How to Market Books Online When You Have Anxiety

Hi all!

This blog post is the result of a tied Twitter poll, with the other winner being posted last week! This time, I'm talking about how to make marketing your books easier when you have anxiety. Although my anxiety is a lot better than it used to be, I still get anxious when posting on social media sometimes. I thought I would share a few of tips and tricks to decrease the amount of anxiety I feel and make marketing easier.

Schedule posts.

With marketing my books, I schedule the posts. Why? Because then I forget about them. When I log into my social media for the day I remember that I scheduled a book quote or promo image when I see my notifications. This alleviates my anxiety when checking social media, as scheduling marketing posts a month in advance means I inevitably forget when some will be posted.

Don't post anything you're not comfortable with.

Some people like to share absolutely everything on social media, but you are under no obligation to do the same. You post what you want to post, not what other people want you to post.

Likes ARE engagement.

I've seen this argument on Twitter quite a few times, and I'm sick of it. If you 'like' a post, you have engaged with that person. Some of the arguments I've seen have tried to make people feel guilty for not commenting on their posts. Some say that likes are false engagement as it's simply a click. Do not get sucked into this. My anxiety means that sometimes I just can't bring myself to comment on a post, no matter how mundane it is. Instead I give it a like and move on. You are not obligated to comment on every post you like. Take care of your mental health, don't worry about someone getting upset about a like.

Only follow people you're comfortable following.

This is another thing I've seen that is prevalent on Twitter. You don't need to auto follow everyone back who follows you. If you look at their profile and see things you aren't comfortable with, don't follow them. Again, you are not obligated to follow everyone who follows you.

Newsletter swaps.

I use StoryOrigin for newsletter swaps, as it involves no direct communication with the other author unless you want there to be. There's no back and forth emails discussing list sizes and who is promoting what. You pick what you want them to promote, what you'll promote in return, and the date. I find this much easier than approaching authors directly.

Promotions.

Again, I use StoryOrigin for a lot of promotions. It's the same as newsletter swaps, you pick what you want promoted and they'll either accept your work or not. No direct communication is necessary. This helps me with my anxiety a lot, as I'm not great at talking to people who email me out of the blue. You can then schedule these on your social media with the link and an image if the promotion has one.

Post a promotion for your book once a week, and build up from there.

Test the waters and see how you feel after posting weekly. If you feel ready enough to increase those posts, then do so. You will not get angry comments from people about how you constantly promote your book. There are people who post about their book ten times a day and just get blocked. Posting once a week will not send an angry mob after you.

Don't spend too long on social media.

Take frequent breaks, and don't constantly check your statuses. It won't help you alleviate your anxiety.

Once you post something, leave.

When I post on Twitter or Facebook, I make the post and then leave. I usually come back an hour or so later with a clear head, instead of sitting there worrying why no-one has liked it yet.

Do what you are comfortable with.

If you don't want to post on social media on days you aren't feeling up to it, don't. You don't have to push yourself to go on social media and post anything. Ignore the ones that say you have to post multiple times a day to get interaction. You don't need to do anything. There are no rules as to how much you post. It's on your terms.

If someone messages you something nasty, block them.

Don't dwell on whatever they've said. Just block them so they can no longer communicate with you.

Don't feel bad for being anxious.

If people tell you that you aren't doing enough, ignore them. Anxiety is a mental illness that can't be switched off. Some think that you might not be doing much to promote your books but in my eyes, one post is better than nothing. Your anxiety does not make you less of a person. Remember, one person's definition of 'not enough' does not need to match your definition. One post means that you are speaking up about your work. You don't need several in one day.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed! See you next week.

Looking for new fantasy books to read? Check out the ones in this bundle!

Reading Treasures

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Why Authors Need Reader Magnets

Hi all! 

This week I'm going to be talking about reader magnets, and why authors need them if they have an email list. 

For those who don't know, a reader magnet is a free gift you give to people when they sign up to your email list. They can be as follows:

Ebook.

Enovella.

Writing/Marketing Tips.

Online book merch.

Character profiles. 

Poster. 

For subscribers to my email list, I offer a free enovella that can't be downloaded anywhere else! It follows the stories of four dragons in the Elemental Dragons universe, you may even see some familiar faces! Link here: https://www.subscribepage.com/jessicaturnbull

I will also be writing reader magnets for other series, such as Celestial Plague, Damaged Goods and Curse of Anubis.

The cover for my reader magnet, the prequel to Elemental Dragons

The cover for my reader magnet, the prequel to Elemental Dragons

So, why do you need a reader magnet? 

It entices readers to sign up. 

Readers are not likely to sign up for your email list unless they get something in return. Only hardcore fans will sign up for nothing. If you don't offer anything, you're not likely to get many subscribers to build a substantial list. 

It can be anything you want. 

You can decide what to give away. It doesn't have to be a full ebook, it can be a short prequel to your book or a collection of short stories. It's up to you to decide what you think readers will be interested in and how big a gift you want it to be. 

You'll get more subscribers.

Although some will only sign up for the freebies and then unsubscribe, you'll have a few who will stick around. 

Your email list can be used as promotion. 

The more subscribers you have, the more people you can promote to when you have a book coming out or on sale. The problem with using social media is that when you first start out it can be like screaming into the void. So many people are promoting their work that you will struggle to stand out. With an email list, you have a group of people who are waiting for news on your next release! 

You can offer more than one magnet. 

If you like to write across multiple genres, you can create a reader magnet for each one. For example, a Sci-Fi enovella and a horror ebook. 

More to add to your writing portfolio. 

It's another piece of work to add to your collection, and knowing that people are downloading it can be a real confidence boost. 

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week! 

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My Experience With NaNoProMo

Hi all!

This week I'm going to be talking about NaNoProMo, or National Novel Promotion Month. Every year in May BadRedhead Media run this free event, which is full of blog posts by guest writers and resources to help you with promoting your book. There's also the opportunity to win loads of great prizes! 

Website here: NaNoProMo.

I heard about it through joining the BookLinker Facebook page, where a post about it starting soon just happened to be put up when I joined. I looked into it and thought it was a great idea, so I kept an eye on the website for launch day. 

This year they had a launch party where experts were engaging with authors and sharing their tips and tricks with chances for prizes to be won. Due to the fact that I'm in a different timezone and I also worked that day, I missed most of the event but was still able to catch up later. There were great posts about what the experts were working on and engaging authors. Once this was over blog posts were added daily to their website.

My favourite blog post throughout the event was this oneHow to Safely Choose Colours for your Author Website. I've always struggled with colours for my website and this post has given me a lot of thinking to do! I think I my colour palette sorted, I just need to adjust my website a bit so it fits.

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I also won a prize during week one which I was not expecting! I can't wait for my consultation about marketing.

I will participate again next year as it was just so fun and informative. Even though it's over this year, you can still read all the blog posts and posts from the guests on launch day by going on their website. There's also the posts from 2019 and 2018 as well, so there's a lot to read!

With events such as NaNoWriMo and NaNoEdMo I'm pleased that there's a month for marketing and promotion. A lot of people, like me, struggle with promoting their book so events like this are amazing. I've learned a lot just from reading all the posts and engaging with the organisers. Everyone has been so lovely and the prizes that were available were amazing, such as free consultations on marketing tips and website colours to magazine subscriptions. It's such a great collection of resources and I would definitely recommend authors look into it and participate.

I also just wanted to say thank you to the organisers and the guest bloggers who put their time, energy and heart into making an event like this. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm so grateful that an event like this exists thanks to their efforts.

Before I say goodbye I wanted to announce that Elemental Dragons Book 2: Venom and Earth came third in Cover Wars, thank you to everyone who voted!

That's it for this week, next week I will be revealing the cover for Elemental Dragons Book 3: Glass and Ice. It will be posted on Facebook and Twitter first with a blog post on it a few hours later! See you next week.

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How to Sign Books

Hi all,

I haven't seen many blog posts on the subject so I thought I would offer a bit of advice.

Your author signature needs to be different to your normal one.

Why?

Because, unfortunately, although most fans will keep signed books as a keepsake, others might try to forge your signature and pretend to be you. This is why your signature needs to be different, in order to protect your identity, brand and finances.

Your signature can be whatever you want it to be, as long as it's different to your usual one. You can make it as large or small as you like, add symbols or drawings. It's entirely up to you!

Make sure you practice writing it beforehand so you can get into the habit of using it. The more you practice the quicker you'll get and the less messy it will be.

You should also have a few messages that you can write in your books. For example:

I hope you enjoy my book! (Signature)

Thank you for supporting me! (Signature)

Most authors prefer to sign their books on the title page - example of Venom and Earth

Most authors prefer to sign their books on the title page - example of Venom and Earth

I would recommend three or four messages that you cycle through when signing to keep it fresh and ensure you're not writing the same thing in every book.

If the reader wants the message addressed to them, make sure you check the spelling with them first. Even if it's a common name, it can have loads of different spellings. The last thing you want is to spell someone's name incorrectly in their own copy of your book.

If you want inspiration check out how your favourite authors. See what they write and what their signatures look like so you can get an idea of what you would like to do.

I've signed a few books and having everything ready beforehand really helped me lessen my anxiety. It still worries me when people hand me their books to sign and I find myself writing really slowly to make sure my writing is clear and free of mistakes. My regular handwriting is hard to read so it's important that I slow down so my writing is readable.

That's it for this week, hope you enjoyed! See you next week.

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Pros and Cons of Giving Books out for Reviews

Hi all! 

This week I'm going to talk about another marketing tool, giving out copies of your book in exchange for reviews. Although I've never done this myself, I have been given a few books in exchange for an honest review. It's good to drum up reviews when you need them, as many promotion sites won't advertise your book unless you have a certain number of reviews. 

Pros. 

More reviews. 

This is the obvious one. The more reviews your book has the better it looks to prospective readers. Not all of those reviews have to be positive either, having a few different reviews shows that it's not just your friends and family rating it. 

Advertising. 

You can use these reviews to advertise your book. As I said earlier, a few promotion sites won't even look at you without a specific number of reviews. Some even ask for 25+ with an average of 3.5 stars. Giving your book out can help you get some of those reviews. 

Getting a range of opinions.

Your book will look more professional to new readers when it has more reviews. Some readers buy books based on reviews alone, so having a range of them can help you. 

Extract of a review from entering the Wishing Shelf Book Awards

Extract of a review from entering the Wishing Shelf Book Awards

Cons. 

You may not be able to afford it. 

Especially giving out paperback copies. Ebooks are easier to give out than paperback, as you can just email it straight to the reviewer. With paperback you have to purchase an author copy and mail it to the reviewer all out of your own pocket. 

There's a chance you won't get a review. 

Despite giving the book out, the person may never read it. If they do, there's a chance they won't review it. Then you've given a book away for free and received nothing in return. 

Not all the reviews will be good. 

Asking people to give an honest review means what it says on the tin, honest. If they don't really read books in your genre or don't like of they are required to say so. Be prepared to get some reviews that not are glowing five stars. 

People who love freebies are more likely to be receiving books than regular readers. 

People who only seek free books are more likely to approach you for a free copy in exchange for a review. Just be careful as these people usually receive books in bulk and rate them lower due to the tiniest things. 

That's it for this week! I hope this has helped those who are considering giving books out for reviews. See you next week! 

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Paperback Books for Indie Authors

Hi all! 

This week I'm going to talk about indie authors printing paperback books. Is it necessary? Does it boost sales? 

I chose to print in paperback as I wanted to be able to hold my work in my hands, my years of hard work contained in one book. I also did it for my Grandfather, as he was desperate to read my book and show it off to his friends but doesn't have a Kindle.

First off, is it necessary? 

Short answer, no. You can publish a book without paperback and purely stick to ebook. Some authors choose to do this, some don't. 

Does it boost sales? 

I've found that although ebook pulls slightly ahead, a chunk of my sales are paperback. Some people, like my colleagues, prefer holding a book in their hands rather than reading it on a screen. Most of these sales have been friends and family, while readers I don't know tend to lean towards the ebook version. 

Do I need a separate cover for paperback? 

When I had Blood and Water designed, it was originally just ebook. Then a few months before publication I added it as paperback. You can still use the same cover, but you will have to go back to the designer to get the back matter and spine designed. For a paperback cover you will need the following information:

  • Trim Size. 

  • Page count (including front matter and back matter). 

  • Interior colour. 

Mishka hijacking my paperback photo

Mishka hijacking my paperback photo

Are paperbacks better for book signings? 

Although I haven't held a book signing yet, I can imagine that readers would prefer to get the physical copy of the book signed. 

Do I need to bulk buy a certain amount of copies?

I'm not sure about other publishing methods but with Amazon they use print on demand. That means they only print what's needed instead of printing off a certain number and making you buy them to resell.

Traditional authors have them, shouldn't indies too? 

Again, it's up to the author. Most traditional publishers will publish ebook and paperback, but I have noticed a few in the past just doing ebook for their debut authors. Only the author themselves can decide whether they want to do paperback. 

Is it worth it?

In my eyes, yes. I can reach a broader audience and it always makes me smile when I see a physical copy of Blood and Water and now, Venom and Earth. I am keeping a paperback copy of each of my books to put on my bookshelf. 

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week! 

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Pros and Cons of a Book Trailer

Hi all! 

This week I'm going to talk about book trailers. A book trailer is kind of like a film trailer, except it showcases a book or a series of books. I don't have a book trailer myself, but I have looked into getting one. However, then I heard about how other authors got on with book trailers. 

Pros. 

Not many authors have them. 

There aren't many trailers around for books, so having one done could make you stand out. It can also drive more traffic to your YouTube channel if you post it there. 

It can get more clicks. 

Facebook especially favours video ads over picture ones. A video is more likely to catch someone's attention. Your video ad will get shown to potential readers more than picture ads. 

You can get more post reactions. 

Whether it be likes and shares on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, you can get more attention with a book trailer. If other people like or share it, it broadens your reach to new customers that might not have known your work before. 

It can drum up excitement.

Posting a book trailer for a new release can get readers excited. They may also share the trailer with their friends and family.

Cons. 

They don't convert. 

Although you might get more attention from a video ad, the likelihood of someone buying your book is a lot lower. A video catches people's attention, but it doesn't turn them into readers. 

It's costly. 

Unless you're good with making trailers already you will have to hire someone to do it for you. This can be an unnecessary extra cost, especially if you want the entire thing to be an animated scene or extract from the book. It may be better spent elsewhere. 

There's not a lot you can do with it. 

Apart from using it on YouTube, social media and Facebook ads, there's not really much else you can do with it. You can't easily show it at book events or signings, it would just be for advertising. 

It's better to just get your cover animated. 

An animated cover can be used for more than ads, you can post it all over your social media with links to your book or quotes. This is more likely to get sales than a trailer. 

That's it for this week, see you next week! 

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Why Authors Need a Media Kit

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about something important that some authors may never have heard of. I'd never even heard of it until a few months ago when there was a Twitter thread about it, and I decided to create one myself.

I'm talking about an author media kit.

First off, what is a media kit?

A media kit is a collection of documents that you can send off when inquiring about interviews, TV appearances and other things. This can also be downloaded from your website directly if anyone happens to stumble across you.

What an author media kit contains:

- Bio.

- Author headshot.

- Website link.

- Social media links.

- Book info.

- Book blurb.

- Book cover.

- Book links.

- Extract from a review (by a reader).

- Mock interview questions and answers.

- Any awards you've won.

- Contact details.

I'm still putting mine together (and figuring out how to upload it to my website) but I've managed to do quite a bit already as you can see from the screenshot below:

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Now onto the big question, why do authors need one?

It keeps everything in one place and organised.

Having it available in one document or a folder makes it easy for you to find and send to anyone you want. It also saves searching and time for anyone who would like to get hold of you.

It makes it easier for people to contact you.

If they want to invite you for some sort of interview or appearance then they can download everything they need in one place. They can then contact you easily instead of trawling to find what they need on your website or social media.

You can easily update it.

Once you have the template for one done, you can copy it over for another book. You can also just go in there and alter anything that is out of date.

It filters out spam.

Anyone can contact you through your website contact form, but only those that are really interested in getting to know you and invite you into things will download your media kit first. Then you can see who actually did their research and who didn't.

You can easily send it off.

Instead of having to write long emails to fight for a spot on radio or in a newspaper, you can attach your media kit and write an introductory email. It saves a lot of time.

In conclusion, a media kit is a necessity for any author, regardless of how you publish. I made one and it wasn't too difficult, just a bit time consuming. But now I have my template set up so I can just copy it for my other books.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week!


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Why Authors Should Read Writing Magazines

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about writing magazines and why authors should read them.

There are thousands of magazines out there geared towards writers, filled with publication opportunities, author interviews and book trends. Some you have to pay for, while some are free. I'm subscribed to a few writing magazines and have even had a short story published in one. That's why I want to talk about why writers should read at least one.

Publication.

Writing magazines often hold a lot of competitions which gives readers a chance to have their work published. Depending on who you submit to, you could also get paid! The first time that I was ever published was in a writing magazine, and it's a good way to get you work out there and add to your writing portfolio.

Writing Tips.

Most magazines will contain writing tips from other authors. Although not all will work for everyone, you can try a few out and see if any techniques will work for you.

New Reads.

By reading a writing magazine you might find your next favourite book! There are hundreds of books featured in magazines every year that you might never have heard of.

Marketing Tips.

As well as writing tips you can also discover new marketing tips. There might also be opportunities to advertise your book within the magazine if you have the budget.

Some are free.

You don't have to pay to subscribe to some magazines, you can sign up to mailing lists or just read the online versions.

Writing Events.

Magazines are a great way to find out about writing events. You can find out about events close to you and see which authors are attending.

Book Trends.

You can see which genres are up and coming and what hasn't sold well so far. This can also help you see what agents are looking for and who you can submit to.

New Agents/Publishing Houses.

A lot of writing magazines will advertise new agents or publishing houses. Since they have only just started up they'll be looking for plenty of submissions and you could submit your manuscript if they fit your genre.

That's it for this week, hope you enjoyed.

See you next week!

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Why Authors Need Reviews

Hi all!

As I have now published Blood and Water I wanted to make a post about reviews and why they're so important to authors.

Advertising.

The more reviews a book has, the better. This is because it gives the reader a chance to skim through what other people think before buying. Also, to market on certain book sites you need to have a certain number of reviews. Some ask for five, some ask for twenty or more. If you review the book, the author is one step closer to being able to market it on certain sites.

Feedback.

Authors get lots of feedback from reviews, good and bad. This can help them see what people liked or didn't like and whether there is something about the story, cover or formatting that could be improved upon.

Amazon exposure.

The more reviews a book has on Amazon, the more likely Amazon is to recommend it to others. It also contributes to the overall sellers rank, so if they get enough sales and reviews they can break into the top 100.

Goodreads rating.

On Goodreads, you can rate and review a book if you wish. This is good for authors to see how well their book is doing. If your Goodreads account is connected to Amazon, you can review on one site and have it posted to both. This saves you time while also giving the author a boost.

Balance.

Unfortunately there will be people who deliberately leave bad reviews. Some don't even read the book, instead they just rate it badly because Amazon recommended it to them or they think that by rating others badly their book will perform better. By reviewing, you can balance out the bad review and give the author some confidence.

Authors loving hearing what people think.

Putting a book out there is scary, and when people review the book it shows the author that not only are people buying it, but some are enjoying it too!

Blood and Water's first review.

Blood and Water's first review.

Encouragement.

By reviewing, you can encourage the author to keep writing. This is good for books in a series, if you're invested in the characters and are desperate to know what happens in the next book, say!

Covers.

Some authors like to post good reviews on their covers to try and attract more readers. This shows they appreciate their feedback.

Social media.

As with covers, some authors like to post their best reviews on social media. If you review, you might see your review reposted on one of their social media profiles!

If you have read Blood and Water and have enjoyed it, please leave a review! I'm grateful for any feedback I can get as it's my first book and I want to know what people think.

I hope you enjoyed this week's blog post, see you next week!

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