you're new to social networking and the
internet, opening a
Twitter
account can help you get accustomed to the
online world without worrying about fees,
walls, photos, or account maintenance. Just
sign up and start tweeting in 140-character
increments! There are oodles of books
available on Twitter for Beginners as well
as more experienced users. Not only can you
use it as a means to gather new fans, you
can find others with similar interests and
network with those in your field. You can
start by following US at
@cosimobooks.
Facebook
Facebook
is essential. It has more than 750 million
users from 190 different countries. If you
want a way to connect with people who
already know you that might be interested in
your book, this is it.It can also be used as a valuable marketing tool for your book.
Write a Blog
If you have a website, the next step is to
create a blog. In some cases, your blog can
be your website as long as you provide
information about yourself, your book, and
how you can be reached, either online or in
person. If you already own a website, you
can connect a blog to it. If you already
have both a blog and a website, in different
locations, you should connect them. Finally
if you've already done all that, you should
concentrate on trying to blog at least once
a week. Every post doesn't have to plug your
book (this goes double for your interactions
on Facebook and Twitter). You can talk about
current events, subjects that interest you,
things you are working on - anything that
will get your readers and increase your
visibility online. Remember, a blog is your
place to let others learn about you and your
thoughts: it's your online platform!
Amazon Author Central
Amazon recently updated their author pages
(now Author Central) to be more
user-friendly and to increase visibility of
authors and books on search engines. Through
Amazon.com/authors, you can create
an Amazon Author Central profile, add all
your books to the page so that they can
easily be seen and bought with the click of
a button, and link to your blog, website,
and social networks (which can also update
automatically on Amazon through RSS feed).
In addition, the creation of this profile
will increase your visibility on search
engines like Google, making it easier for
people in your target audience to find your
books.
Commission Reviews
Have your friends and acquaintances read and
review your book, especially on Amazon. For
your author friends, you could even do a
review exchange!
Network Online
Don't underestimate the importance of linking to others' blogs and commenting on their work. If you engage actively with bloggers and professionals in your field, they will return the favor and write a review for your book on their site, on Amazon, or let you post a guest blog. Network!
Humanize Yourself
Make yourself and your book seem more approachable by showing up frequently in social media. Write articles, offer comments to people in your platform, give tips, and in general be friendly and active and available for advice. This will make you seem more "human" and show that the material you have to offer is truly valuable.
Host an Event
Once you have a platform of people who are
dedicated to the work you do or the books
you write, you can host an author event, or
any event centered on you and your work. In
some cases, your book might not be the
spotlight, but you can always bring it along
and make it available for sale. The key here
is to bring copies of your book or
promotional materials at any conferences or
speaking events you may host or participate
in.
Attend Conferences in Your Field
Almost all professional fields host some
sort of conference or networking event each
year (and in some cases, more than that).
Attending these conferences is a great
chance to meet others in your field and make
new connections. Of course, if you do
attend, don't forget to bring along some
copies of your book or a sell sheet so you
can show them what your book is about!
Give Thanks
You should always thank everyone who was involved in working on your book with a copy of the book and a letter. You should also thank them publicly, online, in as many venues as you and they are active. This shows that their contributions were helpful and meaningful, and it shows fans that you care.
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