Contents

Introduction: All the World’s a Stage

Part One: Start With Wow

1. Create a Compelling Product

2. Bake in the Wow

3. Exceed Market Expectations

4. Beware of the Obstacles

5. Don’t Settle for Less than Great

6. Give Your Product a Memorable Name

7. Wrap the Wow in Style

Part Two: Prepare to Launch

8. Accept Personal Responsibility

9. Think Bigger . . . No, Bigger!

10. Define Your Platform Goals

11. Create an Elevator Pitch

12. Set Up Your Branding Tools

13. Assemble Your Pit Crew

14. Secure Raving Endorsements

15. Get a Great Head Shot

16. Develop an Online Media Kit

Part Three: Build Your Home Base

17. Understand the Model

18. Focus Your Efforts Online

19. Beware of Self-Proclaimed Social Media Experts

20. Start a Blog (or Restart One)

21. Create the Content Yourself

22. Use a Blog Post Template

23. Maintain a List of Post Ideas

24. Write Posts Faster

25. Create Video Interviews

26. Don’t Hire a Proofreader

27. Protect Your Intellectual Property

28. Avoid Common Blogging Mistakes

29. Create a Better About Page

30. Develop Your Landing Pages

31. Build a Speaking Page

32. Forget About Metrics (for Now)

Part Four: Expand Your Reach

33. Kiss Marketing Good-Bye

34. Understand What’s Not Important

35. Generate More Blog Traffic

36. Build Your Subscriber List

37. Promote Your Older Posts

38. Write Guest Posts

39. Give Stuff Away

40. Stop Losing Readers

41. Watch These Metrics

42. Embrace Twitter

43. Understand Twitter Basics

44. Don’t Write Off Twitter!

45. Devote Thirty Minutes a Day

46. Get More Twitter Followers

47. Keep from Getting Unfollowed

48. Use Twitter to Promote Your Product

49. Set Up a Facebook Fan Page

50. Employ Consistent Branding

51. Be Prepared for Traditional Media

Part Five: Engage Your Tribe

52. Get More Blog Comments

53. Don’t Respond to Every Comment

54. Keep the Conversations Civil

55. Develop a Comments Policy

56. Practice the 20-to-1 Rule

57. Monitor Your Brand

58. Defend Your Brand

59. Don’t Feed the Trolls

60. Monetize Your Blog

Conclusion: Take the First Step

Appendix A: Comply with the FTC Guidelines

Appendix B: Post Ideas for Novelists

Resources

Notes

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Index

Contact Michael