Author Blog Challenge – Day 20 Recap
Social media. It’s everywhere, all the rage, and something we may think we’ve 
just tired of hearing about. However, there’s no going back to the pre-social media world, so you’re either in it, or you’re getting left behind. The prompt on this topic produced some really great posts from the Author Blog Challenge participants.
Read on for excerpts from explaining how the participants are using social media to promote and market their books, as well as posts on a few other interesting subjects, also!
Please click on the author’s name to read the full post.
MERLENE FAWDRY. My next book (when and if it is finished and never mind the buts) would involve a planned social media launch with all guns blazing to the furthest reaches, from an initial physical introduction of the book. Rather than learn amore about any particular aspect of social media, I would benefit more from building on what I do know – most of the time I feel as if I’m dancing around the edges of it, never fully understanding (therefore never fully reaping the benefits) the many dimensions of opportunity that exists.
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LEEANNE HUNT. As to what I can do going forward, now that I am familiar with the basics of Twitter and Facebook, I can investigate lists. I know that it is possible to divide up your connections into close friends, writerly contacts and so forth, but I haven’t yet learnt how. To be honest, I am having some doubts about the rightness of this course of action. Personally, I don’t like the thought that I have been tucked away into somebody’s book promotion list so that they never read my tweets or visit my blog links, and because of that, I find it hard to designate anyone else to my book promotion list and do the same.
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HEATHER TOPHAM WOOD. By the way, if you’re on the fence about doing a virtual book tour, I highly recommend it. It has helped expand my audience and receive more reviews on my novel. Tour hosts post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads which is helpful for new books or novels that do not have many reviews. Compared to other promotions, the price was very reasonable.
Congrats on the blog tour you’ve arranged, Heather! What an awesome opportunity you’ve created to promote your book.
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ELISE FEE.
changing to
a more harmonious rhythm
simply requires
tuning into a different station
turning the dial
on the resonances of life
till alighting upon one
where soothing, gently stirring
lyrical sounds hum
across the ears
flowing through pores
drenching every neuron
with a musical hue
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LISA CHERRY. I love Social Media. I am currently acquainted with Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Good reads, Stumbleupon, blogging, YouTube; I love it all. I am a social being. I love connecting with people and the more diverse that group of people is, the better. Social media gives me connections with people all over the world. You can all tell me all about your life, passions, dreams, hopes, wants and desires and I can tell you all about mine. My book was built using it and I suspect much of the selling of it will be done in the same vein. I use it for social reasons and have used it for all 3 of the businesses that I have run (all very different ones).
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JUDITH CASSIS. [H]ere’s my beef: Groups. Groups used to be more administrable (I like administratable better, but it’s not a word) by the originator. So, as admin, we had complete control over the flow, content and various other aspects of our groups. We could actually ADMINISTRATE them! Now they seem to be a virtual a free-for-all.
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REBECCA FYFE. None of my books are at the publishing stage yet. While I am writing them, I am using social media and learing everything I can about promotion. I started out with social media promoting my on-line stores many years ago, and so I believe I have a step up from an author who is just starting out with it right now. I’ve already learned about having an on-line presence, using Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Triberr and various other social media outlets.
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ANNE McAULEY.
Guest Blogger, Sam the Fat Cat
Shout out to my main dogs, Cooper and Dusty, for the Guest Blogger opportunity. Shout out to my mom, Cindy Cavoto, of Fire Brand Social Media, for letting me have canine contacts even though I could do without them. Shout out to me for having the ability to type and therefore have no need to have someone take dictation like a couple of canines I know.
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KATHI LAUGHMAN. One of the topics that continues to come up in just about every business forum discussion is the impact of social media on the market. Companies that are engaging and leveraging it are winning. The companies that are still sitting on the sidelines are missing out. Here’s a newsflash: If you keep doing what you’ve always done in your marketing, you will not keep getting what you’ve always gotten. You are going to get less. That’s a significant shift. We think that if something works – we should just keep doing it because it works. Social media has changed that.
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JEN CHATFIELD. Oh boy. I’ve gotten so much advice over the past few years, all from online buddies/colleagues, mind you. Honestly I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe it’s about having thick skin. Though I do have thick skin, I have a tendency to fly off the handle without thinking things through. I think one of the best pieces of life advice I’ve ever gotten is when something upsets you, sleep on it, and go fresh in the morning. Never react right off the bat.
Thanks to all who posted!
Laura & Marcie
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The Author Blog Challenge is hosted by Laura Orsini and her alter ego, Marcie Brock, of the Marcie Brock – Book Marketing Maven blog. Please visit Marcie’s blog for loads of great info about low- to no-cost methods of marketing for self-publishing authors.
deter you from joining! Fill out the REGISTRATION FORM, read the Guidelines, and begin blogging away! You’ll qualify for the contest to win a $35 gift card to the bookstore of your choice IF you back-post for all the days you’ve missed so far AND add your name to the MisterLinky for each date. Details will be sent via email upon your registration.
