I am about to publish about 3 books about the scientific analysis of acupressure, yoga, qigong and tantra (yes sexual tantra;p). (Essentially it would be a scientific explanation of the more 'esoteric' aspects of those practices)
To promote those books I either consider a personal branded domain name:mattpeplinski.com or branded domain empiricspirit.com which one do you think would work best?
You can read a more thorough description of the empiricspirit vision at: http://www.viewdocsonline.com/document/sakvca
Right now I can just say that the name is about the scientific (empiric) analysis of things that are very often though to be unscientific (spirit)
This seems to be the unifying theme in all of my books.
(At least for now)
Both domains are very important. I suggest that you use both of them in different ways.
If you believe that your empiric spirit domain is a "company" that you would like to support in social media and in articles, etc., for years to come, support it on its own domain separately from your personal domain.
However, I surmise that your personal domain is where you will (and, in my opinion, should) be driving up your social media presence and content. So, I recommend that you direct all book traffic there.
So, create a subdomain for your site, or a subfolder, and "point" your book domain to that subfolder. Write about the book in your social media and blog, and all traffic will come where you want it to ultimately come - your website.
It's important to maintain a website for the success of your book - for informational purposes, and to show people where to purchase the book. But it is important that you use social media like a pro, and become a guest blogging expert and frequent guest on radio programs... Those things matter much more. Direct all traffic where you want using bitly links, and track what is most effective.
Good luck! Enjoy the journey :)
Great questions Matt. I always recommend the personal branded domains for writers. Oftentimes we as the creators of our projects, brands and books find a theme to be a unifying or grounding force ourselves, but I've found that they usually do little to help forge any sort of connection or bond with potential readers. The personal brand (your name/face, and thus, your story/context) is what allows an otherwise anonymous prospective reader online connect with you on a deeper human level -- the human connection is always more memorable than a brand name or theme.
Also, you have the practical flexibility of using the same brand name for the rest of your life (unless you become a felon! :), whereas you might creatively outgrow EmpiricSpirit someday! I'd recommend the personal branded domain.
There are a couple of ways to go about this. Many authors have multiple domains and domain names. They have their overall - umbrella domain name. They have a domain name directly associated with the book's title. they have a domain name directly associated with their purpose/passion (like your "empiricspirit.com"). The mutliple name technique assists allows people to find you in the different ways that they think and search (versus trying to find out one way to attract various peoples, groups and interests).
If you are planning a 3-book series, what is the umbrella name for the series. For instance: Spiritual Education: An Empirical Study on A; Spiritual Education: An Empirical Study on B; Spiritual Education: An Empirical Study on C. Take a look at the Ruby Red Book Trilogy or the engineering Little Red Book Series http://www.littleredbookseries.com/ You could then create a domain name for the Umbrella trilogy title.
Also - I think you need to do a little more research on your target audience for the book. One suggestion is to decide on who you are trying to attract. Who will be the audience of your books? Are they already knowledgeable about your space and topic? I mean - are you trying to attract people that are searching for "empirical spirituality" and are tuned-into scientific terms? Or is your target audience regular "couples"? Is your target audience instructors and trainers in these areas - so that they have a better training background when giving their classes? Are you targeting people that are searching for general "spiritual education". If you can better describe who your target audience is and how they will use and benefit from your books - you may get a clearer direction on what you want to do with your marketing and branding message. Who are you trying to educate with your message? Who will be interested in your message and data? Then market and brand to attract that target niche.
I know you will get many other useful comments from others as well.
Call me if you need any more ideas.
I did both (jamienotter.com and humanizebook.com), though that was for just one book. And I already had a consulting business on my own, so both sites are both different and necessary. To some extent it's a duplication of effort, but once the books are out there you'll start to see which site is really getting the attention and energy and then further develop that one.
It depends on your long term plans/goals. Assuming that you have aspirations beyond the three books, I would save your personal branded domain for your blog, bio and other information. Use your other domain name for the books. Of course you can link back and forth between them. If the books take off and you want to keep conversations about the books separate from other stuff, it would be hard to do on your own domain name down the road. Though it is a pain to develop and maintain multiple sites, if I was writing books, I would want them to be on their own domain.
I spent 6 years marketing myself as a website designer, then focused more on marketing myself as a photographer for about 5 years and then switched back to focusing on web again. This has been an easier process because I had individual sites for both web design and photography. My own personal domain name was always kept separate and is a collection of my ambitions and life over the years.
In the end, do what you feel best represents what you are about and how you feel the books will be best marketed.
