Start Marketing Now!!

As I continue on my journey to write a book, I keep seeing the same advice over and over: start your social media platform NOW!! Not when the book is released, but now. This gives you time to gather an audience that will be excited to buy your book when the time comes. Even if it’s still just a thought in your head, get started!

So, that’s what I did! I created a Facebook business page and invited a bunch of friends and family to it. Then, I realized I actually just wanted a group. So I created a group and invited the same people, then changed my mind again. Don’t be like me! Think it through, be happy with it, then invite all of the people!

Here is what I’ve learned so far:

1. You’re going to create the social media page and name and change it many times

2. You’re going to start a blog, hate it, and start over

3. You’re going to feel overwhelmed at the idea of keeping up a social media presence

4. You’re going to look at a bunch of programs to help you schedule the posts and hopefully pick one

As I do often, when I’m trying to do something new, instead of just doing it, I look around for that perfect app, program, or book to make it all make sense to me. I’ve read two books on the subject, and they have helped me understand the importance of platform building. They were The Book You Were Born to Write by Kelly Notaras and Online Marketing for Busy Authors by Fauzia Burke.

According to what I’ve read, if you want to write a book and have it traditionally published, one of the first things a publisher will ask is how big your platform is. They are looking for an author with an audience ready to buy the book when it comes out. Of course, there are other ways to publish your book, but more on that in a future blog.

To get this established, I have created a page on Facebook and Instagram solely for my future readers. Since my book will be on empowering single women, I have also created a group for that demographic. I plan to post empowering quotes and articles in all three places. But for the main pages, I will also post about how I’m doing all this and information on other subjects, such as this blog!

The next thing I need to do is find a way to stay on top of all this. When I’m researching a product to use, I go through a few steps.

1. Search Google for lists with reviews of the best products for that category

2. Watch videos to find out other people’s thoughts

3. Check out each program and see how affordable the product is

4. Do the free trial if it’s offered

5. Give it a couple of days to see if I’m using it or getting frustrated with it

6. Watch videos with tutorials to see what I’m missing

7. Decide finally what I’m going to use and often change my mind

8. Start over again

By going through this process, I started to understand what I needed and which fit those requirements best. As of right now, I’m still working on this but have narrowed it down considerably. I’ll let you know what I ultimately choose!

The next step is to sit down and brainstorm about what subjects you want to include in your posts. For me, I’m going to post about empowerment, productivity, and writing. The idea is to not jump around to too many subjects, or you will confuse your audience. These topics may change as I move forward, but that is what I’m sticking to for now.

After you determine what subjects you want to post, it’s time to come up with a cadence of how often and which topics to post. As of now, I have decided to post at least two blog posts a week and share them on social media. I will try to rotate the subjects in my blogs. For the social media posts, I’m going to post 2-3 times a week to start. I would like to coordinate those posts to the most recent blog posts. That’s my plan. I’ll let you know how it works!

Lastly, it’s a good idea to join Facebook groups that align with your main goal. My two main goals are reaching out to single women and finding groups to help me learn how to write. I have joined many groups for both and created my own. It’s key to stay active in those groups to meet more people and make connections.

For example, I’m presently writing this blog with my morning writing group. I was invited to join this group through a question I posted to a writer’s group. You really never know what you will learn and what opportunities could come your way,

What would you like to gain from an active social media following? What are your top topics? How will you stay on top of everything? Please comment below!