Ahhh! The Magic of Links!

I often run Q&As that come from my readers in my SharingwithWriters newsletter. I do that because others' questions remind me that my clients and those who read my books, Web site, etc., often need me to return to the basics. This question surprised me because the Net is no longer new--not by today's standards, anyway. And I thought it valuable because even those who know the marketing or blogging or anything else to do with publishing well still often need a little reminder. So here is one of my Q&A a la Ann Landers that ran in a recent issue:

 

 

Simple Stuff We May Have Missed About Links
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Anonymous asked:

When I encouraged an author with a long list of awards to submit more complete information for my alternative review blog, The New Book Review (http://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com), she wrote back and asked, "Can I ask you what you meant when you wrote: 'might want to send links to the award pages, too.'"

 

Answer:

 What I meant is that blogs thrive on links. Links on blogs and Web sites become a resource used by visitors to surf the Web for more valuable information. So when an author mentions that their book won the "Mom Awards" readers would like to be able to just click through on those words or on a link in parentheses after the words to learn more about that award. These links benefit the reader. And they benefit you, the author,  when they learn more about the award your book won and are impressed by it. And it benefits those who are kind enough to give us authors awards.

 So, your copy would say something like: "Helland's book is a Mom's Award winner (http://Mom'sAward.com). Or you could use a link to take them directly to the page where your award is announced rather than the home page. Ditto for links to places where your book may be purchased, to organizations you belong to, etc.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .