Writers and Social Media

Many writers balk at the concept of marketing or interacting with the general public. To them, it's completely outside their comfort zone to interact with hundreds of people. Instead, they want to sit at their keyboard or typewriter and crank out more words which ultimately become books or Ebooks or articles.

Besides, they've taken the plunge and created a website. Isn't that enough of a reach into the marketplace?

They have surveyed the key personality traits of writers and editors. The bulk of these individuals are introverts who prefer peace and quiet to loads of noise and activity. So why do you insert yourself into the noise and activity of social marketing?

Some of you reading these entries will be surprised that in many regards I'm also an introvert who prefers sitting in the corner reading a book to being the life of the party. Yet I've always had a keen interest in marketing because I understand the vital connection between marketing and getting your product into people's hands.

What if you created the most amazing party or celebration and no one came? Or what if only a few people came? Wouldn't you be disappointed that no one accepted your invitation? A similar action takes place in the book world. Authors create well-crafted books and publishers take those books, edit them and distribute them into the marketplace. Yet if no one hears about the books and purchases them, then they remain in a warehouse. Ultimately the publisher sells the books for pennies on the dollar and destroys the rest of the books. They never find their audience and go out of print which is a very sad state of affairs--yet something which happens often in today's market.

As an author or want-to-be author, it is your responsibility to learn about the variety of means where you can touch the marketplace and connect with potential readers. There are an endless supply of ideas in this area. If you want to see the full range of ideas for authors, I encourage you to pick up a copy of John Kremer's 1001 Ways to Market Your Books which is over 700 pages. The index isn't included in the book and you have to download it online yet this resource is remarkable and highly recommended.

Here's a basic FREE resource to understand social media and small business. Writers are a small business and the sooner you begin to think of yourself in this manner, the better. John Jantsch has written this excellent and straightforward explanation. It's worth your reading time to absorb this 23-page Let's Talk, Social Media for Small Business Ebook and gain from John's insight.

Finally, it is easy to get overwhelmed with all that needs to be done as a writer--the writing, learning the craft of writing, the relationship building and the marketing. In a word, don't let it overwhelm you. Tackle what you can on a consistent basis--then let the rest go. The most important aspect from my view is to continually grow, improve and to be on that upward trajectory. As the old cliche goes, "Inch by inch, it's a cinch."

Break The Ice

Have you ever entered a new group of people and wondered, "How in the world will I begin a conversation? What's a good question to ask?" There is an old proverb that goes something like: The man with many friends must consider himself friendly. At least you've got the Terry Whalin spin on this saying since I don't recall where I picked it up.

A week or so ago, John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, wrote on his blog about Scott Ginsberg, who is known as the name tag guy. He pointed out several free ebooks on Ginsberg's website. I downloaded the PDF files to my desktop and promptly did not read them. Today I got around to reading them. One or two of them, I didn't find valuable but several of them I've actually printed and read. I don't agree with everything but they have some good ideas and are worth your attention in my view. Let Me Ask Ya This has some good ideas for breaking the ice and starting a fascinating conversation with a new person. It's a good resource to help you build some relationships.

Over the last few days, I've been listening to a recorded message from John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Book. John says that one of the keys to selling your book--at any stage of the process is to continue to build and foster relationships. Each of us need all of the tools we can get in this process so if reading Scott Ginsberg's ebook of conversation starters helps you to build relationships, then you need to use it.