Presentation given at the writer's weekend at the Calgary Public Library. Tips for authors on how to promote themselves and their books, traditional and social media. Strategize, plan, organize and re-evaluate. Lead with your strengths.

1. How Much Do You Want to Be an Author? Build Your Platform to Fit

2. Become a Recognized Expert in Your Field Start Building Your Audience

3. Business Plan

4. Marketing Plan

5. Define the Market Who is your market? Imagine 3 very specific prototype customers in detail Name, Age, Marital Status Where do they live? Where do they shop? for books? What magazines and newspapers do they read? Radio stations? What activities are likely to engage in …..

6. How will you connect with and build your audience?

7. Gather Up Your Connections & Support Build a database of your connections Add business card details of new contacts List organizations and associations with which you are affiliated that might be of help by hosting an event or reading, inviting their membership, promoting your book.

8. Build Your Audience Every Day One line One paragraph One page Descriptions of your book to be used everywhere you go, whatever you do, starting now. And develop them with the feedback you receive.

9. Build Your Own Media & Communities

11. http://www.twitip.com 1000 twitter apps and services http://botw.org/articles/twitter-apps-and-services.html

12. Writer/Reader Communities

13. Be Clear About Your Strengths Great voice? Podcast Fab computer skills? Website, online communities Community organizer? Sit on boards, volunteer. Prolific, opinionated writer? Become a blogger. Photographer? Post and connect on Flickr. Party person? Attend and connect at the key events in your niche. Fabulous public speaker? Find opportunities.

14. Common Online Combo Facebook plus LinkedIn plus WordPress & &

15. Face-to-Face Community Building And industry-specific groups – Be known and take leadership

16. 10 more tips Develop a newsletter to give subscribers useful information Become an expert on key on-line forums, provide helpful advice Collect email addresses from your audiences – in person, online Write articles (or poems or short stories) and get them published in niche publications Write a letter-to-the-editor in a strategic publication clarifying and correcting information that has been published on your topic. Respond to other experts in your field online and build relationships Line up key interviews, but don’t exhaust post-publication interviews. Get a column or regular media spot. (For example, if you are writing a book on wine, offer to give holiday suggestions on your local radio station as each holiday approaches) Find a co-sponsor for your book!

18. Set targets and deadlines Enclose a marketing plan with your submission to a publisher – and win!