One way to get traffic to your website and get your name out is to create a blog on WordPress:  http://wordpress.com

Web Traffic: SEO or Search Engine Optimization goes hand in hand with book marketing. Here is a list of my current exploration into the world of SEO. Consider signing up for Twitter and Linkedin and creating a page on Facebook.

Website       http://www.kirarosner.com,http://www.lifeanddeathbooks.com,http://whensoulstakeflight.com
Linkedin      http://linkedin.com/in/kirarosner
Twitter         http://twitter.com/kirarosner
Facebook    http://www.facebook.com/copingwithdeath
New Blog    http://www.kirarosner.wordpress.com
Belong to    http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com
Active on    http://www.quora.com/Kira-Rosner

Twitter: John Kremer at http://www.bookmarket.com offers a free book about Twitter to help you get started.

Consultant: PAUL COHEN, the Founder and President of Monkfish Publishing and Epigraph Author Services, is well versed in all aspects of the trade. Contact Paul for details about his marketing services.
PAUL COHEN, Epigraph Author Services, Phone: 845.876.4861, Email: Bookcohen@aol.com

SEO Consultant: PHYLLIS KHARE is an internet marketing pro and author of: Facebook Marketing for Dummys. She specializing in helping people clarify what their gifts are. Visit http://phylliskhare.com/ or follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/phylliskhare

SEO Consultant: JUDY COLLINS offers key marketing strategies in social media to brand you, your book, or your business:

http://bookcoaching.com/social-media.php

Fantastic Resource:  http://www.quora.com  Ask a question or answer one. Share ideas and generate interest in your work.

Free Enewsletters

JOHN KREMER is a Book Marketing Guru. He is the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, and editor of Book Marketing Update, a Free Weekly Email Newsletter full of creative ideas and contacts. (Email him to start receiving his free Enewsletter list) Email: JohnKremer@BookMarket.com   Website: http://www.bookmarket.com    Twitter at http://twitter.com/johnkremer

John is also the founder of a free Book Marketing Network for authors.. Go to: http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com

DAN POYNTER authored over 100 books. He’s a publisher, speaker, promoter, and well-known expert in self-publishing and book marketing. Contact Dan to get on his free Enewsletter list. Another helpful resource for writers. Web: http://www.ParaPublishing.com

Radio Interviews: Radio stations are looking for speakers. You can book your own interviews by calling them directly, or consider working with an agency. Being interviewed on the radio provides invaluable experience answering questions on the spot. Anything that gives you greater confidence as a speaker is a plus. Did you know you can do radio interviews all over the country and never leave home? To a listener, it may sound like you are in the studio when you are talking on the phone from the comfort of own home. Here is the agency I used:

LAUREL HOWANITZ and her team were very professional and easy to work with. Here is a blurb from their promo: “We target Radio shows with a blend of AM-Talk and FM variety, and have the ability to contact over 2,000 shows. Segments range in length from 5-55 minutes. Using aggressive media exposure, our clients promote themselves, their cause and/or product, books, seminar, toys/games, consulting service, etc “ 865.694.3701  Email: info@aol.com  Web: http://www.hotguest.com

Summation: What you have just read is a tiny hint of the resources for marketing your books. I suggest you email John Kremer and ask to be on his free email list, as well as exploring social media, and doing a frequent search online for book marketing ideas. Consider joining some writers or authors forums. Networking with others is a great way to find out what works.

Share the Wealth: The main thing is to get clear on your goals. Set an intention and affirm it daily. Stay focused and enjoy the process. Things may not go as planned, but there is always a lesson to be learned. My motto is to keep gratitude close by.

John Kremer’s latest post asked his subscribers to tell him why they’d like to become reality TV show stars or creators. This got me thinking about the huge publicity these reality stars receive, often for doing nothing at all.

Or are they doing something?

Just by getting on these show means they want people to watch them, so they are being proactive as far as their own publicity goes.

I’m surprised that, other than Damien Leith (remember the Idol contestant he now has a novel ‘Remember June’) none seem to be aspiring authors before their brush with fame on reality TV.

Wouldn’t this seem to be the best place to plug your book? Why wasn’t someone on Big Brother writing the whole trash of what was going on in the house whilst they were inside? Reading tidbits on air would have created hype for when the book was finally released to a ready-made audience (of 2.2 million!) – Big Brother fanatics. There was of course the host, Gretel Killeen, who was a writer before the show. I don’t think she plugged any of her books but maybe that was in her contract not to. Although it did get out that she was an author and quite possibly just the publicity of being the host would have sent potential buyers out looking for her books.

Others have written books since reality TV but few have become part of reality TV just because they write. The personal trainers in The Biggest Loser have books out but would they have sold a single one if they were just ordinary personal trainers and not ones on TV?

At the moment it seems reality cooking shows are all the go. MasterChef has not only created chefs but authors as well.

It all seems a bit unfair to me when writers (who love writing and live for writing) slog away at their keyboards or go through thousands of ballpoint pens to get their manuscripts finished only to do the rounds of publisher slush piles. Getting publicity for the ordinary author is difficult and I wouldn’t recommend partaking in reality TV unless you really want to become a celebrity (not just an author).

I guess the main thing with reality TV is that it celebrates the everyday humanity in us all. It is hard to gauge how much is unscripted and what the puppeteers are doing with the strings but they are real people in unreal situations. So why not put some real writers in the mix?

And there are the Jessica Watson’s who go about their dream and record it in book form knowing that before it even hits the shelf that it will sell.

Can she write? Who knows but she did blog often (blogging is writing). Can she tell a story? She is the story.