Indie Author Weekly Update – April 19, 2019

April 19, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Indie Author Weekly Update

This week’s Indie Author update is chock-full of wonderful tips and strategies to help you with your book sales. As always, David Gaughran wrote a terrific post. There are also blog posts on Twitter, Instagram, content marketing, search engine optimization, and lastly, BookBub ads. Whew! Enjoy the posts.

Author Platforms

How To Build An Author Platform by David Gaughran: “What is an author platform? Which elements should it contain? And is any of this stuff more important than just writing another book? Perhaps not. But certain aspects of an author platform are important tools for reaching readers and, especially, for holding on to them.”

Twitter

Saying No to Twitter: What Authors Need to Know from Jane Friedman’s blog and by Daniel Berkowitz: “Tell me if this is a situation you’ve been in before: Your agent just sold your book to a publisher, and now you want to do everything you can to ensure your book’s success. The publisher tells you to get a website and to get on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. You have a Facebook profile, and you’re not opposed to creating a separate author page, and you really enjoy Instagram—but you don’t like Twitter.”

Instagram

10 Instagram Hashtag Hacks Tricks You Definitely Want to Try from Later and by Benjamin Chacon: “If you’re searching for some great Instagram hashtag hacks to get more followers and boost your engagement, you’ve come to the right place!  Whether you want to find out which hashtags are generating the most interactions on your account, hide your hashtags in your Instagram Stories, or add more than 30 hashtags to your post’s caption, we’ve got a hack for you.”

Content Marketing

Sell More Books With Guest Blogging from TheBookDesigner.com and by Sandra Beckwith: “There’s no question in my mind that guest blogging helps sell books. But it’s a powerful book marketing tactic for other reasons, too.”

Search Engine Optimization

SEO for Authors and Other Search Ranking “Secrets” by Jenny Hansen: “SEO for authors … It’s a catchphrase that makes all my writing pals shudder. As one of our gals at WITS said, “I know how to spell it, but that’s about all.” SEO doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, some of the best techniques are the easiest for writers, because they involve writing.”

BookBub Ads

8 Ways to Target Readers Using BookBub Ads: “With BookBub Ads, authors and publishers can promote any book to BookBub’s millions of power readers at any time. While this is a valuable audience of book buyers to begin with, BookBub Ads’ targeting options let advertisers refine their audience even further.”

Quote of the Week

Don't write about what you know -- write about what you're interested in.

 

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

Social Media Just for Writers 2nd Edition

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

Ryshia Kennie 

Frances CaballoAuthor 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

Indie Author Weekly Update – April 12, 2019

April 12, 2019 By 1 Comment

Indie Author Weekly Update

This week’s Indie Author Weekly Update has a whopping six suggestions for you to read. Learn to write a memoir that sells, set up automated emails (it’s easy!), and ponder your purpose. I hope you like all of them!

Memoirs that Sell

How to Write a Memoir: 14 Tips for Writing Memoir That Sells by Anne R. Allen: “It is true that memoirs are problematic. They’re devilishly difficult for a new writer to do well, but they’re what newbies usually write. The urge to put our own life story on paper is the most common reason people start writing. Adult education programs and senior centers everywhere offer courses in “writing your own life.” And there’s the old adage that says everybody has a book in them—their own life story.”

Marketing

5 Ways to Market Your Audiobook Without Ads from Jane Friedman’s Blog: “Some authors and publishers seem to believe that by the simple act of making an audiobook available for purchase, there will be numerous purchases. Yet, as with all types of books, yours is merely one of many thousands published each year. You must make listeners aware that your product exists. Here are 5 different ways to do that without advertising.”

13 Email Marketing Statistics That Are Shaping 2019 and Beyond by Convince & Convert: “Email has been around since the 1970s, but it’s still extremely effective, even with younger audiences. It’s sure to remain an integral part of your marketing strategy this year and into the future.”

How to Set Up Automated Emails for Reader Magnets  from Alliance of Independent Authors: Self-Publishing Advice Center and by Rachel McCollin: “It’s nice to give your reader fans the personal touch. However, in this blog post, Rachel McCollin makes the case that a little automation is a good thing. And she takes us through a step-by-step process to set up automated emails delivering your reader magnets, so you never have to lift a finger again.”

Beta Readers

Where to find beta readers for your book by Sandra Beckwith: “Last week, I had a conversation with a client about what he referred to as “peer reviewers” for his next book. That gave me pause, because peer reviewers are usually used with academic or scientific works, and his is neither. I asked if he meant “beta readers.” While peer reviewers read for factual accuracy, beta readers aren’t limited to “peers” and can be from your target audience. “Beta readers” was, in fact, the term he meant to use.”

Find Your Purpose

This is How To Find Our Purpose by Rachel Thompson: “Many survivors (and people in general) tie our jobs with our purpose. One does not have to equal the other, though it can. This is a Western way of thinking – we equate what we do for a living with our purpose in life. However, the two can be entirely different.”

Quote of the Week

The art of writing fiction is to sail as dangerously close to the truth as possible without sinking the ship.

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

Social Media Just for Writers 2nd Edition

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

Ryshia Kennie 

Frances CaballoAuthor 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

Indie Author Weekly Update – March 29, 2019

March 29, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Indie Author Weekly Update - March 29, 2019

Here’s another edition of the Indie Author Weekly Update. Trying to grow your Instagram account? Read the post by Wishpond. Want to grow your email marketing? Read Blogging Wizard’s post. Actually, all the posts are great. Enjoy them!

Instagram

21 Ways to Get More Instagram Followers Wishpond: “Having a strong Instagram presence is a powerful advantage. And one way to get that advantage is by growing your Instagram following. There are currently over 8 million Instagram Business profiles and over a hundred million active Instagram users posting every day. Without the right strategy, it can almost feel like your Instagram post is just another needle in the haystack. But don’t get discouraged. In this article, I’ll be showing you 21 effortless ways to get more Instagram followers.”

Marketing

3 Pillars Of Email Marketing: How To Skyrocket Subscriber Engagement from Blogging Wizard and by Lily Ugbaja: “Scared your next email campaign will result in even lower open rates than you already get? In this article, you’ll learn to understand and master the 3 pillars of email marketing, and use them to boost your open rates to 40% or more!”

Marketing Self-published Books: An Innovative Idea for Building Global Reach from Alliance of Independent Authors: Self-Publishing Advice Center: “It has never been easier to spread e-books across the world. Just a few clicks is all it takes. Instantly, your lovingly-crafted words can be transported into the hands of a commuter crammed on the Tokyo subway, or a parent relaxing in a yurt in Outer Mongolia. But how do you persuade people to buy your book if you don’t speak their language? Kathryn Mortimer describes her innovative method to expand her global reach for her book, Mother of Millennials.”

Blogging

How to Guest Write for Blogs: A Guide for Authors, Publishers, and More by Francis Bogan and from BookBub Partners: “Writing guest posts for blogs is a great way to help new readers find you and promote yourself and your books for free. Writing for blogs can help grow your fan base and can help you connect with writing communities.”

Quote of the Week

An artist is a sort of emotional or spiritual historian. His role is to make you realize the doom and glory of knowing who you are and what you are. James Baldwin

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

Social Media Just for Writers 2nd Edition

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

Ryshia Kennie 

Frances CaballoAuthor 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

Indie Author Weekly Update – March 1, 2019

March 1, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Indie Author Weekly Update

Welcome to the Indie Author Weekly Update. Enjoy this week’s posts by Gill Andrews, Jane Friedman, Dana Sitar, Joan Stewart and Erica Verillo, who writes about writer’s conferences occurring this spring.

Enjoy them all.

Gain Email Subscribers

How to Gain More Subscribers (Even with Low Website Traffic) by Gill Andrews: “What if I told you you could get 2 new subscribers for every 50 website visitors without an extra effort? You’ll go about your day doing client work, writing, taking a nap. But your list will grow, adding at least several new email addresses from people who want to hear from you every day. No popups, welcome mats or slide ups. Wouldn’t it be a dream come true?”

Listen to a Podcast

Book Warner and Grant Faulkner in this week’s episode of Write Minded Podcast featuring Jane Friedman [Podcast]: They cover topics on innovation, publishing trends, and the future of book publishing.

Stop Searching for the Ideal Reader

How the “Ideal Reader” Myth Hurts Your Writing Process by Dana Sitar: “A lot of writing advice encourages you to market to your audience by defining your ideal reader. It says to think of your reader as one person, create a profile and write for that person. You’ll even find templates for defining your ideal reader — fake head shots and all. They’ll ask you to name the reader and list their demographics, interests and job. They’ll ask you to explain why this reader is totally in love with what you write.”

Writing Conferences

27 Fabulous Writing Conferences in March 2019 by Erica Verrillo: “Spring is right around the corner! And writers are thawing out! There are some excellent opportunities to network, pitch your work, and attend stimulating workshops this month.”

Press Releases

The Book Designer by Joan Stewart and from TheBookDesigner.com: “Most authors believe the press release will result in phone calls from eager journalists and an onslaught of orders. Nothing could be further from the truth. By itself, the press release lacks the power to skyrocket sales. But combine it with other marketing tactics like a compelling email or phone pitch, and you can help journalists learn about your book and take the next step: schedule an interview with you or invite you to be a guest on their show or podcast.”

Quote of the Week

Don't let yourself slip and get any perfect characters...keep them people, people, people, and don't let them get to be symbols.

 

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

Social Media Just for Writers 2nd Edition

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

Ryshia Kennie 

Frances CaballoAuthor 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

Indie Author Weekly Update – February 22, 2019

February 22, 2019 By 1 Comment

Indie Author Weekly Update - February 22, 2019

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

Indie Author Weekly Update

 

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

Social Media Just for Writers 2nd Edition

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

Ryshia Kennie 

Frances CaballoAuthor 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

Indie Author Weekly Update – February 8, 2019

February 8, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Indie Author Weekly Update - February 8, 2019

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

Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.

 

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

Social Media Just for Writers 2nd Edition

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

Ryshia Kennie 

Frances CaballoAuthor 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

Gratitude Trumps End-of-Year Author Marketing

December 24, 2018 By Leave a Comment

author marketing

The holidays are officially here. While everyone is lounging around on their extended break, how should you address your author marketing?

Let’s look at email marketing first.

End-of-Year Email Marketing Tip

author marketingNow is the time to reward your readers for being loyal all year.

In your New Year email, send them a short story you wrote or the first ebook in a series of novels you’ve written.

Or send them background information on your favorite characters.

This is not the time of year to pitch a sale or beg your readers for reviews for books you’ve published.

Instead, express your gratitude by sending them something free.

Express your gratitude for them.

If you don’t do much email marketing, start by reading this post. It provides you with all the basics you need to know to have a successful email marketing program.

End-of-Year Social Media Marketing Tip

author marketingImages and personalization will always boost your engagement on social media.

Whether you use Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, or all three, this is the time of year to personalize your posts.

Post pictures of your holiday arrangements, holiday dinners, and time with your family.

Let your readers into your life by showing them gifts you’ve wrapped, books you’re reading, or meals your cooking.

Or maybe you have a tradition of hiking during this time. Take your phone along and share and post as many images as you can.

Remember, the week between December 24 and January 1 is one that many people take off to spend with family and friends and just relax at home.

Use this time to connect with your readers more personally, express your gratitude and invite them further into your life with some personal photos of however you most enjoy spending your time.

Gratitude Trumps Holiday Author Marketing

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

Social Media Just for Writers 2nd Edition

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

Ryshia Kennie 

Frances CaballoAuthor 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

Email Marketing or Social Media? Writers Need Both

October 1, 2018 By 1 Comment

Email Marketing or Social Media? Authors Need Both
Social media workshops are all the rage at writers’ conferences but what about sessions on email marketing?

When was the last time you attended a writer’s conference that focused on email marketing: how to set it up, the benefits, what your giveaway should be, and how to use this tool to make the most of your book marketing efforts?

It seems like conference planners are more interesting in workshops on understanding Amazon, Facebook advertising, and social media marketing in general.

Don’t get me wrong. Those are all vital subjects for authors to master.

Yet, email marketing is also an important component of any indie author’s marketing strategy. In some ways, it’s more important than using social media.

Email marketing is a vehicle for book launches and a way to recruit street teams and mail advance review copies.

ARC readers can review your pre-published books to give you insights on editing, inconsistencies in your story, or input into technical aspects of your book.

According to thriller author Mark Dawson, if he’d had ARC readers when he started out he wouldn’t have made a mistake about a gun that a character used in one of his earlier books.

Whenever I do a social media audit I always include a review of an author’s website and one of the items I discuss is email marketing and whether there’s a lead magnet (also known as a giveaway) to entice website visitors to sign up for an author’s email list.

Consider These Email Marketing Statistics

Email MarketingCampaign Monitor offers this support of email marketing:

  • Email marketing generates $44 for every $1 spent. Think of Joel Friedlander. If you are on his email list, you receive his blog updates via email as well as his marketing emails, which pitch the many products he sells as part of his toolkits and templates. He’s an excellent example of what can be achieved with email marketing. Mark Dawson and Joanna Penn are excellent role models for fiction writers.
  • Email ties all of your marketing techniques together. You can use email marketing to send blog updates, encourage people to Like your Facebook page, and let your readers know about new releases. Email marketing is nimble.
  • Email connects with more consumers than social media. More people use email than social media.

OptinMonster also has data on email marketing. If we compare email marketing to social media and for that comparison specifically use Facebook in our examples, you’ll discover some interesting facts.

  • 58% of adults check email first thing in the morning vs. 11% for Facebook
  • 91% of adults use email daily vs. 57% for Facebook
  • 66% of adults make a purchase as a result of email marketing vs. 20% for Facebook

Collect Addresses for Your Email Marketing Program

What does this mean for you? I have a few tips for you.

  1. Sign up for an email marketing application such as MailChimp (that’s what I use), Constant Contact (I don’t like it, but plenty of people do), or AWeber (many people love this application).
  2. Establish a newsletter schedule and stick to it. If you don’t want to send newsletters – and I don’t blame you for deciding this – then collect email addresses through your email subscription application. You can do this with MailChimp, AWeber or a number of other apps. The idea is to collect email addresses. Don’t use an RSS feed subscription program that doesn’t allow you to identify who’s subscribing to your blog because that would be pointless, and a huge waste of an opportunity.
  3. Use your email list to send quality content to your readers on a regular basis, as well as calls to action for books and contests. The content you select will depend on your genre and niche.
  4. Offer the best giveaway you can create. You’ll notice that on this website, anyone who signs up for my email-based social media course receives a 65-page ebook on Twitter.
  5. Don’t ask people for more than their first name and email address. The more information you request, the less likely they will leave an email address for you.
  6. Never use the word subscribe. You’ll notice that for my free email course my opt-in language is I Want In!!

Are you wondering now whether you should even bother to use social media?

Yes, use both.

[Read more…]

Indie Author Weekly Update – September 7, 2018

September 7, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Indie Author Weekly Update

It’s Friday, which means that it’s time for a new Indie Authors Weekly Update. Be sure to read Mark Dawson’s post on building a successful author career. Anne R. Allen and David Kudler’s posts are also great.

5 Steps to Building a Successful Author Career by Mark Dawson: “I’ll probably say it again before I have finished, but I’d argue that this is the best time in the history of the world to be a writer. I know – pretty grandiose. Let me explain.  When I started writing at the end of the 1990s, if I wanted to get my writing out to readers I only really had one path that was open to me. Once I had finished my manuscript, I would send the first three chapters and a covering letter to one of the dozens of literary agencies that accepted unsolicited submissions.”

9 Pieces of Bad Publishing Advice New Writers Should Ignore by Anne R. Allen: “Social Media is both a boon and a curse to new writers. Online writing groups and forums are an excellent source of insider information on the publishing industry—stuff we once could only find at expensive classes and writers’ conferences. But social media is also a major source of misinformation and dangerously bad advice.”

Retweeting Your Own Tweets Can Boost Your Reach and Engagement from Buffer: “In February 2018, Twitter updated its rules to prohibit sharing tweets that are identical or substantially similar to one another. Before this rule change, re-sharing top tweets (sparingly) was one of our favorite strategies for increasing our Twitter reach and engagement here at Buffer. And while it was a shame to forgo this strategy, we understand the rationale behind the new rules and are fully supportive of them. So, rather than dwelling on what used to work, we started searching for other strategies to try. Here’s one experiment we’ve been working on (and our results in full).”

Amazon Top Reviewer Secrets: The Must-Read Tell-All by Penny Sansevieri: “When you’re pitching Amazon Top Reviewers, have you ever wondered about the things they love, and the things that will absolutely get you shoved to the bottom of their book review consideration pile? We thought so, too, which is why we took some time to interview several of these top book reviewers. Each of them is anonymous in this piece (with the exception of one).”

10 Instagram Tips for Writers from Jane Friedman’s blog and by Annie Sullivan: “So how can writers use Instagram to their benefit? Here are some easy things to keep in mind to find and engage your target readership on Instagram.”

How to Grow Your Email List With Pinterest by Emily Syring: “Do you have an engaged audience on Pinterest? Wondering how to get your Pinterest followers onto your email list? In this article, you’ll discover how to promote your email opt-in via your Pinterest profile, boards, and pins.”

Words Gone Wild: KDP Keywords Revisited from TheBookDesigner.com and by David Kudler: “I’ve talked about keywords before; they’re an essential piece of metadata that determines how easy it is for the right reader to find your book. They are in many ways the key to discoverability. It is best to think of them, not as single words, but as search phrases — that is to say, groups of words that your ideal reader is likely to search for. Put a different way, what question is your ideal reader likely to ask to which your book is the answer?”

Quote of the Week

Patton Oswalt quote

 

 

Social Media Just for Writers is now just $1.99! But the sale price won’t last forever so get your copy now!

Social Media Just for Writers 2nd Edition

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

Ryshia Kennie 

Frances CaballoAuthor 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.

Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web

Indie Author Weekly Update – August 24, 2018

August 24, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Indie Author Weekly Update

There are some great posts in this week’s Indie Author Update. Be sure to read the post by Derek Murphy and Write to Done on how to entice email newsletter signups.

Summer is drawing to a close and fall will soon be upon us. I hope you’ve enjoyed your summer writing and reading.

10 Mistakes I Made as a New Indie Author from Anne R. Allen’s blog and by Derek Murphy: “Book sales are not a complete mystery: if your book isn’t selling, there’s almost always a reason. Often it’s because new authors continue to repeat the same mistakes. Sometimes they’re following bad advice. Or they made choices stemming from their ideologies about doing creative work and the assumed value of their writing. I’ve been self-publishing for almost a decade. Even though I’ve learned a lot about how to sell books, it took me a long time and some very public failures.”

Branding For Authors with Kristine Rusch and by Joanna Penn: “Branding helps readers find your books and enables you to build a long-term career as a writer – but many authors get branding all wrong. In today’s show, Kristine Kathryn Rusch explains what branding really is and how to build your author brand in the most sustainable way.”

10 Ways to Survive Your Debut Author Year from Women Writers: “Find a supportive community of published authors. Make friends with other debut authors. Make friends with other authors who have recently published a book. You need someone to cry to about all the frustrations of the publication process. You need someone to vent to about all the stress and excitement of the book launch.”

Walmart’s eBookstore is Launching Today by Nate Hoffelder: “Walmart is in the process of setting up new ebook sections in the book departments of its stores, Kobo has let slip a promo video for “Walmart eBooks”, and multiple references have been found in Walmart’s help pages.”

How to Get Hordes of Subscribers With an Easy Opt-In Gift from Write to Done: “If you want to ramp up your subscriber numbers, you need to offer an attractive gift for your visitors in return for subscribing. This is called an opt-in gift or lead magnet. But what to offer? Many writers don’t know how to create an opt-in gift. It can be daunting.”

What’s Going On With CreateSpace and KDP Print?  from TheBookDesigner.com and by Amy Collins: “Are you curious about all of the changes going on at CreateSpace and seeing new offerings being announced at Kindle Direct Publishing? I have been, too. I will admit that I have not paid as much attention to KDP Print as I should have. I have been happy with CreateSpace for my Amazon printing and distribution and just did not have the bandwidth to turn my attention to yet ANOTHER platform for my paperbacks. Knowing that CreateSpace could get my paperback on Amazon while IngramSpark/Lightning Source was handling the wholesalers/bookstores/libraries, I thought I had all my bases covered.”

Quote of the Week

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The second edition of Social Media Just for Writers is now just $1.99!

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

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Frances CaballoAuthor 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.

Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web

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