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Do you have a web site? I recently
met a man at a local writers' gathering who had self-published
a book (no, we're not going to discuss that issue!). He had
paid someone to create a web site to sell his book but after
three months nary a volume had sold. I'm not surprised. I've
met this man twice now, and not once has he given me his web
address. What's more, if I told you this author's name you
still might never find his site, even with all that useful
information I gave you last month about search engines. Why?
Because it's not enough to simply create a web site, just
like it's not enough to write a book then chuck the manuscript
in a drawer. You've got to promote your site, the same as
you've got to mail that book out.
So, you ask, how do I do that? There
are many ways. One route, if you've got the money, is to hire
a company to promote your site for you. There are many companies
out there that do this and for various fees. I found fees
from $35 to register your site with ten search engines (more
on this in a minute) to $2500 a month to do a full-out on-line
publicity blitz. I'm sure you can spend even more if you want
to. Let's assume, though, that most of us don't have much
of a publicity budget. What can we do on our own to paddle
our way out of a web backwater?
You e-mail, don't you? Do you include
your web address in your e-mail messages? Most e-mail programs
have a signature option where you can have it automatically
add something to the end of every e-mail message - like your
name, web address and upcoming release. The more people you
send e-mail to, the more hear about your web site. If you
belong to any e-mail lists, like RWALink, you will be notifying
hundreds of people at time with a single e-mail. If you've
just created a web page, or made major changes, send out a
message inviting all your acquaintances to check it out. Don't
just add your web address once, either, send it out with every
message.
Register your site with the search
engines. Yahoo.com has a section called How To Suggest a Site.
It allows you to give them your site information. Other search
engines may call it Add Your Site, or something equally as
obvious. Check the bottom of the search engine's home page
for these options. Some, like AltaVista, don't let you add
to them. They come and find you. Now, having said all that,
it may be completely unnecessary for you to register with
a search engine. If your site has been up for more than a
few months, some of the search engines may have already found
you. So, have some fun, go "egosurfing". That's where you
get to search on your own name. This will let you know if
you've been found yet, or if you need to go and register your
site to speed up the process.
Links. Do you link to other sites on
your web page? Have you arranged for other sites to link to
yours? You have friends with web pages. Work out a reciprocal
link deal. Did you know you can have your web site listed
on the WRW links web page even if you are not yet published.
Do you belong to other chapters? See if they will link to
your site. Do you have content on your site that would appeal
to other groups outside of the writing/reading community?
Contact them for one of those reciprocal links. Published
authors have many other opportunities, not the least of which
is the RWANational web site. There are also "web rings" -
a group of sites with a common theme that link from one to
another in a continuous ring. Many published authors have
these web ring links, including information on joining the
ring, at the bottom of their home pages.
What about getting your web address
in front of people off-line? Think about it. Where do you
get the most web site info these days? On the web? Not me.
I get most web addresses from television commercials, ads
in magazines, and, believe it or not, from reading labels.
Anytime you have your name printed anywhere, include your
web address. This means all print promotion materials including
letter head and business cards, but also bios/resumes you
send out for workshops and speaking engagements, articles
you write, letters to the editor, whether it's the RWR editor
or your local paper. If you are interviewed, ask that your
web address be included. And if you are published, ask if
you can have it included in the author bio or as an author's
note at the end of your books. Anything you can think of that
gets your web address in front of someone is worth while.
I can't tell you how many little sticky notes I have with
web sites scrawled on them. And I don't scrawl the ones I
find on-line, I bookmark 'em.
I'm sure there are many more ways to
get your site found. Start with these basics and brainstorm.
Use your imagination and your ingenuity. Take your web site
out of that backwater and paddle it into the information mainstream!
Laurin's web address is: http://www.wittig.com/laurin.
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