10 Easy Ways to Promote Others
by Alycia W. Morales @AlyciaMorales
If you've been in the writing industry for any amount of time, you know you need to be building a platform for your books to stand on. Most publishing houses and agents won't look at your book (or you) if you don't have the numbers to show you have a following to show you have buyers for the books they'd be spending their time and money on producing.
But you've also heard that a platform can't be solely about promoting yourself and your product. It has to be about others. For every single Twitter or Facebook post about you or your book or product, you need to have five posts about, well, not you or your book or product. That's a lot of posting. It can take a lot of time. But it doesn't have to.
How do we promote others in this #writing industry? Find out 10 easy ways here. {Click to Tweet}
Ten easy, non-time-consuming ways to promote others are:
1. Share your favorite thoughts from their books. I keep a highlighter with me when I'm reading. If I read a sentence that stands out in a novel or non-fiction book, I highlight it. That makes it easy to find if I want to share about it in a blog post, on Facebook, or anywhere else. When sharing, be sure to give credit where credit is due and name the author with their quote.
If you have more time, you can always share the quote on a picture by creating a meme.
2. Find a few things to retweet. Then you're not spending time creating new posts and are still sharing something you find valuable. Just be sure your followers will find value in it too.
3. Share when your favorite authors' books are on sale. All you need is a link to the bookseller. I get BookBub offers in my inbox on a daily basis. Every once in a while I'll see my favorite books on sale for 99 cents up to $2.99. I make it a point to share the information with my friends so they can get a good read at a discounted price.
4. Keep your favorite articles/blog posts in a file in your email folder or on your computer. When I read a post and find its information valuable or find an email with a title I love, I file them away for future sharing. That way, I have the article at my fingertips when I want to return to it and can share the link easily.
5. Post a picture of yourself with their book. Word of mouth is the best seller. Oftentimes, I'll take a picture of myself with my newest read (I'm such a fangirl) and tell everyone how excited I am and that I can't wait to read it. This is particularly helpful if it's a new release.
6. Go to the bookstore and hang out near your favorites. If I find myself browsing the shelves near another book lover, I'll ask what they enjoy reading. If they appear to need some help making their next selection, I've been known to point out a few of my faves. It takes a few minutes, but your favorite author may gain a new fan.
7. Read at the doctor's office. Any other public place works as well. My kids' pediatrician noted I was reading DiAnn Mills' newest release and started a conversation with me about our favorite authors. I was able to tell her, "If you like DiAnn Mills, you'll like Lynette Eason too." And then I gifted her with a couple of books the next time we visited.
8. Make your Facebook picture the cover of your favorite author's newest release. Then all your friends and family members will see the book and consider buying it because you're reading it.
9. Set up a board of your favorite authors, sites, and books on Pinterest.
10. Promote what they are doing. Several authors have something going on. Whether they teach at conferences, teach online courses, sell crafts on Etsy, or any other number of things. Share whatever they're doing. It takes a couple of seconds to click the share button on a Facebook post and add your own thoughts as to why you would participate in their endeavors. Click away!
What other types of promotion take little time? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
But you've also heard that a platform can't be solely about promoting yourself and your product. It has to be about others. For every single Twitter or Facebook post about you or your book or product, you need to have five posts about, well, not you or your book or product. That's a lot of posting. It can take a lot of time. But it doesn't have to.
How do we promote others in this #writing industry? Find out 10 easy ways here. {Click to Tweet}
Ten easy, non-time-consuming ways to promote others are:
1. Share your favorite thoughts from their books. I keep a highlighter with me when I'm reading. If I read a sentence that stands out in a novel or non-fiction book, I highlight it. That makes it easy to find if I want to share about it in a blog post, on Facebook, or anywhere else. When sharing, be sure to give credit where credit is due and name the author with their quote.
If you have more time, you can always share the quote on a picture by creating a meme.
2. Find a few things to retweet. Then you're not spending time creating new posts and are still sharing something you find valuable. Just be sure your followers will find value in it too.
3. Share when your favorite authors' books are on sale. All you need is a link to the bookseller. I get BookBub offers in my inbox on a daily basis. Every once in a while I'll see my favorite books on sale for 99 cents up to $2.99. I make it a point to share the information with my friends so they can get a good read at a discounted price.
4. Keep your favorite articles/blog posts in a file in your email folder or on your computer. When I read a post and find its information valuable or find an email with a title I love, I file them away for future sharing. That way, I have the article at my fingertips when I want to return to it and can share the link easily.
5. Post a picture of yourself with their book. Word of mouth is the best seller. Oftentimes, I'll take a picture of myself with my newest read (I'm such a fangirl) and tell everyone how excited I am and that I can't wait to read it. This is particularly helpful if it's a new release.
6. Go to the bookstore and hang out near your favorites. If I find myself browsing the shelves near another book lover, I'll ask what they enjoy reading. If they appear to need some help making their next selection, I've been known to point out a few of my faves. It takes a few minutes, but your favorite author may gain a new fan.
7. Read at the doctor's office. Any other public place works as well. My kids' pediatrician noted I was reading DiAnn Mills' newest release and started a conversation with me about our favorite authors. I was able to tell her, "If you like DiAnn Mills, you'll like Lynette Eason too." And then I gifted her with a couple of books the next time we visited.
8. Make your Facebook picture the cover of your favorite author's newest release. Then all your friends and family members will see the book and consider buying it because you're reading it.
9. Set up a board of your favorite authors, sites, and books on Pinterest.
10. Promote what they are doing. Several authors have something going on. Whether they teach at conferences, teach online courses, sell crafts on Etsy, or any other number of things. Share whatever they're doing. It takes a couple of seconds to click the share button on a Facebook post and add your own thoughts as to why you would participate in their endeavors. Click away!
What other types of promotion take little time? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Thanks Alycia. Some of these I knew and have been doing. Others are new. I especially like 1 and 3. The Bookbub idea is great. I never thought about sharing that info with friends. I appreciate your tips.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Sheryl! Glad I could offer a couple of new suggestions. Thanks for sharing!
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