8 Easy Ways to Grow your Social Media Footprint
October 19, 2011 by Marianne H. Donley in category Archives tagged as Jenny Hansen, More Cowbells, Social Media, Writers In the Storm
If you haven’t added your Facebook address and Twitter username to your voicemail, you are missing out on some cheap easy marketing. Hundreds of people hear your voicemail each year and it could be the push they need to connect with you online.
Does your website have clear links to your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn page? What about to your blog? If someone finds your website, you want to make it easy for them to find the rest.
Do you have your social media information printed at the bottom of each letter and brochure you put out? What about on your business cards? It’s easy to make room in the address block for something so important. Try including this the next time you print any materials.
Do you have all your social media info in the signature blog on your email? It’s amazing how many people will click that link if you make it easy.
It’s a good idea to build an email list and use it for some email marketing. I didn’t say spamming. Once a month is fine for connecting. Once a day is not. Be sure to include all your links as well as a periodic promotion. You’ll be surprised at the results. Tools like Constant Contact can track this for you.
Do you have a sign up at bookstores or tradeshow events telling your
Do you do any public speaking? Your social media contact information should be on each slide, in any handouts you provide and should also be verbalized at the beginning and end of the presenation.
It’s a very good idea to be sure that your
Jenny fills her nights with humor: writing memoir, women’s fiction, chick lit, short stories (and chasing after the newly walking Baby Girl). By day, she provides training and social media marketing for an accounting firm. After 15 years as a corporate software trainer, she’s digging this sit down and write thing. In addition to being a founding member of Writers In The Storm, Jenny also hangs out on Twitter at jhansenwrites and at her blog, More Cowbell.
Social Media and Your Author Brand
July 18, 2011 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as author branding, building a brand, Jenny Hansen, More Cowbell, Social Media, Twitter, Twitter hashtags, Writers In the StormI see many of you on Twitter and Facebook. I’ve been enjoying meeting even more of you on A Slice of Orange Daily, created by our very own Blog Mistress, Marianne Donley. I even see a few of you on LinkedIn.
Where are my OCC peeps conspicuously absent?
It’s pretty rare for me to see more than a few OCC’ers in my hashtag chats, with the possible exception of #myWANA. Either you’re hanging out somewhere else (that you’ll hopefully mention in the comments section) or you’re not using Twitter as fully as you could be.
Note: If you’re scratching your head over this hashtag business, please read this post on what Twitter hashtags are and why we need them.
OCC authors are very in-the-know about the changes sweeping through the publishing industry. I am so thankful to belong to a chapter with such amazing resources, and so many generous authors. We’re lucky to be on the cutting edge of this upheaval, so I’ll skip over that part since you all are pretty up to date.
If you don’t feel “up to date” and want to read more about the changing state of publishing, it’s hard to find a better resource than Kristine Kathryn Rusch and her publishing industry blogs.
This brave new world of publishing demands that an author build a brand.
What does that mean exactly? Simply put, your brand is the picture that pops into people’s mind when they hear your name.
For established authors, this picture is usually tied to one (or many) of your books. For the new or unpublished author, you need to get started on forming that picture in people’s mind as soon as possible. Participation in social media is one of the easiest ways to do this.
For more detailed information on branding, here are some of the best blogs I’ve found on the subject from people who say it far better than I do.
- Jami Gold’s How Do You Decide On Your Author Brand? – Part 1 and Part 2
- Jami has another wonderful post on Branding 101 – Online Brand vs. Author Brand
- An older post from leadership guru Michael Hyatt that still applies – 7 Ways to Build Your Author Brand Online
- Kristen Lamb’s must-read post on Bob Mayer’s Blog: Building An Author Brand.
- Bob Mayer discusses Social Media and the Writer in his Publishing Lessons series.
Particularly now that so many authors are going the Indie route with smaller independent publishers or even venturing into self-publishing for their first book, author branding is no longer a “nice to have.â€
Read the posts above and take a look at these two books: Kristen Lamb’s We Are Not Alone: A Writer’s Guide to Social Media, and Bob Mayer’s Warrior Writer. They will put you light years ahead of where you would have gotten on your own.
My personal observation is that people are seeking authentic connections and that, by branding themselves, an author is opening themselves up for connecting.
In my own experience on Twitter and both of my blogs, your Followers and your Tweeps become your friends. We spend time with these people, whether it’s chatting on Facebook, having a Worldwide Book Launch Party or sharing Sunday morning coffee.
Seemingly disparate people throughout the world are connecting through social media and enjoying the hell out of each other. It’s a beautiful thing.
Perhaps you don’t know where people are gathering on Twitter.
Fret no more…here’s the list of where my Tweeps and I hang out. This is your invitation to hang out with us. If you are hanging out somewhere else online, we want to know where that is!
Note: If I’ve missed any really cool hashtags, please let me know in the comments.
#myWANA – This love revolution started on Kristen Lamb’s blog (WANA stands for We Are Not Alone…I’ve linked to the book above)
#weWRITE – Hashtag started by Anna DeStefano and Jenni Talty based on their How We Write Wednesday Series. Note: There are no links allowed in this group – conversation on writing only…you’ll have to post your links elsewhere.
#PubWrite – these tweeps enjoy writing, sharing ideas and frustrations, and the occasional adult beverage.
#amwriting – writers from everywhere hang out here and encourage each other as they write. If this is your hangout, you might also enjoy http://amwriting.org/.
#amediting – writers from everywhere hang out here and encourage each other as they edit their works-in-progress.
#wordmongering – writers do timed sprints of 30 mins at :00 and/or :30 every hour. This is fun 24/7 and participants say they get so much writing done.
#Row80 – Hashtag started by Kait Nolan that I’m participating in. This is a writing challenge that lasts 80 days and requires that you publicly post your goal. For more details go here.
#nanowrimo – When November rolls around, the agony and the ecstacy of National Novel Writing Month can be found here. (Until then, we have Row80!)
What about you? Where do you commune with people on Twitter or Facebook (and why)? Are there groups of writers that you recommend above all others? Please share your discoveries with the rest of us!
~Jenny
http://jennyhansenauthor.wordpress.com
http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com
Twitter: @jhansenwrites
Wordwide Book Launch Party for James Rollins’
June 17, 2011 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as James Rollins, Jenny Hansen, Kristen Lamb, More Cowbell, Piper Bayard, The Devil Colony, Tiffany A White, Worldwide Book Launch Party, Writers In the Storm
by Jenny Hansen
Between now and next Tuesday, the Man of The Week over on my blog is James Rollins. Yesterday, we talked about the Worldwide Book Release Party for James’ new book, The Devil Colony.
Then, last night, my critique partners and I had a little pre-party getting ready for the launch over at Writers In The Storm later today.
In order to really play hard on The Devil’s Playground over at More Cowbell, you need ALL the details!
- The theme for this party is Devil: devil-mania, Devil Dogs, Devil-ish. You name it, if it’s got Devil in it (in a good way) we want to know about it.
- How do I tell people about my devilish delights, you might ask….Come party on Twitter at #DevilColony. Go set up your TweetDeck column right now! It’s fine, I’ll hold on. *whistling*
- OK, now that you’re set up to follow the #DevilColony stream, it’s time to plan the party snacks for Tuesday’s launch.
We’re gonna be at it for 24 hours, so you’ll want to lay in some supplies. Deviled eggs, Devil Dogs, deviled ham… On second thought, deviled ham is a little gross. Just have enough of your favorite munchies on hand to stay close to your computer…you never know who might pop in. - Oh, you have to work?What, you could play hooky for the #RoyalWedding and not for James’ #DevilColony Launch? Where’s the LOVE???
- What are we gonna do at #DevilColony?
Have a blast, of course! Socialize, hang out with James, our favorite tweeps and all the literary luminaries who happen to stop in. You know, the best-selling authors, agents, editors who want to visit with James (and gush about the book). Forget your other Tuesday plans — #DevilColony on Twitter is the social event to be seen at! - What else is happening on #DevilColony besides “hanging out?â€Prizes! Not only are you there to meet, greet and Follow, you are encouraged to upload pictures of your party in progress. People will randomly be chosen for prizes, but the MOST CREATIVE pictures will make their way to a Wall of Fame over on James’ site, and can also win the big Mystery Prize.
Where else is the party breaking out today??
- Piper Bayard’s Blog – On Life, Belly Dancing and Apocalyptic Annihilation
- Kristen Lamb’s Blog – Warrior Writers (her previous interview with James)
- Tiffany White’s Friday FabOoolous Post on James Rollins
- Writer’s in the Storm – http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/
And of course, it’s all James, all the time over at my site, More Cowbell. 🙂
I’m thinking a picture of my Little Devil will be in order…something with her Elmo chair, since it’s red…. Hmmm, I DEFINITELY want to be on that wall!
What about you? Are you a James Rollins’ fan? Do you plan to come play with the rest of us on #DevilColony?
Reflections from a Confirmed Twitter Freak
March 17, 2011 by Marianne H. Donley in category Archives tagged as Chris Brogan, Elizabeth S. Craig, Jenny Hansen, Kristen Lamb, OCC/RWA, Penny Sansevieri, Social Media, Twitter, Writers In the Stormby Jenny Hansen
A few months back my boss at the part-time job (that is really a full-time job) asked me to research Twitter. And oh, the rapture of getting paid for doing something that benefitted my writing career!
In the last 10 weeks, the traffic level at Writers In The Storm (my group blog site) has risen more than 500%, my exposure to amazing writing links has risen at least that much and I’ve met some fantastic people who have been more than generous with their knowledge (Elizabeth S. Craig and Kristen Lamb both come to mind).
Most important of all, my creativity is soaring. I’m thinking about writing and connecting to my fellow artists ALL THE TIME.
Writers need to interact with other people who write and are creative – to learn, to commiserate, to brainstorm, to vent. By the end of my first week on Twitter, it was clear to me that all of the new information available on Craft and writing tools is equivalent to attending a conference each month. Even if you are a multi-pubbed author and aren’t as into the Craft information, you need readers and exposure, don’t you? Facebook should not be the only social media tool in your author platform.
For those of you that get jazzed after this blog and want to get started, here are some tips that I sent my boss as well as some observations of my own.
• 7 steps to plan BEFORE starting your Twitter account: http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Tips-For-Starting-on-Twitter—The-Deceivingly-Simple-Social-Media-Platform&id=2501605
• Sign up for a Twitter account: http://www.twitip.com/how-to-set-up-a-twitter-account/
• Last of all, 10 Basic Rules of Twitter: http://www.influentialmarketingblog.com/weblog/2009/08/10-basic-rules-of-twitter-and-how-to-avoid-being-a-twanker.html
• Expert: Chris Brogan is thought well of in social media circles and has great things to say about business and writing – you might read him when you have time: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/category/socialmedia/
Here are some highlights of the 10 Basic Rules:
As you start Twittering, remember to focus on engaging in conversations with your followers rather than pushing or selling your own products and content. If followers feel they’re being sold to, they’ll unfollow and block you faster than they’ll hang up on your annoying IVR (and then Tweet about it). A few guidelines:
• Use @ replies to comment back to your followers’ Tweets
Note: You cannot send direct messages (DM’s) to people who don’t Follow you so the @ replies are often the only way to get info to someone you want to speak with.
• ReTweet liberally. To reTweet a user’s Tweet, simply write “RT @username” and cut and paste the content of the original Tweet. Or just use the RT button if your desktop or smartphone app has one.
• Post links to articles and content you think your users would find interesting. A good guide is Chris Brogan’s rule of promoting other people’s content eight times more often than you promote your own.
• Post links to your own content, but see above.
Last but not least, You might enjoy “Tweetie,†the iPhone app for Twitter: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twitter/id333903271?mt=8 (there is also Twitter for the Android).
What the experts say:
OCC was lucky enough to hear marketing guru Penny Sansevieri, the author of Red Hot Internet Publicity, speak several months back and I subscribed to her newsletter. Below are her Six Quick Tips for Twitter Success:
1. A bio is a must. A recent Harvard Business Review study showed that 82% of unsuccessful Twitter accounts have little or no bio information.
2. You should provide more than 3 links per 20 tweets and you should update more than once a day.
3. If you don’t provide links in your tweets, you should plan to post more often (studies suggest as much as six times a day). You should have no more than 15 updates a day.
4. Twitter names are becoming like URL’s were in the early years of the Internet. Make sure and grab all your branding and your name.
5. Don’t use underscores_ when you’re creating a user name. Not only does it look amateurish but a number of spammers have hacked into Twitter that way. You don’t want to look like a spammer.
6. Always engage and reply to the @reply responses on Twitter. Why? Well first off it’s important to engage your followers, but second, those @replies help with your Twitter ranking.
Happy Tweeting – I’d love to hear about the successes and pitfalls you stumble across in your own social media journey!
Jenny Hansen fills her nights with humor, writing memoir, women’s fiction, chick lit and short stories (and walking the floor with her new baby girl). By day, Jenny coordinates training for two accounting firms. After 15 years as a corporate software trainer, it’s nice for her to be able to sit down while she works.
Stay tuned every month on the 17th for Jenny’s blogs on software, computer how-tos, new parenthood and the latest works in progress. The rest of the time you can find her on Twitter at jhansenwrites or over on the Writers In The Storm blog.
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