In a few weeks, everything on your Facebook profile, plus your photos, everything you’ve ever “Liked”, everything you’ve ever posted and more will be available unless you tell Facebook otherwise.   For more information on this important privacy change, go to this Techlicious blog post.

What’s the best way to get fans to “Like” your Facebook page other than blatantly asking them to or bribing them with a prize?  In a study of 10,000 Facebook fans done by Roost.com, they found that photos generate 50% more impressions than any other type of content.  Next, are quotes which provide 22% more interactions that any other content.  Questions results in two times the number of comments than any other post type.  On Twitter, quotes and retweets rule.  You can read the details of the survey findings here. 

Roost also offers a free social networking tool to help you plan and execute your activities across Facebook and Twitter, which could save you considerable time and energy. You can also run a free Roost Local Scorecard evaluation of your Facebook fanbase.

If you have a print or ebook on Amazon, you are eligible to set up an author profile page.  This is accessed from the “More About the Author” section of your book sales pages.  Here’s a look at my author profile.

To set up your own profile, you must sign up at Amazon Author Central.  You’ll be prompted to identify your book(s) and respond to a verification email, then you’re ready to go.  You can upload your photo, enter your blog feed address and publicize upcoming events.  Take advantage of this great marketing tool!

Thanks to Dana Lynn Smith, author of How to Sell More Book on Amazon, for this tip.

We authors are always looking for unique ways to promote our books. One idea is to create your own holiday, or even better, link your book to a holiday someone else has already created.  For instance, did you know that the second week of January is letter-writing week?  If you’ve written a book that involves letters, why not launch a publicity campaign that week?  

Here are some others ideas for the month of January: the release of your new book could be tied to Make Your Dream Come True Day, or your recipe book could link to National Pie Day, or your children’s book could match up with Winnie the Pooh Day. 

Here’s a website with a list of unique holidays in January.  Let your imagination run wild!  

Indie authors have known for a while that a good book trailer can be a great marketing tool.  It’s taken a while, but traditional publishers like Random House and St. Martin’s Press have finally caught on.  The difference is that while an indie author might set up his or her video camera in the back yard, a big publisher will hire a professional filmmaker and a cadre of actors to the tune of around $50K.  You can log on to Google TV right now and see the trailer for “Retribution,” the latest chapter in the para-normal serious, “Dark Hunter.”  

I love that indie authors thought of this first, and now the big houses are copying us.     

A friend of mine just got out of a publishing contract because she hated the cover design they presented to her.  Her gut told her it sent the wrong message.  This may be the best decision she has ever made.

According to survey data, bookstore browsers spend an average of 8 seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds studying the back cover before making a buying decision.  Online bookstores such as Amazon reduce the decision time even further, as do mobile devices.  Bookstore book buyers want concise, quick information.  The front cover (or spine, if displayed spine out) must present a compelling visual, and next a sizzling spot-on title must grab their interest.

The bottom line is the cover is the most important marketing tool you have.  It must absolutely make a connection between your book and your target market. The colors, fonts, and images must  grab the potential buyer and say “Choose me!”  While the story may be fabulous, without the right cover, it won’t sell.

I just received a wonderful review for “Husbands” from across the pond.  Take a look at Julie Goucher’s blog here and please take a moment to leave a comment.  I love that she totally got what I wanted to communicate in the story.  So gratifying…

Quick Response Codes are two dimensional square bar codes with lots of tiny boxes that can be read by smart phones with a camera, internet connectivity and a QR code reader.  Recently, you may have seen them on all types of marketing materials.  You can put them on things such as business cards, stickers, bookmarks, books, etc.  When a smart phone user scans the code, a number of things can happen.  They can instantly “Like” your Facebook Fan page, tweet a message you’ve created in advance, link to your website and much more. 

By creating a QR code, you can promote yourself or your work by making anything you want more interactive.  For more information and to create a code, go to http://beqrious.com/qrcode/create

On the first rainy night of the year, I was very concerned about how many people would come out for our presentation, “So You Want to Write a Book,” at the Clayton Library.  Much to my surprise, we had over sixty attendees, many of whom were aspiring writers. 

Our panel consisted four published authors from the Mt. Diablo Chapter of the California Writers Club, myself as moderator and author of Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever, Barbara Bentley, author of  A Dance with the Devil: A True Story of Marriage to a Psychopath, Jon Cory, author of Jon Cory A Plague of Scoundrels, and Al Garrotto, author of The Saint of Florenville: A Love Story.  After brief introductions, we authors shared what inspired us to write our books, what are writing processes were, what the hardest part of writing was for each of us and what we were currently working on.  But the best part of the evening the Q & A session where members of the audience asked such questions as how to get an agent, how to find a publisher, and how to choose from the various self-publishing options available today. Overall, I think the attendees got their money’s worth, and we authors enjoyed sharing our experiences and selling our books.  We hope to take this show on the road!  Stay tuned. 

Nothing is more off-putting than a blatant plea to “buy my book.”  I see this on a number of sites I belong to along with “vote for my blog,” or “vote for my book trailer.”  My reaction – hit the delete button.  And I’m sure I’m not alone.

Authors need to be more creative in marketing their books.  You need to find a way for readers to connect with you as a person, either through your blog or by other means.  What other interests do you have besides writing?  Cooking?  Bird watching?  Tap Dancing?  My second love is fashion.  Some time ago, I began doing posts about fashion for women over fifty on a well-known blog.  The editor of my local newspaper saw them and contacted me asking if I would like to write a similar ongoing column for her paper.  I jumped at the chance.  Here’s one of my articles.  See Page 13 and check out the byline. 

My point is there are more effective ways to promote your book than begging people to buy it.  If you know anything about marketing, soft-selling works.  Think out of the box.  Use some of the creativity you used in writing your book to market it.