You may already have your web site up. You may be ready to create one. The biggest mistake most people make is that they don't write their Web site to sell before they contact their web master. Here are five solutions.

Step One. Get Organized.

Just like anything else, you need to get organized first. What do you need to learn to put up an attractive, professional, book-selling site? Start a new folder called "Web Site To Do's." Include in a file called “My web site's purpose.” What I can do for my readers, and what money results do I want? Make another file called “Sales letter for Book” and “Home Page Elements.”

Put these and other topics in your computer files and if you like, hard copy manila folders placed in your "Online Marketing File."

Author's Tip: Save only important papers or computer files, which include files on your book and its contents. Your Offline and Online Marketing Plans should be vertical and alphabetical in folders in hard files, or placed within a main computer folder, within which you place different related files.

Step Two. Know your web site’s purpose before you hire a web master.

Do you want to sell products and services, generate leads, generate interest for your book, establish credibility as savvy expert in your field, improve communications, provide customer service, follow up on leads or sales, and get people to revisit your site to get more information that helps them make that all-important decision—to buy? While it's good to offer a lot of free content, you must also remember your book is a business and you want to make sales. Step Three. Preplan your Site for Selling

Think of your web site as your virtual office. You need to design each part of it to titillate and inspire your visitor to locate quickly what they want and eventually buy from you. It needs to be fast loading, and to be easy to navigate. You must know your site's purpose before you design it.

What is purpose of your web site? Sales? Build creditability? Show that you’re expert? What do you want to sell? (All sites want to sell something) Answer these questions in writing now.

What visitors do you want to attract? (target audience) Will your Web site have a theme? What is it? What should be your visitors' action and reaction once they arrive at your site? What's challenge or problem does your target visitor have? What's on your site such as your book to solve that challenge? By end of five months, what do you want to achieve? Money? How much? Clients? How Many? What's your technical expertise, and are you willing to learn something new, or delegate it to your inexpensive computer assistant or Web Master?

Step Four. Create an Audience Profile

One of unwritten rules of writing a book, an article, or any sort of material that requires writer to interview experts or people "in know" is to tape record conversation. Whether recording occurs via phone or in person is irrelevant. This rule is a good one.

This leads to following questions: * Do you transcribe every tape? * Who owns transcription?

The answer to these questions does have an "it depends" so let me explain. It depends on your state’s or countries laws on tape recording issue. It depends on how much you're getting paid for project. It depends on whether you can use interview notes more than once. It depends whether you are using interviewing as an escape -- a procrastination technique because you enjoy that interview process more than writing.

Okay, we got "it depends" listed and out of way. Let me present a few of my secrets -- things I have learned as a writer and teacher over last many years.

Secret 1: Just because you tape recorded conversation doesn't mean you have to transcribe tape. The tape is a great safety net for reviews.

Secret 2: You don't need to transcribe whole tape. Many times all you need are important parts.

Secret 3: Tapes are cheap, buy plenty instead of reusing, and keep them for a few years.

Secret 4: Create a tape master finding system. Microsoft Excel is a great way to track with a numbering system. Include year somewhere in numbering. Color coding adds visual effectiveness. Large colored dots are available at most office supply stores.

Secret 5: The storage container and where you store tapes is important as to how long they last. Heat and moisture destroys quality. Find small, thin, plastic containers with a tight seal with a one-layer depth.

Secret 6: Don't place a magnet anywhere near them. So keep paperclip magnet and phone (many have magnets in them) away from tapes. Palm Pilots too.