Imagine that you’ve printed your book and gotten the first copy in hand. You go to buy a domain name with the title of your book—and it’s already taken. Many self-published authors learn this lesson the hard way.
Social media is a critical marketing tool for every author—make sure that you don’t handicap yourself right out of the gate by selecting a book title that’s already been used to market something else. Before writing your book, be sure to buy the domain name and reserve social media handles for your title:
- Google+ (also look at Google Communities)
- YouTube channel
Even if you aren’t sure you will do anything with these social media channels, it’s better to make sure you’ll have the option later. Netflix learned this lesson during the failed spinoff of Qwikster. (Netflix learned, to their dismay, that the Qwikster Twitter handle was already taken—and filled with tweets containing profanity and references to drug use).
Domain Name Misspellings
You may want to consider registering the most common misspellings of your book’s name. This can get a bit pricey, but it may be worthwhile if you plan to do any heavy marketing for your book.
This is just one small example of how treating marketing as an afterthought can be a costly mistake when self-publishing a book. The key to successful self-publishing is investing the time and energy to build a solid foundation from day one.