Building relationships between readers and authors is a great way to market books online, said Brendan Cahill, VP and Publisher, Open Road Media, in a panel today at the eBook Summit.

In the presentation called “Setting the Stage,” Cahill spoke about how Open Road Media uses the Internet to connect their readers to authors. The digital publisher creates author pages with videos and photos, as well as social media accounts to help build a platform for the write online. “We follow the marketing process to empower the author to connect with readers,” he said.

Cahill said that creating a connection with readers is a great way to build readership over an author’s career or to establish an author as an expert on a particular subject.

While Open Road has a marketing budget to create professionally produced videos, Cahill advises authors looking to take a DIY approach and make their own online videos using Flip cameras or home video cameras.