A Writer’s Master Guide to Social Media Marketing.

If you’re a new writer, or anyone who’s trying to build an online presence for marketing purposes, you know it can feel like an uphill battle.

Ideally, we’d just publish the book and people would flock to us to buy it.

The reality is that nobody will know you have a book for sale if you don’t tell them.

Anyone wanting to sell any product these days will need to be online and have a basic understanding of how to get noticed.

Your online presence might refer to anything from blogs to social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. It all comes down to ensuring that when a potential reader looks for you or for a book in your genre, they’re going to find something.

Here is a Master Guide to creating, growing, and maintaining your online presence.

First things first: who are you trying to reach?

Do you write romance? If so, your target audience is probably women.

Do you write technical manuals? Your target audience is the people who work in that field or with that product.

Once you know who you are writing for you can target platforms where those readers hang out.

Here are some basic demographics, but keep in mind these numbers may fluctuate a lot.

There are many, many more but these are the ones I use personally and can recommend for building up your social following.

You might also want to consider WhatsApp, Wechat, Douyin, QQ, Weibo, Kuaishu, Qzone, Telegram, or Quora as they all rank over 300 million monthly active users.

I’m going to take a second here to plug Patreon and Onlyfans.

These have notoriously been used for adult content or gamers, but I’ve recently seen more and more authors moving to these subscription based platforms. They will generally put the subscription price around the cost of one short story, which is minimally 4.99. Then they post a new, original story to the platform at least once a month. This is a brilliant way to keep readers engaged and keep income coming in each month.

I personally use Patreon as the exclusive source for all things Cunningfolk and I reserve OnlyFans for exclusive naughty stories and audio recordings of those stories. You don’t have to sell skin pictures, just sell what you’re already writing! If you feel like you have a voice for it, you can even record yourself reading the stories for your fans, making it more personal than just buying an audio book on Audible.

Okay, your next step is to create a home for yourself online. This means you need a website where they can come to learn more about you and what you are offering.  

This is the first thing people and publishers will look for when investigating a new author, or when researching whatever product you’re selling.

At a minimum, your website should include a page about you, another page for your books or products, and a contact page with a link tree to everywhere they can find you online, including social media platforms, stores, goodreads, etc.

You can find more information on how to write a good ‘about’ page here: 3 Tips to Write an Amazing Online Bio

I highly recommend that you invest in a custom URL. YourName.com or your business name.

Having an good domain name will give your site a lot more authority and make you easier to find.

Let’s talk about blogs. If you have the ability to include a blog with your website, then you should do it. Having a blog will encourage search engines to visit your website more often and help you rank higher, which makes you easier to find if someone does a search for books or  products you are offering.

At a minimum, you should post a new blog post every month. You can write them all in one day and just schedule them ahead of time, but you need to have at least one new post each month.

Weekly blog posts are better.

Analytics have shown that the best time to publish your blog posts is between 9am and 10am on Tuesdays, so adjust your scheduled posts to come out during that time period or just before it.

For writers, great topics for blog posts include notes about your current work in progress, book reviews, or conversations about the writing industry and marketing.

Whatever you blog about, never try to push readers into purchasing your books, that comes across as desperate and will drive them away. Their time is valuable, so give them something of value to read.

You can talk about your work and your writing, but do it in a way that entertains or gives your readers some value from reading it.

A newsletter or email list is another great addition to your website. This should be done similarly to your blog, which every newsletter or email offering quality entertainment or value to the reader. Give them a reason to keep opening your mail when it arrives.

One newsletter or email per month is good, don’t flood their inbox or they’ll quickly unsubscribe!

You can find more information about crafting a good email campaign here: How to Master the Art of Email Marketing

Now that your website is ready and you’ve got a couple of blog posts under your belt, let’s start directing people to your virtual front door.

It’s time to work on your social accounts.

You don’t have to be present on all of the social platforms we listed earlier, just pick one or two to focus on at first. If you find that you have time you can add more later.

Go back and look at the ages and genders of each platform to determine the best places for you to be.

Each platform has its unique strengths and flaws.

Facebook can be used as a daily micro-blog with little notes and pictures of what you’re working on or currently doing.

Instagram is great for those with an artist eye or a knack for photography.

TikTok is great for those with limited time. Just a 30 second video once or twice a day will work, although three times a day is better.

No matter which platform you chose, make sure that you offer some value for your followers. Make your posts funny or informative. Give them something to think about or something nice to look at. They are gifting you with their precious time, so give them something worthy of that time.

On each platform, assure that you have included a nice picture of yourself and a link back your website.

It’s important that you don’t use social media to push products or books.

If someone walked up to you on the street and started pushing their product in your face, you’d probably get mad, right? Social media is the same way. You’re selling your personality and your friendship. You’re offering a conversation and letting them get to know you.

If they like your energy levels and the way that you communicate, they will want to know more and they will follow the link to your website.

It’s okay to occasionally post a link to a blog post or a product that you’re especially proud of, but do it in away that they don’t feel pressured to go look. You’re offering a look at something you love, so they can better understand you. You’re not demanding they go witness the glory that is your product.

Another important thing to remember is that you need to engage with your followers.

Answer comments. Like their posts and pictures. Add to the conversations that are happening in a positive way, like you’d talk to someone you care about. Don’t get into arguments. Be polite. Be professional.

Once you have a profile created on each of your chosen platforms, you’ll need to set up a schedule for keeping them active

The more you interact with people, the more you will gain notice and the more people will find their way back to your website.

The best days and times to schedule posts, per platform, are as follows:

Try to schedule your posts to these schedules when the most users are online and make sure that you stay for awhile afterwards to answer comments, reply on other users posts, and engage in conversations.

You can schedule your posts in advance using tools such as Hootsuite or Buffer, but you’ll get the best response if you’re online during those peak times to engage your followers.

You’re on your way now! I know this is a lot to digest, especially if you’re just starting out, so bookmark this page so you can come back and reference it again when you’re ready to add new platforms to your system or to review your progress.

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave it in the comments or to send me email directly. If there’s a platform you’d like help with, which I haven’t covered yet in my blog, let me know and I’ll try to cover it in an upcoming post.

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Let’s talk about New Year Resolutions for Writers. When I was younger, I would update my goals each year and sometimes even modify them throughout the year. Goals were exciting back then. They were a way for me to challenge myself and review my progress. I had a three-ring binder divided into four categories; mental, physical, financial, and spiritual/emotional.
Throughout the year I could pull out my binder and see where I needed to focus more attention or where I was overachieving and refocus on other areas.

I would cut out articles from magazines or write down ideas that I wanted to try and put them in the binder to review when I needed inspiration or motivation.

Mental goals included things like; learn 50 new words in Spanish, earn a new certificate in an interesting field of study, and meditate for 30 minutes each day. So I would print out the 50 words I wanted to learn and include that page in my binder. I would also print off a sheet for each of the interesting certifications I might be interested in pursuing. And so forth.

Physical goals included things like; get 8 hours of sleep each night, learn 5 new moves in a martial art, and try a new workout each month. For this category I would print out a page outlining the steps to a new Jiujitsu throw or Taekwondo kata. I would also print off examples for the new workouts I wanted to try that year.

Financial goals included things like; put $500 into an emergency fund, pay off my highest interest credit card, and increase my yearly income. For this category I would print off spreadsheets of my current spending and savings, so I could determine where I could cut back to put more into my emergency fund. I would also print off ideas for side hustles or jobs I could do to increase my yearly income.

Emotional/Spiritual included things like; say something nice about myself every day, keep a dream journal, compliment someone every day. For this category I would print off motivational mantras and positive quotes that made me happy. I would also keep blank pages to keep notes of dreams or experiences that touched my heart, like conversations with people I found inspirational.

Setting goals can be fun and rewarding, no matter how you work on them. So let’s look at some goal ideas for writers.

1. Sit down and write! Something important for writers is to share their story, their truth, without worrying about what others might say or think. A good resolution might be to write at least 1 paragraph every day. You can write more, so much more, but aim for a paragraph every day. It doesn’t have to be great. You can write a paragraph about your drive to or from work, or write about someone you saw at the grocery store. Just sit down and write something every day.
   
2. Post on social media. A lot of writers would prefer to hide in their bedroom with their laptop, but it’s important to stay in touch with your readers. Just a simple post about something going on in your life or your story is great. Share a picture. Share a poem or a thought. Just set yourself a goal to post every week, although every day would be better.
   Publish something. You don’t have to publish a full novel this year, or even a short story. Publish an article or guide to your blog or to Reddit. Publish a list to Listicles, Cracked, WhatCulture or other similar sites. Set a goal to get something published this year.
   
3. Try something new. In 2015 I saw a request for short stories that were based on popular fairytales but had a zombie twist. I immediately decided it would be a good practice to stretch my creative muscles. I wrote The Seven Ravens and it was accepted into the Once Upon An Apocalypse anthology. Trying something new can be fun and a great exercise for strengthening those writing muscles. Step outside your comfort zone and try writing in another genre or another format such as journalism.
   
4. Read a guide. Writers do love to read, but push yourself a little and try reading something from the non-fiction category. I absolutely love motivational books, but I’ve also found a lot of value in reading books about marketing, manifesting, and self help. There are so many great books out there. Step out of your favorite genre and try something new.
   
5. Start a journal. Journaling can be an excellent way to to keep your creative juices flowing, but it can also give you deeper insights on areas of your life you might want to improve. If you already keep a journal, then you could set a goal to write in it every day, or expand the topic to include documenting something new, like dreams you’ve had or story ideas.
   
6. Talk to other writers. You can learn so much from even a brief conversation with another person who works in the same industry. They might have a new writing method, or marketing tip that completely changes the game for you. There are groups for writers in almost every part of the world, but you could start out by finding a few groups online and joining in their conversations. Once you gain a little confidence, you can start meeting with groups at local bookstores, retreats, and other venues.
   
7. Take time to recharge. Don’t be afraid to step away from your writing and just take time to breath and think. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I always set aside time for meditation. Run a hot bath and just let yourself relax. Set aside time to calm your mind and your body. Set a goal for 10 or 15 minutes a day. Lay down on the couch and close your eyes, or do whatever you find most relaxing. Just let yourself rest and recharge.
   
   I hope I’ve given you some ideas. The most important thing to remember is to set goals that you can achieve. Keep things realistic, attainable, and measureable. Most of all, have a Happy New Year!

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For people of nearly any religious background, the time of the winter solstice is a time when we gather with family and loved ones. For Christians, we have Christmas. For Pagans and Wiccans, it’s often celebrated as Yule. but there are certainly dozens of ways you can enjoy the season.

Rejoice in family and friends as you welcome light and warmth into your home, and embrace the fallow season of the earth.

No matter how you chose to celebrate, I hope your holiday season is as wonderful as you are! May you find hope and happiness in all that you do, and may you hold tight to your dreams, no matter how bold they are. Allow the magic of the season to embrace you and carry you forward into the new year with warmth, love, and laughter!