Frances Caballo's Blog: 10 Twitter Tips Writers Need to Know, page 31
January 19, 2018
Indie Author Weekly Update – January 19, 2018
Welcome to the newest edition of the Indie Author Weekly Update. The big news this week is Facebook, which changed its algorithm again making it more difficult for readers to see your Facebook posts. Read up on Facebook and please don’t bypass Ben Zackheim’s post; it’s phenomenal.
Prepare your book for its KDP Select free promotion days by Ben Zackheim: “Yup. Blog posts about Amazon KDP Select free promo days are as common as bad drivers on I84. But I want to do something a little different here. I want to lay out steps andinclude details about why they are important. I’ll also give you a basic overview of boosting posts on Facebook. These days it’s best to spend five bucks to get the word out. Once you sign up for KDP Select and figure out what you can do with your exclusive Amazon ebook, you may find a small bump in the road. Actually it may look more like a big, honking wall. The wall is spray painted with large words…”
Facebook Tweaks Newsfeed to Favor Content from Friends, Family from Wired: “In November, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg started sprinkling a new phrase, or perhaps a new idea, into his quarterly call with investors. ‘It’s important to remember that Facebook is about bringing people closer together and enabling meaningful social interactions,’ he said. Research, he continued, demonstrates that interactions with friends and family on social media is particularly ‘meaningful.’ The goal of his service is to ‘encourage meaningful social interactions’ and to connect in ways that lead to ‘meaningful interactions’ and let us ‘build meaningful relationships.’
Don’t panic. The Facebook announcement is no big deal from Mark Schaefer: “An open letter from Mark Zuckerberg announcing changes to the Facebook news feed was regarded as a bombshell by most social media marketing thought leaders. Mike Stelzner called this the “end of days” for marketers, Jon Loomer referred to the market “hysteria” this is creating. The fact is, this letter from Zuckerberg is cryptic and we truly have no idea on how this is going to impact businesses long-term. But I’m going to provide an argument as to why I think this “apocalyptic” vision of the Facebook marketing future is a vast over-reaction. Let’s look at the data.”
Best Book Marketing Advice for Authors: The Best of 2017 from Jane Friedman: “As part of The Hot Sheet email newsletter for authors (which I write and publish in collaboration with Porter Anderson), I regularly round up and comment on book marketing advice that writers are talking about. Here’s a list of what sparked discussion in 2017.”
How to Jumpstart Book Reviews for Self-Published Books from The Book Designer and by David Wogahn: “The challenge for self-publishers, especially new authors who have small or nonexistent networks, is to convince readers to add one more title to their to-be-read pile. Unfortunately, most self-publishers do not (yet) have a reputation that confers credibility upon their books. That’s where book reviews can help …”
SEO trends and Google changes to expect in 2018 from Search Engine Land: “Back in 2010, Google was getting beaten up in the media for the increasing amount of “content farm” clutter in the search results. That negative press was so overwhelming that Google felt it had no choice but to respond: ‘[We] hear the feedback from the web loud and clear: people are asking for even stronger action on content farms and sites that consist primarily of spammy or low-quality content.'”
Quote of the Week
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.
Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web
Join Ricardo Fayet, a founder of Reedsy, and I on February 6th for a conversation about book marketing and Facebook advertising.
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The post Indie Author Weekly Update – January 19, 2018 appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
January 15, 2018
Feeling Introverted? No Problem. Read These 10 Tips
I’ve been introverted all my life, although friends who know me well don’t believe it. But it’s true. I don’t like going to parties where I don’t recognize people, although once I’m there, I do tend to have fun.
But the thought of being in a room of people I don’t know can, at times, inhibit me from going out. Even being in a room of people where I’ll know a few people can be intimidating.
Do you ever feel the same way?
If you’re a writer, you probably understand how I feel since most writers tend to be introverts. How else can we bear to spend hours by ourselves writing? We enjoy our own company, or at least the company of our fictional characters.
Many years ago I held a job that forced me to become less introverted. As the development director of a large nonprofit, I had to talk with all the donors and their guests for an evening of fundraising. After a few sips of champagne, I was usually able to step into a crowd of people and greet them and make sure they enjoyed their evening.
Even though I appeared outgoing for the night, the next day I would stay at home and read a book. Introverts get energized by being alone whereas extroverts get energized by being with people.
But I digress.
As a child, my introverted nature served me well.
I always won spelling bees (because I read a lot).
My writing (and reading) skills surpassed those of my sister, who was three years older.
I excelled at school.
But as I grew up, being introverted made life more difficult for me.
I had difficulty making new friends.
In college, I would rather read and study than face a room filled with people I didn’t know at a party.
There have been other benefits and disadvantages to being introverted as well but, I share these to make a point: Being introverted may cause you to feel uncomfortable at times but, it’s also an asset. How else would you finish your books?
As a writer, you need to break out of your introverted nature enough so that you can market the books you spend so much time in solitude writing and perfecting.
In my case, I stuttered as a child, which probably pushed me further up the introverted spectrum. But by the time I reached high school and entered the workforce, my stuttering was behind me.
My career as a journalist forced me to talk with new people all the time, and that in turn made social situations more comfortable. By the time I published my first book, I wasn’t an extrovert, but I was more comfortable pretending to be an extrovert when needed.
This is exactly what you need to do. When appropriate, such as at book readings and signings and when appearing as a guest at book club gatherings, relax and don’t worry about what you’ll say. Let your words flow as you pretend that your closest friends surround you.
There have been studies that indicate that social media is good for introverts because it enables people who love to stay at home get out into the world – even if it’s a virtual experience – and meet and interact with new people every day.
There is a caveat to this. Pretending to be an extrovert should not be interpreted as an excuse for constantly promoting your books on social media. Instead, it’s an invitation to form relationships with writers and readers worldwide and support each other in promoting what you write.
11 Exercises for Introverted Writers
These exercises are for writers working on their marketing platform.
If you haven’t yet done so, start a Facebook profile and connect with friends and colleagues in your life. If you already have a profile, consider setting up a Facebook author page where readers can get to know you. Once the page is set up, consider writing a status update on your profile that says, “Hey, I just started a Facebook page where I’ll be discussing my new book and other topics. I would love it if you would take a peek, tell me how I can improve it, and give it a “like.” If you feel brave, you could add this line, “I would be thrilled if you would then recommend it to just one other friend. Thanks!” On your Facebook page, occasionally boost a post with Facebook advertising, and run a contest annually offering a $20 gift certificate to a local bookstore as a prize or a gift certificate to Amazon. Check out this post on eight ways to grow your Facebook author page.
Start a Twitter account and start following 20 to 50 new readers every day. Use an application such as Tweepi or ManageFlitter to help you find new followers or simply go to Twitter, find a Twitter profile by an author in your genre, and follow that person’s followers. Or use hashtags (#amreading, #bookworm, #bibliophile, #novel, #memoir, #shortstory, #suspense, etc.) on Twitter to find people who love to read your genre. Reply to people’s comments, ask questions, thank people for retweeting, and retweet your staunchest supporters and retweeters. To see a list of 45 Twitter hashtags for authors, see this list.
If you write nonfiction, go to your LinkedIn profile – or start one if you aren’t yet on LinkedIn – and send a personalized request to connect with everyone you’ve ever worked with. As LinkedIn sends you suggestions for new connections, follow up. Your message can say, “I know it’s been awhile since we last spoke but I would like to reconnect on this platform and keep up with your career.” Join a couple of groups and join in the conversation. To learn more about LinkedIn, read this post.
Start using Pinterest and create pinboards that reflect your books and interests. Also, create a pinboard of your favorite books and include your colleagues’ books. You could also start a pinboard for the various genres you like to read and include your friends’ best picks. Start pinboards that reflect your characters’ clothing, the food they enjoy, the cities where they travel. You can also start pinboards on bookcases, bookstores, libraries, and reading quotes. Read this post for 57 pinboard suggestions for authors. Also, be sure to pin images from your website to designated pinboards, such as a pinboard for your blog post images.
Start a newsletter and collect names on your website by including a signup form and a giveaway. If you write fiction, your giveaway can be a short story or novella. If you write nonfiction, your giveaway can be a tips list or a PDF on a topic related to what you write about. On my website, I offer a free email course. Once people sign up for your newsletter, write to them monthly. Offer giveaways, provide news on new books and offer coupons for your books. Find out what your readers most want to hear about from you and write that. You can determine their interests by conducting a survey or leaving a question at the end of a newsletter or blog post. Just get to know your readers as best you can and provide the best information you can for them.
Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media networks. Similar to Pinterest, it relies on visuals. There is so much you can do with Instagram: show your readers where you write and go for coffee; show them your garden; share quotes; share images from your day; take a picture of a stack of books waiting for you to read them. Just connect with your readers, friends, and colleagues in the same way you’d like them to connect and get to know you. To learn more about Instagram, read this post.
Start a Goodreads profile. Be sure to list books as you read them and provide reviews. Similar to LinkedIn, join groups and add your blog posts regularly. To learn more about Goodreads, check out this ebook I wrote.
Use images in all of your posts, not just on Pinterest and Instagram. Visuals attract the eye and sometimes the “ah.” Also, people prefer images over text since the brain can process pictures 60,000 times faster than text. To learn more about the importance of visuals in your social media marketing, read this post.
Talk about issues that you care about. I love dogs and on my Facebook profile that tends to be what I talk about at times. I also like to post images with quotes. Find out what you like to talk about and post and do that to start a conversation on a topic near to your heart.
When you approach social media, keep it positive. If someone says something negative to you, ignore that person. There are hundreds of more people who will be nice to you so focus on them.
If using social media every day is too much for you, take time off. Use applications such as Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule your updates for the week. Just make sure that you post something every day and spend at least 15 minutes socializing.
In short, reach out, try to exceed your comfort level, and become comfortable with conversing with new people from around the world. You’ll be amazed at the magic that can happen when you step out into the virtual world.
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.
Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web
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January 12, 2018
Indie Author Weekly Update – January 12, 2018
This week’s Indie Author Update focuses primarily on book marketing. Be sure to read the posts by Dave Chesson on Kindle keywords and Joel Friedlander’s take on the release of Fire and Fury.
5 Reasons Goodreads is a Book Marketing Staple by Penny Sansevieri: “Goodreads has mixed reviews at best when I chat book marketing strategies with authors at conferences, but I really want 2018 to be about maximizing on YOU, on using what makes you unique to sell more books, and Goodreads is a great platform for achieving that goal.”
Trapped in the Fire and Fury of the World’s Greatest Book Launch by Joel Friedlander: “Like you, I’ve been trapped in what seems like a book marketing fantasy gone mad. Look, I’ve been publishing and marketing books for a long time, and enjoy watching the really big book launches that still dot the cultural calendar. Politicians launching much-awaited books like Bill Clinton’s 1000 +page My Life was a pretty big deal. Every book launch by Tim Ferris uses tactics no one else has seen. Guy Kawasaki has conducted numerous launches for his best selling books.”
How To Choose the Right Kindle Keywords by Dave Chesson: “Whether you’re a famous author or this is your first book, Kindle Keywords are an important part of any book marketing strategy. Kindle keywords allow your book to be discovered by hungry shoppers on the world’s largest book market, Amazon, even while you sleep. They help make it so that you get sales and get discovered without having to do major marketing. Plain and simple, they are important.”
Authors’ New Year’s Resolutions for Marketing Their Books from BookBub: “It’s a brand new year, which is a great time to get a fresh start on goals. You may already have personal New Year’s resolutions (exercise more, write more, etc.), but you might want to consider setting specific book sales and marketing goals.”
Six Social Media Marketing Tips For First-Time Authors from BookBaby: “If you’re looking for readership and engagement, finishing your book is the first step. These social media marketing tips can help you frame your approach to the process of promoting yourself and your work online.”
Bring Social Media to Your Blog with Embedded Posts from TheBookDesigner.com by Frances Caballo: “Embedding your social media posts on your blog or elsewhere on your website can benefit your website in several ways. First, you can demonstrate your social proof to your blog visitors. In other words, they can see your number of shares, retweets, and Likes you’ve accumulated.”
Quote of the Week
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.
Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web
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January 8, 2018
How to Sell a Truckload of Books with Penny Sansevieri
I recently invited Penny Sansevieri to my Conversations with Frances webinar series. Below you’ll find a condensed summary of some of our conversation. Be sure to watch the video to glean all of Penny’s great suggestions.
Book selling strategies vary depending on the genre and title. But what we know is 95% of books are sold by word of mouth. So look at getting reviews. The No. 1 thing she recommends is building your list of super fans or a street team.
99% of authors don’t market their books. A good measure of authors believe in the field of dreams theory … that because they wrote a book, readers will come.
Authors need to turn to their super fan base to get them to review books. You don’t need a huge list as long as your readers are fanatical about your writing.
One way to build a fan base is to include a letter in the back of the book and ask readers to contact you. The next step is to add them to your email list and start communicating with you. Then start asking them questions, such as what they want to see in your book or let them help you to select a book cover. They in turn get exclusive deals. For example, give them a free book two weeks before a book goes off presale or a tote.
According to the book The Curve, you need 1,000 super fans to get on the New York Times bestseller list.
Nowadays, it’s easier to connect with readers due to social media, email, and video.
Book launches are very important but the most successful books are those that are promoted over the long term.
Pre-orders are fun but once the pre-order is over sales can drop and that can in turn will hurt sales.
She loves to re-launch books. Sometimes you can split up books and create a series. Consider refreshing a cover. Update the content.
Book series are doing better than movie series.
Christmas novellas are popular.
Always pitch bloggers for reviews. Reviews continue to help your amazon visibility. Amazon is just a search engine and it responds to the same cues as Google does. Continually reach out to readers, ask readers for reviews, and do speaking engagements. Give out character trading cards.
How should authors use social media to promote their books? There’s a lot of noise out there that’s not productive. You need to remember that it’s about conversations. Also, it’s not about being everywhere but being where it counts. Cut out the useless noise and get rid of the social media sites that are doing anything for you. In some cases a video connection can be great.
Start to research similar authors in your genre. You want to find what social media sites they are on, where they’re getting the most momentum, and invest your time there.
Be sure to talk to your readers on social media.
The Next Webinar is January 11th!
Sharon Hamilton started writing several years ago on a rainy day. It’s wasn’t long before she was publishing, writing more books, blogging, and achieving success as an indie author. We’ll follow the trajectory of her career and the factors that contributed to her success in this webinar. Join us on January 11 at 11 am PST / 2 pm EST.
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.
Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web
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January 5, 2018
Indie Author Weekly Update – January 5, 2018
I hope you enjoy this week’s Indie Author Update. You’ll find book marketing and publishing predictions, help with being Google friendly, and information on Amazon keyword search.
Guest Post: 10 Tips on How to Be Google Friendly in 2018 from Sabrina Ricci and by Chris Hickman: ” Webmasters who want to rank high in Google’s engine need to ensure that their sites conform to Google’s standards. Google wants its highest-ranked sites for any keyword to have a high level of quality. By controlling for quality, users can have a good experience with their searches and retain their good impression of Google.”
2018 Book Publishing Predictions – Are Indie Authors Losing their Independence? by Mark Coker: “Welcome to my annual publishing predictions post where I prognosticate about the future and share my views on the state of the indie nation. Each year around this time I polish off my imaginary crystal ball and ask it what the heck is going to happen next.”
The Fast Book Marketing Start In 2018 from the Book Marketing Buzz Club: “The New Year is upon us. Enthusiasm is in the air. Everyone feels a bit of optimism when they think about writing a book or promoting one in 2018. Everything feels possible, seems hopeful, and looks good. We are on our annual kick to see the bright potential in our lives, the world, and our writing careers. But that feeling can only be sustained and validated with hard work.”
Optimizing Your Books for Amazon Keyword Search from Jane Friedman by Penny Sansevieri: “Even though many experts talk about Amazon keywords, categories, and pricing, few experts mention this important fact: Amazon is more a search engine than a store. In fact, Amazon is the ‘Google’ of online buying.”
Quote of the Week
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.
Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web
Join Sharon Hamilton and I on January 11
Sharon Hamilton started writing several years ago on a rainy day. It’s wasn’t long before she was publishing, writing more books, blogging, and achieving success as an indie author. We’ll follow the trajectory of her career and the factors that contributed to her success in this webinar. Join us on January 11 at 11 am PST / 2 pm EST.
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The post Indie Author Weekly Update – January 5, 2018 appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
January 1, 2018
17 Twitter Apps for Writers
You don’t have the time to sit in front of the computer all day and post information to your Twitter account. That’s where Twitter apps come in.
After finding or creating information to tweet, spend just a few minutes scheduling your tweets (and other posts) throughout the day by using scheduling applications designed to make your life easier.
Note: My suggestions aren’t exclusively just for Twitter. For example, Facebook has a scheduling feature for your Facebook author page, which I urge you to use instead of an application. You see, Facebook downgrades scheduled information coming from an application.
By using a scheduling application, you can schedule your tweets as well as other updates, and even your Pinterest pins, for the entire day or week or even a month.
A Word About Automation
Some people become carried away and go so far as to automate direct messages on Twitter to new followers. Don’t do this. First, most Twitter users rarely read direct messages because they tend to be promotional.
Secondly, if you want to acknowledge a new follower, personalize your message. Follow a link to their blog or website and comment about that. Or if you’ve read one of their books, tell them how much you liked it. Just stay clear of automating personal messages because as soon as you do, they actually cease to be personal.
Twitter Apps to Fit Every Desire & Budget
Writers new to social media tend to start with the free version of Hootsuite for scheduling their updates. It’s easy to set up, and Hootsuite allows you to post to Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ page, and Twitter, as well as some LinkedIn groups. However, if you use a free account, Hootsuite will limit you to three social profiles. With a paid account, you’ll have access to even more social media profiles and analytics.
TweetDeck is a free download offered from Twitter. You can check your Twitter account from your desktop and respond to mentions, direct messages, and retweets as they arrive. It’s the easiest tool to set and use, but it only allows scheduling to Twitter.
SproutSocial offers many benefits. You can schedule your posts to ten social profiles, including to your Google+ page, connect your account with the URL shortener Bit.ly to track click-through-rates (hits to your website) and unfollow users on Twitter. It also provides outstanding analytics. Plus, you can monitor keywords and maintain a social content calendar. The monthly fee starts at $99/month.
This application interfaces with Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and offers a free plan. The free plan allows up to five Twitter accounts and ten scheduled tweets and will help you to find new friends to grow your following. Paid accounts offer additional features.
MediaFunnel will help you to distribute your content on Twitter and Facebook accounts. In addition, you can use MediaFunnel to manage your brand and engage with your followers. You can monitor mentions of you and your books, engage with your audience, and drive more people to your landing pages. Previously, the monthly fee started at $6. Prices are no longer listed on the website so you’ll have to inquire about pricing if you’re interested in this application.
This versatile dashboard will download onto your PC and mobile devices (tablets, smartphones) to keep you up-to-date while you’re on the go. Use it to keep track of news and trends and to monitor your accounts. The basic account is free, and the VIP account is $2/month.
SocialOomph is a scheduler on steroids. It will allow you to schedule your social media posts for LinkedIn, Twitter, and your blog, set up recurring tweets and LinkedIn posts, track your click-through-rates and keywords, and provide some basic analytics. It will also help you to find new followers. Test this application with a free account.
The free plan will allow you to have two social media accounts and schedule ten posts per social media profile. The social profiles can include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and a Google+ page. The Awesome plan costs $10/month and allows up to ten social accounts, 100 updates, and also allows the use of Pinterest and Instagram.
The free account allows 50 scheduled tweets per month. The $5.99/month plan allows unlimited tweets, the ability to upload images, multiple Twitter profiles, and more. Like TweetDeck, the program can run on your desktop.
Once you write and post your blog post, Dlvr.it will automatically send information about it to your social media profiles. The free plan allows you to post to three social media platforms whereas the Pro plan, which costs $9.99/month, allows you to post to ten social profiles. Note that Dlvr.it, once it’s installed on your blog, will post to your designated social media profiles as soon as your blog post is live. Also, note that Facebook downgrades auto-posted blog posts to your Facebook author page. Dlvr.it will save you time, but there will be consequences on Facebook.
This app allows you to schedule updates on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn as well as images and videos. You can also archive your messages, view statistics, and manage your campaigns. TwitTimer is free.
More Fun Twitter Apps
Sync your timeline across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Mute tweets by user, hashtag, tweet source, or keywords. The app includes third-party support for image, video, read later, and timeline sync services. Version 4 includes an Apple watch app, iPad support, and more. The IOS app costs $4.99 in iTunes.
Android users might want to try this app. You can use the app to share text, links, and photos to Plume and other applications. Plume also has a suite of widgets to make it quick and easy to send tweets. There’s more to this app as well. You can purchase Plume from Google Play.
UberSocial will keep you up-to-date while you’re on-the-go, offers fast functionality, curated content, customization options, and a richer, more user-friendly Twitter experience. The app is both iPhone and Android friendly.
You can download this app for free. Track your Twitter stats, view your most recent activity, receive notifications, follow new users, and give favorites to tweets from your following base.
This free app for iPhones and Androids will notify you of mentions and messages. You can avoid duplicate alerts with this app and set a sleep period. There’s also an Echofon for Facebook.
Twitter App for Increasing Engagement
You want to post when your audience is online. So use one of these applications for finding out what the best times are for posting with your Twitter audience.
Tweriod
This free application will help you to discover the times of day when most of your followers are online. Unlike Facebook users, your followers on Twitter won’t spend time reviewing tweets posted within the past few hours. Twitter is an immediate platform, so you want to get the attention of your followers by posting during the times of day when most of your followers are using Twitter. For example, with Tweriod I learned that the best times for me to tweet are between 9 am, and 11 am and later in the day between 8 pm and 4 pm. An added plus is that Tweriod will sync with Buffer.
Keep learning about Twitter. Buy Twitter Just for Writers now.
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.
Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web
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December 25, 2017
Celebrating the Holidays? Take a Break!
This week I am taking a break from blogging. It’s time to hunker down, do some writing, and rest a bit. However you are spending this week, I hope it’s revitalizing for you.
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.
Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web
Want to save time with social media? Get Avoid Social Media Time Suckfor FREE.
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December 22, 2017
Indie Author Weekly Update – December 22, 2017
Today’s Indie Author Weekly Update contains a potpourri of topics and bloggers. Publicity, Twitter threads, and book marketing strategies are just some of the topics covered. Enjoy them all!
Don’t Get Rolled by Bad Publicity from Writer Unboxed and by Porter Anderson: “If the answer from your potential or existing publicist/PR person/press agent is no (“office secret,” “tricks of the trade,” “private information”), run away. They can withhold those journalist’s contact info from you. In fact, I’d prefer they did, for the sake of my inbox. But they need to tell you who’s getting the paper goods and why.”
On email optins: They are the lifeblood of your business as an author. From Shawn Manaher and Book Marketing Tools: “Welcome to the 142nd episode of The Author Hangout. In this episode, Shawn Manager explores what it takes to make the perfect optin, to get people onto your mailing list. Nearly every guest on The Author Hangout has mentioned the importance of mailing lists, and the optin is the make or break moment for your mailing list.”
Twitter officially launches ‘threads,’ a new feature for easily posting tweetstorms from Tech Crunch: “Twitter today is announcing the launch of a new feature that will allow people to more easily post tweetstorms – that is, those series of connected tweets that have grown to become a popular workaround for getting past Twitter’s character count limitation in order to share longer thoughts. The company confirmed last month it was testing the feature – which it’s now calling “threads” – across its iOS and Android apps.”
18 Rock Solid Book Marketing Strategies for 2018 from Penny Sansevieri: “We all want to be better at book marketing and we all want to sell more books. The problem is, it often feels like book marketing strategies are changing all the time and how is an eager author supposed to keep up with that? The reason for this article is to not only share some insight into marketing in the new year, but give you tips for long-term success, not just will work in January. The book marketing ideas I’m sharing in this article, are geared to success the whole year through, and I hope you’ll use all (or as many of these) as you can!”
How to Use Facebook’s New Snooze Feature from Lifehacker: “This week Facebook rolled out a new Snooze feature that allows you to essentially temporarily mute people or pages in your feed.”
A Look Back at 2017 Publishing Headlines: 5 Issues Raised for Authors by Jane Friedman: “At the end of November 2017, Barnes & Noble released their latest earnings report. The news was entirely predictable: the store’s losses grew, driven by a 6.3 percent decline in comparable store sales against last year. (Absence of a new Harry Potter book makes up half of that decline.) The declines have been going on for six or seven quarters now, with more declines expected. Still, B&N has been meeting its profit goals as a result of cost cutting.”
Bonus Items
Award and Content Ratings by the Alliance of Independent Authors: “ALLi is willing to work with any service that wants to improve its offerings and bring them in line with current best practice for authors services. Contact the Watchdog Desk at any time if you would like to inform us about a contest or award, or discuss a rating. Please use the form on this page.”
Writer Emergency Pack: “Writer Emergency Pack is your portable tool for story resuscitation (or simply creativity rejuvenation). Each pack contains 26 illustrated idea cards, 25 detail cards with helpful suggestions and specific tips, and instructions for individuals and class use, plus a bonus story game.”
Quote of the Week
Want to save time with social media? Get Avoid Social Media Time Suck for FREE.
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.
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The post Indie Author Weekly Update – December 22, 2017 appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
December 18, 2017
12 Gifts of Christmas for Writers
Not sure what to purchase that writer in your life? Keep reading. This 12 gifts of Christmas for Writers list will certainly have some suggestions worth buying.
Is the writer in your life a Harry Potter fan? What about a Maurauder’s Map woven throw? This tapestry will be sure to keep your favorite poet or novelist warm throughout the winter cold season.
2. What about a beautiful embossed leather retro notebook? Available in Navy blue, gray, green, black, and purple.
3. What do all writers need? Pens, of course! Gel pens are the best so buy your favorite writer a new pack of Uni-Ball gel pens.
4. What do writers do when they aren’t writing, revising, and editing? A creative endeavor is to color. Try this elegant adult coloring book.
5. How special to your life is this writer? For the writer on the go in your life, buy a MacBook Air. They start at $900 at Best Buy.
6. Is the writer in your life self-published or thinking about taking the dive? Then this book is a must: The Self-Publisher’s Ultimate Resource Guide by Joel Friedlander and Betty Kelly Sargent. The paperback is just $10.84.
7. Now this is a fun gift:Postcards from Penguin, One 100 Book Covers in One Box.
8. Writers like to improve their craft. Here’s one of the best books on that topic by Anna Lamott, Bird by Bird. I loved it!
9. If you live in Northern California’s Bay Area, buy a subscription to the City Arts & Lecture series. Upcoming interviews include Daniel Alarcon, Dave Eggers, and George Saunders. If the writer in your life doesn’t live in Northern California, take that person to a series of readings.
10. Get your favorite author a t-shirt that says When in Doubt, go to the Library.
11. Who doesn’t need another mug? Get your favorite writer a mug with a warning.
12. Know a writer who tends to arrive late? Get that person this fun clock.
13. Here’s a bonus suggestion. Does your writer tear his or her hair out at the thought of doing social media? Buy them a second edition copy of Social Media Just for Writers.
Want to save time with social media? Get Avoid Social Media Time Suck for FREE.
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.
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The post 12 Gifts of Christmas for Writers appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
December 15, 2017
Indie Author Weekly Update – December 15, 2017
This week’s Indie Author Update focuses on book marketing. I’m sure you’ll enjoy these posts by Penny Sansevieri, Jane Friedman, Amy Collins and others.
A Book Launch Plan for First-Time Authors Without an Online Presence by Jane Friedman: “While it’s not easy to launch a book without any kind of online presence, many first-time authors are in exactly that position. Unfortunately, it’s an exercise in frustration to launch one’s online presence—and get up to speed on social media—in conjunction with a book release. It’s like trying to drive a car at the same time you’re building it. At some point, you’ll end up on the side of the road.”
5 Characteristics of a Bestseller Every Indie Author Must Nail by Penny Sansevieri: “In over 16 years in this book marketing business and as an indie author myself, I’ll admit I still get surprised. Almost weekly. Some books that you’d swear are a sure thing, never take off. Others that publish on a wing and a prayer, end of being cult favorites. But I can tell you that there are 5 characteristics of a bestseller that every indie author should take note of in prep for publication.”
“Am I Still a Real Writer If I Don’t Feel Compelled to Write?” by Elisa Gabbert: “There are some (a lot?) of writers who say shit like, “I have to write, I couldn’t not write, writing saves my life” etc. etc. (like cough my ex before last whom I’ll apparently never get over). So the reason I don’t think I’m a real writer, even though I’ve been published and some writers/people I respect have told me I can write well is because I don’t feel like I have to write.”
You have to check out these best writing websites for writers right now! writing websites by Amber Roshay: “Are you an author already or would you like to become one? There’s so much to learn once you start down this path. I had my first novel published in 2015. Now I have 5 books out and hope to keep writing them. Over the past few years I’ve discovered some terrific websites that have become long term resources for me as an author.”
Getting Holiday Book Sales as the Big Day Approaches: Steps 7-9 from BookBaby Note: This post is a three-part series. Get the first part here and the second part here.: “You’re competing with so much holiday marketing – TV ads, radio blitzes, triple the amount of emails landing in your in-box – but there are still plenty of opportunities to have your voice heard and your message received. As a self-published author you just have to think a little differently and take advantage of a few tried-and-true book selling tactics.”
Book Promotion: Do This, Not That – December 2017 from Joel Friedlander by Amy Collins: “Do This Not That for December is focused on guidance for authors who have dreamed of quitting their day jobs and making a living as writers. There are a LOT of us who have published our first book hoping that the sales from that book would give us a steady income. The bad news? The numbers show that very few authors make a living with their first book. The good news? A LOT of authors make a living as writers by publishing numerous books. Do you want to make a living as a writer? Then be a writer. Keep writing.”
Just for Fun
A Hogwarts House Reading List: 20 Books for Gryffindors by Book Riot: “So, you’re a Gryffindor, a member of the best house. (Hey, nobody ever said arrogance wasn’t also a Gryffindor quality, right?) Maybe you’re a Harry type who doesn’t usually read unless you’ve got an assignment due tomorrow or have some Horcruxes to hunt down, or maybe you’re a Hermione type who’s never met a book you didn’t want to read. Either way, this list should have you covered!”
Quote of the Week
Want to save time with social media? Get Avoid Social Media Time Suck for FREE.
Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.
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The post Indie Author Weekly Update – December 15, 2017 appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.
10 Twitter Tips Writers Need to Know
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