MARKET DAY!
Hi Folks!
When you take a trip to the local market do you have a habit of tossing a motley group of unconnected items into your basket? What’s the problem with that strategy, you ask?
Purchase too much or too little and you wind up spending your time and money on random things that don’t work together to make a good meal, or you wind up with lots of spoiled goods, which is like tossing money into the trash bin. For a better way to shop just make a list before you hit the market.
The same strategy can work for your visibility as a new author, or as a writer on the road to publication. You want to develop a marketing platform which can bring you into the blogo-sphere and put your name out in front of the world! So what do you need to achieve this feat? A MARKETING LIST.
List One: BLOG
Start with something cost effective. If you can get it free of charge, even better. The simplest way to keep your promotional costs low and get into the habit of engaging with your future audience is with a BLOG. There are several great sites in which to explore this arena. Try one of the following sites to nab a free blogsite and begin building your web presence and your brand.
Choose a blogsite, build some content and personality into it, set a schedule to post regularly, and you are on your way to Web visibility, where before you had no connection at all. My advice is to keep it free for as long as you can. Many successful authors are content with just the blog service itself; however, when you are ready to invest a few dollars into it, consider buying a DOMAIN. Most sites will do this for a small fee, converting what you already have on your blog service into your own personal WEBSITE.
Here’s an example of a regular blog address– http://www.bathtublub.blogspot.com –kind of long isn’t it?
This example reads like a domain address– http://www.bathtublub.com –much easier on everyone involved.
The value in owning your domain is the simplicity in which people can now find you in a search. It is also easier on you as a writer whenever you need to type it out, and looks cleaner on a business card or connected to other social media.
List Two: TWITTER
Signing up for a Twitter account is easy, and once again, cost effective because it is free! Did you notice I didn’t put Twitter on the list of Blogs? Twitter is in itself like a mini-quick blog to tell the world about yourself. The great advantage of Twitter is that if you are short on time, because all posts on Twitter are a mere 140 characters or fewer, you can spend the minimum of time getting the maximum from your efforts. If you allot time to re-tweet and connect with other writers and authors, really just be happy for them when something goes right, sympathize when the crap is hitting the fan, and enjoy the mutual company; all else will follow. The key is to support your fellow Twitter users, and they return the favor. Trust me; this works better with Twitter, but can apply for blogging, too!
So once again, what is the difference between Twitter and a blog besides shorter content? Currently Twitter doesn’t show all you might need to post as an author. You can link to cover art, or content for instance, but not show an image unless you use it as your avatar. You might also want to post excerpts form your published works, or tales that you don’t intend to publish, thoughts you pen for sheer enjoyment of the act, writing practice, and don’t mind sharing to an audience on the Web. A blog allows for you to post content of a variety of lengths, cover art, hold discussions, guest-host other authors and writers, post excerpts, and whatever else you want to do with the space.
List Three: FACEBOOK and GOOGLE+
Okay, this is where I diverge on usability and visibility.
Facebook appears to be a great reach-out community, but with the new arrangements in visibility on the part of the folks who run it; getting your brand out there can be a daunting task. I can say that being with a small publishing house came with some advantages; we connect to each other and therefore have a built in mutual audience. On the other hand, I’m not sure that the average Joe, unless he is already well connected is going to reach an audience unless he goes with one if its pay versions. Since my experience with this is still in an experimental stage, I will explore it further and report back to you.
Google+ is a new experience for me, but I find it easy to use, and it is beginning after only a couple of months to pick up speed as a viable social media tool. One of its best features is the Google Alert. The Google alert, once set up, will send a notice to your inbox anytime someone searches for you on Google! How’s that for staying on top of your social loop? I’ve only been using Google alerts for a week and already it has sent several messages to me. Some folk searched for me by name: C.K. Garner, and others by my website blog title: Blog, Paper Scissors. That surprised me. My book, Stealing Time, goes live in two days. I have just set the parameters for Google to alert me if anyone searches for it; very exciting!
So how do we make these items work together?
List Four: LINK IT!
Every one of the above mentioned formats can be linked to each other through an APP. The simplest description for the function of an APP is that it enables a person to easily share content from one site into another. You can easily connect your BLOG or WEBSITE to your TWITTER account, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE+, and where ever else you’d like to connect your marketing platforms together!
So this is your final checklist for Try it Thursday–or later depending on when you read this!
Social Media Market List:
BLOG
(or)WEBSITE
GOOGLE+
LINK WITH APP
These are the beginnings of what I hope will be a successful marketing experience for you as Writers and Authors. Well, I gotta go now; need to post this to my other social media sites and get my brand out there! Oh, and remember; my E-Book Stealing Time, a steampunk novella, releases August 10, 2012! Come on back and I’ll have a purchase link posted!
Cheers!
C.K. Garner
Kate Dancey 