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Social Media Updates and Trends

Thursday, January 24, 2019 by Sabrina Ricci

It's the beginning of a new year, so it makes sense to revisit the world of social media and marketing. There's been a lot of updates. Some of them pertain more to personal use, and others can be handy for building your brand. Influencers and Content Trends It's good to stay on top of trends. CMO published an article about how people check email less, smart speakers are … [Read more...] about Social Media Updates and Trends

Indie Author Marketing Guide: Google Plus

Monday, June 4, 2018 by Sabrina Ricci

Google Plus is a social media platform that is not as talked about as Facebook or Twitter, but can be very important, depending on your niche. Google Plus Basics For those who may not be too familiar with Google Plus, here are a few of the basics. First, you fill out a profile, with a picture, a cover image, and whatever information you feel comfortable sharing about … [Read more...] about Indie Author Marketing Guide: Google Plus

Indie Author Marketing Guide: A Primer to Social Media

Monday, May 21, 2018 by Sabrina Ricci

Social media is a big part of indie author marketing strategies these days. But for those just starting out, it may seem daunting. When I first began using social media for platform building, I felt slightly overwhelmed. But now, after lots of practice and just incorporating social media into my daily routine, I've come to embrace it. And instead of seeing it like a chore, I see it as another way to connect and interact with people, and I've been able to build real relationships through it. Here are a few things I've learned along the way. (And if you want guidance on how to overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed, read Your Writer Platform's "Are You Building Your Writer Platform at Gunpoint?") Don't use social media just to sell books Kristen Lamb's "Social Media, Book Signings & Why Neither Directly Impact Overall Sales" goes into depth on why this is not a good strategy, but basically you don't want to spam people/just make noise, and you will not develop any real relationships this way (meaning, you won't attract real fans). Rachel Thompson suggests spending more time online finding people who may be willing to review your books, and she gives a list of suggestions in her article "Why ‘Read My Book!’ Doesn’t Work…And What To Do Instead" Focus on one or two platforms first, then build from there Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Pinterest. Google. Youtube. Goodreads. LinkedIn. Tumblr. The list goes on and on. You can be active on all these channels, but it's probably best to pick one or two and work on growing an audience there first. Every social media channel works a little differently, caters to a different audience, and has savvy users who expect others to use the network a certain way. The Book Designer's "Do You Make These Online Marketing Mistakes?" offers tips, such as establishing one audience per channel and using landing pages. Social Media Just for Writers also recommends researching your target market and then choosing your social media platform based on that in "How to Stop Wasting Time and Focus Your Book Marketing." For advice on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and YouTube, read DBW's "The Book Marketing Social Media Hierarchy: Which Sites to Use for Which Purposes." Business Insider broke down the demographics of some of the social media platforms. According to them, the 45- to 54-year-old demographic is growing, "27% of 18 to 29-year-olds in the U.S. use Twitter," LinkedIn and Google+ are mostly male, Pinterest is mostly women on tablets, and Tumblr is mostly teens and young adults. Eventually you can expand into other platforms. For a case study on why, read Kate Tilton's "Why I Use Different Social Media Networks (And You Should Too) by @K8Tilton." For help determining which platform is best for you, read these articles: "Instagram: Should You Be On It?" on Indies Unlimited "How Tumblr Turned a Book Into a Bestseller" on GoodeReader "Pinterest Unveils Buyable Pins, A Way To Purchase Things Directly Within Pinterest" on TechCrunch "Pinterest Update: More Ways Authors Can Use Pinterest!" on Writers Win "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Pinterest" on Musings and Marvels "How I Made it to the Front Page of BuzzFeed Twice, and How You Can Too" on Matthew Barby "Surprising News in Social Media – And a Twitter Tip" on Social Media Just for Writers "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Twitter" on Musings and Marvels "Guest Post: 8 Secrets to Increase Your Twitter Followers" on Musings and Marvels "Guest Post: What Everybody Ought To Know About Facebook Account Management" on Musings and Marvels "Guest Post: Want to Step Up Your Facebook?" on Musings and Marvels "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Goodreads" on Musings and Marvels "Indie Author Marketing Guide: LinkedIn" on Musings and Marvels "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Google Plus" on Musings and Marvels "Which Social Media and Marketing Tools Are Publishers Actually Using Successfully" on DBW Strategize how you will build your platform Erindor Press's "Platform Building Primer" is a good start, and advocates setting expectations and figuring out the best way to share content, either via blogging, email newsletters, or something else (and you can use social media to promote that content). The Loneliest Planet shared a post, called "One Writer's Platform (Part 2) Events and PR," which goes over techniques of marketing offline (such as doing public readings and lectures) but also adds that it's worth taping these performances and uploading them to Youtube to share. Use lots of images/visuals People tend to engage more with posts, tweets, etc. that are visual. According to Rebekah Radice's "5 Steps to Get Massive Engagement With Your Visual Content," "43% of social media users share pictures." She recommends having consistent colors, using templates, appropriate fonts, and to create infographics, images, and videos. Build Book Buzz recommends creating different types of images, including picture quotes, tipographics, and infographics. For tips on how to actually create these images, read Social Media Just For Writer's "Writers: Use Visuals to Market Your Books." Make use of social media tools Here's a list of resources, along with helpful tips and links to additional tools: Kate Tilton Social Media Resources Kate Tilton Authors on Instagram Kate Tilton Book Bloggers on Instagram Social Media Examiner Storyfinds Momentum RelayStation Magnolia Media Network Books Go Social Keep up to date on new platforms and tools Lastly, the social media landscape is constantly changing, so it's good to stay up to date. One example of a relatively new tool/platform is Aerbook, which according to PW turns social media into a virtual bookstore. Earlier this year, Social Media Just for Writers wrote about how indie authors can use Aerbook, which allows you to share previews and even sell ebooks on social media networks, as well as see analytics on your shares. According to the article, there are three product plans to choose from: Aerbook Retail is free, no credit card required. It gives you the social look inside the book, email capture popups within the sample, stats on how the book is used, and the ability to share the link and also get web page widgets that launch the Aerbook. This plan lets you sell the book directly through Aerbook, and our service earns 15% of the purchase price after credit card fees are deducted. Aerbook Plus gives you everything Aerbook Retail delivers, plus lets you add links to other retailers, like Amazon, iBooks, or even your own purchase page. Aerbook Plus is $49 per year. Aerbook Flyer includes everything above, but there’s no direct sale through Aerbook’s commerce service. You’ll add links to other retailers. Flyer also lets you do book giveaways, and includes 500 directly delivered, complete books annually. Flyer is $99 per year. Got any social media tips? Please share in the comments!

Social media is a big part of indie author marketing strategies these days. But for those just starting out, it may seem daunting. When I first began using social media for platform building, I felt slightly overwhelmed. But now, after lots of practice and just incorporating social media into my daily routine, I've come to embrace it. And instead of seeing it like a chore, I … [Read more...] about Indie Author Marketing Guide: A Primer to Social Media

Guest Post: 10 Tips on How to Be Google Friendly in 2018

Thursday, December 21, 2017 by Sabrina Ricci

By Chris Hickman  As an indie author, it’s important to have a website so people can find out about you and your work. Chris Hickman has some tips on how to make sure your website is easily found in Google’s search engine. Webmasters who want to rank high in Google’s engine need to ensure that their sites conform to Google’s standards. Google wants its highest-ranked sites … [Read more...] about Guest Post: 10 Tips on How to Be Google Friendly in 2018

Publishing in VR

Thursday, September 8, 2016 by Sabrina Ricci

By Manus VR (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Virtual reality (VR) isn't only for games. More traditional publishers are also incorporating the new medium into their content, and it's exciting to see it all unfold and think about how stories may exist in the not-too-distant future. According to Digital Book World, "VR could be the next frontier for publishers as a new revenue source." One example of a publisher using … [Read more...] about Publishing in VR

New Ebook Fonts Make Ereading More Like Print

Monday, June 15, 2015 by Sabrina Ricci

By Alexander Pfeiffenberger from Auburn, Alabama, United States of America (eBooks) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The average reader probably doesn't think a lot about fonts, but they are important contributors to the reading experience. A few weeks ago, Google announced a new typeface for Google Books, called Literata. The Next Web goes into more detail, but the gist is Google ebooks now have a font that distinguishes it from ebooks read on a Nook or Kindle, and it was created to give … [Read more...] about New Ebook Fonts Make Ereading More Like Print

Comparing the Ebook Submission Process: Self-Publishers v. Publishers

Thursday, September 4, 2014 by Sabrina Ricci

I recently wrapped up a freelance project with a small publisher, where I uploaded/submitted ebook files and metadata to Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google. In the process, I thought about the similarities and differences between how a self-publisher would go about distributing an ebook versus a publishing company that is submitting files themselves instead of … [Read more...] about Comparing the Ebook Submission Process: Self-Publishers v. Publishers

Marketing with Metadata and Algorithms

Tuesday, July 23, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

In our digital world, data is becoming increasingly important, both for creating content and finding content. Major companies use algorithms for these purposes. However, this strategy is not new.  For books, data has always played a role in marketing. Best seller lists are compilations of data, created based on algorithms, and some people have been taking advantage of this … [Read more...] about Marketing with Metadata and Algorithms

Self-publishing ebooks: Why maximizing distribution matters

Friday, July 6, 2012 by Sabrina Ricci

New technologies and startups have made it easier than ever to self-publish ebooks. But they don't make it any easier to make a living writing. The most important thing you can do as a self-published author, however, is to make sure your ebook is available through as many retail channels as possible. (FYI, ebook sales accounted for 20% of book sales in 2011, up from 10% in … [Read more...] about Self-publishing ebooks: Why maximizing distribution matters

Google eBookstore–A Chrome Experiment

Sunday, October 23, 2011 by Sabrina Ricci

Google has found a creative way for readers to find good ebooks. If you're using Chrome, you should check out the WebGL Bookcase, which allows you to browse through a virtual circular bookcase, click on covers that interest you, and read a synopsis of a book by flipping through it online. If you like what you see, you can click on the book and you'll be directed to the Google … [Read more...] about Google eBookstore–A Chrome Experiment

Google Loves Lucy

Saturday, August 6, 2011 by Sabrina Ricci

Today would have been Lucille Ball's 100th birthday, and Google paid tribute to her. Until midnight tonight, anyone who goes on the Google search home page can play six clips from the famous "I Love Lucy" TV show. Read more at searchenginewatch and Google's blog. … [Read more...] about Google Loves Lucy

BEA Day 1

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 by Sabrina Ricci

First day of my first BEA, BookExpo America. Fortunately, because of this publishing blog, I was able to attend for free! I spent about five hours today at the Expo, and I still wasn't able to cover everything. It can be a little overwhelming, as some attendees may agree, but totally worth it. This year, BEA was held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. BEA took up … [Read more...] about BEA Day 1

This Week in Publishing

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 by Sabrina Ricci

Apple and Google are offering publishers different ways to charge for their content. For one thing, Apple will take a 30 percent cut of subscription revenue and will work with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, while Google will only take a 10 percent cut and will work with tablets, smartphones, and websites. But an even bigger difference between the two models is the fact that … [Read more...] about This Week in Publishing

This Week in Publishing

Thursday, January 13, 2011 by Sabrina Ricci

Penguin Group is embracing new technologies. They've started a TV and Radio Satellite Media Tours department, so that they can "produce TV and radio satellite tours for Penguin authors," according to Publisher's Weekly. Penguin Brings TV, Radio Satellite Tours In-House Amazon has been working to make it easier and more profitable for authors to self-publish. New features, … [Read more...] about This Week in Publishing

This Week In Publishing

Thursday, December 23, 2010 by Sabrina Ricci

I'll keep it short and light-hearted, since it's almost Christmas and all. First, Nick Bilton, from the New York Times, has declared that this year was not in fact the year of the tablet. It was actually the year of the iPad, and next year there will be more competitors. It will be interesting to see, since so many people want the iPad for Christmas. 2010 Was Not 'The … [Read more...] about This Week In Publishing

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Books for Indie Authors

Books for Indie Authors

Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book
Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book
by Tim Grahl
tagged: indie-publishing and to-read
The Author Training Manual: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively
it was amazing
The Author Training Manual: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively
by Nina Amir
Other reviewers have called The Author Training Manual a must-read, and I have to agree. Nina Amir has compiled a great amount of research, experience, and real-life samples that can help any other, self-published, traditionally publishe...
tagged: indie-publishing

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