Engaging with Your Readers, Part I

When you write an ebook, you gain celebrity status of sorts. You are now a published author. And even if you have only a small number of sales, you will likely touch someone with your writing. Engaging with your readers is a way to gain perspective on your writing in order to improve it, thank your readers for buying your book and increase your sales by encouraging word-of-mouth marketing. There are a number of ways that you can engage with your readers that will be beneficial, and we’ll explore the most effective of those efforts in this two-part series. In today’s post, we’ll talk about ways that you can personally engage with readers. To reach local readers, there are a number of things you can do locally to market your ebook:

• Run a press release in your local paper
• Post flyers in and offer free rentals of your ebook to your local library
• Offer a local TV station the ability to interview you about the ebook

Once you have made local readers aware of your ebook, engage with them by hosting a meet and greet. There is even technology that will allow you to provide digital autographs for those who purchase your ebook. You can also host a reading at a local café or teach a class on writing an ebook. Engaging with your readers gives you the ability to connect with people who are interested in your writing. Readers are your best source of word-of-mouth marketing, and they’ll be far more likely to spread the word if they can also say “oh, by the way…I met the author!” Next week, we’ll discuss how you can reach your readers where they’re most comfortable: the digital world. Image source: MorgueFile