| Your Writer Platform

The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up: Using Google Alerts to Build Your Writer Platform (Issue #29)

February 16, 2014 by Kimberley Grabas

This post is part of a weekly series on YWP, aptly titled “The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up”.

Each Sunday, I will endeavour to provide you with a curated list of the best articles I have seen throughout the week that relate to building your platform.

The featured articles cover topics on book marketing and promotion, blogging, social media and self-publishing. (I may even throw in a few inspirational and fun posts, just so that it’s not all work and no play!)

Get Out Your Spy Gear; It’s Time to Gather Some Intel!

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Google Alerts.

Raise your hand if you know how you can leverage Google Alerts to easily gather knowledge on what others are saying about you and your work online, as well as what they’re saying about other authors, your industry, or your genre.

For those of you with your hands down, I’ve whipped up a quick guide on how to use Google Alerts to flex your secret agent muscle. [Read more…]

The Highly Underrated Gravatar – Why You Need One and How to Get It

October 24, 2013 by Kimberley Grabas

Setting up your online presence can be an onerous task.

There is a long list of to-do’s between setting up your website, optimizing your social media outposts and creating compelling content that not only resonates with your current readers but draws new visitors to your site.

And typically, the most significant movements forward come from concentrating on the big stuff and avoiding just-one-more-little-tweak syndrome.

When first starting out, most of us are overly susceptible to this condition because we don’t have a hierarchy of importance for tasks – we don’t have enough experience to determine what is critical for building momentum, and what are simply time-wasters.

What makes it even tougher?

Occasionally it is a small thing that can end up making a powerful difference in your ability to stand out, get noticed and build your author brand.

Here is one of those super-effective small things: your Gravatar.

What is a Gravatar?

As you’ve been busily commenting away on influential sites in your genre or niche (you have been implementing a comment strategy, right?), I’m sure you’ve noticed the small images that accompany people’s comments or discussions on the various sites.

These images are called Gravatars, which stands for ‘globally recognized avatars’.

A Gravatar allows blogs, sites and forums to use an avatar (an image, icon or graphic that represents you or your brand online) that you only have to set up once, rather than having to upload an image each time you comment. [Read more…]

10 Ways to Defeat Obscurity: Tips for Authors Who Want to Get Noticed (Infographic)

August 29, 2013 by Kimberley Grabas

It’s a bit of a gong show out there.

Everybody scrambling to get noticed, to be heard.

It’s particularly difficult for some writers, who aren’t known for their smooth social skills and extroverted tendencies.

But there are ways to break through the bustle and noise to find those people who are truly interested in hearing what you have to say.

And it can be done without the dirty feeling of hawking your wares on a crowded street corner.

Below is an infographic of 10 things you can incorporate into your marketing strategy today, to begin to shine a light on your work and expand your career as an author. [Read more…]

34 Strategic Ways You Can Use Pinterest to Market Your Book and Your Author Brand

August 22, 2013 by Kimberley Grabas

Pinterest is exploding!

And with it, so too are the opportunities for authors to expand their reach and increase their book promotion and brand awareness.

Now the third largest social network, Pinterest acts as a virtual pin board that helps you organize and share things you find on the web. As you surf, you can pin images from other sites onto Pinterest where others can re-pin those same images.

People head to Pinterest to find solutions, get ideas and to be inspired. Plus pinners are buyers.

Hmmm…

So how do we encourage them to be book buyers–your book buyers?

Well, like with all social media, it’s important to avoid the incessant self-promotion. Pinterest is a quieter platform where you express yourself primarily through images. No witty banter required.

Plus, over 80% of pins are re-pins, which means if you are in that 20% of pinners that are sharing original content, you can add real value. If you provide remarkable content, your fellow pinners will happily circulate it for you.

What’s important on Pinterest is to market indirectly by building trust, loyalty and engagement. You want to give people a reason to click through to your site for more.

“Pinterest drives more referral traffic to websites than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined.”

~ Mashable

Your goal should be to teach, entertain and inspire your audience on Pinterest. In return, Pinterest will grant you the ability to increase awareness of your author brand, drive more relevant traffic to your website and increase your book sales. [Read more…]

How To Target an Audience (And Avoid Book Launch Flop)

July 16, 2013 by Kimberley Grabas

Just launched your book (or hope to soon)?

Wondering why there is more fizzle than fan-fare?

Your target audience–or lack thereof–may be to blame.

Why Target An Audience?

One of the biggest mistakes writers make as fledgling authorpreneurs is believing that the larger the potential market, the greater the chances that their book (or freelance services) will get noticed.

In fact, the opposite is often true. The larger the market, the more competition you are likely to face and the bigger the drain on your already limited resources.

Trying to appeal to the masses instead of understanding the needs, wants and desires of a select few–the ‘right’ few–is the recipe for a book launch flop.

Finding and narrowing your niche will help you to reach–and appeal to–more of the people that will ultimately buy your book.

The key is to identify and research what your true target audience craves, recognize the unique and meaningful aspects of what you have to offer, and align the two to benefit your ideal reader in an exceptional way.

Here are some additional points to consider:

Don’t assume you already know your audience, or that they are just like you. It’s possible, but not always the case that your audience will think like you. So do the work to confirm what your readers actually want; not what you think they need.

Self-published authors aren’t the only ones who need to have a firm grasp on their target audience. Agents and traditional publishers also want you to know who your audience is, your allure to that particular group, and how you plan on connecting with them.

Even though it’s important to niche-down, it is equally important to ensure that you haven’t narrowed your market to the point it has become unprofitable. A bit of research will help you define your sweet spot.

Another mistake that many authors make, especially fiction authors, is failing to identify their target audience before writing the book. I know it messes with the creative process for some, but it certainly can’t hurt to have a picture in your mind of who you are writing for as you craft your novel. In fact, it can make things easier by helping to clarify the purpose of your book, keep you on track and even motivate you to finish. Both fiction and non-fiction writers need to write with their target audience in mind. [Read more…]

Get Out Your Spy Gear; It’s Time to Gather Some Intel!

What is a Gravatar?

Why Target An Audience?

Authors with Platforms Sell Books.