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12
Steve Weber
Second, make a copy of the table of contents.
Now, cross off each chapter as you complete the task or pass over it.
When you’re finished, you’ve done everything that can reasonably
be done to launch a book on the Internet.
If marketing is all about communicating value, what makes Steve
Weber’s Plug Your Book!
so valuable? Like publishing gurus Dan
Poynter, John Kremer, Judith Appelbaum, Jeff Herman, and John
Huenefeld, Steve Weber drills down into the nitty-gritty with the best of
them. For example, when he talks about marketing on MySpace, I tingle
as he reveals exactly how to process “friend” requests.
That level of detail—such as explaining the difference between
Amazon’s “Best Value” and “Better Together” programs—is carried
through every chapter. Weber has used most of these techniques several
times and reports honestly on the results. Yes, marketing your book
online is going to take time—you can’t phone-in a blog tour—but
following Steve Weber’s map will save you time. And improve your
results. And that adds up to value to me.
Steve Weber is hip to what is happening online today—such as social
networking, amateur content, and reputation management—and he’s got
a keen insight into what’s coming: swarms of tag clouds devouring video
profiles and spitting out serendipitous links. His excitement sharing
these techniques is palpable. His section on Amazon marketing
programs is like an M.R.I. exam, poking into every corner of the giant
retailer’s vast apparatus and finding promotional opportunities at every
turn, such as Omakase, Mobipocket, and ProductWiki.
Weber’s honesty is also commendable, as when he warns marketers
against plumping pages with phony reviews, and when he exposes the
shortcomings of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Steve Weber’s Plug Your Book! won’t spare you the plight of all
modern authors—having to get out there and push that book. But it will
make your time online more productive, more pleasant, and at times
fascinating as all get out!
STEVE O’KEEFE
Seattle, Washington
O’Keefe is president of AuthorViews, Inc., a pioneer in providing
online video for the book industry. An entrepreneur, writer, and
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