Guest Post: 9 Ways to Promote Your Book Using Social Media by Beth Morrow
July 8, 2009 by Lillie
Recently, Beth Morrow at Writer-in-Progress interviewed me for her feature Story Behind the Story She agreed to reciprocate with a guest post here, and I jumped at the chance. Let’s welcome Beth and get ready to learn about promoting books through social media.
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In the big scheme of things, I’ve noticed two types of social media impact writers more than any others: blogging and social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. You can bet I was thrilled when Lillie picked social networking for the topic of this post—I’ve been messing with social media in all its forms for years and enjoy the challenge of integrating it into my writing career. First, I want to remind you of the most important element of social networking:
The human element.
Finding new ways to connect with old friends and make new ones, including new readers, is exciting. The possibilities of what you can do and how the world sees you as a creative writer increases tenfold. Never lose sight of the fact that people want to connect with you as a person first, a writer second. Just as people in the world want to connect with you on a personal level, those folks linking with you via social media want the same. Be a person first, a promoter second.
Now, for the good stuff…
Each social media form has a purpose. Discovering what works for you in each venue is a process of trial and error. Here are my thoughts and observations on how many authors use social networking to promote their works.
Blogging
1. Post Regularly to Your Blog
Sounds ridiculously simple, doesn’t it? After all, there are so many free blog hosts (WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, LiveJournal), you can’t use the excuse of expense. Blogs require input and regular posting to keep readers coming back. There’s something about the author’s mind that fascinates the general public, so if you’re short on ideas, go with that. Your blog is also a great place to answer reader questions, start a book discussion or share updates on your current work-in-progress for readers anxious for your next release.
2. Use Your Blog as a Promotional Tool
The number of ways to promo your book on your blog are practically endless. Keep a running list of your book signings, links to your work on Amazon or other online venues, links to your reviews and mentions of your work on other websites. Host a contest to win one of your back titles, and don’t forget to mention when and where you’ll have upcoming interviews and public appearances. Give readers a way they can contact you via email and snail mail. If you‘re able, offer excerpts of your work. Remember to promote your blog through email signatures and on business cards. Getting all this information into your blog is work upfront but in the long run, directing new readers to your site requires nothing more than sharing your link.
3. Use Your Blog To Socially Interact With Other Authors
Some of the best comments and emails I’ve received from readers of my blog are from writers who appreciate the interviews of other writers I host on my blog. I enjoy interacting with other authors willing to respond to my interviews because my questions all center around the process of creative writing. Ask other writers with whom you’ve established a basic writing relationship, either online or in real life, if they’d be willing to write a guest post for your blog. You can give them the topic, suggest one or mutually choose one. In return, offer to guest blog for them and allow them to post links to their website, blog and published works as part of their bio. If they don’t have time or aren’t interested, politely thank them, don’t hound them.
4. Create a Fan Page for Yourself and/or Your Book(s)
Fan pages allow people who like your work to keep up on your releases with one click. While I’ve seen some authors create their individual page as a fan page, most choose to create a fan page for their books. Creating a fan page makes contacting folks who follow your books as simple as posting a message to your fan page. Facebook does all the legwork of getting it to the members. Can’t beat that for efficiency!
5. Link Your Blog to Facebook
With the Networked Blogs application at Facebook, you can make your blog posts do double duty as Facebook status updates. You can also link your blog with those of other friends and writers. Do a search at Facebook for the “Networked Blogs” application. It will walk you through linking your blog and inviting friends and fans as readers.
6. Announce Release Dates via Events
Using the Events program within Facebook, add your book releases, book signings and upcoming appearances to the calendar. When the day of your event arrives, all of your Facebook friends will receive a reminder. Likewise, you can send a message via the Inbox to all your friends, but this gets annoying if you regularly clutter your friends’ inboxes.
7. Get Involved
Twitter is overwhelming at first. The best way to get comfortable is to jump in and reply to the tweets of others. Build a few meaningful relationships then branch out as you gain confidence. It’s very easy to watch the Twitter world blip by so don’t waste time: tweet back!
8. Link to Your Work
Again with the cross-promotion. Retweet your blog posts (just a title and link is the norm), mention where you’re guest blogging (again with a link), announce releases and post excerpts (do this sparingly. Remember, people want you to come through on Twitter, not a publicity-seeking bot). In your Twitter profile, list your Facebook name, website and blog URLs. The more traffic you get to your webpage and your work, the more sales you’ll have.
9. Find Author Gigs
I’ve seen numerous tweets from people seeking guest speakers for their organization, other authors and journalists looking for interview subjects, PR folks looking for contacts on short notice. I’ve even heard of magazine editors seeking authors to write articles on content from their books. Your position as a published author will open doors in other areas you may never have considered. Always be willing to put yourself out there in the name of promoting your work.
The onslaught of social media is both a blessing and a curse. It’s hard enough finding the time to sit down and write some days–who wants to spend that precious time on a computer? On the other hand, social networking is free, effective and targeted to readers. Reaching new readers from the comfort of your couch—what could be easier?
About the Author
Beth Morrow is a freelance author, writing workshop presenter and social media junkie. Visit her blog for writers at: www.writer-in-progress.com, join her at Face book (Beth Frazee Morrow) and follow her at Twitter (@Buckeye_BethM). She loves questions on social media, so don’t be shy. 
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I know you’ll have questions for Beth, and she’ll be glad to answer questions left in comments. However, because of family illness, there may be a delay in her response.
photo credit: Tech Writer Boy.
I also find Press Releases a good Social media marketing gadget, but it may be an expensive affair. All your social media advices are great though!
Web Solutions´s last undefined ..(Enjoy 10 returned posts for 2 weeks)
Web (if you wrote YourName@Keywords, I could address you as a real person, and you would still get your keyword link),
News releases are certainly great promotional tools. I’ll be interested to see if Beth considers them part of social media when she has a chance to stop by.
I’ve heard via other posts about writing for human readers first and then worry about promotion, but it really hit me with the way you wrote it
“Never lose sight of the fact that people want to connect with you as a person first, a writer second.”
I’m going to store this quote in my personal database and use it as a reference for when I begin to write. I think it can be applicable to all forms of writing not just for social media stuff like blogs. Readers always want to connect with the personal thoughts of the author (or narrator) first and then writer tricks second.
Inspirational Thoughts´s last blog ..5 Christian Inspirational Speakers You Should Know +1
Inspirational,
I really liked that observation as well. Sometimes people get so wrapped up in the tools and processes that they forget to be people.
Even the “name” you leave on blog comments.
I can’t comfortably relate to a person who identifies him or herself as “Inspirational Quotes.” With KeywordLuv, that’s not necessary. You can say “John @ Inspirational Quotes” or “Susie @ Inspirational Quotes,” and I will feel like I’m having a conversation with a real person, and you will still get your keyword link. 
That comment really jumped out at me as well. In the midst of writing assignments, it helps to picture a person reading the finished product.
Sally Ferguson´s last blog ..Do you talk to your kids about sex?
Sally,
That comment is a good reminder to think beyond the words and process.
I would also like to add another point:
10. Create unusual design for your blog so it will unforgettable by visitor and also draw additional attention to your book.
Winter (if you wrote YourName@Keywords, I could address you as a real person, and you would still get your keyword link),
Good idea. Content is king … but it helps to present it attractively.
I am so supportive of social media promotions, and posting regularly to a blog is so important. It’s so disheartening to come across blogs that have not been posted on in months, while people still expect to see results.
C,
People get discouraged easily and distracted by life. It’s hard to keep a blog going, but I enjoy it.
i am agree with your suggestions, as i have personally promoted various books through social media. The important thing is, you have to be active and communicate with your reader ever day.
offshore (If you wrote YourName@Keywords, I could address you as a real person, and you would still get your keyword link),
It’s odd that you don’t identify yourself in comments. As an author, I want my name to appear everywhere so people—and prospective readers—know who I am.
I really appreciate your effort to make us a geek about the promotion of the sites by the social medias & in my point of view the social medias are really very helpful for us to grow in the internet market!
tonya jones´s last blog ..Pomegranate Fruit: About Pomegranates
tonya,
I, too, appreciate Beth’s help. She’s just about convinced me to get on Twitter, which I’ve been resisting for a long time.
And I’m thinking about creating a Facebook page for my novel.
Lillie, Facebook and Twitter are two major social networking yet micro blogging platform in recent internet world. We’re going to miss a lot of potential customers, if we didn’t use these two platforms wisely!
wilson´s last blog ..The Basic Rules You Should Know About Flu!
wilson,
I’m becoming more convinced. I’ve resisted Twitter for a long time—it just seems so overwhelming to me. I am on Facebook but don’t work it right, and I really need a page for my book.
So you see, I wanted this article for myself.
Cross promoting – very important indeed! I use Ping.fm to help me with that – I can post something once and it gets distributed across many platforms.
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach´s last blog ..Easily Save Your Loved Ones From Being Horribly Scammed – Covert Angel Time!
Barbara,
Thanks for the tip on Ping.
Announcing release dates is generally a good idea. People like to find out about the dates on the internet these days. Plus it’s cheaper than posting an ad in a newspaper.
Juanita@Bajki´s last blog ..Bolek I Lolek – Zakl?ty Zamek
Juanita,
Good points. I like to know when books are coming out … but sometimes they’re announced so far in advance that I wish I didn’t know about them because I want to read them now.
Heyaa that was awesome info dear, some tips i want to share with all of you
1) There are some embedded codes available from http://www.scribd.com which you can embed it in your blog, this will really advertise your book
2) Publish you book to most of free book zone websites
3) advertise more if possible via social networking sites, and publish one page or instance of your book to those sites, so that it will draw attention of followers and if everything will work great then you will get fans too…lol
I hope i have satisfied you with those info
Keep posting beautiful articles,waiting for your upcoming articles too
Paul,
Thank you for the suggestions. They are definitely worth considering, but authors need to be careful that they post only excerpts from books they are selling. An excerpt can entice people to buy the book because they want to know what happens next. However, if you post the entire book, obviously no one needs to buy it.
Great tips! I will definitely use these when my book, Morning Coffee with James, comes out in September. Just to show you I was paying attention
, here’s a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Morning-Coffee-James-Renae-Brumbaugh/dp/0827223366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236821654&sr=1-1
renae brumbaugh´s last blog ..Addicted
Renae,
I’m so excited for you! I hope you will plan to stop here on your blog book tour!
I am currently writing a new ebook and some of this tips will come in handy. Using a blog to promote your book is a great way to get your name and your story out there. Marketing is the other side of book publishing that people really struggle with. Your list is a good one.
Jessica@paint ceiling´s last blog ..Ceiling painting tips
Jessica,
Beth gave us some excellent advice. I need to implement some of her suggestions myself. Marketing a book is probably harder than writing it in the first place, and many authors are not prepared.
I’m glad to say I did everything you suggested above with my ebook. so I appear to be on the right track.
However my ‘community’ is still relatively small so I keep looking for opportunities to expand this. That’s the main focus area I would concentrate on in future.
Jane@freereminder´s last blog ..Reminder review on Ad-Aware SE Personal
Jane,
It’s isn’t easy to build a community, and it takes time. Although I have an active community, it is small, so I understand your situation.
Hehe aven though social media is useful, i must say i kind of miss the “old” static internet where everything was calm and quiet and not full of pointless stuff to click on.
Pocket bike guy´s last blog ..Pocket Bikes
Pocket (if you wrote YourName@Keywords, I could address you as a real person, and you would still get your keyword link),
I don’t know that I would want to go back to the early days of the Internet, but it does get chaotic and hectic with so much going on. Maybe there could be a happy medium. Naw … there never is a happy medium on anything.
I found many tips I can apply to my projects, thank you so much! I will surely visit writer-in-progress when I need writers.
Thank you!
Paul Publicity´s last blog ..Are You Using These Free Resources I Have For You?
Paul,
You’ll find some excellent writer interviews as well as great writing tips from Beth.
It’s quiet a good tips for promoting not only a book but also a site. Social Media is now the major resources that can help to promote your product.
athletes foot (if you wrote YourName@Keyword, I could address you as a real person rather than sounding like I’m talking to a fungus, and you would still get your keyword link),
Yes, social media can be used to promote any product.
I’m very sure this tips can me out my problem on promoting my product. Thanks Beth.
Michael Jaden´s last blog ..Engagement Ring Shopping Through iPhone
Michael,
Beth wrote the article for authors, but I’m glad to see people are finding the tips helpful in promoting other products.
A fan page on facebook is a great idea!
Facebook has millions of users in the U.S. alone.
Social media has really made a big impact on the marketing business.
chase,
I’m going to have to create a fan page on Facebook for my books—I just don’t know if I’ll have any fans.
Thank you Lillie for this post. I am just getting started with Social Media (a bit of a late started) and this information is what I was looking for.
I found this so helpful.
Tracey,
I found it helpful, as well. Thanks to Beth for sharing her insights with my readers.
Great post- I love the tip about using your blog to promote your book and including your blog on your business cards!
i has been using twiter.com and ive seen some great results promoting affiliates products, great post by the way thx
7day (the URL you left did not work, so there is no link here, but the next time you comment and leave a correct URL, you can write Your Name @ 7 Day Wealth to get your keyword link, and I can address you as a real person),
I have resisted Twitter for a very long time … but I’m finally relenting and am going to give it a try.
Wow, thanks for the awesome collection of tips on social networking. The possibilities are endless. Maybe that’s the problem for me!
Bill @ Hardgainer Manifesto´s last blog ..Hello world!
Bill,
I know what you mean. Social media can be overwhelming, and I have a hard time focusing and end up being scattered all over the place. Beth gave us a good plan to focus on three specific media, which makes sense.
Social networking media is a very powerful tool for any online promotion and forging camaraderie online. If you know how to use it to your advantage, you are on the winning spot!
Private (if you wrote Your Name @ Private Label Videos, I could address you as a real person, and you would still get your keyword link),
Beth gave us some good advice here. I admit I’m not an expert on social media—I’m just about to get on Twitter.
There is a flood of info on social networking media these days. I find myself spending way to time getting caught up to speed on all the new trends. I got caught up in your 9 points as well and found them very informative and useful.It’s always nice to read something that adds to my day. Keep up the good work.
Jeff@Toenailfunguscures´s last blog ..Think You Might Have Nail Fungus?
Jeff,
Beth did an excellent job of helping us get started and move forward with social networking. I’m found the post was helpful to you.
The Events program within Facebook is a very good way to get the word out about an event. I’ve used this countless times. Its good to have a big following though.
Keegan
Keegan,
Thanks for the tip. One of my clients is planning a big event and has asked me to help her get the word out online, so I’ll definitely use Facebook.
Oftentimes, people will engage in your social network whenever there’s “whats in it for me?” in there. Some people will think a social media site is just full of sales pitch and bogus testimonials just to sell something but if you for example put a freebie or a contest, people will flock on your site almost instantly.
Jannice,
The same thing happens in offline networking. When I owned an interior landscape company, I used to go to networking events. Many people would just come up, throw a business card, give their elevator pitch, and move on to the next person. That’s not really networking, online or offline.
HI,
Well i think both the things are totally different. I think social media is the only thing through which you can get a chance to connect to the world. Here you can get the lots of services. It is very sad that most of the people think that social media is a chat only.
Anyways keep it up and keep continue with your valuable thoughts.
Nansi,
I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you are saying. Are you saying that blogging doesn’t give you a chance to connect to the world? If so, I disagree with you. I am not much involved with social networking sites, though I have a presence on several, notably Facebook. But I connect with the world right here on my tiny little blog because of the wonderful comments and conversations with my readers. I don’t have a large following, but I enjoy interacting with the people who come here.
If you are saying something different, please clarify what you mean. Thanks!
i think social media is one of the best way to get connect with the world and if you use it as a promotional media then its would be the cheapest way of doing this. keep it up
priya,
Beth gave great advice in this guest post. Unfortunately, I’m not very good at following it.
So I need to start instead of keep it up.
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