So You’re an Author Without a Social Media Presence: Now What?

author without social media presence
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When I work with authors who have a book launch coming up, and they’ve so far kept social media out of their life, three questions immediately arise:

  1. Do I have to use social media?
  2. If so, which social media sites should I use?
  3. What should I do on social media?

There’s an unfortunate Catch-22 for every author in this situation: If your only motivation to use social media is that you feel you must to market and promote your book, your efforts are likely to be undercut by your own means-to-an-end approach. Your communication may exhibit less curiosity and interest in others, and be more focused on book sales—not to mention you’ll be entering social environments where you’re a stranger in a strange land, unaware of the local “language,” etiquette or history. For first-time authors especially, the existing social media community is rarely clamoring for you to join them and talk about your book, unless you already have an audience or readership (a developed platform) through some other means.

However, to ignore social media entirely is to ignore where the majority of your intended readership is probably showing up on a daily basis. It’s an opportunity to learn about your readership as well as better establish your platform—but not necessarily an opportunity to hard sell the book you’re about to release (assuming that release is less than six or twelve months away). It takes time to develop relationships and build trust—to belong to a community—through social media. Just as you wouldn’t ask someone for $20 right after meeting them at a party, you wouldn’t ask people on social media to make a purchase right after becoming acquainted.

So where does that leave you?

Take the long view—which is always your best bet with any social media activity. Let’s answer those three questions more directly.

Do authors have to use social media?

No. If you hate, dread, avoid, or rail against social media, don’t use it. There are other things you can do: write guest posts or articles for websites and blogs, be a guest on podcasts or vlogs, do your own audio or video content, teach online classes, organize in-person events or signings, participate on private message boards, be a guest at book clubs, and reach out directly to people in your network through a personal email (which is always underestimated and undervalued as a marketing and promotion tool).

Assuming you have the funds, you can also hire someone to create and manage social media accounts for you. It won’t be cheap over the long run, and it may not give you much return on investment, but if it seems a “must” that you have something (because your publisher or agent says so), then hire out its care and maintenance. You won’t be alone in doing so.

Which networks should authors use?

There isn’t a single answer to this question that works for every author. It depends on the work(s) you’re writing, what your strengths and interests are, and where your audience might best be engaged.

However, Facebook is by far the biggest social media network and is considered the most important for authors of general-interest works that appeal to the traditional demographic of book buyers (adult women). For an author looking to reach the most people in one place, and gain excellent marketing insights and advertising opportunities, it’s hard to do better.

To gain more insight on using Facebook:

If you’re trying to reach a younger demographic, or if your content is very visual or multimedia driven, then it’s worth considering Instagram or Pinterest. Pinterest especially is a strong choice for nonfiction work in the categories of crafting, home decor, fashion, and other stereotypically female-dominated interest areas. Serious nonfiction writers and journalists—or those writing anything with a predominant current events angle—should consider Twitter.

What should authors do on social media?

Whenever I’m asked this, my mind goes blank, maybe because it’s like asking me how you should be as a person. Or what you should do with your free time. Or what you should be curious or care about. I have no idea.

As is often repeated, it’s called social media because it’s supposed to be social. When authors ask me “What should I post?” they’re likely thinking there’s some marketing playbook or strategy guide they need to follow in order to produce results. While that can be true once you have a foundation established—once you have work out there, some kind of following, and a readership that’s interested in what books you’re releasing next—at the beginning stages of your activity, what you should post is a fairly personal consideration. Mostly, it needs to be sustainable, or something you can continue doing indefinitely. Social media rewards you showing up, consistently, with a voice, personality, or message that will become identified with you over time. If you only show up when you have a book to promote, you’re not going to be effective. If you only show up to talk about yourself, you’re not going to be effective. If you only show up because you’ve been told to, you’re going to become boring or insufferable—the No. 1 cardinal sin of social media.

Once you do have a baseline of interest, here are some posts to help you become more strategic in your use:

Parting advice

There’s a ton of bad advice out there about book marketing and promotion, and lots of it relates to social media. While there’s no harm in copying other authors’ approaches or strategies on social media, or experimenting with the advice you read or hear about, I find that every author ultimately has to come up with their own unique approach—which evolves over time as your career grows and as your experience grows. Plus, the social networks themselves are ever-changing, and everyone has to adapt their techniques over time. Probably the best mindset to have when approaching social media is flexibility and patience.

In the end, social media is just one component of your author platform, and not necessarily the most important component. It works best as part of a holistic book marketing and promotion strategy.

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Ernie Zelinski

You say, “There’s a ton of bad advice out there about book marketing and promotion, and lots of it relates to social media.”

I totally agree with you. I want to throw up whenever some so-called book marketing experts says, “Social media is absolutely essential for every author.” I also want to do the same when these book marketing experts say, “Every author should have a blog.”

Fact is, it’s possible to become an internationally best-selling author of mainly self-published books like I have by NOT using social media and by NOT having a blog. Recently, David Chilton (a self-publisher whose books have sold millions) called and left a message on my answering machine, saying “Ernie, you are one of the few self-publishers who knows what he is doing.” I have known David since the early 1990’s and have always looked at him as a self-publishing role model as I have looked at Robert J. Ringer. When I called David back, he said that he had the same sentiments as I have about social media and blogs.

The problem with a lot of self-proclaimed self-publishing experts and book marketing experts out there today is that don’t know their stuff. What makes this evident is the number of copies of their own books that they have sold. I have encountered way too many so-called book experts with book sales records that are pathetic. These are usually the ones who are saying silly, false things such as “every author needs a blog” and “social media is absolutely essential for marketing a book.” In the words of guru Rajneesh, “the less people know, the more stubbornly they know it.”

Here is a link to a webinar where you can listen to Joel Friedlander interviewing David Chilton about the writing and marketing books:

http://www.thebookdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2017-07-13-13.01-The-Chilton-Method.mp3

The bottom line is that David Chilton has sold millions of copies of his own books as well as helping the Podleski sisters sell over 850,000 copies of their LooneySpoons cookbook. This means that David knows more than 99 percent of the so-called experts out there. As Jack Canfield emphasized, “Results don’t lie.”

C.L. Wells

Thanks for posting the above link. Great stuff. It’s refreshing to hear a perspective that doesn’t go lock-step with all of the social media hype surrounding book marketing. Some people seem to forget that there were best-selling independently published books long before computers even existed.

Mary Lanza

So encouraging to me! I wrote, Losing the Boomer Blues. I have been led onto social media by so many who have told me I need to advertise and the internet is where I should do it. I have spent lots of money and sold next to nothing. My story is uplifting and a wonderful read for my generation (the boomers). They can travel back to the Summer of Love with Mary, Jane, and Lucy and find a way to lose their boomer blues too. I have faith in my book and in myself as a storyteller. I haven’t found a way to connect with my fans yet but soon I will. I still have the prequel and the sequel to write. I will be ready to hit the road and go anywhere and everywhere boomers can be found to promote myself after the other two books are published. I believe in me and in those out there who have yet to become my fans. Social media is an air space that has no face. A book is a living, breathing, creation that comes to life. It is an author relating to others within the passage of life. I like the idea of reaching out and making contact with others in person rather than talking to no one who listens even though the internet is host to millions. I’m in no hurry. I have friends who love me. Thank you for your post. Social media is too over-rated! Mary Lanza

Allie

Hi, Jane! I read all through this and loved it, just one thing, the link to When Less is More is the wrong one… I’ve looked back in the archives trying to find it, but didn’t see it.

Justin

How effective are YouTube videos? I’ve made a few using Flash, like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j90QW4W_8CU

but I get mixed signals about how useful it is for promoting a novel. Is a YouTube channel with regular videos a good thing?

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[…] And, in case you self-publish and haven’t really primed the world to receive your book, here’s Jane’s article, So You’re an Author Without a Social Media Presence: Now What? […]

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[…] So You’re an Author Without a Social Media Presence: Now What? JaneFriedman.com Jane Friedman offers up some advice for authors who don’t have a social media presence but have a book launch coming up. (And for a more in-depth take on social media, members can log in here to view Jane Friedman’s latest webinar: Social Media for Authors 101.) […]

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[…] Jane Friedman: So You’re an Author Without a Social Media Presence: Now What? […]

Icy Sedgwick

It’s funny you mention Instagram – I can always tell when an author has done a course on using Instagram for marketing because their feed is suddenly full of beautifully styled images of the books they’re reading, all complete with suitable props etc. And it looks fake. I’d much prefer to get to know an author who shares photos of the locations in their books, or what inspired the story, or just what they’re doing in their lives. I’m far more likely to read a novel if I like the author. For me, that’s the beauty of Instagram. I can get to know you in a really simple and time-efficient way. But isn’t that just social media all over? Be social, and worry about selling later.

Tom Wood

One of the criticisms of social media is that it takes away the time that people previously spent reading long-form media, like books. Which implies that using social media to promote books is pointless, since people on social media don’t read them anymore. It is also ironic that so many authors write books that advise other authors how to spend time on social media promoting their books. I’m left wondering if we haven’t tossed ourselves into an echo chamber while the rest of the world has already changed channels.

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