Marketing Tips for Writers

Recently, I’ve attended several marketing workshops, and here are some good tips that I gleaned from the speakers.

Facebook and Social Media Sites:

Barbara Hinske, with the SinC Grand Canyon Writers, stressed that authors need to go where their readers are on social media. She recommended using Facebook groups as part of your marketing strategy. Set one up for your street team/super fans. Also look for online groups that share interests with the themes in your books.

Trends and analytics change almost weekly on the social media sites. You need to keep up with what’s in and out. Marketing ideas that worked last time, may not work the next time.

Nancy Cohen suggested making a list of all the Facebook groups from your genre that allow book promotions. She has a document with all the links, so when she has a post, it’s a lot easier than trying to find sites.

Newsletter/Email List:

Barbara Hinske stressed the importance of always building your email/newsletter list. This is a key part of your author platform. Make sure you have a signup sheet at every event you do. When I do Facebook parties and take-overs, I always include a link for people to sign up for my newsletter.

Other Resources:

Speakers in both of the sessions I attended recommended the following as resources for authors:

• Bryan Cohen

• Mark Dawson

• InkersCon

What have you added recently to your marketing toolbox that works for you?

Do You Invest in Your Writing Career?

You as an author are your brand, and you need to treat your writing as a business. Here are some ideas of ways you can invest in your learning and your craft.

• Do you have a professional membership in a writing organization? Many like Sisters in Crime have local chapters. These groups can help you with training, programs, ideas, and writing opportunities. Mine are invaluable. I cherish the friends and the networking opportunities they afford. My first traditionally published work was a short story in a Sisters in Crime anthology.

• Do you have a professional headshot? Selfies and candids are fun, but you need a professional photo for print media and the web. Selfies don’t have enough dpi (dots per inch) resolution, and if you try to enlarge it, it looks fuzzy. Invest in a professional photo. It’s one of the first things I spent money on.

• Do you invest in your training or learning? Professional organizations often have programs or learning opportunities. Check out online programs, YouTube videos, your local library, and your local colleges. Many offer low-cost or even free courses on a variety of topics that can help you on your writing journey. Don’t forget blogs and online magazines. There are tons of articles out there with good advice.

• Is your computer secure? Your writing is valuable. There is nothing that will make a writer cry faster than losing part or all of a manuscript. Make sure you back up your files.

  • You need to make sure you upload patches and updates when they come out. These fix vulnerabilities in your applications or operating system. The longer you wait, the longer you’re vulnerable.

  • Make sure you have anti-virus software on your computer and make sure it’s up to date.

• Do you have a brand?

  • A logo for you and your books are nice. You can use it on your website and your socials.

  • Your platform (website and social media sites) should have the same look and feel (e.g., colors, fonts, etc.). My first work was published in an anthology with a red and black cover, so I did all my graphics in those colors. A publicist told me later that it really didn’t reflect my writing style. She told me to use pastels since I write cozy and funny mysteries.

  • Make sure that your readers can identify your sites. A professional photo and a logo go a long way to help with this. If your photo is a flower, readers often don’t realize it’s your author page.

  • Make sure that your site, your biographies, and book lists are updated regularly. People don’t visit outdated or inactive sites.

  • This sounds like Captain Obvious, but it’s true sometimes. Make sure visitors to your website and socials know you are an author. Your banners, posts, graphics should all promote your books and services.

What else would you add to my list?

How to Build Your Social Media Following

No matter if you’re indie or traditionally published, you’ll be required to build your social media followings and market your books. Here are a few tips that worked for me to add to my following:

• The social part is key. You need to be active on the sites. Block off some time each day to comment, share, and celebrate with others. I found that if I log on early in the morning, at lunch, and after dinner for about 20 to 30 minutes, I have time to be active throughout the day. It also gives me time to respond to comments and inquiries in a fairly timely manner.

• Post interesting content (e.g., things you’re doing, your hobbies, your pets, your travels, tips and tricks, etc.) Don’t be the person who only posts “buy my book” posts. If you’re funny and interesting, people will find you, and they’ll share your content.

• I schedule posts once a week for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X. I look at my analytics and determine when my audience is most active, and I schedule them for those days and times.

• For Instagram and Facebook, take the time to create an author page. Meta offers tools and opportunities for business sites that are not available on your personal one. It takes time to build a new site and a following, but the analytics, tools, and reach are better. I use the Meta Business tools to schedule posts. (If you’re using a personal page, you cannot boost posts or create ads, check analytics. Friend pages also have a cap on the number of friends you can have.)

• Pick one of your socials that you want to work on and commit to following 15-20 new people each day for 2-3 weeks. Look for those who follow authors like you. Look for readers, librarians, and book sellers. When you get new followers, look at their followers and follow the interesting ones. If you adopt this has a regular process, you’ll build your following. (My husband likes to watch sports on TV. I use this time, to work on my socials.)

• For business (author page) in Facebook, the platform offers you an option to send an invitation to people who have liked posts on your page. You also have the option to invite friends to like your page. In both cases, you can send invitations to groups of people who are interested in you and your page.

What would you add to my list?

Playlists for Your Books

Music is such an integral part of my writing process and my life. I listen to jazz or classical music when I’m writing or revising, and I like songs that remind me of the characters, the era, or the setting while I’m plotting. I always have background music on.

If you haven’t already, you should consider making playlists for your books. My sister mentioned that her book group always asks visiting authors if they have a playlist to share. What a great idea.

I used YouTube links for my early playlists. (Search for the song and copy the link. Then link the song title in your blog post to the music video.) I recently started listening to Spotify, and it has a lot of my audio books and podcasts available, so it was a perfect platform for me to create song lists. I named each one for a series and added all the songs that reminded me of those books. Now I can share the link with book groups and readers.

Check them out:

• The Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries

• The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries

• The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries

What Should You Put in Your Next Newsletter?

I think your website and your newsletter are the two most important parts of your platform because you own them. Sometimes though, it’s hard to come up with interesting content. Here are some ideas…

• Add a “What’s New” section to talk about what’s coming out next.

• Run a contest. Ask a question and then post the winners in your next newsletter.

• Add a recipe.

• Show pictures of recent events. Include ones with readers.

• Include pictures of your pets.

• I feature author interviews on my blog. I pick a few to feature in each newsletter. It introduces my readers to new authors, and I get to reuse some blog posts.

• Include fun facts about the month or season. Brownilocks has a neat calendar of all kinds of “holidays” and celebrations.

• Include links to podcasts, special interviews, anthologies, or group blogs that you participate in.

• Add a list of upcoming events (in-person and virtual).

• Talk about what’s going on with you. Readers are interested in what you do when you’re not writing.

• Partner with another author. Let her guest star in your newsletter, and you visit hers.

What would you add to my list?

25 Ideas for Social Media Posts

Social media is a key part of every author’s marketing plan. It’s important to check in regularly and post responses and comments. It’s also key to have regular posts. Here are some ideas if you’re looking content ideas for your sites. Readers are interested in you and what you do outside of your writing life.

Post a photo or video of…

1. What you’re reading and get feedback on what others are reading - It’s great to do a shout out to other authors.

2. Your pet (or your neighbor’s pet)

3. Your favorite recipe or a picture of the dish

4. Things you see on your walk

5. Your favorite writing spot

6. Things you see from your writing cave’s window

7. Your desk or your junk drawer

8. Your favorite reading spot

9. Where you’ve been lately and why

10. Your favorite place to vacation

11. Your library or favorite bookstore

12. A request for TV show or movie recommendations

13. Your latest hobby or project

14. Your favorite holiday decorations

15. Your favorite seasonal snack or drink

16. Share a behind the scenes tidbit from one of your book’s locations

17. Share a tip or a hack about how to do something

18. For #ThrowbackThursday or #FlashbackFriday…Everyone has that funny school picture.

19. A sunset or sunrise

20. Things from your garden or flowerbed

21. Your favorite tiny or free library

22. Something that happened on this day in history or in pop culture

23. Places from your hometown

24. Before and after shots of something you’ve changed

25. Your favorite quote

Remember text-only posts don’t do as well. It’s always good to have a photo or a video. You can use a drawing tool to make a graphic to garner more attention for your post.

What other ideas would you add to my list?

Time to Recharge - Tips for Authors

Sometimes your day-to-day routine or your writing life gets in a run. You hit a wall, or maybe you just have the blahs. It’s time to recharge. Here are some ideas you may want to give a try…

• Start another creative project (other than writing). Make something or rehab or refurb something. Learn a new craft or a new skill. Creativity comes in a lot of different forms.

• Organize a closet, your desk, or your junk drawer. Putting things in order creates a sense of accomplishment and spruces up your space.

• Volunteer. Many organizations are looking for people to do a variety of tasks. A change of scenery is always good. And giving back is important.

• Go for a walk, hike, or bike ride or start a new exercise routine. It’s good for your health, and the endorphins always stimulate creativity.

• Get out your camera or phone and go on a photo safari. You can always blog about your adventures, share them in your newsletter, or use them as copy for your social media sites.

• Take a class or a course. It’ll spark ideas, and you have the opportunity to learn something new. There are so many few free or low-cost courses.

Get Your Author SWAG On...

Recently, author Dana Claire of BookBrush did a presentation on SWAG (Stuff We All Get) for our Sisters in Crime chapter. She’s fabulous, and if you haven’t already, check out all that BookBrush offers authors. It’s a tool that you need to add to your marketing and promo kit.

She talked about all kinds of creative ways that authors can connect with readers for giveaways and prizes. She made me think about my SWAG and some advice that I’ve picked up over the years…

• Your items need to tie into your brand (your style, color scheme, etc.) Readers need to know what to expect. A publicist told me to use pastels for my colors because my writing style was light and humorous. (I used to have my website design in black and red, and she said that projected more of a suspense/thriller/gothic vibe.)

• Find creative things that you can easily mail. Mugs and larger items are cool, but if you have to ship them, you may incur costs that you didn’t bargain for.

• I think bookmarks are a must. I do a new design for each book. Make sure to use the back and the front. Include your website and your books’ ISBNs. I always give everyone I talk to a bookmark, and I am often surprised after an event at the spike in audio and ebooks. Not everyone wants a paperback or a hardback.

• Pens are great items. They can always be used, and they often get passed on to others. I made one batch up like they were from my character’s business. It was a fun conversation starter when folks read them.

• My very first novel had an 80s music theme to it, so I bought a ton of small buttons with 80s throw-back sayings on them. I filled a candy dish at my events, and readers had the best time finding the one the wanted and strolling down memory lane.

• Candy is always good but be careful. I had a lot of chocolate candy for an August event (in the south). That meant that I had mushy, messy candy.

• I do a lot of online Facebook parties and take-overs, so I like to have gifts that are fun and easy to mail. I order all kinds of bookmarks on Etsy (e.g. Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, etc.). These make fun gifts to add to prize packages.

What type of SWAG has worked (or didn’t work) for you?