Guest Post: Marketing with Social Media

Harley Wylde is back again to talk more about marketing! If you're only joining us now, you should read her earlier post. We're very excited, so without further ado, let's get to it. Taking notes is advised.

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Marketing with Social Media

By Harley Wylde

Yes, I used that horrible, awful, very bad word – Marketing! *gasp*

But in all seriousness, these days, authors have to do their own marketing. Even if you’re signed with a larger publisher, they want to know that you believe in your book enough to promote it. Think of it this way… If someone asked for your help with a project, then sat back and made you do all the work, would you be so willing to help them again later? Possibly not. Or at the least, you’d hesitate.

What does that mean for authors today?

Rule #1: Maintain an active social media presence.

Why? Unless your books are filling the shelves at the local bookstores, readers are going to find you through newsletters, reader recommendations at places like Goodreads and BookBub, and on social media! While I suppose you could pick one platform to maintain, it’s better to diversify, especially if you want to reach a broader audience.

Keep in mind, marketing isn’t all about sales. Are sales the ultimate goal? Of course. You’d like to pay your bills just like everyone else. However, the main point of marketing is not only to learn your audience, but to interact with them. Be available to answer questions, make sure you respond to or acknowledge comments on your posts. If a reader or another author shares the news of your cover reveal, new release, giveaway, etc. make sure you thank them. Now, I don’t mean if someone asks where you live or overly personal things you need to answer them. Just politely tell them you’d prefer not to answer that, or find a way to steer the conversation in a different direction.

Facebook has a lot of options for marketing and interacting with your readers and other authors. Profiles, pages, groups… the possibilities are endless. Well, maybe not endless, but there are tons of ways you can get your brand out there. And if you just got confused by the word “brand” then we need to take a few steps back -- but I’ll do that in another post.

A Facebook author page or fan group would permit you to schedule posts in advance. The day of a new release can be exhausting unless you have some things in place prior to that day. Maybe you’re self-published and did a hard release, or you have a publisher who doesn’t offer preorders. That can make things a little more difficult, since you won’t have retailer links early. But it’s not impossible.

There are plenty of things you can do prior to your book release. Using Facebook (or Twitter, Instagram, etc.), you can post teasers building up to your release. Do a cover reveal and share your release date and book blurb. Add your title to Goodreads and ask your readers to add it to their “want to read” list. Go ahead and set up your book page on your website so you can drive traffic there through ads once you have some links to post.

Rule #2: Don’t smack people with “buy my book” posts.

Give back as much as you take. You can do a giveaway and post links, or a sneak peek with links, but don’t make the preorder/purchase the focus of your post. Did something funny happen while you were working on your book? Or maybe your furbaby decided to help type some of it? Share those stories or pictures with your social media followers. They’ll love getting a glimpse into your life, or a “behind the scenes” type of post.

Schedule some games for release week. You can tie them into your book/series, or just do some fun stuff like interpretive text games, or those “which of these must go” image games you’ve likely seen all over Facebook. Make things fun, not just for your readers but for you too.

Did you read a book you really loved? (Not the book your BFF just released, but something you genuinely looked forward to reading -- unless they’re one and the same) Do a “what are you reading” type of post and share the book you just enjoyed. Tell your audience why you liked it, or maybe ask if anyone else read it yet. Have conversations with them about things other than your latest release.

I’m sure I should have a Rule #3, but honestly, those first two are the most important when it comes to social media. No, wait. There is a rule 3 …

Rule #3: Don’t SPAM other authors with your book!

You would think that would go without saying, but… If an author has posted for book recommendations from their readers, that’s not the opportunity for you to drop your book on their post unless you have prior permission. Don’t do a drive-by on their page or group and drop blatant promo unless you’ve gotten their okay. It’s rude to say the least.

A trend I don’t see as much these days (thank goodness) had new authors sending out mass PM’s to anyone on their Facebook friends list with a “buy my book” plug. Didn’t matter if that person was a fellow author or not. I not only disliked getting those, but it came across as pushy and rude, especially when they’d never spoken to you before. It didn’t exactly make me want to run off and buy their book.

I mostly focused on Facebook for this blog post, but you can easily use Twitter, Instagram, or other platforms. Even Pinterest. For Twitter, I recommend retweeting as well as putting up tweets that aren’t book related. I can’t tell you not to use your social media as a political platform, but unless you’re writing non-fiction or the next political thriller, you run the risk of running off your readers. As fiction writers, our goal should be to entertain. People get enough of real world issues every day and come to us for an escape. Just something to keep in mind…

With Twitter, the fewer hashtags you use, the better. It’s also best to keep your tweets short. Attach an image to get the bulk of your message across. Tweets with fewer characters, only 1 hashtag, and an image will draw the eye more than others. When you start getting likes and retweets, you’ll eventually hit the algorithm there.

If Pinterest is your thing, then create boards to give your followers insight into your books or who you are. Do you love horror movies? Make a board for it. Do you use Pinterest images to help get an idea for your characters? Make a board for that too. Share your covers, favorite vacation spots, recipes you loved. Find a way to give people a peek into who you are, but you can also use it to tell them about your latest book or series. Just don’t make every pin about your book.

Instagram is still a bit of a mystery to me. From what I’ve gathered, you’ll get more views/responses from posting an Instagram “story” than a post. Short videos of you will also go over well. Maybe you can do a quick clip holding your latest book and tell everyone how excited you are about it releasing. Have a furbaby who “helps” you write? Do a short video with them for your Insta-story. But above all, make sure you use hashtags that work for your post. When you create a hashtag for your post, it should pop up with suggestions once you start typing. Under each it says how many posts are using that hashtag. If you come up with a hashtag that’s only been used a dozen times, it likely isn’t being searched or followed by anyone.

Which brings me to how your Instagram feed works… When you follow certain people, or even hashtags, those are the posts you’ll see. Much like Facebook, if you follow a person, their posts pop up. But with Instagram, you could follow #bookstagram, then any posts using that hashtag should be available in your feed. Now, that particular one tends to have 1 million or more posts, so no, you won’t see them all.

All of this is to basically say, if you want to have an audience today, you need to be on social media. The book market, and marketing of books, has vastly changed in the last twenty years. For that matter, it continues to change and evolve on a regular basis. People are more likely to buy an ebook today than a paperback. In this digital age, not being on social media and trying to be a successful author is going to be difficult if not impossible.  

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Harley Wylde is the international bestselling author of MC and Bad Boy Romances. When Harley‘s writing, her motto is the hotter the better — off the charts sex, commanding men, and the women who can’t deny them. If you want men who talk dirty, are sexy as hell, and take what they want, then you’ve come to the right place. She doesn’t shy away from the dangers and nastiness in the world, bringing those realities to the pages of her books, but always gives her characters a happily-ever-after and makes sure the bad guys get what they deserve.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

 

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Guest Post: On Marketing, Harley Wylde

Our guest today is Harley Wylde. She will shed some light on how authors can go about marketing their book successfully, so give her a warm welcome!

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On Marketing

By Harley Wylde

There is one word that tends to make authors cringe and run the other way – marketing! Okay, there are several others -- like synopsis -- but marketing seems to be the biggest mystery for a lot of people. I think a large part of the issue is that marketing involves much the same as the book market itself: What works today may not work tomorrow. Same for marketing different genres.

Before I get started, let me introduce myself. The name I’m most known for these days is Harley Wylde, even though I write under other pen names for other genres as well. I’ve been published for twelve years with various small presses, and have a small handful of self-published titles. Across my pen names, I’ve had over 125 novellas and novels published during that time. I never intended to publish the first book I wrote, but my husband pointed out if I’d taken the time to write an 80,000 word novel, then I should at least submit it to a few places and see what happens. That started me on a journey that has been beyond incredible and has taught me so much.

So, let’s get going and take this in bite-sized chunks.

First of all, I often hear “well so-and-so did X and got amazing results,” which is awesome for that author, but know that just because Author A swears by their method of marketing, doesn’t mean it will work exactly the same for you. Will it work? Quite possibly. However, there are so many things that go into marketing a book, particularly when it comes to ads, that there’s really not a one-size fits all (or even a one-size fits most). I will say that one marketing trend that seems to get the most positive feedback is advertising on Facebook, but it can be full of pitfalls and will take some time for you to figure out the right formula for YOUR book. I’ll get into that more in a bit.

I think that’s where so many authors toss up their hands and give up. They try something, don’t see the results they wanted, so they’ve deemed it a failure. Or worse, they’ve deemed themselves or their book a failure. It’s not that the marketing they attempt isn’t working, it’s that they haven’t taken the time to find the right formula for their work. Think of it this way. When you first started writing your very first book, did it release exactly as is? I honestly hope not. It needed content and line edits, and possibly a massive amount of revisions. Marketing is like writing in some ways. As I mentioned, I write under more than one pen name. What works for one, doesn’t necessarily work for the other. There are so many differences not just from author to author, but between books and series as well. You wouldn’t use the same audience to market a contemporary romance as you would a sci-fi thriller, right? Even crossing romance genres you’re going to see some differences.

The first key step in successful marketing is: know your audience. And I don’t mean your family or best buds who bought a copy of your book (or begged for a freebie) when it released. I mean the people who saw your blurb or cover, and thought “this sounds great, I’ll give it a try.”

If you’ve done Facebook ads before, or BookBub ads, Google Analytic ads, etc. then I hope you took the time to look at the data and not just the number of clicks or how much you spent. You need to dig deeper. Did you have more men than women click? Did you check to see which age groups reacted more with your ads? Even better… did you use more than one audience when setting up ads for your latest release? You have to go deeper than just glancing at the surface of your marketing if you’re going to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Now, saying that, not all places that accept ads will give you the same set of data. For instance, Facebook will show you the age brackets of those who viewed and clicked your ads. Maybe other places you’ve advertised don’t offer that. But they do offer something.

I’m betting when you wrote your first book, you never thought you’d be anything more than just a writer. I think most people go into writing with stars in their eyes. Some may find instant success, either by hard work and lots of prep work before their book was even finished, or by sheer luck. But being a writer today is far different from being published thirty years ago, fifty years ago, or even further back. Publishers used to take on the brunt of the marketing and legwork for you. Now, most will help some with spreading the word about your book, but it’s mostly up to you. In fact, a lot of places will ask you to submit a marketing plan along with your manuscript. They want to know that you’ll be actively trying to sell your book. It’s a reasonable request. They are, after all, putting hundreds if not thousands of dollars into releasing your title. The least you can do is help get your book into the hands of readers.

Being an author today means you’re not just a writer, but you have to wear multiple hats for editing and marketing as well. There’s a learning curve, unless you have a background in those areas, but it’s worth it! If you’re just writing to write, then maybe you don’t care about finding or broadening your audience. But if you want to pay the bills by doing something you love, then you’re going to have to do more than just write the book.

I honestly can’t fit every bit of marketing knowledge I’ve gleaned over my twelve years as a published author into one post. So I’m going to give you a few ideas to try. Marketing is trial and error. You can’t attempt something a handful of times, then just decide it doesn’t work and hop to something else, then another thing, and another. Facebook ads, for instance, didn’t do a single thing for finding me new readers at first. But I kept trying. Yes, it took months and I slowly built up my advertising funds so I could keep playing with it. And when I say months, I mean that every month for at least half a year, I kept trying as a way to promote my new series under Harley Wylde until I started to notice a difference. Then I built from there.

If money is an issue, start with a $5-10 ad that runs for 4 days. It takes about 3-4 days before Facebook’s algorithms kick in for ads (or that has been true previously – Facebook has a tendency to make “adjustments” so often that you’ll see changes in the advertising panel all the time). If you kill your ad before three to four days, then you didn’t find the sweet spot yet. Also, don’t do a boosted post if you’re hoping for clicks. It’s not even remotely the same thing as placing a Facebook ad. Boosted posts are great if you just want your brand in front of new eyes. But if you’re trying to actively sell a new title, then it’s not so great.

For those on a shoestring budget, there are a few free things you can try. One is keep your audience engaged. If you’re an introvert, you probably just cringed. Yes, you have to speak to people, or at least respond to comments on your posts. Getting a book in front of readers requires a more personal touch than, say, running a shoe store. When you write a book, you invite strangers into your mind, heart, and soul. You’ve shared a piece of yourself with them, and now they want to know more. Not just about the characters, but about you.

Work on growing your following on social media, not just with fellow authors (even though we’re readers too), but find people who read your genre. Post short teasers, even if it’s just a few lines. Was there an image that inspired some part of your book? Share it (with permission if it’s copyrighted). If you’re working on a series and you’re on book two, three, eight… find a way to reference back to a previous release in the series and drop the link at the end of your post. Maybe readers missed that title or just recently found you. Share inspirational quotes, funny stories, or give them a peek into your life. There are also a LOT of Facebook groups where you can share your new release or a book sale. Try to make the posts a little different for each group, and make sure you interact with those groups/pages and don’t just do drive-by “buy my book” posts.

Are you at least a little outgoing? Maybe you’re up for an author takeover event. Throw a party in your own group and invite other authors to join, or request a takeover in another group (if that’s something they offer). You can set up games for the readers, small contests, and other fun stuff. It’s a great way to engage with people who may or may not have heard of you before. Readers who already pick up your books will love getting that time with you, and you may intrigue someone who hadn’t heard of you before then. It’s a good way to grow your audience.

Newsletters! I personally have a love/hate relationship with newsletters. On the end of receiving them, I get so much email that sometimes I have to mass delete stuff because I just can’t keep up. Mostly, it’s businesses who send 3-5 newsletters a week. Sometimes even more than one per day. Who has time for that? Not me. But sending out a newsletter once or twice a month, to let your readers see what’s coming soon, share a cover reveal or a preorder, is a great way to keep in touch with them. I know a lot of authors just throw in their “buy my book” stuff and call it a day, but I like to include extras if I can. Either showcase a free or discounted book of yours or another author’s, maybe share something funny with your subscribers that happened that week, or offer them a special giveaway. Give them a reason to want to open mail from you! Because they probably receive a few hundred, or thousand, newsletters a month. What makes yours special?

If you have a bit of money to play with, try doing some release giveaways. It doesn’t have to be huge. Offer a $10 gift card, or if you’ve purchased swag, giveaway a few swag packs. And yes you can giveaway bigger prizes or gift cards if you can afford it. Or maybe giveaway multiple prizes. Be sure that the terms for entering are clearly marked somewhere the readers can easily find it. And yes, readers do love getting swag. From bookmarks to pens, stickers, wristbands, buttons, magnets, keychains… the sky is the limit on what you can offer. Places like GotPrint, VistaPrint, CafePress, and even the Walmart Promo Shop will often offer discounts.

Are you a craft-minded person? Maybe you can make your own swag! I’ve seen a lot of bottle cap magnets or pendants with book covers on them or author branding. Maybe you know how to make jewelry and can offer a prize every few months that would be a unique piece no one else would ever own. Do you draw or paint? Maybe you can draw a picture or paint a small canvas to giveaway. Try to think outside the box. What can you offer that’s different?

And one last idea before I wrap this up (because I’m already close to writing a short story): Do you know other authors in your genre? Maybe authors who wouldn’t mind banding together for a special event? If you found 4-6 authors and you each put in $5 toward a gift card, or one of you coordinated a multi-author swag or signed book giveaway, then you could work together to cross-promote each other. Some entry ideas, especially if you’re using something like Rafflecopter: Ask readers to follow you on Twitter, Instagram, or other social media sites. Ask them to visit your blog and leave a comment. Get them to interact in some way. Maybe give them a poll to answer as an entry option. Are you going to start a new series? Now’s the perfect time to get some feedback. But if you’re working with other authors, make sure each author has an entry option that will benefit them in some way to keep things fair.

Book marketing comes down to 2 major points. Know your audience, and grow your audience. Once you know the demographic of who is one-clicking your books, then it becomes a little easier to find more of those people. As distasteful as it may seem, you have to think of your writing as a business. Is it fun? Yes! Do you write because it personally gives you something? Of course. Just remember that if you want to write full-time and pay the bills with your writing, then it’s not a hobby or something you do just because. It then becomes a business that requires you to keep moving forward, pushing yourself, and finding new readers. You can be passionate about what you do, but still wear your “I’m a business person” hat when the occasion calls for it. The old marketing advice of “the best way to sell a book is to write the next” is only partially true these days. Yes, you do need to write the next book, and the next, but if all you do is write and you don’t find ways to get those books to new readers, then you’re pretty much writing for your own enjoyment. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as that’s your goal.

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Harley Wylde is an International Bestselling Author of MC Romances.

When Harley‘s writing, her motto is the hotter the better — off the charts sex, commanding men, and the women who can’t deny them. If you want men who talk dirty, are sexy as hell, and take what they want, then you’ve come to the right place. She doesn’t shy away from the dangers and nastiness in the world, bringing those realities to the pages of her books, but always gives her characters a happily-ever-after and makes sure the bad guys get what they deserve.

Find Harley at: Her Website | BookBub | Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter

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Harley's Venom is now available in audio!

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Narrated by Ada Sinclair
Duration: 3 hours 21 minutes