Posts Tagged ‘facebook’

Photo: Angela Mann, Kepler's

I came across an interesting read on PublishersWeekly.com this week. It’s about four YA authors who got together and organized their own book tour.

Here’s a summary of the article:

• The touring authors – Martha Brockenbrough (Devine Intervention, Scholastic/Levine), Sean Beaudoin (The Infects, Candlewick), Kevin Emerson (The Lost Code, HarperCollins/Tegen), and Cat Patrick (Revived, Little, Brown) – are friends who met through the Seattle writing community.
• The “You Are Next” tour, a nod to what the group calls “the next generation of books for the next generation of readers,” launched in January, with visits to schools and bookstores in Las Vegas, and San Francisco, and Portland, Ore.
• To chart their itinerary, the authors brainstormed about West Coast cities they’d like to go to and bookstores they’d enjoyed visiting in the past. They contacted booksellers to arrange store and school visits, and circulated flyers announcing the tour.
• The tour will next touch down in greater Los Angeles, where the quartet will make several store appearances during the week of March 25.
• Capping off the week is a visit to Disneyland on March 30, when they will be joined by several other YA authors, plus bloggers, librarians, booksellers, and fans for a day of play.
• At each stop on the You Are Next tour, which the authors are publicizing through its Facebook page and through their respective Twitter feeds, the authors offer a panel presentation that involves significant audience participation.
• The authors show embarrassing photos of themselves (“including but not limited to prom photos,” she says), read from their books in voices mimicking those of celebrities, and give kids prizes if they guess correctly which “fun facts” pertain to which authors.

What a brilliant idea! These four YA authors came up with an innovative way to get their books in front of their target audience … and have fun all the while. I’m not sure who is paying for this trip — or how much the total cost will be — but this should be a model for authors everywhere.

Communicate with other authors in your genre. Think of them as idea-generators, not competitors. Together, you can think outside the box and come up with creative ideas like these four women did.

I’ll confess: I love Allie Phillips. Not only is she one of the kindest, politest people I’ve ever worked with, but she dedicates a chunk of her time to protecting animals: a very noble cause. So I was beyond thrilled when I noticed that, in a recent month, Allie got over 1,100 visitors to her site, AlliePhillips.com.

So what is she doing to get so much publicity for her books and her cause? Here’s what she had to say…

Who built your website? How was the experience?
Smart Authors built my book website and the experience was so seamless and wonderful that I had them build my coaching/healing website too (ManifestedHarmony.com)! They have always been available for follow up questions and tweaking both sites. The customer service has been fantastic!

Which social networking sites do you regularly participate in? Facebook? Twitter? GoodReads? LinkedIn? Any others?
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. But I spend most of my time on Facebook because that seems far more interactive.

How many online followers do you have?
LinkedIn = 326
Pinterest (new) = 26

Alliephillips.com
Facebook = 1735
Twitter = 110

Manifestedharmony.com
Facebook = 638
Twitter = 115

How has your online presence (be it through a website or social networking profiles) increased your visibility/book sales?
The website, since the outset, has ended up being an educational portal where people can talk about how to help animals through my blog and other social media sites. My purpose in writing 2 animal protection books was to raise awareness about helping animals. So even though book sales have not [skyrocketed as a result of] the website, my mission of helping animals has.

For the manifestedharmony.com website, I believe that the website has increased my visibility. Since the website is global and has connected me to people from all over, it has encouraged me to move my practice to more online work (trainings, etc.) rather than in-person work. So the web presence is helping me to grow!

What is your “secret” to achieving this success? Were there any tricks or creative ideas (i.e. a contest) that you used?
I still struggle with marketing and outreach. So it’s just perseverance everyday, posting on social networks and linking back to the websites, keeping people engaged and my two sites front and center. For the coaching/healing website, I started posting free videos which has been a huge success for getting views. I just use my camera to tape the footage and then use the IMovie feature on my Mac to edit them. I’m so not tech-savvy and I was able to figure it out. I think people like to see who we really are and videos are a great way to do that. I don’t think you need to do anything fancy with videos either. Just be yourself, be real. I also respond to every posting (whether on the website blog or social media) to show that people have a connection with me and in an age where we relate better to technology than people, I think that’s a bonus!

Is there anything you would do differently if you were starting over again?
Get more help on marketing. It’s not my forte.

What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned in the process of building your online presence as an author?
The publishers are not helpful at all … it is up to the author to market their books and themselves. I was not prepared for that at all. One of the best moves that I made was getting myself into a professional writing network (the Cat Writer’s Association). I’ve learned so much about writing and publishing just by watching the numerous emails everyday that are posted to the group.

How and where do you promote your website? Is the URL on business cards? Your email signature?
For alliephillips.com, I have business cards and post cards that I place inside books that I sign. I have all of my URL’s in my email signature. For manifestedharmony.com, I have multiple brochures, business cards, flyers. I have the URL’s on all printed materials, on videos, in my email signature.

Final words of wisdom for any new authors wondering how to get started….
Outreach is crucial to being an author or online business person. Creativity will get you noticed, so do not be afraid to be yourself. In fact, it is essential that you portray who you really are and get comfortable with being different. If you are comfortable with videos, I highly recommend posting those on your website. Just realize that the outreach and marketing never ends … it is hand-in-hand with the creativity of being an author.

Ready to talk with us about building your own author website? Contact us today for a free consultation!

Most authors would kill to get 500 visits to their website in a month. But that’s exactly what Chip Wagar accomplished in December on his author website, AnAmericaninVienna.com.

So how did he do it? Here’s what he had to say…

Who built your website? How was the experience?

Smart Author Sites.  It was a great experience. They listened carefully to my ideas and carefully crafted a website that conveyed the essence and spirit of my book.

Which social networking sites do you regularly participate in? Facebook? Twitter? GoodReads? LinkedIn? Any others?

Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, History News Network, Bees Knees Reviews, Book Page Shoutouts, Deranged Book Lovers,  among others.

How many online followers do you have? How many pageviews have you gotten on your website?

I have over 134 Twitter followers and a similar number of “Likes” on Facebook.  I generally range between 12-40 page views a day on Facebook.

How has your online presence (be it through a website or social networking profiles) increased your visibility/book sales?

I don’t think there is any question that my book’s sales would not be nearly what they are without an on-line presence in this day and age.  I do not advertise in any other way.

What is your “secret” to achieving this success? Were there any tricks or creative ideas (i.e. a contest) that you used?

I try to find users on Facebook or Twitter who share common interests with the themes and times of my book.  For example, genealogy, history, travel and so forth are all good areas for me given the book involves historical fiction.

Is there anything you would do differently if you were starting over again?

Get started sooner on FB and other social media sites.

What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned in the process of building your online presence as an author?

Posting frequently helps a lot in building online presence.

How and where do you promote your website? Is the URL on business cards? Your email signature?

I usually funnel users to my website through social media.

Final words of wisdom for any new authors wondering how to get started….

There are very few “instant” successes among authors, particularly for your first book.  Be patient.  I believe that there are many Pulitzer Prize quality books out there that have not gotten recognition or sales because of flawed marketing efforts.

Almost exactly one year ago, I launched a website for a new client: Soren Kaplan. I must confess … I always did like the site that we built for him, Leapfrogging.com, but I didn’t have any idea quite how successful it would be.

After quickly browsing his recent statistics, I found that Soren has steadily been getting over 500 visitors each month to his site. That’s pretty impressive.

With that in mind, I posed some questions to Soren about what he believes is the secret to his success. Hopefully, these ideas will help other authors take their websites to the next level. Enjoy!

Who built your website? How was the experience?

Smart Author Sites.  Entire site for under $2k!

Which social networking sites do you regularly participate in? Facebook? Twitter? GoodReads? LinkedIn? Any others?

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

How has your online presence (be it through a website or social networking profiles) increased your visibility/book sales?

Social network is the name of the game.  Also writing for blogs like ldrlb.co and fastcompany.com provides opportunities for others to tweet out and promote articles that reinforce the book.

What is your “secret” to achieving this success? Were there any tricks or creative ideas (i.e. a contest) that you used?

Use Hootsuite to automate twitter posting.  I post 5-7 custom tweets per day and the system does it for me so I spend literally no time myself tweeting!

Is there anything you would do differently if you were starting over again?

I would be sure to integrate Facebook from the start so people could “like” my home page and each and every blog post.

What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned in the process of building your online presence as an author?

It’s a journey, not a one-time event!

How and where do you promote your website? Is the URL on business cards? Your email signature?

I’m constantly writing for blogs where my website is listed with my bio, business cards, email signature, twitter, Facebook, Linkedin.

Final words of wisdom for any new authors wondering how to get started….

Don’t worry about book sales!  Keep writing and following your passion and the sales will come.

Keep an eye on what your ultimate goal is… Is it really book sales, or is it about finding paid speaking opportunities, consulting projects, or something else?  And remember, book marketing is a journey, not a one-time event.

There’s always room for improvement on an author website. Whether your site was built 10 years ago (in which case, it most definitely needs updating) or 10 months ago, there are always new and interesting things that can be done to both update and improve your site.

Thanks to my trusty Internet and Marketing Report magazine, here are six ways to do just that:

1. Add punch to your headline. Play the role of a website visitor. Imagine that you arrive on your website, with no idea of who you are or what your books are about. Would your headline explain it? Just your name certainly doesn’t say much. Add some punch to your headline or tagline, explaining who you are, what your writing is about, and how it can change the lives of the readers. An example would be, “BOOK TITLE HERE: The most heart-wrenching novel you’ll ever read.”

2. Cut down on copy. It’s hard, as a writer, to keep our words to a minimum. But that’s exactly what we should be doing on our author site. Once you reach a certain point, your words begin to become annoying. Apparently, that point is about 100 words per segment of the page. Segments of an author homepage may include “About the Book,” “About the Author,” etc… Any more than 100 words in any of those areas and you’re making your readers work too hard. Speaking of which…

3. Break up your text. Writing for a book is very different from writing for a website. Books tend to have long, wordy paragraphs that really set a scene. Websites … well, not so much. Break up your website copy into bite-sized chunks — even bullets, when possible. A one-sentence paragraph may sound awful to you as a writer, but it’s actually very effective on a website.

4. Move your call to action above the fold. I’ve written a great deal of posts about making sure that your website offers clear direction to visitors (buy the book, enter your email address, etc…) But if those actions are “below the fold” — meaning, a visitor has to scroll down on the page in order to find it — they’re less likely to follow through on that action. So make sure your important links are above the fold.

5. Remove “click here” and “go” references. You’re a writer, so you know that some words are truly wasted words. “Click here” and “go” are pretty much that: wasted words. You’re much more likely to get people to take action by having the link be the actual action. So, for example, “Buy now”  or “Save today” are much more effective links.

6. Add social media buttons. Hopefully, you’ve already created a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc… If so, then you need to link to them from your author website. Chances are if people are “liking” or “following” you, they’re going to write some nice stuff about you on these social networking profiles. So give your new visitors the chance to see it with links, embeddable widgets, etc… to your social networking site of choice.

Ready to talk with us about building — or upgrading — your author website? Contact us today for a free consultation!

I spend a little time each week browsing the author groups on LinkedIn and such. Sometimes, I come across a gem of a conversation. Today, I came across a bunch!

With that in mind, I am pulling some of the best and most creative ideas that I found in today’s author discussions. The topic? Creative and interesting ways to promote a book online. Here are some of the more promising ideas I found….

1. Create a Facebook account for your main character.
2. Invite readers to review your book right on your blog.
3. Interview some of your favorite authors.
4. Share a glimpse into your writing process.
   (We do that a lot on our author sites with a Behind the Book page or Book Secrets page)
5. Conduct a contest of some kind to give away a free book, an autographed book, etc…
6. Ask for audience contributions to your next book.
7. Tie your book into a charity.
8. Share your perspective and updates on author events.
9. Tie your book and your blog into current events, upcoming holidays, etc…
10. Review other books in a similar genre on your blog … then ask those authors to do the same.
11. Allow readers to submit their own reviews on your website.
    (We often use the WordPress comments box to allow this)
12. Offer glimpses into your book … like one free chapter a week. But make people give you their email address before you let them read a segment.

It’s amazing. Just a quick browse of a few conversations and I got this bunch of amazing ideas. Gotta love the internet…

I came across an article in my trusted Internet and Marketing Report magazine. In it, the manager of Brand Marketing for Gap clothing, Samantha Willems, was asked how to create good Facebook content and boost engagement.

Her answers were good, but what struck me was that they’re relevant to far more than Facebook. Follow these guidelines for just about everything you create content for — your blog, your tweets, etc…

Here’s an overview of her recommendations (in my own words, of course), customized a bit for authors…

1. Create a schedule … and then be flexible. Plan your posts in advance by creating the equivalent of an editorial calendar, but be ready to act if something newsworthy happens related to the subject matter of your content. Then post on that stuff ASAP.

2. Use multimedia. Text isn’t enough any more. Try to make your contributions a blend of audio, video, questions, and straight text.

3. Interact. I tell this to clients all the time. Your blog (or Facebook or Twitter) is not like an editorial column in a newspaper. It’s a conversation, and you’re making a mistake if you don’t treat it as such. Respond to comments and questions. Engage with your readers. If you don’t make them feel involved, then they’re not likely to come back regularly.

4. Treat readers as friends. Don’t make your content too marketing-centric. Nobody likes that … on any platform. Instead, remember that the web is one huge world of friends communicating with one another. Their voices are just as important as your voice. So treat your readers with the same respect that you would want to be treated.

See what I mean? Samantha is right about this being the best way to create compelling Facebook content. But what she didn’t mention is that these golden rules should be followed on every platform.

Okay, you’ve finally built that author website. It’s beautiful. It’s easy to use. It’s a great means of promoting your book. Now, you need to get people to find it … which is easier said than done, by the way.

Here are the three main methods for increasing your website traffic, and hopefully increasing book sales as a result.

1. Spread the word.
How do friends, family, fans, coworkers, etc… know that your website exists? Because you tell them! Get business cards printed with your website’s URL on it. Include a link to your site at the footer of every email you send out. Make sure there’s a link to your site on your Facebook profile, your LinkedIn profile, etc… Get the URL in the faces of as many friends and colleagues — and even people you just cross paths with — as possible.

2. Optimize.
You’ve heard about search engine optimization (or SEO). What you might not understand is exactly what it is or how it can improve your website traffic. We offer a search engine optimization service to our clients, and it goes like this. First, we work with our clients to come up with a list of search terms that we think people searching for the book might enter into Google or Yahoo. Then we do the extensive research to determine exactly which phrases or keywords in those areas people are actually searching for. Finally, we go through the site and adjust the text — both on the front end (what people see) and on the back end (what only the search engines see) — in order to ensure that the site will show up prominently on the search results pages for those terms. This technique is especially effective for authors who have written nonfiction books, as people are far more likely to be searching for something like, “how to write a good resume,” as opposed to “great sci-fi novel.”

3. Encourage sharing.
Ten years ago, SEO was the newest, hottest way to drive traffic to a website. It’s still pretty important, but social sharing has now become the goldmine for drawing in new site visitors. Make sure that every page on your website, and every blog post, offers sharing options. This will allow readers who like what you have to say to “share” it with their friends via Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Reddit, etc… Even if you don’t know these sites from Adam, it’s worth offering these sharing options on everything you write. Once someone “shares” your page or post with their friends, they’re essentially recommending it to everyone. So unlike SEO, in which you’re just guaranteed placement on a page, a social share is essentially like getting a recommendation from someone that people trust. Research shows that you’re far more likely to get people involved in your site (i.e. commenting, buying your book, etc…) from a share link rather than through a search engine. In order to encourage shares, write things that are sharable. People tend to share things that are funny, informational, helpful, controversial, etc… So think about what type of posts (in the subject matter related to your writing or your books, of course) people would want to share with their friends. In short, if you want to increase shares, stop talking about what you made for dinner and start blogging about the secrets to good writing.

Utilizing any one of these three tactics will increase traffic to your website. All three? Well, you’ll be a very popular person in a very short amount of time.

You’ve probably been bombarded with advice on how to use social media to promote yourself and your book. Everyone is touting the benefits of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc… But who in the world has the time to utilize each of these to their maximum benefit? I know I don’t…

Thankfully, each of these sites has a specific purpose, a specific audience, and a way to use it best to accomplish your goals. Here’s a cheat sheet on how to find the right site to put your time and energy into, and how to use it to your benefit.

Facebook
Chances are that you use Facebook. If not, you know enough about it to understand that the large majority of people in the U.S. spend time each day on Facebook. The chances are good that you should have at least some kind of Facebook presence for yourself and/or your book.

Who it’s for: Basically, everybody. That said, Facebook is especially important for anyone whose books are tailored towards the general reading public. And the younger the audience of readers, the more important Facebook should be in your marketing efforts.

Tips on using it:

• Create a professional fan page. Don’t use your personal profile.
• Use photos. Facebook itself reports that photos and videos generate two times more engagement than text.
• Follow the 80/20 rule. This means that you should use no more than 20% of your blog posts to be promotional in nature. The rest should be fun, informative, etc…
• Include calls to action and links. Pose questions for people to respond to. Include bonuses/benefits specifically for Facebook followers. Include links to your website. Make Facebook an engaging experience for everyone.

Twitter
Twitter is a quick and easy means of quick communication with your readers and followers.

Who it’s for: People who want to say very active in their websites and in communicating with their audience. The younger your audience, the more likely they are to use Twitter … and even get your tweets on their smartphone!

Tips on using it:

• Be timely. Twitter is an instantaneous means of communication. People learn about news on Twitter before they even see it on TV or read about it on news websites. So share information as soon as it’s available.
• Be funny. People love to follow tweeters who can give them a good laugh in the middle of the day.
• Learn to write in shorthand. Because of its limit of 160 characters, Twitter has a language all of its own. Don’t be afraid to use abbreviations and shortened words, like “u” for “you” or “cuz” for “because.” This is hard for writers, but it’s considered perfectly acceptable on Twitter.
• Use hashtags. For those of you who aren’t familiar with hashtags, these are certain characters that go at the beginning of tweets in order to characterize them. For example, someone looking for all the tweets on healthcare might do a search for #healthcare so that he or she can see all tweets on the subject. Figure out which hashtags people are using to find tweets on your subject matter and start using them.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social networking website with a business/career slant.

Who it’s for: If your book is a business-to-business book, or if it offers any type of career advice for your average person, this site is a great place to focus your time and energy.

Tips on using it:

• Education people. According to Internet and Marketing Report, it’s important to use LinkedIn to establish yourself as an expert in your field and a resource center. Post educational content in your status updates and provide links to blog entries and the like that you think will be beneficial to people.
• Join communities. If your book is about writing resumes, for example, join communities of people who are job hunting. Then you can offer your own tips and advice directly to the people who need it most.
• Use the RSS option. LinkedIn lets you provide an RSS feed of your most recent blog posts. This can help drive traffic back to your website.
• Keep your profile current. Make sure it includes details on your book, and a link to your author website.

Which social networking site have you found most helpful? What did you do with it that helped your efforts? Share your tips!

I belong to several author groups on LinkedIn. I love offering tips and advice to authors who are just starting out (usually, advising them to build a website and/or start blogging). However, I also get a lot of great ideas from those groups, too. After all, there’s nothing like authors helping other authors.

With that in mind, I stumbled upon a conversation today titled, “Any ideas on how to get the buzz going about my book?” There were tons of answers, many of which I found to be very insightful and creative. Here are the highlights…

1. You may want to add a mailing list feature to your website so you can keep in touch with your readers. Also, having a media kit readily available on your web site makes it easier for an interviewer to research you/your book. Perhaps some pre-done interview questions for them, A virtual book tour could also stir things up for you. – Judy Robertson
2. One ‘word of mouth’ strategy I tell my clients is place your book at the airport where people are checking in ( or a bus depot, coffee shop) . Write in the 1st page this book that it is is “from the author and please leave behind for someone to read when done. ” Sign your name and provide you email and website. You’ll be surprised by emails and where your book has traveled. One clients book went around Europe in a months time. — John Weaver
3. I’ve donated a book to a library and placed a small article in local media. –Kent Whitaker
4. Have you thought about Pinterest at all? Remember, the key is exposure. Also, get profiles up on Good Reads and Library Thing, too – big sites getting lots of traffic. –Penny Sansevieri
5. One of the most efficient methods we’ve found is to create and send a press release with a good “hook” to journalists and media outlets for whom the book would be of particular interest.  –Ron Kaye
6. Check out some of the book bloggers/ book reveiwers out there. Many of them will post reviews to Amazon, B&N, or Goodreads, as well as on their own blogs. It’s a great way gain exposure. –Thomas Hill
7. Check out some of the indie book contests (such as Readers Favorite). Books that win awards get noticed and can greatly enhance your marketing efforts. –Thomas Hill
8. I haven’t launched my book yet either but one of my ideas is to have flyers made from the book cover. I plan to hang them anywhere and everywhere. –Lawrence Weiner
9. Viral marketing is the equivalent of hitting a home run. Whether it’s a blog post, a comment on someone else’s blog, a video trailer, media interview or a very clever ad, such efforts can go viral and have a life of their own. –Charles Weinblatt
10. Drive people WHEREVER you have OUTSTANDING book reviews, a solid blurb and where people can see a sample of your book, as well as seeing that other people HAVE bought it and enjoyed it. Every time you get a great review, tweet it. Make good use of hashtags, like “amreading,” etc. –Kimberly Hitchens

Do you have any other marketing ideas that have worked for you? If so, share them below!