Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) has become an important tool in the author's marketing toolbox. But are you using it, or abusing it? Today, author Kathy Ide provides a few problems that can crop up in our social media plan. -- Sandy
Truth
to tell, all this social media blitzing is kinda fun! Especially when I read a
positive review on Amazon or someone’s blog. Or when I see that people are
retweeting one of my posts or chatting about my book on their Facebook
pages. Or when others ask me to do a guest post or a Q&A interview for
their blogs.
But I have to say … there are a few downsides to this exciting world of book promotion through social media.
But I have to say … there are a few downsides to this exciting world of book promotion through social media.
• Problem #1
I
had a super-crazy-busy schedule before my
book came out. And with everything a person can do on
social media, that makes for a really long to-do
list … on top of all the to-do lists I already had! Since my “day job” is
freelance editing, I have to
make time to work on my clients’ manuscripts. And I really love doing that. But
it would be easy to spend all day every day doing nothing but promote my book!
• Problem #2
I know people who are always hawking their wares on social media. And it gets irritating really fast. If I see a flurry of messages from someone that say, “Buy my book!” or “Got a great review on my book!” or “Please post a review about my book,” I’m going to be clicking that little X that hides their messages. And I do not want to become that kind of person myself! I mean, what’s the point of having thousands of friends, fans, and followers if they all hide your messages, right?
• Problem #3
I’ve been hearing some disparaging opinions lately about the effectiveness of social media for book promotion. But with a book like mine, the target audience is writers and editors—who are strongly encouraged to be heavily involved in social media!
• Problem #4
Before I had this book to promote, I posted things on my social media venues that I thought would be helpful to people. Like writing tips. And publishing industry news. And my observations of trends in the book world. Well, I’ve been tossing in a few of those kinds of things among all those book-promotion posts. But I think they got lost in the barrage!
• Problem #5
I have a new book coming out in June (see my bio for details). Okay, that’s a great “problem” to have. But I don’t want to just jump from pitching one book to pitching another one.
Possible Solution
I want to get back to posting the kinds of things that drew people to sign up to follow me in the first place. Oh, I’ll still post stuff about my books from time to time. But I don’t want to overdo it. And I don’t think my followers want me to, either.
• Problem #2
I know people who are always hawking their wares on social media. And it gets irritating really fast. If I see a flurry of messages from someone that say, “Buy my book!” or “Got a great review on my book!” or “Please post a review about my book,” I’m going to be clicking that little X that hides their messages. And I do not want to become that kind of person myself! I mean, what’s the point of having thousands of friends, fans, and followers if they all hide your messages, right?
• Problem #3
I’ve been hearing some disparaging opinions lately about the effectiveness of social media for book promotion. But with a book like mine, the target audience is writers and editors—who are strongly encouraged to be heavily involved in social media!
• Problem #4
Before I had this book to promote, I posted things on my social media venues that I thought would be helpful to people. Like writing tips. And publishing industry news. And my observations of trends in the book world. Well, I’ve been tossing in a few of those kinds of things among all those book-promotion posts. But I think they got lost in the barrage!
• Problem #5
I have a new book coming out in June (see my bio for details). Okay, that’s a great “problem” to have. But I don’t want to just jump from pitching one book to pitching another one.
Possible Solution
I want to get back to posting the kinds of things that drew people to sign up to follow me in the first place. Oh, I’ll still post stuff about my books from time to time. But I don’t want to overdo it. And I don’t think my followers want me to, either.
Your Thoughts? How often should authors post announcements and information about their own books? How can an author get the word out about his or her book in ways that don’t come across as blatant self-promotion?
~~~~~~
Kathy
Ide is an
author/ghostwriter, editor/mentor, and writers’ conference speaker. Her new
book, 21 Days of Grace: Stories that Celebrate God’s Unconditional Love, the first in a series of Fiction-Lover’s
Devotionals, releases June 1, 2015, and is available for preorder now at Amazon
and BN.com. To find out more, visit KathyIde.com.
