Why Authors Need a Social Media Presence

Depending on your point of view the Internet can be exciting, overwhelming, frustrating, interesting or a combination of all of those adjectives and maybe more. Unfortunately, authors who find the Internet overwhelming and daunting may get left behind when it comes to marketing their book. The Internet, particularly when it comes to social media, has the power to launch your book to a global audience you may never have reached with traditional marketing.

Some of you may be asking, “What is social media anyway?” Social media is information designed to be distributed through social interaction on the Internet. Social media allows users to be engaged with the content so they go from just being content consumers (think broadcast news) to content producers. For example, YouTube (a social media site where people upload videos of themselves and others) is completely user generated content. People are free to upload content as they want, interact with others who are uploading content, leave comments, rate videos and more. Facebook, blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, MySpace, Photobucket and others are examples of platforms that use consumer generated content and allow people to network with each other through those sites.

Now that you have a clearer idea of what social media are, you might be thinking, “Well, that’s all good for some people, but how will social media help my book?” There are several ways social media can truly set you and your book apart from the competition.

Let your readers into your life. When you establish a blog or an author Web site you open yourself up (in a good way) to your readers. They can visit your sites and learn more about you as an author, what inspires you to write, sneak peeks at your next book, event announcements and more.

Deliver news in a timely, relevant way. When you are in control of your social media you decide what press you want to share and how fast you want to share it with your current and potential readers. Did a reviewer write a great review about your book? Post a link to the review on your blog and Twitter so people get to read it fast. Additionally, if you develop or have our team develop E-mail newsletters and updates for you, you can send out relevant information to your readers and then draw them back to your Web site or blog.

Reach a global audience. As readers around the world become more technically savvy, authors need to keep up. Without a social media presence on the Internet you could potentially miss hundreds, even thousands of new readers. The Internet is a global tool that you can control to market your book for you.

Social media is inexpensive. Most social media sites are free to join and set up a profile. Compared to more expensive print advertising that has a much smaller audience, social media is a much better way to use your advertising dollars. If you’re not familiar with which social media sites are best for your audience or the kind of marketing you want to use, do some research on your own or talk with one of our publishing consultants. Even though most sites are free, it does take time to set one up and then maintain it. Therefore, you want to make sure you’re reaching the right audience with your efforts.

There are various Dellarte Press services that can help you navigate the Internet and social media sites so you don’t have to do it alone. You’ve worked hard to write your book, allow social media to help you tell your story.

Back to Top Back to Articles Main