Book Marketing With Social Media

There are many ways to market your book with the help of social media. Here are some suggestions:

1.      Just because you have amassed a lot of Twitter followers, Facebook friends or LinkedIn connections, don’t expect a single posting to get you instant book sales. You’ll need to reach out to your lists many times - with various offers, announcements and mentions—in order to catch the majority of them. You may be better off emailing them directly than trying to catch them through the random appearance of your tweets, updates, and posts.

2.      Don’t assume even a small percentage of followers can be converted into book buyers. It’s one thing for people to receive your tweets for free; it’s another to get them to open their wallets, especially amidst a flood of free content available to them. But for those who do buy, seek to convert them into raving fans who will recommend your book to their followers.

3.      Whether you have 5,000 followers- or 50,000+, you may not have a lot of potential readers for your book. Do the interests and demographics of your followers match those of your intended reader? If not, keep growing your lists, but purposely seek out to filter in potential book buyers.

4.      Check your Alexa score. Google Analytics for your blog, and remain aware of how your numbers are growing. Beef up your SEO (with Google Adwords).

5.      Join many groups on LinkedIn and Facebook, but only those that cover, in some fashion, the topic of your book.

6.      Blog more often around the month or two leading up to your book’s release- and for three months after it releases. This is the key time in which you must push your social media platform.

7.      Don’t choose to only use Facebook or only Twitter  or only YouTube. There’s no need to isolate yourself. Be active, in varying degrees, on all channels. Experiment, diversify, and be online often.

Lastly, remember to cover the basics:

a.       Set up a Facebook fan page

b.      Talk about your book often

c.       Don’t rely solely on social media -- remember to reach out to the real world with calls, appearances, conventions, etc.

d.      Ask others for help

Interview With Author Eric Laing

1. What type of books do you write? I have written across more genres than most would recommend. Much like college, I have spent far too long, and perhaps like a bad guest overstayed my welcome, searching for the shoe that fits and the porridge that is just right. How's that for mixing up cliched metaphors? While I definitely see the power and wisdom in finding your genre/niche and sticking to it--allowing you to really hone that voice and build a fan base that loves you for what they come to expect--I'm afraid I am too often driven to try new things, to explore where I haven't been before. I currently have three novels out in the marketplace: general fiction (Cicada), young adult (Scissors & Tweed), and horror (Seep), but I have also written fantasy, dark comedy and, most recently, a historical thriller (The Night Watch).

2. What is your latest or upcoming book about? So yes, my latest book is The Night Watch. I'm sure I'll mention that title a third time before I'm finished here. As I said, it is a historical thriller. The current tag-line and short pitch are: Blood, sex, magic and Ancient Rome. A serial killer is at work preying on those who are truly the most dangerous game...the gladiators. As the killer collects macabre trophies, it falls to the Prefect of the Night Watch to end the horror.  

3. What inspired you to write it? As for the inspiration for The Night Watch--see, told ya--I'm certain I could fancy up a rather nice fib that might be slightly less than partially plausible, but the truth of the matter is...well, it just came to me. I was walking home from work, thinking neither of gladiators nor of serial killers, when that little voice said. "What if a serial killer was stalking the last kind of person anyone would want to face in a fight...like, say, a gladiator?" From that simple premise my mind was off and racing. By the time I arrived home I had a page of notes to transcribe and several opening lines to toy with.

4. How does it feel to be a published author? Liberating. Like dragging a dirty little secret indulgence out onto the front lawn and saying to the world, "Yup, this is what I've been doing." But I'm still waiting for three martini lunches with Chabon, Lethem, and King. According to my fantasies, that's when the fun really kicks in.

5. Any advice for struggling writers? I'm glad you said "struggling." I wouldn't presume to give advice to writers...but struggling writers? Ah, these are my people. Listen to all the little voices, but only give credence to the positive ones. The ones that say you can't do it, or that you should wait for inspiration, kick those voices to the curb. And be prepared to fail. Often and long. It's just part of the game. Embrace those failures. Make them learning moments. Learn those lessons well. Then kick those failures to the curb, too. Move on and write, write, write. And read, read, read. And then keep writing some more.

6. Where do you see book publishing heading? Good question. I don't know for certain. I just hope it keeps me on board for the ride.

For more information, please see www.jericlaing.com.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person.