Promoting without Facebook

[Clea Saal]

Okay, I am trying to promote my books but I am having a little problem because (horror upon horror) I refuse to join Facebook (and ditto for Google+, though you can find me in Twitter and Goodreads). What can I say? I am shy, I am a private person and I find Facebook to be totally intrusive. Anyway, I am having a hard time trying to find resources for those of us who are Facebook-averse... any ideas?

And in case anyone is interested, you can find both my blog and my excerpts here:

http://booksandtales.com/blog

and in Twitter:

https://twitter.com/CleaSaal

[Irina Shapiro]

Hi.  I can totally understand your aversion to Facebook.  I joined years ago and thought it was fun at first, but now use it mostly for promotion.  Here is the thing.  You can create an author page and refrain from posting anything too personal.  You can promote your books, post links to reveiws or giveaways, without revealing anything that makes you uncomfortable.  I won't say that it will really help you sell, but it certainly won't hurt.  FB also has advertising which could be useful. 

Irina Shapiro

www.irinashapiro.com

 

[melissa love]

I was the same now I just use my facebook to promote my book. I don't have an author page and my only friends and family who like my work. This is where you are going to find other authors, readers and book clubs. all of friends on fb are only authors and readers who like my books. 

[Clea Saal]

I understand what you are saying, but for me it is not just the privacy issue, it is also that I find the concept and especially the company to be downright creepy.

[Dan Porter]

In my opinion, having no Facebook presence is no big deal for two reasons. First, FB is the most anti-networking social network out there. Second, it's extremely difficult to target any specific audience for marketing/promotion purposes on FB.

For an author, Goodreads is the best tool for marketing and promotion...if you use it effectively. I checked out your profile on GR. It looks very good. The bio is informative and interesting. It also gives us a sample of your writing style. You have blog posts available. You've included your favorite quotes, favorite authors, joined some groups, and added books to your shelves. Those things show you're a reader as well as an author. The best thing you can do there now is to become active in the groups you've joined and to add as many friends as you can. Be sure your participation in the groups and your interaction with friends isn't just marketing oriented. Many of the groups and individuals on GR view those kinds of posts - when unrelated to the context - as spam. It's a very quick way to alienate people. As for adding friends, just find people with interests similar to yours and send a friend request. Many of them would send you a friend request, but they're shy and private people too. Take the first step. You'll also find that the more friends you have, the more friend requests you'll receive. Finally, ask people who review books in your genre to review yours in exchange for a free copy...especially if they have a lot of friends and/or followers.

Also, reconsider Google+. It's not at all like Facebook. It's much more conversational, you can target your audience very easily with the Circles feature, you can circle people even if they don't circle you, and an unlimited number of people can circle you. G+ takes a little bit of getting used to, but it's very effective. It's actually similar to Twitter, but with longer posts and more interactivity.

Have a great day, and best of luck with your promotional efforts.

Dan 

[John Brantingham]

I think that going to sites like this is a great alternative. There are a lot out there. Also guest blogging seems to be a great way to go too. I don't know if facebook works at all unless you're a very social person. If you don't want to go on three or four times a day and comment on other people's posts, it's not useful. After all, if you don't comment, soon you drop out of sight for those other people and they don't see your posts.

[cas webb]

I like that you can link your blog upto facebook so you never really have to go on facebook but when you blog your blog will automatically send that info to your author page on facebook.

 

You can also create a 'fictional character' on facebook. My MC, Kemla Janard, is on facebook and does a lot of posting :)

[Richard Lee Byers]

Everyone has given good advice. Still, there's no denying that ultimately, the only way to promote on the Internet is to promote on the Internet. In other words, if you aren't willing to do at least some interacting and self-disclosing, you may not get very far. I think the most essential thing to remember is something others have already said in this thread: You control what you put forth and what you hold back. Think before you post, and you shouldn't have cause for regret too often.

[Colette]

As a blogger, I am more likely to click on a book promotion through twitter then I am facebook. Have you thought about maybe setting up a blog tour for your book finding bloggers t through twitter & your goodreads site or even through here? There are a lot of companies out there (including my own) but they are easy to do by yourself as well. Your website is one of the best author ones I've seen.

[Clea Saal]

That would be an option, the problem is that right now I have a bit of a chicken and egg problem in that you need a following to get a following and up until very recently I had no presence in any kind of social media at all. What I did is add a page for links to other blogs but that one is brand new so it is literally a blank slate.

I'm glad to hear you liked the site. I was really worried that the whole thing would look too amateurish.

[Colette]

There are also a lot of blog directories (just google and a few of the big wordpress ones will come up)  that can help you find readers review your book, and that is the best kind of promotion! 

[C. M. Albrecht]

I don't at all like FB. Too many contributors spend way too much time pushing their political views. As far as promotion is concerned, I don't really think pushing your work on FB is much help unless you can gain a really large following. 

The only reason I check FB every other day or so is because a lot of my relatives constantly post photos of themselves and/or their kids doing something cute. I have to look at those and hit the 'like' button.

I can't afford to pay for any sort of promotion. Any real promotion costs big bucks. I do post covers and blurbs on Craigslist and there are a number of other free classified sites you can use. I wouldn't say they help a lot, but I figure they can't hurt.

I've seen authors trying to sell their books at a local flea market. I'll never try that because I feel it's too demeaning and I doubt they sell much of anything anyhow.

[Leon Terrell Ash]

Mr. Albrecht, Im curious about your statement, "I've seen authors trying to sell their books at a local flea market. I'll never try that because I feel it's too demeaning and I doubt they sell much of anything anyhow."

 

Why do you think its demeaning?  Did you ask those marketeers how much they made?  Never negate a thing until you have tried it.  Flea Marketing may have worked wonders for you my friend, but you didn't try.  Let me explain, when it comes to selling anything in this world, one must not allow He-emotions to effect reasoning.  Emotions can sometimes effect business negatively.  Money made anyday is a good day. Don't let your locale/location change how you feel about your product.  If you have books in a flea market, you should sell them as if  you are in a Barnes and Noble, this is your product.  If you don't believe in your product then who will. 

I do understand your frustration, I have been on the battlefield of selling and promoting and marketing, etc, etc. bookstores trying to take all the profit,  etc, etc, WHAT IS A 40/60 split, give me all the money because I did all the work, etc, etc, people wanting me to lower my book price, etc, etc,........Its to much, but never give up.  Good Luck Mr. Albrecht