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Promote Your Book with Pinterest: 5 Best Ways

April 23, 2015 By 4 Comments
Promote Your Book with Pinterest: 5 Best Ways

Promote Your Book with Pinterest: 5 Best Ways

As promised, here is the second in the series of about promoting on social media for authors. If you missed the first one, here is Promote Your Book on Social Media: Extend Your Reach. Keep your eyes open for more in the series soon!

Pinterest Basics

If you’ve never been on Pinterest, or need a refresher, here you go:

Set Up a Business Account

Make sure that you have a Pinterest business account so that you can access the analytics. The analytics help you see which pins are getting the most traffic so you can duplicate your efforts later.

Master the Basics | Photo by Bengisu Kaya

Master the Basics | Photo by Bengisu Kaya

Get Your Website Verified

The little red checkmark next to your website (see image below) gives you more credibility. Here’s how to claim your website from the folks at Pinterest.

Link your Pinterest to Facebook and Twitter

Link your Pinterest to Facebook and Twitter

Link Your Pinterest to Your Twitter and Facebook

Pinterest defaults to your personal Facebook account, so you may want to put your business Facebook account in your profile somewhere (unless you’re using your personal Facebook account to promote).

Have a Book Board

Your book board could have lots of snippets from your book. Make sure you completely fill out each pin with a full description (this means key words). For instance, instead of “great chapter,” say something like “here are ways to sell your Avon products, in infographic format” (or whatever the chapter is about). You could create a simple and short hashtag, too, such as #DIY.

Create a Book Board with Favorite Authors

Create a Book Board with Favorite Authors

Make sure your book board is up at the top of your account. Most people are on mobile these days, so if your board is at the top of your account, others will see it first. Right next to your book board, put your most popular board. So if your board about tamale recipes is getting lots of repins, put that board next to your book board. Optimise your Pinterest board by telling people what the board is about.

Photo of Edward Gorey © 2004 Steve Marsel Studio Inc.

Photo of Edward Gorey © 2004 Steve Marsel Studio Inc.

Create Boards of Your Favorite Authors

Create a variety of boards to interest your readers. For instance:

  • pins of your favorite authors,
  • how to edit, and
  • how to write.

Reveal your personal interests on Pinterest to attract more potential readers.

Pinterest is about 80% women, so boards need to be beautiful and appeal to women. You could also include boards on humor, lifestyle, characters in your book, a place board in the location where your book takes place, etc. Be generous to other pinners by liking, commenting on and repinning their pins.

Has This Been Helpful?

Use some of these hints and let me know how you do with them!

 

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Ten Ways to Fail on the Biggest Social Media Platforms: Facebook

October 16, 2014 By 6 Comments
Ten Ways to Fail on the Biggest Social Media Platforms: Facebook

Ten Ways to Fail on the Biggest Social Media Platforms: Facebook

Facebook

This is the third in my series of four on the ten ways to fail on the Biggest Social Media Platforms. You can go back and read the ones on Pinterest or Twitter if you’d like. By the way, here’s an excellent article about Five of the Biggest Facebook Mistakes and how to Fix Them.

1. Crosspost from Twitter using hashtags.

Use tons and boatloads of hashtags. People love them! Make up your own private jokes using hashtags. For extra points, use random words. For instance, #SuperCaliFragilisticalSpaceShip. See how random that is? And how long, too?!

2. Steal content

Pretend that the cool article you just found is yours. Steal the post and don’t say where you got it! Deny everything if accused. Don’t forget to remove the artist’s signature off that artwork, too! (This has happened to me more than once, by the way.) After all, if it’s on the Internet, it’s meant to be taken and used!

3. Post when no one’s there

Can’t sleep in the middle of the night? That’s a great time to post! Don’t take advantage of Facebook’s native scheduler. Don’t save that post for later, either.

4. Don’t post at all

Don’t have any opinions ever and don’t “like” or comment on any one else’s posts. That’s a good strategy.

5. Never use images

Plain text rocks! Especially when you’re ranting. Use a lot of run-on sentences so you can go on. And on. In fact, a whole paragraph with no line breaks is the best of all.

6. Don’t reply

When people comment, ignore them. Be mysterious. Be cryptic. But don’t answer any questions or comments.

Ten Ways to Fail on the Biggest Social Media Platforms: Facebook

Ten Ways to Fail on the Biggest Social Media Platforms: Facebook

7. Post and run

Like a hit-and-run accident, a post and run works best when your friends and fans feel like they’ve witnessed a car crash. Post when you only have five minutes left and you’re about to go on vacation. That’s how you appear to be even more mysterious. If you do reply, wait until you’re back from vacation (in two or three weeks).

8. Don’t invite your friends to like your page

They probably wouldn’t like it anyway. Would they? And if you don’t tell them about it, they won’t ever have to know! That will save a lot of work.

9. Don’t have a business page

Post all your business stuff on your personal page. Your friends won’t mind. That’s what friends are for!

10. Make your posts private.

Don’t let anyone see what you’re talking about. You can also have posts where you address just one person.

What failures have you seen on Facebook?

I really do love failures. Here are a few more, in this article from Business to Community, 7 Common Facebook Marketing Mistakes. Without calling anyone out, let me know what really great failures, mistakes, and belly flops you’ve seen on Facebook!

 

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Are You Pinterest Savvy?

May 29, 2014 By 4 Comments
Pinterest Savvy

Pinterest Savvy

Recently, I read Pinterest Savvy and participated in a Facebook group run by the author, Melissa Taylor. Check out Melissa’s fabulous Pinterest account and you’ll see why any marketer might be interested in seeing what she has to say about Pinterest. While I think that I’m good at Pinterest, I had no idea what I was getting into by following her advice. Here are a few reasons Melissa’s book should matter to you, and a high-level of her book.

Set Up Your Profile

Have you taken the time to really work on your profile, verify your website, and added some keywords? Melissa takes you through the process in her simple-to-understand guide. Here’s my own top ten tasks for beginning pinners.

Worksheets

One thing I really love is hands-on, and Melissa’s book has plenty of worksheets that you’ll be able to write all over, revise later, and use to improve your boards. Some of my favorites are about using keywords, scanning your home feed, and practicing your skills to make better pins.

Are You a Blogger?

Melissa suggests pinning your blog posts to a board. This is something that not everyone takes the time to do, and can have a huge impact on your website traffic. If you’re not doing this yet, you will definitely see an increase in traffic if you do! Not only that, but Pinterest offers you analytics so you can see which of your posts are performing the best. You might be surprised that some of the best-performing don’t have repins or even likes.

Making Money from Pinterest

Something that will really interest marketers is the part about making money from Pinterest. You can find a sponsor, especially if your Pinterest brand has become very popular.

Get Pinterest Savvy for Free!

Act quickly (really) because this offer won’t be available for long. Even if it’s not available, Melissa’s book is a very good investment.

 

 

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Caterina Rando’s Speaker Training: Aha Moments

August 27, 2013 By 8 Comments
Caterina Rando Speaker Training: Aha Moments

Caterina Rando Speaker Training: Aha Moments

This past week, I attended Caterina Rando’s Thriving Speaker Platinum Program. The two day intensive is the first of a three-part series to teach how to be a great speaker. If you’re considering learning more about speaking (and how to get more business through speaking), I highly recommend it. Here are a few things I learned.

Don’t Speak at Every Opportunity

Some trainers suggest that you speak every chance you get, no matter the audience. But Caterina suggests that you only speak in front of your ideal audience. After all, you don’t want to come home depressed, do you? So my best audience is ambitious, tech-savvy startups where I can potentially be part of a team.

Plan

Know what you’re going to say, roughly, but don’t have it all memorized. Just know the high-level touchpoints, the beginning, and the ending. The middle part lets you connect with your audience, and stray from a script if you want. Planning is important for startups using social media, too.

Gauge the Audience

Caterina Rando's Speaker Training: Aha Moments

Caterina Rando’s Speaker Training: Aha Moments

Always make eye contact, listen, and be flexible. As Caterina says “Look around at all the beautiful people!” This is easier said than done and Caterina teaches you how to stay connected. For instance, the two speakers before me told dramatic emotional stories. The audience was moved to tears. Then I decided to change my topic from an emotional one to lighten the mood. I talked about the wonders of my new Zipz shoes!

Arrive Early

It’s always a good idea to be early, for several reasons. You can talk to people who’ll be in the audience, rearrange the room if it’s not perfect, check the acoustics, and set yourself up for success.

Speak Often

You can’t be a successful speaker if you only speak once in a blue moon. To be successful, you really need to speak as often as possible, keeping in mind that it’s important to target your ideal audience.

Learn from Someone Who Models

These are just a few ideas, and they may sound obvious. But Caterina brings the ideas to life. She models the best ways to speak, in a nurturing and safe environment. She is dynamic, inspiring, and kind. And she wants to teach you how to monetize! How cool is that?

Do You Loathe Public Speaking?

Would you rather get a root canal than speak? Both experiences can require a prescription for pain killers. Share some of your best or worst experiences in the comments! Or I will hunt you down and make you stand up and talk.

 

 

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Pinterest: Five Newbie Mistakes You’re Making

June 13, 2013 By 11 Comments
Pinterest: Five Newbie Mistakes You're Making

Pinterest: Five Newbie Mistakes You’re Making

Since Pinterest showed up on the social media scene, people have been flocking to it like ducks to water, or maybe like addicts to a new video game. People who weren’t that visual became more visual, and those who didn’t know they were visual, are suddenly spending hours on this visual site. So what are a few things to avoid and what should you be doing to have fun for yourself or your brand on Pinterest? Here are some simple fixes to common errors.

Keeping Default Boards

Fix: decide on the boards you really want. Say you are a small business selling hand knitted leg warmers and other trendy items for chihuahuas. You might want to create boards such as Tiny Dogs, SPCA, Local Doggy Events, and of course a board for your own homemade doggy outfits. You might also want to create boards for different types of outfits, such as hats, vests, paw warmers, etc. Keep in mind that you can change the names of boards later if you like. To change the board name, click on the board, go to “Edit Board” –>Title (don’t forget to save your changes!).

Ugly Board Covers

Fix: Make Each Board Beautiful! To entice people to see the contents of a board, pin the most visually beautiful cover you can. To change a board cover, simply hover with your mouse over the board. Click on “Edit Board Cover” to choose a photo. You can position the photo if you like, at this point. Then click “Set Cover.”

Following Nobody

Choose the Best Covers for Your Boards

Choose the Best Covers for Your Boards

Fix: Follow people you already know or whose pins you enjoy. Although unfollowing people who don’t follow you isn’t easy, you can unfollow people later. Note: like other forms of social media, there is spam out there! So beware of people who have 40 boards with just one photo on each board, or who don’t appear to be real people, or who only sell things like wrist watches.

Not Commenting

Like other forms of social media, Pinterest is social. So “like,” repin, and especially comment on others’ pins! People will appreciate you, and they will be more likely to reciprocate!

Not Having Your Business Name in Your Profile

Fix: Along with your business name and logo, you might want to include a few things about you. A photo of you or a logo also legitimizes your account. People want to know a little about you! To make changes, click “Edit Profile.” You can use the First Name line for your business name. Don’t forget to click “Save Profile” when you’re done. Note: Pinterest has recently partnered with brands to add information to pins, which is very useful for brands.

Not Pinning on Sundays

Fix: Take Saturday off and pin on Sundays! Sundays are the busiest days on Pinterest. So even just pinning a few pins will really help you with traffic and getting more eyes on your content.

What Have You Learned About Pinterest?

Have you changed your strategy along the way with Pinterest? What has helped you the most? Please leave a comment below! Thank you!

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