For you writers aspiring to greatness, you might need a virus, before you can be great! You need a Marketing Virus. Every unknown writer needs a virus that will spread like the deadliest bug known to man.

So how do you get this virus, and how do you make it work? Simple, the virus comes with marketing ? the kind of marketing that you need to do yourself. You can't rely on publishers or publicists. If you are an unknown or if you work with a small, independent publisher, as I did with my first novel, The League, you will need to carry much of the workload in getting your name and your product recognized. Here are a few tips to create a marketing virus that will get your name and your book to spread like a wildfire.

Use the Internet. It might seem obvious, but most writers are not making the best use of the most powerful marketing tool in the world. Get a website with your name and your work. Keep it very simple. A picture of your book or books and a professional picture of the writer ? you. You'll need a synopsis page and a page for reviews and quotes from others on how wonderful your book is.

Get your site noticed. This is the most challenging piece of marketing you'll have to do. Driving traffic to a website is an incredibly delicate matter. Anyone who suggests it's easy is lying. It takes time and work. Get your website URL on as many things as possible. Put it on business cards, and hand them to everyone. Put it on brochures, magnets and e-mail signatures. Get it on search engines, and spend a little money on a professional who can optimize your site for those engines.

Another tip that might seem obvious is to market your writing to magazines, newspapers ad electronic media. The greatest free advertising in the world is the radio or television interview. There are thousands of talk radio stations just dying for quality guests. You could pay a publicist thousands of dollars to book interviews for you, or you could do it yourself. Just get numbers of producers, work on a 30 second pitch as to why your book will interest readers and get on the phone. You'll be amazed at how many people will book you on the first try. Then tens of thousands of people will hear you, they'll tell their friends and family, and the marketing virus will begin.

Mark Barnes is the author of the new novel, The League, a shocking, sports-related conspiracy. Learn more about his suspense thriller at http://www.sportsnovels.com. He is also an investment real estate and home loan finance expert. Get his free mortgage finance course at http://www.winningthemortgagegame.com