Marketing Your Book... Social Network Style

[Chris Adams]

How important is social networking to market your book? And which do you think work the best in terms of actually selling more copies?

A few of the top social networks:
Facebook
Twitter
MySpace
Ning sites


-Chris Adams
www.websitesforauthors.net
twitter: chrisWFA

[Gary Val Tenuta]

I use Twitter on a daily basis for plugging my book. You can follow me on Twitter. My Twitter handle is "ezekielcode". Just plug that into the twitter people search and you'll find me.

I mix my book plugs with plenty of other material (humor, interesting videos, odd news stories, etc.) so my followers don't feel like they're just getting bombarded with nothing but my book - my book - my book - my book - my book - my book........ That's just annoying and will cause any followers you may have acquired to stop following you.

So if you're going to use Twitter as a marketing tool, make sure to add some variety to your "tweets" and make it interesting and/or useful in some way for those who have chosen to follow you. Also, don't just tweet something like: "Buy my book! It's really good!" Be more creative. You are a writer, after all! Here are a few examples of my book plug tweets:

Only a handful of novels have approached the 2012 phenomenon. The Ezekiel Code is unique among them. Video trailers: www.ezekielcode.com

NINE IS THE KEY = 144 = THE SECRET KEY ..... Can Zeke Banyon decipher the code in time? Will we make it to 2012? www.ezekielcode.com

Something extraordinary happened to our planet in August, 2006. You are no longer where you think you are. www.ezekielcode.com

An ancient prophecy, a lost scroll, a secret society, a baffling code, and one man's quest to save the planet. www.ezekielcode.com

ONE HUNDRED FEET=144=THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF • Join Zeke Banyon on a quest to crack the code and save our planet! www.ezekielcode.com

The Ezekiel Code www.ezekielcode.com : “Two thumbs up!” – Frankie L. Picasso, The Institute For Quantum Living and Conscious Design.

The Ezekiel Code www.ezekielcode.com : "High concept fiction. An unforgettable read." - Rai Aren, author of Secret of the Sands.

676 pages of synchronicity gone wild, a baffling code, good guys, bad guys, mystery, murder & a date with destiny, 2012. www.ezekielcode.com

2012 is coming...Or is it? Know this: You are no longer where you think you are. www.ezekielcode.com

The hands on the clock were moving swiftly as the huge golden capstone continued to inch its way upward. www.ezekielcode.com

What he didn't realize at that very moment was that he now had precisely 144 seconds to save the world. www.ezekielcode.com

Kick back! Relax! Get some popcorn! Watch the video presentation of the prologue from The Ezekiel Code ! www.ezekielcode.com

See The Ezekiel Code video trailers. 2012 is coming…Or is it?
Metaphysical/Mystery/Adventure/Thriller www.ezekielcode.com

[Chris Adams]

Hi Gary, thanks for the advice. That's one thing I hear consistently about social marketing, your "friends" and "followers" don't want to be hard-sold. By the way, congratulations on the all the positive reviews on Amazon.com. I was wondering, from your perspective, do you prefer readers to purchase the hard copy, or purchase the e-book?

-Chris Adams
www.websitesforauthors.net
twitter: chrisWFA

[Gary Val Tenuta]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the note about the great reviews on amazon.com. :-)

Regarding the hard copy vs. e-book, I'm just happy if either version is purchased. LOL! But I guess I'd prefer them to purchase the hard copy (paperback, actually). Don't know why, really. I guess just because I'd like to imagine them cozied up on the couch with the book in their hands and when they put it down they'll be looking at that cool cover art. *grin*

[Deborah Simpson]

I have found that all of these sites work very well, however, it takes an inordinate amount of time to market and promote. One thing artists should keep in mind is that it is better to promote yourself as an artist rather than your product. If you market yourself, your product will follow.

[Pariah Burke]

I agree with Deborah--market yourself and your product will follow.

I joined Twitter a little more than a year ago and began engaging with my peer community of graphic designers and other creative professionals. I provide help and my experience, useful links I run across (quite a lot of them, actually), and conversation. Honestly, I had no plans to plug my books written for that market, and I haven't really except for a brief mention here and there when someone had a need directly addressed by one of my books. However, as my latest royalty statement reveals, sales of a 2-year old book picked up 18% beginning with the time I began growing active on Twitter. Traffic to my Website, which does actively promote my books, has increased even more--and that I can track directly back to Twitter via server logs.

Just be yourself on Twitter. Be engaging and helpful. If you're successful in that, whatever it is you're trying to to market will succeed as well without a hard sell.

[Sandra Rea]

Social media is rather critical these days in promoting one's work. Authors who use it wisely and in tandem with the right tools are clear winners when it comes to expanded exposure for their work. We hear from our authors that it works well for them. Of course, we do teach them how to do it... Some of our authors have taught us a new tactic or two, too! That's always fun. Some land new book deals from their networking. Others experience boosted book sales. But there is a method to it all. Social media alone isn't going to do the trick. It takes a bit more than that.

That said, social media networking is here to stay. It will be interesting to see how it morphs over the coming years. Only two short years ago, if I were to use the term "social media" no one knew what I meant. Now they do! I don't have to do nearly as much explaining as I used to either.

Regarding the best platform, one must look at his/her goals. I love MySpace because it's an open platform. The rest, aside from the FaceBook fan pages I suppose, are pretty much closed. MySpace is a great outgoing communication device whereas FaceBook is great as an incoming message system. Ning sites... LOVE THEM!! I have found a few that are terrific for our business and for our authors and speakers.

We use social media and we teach others to use it, too. That is after we've done a bit of magic. ; )