5 Online Tasks for Self Publishing Authors to Complete Before NanoWriMo

October 22, 2012

Wendy Stetina NaNoWriMo, Social Media Marketing, Wendy Speaks , , 2 Comments

There is a little more than a week until NanoWriMo begins! If you’re like many self publishing authors, you’ve been spending the month of October preparing for the challenge. You’ve probably started brainstorming and outline and cleaning off your desk, but there are a few online tasks that you should complete before the official beginning of NanoWriMo. Here is your to-do list.

1) Make sure you are registered.

Before you start all the fun tasks below, make sure you are registered for the event. You can do so by visiting NanoWriMo.org. This will ensure that you have access to all the benefits and resources the challenge has to offer.

2) Create social media pages.

Social media is a great way to market yourself and your book, and many readers, agents, and publishers expect you to take advantage of this marketing tool. You could create social media pages for yourself, your book, or your characters. Be creative, and have fun with social media. This is also a great time to start a blog.

3) Connect with other authors.

Of the greatest benefits of  NanoWriMo is the opportunity to connect with other authors. They can encourage and support you during this project. You can connect with authors by visiting the NanoWriMo website as well as by searching social media sites for people who are participating.

4) Download some music.

Music is a great way to become inspired. Download a few songs that you can listen to when you need some inspiration. Listen to songs that your characters would be interested, or search for music that reminds you of your setting or plot.

5) Play on Pinterest.

Pinterest is a great way to find inspiration as well as promote your book. Create boards for your characters, setting, or plot. Be creative, and have fun with this. What outfits would your character wear? What food would your character eat?

I’d love to know, what are you doing to prepare for NanoWriMo?

ABOUT WENDY STETINA: Wendy Stetina is a sales and marketing professional with over 30 years experience in the printing and publishing industry. Wendy works as the Director of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; and together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction, or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Wendy Stetina can put you on the right path.

Nail Down New Readers with Pinterest Book Marketing Tips

October 12, 2012

Elise L. Connors Elise Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Social Media Marketing , Leave a comment

Think of it as a highly sophisticated scrapbooking or bookmarking tool – one that allows you share with and borrow from other users. That element of sharing can be a powerful tool, if you use it to your advantage.

Pinterest is a unique opportunity to reach out to readers and to the writing community in ways you may not have thought of. Once you’ve signed up for an account, apply these techniques to make a positive impression:

  • Build your presence. Once you’ve signed up, get started by building the identity, or brand, you want to project to other Pinterest users. First and foremost, fill out that profile as completely and creatively as you can. The more information you give, the more likely it is that people will follow you and pay attention to what you pin. Then get started pinning the things that resonate with you and define you as a writer.
  • Build pin boards. Create a separate board for each of your books, and perhaps extra boards for other books in your genre that have inspired you.
  • Promote visually. Writers illustrate with words, but Pinterest represents an opportunity to attach memorable visual images to your project. Do you have a book in progress? Consider pinning photos of locations represented in your book, or even actors who resemble how your picture your characters.
  • Go behind the scenes. Don’t be afraid to demonstrate how the “magic” happens with pictures of your writing desk, photos from book signings or industry-related events you attended. Allowing readers a peek inside your world puts a human face on the writing process and helps build a virtual rapport.
  • Pin promotions. Are you offering buy-one-get-one specials or redeeming coupons for discounts? Pin ‘em! Post printable coupons, or offer a promotional code with links to your website or author page where your book is available.
  • Engage. Just as you would with Facebook, WordPress, Twitter and other social media, interact thoughtfully with other users. Post comments and useful links on their pinned items, and re-pin the ones you like.
  • Get “pin-able.” Pinterest is currently the fastest-growing site and some studies suggest that users are spending more time pinning than they are Facebooking. Feed the sharing need by making sure that distinctive red “P” appears on your own website.

How are you using Pinterest to further your own book marketing efforts? Let’s discuss!

Elise Connors ABOUT ELISE L. CONNORS:
Elise works as the Manager of Author Support of Outskirts Press.  She also contributes to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com.Elise and a group of talented book marketing experts assist self-publishing authors and professionals who are interested in getting the best possible exposure for their book.

Guest Post – 5 Social Tools for Authors by John T. Meyer

July 25, 2011

selfpublishingadvisor Book Marketing, Social Media Marketing , , , , Leave a comment

You all know as readers of this blog the publishing industry has changed drastically. Whether you are an author or a publisher the game is different today: cost of production is down, marketing channels are everywhere, and you can even eliminate the middle man. Much of this change can be attributed to technology.

As a social technology consultant I spend everyday helping businesses, brands, and bloggers utilize today’s social technology. Today I thought I’d take a look at what specific tools and channels an author can take advantage of. I’m going to focus on authors, and I also want to point out that every single one of these tools is free.

  1. Name Chk – I’m sure the right way for authors to name a book is at the very end, but I just get excited about names. Use a tool like name chckr to scan across all social networks to see if your desired name is available. You still can name your book whatever you please, but you’re going to want to utilize social media to promote.
  2. Search.Twitter – This website is what takes Twitter to the next level. There are plenty of web apps that do similar things, but when it comes to listening on Twitter it doesn’t get any better. Run searches on keywords in your industry, topics related to your book, and influencers who can help promote. You can use Search.Twitter before writing as a research tool, or after publishing as a promotional tool.
  3. Facebook Ads – I know you’re thinking, I never click on a Facebook ad, but that isn’t the point. A successful author today has to target a specific audience of readers. The best-selling books are targeted at a niche that needs the content. Facebook Ads have an incredible ability to target to exactly who you’re looking for. With the ability to sort by age, gender, geography, education level, and interests you are bound to find your book’s audience. Facebook Ads can be affordable and build massive awareness.
  4. Square – When it is time to sell, you don’t need a POS system or the bookshelves of Barnes & Noble, just sell the book yourself – on the go! Square is that nifty sugar cube like credit card reader that plugs nicely into your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Android’s headphone jack. Just swipe a card and receive the payment. No monthly fees, no cost for the device, just a 2.75% transaction fee (which is quite competitive I might add).
  5. Google+ – Part of my job is jumping on and trying the latest and greatest in social technology, but usually I go into a new network with a lot of skepticism. Especially when Google (a search company first) attempts to do something social (e.g. Google Wave, Google Buzz). However, this time around I’m a bit more intrigued. I believe Google did something right this time with Google+ and I want to spend more time digging into it. As a brand new network, I think the opportunity is out there to build a strong brand on G+, and we all know a best-selling author needs a strong brand.

For questions on these tools or others hit me up on Twitter (@johntmeyer) or feel free to email me at john (at) 9clouds (dot) com. Also, learn more about social technology in our product Sandbox, an online community that makes social technology easy.


Top 5 Ways Self-Publishing Authors Can Take Advantage of Social Media Day

June 30, 2011

Elise L. Connors Social Media Marketing , Leave a comment

Today is Social Media Day. All around the world people are celebrating the birth of social media and its impact on society. Did you know that self-publishing authors can use this day to their advantage? Today is a perfect day to get involved in social media if you haven’t already.

Here are some of the top 5 ways that you can get involved on social media sites and take advantage of Social Media Day:

1. Create a social media account (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, or any other account that may suit your fancy).

2. Re-activate your social media accounts so that you can reconnect with long lost friends.

3. Go to a local Social Media Day event and meet some new people.

4. Post helpful, non-promotional messages on your social media profiles. Vow not to promote your book for the entire day.

5. Start planning a social media party (Twitter parties are the most common) for your book or just for fun!

Keep in mind – the purpose of social media is to connect with others and have a good time. As long as you maintain a certain level of authenticity across your profiles, relationships and possibly new people who are interested in your book may result from your efforts.

So, get out there and enjoy Social Media Day 2011!

Authors Can Get Free Advertising Using Facebook

June 23, 2011

Elise L. Connors Social Media Marketing , Leave a comment

Facebook is a tool to connect and share with friends, family, and others in your various networks. It was started in 2004 and has since evolved from a site that was exclusively available to college to students to a worldwide social network with an audience where 50% are not college students and the fast growing demographic is the 35+ year olds. There are millions of current Facebook users and many more are signing up each day. You may have already known that, but did you know that it can also be used as a tool to get “free advertising”? Well, it can, and when used correctly, it will.

Facebook has become increasingly popular not only among individuals but also among businesses. The reason for this recent boom in Facebook and other forms of social media is because there are no time or space constraints and everything can be much more public for everyone to see. So, it helps businesses grow their network and ultimately “meet people and start conversations”. Many online consulting firms refer to this as the “online cocktail party”.

The first step in building such a network, though, is to create a business page. While you may already have a personal profile, you will want to create a business profile to support your business. The main reason for this is that Facebook has a lot of tools/options built into the business profiles that you will not be able to get with the personal profiles (such as analytics to see how much traffic you’re getting to your page and where that traffic is coming from). If you do have a personal profile, though, you will most likely want to tie that to your business profile.

Another big difference between business pages and personal profiles are how people add you to easily keep up with what you’re doing. Pages get “fans”, which only require the users to add themselves as a fan and involves no interaction on your part. This helps you build your network naturally and easily. Personal profiles, however, get “friends”. After someone adds you as a friend, you then need to accept them in order to allow them to view your profile and other information. If your business network is large (which hopefully it will be), you will not have time to go through and add all of the friends that request you.

Like many of the other social media / blogging type sites, your success is based on how well you take advantage of the give and take relationships that must be made. In the case of businesses, there will be quite a bit of giving in order to take away a new customer. However, the tools available on Facebook allow you to easily connect with your customers and engage them in your businesses and its doings. This will, of course, create a “community around your company”. That community will make it easy for you to obtain the ultimate goal – free advertising!

Once you have developed an online community of “followers”, it will be relatively easy to get the word out when things change in your business. For instance, if you introduce a new product/service offering and your Facebook “fans” catch wind of it, you can expect the majority of them to spread the word to their friends, family, etc. You may even find your fans are reposting your content within Facebook and further “advertising” what you announced. This form of advertising did not cost you anything. So, you have natural buzz about your product/service. Additionally, customers are more likely to trust natural buzz as opposed to marketing speak.

After creating your business page on Facebook, you want to remember to post interesting and informative content. Your job here is not to be a sales person. Your job is to post things to help people better understand your products or services, provide tips, or unravel a concern within your industry. In doing that, you will find yourself positioned as a natural resource and your network will begin to look to you as the go to person in your industry. In turn, you have built trust and those customers will more easily turn to you to utilize your products/services when needed (or wanted). That’s how Facebook (as well as other social networks) can be used to get free advertising.

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