Tips to Grow Followers on Goodreads

By DiAnnMills @DiAnnMills

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Goodreads is one of my favorite sites to find new authors, explore reviews of potential new reads, and promote my own novels. With a new release August 1 of Deadly Encounter, I’ve been talking to my friend Jenn dePaula at Mixtus Media about how to add new followers on Goodreads.

Jenn gave me two tips that I’d like to share with you. They are so very easy and can have a powerful impact on your marketing and promotion.

Go to your Goodreads page. Click on your photo to view  profile options.

 

Tip 1:

On the drop-down, click on friends.

In the right hand corner look for: FIND FRIENDS FROM.
Listed are: Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, and the Goodreads icon for friends of friends. The best option for me was Twitter. Click to bring up a window allowing Goodreads to access what you’ve chosen to use.

Tip 2:

Farther down the same page is INVITE FRIEND LINK.

Listed is: Send this link to your friends to connect with them.
Below that is your personal link. Use this link for e-mail, blog, and newsletters to encourage others to be your friend on Goodreads.

Two simple ways for readers to discover your books!

How are you active on Goodreads?

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DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Suspense Sister, and International Thriller Writers. She is co-director of The Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and The Author Roadmap with social media specialist Edie Melson. She teaches writing workshops around the country. DiAnn is active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.

10 Myths about Marketing Your Book

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

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What’s stopping you from marketing your book? Is it lack of knowledge?
Indecision about the tools? Fear of failure or success? How to approach social media?

Now is the time to debunk the following 10 myths so you can be a marketing rockstar.

 Myth #1: All I have to do is one thing: write a good book. 

A writer’s number 1 job is to write an excellent book. But without marketing and promotion, how will readers know about your exciting project? 

Myth #2: Marketing takes way too much money. Only big names can afford it.

Every writer has the ability to learn basic marketing, promotion, and the value of social media. No matter the marketing budget, reaching others can be accomplished and is vital to the success of your book.

Myth #3: A traditionally published writer doesn’t need to worry about marketing. The publishing house will spend lots of money launching it.

Publishing houses adjust their budgets for marketing and promotion according to projected sales. A savvy writer teams up with the marketing team to learn how to compliment what’s being done. Personalization allows the writer to make an impact on potential readers.

Myth #4: The only way a writer will succeed in marketing is to hire a book publicist. 

Writers research the needs of their readers to find out how to reach them effectively. A writer has the ability to influence their readers by discovering who they are.

Myth #5: If a writer is going to get involved in social media, then register for every platform. And never follow anyone back.

A writer chooses a social media platform according to her brand, genre, expertise, and audience needs. The goal is to be active, reaching out in a community of followers to fill a need. 

Myth #6: No one can help an author build a platform or develop a brand. It just happens as you publish books.

A wise writer focuses her passion to a specific audience. Her expertise and type of writing builds her platform so she can be branded by who she is and what she writes. 

Myth #7: Marketing through social media means you have to constantly promote yourself so people will remember you.  The goal of social media is to help others; it’s not about us. For every five posts, only one can be about the writer. Develop trust among your followers.

Myth #8: There’s no point in marketing your book until it’s released. After all, people can’t buy it until then. 

Marketing and promotion begins with the writer’s idea for a project. Social media posts, blogs, speaking topics, catch-phrases, Pinterest boards etc. begin at conception of the book premise.

Myth #9: If you receive an advance, plan on spending 10% of it on marketing. If you don’t receive an advance, then marketing isn’t expected of you.

Every writer has a specific amount designated for marketing and promotion. The publisher expects a writer to be involved in the process of letting the world know about the book. The advance doesn’t dictate the writer’s marketing. 

Myth #10: Once a writer creates a marketing plan, the same plan works for every book.

Not every project’s content is the same. The characters, plot, setting, emotion, dialogue, narrative, and symbols vary in each book. Just as the books carry different themes and topics, so are the new and unique ways of marketing.

What marketing myths have you proven wrong? Share your thoughts so we 
can all learn. 

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DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She creates action-packed, suspense-filled novels.

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.

The Number One Method of Author Promotion—Social Media

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills 

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Authors are in search of the holy grail of book promotion. We read blogs and follow prominent writers who are the gurus of mastering marketing and promotion. After a while, all the posts are a maze of saying the same thing with different terminology.

For certain word of mouth is the best advertisement in the world.Social media is the number one method of communicating messages, whether it is conducting meetings, sharing stats and data, news, or exchanging photos with family and friends. The separation of personal and professional communication has merged together to keep up with the latest news and trends. The world is mobile, and that means knowledge is accessed through online and mobile devices, and it doesn’t matter the language or culture because everyone with a mobile device can be reached.  

Friends, that’s the most positive news for writers. Experts estimate 7.4 billion people by the end of 2016. Do the search on Google—there are more mobile devices in the world than people.

This is sounding better and better for writers. Edie and I are committed to bringing you the best method of getting a writer’s books into the hands of readers.

We can all be more savvy, more data and statistics driven to increase our brand awareness and sales. But what does that mean for us as professional writers?

The best way to reach readers is through social media.

That’s exciting. Thrilling.

So let’s make a commitment to the following.

1. I will learn how to efficiently and effectively post on Facebook and Twitter.
2. I will blog regularly on a site that receives numerous hits and is highly respected in the publishing industry.
3. I will follow those within the publishing industry who offer valuable advice about social media. Edie and I filter through many sites like Social Media Examiner, Pro Blogger, Blogging Bistro, HubSpot, and others to bring you valuable information here on The Author Roadmap.
4. I will post at least once a day on Facebook and Twitter.
5. I will learn how to use Hootsuite or Buffer, hashtags, tweetables, and blog organization.
6. I will share other posts and help writers become more proficient in their careers.
7. I will congratulate myself for stepping up to the plate and giving my book a winning season.

Comment here if you’ve decided to take the social media marketing and promotion challenge. 



 

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DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association; International Thriller Writers, and the Faith, Hope, and Love chapter of Romance Writers of America. She is co-director of The Author Roadmap with social media specialist Edie Melson where she continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.

DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.