Most authors are on the lookout for effective ways to gain visibility for their books and spark the interest of potential readers/buyers. One method that is gaining popularity is for the author to offer a chapter from their book to the reader at no cost. The most effective way to do this is with an instant download from the author’s blog or website.

Although a great way to gain exposure for a book, most authors will not realize much marketing success with this strategy for a couple of reasons.

First, many authors simply give the chapter away without requesting a name and email address in trade for the chapter. Granted, some potential readers may leave the site without getting the chapter, but the ones who do leave their contact information are obviously interested in the author’s work.

Collecting the names and email addresses allows for backend marketing. You can make announcements of book signings, teleseminars, new book releases and special events your are hosting.

Another reason an author may not be optimizing their marketing efforts is that more times than not there is no contact information or a link to a site where the book can be purchased. Part of your job as an author is to make the process of buying your book as effortless as possible for the reader.

To increase your opportunities be sure to have your contact information at the end of the chapter. If people read the entire chapter it means you held their interest.

Additionally, have a direct link to an online location your book is available at. You may be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Well, Kathleen, you got my attention. Here's the deal: I already give away the first chapter on the main web site for the book. Plenty of links on plenty of pages for purchasing, plus a guestbook submission. I don't want to mess with the main site for now. I do have a blog with my complete control. So, let's see, how do I proceed? Maybe you are saying that I have a portion on the blog that says, "For a free download of the first chapter, fill out this form..." blah blah. Or can I say, "For a free download of the first chapter, contact the author at info@beyondthetears.com?" Then they contact me, I ask for their email information? Is that more like it. There's more, and I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. I am going to develop articles from my book content. For example, since I deal with DV, I can write an articles on : "how does domestic violence affect spirituality?" So then I'd have to talk about how to release these articles. Any ideas? Thank you very much.