I got 120 new visitors to my book web site yesterday (without spending a cent). There’s been a raging debate on Shelf Awareness (a book industry newsletter) about the pros and cons of e-books. I run a Squidoo lens arguing that printed books are better, so I decided to weigh in on the topic. I wrote a letter to the editor arguing that publishers (and authors) will have to change their strategies and interact with readers in order to survive, and included a link to my lens.
Shelf Awareness posted the letter in their newsletter, and the clicks started coming. 77 in the first hour and a half, about 87 by lunchtime and 120 by this morning. Letters to the editor may seem like a relic of the last century, but people still read them. And, with the Internet, instead of waiting days or weeks for the magazine to print, the response is virtually instantaneous. Even better, you can include a live link, so readers can click directly to your site for more information.
Remember, don’t be overtly promotional. Offer insights, useful information, and reasoned arguments for your position. Target the publications you write to. Keep them within your sphere of expertise. There’s no sense writing in to a neurosurgery magazine if you’re not a neurosurgeon. Then, sit back and watch the clicks roll in.