USING LINKS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

The idea of this section is for you to start to build useful links
from your site. Do this for two reasons:-

1.To act as a resource to your visitors
2.You may be given a reciprocal link, which should increase your
traffic.

Right, now begin to consider a few ideas that you could put on a web
page that would enhance the reading experience.

LOCATION

Where are the main locations of the novel?

Think about this for a minute. Is it LA? Is it Paris? Is it Africa?

Now pull up your favourite search engine (I use www.google.com all
the time – it's my favourite). Now put into the search engine the
location of your book. You'll be given, hopefully, thousands of
websites to choose from. Look at a few of the links. Do any seem
appealing or eye-catching? If they do, add them to the links section
of your website or even profile a link on the home page. You've
started to broaden your books appeal already.

Example

You've written a hard-hitting police drama set in San Francisco. So,
following my advice, you put the words `San Francisco' into your
search engine.

What do you get?

Well, in less than a second I've found 2 million links!!!

The first link I looked at was a map of the city. Wouldn't that be
great to add as a link? People can then follow the action in your
book.

Then I found the official city website. That's a must have!

I trawl through a few more links then I find a site that has a series
of web cams set up. Wow!

There you have it. Within a minute or so you've found three useful
links for your website. Visitors to your site don't just get a feel
for the book but they get a feel for the location too.

Clever, eh?

And don't forget to send an email to each of these sites to invite
them to pop over to your site too!

Check out my link page on my St Brodag's Isle website:-

http://www.stbrodag.com/stblink.html

I've focussed on other island sites. Click on the links. Have a look
at the type of links I've put on there. I haven't had any complaints
from anyone yet.

GENRE

Let's think for a minute about the genre of your book.

Is it a thriller? Is it science fiction? Is it humorous? Is it
literary?

Who is your favourite author?

Repeat a series of searches such as the one you did for location.
Find another three or four links.

This might also highlight a series of organisations to join or online
communities who share your interest. Get involved. Take part in the
discussions on message boards and in newsgroups.

Try:-

www.delphi.com

www.egroups.com

www.topica.com

These sites host various communities. Find one your interested in.


Right. So you have built yourself a comprehensive links listing.
That's a good start. Remember to ask everyone if they'll be willing
to display a reciprocal link. It can never harm you to ask.