Tag: Platforming

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Platform and Branding

Platform Starts with Your Mindset

When you hear the word platform what comes to mind? A mountain between you and getting published? One more thing to add to your to-do list? An elusive goal you’re not sure how to chase?

Thankfully, while platform is important for today’s writers, it’s not impossible to build. You probably have more of a platform than you realize.

Platform isn’t just social media followers.

Platform is potential readers.

Followers and reader are two very different things. Sometimes they’re the same, but often followers and readers are different. Put simply, the people you interact with, online or in person, who may purchase your book, that’s your platform.

This is where mindset comes in.

1. Share Your Passion

What we do with our lives often shows the areas we are interested in. You probably won’t write a how-to guide on rock climbing if you don’t love rock climbing. But if you love it, you’ll also probably join clubs or Facebook groups that focus on rock climbing. There’s an audience there.

To continue with this example, find people who reviewed movies on rock climbing (Free Solo, for instance) and find out what social media they like best, and what kind of content they engage with. These are the type of people you want to engage in your daily life because of shared interest. Naturally, they become potential readers.

2. Refuse the Scarcity Mindset

Platform is built off relationship, and relationship is born out of mindset.

Last year I attended a writing conference. I met a lot of great writers and made some great friends. Over lunch one day some of the writers started asking me questions about writing and platform. I could’ve answered vaguely and kept all my answers to myself. After all, the more writers working to build their platform the more competition, right?

Actually, not really. The world is full of readers, and there are plenty to go around.

Believing someone’s success lessens the possibility of your own is a scarcity mindset. Instead of choosing a scarcity mindset, I gave them my tips, helped them as much as I could, and then went on with the rest of the conference. Today, I keep up with some of them and we support each other in our writing.

3. Engage with Those Around You

If you can’t attend a conference this year, start small. Although writers are often viewed as introverts, even introverts talk about what excites them. When you’re in line at the coffee shop and the barista asks you what you’re working on today, tell them about your book. You just talked with a potential reader.

Remember, people talk about what excites them, and there are plenty of readers to go around. Share your passion, refuse the scarcity mindset, and engage with those around you. You’ll be surprised where it takes you!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Guest Posts

How to Build Blog Traffic the Smart Way – Part 2

In the beginning of your blogging journey, you most likely won’t have anyone but your mom reading your posts and commenting on them. That is, if she’s Internet and tech-savvy. Otherwise, a blog can be a lonely place. Unless you know how to let people know about your posts and how to find other bloggers.

Here are three techniques you can try to make your blog less lonely and to increase blog traffic.

4. Get Linky with It!

Add your blog’s URL everywhere you have a social media presence and in all of your profiles:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Amazon Author Profile
  • Email Signature
  • Add your blog’s URL among your links with your bio when you do a book blog tour or guest post on another bloggers site.
  • Add your blog’s feed to your Goodreads and Amazon author profiles so your newest posts will be visible in those places as well.

5. Share Away

The most important thing to do after writing a blog post worth publishing is to share it. That’s the easiest way to reach people. So, share your blog post to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. When you do this, include a hook or the first paragraph of your post to entice people to click.

You can also create an image quote featuring the title or a short, catchy quote from the post. These images can be used on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

On Instagram, when you share those images, you can insert the direct link to the post in your Instagram profile with a tip in the image’s caption for viewers to find the link there.

Don’t forget to use relevant hashtags whenever you share a post to social media, especially on Twitter and Instagram. The most used hashtags come up when you insert # and start typing immediately after it, without inputting a space.

On Facebook, search for and join groups where your target audience can be found. If they allow promo—check their rules first—share your post.

6. Join Up

In the blogosphere there are several monthly blog hops that you can join that’ll guarantee increased blog traffic. The key is to not only sign up for a hop and post on the designated day, but to participate. Visit 10-20 other bloggers and comment on their posts. And if someone visits you and leaves a comment, return a visit and give their post a thoughtful reply back. This is how you can develop friendships in the blogosphere and get actual followers. Trust me, this is the best, assured way to get traffic.

Check out these recurring blog hops:

  • Insecure Writer’s Support Group Blog Hop takes place every first Wednesday. Over 200 writers share their insecurities and talk about writing writing/publishing. They also offer an optional question that changes each month, in case you struggle with what to post.
  • #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop occurs on the third Monday of every month and is for authors to share their expertise on anything they want to share with other authors.
  • Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly blog hop that happens every Friday and is a way for you to get to know other bloggers in your community by sharing what brought you happiness throughout the week, anything big or small.
  • Write…Edit..Publish posts the third Wednesday of every other month, participants share short stories/poems (up to 1,000 words) on an assigned theme.

There are also occasional blog hops that bloggers put on randomly. I’ve done fun hops related to my books. Keep an eye out for these hops by visiting and following many blogs.

What makes any of this matter is, of course, having a blog to begin with (check out my post Blogging 101) and…well…doing these things. You can’t just wait for traffic to come to your blog. This isn’t a “if you build it, they will come” scenario. You have to be proactive. Take your time, challenge yourself, and think outside the box.

The blogosphere is waiting for you. Welcome!

Chrys Fey is the author of Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication. Fey is an editor for Dancing Lemur Press and runs the Insecure Writer’s Support Group’s Goodreads book club. She is also the author of the Disaster Crimes series. Visit her blog, www.WritewithFey.com, for more tips.

Categories
Platform and Branding

SEO and Why It Matters by Vincent Davis

So you’ve published a book. You just launched it or you’re about to do so. What’s next? How do you get it in front of people?

It all comes down to the search engine.

If you aren’t familiar with the term SEO (it’s something drilled into your head in business school), it stands for Search Engine Optimization. To say that in English, it’s the process of understanding how to utilize search engines (Google or otherwise), so that your book comes up relatively high in the results. For example: I write historical fiction set in Ancient Rome. SEO is understanding the tools I can use to get my book to come up at the very top of a search for “book about Ancient Rome” or “Ancient Rome novel”.

Every search on every search engine results in primary results. These are the ones that show up at the very top, and are otherwise set apart from the rankings below them. All of this is ranked by what the search engine deems as the most relevant.

If all of this business talk confuses you, don’t worry. Just remember that every search engine ranks the results of a search by relevance. The most relevant to the search, the higher it will appear. And we all want our books to show up at the top, right? SEO is how we train the search engine to put our book first!

While it’s important to understand the fundamentals of SEO for any sales (including books), it doesn’t really matter on book selling platforms like Amazon. Or does it?

This is where many authors make a mistake. They misunderstand what Amazon is at its foundation. It is a search engine. Just like Google, Bing, or Yahoo, Amazon is a search engine. It ranks results based on relevance and which book (based on trends and insane amounts of data collection) Amazon believes the reader is most likely to purchase. Amazon is a search engine where viewers are shopping instead of scrolling. That alone should place it at the center of your marketing efforts. Your conversion of views-to-sales will be much higher than on any other search engine platform.

And Amazon is a cold and impartial judge of their results. They don’t care if your book is published by Harper Collins or by your mom and pop. It doesn’t consider whether the price of your book is .99c or $99. It will prioritize the books that readers are most likely to purchase.

SEO is how we get our book at the top. It is how we get our book in front of new readers. SEO on Amazon is the new and improved version of a front display at a bookstore- because it’s a bookstore for the readers who want your book and are most likely to buy it.

SEO plays a role in every marketing aspect of the author’s career. The marketing author must consider it in book descriptions, the 5-7 keywords you can select, in your pay-per-click campaigns (ppc), and even recently inside your book. But don’t worry about that. One step at a time.

Next month we’ll jump right in with book descriptions, and keep moving from there.

BIO

Vincent B. Davis II is an author, entrepreneur, speaker, and soldier. His first novel The Man with Two Names was published in July 2017 and has since become an Amazon International Best Seller. He is passionate about helping authors improve their brand and platform. He works with publishing companies and individual clients to help them sell more books in the modern publishing environment. Vincent is also the Senior Editor for blueridgeconference.com. If you are interested in contributing a blog for the site, or have any other queries, you can reach him at Vincent@thirteenthpress.com

Categories
Platform and Branding

The Writer’s Many Hats by Vincent Davis

When you tell others that you are a writer, one image appears in their mind: you crowded over a dusty desk, scattered papers all around with empty cups of Starbucks coffee abounding, as you pound away on a old typewriter like a mad scientist.

If you’re lucky, you’ve experienced a few crazed moment of a creative rush like this. However, you likely also know that being a writer requires much more than crafting fancy sentences.

The modern writer, if she wants to be even marginally successful, must wear many different hats.

Here are a few hats the writer must wear:

  1. Social media expert
  2. Website designer
  3. SEO analyst
  4. E-mail marketing guru
  5. Graphic designer
  6. Copywriter
  7. Editor
  8. Launch and Campaign strategist
  9. Speaker
  10. Amazon specialist
  11. Boss (making sure you stick to deadlines)
  12. Manager (making sure you maintain your health and happiness)

These are just a few roles the author must play to be successful. This isn’t even covering the freelance aspect that many authors take on to supplement their writing income.

Whether you are self-published or traditionally published, you need to have a basic understanding of these aspects of the author’s life to optimize your book’s sales.

Who Am I? And Why Am I Talking To You About This?

 I’m just an author like you. With no team and little resources, I’ve researched all these various aspects of the author life, and have managed to push my first novel into the Amazon Bestsellers list. I’ve also been able to live off my book’s revenue, and if you focus on all these roles as well, I think you can too.

I want to help distill the things I’ve learned so that you can become an expert in some of these fields, or you can look to a freelancer like myself or the others on A3 to help you if your efforts are better used elsewhere.

Buckle up and dust off your favorite hats, cause we’re going to be trying them all on!

Vincent B. Davis II is an author, entrepreneur, speaker, and soldier. His first novel The Man with Two Names was published in July 2017 and has since become an Amazon International Best Seller. He is passionate about helping authors improve their brand and platform. He works with publishing companies and individual clients to help them sell more books in the modern publishing environment. Vincent is also the Senior Editor for blueridgeconference.com. If you are interested in contributing a blog for the site, or have any other queries, you can reach him at Vincent@thirteenthpress.com

 

Categories
Platform and Branding

5 Questions Writers Should Ask Before Joining a New Social Media Network

by Susan Stilwell @susanrstilwell

Social media is a part of life and savvy writers stay on top of the latest trends. Each year new social networks emerge, each promising to be the most engaging. Busy writers want to maintain a relevant and growing social media presence, and asking these five questions can help decide if a new network is worth pursuing.

social media icons

1. What do I have to offer there?

Do you have photography skills? An image-driven network like Instagram can give you an outlet for your hobby and also let your followers see some of the things that inspire you.

Do you enjoy creating or curating professional information? LinkedIn might be a good fit.

Are you an engaging public speaker? Live video will enhance your presence by letting your community see you in action. Video is one of the most engaging mediums and many networks are incorporating it in their platforms. The personal touch video provides can benefit any writer.

2. Is my audience engaged there?

All social media networks have a mobile app available, and many of them can access your personal contacts. Allow the app to access your address book and see who’s there. Check out a few profiles of your friends and influencers and take note of their followers, content, and strategies.

3. What is the learning curve? 

This can be difficult to gauge but notice what others are doing and see how your skills compare. Instagram followers appreciate artsy photographs or interesting graphics, so you’ll want to brush up on those skills. If you’re interested in live video streaming, then you’ll want to invest in a “selfie stick” or a portable tripod and practice delivering succinct messages. To create good instructional videos for YouTube or Vimeo you’ll need some basic video editing skills as well as an understanding of how to share or embed your content.

4. How will this grow my platform?

Social media can be used for a host of reasons:

  • building relationships,
  • driving traffic to your website,
  • growing your number of followers,
  • launching books,
  • increasing engagement,
  • sharing your message,
  • learning new skills,
  • introducing you to a new audience, etc.

Decide on your goal, do a little research and then develop a plan. Periodically evaluate your progress and make the necessary adjustments, including leaving the network if it’s not working for you.

5. How will one more network affect my life?

Joining a new network can be fun and exciting, but it can also become cumbersome if you don’t have the time and energy for it. Will another network add to your stress level, or will it energize and inspire you?

 

Social media is an important part of a writer’s platform, one that can also enrich your personal life. Answering these five questions will help clarify your goals and determine if joining a new network is right for you.

Shareables:

[bctt tweet=”How can a busy #writer maintain a relevant #socialmedia presence and stay focused? via @a3forme @susanrstilwell” via=”no”]

[bctt tweet=”Joining a new #socialmedia network can benefit a #writer but can also add stress. via @a3forme @susanrstilwell” via=”no”]

[bctt tweet=”As a #writer, what are your #socialmedia goals? What questions clarify your needs? via @a3forme @susanrstilwell” via=”no”]

Additional resources:

Hubspot – Visual Marketing Content Strategy

Lifewire – Joining A Social Network

Categories
Platform and Branding

3 Tips to Grow Your Writer Platform When You Need a Break

Everyone needs a break from time to time. For a writer building a platform, taking a social media break might seem like you’re losing precious ground. If you’re willing to think outside the box and do a little planning, you can take a break and continue to grow your writer platform.

1. Recycle An Old Blog Post

In the spirit of “going green,” recycle an old post (or two or several). Go back in your archives and find an old post that didn’t get as much traffic as you hoped or one that wasn’t as well developed. Rewrite it and share some insights you’ve learned since the piece originally posted. You may even include some of your reader’s comments.

Be sure to optimize for SEO and include new shareable tweets and images.

2. Line Up Guest Posts

Ask writer friends if they’d like to write for you. If they’re busy or in need of a break themselves, look through their archives and find a post you liked, and ask if you can repost on your blog. (First be sure they’re not recycling it for their own site!)

Add click-to-tweets at the bottom of the post that mention the author. If you’re republishing an old posts, share an attribution such as, “This post first appeared on [friend’s site name with hyperlink to their site].”

Whether the post is new content or a republished post, always link back to the author’s site. Ask the author if there’s a particular page they’d like you to feature. They may ask you to direct readers to their About page. Another option is to link to their home page so your readers can see your friend’s most recent work.

3. Consider Hiring A Virtual Assistant

This may sound like a splurge, but VAs can help with many tasks. They can curate shareable content, research topics, or edit and schedule blog posts. They can respond to comments, coordinate editorial calendars, optimize posts for SEO, or even help with tips 1 & 2 – recycle old posts and line up guest posts!

VAs are unique and have different skill sets, so ask friends for recommendations. Some VAs prefer to work for a stretch of time (monthly or quarterly), but others are happy to do piecemeal work when needed.

Grow platform on break

Time away from writing and social media doesn’t necessarily mean your platform growth will suffer. With a little creative thinking and planning, you can enjoy a respite and still grow your writer platform when you need a break.

Anything to add to this list? Please share in the comments!

Shareables:

[bctt tweet=”Have old blog posts that didn’t get good traffic? Recycle! via @a3forme @susanrstilwell ” via=”no”]

[bctt tweet=”How can a #writer take a #sm break and not affect their platform? @a3forme @susanrstilwell” via=”no”]

[bctt tweet=”When should you find someone to guest post? @3forme @susanrstilwell have a suggestion ” via=”no”]

[bctt tweet=”How a virtual assistant can help when you need a #sm break, via @a3forme @susanrstilwell” via=”no”]

[bctt tweet=”3 Tips to Grow Your Writer Platform When You Need a Break, via @a3forme @susanrstilwell” via=”no”]

Helpful A3 links:

3 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Writer Platform

3 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Social Media Strategy

4 Simple Rules For Guest Posting

Categories
Platform and Branding

Brand basics – do your colors and fonts present your best look?

Good content is critical for a writer but how that content is presented is also important. In Brand Basics – 2 Considerations For Writers, we discussed the importance of consistency across your social media networks. Using the same images and verbiage will tie together your unique look and help people recognize you. As you develop that look, choose colors and fonts that enhance your brand and help you stand out.

Colors

Response to color varies from person to person, and even between males and females. Most research proves, however, colors convey these basic feelings:

  • Red – fire, stimulating, but also anger
  • Orange – fire, adventure, optimism
  • Yellow – sun, happiness, energy
  • Green – nature, peaceful, but also envy
  • Blue – waters, trustworthy, masculine (favorite color of men)
  • Purple – royalty, sophisticated and artsy, but also feminine
  • Brown – earthy, rugged, but also dirty
  • Black – classic, strong, but also grief
  • White – purity

color wheel, look for writers

 

Lighter shades have a more feminine quality, while stronger hues feel more masculine. The colors you choose should resonate with your audience, enhance your look and also complement your voice.

Choose 2-3 colors to use consistently on your website, and use those colors as often as possible in your shareable images and infographics. Your readers will begin to associate those colors with you and your work.

 

Fonts

With so many free Google webfonts, we’re no longer limited to a handful of options on our websites. Sites like Font Squirrel and DaFont also provide access to many free or affordable options to use with our logos and our graphic design projects.

look at different fonts for writers

When selecting fonts, consider the overall look and feel you want to convey. Consider pairing two different but complementary fonts, using a standout font for headers and a simpler font for body text. Use the same (or similar) fonts on your website and in your shareable graphics and images.

Research

Pay close attention to your favorite authors and influencers and notice how they incorporate fonts and colors in their brands. One of my favorites is Amy Porterfield. She repeats the bold colors from her header in her featured images and infographics. The backgrounds are solid colors and she uses two basic fonts: a handwritten font for standout text and a sans-serif font for her body text.

Amy Porterfield featured image

If you pay close attention, you’ll see the “How to” text on the top line differs slightly from text on the bottom line. The fonts are actually the same family, the top font is the narrow version. 

Fiverr offers graphic designs starting at $5 (hence the name). Although very few of them actually deliver a product for that price, it’s a good place to find samples. Look at the portfolios for some of the top designers and see how they use not only colors and fonts, but also images, graphics and white space. What looks are pleasing to your eye?

Last Word

Remember when choosing fonts and colors: LESS IS MORE. Over 50% of your readers will view from a mobile device (cell phone or tablet), so choose fonts and colors that are easy to read on a variety of devices. Create a look that’s recognizable to your readers and then incorporate those elements as you share your great content.

Tweetables:

[bctt tweet=”Create a look that will represent your #writer brand, via @a3forme @susanrstilwell #amwriting” via=”no”]

[bctt tweet=”How colors and fonts can enhance a #writer brand, via @a3forme @susanrstilwell #amwriting” via=”no”]

brand basics colors fonts

Resources:

FontSquirrel and DaFont

Google web fonts

how to add to Google web fonts to blogger

WordPress plugin to add Google web fonts: easy google fonts

Fiverr Graphic Design

Font Pairing

Additional Reading:

The Psychology of Color in Marketing and Branding

Photo Credits

Color Wheel: Sailom, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Amy Porterfield, screenshot

Categories
Platform and Branding

3 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Social Media Strategy

Social media is an important part of building a writer’s platform. With existing networks changing and new networks launching, it can be easy to fall behind or get distracted with your social media strategy. Avoid these three mistakes as you manage your social media and build your platform.

1. Not using a social media scheduler

You’re guaranteed to waste time if you hop on and off your networks to post updates. Hootsuite is one of the best and simplest schedulers, allowing you to connect up to five social media networks with their free plan. It also shows different network feeds, making it easy to share curated content.

Buffer is another great scheduler, although their free version only connects one network. Their most economical paid option, however, allows you to connect ten profiles including Facebook groups and multiple Twitter accounts.

If money isn’t an object and you want a top-shelf scheduler, check out Edgar. You can connect multiple social media accounts and posts can queued and recycled on different networks.

social media strategy schedulers

2. Not using a news aggregator

Think of a news aggregator as your personal newsstand, particularly for the blogs you follow. Feedly is one of the most widely utilized aggregators. Once you set up your account, copy the sites you want to follow and read all the posts within Feedly.

You can also organize your sites and have folders for specific interests. This is particularly helpful for research or for keeping up with agents, publishers, or other writer friends. Best of all, Feedly is free.

Feedly screenshot

Disclaimer: It’s still good to subscribe because of the benefits to being on an email list. But with so many people choosing to email an excerpt of their post, consider the time it takes to open the email, click to the site and wait for the page to load. It’s quicker to read the content on Feedly and then click over to the site if you want to leave a comment.

3. Not setting a timer 

social media strategy - set a timerEven if you use a scheduler and an aggregator, it’s still easy to get sidetracked. Decide how much time you can spend scheduling posts and reading other people’s material. Set your timer and then STOP when it goes off.

Taking control of your social media will keep you focused on your tasks and free up more time for writing.

What are your best tips for managing social media?

Please share in the comments!

3 mistakes to avoid

[bctt tweet=”3 Mistakes to Avoid With Your #SocialMedia Strategy, @a3forme @susanrstilwell #writer” via=”no”]

[bctt tweet=”Why a #writer needs a news aggregator like Feedly, via @a3forme @susanrstilwell #platform” via=”no”]

[bctt tweet=”How social media schedulers benefit a #writer, via @a3forme @susanrstilwell #platform”]

[bctt tweet=”Time management tips for social media, via @a3forme @susanrstilwell #writer #platform” via=”no”]

Stopwatch image credit: Pixabay

Resources:

Schedulers: Hootsuite, Buffer, Edgar

News aggregator: Feedly

Categories
Platform and Branding

Brand Basics – 2 Considerations For Writers

We’re familiar with a brand as it relates to corporations. When we think of Coke, McDonalds, and Nike these logos appear in our minds:

Coke – red background with white letters.
McDonalds – golden arches.
Nike – swoosh.

These corporations have spent millions (billions?) of dollars over the years with marketing groups and design teams to develop brand recognition. Few writers have the resources to invest in that kind of brand development but a personal brand is an important part of a solid platform.

Two important considerations for branding that every writer must consider are Content and Look.

CONTENT

Do you have a clear writing focus?

Content - writer brand

Perhaps you’re a novelist. Do you write mysteries for young adults? Romance geared toward women?

Maybe you’re an inspirational writer. Do you write devotions? Parenting articles? Bible studies?

Editors, technical writers, agents, etc. each have a special niche in the writing industry. Determine your focus, create content, and share on social media’s Big 3—Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Remember to be generous and share quotes and links from a variety of sources. Edie Melson recommends sharing only 20% of your own material. Find other writers and industry professionals who have a similar focus and share their content as well.

Don’t hesitate to share occasional random posts, but be sure to keep it kind and clean. Tweeting at your favorite sports team or sharing a funny meme on Facebook makes you a more interesting person to follow.

LOOK

Do your social media accounts have the same (or similar) backgrounds and headshots?

Develop a background and format it for each social media account. Profile dimensions change on a regular basis, so check a reliable source like Mashable for the most recent image sizes. Select a headshot that is both current and suitable for your writing.

A writer with brilliant branding is Steven James. He wears several hats: writing & speaking instructor, keynote speaker, poet, master storyteller, and suspense writer. His social media profiles and his website represent him well, reflecting his friendly yet somewhat mysterious personality.

Platforming - Steven James profile, writer brand

Your website’s About Page should include the same content focus, headshots, and background images (if possible). A consistent online image will help establish your personal brand and help lay a solid foundation for your platform.

Shareables:

branding considerations

[bctt tweet=”Start building your #writer brand by answering 2 questions, via @A3forme @susanrstilwell” via=”no”]

[bctt tweet=”Top 2 considerations for developing your brand as a #writer, @a3forme @susanrstilwell” via=”no”]

Sites to check out:

Steven James
Mashable: Your social media cheat sheet for perfectly sized images