The mystery writers group to which I belong (Sisters in Crime, Central Virginia chapter) received some great marketing advice from Rachel Thompson. She has 17 years of marketing experience and four books on Amazon. You can find her on Twitter @BadRedheadMedia.

A lament of everyone on the call was that the marketing effort we put forward has to be effective because an author’s time needs to be spent writing.

Here are five tips –

1. If you are on Twitter, use the appropriate hashtag. Choose one that is a term that people are likely to search on. For example, in our group, it would be #mystery.
2. Often on social sharing sites, as authors we reach out to other authors. That’s fine, but Thompson said, “Really, we want to connect with readers and book bloggers.” In other words, we need to reach those who are going to read our books.
3. Passively sell your books. To do this, change the header of your website or any of your social sites to show your books. You can take it a step further and include a link to where your books are sold.
4. Create a schedule so you stay on top of sharing content. “In order to sell books, there has to be a consistent presence,” Thompson said.
5. Brand the author, not the book. You will write many books, so it’s important to focus on you as an author and not on your latest book.

“We want to connect with readers and book bloggers.”