Do you use
social media as part of your marketing and promotion?
First, what
is social media?
Social Media is any
online form of communicating which individuals employ; including blogs and
microblogs like Twitter. Facebook,
LinkedIn, and Google+
are social networking sites, of which there are many, and are a demarcation
to "industrial media," referring to radio, television, and film produced by professionals in these areas of media.
Since
we now have a basic definition of what social and network media, do you employ these
on a regular basis to let readers know about you, your writing, available
books, and your work in progress? If you don’t, why not?
If
you are writing for yourself, social and network media may not be as important to
you; but if you want to get your writing into the hands of others, social and network
media should be as important to you as writing the book itself.
As an author, you need to contact reviewers to write and post reviews on blogs,as well as mention
the book rating on micro-blogs and networking sites. Give reviewers a picture
of the book cover for their book review blog.
These
activities should be part of your promotion and marketing. You need to begin
actively working on all forms of social and network media at the same time you
begin writing your first draft.
Unless
you have a secondary income other than your writing or are on a limited
budget, it’s up to you to handle promotion on your own, rather than paying
to have it done for you.
Social
and network media is the new era of publishing for authors.
Robert
Medak
Freelance
Writer/Blogger/Editor/Proofreader/Reviewer/Marketer
http://xeeme.com/RobertMedak
Bob, you're so right. Social media is a must. The thing is though, not to get too caught up in it and spend too much time on it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fine line not letting social media control your life, Karen
DeleteBob
Yes, we should appreciate that more people are reading more -- just in different forms. It's definitely the trick, using social media effectively without getting lost in the timewarp-ness of it.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to get lost in social media, e-mail, answering comments, mundane things in life that one can spend too much time on other than writing, Suzanne.
DeleteBob
It's really easy to get caught up in social media. Promotion and interacting with your readers/prospective readers is a must, but you have to be disciplined about it and set aside short blocks of time for that... then stick to it. That's the hardest part.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed, Melanie.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone say "procrastination" or "writers block."
Bob