Think social media marketing for authors is hard to learn?
Hardly.
Sure, there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of blog posts published every day explaining how to accomplish some aspect of social media.
But guess what?
It’s mostly been said and done previously.
Sure, some things are new, such as Facebook’s new focus on Groups and Facebook Messenger chatbots.
But a lot of what you read about social media marketing for authors has been said before.
Really.
Okay, I just explained the first secret to you. Let’s review secrets two, three, and four now.
Secret Two: You Don’t Have to Be Everywhere
I’ve mentioned this on my blog before, but it bears repeating.
For some reason, when we publish our first book, we seem to believe that we need to be everywhere.
You don’t. Why? Because your reading demographic isn’t everywhere.
Where do you think Young Adult readers hang out? Mostly Snap, Tumblr, and Instagram.
Where do you think romance readers spend their time online? Mostly Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
You can have a bio on LinkedIn, but most authors don’t need to spend a lot of time there – especially not romance and YA readers.
What if three social media platforms are too many for you to handle? Pick one and learn it until you can rock it. Then take on a second. Then, if you want to take on a third on but stop at that point. No one needs to be on more social media platforms than three.
Well, that’s my opinion, and you can probably find people to disagree, but that’s what I think.
It’s simply too much of a hassle to devote a lot of time to more than two or three social media platforms. And if you want to hire someone to handle the platforms for you, fine, but you’ll be paying a lot of money.
So, streamline your social media and put energy into writing and blogging.
Secret Three: Subscribe to One Great Social Media Marketing Blog
If you subscribe to one blog that covers social media marketing for authors (hint: mine!), then you don’t have to read any others.
Why spend hours reading a massive list of social media blogs? It doesn’t make sense.
Instead, you should spend your time writing your next book.
Secret Four: Secret Media Is Actually Simple to Use
Yes, it really is.
Let’s start with Facebook. Signing up is super easy, and Facebook has simplified the creation of Author Pages.
Basically, all you need are the basics.
Instagram may be the easiest of them all. Create quotes, snap pictures of where you write or hike and upload them to Instagram with a caption and hashtags.
On Twitter, set up your username and password, use Canva to create a header image, and you’re on your way. Know that tweets can now be up to 280 characters.
My point is this: learn the basics of the social media networks you need to be on and then over time, add more skills.
All you need to start are the basics.
So, you think that’s easy for me to say? Well, it’s not. In fact, it’s harder for me because I’m expected to be able to master every innovation as it’s introduced.
How do I keep up? I read blog posts, and I take a lot of courses – courses that you can sign up for as well.
So don’t let anyone try to convince you that social media marketing for authors has a dreadful learning curve. If I can do it, so can you.
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 and building their platform. 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
A great post with good advice. Trying to cover everything is like a chicken trying to be a duck.
I think where lots of authors fall down is that they don’t know *where* their audience is, or when they do, they’re not sure how to appeal to them.
That’s where I think author branding is important – because otherwise we end up regurgitating the same ol’ crap again and again. Know what’s important to you as an author (your values, philosophies, recurring themes in your works) and share those.
Good personal branding is built on stories. And as authors – we need to learn how to tell those stories.
You’re so right on!