social media Archives - Self-Publishing News for Self Publishing Authors

@Self-Published Authors: Let’s Get #Social!

We’ve spent a lot of time this month talking about the advantages Social Media holds for self-publishing authors when it comes to book marketing and connecting with readers, fans, and other writers. So, it’s time to put our money where our mouth is: here are all the places you can find Outskirts Press out there in the great world of social media and beyond:

SelfPublishingNews.com

Our company blog and the location of the very post you’re reading now. If you haven’t subscribed to our blog, yet, now is the time. That way you won’t miss any of the great promotions and discounts we offer throughout each month.

Facebook.com/OutskirtsPress

Like everyone else on the planet, Outskirts Press is on Facebook. Follow us there to participate in our active community of self-published authors.

Instagram.com/OutskirtsPress

Instagram started out primarily as a way to share images before gravitating toward the short form videos and “stories” it’s known for now. But Outskirts Press still uses Instagram mainly as a way to share our authors’ amazing book covers. And yes, since Instagram is closely associated with both Facebook and Threads (since they’re all owned by Meta), that means we’re on “Threads”, too.

Pinterest.com/OutskirtsPress

Speaking of book covers, we also show off our authors’ books on our Pinterest board. Follow us there if you’re looking for some inspiration for your next book cover.

Twitter.com/Outskirts Press

Elon Musk may have changed its name to “X” but it will always be Twitter to us. Here you’ll find author success stories, promotions and discounts, and great writing, publishing, and marketing advice all boiled down to 140 characters or less.

YouTube.com/OutskirtsPress

Not only do we love showing off our authors’ book covers, we also love showing off our authors! Our YouTube channel is where you can see our authors’ most memorable moments, from videos of them seeing their books for the first time, to our collection of Valentine’s Day themed “Share the Love” videos, to heartfelt messages about their publishing experience. And of course, all our authors’ book video trailers are here, too!

Visit our various social media platforms today and follow, subscribe, comment, like, and share. See you there!

Advice, social media

3 Ways Social Media Helps With Book Promotion

Social media has become a powerful tool for book promotion, enabling authors to connect with their target audience and increase visibility for their work. Here are three ways social media helps with book promotion:

Wider Reach and Audience Engagement

Social media platforms provide access to a vast and diverse audience. Authors can share information about their books, including cover reveals, excerpts, and release dates, to engage potential readers. Social media allows for direct communication between authors and their audience, fostering a sense of connection and community. Engaging with readers through comments, messages, and discussions can also create a loyal fan base.

Targeted Marketing

Social media platforms offer advanced targeting options for promotion. Authors can use these features to reach specific demographics and interests relevant to their book’s genre. Paid promotions and boosted posts allow authors to showcase their work to a broader audience that is more likely to be interested in their book. This targeted approach can lead to higher conversion rates and better return on investment for promotional efforts.

Content Sharing and Viral Potential

Social media facilitates the sharing of content, and if a book-related post resonates with users, it can quickly go viral. Creative and engaging content, such as book trailers, author interviews, or behind-the-scenes peeks into the writing process, can attract attention and be shared by readers, bloggers, and influencers. This viral potential can lead to increased visibility, word-of-mouth promotion, and ultimately more book sales. It’s essential for authors to have a strong social media presence and to tailor their content to the platform and audience they want to reach. Consistency, authenticity, and interaction with readers are key to making the most of social media for book promotion.

Have you written a book that you’d like to publish?

Connect with a Publishing Consultant today to learn how Outskirts Press can help YOU publish YOUR masterpiece:

Outskirts Press stands behind our book printing and design services.

social media

Five Ways Social Media Can Help Self-Publishing Authors With Book Marketing

With the exploding popularity of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest, it’s easier than ever to connect with people worldwide.

But if you’re unsure how to get started or how to make connections with your target audience, don’t worry! Here are five easy tips to help you!

1. Determine what your goals are.

Increase awareness? The average person spends nearly two hours on social media daily; therefore, social media is one of the best places to grab a reader’s attention.
Drive traffic to your book? Drive visitors to your author webpage or your listing on Amazon.
Generate new leads? These are people who have indicated an interest in your book in some way, shape, or form but haven’t yet purchased it.
Build your royalties? You can use social media to turn your audience into paying customers.

2. How often should you post?

Facebook—Two or three times per day
Instagram—Once or twice per day
Instagram Stories—Eight to 16 stories, twice per week
Twitter—Three to 10 times per day
LinkedIn—Once or twice per day
Pinterest—Five to 10 times per day

3. When should you post?

Twitter—1:00–3:00 p.m. weekdays
Facebook—1:00–4:00 p.m. weekdays
LinkedIn—7:00–8:30 a.m. and 5:00–6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
Instagram—5:00–6:00 p.m. weekdays and 8:00 p.m. on Mondays
Pinterest—2:00–4:00 p.m. and 8:00–11:00 p.m. weekdays, with weekends being the best

4. What should you post?

Facebook—Post videos about your book, live videos of you talking about your book or at book events, photos of you and your book, blog posts, and curated content.
No matter what type of post you’re sharing on Facebook, the copy you add alongside your content can be critical in how it performs.
Instagram—Post hi-res photos (your cover, your author photo, any images or illustrations within your book), behind-the-scenes photos of your book events, quotes, and user-generated content (sharing other photos, such as attendees at a book signing), but give credit to the original creator (known as a re-post), and Instagram stories. Captions are limited to 2,200 characters, and after three lines of text, they become shortened with an ellipsis (those 3 dots you see on posts). Of course, you want to grab the readers’ attention with your opening line or two.
Twitter—Post news about your book, blog posts, photos of you and your book at events, curated content, and images. The type of copy in your tweets can drive huge improvements in your results.
Pinterest—Images are the best thing to post on Pinterest. Post hi-res photos of your book, the cover, book events, step-by-step photo guides, and infographics.
LinkedIn—Post professional information about your career as a writer. Since LinkedIn is a professional networking platform, the most suitable content will revolve around you as an author. Share news about your book and milestones on your LinkedIn page, particularly if the book involves career advice.

5. Automate, engage, and listen

Automate posting of your social media content. A tool like Buffer is great for automation. It allows you to create all the content you want to, all at once, and then place everything into a queue to be sent out according to whatever schedule you choose.
Social media requires engagement. When people talk to you, talk back. Set aside time during your day to follow up with conversations on social media. These are conversations with potential customers, references, friends, and colleagues.
Don’t forget that the ultimate purpose is to sell copies of your book. So always be polite, helpful, and generous. Book sales will follow.

For more information on marketing your book, log into your Publishing Center for a complete list of marketing options and to access the free Book Marketing Resource Center.

marketing, marketing-tips, social media

How to get the most out of your author webpage

An author webpage is more than just a “pretty face” on mobile devices and desktop computers. It can also be a powerful sales and marketing tool; and you will increase your chances of getting the most out of your author webpage if you follow these 3 easy steps:

Market All Your Books

If you’ve published multiple books with Outskirts Press (and many of you have), then your Author Webpage automatically features an “Also by” section in which all of your other book covers appear, each of them clickable to their own author webpage. It’s like a dynamic author website that automatically grows with your writing career. Plus, it is a proven fact that readers of one of your books are more inclined to be readers of your other books, too, so be sure to publish multiple books to automatically add this cool section to all of your Outskirts Press author webpages.

Link Your Webpage to Your Social Media Accounts

It probably goes without saying that every author should have a Facebook account and a Linked-In account. If you’re more experienced with social media you may also have a Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and/or Pinterest account. That’s great! And guess what? Your Author Webpage can link to ALL those social media accounts directly from your “About the Author” section — but ONLY if you tell your webpage how.

First, click on the “Edit My Profile” in the upper right-hand corner of your Publishing Center. Or, alternatively, you may have a “My Account” link. In either case, clicking that link will open up your Profile Page, where you can Edit Your Profile, provide Social Media Details, and set your Royalty Payment Details, among other things. In the Social Media Details section, enter in the URL for each of your social media profiles. The easiest way to do that is to go to each of your active social media platforms and go to your “home” or “main” page of your account, and then cut-n-paste the URL from the Internet Browser and place it into the appropriate field of this form. Don’t forget to save your changes. It’s as easy as that!

Add Some Multi-Media

Your Outskirts Press Author Webpage features an “optional” menu item specifically for “Media” which includes book video trailers, audio excerpts, and/or audiobooks. The audio excerpt is included with many of our packages, so if you have recorded your audio excerpt, it is available from your author webpage already. The book video trailer a very popular marketing option so if you didn’t order a book video trailer with your publishing package, you can add one at any time from the Marketing Options tab of your Publishing Center. The most recent addition to the Media section is our new AudioBook Publishing Option. It’s half the price and twice the quality of our competitors, and opens up a whole new market for your book, so be sure to check it out from the Marketing Tab, or by clicking this button right here:

Publish an Audiobook