Handling Social Media

We all know how time-consuming it is to have multiple online sites to maintain. Penny Sansevieri, author of Red Hot Internet Publicity, gives advice on how to handle social media without getting overwhelmed.

10 Ways to Rock on Social Media and Still Have a Life
It's true: social media is here--and there goes your life! Well, maybe not entirely but it sure seems that way sometimes, doesn't it? If you've held off joining the social media party because you were worried about what a time suck it would be, take heart! There are a lot of authors who feel the same way. I speak at conferences all the time and at almost every event I get at least a half a dozen people who insist they don't have time to devote to social media. Well, the fact remains you don't have time not to! But if you are still worried about the time commitment, let's take a look at how you can do this without dumping too much of your time into this effort. I mean an author's still gotta write, right?

When it comes to social media, understand this: sometimes more is not better; it's just more. You don't want to push yourself to too many sites because that can lead to fragmenting yourself too much online and, when you get fragmenting, you often get site abandonment. Meaning that you populate content on a (social media) site, only to forget it even exists.

1. Skim: the first phase of online promotion is often reading. This can be anything from Twitter posts to Facebook updates, blog posts and online articles. Here's a tip: skim. You'll want to be very selective with anything that you feel is worthy of an in-depth read. Save your time for the real important stuff and skim the rest.

2. Subscribe to RSS feeds, but only those you actually read: it's tempting to subscribe to a whole bunch of RSS blog feeds (just like it's tempting to get an email box full of newsletters but save yourself the hassle and only subscribe to content you can actually read). The same goes for people you follow on Twitter, if they don't add value, let them go. You don't need the noise.

3. Keep a timer nearby: if you are allocating time each day to your online activities, it's safe to assume you'll go over time unless you really police yourself. Get a kitchen timer and keep it near your desk, when the buzzer goes off, stop!

4. Automate whenever you can: automating can be the key to your online happiness. When you have autoresponders or auto content generators in place they can save you scads of time. An easy and quick way to implement example of this might be your newsletter sign ups. There are a variety of systems, one of them via Constant Contact that will allow you to easily automate sign ups. Even if you have a giveaway for signing up, the system can handle this too!

5. Consolidate your online presence: when you use sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Squidoo, you can really consolidate what you're doing online. Why? Because these three sites "talk" to one another, what that means is that if you update one, they all update. Makes it easy, doesn't it? While you still should visit each of these to populate them with content, you can also plug your information into one source and have it update all your properties. The 'source' can actually be your blog too. Using a site called Twitterfeed can update your Twitter account each time you update your blog, and there are widgets in Facebook and Squidoo that will do the same.

6. Get a routine: get yourself into a social media routine. You'll want to identify the best times of the day for you to blog, get active on Facebook, Twitter, etc., and then don't diverge from that. Stick to a schedule and a routine.

7. Cross-pollinate your stuff: much like my section on consolidating, you'll want to also cross-pollinate your content. Syndicated online articles are a good example of that. You can link to these articles from a variety of places. Your Twitter account for one will really benefit from this content, and you can also upload it to Facebook and Squidoo.

8. Do only essential things: you can waste a lot of your time online. By now you know that a million things can distract you; it's important to keep to the essentials. This means that you define what pushes your campaign forward and what doesn't. By doing this you will gain a better sense of where it's best to spend your time. For example, if blogging seems to get you a lot of new newsletter sign ups, continue doing it.

9. Don't follow the leader: while there are a lot of folks out there telling you what to do (including moi), you want to do what's right for you and your campaign, not what's popular. Twitter, for example, might make no sense for you at all. So don't just follow advice because you trust the source. Listen, learn, then do what will have the biggest impact on your campaign.

10. Create a plan: without a direction, any path will do. Make sure you have a plan for going online, don't just do it because it's "hip" or everyone else is. Make sure you spend some time creating a focused outline of what you'll do, what your goals are and what you need to attain to accomplish these goals. A plan will not only keep you focused, but also stay better on track with your marketing. A plan should include goals and a to do list so you make sure and sift through all the action items you need to create a rockin' online campaign.

These days, social media is a must for anyone promoting anything. But it doesn't have to mean that it's a time suck too. Keeping a social media presence also means managing it carefully. Know where to spend your time, what needs to be limited and where your efforts need to be expanded. Sometimes the quickest way to grow traction online is to isolate your efforts, while everyone is throwing it all "out there," you can create a focused plan that will not only gain you momentum, but readers as well.

Penny is the author of Red Hot Internet Publicity     

Penny Sansevieri: Red Hot Internet Publicity

Penny is back to answer more questions about marketing our books online. Here's an in-depth look at how we should be networking:

Social Networking on Blogs




We all know that it’s great to hop on social networks like Facebook, Squidoo and Twitter, right? But have you ever considered that a blog is a social network, too? You bet it is, but I’m talking specifically about the comment section within each blog. We all know that it’s great to pitch bloggers for your book or product, right? But there’s more to it. Really, it’s about online networking or cyber-schmoozing. Before you even target a blog for your pitch, you should get to know them first. Here’s how.

First, you’ll want to get to know the blogs in your market. To do this you’ll want to follow them and communicate with them via the comment section on their blogs. You can find these blogs through blog search engines like Google Blog Search and Technorati.com. Once you find the blogs that are top in your market (I suggest going after the top 5-10 to start with) then you’ll want to see what they post on and comment on their blog posts. What does this do? Well, it’ll help give you a voice on your top blogs and give the bloggers a chance to get to know you. Here are some tips for commenting intelligently on blogs:

· Be interesting and thought-provoking. Save the “wow, great blog” comments for when you are really looking to not impress someone.

· Watch, then comment. I recommend following the blog for a few weeks before jumping in. You want to get a sense of the tone of the blogger and how he or she responds to comments.

· Try commenting on at least five blogs a week, this way you’re not spending all of your free time doing this and still you’re able to get a voice out there in the blog-o-sphere.

· Offer additional insight to the blog post, perhaps you’ve had a different experience than what the blogger cited. If so, politely and intelligently tell them your viewpoint and invite other ideas.

· Be entertaining, engaging, and helpful. Always. Don’t push your book, yes you can mention it - but don’t push it, that’s a big no-no.

· Try to build a rapport with the blogger by being consistent, that’s why you don’t want to follow too many bloggers. You’ll be too fragmented this way.

· Be inspiring, readers love inspiration. Don’t just gush for the sake of gushing.

Commenting on blogs posts is a sort of social networking, even better in fact because blog posts and their associated comments are searchable. Keep in mind that you’ll want to always list your URL when you log in (and most blogs require that you do log in and leave your online “footprint”).

Once you have spent sufficient time online you’ll start to get to know the bloggers that are a significant “voice” in your industry. This type of networking will help when you go back to pitch them your story, book or product. Remember that bloggers, like any other on or offline media, want the scoop. So give them what they want. Here are a few tips for pitching bloggers once you’ve networked with them:

· Know what they like: don’t pitch them a book review if they don’t review books. Just because you have become commenter-extraordinaire doesn’t mean that they’ll bend the rules for you. Well, they might, but better to let them suggest it.

· If the blogger does review books and/or products check out their submission guidelines before sending them a pitch.

· If you’re sending them a story idea be sure and tell them if you’ve pitched this idea to anyone else. If they have an exclusive, tell them and give them a (reasonable) deadline for responding if you’re going to shop this around.

· Present the unexpected: it’s OK to take chances, it really is as long as you stay on topic. Pitch the blogger, you never know what could happen.

· Make it easy: if you’re pitching them a story don’t just pitch them and expect them to do all the work. Make it easy on them by offering to co-interview (when appropriate) or offering them experts you think might work well for the piece.

The key is that as you’re getting known online, the Internet is one big networking party. Just because you can hide behind your monitor doesn’t mean that you’re invisible. Remember that everything is your resume and everything leaves a footprint. The best thing you can do is get out and cyber-schmooze, the worst thing you can do is be unprepared. Do your homework and remember, online networking (when done effectively) can benefit you enormously both in your online footprint as well as the connections you’ll make. Don’t worry about spending hours on this, it’s really about quality not quantity. Get out there and social network on blogs, you’ll be glad you did.

Thank you so much for this information, Penny.

Penny Sansevieri's Advice About On-line Publicity

I am delighted to have Penny Sansevieri as my guest today. I bought her book, Red Hot Internet Publicity, and wrote a review (look in my archived posts). My copy is dog-earred and highlighted so that I can return to its pages to study and put some of her tips to good use. Since I had burning questions, I boldly asked Penny if she would consider answering them on this post so that all of you who read this blog will benefit.

Penny, welcome and please tell us a little about yourself and how you became a top Internet publicist.

WOW, thank you for the compliment! The Internet came to me when I was on a flight from San Diego to New York a number of years back. I realized that we are very fortunate to live in a country where anyone can publish a book. The problem with that is that now a lot of books are clogging the system and causing problems. Why? Review space is shrinking, and books are competing for the same shelf space which isn't getting any bigger, in fact shelf space is shrinking too. So I decided it was time to find a new way to market. Enter the Internet. We explored it for a while - we did a lot in beta. We had always done some marketing online, but not as much as we do now. Our campaigns are really leading edge. We were using Twitter almost three years ago, before anyone knew what it was. It's exciting stuff and it's really leveled the playing field.

What are some good ways to use our blogs for book publicity?
Well, if you're talking about the authors blog, I recommend that they blog - first and foremost and at least twice weekly. Authors should blog on topic, on current events related to their book, or anything that will engage, entertain, or educate their reader.

What should an author's Web site look like? What would you say to those who don't have a Web site to promote their books?
First off, your website is a 24/7 sales tool - every author *must* have a website. Second, what a site looks like isn't as important as what's on it and how well it's converting traffic. A site should be clean and easy to navigate - it should tell the visitor exactly what you're offering and give them a quick and easy way to buy your book. People don't want to guess what your site is about or what you're selling. You have to tell them up front. Be clear and remember you must sell the benefits. No one but mom cares that you wrote a book. Your readers want to know what the book can do for them!

How can I triple my book sales by having an Internet presence?
Well first off, it's about knowing your market/audience. You've got to get out and do some cyber-schmoozing. Here's a great little tip I teach authors to get themselves into the online conversation. The Internet is one big networking event. When you think of online promotion this way, the connections you make start to make more sense. So... the first and best place to look for these pockets of people is on blogs. I recommend finding the top 5-10 blogs in your market and following them. You can identify these top blogs on sites like Google Blog Search or Technorati, follow these bloggers and when you're comfortable, start commenting on their blog posts. This form of dialog is very important. Not only will you get to know the bloggers but you'll also begin networking with them. Then when you want to pitch them your book for review, they already know you! Also, each blog post you create creates an incoming link back to your site because when you blog comment, you have to register.

Let's talk about tags and keywords. There are still many of us who don't really understand how this works. How do we know we're selecting the right ones?
You really have to see what people are searching. Sometimes folks will look at Google Adwords to see what searches are most popular. Go check out your competition and see what types of keywords they have on their site and what they are using in their verbiage. Keywords are a very specialized industry but you can get a good sense by knowing and researching your competition...

I want to set up a virtual blog tour. How do I go about it?
After years of working with authors on Internet tours, talking about blogging, podcasting, social networking, and all other assorted online promotional tools, the basic questions still remain: How the heck do I promote myself on the Internet? Broken down in simple steps, this article is designed to give you a good starting point to kick your Internet promotion into high gear. It’s not difficult but you have to start somewhere. Let’s start with your web site…
Web site: Why would someone visit it? Why would anyone care? Before you start marketing yourself online, ask these basic questions. You can get anyone to a web site once, but getting them back a second, or third time is where authors often lose momentum. Studies have shown that less than 14% of web site visitors will buy the first time they visit. It’s only on the second or third visit that they decide to make a purchase. Anyone can drive traffic to your site, it’s getting them back that counts.

The point of your tour: getting incoming links.  Here’s the thing: anyone can get incoming links. The point is, you want GOOD and quality incoming links from sites that can actually send you traffic and readers that will buy your book. We get numerous calls from authors who have bought into inexpensive programs that do nothing more than driving unqualified, “tire kicking” traffic to their web site. This kind of traffic is not going to do you any good. In fact if you’re not careful, getting a bunch of errant links from sites that Google doesn’t feel are right for your topic or market can get you downgraded online instead of better ranking. So how do you beat this? First, you’ll want to download the Google toolbar. This toolbar comes with a Page Ranking piece (in some cases you may have to download this separately). This Page Rank is important because it’s an indicator of how important Google thinks a particular site is. Ideally sites you target will have a Page Rank of 4 or above. We like to target sites that have a ranking between 4-6.

Penny, this is great. I"ve learned even more and hopefully my cyber buddies have as well.
Bloggers, feel free to leave comments below this post for Penny or me. Ask questions. Penny has agreed to return with more tips to help us all. To learn more about Penny:

Penny C. Sansevieri
Author Marketing Experts, Inc.
Turning Authors into Success Stories
http://www.authormarketingexperts.com/

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