author platform

noticeyourbooks

How to get people to notice your books (4 Steps)

noticeyourbooksDo you wish you knew how to get people to notice your books?

In a very crowded market, it may feel impossible to get your books the attention they deserve. Many authors complain that they spend incredible amounts of time on marketing, but don’t see many sales result. Worse, they don’t even have time to write!

It doesn’t need to be that difficult to find your audience and give your books the readers they deserve. Here are four steps to getting your book noticed.

1. Publish your book with a professional, compelling cover design and description. It doesn’t matter how many eyeballs you get on your book if the cover turns them off.

2. Create a compelling offer. No, “buy my book” is not a compelling offer. Imagine readers are discovering you for the very first time. What can you do to make it easier for them to take a risk with a new author? Limited time low pricing can work, but doesn’t help support your career. Can you offer a free sample? A bundle with other products? Companion material that is free for you to produce and distribute — such as guides, education, videos or audio?

3. Expand your reach. With a beautiful book and a compelling offer in place, NOW you are ready to start spreading the word about your book. Start sharing with your personal network, grow your following on social media, share your free content on sites such as LinkedIn and Medium, email your list, schedule readings and talks, offer guest posts and reach out to influencers.

Caution! If you don’t have an attractive book and a compelling offer to send all the attention to, your efforts will not have the impact you desire. Your time will be wasted.

4. Advertise. Yes, sometimes you get out what you put in. I’ve seen the best results with two particular ad channels. I love the precision and control offered with Facebook ads. I’m blown away by the reach and result achieved with BookBub ads.

While these 4 steps will help you with an individual book push, you’ll fare even better if you grow your personal audience. Perhaps you’ve heard of Kevin Kelly’s theory that an artist really only needs 1,000 true fans to support a career?

What if instead of a constant hustle, you spent your time gaining your 1,000 fans? With a solid fan base, each work has a strong launching pad that will amplify all of your efforts.

Want help with this?

>> Learn the A-Z’s of building your author platform and winning your true fans.

Are you making this mistake with your Facebook ads?

One of the biggest complaints I heard from the authors who completed my 2016 Book Marketing Challenges survey was how easy it is to waste money on advertising.

Luckily, I've tested strategies and practices that remarkably improve ad results. This means that I've also paid good money for ads that were complete flops. Painful! These failed ads taught me very important lessons. I am happy to share my experiences so that you don't have to make the same mistakes I did.

Here is a quick 2-minute video lesson that shows how a specific change I made to my Facebook ads TRIPLED my book sales.

If you don't have time to watch the video, here's the big lesson I reveal.

Don't direct your ad directly to your Amazon book page. Instead, offer an easier "next step" such as downloading a sample of your book for free.

Insider tip: This lesson is a free preview of my Online Marketing Masterclass for authors that will be released to the public later this week.

The give and take of social media marketing (Plus my golden rule of self-promotion.)

giveandtakeofsocialmediaWant to avoid irritating the crap out of your Twitter followers, but still need to make sure the time you spend on the platform results in traffic and sales? Here’s my golden rule for self-promotion on Twitter:

Don’t exceed a 3:1 ratio of "gives" versus promotion.

What does this mean? This means for every single time I talk about myself, or my books, or classes, I talk about something completely unrelated to me at least three times.

Give. Give. Give. Take.

This 3:1 ratio is a bit high on the promotion side. I only talk about myself this much when I have something I am pushing hard. When I don’t have anything new, that ratio drops down to more like 10:1, or even 20:1.

Guy Kawasaki, who was my mentor and advisor during my Writer.ly years, told me his ratio might even be much higher on the “give” side. He manages aggregate news sites and tweets a huge volume of content. For mere mortals, the 10:1 or 3:1 goal is more achievable.

How does this play out? Let’s say I am promoting a new free class. Even though the class is technically a “give” as a free resource, it’s a “take” as I’m talking about myself and asking people to give me their emails when they sign up.

I know that to meet my signup goals, I need to tweet about the class about three times a day. I will use Hootsuite to schedule my tweets for prime times (early in the morning, one in the afternoon, one late in the evening). I make sure to change the tweets so that they don’t all say the same thing.

Once my promo tweets are scheduled, I fill up the space between with at least 3 high-interest “gives”.

What counts as a give? A give can be an article, a quote, a writing prompt, a recommendation, a joke, or links to other people’s events or books. As long as the gives are appropriate and interesting to my audience, no one seems to mind the tweets about my class. Most of my followers will miss them all, even though I spread them throughout the day.

The take is just as important as the give if you are on Twitter for business or audience purposes. If all you post are “gives”, then your efforts will not feed your email list or sales. If you have nothing in particular you are promoting, you can at least schedule out occasional tweets for people to come back and look at your most popular blog posts, or to sign up for your wonderful email newsletter.

It’s more of an art than a science. I break my own rules occasionally and do not always follow my own advice. Luckily, Twitter has a short term memory. It’s easy for my followers forgive my occasional over-excitement for my own projects thanks to the all the other wonderful content I curate for their benefit and enjoyment.

Do you need help using Twitter more effectively?

Sign up for my 3-Day course "How to Get More Followers on Twitter." It's free and delivered via email, so you can complete it on your own schedule.

>> Sign up here. <<

This is day three of my week of social savvy posts. Check back tomorrow to learn more about how to use Twitter to achieve your promotion goals.

How to use Twitter without embarrassing yourself.

HowtoUseTwitterPromoting your books does not need to be a painful exercise in narcissistic flailing and squandered efforts. Approached with the correct mindset, it might not only be very effective, but also fun! If you would like to know how to use Twitter without embarrassing yourself or wasting time, here is what you must keep top of mind. It's the biggie...

Twitter is the place for first discovery, not the final sale.

If you have ever worked in sales or marketing, you may have heard of the sales funnel. As you can see in the illustration below, social media sites (such as Twitter) are at the very tippy top of the funnel. This is where you get your first introductions. Potential readers may see your clever tweet and discover for the first time that you even exist.

social media sales funnel for authors

 

This first discovery moment is not the time to ask for a book sale. Sure, if you ask 100 people, you might get one or two sales. Is that what you're after, one or two sales? Is it worth annoying the 98 or 99 other people that didn't take you up on your quick offer?

Use Twitter to entertain or inform your potential fans. Give them interesting content to earn their attention. Invite them to click through to your blogs, or freebies or collaborations.

Here's an example of how I invite my Twitter followers to come visit my website:

Since my audience is full of writers, I offer the fun game as a way to interact (play!) and drive traffic back to my blog. It's subtle and appreciated by those that participate. You'll notice there is no sales push. I'm not selling anything with these games. I use the games as a way to move beyond introduction and discovery and give my audience a chance to get to know me.

More directly, you can offer information or freebies on Twitter. Here's an example of just that:

This tweet really helps move potential fans through the funnel. Not only do we go past introduction to entice people back to the website, but we offer them something of high value for free. While they may watch the video right away, if they want the guide they need to provide their email address. Once we receive their email address, we have permission to continue building our relationship and provide them more offers leading to a single sale, or even a life of fandom. (So we hope!)

If you would like to know how to use Twitter without embarrassing yourself, just keep thinking of the network as a very first introduction to your potential readers. Give, give, give.... give resources, information or entertainment. Be yourself and don't worry about "pushing" anything. Provide opportunities to invite your followers back to your website or to your events. Keep thinking about what you can offer to move your potential readers through the funnel and closer to fandom.

Do you need help using Twitter more effectively?

Sign up for my 3-Day course "How to Get More Followers on Twitter." It's free and delivered via email, so you can complete it on your own schedule.

>> Sign up here. <<

This is day two of my week of social savvy posts. Check back tomorrow to learn more about how to use Twitter to achieve your promotion goals.

Why should authors be on Twitter? (4 reasons)

4reasonsauthorsontwitterSo little time, so much to do, right? As an author, not only do you have to actually write your books, but you also need to promote your works to readers. This can be an incredible amount of work. While social media provides direct access to millions of potential readers, most authors fail to use platforms in way that effectively promotes their books. It's easy to waste a lot of time messing around on social media without getting results. So, why should authors be on Twitter?

Here are four reasons why I highly recommend authors that authors check out Twitter.

1. It's easy to find people on Twitter who have specific interests that align with your books.

This is also called "targeting' your market, which sounds like a mean thing to do but is actually very thoughtful. For example, if you write historical fiction set in the Pacific Northwest, you can identify readers who might be interested in your books by searching what they are tweeting and which accounts they are following. In this situation, you might search for people tweeting about other historical fiction books they've reviewed on Goodreads, or using a #historical hashtag, or retweeting the @Smithsonian magazine account.

2. You can scale quickly.

Scale matters. If you only have an audience of 100 people, those 100 people won't be able to provide enough support to promote or buys your books in quantities that will enable you to make a living (or break even!) as a writer. Simply by following people interested in topics related to your books, you can build a targeted, respectable following. (Here's help on how to do that.)

3. You can use tools to dramatically reduce the amount of time you actually spend on Twitter.

Would you believe that I spend less than an hour or so each week maintaining my Twitter accounts? It's true! This is possible with third-party tools that help you post content, manage your following and respond to mentions. Here's my magic formula:

Feedly - Used to find excellent content worth sharing

Hootsuite - Used to schedule content and monitor mentions, conversations and topics

Tweepi - Used to manage and grow my following

4. Twitter can drive a lot of traffic.

Most importantly, authors that manage to connect with a decent amount of likely readers can use the network to drive a lot of traffic to their website. Twitter (and all social media networks) are at the very tippy-top of the sales funnel. [ctt title="'Savvy authors understand that Twitter is where you make an introduction, not a sale.'" tweet="'Savvy authors understand that Twitter is where you make an introduction, not a sale.' http://ctt.ec/brdYN+ via @Kelsye #selfpub" coverup="brdYN"] Authors posting compelling blogs, offering awesome freebies or hosting online events may tweet links to turn Twitter acquaintances into website visitors, book readers and possibly, eventually, fans for life.

Twitter can help authors connect with potential readers, build a sizable following, save time on marketing and drive traffic home.

Do you need help using Twitter more effectively?

Sign up for my 3-Day course "How to Get More Followers on Twitter." It's free and delivered via email, so you can complete it on your own schedule. Click here for details.

Claim your name: First steps for authors on social media

claimYOURnameAuthors on social media often struggle in the beginning.

Aside from the fact that self-promotion seems daunting and distasteful, you must also contend with a vast number of social networks to choose from, each with their own best practices, unspoken rules and effectiveness. How can you possibly be expected to know where to start?

Good news! You don't need to figure out everything right away. You have plenty of time to try out different platforms. You may explore each one-by-one if you wish, trying them on for audience, ease of use and enjoyment. This is my best piece of advice for authors on social media.

Do this right now:

Claim your name on all the major social media platforms.

What does this mean? This means creating an account on all the major social networks, as well as any niche networks you think might be a good match for your work and your readers. This does not mean that you need to start using all these accounts right now. This simply means that if you do decide to try them out in the future, you will not suffer the annoyance of discovering your name is already taken.

These are the social media networks I suggest for all authors. Do you already have your name claimed on these sites?

There are many other social media or community sites that may also be a good match for you. Check out:

There are a billion more. Ask your readers where they spend their time online and what sites they like. That's where you need to be.

When you create your username, you will be very lucky if you can get your first name, or even your full name. Already taken? Don't worry, there are many ways you can craft a well-branded, professional username that will likely work across platforms. Let's say your name is Stephen King, you could try these public user names:

  1. Stephen
  2. StephenKing
  3. AuthorStephenKing
  4. StephenKing
  5. StephenWrites
  6. SKingAuthor
  7. theStephenKing
  8. RealStephen
  9. StephenSpeaks
  10. MeetStephen

If possible, you want to find a user name that you can use on as many social media platforms as possible. This will make it easier for people to find you.

Tip: DO NOT create profiles in the name of your book. You're an author for life, right? You are going to write many books, yes? It will be a big pain to have to start over again every time you publish something new.

Are you 8 for 8 for claiming your name on the primary social media accounts I listed? Do you know more social sites for authors and artists that I may add to the secondary list? Let me know in the comments below.

Do you need help using Twitter more effectively?

Sign up for my 3-Day course “How to Get More Followers on Twitter.” It’s free and delivered via email, so you can complete it on your own schedule.

>> Sign up here. <<

What Is an Author Platform?

what_is_an_author_platformSimply put, your author platform is your audience.

Your audience is composed of your social media networks, your email list, your professional contacts, the folks you know in real life, any groups where you speak or lead, etc.

There are as many ways to build an author platform as there are authors. A strong website can serve as an anchoring base, hosting a blog and promoting and new releases or events. Social media provides a fantastic way to connect with a large audience around specific topics of interest. In-person events such as speaking opportunities or conferences enable you to build visibility in your field and create new connections.

Do you need an author platform?

If you write only for the sheer joy of the experience and are satisfied with any readers luck sends your way, no. You do not need an author platform.

If you hope to build a readership, attract an agent or publisher, or sell books, yes. You need an author platform.

As Jane Friedman wrote, "Editors and agents are attracted to authors who have this thing called 'platform.' What editors and agents typically mean by platform They’re looking for someone with visibility and authority who has proven reach to a target audience."

While your book may be brilliant, it will be difficult to sell if there isn't a built-in audience for your topic, or if you have no existing audience. Brook Warner of She Writes Press suggests that before you publish, you take the time to build your author platform.

Starting from scratch

Building an author platform with strong credibility, reach and authority takes time. However, there is much you can do in a short time to create your author platform base. Here's what I recommend to get started:

  1. Claim your name and create accounts on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+ and any other networks of the moment
  2. Choose one or two social networks to experiment with and start building a following
  3. Create a professional website
  4. Start building your email list
  5. Become active in the communities surrounding your topics of interest and publication

Once you have a solid base established, every action you take will gradually build your author platform and increase your actual reach and audience.

Start building your platform on Twitter right now, with a little help.

Join my 3-day class on growing your Twitter following. The class is free and delivered instantly via email.

>> Get the first class here.

How I Got My Literary Agent to Notice Me

literary-agentBy building an author platform and getting my writing out into the world, I was able to attract a literary agent without writing a single query letter. I am now happily signed with Gordon Warnock of Foreword Literary.

Here are the exact steps my agent took before he decided to reach out to me.

1. He saw my Kickstarter campaign.

I funded my Book Lush project through Kickstarter. While researching another potential publishing project, Gordon stumbled across my Book Lush Campaign. I had a compelling video, professional graphics and a clear description of my book project. Also very important, my Kickstarter campaign contained links to my author website and social media networks.

Lesson learned: Just do it. If I never took a chance on crowdfunding, it's likely my agent would have never noticed me. If you have a project in mind and need funds to get it going, don't wait for a publisher or agent to approve it. Try using crowd funding platforms to raise the money and gain your first readers. I'm going to try Pubslush for my next campaign.

2. He visited my website.

Gordon clicked from my Kickstarter campaign over to my website. Using a custom wordpress template and my own graphics, I created a professional website presenting myself as an author. From here, Gordon was able to learn much about me. Amazingly, I only had my website up for about three months before Gordon found me.

Lesson learned: Don't wait until you're well-advanced in your author career to get your website set up. Do it now! Even if you have no books to promote, you can still host a blog and other samples of your writing.

3. He checked out my social media networks.

From my website, Gordon was able to click over and view my Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest accounts. These demonstrated that not only do I have an existing audience, but I am willing to use social media as an outreach tool.

Lesson learned: Start building your online community now! Consider it play and experiment with different networks and content strategies until you find what works best for you. Show that you will be a savvy marketing partner for your own books.

4. He bought my books on Amazon.

Just six months prior, I published my Breakup Girl collection of short stories on Amazon. Gordon was able to easily get a sample of my writing and see if my style and voice was a match for him.

Lesson learned: Get your writing out there! If your writing is ready for publishing, find a channel and send it out! A word of warning, some agents and publishers will not consider work that has already been self-published. If you have a novel you would like traditionally published, consider publishing a short story collection, or articles on various media sites, rather than the work you hope to get picked up.

5. He sent me a message through my site.

One of his first questions was something to the effect of, "Do you perchance have a novel as well?" Why, yes! I've been working on a novel for a good eight years (gasp) and am polishing up the final draft now.

Lesson learned: First, have an easy way for people to contact you through your website. I have a contact form. Second, always be planning and working on your next writing project. If you desire a writing career, rather than a single experience, you should have at least one more project to follow whatever you're working on now.

6. He gave me a call.

I got the first call from Gordon when I was on my drive home. I ended up sitting in my car in my driveway for about an hour talking to him about books, writing and publishing. We have the same beliefs about the pleasure that comes from books and the brave new world of publishing. We were clearly a match.

Lesson learned: Perhaps you don't have to like your agent for your books to be successfully published, but it sure makes the whole experience a lot more pleasurable if you do.

So what can you do now? If you haven't already, start building your author platform! Get your website up, start building your social networks and get your writing out to readers. There is no one way to publish or become an author. You have your own unique path. However, your path may well be very long and difficult if you do not get yourself and your writing out into the world where readers, agents and publishers may find you.

If you need help building your author platform, I'm leading a course called Small Town Writer, Big World Audience on Gutsy Creatives. If you enter the discount code BLOGGISH you'll get $25 off the cost of the full course. Click here to register.

You can even preview a sample lesson here!

Best of luck on your publishing journey!