My experiences with Hootsuite by David Lowbridge

So like any published author my main problem is getting my name out there. To combat that the internet has given us dozens of social media platforms in which we can use to engage our audience and find new readers. The only problem is time. If you are like me you have a Facebook account (with two main pages), twitter, linkedin, blog, Google+ and a couple of others. If I had a major update that is a lot to manage. There is also the point that throughout those mediums I have collected a number of contacts who I regularly like to keep in contact. But logging in and out of all those providers is time consuming.

Part of the problem is the user friendliness of some of those programs. For example in twitter on the main page I can see a small box where I can input a tweet and a queue of tweets others and I have sent out recently. But if I want to know who has retweeted my own messages or sent me a message then I have to look at another page.

The average user has about 208 following them and follows about 102; however about 74% of all twitter users have 50 or less. The average user tweets about 2 messages per day. These stats don’t look too bad. However if you look at my following list, a vast majority of them have over that 50 following number and can be well into the hundreds and sometimes thousands. They are also active people who can send ten or more tweets in a day. We are looking at thousands of tweets entering my stream every single day.

Even posting my messages is a little hard. I like to put out a lot of helpful and informative articles for other readers and writers. However with no facility to spread them out across the day I have had to go on and do what I call a twitter blast. That is where I go online and write six to ten tweets and blast them in a space of thirty minutes. For a starters it is not a good policy, it makes it look like you are bot to someone who doesn’t know you and secondly with so many people posting; your messages only have a short time to be noticed. If I looked for tweets with the #amreading hashtag; there have been 38 tweets in the past hour (and it is 6 am in the morning at time of writing), if that is the average, that’s 912 tweets per day. My twitter blasts won’t reach many people in that crowd.

Sometimes I want some messages to go across multiple platforms. Twitter allows you to post your tweets automatically on Facebook, but the problem is it is an all or nothing deal. I cannot select certain messages to go to my Facebook wall, which is very frustrating

Then if we move to Facebook. I have two pages, one for my writing and one for my reviewing (which is no longer a solo run entity); plus there is my general profile page. If I want to update all three I have to do it separately, which takes a long time even if I am copying and pasting.

All of this over the past month or so has created a big black hole in my time that I can do what matters most for writers: write.

I needed something that allowed me to couple of things.

1.       Manage multiple accounts from one location

2.       Select which messages are post to each platform

3.       Spread out my messages so that I can get maximum exposure.

Luckily there is a number of solutions and Hootsuite is one of them.

Hootsuite is like having a marketing manager to help you out. It compiles all the information into one manageable (and customizable) page for each social platform, making it easy to see what has been said, what you have said, who has mentioned you and more importantly what you are going to say.

The greatest asset that Hootsuite has is scheduling messages, there is even a facility where it will post the message dependent on when Hootsuite thinks it will get the most exposure. For every message you send out you get to select which platforms the message gets sent to, with every message able to be sent to multiple platforms in one go, saving time on that pesky copy and pasting.

Hootsuite is not perfect. Facebook pages count as a single platform and when you only have five with the free account, then half of my platforms are taken up by just Facebook. Add my twitter account and I have lost 4/5 of my platforms. When you may only want to add in one or two more platforms, $9.99 a month is just too expensive. Also in twitter ‘streams’ I cannot see those who have simply added my message to their favourites list nor can I see when I have a new follower. However I do get to see my Klout score which is fairly useful.

But even with those minor negatives, Hootsuite is such a useful tool for authors and will continue to use it.

Why Free E-book Readers Shouldn’t be Feared by Authors Excerpt

A second guest post done by me today:

A few months ago I read an article about the cheapestE-reader to enter the market. At the time many articles were flying around like this, and the news was strife on author facebook groups. What astonished me was the sheer number of authors opposed to this. I for one welcome the idea for consumers to gain access to free e-readers. For those who think I am crazy I implore those of you to keep reading in order to see why I am suggesting this.

We all know that there are three styles of books; hardcover, paperback or digital. Hardbacks are the most expensive ((AU)$30) while digital are generally the cheapest((AU)$15). However a kindle can be a significant investment at about (AU)$119. I’ve heard of some people complain that a kindle can only last about a year, however I’ll assume that it lasts for about 2 years. That means without buying any books, an e-reader costs approximately (AU)$60 a year; the value of two to three physical books.

Full article here

The Author's Guide to SMART excerpt by D J Lowbridge

Latest guest post by David Lowbridge over on Novel Publicity.

When I talk about being SMART, I am not talking about the actual intelligence of an author. I am talking about the acumen SMART (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely). Some people would like to think when they write that they will accomplish great goals set in their head: to be a bestseller or to create a kick-ass book. But in reality are either of those targets useful?

What is a kick-ass book; one that you like or your family likes or 100 million readers like? What about being a bestseller—where is the line that divides a mid-list or not-even-on-the-list author from the bestseller? Neither of those goals have defining, measurable borders. And when would you like to complete those tasks by: Christmas, next Christmas, your 100th birthday?

By setting goals with the following criteria you’ll be able to create better, more realistic goals for both your writing and any marketing you would like to do.

Full article here

Apologies and an Update for Bublish

First off an apology.

I must give my most sincere apology to readers for the lack of time I have been on recently. However this has not been by choice. For any of my closest friends and readers will know I have been ill recently. And what started as a suspected severe tonsillitis in early December turned into me collapsing in a hospital from septic shock a few weeks later. To cut the story short; I have not fully recovered yet and am due to have an operation in a couple of weeks to remove the problem tonsils that are still infected.

I am sorry that this has had such a bad effect on my blog posting. But as I am slowly trying to get back into the swing of things I’ve had to limit what I’ve done and how often. And blog posting although important, isn’t as critical as my own writing for me as an author.

I am also afraid this will continue for a few more weeks as I have an operation coming up in order to solve the problem once and for all. So I apologise for all delays in my reviewing and posting, but rest assured once I am back in full health I will be back with tonnes of review, guests and marketing insights.

Now on with the post!

Way back in September I reviewed the new marketing site: Bublish. Bublish is a new concept for authors and readers to connect through the love of books. The idea is fairly simple; authors share excerpts from their book, can talk a little about it and then share it over the social media world. Readers get to read excerpts and can share them across their social contacts and even buy the book through the bubble’s affiliation link. I gave the site a mainly positive review and promised myself that when my first book was ready it would be one of the first things I would try.

Now several months on I can fulfill that promise. Sound the trumpets as I have bublished!

Initial thoughts on the process are very positive. It is a simple manner of uploading your book to their site and then choosing a section to showcase and talk about. It is really as simple as that.

Some people may struggle if they don’t have an epub version and they aren’t confident enough with technology or Calibre. But as Bublish only accept this format and reviewers may only accept this format; it is a valuable skill for authors to learn.

Another thing that authors may find difficult is what to write about their excerpts. Writing about what motivates you during writing is a good start. But other ideas are adding in something about other people’s thoughts or comparison’s the real world.

What I have found from reading other people’s bubbles is that a few are having the same problem. There are a couple “Like this? Buy my book for more” bubbles. Which are unfortunately not enticing enough for me to click through. The whole point of the exercise is to add the author’s voice and interact with the reader. So why not do something interesting with your bubble? Readers hate sale pitches.

And when I got the chance to talk to Kathy Meis one of the founders of the site; I asked her what is the secret to writing a good bubble.

“...for creating a great book bubble, the secret sauce is really in the Author Insight. This is where the author has the opportunity to tell the story behind the story. It's what will make their excerpt "pop" for potential new readers. Some bublishers only use the Author Insight to set the scene for their excerpt. This is fine, but it really is a missed opportunity to add something special to the excerpt...to tell the author's "why." Think of it as a director's cut in a movie clip.”

Of course there is nothing completely simple in the marketing world. And I did come across a couple of problems. The first was when I uploaded my book; it for some reason came up labelled as “Ghost Haunts Master” and not “Ghost Haunts”. This was probably my fault; the file that I converted on Calibre was not called “Ghost Haunts Master” at the time, but it had been in the past. Also when I came to publish my bubble I found it difficult to just publish it as the button didn’t seem to do anything. However the latter was easily rectified by sharing it on twitter or facebook. Which was the next logical step anyway.

The first however was something that I could sort myself. Instead I had to ask support. And this is where Bublish really shine. Sending a support e-mail normally means waiting days for a response. Bublish not only quickly answered my query, but they resolved the issue in record breaking timing. And that is the foundation that will keep authors going back again and again, a website that cares about its content and the providers.

So what happens once you’ve Bublished? Well the fun doesn’t end. I bublished last Monday and within a week the Bublish team had tweeted my bubble a couple of times; one on the day of release and twice on their “Sample Sunday”. This is a great way to attract new readers as there are already 800 plus followers and it gives you a sense that they aren’t just a platform for you to advertise, but a partner.

And that isn’t the only trick up their sleeve. They have a weekly floating bookstore that is shared across multiple social platforms, live author and publisher twitter chats every Thursday and a special Feature Friday where they feature an author from their database of Bublishers.

The Floating Bookstore is something which I think is a great feature and Kathy Meis explains it as follows:

“The Bublish Floating Bookstore is a way to showcase the newest book bubbles on Bublish. It actually starts on Sunday with our #SampleSunday Marathon, which is 12 hours of the latest book bubbles tweeted with the popular #SampleSunday hashtag. Many readers use this hashtag to find new books each week, so we introduce the latest book bubbles into this hashtag every Sunday. Every new author gets to be part of this event. It's sort of like their Bublish launch event. On Monday morning, we take the #SampleSunday stream of book bubbles and use Storify to turn them all into a single piece of content known as the Bublish Floating Bookstore. This gives all the authors additional exposure throughout the week as well as an easy way to support their fellow authors and magnify the social network effect for each book and writer.”

So with that kind of support and exposure potential, Bublish could be one of the greatest tools that an author can use.

So what are my hints on the best way to use Bublish?

• Create one bubble at a time and once a week - This way you can get exposure over a longer period of time and take full benefit of the Sample Sunday and the tweeting of new bubbles by the team. Readers may also be turned off if they see a block of your bubbles while scrolling through the archive. Sometimes less is more.
• Make your Author Insights interesting - Readers already know your book is for sale. But they might not know what inspired you to write this scene or what image was going through your head.
• Share your bubbles – Your bubbles are good advertising even on your blog and website. Direct your readers to bublish to read what you have written.

I hope you all, readers and writers alike, have a chance to visit the site soon.

Branding - Part 3

Before hand I’ve been talking about the importance of the brand and the reason why getting the brand right is essential. Now I want to give a little practical advice and actually speak of the steps on creating an online brand. In my opinion there are two ways in which you create your brand – with your product and with your profile. Many people will see either one or the other, but not necessary both. That doesn’t mean that you can have two contrasting brand types, because there will be a small percentage of readers who will see both (normally your core fan group) and by having contrasting brands you could turn them away.

But before you can create your brand you need to understand what your readers would like from your brand. This is where research comes in key. It is simple to say as an author my readers want a well written book with a catchy storyline and sparkling cover. But that is what will get them interested in one book; it won’t get them to keep an eye on you. If you want readers to return to you time and time again, you need to go a little deeper than just your book being good.

Then once your research is done, you can concentrate on designing and building your brand. Down below is a list of what I think are the important steps in creating a consistent, manageable brand that will engage readers and develop loyalty among them.

1.       Research your readers

There is no point in not knowing who your readers are. If you write historical romance for instance, the readers are probably going to know something about that time period. The list of characteristics could be long. Try to imagine them and get a list of what other interests they have that complement your books. For instance with historical romance, do they like Jane Austin or BBC period dramas? It will work out great in future contact with them.

2.       Create a list of words you want to be associated with you.

This doesn’t have to be a long list. But they have to be something that you think you can achieve and define you, how you want to interact with your readers and your books. I decided upon six: helpful, resourceful, accommodating, appreciative, emotional and unpredictable.

3.       Decide upon how to achieve those

Each one of mine above I attempt to do in different ways. For example, being helpful and resourceful I attempt to do by posting these marketing tips; accommodating I fulfill with my review structure and with appreciative all I do is interact with those who post comments on my site.  With my books I use the last two. I concentrate my stories around a single core feeling and interlace other feelings around that more subtly. In Ghost Haunts I tap into several emotions and I spread them out in the stories. But I also like to do the unexpected; I like to keep readers on their toes. We’ll see if I have made that work soon I hope.

4.       Keep at it and be consistent

It is useless if you are approachable one day, but once you have made the sale and your reader has bought all your books you won’t return an e-mail. Or that you want to appear friendly but one day you go on and complain about the readers who aren’t posting reviews. You will destroy your image and create a whole new one based on one thing: bad behavior. Keep at it and your brand will solidify and readers will come back to you again and again.

5.       Interact with your readers

It is no good interacting with other authors all the time. The vast majority of authors spend most of their time writing. Some will read, but they probably have a very long reading list. Instead you should be talking to readers. Did you realize that 13% of return customers online do so through e-mail? Or that around 50% of online customers make a purchasing decision based on more than one interaction with the brand? So why don’t you interact with your readers. And don’t make it all about your book. Remember that list of interests I spoke about earlier? Now is the time to use it. Set up a google alert of that list and when a news article comes up related to it: inform your readers. Do this through facebook, twitter and your blog.

6.       Keep at it

Creating a brand is not an overnight success. It takes time and hard work. But by doing so, you will create a loyal following of readers and reach out to more people through the most successful marketing tool that an author can have: word of mouth.

And that concludes the “Branding series”. If you have enjoyed the series, please feel free to comment below.

PPC Ineffective? -Excerpt

An excerpt from a guest post I have recently completed:

PPC Ineffective for Authors?

Pay-per-click was once one of the hottest new things in advertising. Being able to get a small advert to millions of people through carefully selected websites and only paying when your advert was clicked on sounds like a good idea. Even if your advert is not clicked readers may see the name of your business and look further later on. One would even assume that anyone who clicked on to your advert would be very interested in your product/service and be very likely to buy.

But this is where the bubble bursts.

Over the years, I have run PPC campaigns and studied them in various organisations and from that I suggest it only really works for certain products. Research released this year seems to back up my opinions. The research was compiled by taking fifty organisations who had advertised using PPC and compiling their results from 2005 to 2011.

From the research, a click through to the website could cost anywhere from $0.32 to $1.24 (with the past three years all being above $1.00 per click). The click through rate has mostly been around the 0.3% of advert views. One year (2005) it was above 1% and in 2006 and 2010 it was 0.7%. This shows that PPC is rather ineffective on getting people from seeing your advert and clicking through to your page. This could be explained that along with your advert there are anywhere from three to five similar products being advertised.

To read the rest of the post: please visit here.

Branding Part 2 – Why to get branding right

To read Branding Part 1 - Introduction click here

In 1991, a businessman stood up in front of business leaders to give a speech. His business, a high street jewellery firm that was popular with the public from all classes and income levels. The company had built up a reputation of selling quality goods at reasonable prices. This is his speech:

We also do cut-glass sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver-plated tray that your butler can serve you drinks on, all for £4.95. People say, "How can you sell this for such a low price?", I say, "because it's total crap."

The UK market reacted badly to what his speech. Customers stayed away from the shops and the business lost £500 million off its valuation in a matter of months. It was, at best, a disaster.

So how is this related to authors?

I would like to ignore the aspect of what he called his products as I don’t think we need to cover what damage you could do with negative comments about your books. What I would like to comment on is the perception that he has given about the customers who bought the products. Essentially by calling his products crap, he cited that his customers bought crap. This has a negative connotation about the customers’ taste, intelligence or both.

The same goes if you insult your readers’ intelligence. And you don’t have to criticize your book to do that. Imagine that you claim your reader’s do not leave reviews, like or tag your book? Surely your readers have enough intelligence on whether or not your book is worth that level of interaction. And just because they don’t leave a review, it doesn’t mean they won’t tell their friends or mention you in their Facebook, Goodreads or real life circles. If you complain, you are tempting a reprisal from readers and they will drag your reputation down.

It’s all part of what some authors’ think that they deserve from writing a book, its called entitlement. In reality, it is not. As authors we are artists, and artists can get praise, criticism or silence. It is not our job to tell our readers what to do. It is our job to write our best and thank people for giving us a chance.

To read more about entitlement I think this article is good.

Some people may remember that in part 1 I mentioned Gordon Ramsey; the famous British chef who has a reputation of having a bad temper. I also mentioned that his attitude is part of his branding. Despite his bad temper he is doing well. Some people will argue that if he can make it work, so can they. However there is one exception between an indie author who is barely known and Gordon Ramsey. He has paid his dues, he has worked his way up and he is seen as a bestseller with a good enough knowledge base that he is an expert in his craft. The vast majority of authors do not have that.

He can afford to act in such a manner.

He has gotten the respect of those in the industry, his product is top quality and he is respected by the customers. Gordon Ramsey annoys a couple of people from his abrupt behavior, it doesn’t matter; there are many other people who will listen to him.

But Gordon Ramsey also has a second level of his branding. His attitude to the customers is completely professional and polite. You never see him arguing with a customer, you never see him complaining about a customer or being rude about one. Compared to how he is to everyone else he almost completely the opposite. In front of his chefs he can seem to be very dominant but in the limelight of the customer he is almost submissive.

Why is there this second level of branding? Because research shows that 68% of people will not return to a product if they feel undervalued. Hence Gordon Ramsey knows that his customers’ feelings are key and knows that if he makes them feel undervalued they are less likely to return. However his staff and others want to be there for various reasons (money, career development, etc) and are willing to put up with his abrupt attitude to get their rewards in the long term.

In his defense you cannot argue that his attitude does produce amazingly good food.

So getting your branding right is paramount. Looking at the example of Gordon Ramsey, you can tell that treating your readers courteously and making them feel valued is the most important aspect. If you don’t; you will lose customers and getting them back will be hard if not impossible.

In this day and age, our branding cannot be on two levels. It would be very easy for one of our readers to search our name and find a post made on a writers’ forum where we are annoyed by the lack of readers leaving reviews or complaining that our readers are so unappreciative of our writing. What message is that sending to your readers? That they are not worth anything! Now that reader has turned away and will never buy a book of yours again.

That is why I say that authors should concentrate on one brand image. This brand image can be a group of words that define them as an individual or their books, but it is one single identity. In the next part I will discuss how we can construct that brand image.

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