Frances Caballo's Blog: 10 Twitter Tips Writers Need to Know, page 20
March 15, 2019
Indie Author Weekly Update – March 15, 2019
Welcome to another edition of the Indie Author Weekly Update. This week’s edition covers everything from saying good-bye to Google+ to pen names to a Reedsy service. I hope all of the posts here help you in your endeavor to sell more of your books.
Social Media
Google Plus Shuffles off its Mortal Coil: Have You Un-Googled? by Anne R. Allen: “If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you probably know I’ve had something of a love-hate relationship with Google Plus. It was clunky and annoying, but I recommended it as a way to get blogposts noticed by the Google search engine. Of course it was always slow to load, and an “update” a few years ago made it massively user-unfriendly. Still, it was a great tool for SEO and boosting your blog traffic.”
The Writer’s Guide to Instagram: Tips from Top Bookstagrammers and Authors from BookBub Partners: “Instagram is a massive and growing social media platform, and it is full of book lovers. There are many book-focused Instagrams with tens of thousands of followers, whose moderators feature books in appealing images that are widely liked and often reposted.”
Pen Names
3 Factors for Choosing an On-Brand Pen Name by Dave Chesson: “If you’re thinking about using an author pen name, you’re in superb company. After all, countless top authors have chosen to make use of a pseudonym when releasing their work. Like George Orwell, the pseudonym chosen by Eric Blair so he could write about poverty without the fear of shame, or Mark Twain, the pen name favored by Samuel Clemens so he could compartmentalize his different writing styles/personas.”
New Reedsy Service
A New Concept in Book Discoverability: Reedsy Discovery Book Review Service by Ricardo Fayet: “Ever since we launched Reedsy a bit over four years ago, one topic inevitably comes up time and again in support messages, on conference panels, or in my conversations with authors (often at the bar) — and that is the thorny issue of discoverability.”
Quote of the Week
Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.
Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!
Ryshia Kennie
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She wrote several social media books including Social Media Just for Writers and The Author’s Guide to Goodreads. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online, building their platform, and finding new readers. Her clients have included authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for her free email course.
Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers
The post Indie Author Weekly Update – March 15, 2019 appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
March 11, 2019
New to Instagram? Here’s How to Start Plus 9 Tips for Authors
Are you new to Instagram? Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve used it for a year or longer, you’ll enjoy this series. It will take you from novice to expert over the coming weeks.
Instagram is growing day by day. According to TechCrunch, as of nine months ago Instagram had 1 billion users worldwide.
TechCrunch noted,
While Snapchat’s daily user count grew just 2.13 percent in Q1 2018 to 191 million, and Facebook’s monthly count grew 3.14 percent to reach 2.196 billion, Instagram is growing closer to 5 percent per quarter.
According to the Pew Research Center’s March 1, 2018 report, Instagram is the sixth most used social media site, behind Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Messenger, and WeChat.
Part of Instagram’s growth might be due to the mother of all social media networks, Facebook. After Facebook purchased the app in 2014, Instagram’s user base soared by 60%.
Instagram took off with teens and Millennials. Today, according to the Pew Research Center, 35% of all internet users in the U.S. have an Instagram account. Of those, 39% are women, and 30% are men.
Also, Instagram figures among three platforms that users visit every day.
More About Instagram’s Users
The age breakdown among users trends toward the younger crowd. Most users are between the ages of 18 and 29.
However, there is a relatively large number of users between the ages of 30 and 49. The older age groups tend to be smaller with the 65-and-above crowd making up the smallest percentage of users.
What we know for sure is that for interacting with readers, Instagram is increasingly an excellent platform for engaging with them.
Readers on Instagram
If your reader demographic is between the ages of 18 and 49, Instagram can be a strategic application for you to use. Those of you who write young adult, new adult, dystopian, and teen and young adult romance and science fiction novels, will need to spend time connecting with your readers on Instagram.
But, some agents are recommending that all authors, including nonfiction writers with an older readership, also use Instagram.
However, if your audience isn’t on Instagram, does it make sense to use it? I’m a huge proponent of saving time on social media by only spending time on those networks where you’ll find your readers and your colleagues.
With Instagram’s popularity, it might make sense for you to follow Jane Friedman’s advice: grab your username anyway. After doing that, play around with Instagram and see whether it’s worthwhile for your genre and readership. If it isn’t, leave Instagram, focus your energy on other platforms, and return to it later to test it again.
The beauty of Instagram – and this is why it’s easy to test it – is that it’s effortless to incorporate it into your life. You’ll see why if you keep reading. For now, let’s leave the statistics behind and talk about how to sign up and use this tool.
How to Join Instagram
How to Sign Up
Sign up by navigating to Instagram.com on your desktop computer or download the application on your smartphone and signup.
It’s best to use your smartphone because Instagram is a mobile app and it’s best to be on your phone to add your profile image and images that your post.
As with other social media sites, do not use your book cover or image of your favorite pet as your avatar. Use the best picture of yourself that you have.
Every time you add a new network to your marketing arsenal, represent your brand as best you can. What is your brand? You.
Username
When you select your username, use your name. If you use a pen name for your books, use that. Bottom line: use the name that appears on the covers of your books.
Bio
Complete your bio, which Instagram restricts to 150 characters, and add your author website address. Also, add a hashtag or two, such as #romanceauthor. Don’t forget to check the box next to Similar Account Suggestions to enable Instagram to suggest additional users for you to follow.
Instagram Is a Mobile App
You’ll be limited in what you can do from your desktop computer. You can create your account and stream your news feed and like images and leave comments. However, get used to using this application on your mobile phone.
As you’re out and about, visiting your favorite café, buying books, or cruising you’re your favorite downtown area or woodsy path, snap images with your smartphone. Then, upload the pictures directly to Instagram. Select a filter for your image if the image appears too dark or too bright, and post it with hashtags.
It’s best to use eleven hashtags; 30 are the most you can use.
Sync Instagram to Facebook
This next step is what makes Instagram simple to use. As you post your picture to Instagram, you can also post it to other accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr.
While I don’t recommend syncing Twitter to Facebook or even Instagram to Twitter, linking Instagram to Facebook is seamless. The comment and hashtags you write for your Instagram post integrate smoothly with your Facebook profile. This is how to connect your accounts:
Navigate to your Instagram profile on your smartphone.
Tap the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of your profile.
Click Linked Accounts and select the social media networks you want to sync.
Get a Business Account
If you want a business account, which provides you with analytics, follow these instructions:
Go to your profile.
Tap the three lines in the upper right-hand corner of your profile.
Next, tap Settings.
Finally, tap account, and then tap Switch to Business Profile.
Once you have a business profile, you’ll connect your Instagram business profile to your Facebook author page. You’ll also get analytics for your Instagram account. You’ll be able to track demographic information of your followers, locations, and the hours and days your followers are on Instagram.
9 Ways Authors Can Use Instagram
If you still aren’t convinced that you should be using Instagram, consider these reasons:
It is an excellent platform for following bloggers who review books. Many book bloggers use this platform and the more you connect with them, the more likely they’ll review your books.
Use this platform for marketing. You can use this network as you would Facebook or Twitter. In other words, you can host contests and ask for photo submissions that revolve around the theme of your book.
Instagram is another platform you can use to post quotes to provide visual inspiration. Who doesn’t like to read inspiring quotes?
You can collaborate with readers who can also help you with research for your next book.
By taking pictures of your office, a walk you take on the beach, a hike to take in the woods, you genuinely connect with your readers. Also, you are letting them get a more rounded look into your life.
Use hashtags. Yes the popular hashtags from Twitter that are also used on Pinterest, Tumblr, and to a lesser extent on Facebook, are also used on Instagram. Now here is what Max Woolf said after analyzing 120,000 Instagram photos to figure out whether there was a correlation between hashtags and Likes. As Social Media Examiner explains, “He found that the more hashtags an Instagram photo has, the more likes it gets. Why? Because hashtags give photos a larger reach.”
Use Instagram to connect and collaborate with your readers. Post images of your book cover as well as images of the covers you are considering using and ask your followers to help you select one. Also, post images of book covers from books you’ve read and share the book covers from your colleague’s books.
Don’t create an account and then abandon it. Just like you don’t want to create a blog and then not write a post for months, once you create an account on this network, keep posting images several times a day.
Use Instagram to give your readers a visual tour of your life. Snap pictures of your office where you write, or your favorite hiking area. Or take a picture of the outside of your favorite cafe or your dog. Take your readers on a visual and virtual tour of your life.
Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.
Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!
Ryshia Kennie
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She wrote several social media books including Social Media Just for Writers and The Author’s Guide to Goodreads. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online, building their platform, and finding new readers. Her clients have included authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for her free email course.
Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers
The post New to Instagram? Here’s How to Start Plus 9 Tips for Authors appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
March 8, 2019
Indie Author Weekly Update – March 8, 2019
Welcome to the Indie Author Weekly Update. You’ll find information on blogging, Facebook, and book marketing. I hope you enjoy all of the posts this week.
And if you live in Northern California, I hope you are dry and safe.
Blogging
How to Write for a Blog: 10 Tips for Writing Strong Web Content by Anne R. Allen: “These days, pretty much all writers need to learn to write Web content. Yes, even if you’re a Victorian romance author whose readers care more about reticules and spatterdashers than retweets and SEO. Even if you don’t have your own blog. Any website needs content. Plus you may want to plan a blog tour to promote your book launch, or guest on a blog for visibility. (Guest blogging is one of the best ways to market your book for free.)”
10 Facts about Americans and Facebook by Pew Research Center: “It’s been 15 years since the creation of Facebook, a platform that revolutionized social media in the United States and around the world. While Facebook remains immensely popular – and highly profitable – it has attracted scrutiny in the U.S. in recent years because of concerns over its ability to keep users’ personal information private and its role in the 2016 presidential election.”
Facebook Announces New Themed Stickers and Frames for Women’s History Month from Social Media Today: “Following on from the themed stickers and tools launched to mark Black History Month on both Snapchat and Instagram, Facebook has this week announced a new set of visual tools for Women’s History Month in March.”
Book Marketing
Planning Your Own Book Launch from Writer Unboxed and by Sophie Masson: “Your book is coming out soon and you want to mark its entry into the world. You don’t want it to just slide out unnoticed amongst the serried ranks of ‘New Releases’ in the bookshops. You want it properly launched. But your publisher isn’t keen to do a launch. ”
Marketing: Think of Your Readers’ Tastes & Habits, Not Your Own from the Alliance of Independent Authors: Self-Publishing Advice Center and by Jill Marsh: “Bestselling crime writer JJ Marsh, based in Switzerland, describes the light-bulb moment when she realized that marketing wasn’t about her, but about her readers, and describes how this became a turning point in her fortunes as an indie author.”
Quote of the Week
Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.
Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!
Ryshia Kennie
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She wrote several social media books including Social Media Just for Writers and The Author’s Guide to Goodreads. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online, building their platform, and finding new readers. Her clients have included authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for her free email course.
Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers
The post Indie Author Weekly Update – March 8, 2019 appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
March 1, 2019
Indie Author Weekly Update – March 1, 2019
Welcome to the Indie Author Weekly Update. Enjoy this week’s posts by Gill Andrews, Jane Friedman, Dana Sitar, Joan Stewart and Erica Verillo, who writes about writer’s conferences occurring this spring.
Enjoy them all.
Gail Email Subscribers
How to Gain More Subscribers (Even with Low Website Traffic) by Gill Andrews: “What if I told you you could get 2 new subscribers for every 50 website visitors without an extra effort? You’ll go about your day doing client work, writing, taking a nap. But your list will grow, adding at least several new email addresses from people who want to hear from you every day. No popups, welcome mats or slide ups. Wouldn’t it be a dream come true?”
Listen to a Podcast
Book Warner and Grant Faulkner in this week’s episode of Write Minded Podcast featuring Jane Friedman [Podcast]: They cover topics on innovation, publishing trends, and the future of book publishing.
Stop Searching for the Ideal Reader
How the “Ideal Reader” Myth Hurts Your Writing Process by Dana Sitar: “A lot of writing advice encourages you to market to your audience by defining your ideal reader. It says to think of your reader as one person, create a profile and write for that person. You’ll even find templates for defining your ideal reader — fake head shots and all. They’ll ask you to name the reader and list their demographics, interests and job. They’ll ask you to explain why this reader is totally in love with what you write.”
Writing Conferences
27 Fabulous Writing Conferences in March 2019 by Erica Verrillo: “Spring is right around the corner! And writers are thawing out! There are some excellent opportunities to network, pitch your work, and attend stimulating workshops this month.”
Press Releases
The Book Designer by Joan Stewart and from TheBookDesigner.com: “Most authors believe the press release will result in phone calls from eager journalists and an onslaught of orders. Nothing could be further from the truth. By itself, the press release lacks the power to skyrocket sales. But combine it with other marketing tactics like a compelling email or phone pitch, and you can help journalists learn about your book and take the next step: schedule an interview with you or invite you to be a guest on their show or podcast.”
Quote of the Week
Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.
Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!
Ryshia Kennie
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She wrote several social media books including Social Media Just for Writers and The Author’s Guide to Goodreads. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online, building their platform, and finding new readers. Her clients have included authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for her free email course.
Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers
The post Indie Author Weekly Update – March 1, 2019 appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
February 25, 2019
Are You Ready for Book Marketing? Take This Quiz
Book marketing involves so many steps.
When people come to me, they erroneously think that all they need is social media marketing.
Au contraire.
Social media alone won’t cause your books to start flying off the proverbial bookshelf.
So, take this quiz and see if you’re ready to tackle book marketing on your own.
Did You Write the Best Book You Possibly Could?
Yes, book marketing starts with your book. If you wrote a historical fiction novel, how well did you research it? Did you hire the absolute best editor you could afford plus a copyeditor?
And did you attend writing workshops to hone your craft?
Who Created Your Book Cover?
It’s best if you don’t rely on Fiverr for your cover. And it’s best if you don’t use a photo you took.
Subscribe to TheBookDesigner.com. Every month, Joel Friedlander, a book designer, judges submissions from writers.
By reading his reviews, you’ll learn a lot about good and bad covers, and you’ll glean names of good book designers. Or, you can ask Joel for a recommendation. That’s how I found mine.
Book Marketing Essential: Choose the Best Amazon Categories
You could upload your book to KDP if you’d like and select your own categories. Before doing that, I suggest you conduct some research.
Selecting your keywords and categories is critical to being found on Amazon. So, make your selections carefully. Here’s a post by Kindlepreneur with Dave Chesson on how to find the best categories: Secret Method to Choosing Amazon Book Categories in KDP.
Are You Planning on a Preorder
Preorders are de rigueur these days.
When you schedule a preorder for a month, you are building sales and then when your book is available to download, you’ll have a boatload of reviews.
All those reviews boost your book in Amazon’s search engine.
Can People Listen to Your Book?
These days, it’s important to publish your book in as many formats as possible.
You want your readers to be able to read a paperback, download an ebook, listen to an audiobook, or enjoy a boxed set.
I’ve had clients who have only had their books formatted into paperbacks. Guess what kind of book sales they had? Yep.
No amount of social media marketing can help an author who doesn’t take advantage of all the ways that consumers buy books these days.
Do You Have an Author Website?
Every author needs an author website. In fact, you need a website, and possibly a blog, before you even embark on social media marketing.
A simple website would include these pages: home, about, contact, and a page with a list of all of your books.
Do You Have a VIP List or a Street Team?
If you have a street team of ten people, you can sell a lot of books.
Ten raving fans will post information about your books everywhere online. Imagine that they are super connected. I’m talking about 2,000 Facebook friends and 500 connections or more on LinkedIn, at least.
If you have ten super fans with 2,000 Facebook friends each, we’re talking about 20,000 people who will learn about your books.
Whoa!
A VIP list works the same way. It doesn’t matter what you call it, just build it and the book sales will happen.
Do You Promote Your Book for Free?
I know what you’re thinking. After spending all the time and all that money getting your book reading for publication, why would you discount your book to $0 for five days?
Well, because discounting your book will lead to downloads which will increase the number of readers you’ll get, which in turn will bring you more reviews.
And more reviews will boost you on Amazon’s search engine.
So, do them. They’re worth it on a promotional basis.
Are You Willing to Pay for a Blog Tour?
Blog tours may not boost book sales initially, but they will increase awareness of your books.
As a new author, you need awareness.
Of course, you don’t have to pay for a blog tour. You can always organize one on your own.
On this Amazon page, there is a list of books on how to conduct your own blog tour. Buy one of the books and start doing it.
If you want to hire someone, I can vouch for TLC Book Tours. They aren’t cheap, but they are professionals. I’ve used them and really enjoyed working with them.
Do You Have a Social Media Presence?
Whether you hire someone like me or do it yourself, a social media presence is essential to a writer’s marketing platform.
Whether you’re a new author or a seasoned author, you need to have a social media presence for visibility and for book sales.
Social media is how you’ll keep in touch with readers, find new readers, and connect with influencers in your genre and in the book marketing field.
Are You Building Your Email List?
Email marketing is also de rigueur.
You won’t get far in your book marketing without building an email list.
The truth is, email marketing is more effective at sales than social media. However, Facebook advertising is awesome.
Have I confused you?
I hope not. Social media and email marketing are both essential and can complement each other.
Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.
Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!
Ryshia Kennie
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She wrote several social media books including Social Media Just for Writers and The Author’s Guide to Goodreads. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online, building their platform, and finding new readers. Her clients have included authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for her free email course.
Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers
The post Are You Ready for Book Marketing? Take This Quiz appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
February 22, 2019
Indie Author Weekly Update – February 22, 2019
Welcome to the Indie Author Weekly Update. All the posts here discuss book marketing but in different contexts. Anne R. Allen once again doesn’t fail to disappoint in her newest post about superfans. Under the email marketing heading, you’ll find two great blog posts.
Enjoy them all.
Book Marketing Strategies
Should Writers Despair If We Don’t Have Superfans? by Anne R. Allen: “I keep reading about them. People swear they exist. But I’ve never met one. Or even seen its elusive footprint. No, I’m not talking about Bigfoot. I’m talking about the author Superfan. Lots of publishing experts I respect are saying we need to go out and get us some of these Superfans. But I’m not sure where to find them—although apparently vast herds of them roam the booky regions of Cyberia.”
Paul Jarvis describes in new book’s launch (Company of One) in this outline: “For this article, let’s focus on everything after the finished manuscript, because I cover a lot on finding an agent and publisher in my other article on how I got a book deal.”
Book Promotion: Do This, Not That – February 2019 from TheBookDesigner.com and by Amy Collins: “This month has been all about working with authors to help them focus on their markets and really find their readers.”
Social Media
Important Reasons Authors Need to Be Using Social Media by Emiie Rabitoy: “Social media is something most take for granted these days. Not only is social media something that helps close the distance between friends and family who are far apart, but it can also be helpful in a person’s work life too. Social media can be very beneficial for authors, from building relationships with readers, to book marketing and gaining knowledge and feedback.”
Email Marketing
How to announce your book with an e-mail blast by Sandra Beckwith: “I’ve received quite a few book announcement e-mails lately. I want to be excited for the authors, because this is a big deal. Sadly, though, most of the messages aren’t very compelling. More often than not, they’re self-congratulatory (“I’ve achieved my dream!”) or self-serving (“If you buy my book on Amazon in the next 24 hours, I can become a best-selling author!”).”
Book Marketing: How to Add Mailing List Signups to Your Author Website from Alliance of Independent Authors: “If you’ve spent any time reading or listening to ALLi’s advice on connecting with readers and growing your audience, you’ll know that one of the best ways to do this is via your author mailing list.”
Quote of the Week
Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.
Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!
Ryshia Kennie
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She wrote several social media books including Social Media Just for Writers and The Author’s Guide to Goodreads. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online, building their platform, and finding new readers. Her clients have included authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for her free email course.
Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers
The post Indie Author Weekly Update – February 22, 2019 appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
February 18, 2019
5 Little Changes That’ll Make a Big Difference in Your Social Media Presence
When was the last time you analyzed your social media presence?
I mean really took a good look at it.
Once we set up our social media profiles and pages, we get so absorbed or even harried about keeping up with our postings that we forget to review our:
avatars
banner images
bios
overall review of our updates
return on investment (ROI)
So, let’s talk about these items.
Steps to Improving Your Social Media Presence
Social Media Avatars
When was the last time you updated your avatar?
If you took a selfie in the past or had a friend snap a picture of you, it’s time for you to hire a professional to take some shots of you.
While she’s at it, have her take a picture of you writing and reading. And in other poses as well. You can use these additional shots on the back of your book.
Remember, an avatar needs to be a close-up shot of your head. Don’t wear sunglasses or hats when you take this picture. They will obstruct an image of your beautiful self and won’t let your readers see you clearly.
Banners Are Critical to Your Social Media Presence
Don’t ignore social media banners (header on Twitter) and just put up anything. Use Canva.com to create your banners or use a graphic artist at Fiverr.
I don’t recommend that you fall for the $5 deals. Spend some money and pay at least $30 per image.
Here’s a beautiful Twitter header that I’m certain Joanna Penn hired someone to create:
Here’s mine. It’s not too shabby, eh? I used Canva.com to build it.
Keep in mind that your banners needn’t be static. On Facebook, for example, it’s a good idea to change the images quarterly.
I know that Joanna will change her Twitter headers when she runs a promotion or when she launches a new book.
My header image above is for the two books I market the most, especially Social Media Just for Writers. In reality, it’s time for me to create a new header and new banner images for the rest of my social media. I’ve used this version for quite some time, so this post is a good reminder for myself. 
February 15, 2019
Indie Author Weekly Update – February 15, 2019
Welcome to the Indie Author Weekly Update. I hope that you like how I’m categorizing my roundup now. This week’s categories are eBooks, book marketing, audiobooks, BookBub ads, and online book tours. Ostensibly, I could have added BookBub ads and online book tours under book marketing but I wanted to make sure that those particular blog posts stood out.
I hope you enjoy this week’s Indie Author Update and that you have a wonderful weekend.
eBooks
eBook Distribution Round-Up with Comparison and FAQs by David Wogahn: “eBook distribution options in 2019 have expanded greatly the past two years. There are scores of online eBook retailers around the world and eBook aggregators abound to help self-publishers easily make their book available for sale.”
Book Marketing
Best Practices for Authors Looking to Optimize Their Marketing Strategy by Kimberley Grabas: “It’s an unfortunate truth that writing a good book doesn’t guarantee an author’s success. With so many others vying for readers’ attention, it’s important to implement an effective marketing strategy. Various brands rely on best practices instilled by a Facebook advertising specialist or Instagram expert to promote their products, and authors may consider doing the same to attract a broader audience.”
Street Teams: How to Run a Smooth and Successful Campaign from TheBookDesigner.com and by Angela Ackerman: “The prospect of a book launch can be intimidating. In today’s post, guest post author, Angela Ackerman, shares many tips about how to work with a street team to make your book launch a success. You won’t want to miss this article.”
AudioBooks
Understanding Audiobook Production: An Interview with Rich Miller from Jane Friedman and by Kristen Tsetsi: “Like many indie authors grateful for new outlets for their work, I was drawn last year to the world of audiobook production. This was thanks in large part to the recommendation of author friend Ian Thomas Healy, who’d had a positive experience adapting his work for audio. His personal history with it, combined with the rise in audiobook popularity, led me to follow Healy’s example and create an audiobook at ACX, Amazon’s audiobook production platform.”
BookBub Ads
How To Sell Books In 2019 (Part 4) by David Gaughran: “Welcome to the fourth part of my series on how to sell books in this year we have all agreed to call 2019 – despite what can only be described as rather shaky ground. And while we’re on the topic of letting dates slip, sorry about the delay in getting the final episode of this mini-series to your inbox. I handed BookBub Ads Expert to the editor yesterday – finally! – and that was taking all my time. More on that below.”
Online Book Tours
How to Run Your Own Online Book Tour and Save Money! https://www.amarketingexpert.com/run-... by Penny Sansevieri
We’ve all heard about an online book tour, also often referred to as a book blog tour. They’re a great book promotion tool (if done right) and can really enhance the exposure for your book with readers connected to these blogs. But where do you start? Let’s dig in!
Quote of the Week
Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.
Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!
Ryshia Kennie
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She wrote several social media books including Social Media Just for Writers and The Author’s Guide to Goodreads. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online, building their platform, and finding new readers. Her clients have included authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for her free email course.
Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers
The post Indie Author Weekly Update – February 15, 2019 appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
February 11, 2019
Using Video Marketing? Why It’s Important and 3 Apps to Try
I keep telling writers that video marketing is huge, especially this year.
Why?
There are several reasons why you need to incorporate video into your marketing. Here are a few:
According to Comscore, adding video to your website can increase the chance of a front-page Google result by 53 times. To find some video SEO tips, read this post from Vidyard.
Video Marketing Is Popular and Effective
People love videos and videos tend to be more successful in capturing consumer attention. Okay, now think about all those videos you watch on Facebook, for example. Aren’t they more fun to watch that the posts you have to read? I rest my case.
Video attracts more engagement on social media. Think back to Facebook again. Videos more often that posts go viral or at least draw thousands of Likes. People love video.
According to BrainShark, 65% of viewers watch more than three-quarters of a video, which is more than I predict people read of text. So with video, consumers (readers) pay attention to more of your messaging.
Create Strong Emotional Connections
With video, you can create strong emotional connections. Remember the Budweiser commercial featuring the blonde Lab? That video had me in tears. Video, according to Vidyard, is the “most powerful way to evoke emotions online.” Vidyard goes on to say:
It’s King because it offers a slew of attributes above and beyond traditional content like tone of voice, face expressions, and music, to name a few.
Finally, video has a higher conversion rate than text. So, if you want your readers to buy more books, do more video.
2 Video Apps to Make Production & Editing Easy
Producing video needn’t be expensive. You don’t need to hire a videographer for every video you post. Here are some apps you can use.
With this online application, you can make video ads and videos for social media. The app offers 30+ formats optimized for every social media platform.
A cool aspect to Wave.video is that it has a 200-million stock video clips library at your access. It also has 300,000 royalty-free audio clips that range from symphonies to piano tracks and more.
You can customize your videos with fonts and watermarks.
Afraid you’ll be overwhelmed by this app? It offers tutorials and workshops to teach you how to create and edit your videos.
Pricing starts at $39/month.
Use Wideo to create animated videos and presentations. According to Wideo, “More than 50% of marketers are already using some animation maker software to tell their stories.”
Wideo claims you can make a video in just five minutes. Then you can share it directly to Facebook or YouTube from Wideo.
I must say that animated videos are fun to watch and use in presentations.
Pricing starts at $19/month.
Animoto Is Still a Popular Choice
The video applications has been around for a long time, and social media influencers love it. It’s a certified partner of LinkedIn Marketing Partners, Facebook Marketing Partners, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and HubSpot. That is an impressive list.
This app claims that no video editing experience is needed to create videos with Animoto’s drag-and-drop video maker.
With Animoto, you have access to more than a million stock photos when you select its professional and business plans.
Pricing starts at just $9/month. With this price, you have access to 350 music tracks, twelve pre-built storyboards, three standard fonts, and thirty color swatches. Unfortunately, at this price, the Animoto logo appears at the end of the video.
With the professional option, you can either pay $65/month or pay the annual fee of $396, which works out to $33/month. At this level, you’ll have access to 2,000+ music tracks, more than 1 million photos, and 50 pre-built storyboards. Also, the Animoto logo won’t appear on your video.
This app is a solid, economical choice for authors.
Are you using video in your marketing this year?
Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.
Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!
Ryshia Kennie
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She wrote several social media books including Social Media Just for Writers and The Author’s Guide to Goodreads. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online, building their platform, and finding new readers. Her clients have included authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for her free email course.
Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers
The post Using Video Marketing? Why It’s Important and 3 Apps to Try appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
February 8, 2019
Indie Author Weekly Update – February 8, 2019
Once again, this week’s Indie Author Update is packed with information blog posts from the week that I consider must-read. Anne R. Allen, as usual, wrote a killer post on authors’ online presence. Then Christina McDonald and Indies Unlimited wrote stellar posts on email marketing. There’s so much to love in the posts below and so much information to help you sell more bools.
Blogging
How to Start a Blog by Amy Lynn Andrews: “Are you wondering how to start a blog? I’m glad you’re here! In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to create your own blog, no technical experience required. (It’s easier and faster than you think.) Plus, I’ll answer some frequently asked questions and share some of my pro tips along the way.”
Online Marketing
Your Online Presence: 10 Mistakes for Authors to Avoid by Anne R. Allen: “These days, an author’s online presence is of vital importance to a career, whether we’re published or planning to publish. Whether we’re indie, hybrid, or trad-pubbed, it’s not only essential to be easy to find online, but we need to keep a professional presence and guard our author brand and reputation.”
Email Marketing
How to Grow an Email Newsletter Starting from Zero from Jane Friedman’s blog and by Christina McDonald: “An email list is your secret weapon for selling books—it is a direct connection to your reader. But when I got my first book deal, I had no audience, no author Facebook page, and no email list. I knew I needed to build awareness to give my book the best chance to succeed. Here is my step-by-step guide to how I built my email list to 6,000 subscribers in one year.”
How Can I Gain More Subscribers for My Author Mailing List? From Indies Unlimited: “Ah yes, the question that so many of us toss and turn at night trying to answer: How do I get more subscribers for my newsletter? We’ve figured out how to use Mailerlite or Mailchimp of some other mail delivery service, now how do we find readers who want to hear from us? Here are a few ways the IU staff builds their subscriber lists.”
Top Instagram Updates You Need to Know in 2019 – January Edition by Ana Gotter and from AdExpresso: “As you’re taking a look at your social media marketing strategies for 2019, it would be a helpful start to see all of the new changes happening with the platform, and we’re here to help with our first Instagram update post of the year.”
Of Note
This post is awesome and I’m so jealous I didn’t write it. If you want more reviews, read this post.
How to Get Book Reviews: The Ultimate Manifesto by Jordan Ring and the team at Archangel Ink: “This is without a doubt the most comprehensive guide you’ll find on how to get your book out there, and into the hands of people that are willing and able to give it a read and share helpful feedback with you.”
Quote of the Week
Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.
Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!
Ryshia Kennie
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She wrote several social media books including Social Media Just for Writers and The Author’s Guide to Goodreads. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online, building their platform, and finding new readers. Her clients have included authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for her free email course.
Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers
The post Indie Author Weekly Update – February 8, 2019 appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
10 Twitter Tips Writers Need to Know
- Frances Caballo's profile
- 274 followers
