Whew! I Didn't Realize How Much Marketing Authors Do

My debut novel launched this month. Whoo hooo! I planned a launch celebration and did interviews, author spotlights, and guest blog posts for 27 sites. I did a Facebook hop, a Goodreads give-away, a radio interview, and a podcast interview. And I'm just getting started. I have book signings and presentations scheduled through October. Whew! I also work a full-time job, so I've learned to balance it all.

When I started writing, I didn't realize how much marketing was required of authors. It has been a rush of activity (especially with all the other things going on at the same time), but it has been fun.

Here's what I did and how I attempted to stay organized...

1. I have a calendar for book events and marketing deadlines. I carry it with me and update it faithfully.

2. I track my marketing efforts to give me data to see what types of activities increased social media followers, blog/website traffic, and book sales. It will help me when I plan other marketing campaigns.

3. I also make a conscious effort not to devote all of my time to marketing. I have to make sure that I carve out writing time because ultimately, my job is to write the next book.

4. Since I work during the week, I block social media time to keep up with the comments, tweets, and other interactions. I do about thirty minutes in the mornings and about ninety minutes in the evenings. I make lists in Facebook and Twitter, so it helps me keep up customized newsfeeds.

5. I did a lot of guest blog posts for this launch, and I wanted each one to be different. Before I started, I made a list of themes and unique items in my book. That gave me a good list of blog topics. I did one on the Sears and Roebuck catalog house that my sleuth lives in, a day in the life of my character, a tribute to the 80s, a list of every-day spy gadgets, and an homage to Nancy Drew.

While it has been a whirlwind of activity over the last few months, it has been tremendous fun. And I look forward to this summer and fall's events!

My Six Favorite Tools for Book Marketing

I've found some interesting tools and websites to help authors with their social media and book marketing. Here are six of my favorites...

Social Media

Sometimes, my Twitter follows/unfollows gets out of hand. I have a paid subscription to Tweepi to help me clean up. I used to use the free version, but they altered their "unfollow" feature. I upgraded to the paid version, and it helps me keep all of my accounts in order.

I use the free version of Crowdfire to manage my Instagram follows/unfollows. It also manages Twitter. I may try that and consolidate my tools to one.

I use Rank Forest to see my daily Amazon ranking. The free version allows me to track one book. It's good to see where you are over time, but I try not to obsess over numbers. Don't make yourself crazy.

Website/Blog

I use Squarespace for my website and for another that I created for a group of authors. It is easy to use, and it provides detailed analytics. Previously, I used GoDaddy, but they dropped their blog option.

Marketing

I use VistaPrint for my business cards. They offer frequent discounts, and the quality is good.

I've had a lot of success from Next Day Flyers for my bookmarks. I've also used them for invitations for book launches.

Social Media Analytics And Why Numbers are Important to Writers

When you reach certain milestones on Facebook fan pages and other sites, you gain access to analytics, insights, and other metrics. Your website should also have this information. Even if you are not a numbers geek, this data is valuable to you. It shows progress and gaps in your marketing efforts.

While you shouldn't fixate on numbers, followers, retweets, and likes, you should use them as a measure of the post you're creating. Writers also need to remember the social part of social media. You need to build relationships and followers by interacting with each other. If you only use these sites to dump announcements about your reviews and sale items, you're not going to be that successful.

Facebook and Twitter offer a lot of good information. You can see things like which day you get the most traffic. Target those days for posting new material. You can also see which posts get shared or commented on the most. This can help you figure out what type of content works for you. Facebook gives you a lot of information, including the age group/ demographics of your audience. Twitter tells you your reach for the week. You can see which tweets get the most action, and how many lead to link clicks. You should use Twitter and other sites to drive traffic to your blog or website.

If you boosted a post or ran an ad campaign, you can see the results. This can help you decide which types of posts to pay for next time.

Your website should also have metrics you can use to track visitor patterns and what types of content are most popular. I use Bitly to shorten my blog URLs for posting on social media. It has an analytics page that lets me know how many people have clicked on that link and on what days. My website visits were up and down until I committed to post a weekly blog and post links to it on Google+ and Twitter. My Google+ numbers aren't as high as my Twitter ones, but they do help me with my placement in Google searches (SEO).

The charts, graphs, and information can be overwhelming. Start with one item like your reach or the key days of the week. If you need help, Facebook and Google have good help files that explain what the numbers and different charts mean.

All of this information should help you decide what's working for you. If you're scheduling tweets, and you're not getting a lot of retweets, replies, or favorites, then you probably need to look at the content, frequency, and timing of what you do. You're doing a lot of work for not much reward. Also know that if others looks at your recent tweets, they can see the action or inaction too. Mix it up and see if your numbers improve. Make sure to add a couple of relevant hashtags to get the attention of interested readers.

Also note that Facebook changes its algorithms frequently, and this affects what your friends and fans see. I wouldn't depend on it as my only marketing method. To date, I haven't paid to boost any posts, but I'm working on a marketing campaign for my first solo mystery for next spring. I'll let you know how that goes.

Finally, there are way too many social media sites to have an active presence on each. Pick what your readers like and focus your time there. Don't let it overwhelm you. Make small changes and see if your numbers improve.

Happy marketing! And let's connect so we can build our reaches and resources. 

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Twitter

What I Learned from Publicist, Joan Schulhafer

Joan Schulhafer skyped with our Sisters in Crime - Central Virginia chapter recently and provided great information about publicizing yourself as a writer and your book. Here are nine things I learned from her presentation:

1. Authors need to balance their online and in-person presences. You need a mix of both.

2. You can't do everything, but get out and get involved.

3. Attend conferences and network with everyone.

4. Build your email list. It's valuable for authors.

5. Blogging is important. It's a way to keep your website fresh. Blog posts do not have to be deep, witty, or perfect.

6. Pictures are important. Take lots of pictures. Post pictures with your content.

7. Make sure that your biographies and other information are current on all the social media sites where you have accounts.

8. Authors needs to be on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, and Pinterest. If your readers are younger, you need to be on Snap Chat.

9. Be polite on social media. Don't forget to thank those who help you.