Tips and tricks for new authors who are a little overwhelmed by the whole social media marketing process.
Why didn't I do this sooner? Honestly, I want to say laziness, but I know it's far from that. I've been writing for nearly 10 years now, and honestly, things really can get on top of you at times. So here I have a short summary outlining the mistakes I've made, in the hope you won't.
Let's assume you're ready, you have your shiny new cover, and your perfectly polished manuscript, and you are ready to go. It's all uploaded and... nothing. You aren't alone in this. Starting out is always the hardest part for any new business.
Mailing lists and other outlets.
A lot of authors will try their hand at developing a mailing list, in short, they create a small excerpt, a short story, or something to offer people in exchange for their email address, and following that they join a platform such as bookbub, bookfunnel or somewhere else to send their work and get the email addresses, a list of really good places can be found with a quick google search. It isn't too difficult to do, but you will need some kind of following to do this, so starting up a Twitter page, Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok first helps reach readers and get followers. Before you know it, you're six months in and you've sold 3 copies and a few page reads. Reviews are looking bleak and you have no idea where to turn next. Worse still, you've probably managed to write a few opening paragraphs of your new book. So now what, you ask?
If you write it, they will come, maybe?
Step back. You'll hear the phrase 'This is not a sprint, it's a marathon,' often in this business, because it is.
Taking a breath before you publish can really help. We are desperate to get our work out there, for hungry readers to consume our words faster than we can write them, but they need to know where you are first, and they need to know about your book and you.
Not trusting readers is the first mistake most authors make. Just publishing is not going to work in the world of independent authoring. First things first, make a list of all the platforms you want to use. My major ones are my mailing list, Facebook, and sometimes Twitter, but remember, you don't have to do that.
Some of the biggest authors engage with their audience once a month if they're lucky, because the rest of the time they're writing or reading. Work is your priority here, but let's look at the other side of marketing, the places where we pay to get our books into the hands of our readers.
As an Amazon author, I swear by Amazon ads, however, it's not always that simple. There is a lot to learn with Amazon ads, joining courses such as Bryan Cohen's ad school, and keeping updated with Amazon's own mentorship can really go a long way. If you have some spare change to invest, this is where your money will be best spent, but that is just my personal opinion.
Taking things slowly, joining some Facebook groups such as 20booksto50k, and following certain accounts on Twitter can make you feel like you're completely unaccomplished and overwhelm you before you even start. JOIN THEM! Authors often have release plans, editing plans, and even cover plans, but having a plan to actually start out can go a massive way towards beginning your author career and really help you keep it on track.
What platforms?
Choose those platforms wisely. 1) Facebook is now connected to Instagram, so having a Facebook page for your author profile can help kill 2 birds with 1 stone. 2) Twitter is brilliantly engaging, it's full of authors who are happy to help promote your work and readers who are willing to buy it. 3) Having a mailing list may come a little later in the game. When you know you have some people, you can share things with, that is when you begin your build. 4) TikTok, is a chance to be silly, where you can allow yourself some free time to voice your view about something or just play with making videos to post on TikTok. 5) YouTube, while you're posting videos to all the other platforms, bang it on YouTube, you never know who might see it. But again, slow down.
Every month I set a day to one side where I schedule content on Twitter and Facebook. Every-so-often I turn to TikTok and post something there. When I have a book release, I'll let my mailing list know. This could be once or twice a year, and I no longer give away free content. We will get into the why about that a bit later on. My most important mission is creating my Amazon ads, weekly. People browse Amazon for new books, so I want to advertise my books in the place they're most likely to purchase them. It just makes sense.
But now, I've added this, my first blog post. Why blog? Because I have made a lot of mistakes, and the more I can help people avoid them, the better.
My final bit of advice here, if you feel overwhelmed with social media, whether you're just starting out or you've been at it for years, step back. Take a break, authors often forget that their health is their absolute top priority, and if taking a break from the often insane world of social media helps, then do it! Keep those ads running and you will still see profit, but it means you're able to focus on you, and your books are still getting out there and doing their rounds. Your second priority is to write and if social media is eating into that time then stop.
Where to next?
Sit back, have a cup of tea, and enjoy plotting your next masterpiece.
To finish off, thank you for reading my very first of many blog posts. You can check out my social media below, although I rarely do much with them now.
Read but not edited!
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