A 5 Step Plan for Promoting Your Print on Demand Book

Print on demand gives independent authors the power to get their works published, regardless of the interest of publishers and others in the book industry. But the price you pay for that independence is that you must figure out a way to promote your work. Although you can get some help from your print on demand company, in the end, the success of your book is in your hands.

Below are five steps of a basic online book promotion plan:

1. Create a web page specifically for promoting the book.
2. Use keywords that people are using to search for your type of information to optimize your page.
3. Generate lots of keyword links to your book's web page.
4. Set up accounts at various social networking sites and article directories.
5. Begin an article writing campaign, submitting articles systematically to the sites you set up in step 4. If possible, create some unique versions of your articles so that you are not always submitting duplicate content.

That's it! There is a five step plan guaranteed to help you promote your book.

No problem, right?

Well, maybe not. There's a lot to know about the above steps. But if you are willing to put in some work and study time, you can learn the details, which will give you a great advantage in promoting your book.

To learn more about why you should use print on demand, visit http://lightningsource.com/podnow.aspx.

Make a Fortune Using Print on Demand to Hop Trends

You know by now that print on demand offers a great economic advantage over traditional printing techniques. But there is another major advantage you may not be aware of. With print on demand, you can crank out books about whatever subject the public is most interested in at any given time. I call this type of writing, where you write about what the public wants to read about, "trend hopping."

Of course, trends fade over time. Just because people are interested in something right now does not at all mean that they will be tomorrow. Traditional printing does not deal with this situation very well because it requires the publisher to estimate the number of copies of a book that will sell. You just don't know when the trend will end. This is a high risk situation for the publisher.

Print on demand solves the problem. You won't get stuck with thousands of copies of a book sitting around in a warehouse. Since books are only printed when people order them, you perfectly match supply to the demand. The number of books that are printed equals the number of books that are ordered, whether that number is 100 or 100 thousand.

If you are going to write books for the purpose of taking advantage of trends, then you have to write quickly. Your book needs to hit the market soon after a trend begins in order to have it out there when demand is highest. When it comes to writing fast, you're on your own; but for printing the book and minimizing your risk, print on demand is the only way to go.

Here are some other web sites to learn more about print on demand:

http://print-on-demand-publishing.tumblr.com

http://printondemand.wetpaint.com

Ever Wanna Be a Comic Book Artist?

A lot of kids dream about being a comic book artist (including me). Then you grow up, and that dream sort-of fades (again, like it did for me). But have you ever asked yourself, why? Assuming you actually have the artistic ability to draw comic book style, what is stopping you from creating your own comic book? Could it be the fact that you need a comic book company like Marvel or DC (or any other other dozens of smaller shops) to publish it for you?

That is no longer an excuse. Some print on demand companies offer printing services specifically aimed at comic books. Some even have special templates you can use to make the process easier. All you need is an idea, some pencils...well, and maybe a little talent.

Comic books aren't for kids anymore. Characters that originated in comics now dominate the movie industry. And graphic novels are now widely accepted as a serious, adult form of entertainment. So get your childhood back...create a comic book!

Using POD to Become a Recognized Expert

If you provide a particular service to the public, then you are an expert. As such, you could do yourself a real favor by letting the world know what an expert you are. And what is the best way to do that? By writing your own book! It will increase your business, make the selling process easier...and it's just really cool to see your name on the cover of a book.

With print on demand, publishing yourself is a no brainer. You don't have to spend much in the way of money, and you don't have to beg a publishing company to publish you. You have complete control. All you have to do is...

write a book.

And that is why all of your competitors aren't doing it. Writing a book is not the easiest thing. It requires discipline. It usually requires some research. And it requires some work.

So the question to ask yourself is if it is worth causing yourself some inconvenience to create something that could help your business explode. In today's business world, there is always going to be another company that has more money than you...but if you're willing to work hard enough and pay the price, money doesn't matter. Success goes to those who believe in themselves and are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.

So set aside a little time each day or every other day to write. In a few months, you will have a book. And with POD, you have a way to get copies of that book very inexpensively. If you end up selling some copies, then that is great. Bonus. But the main that is you will have a tool that absolutely proves your credibility; a resource that acts a salesman for your company.

With print on demand, you can make it happen.

POD...It's Not Just for Authors

You might think that "print on demand," by definition, only applies to books. That is not the case. There are POD companies now that not only print books, but they print CDs and even DVDs. If you're a musician, it is now not necessary to pay thousands of dollars up-front to have an album manufactured. If you're an independent movie maker, you can have DVDs manufactured without any significant upfront expense.

This means your art is now your own. Even if your chosen path is to find a traditional manufacturer/distributor to get your work to the public, you can't hurt things by going ahead and getting it to the public yourself. In fact, it may be the quickest route to getting a more traditional deal.

For example, these days, record labels don't really sign new, unproven bands. If you want a record deal, you've got to sell some CDs (or downloads, but we'll stick with CDs for this discussion). If you're going to sell CDs...you need CDs! While POD won't help you with the actual process of recording and producing your songs, it can help you when it comes time to turn that material into a CD. To have CDs manufactured traditionally requires thousands of dollars. With POD, you can just order a few dozen (enough to sell at local shows) and direct traffic to your web site to order straight from the print on demand company.

So POD doesn't just mean freedom for authors...it means freedom for all artists.

For an important message from the man who started the print on demand revolution, visit this link:

http://www.lightningsource.com/podnow.aspx

Here are some more links to learn more about print on demand:

http://printondemand.wikispaces.com/

http://print-on-demand-publishing.tumblr.com/

And to learn some search engine marketing strategies to help you sell more of your POD products, check out www.workmedia.net.

Wanna Be Famous?

The idea is still entrenched in most people that you have to have a "publisher" to publish a book; that you have to have a "record label" to put out an album; that you need substantial resources to create a product for sale to consumers.

It's just not so.

The creation of art for mass consumption is moving away from the industrial age notion of creation products in bulk, keeping them in a warehouse, and then selling as many as you can. Modern business doesn't work that way anymore. Today, if 45 people order your product, you create 45 products and send them out.

In the publishing world, it's called "print on demand," and it's changing everything.

If you an author, you don't need a publisher's acceptance to go ahead and let the world see your work. You can do it yourself. Certainly, having a publisher to promote your book (and maybe even cut you an advance check) is nice. But are you willing to delay your writing career hoping that happens? Take action. Publish yourself.

Print on demand is also a low cost way to get your book in print. Upfront costs are minimal, and there is no need to print lots of copies in advance and store them somewhere.

So what are you waiting for? Finish that book!

Welcome to the Print on Demand News Blog!

The purpose of this blog is to share news and insights related to the print on demand (POD) industry. So if you're new to this concept, the most obvious question is: What the heck is print on demand?

Very simply, print on demand is a method of printing books in which they are printed one at a time, as orders come in. If someone orders one book, the print on demand company would print one copy.

There are many advantages to this strategy, which we will discuss in subsequent blog posts, but the main one is how much more cost effective it is for a small publisher to use a service where it can print books as orders come in, rather than having to pre-print and store hundreds or thousands of books that may not ever sell.

We will go into more detail, but that's the gist of what we're talking about. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here is a link you might want to check out:

http://www.lightningsource.com/podnow.aspx