Thanks for having me on the blog, Stacey.

First I would like to introduce my book. The title is Double Life, and it’s an exciting science-fiction young adult adventure that takes place in an imaginary secret government agency called the BLUE. It follows Josiah Jones on his mission to defeat the evil crime syndicate, the RED Agency. It’s available in print and on the Kindle on Amazon.

Print: http://www.amazon.com/Double-Life-Dawson-Vosburg/dp/1435724283/

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Double-Adventures-Josiah-Jones-ebook/dp/B002BH4H3Q/

Today I’d like to discuss with you podcasting and blogging, two words that have started to become ubiquitous if you hang around the Internet a lot. I’ll give you a brief explanation on each and tell you how they can help you market your book in today’s Internet-oriented book market.

Blogging is something more and more people are doing. Millions of blogs are out there and more and more are popping up every day by the thousands. You should probably know what a blog is, otherwise you don’t know what you’re reading.

A blog can be very helpful because it can connect you directly to your readers in a personal, conversational, and sometimes even deeply emotional communication. If people read your blog and say “Hey, I agree with that guy,” or “That was a well-written post,” or “This definitely makes me want to read that guys’ book,” then you’ve accomplished your goal as a blog—to convey emotion or information to someone who could potentially buy your book. Even if they don’t, forming a connection with your readers can never be a bad idea.

Podcasting is basically chunks of video or audio information recorded an episode of a time and released out to the public usually in a regular manner. It’s basically a blog, except audio or video. Today I’m going to talk mainly on audio podcasting, since I’m not an expert with doing video blogging.

Audio podcasting, sometimes called Internet radio, has become very popular with authors because it connects with your readers like a blog, but it connects more at a human level because you can hear the voice talking to you and you can hear their tone as they convey ideas, emotions, and information. It’s also a useful tool because if someone else needs to be promoted and is less known, you can set up an interview with that person and get dual exposure.

Another option to consider is to have your show co-hosted with another expert in your field or just another author. I started this with Stacey Cochran last night and it was much easier to play off of his answers and thoughts than to just sit with a cell phone on Blog Talk Radio, hoping someone will call in.

A useful site for audio podcasting is www.blogtalkradio.com. Stacey and I used this site, and it was extremely good at handling everything, though if you live outside of New York, you might want to host your show in your cell phone plan’s evenings or weekends so you don’t have to pay pesky long-distance fees.

I’m glad to help authors market their books, and good luck with your reading and marketing!

Dawson