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Megan Cashman

Tag Archives: blogging

Does Social Media Help Sell Books?

10 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by Megan in Being an Author, On Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

blogging, books, Facebook, indie authors, Indie books, indie writers, self-published authors, selling books, social media, Twitter, vlogging, YouTube

If you’re a newcomer author, you probably have heard that you need to establish a social media presence in order to sell your books. It may seem daunting if you are unfamiliar with how social media works when it comes to selling something, but it can be easily be learned. It also can be easily learned that some of what you hear about selling books via social media may not be true.

Image by Blogtrepreneur via Flickr

During the five years since I released my first book, I’ve learned a lot about how social media works, in terms of business. So, in this post, I am going to give my thoughts and opinions on the whole social media thing. Remember, this is based on my experience.

First things first: no, you are not going to sell books via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all the others.

You might have heard people tell you to provide links to your books on these social media platforms, and constantly provide these links, in order to have success as an author. But that is not how it works. In my experience, very few people are going to click on a link on Twitter or Google+, and go to Amazon or Smashwords, let alone actually buy your book. Those social media posts may come across as spam for a lot of people.

In my opinion, the best time to ever provide links to your book(s) on social media is when you have a sale, a big promo going on, or something seasonal may attract people to that link. For example, it’s October, and my books is about vampires. Since it is the month of all things dark and spooky, I will tweet a few times a link to my book on Amazon or Goodreads. It may not work; it may come across as spam. But it doesn’t hurt. I just will only do it a handful of times.

In the meantime, I better do something else with my social media presence. I need to add more content to my feeds in order to draw attention to my authorship. And that is what social media is all about: drawing attention to something. Whether it is a person, a business, a promotion, whichever – social media announces, “I am here!” And that helps get word out about your books.

Remember, selling books is a business. Writing is a craft, an art. Selling the work is a business, and social media is a big part of how businesses sell their products.

It is a way to interact with followers that could lead to sales. It is also a way to meet other people in the same field. I’ve met quite a few other authors through social media. Eventually, word gets out about your book(s) and people may just pick them up and read them.

But no, social media does not sell books. Don’t count on it, don’t rely on it.

You are probably wondering if blogging – which is form of social media – sells books. Well, I’ve had a few sales that way, but not a lot. But that is not why I blog; I do not blog to sell books. I blog to get the word out about myself as an author. I blog because it is my way of talking to people. I blog to start conversations with other authors. I blog because it is fun.

That being said, I am going to start a new way of reaching people: starting next week, I am going to vlog – meaning video blog. I am going to set up a YouTube channel where I would be doing the same thing I do here, only I’ll be speaking rather than typing/writing. No, I won’t stop blogging altogether. I like this blog, and I want to keep it going. I’ll just be finding a new way to reach people as I continue on as an author. That will happen sometime around next week.

In the meantime, I will continue using social media to get the word about myself and my book(s). And you do the same. Fill your channels with content related to you and your work. Let others get to know you. That may help – just help! – sell your work.

 

Happy Belated Anniversary to My Blog!

15 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by Megan in Miscellaneous

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

anniversary, authors, blogging, happy anniversary, milestone

Yep – I’ve been blogging here for 1 year…and 8 days.

I knew I started this blog a year ago, but I thought I began right before Memorial Day. But last night I re-checked, and sure enough I started on May 7, 2012.

So…hooray for me! I’ve been having fun with this blog and its been a great way to share my thoughts on writing, vampires, self-publishing and other topics. I’ve also been enjoying interviewing authors on Wednesdays, which is a good way to not only help promote their work but also to personally connect with them. Its always good to get know fellow authors and share experiences with them.

As I mentioned in a very recent post, I will be trying to blog more often. I will be aiming to post three times a week, though I can’t guarantee that with my busy life. But I will do my best.

Anyway, happy belated anniversary to my blog!

images

Updates – This Blog and My Life

05 Sunday May 2013

Posted by Megan in Miscellaneous

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

blog news, blogging, Brooklyn, moving, NYC, relocating, Staten Island, writing

Hey everyone!

Brooklyn_Bridge

Image via Wikimedia Commons

I know its been quite a while since I’ve posting anything. That is because I made a big change in my life – I’ve moved to a new location! Since last week, I am no longer a Staten Islander, and now I am a Brooklynite. 🙂 Yep, I pretty much went backwards. Many people on Staten Island left Brooklyn to go there, but I went in the opposite direction, LOL! But this borough is a beacon for many writers, so I’m in the right place.

Now that I’ve settled in and gotten used to my new surroundings, I will once again start posting regularly. I am aiming to post three times a week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I’ve been meaning to post on a scheduled basis, but that was before I started making lists on what to post about. My advice to anyone with an author blog is to make a list on topics you can talk about. If you already have ideas, bless you. But I usually thought up ideas and forgot about them not long after, so I started listing them and came up with others in the process. So, I am hoping this will help me post three times a week. As always, I’ll be talking about writing, vampires, self-publishing and a few others things. I’ll also continue with my Wednesday Interviews whenever an author comes along.

OK, that’s it now. See you all tomorrow!

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