101 Handy Hints to help you market and sell your book without resorting to big tech!It would be fair to say that for most authors the act of writing books is the bit they enjoy most. By contrast, the bit most of us find frustrating is the amount of time and effort it takes to get our work in front of a paying audience.
I have been pondering this and the very long list makes me feel a bit overwhelmed. :O)
I am lucky enough to have been picked to have some coaching to see if I can find an agent/publisher for my grief book. The lady coaching me is a writing coach and doing a course for this.
It's so hard to know which direction to go on but I know either way I will have to do marketing which I am in the process of reframing as creativity. Still it's marketing and it is a mine field. I don't like social media. Only account I have is fb and that's where I currently have contacts. Thinking of having a go with Pinterest because it looks like it could be quite creative and may set up a LinkIn account. Have been following a writer who uses that very successfully.
Many of the ideas on your list Linda I haven't heard of so I look forward to hearing more about them. :o)
You're welcome Karen and it's worth bearing in mind that this particular post is for those people who really dislike social media (a bit like me really :-) ) The only thing I would say about the likes of Facebook and Pinterest is that you don't own the data there! The way I used the social web when I was doing so was solely as a way to get people to sign up for my mailing list. With a mailing list you can then have a one on one conversation AND you own the data.
BTW, did you check out the post I added last week about how writers use LinkedIn? Much of what was in there is still valid and appropriate for authors and writers. LinkedIn is more specifically about relationship marketing, if you imagine a networking event for a business, it's the online equivalent.
Good luck with the marketing and the coaching too.
Thanks Linda. I saw the LinkIn post and read it but haven't yet absorbed it. ;o)
I find that when I post on fb not many people see it since I have been using substack. I stopped using the actual substack link but still engagment is right down. Feels boring and draining...
For now I will just keep writing because that's what gives me energy. :o) x
So what you are experiencing with Facebook is due to the algorithm they are now using which favours non-personal interaction over personal connections. Advertising and content, particularly from corporate users, is more highly rated and ranked and will always take a precedence. This is only going to get worse on all the major platforms, you'll start to notice it on the big search engines too soon, as they all start to push 'official' sources of information over others. This is particularly true for anyone working in complimentary/alternative areas of life. I will probably write about this in more detail over the coming weeks and months.
I'm glad you find them helpful Sarah. Slowly, I'll add content to the individual items so there'll be more information about how to go about it all, if you're interested :-)
I have been pondering this and the very long list makes me feel a bit overwhelmed. :O)
I am lucky enough to have been picked to have some coaching to see if I can find an agent/publisher for my grief book. The lady coaching me is a writing coach and doing a course for this.
It's so hard to know which direction to go on but I know either way I will have to do marketing which I am in the process of reframing as creativity. Still it's marketing and it is a mine field. I don't like social media. Only account I have is fb and that's where I currently have contacts. Thinking of having a go with Pinterest because it looks like it could be quite creative and may set up a LinkIn account. Have been following a writer who uses that very successfully.
Many of the ideas on your list Linda I haven't heard of so I look forward to hearing more about them. :o)
You're welcome Karen and it's worth bearing in mind that this particular post is for those people who really dislike social media (a bit like me really :-) ) The only thing I would say about the likes of Facebook and Pinterest is that you don't own the data there! The way I used the social web when I was doing so was solely as a way to get people to sign up for my mailing list. With a mailing list you can then have a one on one conversation AND you own the data.
BTW, did you check out the post I added last week about how writers use LinkedIn? Much of what was in there is still valid and appropriate for authors and writers. LinkedIn is more specifically about relationship marketing, if you imagine a networking event for a business, it's the online equivalent.
Good luck with the marketing and the coaching too.
x
Thanks Linda. I saw the LinkIn post and read it but haven't yet absorbed it. ;o)
I find that when I post on fb not many people see it since I have been using substack. I stopped using the actual substack link but still engagment is right down. Feels boring and draining...
For now I will just keep writing because that's what gives me energy. :o) x
So what you are experiencing with Facebook is due to the algorithm they are now using which favours non-personal interaction over personal connections. Advertising and content, particularly from corporate users, is more highly rated and ranked and will always take a precedence. This is only going to get worse on all the major platforms, you'll start to notice it on the big search engines too soon, as they all start to push 'official' sources of information over others. This is particularly true for anyone working in complimentary/alternative areas of life. I will probably write about this in more detail over the coming weeks and months.
These are great suggestions as I try to figure out what to do next to publicize the book I published at the end of January.
I'm glad you find them helpful Sarah. Slowly, I'll add content to the individual items so there'll be more information about how to go about it all, if you're interested :-)