networking

Everywhere you turn, you’re hearing about the power and influence of bloggers. They’ve taken over the Internet, and many rival traditional media as venues for authors trying to get their books in front of readers. We’ve already talked about the best way to pitch a guest post to a blog, but there is another great way to get in front of bloggers (and their readers). How? By posting insightful comments.

First, let’s address why commenting on posts is a great way to build you up as an author-expert and drive traffic back to your website:

1. The blogger reads every comment. If you repeatedly show your support and provide targeted and insightful responses, the blogger will turn to you (instead of the Internet) the next time they need a guest post or an expert to interview.
2. Blog followers read the comments. Popular blogs can have comment sections that go on for days. If other followers see you as a resource, they will seek you out.
3. Other media professionals follow blogs too. If they like your comments, they may also book you as an expert for interviews and guest articles.

You would think that commenting would be easy, but so many people do comments all wrong. The comment section is not an opportunity to advertise. Promoting your website or book in the comments section (when not asked to) makes you as tactful as the drunk girl trying to steal the groom from the bride at their wedding. To help you avoid a similarly public and lasting fiasco, here are some tips on how to comment successfully and appropriately:

1. Provide value and substance: Take the post a step further by suggesting another point of view, an additionalresource, or in some way contributing valuable insight to the conversation created by the post.
2. Start with praise: Remember, you’re on someone else’s turf. Start by saying that you liked the post. Point to a specific line or phrase you liked (this shows you really read it). It only takes a little to grease the wheels. Then you can add your insightful response.
3. Keep promo out: Most comment feeds let you insert a hyperlink in your name that leads back to your website or blog. If your response is helpful and insightful, people will click on that link to learn more about you. Putting a website in your post makes you look self-serving, which no one finds attractive.
4. Focus on blogs on your topic: If you are trying to build yourself up as an author-expert in business, commenting on gardening won’t help build your platform. As in all your marketing efforts, stay focused.
5. Be a serial commenter: Pick a few blogs to follow and comment on them consistently (only when you have value to add, of course). This will help you build a rapport with the blogger and his or her audience. Avoid one-shot commenting on a large number of posts. Also, focusing on just a few blogs is more manageable time-wise.

The blogosphere is a powerful and supportive community. If you consistently contribute to and support the success of other bloggers, they will take notice and find ways to return the favor. As always, remember to pay it forward and engage the readers who share insightful comments on your blog.

As an author, you’re constantly chasing down opportunities to share your book, speak to a crowd, serve as a resource, and perform other platform-building activities. People will often say no to your first request—but don’t let that discourage you or stop you from pursuing a lead after the first contact!

It takes at least six points of contact for a message to sink in—six—yet more than 75% of the time people stop pursuing leads after the first point of contact (Good Day 2009). Sometimes authors stop pursuing because they receive a no on the first try, other times it's because the number of leads to manage is overwhelming. Cultivating relationships is crucial to your career, but it doesn’t need to take up all of your time.

The first thing you need to do is gather contact information. Every time you meet a lead or come across someone in a search, collect his or her contact information or business card right away. Enter them into a simple database such as Microsoft Outlook, Plan Plus, or Salesforce. Spreadsheets and rolodexes can be hard to manage effectively, but databases like these allow you to classify your contacts, set up reminders, add notes, and keep track of all interactions.

Next, you want to categorize your leads. Not all leads are created equal, and each group requires a different type of interaction. Here is a simple way to classify your leads:

1. Hot or “A” Leads: These are people interested in having you speak or scheduling you for some other event. These contacts are ready to go and need to receive frequent, personal contact in order for the relationship to develop into an event or opportunity. These contacts go to the top of your list.
2. Warm or “B” Leads: These are people who showed interest, but who have not yet decided whether they want to work with you. You will need to provide them with more information and work to cultivate the relationship.
3. Cold or “C” Leads: Cold leads are people with whom you have no rapport, such as those you find on the Internet or find out about through third-party sources. These contacts are usually managed through what is called “drip line marketing.” Drip line marketing consists of things like newsletters or emails you send out to a distribution list on an infrequent basis. You may need to send an introductory email and then a reminder a few months later or add them to an informational newsletter until they opt out or say they are not interested.

Sorting your leads into these categories will help you better identify and manage opportunities as they come. Don’t forget to provide value first, and remember that your leads are people. Treat them with respect, consideration, and always show your appreciation for their time.

As an author, you are always on the lookout for new ways to improve your marketing strategy and grow your platform. One of the best ways to do this is by developing your power team.

What’s a power team? A familiar term among business networking professionals, a power team is comprised of individuals and/or businesses with whom you share common goals or a common client base.

How can it help you as an author? The members of your power team can help you improve your strategy, connect with more readers, identify more opportunities, hone your message, and expand your reach.

Lets look at key members of an author power team and how they help you build your career:

• Publisher: Your publisher is an industry insider. If you have chosen wisely, your publisher should have a track record of producing successful books in your genre and should be able to provide you with tips and insights to help you not only get on bookshelves, but also get in front of readers. Keep your contacts at the publisher in the loop so they are aware of all of your marketing efforts and publicity. This helps them keep your book stocked when and where it needs to be available. They can also give you feedback on publishing best practices.
• Publicist: A publicist helps you develop your marketing strategy and puts you in front of big media—radio, television, print, and online. A publicist also helps you hone your message and clarify your brand so you can reach readers. They have spent years cultivating relationships with media and industry professionals and have access to contacts you may not be able to reach on your own.
• Other Authors in Your Genre: Wait—they’re your competition, right? Not necessarily. If you have differentiated yourself well, your work will stand out when compared to other authors’ work. Each author has something unique to give to the reader, but authors in the same genre share the same audience and are marketing to the same people. If you have been growing your platform and marketing your book, you should already have a following. Pull your efforts together with another author doing the same and you can double the strength of your platform and gain twice the reach. Adding another author increases your reach that much more.
• Bloggers: Bloggers who write about your topic or genre also share marketing time with your audience. They often have an open dialogue with a following that listens to their advice and trusts their recommendations. Develop relationships with bloggers in your category, offer to write guest posts, give free review copies of your book, share links, or come up with cross-promotional activities.
• Industry Gurus: No matter what topic or genre your book covers, there will be some movers and shakers already hustling and bustling about. Cultivate a relationship with these people. They’re connected and know what your readers are looking for. They can get you into events and speaking engagements that will put you directly in front of your target audience. Plus, their opinion holds weight and can carry you deep into the hearts of your audience.

These are the primary members of your power team, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box while choosing members of your team. Each book and genre has special needs and interests that are served by many people. Aligning yourself with those people will help you engage with your audience and, in turn, sell more books.

Remember, just as with your audience, be willing to provide value before you ask for anything in return. You are looking to cultivate relationships here, not just take what you can get. Here are a few key things to remember when building your power team:

1. Be sincerely interested in the other person.
2. Find ways to help them meet their goals.
3. Be willing and able to promote and/or endorse them.
4. Relationships are a series of meaningful interactions. Make time to check in and see how they are doing, without looking for something in return.

Above all, treat them how you would want to be treated. If you are truly interested, considerate, and helpful, they will reciprocate.

The beginning of the year is an exciting time for everyone—including authors. Along with your other resolutions, it’s important to remember that a new year represents a fabulous opportunity to establish, enhance, or even reinvent your author image. Marketing yourself is huge part of making any writer’s book a success. The Internet—and social media, more specifically—has increasingly become the most important aspect of a publicity campaign. If you have not already ventured onto online reading communities and other sites that can help authors spread their work, there is no better time than now! Here are a few to get you started:

• Red Room: A site dedicated to connecting authors and readers. As a Red Room author, you can create a very professional customized page that allows you to upload published works, reviews, interview transcripts, videos, podcasts, as well as blog entries.
• Goodreads: A book-sharing and reviewing site that allows you to sign up as a published author and get your own page, which will include a short biography and background information, separate pages for your books, a place to add links to reviews and interviews, friends and followers, a comments space, and other common features of a social networking site.
• Shelfari: An interactive bookshelf and community for readers, Shelfari allows to create your own profile with a list of favorite books, which you can then review, rate, and tag. A page is created for each author and book, which can be edited by you (or the public at large).
• Scribd: A document-sharing site—it's been called the "YouTube for documents"—where authors can create their own pages and profiles, and easily share a variety of documents—including book excerpts, reviews, interviews, or other book-related paraphernalia for people to view.