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Advertising Your Books on Facebook & Instagram: 5 Actionable Tips for Authors

August 10, 2018 by Kimberley Grabas

If you’re interested in ways to manage your Facebook ads more efficiently, you’re in luck. The following post is by Ricardo Fayet, one of the founders of Reedsy* (a network of world-class publishing professionals that provide authors access to a diverse roster of talented editors, designers, marketers, and ghostwriters). Ricardo walks us through five key ways to implement Facebook and Instagram ads that get results.

(Note: Links marked with as asterisk denote affiliate links, which means that your choice to buy the service or product will result in a commission for Your Writer Platform – at no extra cost to you. For more information, click here.)

While Facebook ads for authors are becoming increasingly competitive as more and more independent authors make use of them (and target the same audiences), they are still one of the best avenues to market a book.

Since Facebook has data about pretty much anyone out there, their advertising platform makes it easy for any author — no matter how niche their books are — to find their audience and serve ads to their readers directly in their Facebook or Instagram feeds. More importantly, ads are relatively cheap to test: you can get started with $5 a day and see results.

The only issue is, Facebook’s Ad Manager has become quite a complex interface, which changes almost every month as Facebook rolls out new features and possibilities. While these are generally a good thing for experienced advertisers, they make the learning curve even steeper for authors looking to get in the game.

In this post, I’ll help you cut some steps in the learning curve by giving you five actionable tips you can implement right away — whether that’s to improve the results of your existing campaigns, or to set up your first one! [Read more…]

Social Media for Authors: Quick Tips to Get It Right

June 2, 2018 by Kimberley Grabas

No matter how difficult it proves to be to get your ideas and stories down on paper, it’s more often the promotional aspects of “being a writer” that become the biggest obstacles for today’s author. In the following post, professional writer, Jessica Fender, shares a bit of her struggle in “getting the book out there”, as well as her suggestions on how to effectively use social media channels to engage readers and build relationships you’ll leverage for this, and every book you write.

Have you managed to finish your book and are you publishing independently? Great! Now, for the hard part – getting people to read it. ‘The hard part?’ you mumble. ‘Do you know how difficult it is to write a book?’

Yeah, I do. It’s difficult. Unfortunately, the marketing and social media plan can be pretty tough as well. In part, that’s down to the idea that you feel you’ve finished it. That’s certainly how I felt. I really didn’t want to go out there and sell it to people.

Actually, that’s not exactly how it went. First, I assumed the book would sell itself. People would read it. They would like it and tell other people about it. And so it would grow. If that was your plan as well then here’s my advice: Get another plan.

Books don’t sell themselves. Marketing sells books. So, if you really want to get your baby out there and read and you don’t have (or want) a publisher, you’re going to have to do that part as well!

Now, the good news

That sounds depressing? It is a little bit, I’ll freely admit. At the same time, there is a silver lining to this marketing cloud. Today it has become easier than ever to actually get your book out there in front of people. Mainly because of social media. If you know how to implement social platforms into your marketing strategy correctly, you can get some serious traction without having to spend some serious dough. In fact, there are plenty of authors who managed to do so. [Read more…]

The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up: Does Your Elevator Pitch Stand Out? (Issue #30)

February 23, 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!)

Crafting the Perfect Elevator Pitch

“So, what’s your book about?”

Umm…

Distilling the essence of your book, your author brand, or even your freelance services down into just a few sentences has mentally defeated many a writer.

But, it’s inevitable–and desirable–that people will want to know (briefly) what your work is about, and why they should care.

To help you overcome the stuttering, rambling, discombobulated answer you may be currently giving to the above question, here are a few pointers for creating an elevator pitch that stands out:

Tip #1 Be Succinct

The beauty of having to create a brief, but compelling, elevator pitch is that it requires you to dig deep for the true essence of your book, your brand or your service. In order to concisely share it, you’ll first need to know it yourself. Think sentences, not paragraphs, and keep fine-tuning until you’re certain you’ve captured the heart of your work. [Read more…]

The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up: The Definition of Marketing (Issue #28)

January 26, 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.

Marketing May Have to Change Its Name

Marketing is simply the process and activities involved in creating awareness for a product or service, typically aimed at a specific group.

And, although there can be many definitions and variations on the theme (based on the intentions and the values of the one actually doing the marketing), the core concept itself isn’t especially unfavourable.

Intuitively it makes sense that there be a mechanism for connecting what you have to offer, to the group you’d like to offer it to.

The issue that arises for many authors is the suspicion and negativity associated with marketing that has evolved over time: smarmy undertones, cheesy or self-serving tactics, and the in-your-face aggressiveness of mediocre marketing strategies gone bad.

But, I think ‘marketing’ has gotten a bad rap.

The theory is sound, it’s the application that is–in many cases–somewhat less than stellar.

But, marketing your work as an author is a must, so if it still makes you feel dirty, just think of it this way: [Read more…]

(Note: Links marked with as asterisk denote affiliate links, which means that your choice to buy the service or product will result in a commission for Your Writer Platform – at no extra cost to you. For more information, click here.)

Now, the good news

Crafting the Perfect Elevator Pitch

Marketing May Have to Change Its Name

Authors with Platforms Sell Books.