Social Media

Last month we discussed how to set up and use your newsletter. If you missed it you can find a copy here: https://www.publicious.com.au/blog.html

Here are the topics we’ve discussed so far:

1. Preparation for your marketing campaign
2. Mailing list
3. Getting subscribers
4. Finding your audience
5. Welcoming new subscribers to your list and engaging with your audience
6. Newsletter

All these articles can also be found at the link above. So, if you’ve been following these topics that we’ve covered over the last few months, you should be ready for the next step. Social Media!

Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay, but from the author’s point of view, it’s far more than just a platform to share your daily moans and groans. Here’s a list of the most popular platforms that we can use to our advantage:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Tik Tok
•  LinkedIn

In next month’s newsletter, we’ll be discussing in more depth the use of paid advertising, especially on Facebook. For my buck, this is the most effective use of social media, but it also depends on the type of author you are, the genre you write in, and the audience you’re trying to attract.

Posting regular comments on Twitter and photographs on Instagram might increase your online exposure, but there’s no saying this is going to sell books. You really need to decide why you want to use a certain media and how, and what will be the possible outcome. If you enjoy posting pictures of yourself during your many travels, great; but it’s important to be honest with yourself, are you doing this for enjoyment? Are you getting the response you’re looking for and, more importantly, are you selling books because of this? If not, then perhaps you need to look at other ways to push your brand.

I have clients who have had some success using TikTok and YouTube. For example, one of our authors who wrote an on-topic children’s book simply sat down and recorded herself reading short passages from her book and posted them on TikTok. The videos went viral and her sales hit the roof.

LinkedIn is a good platform for authors who write non-fiction, especially business books, motivational, and self-improvement. LinkedIn is a platform targeted around business networking and can work very well for the author with an entrepreneurial side.

The topic of social media is way too in-depth to cover in this short newsletter, but the point is, it’s good to keep an open mind, be up for trying new things, keeping what works for you and disregarding what doesn’t. If you’re not getting results, discard it and try something else. This will save you a lot of time and possibly money in the long run.

The important thing though is the audience you are trying to reach. Are they the kind of people who are active on social media platforms? The young adult genre definitely is, but what if you’ve written a book on history and your target audience is the middle-aged section of society? Will they be interested in your daily Tweets, or the latest picture of you on Instagram enjoying dessert at your favourite restaurant?

All successful authors need to use social media in some form or another, but it’s how you use it and why that will make the difference when it comes to your marketing campaign.

Keep an eye out for our next newsletter when we’ll be expanding the discussion on how we can use social media with targeted paid advertising. Until then, have a great month!

Write on …
Andy