I’ve been on Twitter a couple of months. It started like this.

Day 1 - no idea at all what to do or how to go about doing it. 

Hashtags? DM’s. Lists. On and on with the lingo.

Days 2 – 9 - I waited and watched and still absolutely nothing happened.  My mother told me a watched pot never boils so I walked away for a few days and checked back to reap the rewards that had befallen my patience. 

Still nothing.

Day 10 - I did something novel.  I sent a tweet.  Then another.  Then the strangest thing happened.  Someone followed me.  I followed them back. 

A thought occurred to me.  The people who were following me – who were they following?  Who was following them? 

Then I discovered lists. 

People on twitter – Tweeps I’ve since learned they are called – spend their time organizing followers into categorized lists.  Lists are a gold mine of information if you are looking for people who tweet about particular topics.  Between the list from people you follow and people who follow you, you can find thousands of tweeps with similar interests.  Many of these people have great things to say.

Wow the floodgates opened.  I started following other writers, bloggers, publishers, readers, and loads of other people who had interest that touched on mine.  Many in turn followed me back.

Since then I’ve found a few things helpful and have a few things that I believe are best avoided.

First, stay active on Twitter.  I’ve found it’s a truly a “What have you done for me lately?” proposition.  You want to remain engaged with your followers.  If not you’re dead weight on the timeline. 

Oh and engage in conversations, but if things get too detailed on a topic, send a direct message.   This keeps other followers from getting confused or from feeling neglected and at the same time you’re engaging your followers.

Give your followers good content.  Good content includes information about your book or work in progress, but it shouldn’t only be about that.  Link to your regularly updated blog, retweet interesting tweets, share insight.  Keep the mix productive and beneficial to your followers.  If your followers are engaged they will help support you, you’ll be followed by others and so grows the network.

Help spread the word for your followers.  If you have someone you find interesting, tell your followers about them. 

I believe you should avoid tweets that only promote your book or platform in a sales pitch fashion.   I also feel that you should avoid saturating the timeline with too many things on one topic.  It’s okay to recycle tweets, but after a few appearances on the timeline, those tweets, like extended house guests or 5-day-old fish, may start to smell a bit.

Oh, and just be nice and treat other people with respect or perhaps I should say twitspect. 

At the end of the day all it takes is a little planning and a willingness to dive into the deep end of the pool.  Engage your followers; let them know you are interested in what they have to say.  Thank them when they mention you or retweet something you’ve done.  When people thank you return the favor.  It’s pretty simple.  What comes around goes around.  Help out and you’ll be helped out. 

It is like the high school dance.  It’s fun to lean against the wall and be entertained by what everyone else is doing, but the real fun is out on the dance floor. 

So while you’re here why not read a chapter from my book or even buy a copy of your own.   A portion of all proceeds from the sale of The Trust will be donated to canine related charities.

I haven’t done a review in a couple of weeks but had a great experience this week I thought would be great fodder for a review.  Particularly given that on Fridays I try to do entries designed to give writers some tools, or at least thoughts, to help with some aspect of their writing.

I also like to give thanks where it is deserved.

Add to that the fact that many of my recent posts have been marketing related, this seemed particularly appropriate.

There's a great site called Novel Publicity.  The name says it all.  They provide a large and varied number of services to assist authors in book promotion – at all stages of the game.  Pretty much whatever you need for promotion they have it.  While this may sound like a paid promotional blog, I really was that impressed with the experience I had.

They have a team of professionals who clearly have an understanding of and love of the written word.  Plus they respond to questions very promptly (even when some of the answers could be found right on their website.  What can I say, sometimes I get lazy).

One of the services they offer is called a Twitterview.  Follow the link to get the skinny on how it works but the nutshell is a modern day, high tech version of 20 questions. 

In each Twitterview the first 5 questions are always the same, the next 5 are crafted for the specific person being Twitterviewed, the next 5 are generated at random (randomly picked by the Twitterviewee from a bank of questions) and the last 5 are from the audience.

The Twitterviewee logs onto Twitter at the appointed time and a moderator generates the questions and keeps the interview going.  The answers are provided 140 characters at a time, in real time, by the Twitterviewee.

The Twitter character limit forces you to be very succinct and thoughtful in your answers.  It also keeps you on your feet.  It can be fast and furious, but it is a blast.

The audience questions are a load of fun.  Primarily because the audience is really paying attention and is keenly focused on the author and the interview. 

Novel Publicity does a great job promoting the event to ensure maximum exposure. As well, when it is over a graphic transcript is posted on their site.  Read mine here.

While Novel Publicity charges for their services, many of their services, Twitterviews included, may be obtained gratis though you do have to do some work - generally winning a contest. 

One of the ways you can win a Twitterview is by having a winning entry in a flash fiction contest.  What better way to practice your writing than to do it with the possibility of winning free publicity. That is just a win-win proposition!

Point of all of this, in addition to saying thanks to the folks at Novel Publicity for a great experience, is that this is an example of what you find when you are active in social media and network with the masses out there.

The options are never ending and it is literally a situation where around the corner there is yet another opportunity to expand your brand and further your reach.  It only takes you as the author taking those few steps.
 

As always, thanks for stopping by and feel free to comment.  Oh, while you are here why not read an excerpt from The Trust or even buy your own copy.

News flash! Writing a book is just the first step of the process. How’s that for obvious?

Make no mistake, it’s a huge first step, but the first never the less.  The real task is how to spread the word to the masses.  

So what do you do? 

Simple question. 

Simple answer.

The easiest way to sell your book is to have lots of money.  Hire a marketing professional and undertake a national campaign.  See, easy answer, but, for me (and I would imagine most indie authors) the national campaign slush fund is dry.

Where does that leave the average indie author?

We have to be good writers and great marketers.  We also need to realize a few things.

First, no matter how good your book is, unless people read it, well, no one is reading it. 

Second, there are a lot of authors out there in the same boat as you. 

Next, good writers are working their tails off to sell their book. This I promise.

So, back to the initial question.  What is the best way to market your book on little to no budget. 

Realize there isn’t a single surefire method rather a number of different techniques that can work well together.  Oh, be wary of anyone promising quick sales for a fee. Think SCAM. 

Most things I talk about below are free (free from $$$ anyway, time is another thing). So try these ideas.

1.            Talk about your book.  Tell everyone you know, even strangers.  Not only should you tell them, but ask them to tell others about your book.  Ask them to buy it.

2.            Set up a website.  This may take a small investment, but if you want to do it for free that is certainly possible. Once the site is up, see step number 1.  (Yes its redundant, but it’s okay if it sells books.)

3.            Set up a Facebook “Like” page and a Twitter account.

4.            Use said Facebook and Twitter accounts regularly. Don’t overload, but give good content and updates.

5.            Interact with friends you meet on Twitter and Facebook.  Even other writers.  Not every writer will buy your book, nor will every blogger/reviewer.  However writers, bloggers and reviewers have readers and they do buy books. 

6.            Email a lot. Perhaps the most overlooked (and least expensive) marketing idea is to include a custom signature in your emails.  Link to your website and give a brief blurb about your book.  I send hundreds of emails a week and I’ve been surprised at how many sales have come from this alone.  I promise the return is better than from mass adverts.

If you have a good product and stay with it, I am sure you’ll be surprised at the results.

Finally, realize that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Blog about your book or experience as a writer.  Offer to speak at civic groups or schools.  Join writer’s sites such as Redroom or Goodreads.  Check out local book clubs and ask to speak to them.  Get out, spread the word.  If one thing doesn’t work, try something else. Think sustained grassroots.  Once you start to sell some books then you can hire you own marketing firm!

In 1994 a band from South Carolina, Hootie and the Blowfish, released an album called Cracked Rear View. It went on to sell more than 10 million copies and was the best selling album of 1995.  Prior to this, Hootie, on their own, sold tens of thousands of copies of their self released EP.  It got the attention of the major labels and propelled them to the top.  They did all of this without Facebook, Myspace, Twitter or really any social media at all. 

Think what you can do now.

As long as you’re here, why don’t you read a bit of The Trust or even buy a copy of your own. 

Yesterday was a productive day, but one where I found myself somewhat out of my element.  
As many know, I am first and foremost a photographer - photography is something I have studied and have enjoyed doing for years.  As a result of this, I am most comfortable behind the camera.  However, yesterday I had to have photos taken for the website and for the novel.  I have decided I make a horrendous subject, but thanks to having loads of photos taken, and with the help of a very talented photographer, I now have photos to use for the book and the website.
On that note, I also finished the website for The Trust last night.  I'll be revising and adding content often so check back from time to time.
I also started a Twitter account - @thetrustnovel so feel free to follow for more updates and  unique content!