The Power of Pinterest in Novel Promotion

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

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Pinterest claims to have 100 million active monthly users while noting 176 million registered users. Those stats are amazing, especially when writers are geared up to market and promote a new book. 

Using Pinterest for promoting novels allows writers to expand their creativity. An easy way to entice a reader to check out our work involves pulling out special sections of the novel that can be translated into a picture or meme.

Story symbols and products and services have the ability to represent key aspects of the book and urge the reader to investigate further. For example: is your character a Starbucks, Coke, or McDonalds fan? Does the character thrive on baseball or tennis? Does your character take long walks by the ocean to ease her mind? walks by the ocean to ease her mind?
 
Snippets of the setting make the story come alive.

Photos of the writer engaged in the writing process or involved in something fun links the passion of the writer for the story.  

Quotes from the story—those witty comments that can be humorous, insightful, or way deep. (In fact, we writers often wonder where they came from.)

Now that you have an idea what to use for your novel’s Pinterest board, stir up your creative juices and let the writer’s uniqueness shine.

1. Create a new board for your novel. If the book hasn’t been released, make sure this is a “secret” board.
2. Study the psychology of color. Use what attracts readers to your books.
3. Organize what you want to pin on your story’s board.
4. Create memes for setting and symbols. PicMonkey is an easy way to personalize and make your designs powerful. Use free stock photos from such sites as Pixabay, Unsplash, Negative Space, or Stock Snap.
5. Use a plain canvas background or a pic to focus on a quote. Again PicMonkey is an amazing tool.
6. Include your URL on each pic. This brings traffic to your website and invites repins.
7. Use keywords to organize and complete the necessary description for your pins. This ensure your story and brand are easy to find.
8. Add the Pinterest button to your website.
9. Make your board public on the day before your book’s official release date.
10. Share your board and pins via social media with friends and readers. Others are excited to see a new perspective on the story.
11. Follow others on Pinterest and they will follow you.

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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, and International Thriller Writers. 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.

How to Add Personalized Social Media Buttons to a WordPress Site

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Today I'm excited to show you how to add personalized social media buttons to a free or paid WordPress site. You may notice this blog is sporting a new set of buttons right below my header. They were surprisingly easy to install and I couldn't wait to share how to do it. 

The screencast below contains step-by-step instructions for adding them to a WordPress site. You can also add them to a Blogger site, but the process is slightly different. I shared how to do that in a SEPARATE screencast this past Monday, on my other site, www.TheWriteConversation.com. So if you have a Blogger site, visit How to Add a Personalized Social Media Buttons to a Blogger Site.

Be sure to leave any questions or comments in the comments section below. 

TWEETABLES
How to Add Personalized #SocialMedia Buttons to a WordPress Site - @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Add personalized #socialmedia buttons to your #blog with step-by-step instructions from @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the Director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for Southern Writers Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook. Look for her newest book, While My Soldier Serves (Worthy Inspired), available at bookstores and online.

Why Should a Writer be a Part of Goodreads - 2?

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

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On April 15, 2016,  I shared with you the basics of Goodreads and how to set up

an account. Today, we’ll talk about what Goodreads means to an author.

Let’s begin by pulling up the Author Program Page here - https://www.goodreads.com/author/program

Read through the 8 bullet point suggestions in Take Control of Your Profile. These tips enhance your followers’ experience with your page. Make sure you have the Goodreads Author Widget on your website or personal blog. My blog for readers is linked to my Goodreads page, so I can expand my readership and make it easy for followers within my community to see the books I've rated and the books I've written. Every item listed in this section draws others to you.

Goodreads.com is a writer's best friend!

Scroll down to Promote Your Books. The three bullet point suggestions have easy instructions. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Goodreads makes it easy for users to navigate their site.

Under How Do I Join? I suggest searching for yourself. Now you can view what followers see. Is everything in order? Do you need to make any edits or additions?

Who can Join? Most of you have already registered with Goodreads, but if you haven’t given yourself this benefit, do so now.

The video Introducing the Goodreads Author Program is a short overview of your benefits.

On the right side of the Author Program Page, a highlighted list contains more  valuable information. Begin by clicking on Author Guidelines. This page is essential for your success.

The Author Program How-To Page gives more insight with tutorials to show writer
how to best utilize their profiles with how-to videos.

Studying the topics for authors gives you insight to Goodreads and how to broaden your visibility while providing followers with fresh material. 

I value quotes, and here I can add them from my books: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/new

These are just a few of the ways an author can reach readers through Goodreads.

Are you ready to dive into the many opportunities available for writers who subscribe to Goodreads? Let’s share experiences!



Tweet this: Why Should a Writer be a Part of Goodreads - 2?

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an dventure. 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, and International Thriller Writers. 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.

The Value of Klout on Social Media

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

I’ve recently received a lot of questions about a relatively new Social Media Tool, KLOUT. Today I’d like to give the information you need to decide whether Klout is for you.

First, let me assure you Klout is a legitimate tool, and not spam. Responding to a Klout invitation will not get you hacked. But it's not technically a network, although they seem to be trying to go that direction. 

The value of Klout is the fact that it puts a number to our social media influence. 

This isn't without controversy. But as long as we don't obsess about it, it can be a good thing. 

Why should a Writer be a part of Goodreads?

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills
 

Goodreads - a writer's friend

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The biggest reason for a writer to jump onboard Goodreads comes from their own words: “It’s the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations.” I’m convinced this social media platform is essential to a novelist’s recognition by readers and publishers.

This post is the first of three blogs that will show the writer the value of having a Goodreads’ account.

Let’s unpack what that means:

1. If I’m looking for a book to read, I can explore reviews and see what others are reading.
2. I can read books, rate them, write an honest review, and make recommendations to others.
3. If I’m a new writer, I can search my genre and read the recommendations from other readers. I can also learn why some books do well and others don’t.
4. If I’m a seasoned writer, I can read reviews for my books to discover what readers appreciate or discount. Reading other reviews from my genre also helps me address reader needs.
   

Convinced? 
 
This is your invitation: https://www.goodreads.com/

This is your party page: https://www.goodreads.com/about/us

Take a look at the stats on the right hand side in bold font: 40 Million Members, 1.3 Billion Books Added, 47 Million Reviews.  

Now that you have your hat and balloons, I’ll reveal a few more goodies before showing you how to join. On the left side is a menu of all the tabs on the site. Oh, I bet you can spend hours, even days here.

So let’s get you signed up. Navigate back to the home page (www.goodreads.com).

And don’t forget to follow Goodreads on their social media platforms. In my next blog, on Friday, April, 29, we’ll explore what Goodreads means for you as an author.




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, and International Thriller Writers. 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.

Facebook Changes for Groups & Pages

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

One thing we can count on in social media is the fact that it's always changing. This is never more true than when we're dealing with Facebook. 

Click to Tweet: Stay current on Facebook changes 

for Groups & Pages - @EdieMelson 

We can whine and complain all we want, but the truth is this. Facebook is valuable to authors as a way to connect with our readers. Because of that, we need to stay current with all the changes. 

Today, I'm posting a screencast to help you do just that. It's only 12 minutes long and in it I'll cover

Book Promotion through Pinterest

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

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Writers look for creativity in promoting their writing projects.

We ask ourselves: what can I do that thrills my romantic suspense readers?

Designing a Pinterest board with images and quotes from our books spark interest and excites others to investigate who we are and our books.

I recommend developing a secret Pinterest Board long before the book is released, so you can make the board “public” a few days before it hits the shelves.

Easy right?

Let me walk you through the process. It’s really fun.

1. Go to Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/ and click on your photo on the far right side. Then click on “my profile.” The page looks like this:
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Create a secret board.”
3. Complete the form. “Name” is your book’s title.
4. “Description” is your brief description of the pin.
5. “Category” is “Film, Music, and Books.”
6. Makes sure the “yes” is elected for secret.
7. If you have “collaborators” or you want to share the contents with a publicist, editor, or a friend, type in the person’s e-mail address.

Now, you’re ready to start pinning.

1. Your first pin is your book cover. This is the identifying image and the source of images for the entire board.
2. Other images to pin are bookmarks, postcards, banners, and some advertisements that focus on your book.
3. For novelists, select actors and actresses who would play leading roles in your book. An excellent source for finding legal images is to search other Pinterest boards. Pin from there to the secret board.
4. Memorable quotes allow the writer to create memes. Personalize these images to fit your book.
5. Where is the book set? Use your own images or find ones on free image sites to create a meme.
6. Search through your book for other means of creating images to pin on your board. Be original!
7. Post a photo(s) of you conducting research, writing, or just being you.

The following are two screen shots of a board I created for my novel Deadlock. You can also view the board here: https://www.pinterest.com/diannmills/deadlock-novel/




 Are you ready to create a Pinterest Board for your book?

Tweet this: Book Promotion through Pinterest

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.