What if you could offer a convenient online promotional avenue which would let potential readers talk with you? This could give them a way to ask questions and get additional information about you and your books. Wouldn’t this be another way to establish your credibility and to communicate with interested readers? Help Readers Learn About Your Books One issue with online book purchasing is that you cannot pick it up and flip through the pages. When I go to the store, I like to be able to ask questions. This is an advantage of dealing with a brick and mortar store. You can go into the store and ask the salesperson all your questions. That is lacking with most online businesses. How can you overcome this problem? One of the easiest ways is through an online promotional message board. Free Online Promotional Message Boards Here are some of the free online services which you can use: http://groups.yahoo.com/ http://groups.aol.com/ http://groups.google.com/ http://groups.msn.com/ These are some free forums that you can use: www.freeforums.com www.forumco.com www.ezboard.com www.freewebspace.net/forums www.chatarea.com www.forumsservice.com www.forumforfree.com There are several ways to offer this service to your visitors and readers. Many authors I know have online message boards to give readers a chance to “talk” with them. The link for the message board is prominently placed on their website and usually it is placed within their signature block. Learn To Use Online Sites to Promote Authors Online promotional boards are a great place to hold chats. Readers can come to the web page or respond through their email. It is very easy to answer questions or post some questions for your readers. This is also a wonderful and free way to distribute your newsletter, if you have one. The board can help you create a mailing list for your readers and fans. This can work for you as well. What can you offer to your potential customers that will be of value and that will keep you in their mind? Do you have any suggestions or ideas on how to offer more to your customers? Visit our promotional forum and we can brainstorm your ideas. Nikki Leigh www.nikkileigh.com