You wouldn’t. And yet that is what you essentially do on social media. With every like, comment, and post, you are slicing yourself into small pieces shared with relative strangers. I’ve found myself doing exactly this. When I get comments days later on posts I responded to, I often can’t recall what I wrote. This makes me feel inauthentic, almost glib. That isn’t like me and I’m sure it’s not like many of you in this community. Not only is this a personality conflict, it fragments your energy and focus.

There are two sides of social media. One is consuming content. The other is posting content. Both actions use energy but in different ways. Following are my tips on how to engage with social media without draining your mental bank account and staying true to your authentic self.

Where your mind goes, your energy goes

When you bounce from topic to topic your energy likewise gets jumbled. In one session on Instagram I liked an author’s book reveal, bookmarked another post, and then went down a rabbit hole of looking up the address for the perfect lobster roll in Maine while responding to another post that wasn’t even someone I follow. By the time I posted this tidbit from memories of my East Coast trip, I’d gotten completely off track of my writing goal for the day.

Another way to think of this is to imagine eating your favorite treats all at the same time. Would you take a bite of chocolate and before swallowing chew a stick of gum while also licking a lollipop? You are asking your brain to do the same thing as its reward center gets pinged with each post, like, or comment.

One strategy I’ve found helpful is to go to the profile page of the person I’m following. Then I can get a better sense of what they are promoting or sharing without having my focus fragmented by random suggested posts. I am focused on one thing at a time so my brain isn’t trying to process one piece of information while looking at another.

I check on updates by grouping topics along a theme such as writing conferences, authors, or cute cat videos. Some platforms let you group topics. With other platforms I flick through to what I want to read or bookmark others to read later.

I’ve also found it helpful to bookmark posts and set a time for reading these posts in their own time. It helps me take in what that one person has to say in an easy-to-digest way. And it helps me engage with that post to craft an authentic response. Which leads me to posting content.

Budget Your Posts Like Film Photos

Have you ever run outside just to take a photo to post online? Me too. I’ve also staged plenty of photos. Some posts have turned out better than others, but they all take time and energy in the staging process. The question to ask yourself is, why am I posting this?

In the days of film cameras we were careful with what we photographed. Printing pictures was expensive, not to mention the cost of film, and there were no previews. People only took photos they were fairly sure would turn out. Waste film documenting your breakfast? I don’t think so.

Budget the energy you put into posts like film photos. Is it worth your time and effort? Also consider the space these photos occupy. Do you want to pay for the storage? And later have to clean out 500 photos that you took just for posts? Really think through what you are posting and why.

One measuring stick for what you post is your target audience. How do they benefit? Posts can give your readers insight into your process. You can share information on related topics, such as gardening tips if your book has plants in the plot. Another possibility is posting on things that fill the same need in their lives as your writing. The key is to have a clear intent when you spend energy this way.

Another way to feel centered while posting is to think back on your origin story. This is something you reflect on for yourself on why you started writing or the reason behind a particular book’s story. Your origin story will help keep you anchored when deciding what to post for your audience.

Be mindful of how you consume content and share with your audience. With balance and moderation you can have a healthy relationship with social media. Just don’t eat an ice cream cone while your mouth is full of frosting!

Ambre Dawn Leffler is a Tai Chi instructor, gardener, and weather geek who writes about vegetables, seasons, communing with nature, and the interconnections of mind/body. She loves trees and cherishes time in their presence. Learn more about her tree time, garden residents, and wellness practices at her website ambredawnleffler.com and seasonal inspiration from her newsletter Sky Earth Water. You can also follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

The post Have Your Cake (And Eat It, Too) With Social Media appeared first on DIY MFA.

For writers, the agonizing decline of our digital public square hits hard. The #PitMad pitch competitions were excellent for getting agent attention. You could have real conversations with publishers and famous authors. It was a place to create genuine #writingcommunity, breaking down the high walls of the literary community.

I won’t bemoan the loss of Twitter further, though Erin Somers writes a fitting eulogy in the Atlantic article, What Will Writers Do Without Twitter? True, Twitter is still up… But it’s lost credibility and functionality, with most users jumping ship. As my social media managing husband says, “Twitter is slowly taking away all the things that made it not a hellscape dumpster fire of trolls.”

Such is the way of the internet. And while Twitter hasn’t gone the way of Myspace quite yet, don’t put all your eggs in that Musk-y basket. Just last week, I was still crossposting to Twitter… until the platform made it impossible to use third-party schedulers. I’d say while Twitter isn’t quite dead yet, it’s over.

What can you do to continue building your platform in the social media post-apocalypse? Read on for ideas:

Instagram 

I recommend Instagram to writers over Facebook or TikTok for multiple reasons:

• Powerful hashtags can boost your reach on Insta, whereas hashtags are much less effective on Facebook.
• A personal Insta account can garner good results. Unlike Facebook, which is limited to 5,000 friends, Instagram does not restrict your follower amount, though you are capped at 7,500 for following others. (For business accounts on either platform, you need to pay to play to get favored by the algorithms. Otherwise, stick with a personal account.)
• Instagram has less malfunctioning software than Facebook and fewer safety concerns than TikTok.

Instagram Pros: 

• A thriving #bookstagram community 
• Tons of very interactive authors
• Many opportunities to join #followtrains

Instagram Cons: 

• It’s much slower to grow your audience on Instagram than it was on Twitter. However, slow but steady can win the race! 
• Instagram is notorious for spoofed and hacked accounts. Set up two-step verification to keep your account safe—a good idea across all social media platforms!

I plan to do a full column on growing your writing platform on Instagram. Until then, here are more options:

YouTube

YouTube is the second-most popular social media platform behind Facebook, and according to some reports, it is starting to outpace Facebook with younger audiences.

Why not create a YouTube channel? You could host a video blog or podcast, post clips from events like readings and conferences, or even record helpful how-to videos for writers. You can make your content do double duty by embedding videos in your blog (more on that below!).

Facebook 

If your audience skews older, or if you host events, it might make sense to make a personal Facebook account for your author platform. A business page is probably only worth the investment if you have the money to run paid ads. Remember, you can always switch to a business page later once you get your momentum going.

TikTok?

As for TikTok, I’m torn. The U.S. government is investigating the company over security threat possibilities. On the other hand, publishing expert Jane Friedman recently posted on Instagram that romance is the leading growing genre of 2022, thanks largely to TikTok. 

My advice: If your audience skews younger or has a big presence on TikTok, do more research on this platform to see if it is right for you.

Start a Blog or a Newsletter

Ideally, your social media channels should feed into your central marketing platform, which for writers is usually a blog, often with a website attached to it. What better way to contribute to the writing community, build your portfolio, and showcase your wordsmithing than blogging? Here are some great options:

WordPress

I prefer WordPress, where you can start a free blog at wordpress.com. What’s lovely about the WordPress community is that your posts automatically get shared with a wide audience. 

With minimum effort, blogging about two to four times a year for the past ten years, I’ve gained 6,400+ followers and counting. Most importantly, you own your content and have a lot of control. WordPress does offer paid ad-ons, but I’ve used the 100% free version for years and loved it. For more, check out HubSpot’s article, “How to Use WordPress: Ultimate Guide to Building a WordPress Website.” 

Medium

Joining and publishing articles on Medium is free, easy to set up, and gives you access to a great reader network. You can even get paid for writing on Medium, though my friends say it takes hard work to really make money. 

The biggest con with this platform is that you don’t own your content; they do. Even if it seems unlikely, they could delete your content without warning. 

My take: Medium could be a good place to crosspost your blog to from another platform to reach an even wider audience. There is even a Medium plugin for WordPress to do just that! For more, check out Hubspot’s article, “How to Use Medium: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing, Publishing & Promoting on the Platform.”

Substack

Imagine if WordPress and MailChimp had a baby, and you would get Substack. It’s an email newsletter platform with a blog-style format easily accessed on the web and their app. Substack is super user-friendly, easy to use and sign up for, and a great option if you’re new to email marketing. 

On Substack, you own your content. It even has a leg up on WordPress because you also have control of your email subscriber list. Additionally, your content reaches the wider Substack community, helping you grow your audience. The platform is free, and you can even create a paid subscriber level for your content (then you’d pay Substack 10%). 

The only problem? Elon Musk tweeted recently that he’s thinking about buying the platform ?.

For more, check out the great Hootsuite guide, What Is Substack and How Does It Work?  

If you’re interested in a newsletter service and want a full comparison of email marketing tools, check out the comprehensive article from Inbox Collective, AWeber, Beehiiv, ConvertKit, Ghost, Mailchimp, or Substack: Which Is The Right ESP For Your Indie Newsletter?

The Bottom Line: Diversity and Own Your Marketing Content

The internet is an ever-changing tool. That’s why it’s important to diversify your writing platform so that you still have other options if one goes down. Pick at least two or three platforms you can build, choosing the ones that resonate with you the most and where you can be consistent. 

Starting slow is better than not starting at all. Even a few blog posts a year will snowball into a solid following years down the line if you diversify your platforms and keep putting out good content at a pace that’s right for you!

Rachel Teferet (lettersandfeathers.wordpress.com) is a marketing copywriter and content manager, novelist, and poet. Their work has been published by Subprimal Poetry Art, Zoetic Press’ NonBinary Review, and more.

You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter (if it isn’t completely dead yet), and Instagram.

The post Is Twitter Dead? Don’t Panic! Social Media Survival Guide for Writers appeared first on DIY MFA.

1. Create a home foundation 

Most novice writers make the mistake of wishing to appeal to a broad audience. Trying to please a majority of readers will prove futile, as you will not be favored by any particular group. Then, once you decide to focus on a specific target audience (who will enjoy your work the most), you may struggle to define this niche group. 

One way to reach your future fans is by considering your brand as your author home. You want it to stand strong and be welcoming, hence the need for a five pillar foundation, specific to you and based on your values, beliefs, actions, general themes, and style. 

If you are a plotter, you will enjoy the process. But if you are a pantser, this is the time to organize your ideas and come up with your own five pillar foundation. 

2. Gain focus 

Figuring out five main themes, attitudes, or values that define your brand will help you focus on creating solid and consistent content. For instance, you will not only be able to develop the content for your website, social media, and newsletter, but also the font to use, and even your color palette. 

This framework will prevent you from hopping from one idea or style to the next without a clear pattern. Instead, it will drive you toward your end goal, which is to create a successful and lasting brand that sends the right message and still represents you and your values. 

3. Attract the right readers 

Your five pillar foundation should represent you but also relate to the readers you want to attract. If you find the right balance between pillars that focus on you and those that resonate with your target audience, you will gain a loyal following as your readers will feel that your work has meaning to them. 

I suggest having one or two pillars centered around your readers. 

4. An acronym to get you started

I have learned a lot from my mentor Gabriela Pereira, DIY MFA founder. Here, I wish to thank her for introducing me to acronyms, as they can be used as a starting point when defining your five pillar foundation. You could always create an acronym from your pillars after you come up with them. 

Alternatively, you can either let your intuition guide you or use a five-letter word that speaks to you. For example, if your genre is fantasy, then the first letters of your five pillars could be represented by MAGIC. For horror, DREAD could be a good starting point, LIEGE for medieval romance, or GRACE for Christian fiction.

5. My five pillar foundation as an example

I used the strategy described above when deciding on my brand acronym and eventually settled on WRITE. While it may not sound imaginative, it is straightforward and captures what I do and why I do it.

W is for Wonder. 

I write contemporary fantasy, so my goal is to induce a sense of wonder in my followers, both through my social media posts and the pictures I share. For instance, I kept magic and wonder in mind when I chose the background image for my website. Not everybody will like it, but those that do will know they are in the right place.

R is for Respect the Reader and Research. 

As a professor and a scholar, I am passionate about research and creating new knowledge. Although I love history and other cultures in general, my main academic interest is sixteenth-century Spain. My scientific background reinforces the importance for me of getting the facts right, even when writing fiction.

I is for Immerse the Reader in Magical Worlds. 

Over the years, I was fortunate to travel to many historic places full of legends and beauty. I therefore always try to share what I learned on my travels or transport my readers in a new mystical world based on the one we live in. 

T is for Teach. 

I am an educator at heart. I currently teach different languages, cultures, and literature. Thus, I like to share some of this knowledge with my readers. While I avoid giving lectures through my writings, I use them to inform my audiences about some lesser-known facts, such as a specific Moroccan tradition, or an interesting French recipe.

E is for Energy. 

Maintaining positive energy is necessary to be productive and share optimism. As a writer, I do so by making my blog posts or captions upbeat and engaging.

As you can see from above, although branding yourself may sound daunting if you consider who you are as a writer and who your target audience is, your own five pillar foundation will come naturally to you. The pillars will serve as a compass to novice writers but may evolve over time, just as you will as an author.

Your author brand is five pillars away. Time to find them! Start by defining your unique acronym and expand from there. If it works for you, don’t hesitate to share your pillars with others and pass on the message. 

Tell us in the comments: What acronym are you going to use for your five pillar foundation?

Soleah K. Sadge is a contemporary fantasy author. She enjoys traveling to places tied to legends and folklore that she can use in her stories. 

She resides in the United States where she reads, writes, knits, and teaches. Her work includes flash fiction and short stories. For more information, visit Soleah’s website at https://soleahkennasadge.com or follow her on Twitter (@sksadge).

The post #5onFri: Five Ways a Five Pillar Foundation Can Help Build Your Author Brand appeared first on DIY MFA.

In Episode 3 of this column, I wrote about how I completed the manuscript of my first novel in the early days of the pandemic and despite the death of my son.

From the end of Episode 3: Ultimately, I decided to go the traditional publishing route. Being traditionally published is how I’d always imagined my life as an author. Plus, I had no interest in rewriting the script to fit whatever actual year was on the calendar. So, I drafted a query letter. I thought I was finally on my way! Then absolutely nothing went like I’d imagined it.

Premature Querying

When my oldest son was twelve, he passed all of his promotion exams and was granted the rank of Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. It was a towering achievement, a culmination of seven years of hard work. It was the top of the mountain, the cherry on the sundae, the end of the road. Right?

Nope. 

According to his teacher, Sahbumnim Ralph, it was just the beginning. “Now, the real work begins,” he told my son with a wink.

“Nah, I’m done,” my son said. And he meant it. He never took another class. Now he’s 28 and says he doesn’t know an ap chagi from a yeop chagi. 

Similarly, when I finished the manuscript I had written in 74 days and the revision I finished in another 60, I was sure I was done! All that was left was writing a generic query letter as a start and then finding the perfect agents for my book.

I spent hours researching agents who best matched with the genre and age range of my manuscript: a contemporary YA novel. I made a list of my favorites, put them into a spreadsheet, and highlighted all the agents who were interested in representing own voices or BIPOC authors, especially since I’m a mixed-race author who writes bilingual characters. My debut novel is written in 90% English, 10% Spanish.

Within a couple of days, I queried all seventeen agents on my spreadsheet. The evening that I sent the last email, I poured myself a glass of wine and fantasized about all the requests for a full manuscript that would surely be coming my way in the next few weeks.

From Pixels to Platform

As if I couldn’t have planned it any better, I was in the midst of DIY MFA’s Pixels to Platform course when I finished revising and querying. After sending off my queries into the ethernets, I was able to buckle down and finally start building my platform. 

I mean, with all those book deals surely coming my way, I needed to have some eager readers ready to celebrate with me, right?

I purchased my domain name and corresponding email address, downloaded WordPress, and paid for hosting. I was so grateful that I had completed all of the worksheets in the first few modules of Pixels to Platform because I used all of that information to create my own website.

It took a few days and a lot of trial and error learning how to use WordPress without breaking my site, but I finally achieved a balance between a basic form and rudimentary function.

The next step in my platform was building an email list. I signed up with ConvertKit and spent a day or so designing a landing page, creating a lead magnet and a welcome sequence for subscribers. I installed the ConvertKit widget on my website so my newsletter opt-in form would appear automatically for site visitors who hadn’t yet subscribed. I wrote a short article as my first blog post and made this the last email in my welcome sequence.

After pivoting my existing profiles on Twitter and Instagram from personal to professional, I posted a link to my website. A day or so later, I posted a link to my landing page (in case followers missed the link to my website), and a day or so after that, I posted a link to my blog. I also created an author page on Facebook and did the same there. 

The Sound of Silence

In the meantime, I hadn’t heard anything from the agents I had queried, but I reminded myself it had only been a few weeks. As I continued waiting, I focused on writing blog posts about lessons I had learned from challenging experiences in my life. 

As a high school teacher, one of my whys for writing a YA novel is to inspire young people to use their innate creativity and turn their trauma into art. I see the difference in young people who see themselves as artistic or creative, as compared to their peers who only see what they cannot do or who they cannot be. 

While my own creativity kept me hopeful for several weeks, the sound of silence grew louder. I had heard that many agents simply don’t have time to respond, so if there is no reply after 6 or 8 weeks, to take that as a rejection.

Soon, however, the replies trickled in. 

The Sound of Rejection

It’s not the sound of two hands clapping, that’s for sure!

One by one, I drew a pink digital highlighter through the line in the spreadsheet where I had typed that agent’s information. I wrote the date of the rejection next to each.

Many of the rejections were clearly a form letter, but surprisingly, a few agents gave me solid reasons why they weren’t able to go any further with my manuscript. One, a young Latinx agent, told me she really, really wanted to like my book but she couldn’t connect with my protagonist. Another agent gave me some very detailed feedback on the pages I had sent, which I was grateful for. 

With the consensus being that my book was not quite ready, I knew that I had rushed through the revision process and queried prematurely. Therefore, the next step should have been taking the suggestions of the agents who generously took the time to give me thoughtful feedback.

But that’s not what I did. Instead of getting back to work, I did nothing. 

Truth be told, I was over it. In my mind, I had already baked that cake and set it out at the church bazaar. The last thing I wanted was to take it back and fire up the oven again!

No. Maybe the truth, the real truth, was that I just couldn’t hack it. 

Maybe I just didn’t have what it takes to be a writer.

Stay tuned for Episode 5: Confessions of a Failed Pantser

Anita Ramirez is a writer and teacher who transforms dispassionate teens into lovers of books — one reader at a time. When she’s not teaching Hispanic/Latinx literature and composition to her high school students or linguistics at the college level, she’s revising her first novel, a YA contemporary featuring bilingual characters. She loves the poetry of Pablo Neruda, teen movies from the 1980s and café con leche. You can check out her website, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The post Life of a Writer—Episode 4: Premature Querying and the Sound of Silence appeared first on DIY MFA.

It is crucial to use your time wisely when livestreaminng. There should be a combination of marketing, selling, socializing, educating, and entertaining happening in each. Additionally, there should be a central purpose for each livestream.

As valuable as livestreaming is to any business, many struggle to leverage it effectively. Fortunately, there are things you can do to ensure you’re genuinely connecting with your audience and maintaining a positive brand image while going live. 

Here are some basic rules for livestreaming for your author business:  

Polish Your Personal Brand 

Your personal brand is already so important to the strength of your social media presence in general. When you’re clear about who you are and what you stand for, you attract an audience with similar values that’s more likely to engage with your brand. As a result, this engagement and connection will extend to your livestreams.  

Marketing yourself and your brand in this digital age means offering a consistent brand experience across all of your digital platforms, social media included. Additionally, a polished personal brand ensures viewers know what to expect in your livestreams in terms of professionalism, the level of interaction they’ll receive, and the messaging you’ll use. 

Take some time to analyze your personal brand: 

• Is what you stand for communicated to your audience clearly? 
• What are your values and brand goals? 
• Why did you start your business? 
• What experience do you want the people who engage with your brand to have?

Choose the Best Platform 

Millions of people make daily use of multiple social media platforms. Because of this, you may feel pressured to create as many social media profiles as possible to ensure you’re reaching as many people as possible. But this is counterproductive. You’ll spend way too much time posting and not enough on building lasting relationships. 

Choose one or two social media platforms with livestreaming capabilities to grow your presence on. The most popular social media platforms that offer livestreaming features are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. Whatever platform you choose, each has its own livestreaming pros and cons. 

For example, starting a live on Instagram is simple but can only be done on a mobile device. Facebook offers the option to livestream on a mobile device or desktop computer, but it’s more socially focused. While going live on LinkedIn gives you access to a more professional audience, you have to apply and be approved by the platform to access the livestreaming feature. 

Ultimately, whichever platform you choose, ensure you’re comfortable navigating all the features, your profile is current, and that your target audience is active on it. 

Create an Outline to Guide Each Live 

Freezing up on a live is anyone’s worst nightmare. It can make you look like an amateur, which will ultimately turn them off from viewing your lives in the future. Creating an outline to guide each livestream can help you remain poised and professional. If your mind does go blank, you can quickly refer to your outline and move the conversation forward with your viewers. 

A day or two before you go live, create an outline that details what you’re going to talk about. Your outline should include how much time you’re going to spend on each topic and factor in time for questions at some point. 

Also, you want to ensure the purpose of the live is clear and what action you want viewers to take is communicated throughout. 

Get Really Good at Promotion 

Many people dream of having thousands of viewers flocking to their livestreams but are unrealistic about the work it takes to get there. People don’t go from five viewers on their first live to 1,000 viewers consistently without solid promotion.  

None of your followers will know you’re doing a live if you don’t tell them. The best ways to promote livestreams to your audience will depend on their communication preferences and media choices. 

All in all, however you go about promoting your livestreams, ensure you do it well in advance of the date of the livestream and include all of the critical information at the forefront. 

Connect Your Physical and Digital Worlds

Suppose you’re relying entirely on in-person interactions and physical marketing techniques to bring people to your business. In that case, you’re missing a huge opportunity to further connect with your audience online.  

If you want to stay relevant in this increasingly digital world, your physical business must be complemented by and connected to a digital presence. When we talk specifically about livestreaming on social media, you can share what you’re doing offline with your online audience and vice versa. For example, livestream an in-person event you’re doing. Or encourage your online audience to attend your next event by doing a Q&A livestream about what to expect.  

Ultimately, livestreaming is a great way to stand out from your competition when it’s done right. First, ensure your personal brand is intact before diving in. Then, choose the best platforms for your lives and create outlines for each one to stay focused on its ultimate purpose. And lastly, get good at promotion and ensure you connect your physical and digital audiences to be most impactful with your lives. 

Indiana Lee is a writer and journalist from the Pacific Northwest with a passion for covering workplace issues, social justice, environmental protection, and more. In her off time, she enjoys hiking with her two dogs. You can follow her on Twitter @indianalee3, or reach her at indianaleewrites@gmail.com

The post Livestreaming for Your Author Business appeared first on DIY MFA.

By nature of what we do as writers, it can be easy to forget that visuals are incredibly powerful for promotion and delivering messages. But their power can’t be ignored: 

• Visuals with color increase readers’ recall and attention spans by 82%
• Facebook posts with graphics perform 37% better than posts with just text
• People can process images significantly faster than they process words

But it’s a rare author that’s a graphic design expert—I’m certainly not! And you don’t have to be, either. Fortunately for us, there are excellent tools available that simplify the design process and allow any author to create excellent graphics to promote their books with minimal stress. 

For the purposes of this post, I’ll be focusing on Canva, a free design tool that I rely on for do it yourself book promotion. 

Step One: Gather Your Graphics

The first thing you’ll need is a high-res (high resolution) image of your book cover. To really max your optics, ask your publisher or cover designer if it’s possible to get elements from the cover image too—especially the background. 

You can also get creative with this if you like, and create some additional images inspired by your book. For example, for my most recent novel, I collaborated with a talented artist to create an illustration of a fictional creature from the world I created for the story. 

Step Two: Take Inventory 

What kinds of graphics will you need for your campaign? Each social media channel has different optimal dimensions, as does your website, your newsletter, and other channels you might wish to include!

For me, this list of graphics tends to look something like this: 

• Twitter header
• Facebook header
• LinkedIn header
• Twitter post graphic
• Facebook post igraphic
• Instagram post graphic
• Stories graphic
• Newsletter graphic

Luckily, most of these are universal enough that design tools like Canva offer easy grab-and-go presets for these dimensions—just browse the library or search for what you need. 

Now, upload your book cover, elements, and any other graphics you want to work with and you have everything ready at your fingertips. 

Step Three: Set Your Templates

Your promotion graphics will likely be an opportunity to not only show off the cover of your book, but also key supporting teaser or blurb text. 

Start with one of your larger dimensions, or one that you feel is particularly important for your campaign—I often start with my Instagram template since the images are the full focus in the feed. Then: 

• Consider the rule of thirds. It’s tempting to center the elements of your design, but in fact, it’s better to divide your designs into thirds. Once you see it, you’ll recognize what’s made so many other pro-level images you’ve seen look so polished. 
• Keep text short! You want it to be skimmable at first glance. An elaborate, dense quote of praise does you no good if no one takes the time to read it. 
• Know your color codes. In design, color consistency is everything. Pick colors that complement your book cover or author brand (the dropper tool is great for this), but once you choose them, note those HEX codes and use the exact same hues everywhere. 
• Use templates. Canva (and other graphic tools) offer templates for all sorts of purposes and dimensions. If you’re not sure what to do, pick one that speaks to you and stay as close to the original as possible. 

For me, a tried-and-true formula has been book cover on one-third line, and a brief review quote centered on the other one-third line. This will still look pretty flat, so this is where having your book cover elements on hand can be a game-changer. Use it (or a zoomed-in segment of it) as the background to the image. 

Step Four: Adjust for Other Sizes

Once you have the first version how you like it, you can copy and paste those elements over to the others and quickly have a consistent look to your graphics with just a few tweaks to account for each one. Don’t overthink it! You want your book promotion to be quickly recognizable across all channels. 

Step Five: Create Your Collections

There’s one thing left to do. Now that your template is set for each channel you wish to use graphics on, you’ll want to create variations of each to feature different teasers or quotes. In Canva, you can simply create copies of your first graphic in each version of it for as many different variations you want to create. Easy as A-B-C. 

Your Book Promotion is in Your Hands

Graphics are an important part of a book launch campaign, but you don’t have to be a graphic design expert to create some stellar visuals. The right tools, an understanding of a few key design principles, and a couple hours. Then, trust your gut, have some fun, and don’t be shy about pulling out a trusty template.

By day, E. J. Wenstrom is a digital strategy pro with over 10 years at communications firms. By early-early morning, she’s an award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author of Departures and the Chronicles of the Third Realm War novels. She believes in complicated characters, terrifying monsters, and purple hair dye.

The post Book Promotion Graphics for Newbies appeared first on DIY MFA.

I’m thrilled to be joining you here at DIY MFA to share actionable insights.

In the last few articles, we discussed author brand, and how to spark great book cover design. This time, we’ll cover the ways that your writing life can complement your professional brand on LinkedIn, and three criteria for posts on LinkedIn.

Background

Have you ever considered using LinkedIn to raise awareness for your book(s)?

As I was collaborating with my publisher, Koehler Books, to prepare my book for publication, we crafted marketing plans for the typical platforms: social media and Amazon. Yet, I hesitated when considering LinkedIn. My network on LinkedIn mostly consisted of coworkers I’d known over my decades as a marketer, strategist, and digital leader. I wondered whether posts about Goodbye, Orchid might seem inconsistent from my professional endeavors, or worse, like spam.

The good news is that colleagues have been receptive to my book posts, as long as they have continued to be appropriate for this platform. Specifically, they need to be relevant, provide value, and be professional.

LinkedIn Post MVP’s

Like any good marketer, I experimented to learn, and tweaked my content toward what worked. I started with a post asking for votes in my publisher’s cover design poll. Apropos to LinkedIn, I included an inspiring quote about design, using a palette consistent with my website colors. My first book-related post garnered 1500 views and engagement from people who would later self-select as great advocates for the book:

Based on that positive reception, I tried more tactics. Over this past year, I’ve discovered that LinkedIn posts work best when they are Most Relevant, provide Value, and are Professional. You can remember these criteria with the acronym MVP:

• Post when the content is MOST RELEVANT for your audience.
• Provide VALUE for readers. This can include content that’s newsworthy or illuminates an important topic.
• Aim for posts that are PROFESSIONAL, which helps build your credibility.

Here are examples of each type of post, and some can even fall into multiple categories:

Most Relevant

Posts that are MOST RELEVANT might recognize a National or International holiday, support a specific cause, and/or be published by nationally-recognized media outlets.

For instance, I created this post about Goodbye, Orchid’s support for USA Cares, which helps military veterans. A portion of Goodbye, Orchid‘s profits is donated to this cause, in homage to the combat-wounded veterans that inspired the story.  The timing was especially relevant, as the link was posted on the Navy’s birthday.

Here’s a post sharing that Goodbye, Orchid was featured in Glamour Magazine. Both of these examples also demonstrate the “P” in MVP by leveraging credible media sources to be Professional.

Value

In the second category, here are posts that provide VALUE by highlighting useful insights.

This first example calls attention to the 30^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition to providing value, this content is especially appropriate for Goodbye, Orchid, which has been awarded for disability awareness.

This post provides value to authors in my professional network because the podcast I’m sharing gives writerly tips about design, author brand, and other marketing topics.

In this example, I wrote an article for TrendHunter about the use of AI in identifying the right book awards to submit work to. AI is a valuable topic for many, and garnered good attention on LinkedIn:

Professional

LinkedIn is a professional networking site, so it’s critical that all content is PROFESSIONAL. Many people post when they’ve achieved a significant accomplishment, such as a Master’s degree, an education certificate, or other recognition. My network has been especially receptive to posts about the awards Goodbye, Orchid has received. This has provided more than a dozen reasons to post to-date! Here’s one example:

Notice how the posts are all consistent with my brand purpose, leverage my website color palette, and build engagement with my network.

LinkedIn Best Practices:

• Tag people mentioned
• Include a handful of the most fitting hashtags
• Engage in conversation on related topics, by resharing or commenting on others’ content

Importantly, make sure to respect your audience by being choiceful about what is shared. Don’t over-post. I posted about three times a month during my book launch, interspersed with posts about business topics. I have been able to drive tens of thousands of views and engagements through LinkedIn. As with all book marketing, you can use analytics to determine which posts perform best, and use those to grow momentum.

If you enjoyed this article, please share your own experiences using LinkedIn for book launches in the comments below!

Carol Van Den Hende is the award-winning author of Goodbye, Orchid, a public speaker, and MBA with 20+ years’ experience in marketing, strategy and insights. Carol is passionate about simplifying marketing concepts into actionable steps that authors need for publishing success. Please sign up for Carol’s newsletter at https://carolvandenhende.com/contact or linktr.ee/cvdh

The post Three Criteria for Effective Author Posts on LinkedIn appeared first on DIY MFA.

Because author, that’s exactly what it can be if that’s what you choose. 

In 2021, a few things are certain. You don’t need to be on everyone’s mamas internet to reach your readers, build community, and grow your author business.

You can choose two to three platforms to focus on. Facebook and Twitter, for instance. Or, like me, you can choose one platform. And my platform of choice is Instagram.

Long gone are the days where you have to have a Facebook page, Facebook group, Twitter chat, Snapchat, and every other platform screaming in the wind to draw your attention and monopolize your time.

In this era of social media, you get to choose where you’ll build your fort. 

Please note: this is not a replacement for having an author website, and email list. Without question, you must have your own website, and be actively building your email list.

However, you don’t need everyone’s social platform to attract readers. You can choose one. All this to say, Instagram is a powerhouse tool. For years you’ve given your time on the platform and worked for it…for free. Well, it’s high time we make the social media giant work for you.

Sound good? Let’s dive in.

No Matter Your Genre, Your Readers Are on Instagram

If I told you an eighth of the world’s population was on Instagram…would you believe me? Guess what author…an eighth of the world’s population is. on. Instagram.

As a matter of fact, let’s look at some make-your-eyes-stretch-till-they-might-pop stats about the platform, shall we?

As of June 2021, approximately 1.074 billion people on Planet Earth are actively logging into Instagram every month. But get this—around five hundred million people are logging onto the platform every single day. Uhm, earth to fellow authors? That is a ton of people. Every 24 hours, if you desire, your juicy, sure to make you obsess, novel could be plastered before the eyes of five hundred million people. 

Am I saying that’s exactly what will happen? No. What I am saying is, there’s a huge pie of eyeballs looking at the ‘Gram everyday, and you have every opportunity to grab your slice with each rise of the sun.

Oh, and get this: There are about two hundred million businesses on Instagram. Why not yours? If these businesses are on the ‘Gram, it’s because they’re making shmoneyyy (to be intentionally conflated with money). Businesses go where the money is flowing. If Target, Barnes & Noble, and Etsy shop owners can make money on the ‘Gram, you, dear author, can also grow a healthy and profitable business on the social media platform.

I encourage you to flush the fear that your readers are not on Instagram. I encourage you to ignore any gripe against the algorithm. I encourage you to see what a goldmine the platform is, and how much you have to gain by strategically positioning yourself on Instagram. It’s a social media platform with the power to benefit you with so much more if you play your digital cards right.

Know this: whether you write mystery, fantasy, romance, paranormal, thriller, or fairytale: your readers are on Instagram. The real question then becomes what are you going to do to get your books in front of them?

Leveraging Instagram Changes to Skyrocket Your Author Business

At the time of writing this article, Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, made a public announcement: Instagram is no longer a photo sharing application. It is a content creation, and video focused application. 

Depending on where you stand in the content creation pool, you’re either elated about this news, or more pissed off than an agitated rhinoceros. Either way, regardless of your feelings, the verdict is in. It’s now up to you, my fellow author, to decide what you will do with this information. 

There will be those who fume and refuse to acclimate. You can either join them, or leave them behind and skyrocket your author business. 

The point of Mosseri’s statement is simple: if you post videos, the platform will throw ample engagement your way which will skyrocket your page to success. If you want to stay stuck in your ways and post photos only (cough-bookstagrammers-cough), then your engagement will be joining the dregs of swine.

I choose to lean on the side of positivity and see this as a win. Even though my natural inclination is to not want to do video. At the end of the day, the one thing that’s constant in business is: change.

I’m sure we all learned this lesson the hard way during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020. Yes or yes?

Understanding this, it means: you’ve got to go with the IG flow.

This means leaning into Reels, IGTV videos, Lives, and sharing 30-60 second video clips to your feed, instead of stills and overlays. (Total bummer for all of you who just adore your static mockup fotos)

Leverage the changes happening on the platform and your author business will soar. 

These changes are nothing but a healthy challenge for you to face and get in front of your readers. The platform is changing because the consumers are changing. Meaning, readers, artists, creators, shoppers, hundreds of millions of people, have made it very clear to Instagram what kind of content they want. And Instagram can either stay stuck in their ways, or they can acclimate and keep their users by giving them what they want.

It’s kind of like authors who write what they want versus writing a story their readers will actually want to read…makes sense, yeah?

Start getting comfortable and creative with video content. Watch reels and IGTV videos. Get ideas. Start small. Try, fail, and try again. Keep going. I promise you, it’ll put your author business way ahead of your competitors.

Unique Ways to Connect With Readers and Build Community

You know that your readers are on the ‘Gram. You also know that you need to use video as the catapult to blowing up your author business on the platform in the best way. Here’s some other ways to get creative and set yourself apart:

Use your DMs: Direct Messaging. 

So many readers love to chat through comments, but there’s a special connection that happens when you DM them. Or, they DM you and—shocker!—you DM them back! You’d be tickled at how many are surprised you’d respond.

And here’s another pro-tip: When you have the time, respond to your DMs with a voice note. Even better? A quick little video. It’s all possible with the features of DMs. Not only does it show you care, it shows how much you care. That you, the busy author that you are, would be willing to take a moment and record a little message or video to respond.

This will resonate with your readers for a mighty long time. And I’m sure you’re aware, when just one reader falls in love with you as an author, they easily become evangelists for your books without asking.

This is a wonderful way to build community and really grow your readership once your books and Instagram account start getting in front of readers through your content.

Also, get interactive with your Instagram Stories.

Yes! Post polls. Ask questions. Share a “This or That.” Add clips with music. Use emojis and GIFs. Play around with fun filters. Get creative.

It doesn’t take much to slap on something fun and engaging that grabs attention and builds connection. After all, Instagram is still a social media platform. They’re just challenging you to get creative with how you do so.

Some Easy-to-Implement Next Steps

Okay author, it’s time for you to make Instagram work for you by getting creative and leveraging the platform strategically to connect with readers so you can grow your author business. 

I encourage you to get familiar with the features that are being focused on: Reels, IGTV (Instagram TV), and Stories. As well as any and all forms of video content. It may seem obnoxious at first, especially if video content doesn’t make you comfortable. But it’s all about the frame of mind dear author.

If you tell yourself you’ll have a blast? You will. If you tell yourself you’re going to do great? You will. 

Research. Study what others are doing, and go with the simple ones. Then, execute.

Your Instagram account has the power to turn into a reader magnet machine. Are you willing to do what it takes to make it happen?

Stephanie BwaBwa is a Jesus-centered, young adult and new adult fantasy author, writing in the world of Elledelle about black angels, magic, and mayhem. She’s also the CEO of: Parables & Fantasy. She loves writing stories centered around fiesty angels with complicated pasts, unexpected futures, learning to take up causes bigger than themselves, who may or may not fall in love along the way. Jesus is her Lord, Disney+ is her safe place, she dreams of being a monkey mama and she’s always penning a new story in Elledelle. You can usually catch her going for a walk through a park, or simply binging Disney+ with too many snacks. Get in contact with Stephanie directly at: stephaniebwabwa.com.

The post Using Instagram to Grow Your Author Business appeared first on DIY MFA.

But through the power of technology, I am able to make connections and build a community with like-minded people.

At DIY MFA, we are constantly working behind the scenes to help our word nerds develop their community. We do this through our social media presence. We do this through our summits and our affiliate promotions, where we introduce our word nerds to other writers who may have a message that resonates with them. We do this through our membership HUB and our Word Nerds Unite Facebook group, which give people the opportunity to connect in real time.

The Power of Community

Back in grad school, one of my friends was going through a difficult patch, and I reminded her that while she was feeling lonely, she wasn’t alone. I recently began viewing my writing in much the same way. At times, writing can be a very lonely act. But that doesn’t mean that I am alone. Subconsciously and consciously throughout my writing journey, I have amassed quite a community. In this community, I have found support, encouragement, inspiration, advice—all of the things that make living and creating worthwhile. Today, I want to share with you some of the ways I have personally built my community and how it has impacted me in the hopes that it will help you build your own connections.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Building my community first started with reading when I found Goodreads back in 2008. I joined some groups (Rory Gilmore Reading Club, anyone?) and began making comments on threads with complete strangers. These comments grew into conversations and private messaging, exchanging phone numbers in some cases. People I still text to this day! 

Then we all began getting Twitter accounts and following each other. This, fortunately, led me to new people who were part of Goodreads groups I wasn’t in. We started blogs and began exchanging comments and promoting each other’s posts. Instagram entered the mix and things mushroomed from there.

As we bonded over a shared love of reading, we also shared details about our non-reading lives. I found people who love baseball like I do. I found people who like the same TV shows. And I found people who like to write.

(Fun fact: One of them in particular actually introduced me to DIY MFA.)

Like I said before, since joining DIY MFA, my community has grown exponentially. I’m part of a writing group that actually, from time to time, exchanges and critiques each other’s writing.

As part of my job, I coordinate the columnists. In checking out one of the columnist’s websites, I came across a mailing list that specializes in writing memoir (my passion genre).

But my community doesn’t end here.

Virtual Events

I’m an introvert by nature, but I’ve begun making it a point to attend virtual events. There have been many, many, many, many bad things resulting from Covid and lockdown, and I am not here to minimize any of them. I do, however, want to highlight the enormous blessing that virtual events have had in my life over the past year.

Like I said, I live in what often feels like the middle of a cultural desert. Every so often, a big-name author would come to one of the two cities in the state for a reading, but driving to those events was generally not possible for me for logistical reasons. And you can forget about a major writing conference happening within driving distance!

However, in the past 14 months, I have been able to attend readings with Stephen King, John Grisham, Margaret Atwood, Lesley Blume, Alexander Chee, and many other writers I admire all on Zoom. Moving things virtually has allowed the indie in the nearest city to bring in a ton of writers and has allowed me to be able to watch the event from my office.

And I haven’t just stopped at readings. 

I’ve attended some online writers’ conferences as well. Through these conferences I’ve pitched to agents with mixed results, and I’ve gotten some extremely useful feedback on my writing. I even signed up for an additional clinic with one of the conference organizers, and she recognized me when I commented on her social media. Connection made!

Build Connections

My point is that there are opportunities to build your community all around you. And through technology, those opportunities are increasing. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I don’t think virtual events are going to go away when in-person events come back. I think organizers have seen the value in making events accessible online.

All it really takes, like with anything, is a little bit of daring to put yourself out there. Worst case scenario, you get a no or a missed connection. That happens. But if you never try, you’ll never get that yes, that connection that makes things start to fall into place.

Lori Walker is the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. Though she’s fallen off the wagon as a writer, she’s hoping to return to writing essays (perhaps even a novel!) through her involvement with DIY MFA. She is also Launch Manager, Web Editor, and Podcast Producer for DIY MFA and a Book Coach. She resides in Smalltown, Oklahoma, with her husband and their cat, Joan Didion. You can follow her on Instagram at @LoriTheWriter.

The post Build a Virtual Community appeared first on DIY MFA.

So, let’s take a closer look at what an engagement rate is, why it matters, and how to use it to manage your platform. 

What is an engagement rate?

Your engagement rate is your most important metric! Shown as a percentage, it measures the rate at which others within your social media network like, comment, share, click, or otherwise interact with your posts.

It can be measured a few different ways, so check network to network to understand how your metrics are being measured. Typically, it’s the percentage of accounts that viewed your post in their feed and took action to engage with it. Another way it might be measured would be as a percentage of your followers (who may not all have seen it in their feeds, depending on timing and algorithms).

Why is engagement rate so important?

It can be satisfying to rack up a high number of followers or subscribers, but on its own, it doesn’t necessarily mean much! If your followers opt in on impulse for a giveaway or other incentive, for example, but then forget who you are when they see you in their feed, those followers might not help you grow a readership.

Engagement rate is the best way to measure the quality of your relationships with your followers, and how strong your content is for connecting with them. At the end of the day, those reader relationships are what social media platforming is all about!

With this in mind, let’s look at a few important things to know about engagement rates.

1. Your targets change by channel

There is no universal rule of thumb I can give you to know whether your engagement rate is “good.” Because each social network and digital channel has different demographics, dynamics, and algorithms, average engagement rates vary.

Fortunately, these averages can also be easy to find with Googling, and while they’re rough estimates running a wide gamut of account types, it’s a decent reference point. Twitter, for example, has an average engagement rate of 0.2-0.9%, while for Facebook pages the average is 0.09%. Instagram is a relatively high 5.6% for accounts with 5,000 followers or fewer, and TicTok’s is as high as 17.5%. For newsletters, the average click-through rate is 2.5%.

You can find your engagement rates on the analytics or insights pages for most networks. (Instagram’s more finicky with its data, but this IG engagement rate calculator is a handy tool).

2. Your engagement rate will evolve with your audience

The qualifiers on that Instagram average above might have been a hint—your engagement rate will mature as your audience grows.

Consider: when you’re starting out, those first 10, 20, 100 followers are your biggest fans, the ones following your journey from the start: your critique group, your buddies, and, yeah, probably your mom. Those biggest early fans are the ones most likely to engage with your content at the highest rates.

But as you grow, your engagement rates will level out and stabilize at lower numbers. That’s normal and totally okay!

3. As you grow, your engagement rate can serve as a sign of your list’s health

Once your engagement rate stabilizes, you can watch it for signs of how healthy your list is and troubleshoot if things take a turn.

For example, many authors use cross-promotion or giveaway swaps to build their lists. This can be a great tactic, but in some cases, it can lead to dead weight on your list from followers who only come for the giveaway and never engage again. For something like a newsletter, this can be especially problematic because it can lead to getting filed as spam. But an issue like this is easy to spot with your engagement rate.

If you start to see the engagement rate drop too low, take it as a sign to switch up your tactics (and on your newsletter, consider removing subscribers who haven’t opened an email for six months).

For Author Platforms, Engagement Rate Is The Metric to Watch

When platforming with professional goals in mind, keep an eye on your analytics—after all, what gets measured gets managed!

While many networks make it easiest to watch your follower numbers and tuck everything else away in often complex dashboards, the one metric you really want to keep your eye on is the engagement rate.

Remember, platform isn’t just about the numbers! Ultimately, it’s about building relationships with an audience that loves your creative work. Engagement rate is the metric that helps you measure those relationships best, and keep them healthy so your readership can grow.

By day, E. J. Wenstrom is a digital strategy pro with over 10 years at communications firms. By early-early morning, she’s an award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author of the Chronicles of the Third Realm War novels, starting with Mud. She believes in complicated characters, terrifying monsters, and purple hair dye.

The post Engagement Rate and Your Author Platform appeared first on DIY MFA.