Use Facebook to promote your wonderful writing. There are so many ways to promote your book that I can’t possibly cover all of them. Here are a few. Start building your Facebook network early—don’t wait for your publication date to get going on Facebook. With 1.4 billion active users, it’s important to be on Facebook–many of your readers are there. Strategy will be important no matter what course you take.
Pre-Launch
- Set up your Facebook page. Let Facebook walk you through the setup of an author page. Here’s an excellent article with steps on starting your author page.
- Start building your network on Facebook. Build some social equity by sharing others’ books and writings.
- Create a Facebook group where others can receive free copies of your book in return for reviews. For instance, Melissa Taylor, author and Pinterest power user, created a Facebook group for her a book on Pinterest.
- If your topic is popular, getting fans to your page should be a breeze. If there are certain areas you’d like people to review, mention that, and make it as easy as possible for them. Tell them when you’d like the review, where they should send it, how long it should be, etc. An example doesn’t hurt, either!
- Remind people about reviewing your book and what you’d like them say. Make it easy for them!
Launch
If you’ve set up your author page correctly, there will be a lot of action during your launch.
- Remind stragglers to get their reviews written.
- Answer questions about uploading reviews, content of reviews, etc.
- Thank everyone profusely.
- Pay for Facebook ads.
- Post tons of wonderful content, such as reviews of your book, snippets from the book, photos of you signing the book, the book on a bookshelf, etc.
Post-Launch
Continue to post wonderful content and keep the page going. You may decide to close the Facebook group once you have enough reviews, since it’s one less thing to manage.
Good content to share on Facebook includes articles related to your topic, giveaways, photos (images get more clicks and likes than text-only posts!), videos, and events.
Five Things You’re Doing Wrong on Pinterest and How to Fix Them
Five Things You’re Doing Wrong on Pinterest and How to Fix Them
If you’re a business on Pinterest, then you probably would like to get more business. Am I right about that? And if you’re not getting any engagement on Pinterest, chances are you’re making one or more of these mistakes.
Not Clicking Through
What that means is keep clicking until you get to the other side of that pin. Where does it lead? Personally, I hate a dead end. And Pinterest now makes it easier than ever to see where a pin leads. You can hover over a pin and see the source. But occasionally, you’ll still wind up on a porn site or one that’s been blocked. You don’t want that happening on your own account, however.
Fix: Check every pin. Here’s a basic primer on how to pin.
Not Answering Comments?
Not Answering Comments
When people talk to you, answer them. If someone says hello to you in real life, you say hello back, right? Do the same thing on Pinterest! Especially if you’re just starting out. That doesn’t mean you need a 300-word reply to every single person, but a “thanks for stopping by!” or “glad you enjoyed the pin” go a long way toward having a truly social account.
Fix: Answer the people who bother to comment on your pins if at all possible. And if you’d like to know how to get comments, Tailwind has written a good article. (I like their advice to comment on others’ pins and you’ll get comments back.)
Not Filling Out Your Profile
It really doesn’t take that long to fill out your profile. Write down a few things about you or your brand, put in your website and your interests, and upload a picture. Having the red pushpin as your profile picture is a lot like having the egg pic on Twitter (you know who you are!).
Fix: Spend the ten minutes to fill out your profile before you get started.
Not Following 10,000 Accounts
Not Following 10,000 Accounts
Yes, everyone desperately wants followers. But pinning good content will really be better in the long run. Have a little patience. Look for good stuff that people want to see.
Fix: Pin more good content and follow just a few people at a time.
Would You Follow You?
Would You Follow You?
I was thinking about this the other day, while fixated on a new DIY front door that I could make out of pallets and Mason jars (that’s a Pinterest joke). Would you follow you? That is, are you pinning high-quality articles, images, and videos that interest you? Are you putting in the time to craft great headlines that tell people what that article is about? If not, you might want to brush up on writing headlines.
Fix: Check out your competition. Could you do something that they do, if their Pinterest is getting more followers?