Creative Writing Marketing

No matter if your writing the next best thing in the English language, without good marketing strategies, no one will know. I'm just beginning to find my way in the marketing world, and look forward to better, more advanced suggestions, but here are the basics of what I've found so far.

Duotrope

This is a great site for just plain old publishing your work. It is a searchable listing of thousands of places for you to be published. Find hundreds of publications that are looking for the kind of thing you write, and keep submitting until

Craigslist

This is an obvious one, but a very good one. Craigslist provides a listing of local writing opportunities, and you never know what gems of experience you'll find. Keep track of what writing opportunities are happening in your own town, and help build your local following. This is one to check regularly.

Twitter

This is also an obvious one, but a very good way of spreading news to hundreds of people at once. This is an incredibly useful supplement to your blog. Keep your followers aware of publication dates, readings, signings, etc.

GoodReads

You want people to find your book. This site is about people finding the next thing on their reading list. Its a perfect match.

YouTube

This is one I'm still trying to figure out. Obviously its for video, not text, but it is also one of the most popular sites in the world right now, and any creative ways of marketing your writing using this site will, I'm sure, be of great help. Perhaps video of readings, home-made book trailers, interviews, etc.

Flickr

This is in the same vein as YouTube, in that its for photos, not text. But again, its a hugely popular site, so any way of marketing through photo on this site has the potential of reaching tons of people. Here's another site similar to Flickr that can be used similarly: deviantART

Gaming Sites

Ok, so this one is a little weird, but there are lots of people on gaming sites that could potentially be turned in to readers if you can reach them. Besides, its fun! Just don't let gaming get in the way of writing. Here are a few big sites: Zynga, Neopets.

Social Networking sites

One of most necessary and useful online marketing tools. Here's a short list of the top ones:
Squidoo
Facebook
Myspace
Ning
LinkedIn

Random Interest

Look for local or national groups that may not have to do with writing specifically, but still are applicable to you. Make friends with people who love dogs, theater, medicine, or whatever it is your interested in, and you will have expanded and diversified your readership.

So there's the basics of what I know about reaching people and finding new opportunities. I hope these ideas are things you can use.
Sarah Allen

p.s. Here's a list of the top sites in the world, and any of them that you can use to market your creative writing will definitely help: Alexa