Making the Most of an Author Facebook Fan Page

Creating a Facebook fan page is an amazing way to promote your book, build awareness for your message, gather support for your book launch, or to advertise in a number of other ways. Creating a Facebook Fan page helps in building a following in no time at all. 

1. Ask fans to post their reviews of your book on your Facebook page

When fans post on a Facebook fan page, they do it in the same way they would post on your personal profile, commenting by typing in the text boxes and pressing "Enter" to display their comment. You can then engage with fans by commenting on their posts, so they are seen by more than the people within your own following.

2. Target who sees your posts

The truly amazing thing about Facebook advertising is that you can target your demographic. This will impact the number of people who will see the advert and also how much it will cost you. You need to decide on country, city, gender, age range, likes and dislikes and you can go down into further splits. As you change the demographics, you’ll see how many people the advert could be shown too. The more specific you can be, the better your chances an ad will have an impact.

3. Engage with your fans

The key to a successful Facebook page is to consistently update your page. You can decide on the frequency – at a minimum you want to post something new once a week. Your posts can be simple: something that inspired you (a picture, a quote, an interaction); an upcoming event you are holding; an update on the new book you are writing; a news article that you found interesting. Being consistent is more important than posting for the sake of posting. Think about what you are trying to achieve with each post.

My Brother Tom a finalist in the International Book Excellence Awards

So proud that My Brother Tom by Michelle Worthington and Ann-Marie Finn was a finalist in the Book Excellence Awards

My Brother Tom is a picture book for older siblings of a baby born prematurely and who is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to facilitate discussion with caregivers and help them understand what is going on. Royalties from the sale of My Brother Tom go to Life's Little Treasures Foundation with helps families in Australia who are affected by premature birth.

Copies of My Brother Tom are available through their website

https://lifeslittletreasures.org.au/

Blogging for Authors

 

Marketing your own book, whether traditionally or self-published is a necessary evil of being an author in the 21st century. For those of us who are most at home behind a computer, in our PJs, drinking coffee by the bucket load, this can be a mile outside our comfort zone, but if you look at your writing career as a business, and tackle the marketing of your books in small, bite size pieces, it doesn't have to be something that takes the fun out of publishing your story. Blogging is a great way to achieve the goal of getting your message out to people you can't personally share your story with.

Tip 1: Book Appeal

Unfortunately, some genres of books seem to be better received than others. Commercial fiction is always easier to market. If you are writing non-fiction, make sure you develop a strong reputation in the field you are writing in so that you can vouch for the integrity of the information, as well as using your credentials as a marketing tool in its own right. When blogging about your books, it must reflect current learning and development and be relevant to your target audience. For example, with books for children, your audience are the readers but your target market is the people who buy the books for them. You must appeal to both.

Tip 2: Networking via Blogging

No modern marketing tool can compete with collaborating with your fellow authors to help each other break through the white noise and give your book a personal recommendation. Constantly connect with your peers to keep you grounded in the current climate of the publishing industry, learn from their experiences and share your own knowledge for the greater good. This can be online or face to face, but never underestimate the marketing power of networking.

Tip 3: Attend Blogging Events

Whether you attend as a guest speaker or an audience member, attending book events is a great way to engage readers, expand your network and learn, learn, learn from those in the know. Although they can be quite expensive, they are a tax deduction and in most cases, if you volunteer, you can attend at a reduced price or for free. Work the ones that have the most intrinsic value to what you write and what level you are at with your writing into your business budget and plan ahead  with babysitters/catching up with friends/ transport to make the experience as rewarding as possible.

 

 

Tip 4: Embrace Technology

We are the first generation of authors who have unlimited worldwide access to our readers via social media and blogging. Like it or not, you must have a website and an online presence. Get comfortable using the types of technology your readers and target market use, not only to be confident sharing your work to build your online platform, but also to make use of the tools that give an insight into analytics that will let you know which ways are connecting more efficiently than others, in order to cut down on spamming and focus on what works.

Tip 5: Find a balance

Not only do you need to find a balance between spending time blogging and spending time writing, you need to find a balance with what you are putting on your social platforms that gives your audience an opportunity to hear about your work without them getting sick to death of seeing your posts constantly plugging your books. There is a 30/70 rule that states 30% of the content should be marketing your book, 70% should be general content letting them know a little more about you, your likes and dislikes and giving them the opportunity to connect with you as a person. It's not called "social" media for nothing. Don't shout about your books, build a community of people who will support your success and shout about it for you.


As authors, we need to continually adapt our online marketing strategies to a dynamic publishing industry, not only if we want to stay viable as authors that large publishing companies would like to invest in, but so we can stay on our readers radars. Break it down into small steps and don't let it overwhelm you. 

www.michelleworthington.com

 

Noah Chases The Wind honoured in the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards

Noah Chases The Wind has won a Bronze Award in the 2015 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards! Thank you to Joseph Cowman and Redleaf Press for bringing Noah to life. It was inspired by a real little boy named Noah and has information for caregivers of children on the autism spectrum. 

Thank you for your support, Noah. You inspire me to write stories that kids can see their reflection in. 

www.michelleworthington.com

How much money do you make as a picture book author?

First, can I say, bwahahahahahahahahahahaha!

When I do writing workshops for authors wanting to write picture books, I am very honest and open with them about how much money you make. Let me show you how I break it down using last financial year as an example. Bear in mind, that last financial year, I had a baby and wasn't actively doing market stalls and school visits, but as this is based on me having 8 published picture books, it will give first time authors an idea of what to expect in the beginning. Are you ready?

Income for 2013-2014 Financial Year

Royalties from the sale of picture books $672.23
Payment for 'Help on Heels' editing service $150
Lending rights from public and school libraries $1639.55

Total Income $2461.78

Wait for it..

Expenses

Cost of stock, Phone, Postage, Eftpos Machine fees, Business Insurance, Conference fees, Competition fees, memberships $5210.53

Total Profit -$2748.75

This is why my accountant shakes his head at me every year and asks "why are you doing this again?" This is just my example and I don't believe there would be many other authors brave enough to break it down like this to show you their actual income. I don't blame them, especially if you have partners who also question why you keep running a business at a loss. So why do you and is there a way to make a profit?

In the start of any business, the first couple of years are going to be tough. This was my third tax return, and I'm glad to say, even though I still made a loss, it was a smaller loss than the previous years. It will change, as my social media platform grows, I keep submitting manuscripts to bigger publishers as I earn my dues and hopefully, when I one day write the 'best seller'. Until then, I keep working at it every day, just like any small business owner.

It seems to me many authors supplement their income by writing books or ebooks on how to be successful authors. They are top sellers, easy to produce and have a large audience. You are reading this blog, right? No one would buy my book, it would be filled with the truth.

Another way that I really enjoy is to conduct workshops, do paid author visits, set up an editing business and blog. Even though it doesn't pay a million bucks, it's income. And its the part of marketing myself as an author that I really love.

Which brings me to the reason I keep going. Because I love it. I love writing picture books. I love seeing my stories in print, sharing them with people all over the world, winning awards and being recognised by my 8 year old groupies when I sell books at the local markets. It's my passion.

At the same time, I'm not stupid. I have a 5 year plan, like most organised small business owners, and if there comes a time when the money I am spending on my business is taking away from the money I need to keep a roof over my families heads, then I stop. But until that time comes, I focus, with a positive attitude, on my financial goal of making a profit as a picture book author. Stay tuned, I will let you know when it happens...

Talk soon
x Michelle
www.michelleworthington.com

Why Social Media for Authors only works if it's "Social".

Just posting on Facebook won't help you sell more books. There is no hard and fast rule that says the more you are online, the more people will become part of your community. When, when and how you post on social media is about more than quantity. It's about making a connection.

There is only one 'Do'...Have Fun!

If you are not enjoying spending your precious time marketing online, your readers probably aren't enjoying the experience either. Are you frustrated because you are not getting enough sales for your efforts? Then stop, because you are doing it not only for the wrong reasons, but you are posting the wrong content, at the wrong time, in the wrong way. If you were your audience, how would you feel about what you are posting? Is it fun, engaging and helpful? Be yourself. Only 30% of what you post should be about sales and marketing, the rest should be building a community of like-minded people who share common ground, so share what you feel comfortable. You need to be consistent, like a morning paper, that people can read over a cup of coffee at their own leisure, but there every day with a new snippet of information. When you have established your communities trust, then you can start planting that ground with the seeds that you are a trusted source of information. Once that has grown, you can start to harvest the crops that you have planted in the form of book sales, in an organic way. It takes time so you might as well enjoy the ride.


The 'Don'ts'

Don't post about your books every day.

Don't join every book group on Facebook and spam them with marketing.

Don't be negative

Don't worry if it feels like no one is listening

Don't post anything that could come back to haunt you

Don't post anything you wouldn't want your granny to read

Don't underestimate the power of social media

Talk soon
x Michelle

Book to Blog at Queensland Writers Centre

 

 

Book To Blog

 

 

 

http://www.cayliejeffery.com.au/

 

http://ebookrevolution.com.au/

 

http://www.stylingyou.com.au/

 

Last night, I had the amazing opportunity to attend a Queensland Writers Centre Workshop conducted by Emily Craven, Caylie Jeffery and Nikki Parkinson about how to turn blogs into books. That's not the reason I went. I have already published to books but I have come to the realisation that I am missing out on connecting with the people who love my books because I am not blogging regulary, or at all since I have had Tom. With my upcoming role as chairperson at GenreCon about a social media presence, I thought I better walk the walk if I am going to talk the talk.

 

Caylie talked about writing from a place of authenticity and I really connected with that. As an independent publisher of Bedtime Stories for Busy Mothers, she talked about independent publishers needed to provide quality products in order to be taken seriously and I totally agree. One thing she said really hit home. "There is not enough time to wait to be discovered." This is the blessing of social media. She also talked about finding an editor who knows what you are writing about to edit your work and this hit close to home after a bad experience at the beginning of my career. Her journey has changed so much since I met her in 2012 and I love that she is now teaching others how to start their own journey to find their authentic voice. There are still big things to come from Caylie.

 

Emily has always been a person that I admire. She is a natural teacher and has the cleverest way of thinking outside the square and applying it to her writing. She made it so clear that I have a long way to go with my blogging, with most popular blogs taking over three years to gather enough community to support it and for it to grow organically. I like how she made me feel like I am a trusted source of information, although I am the first to admit I don't have all the answers, and that people who like my books will be willing to invest in me. People find me all different ways, for different reasons and at different times in their writing journey. I want to be more accessible. I want to find more ways to connect.

 

 

I had never met Nikki before but I instantly loved her energy and willingness to share the secrets to her success. She talked about being willing to transition creatively throughout your career and look for opportunities to make money from activities around your writing to sustain a profitable business. Who knew there were blogging conferences? I really want to go to one so I am determined to commit to consistently writing my blog so I feel worthy enough to go. She has such a strong sense of community with her readers and that is what I am trying to develop. She also made a great point in saying you can't tell people how to follow you, you just need to be available for them to find. And, she made me want to swallow a teaspoon of cement and stop making excuses why I cant find the time to blog. My business as a writer is important to me and I have never been afraid to do what it takes to be successful.

 

On the way home I was looking at my old YouTube videos that I started when I had made the decision to really concentrate on my writing and become a successful author. Here is one from January 2013. 

 

 

I have changed sooo much since then, but my drive and determination are still as strong.

 

 

So my commitment to you is that I will blog Monday to Friday, giving you tips and lessons about getting your writing published, sharing what I am doing and where I am up to in my journey. If there is anything you would like to hear about in particular, please don't hesitate to contact me. I really appreciate your support.

 

 

x Michelle