Creative Penn book marketing and promotion

Joanna Penn runs a website called The Creative Penn, which is all about writing, publishing options, promotions and so on. I’ve mentioned her on this site before and you can find a blue print for her Author 2.0 Platform on the Links page.

She’s just released a new podcast talking all about marketing and promoting your book. Whether you’re a self-published newbie starting out or an established author, you will need to promote your book. The authors that can rely on their name for sales are few and far between. Just look at how busy Neil Gaiman is promoting himself and his work. He’s as successful as he is not only because he’s an awesome writer, but because he gets himself out there.

Jo’s latest podcast is an hour long and a really good short course on things to think about when it comes to promoting yourself and your books. In the podcast she answers all these questions pretty well:

* Where do I start in making myself known as an author?
* Is having a logo important for my brand?
* Is it necessary to have your own blog as an author? How do you create one and what should be the topic?
* How can we promote fiction books online? What are the best giveaways to help promote books?
* I have accounts on Twitter, Facebook and other sites, but how do you break through mid-level success?
* How do you promote with no money?
* How can an unpublished writer generate a following that would impress a publisher?
* How do you know if there is a market for your book?
* How do you market yourself without seeming arrogant?
* How do you put together a marketing and promotion plan for your book?
* What is the best way to draw traffic to my site?
* Is it a good idea to create a teaser ebook about my non fiction book?
* How do you manage your time so Twitter does not become a time suck?
* What programs do you recommend for submitting articles to multiple places?
* Is cold calling necessary or is email marketing enough?
* What are the best and cheapest ways to create a book trailer?
* How do I do a press release and what is the most effective way to use them?

You can find the podcast here. She even gives me a little shout-out at around the 38 minute mark. How kind.

.