Building a Web Presence without Turning Social Media into a Full Time Job
When you google the name Kate Scott, I am the 2ndand 5th site to come up. Considering how common the name Kate Scott is, I’m very happy with those results. Granted, I don’t crack the top 200 on a search for “dyslexia” so my SEO could still use a lot of improvement. But today, I’m going to talk about what writers can/should do to help build their own web presence.
You need a web page.The number one thing you can do to build an online presence is have a webpage. Personally, I enjoy blogging. I started this blog years before I transitioned from aspiring writer to actual author. When I first got started, I wanted to blog, so I went with blogger. This site is still hosted by blogger, because I didn’t want to start again from ground zero and lose all my established readers and content. But wordpress does have more customizable options and is a more ideal platform for an author website. If you don’t have a website yet, I would recommend getting a wordpress account.
While you do need a webpage. You don’t need to blog. If blogging isn’t something you’re interested in, don’t blog. That is another advantage of wordpress, your blog doesn’t have to be the home page, so if you only occasionally post big news like cover reveals and book signing info, you can still have a very professional looking website. The primary function of a webpage is to serve as a landing board that links to all your other internet activities. I said before that I’m 2nd and 5th in a google search of Kate Scott. My personal webpage is the site that comes up 2nd. (My book's Amazon page is 5th.) If you want to engage with readers, having a webpage is a mandatory first step in making that possible.
One other note on blogging, 95% of the people who read this blog are other writers, both aspiring and published. Occasionally people I know in real life read my posts, but very few of my real life friends read it consistently. I do also sometimes receive comments from people who found my books first and came to my blog to read more about me. While I love connecting with my readers, I know most of them don’t regularly follow author blogs. And I don’t expect any of them to be consistent readers here. If you want a forum to express your thoughts and connect with other writers in more than 140 characters, blogging is great. But blogging is not the same thing as having a website. A website is required, blogging is optional.
Host an Online Newsletter.When I started blogging a few years ago, people actually read blogs. Subscribing to a persons RSS feed has become a lot less common, and tracking numerous blogs can be difficult for readers. The easiest solution to this problem is email. No, I am not encouraging you to spam people. Do not do that!
Build a subscriber based email list that people can opt into. And then once you have an email list, don't spam your subscribers. If you do, they will unsubscribe. My email list is hosted by Mail Chimp. It's super easy to use and a great way to stay connected to fans without sinking into the quicksand known as social media.
Goodreads = Social Media for ReadersFacebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+ are the main sites most people think of when they think social media, but if you are an author, you really should be thinking goodreads. If you don’t have a goodreads account, get one! It is entirely up to you who you want to befriend and how you want to review books you have read. But if you are an author, you really do need a goodreads author page. After your own personal website, a goodreads account is the second most important place for you to live on the internet.
There are several features available for authors on goodreads, but the most valuable item that I want to highlight is the goodreads giveaway. I held one contest on goodreads that ran for six weeks leading up to the release of my debut novel. It was totally free to create and cost me only the five autographed copies I agreed to mail to the contest winners after my book came out. More than 1000 people entered that contest. Not only did 3 of the 5 winners post reviews after receiving my book, but more than half of the contestants who entered and didn’t win the contest added my book to their to-read list. Many of those readers later went on to buy the book. This is the value of goodreads. When people connect with you on facebook or twitter, they are there for lots of reasons, most having nothing to do with reading. When people connect with you on goodreads, they are looking for ideas on what to read next. Make sure you, and your writing, is a part of this online community of readers.
The Facebook Fan PageMost people have facebook accounts. This is where you post your vacation pictures and keep tabs on people you knew in real life decades ago. Some people love facebook and update their status 20 times a day. Other people only make one status update per month. What you do with your personal facebook account is entirely up to you. If you like keeping your private life private, you don’t even have to have a personal facebook account.
I do, however, suggest you create an author page. Facebook pages are different than standard facebook accounts. People don’t friend you, they like you, and everything posted on a fan page is open to the public. Most fans aren’t going to visit your website daily, but they’re still going to log into facebook. Your fanpage is an easy place to let people know about upcoming book related items.
One great feature of the facebook fan page is that you can see how many facebook users saw each of your posts (not only how many people liked it). There is the option of expanding a posts reach via paid advertising. I’ve never done this, and doubt I ever will. I do think the number of views feature is valuable though. It’s a good way to gage when your fans are actually on facebook and time posts appropriately so they are more likely to end up in peoples news feeds. It’s also a great way to see what posts are being shared by your followers, expanding your reach.
TwitterIn my opinion, twitter serves the exact same purpose as blogging, only in fewer characters. Some people love twitter. Some people hate twitter. Some people love blogging, and some people hate it. I said before that if you hate blogging, you shouldn’t blog. The same thing is true for twitter, if you hate it, don’t do it. But if you love it, knock yourself out.
There are a lot of authors on twitter, and it can be a great forum to connect with other writers. Building a network of writer friends has a lot of value, and twitter is a great place to meet colleagues. Twitter isn't a great place to actually sell books though.
Many readers do find book recommendations on twitter, and facebook. But they don't find this when you post about yourself. When other people start talking about you on twitter, your sales will go up. Having a presence on twitter, and a network of writer friends, is a good place to start. But don't spend all your time there.
Twitter can destroy productivity and adds very little value. If you live on twitter, be honest with yourself. You are there because you want to be there, not because being on twitter will help you sell books. It won't.
Plus 1 for GoogleI heard an hour long spiel about the importance of Google+at a writing conference last year. I was really good about using google+ for about a month after that. But I’m really not a google+ convert. The argument for google+ is that google is the number one search engine, and they own google plus. So using google plus helps build your “author” status and increases your search engine optimization. According to the speaker at that conference I was at, every post you put on google+ is treated like a different searchable page, so the more you post the wider your online presence, and the more likely search engines are to find you.
Personally, I’m glad google doesn’t look at individual facebook status updates and tweets when hunting for sites related to a specific search. It does include facebook fan pages and twitter accounts. The hype surrounding google+ feels like a lot of SEO hocus pocus intended to buck the curve. If you want to buy into it and go gung ho on google+, I’m not going to stop you. But as an author, I think it’s more important to write great books than to stress over the latest SEO trend. Having a good website to go along with a few great books is a much simpler way to build a web presence.
Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumbler and MoreThere are lots of other social media webpages eager and willing to gobble up all your writing time. Like blogging and twitter, these are sites that you should only use if you enjoy them. But unlike blogging and twitter, which can be wonderful places to connect with other writers, most of these other sites have virtually no actual value. If you have a thousand followers on Instagram, maybe your Instagram account will generate new readers. But if you have a thousand followers on Instagram, how are you finding the time to write your next book?
Create a webpage. Set up a goodreads account. Make a facebook fan page. Blog if you want to. Tweet if you want to. And then log off the internet and go write your next book. Getting fan mail is awesome. When your readers want to find you, make sure you are there to be found. But if you want to be an author, I recommend learning how to communicate in more than 140 characters.
You need a web page.The number one thing you can do to build an online presence is have a webpage. Personally, I enjoy blogging. I started this blog years before I transitioned from aspiring writer to actual author. When I first got started, I wanted to blog, so I went with blogger. This site is still hosted by blogger, because I didn’t want to start again from ground zero and lose all my established readers and content. But wordpress does have more customizable options and is a more ideal platform for an author website. If you don’t have a website yet, I would recommend getting a wordpress account.
While you do need a webpage. You don’t need to blog. If blogging isn’t something you’re interested in, don’t blog. That is another advantage of wordpress, your blog doesn’t have to be the home page, so if you only occasionally post big news like cover reveals and book signing info, you can still have a very professional looking website. The primary function of a webpage is to serve as a landing board that links to all your other internet activities. I said before that I’m 2nd and 5th in a google search of Kate Scott. My personal webpage is the site that comes up 2nd. (My book's Amazon page is 5th.) If you want to engage with readers, having a webpage is a mandatory first step in making that possible.
One other note on blogging, 95% of the people who read this blog are other writers, both aspiring and published. Occasionally people I know in real life read my posts, but very few of my real life friends read it consistently. I do also sometimes receive comments from people who found my books first and came to my blog to read more about me. While I love connecting with my readers, I know most of them don’t regularly follow author blogs. And I don’t expect any of them to be consistent readers here. If you want a forum to express your thoughts and connect with other writers in more than 140 characters, blogging is great. But blogging is not the same thing as having a website. A website is required, blogging is optional.
Host an Online Newsletter.When I started blogging a few years ago, people actually read blogs. Subscribing to a persons RSS feed has become a lot less common, and tracking numerous blogs can be difficult for readers. The easiest solution to this problem is email. No, I am not encouraging you to spam people. Do not do that!
Build a subscriber based email list that people can opt into. And then once you have an email list, don't spam your subscribers. If you do, they will unsubscribe. My email list is hosted by Mail Chimp. It's super easy to use and a great way to stay connected to fans without sinking into the quicksand known as social media.
Goodreads = Social Media for ReadersFacebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+ are the main sites most people think of when they think social media, but if you are an author, you really should be thinking goodreads. If you don’t have a goodreads account, get one! It is entirely up to you who you want to befriend and how you want to review books you have read. But if you are an author, you really do need a goodreads author page. After your own personal website, a goodreads account is the second most important place for you to live on the internet.There are several features available for authors on goodreads, but the most valuable item that I want to highlight is the goodreads giveaway. I held one contest on goodreads that ran for six weeks leading up to the release of my debut novel. It was totally free to create and cost me only the five autographed copies I agreed to mail to the contest winners after my book came out. More than 1000 people entered that contest. Not only did 3 of the 5 winners post reviews after receiving my book, but more than half of the contestants who entered and didn’t win the contest added my book to their to-read list. Many of those readers later went on to buy the book. This is the value of goodreads. When people connect with you on facebook or twitter, they are there for lots of reasons, most having nothing to do with reading. When people connect with you on goodreads, they are looking for ideas on what to read next. Make sure you, and your writing, is a part of this online community of readers.
The Facebook Fan PageMost people have facebook accounts. This is where you post your vacation pictures and keep tabs on people you knew in real life decades ago. Some people love facebook and update their status 20 times a day. Other people only make one status update per month. What you do with your personal facebook account is entirely up to you. If you like keeping your private life private, you don’t even have to have a personal facebook account.I do, however, suggest you create an author page. Facebook pages are different than standard facebook accounts. People don’t friend you, they like you, and everything posted on a fan page is open to the public. Most fans aren’t going to visit your website daily, but they’re still going to log into facebook. Your fanpage is an easy place to let people know about upcoming book related items.
One great feature of the facebook fan page is that you can see how many facebook users saw each of your posts (not only how many people liked it). There is the option of expanding a posts reach via paid advertising. I’ve never done this, and doubt I ever will. I do think the number of views feature is valuable though. It’s a good way to gage when your fans are actually on facebook and time posts appropriately so they are more likely to end up in peoples news feeds. It’s also a great way to see what posts are being shared by your followers, expanding your reach.
TwitterIn my opinion, twitter serves the exact same purpose as blogging, only in fewer characters. Some people love twitter. Some people hate twitter. Some people love blogging, and some people hate it. I said before that if you hate blogging, you shouldn’t blog. The same thing is true for twitter, if you hate it, don’t do it. But if you love it, knock yourself out. There are a lot of authors on twitter, and it can be a great forum to connect with other writers. Building a network of writer friends has a lot of value, and twitter is a great place to meet colleagues. Twitter isn't a great place to actually sell books though.
Many readers do find book recommendations on twitter, and facebook. But they don't find this when you post about yourself. When other people start talking about you on twitter, your sales will go up. Having a presence on twitter, and a network of writer friends, is a good place to start. But don't spend all your time there.
Twitter can destroy productivity and adds very little value. If you live on twitter, be honest with yourself. You are there because you want to be there, not because being on twitter will help you sell books. It won't.
Plus 1 for GoogleI heard an hour long spiel about the importance of Google+at a writing conference last year. I was really good about using google+ for about a month after that. But I’m really not a google+ convert. The argument for google+ is that google is the number one search engine, and they own google plus. So using google plus helps build your “author” status and increases your search engine optimization. According to the speaker at that conference I was at, every post you put on google+ is treated like a different searchable page, so the more you post the wider your online presence, and the more likely search engines are to find you.Personally, I’m glad google doesn’t look at individual facebook status updates and tweets when hunting for sites related to a specific search. It does include facebook fan pages and twitter accounts. The hype surrounding google+ feels like a lot of SEO hocus pocus intended to buck the curve. If you want to buy into it and go gung ho on google+, I’m not going to stop you. But as an author, I think it’s more important to write great books than to stress over the latest SEO trend. Having a good website to go along with a few great books is a much simpler way to build a web presence.
Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumbler and MoreThere are lots of other social media webpages eager and willing to gobble up all your writing time. Like blogging and twitter, these are sites that you should only use if you enjoy them. But unlike blogging and twitter, which can be wonderful places to connect with other writers, most of these other sites have virtually no actual value. If you have a thousand followers on Instagram, maybe your Instagram account will generate new readers. But if you have a thousand followers on Instagram, how are you finding the time to write your next book?
Create a webpage. Set up a goodreads account. Make a facebook fan page. Blog if you want to. Tweet if you want to. And then log off the internet and go write your next book. Getting fan mail is awesome. When your readers want to find you, make sure you are there to be found. But if you want to be an author, I recommend learning how to communicate in more than 140 characters.
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