By Simon Denman with an Invitation to a Free Webinar

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Creating and publishing compelling content (known in the business as content marketing) is currently one of the best ways to increase organic search traffic (web visits arising from Google search queries), and to gain followers with a genuine interest in your chosen subject matter.

For authors whose books are informed by specialist knowledge or expertise, this presents a unique opportunity to gain new readers and is a key reason why so many maintain blogs. The idea is simple; blog about topics that are likely to interest (and be searched for by) the target readers of your book, and when they come to read your posts, they will hopefully subscribe to your mailing list, learn about your book(s) and perhaps be tempted to grab a copy or two.

Even when no particular specialist knowledge is involved, a blog can still be a useful way for an author to showcase his or her voice, style, humour etc. although the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) value might be limited.

Of course, like many such 'opportunities' in book marketing, doing this well is easier said than done and presents several challenges including coming up with a regular supply of engaging new content, choosing the title and keywords to optimise each post for Google search, and deciding how best to promote it once published. Blogging can therefore be a useful tool for an author, but represents a commitment and discipline that won't suit everybody.

So what other content marketing options are available to authors?

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Ani Alexander, of the popular Write 2B Read podcast for authors, asking if she could interview me about my experiences both as an author and as founder of Readers in the Know. Already familiar with Ani's work, I gratefully accepted, a date was set for our Skype session, and the result can be listened to here.

Since then, we've had several interesting chats about author marketing and podcasting, and on the last such occasion, she mentioned that on Wednesday February 18th, she and Meron Bareket, Founder of PodcastIncubator.com (upon whose platform Write 2B Read is produced), will be running a free webinar on Podcasting for authors in 7 easy steps.

I immediately registered, and since this struck me as something you might also find valuable, I decided to share it here also.

To register for this Free Webinar, click here.