Frances Caballo's Blog: 10 Twitter Tips Writers Need to Know, page 5

Book Marketing Update

The first blog post in this Book Marketing Update is about the newest buzz: A+ Content from Amazon.

When I first heard about it, I was skeptical. But I like what I’ve read so far and I include below a link to an explanation about this news from the Nonfiction Authors Association.

I also include below posts about audiobooks, email marketing, and publishing.

I hope you like this week’s edition and I especially hope you are enjoying your summer.

Book Marketing

How to Publish Charts, Images, and Custom Content on Your Amazon Book Page with A+ Content from Amazon from Nonfiction Authors Association: This is a how-to blog post for incorporating Amazon A+ Content on your book sales pages.

The Metaverse for Authors and Publishing. Web 3.0, VR, AR, and the Spatial Web from Joanna Penn: I can always count on Joanna Penn to point the way to innovations authors need to know about. Be sure to check out this post if you want to stay up-to-date on marketing strategies.

Email Marketing

Increase Your Email Open Rate with Preheaders from MailerLite: “The email preheader is the first line of text that appears next to the subject line in your recipient’s inbox. On mobile devices, your email preheader text is often more prominent than the subject line. And, good preheaders are proven to help boost your open rates!”

Audiobooks

Audiobooks: Your Guide to the Fastest Growing Format from Reedsy: The audiobook boom has taken the publishing industry by storm in recent years. In 2020, US audiobooks sales eclipsed eBook sales for the first time, reaching an impressive $1.2 billion, and the market is expected to reach $3.26 billion globally in the coming year. 

Publishing

Should You Publish Your Book with a Small Press? Two Literary Agents Advise from Jane Friedman and by Sangeta Mehta: “As Big Five publishers merge and the competition to land a book deal becomes increasingly fierce, small press publishing can seem like an ideal option for some writers.”

Worth Reading

Helping You Focus on Your Writing – with Dan Clark about @BrainfmAp and from Mark Dawson and James Blatch: “Every writer needs to find a way to spend focused time being creative. Brian.fm is a science-based app that uses sound and music to help artists and other creative people use the time they have to best effect.”

Quote of the WeekHey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

The post Book Marketing Update appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.

Book Marketing Update

I’m back with another edition of the Book Marketing Update for you.

My message this week is short and sweet: Read the posts referenced below. They have great nuggets of information.

Enjoy your summer reading and writing!

Book Marketing

3 Tips for a Great Cover Reveal from Writer Unboxed and by Greer Macallister: “The cover of your book is important! It makes a huge difference to how the book is perceived at every stage of the process, regardless of how your book is published or distributed. And making the most of the cover reveal is something any writer can do.”

3 Simple Mistakes to Avoid if You Want to Make Your Book a Best Seller from Jeff Bullas: Jeff Bullas understands the power of social media better than most. His words are wise so be sure to check out this post.

How to Build an ARC Review Team for your Book Launch by Dave Chesson and from Anne R. Allen & Ruth Harris: “While it doesn’t appear that reviews directly affect things like the Amazon algorithm, reviews are still a crucial tool to sell books.”

Launching Book 4 in a Series: How I Crushed My Sales Goals from BookBub Partners: The author details his preorder strategy, stacked ads during the preorder period, and ran his book launch on his own.

How to Harness Community to Build Book Sales and Platform by Jane Friedman: “When it comes to the differences between traditional publishing and self-publishing, marketing is a key area where strategies diverge, often dramatically.”

Amazon

The HoneyMoon Effect: Does Amazon Give Preferential Treatment to New Books? from Dave Chesson: “Do new books get preferential treatment from Amazon, and if so, what does this look like and what can we do to counter it. Luckily, I devised an experiment using data-collecting software to finally answer this question definitively and have a method to benefit from the results.”

Amazon A+ Content: What is it and How to Use It by Jason Hamilton: “Amazon A+ Content is additional content that goes on your Amazon sales page. It allows you to use images, text, and tables for various reasons and in a variety of templates. In short, it’s a way to make your book stand out.”

Lessons Learned From A Decade Of Self-Publishing and Marketing Children’s Books with Karen Inglis and from Joanna Penn: “Taking the long-term view plus taking advantage of new marketing tactics can help you sell more books, as Karen Inglis talks about in this interview.”

Email Marketing

Create effective re-engagement email for inactive subscribers from MailerLite: “Over time some of your subscribers will become inactive. These subscribers are not only bad for business, but they can actually hurt your future email marketing performance. Before you remove them from your list, try sending a win-back email campaign ….”

Social Media

22 Best Social Media Marketing Tools To Grow Your Audience from Blogging Wizard: “Planning and executing a successful social media marketing strategy is a lot of work but the right tools can make it a lot easier. In this post, we’ll be sharing 22 of the best social media tools out there.”

Quote of the WeekHey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

The post Book Marketing Update appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.

Book Marketing Update

I hope you enjoy this Book Marketing Update.

All of the posts are well written and have awesome tips.

On a personal note, I recently moved. I have spent the last two weeks packing and unpacking boxes.

It’s so difficult to move from a large to a small home with just a fraction of the cabinet space. Oy vey!

Rest assured, I’ve taken more than my share of trips to Goodwill in hopes that our “stuff” will find a good home.

And did I mention that we’re moving with a puppy? My pup is not yet five months and he’s made the packing so interesting! (He loves to chew cardboard boxes.)

However you are spending your time this week, enjoy yourself!

Book Marketing

Vary Your Book Promotion for Maximum Effectiveness from Nessgraphica: “Book promotion is one of the most important functions of marketing. It makes people aware that your books exists and helps them understand why they must buy it.”

A Comprehensive Guide to Creating an Effective Author Websiteby Jerry Jenkins: If you’re an author, published or not, you need your own website. Period. Why am I so forthright about this? Because of the realities of publishing today.

How Amazon and Bookbub Will Help You Sell Books–FREE by Ruth Harris: This is an excellent post. Be sure to read it.

Publishing

Kindle Vella is Now Live! by Chris D. McMullen: “Customers can read the first 3 episodes for free. This is basically equivalent of the Look Inside for a book. For Vella, the free sample has been standardized.”

Social Media News

TikTok Adds New Live-Stream Features, Including Live Guests and Q&A Panels from Social Media Today: This news is especially pertinent to young adult authors.

Email Marketing

15 best welcome email examples for new subscribers from MailerLite: Use these business examples as inspiration for presenting your author brand to new readers who sign up for your email list.

Quote of the WeekHey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

The post Book Marketing Update appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.

A Podcast Will Build Your Author Platform

Image by Florante Valdez from Pixabay

Having a strong author platform can make a huge difference in how successful you are as an author. Your author platform is composed of a few parts: your website, content you create (such as blog posts and podcasts), community outreach, and publicity.

There are many ways you can build your author platform, but for now let’s focus on the community aspect.

Your community consists of people who are fans of your work. They’re the ones who will give you feedback, and tell their friends and family about your books. They’re the ones who will be willing to pay to support you.

So how do you reach them, and engage with them in a way that they feel a part of your community?

Podcasting to Build Your Author Platform

Podcasting is a great way to connect with new people and let them know about your work.

As an author, you’re already an expert in your topic and therefore well equipped to start your own podcast. If you’ve written a non-fiction book, you can talk about the topic covered in your book(s). 

If you’ve written a fiction book, you can talk about your writing process, or you can share things related to your book. For example, if you wrote an historical novel, you could start a podcast that dives deeper into the history around your story. If it’s a series, you could have a seasonal podcast, where each season covers the period of time for each book.

Build Your Author Platform with a Podcast

There’s a lot of overlap between podcasting and writing.

Building a community through podcasting is very similar to building your community through other channels (email, blog posts, social media, etc.). Start small, and focus on creating a quality show. Just like with writing, make sure you are creating a show you are passionate about. Your passion will come through in your voice, and your listeners will respond to that.

From the very beginning, make sure to incorporate your community. Keep them in mind when you’re planning your show. What stories would they want to hear? Is there anyone they’d want to hear interviewed?

Deliver the content your community wants. As you grow, you’ll hear feedback from your listeners. It may come in the form of questions, or they may answer a question or expand on a topic that comes up in one of your episodes.

When you do hear from them, make sure to respond. You can answer their question in an upcoming episode, or encourage your listeners to send you voicemails, and then play their voicemails in your show.

Give Your Community a Space to Connect

To further grow your community, give your fans an official space to connect with you and with each other.

Start by setting up a page on a membership site, such as Patreon. If you already have a Patreon page, that’s awesome! Expand it for your podcast, and offer your patrons more perks, such as giving them a shoutout on your show.

Once you have a Patreon page, connect it to Discord. It’s another perk you can offer, and through Discord, your patrons (your community) will have the opportunity to chat with each other about your podcast topic and your work. Make your Discord server a friendly, inviting place, and that will motivate people to stay part of your community.

Engage with Your Community

In addition to your official community platform via Patreon and Discord, you’ll want to continually engage with your community in real time and keep them excited about you and your show.

You can do this via in-person or online live interactions.

For in-person interactions, consider hosting meetups. It’s a nice way to get together in a relaxed setting and chat about your topic. Your meetups can be:

Formal, where you give a talk or presentation. After the talk, give attendees time to ask questions and continue the conversation.Informal, where you meet up somewhere for drinks and provide name tags. Give people a chance to chat with each other, as well as with you.

For online interactions, you can host livestreams. Some examples of what you can do during a livestream include:

Live Q&A sessionsBehind-the scenes segments, where you share your expertise or do a brief tutorialPlay a game, if the game is related to your podcast’s topic

Some tips for livestreams:

Set everything up ahead of time. Know the date and time of the livestream and have a link people can click to joinGive your community plenty of notice about when you’re going liveFor Q&A sessions, have a couple questions prepared ahead of time that you can answer to get the conversation started

After the livestream, you can share the recording on YouTube or through other channels. Those in your community who can’t make that particular event can watch later, and having the recording available online may attract new people to your community.

Keep in Mind

Podcasting is an intimate medium, where you’re literally in someone’s ear chatting about your expertise. It’s also a lot of fun!

Just like with writing books, the key is to have processes and workflows in place so you don’t get overwhelmed and you can keep having fun, while creating great content.

If you want to learn more about growing your community and confidently launching and monetizing your podcast, then please check out my upcoming online Complete Podcasting Course. Sign up now to be notified when the course is open!

Sabrina Ricci is one half of the duo behind the popular weekly dinosaur podcast,  I Know Dino . She is also the author of a number of dinosaur books. She loves sauropods, her husband, and telling stories (and not necessarily in that order). Learn more about podcasting in her  online course .

Hey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

The post A Podcast Will Build Your Author Platform appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.

Book Marketing Update

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Book Marketing Update.

BookBub ads are huge, especially in the indie publishing sphere, so be sure to read the post I include below.

Knowing when to post on social media is so important. So naturally I included a post on that topic.

Want to increase engagement on Facebook? Then read the post from Hootsuite.

Actually, enjoy all of the blog posts listed below. You’re sure to learn a few tips or more!

Book Marketing

6 Mistakes to Avoid in Your BookBub Ads Targeting from BookBubPartners: “One of the most important elements of any successful ad campaign is the targeting. Reaching an engaged and relevant audience is critical to driving clicks and sales, as well as keeping your ads cost-effective.”

Author Platform: How to Build It from NY Book Editors: “n the most basic terms, an author platform is your ability to reach people who may buy your book. This may take the form of social media followers, speaking engagements, or publications in literary magazines.”

3 Simple Mistakes to Avoid if You Want to Make Your Book a Best Seller by Jeff Bullas: “Whether you’re writing a book or creating a product of some kind, there’s always the BIG picture and the small one.”

Gentle Book Marketing With Sarah Santacroce and from Joanna Penn: “Marketing is sharing what we’ve created with people who are interested in hearing about it. That doesn’t mean we need to push, push, push, and hype, hype, hype.”

Authors: Want to Be a Bigger Fish? Try a Smaller Pond. Regional Fiction Sells! by Anne R. Allen: “According to Robert Lee Brewer of Writer’s Digest, one of the biggest mistakes new writers make is thinking that they are writing for “everybody.” We want to be universal! Like Dickens, Tolstoy and Shakespeare.”

Social Media

The Best Time to Post on Twitter in 2021, According to Experts at AdEspresso: This post takes a thorough look at how to determine the best time to post on Twitter.

23 Simple Ways to Increase Facebook Engagement (Free Calculator) from Hootsuite: “Learn how to easily increase Facebook engagement (comments, likes, shares, and more) with these 23 tips and tactics that actually work.”

Twitter Tests New Layout for Images, Considers Adding Limited Time Tweet Editing from Social Media Today: Also, when you tweet a recorded message, Twitter will automatically transcribe your words into captions. Cool, eh?

Author SEO

The Ultimate Guide to SEO and Findability for Indie Authors by the Alliance of Independent Authors: “If you’re serious about selling books online, you need to understand SEO but indie authors often avoid the topic, dubbing it too complex, time-consuming, or techy. Actually, the technical aspects of SEO are simple and the tech is all done for you ….”

Writing Community

The Most Significant Choice Of Your Writing Career from Jane Friedman and by Jessica Conoley: “The most important choice you will make in your writing career is how you choose to talk to yourself about said career.”

2021 Mid-Year Review by Bard Press: This post highlights interesting aspects of the publishing world so far this year. Check it out!

Trad or Indie: Which is Better for You? from Mark Dawson and James Blatch: This episode of the Self Publishing Formula discusses the benefits and realities of indie publishing vs. traditional publishing.

Quote of the Week

Hey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

The post Book Marketing Update appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.

Book Marketing Update

In this edition of the Book Marketing Update there are so many great posts to read.

As I tried to select a you-must-read post, I couldn’t decide which one stood out from the rest. They are all great.

Definitely check out the Alliance of Independent Authors’ ultimate guide to pre-orders. This is an important topic.

Also read the post about how to select the best social media platforms for your book marketing.

Enjoy your reading about how to improve your book marketing.

Book Marketing

7 Secrets to a Successful Book Launch—with No Drama or Stress by Andrea Schmidt: Andrea suggests seven steps to follow as you approach your book launch. What’s the first step? Be a friend to yourself.

The Ultimate Guide to Pre-orders for Indie Authors from Alliance of Independent Authors: Read this post before your next book launch.

What Is An ISBN? 11 Facts For Self-Publishing Authors by Dave Chesson: “When you get ready to produce your self-published book, you’ll need something called an ISBN. This 13-digit number can be an enigma if you’re not well-versed in the technical side of self-publishing. The good news is that the ISBN system is easy to figure out.”

Writing and Marketing Crime Fiction with Edd James and from Joanna Penn: “What are the key elements of a good crime novel? How can you reboot your author career through publishing and marketing changes? Ed James shares insights on his writing craft and author business.”

Social Media

Authors on Social Media: Choosing Platforms and Avoiding Burnout from BookBub Partners: I absolutely love this blog post. I’m a huge believe that authors don’t need to be everywhere online. Trying to keep up with multiple social media platforms is exhausting. Make sure you read this post.

Book Reviews

Should Authors Review Books? from Writer Unboxed and by Greer Macallister: Greer explores a topic that is seldom discussed: authors who review their colleague’s books. Be sure to check out this post.

Book Trailers

How to Create a Book Trailer with Book Brush – with Corey Alderin and from Self Publishing Formula: Check out this post to learn more about Book Brush.

Of Note

Post Book Launch Depression Is a Thing from Jane Friedman’s blog and by Rachel Michelberg: “In the two months since I gave birth to a book, I’ve discovered that post-partum publishing depression is a thing. Even when the baby doesn’t cry at all.”

Quote of the WeekHey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

The post Book Marketing Update appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.

Book Marketing Update

I hope you enjoy the book marketing tips in this roundup today.

I always search far and wide to find the best blog posts and book marketing tips to share with you.

Are you enjoying the summer? Did you start a new novel? Let me know. I always enjoy hearing from you.

Book Marketing

Holiday Inspired Marketing from New Shelves Books: This post offers tips and a free download so check it out.

How To Sell Your Book On Amazon [70 Book Marketing Tips] by Dave Chesson: This post offers a hefty list of book marketing tips. Check them out.

Book Sales Revenue Breakdown by Platform, Format, Country, and More 2021 from Joanna Penn: “It’s the time of year when I break down my book sales and hope that my own insights are useful for you ….”

Email Marketing

How to Create an Email Funnel that Converts from MailerLite: “How would you feel if I came up to you and shouted, “BUY MY STUFF”? You don’t know me at all! Your first instinct is probably to run the other way. It’s much more natural (and effective!) to first make an introduction, get to know each other, form a relationship… and then let people decide whether they want to buy.”

How to Sell Books Using Email Marketing by Sarah Gribble and from Write Practice: “Email marketing is the number one way to connect with your audience, which means it’s the number one way to sell books.”

Publishing

How Trad Pub Feels About the Indie Revolution from Self Publishing Formula and with Jane Friedman: Check out the video, podcast, or transcript from the podcast. When Jane speaks, I listen intently. She has a thorough background in the publishing industry.

Of Note

Writers, Do You Have Unsupportive Friends and Family? You’re Not Alone: Love this post! “I’m always amazed at how many people I know — friends who would go out of their way to help me physically — cannot say one supportive thing about my writing.”

Quote of the WeekHey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

The post Book Marketing Update appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.

What to Tweet? Try My 50 Suggestions

Are you in a slump with your Twitter account? Do you struggle with what to tweet?

Or maybe you’ve never been entirely comfortable this platform microblogging site.

Don’t worry. I often hear this complaint from writers. The truth is when you’re starting out, Twitter often appears to be the most confusing social media network.

Get Out of that Twitter Slump

If you’re stumped in the mornings as your prepare your social media posts for the day, follow these steps:

scan your Twitter listslook at your newsfeedcheck your notifications and consider what your readers and other authors are tweetingreview the profiles of experts in your fieldset up an account with Mix to receive links to information about your genre, books, and readingWhat to tweet? Check Out These Suggestions

If you’re still perplexed, keep this list of 50 tweets nearby and refer to it every day. This list will always keep your tweets fresh.

Quotes from your favorite authorsQuotes from authors who are your colleaguesReading quotesImages of book covers from your favorite authorsImages of librariesPictures of interesting bookstore entrancesPictures of unusual bookshelvesBooks you like that were written by other authorsTweets about your new blog postTweets that lead readers to specific landing pages on your websiteTweets that lead readers to a popular Facebook postVacation imagesHoliday imagesNonfiction authors can share their best tipsQuotes from your bookQuotes from your blog postsThank you tweetsQuestionsAnswersExpressions of gratitudeReviews of your booksReviews of bestselling books in your genreUse the hashtag #1LineWednesday to tweet a great first line from a book you’ve read or are readingSend a tweet and use the hashtag #FridayReads to tell your audience what you’re reading nowLinks to podcasts you’ve enjoyedAccess to a free PDF created Free first chapter of your bookLinks to free eBooks you’ve writtenInformation about book fairs and events of interest to your readersAsk for introductionsAnnouncements of a Twitter contest you’re hostingNotify your readers when one of your books is available for freeOccasionally tweet about your book but never ask people to buy it or fill your tweet with hashtags your readers won’t understandAnnounce the nominees and then the winner of the Man Booker Prize, Pulitzer Prize, and National Book AwardShare news about new nominees for the Pulitzer Prize and then share the winner’s name and the book that he or she wroteShare the good news about the world’s new Nobel Laureate in LiteratureHighlight poets you enjoy readingShare the news when you’ve won an award for one of your booksTweet quotes about your genres, such as what makes a good mystery or thriller novelTalk about new publications from famous authors who write in your genreTweet fun/humorous images about books and readingTalk about the importance of literacyTweet about the #ReadDiverseBooks movementTweet above developments that may be news-related that are pertinent to your genreShare a link to your Goodreads account so your readers will know what you’ve read and what you’re readingLet your readers know when you’ve reviewed a good on GoodreadsShare your book reviews you’ve written about books by authors you admireCheck trending issues and incorporate trending hashtags into a tweet when it makes sense for your bookInclude seasonal topics, such as great summer reads, great winter reads, etc.Share images of your writing spaces

I hope the list helps you to become more active on Twitter and enjoy it more.

If you have other tips for tweets, please send them to me.

Hey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

The post What to Tweet? Try My 50 Suggestions appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.

Book Marketing Update

Welcome to another Book Marketing Update.

It’s summer! While fall is my favorite season, this summer is ushering in a lot of changes into my life. First, I’m moving!

No, I’m not moving to Spain or anything exotic like that. But I’m moving to the opposite side of town where I’ll be just half a mile from a beautiful park and a place to walk four miles every morning alongside a lake.

And, I have a puppy. He’s an English Labrador (all of my Labs are black) and a total love bug. Puppies’ brains grow quickly so it’s a prime time for training.

What new changes are being ushered into your life? I’d love to hear from you.

Book Marketing

Chirp Follow Buttons for Authors’ & Narrators’ Websites from BookBub Partners: Confession: I’d never heard of Chirp until I saw this article. If you plan on publishing audiobooks, definitely check out this post.

What’s the Best Way to Keep in Touch With My Readers? Other Questions Answered from Alliance of Independent authors and by Orna Ross and Michael La Ronn: Find out what these two experts have to say by reading this post.

How to be an Everyday Star: Lessons From 4 Famous Authors by Ruth Harris: Ruth shares lessons from authors who have traveled the path from obscurity to success. Don’t miss this post!

How to Market Your Book to Visually Impaired Users from Sabrina Ricci & by Giacomo Rotella: “To expand the reach of your content marketing throughout the web, you’ll need a website. But a successful website needs to be accessible to everyone, including people with visual impairment. This is also a great opportunity to promote an audiobook version of your book.”

5 Ways to Get the Internet Buzzing Over Your Self-Published Book from Entrepreneur and by J.J. Hebert: Are you new to book marketing? If so, check out this article.

Blogging

How To Create An Expert Roundup That Increases Blog Traffic from Blogging Wizard: Expert roundups can bring a lot of traffic to your website. Learn how to make the most of this blogging technique.

Book Reviews

How To Get Book Reviews on Amazon [For Free] from SCRIBD: “Reviews matter. They’re a key influencer of buying behavior and provide important social proof even to non-buyers.”

Of Note

AI for Authors. Practical and Ethical Guidelines from Alliance of Independent Authors, Joanna Penn, and Larry Tesler and from Orna Ross: The Alliance of Independent Authors has developed some practical and ethical guidelines to AI for authors. Be sure to check out this blog post.

Assessing a Book Idea from Alliance of Independent Authors: This was the topic of a recent Twitter chat. See what people had to say.

Quote of the WeekHey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

The post Book Marketing Update appeared first on Social Media Just for Writers.

Don’t Create an Online Ghost Town

I visited a ghost town recently.

Well, Monterey isn’t known as a ghost town, but that’s how I experienced it.

You see, I grew up there and as I drove and walked around town I would say to myself, “That’s where my father ate his morning donuts. That’s where Carmen lived and where my friends hung out.”

Monterey Was My Ghost Town

Monterey is a beautiful town, and my memories of it were always tied to people who either had died or no longer lived there.

Ghosts were everywhere because I allowed myself to imagine them.

I tied my experience to the past.

The reason I was in Monterey was to see my sister and nephew. In between the meals we shared, I walked with my to the wharf, at a park, around the city, and at Carmel Beach, my favorite beach on the Monterey Peninsula.

By the end of my stay, somewhat to my surprise, I’d begun to create new memories. 

We all know that it’s not good to live in the past. When we do, we are influenced by past hurts and experiences instead of present opportunities.

Social Media Ghost Town

By now you might be wondering how this topic relates to social media? Let me explain.

I frequently encounter writers who are living in any number of ghost towns. Their storylines run this way:

I tried using Goodreads, but didn’t like the “meanies.”Someone called me a name on Twitter, so I stopped using it.A friend told me that if I use Facebook, I’ll get my email account hacked.I tried to use Twitter, but then I started getting all these tweets asking me to buy books.These salacious men were sending me messages on Facebook, so I stopped using it.Why does everyone automate their Twitter accounts? I can’t stand it.I tried blogging every week, but it was too much. So I gave up.

In other words, authors make their foray into the virtual world of social media, have a negative experience, and use that incident to leave their accounts behind, making them virtual ghost towns. 

How to an Avoid Online Ghost Town

If someone says something rude to you, don’t abandon your profile in a huff. Do this instead: 

When you encounter one or two mean persons on Goodreads, ignore them. Continue to make friends with other readers. Might someone flirt with you on Facebook or refer to you as a phony on Twitter? Maybe. But don’t stop using your account after one bad episode.Do some poor souls automate tweets thanking new followers? Yes, and they are terribly misguided. Instead of leaving a social media network where you encountered these individuals, ignore them.Might someone send you a friend message and then spam you with requests to buy their books? It’s happened to me but guess what? I still haven’t left Facebook.

Weird men have sent me messages indicating that they “couldn’t take their eyes off of me.” (Ewe!) Some guy called me a phony on Twitter. 

Someone posted a picture of a woman wearing a red bra and tagged me in the image on Facebook. 

And after connecting with me on LinkedIn, people asked me to vote for their book, buy their book, and subscribe to a blog.

None of these incidents have prompted me to leave social media because the benefits far outweigh the few negative experiences I’ve had.

Stick It Out for the Sake of Your Book Marketing

So please don’t give up if you have an isolated encounter on social media that’s negative, or that grosses you out. 

Think instead about the readers you’ll meet and connect with and the colleagues you can help out on social media. 

Instead, follow the advice of Blind Boy Fuller in the song “Trucking My Blues Away” and keep on truckin’.

Hey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

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