Make Your Mark: Social Media and Marketing Hosted by GFW Writers
Why is Marketing Important? Find your audience Recognition and generate buzz Power to make your book a bestseller Algorithms aren’t reliable Example: Ellora’s Cave on Amazon Gain and retain readers Example: Pottermore
Where do I start? Create a timeline Coordinate marketing efforts with your book Example: Significant dates, character birthdays, etc. Decide on your platforms Set goals and objectives Never too early to start!
Timeline Educate – establish yourself and your work to the audience Engage – grab your audience’s curiosity and attention Content – promise of what can be expected Community – build your following and create a dialogue Launch – encourage readers to buy your book Maintain – stay relevant, retain audience and add new followers
Educate Make sure the site reflects your brand/novel’s theme Build your personal website or your book’s micro-site Make sure the site reflects your brand/novel’s theme Keep the website easy to navigate and mobile friendly Personal vs. Professional – keep the same name across platforms Create a monthly newsletter email list Find your audience’s platforms
Social sTATS Facebook: 28% between 20-29; 21% between 30-39; 16% between 40-49 Twitter: 35% between 18-29 (News for youth, microblogging) Instagram: 53% between 18-29 (higher income youth) Pinterest: 70% female, 64% under 34 YouTube: 62% male, 49% between ages 25-44 SnapChat: 60% under age 25 Podcasts: 21% of Americans listen; 1-in-4 Americans age 12-54
Engage Cross promote on platforms Compare your story and place it in every bio Online presence reflects your personal brand Trigger warning: stay away from politics, religion, and controversial topics. Relevant topics Tags, Hashtags, Share, Follow, Retweet, etc. Dialogue
Content Quantity and Consistency Think outside the box – story time, playlists, Q&A from readers Blog and Share Short stories, Poems, Previews, and Pre-orders What are other author’s doing? Is it working? Twitter chat, webinar, podcasts, or live video
Community Giveaways or Exclusive Content Name a character, Q&A from readers, Opinions for new content, etc. Valuable content – progress updates on new stories Niche markets Soundboard for Beta testing Book promotion – create a tag, hashtag, posters, pens, plushies, etc.
Launching Your Book Release party: Thunderclap Stock pile content that’s ready to roll out – Alternate scenes, character profiles, etc. Do an interview – Blog, BookTube, Podcast, etc. Find your cheerleaders – online or local Cold reviews, reviews from other authors, Booktubers, etc. Ask local libraries, newspapers, or friends/bloggers to promo your stuff. Feature pics, tweets, or vids sent in by readers
Have Fun! It’s more about message promotion than self-promotion Give value – you have a voice and have something interesting to say.