promo – Author Dahlia Donovan

Everyone has advice on how to manage your social media. Everyone. People sell books, hundreds (just do a check on Amazon.) And like tips on writing, tips on book selling/promoting can often be contradictory. And, I’m grumpy enough to usually avoid jumping on the bandwagon.

One: I hear quite frequently is that you should always link all your social media accounts, mainly FB, Twitter, and Instagram, for crossposting.

Here’s why I disregard that:

Linking accounts creates a nightmare if you are ever hacked.
50% of the time the hyperlinks created via crossposting wind up not functioning correctly.
Each social media platform has a distinct vibe. Things I post on FB don’t necessarily reach a Twitter audience.

Having said all of that, I will occasionally copy/paste posts between FB and Twitter, but very rarely.

Two: People often recommend an app that auto-shares a post to all your FB groups.

I’m not a fan, personally. I prefer having control over what posts where. You also run the risk of promoting in a non-promo group or promoting the wrong book. For example, promoting a non-paranormal novel in a paranormal group.

Three (or maybe Two B): Another App is an Auto-Retweeting on Twitter one.

Here’s why I think that can have disastrous consequences. You’re surrendering control of what winds up posted on your account. What happens if you wind up retweeting a post about someone’s personal grief over the death of a loved one? Or, retweeting one you actually disagree with?

Also, I’m a control freak.

I want to know what I’m sharing.

Four: Don’t be too personal. (Or transversally, always be yourself.) I’ve heard marketing/promoting experts offer both schools of thought.

I firmly believe, for better or worse, you should always be yourself.

Readers will be drawn to who you are. And if they aren’t, they probably won’t enjoy your book. Books are an extension of ourselves in many ways.

Last but not least, Five: Creating Teasers.

Granted, creating teaser images doesn’t quite fall into the same category as all the others. It’s an important one. If you’re going to use images to promote your book, be sure you have the right/permission to do so.

Seriously.

It can save you a world of hurt if you get sued.

Also, it’s disrespectful to the photographer if you’re using their work without permission.

mop On average, I probably receive about three to four messages (whether email, Facebook message or Twitter DM’s) a day from people wanting me to post something on their behalf on my FB page or blog, or from people who want me to ‘buy their things.’ It might be a fellow author with their book, or a vendor who makes swag, or a book cover artist. I’ve even gotten emails from editors and the occasional publisher.

As an autistic, there are times when I automatically disregard these messages, because they often come across as highly aggressive which makes me highly uncomfortable. I’ve said it often, but it remains true, the world is made for the neurotypical and not for the neurally diverse. So here’s a list of tips for those looking to promote themselves for how they can make their pitch more friendly to all buyers.

Don’t use all caps. It will always come across like your angry, which will turn a way a lot of people, not just the neurally diverse. (And for that matter don’t use weird things like alternating caps – BeCaUsE it is highly distracting and annoying.)
Avoid repeated messages. I don’t need three messages from you within a week.
Avoid auto-play music on your website. It can be incredibly jarring and put people off.
Telling me how I’m doing something wrong is not going to endear me to you at all.
Posting your request to my FB page instead of private messaging me will almost guarantee a ‘no.’
Keep your message clear and concise, or I’ll get lost.
Don’t sent me a direct tweet on twitter about how I need your services. That’s called spam, and it’s rude, stop it.
Think about how you would want to be approached when you’re writing your sales pitch.

Also, maybe do some research into who your target audience is?

Strike that, definitely do research into who your target audience is.