The Smashwords Book Marketing Guide

Copyright 2008-2013 Mark Coker, ounder o! Smashwords "http#$$www%smashwords%&om'

(ersion 1%21 )pdated 8%31%13
~~**~~
Smashwords Edition
Cover design by PJ Lyon
~~**~~
*ther Smashwords Tit+es ,y Mark Coker#
The Smashwords Style Guide (how to format and ublish an eboo!"
The Se#rets to Eboo! Publishing Su##ess (eboo! ublishing best ra#ti#es"
The $%&'inute P( Che#!list ) *ow to Earn the Publi#ity +ou ,eserve
-oob Tube (novel about *ollywood #elebrity"
~~**~~
Ta,+e o! Contents
.ntrodu#tion/ 0bout the Smashwords -oo! 'ar!eting Guide
-a#!ground on Smashwords
Setting e1e#tations
*ow Smashwords hels authors and ublishers mar!et boo!s
0doting a roa#tive mar!eting mindset
'ar!eting starts now
*yerlin!s hel readers dis#over boo!s
The imortan#e of authors heling authors
2$ 'ar!eting Tis (all free to imlement3"
Ti 4$ ) 5date your email signature
Ti 46 ) Post a noti#e on your web site or blog
Ti 47 ) Conta#t your friends8 family8 #o&wor!ers and fans
Ti 42 ) Post a noti#e to your so#ial networ!s
Ti 49 ) 5date your message board signatures
Ti 4: ) *ow to rea#h readers with Twitter
Ti 4; ) Publish more than one boo! to #reate a multilier effe#t
Ti 4< ) 0dvertise your other boo!s in ea#h boo! you ublish
Ti 4= ) 'a!e it easy for your readers to #onne#t with you
Ti 4$% ) .ssue a ress release on a free P( wire servi#e
Ti 4$$ ) Join *0(>8 *el&a&reorter&online for free ress leads
Ti 4$6 ) En#ourage fans to ur#hase and review your boo!
Ti 4$7 ) ?rite thoughtful reviews for other boo!s
Ti 4$2 ) Parti#iate in online forums
Ti 4$9 ) E1eriment with #ouons
Ti 4$: ) ?rite a blog
Ti 4$; ) ?rite guest #olumns for blogs
Ti 4$< ) .nvite other authors to ost to your blog
Ti 4$= ) ,o @A0 interviews of other authors on your blog
Ti 46% ) Join the #onversation on blogs
Ti 46$ ) >rganiBe a blog tour
Ti 466 ) 5se Google 0lerts to dis#over where the #onversations are ta!ing la#e
Ti 467 ) Leverage +ouTube videos to rea#h readers
Ti 462 ) Print u business #ards
Ti 469 ) En#ourage your fans to be#ome affiliate mar!eters of your boo!
Ti 46: ) Create a readerCs guide at the end of your boo!
Ti 46; ) .nsert samle #haters from your other boo!s
Ti 46< ) ,o a samle #haters swa with another author
Ti 46= ) .nvite other authors to Doin you at Smashwords
Ti 47% ) Promote your boo! to the to eboo! listing sites
Ti 47$ ) (ead the Se#rets to Eboo! Publishing Su##ess
Ti 476 ) 5grade your #over image
Ti 477 ) Share these mar!eting tis with your fellow authors3
Ti 472 ) Create an online #alling #ard with 0boutEme
Ti 479 ) Create a resentation and uload it to SlideShareEnet
Ti 47: ) Join Lin!ed.n8 ost lin!s to your boo!s
Ti 47; ) ,o a resentation at your lo#al library on eboo! ublishing
Ti 47< ) Twea! your Firal Catalysts to ma!e your boo! more dis#overable and desirable
Ti 47= ) Lin! to every retailer to rea#h more readers
Ti 42% ) ,istribute your boo! as a reorder
Ti 42$ ) Publish a Smashwords .nterview
-+so ,y Mark Coker
-,out the author
Conne#t with Smashwords authors
Conne#t with 'ar! Co!er
.ntrodu&tion ) -,out the Smashwords Book Marketing Guide#
This guide rovides authors and ublishers ra#ti#al advi#e on how to mar!et their boo!sE The
ideas resented herein #ost nothing to imlement other than the investment of your timeE
.n the last three years8 tens of thousands of authors and ublishers have imroved their boo!
mar!eting with the Smashwords -oo! 'ar!eting GuideE
0lthough the Smashwords -oo! 'ar!eting Guide was originally written for the benefit of
authors who ublish and distribute their eboo!s at Smashwords8 the rin#iles youCll learn here
are universalE
Some of my tis reGuire only a #oule minutes of your time8 yet will rea dividends for years to
#omeE >ther tis reGuire a greater ongoing investment of your time and attentionE ,o the easy
things firstE
This guide begins with a short summary of how the Smashwords latform assists an authorCs
mar!eting8 and then #ontinues on with over thirty boo! mar!eting tis any author #an emloyE
This guide is a living do#ument8 so . wel#ome your suggestions for new tis and te#hniGues we
#an share with the Smashwords author #ommunityE ?rite me ('ar! Co!er" at first initial se#ond
initial at you !now where dot #omE .Cll udate the guide based on your feedba#!8 and as we
introdu#e new free mar!eting and distribution tools for authorsE
Ba&kground on Smashwords#
Smashwords is a free eboo! ublishing latform and distributor serving eboo! authors8
ublishers8 literary agents8 retailers and librariesE Sin#e its founding in 6%%<8 Smashwords has
heled over :%8%%% authors and ublishers release and distribute over 6%%8%%% eboo!sE The
Smashwords servi#e distributes to most maDor eboo! retailers8 in#luding 0le i-oo!s8 -arnes A
Hoble8 Sony8 Iobo8 Jli!art (largest online boo!seller in .ndia" and othersE Smashwords offers
various free tools for digital ublishing8 mar!eting8 samling8 selling and distributionE These
tools hel you #onne#t with your audien#eE
Setting /0pe&tations#
-oo! mar!eting is a tough uhill battleE Even most authors ublished by large #ommer#ial rint
ublishers #omlain they get little or no ost&ubli#ation mar!eting suort from their ublishersE
'ost authors8 whether theyCre traditionally ublished or self&ublished8 must do their own
mar!etingE
0t Smashwords8 we donCt ma!e romises we #anCt !ee8 so we #annot romise you your boo!
will sell well8 even if you follow all the tis in this guideE .n fa#t8 most boo!s8 both traditionally
ublished and self&ublished8 donCt sell wellE ?hether your boo! is intended to insire8 inform or
entertain8 millions of other boo!s and media forms are #ometing against you for your
rose#tive readerCs ever&shrin!ing ie of attentionE
Eboo!s reresent the fastest growing segment of the boo! ublishing industryE Eboo! sales have
been in#reasing over $%% er#ent er year the last few years8 a##ording to the latest industry
resear#h8 while traditional rint boo! sales have stagnated or de#linedE .f youCre an author8 you
need to e1ose your wor! to the digital realmE
,esite the raid growth of eboo! sales8 eboo!s still reresent a minority of overall boo! industry
salesE -ut this is #hangingE Jor all of 6%$$8 a##ording to the 0sso#iation of 0meri#an Publishers8
eboo!s a##ounted for nearly 6%K of the 5ESE trade mar!et8 u from <K in 6%$%8 7K in 6%%= and
$K in 6%%<E .n 6%$68 eboo!s robably a##ounted for at least 7%K of overall 5S boo! salesE +et
these industry statisti#s dramati#ally understate what haens when authors ma!e their boo!s
available in eboo! formE Some bestselling indie (self&ublished" authors at Smashwords are
selling over $8%%% eboo!s for every rint boo!E 'ost Smashwords authors donCt even bother to
ublish in rint any moreE
-ottom line8 youCre smart to get your boo! out there as an eboo!E
1ow Smashwords 1e+ps -uthors and 2u,+ishers Market Their Books
>!ay8 in the revious aragrah8 we leveled with you and told you how youCre unli!ely to sell a
lot of eboo!s in the near termE How that we have that out of the way8 letCs review how
Smashwords hels mar!et your boo! today8 without you lifting a finger/
1% /0posure at Smashwords%&om, our retai+ operation & Simly by ublishing your boo! on
Smashwords8 your boo! is dis#overable by thousands of #ustomers who ass through our virtual
doors ea#h dayE >n#e a visitor starts browsing8 we ma!e it easy for them to serendiitously
dis#over boo!s and authors of ossible interest with features su#h as #ategory sear#hes8 bestseller
lists8 highest rated lists8 LPeole who re#ently ur#hased this boo! also ur#hased these boo!s8M
and LPeole who re#ently viewed this author also viewed these authorsEM
2% 3istri,ution to -pp+e, Barnes 4 5o,+e, 6o,o, Sony and others
Smashwords is the worldCs largest distributor of self&ublished eboo!sE Eboo! distribution is
imortant8 be#ause if your boo! isnCt widely available in all maDor retailers8 then itCs not
dis#overableE >n#e your boo! is a##eted into the Smashwords Premium Catalog8 Smashwords
distributes it to the 0le i-oo!store (9$ #ountries"8 -arnes A Hoble (5S and 5EIE8 with more
#ountries on the way"8 Iobo (multile #ountries"8 Sony8 Jli!art (.ndiaCs largest online
boo!seller"8 the ,iesel e-oo! Store and -a!er and Taylor (the -lioE#om store and the 01is7:%
servi#e for ubli# libraries"E 'ore retail agreements are in the wor!s (stay tuned3"E 'ost
Smashwords authors and ublishers derive <%K or more of their sales through the Smashwords
distribution networ!8 as oosed to the SmashwordsE#om storeE .tCs free and easy to earn
in#lusion in the Premium CatalogE Simly format your boo! to the reGuirements of the
Smashwords Style GuideE Learn more at htt/NNsmashwordsE#omNdistribution
3% Mu+tip+e e,ook !ormats ) ?hen you uload a boo! to Smashwords8 we #onvert it into nine
different eboo! formatsE This ma!es your boo! a##essible and readable to users of any e&reading
devi#eE Customers #an ur#hase the boo! at Smashwords on#e8 and enDoy it on any of their
ersonal devi#es in any formatE Some of the many devi#es in#lude the iPad8 iPhone8 Iindle8
Hoo!8 Iobo (eader8 Sony (eader8 ersonal #omuters8 smart hones8 and future devi#es not
even invented yetE
7% -uthor pro!i+e page & ?hen you ublish with Smashwords8 we automati#ally #reate a
ersonal web age for you with a uniGue web addressE +ou #an ost your bio and i#ture8
rovide a listing of your ublished boo!s on Smashwords8 add lin!s to outside web sites8
integrate your e1ternal blog8 or rovide lin!s to where readers #an ur#hase rint versions of your
boo!E +our rofile age also lists reviews you have written of other Smashwords boo!s and your
Smashwords .nterview (more on this later"E
8% Book pages & Jor ea#h boo! you ublish with Smashwords8 we #reate a web age dedi#ated to
that boo!E +ou #an uload a boo! #over8 uload +ouTube boo! trailers8 and add a synosis and
des#ritive tags to hel readers find your boo!E +our boo! age is where rose#tive readers #an
a##ess samles of your boo! in formats readable on any eboo! reading devi#eE Customers #an
ost reviews of your boo! on your boo! ageE
9% Samp+ing & Smashwords offers the most owerful and fle1ible samling system youCll find
anywhereE Samling allows readers to try your boo! before they buyE 0s the author8 you
determine the samling er#entage8 from word one forwardE .f8 for e1amle8 you sele#t $9K
samling8 the first $9K of your boo!8 starting at the beginning8 is available for free download so
rose#tive readers #an try before they buyE 0t the end of the samle8 we romt them to
ur#hase the full boo!E
:% Sear&h /ngine (isi,i+ity & +our rofile age8 boo! ages and online boo! samles are
designed so sear#h engines #an easily dis#over and inde1 themE Simly by ublishing your boo!
on Smashwords8 youCll have doBens8 sometimes hundreds of inbound lin!s to your ages from the
leading sear#h engines8 ma!ing it easier for rose#tive readers to dis#over youE
8% Coupons; & Smashwords offers a #ustom #ouon generator that ma!es it easy for you to #reate
#ouon #odes you #an distribute to your fans on your email lists8 web site8 blog8 or so#ial
networ!sE To generate a #ouon8 #li#! to your ,ashboard at
htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNdashboardE Couons are tremendously oular with our authorsE
(ead on below for some ideas on how you #an mar!et with #ouonsE
<% Smashwords .nter=iews ) This new e1#lusive author mar!eting tool8 laun#hed in 0ugust
6%$78 ma!es it easy to #reate8 ublish and romote a self-interviewE The interview hels readers
and rose#tive readers learn the story behind you8 the authorE .tCs a lot of funE >ur system will
resent a series of otional Guestions you #an answer8 or you #an modify our Guestions or #reate
your ownE The resulting interview is heavily romoted a#ross the Smashwords siteE +ouCll find a
lin! to the Smashwords .nterviews feature under the 0##ount tab at SmashwordsE 'ore on this
feature in the tis below3
10% Book >e=iews & -oo! reviews hel sell boo!s8 so we ma!e it easy for your #ustomers to
review your boo!sE ?henever someone buys your boo!8 we send them an automated reminder to
review your boo! if they enDoyed itE ?e also wor! with third arty reviewers to hel them review
your boo!sE
11% /m,edda,+e ?ouTu,e (ideos & 0s an author8 you #an embed +ouTube videos in both your
rofile age and your boo! agesE This is great for boo! trailers8 or Dust you in front of the
#amera tal!ing about your boo!E Fideo offers you a #han#e to engage the senses of the
rose#tive reader and enti#e them to samle and ur#hase your boo!E
12% Book tagging & ?e realiBe even our e1tensive hardwired boo! #ategories #anCt a##urately
des#ribe all boo!s8 so we allow you as the author or ublisher to add additional tags8 or !eywords8
to hel des#ribe your boo! and ma!e it easier to #onne#t with rose#tive readersE The boo! tags
you enter hel eole dis#over you when they do a boo! sear#h from the home age sear#h bo18
or when they #li#! on the tag #loud on the home ageE ,onCt enter more than ten tagsE
13% Tag C+oud & +ouCve robably noti#ed the tag #loud on some agesE The tag #loud offers
readers another way to dis#over boo!s of interest to themE Simly by #li#!ing on a !eyword in
the #loud8 the reader is resented with all the boo!s that mat#h that tagE
17% *ther ,ooks ,y this -uthor or 2u,+isher & ?hen you ublish multile boo!s on
Smashwords8 you magnify the oortunity for readers to dis#over you and your wor!sE .f a
reader is browsing one boo! age8 theyCll see a lin! that reads8 L0lso by this author/M or L0lso by
this ublisher/ME
18% .ntegration with So&ia+ 5etworking and So&ia+ Bookmarking Sites & +ouCve robably
heard the term8 Lso#ial media8M but may not be sure what it meansE Put simly8 so#ial media is all
about ta!ing what weCve always !nown as Lword of mouth mar!etingM and unleashing it on to the
.nternet8 where eole #an easily share information and interestsE >n ea#h boo! age8 youCll
noti#e lin!s to oular so#ial media sites su#h as Twitter8 Pinterest and Ja#eboo!E Simly by
#li#!ing on this lin!8 you or your readers #an share your boo! with friendsE Ea#h time someone
#li#!s on one of these lin!s8 theyCre building a virtual athway (a hyerlin!" that leads ba#! to
your boo! ageE
19% The Shopping Cart & ?e hel you sell your boo!E ?e offer a simle to use shoing #art
for your readers8 and we ma!e it easy for them to ay via PayPal or any of the most oular #redit
#ardsE 0nd best of all8 <9K of the net sales ro#eeds from your boo! go to the erson who
deserves it most/ +ou8 the author or ublisher (;%E9K for sales generated from affiliate
mar!eters"E 0fter all8 Smashwords was #reated by an author (me" to hel my fellow authorsE
1:% Smashwords -!!i+iate 2artners 2rogram & The Smashwords 0ffiliate 'ar!eting Program
rovides in#entive to third arty websites8 blogs and affiliate mar!eters to lin! to and romote
your boo!sE 0ffiliates re#eive a #ommission in e1#hange for all boo! sales they hel generateE
0s a Smashwords author or ublisher8 your boo!s are automati#ally enrolled to benefit from this
rogramE
18% 2romotion on Smashwords Sate++ites ) Smashwords Satellites are a #olle#tion of over 7%
se#ialiBed mi#ro&sites oerated by SmashwordsE (eaders #an browse Smashwords eboo!s by
#ategory and toi#E The Satellites offer e1erimental boo! dis#overy interfa#es that ma!e it
easier for #ustomers to dis#over and samle boo!s of interestE 0s a Smashwords author8 your
boo! is automati#ally romoted on multile SatellitesE Jor a #omlete listing of Satellites8 visit
htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNlabs
1<% Site-wide 2romotions & Several times er year8 Smashwords offers se#ial romotionsE The
most oular romotion is (ead an Eboo! ?ee!8 whi#h usually o##urs the se#ond wee! of
'ar#hE 0nother romotion is our annual July SummerN?inter Sale (be#ause itCs summer for our
Horthern hemishere #ustomers8 and winter for those in the Southern hemishere"E ?ith ea#h of
the romotions8 you #an enroll your boo!s at different dis#ount levels8 and we romote your
boo!s within a se#ial romotional #atalog on the home age and at our mobile retail artners
su#h as 0ldi!oE
20% ree +earning resour&es ) Inowledge is owerE ?e go to great lengths to rovide you the
free edu#ational learning materials you need to be as su##essful as ossibleE This Smashwords
-oo! 'ar!eting Guide is one su#h free resour#eE .f youCre new to eboo! ublishing8 #he#! out
our glossary of eboo! ublishing terminology in our J0@ at
htts/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNaboutNsuortfaG4glossary .n 'ar#h8 6%$68 . ublished my most
imortant eboo! yet8 The Se#rets to Eboo! Publishing Su##essE .t identifies the 6< best&ra#ti#es
of the most #ommer#ially su##essful eboo! authors at SmashwordsE >n#e you finish reading this
Smashwords -oo! 'ar!eting Guide8 read The Se#rets to Eboo! Publishing Su##essE 0nother
oular free learning resour#e is the Smashwords Style GuideE ?ith nearly 69%8%%% downloads
and #ounting8 itCs robably the worldCs most oular eboo! formatting guideE
-dopting a 2roa&ti=e Marketing Mindset
.n the revious se#tion8 . shared what Smashwords will do for you8 all for free8 and all without
you lifting a fingerE 0fter all those great features8 you might wonder if itCs o!ay for you to rela18
wait for the royalty #he#!s to our in8 and start lotting your ne1t boo!E @rong; >dds are8 even
with the mar!eting and distribution benefits listed above8 if you do nothing else youCre not going
to sell many boo!sE To rea#h more readers and ta!e your sales to the ne1t level8 you must
roa#tively mar!et your boo!E 0lthough there are hundreds of boo!s out there that will tell you
how to mar!et your boo!8 and many of them are Guite good (and ublished on Smashwords too3"8
most arenCt tuned se#ifi#ally to hel you mar!et your boo! on an advan#ed digital ublishing
latform su#h as SmashwordsE ThatCs where this guide #omes inE ?eCre going to fo#us on the
to things you #an do today that will hel you get the word out about your boo!E ,o the easy
stuff first8 and then refer ba#! to this guide from time to time for more ideasE
2+at!orm Bui+ding Starts ?esterday - Bui+d ?our 2+at!orm and *n+ine So&ia+ 5etwork
.f youCre waiting until your boo! is finished to start mar!eting8 youCre already behind the #urveE
0s an author8 you should devote a ortion of every day to get your name out there and to build
relationshis with rose#tive readers8 artners and friendsE This is Llatform buildingEM +our
latform is simly your ability to rea#h readers8 or rea#h eole who #an hel you rea#h readersE
0ll the ideas in this Smashwords -oo! 'ar!eting Guide will hel you build your ersonal
latformE 0s an author8 your readers will determine your su##essE .f you #an build a assionate
fan base8 they will mar!et your boo! for youE .f you donCt begin your latform building until
after you release your boo!8 youCll fa#e a more diffi#ult #hallengeE The earlier you start your
latform&building (referably the moment you start dreaming of writing your first boo!"8 the
easier and more su##essful your mar!eting will beE .f you feel li!e youCre starting late8 donCt fretE
?e all start somewhere8 and by reading this guide youCll get a head startE Platform building isnCt
as diffi#ult as you might thin!8 and on#e you get started8 youCll find it gets easier and easier as
your latform growsE
So&ia+ Media is S&ary to Some @riters A 3onBt Cet it .ntimidate ?ou
So#ial media and online mar!eting intimidate a lot of authorsE 'any of us writers (and . in#lude
myself here3" are naturally introvertedE Jor us introverts8 so#ial media is easier than meeting
strangers at a arty8 but it still ta!es some getting used toE Good so#ial media ra#ti#es8 li!e good
mar!eting8 are #atalysts for boo! mar!eting su##essE .f you donCt engage in so#ial media8 and
you donCt mar!et8 you #an still be#ome a su##essful author by writing su#h great boo!s that
readers mar!et you boo!s for you though their word of mouthE So8 donCt feel youCre going to fail
as an author if you donCt do mar!eting or so#ial mediaE 0s a #atalyst8 though8 good mar!eting8
for whi#h good so#ial media is a tool8 #an ma!e your boo! more su##essfulE .f youCre new to
so#ial media8 ease into it slowlyE ,onCt feel ressured to send hours every day (your time is
better sent writing and editing"E
*ere are three so#ial media tis to get your started/
1% 'a!e it easy for readers to #onne#tE Promote your so#ial media addresses (Ja#eboo!8 Twitter8
Lin!ed.n8 et#E" in your boo! and on your blog or website so fans #an #onne#t with youE .f
you only start with two8 start with Ja#eboo! and TwitterE These so#ial media #onne#tions
allow readers to start forming a assive relationshi with youE TheyCre #onne#ting with you
be#ause they love your boo!s and want to hear your newsE
2% 5se so#ial media as a tool for sharing your news8 or to romt further engagement with you
(if you wish" su#h as in online dis#ussions via Ja#eboo!E
3% 5se the so#ial media sites as a tool to further your rofessional develomentE -y a##essing
so#ial media8 you #an re#eive dire#t feedba#! and ideas from your readersE +ou #an also ta
into these so#ial media tools to learnE This is my favorite use of so#ial mediaE 'ore on this
below in my dis#ussion about TwitterE
1yper+inks 1e+p >eaders 3is&o=er Books
.n the old days8 one advantage of getting your boo! LtraditionallyM ublished was broad
distribution into hysi#al boo!stores8 where you hoed boo! buyers would stumble uon your
boo!8 read a few ages and ur#hase itE .n the realm of digital boo!s8 distribution remains
#riti#ally imortant8 but . want you to e1and your notion of digital distributionE .f the front door
at your lo#al boo!store is the ath to rint boo! dis#overy8 the ath to eboo! dis#overy is the
hyerlin!E
0 hyerlin! is the ath your web browser ta!es to rea#h a #ertain destinationE .tCs the web
address for everything you find on the .nternetE .f you loo! in your web browserCs address field8
youCll see something li!e wwwEgoogleE#om8 or htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#om ThatCs the web
addressE *yerlin!s #reate the signosts8 aths8 roads and bridges that hel your readers dis#over
your boo!8 even if your boo! was not the original destination they had in mindE
Prose#tive readers may go to Google and do a sear#h on Lhow to lant tulis8M and if thatCs the
boo! youCve written theyCre more li!ely to find you if you #reated the aths to your boo!E
GoogleCs database #ontains billions of web addressesE Every time you or your fans ublish a
hyerlin! on the .nternet that oints to your Smashwords author rofile or your boo! age8 that
hyerlin! ma!es your boo! more findable by the billions of eole on the .nternetE 'any of the
tis rovided in this guide are fo#used on heling you leverage the tools of the .nternet to build
the digital aths that lead readers to your doorsteE
?hen you ublish hyerlin!s on your blog or website8 you #an lin! dire#tly to your boo! ages at
Smashwords or any other retail latformE 'a!e it easy for your readers to read your wor!3
Some authors who already have ersonal web ages may wonder why they should wor! to build
aths to their retail ages when they should be building aths to their own web agesE Great
Guestion3 +ou should wor! to build aths to both ages8 and to the e1tent youCre su##essful
building aths to your Smashwords ages or other retailer ages8 youCll also assist your sear#h
engine otimiBation efforts for your ersonal standalone web siteE *ereCs why/ Sear#h engines
use hundreds of algorithms to determine whi#h web ages they believe are most relevant to their
users for a given sear#h GueryE >f all the different #riteria they use8 one of the most imortant is
their te#hniGue for measuring relevan#eE Put simly8 the more sites that lin! to a web site8 and the
more sites that lin! to the site lin!ing to your site8 the more relevant your site be#omes in the
sear#h engineCs eyesE So if you have hundreds of sites lin!ing to your Smashwords rofile8 and
your Smashwords rofile lin!s to your ersonal web age or blog (and yes8 we suort this"8 then
that lin! from Smashwords be#omes a ositive endorsement of your web site in the eyes of
Google and the other sear#h enginesE
The .mportan&e o! -uthors 1e+ping -uthors
0lthough your boo! is #ometing against millions of other boo!s8 your fellow authors are not
your #ometitionE They are your artnersE +ou should treat them as artnersE Join author
grous8 both online and in the real world8 and do everything you #an to #ontribute to the su##ess
of your fellow authorsE Share ideasE Share e1erien#es of what wor!ed for you and what didnCt
wor!E ,o Doint romotions with other authors so your fans #an learn about them and their fans
#an learn about youE ?hen you oen doors for your fellow authors8 they will oen doors for you
as wellE
41 Free Marketing Tips
Tip D1# )pdate your emai+ signature
+our email signature is one of the most owerful mar!eting tools at your disosal8 yet few
authors ta!e advantage of itE 'ost of us send emails to doBens if not hundreds of eole ea#h
wee!8 and ea#h of these eole (often friends8 family8 business asso#iates8 fans" reresent
otential #ustomers for our boo!E -y udating (or #reating" an email signature8 youCre roviding
email re#iients a low&!ey8 unobtrusive ath to dis#over and ur#hase your boo!E Hearly every
email rogram and servi#e allows you to #reate a single email signature file8 usually a simle te1t
file8 that then automati#ally aends to every email you writeE Jor your email signature8 add a
dire#t hyerlin! to both your Smashwords author age and maybe even your boo! ages8 so itCs
easy for your readers to go straight to your boo!E To find the dire#t hyerlin!s8 go to the
Smashwords home age and enter your name into the sear#h bo18 whi#h will bring u a listing of
your boo!sE Cli#! on a boo!E Then #ut and aste the 5(L of the web address of your browser
into your signatureE He1t8 #li#! on your hyerlin!ed author name from your boo! ageE That
will ta!e you to your author rofile age8 and from there you #an #ut and aste the e1a#t address
of that age into your signatureE
Hote that when you #omose an email8 your email rogram or servi#e will automati#ally
#omose the email either in lain te1t or *T'LE .f it #omoses an email in lain te1t8 you #an
list your hyerlin!s in your signature as lain te1t8 su#h as htt/NNhyerlin!E#om8 and most
re#eiving email rograms will automati#ally ma!e the lin! #li#!able (this is what you want"E 0
#li#!able lin! usually aears as blue and underlinedE .f your email rogram #omoses your
emails in *T'L8 however8 itCs not enough to Dust list the hyerlin!8 be#ause it wonCt be #li#!able
by the re#iientE To ensure it is #li#!able8 you should ma!e the lin! #li#!able in your signature
fileE .f this sounds #onfusing8 study the hel files asso#iated with your arti#ular email software
or email servi#e8 be#ause no single software or servi#e handles this issue the sameE 0fter you
#omose your signature8 send a test email to yourself to see if your hyerlin!s are #li#!able or
notE
*ereCs what my signature #ould loo! li!e/
&&&
'ar! Co!er
Jounder and CE>
Smashwords8 .n#E
htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omN
Co&author of -oob Tube8 a satire on *ollywood #elebrity
'y Smashwords rofile/ htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNrofileNviewNm#
Samle or ur#hase -oob Tube/ htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNboo!sNviewN7
&&&
Tip D2# 2ost a 5oti&e to ?our @e, Site or B+og
.f you have a standalone web site or blog8 as many authors do8 be sure to ost a noti#e that your
boo! is now available at SmashwordsE 'a!e sure the lin!s are live8 or #li#!able8 so the reader
#an Dust #li#! and goE .tCs fine to ost a generi# lin! to wwwEsmashwordsE#om8 but also ma!e
sure you rovide dire#t hyerlin!s to your rofile age and your boo! age8 su#h as/
Jind me on Smashwords at/ Oinsert lin! to rofile ageP
Samle or ur#hase my eboo! at Smashwords/ Oinsert lin! to boo! ageP
Important: To find the e1a#t .nternet address of your rofile age8 #li#! on your 'y
Smashwords lin!8 and then youCll see your rofile age address in the 5(L (the .nternet address
of your browser"E +ou #an also enter your name or boo! title into the sear#h bo1 on any age8
and then when your boo! #omes u8 #li#! on your author name8 and then youCll see the e1a#t
address of the age in your browserCs 5(LE 'y rofile age address8 for e1amle8 loo!s li!e
this/ htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNrofileNviewNm#"E
Tip D3# Conta&t your riends, ami+y, Co-workers, Business -sso&iates and ans
0fter you ublish your boo! on Smashwords8 be sure to tell everyone you !now8 and olitely as!
them to share your email with their friends to sread the wordE +ou donCt need to be ushy or
salesy8 Dust send them a short email8 su#h as/
,ear friends and family8
Just wanted to let you !now that my boo!8 Oinsert your boo! titleP8 was
ublished today as a multi&format eboo! by SmashwordsE 0s many of
you !now8 the boo! Ois aboutN#oversNe1loresP Oinsert a short one
senten#e des#rition of your boo!PE . hoe youCll ta!e time to #he#! it
out at Smashwords8 where you #an samle the first QQK of the boo! for
freeE
*ereCs the lin! to my author rofile/ Oinsert the dire#t lin!P
*ereCs the dire#t lin! to my boo! age8 where you #an samle or
ur#hase the boo!/ Oinsert dire#t lin!P
?onCt you also ta!e a moment to sread the word about my boo! to
everyone you !nowR
Than! you so mu#h for your suort3
Sin#erely8
+our first Hame
&&&
Oif you #omleted your signature8 your signature aears hereEP
Tip D7# 2ost a 5oti&e to ?our So&ia+ 5etworks
.f youCre a user of Ja#eboo!8 Lin!ed.n8 Twitter or other online #ommunities8 tell your friends and
asso#iates that you Dust ublished your boo! at Smashwords8 and rovide a dire#t hyerlin! to
your boo! ageE .f youCre not already arti#iating in some of these networ!s8 Dum in and startE
Tip D8# )pdate ?our Message Board Signatures
'ost message board #ommunities allow you to #reate a signature that aears at the bottom of
every ostE .tCs a subtle8 non&intrusive8 and non&salesy (is that a wordR" method of telling eole
where they #an learn more about youE >ne Smashwords author8 simly by adding a single lin!
that read L(ead my writing at Oshe inserted the hyerlin! to her rofile age at SmashwordsP8M
drove over $86%% eole to her rofile age in the san of only about 9 wee!sE . should oint out
that in her osts8 she wasnCt even tal!ing about her eboo!s3 .t was be#ause she made herself a
valuable member of the #ommunity that other #ommunity members too! the initiative to learn
more about her and her writingE
Tip D9# >ea&h readers with Twitter
.f youCre not already a member of Twitter8 dro everything and go Doin right nowE Twitter is a
mi#ro&blogging siteE .tCs li!e blogging8 but youCre restri#ted to osts of only $2% #hara#tersE
'any eole when they first hear about Twitter thin! itCs the stuidest8 most egomania#al thing
anyone #ould do with their time (this is what . thought8 before . saw the light"E -ut theyCre
wrongE Give Twitter a #han#e and youCll dis#over itCs a great toolE 0fter you oen a free a##ount
(twitterE#om"8 Twitter as!s you a simle Guestion8 Lwhat are you doingRM 0nswer the Guestion8
and you Dust tweetedE To send messages to other Twitter users8 you #an ost8 LSusername8
messageEEEE8M li!e LSmar!#o!er8 .Cm telling all my friends they should ublish at SmashwordsEM
+our friends8 family and fans #an follow all your utteran#es8 whi#h are #alled LtweetsM in Twitter
arlan#eE +ou #an also follow other Twitter users by visiting their rofile and #li#!ing LJollowEM
+ou #an follow me at htt/NNtwitterE#omNmar!#o!er 8 where . tyi#ally tweet about develoments
at Smashwords and trends in the ublishing industryE
Twitter lets you #reate a short rofile8 so itCs imortant you do that so your followers !now where
to go to learn more about youE .t allows you to insert a hyerlin! to a web age8 so you #an either
enter your rofile age at Smashwords (see ti 46 above on how to find the right lin!" or you #an
enter the address for your ersonal web site or blogE >n#e you Doin Twitter8 you #an romote
your Twitter address on your Smashwords rofile by #li#!ing to
htts/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNrofileNedit
0fter you add your Twitter address to your rofile age8 youCll re#eive additional romotion on
Smashwords by gaining an automati# listing in our dire#tory of Smashwords authors on TwitterE
+ouCll find the dire#tory here/
htt/NNsmashwordsE#omNtwitterbuBBNsmashwordsTauthorsTonTtwitter
?henever you tweet about Smashwords on Twitter8 your tweet will also be romoted on
Smashwords TwitterbuBB8 here/ htt/NNsmashwordsE#omNtwitterbuBBNsmashwordsTonTtwitter
Li!e all so#ial media8 itCs imortant to Doin and arti#iate in the #onversationE 'a!e friendsE
Share ideasE 0dd valueE Jollow smart eole and learn from them (. E+o=eE Twitter for this"E .f
youCre only there to flog your boo!8 eole will tune you out fairly Gui#!lyE
There are typi&a++y !our types o! Twitterers at Twitter#
1% Sharers# Sharers find useful information8 and then share it with their followers8 usually
in the form of hyerlin!s to interesting arti#lesE >ften they will LretweetM other interesting
tweets from eole they followE (etweets begin with the a#ronym L(TM or you #an #li#! the
LretweetM lin! in TwitterE Twitterers re&tweet tweets from other Twitterers they thin! would
be of interest to their fellow twees (twitterism for ees8 or eole who follow them"E 'a!e
senseR
2% Con=ersationa+ists# these are eole who send most of their time in #onversation with
their followers and friends via SMusernameM messagesE .f you tweet8 for e1amle8
@markcoker I think indie authors will inherit the publishing universe8 then .Cll robably see
it be#ause . #he#! Twitter regularly to see what my twees are tweeting at meE ?hen you
add a ersonCs s#reenname to your tweet8 re#eded by S8 youCre saying8 Lthis tweet is for
you8M or8 Lat youEM
3% Marketers# Peole who are trying to romote themselves or their rodu#tE
7% o++owers# Peole who use Twitter mainly to follow SharersE This is a#tually my
favorite use of TwitterE The tweetstream of the eole . follow is li!e an in#redible real&time
#urated news feed of imortant trends and news in eboo! ublishingE
'ost Twitterers are a blend of varying degrees of all four of the aboveE Jor e1amle8 .Cm a
Sharer8 'ar!eter and JollowerE 5se Twitter however it best suits your needs and ersonalityE
ThereCs no single one right way to use TwitterE
. try to share Smashwords&se#ifi# information and eboo! ublishing news and trends of interest
to Smashwords authorsE
. minimiBe the number of eole . follow8 be#ause if . follow too many eole it #reates so mu#h
noise it diminishes the value of Twitter to meE . follow some really smart eole who tea#h me
new information about boo! ublishing every dayE This is my favorite use of TwitterE Even if .
never tweeted another tweet ever again8 .Cd still use Twitter simly to follow some of these smart
eoleE Try to find smart eole with #ommon interestsE -efore you follow them8 review their
re#ent tweets and as! yourself if those are the tyes of tweets you want filling your twitterstream
ea#h dayE
Some eole LautofollowM anyone who follows themE . donCt re#ommend autofollowingE -e
sele#tive about whom you follow8 be#ause if you follow too many eole youCll soon find
yourself drowning in too many tweetsE . follow about $<% eole8 and for me thatCs about rightE
>thers follow thousands of eoleE
. rarely engage in #onversation on Twitter8 mainly be#ause the fol!s who follow me are mostly
interested in Smashwords and eboo! ublishing&se#ifi# tweets8 not my rivate #onversations
about a friendCs wee!end barbeGueE . also donCt answer suort inGuiries over Twitter8 be#ause
thatCs what our LCommentsNGuestionsM form is for (and most Guestions are answered already in
our J0@"E Conversations are also diffi#ult for your followers to follow8 so in the rare instan#es
when . do arti#iate in a #onversation . try to ma!e sure my tweets offer #onte1t so my
followers #an gain some benefitE
'y Twitter strategy #an be summed u as follows/ (ese#t my followersC time and try to
rovide them value in every tweetE
0s you gain followers (eole who have subs#ribed to re#eive your tweets by #li#!ing LfollowM
below your username"8 you build your latform and your oortunities for mar!eting8 #onne#ting
and learning in#reaseE
There are various strategies for gaining followers8 and many so#ial mar!eting #onsultants do
nothing but write arti#les or sell eboo!s about how to in#rease your followingE (ead the arti#les8
but maintain a healthy dose of s!eti#ismE 'any strategies are underhanded and will turn off
eoleE Jor e1amle8 one strategy is what . #all the Lbait and swit#hEM These fol!s start
following thousands of different eole8 in the hoe that some er#entage of eole follow them
ba#!E .f the eole theyCre following donCt follow them ba#! within a few days8 they LunfollowM
them and then move on to follow more eoleE >r8 even if the erson does follow them ba#!8 the
bait and swit#her unfollows them anywayE ,onCt lay the bait and swit#h game8 and donCt worry
if the eole you follow donCt follow you ba#!E +ouCll earn your followers over timeE ?hen .
see someone following me whoCs also following 6%8%%% other eole8 . view their follow as
virtually worthlessE *ow #ould su#h a erson ever even noti#e my tweetsR
0 better strategy for gaining followers is to earn your followersE *ereCs how/ Tweet what
interests you8 be#ause .Cm going to assume what interests you is within the same orbit of what
you write about8 and so eole interested in your boo!s will be interested in those adDa#ent toi#sE
Jor e1amle8 letCs say you write boo!s about #limate #hangeE +our target audien#e for readers is
the same as your audien#e for followersE +ouCre robably sending your day studying interesting
news and trends in #limate #hangeE 0s you stumble a#ross interesting arti#les8 tweet about them
and share a hyerlin!E .f you follow someone who tweets something you thin! will interest your
followers8 retweet it by #li#!ing the retweet buttonE +our followers will are#iate re#eiving this
useful8 interesting informationE They might retweet your tweet8 whi#h then uts your twitter
name in front of all their followersE Jollow other oular authors who write and tweet about the
same toi#E ?hen you retweet something8 youCre heling to romote the twitterer who tweeted
the tweetE 'ost Twitter users tra#! whoCs retweeting their tweetsE They might be grateful
enough to tweet you ba#!8 or follow you if what youCre tweeting loo!s interestingE
Twitter etiFuette tips#
Begging & HEFE( HEFE( tweet at eole and as! them to follow youE +ou should earn
your follows8 not beg for themE Earn your follows by serving the followers you haveE .f you
tweet and retweet worthwhile and insightful tweets8 your followers will retweet your tweets
and word will get out about youE
Spamming & ,onCt sam your twitterstream with tweets only about your boo!E Ho one
wants to be sold to all the timeE
Gua+ity, not Fuantity & Every time . tweet8 . as! myself8 Lwill this tweet inform or entertain
my followers8 and am . rese#ting their timeRM .t doesnCt matter if you have two followers or
68%%%8 you should rese#t the time and twitterstreams of your subs#ribersE
-=oid stream o! &ons&iousness tweeting ) Some eole tweet every few minutesE . avoid
them li!e the lague be#ause theyCll #log my twittersteamE . donCt #are what someone ate for
brea!fastE . donCt want to hear what someoneCs ma!ing for dinnerE
2ra&ti&e positi=ity ) Some eole adot an attitude of8 L. #omlain8 therefore . amEM
(emember8 if youCre on Twitter or any other so#ial networ!8 youCre latform&buildingE
+ouCre building a brand8 be#ause authors are brandsE ,onCt be negativeE .tCll turn off your
readers8 artners and friendsE Peole might fear you8 but they wonCt li!e youE 0void snar!8
be#ause itCs easily misunderstood8 and #an #ome a#ross as negativeE
3onBt power trip ) This is a #orollary to Practice PositivityE .f youCve got hundreds or
thousands of followers8 donCt let it go to your headE There are few things more unattra#tive
than someone who uses their so#ial media latform to bully8 intimidate or #omlainE Stay
your humble self and youCll be great3
. #ould go on and on about TwitterE .f it all sounds #onfusing8 donCt worryE Just Dum in8 Doin the
#onversation8 and youCll get the hang of it in no timeE 'any authors drive doBens if not hundreds
of visitors to their websites and boo! ages ea#h month via Twitter8 so itCs a owerful mar!eting
tool you shouldnCt ignoreE -ut li!e all tools #overed in this guide8 you have to invest time over
the long term to rea the biggest rewardsE
Tip D:# 2u,+ish more than one ,ook at Smashwords to &reate a mu+tip+ier e!!e&t
The more boo!s you ublish and distribute with Smashwords8 the more dis#overable you and
your wor!s be#omeE 0ll of your wor!s are #ross lin!ed with one another8 whi#h means if a
#ustomer is viewing one of your boo! ages8 at Smashwords or one of our retailers8 theyCll be
resented with lin!s to your other boo!sE .tCs li!e #asting multile fishing lines in the sea8 instead
of Dust oneE 0s Smashwords #ustomers loo! at boo!s by other authors and then loo! at your
boo!s8 it #reates a trail of bread #rumbs that other Smashwords visitors #an followE They will
visit one authorCs boo! age and dis#over lin!s to your boo!s that read8 LPeole who re#ently
viewed this boo! also viewed these boo!s/M
Tip D8# -d=ertise your other ,ooks in ea&h ,ook you pu,+ish
The average Smashwords author ublishes 7E6 boo!sE .f you have multile boo!s ublished at
Smashwords8 add a hyerlin!s to your Smashwords author age8 dire#tly within ea#h of the
boo!s you ublish (see how . did it at the to of this boo!"E 0 good la#e is either at the
beginning of the boo!8 after the #oyright age8 and at the end of the boo!8 right when youCve left
the hay reader #urious to read more of your wor!E 0dd a se#tion at the end of your boo! that
lists your other boo!sE Something li!e this would be great/
>ther boo!s by 'ar! Co!er
Smashwords Style Guide
The Smashwords -oo! 'ar!eting Guide
The Se#rets to Eboo! Publishing Su##ess
The $%&'inute P( Che#!list
-oob Tube
Tip D<# Make it easy !or readers to &onne&t with you
?hether your write fi#tion or nonfi#tion8 at the end of your boo!8 ma!e sure you have a short
L0bout the 0uthorM se#tionE .f a reader Dust too! the time to finish your boo!8 theyCre robably
#urious to learn more about your ba#!ground and insirationE Tell your readers how they #an
#onne#t with you online via email8 or your web site8 blog8 Smashwords author age8 Twitter8
Ja#eboo!8 GoogleU8 et#E 'a!e it easy for your reader to form a relationshi with you8 even if
that relationshi is as simle as following you on TwitterE -y roviding multile otions8 you
ma!e it easier for the reader to #onne#t with you via their favorite so#ial media toolE *ereCs how
. #ould do mine (#onne#t with me if you li!e3"/
Conne&t with Mark Coker
Twitter/ htt/NNtwitterE#omNmar!#o!er
Ja#eboo!/ htt/NNfa#eboo!E#omNmar!#o!er
Lin!ed.n/ htt/NNwwwElin!edinE#omNinNmar!#o!er
GoogleU/ htts/NNlusEgoogleE#omN$%2%%2$$7%%:<6;6:9<76
*uffington Post/ htt/NNwwwEhuffingtonostE#omNmar!&#o!erN
-log/ htt/NNblogEsmashwordsE#om
Smashwords author rofile/ htts/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNrofileNviewNm#
Tip D10# .ssue a 2ress >e+ease on a ree 2> @ire Ser=i&e
.n this ti8 .Cll des#ribe the benefits of a ress release8 show you how to write one8 and then .Cll
rovide you a simle #he#!list on how to romote your ress releaseE
0s some of my readers !now8 rior to starting Smashwords . wor!ed for about 6% years in
te#hnology mar!eting and ubli# relationsE .n $==78 . founded a P( agen#y #alled ,ovetail
Publi# (elationsE 0t ,ovetail8 . reresented doBens of te#hnology #omanies8 ranging from hot
garage startus to large multi&billion dollar #omaniesE ,uring my time at ,ovetail8 . learned to
are#iate ress releases as a owerful mar!eting tool for a#!aging news informationE
1ere are three ,ene!its o! press re+eases#
1% The ress release is a roven form of #ommuni#ationE (e#iients of well written ress
releases8 su#h as reorters and bloggers8 !now that it will #ontain all the information they need to
evaluate the news value of your story and #over itE 0 good ress release tells the reader what
youCre announ#ing8 why they should #are8 and where they #an learn more information if
interestedE
2% Press releases arenCt Dust for the ress any moreE ?ith the advent of Google and other online
sear#h engines8 ress releases are #ommonly read not Dust by traditional media (newsaers8
magaBines" and new media (bloggers"8 but by your target readers tooE
3% Press releases hel you build aths (hyerlin!s" ba#! to your author rofile age8 your boo!
ages or to your website or blogE This means youCre building aths to hel .nternet users
dis#over you and your boo!E The more aths you build to ages8 the more li!ely you are to ran!
highly in the sear#h engines8 whi#h means your rose#tive readers are more li!ely to find youE
There are several free ress release wire servi#es you #an use to get good e1osure for your ress
releaseE >ne .Cve e1erimented with is P(logE Jor an industrial strength wire servi#e8 you might
#onsider P(Hewswire at htt/NNwwwErnewswireE#omNE Try the free servi#es first8 be#ause it #an
be diffi#ult to sell enough boo!s to Dustify the e1ense of something li!e P( Hewswire8 whi#h
will run you V7%% or moreE .f you de#ide to e1eriment with one of the aid servi#es8 run your
ress release only on your Llo#alM #ir#uitE 'any of the aid servi#es offer so&#alled LnationalM or
LinternationalM #ir#uits to give your ress release broader distribution8 but my e1erien#e over the
last 6% years has shown that these broader #ir#uits are a waste of moneyE The lo#al #ir#uit gets
you <% er#ent of the benefit by osting your release into all the online databasesE
@hatBs a good press re+ease topi&H Hewsaers want to #over newsE The best news stories
share information that inform or entertain readersE *ow about announ#ing youCve ublished your
boo! on SmashwordsR ThatCs news worth sharing8 ese#ially if your ress release arti#ulates
why you boo! is imortant to eoleE >r announ#e a limited time romotion (and in#lude the
#ouon #ode"E >r8 for the fi#tional boo! e1amle above8 you #ould ublish a ress release that
shares the to five tis for ridding your garden of es!y sGuirrelsE ,oes the toi# of your boo! tie
in to a maDor news storyR Jor e1amle8 letCs say you wrote a boo! about flood reairE LetCs say a
hurri#ane hits the East #oast of the 5S8 and #auses maDor floodingE Consider writing a ress
release to share useful remediation tisE .t might have a headline su#h as LJlood (eair E1ert
Shares $% Tis for *ome Jlood (e#overyEM 0 ress release must in#lude information of value to
re#eive ress #overageE
*ow do you write a ress releaseR Press releases have a fairly stri#t format8 whi#h you should
follow as #losely as you #anE
1ead+ine/ The headline words are tyi#ally either 0LL C0PS or .nitial CasE
SummariBes the high level message of what youCre announ#ingE .f your headline
isnCt #omelling8 no one will read your ress releaseE
Su,head/ The words are tyi#ally .nitial CasE Provides additional #onte1t about
your announ#ement8 and hels #onvey why the story is imortantE .n my flood
re#overy e1amle above8 the subhead might read8 L*els *ome >wners Save 'oney
on (eairs8 Prevent Permanent ,amage8 and 0##ess Jederal ,isaster (e#overy
0ssistan#eEM
3ate+ine/ Tyi#ally follows the format of City8 State && ,ateE The dateline re#edes
the body of your first aragrah of the ress release/
irst paragraph/ 5sually follows #ommon hraseology8 su#h as LQ+W today
announ#edEEEEM 0 good first aragrah should tell the reader what the announ#ement
is about8 why itCs imortant8 and who should #areE
Se&ond paragraph/ 'ore detail8 or maybe a Guote from youE @uotes should follow
a stri#t format8 su#h as LJirst senten#e8M said Oyour firstname lastnameP8 author of
Oboo!titlePE LSe#ond senten#eE Third senten#eEM
Third paragraph/ Possibly more detail8 if neededE .f youCre writing non&fi#tion8
this is a good la#e to summariBe or share valuable !nowledge8 or tell the reader what
theyCll learn from your boo!E .f youCre writing fi#tion8 this is a good la#e to rovide
some Dui#y details about your story8 and the #hallenges fa#ed by your #hara#tersE
Boi+erp+ate/ This is where you ut the author bio8 and summariBe where readers #an
ur#hase the boo!E 0dd hyerlin!s to your Smashwords 0uthor Profile Page8 your
boo! ages8 your ersonal website 8 your blog8 and whi#h retailers are #arrying your
eboo!E .n#lude #onta#t information su#h as your email address8 but obfus#ate it (see
below"E
Conta&t in!ormation/ Even if you ut your #onta#t information in the boilerlate
(and you should"8 the ress release should also #ontain a searate se#tion for #onta#t
informationE Tyi#ally an email address is fineE -ut donCt Dust ut your address in
there in lain te1t8 be#ause otherwise itCll get i#!ed u by the sam siders (these
are automated robots that s#an the .nternet for email addresses8 and then add those
addresses to sam lists"E .nstead8 obfus#ate it8 similar to how . do with my email
address a#ross the smashwords site8 where . list the address as/ Lfirst initial se#ond
initial at smashwords dot #omEM
*ereCs an a#tual samle from a Smashwords author8 in#luding some fresh new edits . added for
this Smashwords -oo! 'ar!eting Guide to ma!e it serve as an even better e1amleE . also added
arentheti#al notes .H 0LL C0PS to #orresond with the se#tions aboveE
ree e,ook Memoir, That Day in September, Commemorates -nni=ersary o! <$11
(*E0,L.HE"
-uthor -rtie (an @hy @itnessed Tragi& /=ent !rom 1is *!!i&e -&ross the Street !rom
Twin Towers (S5-*E0,"
(,0TEL.HE" Lan#aster8 PaE Setember $$8 6%%< && (+>5( J.(ST P0(0G(0P*
J>LL>?S"Lan#aster (H>TE .TCS S'0(T T> 0SS>C.0TE +>5(SELJ ?.T* +>5(
*>'E T>?H S> +>5( *>'E T>?H 'E,.0 0(E '>(E L.IEL+ T> C>FE(
+>5( HE?S" author and resident8 0rtie Fan ?hy8 has ublished That Day in September8 a
boo! that #hroni#les Fan ?hyXs firsthand e1erien#es on =N$$ and in the wee!s and months
that followedE >n the morning the first lane stru#! the tower8 Fan ?hy was sitting in his
offi#e dire#tly a#ross the street from the twin towersE
Jor a limited time (Thursday8 Setember $$ through Sunday8 Setember $2" an ele#troni#
boo! version of That Day In September8 normally ri#ed at V=E=98 will be available to the
ubli# as a free download at Smashwords at htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNboo!sNviewN$92E
(H>TE ,.(ECT *+PE(L.HI T> *.S ->>I P0GEE ?*.LE .TCS H>T HECESS0(+
T> ,> 0 L.'.TE, T.'E P(>'>T.>H L.IE T*.S8 .TCS H>T 0 -0, .,E0 E.T*E(E
L.'.TE, T.'E P(>'>T.>HS -5.L, 5(GEHC+E ?.T* S'0S*?>(,SC C>5P>H
GEHE(0T>( (find it in your ,ashboard"8 +>5 C0H .HSE(T +>5( C>5P>H C>,E
,.(ECTL+ .H T*E P(ESS (ELE0SE"
?hile many stories have been told about Setember $$th in the ast seven years8 Fan ?hyXs
effort to !ee the memory of that day alive and to honor those who died offers a truly uniGue
erse#tive and a moving #ommentary that begs to be read in one sittingE (T*.S
P0(0G(0P* ,., 0 G(E0T >J TELL.HG T*E (E0,E( ?*+ *.S ->>I .S 0
?>(T*?*.LE (E0,"
-,out Smashwords (T*.S .S T*E S'0S*?>(,S ->.LE(PL0TE8 ?*.C* +>5 C0H
.HCL5,E"
Jounded in 6%%<8 Smashwords is the leading distributor of self&ublished eboo!sE 'ore than
:%8%%% authors8 small resses and literary agents around the world ublish over 6%%8%%%
eboo!s through SmashwordsE Smashwords ma!es eboo! ublishing fast8 free and easyE
Smashwords distributes to maDor online retailers su#h as the 0le i-oo!store8 -arnes A
Hoble8 Sony8 Iobo8 -a!er A Taylor -lio8 Page Joundry and the ,iesel e-oo! StoreE
Smashwords is based in Los Gatos8 California8 and #an be rea#hed on the web at
htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omE Fisit the offi#ial Smashwords blog at
htt/NNblogEsmashwordsE#omN
-,out -rtie (an @hy "T1.S .S 1.S 2/>S*5-C B*.C/>2C-T/% T?2.C-CC?,
T1/ 2->T? .SS).5G T1/ 2>/SS >/C/-S/ C.STS T1/.> B*.C/>2C-T/
C-ST'
>riginally from 'aryland8 0rtie Fan ?hy lived in Hew +or! City for more than 69 yearsE
0fter =N$$ he left his Dob of $7 years and began writing about his e1erien#e of that day8 and
the wee!s and months followingE *is writings be#ame the basis for the one man lay of That
Day In September whi#h 0rtie erformed in LE0E and >ff -roadway in Hew +or!E .t is on
that lay that his memoir That Day In September is basedE 0rtie now lives in Lan#aster8
PennsylvaniaE
Conta#t/
0rtie Fan ?hy
firstname at emailroviderE#om
444 (this is the symbol for Lend of release8M and it should be #entered"
@here to ind More 2ress >e+ease Samp+es
Jor more samles8 you #an visit the Smashwords ress room at
htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNressE
Che&k+ist# 1ow to 2romote a 2ress >e+ease#
'ost eole mista!enly believe that simly by running a ress release on a wire servi#e8 theyCll
get ress #overageE This is not the #aseE +our best ress #overage will #ome from your roa#tive
romotion of your newsE This means you need to rea#h out to reorters and bloggers and it#h
your story to themE
1ereBs a Fui&k &he&k+ist on how to promote your story#
1% @rite a great press re+ease% 0s . mention above8 a great ress release tells a #omelling
storyE .n the first #oule senten#es8 it should arti#ulate what youCre announ#ing8 whoCs it for8
and why they should #areE -a#! in my te#h P( days where weCd often romote new
te#hnology rodu#ts8 we wanted the ress release to answer8 Lwhat it is8 what it does and why
itCs se#ialM in the first senten#eE .f you #anCt answer why anyone should #are8 then you
donCt have a newsworthy storyE Conte1t is imortantE .f youCre missing any of these
elements8 the reorter wonCt have the #onte1t to understand what youCre announ#ing and why
it matters to their readersE
2% 3e=e+op your target +ist% ,onCt it#h your story to reorters who wonCt #areE Jor
e1amle8 a gardening reorter would never #over oliti#al newsE TheyCre going to #are about
seeds8 lants8 soil8 bugs and #ritters8 weather8 gardening tools and gardening te#hniGuesE
LetCs say you live in the 5S and ublished a boo! titled8 L*ow to Prote#t +our Garden from
SGuirrels without Iilling the Little -uggersEM There are robably hundreds of gardening
reorters at lo#al and national newsaers a#ross the #ountry who benefit from your wisdomE
?here do you find them and their #onta#t informationR Che#! out the rint version of the
-a#onCs 'edia ,ire#tories where you #an find the gardening reorters at maDor daily
newsaers and magaBinesE -a#ons lists all the reorters8 their #overage area and their
#onta#t informationE +our lo#al library robably has itE +ou #an also ur#hase it for around
V:9%8 but youCd have to sell a lot of boo!s to #over that V:9% so try to a##ess it for free at
your libraryE .f you library doesnCt have -a#onCs8 thereCs a good #han#e they have other
media dire#toriesE
3% /mai+ is ,est% Even if you have the reorterCs hone number8 email is always the best
form of #onta#t be#ause youCll never ris! interruting them while theyCre on deadline (if you
want to hear a monster roar8 it#h a story over the hone to a reorter while theyCre on
deadline ) on se#ond thought8 donCt try be#ause itCs not #onsiderate3"E The best time to send
a newsaer reorter an email is in the morning be#ause daily newsaers go on deadline
starting in the afternoonE
7% 5o !i+e atta&hments% Hever send your ress release as a file atta#hmentE (eorters wonCt
want to oen it for fear it #ontains a virusE .t also reGuires an e1tra #li#!E .nstead8 always
#omose your email in te1t8 and #oy the ress release into the body of the email as lain
te1tE
8% 2ersona+iIe the pit&h% Ea#h reorter should re#eive a ersonaliBed it#hE (esear#h the
reorter before you #onta#t themE Confirm they write about toi#s similar to your ownE Go
the e1tra mile and read some of their storiesE .f you read one or more of their stories8 youCll
!now what interests themE .f you tell them you read their stories8 youCll be five times more
li!ely to re#eive a resonse be#ause theyCll !now you too! the time to understand their beat
and their interests before you #onta#ted themE
9% The pit&h shou+d ,e short% Ho more than few short aragrahs8 followed by your ress
release asted below the it#hE 0ddress them by name8 and never by L,ear reorter8 or *i8
or To ?hom it 'ay Con#ernEM They have a nameE 5se itE Try to leave the door oen so if
they #anCt do a story now8 theyCll #onsider you as an e1ert resour#e in the futureE
*ereCs how a good it#h might read (without the itali#s of #ourse"/
i Sam!
I "ust read your story from last year at http:##$insert a direct hyperlink to
their story % it reminds them of what they wrote! and it confirms to them
you read it& about weed control' I(m a master gardener! and I thought it
was e)cellent'
*esterday I published an ebook at Smashwords titled! +, TIPS -./
012I034--/11 53/D16I65! and I dedicated an entire chapter to
weed control' 7ould you believe bantam chickens are great weed
eaters8 I also address important topics such as soil conditioning! water
conservation! s9uirrels and pesticide-free bug control$6.T1: I(m
dropping in other topic areas I know will interest a gardening reporter&'
If you(d like a free review copy! I can email you a coupon code you can
redeem instantly at Smashwords' I(d also be happy to speak on the
phone if you(d like to learn more about my organic gardening tips' I
pasted my press release below'
Please let me know if you(re working on anything now or in the future
where I can be of assistance:
Thanks for your consideration! and best wishes'
;oe
;oe 5ardener
<=<'<<<'=>=>
$Insert the rest of your email signature here&
$Paste your press release here&
:% Great pit&hes are a,out su,stan&e% 0void hyerbole and hyeE ThatCs a turn&off to
reortersE Sti#! to the fa#tsE Put yourself in their readersC shoes8 be#ause their Dob is to hel
their readers8 so your Dob is to hel the reorter hel their readersE 0lways be $%%K honestE
+ou want to develo a life&long relationshi with that reorter8 and relationshis are built on
trust and #redibilityE
8% 3onBt e0pe&t a rep+y% Every reorter is #onstantly hounded by eole who want free
ress #overage from themE Even if theyCre interested in your story8 they may not have time to
relyE >r8 they may file your Guery aside for future referen#eE .f they ignore your it#h8
donCt worryE 'ost it#hes will not re#eive a relyE P( is a numbers gameE .f you write 6%
ersonaliBed and targeted it#hes8 and you get a single story out of it8 that single story #ould
ma!e all the effort worthwhileE .f your it#h is ersonaliBed and targeted li!e my e1amle
above8 however8 youCll robably mu#h higher resonse rateE
<% -+ways respe&t a reporterBs time% .f you #onta#t the wrong reorter8 or if you ester
them8 theyCll remember you for the wrong reasonsE (emember8 theyCre under no obligation
to #over your story8 no matter how wonderful your story isE
10% >epa&kage the o+d as new again% .f your boo! has already been on the mar!et for some
time8 then a#!age your ress release around helful hints8 li!e L9 Tis for Pesti#ide&J(EE
Gardening8M drawing uon information in your boo!E (eorters love to run #he#!listsE
11% Tips !or &onta&ting ,+oggers% The tis above will wor! eGually well with bloggers8
though youCre unli!ely to find bloggers in -a#onsE .nstead8 use GoogleE Google Lgardening
blog8M or LOinsert your toi#P blogM and youCll be surrised what you findE >r8 use a blog
sear#h engine su#h as Te#hnorati (wwwEte#hnoratiE#om"8 where you #an sear#h for blogs and
blog osts by toi#E ?ith bloggers8 in addition to it#hing them stories8 you #an also offer
yourself as a guest bloggerE
Cearn More a,out the 2ra&ti&e o! 2u,+i& >e+ations
. wrote a short eboo!8 The =,-2inute P/ 0hecklist - 1arn the Publicity *ou Deserve! available at
Smashwords and all maDor eboo! retailersE . wrote it for mar!eting rofessionals and
entrereneurs to hel them understand how to obtain ress #overage to a#hieve any business
obDe#tiveE 0lthough itCs not se#ifi#ally written for authors8 some authors have found it
worthwhileE 5nli!e my free eboo!s about eboo! ublishing8 this eboo! is ri#ed at V9E==E
Tip D11# Join 1->*, 1e+p--->eporter-*n+ine
Ea#h day8 thousands of Dournalists a#ross the globe are on deadline for stories they need to write8
right nowE These Dournalists often need to interview e1erts for the insights that build their
storiesE 'erely be#ause youCre an author8 youCre robably more Gualified than you thin! to serve
as an e1ert on many toi#sE Journalists love to interview authors8 and when they interview you
theyCll identify you as the author of su#h and su#h boo!8 whi#h gives you free ubli#ity3 .f you
were a large #omany8 youCd hire a P( agen#y su#h as my former #omany ,ovetail and ay
them V<8%%% a month or more to get you interviews (and ress #overage" from these reortersE
-ut #learly8 most authors donCt have that !ind of money8 nor would . ever advise they even
#onsider sending so mu#h8 ese#ially when there are some free ubli#ity tools out there that
allow you to do some of this yourselfE >ne su#h tool is #alled *0(>8 whi#h stands for *el 0
(eorter >nlineE *0(> is a free servi#e that emails you a summary of what reorters are
wor!ing on8 and the tyes of e1erts they want to interviewE Subs#ribe to this servi#e todayE To
read my review of the servi#e on the Smashwords blog8 go to
htt/NNblogEsmashwordsE#omN6%%<N%=Nharo&great&ubli#ity&tool&forEhtml E
0uthors also use *0(> for resear#h urosesE .f youCre writing a non&fi#tion boo! you lan to
ublish on Smashwords8 and you need to interview e1erts8 you #an ost a Guery to the *0(>
listE E1erts will want to sea! with you be#ause if you in#lude them in your boo!8 itCs free
ubli#ity for themE
Tip D12% /n&ourage your ans to 2ur&hase and >e=iew ?our Book
+our rose#tive readers will feel more #omfortable ur#hasing your boo! if they see that their
fellow readers have already read and enDoyed itE En#ourage your fans to write honest reviews at
Smashwords and the other retailers that #arry your boo!E .f you find shills (li!e your mother8
grandmother8 husbandNwife8 best friend" to write artifi#ially glowing or embellished reviews8 your
boo! buyers will feel su#!ered and you #an bet theyCll rea#t with their own review that is erhas
more negative and mean&sirited than if they didnCt feel su#!ered in the first la#eE So en#ourage
your fans to write intelligent8 thoughtful and balan#ed reviewsE En#ourage them to state what
they li!ed and what they didnCt li!eE +our rose#tive readers will are#iate the honestyE
Tip D13E @rite Thought!u+ >e=iews !or other Books on Smashwords
?henever you review another boo! at Smashwords8 it #reates a hyerlin! ba#! to your author
age8 so to the e1tent you arti#iate in the Smashwords #ommunity and suort the wor! of
other authors8 youXll raise your rofile by building aths ba#! to your agesE Li!e any
#ommunity8 you get out of Smashwords what you ut in to itE
Tip D17# 2arti&ipate in *n+ine orums
.f youCre li!e most authors8 you robably arti#iate in a lot of online forums or newsgrousE .f
your forum has a lo#ation for boo! announ#ements8 then ost a note about your boo! along with a
hyerlin! to your author age or boo! age at SmashwordsE
?hen you introdu#e yourself8 #onsider telling fol!s there about your boo!E -efore you ost
about your boo!8 ma!e sure su#h osts are allowedE ,onCt sam the board with noti#esE Hot only
would that be disrese#tful8 itCll robably get you banned from the siteE 0fter you ost your
noti#e8 you #an usually subs#ribe to that thread so you re#eive an email whenever anyone reliesE
.f they as! you a Guestion8 go ahead and relyE Engage your readers in dis#ussion8 and by starting
a #onversation8 youCll e1ose your boo! to even more eoleE
There are many great general eboo!&related #ommunities where authors #onne#t with readersE
Consider arti#iating at 'obilereadE#om8 0maBonCs Jorums8 Hoo!boards8 and GoodreadsE
Smashwords has a Ja#eboo! forum at htt/NNfa#eboo!E#omNsmashwords
+ou should arti#iate in these #ommunitiesE ,onCt Dust flog your boo!sE Join the #onversations8
add value to the #onversations8 and ma!e new friendsE ,id you write a boo! about gardeningR
Join a gardening #ommunityE ,id you write a boo! about over#oming8 or #oing with8 some
medi#al #onditionR There are #ommunities for that tooE Just Google Ltoi#name #ommunityM for
a long list of rose#tsE ?hen you Doin a #ommunity8 study the #ommunityCs rules before
ostingE .f the #ommunity doesnCt allow osts about your boo!8 #onsider adding mention of your
boo! in your signatureE See Ti 49 aboveE
Tip D18# /0periment with Coupons
.n re#ent months8 Smashwords authors have done some really interesting e1eriments using the
Smashwords Couon Generator8 available at htts/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNdashboardN#ouonsE
The #ouon generator ma!es it easy for you to issue limited time #ouons to your fans and
rose#tive fansE +ou #an romote these #ouons on your blog8 your web age8 your rivate
mailing list8 and on your so#ial networ!s su#h as Twitter8 'ysa#e and Ja#eboo!E +ou #an do
#ents off8 dollars off8 er#entage off8 and even issue #ouons to ma!e your boo! free for a limited
timeE Limited time #ouons build urgen#y in the minds of #onsumers8 be#ause everyone wants to
save money and get a good dealE
*ther &oupon ideas#
)se Cimited-Time Coupons to Create urgen&y# Create a #ouon with an e1iration date8
and then use the limited&time #ouon to #reate urgen#y with readersE Post a noti#e on your
blog8 or on Ja#eboo! or Twitter8 and en#ourage your fans to share the #ode with their friendsE
(irtua+ 2rint Book$/,ook Bund+e# Create a virtual bundleE .f someone buys the rint
version of your boo!8 #onsider issuing them a #ouon for a free eboo! version on
Smashwords8 or a $N6 off eboo!8 or get #reative and thin! of another romotion that #reates
urgen#y in the mind of your rose#tive reader8 or that rewards them for ur#hasing or
romoting your boo!E
B+og promotion# .f you have a blog8 run a limited romotion that rewards your blog readers
for visiting your blogE Jor e1amle8 you #an run a #ontestE ,o a ost where you offer the
first $% or 6% or 9% eole who #omment on the ost will re#eive a #ouon for a free #oy of
your boo! at SmashwordsE
.ntegrate a++ so&ia+ media with your ,+og promotion# Leverage Ja#eboo! and Twitter to
draw eole to your blog romotionsE Consider offering free Smashwords eboo! #ouons to
the first 6% eole who leave a #omment on your blog8 or #onsider some other #reative riBeE
Su#h a romotion wonCt #ost anything but your time to organiBe itE
)se Coupons !or Book >e=iew 2romotions# >ffer a romotion to bloggersE .f any blogger
anywhere agrees to review your boo! on Smashwords8 offer them a #ouon so they #an
download a free review #oyE Sin#e Smashwords ma!es your boo! available multi&format8
anyone with any form of e&reader #an review the boo!E
Tip D 19# @rite a ,+og
>ne se#ret to good mar!eting is to engage your rose#tive readers in #onversationE Share your
thoughts8 your insights8 your oinions and of #ourse your writing talentE E1ose yourself and
youCll attra#t a following of eole who rese#t how you thin!8 or who enDoy debating and
dis#ussing ideas with youE ?ith hard wor! and time8 youXll eventually build a following of
eole who are more in#lined to read your boo!s8 or hel you sread the message about your
boo!sE Starting a blog is easyE GoogleCs -logger (wwwEbloggerE#om" is a good free blog & itCs
what . use for the Smashwords blog at htt/NNblogEsmashwordsE#omNE .f you want a more
advan#ed blogging latform that gives you more #ontrol over the loo! and feel of your blog8 ta!e
a loo! at ?ordress (wwwEwordressEorg"E Good blogging reGuires a #ommitmentE .f you only
do a few osts and forget about it8 your blog will be a failureE Try to do at least one ost a wee!E
.f you #anCt #ommit to a blog8 do Twitter insteadE
Tip D1:# @rite Guest Co+umns !or B+ogs
'ost literary blogs are run by eole who love boo!s and authorsE 'ost bloggers do their blogs
entirely as a volunteer effortE .tCs a lot of ressure for a blogger to #onstantly Lfeed the beast8M
whi#h is how many bloggers feel when they #anCt find the time to write new osts on a freGuent
basisE 'any of these bloggers allow their readers to write guest #olumnsE These guest #olumns
offer you the oortunity to write about a toi# of interest and rea#h a large audien#e8 often
thousands of eoleE 5sually either at the beginning or at the end of your ost8 the owner of the
blog will give you a Gui#! bio8 where theyCll mention who you are8 your web address and your
boo!E To write a guest #olumn8 first review the blog to as#ertain if guest bloggers are allowed to
#ontributeE .f so8 ut together a great Guery for an arti#le youCd li!e to write that you thin! would
aeal to that blogCs audien#eE
Tip D18# .n=ite other -uthors to 2ost to your B+og
.f you oerate your own blog8 invite your favorite authors to write guest osts for your blogE This
is a great way to offer your fans interesting new #ontent that in#reases the value of your blogE .t
also hels fans of the other author learn more about youE
Tip D1<# 3o G4- .nter=iews o! other -uthors on your B+og
Every author are#iates free media #overageE ,o @A0 interviews of your favorite authors in
your genreE Simly #onta#t the authors and offer to interview them for your blogE Send them
five or si1 Guestions via email8 and invite them to in#lude both their head shot and boo! #over
imagesE >n#e you ublish your e1#lusive interview8 your interviewee is li!ely to romote the
interview a#ross their so#ial networ!sE This hels introdu#e their readers to your blog8 and
through your blog8 they #an learn more about you and your boo!sE The other author may also
re#iro#ate by offering you a @A0 on their blogE
Tip D20/ Join the &on=ersation on ,+ogs
?hen you #omment on another blog8 youCre often as!ed for your web addressE +ou #ould give
your Smashwords 0uthor Profile age8 or your boo! age8 or your own web site or blog if you
have oneE ?hatever you do8 donCt sam other blogs with messages to buy your boo!E ThatCs
rudeE .nstead8 arti#iate in relevant dis#ussionE .f readers thin! your osts are intelligent8 theyCll
be #urious to learn more about you and will #li#! on your name to a##ess your lin!E
Tip D21# *rganiIe a ,+og tour
'any authors go on tour to romote a boo! by organiBing boo! signings at boo!storesE -ut
nationwide and worldwide tours are too e1ensive for most authors and ublishersE ?ith the
.nternet8 #onsider a virtual blog tour insteadE ?ith a blog tour8 you arrange to have news of your
boo! ublished in multile blogs8 with ea#h story timed to aear on a searate dayE .n a well&
run tour8 all of the arti#iating blogs #ross romote ea#h other (this gives the blog owner
in#entive to arti#iate"8 and readers are en#ouraged to follow the author day by day as the tour
rogressesE To !ee the interest of readers8 wor! with ea#h of the blog owners to #over a
different ase#t of your boo!8 or you as an author8 for ea#h dayCs storyE 'aybe one blog does a
@A0 interview with youY another allows you to write a guest ostY another e1amines a se#ifi#
ase#t of your boo!Y et#E Jor an e1amle of a well&or#hestrated blog tour8 and how to set one u
yourself8 see the Smashwords -log for our story on 0lan -a1terCs blog tour at
htt/NNblogEsmashwordsE#omN6%%=N%;Ninterview&with&alan&ba1ter&how&to&setEhtml
Tip D22# )se Goog+e -+erts to dis&o=er where the &on=ersations are taking p+a&e
0uthors are se#ial eole8 be#ause it ta!es an enormous amount of talent to write a boo! on any
subDe#tE -e#ause youCre a subDe#t matter e1ert8 there are robably doBens if not hundreds of
online oortunities for you to Doin #onversations and in the ro#ess8 hel romote and sell your
boo!8 and romote your own subDe#t matter e1ertiseE LetCs say you wrote a boo! on how to
grow riBe&winning um!insE There are robably hundreds of gardening web sites and online
forums that dis#uss that very subDe#t3 +ou #an Doin the #onversations by #ommenting on message
boards8 blogs and news stories related to that subDe#tE Share your !nowledgeE *ow do you tra#!
where the #onversations are ta!ing la#eR Create multile Google 0lerts at
htt/NNwwwEgoogleE#omNalerts8 and Google will email you whenever a new #onversation8 or a new
news story or blog ost on a given subDe#t8 aearsE Jor this um!in e1amle8 you might want
to tra#! !eywords and hrases su#h as Lum!in growing8M LriBe&winning um!ins8M and
Lgardening tisEM (emember8 the goal is to Doin the #onversation and add value with your
wisdom and oinionsE ,onCt samE
Tip D23# Ce=erage ?ouTu,e (ideos to >ea&h >eaders
0nother se#ret to boo! mar!eting is to engage the senses of your rose#tive readershiE ?e
humans are sensate #reatures & we use sight8 smell8 tou#h and sound to inform us of our
environmentE ?hen you simly write a te1tual boo!8 and uload your boo! on Smashwords8
youCre engaging only a sliver of the readerCs sensesE .f you embed a +ouTube video in your
Smashwords boo! age (we suort this"8 ossibly of you tal!ing about why you wrote a boo!8 or
you reading a se#tion of the boo!8 or tal!ing about your writing ro#ess or your muses8 you
engage the rose#tive reader on a #omletely different sensory level8 be#ause youCre tou#hing
them both visually (sight" and audibly (sound"E +ouCre giving them a level of insight into you as
a writer that they #anCt easily er#eive by written words aloneE +ouCre engaging them8 and with
engagement #omes a#tion (li!e ma!ing the de#ision to samle or ur#hase your boo!"E
Tip D27# 2rint up ,usiness &ards
. realiBe it may seem sa#rilegious for a digital ublisher (who loves green trees more than uled
trees" to re#ommend rinting business #ards8 but itCs imortant to realiBe that our lives are
unli!ely to ever go $%%K digitalE ?e humans still meet fa#e to fa#e8 in the flesh8 with our fellow
humans at #hur#h8 #onferen#es8 restaurants8 bars and the gro#ery storeE Print u business #ards to
advertise your authorshi8 and list all the eboo! retailers that #arry your boo!E 'ost Smashwords
authors8 the list might read something li!e8 L0vailable at Smashwords8 the 0le i-oo!store8
-arnes A Hoble8 Iobo8 Sony8 0maBon and other fine eboo! retailersEM Post the #ards on
#ommunity bulletin boards at boo!stores8 and hand them out to everyone you meetE
Tip D28# /n&ourage your !ans to ,e&ome a!!i+iate marketers o! your ,ooks
?ho better to romote your boo!s than your fansR ?ith the offi#ial laun#h of the Smashwords
0ffiliate 'ar!eting Program on 'ay 698 6%%=8 your fans #an earn generous #ommissions simly
by adding lin!s to your boo!s on their web ages and blogsE 0ll they need to do is sign u for a
free Smashwords a##ount8 then #li#! to the 0##ount age for instru#tions on how to enroll in the
affiliate rogramE
Tip D29# Create a readerBs guide at the end o! your ,ook
+ouCve robably seen these in rint boo!s/ Publishers aend short dis#ussion guides for
reading #lubs and boo! grous at the ends of their boo!sE 'a!e it fun and easy for a boo! grou
to dis#uss you boo!E ?hile most of li!e to read boo!s in rivate8 we enDoy tal!ing about boo!s
with our so#ial #ir#les8 both online and offlineE .f you #reate a reading guide8 be sure to advertise
it in your boo! des#rition with a simle statement su#h as8 LContains a helful dis#ussion guide
for reading grousEM
Tip D2:# .nsert samp+e &hapters !rom your other ,ooks
The last age of your boo! is valuable real estateE +our reader Dust loved your boo!8 and they
want to read more from you8 so give them more boo! samles to read at the end of your boo!E 0t
the end of ea#h samle8 rovide a hyerlin! ba#! to the Smashwords boo! age for your other
boo!8 so readers #an ur#hase itE >r8 if the boo! isnCt ublished yet8 give them a samle teaserE
Tip D28# 3o a samp+e &hapters swap with another author
.dentify another author you admire who writes in your same genreE ,o you thin! your fans
would enDoy their wor!R ,o you thin! their fans would enDoy your wor!R .f so8 then artner
with the author to introdu#e your fans to their boo!s8 and their fans to your boo!sE ,o a samle
#hater swaE 0t the end of your boo!8 offer your readers a few samle #haters from the other
authorCs boo!8 and then they #an agree to do the sameE
Tip D2<# .n=ite other authors to Koin you at Smashwords
Thousands of new authors Doin Smashwords ea#h month8 and ea#h new author brings with them
additional fans and readers who #an easily dis#over boo!s from other authors su#h as yourselfE
?ith every new boo!8 Smashwords be#omes a ri#her8 more vibrant destination for authors8
ublishers and readers ali!eE .nvite every author you !now to Doin you at SmashwordsE
Tip D30# 2romote your ,ook to top e,ook +isting sites
'any oular websites and blogs se#ialiBe in roviding dire#tory&style lin!s to eboo!s8 and
routinely lin! to Smashwords eboo!sE The sites . list here #olle#tively drive *thousands* of
readers to the boo! ages of Smashwords authors ea#h monthE There is no #ost to you8 although
you must earn in#lusion from the oerator of the siteE 'any of the sites se#ialiBe in free boo!s8
although some will list ri#ed boo!s if you rovide them a time&limited Smashwords #ouon that
will enable their visitors to a##ess your boo! for freeE .Cm a big believer in su#h romotions8
be#ause itCs a great way for you to gain a lot of readers in a short eriod of time8 and many of
these readers #ould be your first fans and your first reviewersE -efore you #onta#t the web sites
below8 be sure to study the sites and their rulesE Provide them dire#t hyerlin!s to your
Smashwords boo! age8 and ay #areful attention to any other information they reGuest8 su#h as
boo! des#ritions8 ri#e8 et#E .f you #arefully follow their instru#tions8 youCll ma1imiBe your
odds of a listingE
Jree&>nline&HovelsE#om & This is a oular web site run by author Jennifer 0rmstrongE She
rovides lin!s to eboo!s in all #ategories8 with one simle reGuirement/ The eboo! must be
freeE htt/NNfree&online&novelsE#omNsubmissionsEhtml
>nline Hovels & >nline Hovels at htt/NNonline&novelsEblogsotE#omN rovides an attra#tive
dire#tory se#ialiBing in free boo!sE 5nli!e the Jree&>nline&HovelsE#om8 however8 >nline
Hovels will o##asionally list boo!s that are free for a limited time8 su#h as Smashwords
boo!s that have $%%K&off #ouonsE Consider #reating a $%%K&off #ouon that e1ires at
some date in the future8 and then #onta#t this site and as! them if theyCd #onsider lin!ing to
your boo! at Smashwords and ublishing the #ouon #odeE -e sure to let them !now when
the #ouon e1ires3 Submissions lin!/ htt/NNonline&
novelsEblogsotE#omN6%%<N$%Nsubmissions&and&bro!en&lin!sT%6Ehtml
-oo!s on the Inob ) This is a oular blog that a#tively suorts indie eboo!sE >ffer the
rorietress a #ouon (free is best8 but she runs dis#ount #ouons too"E Jor submission
guidelines8 visit htt/NNblogEboo!sonthe!nobEorgNNabout&this&blog&and&#onta#t&infoEhtml
-oo!-aristaE#om ) Jounded by Smashwords author 'i!e ,ion (en name/ ,odge ?inston"8
his new site offers free dire#tory listings for Smashwords authorsE Fisit
htt/NNboo!baristaE#om
Tip D31 A >ead The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success, a+so ,y Mark Coker
Learn the best&ra#ti#e se#rets of the most #ommer#ially su##essful SmashwordsE Learn how to
ta!e your mar!eting to the ne1t level by fo#using your time on tas!s that #reate ermanent
mar!eting benefit8 as oosed to ehemeral benefitE Learn how to ma!e it easier for #ustomers to
find your boo!8 rather than you having to find #ustomersE
Tip D32 A )pgrade your &o=er image
+our #over image is the first imression you ma!e on a rose#tive readerE 0 great #over image
ma!es a romise to the readerE .t tells the reader8 L.Cm the boo! youCre loo!ing forEM Cli#! over
to -arnes A Hoble8 the 0le i-oo!store or 0maBon8 and study the bestseller lists for your genre
or toi#E ,oes your #over stand toe to toe with these #oversR ,oes your #over loo! as good or
better than the #over images rodu#ed by large H+ ublishersR .f the answer is Lno8M then
#onsider ugrading your #over imageE .Cve seen multile e1amles where an ugraded #over
doubled or triled boo! salesE .n one #ase8 Smashwords author (ELE 'athewson ugraded her
#over image and it heled #atault her all the way to the Hew +or! Times bestseller listE (ead
her fas#inating story here/ htt/NNblogEsmashwordsE#omN6%$6N%;Nauthor&r&l&mathewson&on&some&
of&se#retsEhtml in the Smashwords blogE Great #overs need not be e1ensiveE There are
hundreds of great #over designers on the web8 and most #ost under V7%%E .f they #an #reate a
#over that loo!s as good or better than whatCs ut out by a big H+ ublisher8 the small #ost is one
of the best investments you #an ma!e in your boo! (other than rofessional editing8 whi#h is
mu#h more e1ensive"E . maintain a list of low&#ost #over designers (all fellow Smashwords
authors" who rovide #overs for between V79 and V$%%E 0ll have online ortfolios so you #an
review the Guality of their wor! before you hire themE Get the list via instant autoresonder
simly by sending an email to listSsmashwordsE#omE These are all indeendent freelan#ers8 and
. donCt re#eive a #ommission or referral fee if you hire themE TheyCre on the list be#ause theyCve
done great wor! for other Smashwords authorsE 0fter you re#eive your new #over8 #li#! to your
Smashwords ,ashboard8 #li#! Settings8 then uload itE
Tip D33 A Share these marketing tips with your !e++ow authors;
Share the mar!eting tis you learned here in this Guide with your fellow authorsE (emember8
when authors hel authors8 all authors benefitE
Tip D37 A Create an on+ine &a++ing &ard and ,io at -,out%me
0boutEme is a free online site that allows you to ost an online bio8 with lin!s #onne#ting to your
entire so#ial media resen#eE . #reated mine in about $9 minutes at htt/NNaboutEmeNmar!#o!er
>ne of the se#rets of good online mar!eting is to ma!e it as easy as ossible for eole to find
you and #onne#t with youE
Tip D38 A Create a presentation and up+oad it to S+ideShare%net
Consider #reating a SlideShare ,e#! for your -oo!E . L>FE SlideshareE Slideshare is a free
servi#e8 owned by Lin!ed.n8 whi#h allows you to uload and romote online resentations
#reated with PowerPoint or similar resentation software rogramsE . started using Slideshare
four years ago to ubli#ly share the PowerPoints from the wor!shos . do at writers #onferen#es8
and to date my 62 resentations have had over 69%8%%% viewsE .Xve also used them o##asionally
for PowerPoints #reated for the sole urose of sharing on SlideShare and to embed in the
Smashwords -logE +ou #an a##ess the #omlete library of my Smashwords resentations on the
Smashwords SlideShare age at htt/NNslideshareEnetNsmashwordsNresentationsE >ne of the #ool
things about Slideshare is that not only does the site itself get a fair amount of traffi#8 its #ool
em,ed feature allows your friends and fans to embed your resentation on their websites and
blogs (mu#h in the same way eole #an embed +ouTube videos"E *ereCs what an embedded
resentation loo!s li!e/ htt/NNblogEsmashwordsE#omN6%$7N%9Nnew&smashwords&survey&hels&
authorsEhtml
1ow authors &an use S+ideshare# ,o a PowerPoint boo! trailer for your boo!8 uload it to
Slideshare8 then embed it in your blog or website8 romote it a#ross your so#ial networ!s8 and
en#ourage your fans to embed it in their blogs and websites tooE +ou #an even embed +ouTube
Fideos in your Slideshare Presentation8 as . did in my Z5on the GearsZ resentation at
htt/NNwwwEslideshareEnetNSmashwordsNuon&the&gears&of&big&ublishing&asDa&may&$9&ber!eley&
#a whi#h in#luded a video of 'ario Savio8 a leader of the free see#h movement at 5C -er!eley
in the X:%sE >r8 imagine youXre doing a resentation at your lo#al library about you and your
boo!s8 then #reate that resentation and ut it uE 0t the end of ea#h of my resentations8 . add
hyerlin!s to where viewers #an learn more about Smashwords8 or #onne#t with me via the
various so#ial networ!s8 or email me dire#tE >bviously8 .Xm out there romoting eboo!s8 eboo!
edu#ation and SmashwordsE +ou #an romote yourself and your boo!sE >r8 share what youXve
learned about e&ublishing and share it with your fellow writersE 'aybe #reate a resentation on
eboo! formatting tis8 or how to design a great #over8 or share your own eboo! mar!eting tisE
The oint is8 Dust get yourself out there in as many la#es as ossibleE Eboo! buyers (or
whomever you want to rea#h or hel" #onsume all forms of mediaE These SlideShare
resentations are Dust another form of mediaE >n#e you get your resentation u and out there8
itXs a eretual #alling #ard8 waiting to be stumbled uon by someone loo!ing to #onsume the
information you resentedE >ver time8 you may get doBens8 hundreds8 maybe even thousands of
views (Slideshare tra#!s the views for you" deending on the Guality of your #ontent and how
well you romote it (*mmm8 Dust li!e eboo!s3"E
Tip D39 A Join Cinked.n, post +inks to your ,ooks
Lin!ed.n is a free so#ial networ! for business rofessionalsE 0s a self&ublished author8 youCre
running a businessE Lin!ed.n offers numerous online forums where you #an networ! with8 and
learn from8 fellow authors who are learning to rea#h readers Dust li!e the rest of usE >n#e you
#reate your free a##ount8 Lin!ed.n allows you to #reate a #omrehensive8 online&a##essible8
sear#h&engine&otimiBed ersonal rofile age8 and on that age you #an list all your boo!sE
*ereCs my ersonal rofile age at Lin!ed.n/ htt/NNwwwElin!edinE#omNinNmar!#o!er 0t the
bottom of my rofile8 youCll find lin!s to some the Lin!ed.n grous .Cve DoinedE +ou might want
to Doin some of them yourselfE Some of the grous offer wee!ly digest emails so you #an still
follow the #onversations if you donCt have time to arti#iate ea#h dayE Lin!ed.n also offers
other #ommon so#ial media features8 li!e news feeds8 and integration with your Twitter feed (so
your Tweets on Twitter #an automati#ally aear at Lin!ed.n"E Entire boo!s have been written
about Lin!ed.n8 so . wonCt attemt to #over everythingE Just Dum in8 #reate a rofile8 #onne#t to
me as a friend8 and start learningE Some Cinked.n Tips# 1% *ow to 0dd Conne#tionsE ?hen
you try to friend someone (they #all it L0dding a Conne#tionM" tye a note in there about who
you areE .f you donCt8 the re#iient will re#eive a generi# message8 and is less li!ely to a##et
your #onne#tionE .f someone writes a ersonal note for their #onne#tion reGuest su#h as8 L*i
'ar!8 .Cm a Smashwords author3M .Cm mu#h more li!ely to a##et the #onne#tionE 2% Hever
Sam/ >n#e you #reate an a##ount and start #onne#ting with eole8 Lin!ed.n allows you send
emails to all your friendsE . never send mass emails through Lin!ed.nE 3onBt e=er spam your
#onne#tions with soli#itations to ur#hase your boo!E ?hen . get these soli#itations8 . unfriend
the ersonE Lin!ed.n ma!es it easy to remove #onne#tions though their L(emove Conne#tionsM
featureE
Tip D3: A 3o a presentation at your +o&a+ +i,rary on e,ook pu,+ishing
Conta#t the events #oordinator your lo#al library and offer to do a tal! about eboo!s8 or about
eboo! self&ublishingE 0s art of your tal!8 you #an share your own ersonal Dourney as a self&
ublished author8 and art of that Dourney in#ludes tal!ing about your boo!sE 0t Slideshare8 .
osted a temlate that you #an use8 if you li!e8 as the foundation for your resentationE +ou #an
download the PowerPoint file at Slideshare and then modify by inserting information about
yourself8 your boo!8 and your self&ublishing DourneyE ,ownload the temlate here/
htt/NNwwwEslideshareEnetNSmashwordsNtemlate&for&smashwords&authors&introdu#tion&to&
eboo!s&for&library&resentations or a##ess of Smashwords eboo!&related resentations at
htt/NNslideshareEnetNsmashwordsNresentations
Tip D38 A Tweak your (ira+ Cata+ysts to Make your Book More 3is&o=era,+e and 3esira,+e
?e would all love to identify the single silver bullet that hels roel our boo! into
bestsellerdomE ThereCs no su#h thingE The truth of the matter is that to be#ome a bestseller8 you
must do many things right while avoiding the mista!es that #an derail youE .n my free Se#rets to
Eboo! Publishing Su##ess boo!8 . identified the most #ommon best ra#ti#es of the most
su##essful authorsE .n the Se#rets boo!8 . introdu#ed the #on#et of the (ira+ Cata+ystE 0 Firal
Catalyst is anything that ma!es your boo! more available8 more a##essible8 more dis#overable
and more desirableE 0 good Firal Catalyst hels you #onne#t with readersE The Firal Catalyst
#on#et #reates a framewor! through whi#h you #an identify the many silver bullets ne#essary to
rea#h readersE
,is#overy re#edes reading8 and reading leads to fansE Jans #an be#ome suerfans8 and
suerfans be#ome the word&of&mouth advo#ates that mar!et your boo! for youE This is what
eole refer to when a boo!8 rodu#t or idea Lgoes viralEM .tCs all about word&of&mouthE +our
readers will determine your su##ess at rea#hing other readersE
Thin! of your boo! as an obDe#t8 and atta#hed to this obDe#t are doBens of dials you #an twist8 turn
and twea! to ma!e your boo! more dis#overable and enDoyable to readersE These dials and !nobs
are your Firal CatalystsE
E1amles of Firal Catalysts #ould be broader distribution8 a better #over image8 a better ri#e8
better editing8 a better boo! des#rition8 better #ategoriBation or (bra#e yourself3"8 a better storyE
There are many moreE The oosite of a Firal Catalyst is anything that #reates fri#tion that
revents a reader from dis#overing or enDoying your boo!E Jri#tion redu#es viralityE
The above #ase study about (ELE 'athewson showed how this great roman#e author8 simly by
ugrading her #over image8 hit the Hew +or! Times bestseller listE *er revious #over image
was #reating unne#essary fri#tion that revented readers from reading her great boo!sE .dentify
and remove all oints of fri#tion and you have a better #han#e to rea#h readersE
.f you ay se#ial attention and maintain an oen mind8 your readers and rose#tive readers8
through their a#tion or ina#tion8 will give you #lues as to whether or not your boo!Cs Firal
Catalysts are resonating with themE This was the subDe#t of one of my blog osts in 'ar#h 6%$78
titled8 Si) Tips to ?ring *our ?ook ?ack from the Doldrums % /eading /eader Tea 4eavesE .n
'ay 6%$78 . ublished a study that e1amined multile other otential Firal Catalysts8 su#h as
word #ount8 ri#ing8 the idea title length8 and moreE +ouCll find that study in my blog ost titled8
6ew Smashwords Survey elps 3uthors Sell 2ore ?ooksE
Self&ublished eboo!s are immortalE They never go out of rintE This means you #an evolve
your boo! over timeE ?hen you get the Firal Catalyst formula Dust right8 youCll rea#h more
readersE
Tip D3< A Cink to /=ery >etai+er
?hen you distribute your eboo! with Smashwords8 weCll get your boo! listed at multile eboo!
retailersE Ea#h of these retailers ) large and small ) rea#hes a uniGue audien#e of readersE 'any
of these readers sho only at these stores8 whi#h mean if your boo! isnCt available there8 youCre
less li!ely to rea#h all the readers you deserveE
.f you maintain a blog or website8 or if youCre a#tively romoting your boo!s on so#ial media8 itCs
#riti#ally imortant that you rovide dire#t hyerlin!s to your boo!s at all the retailers where your
boo!s are listedE This is ese#ially true for your blog or web site8 whi#h for many readers will be
the home base of your author brandE .f8 for e1amle8 a rose#tive reader visits your website8 and
this reader refers to read on their iPad and sho at the 0le i-oo!store8 yet they only see a lin!
to 0maBon8 youCre less li!ely to get the saleE >ther readers refer to sho at -arnes A Hoble8 or
Iobo8 or at SmashwordsE#omE Provide dire#t hyerlin!s to your boo!Cs listing at every retailer
and youCll eliminate yet another oint of fri#tion that #an revent a reader from reading your
boo!E 'a!e it easy for readers to ur#hase your boo!s at their favorite retailer3
Tip D70 A 3o a 2reorder !or ?our 5e0t Book
Jor your ne1t boo!8 release it as a reorderE ?ith reorders8 an authorCs eboo! is listed at
retailers in advan#e of the offi#ial LonsaleM dateE ,uring the reorder eriod8 #ustomers #an read
a samle teaser of the boo! and la#e advan#e ordersE The boo! a##umulates orders leading u to
the offi#ial release dateE >n the day the boo! offi#ially goes on sale8 the readerCs #redit #ard is
#harged and the boo! is released to the #ustomerE 0t 0le and Iobo8 your a##umulated
reorders #redit to your sales ran! on the day you offi#ially go onsale8 #ausing your boo! to si!e
higher in the bestseller listsE Sin#e readers use bestseller lists to dis#over their ne1t read8
la#ement in a genre or store&wide bestseller list signifi#antly in#reases your visibility8 whi#h
in#reases salesE Smashwords announ#ed reorder distribution to 0le8 -arnes A Hoble and
Iobo on July 6:8 6%$7E Learn more about the benefits of reorders at the Smashwords blog at
htt/NNblogEsmashwordsE#omN6%$7N%;Nsmashwords&introdu#es&reorderEhtml and read my story at
the *uffington Post8 e-oo! Preorders *el .ndie 0uthors *it -estseller ListsE
Tip D71 A 3o a Smashwords .nter=iew;
>n 0ugust 6%8 6%$78 Smashwords introdu#ed a fun new author mar!eting tool #alled
Smashwords .nterviewsE ?ith Smashwords .nterviews8 we resent you with a series of Guestions
you #an answer to hel readers learn the story behind you8 the authorE +ou #an also modify our
Guestions8 or #reate your own GuestionsE 'a!e your interview uniGue3 >n#e you #reate an
interview8 we romote it a#ross the Smashwords web site by lin!ing it to your author rofile
age8 your boo! ages and the Smashwords home ageE The interviews also #ontain so#ial
sharing lin!s so your fans #an romote your interview to their friendsE +ouCll find the
Smashwords .nterviews feature underneath the 0##ount tab at SmashwordsE (ead the original
announ#ement at the Smashwords blog at htt/NNblogEsmashwordsE#omN6%$7N%<Nsmashwords&
interviews&hels&readersEhtml or start your interview now at
htts/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNmanageinterviewNinfo
Thanks !or reading;
Than! you for ta!ing the time to read the Smashwords -oo! 'ar!eting GuideE . trust the ideas
you learned here will hel you be#ome more su##essful as an authorE ,o you have suggestions
for additional mar!eting tis . should in#lude in future revisionsR . wel#ome your feedba#!E
Conta#t me at m# at smashwords dot #omE .f you found this free eboo! useful8 wonCt you lease
tell a friendR

*ay mar!eting8
'ar! Co!er
Jounder
Smashwords8 .n#E
htt/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omN
3own+oad these other Smashwords tit+es ,y Mark Coker#
The Smashwords Style Guide (*ow to format and ublish an eboo! for free"
The Se#rets to Eboo! Publishing Su##ess (6< best ra#ti#es of the most #ommer#ially su##essful
Smashwords authors"
The $%&'inute P( Che#!list ) *ow to Earn the Publi#ity +ou ,eserve
-oob Tube (a novel about soa oeras"
-,out the -uthor
'ar! Co!er is the founder of Smashwords8 an eboo! ublishing and distribution latformE
Smashwords that has heled over :%8%%% authors and ublishers around the world release and
distribute over 6%%8%%% eboo!sE Prior to founding Smashwords8 'ar! served as resident of
,ovetail Publi# (elations8 where he rovided strategi# #ommuni#ations #ounsel to doBens of
Sili#on Falley te#hnology firms ranging from hot garage startus to some of the largest
te#hnology #omanies in the worldE .n addition to the Smashwords -oo! 'ar!eting Guide8 'ar!
is also the author of the Smashwords Style Guide (how to format and ublish and eboo!"8 The
Se#rets to Eboo! Publishing Su##ess (eboo! ublishing best ra#ti#es"8 The $%&'inute P(
Che#!list8 and is the #o&author of -oob Tube8 a novel he wrote with his wife8 LesleyannE
Conne&t with Mark Coker
Jor udates on Smashwords develoments8 follow me on Twitter at
htt/NNwwwEtwitterE#omNmar!#o!er
Smashwords blog (offers (SS and email subs#ritions"/ htt/NNblogEsmashwordsE#om
Smashwords Site 5dates (bug reorts8 mar!eting tis8 Smashwords site news"/
htts/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNaboutNbeta
'y *uffington Post #olumns/ htt/NNhuffingtonostE#omNmar!&#o!er
Jriend me on Ja#eboo!/ htt/NNfa#eboo!E#omNmar!#o!er
Conne#t with me on Lin!ed.n/ htt/NNwwwElin!edinE#omNinNmar!#o!er
'y Smashwords author rofile/ htts/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNrofileNviewNm#
'y Smashwords .nterview (remember to ma!e your own3"/
htts/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNinterviewNm#
Conne&t with !e++ow Smashwords authors
>ffi#ial Smashwords Ja#eboo! age/ htt/NNfa#eboo!E#omNSmashwords
Smashwords authors on Ja#eboo!/
htts/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNso#ialbuBBNsmashwordsTauthorsNlatestNfa#eboo!
Smashwords authors on Twitter/ htts/NNwwwEsmashwordsE#omNso#ialbuBBNsmashwordsTauthorsN
latestNtwitter
444