Wow, besides having my children, becoming an author was the thrill of my life ! When I saw my book on my XOXO Publisher’s web site and
then on Amazon, I thought I was queen for a day ten times over! As any good
writer knows, the hard part has only just started when you publish your book,
because then there’s the dreaded p word ~
promotion!
If I knew then, what I know now, I’d be a lot
richer and have another book under my belt! Promotion takes time and experience
so, I have decided to share with you the things I have learned in the easiest
element of promotion for me, which is Facebook.
Why is it my favorite? Because you can easily erase a post if you screw up, unlike
e-mail that once it’s gone and you just realize you have two typo’s of the same
word—too late! Been there done that. Nothing like egg on your face as a new
writer, you get use to it!
I’d like to share my research and fun things I
have learned that will help make your life a little easier when promoting.
1.
Add a picture! When you write something and you want to get it
noticed, add something to feast your eyes on! You can only post your book cover so many times before people get tired of seeing it. Alternate it occasionally
with a ‘beautiful’ picture. I have had great success with images from Photobucket {there are other sites
also} and have gained another target audience that I never realized I had…
men! Actually men and women have
both commented on the pictures I have used with my promos. I choose what I call
fantasy pictures, which I feel are very romantic and alluring {not sleazy, there
is a difference} and it has been very effective in getting readers interested
in what I have to say. I have had several men read and review my book because of it. Don’t believe me? See the difference in your views. Put two post an hour apart saying the
same thing, but on one of them attach a picture. In twenty-four hours check
each post on the left hand bottom side of your fan page. It definitely works!
I am posting an example of pictures I might use to “emphasize” a promo underneath.
I am posting an example of pictures I might use to “emphasize” a promo underneath.
2.
Know your target audience! Research what groups your target market hangs out
with. Are you targeting bloggers? Then search for blogging groups within Facebook and become a member. Also,
what is the age group you want to attract? Google what is trending for that age group and research it. Just by becoming a member of these groups you will start seeing
people from your target market actually request to be friends with you and I
feel this is a great way to network and promote.
3. Be friendly and interact with
the groups. 'Like' the posts of others, leave positive feedback and comments,
add others as friends when you interact with them and start your 'following'
from here. You may not know someone who is posting a 25th anniversary
picture or a cute new puppy or new family addition, but you can take a few seconds
to like or say great picture! People notice the attention!
4. Don’t lose
momentum! Fans really respond to seeing content from you every day. If you can’t be
available then use http://hootsuite.com/ which will let you program your post while you are
away. Facebook also has a cute
little feature on the bottom left hand corner shaped like a tiny clock. You can click on that to schedule your post also. Another tip is to post things relevant
to your content, for example, my book, Radiance: Love after Death, deals with
women who are suffering from depression and going through a divorce. I write
uplifting little tag lines of encouragement and always attach a picture.
Do you write stories about dragons or wolves? You got it! Start posting those
pics and watch interest increase.
4.
Status Tagging. This is a fairly new feature on Facebook and is better explained by
them. It will be a great way to let your friends and groups see what you have
to say. Here is the link to check that out. https://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=109765592130
5. Don’t
mix personal and private. This is very important. Be professional!
Please keep your personal and Facebook
fan page separate. I can’t stress this enough. When I see authors rant for days
about their fight with their boyfriends or their political pros and cons I am
so turned off. Also stay away from the negative and gross pictures. What do I
mean? Don’t be sharing pictures of your terrible black and blue bruise on your
big toe to get sympathy. Remember also to not make snide comments on other
people’s status updates. Negative comments get negative reactions. I saw an
author post over thirty snide remarks laced with profanity about a reviewer who
didn’t like her book. Needless to say, she didn’t have too many takers for
reviews when her new book came out after a public display of temper. Resort to
private FB or email messages and keep it out of the public eye.
6. Links
and apps. Big important rule: Always attach your
media links to your FB promos, any blogs and signatures. Check them to be sure they work. One
bad letter or skipped space could mean no sales! They can’t buy it, if they can’t
find it! As authors, we also have a lot of content to promote on several different
platforms. Besides Amazon, Twitter and LinkedIn there are dozens of others too
numerous to mention. There would have to be ten of us to get it all done! Link
as many as you can to conserve your time doing more important things than
duplicating the same thing over and over again. To give you an example how easy
it is, I will post the link to join your Facebook
and Twitter accounts www.facebook.com/twitter. Next, I would like to say a brief word on some new apps Facebook has created to link authors
books to their buy sites.There are apps to do almost anything. You can create a
fan page, post videos or do contest to name a few. You can find a more thorough
explanation of how they promote and how to add them here: http://pages.appaddictive.com/apps_list.php?app=easypage
8. Spice
up your author picture! Oh, my gosh! I have seen some of the most
unflattering pictures of authors on their profile pics! Invest in a professional
photograph or just use a photo editing site like Photomania or Pikmonkey{on
Facebook apps} to spruce yourself
up, to erase imperfections, add a funky frame or effect like vintage. You could
even wear a hat, boa or juicy red lipstick if you want to stand out. Don’t use
Aunt Sally’s pic of you at a barbecue and your hair looking unkempt and expect
people to want to read your work! Just invent and have fun!
9.
Be funny! People love humor! I love the someecards
that people post and you can even design your own. Funny animal pictures get me
every time too. See what I mean below.
10. Don’t
be annoying! Do not play any of the social games on your
professional Facebook page. There is
nothing wrong with that, but your fans and fellow co-workers are going to get
lots of game request and they won’t like that. Rule of thumb is if it bothers
you, it will probably bother them. Make it a point also to not beg! We all want
to say ‘Pleeese, buy my book! I’ve got nine cats and two children to feed!’
Desperate is never attractive!
I hope you have found some or all of these
helpful. New things arise and become available every day so if you have found
something that has been helpful to you on Facebook promotion please comment here
under my social links:
Buy links for Radiance: Love after Death
Social Media:
http://twitter.com/juliet2cool4u
http://debrajayneeast.blogspot.com
Dreamscapes
book Trailers. https://www.facebook.com/groups/287118134686158/
What strategies have you used to get people to like your page? Let us
know in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by!
