surviving online: why social media is not a waste of time for authors
DESCRIPTION
Some writers claim that time spent engaging in social media is time wasted. But what is an author but a communicator of ideas, and what is social media but a platform for exchanging ideas (primarily by text, I might add). This session will focus on how the entrepreneurial author, even without a book yet to promote, can use social media not just for nurturing a potential readership but for nurturing story ideas as well.TRANSCRIPT
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Surviving OnlineWhy Social Media is Not a Waste of Time for Authors
Calebjross.com/Facebook
Calebjross.com/Twitter
Calebjross.com/Google
Calebjross.com/Goodreads
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1. State of the Author
2. Why Social Media?
3. How Social Media?
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“The best time to start promoting
your book is three years before it
comes out. Three years to build a
reputation, build a permission
asset, build a blog, build a
following, build credibility
(authority), and build the
connections you’ll need later.”
- Seth Godin, author of 13 books. American Way Magazine calls him, "America's Greatest Marketer,"
BUT I DON’T HAVE A BOOK TO PROMOTE
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• Little/No promotion• Fragmented distribution channels• Competing Media• Talent Saturation• Shorter Attention Span
HARD TRUTHS ABOUT WHAT NEW AUTHORS FACE TODAY
All of this must be offset only by the passion to write.
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To be an author, you need:• to invest in the reading and writing
community• to engage!• to be seen as an authority• to use unnecessary clip art in a
PowerPoint presentation
PUBLISHING A BOOK DOESN’T MAKE YOU AN AUTHOR.
To be a book writer, you need three things:• a stack of paper• an Amazon account• $10 (for an ISBN)
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Why Social Media?Aren’t there better ways to promote my writing?
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Google is the #1 search engine. What is the #2 search engine?
THREE SOCIAL MEDIA FACTS
http://www.experian.com/hitwise/press-release-facebook-was-the-top-search-term-for-2011.html
The most popular internet site? Hint: It’s not Google.
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Search for Social Conversation Wheel
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• Traditional Direct advertising– Facebook has one of the most robust self-serve
advertising models ever.– Goodreads allows authors to market to specific
genre readers• An overlay to all aspects of being an author
– R&D (Polls, Questions)– Workshopping (using Groups)– Promotion (Sharing)
• Advocate network
WHAT CAN SOCIAL MEDIA DO?
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Make your potential readers’ lives easier– If nothing else, exist– You aren’t spamming by simply
conversing
Engage with potential readers– Media consumers expect the DVD
behind-the-scenes extras. Even if you don’t, your readers do.
WHAT CAN SOCIAL MEDIA DO?
Social Media is Glorified Word of Mouth
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How Social Media?
Where to start and when to finish?
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Visual media?– Post videos at Youtube, Vimeo, DailyMotion
Statistics and Data?– Infographics, charts, spreadsheets, lists
(people LOVE sharing statistics)
Talking?– Podcast, interviews, video blogs
Journaling?– Forums, niche communities
LEVERAGING YOUR INTERESTS
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1. A central repository
TACTICS – BUILDING AUTHORITY
• Get a website– Wordpress.com, Blogspot.com,
Blogger.com
• Single source of all information– Never leave your readers to
guess where they can find you
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• Content is King• Blog often (3-4 x/week)• Google Blog Search• Blog tour/Guest posts• Response posts• Eventual book
TACTICS – BUILDING AUTHORITY
2. Blog
Be an authority by proving authority
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• Thematic professionals– Alan Emmins blurbed my first novel,
found on Facebook• Media professionals
– Jane Friedman, AWP panel• Reader influencers
– Book review bloggers– Lit news sites
TACTICS – BUILDING AUTHORITY
3. Connect with other authorities
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Your readers are here. You should be too.
TACTICS – BUILDING AUTHORITY
For advanced distribution tactics, see cjrlit.com/advancedsyndication
4. Exist on:
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TACTICS – PERMISSION ASSETS
“Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them.” – Seth Godin
• Newsletter• Youtube subscribers• Blog subscribers• Twitter followers• Facebook “likes”
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94% had never heard of my book
93% had never heard of me prior
92% would come to a reading event if I were to visit their town.
88% intend to read other books by me
51% subscribed to my newsletter
37% plan to connect with me on social networks
36% said they planned on purchasing the book
THE VALUE OF GOODREADS.COM BOOK GIVEAWAY
2-book giveaway, 2 week duration, 398 entrants
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Does writing books take away time that could be spent gaining readers?
IS IT ALL A WASTE OF TIME?
Yes
Does social media take away time that could be spent writing books?
Yes