After a terrible week in Boston (which I will write about at some point, but right now it is too soon) I was glad for the distraction of an event for Sisters in Crime New England on Sunday. Kristen McLean of Bookigee was our guest speaker, and she did a workshop about the empowered author. Though there are challenges for today’s author, and the publishing world is topsy turvy, Kristen talked about the opportunities.
Per Kristen, there are two trends to pay attention to right now. First, that there a number of new routes for content. While traditional publishers are still the top of the pyramid, they aren’t the only pyramid. There is self publishing and small presses. Additionally, she pointed us to Wattpad and createspace as new models for content distribution. I am still wrapping my brain around Wattpad–it deserves its own blog entry.
The other trend she talked about was the rise of the empowered authors. Hybrid authors (both traditionally and non-traditionally published) are entrepreneurs in the field. Statistically, these authors are likely to earn more, and to be using social media (on Facebook. blogging, or on Twitter). These hybrid careers are much more fluid, and able to adjust to the author’s strengths.
Part of being an empowered author is to understand the business, and do your research. Are you self publishing? Go on Goodreads, look at the covers of books like yours, and take that into consideration when considering cover art. Why does that matter? Titles with cover art sell 268% more books.
Do you know what metadata is? It is 31 pieces of data that is attached to your book. Titles with complete metadata sell 98%5 more titles. And the “read inside” option on Amazon? Enabling that has a huge impact on sales.
Kristen and her partners run Bookigee, and are also building apps and platforms to help empower authors. Bookigee was created to “not out to take over the publishing industry—we’re out to reinvent it, and to help everyone embrace the opportunities of the digital age.” Here is a link to one of her articles. “The Author as Entrepreneur: the new model for success“. Perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea, but the future is ours, and what we make of it.
Here’s to being empowered.
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J.A. Hennrikus is the 2013 President of Sisters in Crime New England. This post is being cross posted on the SinCNE blog.
Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, get-to-know-us question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.
QUESTION: When it comes to publishing, PR, and promotion (including “platform building” and “marketing”), what causes you the most anxiety and what are you most comfortable handling?
Lisa J. Jackson: What causes the most anxiety is doing in-person events. I’m getting better at it as I do more events, but being face-to-face with folks pushes me out of my comfort zone a lot. I like the uncomfortable feeling because it means I’m growing and pushing myself, but I get anxious when I feel the words don’t come right to mind when I need them. I can be quite comfortable with silence, just not when it’s an awkward pause as I formulate a sentence. I’m most comfortable with scheduling the time to do the tasks associated with PR and promotion. I can be inspired by an online or in-person activity and get it on my calendar with ease. I’m great with time management.
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Jamie Wallace: Though marketing is what I do for a living, I have yet to come at it from the perspective of a writer promoting her services or body of work. In fact, truth be told, I’ve done precious little self-marketing for my marketing business which runs primarily on word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business from happy customers. The types of marketing I’m most comfortable with are, unsurprisingly, content-related: blog posts, articles, ebooks, etc. I’ve also started experimenting with audio and may integrate some video later this year. Like Lisa, public speaking has always made me anxious. Though I’ve gotten much better thanks to work I did in my friend Cheryl’s Platinum Presence workshop, it’s something I still have to psych myself up for. At the end of the day, I believe that finding your marketing groove is more about mindset than about mastering any particular skill or technique. It’s about knowing that you have a right to be here. Once you get past that hurdle, the rest tends to come a lot easier.
Diane MacKinnon: Most of my time in the past twenty years has been spent one-on-one with people, whether life-coaching clients or patients, and I’m most comfortable speaking with people (even groups) face-to-face, even when the topic is myself and what I have to offer. I find the whole social media thing very intimidating. I don’t want to waste people’s time with unnecessary content in their in-box or on their Facebook wall. I agree with Jamie, though. The most important thing is knowing you have a place at the table, whatever table you choose to sit at. That mindset took me a long time to develop, especially with regard to marketing, mostly because I trained as a physician at a time when it was considered really tacky to promote yourself in any way (before the advent of Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz.) I’m inspired by my colleagues skills at social media and plan to continue to learn from them. (Lisa helped me update my LinkedIn page just recently!)
Julie Hennrikus:As always, love reading what my blog mates have to say on this. Here’s my $.02–I am much better at promoting a friend than myself. So (and this is going to sound nuts, but here we go) J.A. Hennrikus author is a friend who I feel more comfortable promoting. I am getting much better at public speaking, and have a few other things I can talk about, so I can make it less about me me me, and more about engagement.
photo: M. Shafer
Deborah Lee Luskin: I love speaking in public! I love meeting my readers! But I don’t love asking for readings or sending out press releases or organizing all the details; this is when I wish I had a publicist. (Someday . . . ). But mostly, I like to write. I love being a contributor to this blog, and one of these days, I’ll start one of my own. But updating my website is one of those tasks that’s been on my “to do” list for going on two years. So much to do, so little time.
The scary part isn’t the writing. The scary part is putting your writing out into the world.
We writers can hack the long hours at the keyboard, wrestling with the blank page and coaxing our muses forth. We have grown accustomed to the voices in our heads – characters, critics, and editors. We and our personal demons have arrived at a working truce that allows us to get the words down.
But that’s just the first part of the battle, isn’t it?
If you’re hoping to get published, you have to not only create, but also promote. You must market yourself and your work to an audience. You must put everything out there where other people can see it, consume it, and judge it worthy … or not.
THAT is the scary part.
That is the thing – as much as, if not more than, lack of drive or talent or productivity – that keeps wannabe authors from becoming published authors.
I bring this up because this is my last post here at Live to Write – Write to Live until after the New Year and I didn’t want to miss my opportunity to give you a little 2013 pep talk.
I know that December is a time for reflecting back on the year gone by and scrying into the year ahead. This is the time of year many of us make resolutions and intentions. We try to cast off bad habits and establish new, healthier ones. As writers, many of our thoughts orbit closely around our creative work and dreams: What have I accomplished? What do I hope to accomplish? How will I reach me writing goals in 2013? Do I really have what it takes? Should I even bother?
If you’re not careful you can go careening off a cliff of self-doubt and insecurity.
That’s not good for your marketing.
How can you confidently and competently market yourself if you don’t believe you have anything to offer? How can you make the right connections and impressions if you feel like you don’t deserve to be here?
You can’t.
In my day job, I help my clients develop standout brands and craft great content. Though I work mostly with large companies, I do sometimes have the pleasure of working with authors, artists, designers, creative entrepreneurs, etc. In my experience, the first order of business with these folks isn’t establishing a value proposition or unearthing the brand story or developing the voice for the website. The first order of business is getting the client into the “marketing mindset.”
If you’re going to have to go out there and sell yourself and your work (which, you will have to do if you want to be published), you need to get into a marketing mindset, too. You need to believe that you have a right to be here.
I wrote a post about this on my home blog at Suddenly Marketing. I’d love for you to head over there and read Marketing Mindset 101: You have a right to be here. It’s my soapbox pep talk. It’s what I say to friends and clients who seem unsure, tentative, and doubtful when it comes to marketing themselves. It’s my rallying cry to incite people to action.
2013 is a brand new year, people.
Anything is possible.
This might be your year.
Are you ready to make the most of it?
Do you have the right marketing mindset?
Jamie Lee Wallaceis a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.
I originally published this post at my Suddenly Marketing blog, but I think it has a lot of relevance for writers and authors as well as for entrepreneurs. In today’s publishing world, authors are brands – like it or not. Whether you’re hoping to sell a lot of books through indie channels, or attract the attention of a traditional publisher, you will need to do some marketing – branding, platform development, social media engagement, and digital PR. It can be overwhelming. Most of us hardly have time to do our creative work, never mind being responsible for hawking it via a marketing plan. This post delivers a little reality check. Marketing is just like writing – you reach your goals one step, one day, one task at a time. There’s no magic – just getting it done – little-by-little, however you can.
Are you feeling so overwhelmed by the marketing you think you should be doing that you don’t do any marketing at all?
Do you start to gear up to tackle one marketing task and then realize that it’s connected to something else that’s connected to something else that’s connected to something else, and then you give up?
Does the very word “marketing” give you a case of vertigo?
You’re not alone.
I hear these kinds of things all the time from people who want to take charge of their marketing, but just don’t know where to start. I don’t blame them. I’ve been at this gig for a decade now, and even I feel overwhelmed now and again. There is just so much to take in – new strategies, new technology, new tactics. I subscribe to over a hundred marketing blogs just to try and keep up with what’s happening in this crazy marketing landscape.
So, how do you get unstuck?
I am a big believer in strategy. When you put together a strong, sensible strategy, all that gooey stuff that was confusing the heck out of you suddenly becomes clear. When you have a plan that’s built on goals, resources, and ability, you can stop stressing about what to do and just get on with doing it. Yep – I really like a good strategy. In fact I’m very excited that I’ll soon be unveiling a whole new Suddenly Marketing that delivers a unique way to think about and approach your marketing strategy, BUT…
I totally understand that for some people (especially solopreneurs who are wearing six different hats and working eighteen hours a day), it’s not feasible to carve out the time (or budget) to dedicate to brand development and marketing strategy. Believe me – I get that. The “new” Suddenly Marketing has been in the works for THREE YEARS. (No, I’m not kidding.)
SO … I’d like to offer you a get out of jail free card:
Just. Start. Marketing.
I know, I know – sounds like empty advice, right? It’s not.
In a perfect world, each of us would have the luxury of time and money to spend developing a seriously well thought out and buttoned up plan. However, the world I live in is anything but perfect. I’m guessing your address isn’t in Perfectsville either.
Here’s what you do:
Stop beating yourself up.
Step back and take a deep breath.
Know that a plan is a good thing.
Start to cultivate a geeky love for a good plan.
But, while you’re waiting for time to sit down and craft that plan, pick a marketing task and do it.
Don’t overthink. Don’t overanalyze. For the sake of all that’s holy to you, don’t compare your marketing to anyone else’s marketing. There will be plenty of time for that later. For now, you just want to get your “marketing legs” under you, so to speak.
Your goal is not marketing brilliance, it’s marketing momentum.
You know that if you want to read a book, you have to read one page at a time.
You know that if you want to have six-pack abs, you have to do one crunch at a time.
You know that if you want to amass million dollars, you have save one dollar at a time.
Marketing is no different.
Start somewhere. Start anywhere. Just start.
The best thing about this non-strategy strategy is that it gets you doing something. It gets you experimenting. You’ll be learning a lot: what works, what doesn’t, what you’re good at, what you never want to do again. The more you talk about your business, the more you’ll understand how to talk about your business. The more you talk to your customers, the more you’ll understand your customers and their needs.
Pick one thing.
Start today. What one thing can you do to kick start your marketing momentum?
Join a LinkedIn (or Quora or Focus or …) group and answer a question
Each of these is a valid and valuable marketing task. Don’t worry about whether you’re picking the “right” thing or the “smartest” thing or the “most important” thing. Just pick something and do it. Read that first page. Do that first crunch. Save that first dollar. Before you know it, you’ll be building up your marketing momentum and then the sky’s the limit.
What keeps you from tackling your marketing monsters? Which tasks do you fear most? Which do you kinda-sorta-almost enjoy? What are your marketing goals between now and the end of the year?
Jamie Lee Wallaceis a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.
At networking events, I most often introduce myself as ‘a writer’ or ‘a business writer.’ Both lead to one of two inevitable questions: ‘What do you write?’, or ‘What kind of writing do you do?’
Then I take a deep breath and try to explain myself in 30 seconds or less, (even typing this, I took a deep breath.) I’m interested and have experience in a lot of different types of writing. For my business, I can write marketing collateral – and that in itself can be an arm-long list of different things from success stories to business profiles to solution profiles and product briefs.
Then there’s ghost blogging for businesses, web content, press releases, content for newsletters, interviews, process guides, and more.
I’ve found that my business card is a great ice breaker, however. My business tagline is “Your words, only better.” And I constantly get a lot of compliments on that phrase. Business folks who are intimidated by writers, especially, smile at that and visibly relax. That’s when they’ll share a bit about their insecurities or concerns with their own writing.
I’m also realizing that if I can find out what type of business the person I’m meeting is involved with before I answer, I can give examples that he or she can relate to.
For instance, many businesses have websites that have existed for 5 years or more and never been updated – I can talk about my web copy experience.
Or if the person mentions sales letters that have resulted in zero inquiries, I can talk about how I can write marketing and sales pieces that catch attention.
Social media scares a lot of business owners – they don’t know how to even approach LinkedIn or Twitter for business. If I know this is what they’re thinking about the most, I can talk about how each has a different goal and therefore the writing has to also be different. I can mention that it isn’t rocket science, but it is a skill, and I’ve been writing professionally for more than 25 years.
Empathy goes a long way, and I love it when someone gets inquisitive about the art of writing. For me, asking questions about their business is natural – I need to know more in order to be able to write for them and keep their ‘voice.’
It’s probably not best to reply to ‘what do you write’ with ‘whatever you need,’ but in most cases, it’s true. I love working with words and helping others express what they need to in their own words, only better.
How do you answer the question, ‘what type of writing do you do?’
It’s no longer enough to be a brilliant writer – to craft characters and worlds, to give ideas foundations and wings. Now, (on top of being her own PR maven and marketing wiz) a writer also has to be a personality – a performer. We need to be not only the brain behind our book, but also the engine behind our sales and promotion.
It’s not an easy task, and for many writers, the toughest part is the public speaking.
There’s good news, though: You can learn to excel at public speaking … and even enjoy it.
Your “voice” is more than your words.
When we writers talk about “voice,” we are most often referring to the elusive quality – the je ne sais quoi – that defines an author’s writing style. However, most successful writers also develop a more literal voice – the voice they use when speaking in front of live audiences.
It’s scary. I know. Most of the writers I know would rather jam slivers of flaming bamboo under their fingernails than speak in front of an audience, but speaking can play a big role in your book’s success. Whether that role is a positive one, or a negative one depends on how you develop and project your presence.
Your presence is how you stand in the world and how you interact with others.
You know a powerful presence when you see one. Whether the person is a teacher in a third grade classroom, a seasoned musician on stage, or a business leader speaking at a press conference, people with presence make lasting impressions. They have the ability to capture our attention, engage our imaginations, and persuade us to see things from their perspective. A person with a powerful presence might be called a storyteller, an orator, or simply a “people person.” She knows how to talk to people, how to make her point, how to connect with her audience in an intimate and moving way.
Do you think you have a powerful presence?
Everyone has an authentic presence – you just have to find it.
I’ve always been deathly afraid of public speaking … until now.
When I signed on to take my friend Cheryl Dolan’sPlatinum Presence workshop I had no idea it would deliver such a paradigm shift for me. I knew that speaking could have a positive impact on both my marketing and writing work, but I had never known how to get past my fear of standing at the front of the room. My knees would buckle, my palms would sweat, my voice would drop an octave and fall almost to a whisper. It wasn’t a presence that was going to capture anyone’s attention, let alone their imagination.
What I learned in Cheryl’s class is that developing your presence is less about how you deliver a speech and more about being confident and comfortable in your own skin so that you can be fully and dynamically present for others. I also learned that your success as a presenter is as much about learning to “listen” to the non-verbal language of others as it is about discovering how you can use that language to improve your own communication skills.
How to find your authentic presence:
The first step is figuring out how and when you feel your best. In the workshop, Cheryl had each of us think of a time when we really “nailed it.” She asked us to bring ourselves back to that moment in as much detail as possible – remembering the situation, what we were wearing, how we were interacting, what persona we were projecting, what it felt like to be in the “flow.” When I went through this exercise, I learned I felt best when I:
Had a very strong knowledge about my subject matter
Could move around a lot
Was able to put my audience at ease with a little humor and conversation
Took a no-drama, lets-get-this-done kind of attitude
Focused on the outcome (for my audience) rather than my performance
That last bit is a big part of the second step: know your intention. Know clearly what you want to deliver and what you want to get out of any situation, whether it’s an interview, a networking conversation, or a presentation to a crowd. You need to understand what your goal is and also – more importantly – what your audience’s goal is. Then you need to find a way to bring those two things together.
The third step is learning the art and science of skilful communication. That’s not a topic I can tackle in one humble blog post, but what I can tell you is that there are a LOT of fascinating and informative resources covering topics from psychology to neuroscience to kinetics. As Cheryl says, there are always two conversations happening – the verbal and the non-verbal. If the two don’t align, people won’t believe that you are being honest. The insights and knowledge that Cheryl shared with her students touched on the power of eye contact, how to use your hands effectively, how to trigger the happy chemicals in your brain to help calm and center yourself before any interaction or presentation, and so much more.
One of my favorite tips for boosting energy, confidence, and creative juices is bouncing on an exercise ball. I was resistant to this at first, but am now a regular “bouncer” – using it to calm my nerves, clear my head, and unlock my muse. Here’s a brief video of Cheryl talking with Pam Slim about why the bouncing works so well:
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s an iceberg worth exploring further.
I’m so excited about everything I learned with Cheryl, that I could go on and on (and on!), but this blog post is about to hit 1,000 words, and I think I’ve already taken up enough of your time. Let me leave you with this – even if you are one of those people who dreads public speaking with such intensity that you get sick to your stomach just thinking about it, you can learn to be comfortable and confident in front of an audience. Whether you engage someone like Cheryl as a coach, take a workshop like Platinum Presence, or just do some research on your own by reading books and watching other presenters (Google “Ted Talks presentation skills” for a start), give yourself the gift of believing you can overcome your personal presentation demons, and then go out and start figuring out how to whoop their butts.
As I said at the beginning of this post, it’s not enough for writers to write. Today, an author needs to be more than a scribe. An author needs to learn to use her literal voice as well as her literary voice so she can create a strong presence in the minds of her audience.
What do you think? How important are speaking skills to a writer’s success? Do you feel like you have strengths in this area, or do you struggle? Have you taken part in any training or coaching that has helped you? Can you suggest any other resources that might help people understand how to become a more powerful presence?
Jamie Lee Wallaceis a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.
I can talk. Though an introvert by nature, I push beyond my comfort zone on a regular basis. I teach. I run theater town halls. I facilitate conversations. I can talk.
But a reading. I’m not going to lie, I am a bit of a wreck. Here’s why.
I need to find a section of the story that stands alone, and makes sense. This story, “Her Wish”, is one that I care a lot about. It was inspired by a friend, and her battle with cancer. I don’t want people to dread reading the story; it also has humor, and is a caper.
I need to read it aloud. As I said, I can talk. But I am not an actress, and reading aloud scares me. Especially reading my own work.
Now, I am doing my best to pack the room with friends. I suspect that will help. And I am thrilled to be doing this event, and to be in the company of Mark Ammons and Adam Renn Olenn. I will do the deep breaths, practice this afternoon, and it will all be fine.
I’ll post in my comments later, and let you know how it went.
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J.A. Hennrikus is the Executive Director of StageSource. She is a mystery writer who has her story “Her Wish” published in DEAD CALM, an anthology by Level Best Books. She is a huge social media fan, and tweets under @JulieHennrikus. She wrestles with allusions of athleticism, is an avid theater goer and a proud member of Red Sox nation. Her website is jahennrikus.com
You’re a writer who needs to get her name out in the world. You want magazines, businesses, and organizations to discover how talented you are and hire you to write for them. Here are five ways to get you started on a plan that will get yourself and your business better known.
Network, network, and network some more
You’re making writing your business, and like many businesses, it’s more about who you know than what you know, at least to get in the door. Networking, both in-person at events and online through social media, is a solid way to add new clients. Make sure to at least know who your target client is and what makes you the best writer for their needs. You can also think of who can introduce you to the person who can introduce you to the contact you really want to meet. Ask for referrals
Sure you need to have clients to be in business, so you can’t ask for referrals until you have some satisfied customers, but referrals are a powerful way to build your credibility. When a client compliments you on a job well done, take that moment to ask them for a recommendation or referral. It’s nice to assume that that client will tell a friend who will tell a friend, but ask, and you’ll make sure it happens. Or it may be more comfortable for you to could offer a future discount to clients who refer new clients to you.
Publish content
You’re a writer, so, write something and publish it. It’s the best way to get exposure. You can publish online, through your blog or online article directories (as a way to start). Get your writing published in print newspapers or magazines. Starting with local and regional publications is fun (at least I’m enjoying myself immensely writing for community papers and a regional magazine). And then you can move up to national and international publications. And a lot of print articles also end up online, so that multiplies your exposure.
Offer a freebie
Everyone loves giveaways, especially those that are relevant and helpful. Free reports can help you accomplish two goals at once. Report content can help establish you as a good writer and as a solid, credible source of information. Offering a useful freebie can entice prospective clients to your Web site and motivate them to hire you for your services.
Blog
Having a blog helps drive traffic to your business and your business site, and it builds your brand. Your writing ability will shine through in your blog’s content, but don’t make it all about you all the time. Make sure to include useful information for your visitors. Of course you want to share what you can do, but also offer helpful links to other sites, links to resources, ways for your reader to find events local to themselves, and other similar things.
What do you do to get your name out there and showcase your writing?
Lisa J. Jacksonis a solopreneur who works hard to take her own advice. She’s also a New England region journalist and a year-round chocolate and iced coffee lover. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom.
Me – preparing to climb up on my soapbox at NHCC’s self-publishing event.
Self-publishing is big. Really big. Everyone is talking about it – writers, publishers, retailers, the press, industry analysts … everyone. It’s no surprise. Today’s technology gives anyone anywhere the ability to bypass traditional publishing and take her work to the street, so to speak. Three cheers for the emancipation of the artist!
Or not.
I recently had the absolute pleasure of speaking, along with two others, to a group of writers and artists at the New Hampshire Creative Club (NHCC). (Note to any creatives looking for a great professional organization – these people are super nice and super talented. Worth checking out.) The topic at hand was self-publishing. The other speakers covered things from the perspective of the writer and the publisher. Lee Richmond, a published author, told the story of his adventures in old school publishing as compared to his new adventure with self-publishing. Peter Randall, an indie publisher since 1970, provided an inside look at what goes into making a book – from printing to distribution. Me? I talked about marketing.
I got up on my soapbox a bit, too.
As an aspiring novelist (I can say that even though I haven’t written a word of fiction in three years), it pains me to see how frequently marketing is tacked on as an afterthought. I get that the creative piece is The Thing. Crafting the story is the soul of our efforts. It is driven by our deepest, most heartfelt “why.” There is a reason so many people compare writing a book with giving birth to a child. We put so much of ourselves and our lives into the process; it’s easy to be blind to anything outside our cocoon or ideas and words.
But, if our intention is to make the project profitable, we have to balance our inner work with the realities of the outside world. We have to tear our bleary eyes away from the screen, pry our fingers from around our lucky fountain pens. We must think beyond the creation of the book and consider the audience for the book. Who will read this story of ours? How we will get it into their hands?
That’s where marketing comes in.
In my presentation to the folks of the NHCC, I explained that marketing is not – as many people assume – about selling. Sales is about selling. Marketing is about connecting. If you do a good job with your marketing, if you create a strong enough connection with your audience, sales will take care of themselves. Nice, right?
So, how do you do that?
The answer is certainly longer than I can cram into this modest blog post, but I pulled together a few relevant posts and other information and created a resources pagefor the NHCC gang. (Oops! Their site clearly states that they are not a gang … just a club). I don’t think they’d mind if I shared it with you. (They really are that nice.) So, dear self-publishing writers and self-publishing writers-to-be, I hope that you will take a few minutes to peruse this selection of posts (many from my archives here on Live to Write-Write to Live) and think about how you can start getting into a marketing mindset for your book project. It’s never too early to start thinking about how to brand yourself and your work, how to build your platform and your network, how to get yourself and your book “out there.”
If you have any additional resources you’d like to share on the topic, please feel free to add them to the comments on this page or the resources page. Writers helping writers is what it’s all about – I’d love to hear your insights and suggestions.
P.S. New England area artists and writers – don’t forget to check out the NHCC!
P.S.S. If any of you are writing books that need illustrations – there’s a serious pool of talent at the NHCC. You can cruise the NHCC business directory for more details.
Jamie Lee Wallaceis a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.
Last week I talked about the use of swag in promoting your book. Several of the commenters (and if you haven’t contacted me to get your swag please send me your email – everyone up to my last comment will get something) talked about cost wondering where they would find the money.
Someone please look at me.
Yup, swag costs money.
So how do you promote yourself if you don’t have any money? Relax, there’s still a lot you can do to get your name out there.
Press Releases
The best way is to use your God-given talents. Write a knock-down press release to get free publicity. But there’s a catch, you need to have a compelling story in order for that press release to even have a chance of being published.
Your story doesn’t have to necessarily be about your book, as much as it needs to be about YOU. The idea is to draw traffic to your site with the hope that those people will then see your book and become interested.
I’ve written about how to set up a press release, but now I’ll talk about the types of topics we journalists want to see. If you send me a release telling me that you’ve just sold your 10, 000th book, ho-hum, chances are I’ll hit the delete button on that one (and don’t even think about sending me a hard-copy press release.) But if you tell me that you’ve made a donation to a charity (Gina is going to be making a contribution to a food allergy site because her book hinges on an anaphylatic food allergy), well then you’ve got my interest.
Too strapped to even make a contribution? Do some volunteer work somewhere (do you have an animal story? Volunteer at a shelter and make sure you have a photo taken.) Donate an item to a local raffle with your name and website attached.
If you received an award (which is always good news for local newspapers) then write it up in ready to go drop-in format (Who, what, when, where, how, and short.) Include all photos with the people in the picture identified and chances are good, you’ll get those published.
And by the way, in your releases your identifying title should be Wendy Thomas, best selling author (what? someday it will be) or something that will link you with being a writer. The point is, you want to get your name out there connected with being an author.
Twitter
Twitter is free, and while it does take a little bit of time to learn the lay of the land, as it were, by spending just a few minutes a day tweeting, you can get noticed as an author and as an expert in your field.
At a minimum, you should:
Tweet about your most recent blog post
Answer any direct questions made of you
Scan your feed to either comment on or retweet a few tweets that got your attention
You don’t have to spend hours and hours (even though you might be tempted) but you do need to, just like in the press release, establish a presence as a writer.
Facebook
I know, Facebook can be such a time suck, what with the funny pictures and the videos that you “have to see”, but be strong. Facebook is not only a way to keep connected with your community but it is also an effective way to promote yourself.
First set a limit, about 10 minutes at the beginning of your day, mid, and end of day is perfect. At a minimum you should:
Update on your most recent blog post
Scan your feed to see if there is anything that should be shared
“Like” the photos or comments that appeal to you
And then (and this is important) get off of Facebook so that you can do your writing.
Other Blogs
If you are not following some blogs in your field, then start doing so – right now. Become a valued member of the community by making comments on at least 3 posts in others’ blogs each day. Be sure that your comments add value and arent’ just things like “great stuff here!”
If your comment is valuable or insightful enough, people will often follow your comment’s link back to your website – the home of your book or services.
And that’s what it’s all about here, getting your name established so that people can contact you.
Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.
