1. Make Your Mark: Social Media and Marketing
Hosted by GFW Writers

2. 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

3. 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!

4. 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

5. 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 list
Find your audience’s platforms

6. Social sTATS
Facebook: 28% between 20-29; 21% between 30-39; 16% between 40-49
Twitter: 35% between (News for youth, microblogging)
Instagram: 53% between (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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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

11. Have Fun! It’s more about message promotion than self-promotion
Give value – you have a voice and have something interesting to say.