Savvy Book Marketing by Dana Lynn Smith*

Facebook can be a terrific way to promote your book and yourself, but you may be wasting your time (or worse) if you don't learn how to use it effectively. Below are ten common mistakes authors make on Facebook, along with tips on how to avoid them.

Some authors write for personal fulfillment or to share with friends and family, but if you want to make money from your book you need to treat it like a business. That means (among other things) that you need to project a professional image.

Your author photo is part of your image and brand. A fuzzy shot of you cropped out of a group photo, with someone's arm draped over your shoulder, just isn't the right image if you want people to take you seriously as a professional author.

While it's possible to promote your book on a shoestring budget, especially if you focus on online book marketing, you will still need a marketing budget.

The amount you should budget depends on your book marketing plan. Here are some expense categories to consider and some money-saving tips:

Blog/Website: Website design and hosting fees. If you build your website on a blogging platform like WordPress or TypePad, you'll minimize the costs for online book marketing. See this page for blogging resources for authors.

As you write your book and develop your book marketing plan, one of the first priorities is to define your target audiences.

The primary target audience for your book is the "ideal reader" that the book was written specifically for. In your book marketing plan, define the characteristics of your ideal reader, asking questions such as these:

· What is their age range, gender, and education level?
· Where do they live?
· What is their family status – single, married with kids, retired couple?
· What is their income level and occupation?
· What are their interests and hobbies?
· What makes this person the ideal reader for your book?
· What are their book buying habits?