What Authors Should Know About Promo @jeffmp3 #MFRWorg #amwriting

Marketing for Romance Writers welcomes JP Adkins, founder of the new social media site MyAwesomeFans, for a look at authors and promoting well.

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MyAwesomeFans.com 

Share about who are you vs. what you're doing.

We all know creative artists for whom the only reason they go onto social media is because they need to promote their book, blog, or whatever. Authors and other creatives typically have many different accounts for each pen name, but rarely share insights as to who they are as a person. The secret of social media is that if you are not giving people the "why" of what you are doing, they will not care about the "what" you are doing. Social media is a powerful platform to grow your "knowability" and "likeability", two of the most important factors for why people choose your products and services.

Remember when you created for fun?

When you were not worrying about deadlines or bottom lines? I have found that when you rely on your creativity for your food supply, it becomes a mad dash to reach more people, figure out how to get more sales, figure out how to climb the Amazon Rankings, how to get another review, etc. Sound familiar?

The issue we find is that in order to reach the most people, we have to be on many different media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook (Wall, Groups, and Page), G+, Pinterest, Instagram and the list goes on and on and on. We simply don't have time to  be human on all of these platforms and still have time to create. I have a couple of tips that can help authors create engaging content while allowing yourself to stay focused on creating awesome products that please you. In the end, if it doesn't please you, it'll never please anyone else.

If you can't add value to a community, drop it.

What are you doing to help the community along? Are you there just to promote yourself? Is everyone in this group just promoting themselves or are they genuinely trying to help each other? These are all questions that you should be asking yourself. Facebook Groups for example. I know authors who are in forty-five+ groups and more than half of them are full of other authors cutting and pasting their promo-of-the-day. The only advantage to staying in that group is search engine hits, but most of the groups are secret and won't even be crawled by the search engines.

So, how do I do it all and stay sane?

I say do what makes you feel good and automate the rest. I personally use Facebook as my main social media platform. I have a Twitter account, a G+ account and a Tumblr account I use for various reasons. My Twitter life was changed when Kayelle Allen talked to me about Paper.Li! It creates digests of content from sources you select. I have two. One is full of inspirational speakers such as Dr. Wayne Dwyer, Deepak Chopra, and others, while the second is full of author friends. They both get tweeted out daily and I get a digest so that I can keep up with everything without spending much time on Twitter. If I see something that inspires me, I generally retweet it or I may share a quote. Twitter is my inspiration station. I want to get on there, get an inspirational bit, then go do whatever it is that I was doing.

My Tumblr account is my naughty side. I use it to inspire some of the erotic artists I know. Most of this is through reblogging, although I have shared links and snippets too naughty for Facebook.

I use my G+ account more for the Hangouts feature than anything else. I enjoy sharing meditations on Monday where my friends can tune in. The rest is promo, but I will say most of my circle follows me on Facebook and really doesn't use G+ for anything but promo either. The reason I even do that is because Google said it will no longer search through Facebook or Twitter statuses.

This brings me back to Facebook. I have a page for MyAwesomeFans, my wall, and belong to more secret groups people keep adding me to than promotional groups. I only have one account my family follows, so I try to keep things generally clean. What that does is let people know who I really am. They know why I am doing whatever it is I am working on from a very personal place. I am human. I am not just a robot on the other side of a screen just trying to sell people something. I do promote, but it isn't the only reason I exist. I also share things that make me feel something, engage in conversation, and try to help others achieve their dreams.

It's about connections.

In the end, it is about connecting with people. When we can remind people that there is another person on the other side of the screen, one who is very much the same as they are, it creates rabid fans and maybe a friend or two.

About JP Adkins

JP Adkins is an artist, writer, designer, Zen master, and marketing guru. He likes to see himself as someone who works hard at making life better for the people he comes in contact with both professionally and personally. He created the new social media platform http://MyAwesomeFans.com to help creative artists to better reward their fans while saving creators time and to help them make a little more money while they do it. You can set up your Fanclub free for one month using the coupon code: MFRW

Author Social Media

Twitter https://twitter.com/jeffmp3

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jeffmp3

Fanclub http://myawesomefans.com/index.php/groups/viewgroup/1-jp-adkins

#MFRWorg The MFRW Newsletter History

When I started the January issue of the MFRW Newsletter, I reflected on how far we’ve come since we began back in November of 2008.  There weren’t very many of us in MFRW back then and the Newsletter was about ten pages long each month.  Now we’re up to sixty-plus pages some months, and in January we had a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author on our cover.  Who ever would have thought we’d be helping a best-selling author to promote her books?  Incredible.

I now have a staff of three assistant editors without whom I couldn’t possibly get this baby out the door.  Each month in this column, I’ll highlight one of us so you can get to know us better.

So:  How do you put together a successful Newsletter?  First, decide how often you’re going to issue it.  Once a week? Month? Quarter?  I wouldn’t go any farther out than quarterly.  You want to keep your audience engaged.  I think monthly works, unless you have help.  After all—you want your newsletter to be attractive, fun, and informative, but you also need time to write and keep up with your other promotional activities.

Next, what information do you want to disseminate in your newsletter?  Of course you want to announce new releases and maybe keep your readers apprised of how you’re doing on your works in progress.  Do you want to have guest authors?  How much space do you want to give them?  Do you want to post a bio? Interview? Tag Line? Blurb? Excerpt? What about cover art and photos?  Don’t forget—the same copyright rules apply to photos you use in your newsletter as on your blog.  How do you assemble this material?  We’ll cover that in upcoming months.

Meanwhile, check out the MFRW Newsletter.  You can access it both in our files and at Issuu.com.  Here are the URLs.

Our Files:  https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MarketingForRomanceWriters/files/MFRW-Newsletter/2014%20MFRW%20Newsletter/

Issue:  Issuu.com:  http://issuu.com/mfrw/docs

And here’s a bit about me:

Rochelle Weber is a Navy veteran and holds a BA in Communications from Columbia College in Chicago with an emphasis on creative writing.  “Would you like fries with that?”  Her non-fiction article, “Bulimia,” was featured in Hair Trigger 9 & 10, the acclaimed Columbia College student anthology.  Her first novel, Rock Bound, is available at CreateSpace, Smashwords, Amazon and BN.com.  The digital version of her second novel, Rock Crazy is available at MuseItUp Publishing, Inc., and the print version’s available at CreateSpace and Amazon.  She edits the Marketing for Romance Writers Newsletter, and for Jupiter Gardens Press.  Rochelle lives in Round Lake Beach, Illinois.

Website:  http://www.rochelleweber.com

Blogs:  http://rochelleweber.blogspot.com

http://rochellesreviews.blogspot.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=1067356188

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/RochelleWeber

Amazon Author’s Page:  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002HVPRVM

#MFRWorg Blogging Etiquette: Be A Good Guest

How Polite are You?

Blogging Etiquette from contributing blogger, Vicki Batman

Don't you just love having different folks guest on your blog? I do! It's an opportunity for both of us to pique the interest of other people. 

I asked fellow Plotting Princesses—Michelle Miles, Liz Lipperman, Pamela Stone, Karilyn Bentley, and Sylvia McDaniel—and top-notch authors who host blogs—Paloma Beck, Kayelle Allen, and Christina Cole—for their thoughts about blogging.

Do you ask others to post on your blog? I invite loads of folks for Handbags, Books...Whatever and the Plotting Princesses. I have placed my contact and submission information in yahoo groups' databases.

At Ye Olde Inkwell, Michelle generally asks writers she knows who have a new release. Paloma told me she has moved toward creating special features at Romance Beckons with invited guests who fit in with her own writing. Christina says she asks people to post on two of her blogs, Time for Love and Seasons of Love. Kayelle doesn't invite guests on her personal blog, Unstoppable Heroes. However, the Romance Lives Forever blog is geared toward guests.

Do you share the post with your followers? Michelle, Sylvia, and I funnel our blogs through Triberr. I post to yahoo groups, FB, and Google+. Michelle uses a special Wordpress plugin which spreads the word. Pamela says yes, especially when on the Plotting Princesses or on a guest blog via Twitter, Facebook, and email.

Paloma writes her post goes to Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and, of course, Triberr. If it's an author she has read or knows personally, she'll do a bit more to promote; otherwise, it's just the standard in these social media outlets. Christina actively promotes all guest posts through Twitter and Facebook.

Kayelle's blog is shared via Networked Blogs, Bloglovin', and Linky Followers, automatically shared on Facebook and Twitter, and feeds to Triberr which amplifies the post thru a network of like-minded bloggers on Twitter. It's tied to Paper.li, a newsletter that auto-curates material based on the blog's RSS feed and the hash tag #RLFblog. Guests on Romance Lives Forever get an average of two newsletter mentions and about forty-five mentions on Twitter, plus links to at least three pages on Facebook.

Do you have rigid submission formats for the blogger to follow? Ms. Lipperman told me no, and Michelle asks the post be sent at least 24 hours in advance since she schedules posts. I do have requirements for my #handbag Monday posts as this day is about my favorite accessory; however, I do let authors include a jpeg, one line blurb, and one buy link. Sylvia doesn't have submission formats either; however, her blog is new and she is learning.

Christina tells me on Seasons of Love she has a very strict format regarding how the information is to be posted and presented. On Time for Love, it's more "anything goes" -- as long as it doesn't include promotional material.

I've had to format posts with a specific font and size. Fix my jpeg a called-for size. On Handbags, Books...Whatever and the Plotting Princesses blogs, I've dealt with Rafflecopter. Pictures here and there. Crazy html—yikes! All takes up too much time when I should be writing.

Paloma uses guidelines but wouldn't call them rigid. She has a specific page on her blog with all the information. Check out how she does this at this LINK.

On Romance Lives Forever, Kayelle provides specific formats for five interviews. She has spent too much personal time cleaning the posts for publication. Images are placed in areas for the most views, and the font is easy to read.

Princess Karilyn likes blogs with questions; however, guidelines are helpful. She likes to talk about her books, but not craft. She also adds that in her head, no comments has her wondering if anyone saw the post, but realizes the trend is not to comment.

Several of us think keep it simple is most beneficial. 

What are pet peeves? Ms. Lipperman and Pamela say they're annoyed when people don't check back to respond to comments. I agree. I am also upset when the blogger doesn't share my URL in any social media outlets like I have.

Paloma doesn't like late submissions. Would you arrive at a dinner party an hour late? I think not. So please be mindful of your time when coming as a guest to my blog.

She adds: Not promoting yourself. Guests should promote their post and encourage others to visit the blog. Then they should be there to answer questions and engage with those who comment.

Christina is peeved when guest bloggers ignore the rules: sending a 150-word "blurb" over the asked for 25 words or less, or ignoring the "no promotion" restriction and sending a post all about their latest release.

Kayelle finds it annoying when formatting requests are ignored, for example: all URLs must be written out and not embedded because the free promotion the author will receive is being included in a pdf at the end of the year that provides the author's buy links for their books. You'd think people would love that, but often the links are embedded anyway. That's not just annoying; that's rude.

 

Anything else? Kayelle says if you build a good social media platform with your blog, you will get results.

In summary, for the Blogger, I recommend:
1. Share the post with your followers, yahoo groups, Facebook, Twitter, Triberr and anywhere else you can think of.
2. Don't ramble. A 250 word post is really long enough.
3. Turn in your post on a timely basis.
4. Don't over use fancy fonts.
5. Send pictures in jpeg and note in the post where to insert each one, but don't overdo the picture thing.
6. Writing about a proper topic and not shouting "Buy My Book" or whatever.
7. Provide working URLs.

For the Host, I recommend:
1. Share the post with your followers, yahoo groups, Facebook, Twitter, Triberr, and anywhere else you can think of.
2. Don't overdo the formatting requirements.
3. Do provide reasonable content guidelines.
4. Be flexible because...stuff happens.

To sum up, blogging etiquette is really what our moms told us: Be nice. 

TALK TO US... What kind of blogs do you like to visit or read about?

Michelle Miles  |  Pamela Stone  |  Karilyn Bentley  |  Liz Lipperman  |  Christina Cole  |  Paloma Beck  |  Kayelle Allen  |   Sylvia McDaniel

Moderating the MFRW Facebook Group: So What’s the Big Deal About Spam? #MFRWorg

"Spam? I don't think so...."

As I’ve alluded to in my first two posts about screening and contacting potential members, one of the things I consider within the purview of my responsibilities as an MFRW Facebook group moderator is preventing spam profiles from becoming group members. In addition to moderating the request/join process, we also choose our group settings according to the general seeking of balance between allowing the group to be accessible to the public and potential members and disallowing illegitimate members access to it.

In creating or moderating a Facebook group, one of the first things one selects is the group type. On any group page (whether you’re a member of it or not), there is a tab toward the upper right corner that says “Create Group.” After choosing a name and having the opportunity to invite particular people to join, a group creator also needs to choose whether the group is “Open,” “Closed,” or “Secret.”

MFRW is an “Open” group, which means the public may see the group members and the posts made in the group. This is because promotion is a big part of the MFRW Facebook group, so of course we want people to be able to find it easily and see the content in it, since most of said content is intended to reach potential readers. (A “Closed” group allows the public to find the group and see who is in it but not view the posts on the group page, and a “Secret” group hides the members and the content from the public and is not accessible via a search.)

In addition to this setting, the “Membership Approval” setting is one to which moderators may want to pay attention. (If you moderate a group, the place to edit these settings is found by clicking on the little wheel-like icon at the top right of the page and choosing “Edit Group Settings.”) The two choices here basically indicate that 1) any members can invite and approve other members or 2) moderators must approve any invited members. MFRW is set to the second option. With this setting, members can still invite others to join the group, but the request then goes to the queue to be moderated like any other request.

Facebook additionally has an option to “block” someone who is requesting to join. The “Block” button appears alongside all member requests in addition to the “Add” and “Ignore” buttons. I have only used this feature about half a dozen times, but I have found it helpful in cases of accounts I’ve already determined to be spam sending multiple requests even after I’ve rejected them. Moderators may unblock blocked members at any time by clicking on the "Members" tab in the horizontal menu bar along the top of the group page, clicking the arrow next to the default “All Members” option next to the search box, and choosing “Blocked” from the drop-down menu. The list of blocked members will appear, and a “Remove Ban” link will be next to each name.

So, at this point in these posts, you may be wondering what difference it really makes if a spammer does manage to infiltrate the secure fortress of the MFRW Facebook group? (That is a joke, of course…very little on Facebook is secure, and one should always practice due diligence there in general!) The risks this poses range from mildly inconvenient to more pressingly relevant to one’s professional online persona. They include the following:

1) Well…spam ;)
Right, so obviously one of the things a spam profile tends to do is post spammy links on group pages. Spammers sometimes receive financial compensation for each instance such a link appears, so the spammer’s goal is to place these links in as many places as many time as possible. In general, these links are likely to advertise “make-money-quickly” schemes, easy-to-“win” products, or simply any variety of items for sale. Were this to happen on a moderated group page like MFRW’s, it would likely be spotted and subsequently fixed with a deletion of the post(s) in question and removal of the profile that posted it/them. This falls into the mildly inconvenient category.

2) Credibility Questions
However, were I to be away from my computer for several hours (which seems to happen absurdly infrequently), a spammer could do a fair number on the group page while I wasn’t looking. I’ve personally tended to feel this would affect the group’s credibility were a new or potential member (or current members, for that matter) to visit the group and see a bunch of obvious spam links bombarding the page.

3) Malicious Third-Party Applications
Furthermore, some spam efforts have more widespread consequences. In phishing schemes, for example, while the actual post from the spam account doesn’t affect the group members or page (this is the case in general with all posts), if someone were to click on the link in question and enter, for example, her/his/their Facebook password or other sensitive information, that data would then be in the possession of an entity with potentially malicious aims. In general, incidentally, Facebook users should be quite careful to only enter their password on what they’re sure is the actual Facebook site (type the address into the address bar yourself) and not offer this information on a landing page from a link on which they have clicked.

These are the main reasons I and MFRW work to keep spam accounts from gaining membership to the MFRW Facebook group. While links and promotion are welcome in the Facebook group, we want to do all we can to make sure those links are legitimate, safe, and fulfill MFRW’s purpose of connecting the hard work of our members with the readers who will love it. :)


Emerald
Emerald is an erotic fiction author whose short stories have been featured in anthologies published by Cleis Press, Mischief, and Logical-Lust. She serves as an assistant newsletter editor and Facebook group moderator for Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW), and she selects and posts the monthly inspirational quote on the MFRW Marketing Blog. Find out more about her at her website, The Green Light District.

Author Promo Basics: Using Twitter #authortips #MFRWorg

An Avatar Can Establish Brand  

This post is part of a series of basic promotional tip sheets for authors. Today's topic is using Twitter. Why join Twitter? The site can increase awareness of your author brand, and help you sell books. It's also a great way to meet new readers and have fun at the same time.

CREATING AN ACCOUNT

If you don't have a Twitter account, here's how to make one. If you have one, skip to the next section. Begin by going to Twitter.com

• Use your author name as your user name. You are branding yourself as an author -- this is not the time to use cutesy nicknames. If your author name is taken, add underscores if needed. (kayelleallen / kayelle_allen / _kayelleallen / kayelleallen_ would all work)
• Location doesn't have to be where you really are. Everywhere I have a profile, mine says "At the keyboard."
• Upload a good photo for your avatar. Size must be at least 48x48 pixels (px). You can use the same one from your other social media sites.
• Write a short bio. This is your chance to practice succinct writing. You have 160 characters. Include who you are and what you write about. Humor is a good thing. Here's what I wrote.
  Founded MarketingforRomanceWriters.org Owns TheAuthorsSecret.com Author SciFi Romance, Gay Romance, Contemporary Romance, Non-Fiction. Blog Empress.
• You can include links in the bio (see mine above)
• Put a link to your website or blog in the website section. People who look at your profile are already interested. Let them find you. You are on Twitter to increase branding awareness and sell books, so make sure everything you do enables that.
• Do not choose "Protect My Updates" as this will block readers from finding out what you're sharing. You can't tell anyone about your books if no one can see what you post.
• Likewise, do not sign up for "verification services" either. Do not make your readers jump through hoops to follow you. You need a lot of followers if you're going to be successful, so don't do anything that prevents people from following you.
• Don't say "I don't auto follow" or "I follow back." Tell us WHY we should follow you, not how you use the program.

WHO TO FOLLOW

• Follower -- someone who follows you
• Following - what you do when you follow others

How many followers do you need? Since you don't have to read or answer every tweet, don't worry about having too many followers. There is no such thing.

You can view the followers of other authors. If you are new and don't know whom to follow, find authors who write within your genre and see who follows them. See whom they follow. Follow these people yourself. You can also follow their lists of people. You'll see lists if you look at who another person is following.

To follow: click the person's name. A small dialog box will pop up that shows you more about them. Click the "Follow" button. That's all there is to it.

This is a good place to mention "follow ratio." This is how many you follow vs. how many follow you. When you begin, you will be following more people than follow you. As you gain followers, the ratio will even out. It's good to have a balance of followers to following. A celebrity or business on Twitter will generally have far more followers than they are following. That's to be expected. But if you look at a person's following and see they have only a handful of followers while they are following a large number, look out. This can be the sign of a spammer. Sadly, they are everywhere, even on Twitter.

Follow other authors. All of them have readers. Some have more than others. If you share their tweets and they share yours, both your readers are going to see the messages. Mutual promotion is a way to get your posts out there where people can see them.

Bonus Tip

Click the gear symbol next to a person's name, and then click "Add to or remove from lists." A larger box will pop up. This is where you can create a list that helps you organize followers. Why would you do that? Other programs outside of Twitter can use those lists to help you curate your information (i.e., Paper.li, RebelMouse), and your followers can also follow your lists. You can become a source of good information. In today's info-centric society, this is a good thing. It's easier to do it now when you're starting than to go back and do it later. In our lesson on Paper.li you'll learn how to use these lists. Trust me -- it takes seconds and it's worth doing.

TWITTER TERMS

Mention - this is using a person's Twitter handle (their name, i.e., @kayelleallen) When added to a tweet, this mention triggers an alert the other person can find. This is a great way to share news with someone. Tip: don't start a tweet with a mention if you want it to be seen by the public. If it's at the front, the tweet can only be seen by the mentioned person and your mutual friends. How to get around that? Put a period directly in front of the name (.@kayelleallen) or put it in another part of the text.

Tweep - what your fellow Twitter friends are called. Yes, it's goofy. Learn to deal with this. It's not likely to go away. It's part of the fun of Twitter.

Hashtag - this is taken from the # symbol (pound / number). On Twitter, using this symbol creates a search term that can be used to show other items labeled the same way. (#MFRWorg) If you see this on Twitter, clicking it will bring up all posts with that hashtag. How do you find good hashtags? See what your friends and other authors are using. You can also look them up on Twubs. http://twubs.com/p/hashtag-directory

Try these:

#MFRWorg

#amwriting

#authortips

#amediting

#authors

#writing

HAVING FUN

#SciFi  #SciFiChat

Use a hashtag to search for what you love to do. Do you #crossstitch, #quilt, or like to #workoncars? Do you love #Loki or #Thor from the Marvel Avengers universe? Maybe it's the boys from #TheVampireDiaries (also #TVD). Whatever your fandom, you can find it on Twitter. Begin following a few hashtags you enjoy. To take part, post a tweet with the same hashtag. Others will see it. To search on a hashtag in a tweet, click on it. There are hashtag chats on Twitter. To learn more about those, follow https://twitter.com/ChatSalad and you'll find a schedule. I attend #ScifiChat every Friday from 2-4pm Eastern. This week, I'm being interviewed. I've never done an interview where my answers had to be this short. Should be a fun challenge.

PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE

As an author, you are a public figure. You are in view of everyone. Remember that and keep all your communications professional at all times. Social media is never the place to have a meltdown. It will go viral in a heartbeat and it's hard to recover. It's never wrong to be kind.

MORE QUESTIONS?

This post isn't meant to be a treatise on the subject of Twitter. It's an introduction. If you have a specific question, post it in the comments and I'll do my best to answer it for you.

Twitter is a great way to have fun as an author, gain readers, and tell people about your books. Don't be afraid to give it a try.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kayelle Allen is a multi-published, award-winning Science Fiction Romance author of unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion. She is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers.

Homeworld http://kayelleallen.com
Unstoppable Heroes Blog http://kayelleallen.com/blog
Twitter http://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Marketing for Romance Writers http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarketingForRomanceWriters/ 

The Author's Secret https://theauthorssecret.com

#WWoW Wacky, Motivating Websites for #Authors

RePOSTED with permission from the Writer's Words of Wisdom blog.

Have you ever been in the writing dumps? Don't lie! We all have. Well, here are some motivating websites for writers that are fun, wacky and helpful. Check them out...

Written Kitten - www.writtenkitten.net
Positive reinforcement for writers through KITTENS! For every designated amount of words written, you get a new kitten image. I have to say, it's quite humorous!

750words.com
A way to turn your writing into a game. You get points for writing 750 words daily and even more for writing consecutive days. Compare points with others, get badges and motivate other writers.

Rescue Time - www.rescuetime.com

Keeps track of your time spent on the computer. Helps you become more productive. Alerts you when you spend a certain amount of time on an activity, blocks distracting websites, etc.

Edit Minion - www.editminion.com

A robotic copy editor which checks weak words, "said," passive voice, cliches and more.

Word Hippo - www.wordhippo.com  One place to stop for help with synonyms, antonyms, and such. I like it because it goes beyond a normal thesaurus. It helps with name meanings, words ending with certain letters, 4-letter words, 5-letter words, tranlations, rhymes. You name it! 

Omniwriter - www.omniwriter.com

Conquer the intimidation of the white screen! Keep focused and relaxed while writing by downloading this program. Creates a relaxing atmosphere for writing with backgrounds and zen-like music.

Unstuck - http://107.22.217.125/index.htm

Have a writing challenge? Go to unstuck to help you make a decision. Say goodbye to writer's block!

Go try some out! Have Fun! :) Melinda

Reading romance has always been at the top of Melinda Dozier’s favorite past times. After hectic days of teaching English to middle school students, Melinda finds time to write and read in the evenings. She lives in Guatemala, Central America with her husband, three boys and German Shepard. She enjoys being the queen of her household and dreams of being pampered fully by her boys once they are grown. Melinda loves reality t.v., traveling, blogging and playing Words With Friends. 

Melinda is a contributing author of the Writer's Words of Wisdom #WWoW! Blog. She's also a contemporary romance author for Crimson Romance and Swoon Romance. You can find more information at www.melindadozier.com.

One Author's Experience with @Pinterest

I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to social media but I will try my darnedest. This month I’m going to talk about Pinterest as a novice. I have found it to be a lot of fun. I don’t let it take up too much of my time and I do try to use it to my advantage.

First know that Pinterest can suck you in. My husband has joined and the man spends hours looking at pictures and re-pinning them. As an author, most of us don’t have time for that, but I limit my time by only collecting things I feel represents me as a writer.

When you first start with Pinterest they automatically set you up with generic boards. You can use them or rename them, then create more as you develop your page. I chose the latter as I worked on my page because most of the ones they gave me didn’t work for what I wanted to pin.

Boards: I have a lot of them. Some have nothing to do with writing and a few are a stretch but they work and do bring followers. I recommend setting up one for your releases. I have my covers there with a link to a place where anyone can buy them. I also have one for my blogs. Each time I post a blog I pin a writing related picture and give my followers the link. I also have a board called writing tools. Pins on writing, grammar, anything I feel helps a writer. I have one for my characters, images of what they might look like, ideas for clothing in the future. I have one on wolves because I have a shape-shifter in my series. I have a fantasy one because I feel that falls into my realm of writing. I have one for the cosmos because I write SF/Futuristic Erotic Romance. The rest are just fun, recipes, cat and dog pictures – that kind of thing. These boards still work because it brings in followers who will see my posts on my books and blogs.

Pins: The more people you follow the more pins show up on your feed. The pins there are images you can re-pin to your board that will go across the feeds of anyone following you. There are so many things you can use these pins for. If you find pins from someone you can also follow those pins to their board and then see all the other pins they have. Looking around will also allow you to see how other authors have their boards set up. It might give you some great ideas.

I know writers who have a board for clothing and shoes their characters might wear. Locations where their stories take place. Pets their characters might have. Jobs they might hold. There is a lot you can do with Pinterest. All you really need is a good imagination and what author doesn’t have that?

See you next month!
Barb:)

Writing for Barbara Donlon Bradley started innocently enough, like most she kept diaries, journals, and wrote an occasional letter but she also had a vivid imagination and wrote scenes and short stories adding characters to her favorite shows and comic books. As time went on she found the passion for writing to be a strong drive for her. Humor is also very strong in her life. No matter how hard she tries to write something deep and dark, it will never happen. That humor bleeds into her writing. Since she can’t beat it she has learned to use it to her advantage. Now she lives in Tidewater Virginia with two cats, one mother in law, her husband and teenage son.

#MFRWorg Monthly Quote - Feburary 2014

“But if they all tell you it is bad and you still think in your soul that what you wrote was good—if you find that you still believe what you wrote and feel it and it is true to you, then you must stand by it. And it might help to think of Beethoven who was stone deaf, and people said he made all those discords in his music because he could not hear correctly. But Beethoven knew that he intended those discords. He stood by them against the whole world.”
-Brenda Ueland



Emerald
Emerald is an erotic fiction author whose short stories have been featured in anthologies published by Cleis Press, Mischief, and Logical-Lust. She serves as an assistant newsletter editor and Facebook group moderator for Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW), and she selects and posts the monthly inspirational quote on the MFRW Marketing Blog. Find out more about her at her website, The Green Light District.

Just Pin It! #MFRWauthors Use @Pinterest for Book Promotion

Let's talk about Pinterest.

It's not just for fun. It can be another FREE social networking tool for authors. MFRW grabbed onto this tool and has successfully been sharing pins with potential readers for awhile now. We provide MFRW authors the chance to be highlighted on our boards but wouldn't it be even better to have your own Pinterest account?

This post is intended to walk you through the process of getting started. Try it. Then leave a comment and tell us how you did. Or if you already have a Pinterest account, comment and share how you use it.

Start with the basics... go to www.pinterest.com.

1. Open an account and set up your profile (being sure to add your links). Your profile will look similar to twitter - you have a limited amount of space to identify yourself so be mindful of your words. BONUS: You can even use your facebook account to set up your account and make it even simpler!

2. Install the PIN IT button onto your browser toolbar. This little button makes it a one-step process to put your pins onto boards while you're on-line. To install it, click the + button on the top of the pinterest screen, then click on Pin It button and it will take you through the process.

That's it for set up and now you're ready!

It's that easy? Yes, yes it is.

Now you get to have some fun but we're going to call it work so... time to get to work!

3. Create some Boards.

Just CLICK on the + button along the top again. Choose Create a Board. Name it. Categorize it. CLICK Create Board. Some good choices are things that interest you (check mine out for ideas) and that can tell readers more about you as an author and as a person. NOTE that you can always add more boards at any time. Some ideas include a Books Board, Guest Post Board, Features Board and a Review Board. You can even create a board for each of your books or series, published or WIPs. Add a board for important quotes and potential character ideas.

4. Add Pins.

There are lots of ways to do this. First, you can use that same + button along the top to add pins from the web or to upload some from your computer. You can use your Pin It button to add any photos from any website. You can also browse the general Pinterest site by clicking on the word Pinterest in the top center of the screen, browse and re-pin. Put some fun pins on your boards - don't worry right away about perfection.

Be cautious of copyright in regards to photos you pin! It's best to use photos you own or, if not, be sure the original source is listed in the pin's description. You can verify the source link is there by clicking on the pin and viewing the pin's details. 

Pinning Your Books?

This is where you definitely want to use the Pin It button. By pinning from a buy link -i.e. pin your book from Amazon- when others click on it, they'll be linked automatically to a place to purchase your book. If the pin came directly from a particular site, clicking the pin once it's opened will take you to the place from where it was pinned.

How does this help your business?

You will advertise to a wider audience. People who may not have otherwise find you will see you here. Check out this pin with more information on the benefits of Pinterest.

AUTHORS who use Pinterest well (& each a bit differently):

Karen Cote   |   Lisa Carlisle   |   Rayne Hall   |   Vicki Batman   |  Kayelle Allen   |    Cara Bristol

Want to do just enough? Here's a Checklist for the BASICS:

1. Pin all your blog posts and books with links back to your blog or purchase location.

2. Click that little "tweet" button every time you add an important pin. These pins will get shared -through a vast network- and should bring people back to you.

3. Include the link to your Pinterest Profile wherever you include all other social networking links. It's another outlet for you to get recognition.

Here's a Unique Board -Writer's Resources- with lots of good pins for authors. You can create engaging boards like this too.

So, what are you waiting for? Pin It!

And Keep Writing!

Paloma
Paloma Beck is a Romance Author living a life of contradiction... she's a happily married carpooling mom writing erotic romance. It's almost naughty! Paloma writes full-time and has three series in the works with others on the fringes. Her books span both the contemporary and paranormal romance genres.

CONNECT WITH PALOMA ON PINTEREST.

Newbie's World: Most Efficient & Most Effective Author Marketing

A Newbie's World with Erin...

What is the best use of my marketing time and will bring me the most sales?

Starting out as a new author, I had little idea how much time I would be expected to devote to marketing my book. And it all seemed overwhelming: Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, Pinterest, blog posts… But do any of these really generate new sales? It is my belief, backed up by some marketing experts, that most of our social media is merely an avenue for fans to find authors they already like and admire, not necessarily a place to generate new sales[i].

Social media is all about engagement, i.e. after that fan/reader has already bought your product, then they will want to know more about you and your other works. But not necessarily before. If you have to go looking for followers or likes, or use give-aways to get more people there, then you are probably not generating sales via social media. Yet.  

So what will bring a reader to you? REVIEWS. 

Reviews help Amazon to promote your book for you. I read somewhere (though of course I can no longer find the source!) that after 30 reviews, Amazon starts to list your book in its recommendations.  In addition, the more reviews, the more likely a potential reader is to buy your book. Think about it – we want a trusted source – other consumers – to tell us that this book is great!

So how do you get them? Unfortunately, it involves EFFORT.

There is no easy way to get more reviews. Here are the ones I have discovered:

1.  Friends and family: your network is always your best shot. Ask people who you know have read your books in a personalized email (not a mass email), and explain why reviews are important to you. I also include some tips – ask them to talk about why they liked a specific character, setting, or theme in your book.

2. Review groups: reviewing other authors’ books for a review in turn. These should never be reciprocal reviews, however, as Amazon frowns on this practice. And, it might give a bit of dishonesty to your review. MFRW often offers up new review groups starting up.

3. Bloggers: check out bloggers who review your type of books. Simply Google your genre and reviews and you should get a bunch. Also try the same search on Facebook. Personally, I have not had as much luck with bloggers, however one good trick is to include a few pieces of personal information on the specific blogger in your request. For instance, “I read your review on…and thought you might be interested in my novel___ because of its themes of ____.” Also be sure to always find and use the blogger’s name and some other piece of information about them (likes, personal preferences, hometown, whatever).

4. Regular people: search on Amazon for books like yours, and then find reviews that don’t seem to be from a friend or family member. If the reviewer has an email address listed, send them an email and ask if they would be interested in your book in return for a review. No obligation.

5. If possible, in your next release, include a note to your readers about how much you appreciate their feedback (listing all of your contact information), and then make a request for reviews. Note how important they are for you.

---

[i] recent Verso survey estimated that barely 12% of books are discovered from social networks whereas 50% are passed on via personal recommendations. (http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/06/become-an-ebook-superstar)

Sources:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/RNCWTLEMV71VM  (great information here!!)

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/352865-you-want-your-book-tagged-on-amazon

http://thefutureofpublishing.com/2012/04/what-have-we-learned-about-amazon-book-reviews/

Think Twitter is better for generating sales? Leave your thoughts!

Erin
Erin writes paranormal romances as Erin Moore and has only just begun to learn all about marketing them! She contributes to the MFRW Marketing Blog with her monthly column, A Newbie's World.

She is usually found on Twitter, but may soon be on an Amazon binge, so look out! She manages two monsters and one unruly husband in Atlanta, main-lining chocolate and tea. Look her up on www.AuthorErinMoore.com or, of course, on Twitter: @AuthorErinMoore.