Frustrated with Do it All Yourself Promotions
By: Staci Stallings
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| Staci Stallings |
Imagine you're going to build a house. From scratch. You've only seen blueprints in passing and have never been in a hardware store. You know nothing about plumbing and less about framing. But you've been tasked with building this house and you're on your own.
"That's crazy!" you say.
You're right. It is.
However, I'll bet that as an author you're trying to do exactly that with your promotions. You don't know how to market, but you're supposed to. So, what to do? Do your best, right? You get started on Twitter or Facebook, but you've never been to either. You sign up with Christian Chirp and Shoutlife because those hit your target audience. You start a blog because that's what people say you're supposed to do.
Suddenly you have all this STUFF, but no clue how to use any of it much less integrate all these pieces into a Marketing Strategy. Then people tell you that you should be doing interviews on blogs and guest posting. But how do you do that, and where do you find blogs willing to host you? Worse, you're supposed to put together a Blog Tour. Where do you even start with that?
Then it gets even worse, you realize that although you've been writing your blog, no one is reading the thing. So you try different kinds of posts--like author interviews and reviews, but where do you go to get authors to interview or review?
Ever feel like that Do-It-All-Yourself house builder standing in the home improvement store wanting to cry?
Well, I'm right there with you! Or at least I was.
I did all of these things and more trying to market my books, and then I read an article about authors who had joined forces to cross-promote each other using whatever social media outlets they had. That's when the idea for the Grace & Faith Author Connection was born.
Although it is vast and there are multiple ways to use the group, here are a few basic ways this Christian-based cross promotion group can help you.
#1 You're no longer alone. We've got tutorials to help you learn to write great Twitter tags. We've got articles to help you with marketing strategy. And we've got bloggers who are ready to help you carry that strategy out by hosting you for interviews, doing book reviews, and hosting you for guest blogs.
#2 Post to the group and we will help you get the word out through our social media outlets. If you have 500 followers on Twitter and you post a link to your book. 500 "eyes" might see it. But if that same post is then Retweeted by 3 G&F Authors, now you have 2,000 eyes. If 20 RT it, now you have upwards of 10,000 eyes. We now have 60 members. You do the math.
#3 Do what you like to do and let others post your info on their social media sites. You don't have to be on everything. Twitter about others in the group if you love to Twitter. Post things on FB if that's your social media strong-point. And others will do likewise for you. You no longer have to be good at everything to have a shot at getting people to see what you have to offer.
As I said, there are many other possibilities for building your promotion house with Grace & Faith. All we require is that you are a Christian-based writer--even if all you write is a blog! So stop trying to build it all yourself. Let us help.
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Staci Stallings is the founder of Grace & Faith Author Connection. To join the group, send your Name, Email Address, Twitter handle (if you have one), and/or Facebook page to staci_stallings at hotmail dot com (altogether!) with the subject: G&F New Member, and Staci will let you know what your next step is. I hope you will join us for this new and exciting marketing adventure!
So there you have it. Thanks Staci.
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