If you plan to enter today’s world of indie publishing, then learn to love the social media. And make it your best friend. Social media is the avenue that can help your book stand apart from the thousands of children’s books being published around the clock.
Building your platform on the Social Media
For the self-publishing children’s writer, nothing can beat the thrill of seeing the book out in print. But along with this comes the responsibility of marketing the book and making the sales. Since self-publishers have neither the money nor the resources available to publishing houses, their best chance lies in using the social media to their advantage.
Using the social media, a children’s writer can build up a community which will support her literary ventures. And given adequate nurturing and interaction, this support base will stay loyal to her for years to come. Here is a quick update of how the popular social sites can be made to work for you.
Social Media #1: Facebook
With over one billion active users Facebook is an invaluable marketing tool for indie writers. Facebook can be used for interaction with readers, building a fan page, promoting an upcoming book or event by posting photos and providing links to supporting media.
Social Media #2: Twitter
Can be a tool to gather a community of like-minded people, participate in discussions and chats with thought leaders and direct the online traffic towards your site. Twitter is a great place to do research and connect with readers and experts worldwide.
Social Media #3: Goodreads
Is a community of book-lovers where you can share your literary experiences with other readers, keep abreast of author information and build up your own community.
Social Media #4: Google+
Is used to post longer articles, interact with followers using video conferencing and build up your own circle to share and interact.
Social Media #5: LinkedIn
Is a social site mainly used for professional networking. As of June 2013, LinkedIn reported 259 million users worldwide. Building up reputation and following on this site can take you a long way. You can create groups and a network, participate in discussions, and make enquiries among business professionals in your specialty.
Social Media #6: YouTube
You can post videos, video blogs, run book trailers and walkthroughs and be active with regular updates.
Social Media #7: Blog
Is a place that a writer could make the centre of her social media universe. This is the place to unveil new ideas, do surveys, interact with followers and commentators, and run the schedule of author events and literary promotions.
Of course, using all of these tools and keeping abreast of happenings on all is a 24X7 job. And that is certainly not doable if you are essentially a children’s writer and not a salesperson. But there is no getting away from the social media for an indie writer. And you will have to trade in some of your writing time to spend some time marketing your book.
For more ideas on marketing your book and the role of social media in self-publishing, check out the links provided below.
http://aytonandpartners.com/social-media-self-publishing-marketing-tool/
