Starting Social Media from Scratch

Sue and I are surprised when we meet an author who has essentially no social media presence—but we’re surprised less and less as time goes by, because we keep meeting you!

It occurred to me how overwhelming it must be to be told “ya gotta be online” and have no idea where to start.

What if another author, with decades of experience online and years of marketing experience, could share what they know is the right way to start?

Well of course that’s what I’m doing today.

Shortlisted

You need

  1. a website with a blog, and
  2. a newsletter.

I recommend, in the strongest possible terms, WordPress, on your own web hosting, and MailChimp for the newsletter.

I also recommend Charlottezweb for your hosting, because Jason has consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty, surprising Sue and I with the quality of care he provides and yes, I’m talking about web hosting, not a server in a fancy restaurant, but that’s how he makes us feel. Yes, that’s an affiliate link and if you use it, we’ll get a share of what you pay Jason. Won’t cost you a penny extra.

If you use Charlottezweb for hosting, simply ask Jason to install WordPress for you. Setting up MailChimp takes a bit more effort. If you need help, just ask (or for a fee, we can do all this stuff for you.)

That’s it, as far as the stuff you need to do yourself. Everything else is latching on to existing platforms.

A Presence on Every Major Platform

Note the word “presence.” We’ll come back to that in the next section.

For each of these popular social media platforms, make sure you have an account and that your profile is complete and consistent.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Goodreads

Our DIY Audit Packages include a checklist for everything you should include in your profile. It’s the same checklist we use to do our $297 Peace of Mind Social Media Audit and Consultation.

Choose a Focus

Pick one of those platforms, the one you feel most comfortable with. Use it consistently. Get good at it. Do not try to add another platform to the mix until use of the first one is automatic and effortless. Don’t add another platform until the first is running like a well-oiled machine.

Just having a presence on each of them lets folks find you on their favorite platform, even if you’re not active. It’s also possible to automate things like adding your blog posts to most of those platforms, meaning you’re active there as long as you’re blogging regularly, a practice we strongly urge you to develop.

When you feel comfortable spending more time on more platforms, take it slow and easy. Don’t overwhelm yourself. Consistency is far more important than erratic broadcasting.

You CAN Do This Yourself—But You Don’t Have To

If you can send an email you have the tech skills to make all this happen, perhaps with a little support.

But if you’d like help getting to this point, having a complete online social media presence you can start using, we can do that. The $697 Pro Setup for our monthly service packages covers creating and optimizing your account on all 6 of the social media platforms above (which includes your website and blog as the 6th platform.)

What do you think?