Social Media Just for Writers

Indie Author Weekly Update – December 14, 2018

Welcome to the Indie Author Weekly Update. The theme this week is marketing. There’s information on book launches, PhotoFunia, and Seth Godin’s marketing in five steps. Enjoy all the posts.

Seth Godin’s Marketing in 5 Steps (for Authors) by Joel Friedlander: “Seth Godin has been a “companion” for the last 10 years, and his short, pithy, and often surprising blog posts have taught me plenty about marketing and, even more important, how to think about the connection between marketers and their audience.”

19 Simple Book Marketing Strategies to Launch You out of Naughty-List Status Before 2019 by Penny Sansevieri: “There’s a lot going on this time of year and if you’re like me it’s easy to already be distracted by all things holiday, and the last thing I want to do is flesh out new book marketing strategies. But I also don’t want to enter 2019 with a book that hasn’t seen a boost in exposure for a few months. Now is not the time to bury your head in the snow.”

Create Fast, Free, Festive Images in Seconds with PhotoFunia by Joan Stewart: “Welcome to PhotoFunia.com, my favorite, number one, five-star, go-to website for creating offbeat effects from a digital photo you already have, even if it’s just your head shot or book cover. It’s drop-dead simple to use. Most images, also known as an effect, can be created in less than 60 seconds with no technical skills. And you don’t need to create an account or remember a username and password.”

11 Creative Ways Authors Announced Their Book Launch from BookBub Partners: “Grabbing readers’ attention for a new book can be particularly challenging, especially in such a crowded marketplace. Launch day is a great opportunity for authors to announce their new book, generate visibility to new readers, and build excitement for existing fans to dive 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

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

Got Books to Sell? Try These 22 Book Marketing Tips

December 10, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

How many book marketing tips have you tried?

Probably every single one that you’ve read about, right?

What makes book marketing so tough isn’t that you run out of ideas to market your books. It’s that you have so many different plans.

Well, if you want to make it as a writer, get ready for the marathon of writing and marketing. You’ll always be doing both from now on.

To make life easier for you (or harder?), I’ve assembled a checklist of my top book marketing tips for you.

A 22-Point Checklist of Book Marketing Tips

Book marketing requires a multi-prong strategy that consists of the following:

Purchase your ISBNs. Please don’t buy them from Amazon or BookBaby. If you use the cheap ISBNs that publishing companies sell, they will be the publisher of your books. When you buy the numbers from Bowker, you are a publishing company and your company’s name will appear in the book.
Hire a website designerto build an author website using a quality theme. I like the Genesis themes by SudioPress.
Self-host your blog on your website. Don’t use Blogger or WordPress.com. (Note: WordPress.com is separate from WordPress.org, which I do recommend.) Commit to blogging at least once a week if you write nonfiction. If you write fiction, I recommend blogging at least twice a month.
Include on your website the options to sign up for your email list. To make it easy on yourself, use your blog as your regular form of communication you’re your readers. When you need to send marketing letters out, use this list. Make sure that you offer something for free to entice signups. A great enticement would be the first book in your series. If you only have one book written, provide the first two chapters for free.
Define your audience. Before you can even begin to market your book, you need to clarify exactly who your readers are. If you say everyone, you’re marketing to no one because your audience is too widely defined. Let’s look at some examples. Michael Hyatt knows the age, sex and income level of his ideal audience. If you write romance novels, you’ll want to use Facebook and Pinterest or Instagram. If you write young adult novels, I would suggest that you use Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. My point is what you write will determine your reader demographics. It’s best if you have your reader in mind as you write your book and before you sign up for any social media networks.
Once you know where you’ll be spending your time online, regularly start posting. On Twitter, post a minimum of three to five tweets and retweets daily. Post twice daily on your Facebook page, once a day on Instagram, and several times a week on Pinterest.
Make a commitment to your readers by allocating time every day to be social: Like, share and comment on their posts too. Always endeavor to share valuable content that your readers enjoy.
Ask your designer to create a cover for you before you finish your book. I usually nail down a cover six months or longer before I release my books. Also, I let my Facebook fans and friends select the best cover from a sampling of three. By doing this, you will build momentum for your book.
Talk about your book in your social media posts. You could write, “I just finished my first draft of ________!” or “I’m sending my manuscript to the editor today!” This messaging will also help to build momentum. You can even ask your friends and fans for ideas on what to name certain characters.
Join Goodreads, review books, add your blog posts, join a group, and organize several giveaways.
Some authors sign up for the exclusive Kindle SelectProgram so they can offer their books for free as a promotion from time to time. Offering your book for free doesn’t always get the result you want (a high number of downloads with the anticipation of an equal number of reviews). Know that you have options. What you can do instead is forego the Kindle Select Program and schedule several days on a quarterly basis when you lower the price of your ebook to $.99 or $1.99. Then promote the sale price on social media, websites devoted to publicizing $.99-cent books, on your website, and in your newsletter. This way, you can publish your book widely (iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, etc.) and still be able to promote it with a reduced price.
Communicate with your newsletter subscribers Let them know what you’re doing, what you’re planning on writing, what you’re working on, and what promotions you’re planning for them.
Make your books available as ebooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks. Over time, create box sets.
Hold contests and announce your awards.
If you are going to have a Facebook page, purchase advertising. Actually, Facebook advertising is a great way to promote your books.
Write another book. Yes, second books improve the sales of first books. So get ready to produce a boxed set by writing every day.
Hire an experienced book blogging company. The one I’ve used contacted high-trafficked blogs in the U.S., Canada, and France. The bloggers wrote honest reviews, sponsored contests for free copies of my book, and some of the bloggers also wrote five-star reviews on Amazon. The company I used is called TLC Book Tours.
Mail books to influencers in your field or genre. I did this and they, in turn, raved about my book on Facebook and invited me to speak to their writers’ groups.
Apply for a BookBub promotion. Authors have crazy success with BookBub. Get ready to discount your book to at least $.99.
Experiment with Amazon ads. However, if you plan to do this, use 1,000 keywords or don’t try this option at all.
Start a VIP list. Send prepublication ebooks to them using BookFunnel and encourage them to write book reviews.
Put your books on preorder for one month. That way you can build sales, and when the books come off of preorder status, you’ll have people ready to write reviews.

Most of all, be patient. Book marketing isn’t easy, but it’s always worth the effort. During those periods of burnout, you may want to hire a virtual assistant to carry the load for a while. Just don’t give up!

What is your favorite strategy for boosting book sales?

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 – December 7, 2018

December 7, 2018 By Frances Caballo 1 Comment

Welcome to this week’s Indie Author Update. If you want to learn more about book marketing, you came to the right place. You’ll find posts from Dave Chesson, Penny Sansevieri, Anne R. Allen, and others. Plus, there’s a link to this year’s Goodreads Choice Awards winners.

You’ve Finished Your First Novel! What to Do Now: 7 Do’s and Don’ts by Anne R. Allen: “Did you win NaNo? Is it a first novel? Congratulations!!! Only about 3% of people who start novels actually finish, so you’re a major winner right there. You’ve done something spectacular. So break out the bubbly and savor the moment! After that…what comes next?”

How to Define and Describe Your Readership: A Confusing Issue for Nonfiction Book Proposals by Jane Friedman: “If you’re pitching a nonfiction book, at some point, an editor or agent will expect you to describe the readership that your book is intended for. Or, if you’re self-publishing, you’ll need to define this for yourself to market the book properly.”

Self-publishing Success Story: Indie Audiobook is Finalist for Voice Arts Award from the Alliance of Independent Authors and by Brad Borkan: “Recently my audiobook narrator Dennis Kleinman and I had the incredible honor of having the audiobook for When Your Life Depends on It nominated as a finalist in the “Best Audiobook – History” category of the Voice Arts Awards. Here’s how our audiobook came to life, and how it came to be competing for a major prize in Hollywood.”

Boost Your Amazon Book Promotion with Pre-Order Strategies by Penny Sansevieri: “The Amazon pre-order option for KDP authors (Kindle Direct Publishing has really helped level the playing field between traditionally published authors and those who have self-published through KDP. Let’s look at how this can benefit your Amazon book promotion!”

How to Use Top Book Blogs to Build Your Author Brand from BookWorks and by Dave Chesson: “In today’s article on author branding, we’re going to look at how to make use of top book blogs to gain additional momentum for your book at launch, greater exposure to a qualified readership, and an evergreen source of external traffic for your book’s sales page. The importance of seeking as many channels as possible to gain exposure for your book cannot be overstated.”

2018 Goodreads Choice Awards: More than 5 million votes were cast and counted in the 10th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards honoring the year’s best books. See who the winners were.

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

7 Horrible Mistakes You’re Making on Social Media

December 3, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

We all make mistakes on social media. It’s just a fact.

When we publish our first book, we tentatively reach for social media because everyone tells us that we need it if we expect to sell books.

What happens next? We go from dreading social media to acting a tad overzealous.

Some people get so excited when they learn about scheduling applications that they start sending automated direct messages.

They are the bane of social media.

Whether you’re just starting or have been using social media for a while, here are seven mistakes you should never make.

7 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on Social Media

This list could be longer but let’s stick with my top seven pet peeves that people commit on social media.

Don’t use a picture of your dog as your avatar. Look at your avatar. Is it a picture of you? If not, remove the picture of your cat or dog or book cover and upload a picture of yourself.
Don’t forget to update your social media banners. Are your most recent books on your banners? Are your banners consistent across all the social media platforms that you use?
Stop sending automated direct messages on Twitter. No one likes to receive them. If you’re interesting on social media, people will check out your book or short stories or your blog. However, if you send mean automatic direct message, they may block you.
Stop sharing retweets of information about your blog or books. Guy Kawasaki likens this to laughing at your own jokes.
Stop expecting to get high engagement levels on Facebook without buying advertising. The algorithm on Facebook sucks. It’s super hard now to have organic engagement. If you want to sell books using social media, sign up for a Facebook advertising course (Mark Dawson’s is excellent) and learn how to craft your ads.
Don’t talk about yourself too much on social media. Do we like the guy who only talks about himself at parties? Of course, we don’t. Find interesting posts, fun memes, and beautiful images to share.
Don’t blindly decide which social media networks you should use. Determine who your readership is and then figure out where that audience hangs out online. Don’t rush to Instagram just because it’s hot and 1 billion people are using it. Would it make sense for you to use it considering what you write? Figure that out before learning how to use any social media. Once you figure out who your readership is, read this post I wrote.
Bonus tip: Don’t post social media updates without including an image. Ditto for your blog posts.

7 Social Media Suggestions

Now that you know what not to do, here are some tips on what you need to do.

Listen to what others say.
Reply to your readers’ social media posts—and those of influence in your niche —and share their content. Like and leave comments as well.
Win hearts by being authentic, gracious, and thankful.
Be cool. In other words, never write a nasty comment, use profanity, ridicule someone, or denigrate another author or follower. If someone wrote something nasty about you online, turn the other cheek and move on.
Minimize self-promotion. It’s okay to mention that your book is for sale or to share a great review. However, don’t overdo this.
Find the influencers in your genre and learn from them.
Develop relationships with writers in your genre. Get to know them, share their blog posts, and help them sell their books.

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 – November 30, 2018

November 30, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

Welcome to the newest edition of the Indie Author Weekly Update. This week’s edition covers book reviews and author websites. Plus there’s a post on how to take charge of your creative life. There is plenty to like in the posts below.

User Experience: 6 Author Website Mistakes to Avoid from BookWorks and by Tyler Doornbos: “In more than a decade of making websites, first as a freelance designer/developer for small businesses and individuals, and later as a principal of a design firm, I’ve reviewed a lot of sites. The truth is, that even when they come from professional designers and cutting-edge developers, many sites share the same basic user experience issues. This post will teach you how to avoid the most common mistakes on your author website so that you can outperform the competition.”

Take Charge of Your Creative Life: The SWOT Analysis from Jane Friedman’s blog and by Dave Chesson: “Do you ever feel like you’re swimming against the tide in your creative life? As authors, we have a vast array of ways to spend our time. Time is our only non-renewable resource. Given how precious it is, are you truly making the most of yours? Without a properly calibrated creative compass, it’s easy to spend time on urgent, rather than important, activities. One way to regain control and peace of mind as an author is the SWOT framework.”

How Improving Your Author Website Can Help Sell More Books from TheBookDesigner.com and by Lee Foster: “All of us following Joel’s The Book Designer website have at least one common goal: We want to sell more books, either existing books or books we are now developing.”

21 Signs Your Self-Published Book Could Turn A Profit from Self-Publishing Relief: “Most self-published authors hope to publish a book (or books!) that will make some money. But while some indie books become popular with book-buying readers, other books struggle to break out beyond an audience of friends and family. How do you know if your self-published book could turn a profit? The experts at Self-Publishing Relief share which factors may play a part in your indie book’s sales forecast.”

Book Marketing: 15 Practical Ways to Get More Book Reviews from Alliance of Independent Authors: Self-Publishing Advice Center: “Book reviews. All authors want them (the positive ones, at least!). Fielding a great one can make our day. But many writers are finding that reeling in reviews is getting harder. If you share that view, are you sure you’re doing all you can to attract them?”

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

Author’s Guide to Email Marketing plus 3 Best Practices

November 26, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

There’s a piece of advice that authors everywhere are receiving that you can’t ignore: start your email marketing list and grow it.

As you can tell from the abundance of blog posts on this topic, I’m not the only one who agrees with this advice.

Moreover, email is the fastest, cheapest, most powerful way to engage with your readers at scale. No other service (not even social media) is as personal as email, and if done right, you’ll sell way more books through email than you could any other way. Tom Morkes

As effective as social media is for engaging with your readers – not to mention discoverability – there’s nothing that quite compares to a robust email marketing list.

There’s nothing that quite compares to a robust email list Click To Tweet

Right about now you probably think that it’s an excellent piece of advice but just how can you accomplish this goal? That’s exactly what this post is about so lean back, take a sip of your coffee, tea, or tequila (or bourbon or wine), and keep reading.

Start with MailChimp

I use MailChimp. I researched a variety of email marketing applications five years ago and settled on this one. Some people like Constant Contact (I don’t) and others swear by Aweber (never tried it), and some are now using Convert Kit.

I’m sticking with MailChimp. (Notice that I’m not using an affiliate link for MailChimp.)

Once you sign up, you’ll need to start a list. Don’t worry that you don’t have any names to add to the list; that will happen with time. The first task is to create a list name. Click the parallel lines to open a menu and click lists.

Next click Create List, complete the details, and Save.

Once you create a list, click signup forms and then click Select next to general forms. Now you’ll work on writing a series of sign-up and confirmation forms for your list. Keep your branding in mind when creating the forms.

For example, what are your brand colors? What does your website banner look like? In my case, I use my Social Media Just for Writers logo.

As the drop-down menu changes, you’ll be able to work on different forms in the series of emails your subscribers will receive.

[Read more…]

Are You Ready for 2019? How to Update Your Social Media

November 19, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

Let’s talk about how important it is to update your social media.

When was the last time you changed your password on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest?

When was the last time you updated your profile on Instagram or checked the about section on your Facebook page?

Once we set up our social media profiles and pages, we tend to neglect them.

We instead turn our focus to finding content to post and schedule every day.

Before the New Year rolls in, take time to spiff up your profiles and change your passwords. Yes, you should periodically change your passwords to ward off hackers.

How to Create Hacker-Proof Passwords

I was listening to NPR one day and heard a program about how to create hacker-proof passwords.

Here’s the formula. Think of your two favorite authors or leaders. Let’s use Hemingway and Faulkner in this example.

Use the first few (or last) letters of their names, stick a numeral sequence in the middle, and add one or more characters.

For example, you could create the following passwords:

Hem357Fau*&
Way731Ner*^
Ing259Ulk%@

Or, you can use a program called 1Password https://1password.com. The application devises a hacker-proof password for each of your social media networks. Then when it’s time to open Facebook, 1Password applies the appropriate password.

This program costs just $3.99 a month. What a deal.

Basic Rules About Passwords

Here are some of my most basic rules for passwords.

Do you use the same password for multiple social media accounts? Don’t. Create separate passwords for every social media network you use and every application you try. I know this can be a hassle but if you use the same password across the web think about how easy it will for a hacker to get into all of your accounts.
Keep your passwords in a safe place. Do not keep them on sheets of paper and do not keep them on e-files labeled passwords. Consider keeping them on an online program such as 1Password.com. https://1password.com
Share your passwords with as few people as possible and only if you have to, such as a virtual assistant.
Use a complicated password with uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
Never use the word “password” or the numbers 123 for your online programs or ATM cards.

How to Update Your Social Media

Update Your Facebook Page

Go to the About section on your Facebook page and make sure that everything is current.

If you have 35 or more likes on your page, review your analytics. What are the circumstances that trigger engagement on your page? Does it occur with certain types of posts, images or specific times of the day?

Do you know whether more men or women like your page? Do you know their ages? Check out this section and start planning an editorial calendar for the first three months of 2019.

Review Your Twitter Account

First, look at your following and follower numbers and use a program such as ManageFlitter to fine-tune the balance. I use ManageFlitter to unfollow some users who don’t follow back, to whitelist users I never want to unfollow and to block users who have fake accounts as well as spam and bot accounts. I also unfollow inactive accounts.

There are two Twitter follow limits. If you have fewer than 5,000 followers, the maximum people you can follow are 5,000. (The old limit was 2,000 followers.)

So, if 5,000 follow you, the maximum number of people you can follow is 5,500. So be sure to use Tweepi or ManageFlitter to start unfollowing users who don’t follow you back.

While you’re here, click Edit Profile and determine whether you want to update your avatar (your picture), the banner, or your bio.

Also, if you haven’t pinned a tweet to the top of your timeline, consider pinning a tweet about your most recent book or if you’re an editor, a service you provide.

[Read more…]

Indie Author Weekly Update – November 16, 2018

November 16, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

Welcome to the Indie Author Weekly Update. The focus this week is on book marketing. Be sure to read Melodie Campbell’s post as well as Writers Relief’s post on blogging.

New Book Marketing: The Bad Girl’s List for Book Launch Success from Anne R. Allen and by Melodie Campbell: “New Book!! Gak – I have a new book coming out January 29. The Goddaughter Does Vegasis number 6 in an award-winning series (Derringer and Arthur Ellis – yay!) Because of that, I do have some expectation of sales from previous readers of the series (bless your totally wacky hearts.) But still, I have to get the message to them and to potential new readers, that there is a new book coming out, in this very noisy marketplace that scares the pants off me.”

5 Tips For Successful Publishing And Book Marketing from Joanna Penn: “I’m just back from the Independent Author Conference in Philadelphia. Here are some of my thoughts from the trip in this solo show: People don’t buy books, publishing wide is more than just retail, tips for being a better publisher, strategy is what you DON’T do, plus, learn what you need for your stage of the author journey.

10 Secret Tips For Creative Writers Who Blog from Writers Relief: “Creative writers who blog tend to drive more visitors to their author websites than those who don’t. But what are the secrets behind a successful blog? Here are ten insider tips for writers who blog!”

Book Marketing: Make the Most of Your Great Book Reviews from Alliance of Independent Authors: Self-Publishing Advice Center: “Great book reviews make an indie author’s day – and until you’ve learned to thicken your skin against the less flattering comments, a low star rating can have the opposite effect. So how do you make the most of the best ones, once that initial flutter of joy has subsided? Debbie Young, ALLi’s Author Advice Center Manager, offers a few top tips to help you sustain that good feeling and use readers’ appreciation to fuel your progress as a writer and as an authorpreneur.”

Tips for Adding Radio to Your Book Marketing by Brian Jud: “Performances on radio talk or news shows can be a great way to supplement your book promotion activities. With radio as part of your communication plan, you can reach hundreds, thousands, or millions of people at little or no cost. You can even sell some books, if you do it right.”

How To Reach Readers Better by Diversifying by guest from Rachel Thompson’s blog and by Shannon McGuire: “We all have our preferences, both in real life and with reading. I refuse to order toilet paper from Amazon. And, while I want to be a Kindle gal, I like the feel of real (paper) books. Further, my husband is married to his Audible account and plows through audio books while his paperbacks sit and collect dust.”

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

Indie Author Weekly Update – November 9, 2018

November 9, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

Welcome back to the Indie Author Weekly Update. You’re going to enjoy today’s roundup. The focus is on book marketing and all the ways you can sell your book from book catalogs to swag to keywords. Enjoy the best posts of the week.

Book Marketing: How to Create a Book Catalog of Your Self-published Books & Why from Alliance of Independent Authors: Self-Publishing Advice Center and by Rachel Amphlett: “When thriller writer Rachel Amphlett discovered that someone had created and published a reading guide and book catalog for her work and was charging readers to download it, she decided to take the matter into her own hands and create her own Readers’ Guide. Here she shares her process and the benefits, to help you do the same for your own back-catalog of books.”

How to Use Swag to Support Your Book Marketing from Jane Friedman’s blog and by Dawn Reno Langley: “More than a million books are published every year, and whether you go traditional or indie, you have a lot of competition. Marketing your book falls squarely on your shoulders no matter where on the publishing spectrum you fall—so you need to how to get the most for your buck. “Book swag” is a proven tool for gathering readers and devoted followers.”

Update Your Keywords to Sell More Books over the Holidays by Penny Sansevieri: “Especially around the holidays, take a moment and tweak your keywords/keyword strings in Amazon. Maybe you can’t incorporate any holiday – or Christmas-specific keywords, but tweak the keywords during the holidays and find the strongest ones for your market. Oftentimes searches that include “gifts for…” ramp up in popularity around this time.”

Have You Pre-Sold Your Book? by Joel Friedlander: “One of the biggest lessons you can learn when you start to really look at marketing your books is about creating anticipation. Think of the last big movie you were looking forward to.”

Amazon and the Also Bought Apocalypse by David Gaughran: “A real horror story has been slowly building for the last year or so and I’m getting a lot of emails on the topic so it’s time to deal with this head-on: what the hell is going on with Also Boughts?”

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

Every Author Needs Visual Marketing

October 22, 2018 By Frances Caballo 1 Comment

In the past, I theorized that we were moving closer to visual marketing.

Guess what? We’re there. We’ve arrived.

According to this awesome blog post by Hubspot, there are many reasons why you should be focused on visual marketing on your blog and in your social media posts.

Let’s review a few of them.

Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images. Okay, the source for this statistic is Buffer, usually rated among the top three blogs in social media so I believe them and so should you.
In an analysis of over 1 million articles, BuzzSumo found that articles with an image once every 75-100 words received double the social media shares as articles with fewer images. So, if you want more people to read your entire blog post, include multiple, color images.
Users view 85% of videos on Facebook without sound. What this tells me is that it’s the images that mesmerize people.
Cisco projects that global internet traffic from videos will make up 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2021. You can replace the word images with the word video. Whether you post images or video, you need to do one or the other.
80% of marketers use visual assets in their social media marketing. Convinced yet?
Video (63%), alone, has also surpassed blogging (60%) in usage as a social media marketing asset. Yeah, video is huge. Just look at how popular Facebook Live is.

Also, several sources indicate that including images with your tweets double the chance of a retweet. So don’t tweet anything without including an image.

Finally, I find it interesting that 65% of the population are visual learners. Therefore, it makes sense that we ended up here, in the midst of visual marketing.

Finally, look at the rapid growth of Instagram. The user base soared from 90 million in January 2013 to 300 million in December 2014. Guess where we’re at now?

Instagram has 1 billion monthly users. Incredible, eh?

Free Image Sources for Your Visual Marketing

I’ve written about free image sources in the past but that listed needed to be updated. So here’s an up-to-the-minute list of free image sources that are available today.

Unsplash

When you navigate to this website, the following words greets you:“Beautiful, free photos. Gifted by the world’s most generous community of photographers.”

All images on this website are free to use, which means you can copy, modify, distribute and use the photos for commercial purposes, without any attribution to the photographer.

Crediting photographers here isn’t required, but that would be excellent. It’s your choice.

By the way, you’re going to love these photographs.

Pixabay

Another one of my favorite free image sites is Pixabay.

I’ve been using this site for years, and sometimes I’m amazed at the free images I find.

Pixabay greets you with this message: “Over 1.5 million royalty free stock photos and videos shared by our generous community.”

Once in a while, the folks behind this website ask you to buy them a cup of Java. Otherwise, you can avoid the cost by uploading images of your own for Pixabay to make available for its users.

New Old Stock

This website provides vintage imagesfrom public archives that are free of copyright restrictions. Most are black and while a few are in color.

Picjumbo

This website provides stock images for free. If you’d like, you can donate to this website.

Gratisography

This website has some fun and unusual images. They are all high resolution pictures that you can use for free both personally and for commercial projects, such as your blog or website. The photographer for all of these images is Ryan McGuire.

Morguefile

Morguefile has come a long way. When researching it in the past, it seemed as though I could only find stodgy looking images. Its website has had a facelift, too. Visit Morguefile today. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

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