The Art of Social Media

The Art of Social Media for Self-Publishing Authors

Most if not all self-publishing authors do not have publicists to promote their work. Therefore, you must work diligently to have your books noticed. Social Media is a crucial key to networking and to publicize your book. You must be willing to put forth the time, but it is well worth the effort if done correctly. Companies such as BRAG are a wonderful example of on-line promoting and networking. If you are a BRAG Medallion Honoree, share to the world that you are! Share BRAG’s website to other sites, talk about what it means to be a BRAG Honoree.

When needing reviews, have legitimate reviewers read your book other than just family and friends. You need readers who will be objective and who could give their honest opinion and to give constructive criticism- when needed. Encourage reviewers to post their reviews on various sites, including book forums. On-line interviews are another tool for promoting your book. Holding interviews also gives the chance for the reader to feel more connected to you. Readers are more likely to buy your book if they know a little about you and what your interest is.

It is also important to utilize Goodreads. Make sure you profile is compete; if it’s not most likely the reader will skip your page and not read your book. Add a link to your website, blog, and the BRAG Medallion website on there as well. Anytime you post on your site, whether it is about your book, an article you wrote or a future book signing, create an event for it on Goodreads. It’s easy to do and effective. Be active on Goodreads as a reader, members like to see authors who are avid readers like them and they are more likely to add your book to-read if you are active and share a common ground with them. Hold giveaways on Goodreads about three months before you publish your book. Then hold another one on the publish date and repeat every three months. Hold discussions on your profile, it’s a great tool!

Facebook is another great tool for promoting/networking and for meeting authors and readers. Anytime you add a new post to your website, link the post to Facebook. You can create groups and pages on there about your work as well. Sharing written reviews about your book on this site is useful and effective. Tweet about your work and other SP Authors. Share their blog’s, articles and so on. Supporting fellow authors is another way to network and get your name out there. Most importantly, it’s okay to do a little shameless bragging about your work because remember, you are your own self-publicist! This is only the beginning to what you can do to utilize social media, but it’s a great first step to your success!

~Stephanie Moore Hopkins