We write books to share ideas and make our mark on the world. In today’s digital age with its global reach, authors have an opportunity to make a difference more than ever before. But, that requires us to show up and actually be in the public eye with an online presence. Here’s the recipe to getting seen in order to sell more books:
Ingredients:
- 1 Web site with a Blog
- 1 Email capture system preferably with a giveaway
- 2 Social Media platforms that your ideal reader uses
- 5 lbs of Consistency
- ½ cup of Patience
Directions:
- Set up a blog on your website and post on a regular basis. Use your keywords in the titles and in the image names to help increase your Search Engine Optimization so your ideal reader/client finds you online. Write with the reader in mind, and though you absolutely want to share personal pieces, always make it mostly about them and the benefits you offer to their lives. Share your blog in your newsletters and on your social media channels. Don’t worry if no one comments, and feel free to turn the comments off to ease the negative self-talk.
- Set up an email capture on your website to build a list of email addresses of people who care about your work and look forward to hearing from you. You can get more people to sign-up to your newsletter if you offer them something in return like a meditation audio or a free eBook. Email addresses are currency in today’s day and age—people don’t just give them away. Those emails you collect are called your “list”. Stay in touch with your list on a regular basis with tips and value added. Use your list when you want to announce your book launch, a sale or a program, but don’t only ever contact them when you want them to spend money, they’ll resent you and unsubscribe.
- Warning, too much social media will water down your recipe (and your sanity). Learn two social media platforms well and post consistently. Be a real person. NOTE: this is “social” media, not an advertising space. Your goal here is to build relationships so that people can get to know, like, and trust you. Hang out where your ideal reader hangs out. You can find teens on Snapchat and Instagram, adults on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook, professionals hang out on LinkedIn and Twitter. All the platforms are free and most allow separate business pages from your personal profile from which you can pay to advertise.
- YouTube and Facebook Live are excellent ways to use video in your social media. Facebook is currently pushing Live announcements to be seen by more people (so no advertising costs) and they can be done from a business Facebook page by using the Page Manager app on your phone. YouTube is owned by Google and therefore a very powerful search engine itself. Video is big for people using mobile devices who don’t want to read dissertations on small screens.
- This recipe takes time. Do not give up on posting consistently if you don’t see immediate results. Relationships are built over time, trust is built over time, and your writer’s online presence will take time.