Filed under: ebooks, Publicity & Promotion, ebooks, promotion, publicity
07/08/2010 • 9:02 AM 0
Twitter Followers versus Facebook Friends
A guy had hundreds of Facebook friends and decided to throw a Facebook party. One person showed up and that was a stranger. Facebook friends don’t equate to real friends. Real friends don’t tell you they might show up to your party even though you’re in Toronto and they are in Vancouver.
Facebook is useful, but, just like your regular friends, not all of them are such good friends they will help you move. Your posts to Facebook are like posts to a message board. Twitter, by contrast, is a conversation. You can have Facebook friends and never visit their home pages. On Twitter, your followers get your 140-character messages pushed on their Tweet deck. Eyes are on you as opposed to Facebook’s Friend ’em and Forget ’em.
But from a purely marketing perspective, quantity isn’t really important. It’s about the quality of your friends and followers. Do your interests dovetail? If you’re marketing a book, your business or service, what’s your ROI? (ROI stands for Return on Investment.)
That’s what many businesses miss: a cost/benefit analysis. Are you spending too much time on your blog and not enough time writing? What time and money efficiencies can you find? Do you need to revamp your approach to social media marketing? Do you need to bring in a guest blogger or refocus your content and search engine optimization to get eyes on your page?
Think of your social media approaches as pipes that lead people back to your website. Your web presence is a package. Twitter is a conversation in which you can sell your services after you sell yourself. Facebook has more personality, but first you sell yourself before your services. Your blog isn’t a diary. It’s a magazine.
On your website, the pitch is still somewhat buried in that your provide value and interesting stuff first. Your call to action has to be there if you’re trying to sell something, but don’t come on too strong because people may find you through your website first. For special promotions or straight ads, consider a mini-website (one page dedicated to your hard pitch or a linking to a separate business website for more of the straight dope on your services and products.)
For instance, my separate (business) website is at the click of the happy pic at www.chazzwrites.vpweb.ca.
Filed under: Publicity & Promotion, Social Media, Twitter, Facebook, promotion, selling, Twitter
07/03/2010 • 9:40 AM 0
Marketing Your Work with Social Media
I’ve spoken with many authors who are reluctant to make the jump to social media to market their work. Often, the concern is that the marketing aspect will take too much time. “When will I find time to write?” they ask. These people might have a time management problem, in which case, make a schedule to which you will commit.
Good news: If social media is taking up that much time, you’re probably thinkng too hard. Some gurus advise that each blog post should take an hour to write. No way. Think in terms of writing an email to a friend. You are the expert. You can come up with lots of information in a quick post that will be helpful and encouraging. You don’t have to sweat it too much. The work you really have to sweat over is the work for which you are paid directly.
Truism: To live in this world, you have to market. Get over yourself, Butch.
More good news: Marketing with social media is the most fun you’ll ever have.
BONUS:
And if you are committed to long blog posts–sometimes we must and do–break it up with subheadings and graphic elements, or I swear to you, it will be unread.
Filed under: Publicity & Promotion, writing tips, promotion, publicity, social media
06/28/2010 • 12:00 PM 2
The Best Business Card Tip of the Day
The best business card tip I received this weekend came from my newest Twitter friend @bonmotgirl.
I had ordered my business card and the promo card for my novel separately at different times (due to a lack of foresight on my part.) Next time I’ll do as Pam suggested:
Get a folding card, one half business contact info, half promo card. Lesson learned. Thanks for the idea Pam!
Filed under: Publicity & Promotion, publishing, business cards, networking, promotion, publishing
06/28/2010 • 5:30 AM 0
Testing out hootsuite.
Testing out hootsuite. Bewildering at first. If I haven’t screwed this up, it’s great!
Filed under: Unintentionally hilarious, hootsuite, promotion, social media
06/01/2010 • 7:02 PM 0
Publishing Marketability Conundrum
It just occurred to me that I’d be much more successful as a writer if I was more likeable, more stress-resistant, less angry, less paranoid and 26% sexier. Publishers want marketability. From now on, I’m not wearing a slip.
Alternative: forget all of the above and just be less lazy. However, without brain transplant technology, what’s a slacker to do?
KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
Sorry. Lost it in a Shatnerian way.
Go be prolific.
Filed under: Publicity & Promotion, publishing, writing tips, book, promotion, publicity, writing
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