Alliance of Independent Authors Archives - Social Media Just for Writers

Indie Author Weekly Update – November 16, 2018

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

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

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

Indie Author Weekly Update – September 28, 2018

September 28, 2018 By Frances Caballo 2 Comments

Thank you for checking out my new Indie Author Weekly Update. There were so many posts this past week that it’s difficult to select one or two that were my favorites. But if I’m pushed, and if you only have time for one post to read, then don’t miss Anne R. Allen’s phenomenal post on how to self-publish successfully. Her advice is priceless.

Well, fall is officially here, which means that we are in my favorite season. Who doesn’t love seeing leaves turn color or feeling the chill in the air first thing in the morning?

Want to Self-Publish Fiction Successfully? Follow These 9 Tips by Anne R. Allen: “Back when the new-fangled Kindle was flying off the cybershelves and Amazon had no imprints of its own, indie authors were Amazon’s darlings. That’s no longer the case, so selling self-published books is more difficult than it was. But “more difficult” doesn’t mean impossible. Plenty of indie novelists are starting out right now who will make the bestseller lists. Some will make considerably more money than their traditionally-published counterparts.”

Pre-Publication Marketing: A Van Tour to Bookstores by Jane Friedman: “In November, Weather Woman by Cai Emmons will release from Red Hen Press. To spread the word this summer, Cai drove “the Weather Woman van” to independent bookstores in the Western United States, distributing advance reader copies and chatting with booksellers.”

How Authors’ Openness on Social Media Makes Reading Better from Book Riot: “There’s a lot that’s toxic about social media, for authors, fans, and reviewers alike. But one thing that’s really rewarding for readers and aspiring writers is the transparency that many published authors have brought to Twitter and Instagram about the writing and publishing process, in all its good, bad, and in-between.”

How to Market Your Books with a Specialist Blog from Alliance of Independent Authors: “It’s received wisdom that every indie author should have a website as the central and authoritative source of information about their books and their writing lives – but how does an unknown author attract potential readers to that website? British crime writer B L (Barry) Faulkner shares his lateral thinking solution that has helped him raise the profile of his books a different way: via a specialist blog about a subject that will appeal to potential readers, including those who have never heard of him.”

6 Ways Video Blogging Can Save Your Author Promotion by Penny Sansevieri: “If saving time isn’t a sweet enough payoff, here are a few more benefits to adding video blogging to your author promotion.”

Book Promotion: Do This, Not That – September 2018 from TheBookDesigner.com and by Amy Collins: “I recently met with a Chicago-area author for breakfast who was concerned that she was doing something wrong. This author had written a terrific book, designed the cover properly, promoted the book heavily, placed ads on Amazon, got reviews and consistently worked to sell her book to stores, libraries, online and to organizations. So what was the problem?”

How To Put Together An Indie Author Street Team from Writer’s Edit: “There’s a lot for indie authors to do when it comes to book promotion and marketing. In fact, there’s so much to do that it can often get a little overwhelming. But while being an indie author is largely a solo pursuit, you don’t have to tackle everything entirely on your own! Enter: the indie author street team.”

Quote of the Week

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

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

Ryshia Kennie

Online Book Marketing Solutions for Writers

Indie Author Weekly Update – September 14, 2018

September 14, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

In today’s Indie Author Weekly Update, hands down the best post to read is David Gaughran’s post on how to sell books. It’s awesome.

Is it too early for a picture of fall? I didn’t think it was. Although the days are still warm in Northern California where I live, the afternoons cool down quickly and the nights are chilly. There’s definitely a change coming.

10 Ways to Build Traffic to Your Author Website or Blog by Jane Friedman: First things first: an author’s website, whether it gets much traffic or not, is foundational to your career. It offers readers as well as the media the official word on who you are and the work you produce. If you blog, then it can also be a way for the public to engage with you. But mainly author websites help you shape the story surrounding your work—and ought to be found when readers go searching for you. It allows you to focus people’s attention and interest to what’s important to you—as opposed to what other sites might think is important.

Podcast Episode 46: Social Media for Authors – Big Mistakes Many Make from Dave Chesson: Social media seems like an obvious choice when it comes to marketing your book. Now, in this episode, we’re not talking about Facebook ads, but we’re talking more about using social media, specifically Facebook, as a way to connect with your readers and attract new readers.

How to Do an Instagram Giveaway: Ideas and Tips from Social Media Examiner: “Wondering how to run an Instagram contest? Looking for Instagram giveaway ideas you can adapt? In this article, you’ll find tips and inspiration to help you plan a successful Instagram competition that supports your marketing goals.”

Marketing Uncovered: How To Sell Books by David Gaughran: “Marketing is more complicated than ever, but the tools we have for reaching readers are fantastic these days, and the rewards for reaching the summit of Mount Discovery are simply immense. Even worth this long-ass intro I’m about to drop! Sometimes we forget. I hear people complaining that things are down across the board and Amazon is squeezing the margin out of everyone, or that the Golden Era is over.”

How to Reach Forgotten Markets for Self-Published Books by the Alliance of Independent Authors: “Looking at the indie publishing community these days, it seems authors can be split in two groups: the “going wide” group, and the others who prefer betting on one outlet (the most relevant) for their book. Anne-Catherine de Fombelle, Chief Globalization Officer for self-publishing aggregator StreetLib, a valued ALLI Partner Member, probes the concept of “the forgotten markets” that can be reached by going wide.”

Quote of the Week

Social Media Just for Writers is now just $1.99! But the sale price won’t last forever so get your copy now! It includes a chapter on blogging.

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

Ryshia Kennie

Online Book Marketing Solutions for Writers

Indie Author Weekly Update – June 29, 2018

June 29, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

I really had to work hard at weeding down the posts for this week’s Indie Author update. There were so many great ones! The post on growing your email list from The Digital Reader is a must read. Don’t miss it!

3 Tools to Target Media Topics for Your Pitch by Chris Well: “If you want the world to take you seriously as an author, stop talking about your book and start showing that you know your stuff. When you focus on your expertise—instead of your book—people stop rolling their eyes and start paying attention.”

Grow Your Author Mailing List with These 7 Essential Tools from The Digital Reader: “You’ve heard over and over that the best way to promote your author career is a robust mailing list. This is true no matter the product, the business model, or the industry. A mailing list is important, but have you ever considered whether you are using all the available tools to grow your mailing list?”

62 ways to improve your press releases from Articulate Marketing: “There are many voices calling for the death of the press release (e.g. Die Press Release Die or Amy Gahran who wants to put them out of their misery). What is needed is not execution but reform. Here are my tips and suggestions for doing it.”

How to Sell More on Book Markets other than Amazon from Dave Chesson: “One subject that has come up a lot in this podcast is the advice of not putting all your eggs in one basket. Amazon may be at the top when it comes to the book market, but newer platforms for people to sell their books on are emerging and making your book available on those platforms can increase your sales.”

Book Marketing: 7 Avoidable Rookie Errors for Indie Authors from Alliance of Independent Authors: “Any indie author who has ever self-published a book has been there: regretting the wisdom of hindsight highlighting an error of judgment that has hampered the marketing potential of their new book.”

Ways to Reach Your Niche Audience from BookWorks: “Writing for a narrow niche audience can feel daunting, overwhelming, and discouraging. However, through both of my book launches, I have found it quite exciting, empowering, and satisfying. There are people out there who want to read your book. As I pound pavement, knock on doors, reach out, and fling my book out in to the world, I trust that I will connect with who I am supposed to connect with as long as I do my part. What’s that? Leave no stone unturned and have patience with the process. Relationship and adding value to others are, in my humble opinion, the key to lasting and worthwhile success.”

Quote of the Week

Whether you’re setting up your social media for the first time or wanting to take it to the next level, get the newest edition of Social Media Just for Writers.

 I would not limit this book to the audience of only writers, it’s a great resource for anyone that wants to take full advantage of the online platforms available. Janet Kinsella

Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference and a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com. Frances 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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Indie Author Weekly Update – June 1, 2018

June 1, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

There are a lot of great posts in this week’s Indie Author Update. Enjoy them all. There are a lot of gems in these posts.

The above photo might not make any sense to you, but it does to me. You see, in the summer my husband and I spend several evenings a week attending outdoor concerts, listening to live music, and of course, dancing. How we love to dance together. However you spend your summer, I hope you have a blast.

3 Innovative New Tools to Discover Promising Blog Topics by @mike_allton by Mike Alton: “What will your next blog post be about? Do you know what your audience is actually interested in? Addressing these questions is what sets the successful blogger apart. She’s done her homework and understands who her audience is and what they want to learn about. She’s researched the niche and identified the specific topics and questions that need to be covered in blog articles, and she has mapped out a publishing calendar for herself.”

Facebook Launches New Tools for Groups, Improving Functionality and Potential from Social Media Today: “Facebook has been putting increased emphasis on groups of late, with The Social Network seeing them as a way to keep users more engaged, while also enabling a level of user moderation, lessening the load for Facebook’s internal moderation team.”

11 Marketing Tips to Get More Eyes on Your Blog or Author Website by Novel Publicity: “Hopefully, it is to craft amazing posts that people want to come and read and share with others. And you may indeed be crafting those great reads – articles, self-improvement, inspiring topics, and letting readers get to know you. But, unlike the famous statement in the movie Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come,” this is not true for blogs. You have to market your blog just as much as your market your book/services. While this post is directed at bloggers, there’s a ton of good advice for writer websites too!”

This is Why Your Author Branding Matters More Than You Think by Rachel Thompson: “It’s even become a running joke at this point with my chat community as if they’re waiting for me to throw that line in there. Yet, it’s not just a line. It’s what makes the difference between a successful author and a not-so-successful one. I’ve written about branding before in great detail, so in this post, I want to go more into detail about the importance of author branding and its impact on your success.”

How To Get Your Book Into Schools And Double Your Income With Volume Sales by Joanna Penn: “Making a full-time living as a writer is all about multiple streams of income, and bulk sales are a great way of making revenue by doing direct. In today’s show, Dave Hendrickson talks about the joy of selling books to schools – and takes us behind the scenes of the financial side of bulk sales.”

Are Free Book Promotions Still Worth It? by Frances Caballo for TheBookDesigner.com: “The controversy over whether it’s worthwhile to give books away for free continues. You work hard when you write a book. There are the costs associated with writing workshops, writers’ conferences, book coaches, editors, and book designers. When you’re ready to publish, it’s difficult to think that despite all of your investments of time and money that you need to give your book – your baby – away for free.”

Contests for Writers

Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time This Summer from Writer Unboxed: ” … my list of writing contests below includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest. May you find a promising opportunity among this list and spend less time searching for where to send your exceptional work.”

Quote of the Week

Whether you’re setting up your social media for the first time or wanting to take it to the next level, get the newest edition of Social Media Just for Writers.

 I would not limit this book to the audience of only writers, it’s a great resource for anyone that wants to take full advantage of the online platforms available. Janet Kinsella

Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web

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Indie Author Weekly Update – March 2, 2018

March 2, 2018 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

In this week’s Indie Author Update, be certain to read Amy Collin’s post about Amazon and Chris Well’s post on how to have a media-savvy website.

I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Indie Author Updates

36 Smart Ways To Grow Your Email List 2x Faster from Blogging Wizard: “You need to build your email list if you want to grow your blog. Don’t be the person that keeps making excuses for why they aren’t focusing on building their list. I learned that lesson the hard way but you don’t have to. The truth is that email is far more effective at reaching your raving fans than any other tool. That includes social media.”

5 Creative Blog Post Ideas for Savvy Author Marketing from Penny Sansevieri: “You may be a savvy blogger, or maybe you’re still digging in your heels about starting your blog, but no matter where you fall on that spectrum I have to tell you that blogging is a critical piece to your author marketing. If you want to sell more books, I urge you to get on the blog train.”

Three Different Ways to Approach Blogging as a Novelist [With Examples] from Aliventures: “If you’re a novelist, should you have a blog? Opinions differ! You might have been told that you should blog, because you need to build a platform, or because it’s a good way to get people onto your site and then onto your mailing list, or because publishers / readers / the media will want it … or for almost any number of reasons.”

Book Promotion: Do This, Not That – February 2018 from TheBookDesigner.com and by Amy Collins: “Amazon is no longer listing books supplied from IngramSpark as “in stock.” In the past, Amazon would list IngramSpark sourced books as “in stock” because they knew that they could order the book and get them in a day. In the last few months, Amazon has changed this practice. They will only order enough POD IngramSpark sourced books to fill existing orders. Occasionally, they will order a few more when demand shows that they will sell them. Books that previously were listed as “in stock” are no longer and it is dramatically affecting sales.”

Media-Friendly Author Website Content – Part Three from BookWorks and by Chris Well: “This is the last of three posts outlining the essentials that you need if you want a media-friendly author website if you want to get media attention. Still with me? Great! If you recall, in Part One we discussed how to present basic information about yourself and your book(s). Then in Part Two, we went over the different ways you can make it easier for website visitors to contact you to set up an interview, ask questions, invite you to speak, etc.”

How to Put the Joy (and the Impact) Back into Twitter from Alliance of Independent Authors and by Helen Baggott: “Do you have a Twitter account but don’t know why? Do you send out an occasional tweet hoping someone will buy your book? Establishing a presence does take time but it doesn’t have to be hard work – and you might even enjoy it.”

Fiction Contests

Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Spring 2018) from Writer Unboxed: “This submissions season covers fiction contests with deadlines between March 1, 2018 and May 31, 2018. March is absolutely stacked with deadlines; so no excuses about not submitting! Thanks to Literistic, Poets & Writers, Submittable Discover, and New Pages for many of these contests.”

Quote of the Week

Author of this blog: Frances Caballo is an author and social media strategist and manager for writers. She’s a regular speaker at the San Francisco Writers Conference. In addition, she’s a contributing writer at TheBookDesigner.com, and blogger and Social Media Expert for BookWorks. She’s written several social media books including the 2nd edition of 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, finding new readers, and selling more books. Her clients include authors of every genre and writers’ conferences. Not sure how you’re doing online? Sign up for my free email course.

Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web

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Indie Author Weekly Update – December 22, 2017

December 22, 2017 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

Today’s Indie Author Weekly Update contains a potpourri of topics and bloggers. Publicity, Twitter threads, and book marketing strategies are just some of the topics covered. Enjoy them all!

Don’t Get Rolled by Bad Publicity from Writer Unboxed and by Porter Anderson: “If the answer from your potential or existing publicist/PR person/press agent is no (“office secret,” “tricks of the trade,” “private information”), run away. They can withhold those journalist’s contact info from you. In fact, I’d prefer they did, for the sake of my inbox. But they need to tell you who’s getting the paper goods and why.”

On email optins: They are the lifeblood of your business as an author. From Shawn Manaher and Book Marketing Tools: “Welcome to the 142nd episode of The Author Hangout. In this episode, Shawn Manager explores what it takes to make the perfect optin, to get people onto your mailing list. Nearly every guest on The Author Hangout has mentioned the importance of mailing lists, and the optin is the make or break moment for your mailing list.”

Twitter officially launches ‘threads,’ a new feature for easily posting tweetstorms from Tech Crunch: “Twitter today is announcing the launch of a new feature that will allow people to more easily post tweetstorms – that is, those series of connected tweets that have grown to become a popular workaround for getting past Twitter’s character count limitation in order to share longer thoughts. The company confirmed last month it was testing the feature – which it’s now calling “threads” – across its iOS and Android apps.”

18 Rock Solid Book Marketing Strategies for 2018 from Penny Sansevieri: “We all want to be better at book marketing and we all want to sell more books. The problem is, it often feels like book marketing strategies are changing all the time and how is an eager author supposed to keep up with that? The reason for this article is to not only share some insight into marketing in the new year, but give you tips for long-term success, not just will work in January. The book marketing ideas I’m sharing in this article, are geared to success the whole year through, and I hope you’ll use all (or as many of these) as you can!”

How to Use Facebook’s New Snooze Feature from Lifehacker: “This week Facebook rolled out a new Snooze feature that allows you to essentially temporarily mute people or pages in your feed.”

A Look Back at 2017 Publishing Headlines: 5 Issues Raised for Authors by Jane Friedman: “At the end of November 2017, Barnes & Noble released their latest earnings report. The news was entirely predictable: the store’s losses grew, driven by a 6.3 percent decline in comparable store sales against last year. (Absence of a new Harry Potter book makes up half of that decline.) The declines have been going on for six or seven quarters now, with more declines expected. Still, B&N has been meeting its profit goals as a result of cost cutting.”

Bonus Items

Award and Content Ratings by the Alliance of Independent Authors: “ALLi is willing to work with any service that wants to improve its offerings and bring them in line with current best practice for authors services. Contact the Watchdog Desk at any time if you would like to inform us about a contest or award, or discuss a rating. Please use the form on this page.”

Writer Emergency Pack: “Writer Emergency Pack is your portable tool for story resuscitation (or simply creativity rejuvenation). Each pack contains 26 illustrated idea cards, 25 detail cards with helpful suggestions and specific tips, and instructions for individuals and class use, plus a bonus story game.”

Quote of the Week

Want to save time with social media? Get Avoid Social Media Time Suck for FREE.

Practical tips for marketing your books on the social web

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Indie Author Weekly Update – October 20, 2017

October 20, 2017 By Frances Caballo Leave a Comment

This week’s Indie Author Update touches on blogging, Twitter, Amazon advertising, and book review sites. They are all topics important to you as an indie author if you want to sell books.

Top 10 Ways to Use Twitter Without Losing Your Soul by G.G. Andrew: “Though it may seem old-fashioned, I prefer to think of Twitter as the online equivalent of a giant cocktail party, and act accordingly (by which I mean practicing kindness and maybe also drinking things with umbrellas).”

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Indie Author Weekly Update – January 27, 2017

January 27, 2017 By Frances Caballo 2 Comments

Welcome to today’s Indie Author Weekly Update. You’ll see new bloggers on a range of topics from ebook sales to Snapchat spectacles to hashtags.

On a personal note, we received a break from the storms. Yes, finally. The sun has even shined a few hours every day. Thank you for your patience as I return to my regular blogging schedule.

Indie Author Weekly Updates

A Powerful Shortcut for Discovering Keywords to Increase Ebook Sales from Digital Book World: “Indie authors and ebook publishers have a powerful tool for increasing book sales that costs nothing and already exists in their online book selling setup: keywords. The keywords associated with an ebook in an online store can help drive readers to your sales page. When you attract more people to your book’s sales page, the more opportunities you have to make sales.”

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