Posts tagged Networking
Marketing: Developing Your Network
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Have you wondered why birds gather on utility wires like the ones in this picture? While I’m sure there’s some deep, dark secret as to why they do that, I’d say they’re probably networking. They perch high above the action so that they can see what’s going on. They go out to hunt food and face danger each day. When they return to their group, they share their experiences. That’s networking, and it’s an activity your marketing plan cannot be without.
Marketing is figuring out how to present yourself to other writers, editors, publishers, and potential readers. Networking helps you collect information on what your audiences want or need. Also, it helps them get to know about you and your work. Most people are more willing to recommend you or help you promote your work if they know you.
The concept of “platform” so often mentioned by those giving marketing advice to writers is just another facet of networking. People will buy your product if they know you or your previous work. So how does a writer build a network?
Join writers’ groups. Search online and ask around for local writer’s groups. Visit American Christian Writers website for a list of local chapters. If you live in a rural area, networking with other writers can be difficult. However, you can meet and work with other writers through online groups. Go to my previous post on online writers’ groups for details.
Attend writers’ conferences. By the end of November, most conferences are done for the year. However, there’s still time to sign up for the American Christian Writers Caribbean Cruise. Not in your budget? Actually, it’s not in mine, either. This is a good time to plan for conference attendance next year. Sally Stuart has a conference list on her website. Also, ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com maintains a useful conference list.
Use social media. Although it can be a waste of time, social media do help you keep in touch with people you’ve met at conferences. And, it helps them to remember you. If you aren’t on Twitter or Facebook now, spend some time learning about it with my previous how-to post on social media. Don’t forget that blogging is a form of social media, too. Browse my site for a number of posts on blogging if you need help with that. Rachelle Garner recently wrote about social media on her blog. Definitely take a minute to read her post.
Writers can gather in person, like the birds on the light wire, or online to educate and encourage one another. The whole point of networking is to create a “flock” of people with whom you can share information. Don’t try to fly solo, especially if you are a beginner.
The concept of “platform” so often mentioned by those giving marketing advice to writers is just another facet of networking. People will buy your product if they know you or your previous work. So how does a writer build a network?
Join writers’ groups. Search online and ask around for local writer’s groups. Visit American Christian Writers website for a list of local chapters. If you live in a rural area, networking with other writers can be difficult. However, you can meet and work with other writers through online groups. Go to my previous post on online writers’ groups for details.
Attend writers’ conferences. By the end of November, most conferences are done for the year. However, there’s still time to sign up for the American Christian Writers Caribbean Cruise. Not in your budget? Actually, it’s not in mine, either. This is a good time to plan for conference attendance next year. Sally Stuart has a conference list on her website. Also, ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com maintains a useful conference list.
Use social media. Although it can be a waste of time, social media do help you keep in touch with people you’ve met at conferences. And, it helps them to remember you. If you aren’t on Twitter or Facebook now, spend some time learning about it with my previous how-to post on social media. Don’t forget that blogging is a form of social media, too. Browse my site for a number of posts on blogging if you need help with that. Rachelle Garner recently wrote about social media on her blog. Definitely take a minute to read her post.
Writers can gather in person like the birds on the light wire or online to educate and encourage one another. The whole point of networking is to create a “flock” of people with whom you can share information. Don’t try to fly solo, especially if you are a beginner.
Promotion/Networking: Twitter for Writers
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Continuing the series on social media for writers, today I’ll share what I’ve learned about Twitter, the micro-blogging tool. If you are not familiar with Twitter, go to this article on Wikipedia now.
Instead of having friends as on Facebook, Twitter users have followers. I’ve used Twitter for several months now, following people mainly in the Christian publishing industry. Some of the same people are friends on Facebook. As of today, I am following 49 people, and 56 people are following me. Some say that you should follow everyone who follows you, but I don’t follow people unless it appears that their content will be of interest to me.
What I Like About Twitter
- Posts (tweet) are short and often provide links that I can access if I want to know more. It doesn’t take me long to scan the list and read the things I’m interested in.
- I can post announcements about new blog posts to help build my readership.
- I can follow people I want to know more about and ignore the ones that are following me in order to sell me something.
- The new Lists feature allows me to separate my preferred follows from the ones I’m just following as a courtesy.
What I Don’t Like About Twitter
- Some people resort to text message language in order to get a longer message in the 140 character limit. Besides having trouble interpreting some of it, I see this as cheating!
- Some people must just tweet all day long. There’s a limit to how much I want to hear from any one person, no matter how much they know about writing and publishing. If you have that much to say, use a blog.
- I’m following publishing professionals for information about writing and publishing, not about where they’re going, what they’re having for dinner (breakfast, lunch, snack), or what the weather is like where they live.
Twitter Marketing Effectiveness
Although there are things I don’t like about Twitter (and other social media, for that matter), I have to admit that they can be effective. I do see an increase in the traffic on my blogs for a day or so after I tweet about a post.
Recently, a family in Vermont needed funding for medical treatment for their special needs baby. The mother let friends know about the problem via Twitter. Someone set up a page on her Web site where people could make donations through Paypal. The message went out on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. See the details in this article, “How Social Media Saved Jaeli.”
Other Articles About Twitter
Seven Twitter People Every Author Should Follow
Nine Ways to Promote Your Book Using Social Media
See my previous posts on Facebook here and on social media in general here.
Read my post on Twitter, Facebook, and Tweetdeck.
Promotion/Networking: Facebook for Writers
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In my last post, I promised to share my experiences with social media. I have not experimented with all of the possible methods. I primarily use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Follow the links in the previous sentence to see my home page for each site. I’ve found that I have more to say on each method than I originally thought, so I will limit this post to Facebook. Others will be covered in future posts.
My Facebook friends include long-time friends, family, and writers/editors/publishers. I joined because a writer’s conference I planned to attend had set up a Facebook group. At first, I thought I would limit Facebook friends to writers, editors, and publishers. However, I soon found out that I had many long-lost friends on Facebook, so I decided to include them. Since I joined Facebook to promote my writing, it stands to reason that I want everyone who knows me to know about my blogs. So, why leave anyone out just because they’re not involved in the publishing industry?
Promote your blog: I have several blogs, and I often post an announcement that there’s a new post on a blog. This nets me higher traffic on the blog for a day or so after I post. I’m not getting many e-mail subscribers for my blogs from Facebook as I had hoped. It’s possible that I may be getting subscribers by RSS feed, which I cannot track. But, the increase in traffic, even if temporary, is worth the effort.
Promote your published work: Many published authors use Facebook to keep readers informed by setting up a group. Check out Rita Gerlach’s group for her recent novel, Surrender the Wind. I’m not sure whether you’ll get to see comments of fans unless you log in, but try the link anyway. For fiction writers, building a fan base like this is a must. You want your fans to be ready and willing to buy your next book when it comes out.
Non-fiction writers can post announcements about articles published in print or provide links to work published online. In addition, a non-fiction write can use a topic-based or cause-based group to build contacts. As group owner, you can post updates on your topic or cause, thereby keeping your expertise in that topic in front of your readers. See United Methodist Committee on Relief and Power of Prayer.
Priming the pump: In commenting on other people’s posts, I’ve had interesting Facebook conversations on topics that I’d never have a chance to discuss in person. Just yesterday, a friend posted a comment about an experience she had. I commented on it and received updates throughout the day. By the end of the day, I had an idea for a new article based on the topic that was discussed.
I welcome comments about your experiences marketing yourself and your work on Facebook. Next post: Twitter
Promotion/Place: Networking
0In the last few posts, I’ve talked about the Product and Promotion components of a Four P’s marketing plan for writers. See the Golden Rule Marketing article for a quick review of the Four P’s. Next, let’s move on to the Place component, being in the right place at the right time to get the business (writing assignment, book contract, editing client).
Networking is a way to develop contacts, people who may become customers or sources of word-of-mouth recommendations (referrals). It is “informal communication,” and it occurs in-person, over the phone, by mail, or online. You won’t necessarily make a sales pitch for your business with every contact, but you can use networking to establish yourself as a credible source of information on your specialty. Thinking back on my own experience, I realize that I chose my doctor, my dentist, and my child’s music teacher based on referrals from neighbors and friends. I did check their credentials, but it was the referral that started me looking at these people initially.
Word of mouth has always been the most effective means of promotion for products or services. Marketing professionals often use the term “viral marketing.” You know what a virus does to your body when you pick it up through your “network” of friends, family, and coworkers. An e-mail virus creates havoc by sending and resending itself through individual e-mail accounts. Each e-mail user’s address book represents his or her network. Each person in this address book has his or her own network. When network meets network, the virus propagates itself throughout the Internet community.
Do you have existing clients or customers? Give them an incentive to refer your services to others. Write down the names of all of the people you see every day. How many of them might need your services at some point? How many of them know someone who might need your services? Use your network to pass the word about your business.
More Info:
Word of Mouth Marketing: http://www.wordofmouthbook.com/book/
Article on viral marketing by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson: http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm
Networking to create leads: http://www.marketingpower.com/content18916.php
Writers Conferences: Why-to, How-to
0Have you been to a writers’ conference lately? It’s been about a week since I got back from Kentucky Christian Writers Conference, and I’m still working on ideas and leads obtained there.
Why Attend Conferences?
If you’re a writer seeking to get published, you must attend conferences to:
- Improve your craft through sharing information with other writers and through the workshops offered,
- Learn how to present your work to editors and agents,
- Meet editors and agents individually if the conference offers private appointments,
- Get out of your routine so that your creative juices can begin to flow,
- Learn marketing techniques for selling your books and articles,
- Be inspired and/or overwhelmed by the experience.
Beginning writers often fail to understand that the most important information that they gain at conferences is how to market their work. Of course, the other things are important, but marketing is the tool that helps you get your work published. Take a look at the Marketing Mix page for insight.
How Do I Choose a Conference?
Here’s the process I use for deciding which conferences to attend:
- Search the Web for “Christian writers conference” in my area, or browse the conference list on ChristianManuscriptSubmission.com,
- Look for conferences being held near where I live,
- Check the dates and eliminate the ones for which I have conflicts,
- Examine the faculty list and workshop offerings for people I need to meet and subject matter you need help with,
- Add up the total cost, including tuition, meals, housing, and travel expenses,
- Decide which ones I’d like to attend and start working on the arrangements,
- Pray about my choices and let God guide me as I plan.
I welcome comments on any conferences that my readers may have attended. In the past year, I have attended Indianapolis Christian Writers Conference, the ACW Conference in Memphis, and the one in KY. I’ll post an evaluation of the each conference soon.
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