Copyright 2005 Black Butterfly Press
Authors. What if I told you there was a way you could promote your books without paying plane fare, hotel fare, and exorbitant car rentals prices? Or, what if there was a place where you could sit in your pajamas, feet up on your desk, sipping your coffee, while you talk? Well, there is a way and a place-Internet radio in Cyberspace.
As an Internet radio host of "On The Same Page" on www.voiceamerica.com over the past 3 years and 3 months, I've learned that this new medium is a very valuable tool for promoting your books. Why? Because this medium has the ability to reach a global, worldwide audience.
When I started hosting on www.voiceamerica.com on March 5, 2002, this was considered to be the wave of the future. Well guess what? The future is now.
I currently host a show on www.voiceamerica.com (Maxine Thompson's On The Same Page at 6:00 a.m. PST, re-aired 6:00 p.m. PST, and Saturday at 1:00 p.m. PST.). The shows are archived both on www.voiceamerica.com and on my website at http://www.maxinethompson.com . I also host shows on www.artistfirst.com and www.maxineshow.com where I interview authors in order to provide a platform to promote their books.
On March 1, 2005, I launched a literary show at my website,www.maxineshow.com, which will be information-driven in terms of teaching how-to-writing techniques and Internet marketing secrets.
A study by Arbitron, an Edison Media Research agency, reports that, in the past 4 years, the audience for video and audio broadcasting has doubled from 10% to 21% of all Americans. As of January 2004, on a monthly basis 51 million people use Internet broadcasting as background music/talk shows/soundtrack while shopping on line. Four in ten Americans have listened to Internet Radio. The estimated weekly broadcast audience for Americans is 30 million listeners, which is approximately 13% of the population.
Studies show that 80% of listeners listen to the archives or the tapes of the show, which I now have 30 months worth of shows archived on my website.
So how does that translate for you as a writer? You can use technology as one of the many tools available to get your name out among the reading public. People who have Internet access in other countries are able to hear about your book, gaining you international exposure and readers. This can help with word-of-mouth buzz, as well as media exposure. Most of all, many of these shows are picked up on search engines such as google, which is another way to drive traffic to your site and to promote your titles.
So why be left behind in terms of making money on the Internet?
Why not use on-line, as well as offline promotion? Why not use inter-mercials? So you say, what is an intermercial? According to www.worldwidewords.org , in origin, the word seems to be a blend of interactive and commercial, after the model of infomercial. You've heard of infomercials-those insidious paid-for commercials that have you whipping out your credit card in the middle of the night, buying diet products that you know you'll never use? (I've been guilty of that.) Just think of an intermercial as an Internet commercial which is a savvy way to advertise your products and services over the Internet. On on-line radio, audiostreaming is used to send your message to a global audience.
What are the benefits of an intermercial for you as an author?
1.You get to discuss your book, as well as tell who you are as a human being. Many readers like to get inside of a writer's heads.
2. You can read excerpts from your book and answer call-ins or emails.
3. You get to give out your websites, or places your books can be purchased and you get experience with being interviewed by the media.
4. You get to build a larger fan base through the archives and through search engines such as google.
5. You get to connect emotionally with your readers.
6. Your interview is not limited to one geographical area such as in off-line radio.
Why is Internet radio Cost-Effective?
For a small fee, you get exposure to a worldwide audience of avid readers. The conversion rate on a large number of listeners who get repeated exposure to your book can be astronomical in the long run. In off-line radio, the show generally has a limited amount of wattage as to the area they will cover. It's generally a one-shot deal. In Internet radio, the sky is the limit. Measurements of listeners in terms of one-minute segments are now reaching the millions.
Moreover, in addition to interviewing authors, in listening to these shows, one can stay abreast of trends in the publishing industry.
To conclude, I have had the privilege of interviewing many celebrities and upcoming authors. Past authors interviewed include Mark Victor Hansen, Robert Allen, Jack Canfield, Robert Kiyosaki and many others. Self-published authors interviewed include Denise Turney, Delores Thornton, Baba Evans, to name a few.
So where am I going with this line of reasoning? Bottom-line, who can better tell our story but us? Likewise, who can better sell our books but us? In order to compete on a global scale, writers must make use of this new technology.
About the author:
Maxine Thompson is a former social worker of 23 years, I have published 2 novels, The Ebony Tree and No Pockets in a Shroud, A Place Called Home (A Short Story Collection), two self-help books, The Hush Hush Secrets of Writing Fiction That Sells, and How To Market, Promote and Sell Your Ebooks. I have had numerous short stories, articles and essays published in magazines, anthologies and e-zines. Recently I began an on-line column to promote the works of new and self-published writers. The column is called, On The Same Page. Since 1999, I have written book reviews and columns across the Internet. Since 3/05/02, I have hosted an on-line radio show on www.voiceamerica.comcalled "On The Same Page". The show is aired live on Tuesdays at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time, and Saturday 1:00 p.m. Visit her website at http://www.maxinethompson.comor www.maxineshow.comOr contact her by email at maxtho@aol.com or maxtho@sbcglobal.net.
