A Guide to Marketing on the Web with Louise Rose-Innes

An e-book cover has a very important job to do. Not only does it present your book to the world, but it also says a lot about you, the author. It can be a very powerful selling tool, or it can damage your image as an author and lead to dismal sales figures.

According to FT.com, this summer was the first time ever that eBook sales outstripped traditional book sales. (Read the full article here).

With the internet and all the tools available today, this really couldn’t be easier. If you’re a writer with an unpublished book (fiction or non) which

As a web copywriter I spend a lot of time analysing business websites. I assess them for lead generation, selling products, building a brand, credibility and most importantly, for effective conversion, i.e. getting visitors to the site to take that all-important action.

Another important aspect of my business is search engine optimisation, and to this effect I spend a lot of time reading, analysing and assessing web content, keywords and site structures.

Sadly the result of my findings is thus: Most Websites Suck.

1. Product
This one is easy - your novel, in e-book format, of course. In order to sell successfully online you need a product, something that you can sell, which is in demand. As an author, you don't have to worry about the market, your readers are already there. You just need to let them know your e-book is out there, ready for downloading and devouring. So how do you convert your novel into e-book format? Well, this is fairly simple really. I find converting the Word document to PDF usually does the trick. Obviously you can't have any fancy formatting in the Word document that e-readers may not like, but essentially authors are there to write, not make a Word doc look pretty. So a simple Title page, Contents (if you're writing non-fiction) and a Copyright like you'd find in any traditional novel is all you need. Then start with Chapter 1. Once you've done, simple Save As a PDF document and you're ready for business.

So you’ve written a novel and you want to sell it online, off your own website or your blog.

Self-publishing your manuscript online is a great way to generate extra revenue on the side. It’s also a good way to showcase your work and begin building a fan base.