Book authors of today are very lucky because they are able to reach a large number of readers for their online book promotions.

This is not to say, though, that all authors who use social media have been successful in promoting their material online. In fact, a number of writers are having a hard time pushing their books because the content that they present is not engaging enough to make the reader continue reading.

Reaching your networks to inform them that you have just put a book out is not enough. Your followers would not be excited to share the information with their other contacts because they don't find anything worth sharing in the message. On the other hand, if you have written a book and you have crafted a very good teaser to make your followers read more, they would definitely be excited to read about it and may even tweet your message for all and sundry to see.

The type and tone of message you use from network to network should vary. Tweets are normally short, pithy and to the point as these are almost always received through handhelds, which indicates that people who use them are conscious of their time and would appreciate short messages better. On the other hand, blog users may have more time to browse through information so the blogs should be information rich and be link-oriented.

Facebook is one good place to share information about your book. Make your information interesting so that it could go viral. If yours is a fiction book, a lot of avid readers would identify with the hero or heroine. You might find creating a fan page for your character more appealing to your readers. Most readers would also want to know how other people who read the same book find the characters in the story. Surprisingly, many readers feel a sense of "brotherhood" if they know that a lot of readers share the same thoughts on a book they read.

You may also want to consider doing a blog on your book. If it is a non-fiction book, highlight the salient points that could draw the attention of your readers to these points. If it is fiction, create a picture of the characters as they portray the different roles in the story. You may even put in updates that you reference to this post so that if readers see the updates and want a total picture of the story, they can check the back links.

Online book promotions, if used correctly, will definitely give you the edge when it comes to promoting your newly published book. With the proliferation of books online due to the increasing number of new writers, you are actually doing your readers a favor by letting them know up front what they are in for when they read your book. This also diminishes your book's chances of being passed over from the other books on the list as you draw attention to what your book offers.