Writer Nation Podcast
Hello Fellow Writers! For today’s episode on the Writer Nation Podcast, we are featuring the first Coach’s Corner podcast.
COACH’S CORNER
So, there’s this narrative going around that marketers are telling authors to do email marketing. They do it in a way that makes you besties with your list.
This episode is the first Coach’s Corner podcast.
I get a lot of marketing questions that tend to repeat themselves, so the objective of Coach’s Corner is to take questions from our community and answer them publicly. While a lot of them focus on marketing, I’m happy to answer questions about anything in the writing and publishing industry. If I don’t know, I’ll definitely find people who do and report back to you. I hope you find this useful.
Show Notes:
Today I answered five questions and below are a recap of part of my answers.
1- Is Facebook still worth it?
A- Yes it is. If you want to build an email list or drive traffic to your website or build a following or push to Amazon, then yes, you need the Page because it’s the only way to buy ads on Facebook. With 1.1 billion English speakers and 75% of online Americans using the platform, it simply can’t be ignored. It’s also one of the top three visited sites on the internet for like the tenth year running. You’ll need a budget to use Facebook Pages and I recommend when starting out, do a buy for followers or email lists, and then occasional post boosts until you have something for folks to buy. Ads should provoke an action, so make sure you have something you want followers to do when you buy the ad.
2- Do I need to hire a marketing professional?
A- As a marketing professional, I’d love to say of course you do! But the reality is you don’t. If you are just starting out, you can create your own website and manage one social media outlet while you’re building your platform. Using schedulers later on when you have multiple outlets and are doing multiple pushes will help you manage your online presence. But if you’re selling books and creating income and the online presence is starting to take up quite a bit of time, then yes, I do recommend hiring a virtual assistant to help you out.
3- Do I need an author website?
A- Yes. I recommend author websites for a couple of reasons. One, it’s your real estate online and you own it. When you post to social media, the outlet owns the copyright to your material. Two, it’s where people can find out all about you. Three, you can use it to provide information you wouldn’t normally provide on social media: press kits, bios, list of places to buy your books, etc…. When you’re starting out, a static site is easy enough to build using any number of providers. I use WordPress but Weebly or Squarespace work too. Most can be set up with just a small amount of education.
4- When do I need to start platform building?
A- Now. There is a debate in the writing community about this and I am definitely in the camp that says build the following now. Think about “Instagram Stars.” They aren’t necessarily selling books, but they certainly create followings that could help if they ever did. Building that presence now generates your email list building and followership that will be ready to buy when you’re ready to sell.
5- Do I need an email list?
A- Yes you do. I would have told you five years ago that this was a waste of time, and I was wrong. Your email list belongs to you. Your followers on Instagram or Twitter belong to them. You can take your email list with you wherever you go. But if you want to start a Facebook Page or Group over or build a different Instagram following, you’ll have to start from scratch. These are also people who have told you they absolutely want to hear from you, and the delivery rate is 75% higher on email than it is on Facebook. It’s six times higher than twitter and about the same on Instagram. The highest click-thru rates on the internet are found through email marketing. So, yes, start building that list now.
One final word on all this platform building and email list
What are you selling? If you don’t have books out yet, then you are selling your public persona and the ideas in your stories. Brainstorm what that means and offer that experience to your followers.
If you have any questions about marketing, publishing, or writing, please feel free to comment on this post. I will answer them on the next Coach’s Corner!
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