Author Entrepreneurship Magazine Developing a Social Media Plan in 30 Minutes 10 Tips for Marketing Your Book on Facebook
Get Your Potential Readers Curious Now By Beth Barany
November 2012, Issue 5
About Us
Credits
Author Entrepreneurship Magazine is published monthly by Barany Consulting, an education and consulting firm located in Oakland, California. The magazine goes out to nearly 1,200 subscribers via email and is also distributed via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to reach over 10,000 people. For information on advertising please contact the editor at beth@bethbarany.com, or call her at (510) 332-5384.
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Beth Barany Designer & Layout: Ezra Barany Editorial Assistants: Michelle C. Geary, Carissa Weintraub Contributors: Barbara Millman Cole, Annmarie Lockhart, Catharine Bramkamp, Cheryl Derricote, Beth Barany, David Sheets
Feel free to forward this to your staff, colleagues and clients. If this magazine was forwarded to you, you can receive free future issues by signing up here: www.AuthorEntrepreneurship.com. If you’d like to use one of our articles in your newsletter or blog, please contact the respective author for permission. All materials and photos in this magazine are copyright protected. Publishers, Writing & Book Professional Associations: Interested in advertising with us? Contact Beth Barany at Beth@BethBarany.com or call her at (510) 332-5384 to find out how you can reach your audience and save money over print publication advertising. Š 2012, Barany Consulting, Oakland, CA. All rights reserved to the respective authors. If you wish to use any materials in this publication you must contact the author first for written permission. Thank you for protecting our copyrights.
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Letter from the Editor Thanks for reading our fifth issue! I created this magazine to help authors create sustainable and successful careers. This month our theme is Social Media and Marketing. My baliwick, my passion, my play... but first some important news! I’ve changed the name to Author Entrepreneurship Magazine to serve you better! In my opinion, there is only one way for you to succeed as an author these days and that is to 1) write the best book you can; and 2) tell your raving fans about it. My coaching does the former. This issue will help you do the latter. I’ll help you discover your Clear Message, helping you answer the question: “What do you write?” I’ll also help you make the answer interesting and enticing. Because the first stage of sales – and you do want book sales, right? – is to generate curiosity. That is your job with social media, which includes your blog, the social media sites, and as Catharine Bramkamp reminds us, the local pub. Sometimes getting started can be a challenge, so use Cheryl Derricotte’s tips on getting started on your social media in 30-minute chunks. And enjoy Dave Sheets’s article on ten tips for marketing and selling your book on Facebook. Please support our advertisers who make this publication possible and free to you! Click on their ads for more information, and forward the magazine to your clients and customers so they can read this magazine, too! Thanks!
Beth Barany, Creativity Coaching for Authors Creativity Transformational Writeshops The Torah Codes 6 Short Stories of Suspense 30 Minute Manager
ACEServices4Authors.com AuthorsBroadcast.com Henrietta the Dragon Slayer Learn EASE Overcome Writer’s Block The Writer’s Adventure Guide Twitter for Authors Snowfall Press K. S. Collier, author of The Veil Vox Poetica YourBookStartsHere.com
Some links in this magazine (“Magazine”) may be affiliate links (“Affiliate Links”), including links to Amazon.com. From time to time, the Magazine includes featured books and/or product giveaways. Should AE Magazine receive compensation as a result of featuring any such books or giving away any such product, that fact will be disclosed. AE Magazine earns a commission from the Affiliate Links which commission is based on the number of sales that are made as a result of readers of the Magazine clicking over to the Affiliate Link and purchasing from the Affiliate Link a product and/or service.
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Featured Story:
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Your Clear Message Get Your Potential Readers Curious Now
By Beth Barany image by Moyan Brenn
6 10 20
Paying the Bar Tab A Twitter Tantrum
Catherine Bramkamp
Social Media and Marketing
Annmarie Lockhart
Create Your Own Mayberry, W.F.D.
Barbara Millman Cole
24 28 34
Developing a Social Media Plan in 30 Minutes
How to Use Hashtags on Twitter
Beth Barany
10 Tips for Marketing and Selling Your Books on Facebook
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Cheryl Derricotte
David Sheets
November 2012 AuthorEntrepreneurship.com | 5
Paying the Bar Tab A Twitter Tantrum
Photo by Catharine Bramkamp: Outside at a bar in Cologne, Germany, hearing ourselves think.
By Catherine Bramkamp
The other night, I wound up in a bar in Cologne, Germany that served either Jagermeister or beer (my choice, I declined the “both” option) and featured an earsplitting band consisting of a single tuba and one accordion. (I know, who knew?). I could barely hear the person speaking across from me. Rather than feel exhilarated by the overload, I felt frustrated. I wanted to hear what was being said. And after an hour, I wanted to bolt. I feel the same about Twitter. In the social media exchange, Twitter is that loud bar. And while after a few years of trial and error, we know what local bars to patronize and what bars to avoid, social media is so new that we’re just now (yesterday) figuring out where to hang out. I know Twitter is the place where all the cool people hang out: film stars, sports heroes, politicians with questionable judgment. And, based on three stories of authors tweeting their way into astonishing success, I kept returning to the same
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location because you never know, because it’s cool, because obviously everyone is doing it. Finally I asked another question: what was I doing at this site (this bar) in the first place? Was I making good business contacts? Was I making interesting friends? Was I selling any books? What I realized was that often Twitter is like hanging out at a party where, in order to meet one interesting person, you have to push through twenty guys who are working the numbers by asking every girl they meet, hey, do you want to sleep with me? Ask enough girls. . . On Twitter it sounds more like this: Hey! Buy my book!
“Social media is so new.” Authors in particular are prone to this kind of behavior because we often don’t know what the hell we are doing. Thus the continual “Like my page, Buy my book” equests in the absence of real conversation. It’s like yelling to your date, over the noise of the band, “This is great isn’t it?” And since she really can’t hear you, she just nods. If you are thinking, wow, that’s me, I know I’m suppose to have a presence on all these media platforms and I know I should have all these handles and
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Ah, a wedding in the wine country. But Allison's best friend Carrie’s grand event may end less like a romantic comedy and more like a slasher flick. Who is stalking the bride? How did Ben’s former Friend With Benefits turn into Injured With Repercussions? And why must Allison wear 90 pounds of red tulle during the hottest season of the year? While innocent bystanders fall like flies, Allison copes with selling her house in Sonoma County, scrambling to finance the shower from hell, and wondering if the person responsible for the spate of murders can be hired to take out her ex-boyfriend before her own nuptials.
Realtors order Trash Outs to completely clear out a listing in order to sell it. When this done by amateurs, it’s called vandalism. On Amazon in Kindle and paperback – right now.
For more information: www.YourBookStartsHere.com
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connections, but I got nothing really to say in 140 characters except Buy my book and Like me on Facebook.
“The strategy for social media is to discover what you love to do.” Come outside with me, away from the smokers congregating by the front of the bar, in fact, let’s go over to somewhere quiet where we can really talk. The strategy for social media is to discover what you love to do. If social media is a conversation, then where are you comfortable talking? In the park? In a loud bar? At a rock concert? That is the question to ask. LinkedIn and Facebook are more comfortable venues, a little more laid back. You can answer back in a day and not get completely mowed down. Twitter is the rock concert with a popular bar visit at the end, when you are already tired but know you need to stay awake as to not miss anything.
Pintrest is an afternoon chatting in the aisles of a craft store. We choose where we hang out in real life. It behooves us to choose where to hang out in social media. You do not need to be everywhere, just be every where you really want to be.
Catharine Bramkamp is on LinkedIn, Facebook and blogs through Wordpress. She is at her noisiest on Newbie Writers podcast every Friday afternoon. Her new book is Trash Out, a Real Estate Diva Mystery. More on her site at www. YourBookStartsHere.com.
Image by Naomi Ibuki
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Social Media and Marketing: Follow Me, Retweet, and Yelp It!
By Annmarie Lockhart A useful article for book professionals, writing coaches, and others who help authors. Authors, you’ll get ideas, too! Considering that social media is a recent invention, it is amazing the degree to which we rely on it for marketing. On the one hand it makes sense. What better way to decide what to buy than through the personal recommendation of your friends? Your social network probably includes writers and readers. Those targeted groups refer with a weight behind them.
“Sometimes things go viral.” But just how much do these marketing attempts translate to sales? Research is mixed. Sure, sometimes things go viral. But sometimes things die on the vine. And there isn’t always any way to account for either phenomenon. So what to do?
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Target lists. Sure, it’s a good idea to include friends and family on a promotional list. They are supportive and will talk up your success stories to their connections as well. You never know where you’ll meet a potential client or reader. Even so, track the results of your campaigns. Facebook allows you to determine reach percentages. Experiment with ways of upping that number. Spreading the word is good, spreading the word to a receptive audience is even better. Instruct your clients about targeting their promotional lists.
“Add your voice to the conversation.” Twitter is a great way to drive traffic to a site. Use tweets to push people to your website, a workshop reservation page, a Facebook page, or a review site. Use the hashtags to hone in on Twitter users who are interested in what you’re promoting. There is great research out there on how to make the most out of hashtags. Familiarize yourself. Do not neglect more traditional types of marketing. Create your own Internet radio show where you can host mini-workshops and/or interview clients. Your audience will expand organically and you can promote your show via social media marketing too. Consider advertising based on cost, affordability, and reach. Ads are still the single most important way to reach a market, but a misplaced ad will cost you money without netting a new client.
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Don’t underestimate the value of person-to-person communication. If your clients love what you do for them, encourage them to tell their friends and colleagues about you too. Ask them to talk about you on Yelp. (They’re not just for restaurants; several professional categories are listed and your business might benefit from being one of them). Connect with their social network online and offer special deals to connections of your clients. Even better, offer special deals to clients who bring you new clients. Word-of-mouth combined with the power of the Internet expands your reach exponentially.
“Cultivate informal groups via social networks” Likewise, be on the lookout for negative reviews or comments that might show up associated with your business. Say you come across a standard complaint: “John Doe promised to get my work accepted at The New Yorker. Ha! I’m still waiting!” Add your voice to the conversation. Make your defense, but be polite and professional while doing it. Avoid discussing the details of any particular incident or client, reiterate the services you provide, mention your credential as an unbiased professional, and disclose your position on affiliations you maintain in the industry. Try a little humor to diminish the ill will. If all else fails, make use of the block option at Facebook or similar reporting/ blocking mechanisms at other networks to prevent personal attacks from extending beyond their origins. Cultivate informal groups via social networks where potential clients can sample your coaching. Create simple
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prompts, inspirational posts, promote classes or contests for members of the group. Keep it open and let people share the info. Give them a taste of what you can do for them and leave them wanting more. Invite current and former clients to share testimonials with the group. The more specific the praise, the better. A huge percentage of consumer research is done online. You need a social networking presence to ensure the greatest access to your information for the greatest number of potential clients. If you haven’t done so already, start cultivating that presence to raise your visibility and extend your reach. Bring your personality into play. Make sure your Internet presence supports your brand identity. And promote your ability to help your clients achieve their creative goals. At the end of the day, that’s what this whole thing is about.
Annmarie Lockhart is the founding editor of vox poetica, an online literary salon dedicated to bringing poetry into the everyday, and unbound CONTENT, an independent press for a boundless age. A lifelong resident of Northern New Jersey, she lives, works, and writes two miles east of the hospital where she was born. More about Annmarie’s work here: http://unboundcontent.com/.
Your Clear Message:
Get Your Potential Readers Curious Now
By Beth Barany Many authors think that book promotions are about giving away swag (or tchotchkes, if you prefer)—like bookmarks, key rings, coffee mugs, etc.—to get attention for their books. But actually, book promotions start with one of the most powerful yet overlooked methods of promoting your books: by what you actually say. Word of mouth still sells more books than any other promotional tool out there. Aspiring authors: You can use this tool now, too. Yes, promotions for your
author career can begin now, even before your book is published or even completed. If you state what you write in a way that generates curiosity, you can get more people engaged with what you write, and ultimately they can become your avid fans and book buyers. Bonus: All on a zero budget! What if you could share what you write in one sentence and immediately know if your listener was curious or not about what you write? Once a potential reader is curious, Continued on pg. 15
then you can ask for her email for your newsletter list (you have one, right? If not, check out MailChimp.com for an easy and free way to get started with your newsletter.), or if appropriate, invite her to your online home of choice (blog, website, Facebook page, etc.). So, how do you generate curiosity? You learn to talk about your story in a compelling and interesting way. You create a Clear Message.
“Word of mouth still sells more books than any other promotional tool out there.” There are four ingredients to constructing this concise, one-sentence description of your book. The goal of this exercise is for you to design a statement that easily rolls off your tongue, and answers the questions we get at meetings, conferences, parties and even in the grocery store checkout line: “What do you write?” Once you’ve created your Clear Message, you can adapt it for use in your bio or profile that you create for Twitter, Facebook, your site and your book. In this article I will help you nail down the four ingredients you need to create your Clear Message: 1. Your genre 2. Your audience 3. Your audience’s desired result or experience: what they want 4. Your intended action upon your readers
#1: Your Genre What is your genre? Stating that you write “romance” or “fantasy” may be good enough for some of your readers. For others, you may want to be more specific, like “paranormal romance,” “epic fantasy,” “historical romance,” etc. For example, I say, “I write young adult fantasy novels.” When choosing how to state your genre, think about where your readers would find your book in a brick and mortar or online bookstore. Ultimately, imagine about how your readers categorize what you write. Or ask them! Action Step: I recommend you browse the bookstores and libraries to pinpoint exactly where your book would fit. Q: How do you create a Clear Message if you write more than one genre? A: In today’s world of writing multiple genres, I recommend you create a Clear Message for each genre in which you write.
“Learn to talk about your story in a compelling and interesting way.” #2: Your Audience and What They Want In my workshops when I present this part of the Clear Message to romance authors, they often struggle with it. It’s just women, right? They ask. Well, yes. Now let’s get more specific, because we know that not every novel appeals to every person.
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Ask yourself: What kind of readers does your work appeal to the most? Action Step: Describe your audience by specifying what they desire when they read the type of book you write. For example, your readership could be “women who want an out-of-this-world adventure,” “middle-age Midwesterners looking for a sweet escape,” or “savvy women needing to break free from their busy lives.” What readers want when they read fiction is an experience.
“What readers want when they read fiction is an experience.”
empower teen girls to be the heroes of their own lives.” My intended action upon my readers is to empower them. In fact, this desire to empower my readers permeates all of my writing—fiction and nonfiction, and all my work with writers. (Fancy that! In fact, this verb you choose may be the core of the impact you desire to have in the world.) What do you want to do for your readers? Some intended actions could be: • Inspire • Motivate • Transport • Challenge • Help • Guide • Other?! The possibilities are only limited by your imagination!
It’s your job as the author to pinpoint and describe that experience as powerfully and succinctly as possible. Remember: The goal of this exercise is to be able to easily state out loud your Clear Message.
In my workshops on Social Media for Authors, here are some Clear Messages my authors devised: “I write romantic suspense novels that invite women to experience the heart pounding rush of danger, action and romance.”
Q: To help put yourself in the shoes of an avid reader, what do you experience when you read your favorite novel? A: I get the experience of a delicious escape and a thrilling ride. (That’s my answer. What’s yours?)
“Describe that experience as powerfully and succinctly as possible.”
#3: Your Intended Action Upon Your Readers Once you know your genre, your audience and what they want, look at your intended action upon your readers. When I get to this part in the workshops I teach, I often get quizzical looks, so I’ll start with an example of how I answer the question: “What do you write?” “I write young adult fantasy to
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“I write middle grade stories that develop kids’ self-acceptance and selfassurance through their love of horses and country life.” “I write suspense novels that thrill adults interested in Jewish themes to challenge their personal relationship with Judaism.” “I write historical and contemporary romances to awaken the soul and ignite
Continued on pg. 18
the imagination of women of all ages to realize their own potential.” “I write erotic urban fantasy for savvy men and women to experience more vitality in their lives.” “I write sensual paranormal romance that inspires women to feel rapture and the power of true love.”
them for permission to add them to your promotion lists. Or, if more appropriate, invite them to connect with you online. If they’re not curious, you can ask why.
And for nonfiction: “I write how-to guides for fiction authors to help them have successful careers.” “I write inspired stress relief books that help attorneys and other overwhelmed professionals thrive purposefully 24-7.”
“When people express curiosity, ask them for permission to add them to your promotion lists.” “I write about the history behind the mythology of original sin to inspire truth seekers.” “My audio tutorials guide fantasy writers to draw on the wisdom of their extra-conscious resources to develop compelling, character-driven stories.” Are you curious about any of these? Notice what grabs you and what doesn’t. Okay, authors, your turn! Action Step: Put all four ingredients of the Clear Message together into one sentence, and say it a few times so it becomes natural, a part of you. Then practice, practice, practice with friends, family, and colleagues. Revise as needed. Then practice some more. Next, spring it on acquaintances and strangers. Notice how people respond. Are they curious? Great! When people express curiosity, ask
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Image by Oksana Tsymbaliuk
They may say that they’re not interested in the genre you write. In that case, you can get curious about what they do like to read and chat about that. People love talking about their favorite books and movies. If they say that they didn’t get what you were saying, you can revise it with them, getting more specific, or making your Clear Message shorter. What’s Next for Your Clear Message Post your Clear Message as part of your online bio on Twitter and Facebook, as part of your bio when you’re a guest blogger, and use it in your signature line of your email. One of my workshop attendees, author Sharon Hamilton (http://www.sharonhamiltonauthor.com) shared with me a unique way she uses her Clear Message. (From the list above, Sharon’s Clear Message is: I write sensual paranormal romance that inspires women to feel rapture and the power of true love.) She
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said that her Clear Message has a honing beacon to guide where she wants to go with her writing. “[My Clear Message] is the standard,” she added. “The personality of my writing.”
“Use your Clear Message to guide your writing.” You too can use your Clear Message to guide your writing as you write and to generate curiosity in your community and beyond. We’re all waiting for your stories. Spread the word! Activity Craft your Clear Message and share it with your writer friends. And, post it on Twitter using the hashtag: #twitter4authors and I will respond.
Beth Barany helps authors getting writing, get comfortable with social media and book marketing, and get published. She is a certified creativity coach for writers, specializing in helping novelists reignite their passion for writing and sharing their message with their audience. More at http://www.bethbarany. com.
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Create Your Own Mayberry, W.F.D.: Social media is the new neighborhood Scaffold Your Literary Life
Image by Moyan Brenn
By Barbara Millman Cole
Modern social media allows us to join groups of like-minded individuals and have instant, meaningful conversations for free. With the click of a button, we type one word, and immediately access resources to locate those with whom we wish to interact. No longer must writers remain isolated. We find writing groups, Meetups for writers, reading groups, coaches, and editors, with whom we want to form a connection. Gone are the days of feeling like outsiders because we live in our imaginations. Today, we easily gather and create through the ether.
“Social Media is about the people! Not about your business. Provide for the people and the people will provide for you.” ~Matt Goulart
“...we consider them our friends.”
Social media allows us to create the atmosphere of small, intimate relationships which are at the heart of communities across America, online and with infinite membership. When we log in, we feel we are in the same room with people who may be thousands of miles away and we consider them our friends. People experienced this same feeling watching Mayberry, R.F.D., postal term Rural Free Delivery, in the early days of television. With this new media form, let’s us create our own contemporary Mayberry, W.F.D., or Web Free Delivery. The Internet gives us the power of connection far beyond the passiveness of watching television and the interactivity of speaking by telephone.
Current scripts, novels, and poems are filled with characters using social media as though it has and always will be part of everyday life. The fear was that the computer would isolate us further from one another. The fact is that it has brought many closer together and made us more social. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumbler, and Pinterest are all sites that have grown over the last decade into actual places online for people to gather, share, and collaborate. Google the phrase “social media sites” and click on Wikipedia’s entry to find a long list of sites with specific focuses, such as Wattpad for authors and readers to interact and share e-books, Ravery for knitting and crochet, or FledgeWing for the
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entrepreneurial community of world wide university students, to sites with broad focuses such as Gather.com for sharing pictures, articles, and interests, Blogster for blogging, or delicious for social bookmarking the sites that match the users’ interests. How we approach this direct access to our fan/client base determines how efficacious and advantageous it is for us. “We’re living at a time when attention is the new currency,” says Pete Cashmore, Founder of Mashable. Social Media Expert Jay Baer advises us to “Focus on how to be social, not on how to do social.” Most people do not want to be marketed to by family, friends, or strangers. We visit sites for their social aspects, even at sites such as LinkedIn which is specific to connecting people in business. We want to relate with authors, editors, publishers, and coaches on a personal level. Optimizing social media requires we be effective, trusted communicators in this new marketing forum. “Activate your fans, don’t just collect them like baseball cards,” encourages Baer.
“We have technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people.” Pierre Omidyar, eBay Founder, says.
“They are observing how you say it.” That one use of the word “rich” gives his sentence personal value and causes us to pause and ponder the richness he suggests. “How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?” asks Bestselling author Seth Godin. His passion grabs our attention. Create your own Mayberry, W.F.D. and give potential clients a cause to pause on your work.
“Create through the ether.” Consistent web presence through blogs, chats, or tweets makes us available to our audiences. With familiarity comes friendship. The more we interact, the more our audience gets to know us, the more they respond and relate to us. “People share, read, and generally engage more with any type of content when it’s surfaced through friends and people they know and trust.” says Marlori Lucich, Facebook Spokesperson. People are not only listening to what you say, they are observing how you say it and inferring why you are saying it.
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Barbara Millman Cole is an award winning author of Short Literary Fiction, content editor, and creativity coach, who helps writers delve deep to discover their true meaning. Understand why you create so you know what to create. Contributing author of Creativity Coaching Success Stories and author of the forthcoming book, The Painted Woman and Other Short Stories, she can be reached at bmillmancole@sbcglobal.net. Find Barbara online at http://www.meetup. com/The-Writers-Place/.
SPELLBINDING! The Veil by K. S. Collier is a perfect novel for Young Adult Readers that are looking for a Paranormal Adventure in Hawaii.
The Veil takes you on a journey full of secrets, lies, and two-‐hundred-‐year old myths in the heart of Maui. Experience it for yourself. Get your copy today on Amazon.
Available in Kindle, Nook, any e-‐reader, and also in hardcopy.
Developing a Social Media Plan You Can Live With in Thirty Minutes By Cheryl Derricotte Authors spend a lot of time writing, yet we also need to spend focused time on branding and marketing our work so it does not sit idly on our computers. Social media offers numerous tools to not only brand us, but to build community between readers and writers. This article will help you develop a social media plan in thirty minutes that you can live with. One of the biggest advantages to social media is that it is a great way to both advance your brand and control your online persona. When someone searches for your name online, you want current, relevant information about you to come up near the top of the search. Social media can take your brand to the next level, as it can establish you as an expert not only with your own articles and books, but also on other topics in which you have an active interest. The most popular social media tools right now include: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest. Let’s get started using these five powerful tools. It will only take your thirty minutes or less to set up your accounts. 1. Facebook. I suggest you set-up two Facebook accounts. One account is for your name and one account is for your writing and publishing business. Go to facebook.com and enter your name, email, and birth date for your name page. Go back to the home page. Below the green “sign up” link you will see “create a page for a celebrity,
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image by StatusEngage
November 2012 AuthorEntrepreneurship.com | 25
brand, or business.” Click that link and choose to set up a page for a “company, organization, or institution” or choose “artist, band, or public figure” to get a drop-down menu that includes “writer” (i.e. your pen name here).
“Pinterest is a virtual pin board—a cork board online.” Strategically, you have to decide if you only want to use your personal page for family and friends—or if you are open to a broader community. I decided that I wanted a broader community to interact with other writers and small business owners. Thus, I do not personally know everyone on my name page or my fan page. 2. Twitter. Choose your Twitter name to coincide with your Facebook name—i.e your writer/pen name or company name. And, if you have a day job that requires you to “tweet” on behalf of the company, you will have a second Twitter account. On Twitter, your username is called your “handle.” My handle is @30MinuteManager. The Twitter bio is one of the shortest bios you will ever write. Here is mine: “Chief Information Officer for 30-Minute Manager, a small indie press she created in 2011. Artist, activist, writer, and vegan.” 3. LinkedIn. LinkedIn has a decidedly business/professional focus. On your personal Facebook pages and Twitter accounts you may see commentary on life, love, politics, and pets. Not so on LinkedIn where you simply post a short bio and resume. You can also have colleagues provide references for your work. Again, if you still have a day job—set up two LinkedIn accounts: one account for your work history and a business page for your writing and publishing. 4. YouTube. The form for creating a
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YouTube channel is a bit longer than any of the other tools. However, given the new trend in developing movie-style trailers for books, it is worth the time to include this strategy in your book promotions. Master lifestyle design guru Tim Ferris did an outrageously good one-minute trailer for his book “4-Hour Body.” (See it here for ideas: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=LIVmsIJyj3A) 5. Pinterest. Pinterest is a virtual pin board—a cork board online. People can “pin” images from other sites on Pinterest, and in turn other people can repin them and share with their networks. This all makes Pinterest extremely viral. Melanie Duncan, founder of the Entrepreneuress Academy (http://www. EntrepreneuressAcademy.com/), stated on a recent webinar that over 80% of pins are repins which means your exposure goes on auto pilot. She went on to say that Pinterest got 10 million unique visitors faster than any other website. Over 10 million Pinterest users are Facebook connected users. Currently, Pinterest is driving more traffic to websites than any other social media site and Pinterest users are twice as likely to purchase.
“...develop a social media plan you can live with” Getting started with Pinterest is easy. Go to http://pinterest.com/ and click on “Join Pinterest.” The next screen will allow you to join using your Facebook account, Twitter account or email. Once your account is set-up, populate your board with your own content. Pin you blog posts, mailing list opt-in pages, product pages (your books for sale) and your YouTube channel. Pinterest is visual so graphics (like book covers), photos and videos work best to garner interest. Last but not least, remember to add the “Pin It” button to your website and to your blog, if separate Continued on pg. 27
site, just like you use the FB and Twitter logos. Now that you have set up your accounts, make sure you spend thirty minutes a week using them. Make sure that your Facebook and Twitter bios reflect your personality so you can connect with like-minded people. Set a goal to do one tweet a day. Record a ten-minute video on a topic you care about, a book, or movie review, and upload it to YouTube. Refer your Facebook friends to a great article you read. On LinkedIn check out who your colleagues are connected to and send out three new network invitations. Add one pin a day to link to one of your recent articles or books, or a book you enjoyed that you want to share with your community. Building your brand with social media will become fun and easy when you develop a social media plan you can live with and consistently engage online for thirty minutes each week. I hope this
article inspires you to get started or reinvigorates your social media use.
Cheryl Patrice Derricotte, is the Chief Information Officer for 30 Minute Manager, LLC, an indie publishing company she founded in 2011. Her new book: Being the Grown-Up, a guide to managing a loved one’s terminal illness and death will be published this winter. Stay in touch with Cheryl at www.30minutemanager.com.
AVAILABLE SERVICES BOOKS Being The Grown-Up, a practical guide for caregivers of loved ones with terminal illnesses (Winter 2012). CONVERSATIONS Confirm Cheryl Patrice Derricotte, Chief Information Officer of 30 Minute Manager, for your upcoming special event, conference, radio and televsion show. TIPS Join the 30 Minute Manager community and get your free report, 30 Minutes To A
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November 2012 AuthorEntrepreneurship.com | 27
How to Use Hashtags on Twitter to Connect with Your Readers
By Beth Barany Excerpted from Twitter for Authors: Social Media Book Marketing for Shy Writers This article is focused on something I learned from Kristen Lamb’s book, We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media. (She’s going to think I’m a stalker! I can’t say enough nice and gushing things about her book!) There it is on page number … Oh I can’t remember. You’ll just have to read it for yourself. Anyway, she talks about thinking like your reader. By that I mean think about all the other things they like in addition to the type of book you write.
“A lot of authors only blog and tweet about their writing life.” If you write young adult fantasy and your books are sparked by fairy tales, informed by hero stories, and feature a strong heroine, chances are you’ll attract readers who
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like Xena, Bones (the TV show), La Femme Nikita (movies and TV shows), all kinds of fairy tales, and other young adult fantasy tales set in fantasy worlds, like Kate Constable’s books, Sharon Shinn’s tales, and the Golden Dawn series. So what does all of this have to do with Twitter?! Glad you asked. A lot of authors only blog and tweet about their writing life. While that’s interesting to other writers—and we do inhale a lot of books—you’re not reaching out to your readers. Who—guess what—are not writers! And don’t care about how your querying is going, or what your struggles with your plot and character development are. Don’t get me wrong! If you like to write about those things, there’s a place— amongst other writers. As readers, what we do care about are other stories that consume our lives. So go to Twitter and type in your favorite TV show, and check out how many other people are chatting about that show too! When you type in your show, add the hashtag # (also called the pound sign) before the word. So it would look like this: #Bones (for the TV show).
Continued on pg. 30
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•A weekly lesson emailed directly to you •Instructions and Guidance in audio mp3 (3-8 minutes long) •A PDF downloadable workbook (10-15 pages) for each stage that you can print and write on •On-demand email support from Book Coach, Beth Barany •And lots of bonuses and special reports! Actual price: $197 Special Price for Magazine Readers: $99 only Call Beth Barany at 510-332-5384 to learn more and to sign up. Or: Email her at: beth@bethbarany.com
What are hashtags? From Daily Writing Tips, I found a useful explanation of what hashtags are. “Hashtags are simply a way of categorizing particular tweets by including within them a keyword prefixed with the hash or ‘pound’ (#) symbol. So, for example, tweets containing writing advice will often contain the ‘#writetip’ tag. The point of this is to make it easier to find all tweets containing writing advice. Similarly, you could find a stream of publication tips by keeping an eye on tweets with ‘#pubtip’ in them. “Using relevant hashtags in your own tweets also increases the likelihood of others seeing your post and becoming a follower. They’re a great way to engage with a particular community of Twitter users.” –More here:http://www.dailywritingtips. com/40-twitter-hashtags-for-writers/
“Using relevant hashtags in your own tweets also increases the likelihood of others seeing your post.” I put this to the test and typed in #Firefly. Remember The TV show? Browncoats unite! This show has been off the air for years, but has developed a cult following. (Yes!) And yes, people are still chatting about it on Twitter. I joined in! Another show I chatted about with fans was Dr. Who. I typed in #DrWho and #DoctorWho and found out the trailer for the new season has been released. Cool! (Sigh! Yes, I’m a huge fan of the current series.) What’s the point? You may be asking. Well, as Daily Writing Tips said, I connected with new folks who may become
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my followers on Twitter. And most importantly, I connected in a real way, with all my enthusiasm, with other like-minded people. Social media, as any social media expert will tell you, is all about being social. Making connections. Ironically, we’re spending more time apart, isolated, tapping away at our computers, tablets and phones. What we really want, what we’ve always wanted, and need more than ever is to be connected, to be a part of the human tribe. As a result of my chatting about favorite Young Adult (YA) books, I learned of a new series to check out, The Queen’s Thief, and gained some fans in the prospect, other people who love reading YA as much as I do. And it just so happens that I write YA fantasy, too. Here are some tips on how to make hashtag connecting fun and related to your ultimate goal of selling books. (That is your ultimate goal, right?!) 1. Choose shows, books, authors, movies that you love! (Easy, right?) 2. Make sure your choices are related to what you write. If you write steamy romance set in contemporary United States, chatting about your love of Star Trek probably has no real relevance to the kind of books you write. 3. As a followup from #2, stay away from controversial topics that don’t serve your author career. In the United States, that would be religion, politics and sex. Unless, like I said, these topics and related shows are directly related to your themes in your books. 4. When you tweet, post as a reader, the raving fan that you are. 5. Above all else, have fun! So writers, go forth and connect with your buddies, other readers who are fans of the types of shows and books and movies you like. Continued on pg. 32
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(Inspired by author and teacher, Kristen Lamb (http://authorkristenlamb. com/) who was doing her own Tuesday series. This article is from a series of posts I called Twitter Tuesdays.) Activity On Twitter, search for your favorite TV show, movie, or book. Use the name or title with a hashtag and participate in the Twitter conversation. Or just lurk with a smile on your face. #DoctorWho anyone? ***
Twitter for Authors: Social Media Book Marketing for Shy Writers Social media book marketing is key to building your author platform and to selling more books. For many authors, the idea of sharing themselves with the world through Twitter and other social media platforms can be petrifying. But in Twitter for Authors: Social Media Book Marketing for Shy Writers, you will discover simple ways to connect with your audience and potential readers. In this easy-to-read guide, written by
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a shy writer, novelist and teacher, Beth Barany, you’ll find the confidence and encouragement to step into social media and the how-to steps on what to say, how to find your followers, and how to present yourself in 140 characters or less. With a focus on Twitter, the author takes you through the principles you need to understand to make this medium useful to your writing career.
“Social media book marketing is key to building your author platform and to selling more books.” Chapters cover such topics as: -- how get to set up your Twitter profile -- how to get comfortable with Twitter -- how to craft messages to get your potential readers curious -- how to build your network on Twitter -- how to use special tools like hashtags and chats -- examples of what other writers say on Twitter -- how to make best use of your Twitter time -- how to use Twitter to build your author career even before you’re published -- and more! Delivered in 20 short chapters, Twitter for Authors: Social Media Book Marketing for Shy Writers is designed to be read and then acted upon, so you can build your audience and your brand today.
Ten Tips for Marketing and Selling Your Book on Facebook
By Dave Sheets As a marketer, who works with authors every day, I frequently get asked about using social media. Authors want to know how much time they should spend with things like Facebook and Twitter…and if it is really effective. Facebook is a great tool that allows authors to engage directly with their readers and fans. This personal engagement gives them permission to talk about their book(s) in an environment that was just not available that long ago. If authors use this tool wisely, it can be a key platform for them to sell books. Here are ten Facebook tips for you to use: 1. Use a program like Hootsuite to organize your Facebook posts (and Tweets) so that you make sure that you are consistent about posting, and you can “batch” the work and “set it and forget it” if you need to. This allows your daily interaction to be responding to your fans and engaging them, rather than generating posts all the time. 2. Build a fan page on Facebook where you can strategically build a relationship with your fans.
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3. Use Twitter to push people to your Facebook page or a specific promotion for your book. 4. Use your book cover(s) as part of your profile pictures at the top of your Facebook fan page. 5. If you want to engage your fans, ask questions to get them talking and interacting. Ask their opinion about topics, plots, characters, etc.
“If authors use this tool wisely, it can be a key platform for them to sell books.” 6. Give away free content. If you are a non fiction writer, and you have key information for your audience that may or may not be in your book, give some of it away. This can be a daily tip, devotion, thought-of-the-day, etc. If you are a fiction writer, share “insider” information about your characters. Give readers something extra that they might not get from your books alone. I have even heard of authors posting as their book’s characters and building a relationship with readers that way. 7. Use Facebook advertising to increase the LIKES on your Facebook fan page. This is an easy way to find the niche market that you have written for, or fans of other authors similar to you. Facebook has some great tools to allow you to narrow your target advertising and build your Continued on pg. 36
followers fast and relatively inexpensively. 8. Share a link for your fans to buy your book on your Facebook page. You may have your own website with a store, or you may want to send your customers to another online retailer.
can see how quickly your book can go viral. This tool minimizes your risk, and is one of the only direct sales options available for books on Facebook.
“Build a fan page on Facebook.” 9. Experiment! New ideas and tools are being created all the time. The most important thing is to do it. It is easy to plan or procrastinate. Quoting our iconic modern philosopher NIKE, ‘Just Do It.’ 10. If you work with Snowfall Press, you can utilize the Snowfall Facebook Bookstore App. This application combines the power of print-on-demand through Snowfall Press, with the social media prowess of Facebook. Imagine sharing your book with your fans, and allowing them to purchase it immediately from your Facebook page! The book “order” is transmitted to Snowfall’s servers, and the book is printed and drop shipped directly to your fan. Now imagine them sharing your book with all of their friends and you
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Dave Sheets is the Vice President of Sales for Snowfall Press, a high tech print-on-demand company helping authors and publishers with their printing and distribution needs. For more information, see www.snowfallpress. com or contact Dave direct at david.sheets@ snowfallpress.com.
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November 2012 AuthorEntrepreneurship.com | 37
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Event Listings Nov. 15, 2012, 6:30 – 10 p.m. Beth Barany to speak on “How to Write Your Book to Start Your Revolution” at Tools to Start Your Revolution! - Ignite Awakened Feminine Activism (Pt. 4). Berkeley, CA. To register: http://revolutiontools.eventbrite.com/. Nov. 17, 2012, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Men of Mystery Event. “Meet 50 Male Masters of Mystery,” including Joseph Finder, John Lescroart, James Rollins, and Ezra Barany. Irvine Marriott Hotel, Orange County, CA. $70 includes luncheon. To register: http:// www.menofmystery.org. December 8, 2012. 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Self-Publishing Conference. Fremont Area Writers. Hyatt Place, 3101 West Warren Ave. Fremont, CA 94538 $55 for CWC Members$65 for Non-Members. Includes lunch. http:// www.cwc-fremontareawriters.org/. January 18-21, 2013, Aloha Writers Conference, Kapalua, HI. http://www. alohawritersconference.com/. February 14-17, 2013, The 10th San Francisco Writers Conference: A Celebration of Craft, Commerce & Community. www.sfwriters.org.
Events are listed for free, space permitting.
For more in-person writer’s events and support groups, check out http:// www.meetup.com, and your local writer’s oganization. Become a part of a writing community. Find the right organization for you. WRITING ASSOCIATIONS Romance Writers of America (RWA) Mystery Writers Association Sisters in Crime Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. California Writers Club Broad Universe National Writers Union Horror Writers of America The Authors Guild International Thriller Writers, Inc. Society for Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators American Christian Fiction Writers
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Author Entrepreneurship Magazine
SUBSCRIBE TODAY: Would you like to continue to receive free issues of Author Entrepreneur Magazine? If so, click here to sign up or go to http://AuthorEntrepreneurshipMagazine.com! ADVERTISERS: Would you like over 1,000 subscribers to see your ad? Our reach also extends to over 10,000 people on Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In. Contact Beth Barany at Beth@ BethBarany.com or call her at (510) 332-5384 for details.
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