Don't Cut Yourself Short As An Online Publisher

This is a guest post by Nick Thacker who is a blogger, writer, and author. He writes at LiveHacked.com about life, writing, and productivity, and has recently finished a book called Building A Blog for Readers: 101 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Launching Your Empire, available through Amazon. You can sign up for the LiveHacked newsletter here.

You?re an avid e-junkie user, so most likely you?re well aware of the current trend in self-publishing.

Sure, you?ve been ?self-publishing? since the early days of the Internet, when websites were the ?new thing? and blogs weren?t even on the horizon. You might have jumped on the growing trend of offering ?white papers? or ?reports,? meant to help early web users get more done with the burgeoning new technology of the late ?90s.

But times have changed.?

You?re still publishing, in the sense that you?re writing some helpful documentation on your blog or website, and then creating great-looking PDF files that you sell on e-junkie and through your own website. Your awesome close-knit group of affiliates, as well as your very responsive newsletter subscriber base has also supported your online marketing efforts.

But you might have noticed that this ?trend? is no longer just a small, underground method of making money online?it?s a worldwide phenomenon, one that?s constantly changing and increasing in competition every day.

The Self-Publishing Bandwagon

More and more people (including myself!) are jumping on the ?self-publishing bandwagon? every day?creating documents, manifestos, and entire books?meant to be distributed exclusively online. E-junkie has always been one of the leading places for sharing such material, but it?s not the only one.

You?ve been around the proverbial block a few times, so I won?t go into that here. Instead, I?d like to offer a few suggestions. In this day and age, it?s important not just to adhere to the common, well-known principles of what it takes to succeed online:

• Build an email list
• Blog, and constantly write new content
• Connect with readers and subscribers

These are the obvious things we, as Internet marketers and content creators, are already pretty good at.
Instead, I want to talk about a business concept that?s helped me launch my writing and productivity website to a thriving, growing readership in little over two months:




Being everywhere

The ?be everywhere? concept is also one that?s not new. Heck, arguably ?being everywhere? is one of the major draws to the adoption of the Internet in the first place.

But are you truly everywhere? No way. There?s no possible way for any of us?even if we were celebrities or high-profile politicians?to be everywhere.

So what do I mean?

When I say, ?be everywhere,? I?m referring to being everywhere your target readers already are.

It?s not enough anymore to create compelling, awesome content?that?s just the barrier for entry. Now, it?s more important to share this content in the places your readers (and buyers, sharers, and connectors) can find it.

Here are a few places to keep in mind:

• Social media. You?ve probably already got an active Twitter account (if not, get one!). But instead of sharing your content 100% of the time, try focusing on sharing other great content you find at least 80% of the time, and only share your own 20% of the time. This lets you build a strong, helpful, and selfless persona online based on sharing great content. All of this sharing makes it easier for your followers to connect with you and download your stuff!

• Offline. Don?t forget that there?s a world outside of the Facebooks, Twitters, and Googles. People still connect, share, and communicate very effectively offline, through channels like networking groups, Meetups, and other social gatherings. You?re already an online expert, so why not try to engage with this group more often? Your products, services, and content can probably really help other business owners get more ?bang? for their marketing buck. Sure, you might need to get your clothes dry-cleaned or ironed, but the human interaction that you?ll find at these types of events cannot be emulated online.?

• Alternative publishing channels. You may have already dabbled in some of these alternatives: video content, email ?drip-marketing? (autoresponder) courses, or blogging. But have you considered taking your ?author? status to the next level by creating a Goodreads Author Profile, releasing your work through the Kindle Direct Publishing model by Amazon, and offering your work through their exclusive 90-day promotional period?

These methods of promoting online content probably aren?t brand-new ideas to you, but you may not have considered them for your own books. You won?t be able to offer your books and products through any other channels for 90 days if you opt in to the KDP Select channel, but authors using the method have reported amazing sales levels after using some of the 5 ?free? promotional days allowed by Amazon.

Again, these ideas aren?t meant to persuade you one way or another?rather, they?re meant to make you think and consider what other alternatives there are available to you as a content-creator in the 21st century.

At least consider these channels; if you?re a proficient seller in your current channels, the worst thing that could happen is a lack of sales in the new ones?in that case, you?ve tried the experiment to no avail. But if you?re just starting out, it?s definitely in your best interest to leave no rock unturned!

Do you have questions? Comments? Leave a comment below and let?s get the discussion started!

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