Beginning Internet Marketing for Writers Manual

The Internet Marketing for Writers is a detailed guide for writers that can assist you in marketing your writing ability or if you’re a published writer it can assist with marketing and promoting your book, on the Internet.

The Internet is a whole new world for writers to promote themselves. Don’t let this invaluable opportunity pass your way and there is no excuse for you not to do so with little or no money. This book will give you freebies to expensive ways to market yourself on the Internet.

People often come up to me after a lecture on Internet Marketing and say, “Your lecture was great, but how am I suppose to do Internet Marketing without a computer?” or “I’m not good with a computer at all, so how am I suppose to set up a web?”

I will tell you two secrets. Although, I do possess a Marketing/Management degree with a minor in commercial art, computer programming basics, and business administration, I’ve never taken Internet courses in college. I’ve had an MSN Explorer class and an HTML course at the local library for free. Aside from that, I just learned the Internet using a lot of common sense and research (a very familiar word you will see a lot in this book.) The second secret is that I didn’t posses a computer at home in this book’s first printing. Well I didn’t at the time of this book publishing; I had no computer at home for an entire year. Yet, I was able to run and update two web pages, check my emails on a bi-weekly basis, get an e-book publishing deal, and market myself on the Internet.

With that knowledge, I want to share with all what I have learned and all that you can accomplish with what you have. There are no excuses you could possibly tell me that I haven’t all ready overcome, so let’s begin our journey on Beginning Internet Marketing for Writers.

Tips and warnings before you start:

• Keep all personal information to yourself!

• Don’t give out social security numbers, home phone numbers, driver’s license, and passwords.

Keep a journal of all screen names or entry names and passwords with the website and an email for help just in case you have a problem or want to subscribe or unsubscribe to different newsletters. Make sure you check this journal every other month to make sure the site and your account is still active.

VIRUS PROTECTION is very important on your computer. Make sure you have at least McAfee or the best out there is Norton Anti-Virus and keep it updated. (Norton updates itself every time you go on the web automatically.) These programs are well worth the price the store puts on them. Watch out of .exe files people may email you. Lots of time you will get email about what’s going around on the web and you can’t tell whether they are hoaxes or not. To be sure of what’s really going around on the web, go to http://urbanlegends.about.com. This site exposes myths, lies, and rumors floating on the Internet.

RESEARCH! RESEARCH!! RESEARCH!!! You will see me say this repeatedly throughout this manual because it is so important. Make sure you check out all fine print, read through every contract, and question anything you are not familiar with or don’t feel comfortable with. Look at all the advertisement on a site before you agree to let anyone post anything on your site and don’t accept anything on your site or in your email that you know little about. Researching is a mandatory rule in anything you do on the Internet.

Getting Started

COMPUTER ACCESS

If you already have a computer, skip down to the Internet Access section

If you don’t have a computer in your home, you can gain access to a computer with the assistance of family and friends.

Respect these privileges they have given you and their home as well. If you are unsure how to do something or find yourself in a predicament where you don’t understand how their computer works, ask them before you venture off into something and mess up their computer.

If you don’t feel comfortable going to your family or friends for assistance on computer usage, go to your local library. You can reserve computer time, (up to an hour) at their community stations and go to work on them. I suggest in advance so you can use your computer time wisely make a list of important things you want to do once you get on the computer and if you need to add to that list, do so as you are on the computer, that way you get what you need done and make time to surf you if want to.

Tip: When using anyone else’s computer, public or private, always have disk or a USB stick. You can pick up a pack at any convenient store or major office supply company, but always have them whether you possess a computer or not. Also have your journal handy for note taking and of course to write down any clubs or newsletter that you join on the Internet.

INTERNET ACCESS

To get on the Internet highway a person needs a provider or metaphorically they need an on ramp. There are common ways at this point in technology to get Internet service. Either by regular phone line (dial up) or DSL, which is a digital service line that directly hooks up to the back of the computer, so that you are always on.

Many choose the most familiar dial up services such as: AOL or MSN. These are paying providers and can accept payment either by credit card or other methods. These usually charge over $20 a month in order to have service. Yahoo.com and SBC are launching a cheaper service solution for about $10 to $15 a month.

DSL service (preferred) can be obtained through many Internet Companies. Comcast, AT&T, and SBC Ameritech offers DSL service. Check into these providers for more information or go online and type in DSL in a search engine and you’ll get hundreds of listing.

For more Internet access services you can also check your local yellow pages. With the expanse of communication services, it shouldn’t be that hard to find a company that can give you a low price on Internet access.

Getting an email address

So now you have a provider and you have free email most likely to go along with it. When choosing a name, make a decision on whether this will be for wiring or just a personal email address. Choose an easy name for yourself or a nickname. Try not to use lots of numbers or weird lettering. If you’re going to put this name on your signature line (see Signature Lines) or business cards (which every writer should have) make sure it’s nothing like:

Oohbaby39@aol.com or pretty_momma@msn.com.

Make it as personal as you can creatively, yet professional when it needs to be.

Now if you have already gotten a rather jilted name (because you didn’t have this manual) or you would like to keep your writer’s email separate from your personal email and you would like a new address, there are free email address websites you can get.

http://Yahoo.com is a popular site and you have the luxury of checking your email from anywhere you want around the world, plus forward up to five other email addresses into your Yahoo account. To find more free email, type the phrase in a search engine to pull up thousands of sites that can assist you.

SIGNATURE LINE

Once you’ve set up your email make sure you’ve set up your signature line, which includes a direct link to your website. People will see this every time you email them.

For example:

Sylvia Hubbard, Coordinator of Motown Writer’s Network

Michigan’s Largest Internet Writing Portal

http://motownwriters.com

Author of Dreams of Reality and Stone’s Revenge

http://sylviahubbard.com

I’ve learned over the years, it’s almost a habit for people to click on things that are highlighted and when you send out your signature line like that in your email it will become highlighted in blue when you put the http:// at the beginning of the URL (Uniform Resource Locator).

Purchase this book or download sample versions for your ebook reader.
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