Social Media Just for Writers

Indie Author Weekly Update – February 22, 2019

February 22, 2019 By Frances Caballo 1 Comment

Welcome to the Indie Author Weekly Update. All the posts here discuss book marketing but in different contexts. Anne R. Allen once again doesn’t fail to disappoint in her newest post about superfans. Under the email marketing heading, you’ll find two great blog posts.

Enjoy them all.

Book Marketing Strategies

Should Writers Despair If We Don’t Have Superfans? by Anne R. Allen: “I keep reading about them. People swear they exist. But I’ve never met one. Or even seen its elusive footprint. No, I’m not talking about Bigfoot. I’m talking about the author Superfan. Lots of publishing experts I respect are saying we need to go out and get us some of these Superfans. But I’m not sure where to find them—although apparently vast herds of them roam the booky regions of Cyberia.”

Paul Jarvis describes in new book’s launch (Company of One) in this outline: “For this article, let’s focus on everything after the finished manuscript, because I cover a lot on finding an agent and publisher in my other article on how I got a book deal.” ‏

Book Promotion: Do This, Not That – February 2019 from TheBookDesigner.com and by Amy Collins: “This month has been all about working with authors to help them focus on their markets and really find their readers.”

Social Media

Important Reasons Authors Need to Be Using Social Media by Emiie Rabitoy: “Social media is something most take for granted these days. Not only is social media something that helps close the distance between friends and family who are far apart, but it can also be helpful in a person’s work life too. Social media can be very beneficial for authors, from building relationships with readers, to book marketing and gaining knowledge and feedback.”

Email Marketing

How to announce your book with an e-mail blast by Sandra Beckwith: “I’ve received quite a few book announcement e-mails lately. I want to be excited for the authors, because this is a big deal. Sadly, though, most of the messages aren’t very compelling. More often than not, they’re self-congratulatory (“I’ve achieved my dream!”) or self-serving (“If you buy my book on Amazon in the next 24 hours, I can become a best-selling author!”).”

Book Marketing: How to Add Mailing List Signups to Your Author Website from Alliance of Independent Authors: “If you’ve spent any time reading or listening to ALLi’s advice on connecting with readers and growing your audience, you’ll know that one of the best ways to do this is via your author mailing list.”

Quote of the Week

Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.

Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!

Ryshia Kennie

Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She wrote several social media books including Social Media Just for Writers and The Author’s Guide to Goodreads. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online, building their platform, and finding new readers. Her clients have included authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for her free email course.

Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers

5 Little Changes That’ll Make a Big Difference in Your Social Media Presence

February 18, 2019 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

When was the last time you analyzed your social media presence?

I mean really took a good look at it.

Once we set up our social media profiles and pages, we get so absorbed or even harried about keeping up with our postings that we forget to review our:

avatars
banner images
bios
overall review of our updates
return on investment (ROI)

So, let’s talk about these items.

Steps to Improving Your Social Media Presence

Social Media Avatars

When was the last time you updated your avatar?

If you took a selfie in the past or had a friend snap a picture of you, it’s time for you to hire a professional to take some shots of you.

While she’s at it, have her take a picture of you writing and reading. And in other poses as well. You can use these additional shots on the back of your book.

Remember, an avatar needs to be a close-up shot of your head. Don’t wear sunglasses or hats when you take this picture. They will obstruct an image of your beautiful self and won’t let your readers see you clearly.

Banners Are Critical to Your Social Media Presence

Don’t ignore social media banners (header on Twitter) and just put up anything. Use Canva.com to create your banners or use a graphic artist at Fiverr.

I don’t recommend that you fall for the $5 deals. Spend some money and pay at least $30 per image.

Here’s a beautiful Twitter header that I’m certain Joanna Penn hired someone to create:

Here’s mine. It’s not too shabby, eh? I used Canva.com to build it.

Keep in mind that your banners needn’t be static. On Facebook, for example, it’s a good idea to change the images quarterly.

I know that Joanna will change her Twitter headers when she runs a promotion or when she launches a new book.

My header image above is for the two books I market the most, especially Social Media Just for Writers. In reality, it’s time for me to create a new header and new banner images for the rest of my social media. I’ve used this version for quite some time, so this post is a good reminder for myself. 😎

Is Your Social Media Bio Still Current?

When was the last time you revised your bio? Keep in mind your bios need to be identical on all social media platforms. That rule applies to avatars and banners as well.

I haven’t changed my bio in a while, but I’m still happy with it. It includes my mission for authors, describes what I do, and most importantly, it has a call to action to sign up for my email course.

Your bio should also include a call to action to sign up for your email list in your bio.

Did you write a new book? Your bio should include its title. Are you offering a new freebie? Pitch that in your bio.

I like British thriller author, Mark Dawson’s bio:

The author of the John Milton and Soho Noir series. For free copy of my best-selling novel THE BLACK MILE join my list at http://eepurl.com/Cai5X

Go to Twitter and Facebook, search for your favorite authors or writers you admire, and review their bios. Then mimic the best ones.

Review Your Social Media Updates

Now it’s time to scrutinize your social media posts.

Does every tweet have an image? Do you always add pictures to your Facebook updates? Images increase engagement so don’t even think about posting anything online without adding an image or video.

Next, how often do you post updates? On your Facebook page, it’s ideal to post updates twice a day. At least, post once daily.

On Twitter, I post at least seven times daily. I suggest you at least tweet five times daily. Remember, don’t use those tweets to talk about yourself. Promote the books of your colleagues and your followers’ tweets.

On Instagram, post once daily or at least four times a week.

[Read more…]

Indie Author Weekly Update – February 15, 2019

February 15, 2019 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

Welcome to the Indie Author Weekly Update. I hope that you like how I’m categorizing my roundup now. This week’s categories are eBooks, book marketing, audiobooks, BookBub ads, and online book tours. Ostensibly, I could have added BookBub ads and online book tours under book marketing but I wanted to make sure that those particular blog posts stood out.

I hope you enjoy this week’s Indie Author Update and that you have a wonderful weekend.

eBooks

eBook Distribution Round-Up with Comparison and FAQs by David Wogahn: “eBook distribution options in 2019 have expanded greatly the past two years. There are scores of online eBook retailers around the world and eBook aggregators abound to help self-publishers easily make their book available for sale.”

Book Marketing

Best Practices for Authors Looking to Optimize Their Marketing Strategy by Kimberley Grabas: “It’s an unfortunate truth that writing a good book doesn’t guarantee an author’s success. With so many others vying for readers’ attention, it’s important to implement an effective marketing strategy. Various brands rely on best practices instilled by a Facebook advertising specialist or Instagram expert to promote their products, and authors may consider doing the same to attract a broader audience.”

Street Teams: How to Run a Smooth and Successful Campaign from TheBookDesigner.com and by Angela Ackerman: “The prospect of a book launch can be intimidating. In today’s post, guest post author, Angela Ackerman, shares many tips about how to work with a street team to make your book launch a success. You won’t want to miss this article.”

AudioBooks

Understanding Audiobook Production: An Interview with Rich Miller from Jane Friedman and by Kristen Tsetsi: “Like many indie authors grateful for new outlets for their work, I was drawn last year to the world of audiobook production. This was thanks in large part to the recommendation of author friend Ian Thomas Healy, who’d had a positive experience adapting his work for audio. His personal history with it, combined with the rise in audiobook popularity, led me to follow Healy’s example and create an audiobook at ACX, Amazon’s audiobook production platform.”

BookBub Ads

How To Sell Books In 2019 (Part 4) by David Gaughran: “Welcome to the fourth part of my series on how to sell books in this year we have all agreed to call 2019 – despite what can only be described as rather shaky ground. And while we’re on the topic of letting dates slip, sorry about the delay in getting the final episode of this mini-series to your inbox. I handed BookBub Ads Expert to the editor yesterday – finally! – and that was taking all my time. More on that below.”

Online Book Tours

How to Run Your Own Online Book Tour and Save Money! by Penny Sansevieri: “We’ve all heard about an online book tour, also often referred to as a book blog tour. They’re a great book promotion tool (if done right) and can really enhance the exposure for your book with readers connected to these blogs. But where do you start? Let’s dig in!”

Quote of the Week

Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.

Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!

Ryshia Kennie

Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers

Using Video Marketing? Why It’s Important and 3 Apps to Try

February 11, 2019 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

I keep telling writers that video marketing is huge, especially this year.

Why?

There are several reasons why you need to incorporate video into your marketing. Here are a few:

According to Comscore, adding video to your website can increase the chance of a front-page Google result by 53 times. To find some video SEO tips, read this post from Vidyard.

Video Marketing Is Popular and Effective

People love videos and videos tend to be more successful in capturing consumer attention. Okay, now think about all those videos you watch on Facebook, for example. Aren’t they more fun to watch that the posts you have to read? I rest my case.

Video attracts more engagement on social media. Think back to Facebook again. Videos more often that posts go viral or at least draw thousands of Likes. People love video.

According to BrainShark, 65% of viewers watch more than three-quarters of a video, which is more than I predict people read of text. So with video, consumers (readers) pay attention to more of your messaging.

Create Strong Emotional Connections

With video, you can create strong emotional connections. Remember the Budweiser commercial featuring the blonde Lab? That video had me in tears. Video, according to Vidyard, is the “most powerful way to evoke emotions online.” Vidyard goes on to say:

It’s King because it offers a slew of attributes above and beyond traditional content like tone of voice, face expressions, and music, to name a few.

Finally, video has a higher conversion rate than text. So, if you want your readers to buy more books, do more video.

2 Video Apps to Make Production & Editing Easy

Producing video needn’t be expensive. You don’t need to hire a videographer for every video you post. Here are some apps you can use.

Wave.video

With this online application, you can make video ads and videos for social media. The app offers 30+ formats optimized for every social media platform.

A cool aspect to Wave.video is that it has a 200-million stock video clips library at your access. It also has 300,000 royalty-free audio clips that range from symphonies to piano tracks and more.

You can customize your videos with fonts and watermarks.

Afraid you’ll be overwhelmed by this app? It offers tutorials and workshops to teach you how to create and edit your videos.

Pricing starts at $39/month.

[Read more…]

Indie Author Weekly Update – February 8, 2019

February 8, 2019 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

Once again, this week’s Indie Author Update is packed with informative blog posts from the week that I consider must-read. Anne R. Allen, as usual, wrote a killer post on authors’ online presence. Then Christina McDonald and Indies Unlimited wrote stellar posts on email marketing. There’s so much to love in the posts below and so much information to help you sell more bools.

Blogging

How to Start a Blog by Amy Lynn Andrews: “Are you wondering how to start a blog? I’m glad you’re here! In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to create your own blog, no technical experience required. (It’s easier and faster than you think.) Plus, I’ll answer some frequently asked questions and share some of my pro tips along the way.”

Online Marketing

Your Online Presence: 10 Mistakes for Authors to Avoid by Anne R. Allen: “These days, an author’s online presence is of vital importance to a career, whether we’re published or planning to publish. Whether we’re indie, hybrid, or trad-pubbed, it’s not only essential to be easy to find online, but we need to keep a professional presence and guard our author brand and reputation.”

Email Marketing

How to Grow an Email Newsletter Starting from Zero from Jane Friedman’s blog and by Christina McDonald: “An email list is your secret weapon for selling books—it is a direct connection to your reader. But when I got my first book deal, I had no audience, no author Facebook page, and no email list. I knew I needed to build awareness to give my book the best chance to succeed. Here is my step-by-step guide to how I built my email list to 6,000 subscribers in one year.”

How Can I Gain More Subscribers for My Author Mailing List? From Indies Unlimited: “Ah yes, the question that so many of us toss and turn at night trying to answer: How do I get more subscribers for my newsletter? We’ve figured out how to use Mailerlite or Mailchimp of some other mail delivery service, now how do we find readers who want to hear from us? Here are a few ways the IU staff builds their subscriber lists.”

Instagram

Top Instagram Updates You Need to Know in 2019 – January Edition by Ana Gotter and from AdExpresso: “As you’re taking a look at your social media marketing strategies for 2019, it would be a helpful start to see all of the new changes happening with the platform, and we’re here to help with our first Instagram update post of the year.”

Of Note

This post is awesome and I’m so jealous I didn’t write it. If you want more reviews, read this post.

How to Get Book Reviews: The Ultimate Manifesto by Jordan Ring and the team at Archangel Ink: “This is without a doubt the most comprehensive guide you’ll find on how to get your book out there, and into the hands of people that are willing and able to give it a read and share helpful feedback with you.”

Quote of the Week

Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.

Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!

Ryshia Kennie

Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers

14 Facebook Pages for Authors to Review

February 4, 2019 By Frances Caballo 2 Comments

I tell writers, “Facebook is tough.” Specifically, I am referring to Facebook pages. The organic reach makes it difficult to gain traction at times.

Like it or not, your posts organically reach just 2% of your fans’ newsfeeds.

That’s horrible.

HubSpot (an all-in-one inbound marketing and sales platform) agrees that organic reach on Facebook business pages (aka Facebook author pages) is dismal:

“In January 2018, according to Facebook’s Head of News Feed Adam Mosseri, Facebook began to “shift ranking to make News Feed more about connecting with people and less about consuming media in isolation.”

“As a result, marketing content was poised to take a backseat to content by friends and family — a value that Facebook says it originally had, and that it’s trying to return to. What this means that of the number of people who have Liked your Facebook page, about 10% of them see your posts. This also means that if you want more of your fans to see your posts, you need to provide great content consistently and plan to have a Facebook advertising budget.”

However, worldwide, there are over 2.32 billion monthly active users as of December 31, 2018. With that many users, it’s difficult to ignore Facebook.

And Facebook’s advertising feature is impressive and works exceedingly well and you can use it to boost your reach and find members of your reading demographic on Facebook. With its custom audiences, you can target just about any person, cause, and geographical region with your message.

So let’s take a look at some Facebook pages.

Facebook Pages Authors Need to Watch

There is a lot of variety in how these authors handle their Facebook pages. I like Anne Lamott, Isabel Allende, and Joanna Penn’s pages best.

Anne Lamott 509,111 Likes

Anne Lamott doesn’t post regularly, but she does seem to write her own updates, which is a plus for someone of her standing.

In a recent post, she praised Brain Pickings and Maria Popova. How’s that for networking and helping others out?

In another post, she shared the titles of books she’d read in 2019. As you can see, she’s building great karma with other writers, which is something all authors should do.

A post of her reading from a book triggered 904 Likes, 38 comments, 142 shares, and 29,000 views. Wow!

Be sure to Like her page and emulate what she does.

Isabel Allende 1,072,187 Likes

Isabel Allende, a native of Chile, writes her posts in both English and Spanish. (Spanish-speaking social media users tend to outnumber other demographics.) In the past, she has shared historical images, birthday messages to the Likes of Gloria Steinem, and information about nonprofits.

I love Isabel Allende’s Facebook author page. She apparently writes posts herself and is very open about her life. On January 5 she wrote this:

As you can see, that post has 17,000 Likes, 3,800 comments, and 637 shares.

On December 21, she posted a picture of herself in a market in the town of Achao on the island of Chiloe. That post generated 4,500 Likes, 256 comments, and 235 shares.

Look at Allende’s posts, follow her, and learn from her.

Mark Dawson 28,656

Compared to Allende, indie thriller author Mark Dawson has fewer page Likes and a great following.

A recent post, Dawson decided to give away a free, signed book. That post triggered 22 Likes and 94 comments. In another post, he asked people to write a review of his books. That post just triggered seven Likes.

It’s worth following Dawson to look for his Facebook ads. They are stellar.

He lacks some engagement on Facebook, but I suspect he’s mostly there for the advertising potential. And having more than 28,000 page Likes is nothing to complain about.

The Creative Penn (Joanna Penn) 25,020 Likes

Joanna Penn regularly posts to her page. She’s more into Twitter, where she has an active following of more than 84,000 followers.

Her Facebook page has a great profile picture and banner image. She posts information about her podcasts (her podcast is one of the best for authors) and responds to comments her readers leave. Kudos to her!

I suggest you follow her on Twitter, Like her Facebook page, and subscribe to her podcast on iTunes. She knows her stuff and is willing to share her knowledge.

Nick Stephenson 21,302 Likes

Nick Stephenson, similar to Dawson and Penn, is another British, indie, thriller author. His profile picture reveals his sense of humor and his banner image is perfect in that it points to the sign-up link for his newsletter.

He doesn’t post regularly on Facebook. He posted a funny image of himself in green sneakers on November 9, 2018, and before that a post on March 2. I can’t find examples where he’s replied to readers’ comments either.

It appears that he uses Facebook for the advertising opportunities and focuses on other types of marketing, such as developing a VIP list or street team. He also created an author marketing webinar that he uses to supplement his writing income.

Among the three British, indie, thriller authors, Joanna Penn’s Facebook page is the best.

[Read more…]

Indie Author Weekly Update – February 1, 2019

February 1, 2019 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

Welcome back to the Indie Author Weekly Update. In this week’s five posts you’ll find book marketing, Facebook marketing, and social media marketing tips and strategies. Put them to use to sell more of your books.

Have a great weekend!

Do Some Book Reviews Matter More than Others by Penny Sansevieri: “Book reviews are still a great way to sell a book, even in 2019. The truth is, people like what other people like – and book reviews are a nod to that. But with so many books published each day (4,500 or more) it’s getting harder and harder to gain access to book-review sites. We all have limited time to market, and going after book reviews takes time. In some cases, a lot of time. So which reviewers should you target, and which should you leave behind? Let’s break down all your book-review options!”

Book Tours Are More Than Just Showing Up from Publisher’s Weekly and by Chris Pavone: “In the abstract, a book tour looks like it might be tremendous fun: packed houses of adoring fans, expense-account dinners in fancy far-flung restaurants. I’ve now promoted three books across a couple dozen states and 10 countries, and my experience has looked much more like bleary-eyed airport breakfasts at one end of the day and modest register tallies at the other, which begs the question, was this worth it?”

Consider these 8 Marketing Tips in 2019 from Writer Unboxed and by Ann Marie Nieves: “It’s my 20-something year in PR, my 10th in social media, and good ole lucky 13 as a tiny business owner. While I’m thoroughly enjoying the wisdom of my 40s, I can honestly say that each day at my desk, seated in my well-worn chair, feels brand new.”

The Ultimate 2019 Social Media Holiday Calendar for All Your Marketing Needs from Content Standard: “Nothing brings people together more than a reason to celebrate, and holiday-related content is always a major win for brands when it comes to generating awareness and taking part in the global conversations that get their audiences excited.”

How to Reduce Marketing Anxiety and Confusion by Jane Friedman: “I’ll never forget a conversation I had years ago with a colleague who runs online courses for authors. He emphasized the necessity of teaching tactics: tangible, actionable steps that students can take toward their goals. If he focused too much on big-picture strategy or abstract theory, he said, he lost attention and course satisfaction.”

Advertising with Barnes and Noble from TheBookDesigner.com and by Amy Collins: “Joining in the party (although a tad late) is Barnes and Noble who announced last week that they are now offering a self-service advertising program. The program is now in Beta and quickly maxed out on takers. Within 24 hours after the announcement, B&N’s page showed that they were no longer accepting Beta testers for the program.”

Of Note

This isn’t a new post but it’s a must read and evergreen: The Reasons Branding Confuses You and How To Fix That Right Now from Rachel Thompson: “Awhile back, I wrote an article, Branding 101, which detailed the basics for writers what branding is all about. Read that first if you haven’t yet, then come on back. over. This branding article by professor, author, and Forbes writer David Vinjamuri is also quite helpful.”

Quote of the Week

Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.

Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!

Ryshia Kennie

Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers

How Not to Market Your Book – 12 Rookie Mistakes

January 28, 2019 By Frances Caballo 3 Comments

Did you just publish your first book? It’s an exciting time, isn’t it? You’re probably thinking that now it’s time to market your book.

To learn about how to market your book, you’re probably reading blog posts like mine and absorbing as much information as you can.

Writers put so much energy into writing their books that they have little time to think about marketing them until the final edit is done.

That’s when your head tends to come up and when you stop typing. You think to yourself, “It’s time to publish!”

Mistakes You Make When You Market Your Book

No. 1 – You Start Too Late

The first mistake writers make is that they focus solely on their writing and not on their marketing while they write a book.

Sure, your writing needs to be top-notch, but if you don’t start to market your book early enough, it won’t matter how well you wrote your book.

As soon as you have an idea for your book and start to write it, start your marketing.

Solution: Find a reputable website developer and build a website. Here’s a post I wrote on author websites. Read it. If you need referrals to website developers, ask me.

No. 2 – You Don’t Blog

Start a blog. At this stage, you can blog about your writing process, characters you kill off, places where you write, and reasons why you write.

No. 3 – You Think You Don’t Have Time for Social Media

think about your readers. Who are they? Why would they want to read your book?
Look at Pew Research Centersocial media studies to determine which social media networks your readers use. Start to use at least one social media network that your readers use.

Six months later, learn how to use another social media network that your readers use.

No. 4 – You Exclude Your Publishing to Paperback Books

This is a real problem that I’ve encountered with some clients.

Publishing today, if you want to be successful, needs to include paperbacks, ebooks, audiobooks, and box sets.

The more options you give your readers, the more ways they’ll have to buy what you write.

No. 5 – You Go Wide Right Away

When you start out in publishing, it’s preferable not to go wide. In other words, with your first and second books, limit your publishing to Amazon. Doing this will make your books eligible for KDP Select, which will enable you to discount your book to $.0 for five days each quarter.

Also, when you are in the KDP Select Program, Amazon automatically enrolls your book in Kindle Unlimited as well as the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, a collection of books that Amazon Prime members who own a Kindle can choose one book each month with no due dates.

The KDP Select Program offers opportunities that new authors can benefit from.

Once you write your third book, then go wide. In other words, use a service, such as Draft2Digitalto publish your books on iTunes, Kobo, and elsewhere.

No. 6 – You Think Giving Books Away for Free is Dumb

I used to think that. I figured that after all my research, writing, three editors, designers, etc., that it would be ludicrous to give my book away for free.

Man was I wrong.

As a new writer, you don’t have readers yet. One way to acquire readers is to give your book away for free.

Sign up for KDP Select and use your free promotional days. Send free copies of your books to leaders in your niche and industry. Send copies of your books to bloggers and give away ten copies of your book on Goodreads.

No. 7 – You Don’t Learn About Amazon’s Categories

Before uploading your book to Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing, learn about keyword phrases and categories.

Here is a list of the BISAC codesyou need to know so you can find your categories.

Also, learn about keyword phrases. This is an excellent postfrom Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur about how to conduct your keyword research.

No. 8 – You Ignore Goodreads

Please don’t ignore Goodreads. It’s a social media network for readers.

When you join, don’t use this channel purely for marketing. Goodreads, above everything else, is a network designed for readers. A good number of its users have graduate degrees.

So when you join Goodreads, build your library of books you’ve read and write reviews regularly. Also, join a group and give some of your books away for free.

No. 9 – You Don’t Help to Market Your Colleagues’ Books

As you write your book, get to know writers in your genre. After you publish, continue to meet other writers in your genre. Retweet them, share their blog posts, and help them to be a success.

In other words, build a cooperative gathering of similarly minded writers who help each other find success.

No. 10 – You Talk About Your books and Yourself too Much on Social Media

Too often, writers view social media as advertising channels. They aren’t.

The essence of social media is that it’s social. Ask and answer questions. Find information that your readers would love that you didn’t produce.

Social media isn’t about you and your books and blog posts. It’s about the community you build.

No. 11 – You Don’t Include a Letter to the Reader in Your Book Requesting a Review

Every book needs a letter to the reader. Some people put it in the front of the book, but most people include it after the last page.

Thank your readers for buying your book and tell them how much it would mean to you if they would leave a review, especially on Amazon.

No. 12 – You Don’t Develop a Street Team

A writer needs help selling her books. You can hire assistants or people like myself or publicists. Even if you hired those three categories of experts, you would still need a street team t.

Members of a street team receive advance reader copies of your books, they tweet about your books, post on Facebook about your books, and take a picture of your cover and put it on Instagram.

In other words, these readers love your books so much that they talk about them and recommend them. They may even help you get speaking gigs locally.

Do whatever you can to develop a dedicated street team. And treat them well. Give the members of your street team chachkies, free books, a kindle, or an Amazon gift certificate. These are your most dedicated readers, and they deserve your loyalty and special treatment.

Want to know all of my best social media marketing tips? Get a copy of Social Media Just for Writers.

Well written, well researched – well thought out. This book is a must have!

Ryshia Kennie

Online Book Marketing Strategies for Writers

Indie Author Weekly Update – January 25, 2019

January 25, 2019 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

Welcome to the Indie Author Weekly Update. There are so many posts here for you to enjoy. Anne R. Allen wrote a killer post on guest blogging and Joan Stewart will show you how to make money aside from book sales. If you hold contests using Facebook, reading ShortStack’s post is a must.

Enjoy the selection this week.

Guest Blogging is the Best FREE Publicity for Writers: 12 Tips for Landing Effective Guest Blog Spots by Anne R. Allen: ” Most author marketing gurus will tell you that guest blogging is one of the best ways to promote your book. Beth Hayden wrote on Jane Friedman’s blog about the many ways guest blogging builds platform and sells books. She points out that it increases your authority as well as getting your name out there and increasing sales. And it’s right up your alley. You don’t have to be a great photographer or a telegenic public speaker. All you have to do is write. You got this.”

Building a Platform for Your Work When You’re Unpublished from Jane Friedman and by Michael Warner: “After spending thirty years in other fields, I’ve recently embarked on a career as a writer. And what I’ve found is that great how-to advice—from sources like Jane Friedman, Writer’s Digest, and kboards—actually seems to work.”

9 Inexpensive Revenue Streams for Broke or Struggling Authors by Joan Stewart by from TheBookDesigner.com: “I’ve always counseled my author clients to create revenue streams beyond their books. Print books, in particular, suck up money like a vacuum cleaner, with most of it spent on editing, printing, cover and interior design, marketing and publicity.”

Cover design is a huge factor in your book’s success, so here are 12 questions to ask when hiring a designer from BookBub Partners and by Diana Urban: “Your book’s cover provides a reader with a first impression of your work, and despite all advice to the contrary, people will judge your book by its cover. Reedsy found that professionally designed covers increased display ad clicks between 12.5% to 53%, and early BookBub testing found that a good cover can account for 30% more clicks on a Featured Deal.”

8 Facebook Competition Rules You Should Never Ignore from ShortStack: “To keep your Facebook Page compliant, you need to make sure that you adhere to all of Facebook’s competition rules. Go over this list before you launch your next contest to ensure that you get the exposure you want without risking your account.”

What authors need to know about Snapchat by Sandra Beckwith: “According to a Pew Research Center study, Facebook is the fourth social network of choice for teens ages 13 to 17, after YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. Only 10 percent of the teens surveyed say they use Facebook most often.” Note: Learn more about Snapchat by buying my book Social Media Just for Writers.

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20 Pinterest Accounts to Follow for Authors

January 21, 2019 By Frances Caballo 2 Comments

Which Pinterest accounts do you follow? I tend to follow accounts that fall within my interests.

For example, I love to collect images of bookstores, bookshelves, and libraries, so I follow people who have similar boards. But I also like to follow other authors.

I’ve also been thinking about Pinterest a lot lately because it’s been so long since I’ve written a post devoted to this search engine.

In the beginning, I loved to escape to this network to build my boards and find eye-catching images.

These days, I use Pinterest more seriously. I use it almost exclusively to pin images from my blog as well as the author quotes I post on Fridays.

Pinterest is a powerful referral source so while you can just use it for fun, don’t forget that you should also use it to post images from your blog posts, create boards around the books you’ve published, and create boards on future books.

I thought we could explore together how other authors and writing-related organizations use Pinterest by examining their boards below.

Pinterest Accounts – Authors

Joel Friedlander, The Book Designer

It’s no surprise that author, blogger, and book designer Joel Friedlander’s boards focus primarily on images from his blog, and about book covers, the templates he sells, the books he’s written, and book production. His account receives 64,600 monthly viewers.

Jane Friedman

Author, publishing consultant, and conference speaker Jane Friedman has thirteen boards. She pins images about getting published, book marketing, digital tools, and Amazon and the publishing industry. She has 3,000 followers and has 24,800 monthly viewers.

K.M. Weiland – Helping Writers Become Authors

Author K.M. Weiland created 39 boards on quotes, writer resources, and boards related to writing historical fiction. She has 7,000 followers and enjoys 318,4000 monthly viewers.

Rachel Thompson

Rachel Thompson is an author and marketer who writes about book marketing as well as her experience as a survivor of child sexual abuse. She started NaNoProMo to help authors who participate in NaNoWriMo market their books. She has boards on great blog posts, 30-day book marketing strategies, and PTSD. She has 6,000 followers and has 17,000 monthly viewers.

Meg Waite Clayton

Meg Waite Clayton is a New York Times bestselling novelist. Her boards tend to focus on her writing life. She has 109 followers and 9,400 monthly viewers.

Roz Morris

Roz Morris is also a writer. Her boards include places to write, Alliance of Indie Authors, and adorable covers. She has 854 followers.

Pinterest Accounts – Services for Authors

Penny Sansevieri

Author and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Penny Sansevieri’s account naturally focuses on book marketing, blogging and internet tips, writer inspiration, and dog love. She also has a board devoted to 52 Ways to Sell More Books, which is the title of one of her books. She enjoys 25,000 monthly viewers.

Jordan Rosenfeld

Jordan Rosenfeld is a California-based author and editor. She has numerous boards, and they include Books & Stories I’ve Written, Write Path Retreats, and Book Cover – WriteFree. Her Yummy Foods includes a picture of an Old Book Cake. She has 328 followers

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Pinterest Accounts – Authors

Pinterest Accounts – Services for Authors

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