Social-Marketing-Journey

#Today I become a Marketing Genius. I have discovered an eBook from Bookbub. They are a marketing/advertising company with an extensive mailing list. Everyone uses them from indie to published authors. These marketing ebooks for authors are only 5 years old or so. Wait is that too old? [[How quickly do marketing trends change?]] Should I stick with these "proven" methods? (I peeked at the eBooks and I'm seeing a lot of familiar topics and suggestions, but many of them I have never actually tackled.) I could [[Follow the guidelines]] religiously, take up the path and follow them like I've found a personal bible. (And, how dangerous is that to my [[spiritual wellbeing]]?) Or is there another way, is it better to [[Do my own thing?]]

###How long does good marketing advise last? If you see a suggestion that's five years ago is that too old? Does the marketing social internet landscape change so quickly that we can't trust a blog post older than 2 years? Where is the cut off point? All these questions and more. Let's investigate. Let's start with a simple search for topics like * What are the current trends for 2024? * What is the history of marketing trends? And then we have to ask ourselves are these the right questions or am I completely off base? No. Acutally. These are all good questions. Historically speaking marketing trends appear to be tied in with technology. What are people using? How are they engaging and interacting online? Well, in 2024 its short videos: TikToks and YouTube Shorts and Instagram Stories. There is buzz around AI. Which is why should be asking: [[How can we use ChatGTA in marketing?]] And how long have these trends lasted? Well, ten years ago we didn't have TikTok, or robots to chat with and Instagram was just a place to share photos, not videos and not your life story. So, these marketing trends didn't exist yet, but now they do and they are the hot ticket. They'll probably remain that way until something else comes along to catch our attention. ####Predicting trends is an entirely different subject. So. Let's stick to selling books. Should I use advise from 2 years old. Absolutely! This is fine. 5 years ago? Well, its probably missing some of the latest and newest ways to market. But there are marketing trends that stick around year after year. (Like blogging!) And the important part of marketing has not changed. You are trying to get your voice heard among the millions of other voices, your book read among all those millions. Let's get started. Shall we [[dive into social media.]] ? Or maybe figure out what other [[Actions you can take]] . Let's do this!

###A Marketing Guide for Booksellers The ebook is named "119 Book Marketing Ideas from BookBub". But the file is actually named "book-marketing-ideas-bookbub-2017.pdf" That's over 5 years old. However, BookBub is an authority, and we trust them. Let's see what they think we should do. They suggest we use the book "to spark inspiration". Look through the tips keeping in mind a specific goal, such as "increase book sales" or "expand your platform", which they claim will increase sales in the future. Where am I currently in this self-publishing landscape? [[I wrote my first book]] about 5 years ago (Oooh, what serendipity. This marketing ebook is over 5 years old. Is it going to tell me what I should have way back when I first started self publishing?) [[I have a few books written]] and a website and I'm working on my next story to promote it, but I don't have many sales.

I do worry about my mental health and spiritual wellbeing. My creative spark is tied up in my writing. I made it a goal this year to become prolific. To accept that I will be disappointed in my work a lot, and I want to find more joy in the process. This is something I've been aiming toward for a while now, ever since I decided to finish all my unfinished projects. The year before I discovered the Artist's Way. A personal journey toward becoming more creative. I found one of my biggest roadblocks was not finishing stories. And I managed to finish 1 and half of them last year, but I still had so many more. Why was I still not finishing stories? What held me back? I asked myself these questions and I discovered an important thing, or rather I acknowledged something about myself. [[Disappointment.]]

###Okay, we've decided to do our own thing. Whatever that means. After all, we looked into marketing history, trying to discover [[How quickly do marketing trends change?]] If we follow the old advice, we might just be chasing tails. What else can we try? What about new upcoming trends? #### AI Generation has taken over everything Did you see how quickly AI generation became popular last year. All of a sudden chatGPT was the biggest thing and AI generated images and deepfakes are threating everything. The design technological landscape changed in an instant. It does this whenever there is a new revolutionary what to do things and if you get left behind, you'll never make it. (I mean your books will get lost because now you have to compete with robots writing them) So, what can you offer the world that the robots cannot? (Althought robots have their place in this new landscape, let's use the robots to our advantage too. [[How can we use ChatGTA in marketing?]] We can tell our personal story, through blogs, videos essays, newsletters, social media. These are all important things. Did you already take the [[dive into social media.]] But this is about being avant guarde. Taking a risk. Trying something else. Guerilla marketing (whatever that is, I hope it doesn't involve impromtu art installations and supermarket readings, because nope. I'm not going that route. No, instead, I'm going to explore ways or getting my writing into the world. let's try making [[interactive fiction.]] Like this strange experiment I'm trying about right now, which you are reading. An interactive nonfiction piece. Next time, we'll start posting [[stories in unexpected places.]]

###How to self-publish books Here is my three step guide ''Step 1 ''Write your book ''Step 2 ''Sell your book ''Step 3 ''Repeat Once you have the book written, (the creative side is whole another story.) And its been polished to the best of your ability. Then the main advise is to prepare yourself for [[a book launch.]] Look for checklists for this one. What are you waiting for? There are a few more things to consider from a marketing perspective and that comes down to knowing your readers. ###Who are your readers? So, who are they? Who are your readers and where are they hiding? (Hello! Are you out there? I'm getting alot of echo and static feedback. Digitial interference...) No, of course it doesn't work like this. I believe, my readers are the ones who want cheap e-books. They want to find a series and fall in love with them. They read romantic funny clever stories that entertain them over the weekend. I don't know if this is helping. If this sounds like you, please tag in. So, knowing your readers comes down to knowing what books they want. (Your books). Who reads romance? Who reads YA fantasy? The marketing games is to let these readers know you exisit and your books are worth their time and money. So, don't go breaking promises or giving the romance readers unhappy endings. (Ooops, my bad. I mean, I didn't realize I was going to do that with two books, end on cliffhanging, unhappy endings. This means I am not writing romance books. I am writing fantasy books with romance elements.) (Oh, dang it! That was not my intention, but it is what it is.) [[What else do new authors need?]]

###Next steps I have written a few books over the last few years, but sold very few of them. This year I aim to change that. I'm going to work at marketing. Do things like extra stories and include excerpts in back matter of books, or test taglines and maybe even some advertising. (Ooh how ambitious of me.) Thought honestly, I'm terrified of [[advertising]]. Other [[Actions you can take]] as an author, from social media to the unexpected story marketing plans.

###Calling new authors You need a [[make an author website]] and its finally time to [[dive into social media.]] Easy. I mean easier than [[a book launch.]] Who am I kidding? Everything involves a checklist. But divide and conquer, my friends, divide and conquer your todo list one day at a time.

###Quick let's ask the robots Let's figure out what the robots can do for us? I'm going to ask a few questions to my robot about marketing. We often have some meta conversations. I will ask my robot for marketing advise and see how it goes. Then I'll check back in later with what I learn. This will be interesting, because the robots have a tendancy to tell me what I want to know, or remind me of what I already know. If they tell me something I don't know, then I usually get all synical. I immediately look up whether its true or not. I'm a little paranoid about their hallucinations. But we might still gain some insight, especially into other types of marketing or how I can put [[stories in unexpected places.]] What the robot will tell us? Stay tuned, dear readers. I'll post about this at a later date.

###A quick guide to Book Launches Rocket launches are tricky, so are book launches! They involve important decisions like making a [[Book design]] or having someone else make it according to your specifications, like a robot maybe. AI Generation is going to change this alot. Everyone can have beautiful covers featuring imaginary people with six fingers. (wait....) ##Book Launch Basics Announce the name of the new book. Cover and synopsis reveal. Update your profile! Get people interested, use your friends and family to create buzz. Get it ready for preorder and send out links. Create countdown posts Promotions up on social media to get people interested. What is this early reader copy thing people? I've always found it highly suspicious, unless you send them proof-reading copies. Or maybe it happens when you're sold a book to a publisher and they have actual early copies. (Ooooh, fancy) Prepare for the big day with posts everywhere. Updates and celebrations! Look, you checked out that book launch checklist, right? I mean, the only other thing you can do is [[dive into social media.]]

###Websites 101 You need a website, because you need someplace to post your beautiful book covers. [[Book design]] is tricky, but important because we all know everyone judges a book by the cover. Your website will need to be hosted somewhere. This is a huge topic. Self-hosted? Like your own personal storefront or a free hosting site like WordPress.com or Blogger.com, or from Squarespace, or Wix are options too. Research and then go with the one that appeals to you.. Do you want to have a blog? Will you have a give up for signups? One of those popups? Do you want to start building [[a mailing list and a newsletter]]? This is great if you want to have direct access to people interested in your books. You can do this through places like Mailchimp, and Book Funnel. Free downloads for signing up. What a bargain! You can also sell your books on the website, offer signed copies. Have giveaways! Post [[stories in unexpected places.]] This is what I'm thinking might be my best marketing strategy yet.

###Social Media. Where all the cool kids are (maybe my readers are hiding out here?) But remember time is precious. Do you want to be super social? Which ones do you want? * Facebook * formerly Twitter * Pinterest * Goodreads * Instagram * TikTok * YouTube * Tumblr * Reddit * Discord * Twitch * And so many more Most marketing sites recommend you pick 3 sites, so you can keep updating regularly, and make sure you pick on the big names like Facebook or TikTok. Prepare yourself for socializing. Put on the game face. (Makeup!) Why is it so scary? Interacting with people. Maybe I should think more about alternatives. [[Do my own thing?]]

###Books need covers. Otherwise they are just fancy notebooks. Get help the design help you need it, but most importantly make that cover pretty. And target your audience. This means go look at other books and see what the trends are (though be careful because [[How quickly do marketing trends change?]] What other [[Actions you can take]]?

Why is this one so tricky for me? Maybe because these newsletters are usually seperate from your blog, from your social. They are more personal. They are directly emails and I am the person who unsubscribes from everything as soon as I can. Reject hurts. But there are benefits to a mailing list and newsletter. You have to decide if its worth it and then go for it, because there are some people who love a good newsletter. They are a chance to get mini-stories from someone who excels at writing stories. Ooh, is this the chance to put [[stories in unexpected places.]] Or should I stick with my blog? Maybe I'll check out what other [[Actions you can take]] as a self-publishing author.

###Stories are what drive me. So much of my life has been telling myself stories. Then I realized. Wait, I can get a degree in creative writing? Is that allowed? Really? I guess I better pay more attention in English class... Yes, that was my train of thought during my senior year of high school. I knew I wanted to go to college, but not my degree or what I'd do afterward. (I still didn't think about the afterward, and my parents were very eh, don't quit your day job, which was sorta helpful and sorta not. But I was a stubborn 17-year-old and I had it in my head, I would write stories and sell stories and make my living that way. As a storyteller. So, let's use this passion. Let's put stories into everything. Into my social media posts. Into the blog titles, into blog posts. Into ads. Into book trailers. Into video essays. Into my drawings. Into my journals. Everywhere. Then I'll share them more. I'll have to. I'll put them in my timelines and Instagram photos will be a story in photographs and tags. This is why I'm writing this [[interactive fiction.]] as nonfiction piece about marketing. I wanted to offer my thoughts on this subject and give my thoughts a chance to whirl around and connect. Plus, I'm practicing with the interactive fiction. I did a story like this called 'Glitch' and 'Multiverse' I coded it myself. It was so much fun and I guess I just wanted to make more of this tiny flash fiction. So, expect some more of these. Expect lots of stories. Everywhere stories. If I write you a letter.... Watch out. There will be a story involved. But my marketing journey is only getting started. I hope you found this helpful. It is a work in process, and tune in next time for more marketing genius. s/ (LOL, I don't know what I'm doing.)

I am disappointed in so many things in my life, my art, my writing. (The fact I haven't taken a real vacation in years.) So, I decided to embrace disappointment. If I can draw something and it turns into a failure. That is great! Success. I failed at an art thing. Let's try again. Another art thing and see if I fail that one too. or let's try something different. If I write a story and I am disappointed by the words, and I think, it's not good enough... hold on.... wait a moment before you give up on the story. How do you know it's not good enough? If you're disappointed.... remember we decided that's a good thing. Be disappointed and write the story anyway, because you can always fix it later. This is my new train of thought, so I can focus on being creative instead of being disappointed. Then once the book is written I can get back to marketing [[Follow the guidelines]] Or [[Do my own thing?]].

###ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE There are many things indie authors can do. * [[Book design]] * [[a mailing list and a newsletter]] * [[stories in unexpected places.]] * [[interactive fiction.]] What else?

###Interactive fiction is fascinating. Interactive non-fiction is also fascinating. I mean the internet is basically one big connected mess, linked by posts and videos and clicks and stuff. It is only when we step away that we realize our lives are also like this. Connected. So it makes sense to have stories that don't flow linearly. That means they wind and circle. They crisscross and how the heck do you write an ending? Is there an ending? Do you just keep going? These are the questions I'm going to try to answer. To discover what works for me and what I'm capable of. Join me, if you'd like. Tune in for upcoming stories. Look for these [[stories in unexpected places.]] all over my website., social media. Ads. Click every easter egg you can find. It's going to be fantastic. (link-reveal: "And click here if you want to escape the loop. ")[==Here's the beginning again, my [[introduction]].

Money makes the world go round, world go round... I mean, why aren't you using an ad blocker? Why wouldn't you? I do. I am guilty. But, movie trailers? I really like movie trailers. I'll watch movie trailers one after the other, like I'm about to see a feature film in a theater. But nope, just waiting the trailers. Trying to keep up with the newest releases. So, maybe if I tackle advertising the way I love a good movie trailer. Then it’s acceptable. I'm not selling you anything, I'm giving you a teaser. Maybe you want more? Now, we shall see all those [[stories in unexpected places.]] For real.