A lot of discussion has arisen lately among my fellow author friends about the pros and cons of social media. One side will tell you that you can't get readers without a strong social media presence. The other will tell you that it is a waste of time and not to put too much effort into it. So who is right?
Both. I am just one person, a small minnow in a very large ocean, but here are my thoughts and experiences. As an indie author, social media is often the first place you will look to find new readers. Blog reviews, Facebook posts and Tweets are all great ways to share about your latest book. The key is to balance self-promotion with cross-promotion and support of your fellow authors. Balancing also means prioritizing writing with marketing efforts. I am working on developing these skills for myself and am certainly not the leading example of writing and promoting. However, I watch those who succeed and notice a few things:
1. Start with a great product. Make your writing strong, create or have someone create an attractive, eye-catching cover, and have a team ready to beta read, edit, proofread and review. There is a lot more I could add to this, but right now I am focusing on marketing. So assuming that you have a great product, remember rule number two.
2. Build up your offerings. Many writers will tell you time and time again that the more quality books you have available to sell, the better your chances are at being found. But whether you have one book or twenty, you will still probably want to have at least a beginning social media presence.
3. Start small and steady and build momentum as you go. You may only start with a few followers. That's fine. Most people will tell you that you want engaged followers that are actually interested in reading your books. That is true, but having others follow you doesn't hurt, either. Many of us writers help each other out by sharing information. You never know when that unengaged follower from three months ago decides to finally give you a try because they have some extra time on their hands to read your book.
4. Work easier not harder. I keep a website with three blog streams, a Facebook author page and now a Twitter account. I may reach some of the same people on all three, but not everyone is seeing one or the other at any given time. So I make a blog post, which then gets auto emailed out to subscribers. I share that post on my Facebook page and I may Tweet. A handful of others may share this information as well. Because it is the same information, I realize someone may see it more than once. That's why I try to keep posts limited. However, sharing the same post in all three sites helps me keep from having to create original copy for each site. Streamlining gets the same message out there in different formats.
5. Address different audiences. It may sound contradictory, but it isn't. My three blogs (all in the same site here on RootedFaith) are all aimed with a different purpose. On Writing is focused at words of guidance for fellow writers. Reviews is a way for me to engage readers while promoting and sharing fellow authors whose work I enjoy. FaithNotes is for anyone, no matter who you are, and it is a way to encourage you in your active walk with Christ. I share these blogs in different ways. Some on my author page, some on my personal page, and others on Twitter or within private author groups.
6. What about author pages versus personal pages? Many discuss this very thing regarding Facebook especially. My platform includes both. I keep my personal page as private and locked-down as I can, understanding that nothing on the Internet is 100% private. As an author, particularly one with a pen-name, I found it better to keep that page separate. It is public, allowing anyone to like it. I don't post a lot of book related promotions on my personal page, with the exception of a new release or a blog share from my FaithNotes blog. This keeps my friends and family from being hit with book stuff all the time. Most of them are aware, and some are my biggest cheerleaders. But I would rather keep the page for other parts of my life.
This is just a start into the dialogue that could be continued for hours regarding social media usage among authors. If you are a fellow author, I hope this gives you something to think about. If you aren't, I still hope you've enjoyed today's posting.
Both. I am just one person, a small minnow in a very large ocean, but here are my thoughts and experiences. As an indie author, social media is often the first place you will look to find new readers. Blog reviews, Facebook posts and Tweets are all great ways to share about your latest book. The key is to balance self-promotion with cross-promotion and support of your fellow authors. Balancing also means prioritizing writing with marketing efforts. I am working on developing these skills for myself and am certainly not the leading example of writing and promoting. However, I watch those who succeed and notice a few things:
1. Start with a great product. Make your writing strong, create or have someone create an attractive, eye-catching cover, and have a team ready to beta read, edit, proofread and review. There is a lot more I could add to this, but right now I am focusing on marketing. So assuming that you have a great product, remember rule number two.
2. Build up your offerings. Many writers will tell you time and time again that the more quality books you have available to sell, the better your chances are at being found. But whether you have one book or twenty, you will still probably want to have at least a beginning social media presence.
3. Start small and steady and build momentum as you go. You may only start with a few followers. That's fine. Most people will tell you that you want engaged followers that are actually interested in reading your books. That is true, but having others follow you doesn't hurt, either. Many of us writers help each other out by sharing information. You never know when that unengaged follower from three months ago decides to finally give you a try because they have some extra time on their hands to read your book.
4. Work easier not harder. I keep a website with three blog streams, a Facebook author page and now a Twitter account. I may reach some of the same people on all three, but not everyone is seeing one or the other at any given time. So I make a blog post, which then gets auto emailed out to subscribers. I share that post on my Facebook page and I may Tweet. A handful of others may share this information as well. Because it is the same information, I realize someone may see it more than once. That's why I try to keep posts limited. However, sharing the same post in all three sites helps me keep from having to create original copy for each site. Streamlining gets the same message out there in different formats.
5. Address different audiences. It may sound contradictory, but it isn't. My three blogs (all in the same site here on RootedFaith) are all aimed with a different purpose. On Writing is focused at words of guidance for fellow writers. Reviews is a way for me to engage readers while promoting and sharing fellow authors whose work I enjoy. FaithNotes is for anyone, no matter who you are, and it is a way to encourage you in your active walk with Christ. I share these blogs in different ways. Some on my author page, some on my personal page, and others on Twitter or within private author groups.
6. What about author pages versus personal pages? Many discuss this very thing regarding Facebook especially. My platform includes both. I keep my personal page as private and locked-down as I can, understanding that nothing on the Internet is 100% private. As an author, particularly one with a pen-name, I found it better to keep that page separate. It is public, allowing anyone to like it. I don't post a lot of book related promotions on my personal page, with the exception of a new release or a blog share from my FaithNotes blog. This keeps my friends and family from being hit with book stuff all the time. Most of them are aware, and some are my biggest cheerleaders. But I would rather keep the page for other parts of my life.
This is just a start into the dialogue that could be continued for hours regarding social media usage among authors. If you are a fellow author, I hope this gives you something to think about. If you aren't, I still hope you've enjoyed today's posting.