My mistakes.

My father always told me that it's okay to make mistakes, it's how you
learn. Well, I'm about to tell you the mistakes I've learned while marketing
and promoting my books so that you don't have to go through the same things
when you market and promote your books. I'll put them in list form so it's
easier to digest.

Number 1. When posting on forums don't just promote yourself with no other
redeeming information. When I first started out I'd post summaries of my books
and links to buy them on sites that specifically said no self-promo. I didn’t
listen. The result: I got banned from these sites and all the networking they
could have provided.

Number 2. Don't write articles that tell people how they are going to feel
about your book. For instance, don't write a blurb that says, "this is the
best book you'll read all year". Statements like that really turn off the
reader.

Number 3. Don't believe the hype that paying for click advertising or
putting up banners are going to increase sales. The most important driver of
sales is word of mouth through social sites and networking. It's a very small
percentage of people that actually will buy the book through a paid ad.

Number 4. Don’t think that by spamming social network sites that you’re
somehow going to go viral and sell a million books. I’ve had a few tweets and
postings that went viral (meaning tens of thousands of people clicked on the
info) and it led to just a small increase in sales. It’s a cool feeling knowing
so many people have checked your stuff, but not profitable.

Number 5. Just because you wrote a book, published it, and sold a few
copies, don’t think you’re going to be able to quit your job and retire. That
only happens to a few lottery-winning writers.

Number 6. Write for yourself and don’t try to copy what’s out there just
because what’s out there is selling now. Be original and write what you want.

So there you have it. These are the mistakes I made and that cost me loads
of time and damaged my professional online persona. Do the exact opposite of
these six things and I guarantee you’ll see your sales rise and people will
begin to notice you.