Wednesday’s promoting tip for authors

Article marketing is an essential marketing tool for both fiction and nonfiction authors who want to get their book published. Article marketing–writing and submitting articles to online sites like www.ezinearticles.com– offers authors of both fiction and nonfiction an easy way to build their search engine visibility at no cost.

During a coaching session last week, for example, I was talking to an author who had written a Gothic Romance. His book was completed, and he was pleased with it. However, before the call, when I Googled him, he had no presence other than his “day job.”

This lack of web visibility could seriously undermine his chances of getting published. As I told him, “The first thing a potential agent or editor is going to do is do a search on your name!”

My suggestion was for him to write and submit a couple of articles on Gothic Romances.

“What should I write about?” he asked.

I suggested he demonstrate his knowledge of the field by writing articles like:

• An analysis of the 8 or 10 essential elements that must be present for a novel to be called a Gothic Romance.
• Articles of appreciation acknowledging his favorite Gothic Romance authors, describing what they have taught him, and how they have influenced him.
• A historical survey of the major Gothic Romance authors and titles and their influence.
• “Challenges and trends” analysis of the state of Gothic Romances sales with an informed prediction about where the market is going.

Since the field of Gothic Romances is female-dominated, he could write a “contrarian” article along the lines of “Gothic Romances Are For Males, Too!” or “Why a Middle-Aged Male Dared to Write a Gothic Romance.”

The above “contrarian” articles might require a strong ego to withstand possible comment and response, but at least he’s be noticed…and being noticed opens the way to appearing on panels at Gothic Romance publishing events opens the door to other visibility-building opportunities that could lead to a book. (Visibility can’t hurt, in other words!)

The payoff for article writing
The payoff for the articles will be when potential agents and editors do an online search on his name, and find several thoughtfully-written articles demonstrating his knowledge of the field, his passion for the topic, and his ability to write in a engaging, clear, concise, and interesting way.

The agents and editors who encounter his articles won’t “grade him” on the accuracy of his predictions, but they will discover that he is knowledge and passionate about his field.

More important, they will discover his identity and presence in the Gothic Romance field, which will do more for getting his Gothic Romance published than all of his previous sales and marketing accomplishments.

Profile visibility, too
It’s important to note that article sites like www.ezinearticles.com also provide an opportunity for their authors to submit a profile.  These author profiles provide yet another opportunity for the author to establish their presence in their field of interest.

Authors live in a search engine world! Search engine visibility created by articles make it easy for authors to quickly establish their credibility in their niche for free–in even the smallest niche.