Social Media Tips & Blog

What Has Your Social Media Consultant Done for You Today?

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

At a recent meetup for local authors we met Ernest Sears Jr. who had written a book about the benefits of culling destructive relationships from our lives.

Ernest wasn’t happy with his book’s cover. The book was ready, Ernest was ready, but the cover wasn’t what he wanted: it looked like a book about juicing, which it’s not. (That’s it on the right.)

We no longer provide cover design services, but we know people who do. After referring Ernest to Lewis Agrell, they worked together to give the book a new cover. It’s more dynamic, and does a better job of conveying the book’s self-help content.

Ernest Was Not a Client

This wasn’t a business transaction, it was a gift. We met someone who had a need, and we knew someone who could fill it.

Business isn’t only about transactions, it’s about people, generosity, fulfillment, even joy. We love what we do, we really like authors and the publishing world, and we’re always glad to help any way we can—even if someone isn’t paying us money.

What has your social media consultant done for you today?

What I Learned from Facebook Insights

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

What I learned from Facebook insightsAs part of my year-end business plan, I reviewed the Insights section for my Facebook business page. There is an export option which I chose. The .csv file I downloaded was huge! There is a ton of data collected, from demographics about your followers to what types of action is taken by those followers on your page. I originally downloaded a report for a whole month and was overwhelmed with all the data in the file. So I went back and downloaded just a week’s worth of data. It was still a bit overwhelming but I managed to wade through it all.

What I wanted to know primarily was the demographics of my followers. I learned that the majority of my followers are from the U.S. Interestingly, I have followers in Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Germany, the Philippines, India, Canada, and the UK.

Though there are several male followers, the majority are women between the ages of 35 and 65.

How does it help to know this? It helps me to know who my audience is so I know how best to market my services. I can then tailor any Facebook ads to target an audience of women living in the U.S. between the ages of 35 and 65.

I suggest you download your Insights and analyze them specifically to see who your target audience is and then create an ad targeted to that audience. Let me know how it goes!

 

 

Taming the Ever-Evolving Monster of Social Media Marketing

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

mathew-schwartz-418954-unsplashWhen I talk to clients about social media I call it an ever-evolving monster. It’s always changing. For many authors, it feels like they are battling a dragon. They have a difficult time trying to figure out what to do on social media and how to do it. If they do get it figured out, then it changes. The rules change, a new platform comes out, different image sizes are required. What worked best last year doesn’t work this year. There’s a myriad of information on what to do and it can be overwhelming.

Is it possible to slay this ever-evolving monster? How? In my experience the monster constantly rears its ugly head. You can’t control each social media platform and the changes they make. Though you can’t slay the monster, you can tame it. It just takes understanding some basics.

Social media will change. Be prepared for it.

Once you accept that change will occur, it will be easier to accept it and do whatever needs to be done to change with it. Prepare by crafting messages with ongoing value – evergreen content. Know that you may have to create images of various sizes if you want them to appear their best on each platform.

Feel free to experiment. What another author does successfully may work for you – or it may not. Try various strategies and see what works best for you. You don’t have to be active everywhere. It’s much better to focus on one platform and get it down than to start by trying to do it all everywhere. Social media marketing is a case where being sharply pointed is far better than being well rounded.

To be effective at taming the ever-evolving monster of social media marketing, you might consider hiring someone to do it WITH you. Notice I did not say hire someone to do the marketing FOR you. No one can market your book for you as effectively as you can. You know your topic, your point of view, better than anyone else. However, you can work WITH someone to help you disseminate your message and to provide social media guidance and advice.

If you’d like assistance establishing and dialing in your social media, we can help you get it ready to manage it yourself. Check out our 4 Week Social Media Head Start program.

15 Blogs for Nonfiction Authors to Follow

Posted on by Sue L Canfield
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In no particular order, here are 15 blogs I follow and recommend nonfiction authors check out. You can find them all on Twitter in my Twitter list NonfictionBloggers. You’ll find information to help with writing, publishing,promotion, using social media and more.

Build Book Buzz

Sandra Beckwith provides do-it-yourself book marketing tips, tools, and tactics.

Social Media Just for Writers

Author and Social Media Strategist Frances Caballo blogs regularly and has a free email course to teach authors how to save time on social media.

The Creative Penn

Joanna Penn, Award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, provides resources to help you write, publish and market your book, as well as make a living with your writing.

The Write Practice

Includes self-guided tutorials to help you become a better writer faster.

The Book Designer

Joel Friedlander provides practical advice to build better books – everything from book design to self-publishing and book marketing.

Indies Unlimited

Named in Publishers Weekly as one of the top blogs for authors. Though aimed at fiction authors, nonfiction authors will find useful information on book trailers, publishing, and more.

Jane Friedman

Jane Friedman has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in business strategy for authors and publishers.

Writers Helping Writers

This site is full of many one-of-a-kind tools and resources for writers, editors and teachers.

Nina Amir – Inspiration to Creation Coach

Nina is the author of How to Blog a Book & The Author Training Manual. She’ll transform you into an author & help you Achieve More Inspired Results.

The Passive Voice

A lawyer’s thoughts on authors and publishing. Check the nonfiction category specifically.

Nonfiction Authors Association    

A vast library of articles and guest posts related to writing, publishing, and promoting nonfiction books.

National Association of Memoir Writers

This website specifically targeted to memoir writers offers quick access to new books, the wisdom and craft of published authors, and tips for stimulating your creativity.

The Book Shepherd

Book publishing expert, Judith Briles, provides practical publishing guidance and much more.

Social Media Examiner

Full of original and comprehensive articles, expert interviews, original research, and the news you need to improve your social media marketing.

Jeff Goins

Jeff Goins is the best-selling author of five books including the The Art of Work and Real Artists Don’t Starve. On his blog, he shares his thoughts on writing, life, and creative work.

What blogs do you regularly follow? Let me know in the comments section so I can check them out.

Client Corner: Book Launch of The Way of The Warrior Mama

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

We are pleased to announce the official book launch date of our client’s book! Tomorrow, December 11, 2018, Sally Clark launches The Way of The Warrior Mama: The Guide to Protecting and Raising Strong Daughters.

preorder The Way of the Warrior Mama

Buy the book at Amazon.

Sally published this updated version with Morgan James Publishing.

Reader review:

“Reading The Way Of The Warrior Mama brought tears to my eyes. As busy Mothers, living our everyday lives can sometimes clutter our minds so that we don’t take moments to talk to our girls about relationships, boundaries, self-respect and the power of saying NO. After reading this book, I came to a realization that even at a very young age, we have to make our girls aware that they don’t have to play the role our society has created for them. The importance of having conversations with our girls without having shame attached to them also made a lasting impression. I believe that this book is not just for Mothers of girls, but also a great read for those bringing up boys too. We must guide our boys towards a less aggressive path and give them an understanding of how our girls should be treated.” – Elena Schloss

To learn more about our Social Media Book Launch packages and how we support our clients, click here.