Social Media for Authors

Why Authors Need an Active Social Media Presence: And Your Upcoming FREE Immersion: Social Media for Authors WEEK

August 19, 2016 by Lisa Tener

From a Publisher’s Standpoint, Authors Need an Active Social Media Presence

Several months ago, I contacted publishers for a client of mine and the book went to auction. That means that more than one publisher wanted to publish the book and they bid, increasing the author’s advance. I couldn’t believe it.

Normally, I would have helped the author find a literary agent. However, since this author had little online presence, I didn’t think I could find an agent (I expected the anticipated advance would be too small to warrant an agent’s investment in time).

I was right and I was wrong. Since the book went to auction, I was able to negotiate a more sizeable advance than I initially expected.

But the publisher wanted one promise: that the author would focus on her social media presence, which was negligible to start with.

Why? Why is a significant Social Media presence so important for authors? Why was it the one thing the publisher mentioned and wanted to address with this author?

Why You Need an Active Social Media Presence as an Author

The people who feel a connection with you are much more likely to buy and recommend your book than people who have never heard of you before.
Journalists, bloggers and radio and TV producers are on social media looking for experts to interview for their pieces and shows. Many, if not most, of them find their experts originally through social media.
Influencers are on social media. These are the people who connect to your target audience–the therapist who will recommend your book to a client, the manager who will buy your business book in bulk for his or her entire team, the HR director who will bring you in to train employees.
Books gain viral support by word of mouth recommendations and more and more, people get their recommendations on social media.
Goodreads reviews, Amazon reviews, blog posts, interviews and more can all be shared on social media, getting additional traction for your book.
Through social media, you can serve a growing community.
As an author on social media, you don’t just reach the people you know, but the people who know them.

[bctt tweet=”My Gift To You: Social Media for Authors Week ” username=”LisaTener”]

Most aspiring authors who come to me are experts in their fields, but most of them start with minimal online presence.

I know that some lessons in social media would have a huge impact on helping them (is that you?) get started on developing an online presence. It can also help you decide where to focus your efforts.

So, I decided to offer a free 3-day course via my blog.

The free training begins the day after Labor Day, Tuesday, September 6.

While You’re Waiting: Your First Few Lessons on Social Media for Authors

Here are a few blog posts that show the power of social media to radically boost a book’s sales, generate publicity, grow your mailing list and garner invitations as a speaker, trainer or consultant.

5 Fresh Ways Authors Use Social Media: While written in 2015, these innovative strategies are as relevant and effective today as they were last year.
Social Media Tips from a Busy Surgeon: Diane Radford, MD has been influential in using social media to spread
8 Social Media Tips to Get Noticed by Publishers: Yes, many of these tips were used by my clients and resulted in book deals. In fact, in some cases the authors were contacted directly by publishers and not the other way around!

The client I mentioned in the first paragraph worked with a colleague I introduced her to (whom I promise to introduce you to during Social Media for Authors Week) and, within three months, she went from zero to 3,000 engaged followers on Twitter. Less than a year from starting, she has over 8,200 engaged followers and is seen as a thought leader in her field.

Retro Shot: Rusty Shelton and me at the Harvard Course in 2011.

I hope you’ll join me for Social Media for Authors Week, where you’ll meet my mentors in the social media field: Digital Media Strategists Rusty Shelton (who will share his best Twitter tips for newbies and regular tweeters alike) , Frances Caballo (who will share her Goodreads Secrets–since Forbes called Goodreads “the most important site on the internet) and Sara Pence, whose guest posting strategies got me opportunities on Writer’s Digest; Live, Write, Thrive; and The Procrastiwriter, among others.

So, mark your calendar for September 6- 8 to read these exciting, potentially career-changing interviews on my blog! I’ll also send out a newsletter on September 8 with links to the three interviews.

Meantime, feel free to ask your Social Media questions, or share a social media tip that’s worked for you, as a comment below.

5 Fresh Ways Successful Authors Use Social Media

October 28, 2015 by Lisa Tener

1. Be Creative and Spontaneous With Video

kimber simpkins author of full — Kimber Simpkins

When Kimber Simpkins went out to shoot her book trailer, she hit the road with questions and an openness to what might occur as she interviewed “women on the street” about how they felt about their bodies. She didn’t exactly start with their bodies, however. Her opening question was, “Does this dress make me look fat?”

The resulting video about body image went viral on social media and was picked up by Self.com and the Huffington Post. Here, Kimber offers her experience and advice.

I had an idea for a funny and provocative video percolating in the back of my head for several years. When my publisher asked me to make a book trailer for Full, I realized it was time to bring the idea to life.

I’d never done anything like this, so it was a big deal for me… I had to write up a script, lasso a few friends to help out, hire a camera person and an editor, and get everyone to show up on the same day in the same place.

We had no idea what would happen, because the ‘script’ was just a series of questions to ask ‘women on the street’ about body image.

We’d scheduled four hours to shoot and hoped we’d get some good answers that we could edit into a 3 minute video. We probably asked about ten women to be interviewed for each one who was willing to appear on camera, so it involved a lot of leg work: approaching total strangers with a smile and shrugging off rejections with, ‘Have a great day!’

The publisher New Harbinger contacted the author directly after she self published.

By the end of the day I was amazed at how thoughtful and wise the women we talked to were. We had a ton of great footage, and luckily our editor did a fantastic job putting it all together and adding music to create an ‘I laughed/I cried’ video.

A couple of things that happened behind the scenes, were that I had an eating disorders therapist friend there to debrief everyone who was interviewed, and passed out educational information about eating disorders and negative body talk. I knew we were going to trigger people and wanted folks to have a chance to talk about it if they needed to.

I think a lot of what made the video footage work on the first try was that we chose a great location, with lots of women walking around on the weekend in a busy beautiful area of Oakland, a city where people are known for speaking their minds.

We posted it on Facebook and on my YouTube channel and my publisher’s publicist sent it out to places she thought would be interested. It was picked up by both Self.com and Huffington Post. We also paid a bit to promote it on YouTube.

I shared it on Facebook and asked folks to tell their friends about it. Sharing it on social media, it’s good to keep posting repeatedly for a week or so, so it keeps showing up in people’s feeds. I also shared it via my email list. Body image is a hot topic right now and that—combined with the emotional content of the video—made it compelling for people to watch and share.”

2. Quiz ’em

Rusty Shelton

People love to take quizzes! Rusty Shelton, Digital Media Strategist and co-author of the forthcoming book Mastering the New Media Landscape: Embrace the Micromedia Mindset, has encouraged several of his clients to offer a free quiz as a way to attract new visitors to a website and immediately engage them. It’s also a great way to build your mailing list. You can offer the quiz on your website and mention it on social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as in your blog posts.

Says Rusty, “The name of the game right now for authors and thought leaders is growing your email list so that you own the connection to your audience. Creating a magnet on your website gives people a reason to visit—and engage.”

author dr. craig malkin — Dr. Craig Malkin

Quizzes seem to be a particularly effective “magnet”: More than 50,000 people have taken Dr. Craig Malkin‘s Narcissism Test. And more than 150,000 people have taken The Confidence Code Quiz. Check them out and think about what you can do for your own.

3. Subscribe to Relevant Blogs/Bloggers and Comment Immediately on Hot Posts.

Victoria Dunkley — Dr. Victoria Dunckley

When I saw a post on banning handheld devices for children under 12 on the Huffington Post, I had a feeling it could go viral. I emailed Dr. Victoria Dunckley, author of Reset Your Child’s Brain and encouraged her to respond immediately so that her comment would be an early one—a comment that added relevant information and linked to her latest Psychology Today article within the comment. She received nearly 20,000 hits to the article due to viral Facebook activity and her single comment had nearly 100 replies just to that one comment.

The original Huffpo article received more than 1 million views, and over 300k likes on Facebook. While Dr. Dunckley’s book wasn’t out yet, many of the people who responded become followers of her blog and joined her mailing list, supporting book sales later. The single comment also resulted in three media interviews: Scholastic News, a publication that goes out to over 3 million children ages 10-12 about screen-time effects on the brain, A PBS Magazine publication in New Mexico on Electronic Screen Syndrome, and The Carlat Report, a child psychiatry newsletter on childhood obesity–which Dr. Dunckley tied into screen-time reduction.

The Huffpost comment also put Dr. Dunckley in contact with experts in her field throughout the nation who are now helping spread the word about her book. Some have even invited her for high profile speaking gigs. This one comment was the gift that kept on giving.

[bctt tweet=”Some keys to successful social media commenting are…”]

Be relevant (don’t spam).
Add value—say something that builds on what the author says, if you can.
Link to a post of your own only when it’s truly appropriate and, again, adds value.
Share the post on social media.

4. Use the latest research to work smarter, not harder.

Frances Caballo, author of Social Media Just for Writers and Avoid Social Media Time Suck, points to the latest Pew Research Study as a great source of data about your readers and their demographics. When you understand where your readers hang out on line, times of day, and what they do there, you can better reach them and interact optimally.

Says Frances, “I spend time on the social media networks that bring me comments, shares, engagements and sales” and she suggests you do the same! Frances also studies her Google Analytics and Facebook analytics. She encourages authors to, “Go to your Facebook author page and check Insights, Facebook’s free analytics program, once you reach 35 page Likes. There, you’ll find gender and age demographics that will help you to apply the new Pew Center’s results to your social media marketing.”

5. Show Your Gratitude!

If you look at Cathy Turney‘s LinkedIn or Facebook Posts or her Tweets, you’ll notice one thing that stands out above all else—she’s forever thanking and praising colleagues.

I love receiving Cathy’s handwritten thank you notes, too, of course. There’s something special about choosing a special card, taking the time to write a note by hand and dropping it in the mailbox. But Cathy doesn’t stop there.

When she gets media attention, wins an award or reaches a goal, she’s religious about publicly thanking—on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter—all the people who helped her get there. And she’s specific about the ways people have helped her and the skills they possess.
By tagging and thanking her colleagues, we’re continually reminded that we are part of her team. We get to bask in her glories, acknowledge the roles we played and celebrate along with her. And we continue to share her successes and spread the word about her Stevie Award-winning book, Laugh Your Way to Real Estate Sales Success.

Who’s on your team?

Are you thanking them publicly and specifically?

I encourage you to pick one thing from this list and try it. Or be creative about using these ideas as a starting point for your own creative social media strategies.

Comment below to share what you’re doing or to ask questions.

Social Media Tips from a Busy Surgeon

April 28, 2015 by Lisa Tener

Guest post by Diane Radford, MD, FACS, FRCSEd

Diane Radford, MD with Julie Silver, MD at the Harvard Medical School CME leadership and publishing course this year.

In April 2015 I was delighted to talk at the Harvard Medical School course Achieving Healthcare Leadership and Impact Through Writing Publishing and Social Media. I have attended this course (directed by Dr. Julie Silver) previously, and it was there that I met some of my talented mentors, including Lisa Tener and Rusty Shelton.

My topic was Social Media Tips from a Busy Surgeon. I joined social media in late 2011. Twitter is my favorite social medium — it is robust, global, and interactive. Lisa invited me to share the highlights from my lecture, which can be applied to many fields and interests. I use my experience and specialty (breast cancer surgery) as an example.

In 2013 Pauline Chen MD wrote an article for the New York Times on Doctors and Their Online Reputation. Her piece featured the recently published book by Kevin Pho MD and Susan Gay. The authors conclude, “The biggest risk of social media in health care is not using it at all.” How then, can the novice to social media gain some traction and direction in the dizzying barrage of information and opinion in cyberspace?

Tip 1: Participate in Tweetchats

Tweetchats are virtual meetings usually held on a repeating basis organized around a specific topic and hashtag. The chat I join most often is #bcsm — breast cancer social media — which was founded by Dr. Deanna Attai @DrAttai, a breast surgeon, and two breast cancer advocates Alicia C. Staley @stales and Jody Schoger @jodyms. It takes place every Monday night at 9pm Eastern Time and has grown in participation and breadth of interaction since its inception in 2011.

The Healthcare Hashtag Project lists health-related tweetchats, conferences and diseases. The Project has made finding topics related to one’s field of interest much simpler. For example enter “writing” in the search field and you will find the hashtag for Julie Silver’s course #HarvardWriters2015.

A boon of Twitter is the presence of numerous writers, agents and editors on that medium. Numerous writing related tweetchats exist. Debbie Ridpath Ohi @inkyelbows lists writing chats on a page of her website — The Writer’s Guide to Twitter. Thanks to Jane Friedman @JaneFriedman for sharing that resource with me.

Tip 2: Live Tweet Conferences

As a breast surgeon my major conferences are the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the Society of Surgical Oncology. Live tweeting meetings is an excellent way to interact with peers, share the latest data, and disseminate information to the wider global community. The Healthcare Hashtag Project lists meetings by hashtag, will let you know what’s trending, and lists major influencers. Even if one cannot attend the meeting, following the hashtag is way to participate and stay up-to-date.

Tip 3: Promote your Specialty’s Journals

Your specialty’s journal no doubt has a presence on Twitter. Annals of Surgical Oncology @AnnSurgOncol is the journal for both @ASBrS and @SocSurgOnc. Because of my growing Twitter following, I was honored to be asked by @AnnSurgOncol to be a member of their editorial board, and co-write (with @NirajGusani and @sandrawong) a Twitter guide for fellow board members.

Tip 4: Don’t Buy Followers

As Guy Kawasaki says “. . . My theory – there are only 2 kinds of people in social media. One wants more followers and the other is a liar. . .”

We all want to be popular, to be influencers. However, buying Twitter followers is not the way to do it. Buying followers is cheating. Followers should be earned through honest engagement — by being both interested and interesting.

And one way to be more interesting is to……

Tip 5: Write Effective Tweets

In their article titled Who Gives a Tweet? Evaluating Microblog Content Value, P. André et. al. describe their analysis of 43,000 tweets. They concluded that the most valued tweets were information sharing, links to personally created content, and questions to followers. Appropriate use of @mentions and using fewer hashtags in tweets was preferred. Above all…..don’t whine on Twitter. It’s not becoming.

Adding an image to a tweet will increase engagement five times.

Happy Tweeting!

To follow Diane on Twitter: @dianeradfordmd

“I Can’t Get Published”: Oh, Yes, You Can. Here’s How to Get Published

February 3, 2014 by Lisa Tener

book writing coach — Your Book Writing Coach

I recently received an e-mail that began, “I have worked so tenaciously to find the right traditional book publisher to publish my memoir…”

The author was starting to give up, lamenting that if she were rich and famous her book would be published. “There is no support for first time authors.”

I waited to respond to the author because the whole dis-empowered tone of it irritated me. I knew I shouldn’t answer an e-mail in that state. So, let’s look at this as an opportunity:

Here’s the truth. Publishers do publish first time authors–their memoirs, how-to books and even novels! They’re on the hunt for the next huge hit–and it’s likely not a celebrity memoir. So, that’s good news for her–and for you, whether you are writing a memoir or self-help book or other nonfiction: You can get published.

If your book is fresh, if the writing is outstanding and your book will likely speak to a large– or strong niche–audience, publishers are interested. But imagine yourself as an acquisitions editor for a moment. Perhaps ten or twenty years ago when you first started, you took several chances on authors who didn’t have a following. Maybe some really followed through with their marketing plans. Likely some did not.

In this market, publishers can’t afford to take such risks. They’re publishing fewer books. They need to know that there’s an audience out there already waiting to buy your book. That audience is your tribe and maybe they read your blog or come to your workshops or they follow you on twitter. They will buy your book. And if you don’t have a following like that, then why not start now? Otherwise, how will you reach people to buy your book anyway?

Now, if you were a publisher and someone came to you and said, “I have this great book; you should publish it, but I don’t have any following or platform,” don’t you think you might ask, “Why not?”

Interestingly, this author did not want to self-publish. Again, “Why not?” If she doesn’t believe enough in her book to publish it herself, why would a publishing company?

The internet offers zillions (count them) of ways to connect with the people you want to reach through your book and start to impact their lives now–before your book is ever published–maybe even before it’s fully written. If your writing resonates for these readers, they’ll likely recommend your book, review it, some will even give it as gifts–and you’ll reach more people, make more of an impact.

What this e-mail writer saw as a dead end was really a huge opportunity–to understand that no one is going to invest in her dream if she’s not invested–and part of that investment is developing a community, a tribe, connecting with people who resonate with her message.

So, how you can you get started? Here are 3 ideas to start developing your author platform and 3 ideas to educate yourself about your publishing options so you can get published:

1. Read this just posted interview on Social Media for Writers with Frances Caballo, author of Social Media Just for Writers and Avoid Social Media Time Suck. You’ll learn some ways to use social media to connect with your budding (or new) tribe of fans and colleagues.

2. Consider blogging to develop a fan base. For now, just start brainstorming what you might write about and a theme for your blog. How might it resonate with the subject of your book.

3. Can you teach a workshop, webinar or teleseminar on your subject? Begin to jot down ideas of how you might take material from your book and teach it to others.

4. If you really want to learn how the publishing industry works so you can get published, join me at the San Francisco Writers Conference mid-month where you can learn all about developing that following–or author platform–to empower you so you can become a published author and not an e-mail writer who laments that the cards are stacked against her! You can also meet acquisitions editors (publishers) and literary agents and ask them directly what they’re looking for in your book proposal and pitch. And if you have a blind spot about writing and publishing (as this writer did), you will have the opportunity to see the light!

5. If late March suits you better and you happen to be writing a health or well-being related book, consider joining me at Harvard Medical School’s CME publishing course. March 31-April 2. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet and get feedback from acquisitions editors (publishers) and literary agents, as well as attend classes on how to write a book proposal, get published and other relevant subjects.

6. If you want to get the low-down on how to write a book proposal to get published, join me and Julia McCutchen, founder of the International Association of Conscious and Creative Writers (IACCW), when she interviews me on How to Write a Book Proposal –a topic that Julia also has much experience to contribute to. And this Friday, you can catch Julia interviewing Michelle Pilley, managing director and publisher of Hay House UK who will speak about the Inside Story of Independent Publishing (same link as above).

So, no excuses. The publishing industry is not conspiring against you–I promise. In fact, it’s offering you more paths to success than ever. All you need to do is explore, evaluate and take strategic, inspired action.

How the Pros Promote Books: An Interview with Hay House Digital Marketing/PR Specialist Wioleta Gramek

June 19, 2012 by Lisa Tener

New addition to this post: Enter the contest below to win a free ticket to a Hay House Event!

I met Wioleta Gramek, Digital Marketing/PR Specialist for Hay House, on the first day of Book Expo America (BEA) and was immediately drawn to her warm smile. When she mentioned how much book promotion is changing and that some of the things that worked a year ago aren’t working anymore, I became curious. What is working? What new things are they trying?

Here’s what Wioleta shared with me:

Lisa: What are some of the things that make it easiest to market an author’s work?

Wioleta: Already having a website which includes an email sign up page, additional valuable content, and an image of their book cover with pre-order buttons. An author should have a facebook fan page where they are already interacting with their audience, and a newsletter or periodic email where the author is providing their audience valuable information.

Lisa: Can you give an example of a Hay House author who uses digital media particularly effectively and what they do, resulting in highly successful book sales? Perhaps someone our readers should watch as a great example online?

cheryl richardson life coach — Cheryl Richardson provides a powerful example of connecting with–and reaching–a large audience online

Wioleta: Cheryl Richardson speaks with her audience through her newsletters, Facebook and twitter. She is very active in all of her online communities, making it a point to answer Facebook posts and tweets.

I would also take a look at Dave Carroll, whose new book United Breaks Guitars, is the direct result of his involvement on YouTube. You can take a look at his Facebook page as well.

Lisa: I love how much Cheryl offers to her community, though her social media and her Hay House appearances which I’ve been fortunate enough to attend. Cheryl Richardson coached me to a breakthrough in front of the whole audience in Boston. And my son and I LOVE Dave’s videos. So, those are great examples of authors connecting far and wide.

How long have you been at Hay House and how much of that time have you been focusing on digital marketing/pr?

Wioleta: I’ve been at Hay House close to 3 1/2 years now. I’ve focused on marketing in the online realm in one form or another since I started working here. I worked with and managed our affiliate program, worked on the planning and implementation of our online campaigns for book launches and also dabbled in our blogger outreach.

Earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to focus primarily on our blogger community with the launch of our new site: Hay House Book Nook.

Lisa: What are the primary changes in book marketing and PR that you’ve seen in your time at Hay House?

Wioleta: Authors are now asked to build an audience/community early on in the publishing process, really finding and communicating with the people that resonate with their message. Although traditional media for the book can do wonders, a lot of the promotion really needs to come from the author a lot earlier than it used to.

Even though social media sites have been around for quite some time, some authors still have not set up a presence on social media sites, we encourage them to do so and coach them in the best ways to use them.

Lisa: What strategies are not working anymore or not working as well as they used to?

Wioleta: I came in when “partner campaigns” for non-fiction books were at their prime. Although they still have a place in non-fiction book marketing, the strategies and the expectations from all parties involved have changed quite a bit.

Lisa: What strategies are a must-have?

Wioleta: Making sure to cover all of the avenues you know your audience participates in. Be it video, Facebook, newsletters, Twitter, everything centers on conversations and building yourself as a credible brand. An author can’t just speak to and sell to their audience; the conversation has to go both ways.

At this point it is very important for your audience to not only get value from purchasing your book, but also finding value in whatever other content you are willing to share. The question really becomes, how can you make your audience a part of your community and your message? “What can I give my audience that will be of value to them and how can I serve their needs?”

Lisa: Which is really exciting. When you think about a book being about making a difference in people’s lives and in the world, there’s more opportunity to do that with your book and other offerings–free and paid. What strategies do you see as developing in the future?

Wioleta: I think continuing to deepen relationships between authors and readers will still be the case in the future. As to exact strategies, there is so much continuously changing in the digital sphere that it is really hard to say what exactly will and won’t work.

Lisa: What are some of the mistakes authors make in their digital strategies?

Wioleta: If an author has a Facebook page or a Twitter account, they need to respond to as many questions as they can and engage their audience in actual conversations. Also, there are still authors out there who don’t have websites.

Lisa: I’m always surprised when I see authors who barely use their Facebook or Twitter and I think if they’re not on social media at all it often impedes their sales. I recently saw an author who wrote a book specifically about social media but hadn’t blogged in months except for one post announcing her book. It’s challenging to be writing a book, getting out in the world and connecting with readers at the same time, but I think you can’t afford not to. In the case of that blogger/author her sporadic blogging affected my impression of her as an expert–walking the talk.

Any other advice to authors who are either building their platform or promoting their books?

Wioleta: Start early and be of service to your audience. Connect with and support those around you both online and off, don’t use social media only to brag about your own accomplishments, share the amazing things your audience has done.

Lisa: That’s a big one. While it’s always been the case that fostering relationships builds your business, the web has turned business into a Karma club–the more good you do for others, the more it comes back to you. And you can’t afford to sit that one out, locking yourself in a room to write the book. Thank you, Wioleta. I invite readers of this blog to ask their questions of Wioleta below as a comment and feel free to share your book promotion successes as well.

Wioleta and Hay House have generously offered a free pass to 2 winners to their choice of either Speak, Write & Promote: Become a Mover & Shaker in New York City or The Writer’s Workshop in New York events. Just add your insightful comment or ask your question–the most interesting comment and question will win the tickets.

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