Promotion: Be Social

Just talk and talk and… oh no. Well yes, in a way. Social networking is all the craze these days. Twitter, Facebook (and the declining Myspace), Linked In, Goodreads/Library Thing, and others I’m sure I’m missing, is the place to be if you are trying to be anything. We live in a society of instant gratification - what used to take 3 days to get a message from Boston to LA now takes 3 seconds in a Tweet or DM. There are fan pages for random things like deodorant, and accounts for writing 140 character novels post-by-post. You can meet with fellow readers and discuss books like you would if you were sitting in a round table discussion at sites like Goodreads, as well as doing virtual meet and greets and book give-a-ways. There are so many options for you to dive into that many don’t know where to begin or what works best for them. You also can’t forget about websites and blogs. As Captain Tenneal would say on MXC: Let’s go!

Twitter - The land of 140 characters. Oh Twitter, how you polarize people. I’ve heard from so many people how much they love or loathe that entity. Me, I fall somewhere in between. If I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t have met a good number of the folks I parley with today. Unfortunately, the number of folks that follow me FAR outweigh the number of actual comments I actually get from it. Do I feel like it is a waste of time, no as any traffic driven to what I want people to see is good traffic. Perhaps I don’t spend enough time on it making better contacts (remember, people want to talk to other people, not just be sold a product), and that is my own fault, but I do what I can when I can to make an effort to reach out. At times the 140 character limit can be tedious if I want to fit my message in all in a single Tweet. I do have to say though, I am friends with many successful users though who would rather do this than the others I’ll talk about below.

Facebook - Where I spend the majority of my promoting hours, I truly enjoy FB. It has everything you need in a neat (though at times buggy) package. You never have to leave to view a picture or Youtube video, Networkedblogs.com can link right to your profile so you can keep up to date with your favorite blog posters, and once again, a face with the name mentality sticks which tends to create a better connection between you and your fans. The downfall can be that your profile can only host 5000 friends (yes, it is possible to reach, and hope it is a goal that you plan to surpass), at which point (or maybe even before when you get to the 2k range) you will have to create a Fan page and herd (for lack of a better term) your fans to there so you can continue to allow new fans to find you and reach out. Be sure not to neglect people from your personal profile to your fan page though!

Oh, don’t forget about the Adspace available. It’s relatively inexpensive and when used correctly can get a good amount of ROI (Return On Investment). It’s extremely flexible in how you want it set up so you can be as concise as L.A. only or the state of California, but as broad as the entire U.S. and more.

“Social media is an aspect of writing and publishing that cannot be ignored. I receive comments daily from readers, and I'm able to respond to them and establish that all-too-important personal connection. I've also met some of my best friends and business contacts through social media.

“Two things to keep in mind: 1. Sales and marketing (including social media) is a transfer of enthusiasm, so be excited about what you're doing. Your enthusiasm will be infectious. 2. 78% of people trust peer recommendations even if they don't know the person making the recommendation, while only 14% of people trust advertisements. With that in mind, where do you think you should be investing your time and effort?”

-- Ethan Cross, author of The Shepherd

Myspace - What used to be the first though in people’s minds when the words social networking came up only a few years back, MS has migrated from a general place of contact to a place more geared towards comedians and musicians (though podcasters may find some success here). While I still provide updates to my profile, I rarely if ever see any return from that. Thankfully I have a program that broadcasts to T/FB/MS all at once if I just want to get a message out so I never get the feeling of wasted time having it all in one spot. My main use right now - the free music player available to MS users. It’s unfortunate but true.

Linked In - I’ve not used Linked In. So please, those of you who do who could provide some input, it would be greatly appreciated to hear what you have to say.

Booksites - Goodreads and Library Thing have so much great potential! They are both very interactive leaving what you want to experience completely up to you. You can join discussions, take polls, become a featured author, and provide a member giveaway. If you are an avid reader, which most of you are, post reviews, join those discussions, get your name to be recognized. BE AWARE: they do not appreciate “shameless self-promotion” (back to the don’t just sell your book, sell yourself aspect).

Blog - I’m sure most of you by now know what a blog is (if not, you probably wouldn’t be here), but what it is exactly is different for each individual. Some use Blogger, others use Wordpress, and others still use different resources available including those built right into their website. If you have a bunch to say, like to give away free short stories, or want to start large discussions, this is an easy way to facilitate that (though that can also be done via a fan page on FB, just a different format and interface). It is also a great way to keep your readers up-to-date on things like new releases (nationally and internationally), artwork, and other pertinent news of your success.

Website - The building block to the whole web-based shebang. Not everyone has a website though and use the other resources above to basically replace this entirely instead of supplement. I think a website is an important tool not to be dismissed to get new fans viewing your work. If they aren’t friends with you on FB and you have locked-out your profile to non-friends, you could have just lost that person as a new reader when no one is locked out of a website where people are free to view your message, covers, samples, etc. Are they expensive? Ya, they can be depending on how detailed you want to be and what you want to provide your fans. Is there upkeep? Yup, keeping your website fresh and updated is important so users keep coming back to check out what you have to provide. Can you do it yourself? Sure, with some know how, drive, and a few resources you can accomplish anything you set out to do. Really though, your website should be your anchor so if you don’t have one, you should be thinking about getting one.

Signings/Book Tours - THE original social networking, this is unfortunately falling by the wayside with the development of electronic publishing. Are there ways around it? Sure, there are apps out there which allow you to sign someone’s iPad version… but does it hold the same value - both monetarily and in that human-to-human interaction? You be the judge.

So, where does this return us to? Personal preference. The cardinal rule: be consistent. Don’t stretch yourself too thin because people will think that you are wasting their time or can’t rely on you. A close second: be genuine. Once again, like a broken record, people want to get to know the author that they are a fan of, not the next book you plan to sell them. Interact with them and be merry. What would I do if I were to do it all over again today knowing what I know now:

Pick one: Twitter or Facebook

Blog

Website

Those three in unison can be like the Dynamic Duo… but just three of them. When you get good at the Pick One category, get the other and perhaps try a book site. But only if you feel like you need to branch out - don’t feel pressured to! If it isn’t broken and you see consistent results as well as climbing numbers, don’t fix it.

Where have you seen your best Return On Investment (both time and/or money)?