Tag: authors

Barbara Vitelli, Book Club Mom, on Using YouTube

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

When a prospect asked me to share information on using YouTube, I turned to Barbara for information. Barbara, known as Book Club Mom, has been using YouTube to talk about books she’s read. Here’s what she had to share in response to the questions I asked her.

  1. How do you set up a YouTube channel?

    All you need is a Google account to set up a YouTube channel. If you use Gmail or Google Drive, then you already have one. Once you set up an account, sign in on YouTube and you can manage your account in various ways, through your channel and also through YouTube Studio, which is one of the options. YouTube Studio offers more details and stats about your videos once you upload them. You can customize your channel, add a profile picture, banner and select other options through settings. I recommend you choose your profile picture and think about how you want to brand yourself ahead of time, but not worry too much about it. You can always change things as you go along and learn where you fit in in the YouTube world.

  2. Do you need any special equipment to create the videos?

    If you have a smartphone, you can use the video feature on it to record your videos and upload them directly from your phone. In fact, that’s the best and fastest way to do it. I don’t recommend using your laptop to record a video because the quality isn’t as good.

  3. Why did you decide to set up a YouTube channel?

    I wanted to reach a broader audience. I have a book blog on WordPress and noticed a lot of other bloggers sharing their own videos. And I think because people are always in such a hurry, they use YouTube as a go-to spot to learn how to do things and get information. I’m also lucky to have the frequent advice of my four adult children, who know social media and YouTube very well. They encouraged me to set it up.

  4. What type of content do you share on YouTube?

    I talk about books I’ve read or want to read, reading and anything relating to the book world. I’m a Reference Librarian at a public library, so I also talk about my job there as it relates to books. I don’t share a lot of personal information or my location, but I like to talk about my general experiences as a librarian and as a mother. People want to hear those kinds of things, so you have to give a little. They want to know a little about who you are – that makes them relate to you.

  5. How do you promote your channel?

    I promote it on my blog and on social media, mostly Twitter and Instagram. I’ve experimented with how best to do that and often use Canva (a free graphic design app) to create promotional pieces. I also use Canva to make thumbnails of my videos, so that they all have a similar look to them on my channel. That makes it easier to promote them too, because I can use the thumbnail image on social media. I recommend playing around with Canva to learn how to make thumbnails. They have a template for it. Once you upload your first video, you’ll see why. YouTube gives you a few random options for thumbnails. You might not like those.

  6. What tips can you give an author just starting a YouTube channel?

    Be natural. Smile. Don’t script your videos or practice (too much). Have an idea of what you’re going to say and then take your time talking. Pretend you’re talking to a friend. That makes it a lot easier. Don’t worry about it being perfect because viewers actually prefer a regular person talking and they don’t mind if you pause or occasionally misspeak or even drop something. Some of my more popular videos are the ones in which I’ve made mistakes and caught myself. In my opinion, the more polished it is, the less interesting it is. Also, don’t obsess about how you look when you talk. We all know what we look like in still shots. It’s a bit of a shock to see yourself talking. You might not like the way your mouth moves or how your face is. You may discover that your face is uneven or that your glasses don’t sit perfectly on your face. I’ve been through that! Viewers are not watching you like that. They’ve clicked on your video because they want to see you and hear what you have to say. Don’t worry about views and followers – unless you’re a YouTube star, they will build slowly. And most important, be confident!

About Book Club Mom: I was a stay-at-home mom for twenty years and now that my kids are nearly grown, I’m also a part-time Reference Librarian at a public library. I like to read whenever I get the chance, and then I like to talk about the books I’ve read. I started a blog eight years ago and slowly added social media to my world. I’ve made great friends on my blog and on social media. Adding YouTube to the mix has made blogging even more fun!

You can find Book Club Mom here:

WordPress: bvitelli2002.wordpress.com
Twitter: @BookClubMom
Facebook: @BookClubMom
Instagram: book.club.mom
YouTube: Book Club Mom

Authors and Book Publishing Industry Experts: Two New Interview Series in 2021

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

2021 Interview SeriesAuthors and book publishing industry experts, as well as everyone else, would no doubt agree that 2020 has been a challenging year. Yet, as one of my colleagues noted, since everyone has suffered in some way during the pandemic. It’s put things in perspective for us, helping us focus more on helping others.

In 2021 I want to focus on helping you, my readers and clients. One way I’m doing that is by introducing two new concurrent interview series in 2021. In 2020 I interviewed business podcasters so you could see if their podcast might be a good fit for you to be a guest on. You can read those interviews here. In 2021 the two interview series will be one with nonfiction authors and another with book publishing industry experts.

The Two New Interview Series

One series will start with authors I have worked with at some point over the past 15 years. In addition to providing exposure for those authors and their books, those authors will share how they weathered through 2020 during the pandemic and their favorite book marketing tip.

The other series is with experts in the book publishing industry will include editors, ghostwriters, publishing consultants, book coaches, and authors assistants. You will learn more about them and their business and find out if they are a good fit for you if you’re in need of their type of expertise. They will also share their favorite tip for using social media.

It is my hope that by highlighting the work of these authors and experts they might gain new readers and clients. And you will benefit by learning tips they share on book marketing, social media, and weathering through a pandemic.

Here are some of the people whose interviews you’ll be reading: Chrissy Das, Cristen Iris, Faith Wilcox, Jeanne Rodriguez, Anne Janzer, Laurie Buchanan.

If you know of anyone in the book publishing industry who would be a good fit for this series or a nonfiction author who launched a new book during 2020 amid the pandemic, please have them contact me.

Watch for our first 2021 interview here on the blog on January 5, 2021.

Toni Lontis, Host of Radio Toni [Interview]

Posted on by Sue L Canfield
This entry is part 6 of 13 in the series Podcaster Interviews

I first connected with Toni Lontis when booking radio shows for my client, Deborah Olson. It was such a pleasure getting to know Toni and working with her. We even spoke via Skype at a later date. That was especially fun since she’s in Australia. Here’s her interview.Toni Lontis

Tell us about your podcast

Radio Toni is more than a podcast. It starts its life as a live radio show with real time guest and listener interaction. Once the live show is finished it is converted to a podcast and distributed everywhere you get your podcasts from. Radio Toni gives people a voice to be heard and a platform to send their message out to the world. I interview new guests each week and talk to many authors about their books. I have a particular focus on trauma and trauma recovery.

Why did you start this podcast?

Radio Toni started in March 2019 and there’s an interesting story to its inception. In January of 2019 I published my first book – Resilience, memoir of a broken little girl discovering a woman of strength and beauty. I then embarked on the process of production of the audiobook version. The production company I used convinced me that I should narrate my story myself, rather than using a voice over professional. Eventually I agreed to do this. At the end of this long endeavor, Simone, a radio veteran and the owner of Brisbane Audiobook production, asked if I had ever thought about radio or podcasting as she thought I had a wonderful voice for radio. I shrugged off the suggestion as something I had not ever been interested in.

As I embarked on marketing for my book, I started to build my social media accounts in earnest. As this happened, I connected with a US media company owner and I started to ask about podcasting. This led to a longer discussion and finally a Skype call from the US. I thought Dean, the owner, wanted an interview, but then he asked if I wanted a radio show of my own and asked if I would consider it. The rest, as they say, is history. After a very nervous start and knowing nothing about radio whatsoever, I learnt quickly and discovered a total love of radio. Now I get to talk and interview people from all over the world, it’s the best fun, very entertaining and aligns totally with the 4 pillars of my business – inspire, empower, educate and help.

How long have you been podcasting?

Since March 2019.

What do you look for in a guest?

I look for people with a story to tell, who are willing to tell this story to the world and who are open to following the guidelines I set out – filling in the guest paperwork, responding to emails and confirming dates when they are offered.

How can listeners find you?

Listen in Live each week to Radio Toni on w4wn.com Thursday 7pm ET US and then the podcast is simply Radio Toni everywhere you get your podcast.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

My website:
https://tonilontis.com/
https://tonilontis.com/be-a-guest-on-radio-toni/ – for anyone who wants to be a guest on my show.
https://tonilontis.com/podcasts/

And here’s what Toni has to say about working with me to book guests on her show.

“Working with Sue has been an absolute pleasure!  The quality of guests she has been able to supply for my Radio show has been perfectly aligned to my program and I have become friends and stayed connected with all of them. The combined efforts of Sue’s promotional strategies, my show reach and coverage has shown wonderful results for those guests chosen to be interviewed live on the show. If you want to get impressive promotion for you and your book, join Sue and the team and get your name and book out there, you will be glad you did”.  

Book Launch Teleseminar February 27, 2019 at The Nonfiction Authors Association

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

Join me for the weekly Nonfiction Authors Association teleseminar February 27, 2019, as I share Social Media Marketing Strategies for Your Book Launch. We will discuss:

  • How far in advance to plan your book launch
  • Specific strategies leading up to your book launch
  • Book launch day strategies
  • Follow up strategies after  your book launch
  • and more

Click on the image to download your Book Launch checklist.

Learn how to participate here.

The Nonfiction Authors Association is a vibrant educational community for aspiring and experienced writers to connect, exchange ideas, and learn about writing, publishing, promoting and profiting from nonfiction books.

NFAA is over 14,000 members strong and growing each day. Members cover many genres of nonfiction books including business, self-development, health and fitness, memoir, history, how-to, science, creative nonfiction and reference books.

Nonfiction Authors AssociationIf you’re serious about your author career, you need to join the NFAA!

Which Platform Works Best for You?

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

With all the social media platforms available, authors often ask which one is the best platform for them. My answer: it depends on where your audience is and which one you feel you’d be most comfortable spending time using. Here are four popular ones and my thoughts on each one. Then you decide which one is best for you. (I recommend you set up a profile at each one and then focus on one. More on that in a future post.)

Twitter is a Music Festival

It’s easy to set up a Twitter account and start following people you hope will follow you back. The trap to avoid is following everyone. Follow people who are relevant in some way. Perhaps they’ve tweeted about your topic or have a hashtag in their bio that indicates interest in your topic. Create lists so you can categorize those you follow – other authors, book marketers, publicists, and others.

Because you can tweet often, you drive more traffic to your website from Twitter than other social media platforms. That means your tweets need to have valuable information with a link that readers want to click to learn more.

Yes, it’s easy for your tweets to ‘get lost’ in the huge Twitterverse. However you can make good connections and start conversations that may result in taking the conversation into email. Over the years I’ve made really good connections with people in my industry in this manner, and have even gotten clients through Twitter.

Twitter is like a music festival with many different bands all playing at once on different stages of a huge venue. Thousands of people are attending. It will get noisy, even confusing at times. You might feel lost, that your message isn’t being heard. But those who want to hear what you have to say will find you and listen, just like at a huge music festival. Maybe you went to listen to one or two bands. You’ll seek them out and listen to them. Your audience will seek you out on Twitter and listen to you too – as long as you’ve set up your account and tweet in such a way that they can find you.

Facebook is a Tribe

On Facebook you want to be sure to set up an Author page. Read my previous post on 13 Ways to Utilize Your Facebook Author Page. Be sure to link to the page from your website and invite friends and readers to connect with you on this page. This is where your ‘tribe’ can come backstage with you. You won’t have as many followers on Facebook as you have connections elsewhere. That’s okay. This is where people who are already your readers will come to learn more about you and even connect with other readers.

Think of Facebook as a place where your tribe comes to hang out. They may have first connected with you on Twitter and now want more. Use Facebook to share more about who you are, what you write, links to other information your audience will find value. And of course have fun! Facebook followers tend to be people who like to have fun. :)

LinkedIn is a Professional Networking Connector

LinkedIn is a more professional setting, perfect for nonfiction authors. In addition to connecting with other professionals, you can join and participate in groups, and publish articles related to your topic. I use LinkedIn to deepen connections. I invite strategic connections to a free 15-minute phone call so we can learn more about each other.

Groups are a wonderful tool you can use to start or join in conversations and share your expertise. Writing articles also strengthens your position as an expert in your field.

Instagram is a Snapshot of Life

This social media platform is primarily about visuals – posting photos or images along with text and hashtags. You may want a separate business account for your book. Instagrammers want to know more about your life as an author. They want to see photos of your writing space, perhaps a book store you visited, your cat. Of course you can post about your book too. Just remember that the audience here is more interested in your life – not your book.

If you need some ideas for visuals to post on Instagram, check out this post.

So, which platform works best for you right now?

This may change at a later date so you want to revisit this annually.

  • Are you interested in a music festival and reaching a lot of people? Twitter’s your thing.
  • Do you want your tribe to connect more personally with you and other readers? Use Facebook
  • Is your goal to connect with other professionals and deepen those relationships? LinkedIn is the place.
  • Would you like to connect with readers interested in a more personal look into your life as an author? Dive into Instagram

I’d love to connect with you on any of those social media platforms and hear your comments on this topic. Share a comment below and links to your platforms so I can follow you.