Tag: social media plan

Social Media Platform

Why do I need a platform?

I’m a writer. I want to sell my work (even if it’s just one book right now). Even if I get traditionally published, I’m going to need to promote my books, because traditional publishers can provide good book placements but limited advertising. Social networking over social media might even have an advantage over traditional marketing.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Toward this end, I am building social platforms. I started with facebook and Instagram, which I was already using for personal use. And, of course, this blog, which used to reside on Blogger but moved in. (And if you’re interested, all the back material has been transported here.) Very recently, I have had Tik Tok recommended to me, and I have a tiny bit of a presence there. Twitter — there is a #writingcommunity on Twitter, and they are loyal to each other. I have almost 5000 followers there. And I follow a romance writing group on Discord, which is where my freshest information comes from..

Facebook, with its groups, has been the most useful of the social networking sites, largely because of writing groups like Romance Writers Support Group, followed by Discord. As far as selling books go, not so good because having social media doesn’t sell books.

Having social media means making social connections. Making social connections sells books.

My next steps

I’m currently working on my next steps, which concern writing and sending a newsletter. This requires having a page where they can sign up for the newsletter and get a free “reader magnet” (a story; it’s the enticement) and a website that will take care of automated sending of the newsletter. This requires two websites I’m learning: MailerLite (the app that automates the newsletter sending) and Bookfunnel (which entices people to getting your newsletter by offering the reader magnet.

So I’ve had a huge amount to learn in a couple days. Today I will be working with promotions for my newsletter. Wow. Two days ago I didn’t intend to have a newsletter. Five days ago, I didn’t have TikTok.

Speaking of newsletters

You’re probably not a romance or fantasy reader, but if you are or just want to connect, join my newsletter list HERE.

Making a plan

I’ve been playing with a social media plan to get more readers. Apparently, writers need to do more than write to be successful, unless they get picked up for a $3.4 million book deal with TOR like John Scalzi and get major name recognition.


General goals from my plan:

  • To reach more readers
  • To have a vibrant community to talk with
  • To share my works with peopleĀ 
So far, my presence on social media is as follows:
  • I have 20 regular readers here on Blogger
  • I have not gotten a comment on Blogger (other than fraudulent sales pitches) for over a year
  • I have less than 20 followers on Twitter
  • I get 2-3 likes a day on Twitter
  • I have 79 followers on Facebook
Time to set outcomes:

  • To get 30 regular readers on Blogger
  • To get 3 comments a week
  • To get 30 followers on Twitter
  • To get 10 likes a day on Twitter
  • I have 100 followers on Facebook
Why are these so small? Because SMART goals are:
  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Action Oriented
  • Realistic
  • Time Bound
But note these aren’t really the goals above, but results. The part I’m currently struggling with is HOW to increase readership and interaction.

This is a work in progress.