Why Only Focusing On Your "Target" Audience May Hurt You

In the world of book marketing--or any kind of marketing for that matter--you often are told to figure out who your target audience is. This group of people is the way to the promised land of success. You need to figure out WHO will buy your books and then target your platform to that niche.

So, using that logic, I should target 25-50 something year old women who are already romance readers. Most of them are probably in relationships. Many will have children. I write sexy so I can cut out the super ultra conservative sector. And on and on it goes.

There is, of course, a lot of logic in this approach. Knowing who your "ideal reader" is can be helpful.

But, what about everyone else?

The reason that Twilight became so successful is because it didn't just get the teenage readers who like vampires and romance. It busted through the genre and got people who not only weren't typical young adult readers to read it. It got NON-readers to pick it up. It jumped the nice lines of its target market and that's why it became so big.

Now, the number of books that do that is small. Phenomenons are called such for a reason. But that doesn't mean we can't use that logic on a smaller scale.

I haven't stuck to reaching out to just that "ideal reader" profile above. By complete happenstance, I ended up reaching out to writers first then expanded a bit with my author blog. I've become friends with people who write and read every kind of genre you can think of. 

I mean, think about it. I host authors like Jody Hedlund on my blog. She writes inspirational/Christian historical romance where a kiss can be considered risque. I write seriously steamy erotic romance with BDSM elements. I am not her ideal reader and she's not mine. But you know what? I buy her books and give them as gifts because I like her and know I'm giving a quality gift to people who ARE her ideal readers.

And I can't tell you how many times I've had someone say to me:

I don't read romance, but...I'm going to buy your book because it sounds really interesting or I read your excerpt and liked it or I enjoy your voice on your blog so am going to try your book.

Those comments give me the squees because there is no higher compliment to me than for someone to say--I'm willing to take a chance on you even though this isn't normally my thing. I love that.

And I find myself doing that with other authors as well. I'd never read historical romance until I picked up Ashley March's debut. I bought it because I wanted to support her as a friend, but then loved the book and have since bought more historicals.

So what would have happened if Jody had only reached out to her "target audience"? I would've never found her or bought her books.

There is benefit in not tightening your network too much. A niche can be good but don't make it too exclusive. I have guys who have told me they are going to buy my book. Everyone in marketing would tell you that's definitely not my target audience, but hey--why the heck not? I read "boy" books. Guys can enjoy "girl" books on occasion too.

So blog and make friends across the spectrum. Don't limit yourself. If you do, you're not just going to miss out on some potential new readers, you're going to miss out on some really cool people and friends.

So what do you think? Do you try to cater to a "target audience"? Have you bought a book way outside your normal preferences because you got to know the author?

Fill-Me-In Friday

 

Hope everyone has had a fantastic week. Welcome to Fill-Me-In Friday where I share some of the best links I've come across this week (and also shamelessly update you on what you may have missed here.) :)
But first a quick announcement: If any of you live in the DFW area, I am doing my first public reading along with a few other authors at the Authors' Roundtable at Bedford Public Library at 7pm on Saturday. (Here are the details if you're interested.) Come see me blush profusely as I try to skip past the parts that I refuse to read aloud in public. :)
Alright, now on to the links...
On Writing and Marketing:
Blogging Tips: Make Your Text POP by Angela Ackerman at The Bookshelf Muse
Your Only Real Competition Is Yourself by Cynthia Leitich Smith on Adventures in Children's Publishing
Meet the Maven: We're Here Whether You Want Us or Not (types of social networkers you should know)  by Kristen Lamb
10 Tips For Planning a Blog Tour by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Flick Chicks by The New Yorker (found via @Jamie_Wesley 's tweet)
Expect To Work Hard by Jody Hedlund
7 Ways Successful Creatives Think Differently than Unsuccessful Ones by Michael Hyatt (link found via Jody's post above)
Writers Must Kill Self-Doubt Before Self-Doubt Kills Them by Chuck Wendig (and Jenny Hansen's post bouncing off that Do Writers Need Validation?)
Have You Read a Self-Published Book? by Nathan Bransford (make sure and read the comments, interesting thoughts from people.)
For Fun:
Swagger Wagon (found via KB Owens' Blog)
What You Missed on the Author Blog:
What You May Have Missed Here:


 


Favorite Tumblr Posts of the Week:
(click here for bigger pic)
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(for bigger pic click here)
(for bigger pic, click here)
Alright, that's what I have for you this week, what were some of your favorite links of the week? Hope everyone has a great weekend!


 

 

"Hot and romantic, with an edge of suspense that will keep you entertained.” --Shayla Black, New York Times Bestselling author of SURRENDER TO ME

 

 

 

CRASH INTO YOU is now available for pre-order!

Read an excerpt here.


All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2011 |Copyright Statement|

 

Five Ways To Guard Your Brand

So last week I got a lovely invitation from a friend of a friend to join Triberr (called the reach multiplier). Basically what happens with this service is you get invited to join a tribe of other bloggers (it's by invite only right now). If you accept, then what you agree to is that anytime one of your tribesmates blogs, a link to their blog is automatically tweeted by all member of the tribe. In return, you get the same treatment, you blog and your link autotweets from every one in your tribe's twitter accounts. The idea behind it is that you get exposed to lots more people and your reach is thereby amplified.

Sounds cool, right? And it is. But as I dug into exactly what it all meant, my control freak side took over. Did I really want to auto-tweet twenty-something different peoples blog links without really knowing them? What if they didn't blog content that I liked or that was relevant to those who follow me on Twitter?

I put out the question on Twitter to see if anyone had experience with Triberr and guess who tweets me back? One of the founders of Triberr (oh, the power of following keywords on Twitter). But guess what he told me? That I shouldn't use Triberr. He also sent a link to this post: Why You Shouldn't Be on Triberr

It seemed a little odd that the owner would try to talk me out of joining, but I realized why. One of his reasons the service may not be for you is: Your Twitter Stream Is Your Brand

Well, bingo. That's exactly why I was hesitant.

Everything I put out on the internet (whether I intend it or not) is part of my "brand."

The things I retweet on Twitter aren't haphazard.

I'm tweeting it because I: a) read it b) enjoyed it or found it informative and c) think my followers would appreciate it.

I do that because I want the people who follow me to trust that I am going to give them good content. (Well, in between my ramblings.) They (hopefully) know if I tweet or retweet a link that it has a high chance of being something worth clicking on.

Your brand is the promise you make to those that follow you

--whether that be on your blog, facebook, twitter, and your books for that matter. For instance, I know if Elizabeth Craig retweets something, it's often going to be something I find useful because she's proven to me that her content is consistently great. If she started tweeting random posts that weren't worth my time, she'd lose some of my "trust." I know if erotica author Tiffany Reisz tweets a link, there's a sixty percent chance it will involve nudity, lol. So of course I always click on hers. ;)

So don't be afraid to be protective of your brand. Sometimes it can feel like you're being snobby or something, but it's vital to keep your arms around it. For instance, I get many requests from people to read their book and feature it or them on the blog. For the record, I don't do reviews anymore anyway. But I've had to learn to say no a lot, which goes against my nature. I want to help people out. But if I don't know you or your writing (and don't have time to read it), I'm not going to feature you on my blog and let it look like an endorsement.

See it sounds stuck-up, doesn't it? But it's the promise I've made to you. If a book or author is featured here, it means that I either have read the book and loved it. Or I know the author and am familiar with the quality of their writing and their guest posts, etc. That's why I handpicked the Monday genre guests. I knew those ladies rocked at blogging, so I felt comfortable (and honored) to have them be a part of my blog.

So here are some suggestions...

Five Ways to Protect Your Brand

1. Don't accept every offer people give you to guest blog on your site.

Make sure you like their blog and know that they can provide something your readers will enjoy.

2. Don't accept every "free book" offered to you in exchange for featuring that author on your blog.

With the onslaught of self-publishing, there are a lot of people looking for places to be guests. They will offer you a free book in exchange for the promotion. That's cool. But what happens if you don't like the book or don't have time to read it? Vet it before you promote it to your readers.

3. Don't give 5-star reviews to all your friends on Goodreads and Amazon simply because they are your friend. 

If you really love the book, then great. But just agreeing to give a perfect review just because you're BFFs will teach people not to trust your reviews. (If you do reviews.)

4. Don't auto-tweet things you haven't looked at first and don't only tweet your friends posts just to be nice.

I don't expect my friends to retweet me just because we're buddies. I only want to be retweeted if the post is worth it.

5. Be very careful with group blogs.

There are many awesome group blogs out there. But be careful when deciding to join or start one. You need to know absolutely that the people you are blogging with are going to be a fit with what you want associated with you. This is why my group Tumblr blog lasted about, oh, five seconds before I went on my own. (Kristen Lamb would also argue that group blogs aren't effective because no one remembers the individual bloggers' names.)

So what do you think? Do you feel there is an inherent "brand" trust between people and their followers? How do you feel about services like Triberr? Has any blogger/tweeter ever lost your "follower trust"? Have you found yourself saying yes to feature people or books that may not fit on your blog?

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Fill-Me-In Friday

 

Yay, it's Friday! And that means it's time for my favorite links of the week....
On Writing and Promotion:
5 Reasons I'll Read Your Blog by Wendy Thomas Russell
Goodreads Launches a Book Recommendation Service (a la Netflix Recs) by Techland
So What's an Author to Do? by Wendy Lawton (The follow-up post to the post that sparked my Is Blogging Dead? post this week.)
Writing Your Fears at Writer Unboxed

What You Missed on the Author Blog:
What You May Have Missed Here:
by Suzanne Johnson
(lots of great comments on this one)


My Faves from the Tumblr this week:

 

 

This made me LOL--bigger pic here
Bigger pic here


So those are some of my favorite links of the week, what were some of yours? Fill me in via the comments. Hope everyone has a fab weekend!


*All links open in the same window. If you don't want to leave this list, right click and choose "open in a new window". I'm trying to figure out how to get the links to open up in a new window in Blogger without having to individually alter the html of each link. If anyone knows of a way to do it globally for all posts, please let me know. Thanks!

 

 

"Hot and romantic, with an edge of suspense that will keep you entertained.” --Shayla Black, New York Times Bestselling author of SURRENDER TO ME

 

 

CRASH INTO YOU is now available for pre-order!

Read an excerpt here.


All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2011 |Copyright Statement|

 

Fill-Me-In Friday

 


This week was a short online week for me because of the holiday and the fact that I had company in town over the weekend. So my favorite links list is a bit short this week and I'm sure I missed some good ones out there. So hopefully you can fill me in with your favorites too.

 

But first I do want to let you know that I have been interviewed and am answering such saucy questions as What is you favorite non-digital writing tool?--a dangerous question to ask an erotic romance author! To see the answer and lots more Q & A about writing and social networking, stop by Amy Beth Inverness's site.

Alright, now for the links...

On Writing:

Who Wrote It? Author Franchises by Julie Glover

Social Media and Your Author Brand over at Writers in the Storm <--great list of hashtags for writers included

Why Are So Many Literary Writers Shifting Into Genre? at The Millions

How To Build a Loyal Twitter Following by James Killick

Agent Jenny Bent on Why Social Media Savvy Is So Important

25 Things You Should Know About Synopses, Queries, and Treatments by Chuck Wendig (R-rated language included)

Have You Given Yourself Permission? by Jami Gold

For Fun:

Spark Facts (in which Nicholas Sparks is roasted) over at Evil Wylie which includes such tidbits as: "Nicholas Sparks once delivered a woman's baby during a reading, then signed the baby."

What You Missed on my Author Blog:

 


What You May Have Missed Here:

 
(my guest post at Janice Hardy's blog)

 

 



And for those of you who are interested in following my Tumblr, here is my fave pic of the week from over there. *Remember this is an 18+ site and is sometimes NSFW unless you work from home like me ;) 

So there's my update, what are some of your favorite links this week? 


 

 

 

“...a sexy, sizzling tale that is sure to have readers begging for more!" –Jo Davis, author of I SPY A DARK OBSESSION

 

 

CRASH INTO YOU is now available for pre-order!

Read an excerpt here.

 

All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2011 |Copyright Statement|

Building a Following: The Four Types of Bloggers

Today I feel a bit like Casey Kasem--I'm blogging by request. : ) Shain Brown asked if I would mind blogging about how I found my niche as a blogger, which is a great topic idea. So Shain, (*said in my best Casey Kasem voice) here is your request and dedication...

There is a lot of information out there about building your social media presence and your author brand. You can hear from experts from every walk of life. And oftentimes, you hear conflicting points of view, which can leave you frustrated and unsure of what direction to go in.

I most often refer you guys to Kristen Lamb because I think she really focuses on what works best for writers. However, as I've noted before, I've broken many of her suggestions. My biggest one being that I created a blog for writers vs. something more broad that could attract both writers and readers.

I totally see her point about why blogging about writing exclusively kind of paints you into a corner. It's put me in the position to where I now have two blogs because I don't want to do a bait and switch with you guys and move away from the reason you signed up to follow this blog in the first place.

But here's the deal: This blog wouldn't have the following that it does if I hadn't made this a niche blog.

If you are trying to build a presence online, you are going to get a lot more traction by keeping a specific focus then you will being all over the place. People like to know what they're getting when they come to a blog. Consistency = following and Consistency + Great author voice = Magic

So hopefully you guys enjoy my voice and style and that's part of the reason you read my posts, but ultimately you probably come here to get writing and publishing info. If that weren't the case, then all of you would've hopped over to follow my author blog as well. But you haven't because you may not be interested in things like Boyfriend of the Week or Sappy Sunday. : ) And that's fine. 

But before you get all freaked out if you don't have a niche or clear focus, also give some thought to what you want from your blog and what you want your blog to be.

Four Types of Bloggers

 

1. Community Blogger

Purpose: If you are blogging mainly to connect with other writers who are on the same journey as you so that you can all provide mutual support and cheerleading for each other, then you may be a community blogger. You are blogging as part of a specific community. You each comment on each other's blogs.

Action Plan: You don't need to have such a tight focus or niche. You're hanging out with friends and any topic is fair game.

Benefits: You can build a very loyal, very supportive group that you feel totally connected with.

Drawbacks: You may have trouble building a massive following. Posts about your word count or how far you are in your goals probably are not going to get lots of retweets or traction.

2. Information/Niche Blogger

Purpose: You are providing information or service for your reader. Maybe that's writing tips like this blog or maybe it's giving book reviews or keeping people up to date on the latest movie releases.

Action Plan: This is where a niche is helpful. What types of information, advice, or tips are you going to give? Make sure you blog in a way that gives people a takeaway when they read your post. You give them some nugget they can deposit in their mental bank after they close your post.

Benefits: If you are giving good information, you can build a significant following because people know they are going to get something worthwhile most of the time when they visit you.

Drawbacks: It can restrict you in your topics and you may only be appealing to a specific group. If you go too far afield from your main niche, you will lose follower engagement.

3. Entertainment Blogger

Purpose: Most often, this blogger's purpose is to make you laugh--that's your takeaway.

Action Plan: You can have a niche (like Chuck Wendig) or you can be more broad in your topics while keeping humor the theme (like Tawna Fenske).

Benefits: People love to laugh, so you can get a lot of followers and interest in your posts. You're not limited to a tight niche on topic because humor and your voice are the binding element.

Drawbacks: Being funny all the time can be hard. And if you don't have a natural talent for it, it can come across as forced.

 

4. Established Author Blogger

Purpose: These bloggers already have their books out there and followers typically come to them BECAUSE of their books.

Action Plan: This is when niche can go out the window. YOU are now the niche. You can write about the tomatoes in your garden and fans will be interested in seeing a peek into your life. However, the authors who stand out in this group are the ones who aren't just writing about their tomatoes. They are the ones who can attract non-fans to their sites based on their blog and THEN get them to buy their book. Think John Green, Seth Godin, etc. This last group is what we all should strive to be once we're published.

Benefit: When done right, you can engage with your current fans and make new ones who may have never thought of buying your book.

Drawback: Easy to get complacent and just phone in your blog.

So there is no wrong or right type of blog to go with. You just have to know what your goal is and what you want your followers to get from your blog. And obviously, if you do any of these types and have a boring voice or don't engage in conversation with your readers, then you won't get traction regardless. Connecting with others is the first goal no matter how you go about doing it.

I could write a ton more about this, but I'm going to stop before I ramble on too long. : )

So what type of blogger are you? Which type do you hope to be? Which kind do you prefer to read? And do you think having a niche is important?

Fill-Me-In Friday

 

Yay, it's Friday! And a holiday weekend, so double bonus. I have a busy weekend ahead. My parents are coming into town and we're all going to the LSU v. Oregon game in Cowboys stadium. Woo-hoo! Geaux tigers! And after the week I've had I need a weekend chock full of awesome. How has your week been? What are you doing this weekend? Let me know in the comments.
And now for the weekly round-up of my fave links of the week...
On Writing:
Is Fiction Good For You? by Keith Oatley at the Huffington Post
Amazon's New @Author Feature Launches via Nieman Journalism Lab - More proof that branding is becoming more and more about the author.
On the Author Blog:




What You May Have Missed Here:

 

 

(plus a really awful Dirty Dancing outtake included)


So what were some of your favorite links of the week? Your turn to fill me in. :) Have a great holiday weekend!

 

 

"Revved up and red-hot sexy, CRASH INTO YOU, delivers a riveting romance!" --Lorelei James, NY Times Bestselling author of the ROUGH RIDERS series

 

CRASH INTO YOU is now available for pre-order!

Read an excerpt here.


All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2011 |Copyright Statement|

 

Writer Under Construction - 10 Things I'd Do Differently

I feel like over the last few months (and even now) I should have yellow and black construction tape wrapped around my head. Just like anything else in life this whole being a writer thing is a learning process. You do the best you can as you go along and do better when you know better.

And the hard part is that no one is really sure what the right way is anyhow. There's a lot of advice out there (including the stuff on this here blog). But for every post you find, you can find one contradicting it. It's both beautiful and terrifying that there is no definitive way to do things.

And this is most evident when looking at advice for building your platform and blogging.

Some things you'll hear out there...

Don't just write about writing because you're only reaching other writers. 

Write about writing because readers aren't visiting author blogs anyway, so you should hook into the network of writers.

Don't get a website until you have a book to sell.

Have a website when you start querying because agents will look you up.

Don't do group blogs because no one will know your name.

Do group blogs because it will free up more time for writing.

Social networking is the only way to be a successful authors these days.

Social networking doesn't matter, the only thing that counts is writing a good book.

You must have your blog on _______ (fill in the blank) --wordpress, blogger, your own domain, tumblr

And the people behind each of these views have totally valid points to back up their case. So I can't tell you who is right or wrong. But I will tell you what I've learned in my two years of blogging and along the journey of going from very pre-published to preparing for my debut.

How I'd Do Things Differently If I Did It All Over Again

1. Build your blog where you want to keep it.

This is the one that has caused be much grief these last few months. I built this blog on blogger. And I like blogger. I find it an easy, no-fuss blogging platform. I also like the community on blogger and love the people I've met over here. However, blogger isn't really set up to integrate with a real website once you have one. And moving your followers (and archives and permalinks) to a new place (unless you move to Wordpress) is pretty much impossible from what I can tell.
This doesn't feel like a big deal when you're just starting out and are happy to have fifty followers. But blogs can grow fast. I've pretty much locked myself into blogger now unless I want to start all over again. So that's why I've had to move to maintaining two blogs.

2. Don't limit yourself to one kind of topic like writing.

This is one Kristen Lamb has talked about recently. And I tend to agree. I made this a writing blog. I'm happy I did and I don't think I would have built the following I have if I had started up a blog without a unified focus. However, this approach does box you in a bit. When I wanted to start stretching so that my posts appealed not just to writers but to non-writing readers, I was left in a bit of a quandary. Some of you would be totally fine with me putting both romance-y posts (like my Boyfriends of the Week) mixed in with the writing stuff. And honestly, if I could've figured out a way to merge and move my blogs, I probably would've done that. But I also know many of you aren't really coming here for that type of posts and are only here for the writing stuff. It would've been a bit of a bait and switch. So that's why if I had to do it over again, I'd still blog about writing, but I'd mix in the other stuff as well from the very beginning so that everyone knew what to expect.

3. Only do the social networks you enjoy.

There is so much out there to connect with. I feel like sometimes it's like being in a bed strapped to all those machines and tubes in a hospital. Except all the wires are attached to our brain. It can become too much. So pick which social networks you like the best and focus on those. I like blogging, twitter, and tumblr. So that's where I put my effort. Yes, I'm also on facebook and google+ and goodreads, but anything I post at any of those is really just a feed from my other sites. If I totally dialed into all of them, I'd never get anything else done.

4. Think hard about the kind of books you want to write and what that author brand would look like.

This isn't always possible. I started out writing YA and ended up getting pubbed in erotic romance. o.0 Yeah, I know. Big leap. But this also meant my brand kind of shifted midway through. I'm always me, but I'm talking more about topics I covered and the "look" of my websites. I'm getting pubbed in dark, erotic romance and I had this bright, colorful Fiction Groupie blog. It didn't really jive. So that's why I eventually changed it to match the feel of my website. So if you know you're going to be writing dark horror, don't build your site with sparkles and puppies. You're not going to attract the people that are actually going to want to read your book.

5. Do hook into the community of writers.

I actually got this one right. Writing can be a very solitary act. I don't know if I'd have survived it through writing my books if I hadn't found lovely writer friends and crit partners. This is by far the best thing about blogging and social networking.

6. None of it matters if you're not writing and working on your craft.

Duh. I know. But it's SO easy to get so caught up in the social networking that you start sucking up your writing time. I have fallen into this trap because I love blogging and twitter. But writing has to come first. This is why I've been shifting around my blog schedule so often lately as I try to find the right balance.

7. Put your name on things and reserve your web domain early.

When I started I was just Fiction Groupie. I didn't want to put my name out there and *gasp* have people actually know that I was attempting to write something. What if I failed? But this was a mistake. You are your brand. Kristen Lamb says it best when she says, you can't go into the store and look for a book from Fiction Groupie. People need to know your name. Otherwise, what brand are you building? (And you'll notice I put the Fiction Groupie title back at the top this week. But I have my name on top. Now that I've decided to keep this a writing blog, I figured it needed it's name back to decipher it from my author blog.) 
As for web domain, go into this with the expectation that you will one day be published. You don't want to miss out on having yourname.com because you didn't spend the twenty bucks a year it costs to reserve it. So get thee to a service like Go Daddy and spend a few bucks to hold on to that name. 

8. If you plan to use a pen name pick one and use it early.

Made this mistake too. I used my real name for the first year that I blogged. Then when I decided to write erotic romance and wanted a pen name, I had to change EVERYTHING. Domains, email addresses, facebook, twitter, yadda yadda yadda. It was a major pain. Luckily, I kept my first name so everyone knew me as Roni and that didn't change. But on the logistic side, it was a bit of a nightmare.

9. Trust your gut and weed through advice.

Sometimes you (and by that I mean I) can get caught up in the "expert" opinions. Like I said at the beginning of this post. There is not RIGHT way to do things. Read the advice that's out there and then use what resonates with you. Different things work for different people. No one thing is going to work for everyone. So take things as guidance not gospel. (There is irony in me giving advice about not taking all advice. Hmm.)

10. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

I'm a control freak. That's not going to change. I tried a group blog on Tumblr and it quickly fell into feeling like I was back in high school working on a group project where I wanted to keep everyone on task. Not good. However, I knew when I decided that I was going to keep this blog on writing while maintaining an author blog as well that I was going to have to ask for help.

So this is where I get to the exciting news part of this post (if you've made it this far in this LONG post, lol). I am implementing a new feature here on Fiction Groupie. Every Monday we are going to have regularly occurring guests who are authors in genres other than mine. They are author friends who I know are great at posting about writing craft and publishing and I am SO excited to be bringing people with fresh and different perspectives to the blog.

So here's what the new schedule is going to look like starting next week:

Monday: Guest post from one of our Monthly Genre Columnists 

Wednesday: Writing/Publishing Post from me 
Friday: Fill-Me-In Friday -- best links of the week 
Tuesday and Thursday, I'll be posting on my author blog.

So join me in welcoming our five new stellar guest contributors!

♥ 

Julie Cross

 - YA Debut Author

(first Mondays)

♥ 

Ashley March

 - Historical Romance Author

(2nd Mondays)

♥ 

Suzanne Johnson

 - Debut Urban Fantasy Author

(3rd Mondays)

♥ 

Joan Swan

 -Suspense/Thrillers - Debut Romantic Suspense

(4th Mondays)

♥ 

Sierra Godfrey

 - Women's Fiction & Marketing

(5th Mondays)

See all their

bios and books here

!

I hope that you all are as excited as I am about the new re-re-re-revamping. :)  Thanks for sticking with me through all my changing as I continue to figure things out as I go along.

Now, I'd love to hear what you've learned since you started this whole writing thing. What would you do differently? Do any of the points on my list scare you? Oh, and if anyone knows any brilliant way to combine my blogs all onto my squarespace and still keep followers and archives, let me know--I'll love you forever.

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All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2011 |Copyright Statement|

Get the Best Bang for Your Blog

 

This weekend I had the privilege of attending the North Branch Writers' Workshop both as an attendee and a speaker. While I managed to give a talk on queries and not have a public speaking panic attack (score!), I also was able to stay afterward and hear the lovely and talented Kristen Lamb give her talk on social media for writers.

If you guys aren't following her yet (seriously, where have you been?), she blogs, she tweets, and she is the person behind the #myWANA (We Are Not Alone) hashtag. But anyway, she spoke on how we can maximize and streamline what we are doing online to best position ourselves and our future books in the market.

First of all, let's say that I have not been the poster child for Kristen's advice. : ) In fact, in her presentation, I was a ready example of what not to do, lol. But I am teachable (mostly). So here are a few tips I took away from this weekend.

1. Have your blog title have your name in it.

You want people to know your name, the one that is going to be on front of your books. As Kristen points out, you can't go into the bookstore and buy a book from FictionGroupie. (The same goes for using a moniker instead of your name on Twitter--it's wasting a valuable opportunity for people to learn your name.) 
This is my big sin honestly. I started Fiction Groupie when I was just testing the blogging waters. I didn't even use my name when I started blogging. Then it turned out to be something fun and the blog grew. Well, by the time I realized I probably shouldn't have made the web address "fiction groupie", I had a significant amount of followers and didn't want to start over with another address. But even if you've done this, it can be fixed. The web address doesn't matter so much, but you can add your name back. So as you'll notice above, my name is now in the title. (See, I'm teachable.)

2. Group blogs don't offer you much benefit.

I had never thought about this, but Kristen made the point of--do you know the authors' names of the group blogs you like? Or do you just know the blog name? This wastes your valuable blogging time if no one connects your name with your content. 
I had recently started a Tumblr photo blog with a group of other authors. Over the weekend, I left the blog and set up my own Tumblr site. This is where I post inspiration pics--erotic photogratphy type things, so NSFW but lots of fun.  This one also feeds into my author website under the Hotness tab. ;)

3. Don't do a blog about writing.

*ducks head* Okay, obviously I didn't follow this rule, and I don't regret it. I love this blog and the people I've met through it. And I wouldn't have gotten my agent referral or even the speaking gig this weekend were it not for this blog. However, I totally get Kristen's point. She argues that writers are only a small subset of readers.  It's more productive to blog about other things that you enjoy and that have more broad appeal--things that could expose you to a much wider audience.

4. Don't have more than one blog.

Eek! Okay, so I'm bad for this one too and I'm not changing this anytime soon but I don't necessarily recommend it to anyone else, lol. I have (shh) three blogs. This one, my author blog, and now the tumblr. But part of this is because I didn't follow #3. This blog is a writing blog. I know many of you who follow me are not erotic romance readers. So when I got my book deal, I was in the position of--how do i adjust my blogging to appeal to both my current blog readers and readers who are actually interested in my genre? 
I ultimately decided to not change the focus of this blog but to start blogging two days a week at my author site on more romance (and sometimes racier) topics. For instance, every Tuesday is my Boyfriend of the Week post where I put up (often shirtless) pics of my favorite celebrities. That appeals to some of you and not others. I do plan to start linking to those posts here on Tuesdays and Thursdays to give you the opportunity to read that content as well but as of right now, I don't plan to merge the two blogs. (And the Tumblr site is just for fun. Takes me literally 30 seconds to put a post there and it feeds into the author site, so I don't even really view it as a separate blog.) *rationalizes* 

But yes, I wouldn't recommend the multiple blog to everyone and maybe eventually I'll merge everything and just list a schedule where I say--I'm talking about writing topics on MWF and sexier/fun stuff on T/Th. How would y'all feel about that? Just curious. I'd love feedback on how you feel about a blog having mixed focus?

Also, what do you think of these other tips? What things have you done with your blog that you would've done differently if you could go back in time?

And to get more kickass info from Kristen, she has two great books for writers: Are You There Blog? It's Me, Writer and We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide to Social Media.

And thanks again to the North Branch Writers' Workshop for inviting me to the conference! I had a lot of fun. :)

How Can Authors Reach (Non-Writer) Readers Online?

 


On Monday, Sierra Godfrey posted a blog on What Will You Do With Your Blog When You're Published? This is a question that has weighed on my mind often these last few months. I've been blogging for almost two years now and have stuck almost exclusively to writing topics. However, though I know writers are--first and foremost--readers, I also know that the bulk of the audience I'm trying to reach with my books are not writers so would have no interest in posts on adverbs. :) So does that mean I should shift my focus to more reader related topics and broaden the blog's appeal?

Reach Out

Photo by Stuart Pilbrow

 

Hmm....

Well, I don't think so. And here's why. I'm not convinced that your average, non-writing reader is signing up to read their favorite authors blogs daily or weekly no matter what the blog is about. I know there are exceptions and for YA authors, this is probably different because teens may actually want to connect with authors in that way. However, in general, my guess is that most people hanging around authors' blogs are, well, other writers. Even I don't visit my favorite authors blogs regularly unless they are writing-related or perhaps having a contest--and that's saying something because I love blogging like I love puppies. I just don't have the time or the inclination.

So I don't have any intention of changing my blog focus at this point. I like talking about writing. It's what's on my mind and I learn by doing research for posts. However, what's a girl to do if I want to reach readers online or if I eventually have readers out there who want to connect with me online in some way?

Here's my take: Twitter! (and Facebook *grumble*)

Okay, so you all know of my love for Twitter. I haven't exactly made it a secret. But here's the beauty of it. You can be random. In fact, I encourage some randomness. It gives people following you a way to connect very easily.

The Importance of Being Random...

You can have a theme on Twitter. Some people only tweet writing links and that's great. (In fact, I love those people because it's super helpful to me.) However, they are appealing to a certain niche--like my blog is. But if you broaden what you tweet, you can connect with lots of people from all kinds of backgrounds.

For instance, I tweet about writing, I get writers responding and retweeting. I tweet about my toddler throwing a monster tantrum, I get parents responding and starting conversation. I tweet about 30 Seconds to Mars, I get loads of fellow women chatting with me about how yummy they are. I tweet about a book I'm reading, fellow readers join in. It's random, sometimes silly, but I'm amazed at how I'll tweet something totally offhand and that will inspire someone who's never messaged me before to chime in and chat. It's great. I've met so many new people this way.

If someone wants to get to know me online, Twitter gives them a pretty well-rounded picture of my personality. And I think this is what will appeal to a reader. I know that I love following my favorite authors on Twitter and they rarely tweet about writing. But it's fun to hear about whatever is going on in their lives. We get to see that they are real people and even reach out and message them. It's easy, relaxed, and fun.

So that is my plan for now. Keep the writing blog and continue being as random as I want to be on Twitter (and try to keep active on Facebook which I kind of hate but I know many prefer it to Twitter). I think this will allow me to continue networking and enjoying my online time with other writers, but will also provide an avenue for me to connect with potential readers as well.

So what do yo think? If you're published, how do you handle your online presence and blog? If you're pre-published, do you see your blog changing once you have a book deal? As a READER, how do you (if you do at all) connect with your favorite authors? 


And if you're not following me on Twitter, you must rectify that situation immediately. Hit this button in the next ten seconds or this blog post will self-destruct: www.twitter.com/RoniLoren

Stop Beating Me Over the Head With Your Book

Shout!

Photo by Mark Wheadon

So we all know that part of our jobs as authors is promoting ourselves and our books. We hear it over and over again--build a brand, establish a presence, network with readers.

And I agree. All those things are necessary if we want to be successful in this industry. However, there are ways to do it that are effective and there are ways to do it that are ABSOLUTELY ANNOYING. *takes a breath*

Okay, I feel better.

So I thought I would look at the things that some authors have done that have worked on me as a reader and the things that turn me off completely.  

Let's start with the bad shall we?

Do Not....

1. Friend me on Twitter/Goodreads/Facebook and when I agree to be a friend, immediately send me the promotional email--Thanks for the add!  Check out my book. Here's where you can buy it.
Ugh, I hate this and will often un-friend people over it. If you've friended me, that means I went to your site to see who you are. Your books are listed there. If I'm interested, I will look into them. Please do not send these emails because it makes the "befriending" totally insincere. 
2. Only tweet or blog about your book, where to buy it, and the reviews on it.
It's okay to slip in an occasional tweet about your book and it's fine to announce when it's released or if it's hit a bestsellers list or gotten a review. That's fine and you should celebrate that. But if those are the only tweets or blogs you ever do and you never interact with anyone, you look self-serving (not to mention boring.)
3. Create a newsletter option, make people sign up for it to enter a contest, and then only send out newsletters about your book and how to buy it.
If people have signed up for a newsletter, give them something of value in it. Articles about whatever is important to your readership. For instance, my agency has a newsletter anyone can sign up for. Now, this is a chance for Nelson Lit to promote their clients' books, correct? Sure, and they will mention those books on occasion BUT the majority of the newsletter is helpful writing advice and industry information so the reader gets something helpful for signing up.
Okay, so if you can avoid those things, you're doing well. What are some you can do that work to promote in a positive way?

Things that will win me over as a reader...

1. Comment on people's blogs in a genuine way.
It's obviously hard to do this large scale, but this is where you can use the Google Alert feature to your advantage. If someone mentions you on their blog or reviews you and you see it, stop by and thank them for the mention. I've had a number of authors do this, including Les Edgerton, author of Hooked, who stopped by and commented last week after I mentioned his book. Erotic romance author Lauren Dane also commented when I picked one of her books as my favorites last year. 
And even if you weren't mentioned, but maybe the topic is related to what you write, say hi. Author Elizabeth Amber did this last year on a post I had about erotic romances I liked. I had never read her books, but when I clicked her name in the comments, I found that she writes historical EroRom and ended up buying one of her books and loving it. I went on to buy more in that series. It was totally effective. 
2. Be a real person on Twitter/Facebook/Blogging.
No, if you become a big author, you can't follow back everyone and can't respond to ever @ mention, but that's okay. If you can just be engaging in your tweets and seem like a normal, likable person, that will win you readers. And if you can interact with readers on occasion, all the better. I responded to something a big author said a while back, and she replied with a Bwahhahaha. It was simple, but made me like her even better because a) she took the time to respond and b) she liked my joke. Silly, but it's just that sense of brief connection that makes you like someone more and want to support them as authors.
3. If you can, offer something that benefits both you and the reader.
This can be a simple contest where you give away one of your books. Or, if you are so inclined, you can do something that gives back to readers or writers. Author Candace Havens, for instance, has a writers' workshop via a Yahoo group. She provides priceless writing info, runs contests to win critiques, and has great guest authors give online classes that are all free. In return, she gets an open mic via all our email addresses to reach out to everyone in the group. Therefore, if she has a new release or something going on, she can send that out to all of us. And because she's been so helpful to us, we want to help her too.
So, at the end of the day what I think it comes down to is BE GENUINE. If you are only doing something because you want to promote, then readers are going to see right through it. Don't go into something like Facebook or Twitter or blogging unless you are looking to honestly connect with other people.

Okay, so I'm curious to hear which promotional tactics annoy you. Which ones have worked? Outside of writing great books, what makes you really want to support an author?

**Today's Theme Song**
"Right Through You" - Alanis Morrissette
(player in sidebar, take a listen)