Hello, all! I hope this post finds you well and enjoying summer. Read anything good lately? I am in editing and marketing mode myself. Even working through my vacation. But I have a writing/relaxing weekend coming up later in July and I canNOT wait!
So, like many of you, I don’t have all the time in the world to market my books. Nor do I have tons of drive/patience for it either. As some of you may already know, according to the Myers-Briggs personality assessment, Author and Promoter personality types are on the opposite spectrum from each other. No more wondering why we find marketing so difficult and “out of our comfort zones”, eh?
Well, how are we going to make the most of our time and efforts? By choosing. We can’t do it all. Especially if writing is not your full time job. Especially if you also have children who are small and need a lot of attention. Especially if…[insert what calls for you time here].
One of the ways I make the most of my time is Facebook. It is a great tool. Not necessarily the most important tool (newsletters and your e-mail list may ultimately be the most important, but that’s for another blog post), but a great tool nonetheless.
What are Facebook Groups?
We are all familiar, I hope, with the concept that we can (and should) post on our Facebook page and Facebook Author/Writer page about what’s happening in our writing lives, in our “normal” life, etc. And maybe some of you are even aware of Facebook Groups for buying and selling things like clothing (LuLaRoe, here I come!).
There are Facebook Groups for books. Specified by genre and subgenre and whatnot. The idea is that readers of Historical Romance, for example, join the page to discuss books in that genre and find new reads. Authors of that genre will also join the page and put forth their books, alerting that market of their existence. So, authors and readers of like genres can connect.
Sign me up! How do I get set up?
There is a search box on your Facebook page. Type in your genre “Historical Fiction”, “Christian Books”, “Suspense”, etc. Then join GROUPS that pop up that look interesting to you. Make sure to read their specifications. What they allow authors to post and even if they allow you to promote on that page (some do not).
Once you have a list of groups going, you need to keep track of when you can post where. I only belong to groups that allow posting on any day at any time. I don’t want to have to keep that much information in my head or in my binder. I need it to be easy, not more difficult. I keep a list of the groups in a table with columns where I can mark the date I post in that group. Most groups only allow you to post once a day.
How often should I post then?
I generally post once a week in all the groups. And I’ll pick a book to post for each week. I could post a different book each day, but, again, I want this to work for me. I also don’t want the members in these groups to get tired of seeing my name. That might have the opposite effect of what I’m wanting…over-saturation…wearing them out.
What do I post?
I make memes to post in the groups. Visually, they are more appealing and they generally get more interaction. Just posting your title, buy link, and cover gets old real quick. Here is an example of what I would post:
Amanda needed the stability of marriage and the long-term
support for her son. But she didn’t expect to care so much
about the ranch. Or the rancher. Read more about “A
Convenient Risk” at: https://www.saraturnquist.com/convenient-risk
If you need more information about making memes, check out my blog post here.
So, you’ll need memes containing either a review quote or 65-word-or-less pull quote from the book. Then a tweet-length intriguing statement to post above the meme with a link to your website page or where the reader can buy the book.
And that, my friends, is pretty much all there is to Facebook groups. I cannot stress enough that you follow their guidelines. And keep it respectable.
Happy Marketing!