Take it away, Jeannie!

Welcome back to the social media series at RU.  Today’s post is a continuation of our discussion on book videos and a further step into choosing professionals for your marketing efforts.

In my last article, I shared with you the things to focus on when you’re waffling over the option of a book trailer® as part of your marketing plan, whether to try it on your own and some of the tools to use if that’s the route you want to go.  We also touched on when it’s time to call in the professionals.  The initial intent for this column was to focus solely on professional book video makers and what they bring to the table, but I realized this is a big question.  When do you call in the pros? When can you justify the expense of it?  Do you have to be published? Do you have to have a certain amount of sales?

Unless you have unlimited funds and the ability to spend them willy-nilly on whatever meets your fancy, your dollars need to be accounted for and spending large amounts to promote your book may not even be possible.  There are plenty of things you can do yourself as an author looking to build your career. With the help of your publisher, your agent and your ability to do some basic market research on your own, you can easily form a marketing plan, create a budget and research the best places to spend that budget.  Depending on your strengths, you can blog, you can advertise, you can network and tweet to your heart’s content.

Often, the items in your marketing plan you consider doing yourself are the ones with a higher financial stake. Websites, designed printed collateral, and book trailers® are among the top three pieces I see home-grown. (Sometimes to the author’s detriment.)  That isn’t to say you should never tackle these on your own, but before doing so, be aware of the costs, some of which are often unrealized.  Whether you do it yourself or hire a professional, either way, you’re looking at a high cost: in dollars if you pay the pro versus time spent if you do it yourself.  The unrealized costs lie in the unknown factor that could help or hurt you: what does the effort do to your brand as an author?

Be Frank About Your Own Capabilities

In a previous column, I discussed an author’s brand and likened the accessories of your brand much like the accessories you would use to enhance and add personality to the little black dress.  These elements, the website, the book trailers, and any other materials that touch your potential reader’s hands are the accessories of your brand and they tell as much about you as an author as anything else.  They set a tone.  They set an expectation.

If someone walks into a room wearing a whiff of Chanel No. 5, with a Gucci purse and Manolo Blahnik strappy shoes adding bling to their feet, what would your impression be? And if that same person walked in wearing a home-sewn dress in paisley print with a matching handbag and Mary Janes, you would form an opinion.  It’s inevitable, we’re human and it’s what we do.

This isn’t to say that every author’s attempts at marketing are akin to the paisley-print dress.  Not at all.  But you do need to have a strong understanding of your own strengths and whether or not your efforts put forth the impression you want.  For example, I can’t sew worth a damn, so even if I managed to sew some sort of little black dress together, chances are it would fall off halfway through the night.

I’d be creating an entirely different impression than intended.  So I buy the clothes I want to represent who I am and (thankfully) leave the sewing to someone else.  As an author judging the value of your dollars versus time and brand impact, be frank about your skill set.  Are you capable of something to meet the quality to represent your brand? Or just dressing up in a paisley printed dress?

What Will the Professionals Do for Me?

But back to the details.  What do you get with the professionals? Why is that money justified?  Since we discussed book trailers® first, let’s bring that to table to discuss and there isn’t a way of discussing book trailer® pros without focusing on the company that built the genre, COS Productions.

In an interview, Sheila Clover English of COS Productions said, “COS Productions doesn’t just do videos. We format them. We help the client get them out to as many users as possible, but we also do things like create press releases and send them out to online magazines and television websites.”

And let’s take a closer look at one of their offerings:  The mini Teaser 1 is listed on their site as the most commonly seen book videos online.  This includes stock photography, sound effects, music and the pros (in this case a professional editor and a script writer) to create something entertaining and unique.  The cost is $800.00.

Breaking down that cost includes costs of the images used and the purchase of sound and music effects.  You’re also looking at a good amount of hours for production from storyboard to finished product.  In addition, the estimated percentage of overhead: from the software required to build these, upkeep of computers and their own continued education to help the professionals stay on top of their game. And you cannot forget the value of the expertise of the people working on your behalf.  They are experts in their field, with years of experience and knowledge behind them to help them build the trailer to the best it can be.  They know what the difference between 30 seconds and 1 minute means to a video viewer.  What and when a hook should be placed in the script.  How many seconds you have to engage the viewer before they click away. (Although, really, that one isn’t a huge secret. Test it yourself by going to YouTube, finding a few videos and counting until you’re ready to click.)

In addition, one thing that COS Productions offers that cannot be undervalued is their Distribution packages.  The Mini Teaser includes the Bronze package, which includes submissions of the video to 25 social media sites, 5 specialty sites, 300+ bookseller sites, 5000+ Libraries via OverDrive and 1 blog.  In that distribution alone, you’re maximizing the value of the cost.  For a person alone, this would take hundreds of hours to find, locate and submit to the areas that you could.  And beyond what a typical person could accomplish, a professional has spent the time, investment and years cultivating relationships and connections that reach even farther beyond.

I want an ROI, darnit! Where is that? (or, uhm, what is that?)

ROI= Return on investment, and generally before agreeing to spend money on something, folks want a guarantee of some sort of return for their bucks.  (How dare they! )  With book sales, especially given the social media, video, and other outlets used to promote, it can be difficult to equate those efforts to hard facts.

While you can certainly say that four bazillion people watched your video, it’s not quite so easy to determine out of those four bazillion people, which ones were spurred to buy your book and if the video was the selling point.  And truth be told, sales like this are not likely due to one specific marketing promotion, they are likely due to ALL of them.   It’s the combination of “touches” (every time your brand touches your potential reader in some way) that moves someone to purchase.  This is why it’s important to establish an overall marketing plan that utilizes the best of what you’ve got to spend: dollars and time.  If a book video is something you see a ton of value in, then go for the best possible option you can afford — as long as if fits into your overall marketing plan.   This isn’t the time to steal from Peter to pay Paul.

***

RU Crew, what do you think?  Would you give creating your own video a try?  We’d love to hear from you.

Special thanks to Jeannie for being here.  Join us tomorrow for Theresa Stevens and her Ask an Editor column.
Jeannie’s Bio: It was a Saturday afternoon when Jeannie Ruesch gave up her illustrious, hours-long ambition of becoming a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader (after seeing the made for TV movie).  That day, she sat to write her very first story and when she was finished, she knew that pen ..or rather, pencil and collegiate-lined paper was the path for her.  She was six.  She finished her first two books in 7th grade—handwritten on 150 legal size pages and complete with hearts dotting the I’s, of course.
As an adult, however, she discovered the need to…well, pay for things.  In her words, she “paid a lot of money to go to school, get a degree and go beg for work.”  She began her career in marketing and design and continues to this day, with her graphic design and marketing business, Will Design for Chocolate.  She considers herself fortunate that her passion of writing and her other love go hand in hand so nicely.

In 2008, she sold her first completed novel (as an adult and written on a computer this time) to The Wild Rose Press– a historical romance that has been a labor of love from the start.  “It’s been through four or five revisions, including one complete scrap-it-and-start-over, and has been a wonderful tool for learning how to be a better writer.”

She is also the creator of the WIP Notebook, a writer’s tool to help stay organized while you write.

Now with a few more tools in her author’s tool belt, her first published book, and a drawer full of emergency chocolate, she has a lot more stories to tell.  She lives in Northern California with her husband (who is likely tired of having his brain picked on the ‘male perspective’), their son and her brother, who she thanks every day (since he cooks and she hates to.)

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Romance University has some great lectures to keep you warm from Sandra Sookoo, Carrie Spencer, Jeannie Ruesch and Theresa Stevens this week.

You can be more prolific in your writing, you can enter contests and go that extra mile, you can create book videos and promotion with social media and you can learn more about editing, submitting and more.

Mon, 11/15 - Crafting Your Career – Sandra Sookoo stops by to tell us how to be more prolific in our writing.

Wed, 11/17– Confessions of a Second Place Winner – RU Faculty member Carrie Spencer tells us about the highs and lows of the Mills and Boon New Voices contest.

Thurs, 11/18 – Learn about creating book videos and utilizing social media for published authors as Jeannie Ruesch returns with great tips

Fri, 11/19 – Chaos Theory of Writing – Join Theresa Stevens for her monthly Ask an Editor column.

All Romance University lectures are generously provided by our Visiting Professors. RU is a tuition-free zone!

Best regards,

Adrienne Giordano, Tracey Devlyn, Kelsey Browning, Jennifer Tanner, Heather Long and Carrie Spencer

PS–Permission to forward lecture schedule is granted and encouraged! Want RU’s weekly lecture schedule in a cool new email format straight to your in-box? Sign up on RU’s homepage or any of the lecture posts!

Take it away, Jeannie!

Hellloooo, RU crew! I’m happy to be back and today we’ll be talking video.  Not the latest DVD, but book videos.  Commercials.  Those things on everyone’s websites these days.

If you’ve been following this column or any of the other wonderful articles offered on RomU, you’ve likely gleaned by now that publishing a book isn’t all about writing.  (I know, shocking. Or at the least, so not fair. Write a great book and you should be done.)

And along with all the demands on your time, choosing your marketing outreach is one of them.  Book videos, or mini commercials, are becoming common marketing tools. You know what they are, you’ve heard of them if you haven’t viewed a few yourselves.

But have you made one? Or had one made for your book? And should you? What’s the point? What’s the purpose?

comScore, Inc. reported that in September 2010, 175 million US internet users watched videos. (This was all videos, not just book videos). With a viewership that high, it’s impossible to ignore this area of marketing. It may or may not be right for your book or your budget, but it’s worth understanding.

What is a Book Video?

You’ve likely heard one of these terms: Book Trailer®, Book preview, Book Teaser®, book video, or book commercial. (Book Trailer and Book Teaser are trademarked by COS Productions.)  They are all the same thing, and at its core, a book video is a visual advertisement to gain interest for your book – the book equivalent of a movie trailer.

The technical specs of a book trailer include a short script about your book set to music, still images and possibly video, depending on how in-depth you want to get.   The process of building a book video starts with your script – which is the drilled down, shortened teaser of your book.  From that, you match it with elements – stock photography, video, motion graphics, and music – to tell a story.   It’s that story that compels the video watcher to take action: click on your link, visit your website, go directly to Amazon and order your book.

Is a book video right for me?

Book videos are not a cheap and easy way of marketing.  Getting one professionally done (and done right) will incur, at the least, a few hundred dollars. They range upward from there depending on the complexity of your video.  But saving those dollars and doing it yourself isn’t necessarily a smart option either. You have to account for the time you spend building the video (time you could be writing), the cost of images and music and possibly software, as well as the overall quality of what you produce.  So before jumping into this direction, you need to determine what you consider a positive ROI (return on investment) before you invest time and.

With a lot of marketing efforts, direct connections can be tough.  It’s not always easy to know how well your bookmarks are promoting your books or if a video is working to promote it.

If you are a numbers kind of gal (or guy) and need to see hard data for your investment (ie clicks for an ad), this might not be the best option for you.  Book videos have a purpose: to make the viewer curious enough to learn more about your book or about you.  The book you wrote still has to draw them in further.  It isn’t the book video’s job to sell the book.   But if you’re investing in brand and name awareness and recognition as much as a single book, a book video could further your goals by offering a compelling, different look at what you write.

Make it yourself or hire a professional ?

Let’s say you’ve decided, yes, I want a book video.  Now what?  Do I make it myself? Do I hire someone to make it for me?  On the surface, it seems like an easy thing to do.  Find some images, add some text and grab a free piece of royalty-free music to add some interest, then post it up for the world to judge.

But what is that telling people about you, the author? Does it match the image you want to sell?  Does it scream amateur? Is that how you want people to see your writing?  There are some hard choices you have to make here – dollars, time invested and brand consideration. Choose what absolutely matters most to you and decide from there.

TO help you make that choice, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

1. Do I have the time to invest in making this video?
It takes me anywhere from 10 to 20 hours to make a book video, depending on the length.  If you’ve never done one before, you could easily double that.  They take a tremendous amount of time to put together – if you want to do it right.  It takes research into finding the right music, the right pictures, video and animation if you use it, then time to create your script and your storyboard, edit any graphics you need to, and then put it all together in the video editing software.  It takes time.  Be sure you have it to give.

2. What is my plan for distribution?
What is your intention for your video? If you want it to put on your website, YouTube and maybe one or two other sites and call it a day, you can easily do that yourself.  For a book video to have the most effect, it needs to be seen.  COS Productions, the top book trailer™ company in the business gets tremendous traffic on their YouTube channel, in addition to the numerous other ways they distribute. For many who choose a professional, this distribution outreach is a big part of why.

3. Can I afford to have one made professionally?
I’ve seen various mentions in loops and such about the cost of getting a book trailer done for you.  They can seem expensive, especially when you’re working on a low budget, but when you factor in the time spent and the materials needed to be acquired, you’re adding up.  And an often forgotten factor involved in paying a professional is that you are paying for their experience. That counts for a lot, because it’s that experience that will help present your book and you, the author, in the best possible light.

You’re Going to Make Your Own

If you’ve determined that you want a book video and you want to try and make it yourself, then let’s look at the basic elements that go into making your video.  It’s just my opinion, but I don’t believe a book video will sell a book by itself.  If you had to assign different jobs to items in your marketing plan, the job belonging to “book video” would be “Make them curious.”   It’s what any good advertisement does: teases you with just enough information to make the reader want more.

It’s not to reiterate the book cover copy (too long), it’s not to tell them the entire story.  It’s to connect to one or more of their emotions quickly, so they will take action by clicking on your website, going to Amazon to search out the book or maybe just add your name and book to their mental “check out later” file.

Research, research, research

Before jumping in to make one for yourself, take the time to research what goes into them.  Look at the videos in a constructive way, as a creator, not a reader, and be specific about the elements that you like and don’t like.  Take notes.

Head over to YouTube, do a search for your favorite genre to read.  (romantic suspense book trailers, for example.)  Click on a few random links and really study what’s being done.  Keep a file of the videos to refer back to.

Some things to think about:

• What emotion is invoked from it?  Is it an emotion that goes well with the book?
• Did you notice the music?  Did it blend well with the scenes on the screen?
• Was the script easy to follow, easy to read? Too long? Too short? Just right?
• Did the images match the story? Where they compelling? Why or why not?
• Did you stop watching before the end? When – note the time into the video and figure out what stopped you.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

If you’ve established what you like and don’t like in videos, now start to focus on the elements you need to include:

The Script

You have the creative flair, the knack to create compelling sentences and yet, it’s usually the one thing I see most wrong in book videos.  There are a lot of reasons that could bore you – the imagery is dull, the music is annoying, it takes too long… but there’s one definite reason you would stay despite any of that.  If the words compelled you to find out what happened.  If they forced a question in your mind that you couldn’t not get answered.

Movie Commercials are a perfect example of how to take a story and cull it down to a few sentences that will engage the intended audience.   Don’t be intimidated by the imagery they use – instead, watch movie trailers with an awareness to the emotions they are creating in you.

Let’s look at this video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMsZM-MNI1A[/youtube]

The Movie Blurb: In Columbia Pictures’ The Karate Kid, 12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) could’ve been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother’s (Taraji P. Henson) latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying – and the feeling is mutual – but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre’s feelings make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. In the land of kung fu, Dre knows only a little karate, and Cheng puts “the karate kid” on the floor with ease. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

Trailer script:

A life he never wanted.

A challenge he never imagined.

A teacher he never expected.

This Summer

Honor.

Courage.

Strength.

The Karate Kid.

Watch the video a second time with the sound turned off, so you won’t hear the audio from the scenes or the music.  Watch for the video and the text.   Pay attention to the emotion, what the images tell you, what sense of focus you get from the script.

Life. Challenge. Teacher. Honor. Courage. Strength.   This script maintains sentences that are five words or less.  And the words are powerful, evocative.

Does it seem impossible to take your book blurb and drill it down to a handful of sentences? It’s not, I assure you.  But you have to shift your intent and focus from summarizing (telling) the story to pulling out the emotion.

Points to Remember when crafting your script:

• Work from your elevator pitch, not your book blurb and expand as necessary.
• Use short sentences that grab attention.
• The first sentence will likely make or break your viewer’s interest. Make it count.
• Consider the emotion you want your viewer to feel.  Craft sentences with intent to yank on that emotion.
• Leave room for the call to action.  Your script needs to end with what you want your viewer to do: click on your website to find out more or go search for your book on Amazon (if it’s available.)  Be sure to add a date if the video is for an upcoming book.

Images

Finding the emotion in your images is just as important as the script. One of the mistakes I see in videos is that the image is an exact replica of the words, or it doesn’t relate at all to the emotion you want to convey.  For example, let’s say that a line in the book video is:  “kidnapped from her bed”.  The most literal image would be, obviously, a bed – like the one below:

This is a stock photo of a child’s bedroom with no graphic changes , but it’s pretty bland.  It tells you exactly what it is, but when you’re dealing with a phrase like “kidnapped from her bed”, you need to focus on what isn’t in those words.  What is the underlying emotion?  Think keywords–Alone. Afraid. Sad. Frightened.– and then think of an image that might convey more of an emotional hit toward those words.   So instead of the pretty pink bedroom, perhaps an image like this:

A teddy bear left behind, in a dark corner conveys sadness, fear, alone to me.  For good comparison, here is a mockup of that slide with each image:

Which one yanks on that emotion more?

By choosing a strong image, you add an emotional punch to the script.  How much more specific or compelling could you get?  Now let’s say that the person kidnapped from her bed was a teenager.  Or an adult woman.  Or a grandmother.  How could you pull on a different emotion to convey that without stating the age of the woman?

Pull out each line of your script and get down to the bare emotion underneath it, and then find an image that amplifies that.

Understanding royalty-free copyrights

Any time you create something for promotional value, you have to be very careful that all the items you include, from images to music, come with the appropriate license.  Most important, this means you cannot just grab images or music from the net wherever you choose. Look for royalty-free offerings, such as istockphoto.com for your images, and premiumbeat.com for your music.  Read the license carefully to understand what you’re allowed to do with your purchases before using them.

The Music

Music has the ability to take someone deeper, and often times, a song can contain a small element that you can’t really explain in the script or the imagery, but that holds a place in the book.  So after you’ve selected your images, fine-tuned your script, decide on what that extra punch of emotion should be.  Don’t think in generic terms like “funny”, “romantic” – go deeper than that.  If you need to show the humor in your writing, do you want quirky, silent-movie type of humor, or slapstick?  Each of those creates a different sound.  Get specific, because the more specific you are thinking when you search for the right music, the easier it will be to find a piece that speaks to that.

One advantage to most royalty-free music libraries is the search function by emotion/mood.   Experiment a bit on the music library sites – visit a few of them and test different elements of music.  Just like each of us is drawn to different music to listen to for enjoyment, you’ll find different elements by composers.  And while the free cost is often irresistible, I would suggest opening yourself to the idea of a music budget that allows you the freedom to choose what’s best for your video, not what is cheapest.  At the end of the day, if you’re creating this video for yourself, along with the hours you spend, you can still keep your budget under $50 and have a quality product.

Push Their Buttons…the right ones.

Every thing we’ve touched on has focused on emotion.  You have to imagine that each person watching the book has buttons somewhere you can push – one that tugs a heartstring, one that makes their body tense, one that pulls a smile or a laugh.  Those buttons are your goal – that is what you need to achieve with the video. The elements of your video, when picked correctly, will come together like a jigsaw puzzle.

But that puzzle needs to piece together to provide a clear picture of your book, your style and you as the author.  Never forget that this is part of your brand, part of your marketing and you absolutely need to stay true to your voice within the video.  As much fun as humor can be in videos, if you include it in the trailer, they will expect it in the book.   The book video provides an emotional cheat sheet that gives the potential reader clues what to expect from you and your book.  Choose the emotions you tug on wisely– always stay focused on your brand, your voice and what you want to teach the reader to trust in you.  If you’re a funny writer, use it.  Copiously.  If you’re not, avoid it like a bad blind date.  Stay emotionally true to your writing, offer them images, words and music that engages a physical response and your video will do its job.

And if you’ve noticed that this is Part I, that’s because the next post will be all about the pros.  What do you get from the professional book video makers, what do they bring to the table and what do they know that you don’t?

***

RU Crew, what do you think?  Would you give creating your own video a try?  We’d love to hear from you.

Special thanks to Jeannie for being here.  Join us tomorrow when Author Lisa Plumley discusses writing a holiday romance.

Jeannie’s Bio: It was a Saturday afternoon when Jeannie Ruesch gave up her illustrious, hours-long ambition of becoming a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader (after seeing the made for TV movie).  That day, she sat to write her very first story and when she was finished, she knew that pen ..or rather, pencil and collegiate-lined paper was the path for her.  She was six.  She finished her first two books in 7th grade—handwritten on 150 legal size pages and complete with hearts dotting the I’s, of course.

As an adult, however, she discovered the need to…well, pay for things.  In her words, she “paid a lot of money to go to school, get a degree and go beg for work.”  She began her career in marketing and design and continues to this day, with her graphic design and marketing business, Will Design for Chocolate.  She considers herself fortunate that her passion of writing and her other love go hand in hand so nicely.

In 2008, she sold her first completed novel (as an adult and written on a computer this time) to The Wild Rose Press– a historical romance that has been a labor of love from the start.  “It’s been through four or five revisions, including one complete scrap-it-and-start-over, and has been a wonderful tool for learning how to be a better writer.”

She is also the creator of the WIP Notebook, a writer’s tool to help stay organized while you write.

Now with a few more tools in her author’s tool belt, her first published book, and a drawer full of emergency chocolate, she has a lot more stories to tell.  She lives in Northern California with her husband (who is likely tired of having his brain picked on the ‘male perspective’), their son and her brother, who she thanks every day (since he cooks and she hates to.)

We have a terrific line up of Visiting Professors this week! For starters, Lori Wilde will talk about romance writing for newbies and high concept. Get fashion advice for your characters from Style TV and learn about how Youtube and book trailers can help you promote your book. Fall is in the air, but the holidays are just around the corner. Lisa Plumley visits our campus for a discussion on writing holiday romances. We hope you’ll join us!

Mon, 10/18 – Crafting Your Career – Author Lori Wilde discusses her Beginning Writing Romance classes and high concept.

Wed, 10/20 – Anatomy of the Mind – Fashion For Your Characters – Associate Producer Ashley Hammen from Style TV’s “How Do I Look?” will be answering fashion questions. How should my NYC hero dress? My L.A. heroine?

Thu, 10/21 – Special Lecture – Jeannie Ruesch of Will Design for Chocolate discusses Youtube and book trailers.

Fri, 10/22 – Chaos Theory of Writing – Author Lisa Plumley discusses writing a holiday romance.

All Romance University lectures are generously provided by our Visiting Professors. RU is a tuition-free zone!

Best regards,

Heather Long, Carrie Spencer, Adrienne Giordano, Tracey Devlyn, Kelsey Browning, & Jennifer Tanner.

PS–Permission to forward lecture schedule is granted and encouraged! Want RU’s weekly lecture schedule in a cool new email format straight to your in-box? Sign up on RU’s homepage or any of the lecture posts!

Welcome, Jeannie!

Thanks for having me back, RU Crew!

If you missed last month’s post, I gave the details on how to build a plan for Twitter.  This post will help you to build a plan around using Facebook for marketing purposes and how to make it work for you instead of suck the hours from your day. (Hint #1: Stay away from the games.)

Finding the Time

One thing about social media — there is always something to tweet about, or someone else’s posts to read. It can consume a tremendous amount of time if you let it.  Sometimes, I think people look at the possibilities for life domination by social media and shy away to avoid it. But it doesn’t have to control your life.  Social media is like an employee – it’s supposed to work for YOU.

Going into social media without setting your own boundaries would be like giving a new employee a signed blank check.  It would be a matter of seconds before they spend crazy amounts.  So don’t give social media a blank check of your time. To quote one of my favorite movies, “We say who. We say when. We say how much.”

To make any sort of social media community work for you on a business level, you have to make a plan.  You have to allot the amount of time you can spend, the resources you have to devote to it and work from there.

And one very important aspect: separate out the time you interact with friends and family on Facebook versus the time you spend actually connecting/building with your readership or networking. Time is as important an investment as money, and when you’re a writer, sometimes more so. Consider your minutes like gold coins and hand them out with care.

So let’s make your Facebook community work for you:

Friends versus Fans — which do you want?

There are two ways to join the Facebook community:

1.    Create a personal profile for yourself and become friends with others.

2.    Create a business page that others can “like”.

Let’s look at the differences in how each works:

Managing Your Facebook profile

A profile works best when you wish to communicate equally with someone else. By creating your profile and “adding a friend”, you are both agreeing to see each other’s updates. This is great when you are dealing with your friends, family and old acquaintances.  It can also work for you when you wish to network with others in the publishing industry – other writers, agents, editors, etc.

If you’re concerned that the agent you aspire to have won’t want to read about your cat’s trip to the vet, you’re probably right. Though it is pretty simple to skim the news feed that comes from your friends’ list, you can use List and Locks to help manage your profile.

Lists

Whenever you add a friend, you have the option to add them to a list.  This is a tremendous tool, one you should get in the habit of using.  It’s invaluable to help stay on track with your time and goals for using Facebook.

1. You can Choose Who See Your Status Updates.

If you separate your friends into lists, such as “family, Friends, Writers Network”, etc, when you make your status updates, you can choose which lists see the updates.  So if you’re writing about the dog, the cat, or just something more private, you can keep those updates to those closest to you.

2. You can view statuses by list only.

This is terrific when you’re looking to focus the time you spend on Facebook. (A must when using Facebook for business purposes.)

If you have allocated ten minutes toward building your professional connections, you need to make sure those ten minutes are doing only that. One excellent way is to categorize your friends into lists.

Lists can include:

• Family
• Friends
• Writers Network
• Agents & Editors
• New Friends

Facebook is terrific in that it brings together all the factions of your life, but you won’t always communicate with those groups in the same way.  Let’s say I want to spend five minutes on networking.  I can click on my “Writers Network” list and see all the writers and authors I am friends with. I can leave comments, read updates and check in …and just as easily check out.  It makes those five minutes clear, concise and well spent.

Locks

Along with using the lists above, you can set locks (permissions) on your status updates, your photo galleries and other things you add to your profile.

When you post a status update, if you wish to control who sees it, click on the little lock icon.  If you select “Customize”, this will allow you to choose among your lists.  Only the lists you select will see that update. The same is true of your photo albums.

Essentially, wherever you see that little lock icon it offers you options on who sees what in your profile.  Using the lists can help you focus your activities and your time spent, it also allows you to choose whether the agent you admire sees everything you post about your family.

Managing a “Fan” or Business Page

When it comes to readers or fans of your work, less can be more.  Since a profile requires equal sharing of personal information, readers may not feel comfortable befriending you.  However, “liking” your business/Writer page is simple and easy and helps them stay connected.  It’s also been set up within Facebook that you can connect this directly through your website.

There are basics I often see overlooked in Facebook Fan Pages, though.  Readers like your page and visit your page for two things:

• Interaction
• Information

If you aren’t providing both of these, your fan page needs an overhaul.

Interaction

Once you have a fan page, you actually have to post on it. J (I know, darnit.) I’m guilty of forgetting this myself and sometimes it can be impossible to think of what to say.

If you do actively use your Profile and your Fan Page, treat them differently.  Truly focus on the audience and post for them.  Maybe one way to separate the two is share aspects of your work on your fan page and leave the more personal aspects to your profile page.  Remember the goal is to interact. Ask questions, answer ones commonly asked (such as every writer’s favorite, where do you get your ideas?). Yes, it’s “all about you”, but the conversation with your followers shouldn’t be.

Hold Facebook-only contests.  Give away autographed copies of your book (or someone else’s) or ARCs or maybe even a gift basket of things that tie into your book.

Information

Does your Fan Page have information abut your upcoming releases? Or your current release?  An easy way to find your website or an easy click-to-buy link for your books?  One reason a Fan Page works as great marketing is the ability to share all the details about you as the author and your work, but you’d be surprised how few authors give that information on their fan pages.  Post your reviews. Book trailers. Videos.  Post tidbits of your current story. Give additional insight into you that they won’t find on your website or elsewhere (such as your all-consuming love of Smores Ice Cream. Oh wait, that’s me…)

Sometimes it seems like double the effort, but the goal is to remain engaged with your readers before, during and after you have a book on the shelves.

Ultimately, the best elements of a successful fan page will include the following:

1.    A branded experience targeted to your audience
For a writer this means post with the voice your books offer.  Are you quirky? Come up with quirky, off-the-wall things to comment on.   If you’re a suspense writer, share your top scariest movies moments.

2.    Having a conversation with you.
Posting your updates and making them relevant is only part of the equation.  When folks take the time to comment back, stay engaged.  Reply.  You may not have the time to reply to all of them and that’s okay. But one or two blanket statements so that folks know you’ve read them, you’ve seen them, can make a world of difference.

Some Common Mistakes

When authors and writers set up their fan pages and profile, I see a lot of common mistakes that can minimize the effectiveness of your efforts.

• Don’t post the same status update on both your profile and fan pages.   If someone is connected to both your profile and your fan page, seeing you post exactly the same thing to both can feel like being spammed. Eventually, when people see double on a regular basis, they’ll stop reading and you’ve lost the connection.  Facebook works because it feels personal.  Tailor your posts to the audience at hand.  A profile is meant to be more personal.

• Use a different picture for your profile on each page you have.   When your status updates come up, they see your profile picture thumbnail and your words.  It helps to show a separation.

• Reply to comments.  If you’ve posted and people have responded, be sure to engage them back.  They like to be heard, and being acknowledged by you can make a world of difference.  Being ignored by you repeatedly can, as well.

Don’t forget: Linking to/from your website

Because Facebook is the proverbial lunch room, you want to drive traffic in a strong flow between your website and your Facebook page.  There are simple ways to do that by adding plugins to your site (whether it’s made in HTML or WordPress or something else entirely.)  WordPress offers a large amount of plugins to make the steps easy, so do a search for “Facebook” and you’ll find plenty to choose from.  The other option is to go to the Facebook Plugins page at http://developers.facebook.com/plugins .  From here, you can choose the type of link to Facebook you want your site to have: from a simple “LIKE” button to more complex options like using a Facebook login to interact on your website.

Over Saturation through Inter-connectivity

There are also apps that will allow you to connect your Twitter accounts to your Facebook, as well as pulling in your blog posts.  This is certainly open for debate and you have to choose what is the best option for you, but my advice is to error on the side of caution. This creates a seamless connection between twitter and your blog and your  Facebook pages.  If you have your twitter feed automatically posting to your Facebook, and your blog automatically posting to your twitter feed, someone who reads ALL of those will get the information in triple.  It’s a quick way to get them to tune out and stop reading what you have to say.

If you’re depending on your twitter and blog feeds to populate your Facebook pages, then you aren’t using it for what it’s intended.  Facebook is a community, meant for conversation and interaction.  To automate your process too much means you’re missing out on the best benefits it offers.

Finally, Measuring Results

Fan pages offer the opportunity to measure your results through Facebook Insights. On the left sidebar of your fan page, you’ll see a box titled “Insights”.  Only the admin can see this box, and if you click on “see all”, it will give you details about the traffic on your site.  You need a certain number of fans to see geographical information, but you can measure the growth rate and interaction rate of your fans.  But much of this is intuitive — you know if people are responding to you.  If they aren’t, mix up what you post, add something new and don’t be afraid to try.

Ultimately, social media can work for you as well as you want it to.  Always keep the goals in mind when interacting on a business level.

***

RU Crew, tell us about your experience with Facebook. Do you have a fan page? If so, how do you make it effective for you?

Jeannie, thanks for continuing this fantastic special series! Drop by tomorrow when Theresa Stevens, Publisher, STAR Guides Publishing, talks about first meets between the hero and heroine.

Jeannie’s Bio: It was a Saturday afternoon when Jeannie Ruesch gave up her illustrious, hours-long ambition of becoming a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader (after seeing the made for TV movie).  That day, she sat to write her very first story and when she was finished, she knew that pen ..or rather, pencil and collegiate-lined paper was the path for her.  She was six.  She finished her first two books in 7th grade—handwritten on 150 legal size pages and complete with hearts dotting the I’s, of course.

As an adult, however, she discovered the need to…well, pay for things.  In her words, she “paid a lot of money to go to school, get a degree and go beg for work.”  She began her career in marketing and design and continues to this day, with her graphic design and marketing business, Will Design for Chocolate.  She considers herself fortunate that her passion of writing and her other love go hand in hand so nicely.

In 2008, she sold her first completed novel (as an adult and written on a computer this time) to The Wild Rose Press– a historical romance that has been a labor of love from the start.  “It’s been through four or five revisions, including one complete scrap-it-and-start-over, and has been a wonderful tool for learning how to be a better writer.”

She is also the creator of the WIP Notebook, a writer’s tool to help stay organized while you write.

Now with a few more tools in her author’s tool belt, her first published book, and a drawer full of emergency chocolate, she has a lot more stories to tell.  She lives in Northern California with her husband (who is likely tired of having his brain picked on the ‘male perspective’), their son and her brother, who she thanks every day (since he cooks and she hates to.)

Welcome Jeannie!

Hey RomU folks! Thanks for having me back for another discussion on marketing.

It’s impossible to get away from social media these days.  Facebook, twitter, the old spice guy (yum!)?  Social media is where the majority of online folk spend their time…and that means that as an author with a business to promote, you need to as well.  *Pause, wait for groaning to stop.*

I know for a lot of you, the idea is daunting.  You have writing to do.  (And likely other jobs, a family who would like to see you once in a while, and sleep would be nice, as well.) When are you supposed to tweet? Or Facebook? Or make a video with sock puppets?

It all starts with a plan.

The way we communicate with people is changing.  The world of PR and marketing is beginning to embrace this – the Old Spice Guy’s twitter/Youtube phenomenon is truly one of the most inspired uses of modern day marketing I think I’ve ever seen.  But a campaign of that scale required massive planning ahead.  The Old Spice marketing folks didn’t just hop on Twitter one day and say, “Hm, this could be fun.”  They made a focused plan of action, with measured results to justify it.

Let me back up a little bit.  Some of you are probably familiar with or heard about the Old Spice Guy.  But let’s summarize the overall campaign from a marketing perspective.

The goal: To use social media to interact with a younger, newer audience and breathe new life into Old Spice. Venues included their twitter account and YouTube, plus gathering responses from a number of other social media connections.  (And even if you don’t give a whit about Old Spice, check out the YouTube channel.  See image to right for a good reason.)

The plan of action:  Get people on many forms of social media to shout out to oldspice and ask questions.  These questions were then responded to on the Old Spice YouTube channel with targeted, brand-focused short videos.

The response:  Huge.  You couldn’t log onto a social network, much less twitter, without seeing @oldspice somewhere.  It was an unparalleled success.  The commercial was also nominated for an Emmy.

What does this have to do with you?  A plan of attack for social media doesn’t have to involve large sums of money, video responses and more.  But you do have to walk into the social media circle prepared, understanding what you’re in for and what you want to achieve from it.   So today, we’re going to start with Twitter.  It doesn’t matter whether you are published or not, there are ways to use twitter to your advantage at every stage of your career.

Step 1. Set Your Goals, Have a Plan

First, you need to decide what you want to gain from it.  Be realistic and consider where you are in your career and what your needs are and how twitter can help you meet them. Do you want to learn more about the industry? About specific agents or editors? Network more with other authors and writers?   Do you want to build an audience for your books? Decide what you’d like to achieve and then build around that.

And just like you would with any business plan, there needs to be a basis of measurement in place.  The above are generic goals.  Learning more about agents/editors is a great goal.  But what does it mean?  Drill down to specific goals.  Figure out why you want/need to meet that goal.   Let’s say learning more about agents is one of your goals. Why?  Are you looking to query soon? Getting info on who would be right to represent you?  That’s a terrific goal and for those agents on twitter, you can definitely meet it

So your plan of attack needs to get specific.   Choose 5 agents on twitter that you want to know more about.  Perhaps that you’d even like to get to know a little, and have them see your name as well.   Follow the steps below to meet your goal of getting to know these 5 agents.

Let’s say you have a new book coming out and your goal is to start building an audience.  Perfect.  Now who does that audience look like?  Decide on a specific goal.  Let’s say you write murder mysteries set in a bakery.  Someone who might appreciate your books would be those who love to bake.   Turn that into a goal: Connecting with twitterers who talk about baking.

The more specific you can make your goals, the more sense the Steps into Using Twitter will make sense.

Step 2. Follow, Follow, Follow

Follow People

Let’s say your goal is to build a network, get involved and become a more relevant player in the industry.  The first step to using twitter to further this goal is to start by focusing on those in the literary world.  Find literary agents, publishers, authors and other writers to “follow” (which means you’re signing up to see their tweets).  Following is easy and it takes very little time.  And if you’re not sure where to start, here’s a place:

Go to my twitter account at http://www.twitter.com/jeannieruesch and click on who I follow.  You’ll see a variety of agents, publishers, editors, some authors and friends among the mix.  Click the option to follow any who interest you.  The best way to find people to follow is to see who others are following.

I also have a list I update on a regular basis of agents and editors on twitter.  You can find that here: http://jeannieruesch.com/wordpress/?p=1307 .

Find discussions.

The wonderful world of twitter has a plethora of chats on a regular basis – many of them literary based.  People join a chat by including a hashtag. For example, #romuniv would be a hashtag for Romance University.  Anyone could participate in a conversation about this.  It’s a wonderful way to engage with new people, who you aren’t following or who aren’t following you.  The chats brings like-minded people together.

Some literary focused hashtags include:

• #askagent
• #smallpress
• #writegoal
• #bookpub
• #litchat
• #followreader
• #amwriting
• #writingparty
• #amwritingparty
• #authors
• #writechat
• #thrillerchat
• #editorchat

How do you find them? A quick way is to go to http://twitter.com/ and search for the tag above.  So type in #litchat and anyone who has used this hashtag will show in the results. One of my favorites is #writegoal.  It’s a terrific way to connect with others writers doing just what you’re doing.

Building an Audience From Scratch

Let’s look at building an audience for your books.  If you’re writing fiction, your audience isn’t going to be those talking about writing.  You’ll need to branch out into finding followers and discussions that you can engage in.   Deirdre advises: “For writers of fiction, you’re doing searches on subject matters and really getting into the consumer realm.  If you think your books are being read by stay at home moms, maybe you’re focusing on mom bloggers who might even be talking about the books.  You’d be listening for something completely different. Focus on keywords; really observe how these folks are communicating.

Look for conversations about authors in your genre.  If your genre is romantic suspense, see which competitors’ books are being talked about, where they are being talked about, and who is chatting about them.  Those are topics communities are built around.”

Two aspects here: The first one is finding subject matter niches.  Let’s look at the mystery books in a bakery audience.  We imagine people who love to bake might like your book.   So go to http://www.twitter.com/ and search on “baking cupcakes.”  Is this something you know about?   Is there a discussion you could participate in?

This is also a terrific way to learn about who is reading your genre.  I write regency-set historical romance.  One of the best-known authors in this genre is Julia Quinn.  I can search for Julia Quinn on twitter to see who’s talking about her books.  There, I see people discussing historical romance – that’s my audience.   I can follow those people and begin to listen to discussions on books and discover how I can participate.  I’m sure there are some of you saying, “This feels a little like cyber stalking.”  J  Most users of twitters love followers.  If they don’t want them, they’ll protect their twitter account.

Social media is about connection.  And what’s better than connecting with someone who loves what you do?  Or reads what you read?  Connecting, following, joining in discussions is part of the community.  Your responsibility is to respect it.  Remember that Twitter is not about selling.  It’s about sharing.

If we look back at the Old Spice guy, not ONCE did they sell their product.  In fact, they turned their concept into being about the community.  The community asked the questions, the responses were made to them.  It wasn’t about the Old Spice products.  It was about the people.  That makes all the difference. It’s why it worked.

Step 3:  Listen. Observe.

Read and observe for a while and keep your fingertips at rest.  Don’t engage, don’t respond, don’t jump in.  Take the time to listen.  A few months ago, I had the honor to interview social media/PR guru and author Deirdre Breakenridge (@deirdrebreakenridge) on this topic.   She reminds us, “These are communities with a culture.  You really need to observe people and their behaviors and the sociology of the group, how they interact, the information they are sharing and what makes them excited.  As you watch and observe, discover where you fit in into their community and what you can contribute that would be relevant. As an author, I did a lot of listening and observing in different communities.”

Consider it sort of like moving to an entirely new country.  (In some ways it is.)  You wouldn’t just get in your car and drive around (possibly on the wrong side of the road), chatting everyone up without having some sort of sense of the culture, the expectations, or what you could say that might thoroughly offend someone.  (If you would, well… there’s no helping you then. )

With Twitter, it’s easy to tune someone out.  It’s even easier to unfollow them.  So some of the biggest mistakes people make on twitter includes jumping in and immediately pursuing their own agenda, marketing themselves.  No one cares.  Not yet, because you haven’t given them a reason to weigh your tweets as anything other than self-interested.

Imagine being in a room with twenty people. Would you walk in and immediately start selling yourself or your books?  No, because they’d quickly tune you out.  Twitter is no different.  Settle in, get to know the people and then you’re ready to join in.

And actually, you’ll find that doing so helps make this not so overwhelming.  It can be daunting to figure out what to tweet about, and if you’re like me, half of what you think of writing seems stupid.  Listening and watching how others interact within the community is a great way to learn what you want to achieve with Twitter.

Step 4: Decide how to participate

Now, it’s time to engage with others.   So let’s get back to the game plan.  If your purpose is to network and becoming a bigger part of the writing world, you’ll need to engage in the conversations on writing.

Start with one chat group. Perhaps the #writegoal one, to connect with other writers.  Share your experiences; respond to those who write theirs.  Offer encouragement.  Or if you’re going more toward industry professionals, look to #litchat.  Read the discussions previously held, and begin to form questions, comments.  That’s your opportunity to engage with others, to join the community.

You also need to set your expectations for how you want to use twitter versus what others are using it for.  Quoting Literary Agent Janet Reid from her blog: “One of the great ways to make twitter a total waste of time is to follow someone who isn’t using twitter for what YOU are using it for.”

Not everyone responds to replies. Not everyone does searches by hashtags.  Some people use it as an extended version of IM to chat with friends, coworkers and others and pay no attention to anything else.  Others use it extensively to converse on topics, offer advice, and such.  Check out their pages, see what they tweet about most and adjust your expectations from this accordingly.  Remember the golden rule of tweeting:  Observe.  Listen.  Then engage.

If we take the mystery-book-in-a-bakery author looking to build an audience, the one thing you do not want to do is find that audience of bakers and immediately start talking about your book.  The idea is to listen to their discussions about their specific niche: baking.   I did a search on twitter on “baking cupcakes.” There are a ton of comments about it.  See what’s being said.  Discover what you can add to that discussion, how you can support someone with a common interest.

This is the one area I think people misinterpret using social media.  If you join a conversation with a “let me tell you all about me” mentality, you’ll be ignored before you write your next tweet.  But if you join in and share good info that people can use on that topic, they will see you as a resource.  They might eventually follow your twitter account.  There, they will begin to learn more about you, then about your book and you’ve expanded your audience a little bit at a time.  Not based on the book, not based on being an author, but based on you. The person.

Step 5: Measuring the Results

Twitter can be a great tool– as long as you use it in a way that makes sense for you.  And as long as you realize that it takes time to build results in a community like this.  Unless you have a huge marketing team and dollars behind you to build a plan like the Old Spice folks did, you’ll need to be patient.  Build your audience the same way you make friendships: one person at a time.

Time Spent

And that often means finding time where there is none.  It can also be a tremendous time suck if you let it.

It’s important to focus on your plan of attack, your goals.  Consider your time spent on social media as another part of your business plan.  And just like you would with any other aspect of a job, set a time frame around it, a measure of success.  Can you devote to 15 minutes a day spent on twitter? Responding, reading, searching out new discussions?  5 minutes?  Or maybe every other day.  Whatever makes sense to your schedule, add the time into your daily routine.

Measurable Results: Followers/Information Gained

At reasonable intervals, you need to go back to your plan of attack and remind yourself of the goals.  Did you want to gain information? Network more?  Make inroads with an audience niche? Gain more followers?

Keep track of your gains.  If you want to gain more followers, note the number you started with.  Then six months later, see if you’ve gotten closer to your goal.   If your goal was to learn more about agents, look at the list you made of agents to know more about.  How have you done?  If you wanted to network more with people in the writing industry, again, look at the number of followers you started with.   After six months, has it grown?  Have you participated in conversations?

Part of a marketing plan is the measure of success.  For the amount of time you spend on twitter (or any marketing focus), you need to know it’s worth it.  You also need to give it time to work.  If after six months, you aren’t seeing the gains you hope for, then you need to evaluate your plan of attack.  Maybe change things a bit.  But measure your results, from beginning to end.

If we look at the OldSpice guy, the twitter account has over 100,000 followers.  I don’t know what they started with, but I imagine that’s one measure of success.    Another measure of success is the views of the short videos in their YouTube channel.  Some are over 3 million.  That’s a definite measure of success.

And here’s another one: parodies.  Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, the plethora of parodies out there grow by the day.   This one is one of the funniest, so I’ll let the Old Spice Guy say goodbye for me.

***

RU Crew, are you actively using the various social media outlets? We’d love to hear from you.

Special thanks to Jeannie for being here.  Join us tomorrow when Theresa Stevens, Publisher, STAR Guides Publishing, joins us to discuss how to pitch a multi-genre book.

Jeannie’s Bio: It was a Saturday afternoon when Jeannie Ruesch gave up her illustrious, hours-long ambition of becoming a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader (after seeing the made for TV movie).  That day, she sat to write her very first story and when she was finished, she knew that pen ..or rather, pencil and collegiate-lined paper was the path for her.  She was six.  She finished her first two books in 7th grade—handwritten on 150 legal size pages and complete with hearts dotting the I’s, of course.

As an adult, however, she discovered the need to…well, pay for things.  In her words, she “paid a lot of money to go to school, get a degree and go beg for work.”  She began her career in marketing and design and continues to this day, with her graphic design and marketing business, Will Design for Chocolate.  She considers herself fortunate that her passion of writing and her other love go hand in hand so nicely.

In 2008, she sold her first completed novel (as an adult and written on a computer this time) to The Wild Rose Press– a historical romance that has been a labor of love from the start.  “It’s been through four or five revisions, including one complete scrap-it-and-start-over, and has been a wonderful tool for learning how to be a better writer.”

She is also the creator of the WIP Notebook, a writer’s tool to help stay organized while you write.

Now with a few more tools in her author’s tool belt, her first published book, and a drawer full of emergency chocolate, she has a lot more stories to tell.  She lives in Northern California with her husband (who is likely tired of having his brain picked on the ‘male perspective’), their son and her brother, who she thanks every day (since he cooks and she hates to.)

A full week of non-stop goodies for you at RU! Heather Webber, Build-a-Blog, Kim Howe, Jeannie Ruesch and Theresa Stevens. Don’t miss a single day!

Mon, 8/16 – Crafting Your Career – Author Heather Webber joins us to talk about cross-genre books.

Tue, 8/17 – WordPress for Non-Techies Grand Finale. In the final of six lessons, Carrie Spencer puts out the call for a WP blog show-n-tell.

Wed, 8/18 – Anatomy of the Mind – Golden Heart nominee Kim Howe shares her thoughts on contests being a stepping stone towards publication. .

Thu, 8/19 – Special Feature – Jeannie Ruesch of Will Design for Chocolate returns to discuss social media networking.

Fri, 8/20 – Chaos Thoery of Writing – Theresa Stevens tells us how to position genre straddling books.

All Romance University lectures are generously provided by our Visiting Professors. RU is a tuition-free zone!

Best regards,

Carrie Spencer, Kelsey Browning, Adrienne Giordano & Tracey Devlyn

PS  - Want RU’s weekly lecture schedule in a cool new email format straight to your in-box? Sign up on RU’s homepage or any of the lecture posts!

Welcome Jeannie!

Hello again RU Crew & Readers!

Welcome back to the Websites 101 series.  If you’re just checking in, we’ve been discussing websites at every stage of a writer’s career.  We started with the Unpublished Author’s Website, continued with The About-to-be or Newly Published Author and now, our series wraps up this week with a final look at the Established Author’s Website.

What’s the next level you can take your website to once your author bookshelf has books stacked and your readership base is growing?   You have a website that’s been focused on your author brand,  you offer updates and new information often, but you want more interactivity, you want to reward your readers with a deeper connection to you and your work.  How do you do that?

Now is the best time to truly shift the focus of your website.  In other stages of your career, your website was a place to show yourself  to other writers, agents, editors, reviewers and while some of that may still be true, your ultimate goal should be enhancing the reader’s experience: immersing them in your world(s) and offering more connection to you, the author.

The Basic Needs

Before the bells and whistles, you have to make sure you’ve got the basics in order. Basic needs for an established author’s website are mostly in line with everything else we’ve discussed – a solid design that enhances and evokes your brand, a clean navigation and easy-to-use site.  As you gain a larger readership and write more books, there are a few added basics that every site should have:

A simple, printable book list.

This doesn’t need to be fancy, but it should list all the books you’ve written.  If you’ve written series or connected books, they should be listed in order.

A coming soon page.

This is across the board for any author, but as an established author, it’s imperative.  Your readers will come to your site looking to find out when your next book is out.  As soon as you know, let them know.  Provide details on release dates, blurbs, cover, and whenever possible, a sample of the first chapter.

An easy way to contact you.

An established author is going to have fans write to them or want to connect somehow.  Have a contact page that gives all the options you offer.  A contact form, an email address, a mailing address (PO Box, please), any and all social media connections you have.  Everywhere you want a reader to contact you, list those options.

Bells & Whistles

You may ask why you need to enhance your reader’s experience through your website.  Aren’t the books enough? Or your Facebook page or twitter, or your blog?

Yes and no.  Some readers won’t ever visit your Facebook page, your twitter account, or your blog.   But your website is the one place everyone will come when they want more: more of your books, more information, more connection to you.

We’re writers, but we’re also readers. If you’ve ever met one of your favorite authors, then you know that in some ways, to a reader, an author can be like a celebrity.  Readers feel connected from your books, and just like we’re all curious about what our favorite celebs are up to, we like to know about our favorite authors.  That connection helps to build a reader’s loyalty, their trust.   And offering more for them on your website shows the reader that you value them – that you realize that your career wouldn’t be what it is without them.

So, what sorts of bells and whistles can you add to enhance their experience?  We’ll study some examples of bestselling authors and what they share with their readers:

Epilogues, Deleted Scenes & Other Short Stories

Giving more of your stories is a great way to draw your readers to your site and keep them immersed in the world you created.  One fabulous example of this is Julia Quinn’s 2^nd Epilogues for her Bridgerton series.  Her tagline for these is terrific: “Because happily ever after is a whole lot of fun.”   The offer the “story after the story” for one of my most beloved series.

Another author who has done this is Susan Elizabeth Phillips, who offers an epilogue to Heaven, Texas.

You can also choose other routes, such as deleted scenes.  Caridad Pineiro offers deleted scenes from a number of her books, as well as free reads.

Readers love more of their favorite stories.  It’s why series, especially in romance, are so successful.  When we fall in love with the characters, we want to keep reading about them.  These are great options to give a little more to your readers.

Micro sites

A micro site is a glimpse into the world of your books.  One example is Brenda Novak’s LAST STAND series.  She has a micro site available from her website (it requires flash to see) that showcases this series – the lead heroines, cases, chapters, and all wrapped in the design idea of the “offices” of the Last Stand – which works with her series premise.

If you have connected books or long-standing series, a micro site dedicated to your book’s world and characters is a great way to get your readers that much more involved.

More Information About The Author

Readers love to get to know their favorite authors.  There are a ton of different ways you can do this.   One I think is particularly enjoyable is on Lisa Gardner’s website.  She has a video called “A Day Living with Lisa Gardner.”  The video is funny, in tone with her books, and a great way to make readers laugh.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwMXsFQVX8A[/youtube]

Other options, outside of the traditional “About me” paragraphs can be quirky Q&A.  Kristin Hannah does this on her website, and it’s different and fun.  (And she apparently hates onion rings.)

Get Behind The Scenes

Readers love to delve into the world of how you created their favorite books.   Look for ways to bring out special details that aren’t anywhere else – more than just settings, character bios.  Look for unique tidbits.

One of my favorite authors, Karen Rose, offers trivia on how she created her books: http://www.karenrosebooks.com/krose-trivia.htm .  It’s a great insight into how some of my favorite characters and stories came about.  I love reading these, as a writer and reader – it’s fun to see where she gets her ideas and how my favorite books come to life.

One of the best workshops I attended at the National RWA Conference was on how a cover was created. It was run by the amazing Kate Duffy, and she walked us through the variations of a romance novel cover – we saw the different versions, the changes and why they were made. It was fascinating.   While you may not be able to offer something like this to your reader, there are other details you can offer.  Things that you changed along the way and why.

And as someone who always watches the “How it was made” section on DVD movie releases, I love knowing what’s behind the scenes.   I love seeing the special effects in movies, and readers love knowing what went into making a book.

Fan Clubs

Fan clubs can be a tricky thing.  They can be called a number of things: fan club, registered readers group, etc, but it boils down to your loyal fans looking for a deeper connection with you.

On Eloisa James’ website, her “registered readers get: a whole level of eloisajames.com available only to registered readers. On these pages you will find short stories, extra chapters to Eloisa’s books, special bulletins from Eloisa, photos and other exclusive items.”  As well as advance notice of news and books.  Her website also has an “easter egg” hunt ongoing, and registered readers get hints on the game.  Her fan club is a place to play and get the inside scoop.

This level of connection has to be unique, because these days, readers can connect with you in a variety of ways: facebook, twitter, other social media.  What you offer in an exclusive group is essentially a bargain: I’ll give you, the reader, special access in exchange for your email address and agreement to send you updates.  It’s the author’s way of remaining connected to the reader and rewarding loyal readers with ways to make them feel special.

Interactive Additions

One good way to get readers active on your website is a forum or message board.  However, use caution with this because boards can take time to build, and if they aren’t kept up with fresh content, can quickly become stale.

I love the concept that Eloisa James & Julia Quinn joined their forums together into one.  It’s a great way to connect with readers of the same genre and build a stronger base for activity on the board.

Taking Your World Into Theirs

The next step would be to provide options that bring your written world off your website and into the everyday world of your readers.   There are a few ways to do that, from simple and inexpensive to luxurious and interactive.

Bling

Bling is always good for giving goodies to your readers.  This can be a variety of things from buddy icons, wallpapers, to downloadable/printable bookmarks and more.  Buddy icons can be used on message boards, forums.  Wallpapers can grace your reader’s computer

Games & More

Another option is to look into 3D games such as Second Life, and build a world that your reader can navigate through in 3D with their own avatar

Or look at creating a game about your books.  At the “Nora” level, taking the next step involved actually creating a game based on the world and characters in her Bride Quartet series, where you can “be” a character and truly interact with her world on your own time, away from her website.

Other options include apps for phones and more.  These get expensive of course, so choose what fits within your budget and always, what enhances your brand.

It Has to Work.

There are no limits to how interactive you can get with your readers.  But something to keep in mind with the addition of new perks, new games, new information, more details and more interactivity, is the most basic needs of a website: Keep it simple.

Your navigation needs to expand and grow with your new features, but overall you want to be sure your readers can find things without much effort.  Brenda Novak says, “I think the key to having a good web site is making the information quick and easy to obtain, while making the site as interactive as possible, with content that constantly changes. As the site grows, so does the amount of content, and it’s imperative that it be organized in an intuitive way so that it doesn’t frustrate the visitor. Otherwise, it becomes a waste of time and effort.”

Frustrating the visitor can be easier than you might think, especially when your website is full of information.  Your main navigation should have easy, recognizable headers such as “about”, “Books”, “extras”, “Contact”, “Links”, etc…  Look across most author websites and you’ll see the same navigation titles.   Don’t get cute here, don’t try to think up something original – this isn’t the place for it.   The more content you offer, the simpler your navigation needs to be.

So load up on the added features, get interactive with your readers but remember to keep your website simple, focused and professional.

***

RU Crew, here’s your chance to ask a web designer about building a website.  Go to it!

Special thanks to Jeannie for being here.  Jeannie will be back with another post on August 19 , so mark your calendars. Join us tomorrow when Theresa Stevens, Publisher, STAR Guides Publishing, teaches us how to ground flying body parts.

Jeannie’s Bio: It was a Saturday afternoon when Jeannie Ruesch gave up her illustrious, hours-long ambition of becoming a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader (after seeing the made for TV movie).  That day, she sat to write her very first story and when she was finished, she knew that pen ..or rather, pencil and collegiate-lined paper was the path for her.  She was six.  She finished her first two books in 7th grade—handwritten on 150 legal size pages and complete with hearts dotting the I’s, of course.

As an adult, however, she discovered the need to…well, pay for things.  In her words, she “paid a lot of money to go to school, get a degree and go beg for work.”  She began her career in marketing and design and continues to this day, with her graphic design and marketing business, Will Design for Chocolate.  She considers herself fortunate that her passion of writing and her other love go hand in hand so nicely.

In 2008, she sold her first completed novel (as an adult and written on a computer this time) to The Wild Rose Press– a historical romance that has been a labor of love from the start.  She is also the creator of the WIP Notebook, a writer’s tool to help stay organized while you write.

Now with a few more tools in her author’s tool belt, her first published book, and a drawer full of emergency chocolate, she has a lot more stories to tell and websites to create.  She lives in Northern California with her husband (who is likely tired of having his brain picked on the ‘male perspective’), their son and her brother, who she thanks every day (since he cooks and she hates to.)

Join Romance University this week as we cover the gamut from refocusing on your writing, whether men fantasize about other women, connecting with readers via your website and grounding those flying body parts!

Mon 7/12 – Crafting Your Career: Find out how a PERT chart helped Sally Bayless recognize her lack of writing discipline. She’ll walk us through the drastic steps she took to refocus on her writing.

Wed, 7/14 – Anatomy of the Male Mind: RU once again goes where few others dare. Wayne Levine asks some men if they fantasize about other women while making love to their wives. A not to miss lecture!

Thu, 7/15 – Special Lecture: Jeannie Ruesch of Will Design for Chocolate returns for the final lesson on websites. This installment concentrates on multi-published authors and what they can add to a website to enhance the experience and connection with readers.

Fri, 7/16 – Chaos Theory of Writing: Join us for Ask An Editor where Theresa Stevens helps us ground our flying body parts.

All Romance University lectures are generously provided by our Visiting Professors. RU is a tuition-free zone!

Best regards,

Tracey Devlyn, Carrie Spencer, Kelsey Browning & Adrienne Giordano

PS  - Want RU’s weekly lecture schedule in a cool new email format straight to your in-box? Sign up on RU’s homepage or any of the lecture posts!

Welcome Jeannie! 

The title of this blog is a little misleading.  In fact, this article will target a slightly different demographic.  The focus of this blog is on the Contracted-and-soon-to-be-published-for-the-first-time Author. (Way too long to fit in the subject line…)  

So here’s the first bit of news, which might be startling wake up call to those of you who fit into either of the above categories.  If you are newly published, which means your book is already on a shelf somewhere (virtual or real), and you don’t have a website?  You’re behind the curve.  In fact, you might be approaching D status on the Marketing Report Card.  A new author’s website provides a multitude of functions – ones that include helping you to gain readers, reviews, attract attention and more.  As an Author (with a capital A, cue the drum roll), your audience is wider, more varied and has different needs.  Therefore, your website now has a checklist of elements it should provide. 

 If you don’t have a website and you have a book out, then print this article out, find a website designer you love, and get ready for the sprint of your life.  You need to catch up.   If you are an author with the contract under your belt and a “release date” looming in your future, you are right on track.

 Do You Need A Website?

 Yes.

 It may seem blunt and unnecessarily scare tactic-y, but the truth is that for an author in today’s world, a website is your best marketing line of defense.  It is an absolute necessity. 

And for an author with a release date on the horizon, the website isn’t going to be the only marketing consideration you have, but in all likelihood, it will be the one that everything feeds.  Think of ads you see in magazines, on book review websites, bookmarks, business cards – everything lists a website address.  A website is the place where most everyone will come to find you when they want more information. 

You need to provide that information in a timely, professional manner.  According to Kristin Nelson, of Nelson Literary Agency, “that website should be up and running when the catalog copy is being done for your book.  Why? Because your publisher is going to be sending out ARCs to reviewers and to other terrific people who have the power to give you a plug, and it’s at that moment in time when they might want to find information about you and the book quickly and easily.”

Which leads to one other point of distinction: Easily.  At this point, you need to have a domain name secured with your author name.  JaneAuthor.com if it’s available or if not, some of the variations I’ve seen are:  janeauthorbooks.com or authorjanesmith.com.  A domain name is a small yearly expense and it’s very simple to set your domain name to forward to any other location.  There is no good reason not to have one of your own. 

Mostly, an author at this stage needs to create a professional appearance, top to bottom.   Think of how much attention you have paid to your appearance on a first date. That first impression is important and you need just the right “outfit” to achieve just the right look.  If you present yourself as professional, then people will think of you as such.  If you present something half-hearted, people may assume you feel the same about your career.

Who Is Your Target Audience?

Before looking at what to put on your website, we need to focus on who will be viewing it and what their specific needs are.  In our previous post, we discussed how an unpublished writer’s audience is more inclined toward attracting an agent/editor and building a network of connections with other writers.  A new author has a bigger audience to provide for.  Not only are you trying to attract readers, but you’re trying to establish yourself as a professional in the marketplace among other professionals who have the power to help propel your career. 

Your website might be visited by book reviewers, librarians, book buyers, and big name authors as well as readers.   In all cases, two things are true.  These visitors want to delve deeper into the book and they want to know more about you. 

Your readers are going to want to feel connected to you and your work.  Whether they’ve read the book already or they are considering buying it, your website can give a nudge into buying this book or remembering you when the next one comes out.  It’s possible that they’ve seen mention of the book somewhere else – an ad, a book review, a comment on a website or social network, or a recommendation.  They are now coming to you to convince them the book is worth their time and money. Ultimately, they are looking for someone they can trust.

How do you build someone’s trust through a website?  Present the authentic you, keep any promises you make and respect the relationship.  Remember that your website, for a reader, is about building upon the relationship you’ve started with your book.  Your work is your shining glory – everything stems from it.  But a relationship is often nurtured by the little things, the small details.  And especially when there might be months to wait in between your first and your second book, your website can maintain that bridge.

Industry professionals are going to want to trust in you, as well.  They want to know that they are putting their name to someone who is professional, serious about their career and knows what it takes to stay in the business.  Every review a book reviewer puts their name on builds upon their reputation.  Same goes for other authors.  When someone is giving their name to further your career, the way you show respect and consideration for that is to present yourself in a way that enhances their trust.  

What to Put On Your Website?

So with the audience firmly in mind, what should your website look like at this stage?  We break that down into Design and Focus/Content.

DESIGN

As I mentioned in our last post on websites, I believe the best litmus test you can give your website design is whether or not you would print it out and hand it to someone in person as a representation of you.  Would you be confident that you’ve handed them something that will steer their perception of you in a positive light?

It’s easy to be lax when it comes to what you put on the web, because you aren’t face-to-face with the person viewing it.  But if you had to hand them a printed version of your site and watch and receive their response in that moment, would it change how you look at what you’ve got?  Imagine the best-selling author in your genre who you’d love to get a quote from.  Would you immediately start to think of excuses for why your site looks as it does? Or could you give a big smile and say, “This is the extension of me and my work that I want you to put your name on with a stamp of approval.”

That’s what your website is – an extension of you.  And because authors put reviews and quotes on their marketing material, you are asking for Mr. Big Author’s stamp of approval on you, the Author, and all that encompasses you.  That includes your website design.  Be 100% confident that it represents your brand as a writer well.  Dress your site for the job you want: Successful. 

FOCUS & CONTENT

As an about-to-be/newly published author, your website audience is looking for more information to establish their opinion of you and your work.  To meet the barest of basics, you should always have:

A Front Page that provides basic information about your upcoming book.  People should be able to type in your domain name and get immediate facts: what you write, when your book comes out, and where to find it.  They want to know what to expect and when, as quickly as possible.  

• A Bio – A few paragraphs and a photo of you.  People want to see who you are.  This photo should be professional and simple.
• Book page – Your book’s page should include a summary of the book (back cover/jacket copy), a cover image, excerpt if possible, and links when available on where to buy the book.
• Coming Soon Page – Have a page that gives details about what’s next from you.   Both readers and industry professionals will appreciate knowing that you’re building a career, not just a one-hit wonder.
• Contact information.  An email address and/or a contact form where someone can get reach you. 
• Events & News.  If you are planning a book tour in bookstores, any booksignings, conferences or blog tours, be sure to put that information on your site.  Include dates, links and any relevant information. 
• A Way To Capture the Connection.  Don’t let a visitor walk away from your website, waving their hand as they turn their back and saying, “I’ll call you sometime.”  Nail down the next date now by giving them options to let you connect to them:
  • Social Media Links:  Your links to Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks that you actively maintain should be accessible easily.  Preferably on the home page.
  • Newsletter Subscription:  If you have a newsletter, offer an easy-to-find place to subscribe to it. 

Beyond the basics, there are plenty of “Added Features” you can adopt. Think of the extras sort of the way you would a DVD release of a movie.  You get the movie and you get more– behind the scenes information, deleted scenes, the ‘making of’ features, and whatever else enhances the viewer’s experience.  That is the goal for everything beyond the basics on your site:  Enhance your website visitor’s experience.

I did some searching on author websites, looking for interesting, unique ideas, here are some websites that get an A for fresh website content.

Character Quotes

Janet Evanovich’s site – the header contains quotes from the characters in her books.    I LOVE this idea – and for a new author trying to establish a name, what better way to give glimpses of your style?   Where you put this on your site depends on a number of factors – genre, style, site design – but it’s a wonderful way to intrigue a viewer into wanting more.

Deleted Scenes

Every book has them and sometimes, they are scenes you loved, found interesting but ultimately cut from the book.  So share them!  Pick one or two, make sure they shine and add them to your website.  Therese Walsh, author of The Last Will of Moira Leahy, does just this.  A word of caution though:  Choose carefully so your scene doesn’t provide spoilers or ruin something in the reading of the book.

Research Notes

Therese Walsh also provides research articles to share how she researched aspects of her books.  Once readers have delved into a world of a book and loved it, they want more.  Personally, I love the way she’s laid out her pages here and shares photos and words, including quotes from people she spoke to. 

Research here, for me, is different than offering a “research for writers” page.  Because here you are trying to instill the same sense of magic and personal voice in the aspects you included in your book.  Did you learn something that fascinated you?  Share the fascination as well as the fact.

Sneak Peeks

You have a Coming Soon page that talks about what is ahead from you.  Include a sneak peek of your work – maybe a few lines, or a character article about your favorite character. 

Author Christyne Butler (http://www.christynebutler.com) has a Coming Soon section on her bookshelf that gives all the facts about her upcoming books – as well as includes a picture of the hero and heroine, in her mind’s eye, of each book.   I love this – it’s a bit of whimsy and always fun to connect a book that’s not yet out with a recognizable face.  When the book comes out, the images are removed and replaced with the cover.  But for something that is months out, it’s a great way to instill some interest.

Brand-Specific Interactive Extras

Depending on your brand and the tone of your book, look for fun, interactive extras you can include on your website.  Angie Fox (http://www.angiefox.com), author of The Accidental Demon-Slayer (and others), has a quiz on her website that asks what your ‘biker bitch name” would be.   This fits perfectly with her voice and tone, and it’s fun for the reader.   (Mine is Spaghetti Neck Stella Fast Pants, if you were curious…)

These are just a few of the extra ways you can enhance your visitor’s experience.  And don’t forget the ones we mentioned for unpublished writers, because those will work as well:

• A music soundtrack for your book

• Favorite Things Lists
• Links
• Highlighted elements of your books – recipes, causes, an historical era, whatever you can pull from your book and share in a way that furthers your voice and style. 

I’d like to add one note about pulling elements from your books.  Be sure it’s something this section fits YOU, the author, as well.  For instance, I’m not a fan of cooking.  Most anyone who has read my blog posts knows this.  So if I included a Recipes section on my author website – unless they existed of “Get in Car. Drive to Chili’s.” – it would seem disingenuous.

Everything you put on your website should have a purpose.  And when you’re considering what to include, ask yourself these questions:

• Does it enhance the visitor’s experience and connection with me?
• Does it further my brand?
• Does it feel genuine?

And since I haven’t said it yet…congratulations on your new or upcoming book!

Next time, we’ll delve deeper into the world of websites for authors established in their success.  How do you ramp it up to the next level? 

 ***

RU Crew, here’s your chance to ask a web designer about building a website.  Go to it!

Special thanks to Jeannie for being here.  Jeannie will be back with another post on July 15 , so mark your calendars. Join us tomorrow when Theresa Stevens, Publisher, STAR Guides Publishing, joins us to discuss the differences between an outline and a synopsis. 

Jeannie’s Bio: It was a Saturday afternoon when Jeannie Ruesch gave up her illustrious, hours-long ambition of becoming a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader (after seeing the made for TV movie).  That day, she sat to write her very first story and when she was finished, she knew that pen ..or rather, pencil and collegiate-lined paper was the path for her.  She was six.  She finished her first two books in 7th grade—handwritten on 150 legal size pages and complete with hearts dotting the I’s, of course.

As an adult, however, she discovered the need to…well, pay for things.  In her words, she “paid a lot of money to go to school, get a degree and go beg for work.”  She began her career in marketing and design and continues to this day, with her graphic design and marketing business, Will Design for Chocolate.  She considers herself fortunate that her passion of writing and her other love go hand in hand so nicely.

 In 2008, she sold her first completed novel (as an adult and written on a computer this time) to The Wild Rose Press– a historical romance that has been a labor of love from the start.  “It’s been through four or five revisions, including one complete scrap-it-and-start-over, and has been a wonderful tool for learning how to be a better writer.”

She is also the creator of the WIP Notebook, a writer’s tool to help stay organized while you write.

Now with a few more tools in her author’s tool belt, her first published book, and a drawer full of emergency chocolate, she has a lot more stories to tell.  She lives in Northern California with her husband (who is likely tired of having his brain picked on the ‘male perspective’), their son and her brother, who she thanks every day (since he cooks and she hates to.)