The Web-Savvy Writer

I just finished recording a two-part podcast series with the OnPodcasts Network, in which fellow author Deirdre Breakenridge (PR 2.0, The New PR Toolkit) interviews me about the latest trends in social networking.

Although this series doesn’t focus specifically on social networking for authors, it does contain a lot of useful tips for anyone who wants to make the most of their social networking experience. And if you’re an author, that should include you!

Here are the links:

Episode 1: Creating a Strategic Marketing Plan for Your Social Networking Campaign

• how social networking can fit into your overall marketing mix
• the role of audience in social networking success
• a crucial success step that many people overlook
• the three most important components of a social networking campaign

Episode 2: Profiting from Future Trends in Social Networking

• where social networking is headed
• why niche social networking is so crucial
• mobile social networking trends
• how to ensure a big payoff with social network advertising
• how to stand out from the crowd and generate results

Tags: book promotion, book marketing, book publicity, social networking, author promotion

My 25th book, The Truth About Profiting from Social Networking, is now available!

Endorsed by numerous industry leaders, The Truth About Profiting from Social Networking offers both practical advice and real world scenarios to help you make the most of sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and MySpace for business purposes.

Purchase on Amazon
Purchase on Barnes & Noble

Tags: social networking, online networking, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn

If you participate on a social networking site, don’t forget to promote your book to your network. Just looking at the industry statistics should tell you why social networking book promotion is a smart idea:

• In November 2007, MySpace had 105 million unique visitors worldwide; Facebook had 93 million.
• In December 2007, YouTube had 77.6 million viewers who watched 3.2 billion videos.
• Worldwide online social network ad spending is predicted to increase from $1.2 billion in 2007 to $2.2 billion in 2008.
• Mobile social networking is predicted to rise from 50 million to 174 million users by 2011.
• The top search term for all of 2006 was MySpace.
• Social networking isn’t just for teens. The largest audience segment is between 35 and 54, comprising 40 percent of total users.

Looking for a way to get started? Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, XING, and MySpace. Also look for niche sites that fit your target reader profile. There are social networking sites for dog lovers, moms, skiers, surfers, mystery lovers, romance readers, and dozens more. To find them, just Google “social networking.”

Remember to follow the required etiquette of each site in terms of promotion. In general, you’ll get better results as an active participant than you will as a mere promoter.

Tags: social networking, author social networking, book promotion, book publicity

Here are my 15 favorite ways to develop your author platform. Please use comments to add your own. And don’t forget to read my original post on author platforms below!

1. Get credentials related to your specialty
2. Join and participate in professional associations
3. Create a website that demonstrates your expertise
4. Publish a blog
5. Publish a podcast
6. Write and publish articles (online or in print publications)
7. Publish an ezine
8. Volunteer or do perform pro bono work
9. Serve on committees and panels
10. Teach — online and off
11. Get quoted in magazines and newspapers
12. Participate in social networks
13. Give speeches
14. Get on radio and TV
15. Create a PR campaign — both online and off

Here’s yet another social networking site related to books: The Yack. I haven’t tried this one yet, but it appears to have potential.

Several readers have asked me how to pick the right online networking opportunities for their book. With all the options, it’s growing impossible for authors to participate everywhere. That’s a tough question to answer, because what works well for one author or genre might not work at all for another. What I do is try everything that seems promising and then start watching my site statistics. When I see traffic coming from my participation on a particular site, then I know it’s working and worth my time to continue the investment. If I see little traffic, then I’ll slow down my participation.

Tags: The Yack, social networking, book publicity, book promotion, book marketing, self-publishing

An author/publisher friend of mine recently alerted me to another new opportunity for promoting books online. It’s called Shelfari and is a free, interactive social media site for book lovers. I just joined today so am still exploring this site, but can already see many ways that you could use it to promote your books as well as interact with readers and other authors. If you do join, feel free to search on my name and add me as friend.

Tags: book promotion, book marketing, book publishing, self-publishing, social media, Shelfari

Here’s yet another social networking opportunity for authors, the Book Marketing Network on Ning, created by book marketing guru John Kremer. It offers a good opportunity to network with other authors, learn more about book marketing, and promote your own books. And best of all it’s free.

You can also start your own social network on Ning on a topic related to your own book.

Tags: book marketing network, social networking, Ning, John Kremer

A reader recently asked me about the little icons under the Share and Enjoy heading on each blog post. They come from a WordPress plug-in called Sociable, which makes it easy for you to link any of your favorite postings on The-Web Savvy Writer blog to your favorite social bookmarking site, such as del.icio.us or Digg.

I recommend that you use a similar tool to make it easy for readers to do the same on your blog. Social bookmarking has a viral affect and a popular post that many people bookmark can draw more traffic to your site. My blog analytics already indicate a number of new site visitors who found out about my blog through a social bookmarking site.

Tags: online book promotion, book publicity, social bookmarking, blog marketing

I just came across this article and enjoyed it: Online Networking for Author-Entrepreneurs.

I definitely recommend developing at least two online networks of your own. One should focus on the author/publisher community and the other on the topic of your books. If you write about more than one topic or write both fiction and nonfiction, you could have more than one network. 

In addition to generating book sales, these online networks can be a source of valuable advice and information that’s simply not available in your own limited geographic location.  

Tags: online networking for authors, social networking