With so many social media outlets, authors and publishers may have a hard time finding the right platform for promotion.
Promotion is huge part of the game, regardless if you have taken the self-publishing or traditional route. It’s important to connect and engage readers. Creating bonds with readers could potentially lead to more sales and create readers of your books for life.
What are the options and how do you choose?
If you use any platforms, let us know what works best for you in the comments.
Twitter: People either love or hate Twitter. It scrolls quickly (depending on how many accounts you follow) and often your words can get lost in the shuffle. However, Twitter allows your information to be brief – and your account isn’t parsed to the few followers it thinks wants to read your information. If someone follows you on Twitter, they will see your posts.
Facebook: It’s becoming tougher and tougher to get information out on Facebook. The company consistently changes its algorithms, and even if people follow an author page, there is no guarantee that the followers will see it. That’s where Facebook ads come in. Authors have had success with promoting ads for new releases, and should be something to consider and include in your advertising budget.
Tumblr: Tumblr is a mix of Facebook and Twitter. People follow different accounts, but there isn’t much room for direct interaction as there is on Facebook and Twitter. However, Tumblr seems to allow for greater creativity with pictures, GIFs, drawings or whatever is on your mind that day.
Goodreads: This is where the readers are. You can post your books, add blogs and do giveaways on a site dedicated to reading. Since Amazon has taken over Goodreads, there haven’t been many drastic changes to the site. However, trolls seem to enjoy lurking on Goodreads. So, you need a thick skin to work here. However, it could be one of the best places to connect with readers.
LinkedIn: While this social media site is considered more for business professionals, it’s certainly a great place to meet other authors and publishers. You can find great tips and information in groups.
Google+: This is a tricky one. I’m not sure we have found the answer to Google+ yet. I read new articles every week talking about the benefits of the social media platform, but I just haven’t seen it yet. If Twitter is one long promotion, Google+ just seems to be a massive billboard in cyberspace. However, since it is a Google tool, it would be a wise place to link any blog posts or information here. Apparently, it may help with Google rankings.
Blogging: No, a blog is a not a social media platform in the technical aspect, but it’s the best place to engage an audience. You control the message of your blog and get all the information to your readers in a timely manner. Plus, you can take all of your blog posts and throw them on all the above sites.
For the most part, I don’t use any of the social media outlets to promote my books. What’s more, I stopped blogging well over a year ago.
Yet last year was the best year ever for the sales of my self-published “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” with over 25,000 copies sold. My second best-selling book, “The Joy of Not Working” sold 5,124 copies in its print edition. This was the best year since 2007. For the record, this book was first self-published in 1991. There are not that many books that have this staying power in the market place.
Plain and simple: There are many better ways to promote books than using social media. I use this strategy. Look at what the masses are doing – and do just the opposite! The strategy has helped me sell over 800,000 of my books worldwide.
Ernie J. Zelinski
The Prosperity Guy
“Helping Adventurous Souls Live Prosperous and Free”
Author of the Bestseller “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free”
(Over 200,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and the International Bestseller “The Joy of Not Working’
(Over 275,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)
LIBRARYTHING: Its “Member Giveaway” program is invaluable for indie authors and publishers to get review copies to interested reviewers. http://www.librarything.com/er_list.php?sort=quantity&program=giveaway&country=0&offeredby=all&batch=open&publisherid=&media=ebooks
They used to require that authors have a paid membership, but now it’s a free service.
G+ is a protection racket.
Ignore Google + and Google search will ignore you. – Google CEO Larry Page