Website/Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Newsletters, LinkedIn and Good reads. When used effectively these items help authors establish their brand and platform and drive readers and potential readers to your books. Since a lot of writers are using these social media, it’s time to get creative and a personal touch to make your platform & brand stand out and gain new readership.
Gain new readers with a personal creative touch. Start by donating a book “gift-basket” to the following places: rest homes, hospitals, and senior citizen centers. Each of these facilities has patients/residents/staff who probably love to read. While you are personally promoting your books, you’re also brightening someone’s day.
How about donating a couple of your paperbacks to your local library for checkout as well as donating personalized bookmarks? Most libraries have free bookmarks on their counters for patrons to take at their leisure.
If you’re already published or (even if you’re not) chances are you have some expertise in the area of writing. Schedule a free (or low priced) writing workshop about some aspect of writing. It can be an all-day event or for just two hours. Not only will you gain aspiring or established writers for networking purposes you also will meet potential readers. Door prizes could include a free book, author swag, or a coupon for 15% off one of your ebook. Get the email addresses of each participant and add them to your email list. Your local library is a great place to hold this event. To make it bigger and better invite other writers you know to host a session and donate door prizes too.
The key to gaining readership and extending your platform is to give readers something they want. What genre are you writing? Based on the genre of your writing develop free, interesting tidbits of information your readership/potential readership would be interested in knowing. Here are some guidelines:
Paranormal genre: Articles/Info about haunted houses, astrological info, history of vampires/werewolves/witches in the US. If you’re writing about a witch living in a haunted house, who falls in love with the ghost- Write an article about haunted houses in your region or “design” a tour of haunted houses they should visit. Is your heroine an Aries that falls in love with a Scorpio? Write an article on your blog about the compatibility of a Fire/Water sign relationships.
Erotic: This genre lends itself to a multitude of possibilities. A series of articles on your blog could include:
“Spicing up your sex life”
“Sex toys for Dummies”
“BSDM 101”…just to name a few.
Historical: Tweet historical facts about the setting of your novel. Write an article on your blog about the life of women during that time period. Post pictures of actual homes, castles, etc. of the time period your novel takes place.
Things to also consider doing:
Offer online classes
Book signings
Lecture about historical aspect or interesting aspect featured in your novel.
Recipes featured in your book
Consider posting deleted scenes of your book on your website to keep reader interest until your next novel comes out. This will work especially well for a series.
I hope my tips have given your valuable tips or even sparked ideas for extending your reach.
Until the next time
Juliette
Follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/JulietteSprings
www.juliettesprings.com
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Bowing to tribal pressure, Sean Yonah was forced to hurt his best friend and lover, the one woman he couldn’t get enough of. Now the Spirits say she may be his “other.” Sean knows what he did was deplorable, but if he doesn’t convince Vanessa to forgive him, he’ll lose a lot more than the love of his life.
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Website/Blog: www.juliettesprings.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/JulietteSprings
What a fabulous post, Juliette! Thanks for sharing with us today. I'm off the tweet the word!
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me :)
ReplyDeleteThis has definitely given me something to think about, Juliette. I love the gift baskets to senior living places. I remember as a young girl going to read to the elderly and how much they enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
I'm glad my post sparked an idea for you. I often feel this population is often overlooked. Many seniors (and employees of senior living places) are avid romance readers, who would love to receive materials from us.
DeleteGreat advice, Juliette! Coming up with new blogging ideas can be a struggle even for the more experienced bloggers. Your post really gets the creative juices flowing.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Coming uo with fresh, interesting content is indeed a major challenge. I'm glad I helped your creativity :)
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