Social Media

12 October, 2014

A social media site that costs nine thousand dollars to join?

By |2018-03-29T11:09:27-07:00October 12, 2014|Authors Academy, Marketing, Social Media|Comments Off on A social media site that costs nine thousand dollars to join?

A social media site for the 1%? No, this isn’t a joke. It’s real!

You can check out the article about it here.

I didn’t link to this article just to shock you, or to piss you off.

(Though if you’re signing up for the site as others are reading this, I tip my hat to you, Richie Rich!)

I linked to this article to remind you of the incredible power of targeted marketing.

This is marketing that is targeted at a particular audience—not just “everybody.”

“My book is for everybody,” authors say to me.

No, it’s not.

Every book has an ideal target audience, an “avatar reader.”

This is the kind of person who would buy your book based on the title alone.

For example: The Rich Person’s Guide to Social Media—How to Keep the 99% from Cluttering Up Your Online Feeds

Or: The Thrifty Buyer’s Guide to Coupon Clipping—Save an Average of $20 Every Time You Visit the […]

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25 September, 2014

Can a book change your life for the worse?

By |2016-07-18T15:23:41-07:00September 25, 2014|Marketing, Publishing, Social Media|Comments Off on Can a book change your life for the worse?

Last week we discussed life-changing books.

For most people, that means “life-changing for the better.”

But is it possible for a book to change your life for the worse?

This article from the Sunday Book Review in The New York Times considers the question.

For my part, I love the idea that a book can be a bad influence—just like it can be a good influence.

I also happen to believe that it’s true!

But that’s not what this article got me thinking about, which is the subject of influence itself.

Books are perhaps the most influential media out there.

They can convince people to dress up like characters on Halloween (and on other days, too.)

They can convince people to make major lifestyle changes, like changing their diets or beginning an exercise program.

They can convince people to drop everything and go on a spiritual quest.

They can even start wars.

There’s just one problem: most of the time, you […]

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25 July, 2014

6 simple steps for authors to find Twitter followers

By |2018-03-29T11:09:27-07:00July 25, 2014|Marketing, Social Media|Comments Off on 6 simple steps for authors to find Twitter followers

One of the easiest ways for you to build your digital author platform is with Twitter. Using simple search techniques you can find people who are actively engaged in your niche. Since they are already using Twitter, once you make a connection, you can be assured that some of them will help you spread your reach even further across the Internet.

As you set out to establish your online identity as an author or future author, it’s important to start building your Twitter followers as soon as possible. Maybe all you have come up with is the title for a book. As long as you have a basic idea of your niche, you can start making important connections on Twitter.

To get started, here are six ways to add followers:

1. Start by simply letting Twitter search your email address book and show you people on Twitter you already know. You may have […]

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14 July, 2014

Canva: A powerful social media tool for authors

By |2018-03-29T11:09:27-07:00July 14, 2014|Design, Social Media|Comments Off on Canva: A powerful social media tool for authors

Canva is an amazing online program that allows you to create professional social media images for free with just a few clicks.

You can create invitations, advertising and promotional projects that include printed materials (up to 2,000 prints), product packaging, presentations, film and video presentations, commercials, catalogs, brochures, and probably anything else you can think of. There are some restrictions (do check out its “One-Time Use License Agreement”) but for the most part almost anything is free to use and free to share.

Melanie Perkins, cofounder of Canva, announced recently that “100,000 new designs were created every week by more than 330,000 users.” So far avid users have created more than 1.5 million designs using Canva.

With over a million free images, tons of professional templates and 100+ poster-ready fonts, there’s absolutely nothing to stop you from producing memes, photo collages, Facebook photos with call outs and social media banners and buttons. If […]

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19 June, 2014

Help! Today I Have Nothing to Write About

By |2018-03-29T11:09:27-07:00June 19, 2014|Social Media, Writing|Comments Off on Help! Today I Have Nothing to Write About

I don’t think for a second that you’re struggling to come up with ideas for your next book or what to write about on your author blog and website. If you weren’t a writer, that would be one thing, but since you are, coming up with content for your audience comes more easily to you than to others. Quite the contrary: many writers suffer from writing too much.

There are, however, days when you feel like you have nothing of value to say, nothing to contribute to the Great Conversation that’s taking place in cyberspace.

In the Authors Academy, we drill into members the importance of regularly publishing quality content on your blog, so that your target audience (with ample help from search engines and social media shares) could find your message more easily.

As you build your digital author platform this way, by writing on your blog about your passion and […]

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16 June, 2014

How to create a strong social media profile as an author

By |2018-03-29T11:09:27-07:00June 16, 2014|Marketing, Social Media|Comments Off on How to create a strong social media profile as an author

Part of a successful digital author platform is a consistent brand image and active participation in several relevant social media networks such as Facebook or Goodreads.

Your personal brand should be consistent across every platform. This means you use the same name, colors, images, and biography for each account. For example, you don’t want to use your name on Facebook and the title of your book as your Instagram account.

If you plan to write more than one book, it is especially a good idea to go with your personal brand and get your name out there instead of just your book’s title. This personal brand will carry you through different book titles, speaking engagements, book tours, and other projects that will happen during your entire writing career.

For your author website, choose a domain name that has your name in it., and not one that is your book title. Then make sure […]

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2 May, 2014

15 ways to market your book for less than a dollar

By |2018-03-29T11:09:27-07:00May 2, 2014|Marketing, Resources, Social Media|Comments Off on 15 ways to market your book for less than a dollar

What’s stopping you from selling more books?

In most cases, it’s not money.

Authors tend to think that only if they had more advertising dollars they could turn their book into a bestseller. The truth is it’s more often an author’s mindset than an author’s checkbook that gets those books rolling out the door.

Spend your money on making your book the best it can possibly be. This includes a great cover, powerful editing and revising, tweaking, rewriting, editing, and revising again and then, when your book is perfect from the opening page to the end, you can use the following simple ways to get your book into the hands of avid readers.

1. Create an email signature and use it for every email you send out. Simple emails are often overlooked when it comes to book marketing, but personal notes actually have more influence than you think. When you include a simple link […]

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3 March, 2014

Why authors should use Google Hangouts on Air

By |2018-03-29T11:09:28-07:00March 3, 2014|Marketing, Resources, Social Media|Comments Off on Why authors should use Google Hangouts on Air

Google Hangouts on Air is a type of video call that operates like your own private television broadcast talk show. You can have up to ten people participating on the call with as many as 5,000 live viewers submitting questions via text chat. Once the show is completed an automatic YouTube video is published.

For authors, this can be a great way to build up weekly or monthly content as well as deepen connections with your target audience. A recent article on Forbes reported that the reach of video “over white papers, case studies, even live demos with reps” was significantly higher in how audiences choose to absorb new content.

Getting Started

To get started doing your own Google hangout on air, you will need to pick a topic that offers valuable content to your target audience. Offer a tutorial on a subject such as photography, business, cooking or create an […]

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28 February, 2014

How to create a fun quiz for your book

By |2018-03-29T11:09:28-07:00February 28, 2014|Social Media, Writing|Comments Off on How to create a fun quiz for your book

No matter what your book is about you can easily come up with ten questions that relate to your book. Authors of fiction can create questions about the setting, characters and events in the book. Ask questions about small town living or inner city hazards for your hero or heroine. Whether your book is about finding a partner in a romance or solving a mystery, create a quiz about the situation.

Authors of non-fiction can create questions around a topic that would build interest in readers. For instance, if you were writing a book about public speaking you could ask the following questions.

How do your overcome your fear of speaking in front of groups?

Where do you find places to speak?

How do you promote your book in small group settings?

The great thing about creating a fun quiz for your book is that it stops people for a few seconds and gets them […]

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21 February, 2014

Do authors need RebelMouse?

By |2018-03-29T11:09:28-07:00February 21, 2014|Resources, Social Media|Comments Off on Do authors need RebelMouse?

Rebel Mouse is a social media tool that pulls in your social media from many networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Tumblr, blogs and even your email, into your own personal RebelMouse page that can be embedded on any domain. Authors can use it to collect, connect and distribute information for research, writing and sharing.

Margaret Looney in her post The Year’s Best Social Media Tools for Journalists cited that IJNet (International Journalists Network) named RebelMouse as the number one tool of the year.

The idea behind RebelMouse is that it becomes your social front page. Everything you do across multiple platforms such as your blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, etc. automatically gets updated on your page. Instead of repeating your content in a spin that is frowned upon you can add something new on each platform and share it all in one place.

Once the page is […]

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