How about an awesome Cyber Monday deal? Yeah, I thought you’d like that. So how about this:
Book any length of blog tour, and get it HALF PRICE!
That’s right – a one week blog tour will set you back just £10, two weeks £20, and so on.
And yes, you can book and pay now, and save the tour until later.
So, what are you waiting for? Go here to see prices and options, and book your blog tour. I’ll send you an email within a couple of days with the next steps.
This offer is open until 10am GMT on the 3rd December, so be quick!
Tag Archives: writer marketing
Increasing Reach on your Facebook Page
Here’s a handy tip for increasing reach on your Facebook page. “Reach” is Facebook’s word for how many people have seen your posts in their timelines. And I’m talking “fan” pages here, not profiles.
Normally, if you’re promoting book buy links, blog posts, etc, you’d type your message and the link into the box, then hit “post.” It’ll then go out and a percentage of the people that like your page will see it. To increase that number, give this a try:
Instead of posting the link in the same box as your text, try writing your text, then saying you’ll include the link in the comments. Post it, then post your link as a comment on that particular post. See screengrab:
Click to enlarge
I’ve tried this myself, and in the statistics of my page, it’s roughly tripling the number of people that see my posts. So it may take a few seconds more, but it’s worth it for that many more users to see what you’re posting.
I’m not 100% sure why Facebook do this, but I suspect it’s a) because they don’t want people linking out of Facebook, taking traffic away and b) because they want you to pay to use that “boost post” button. Can’t blame them for wanting to make sure cash out of page users, I suppose, but it’s pretty annoying as that’s the only way users are supposed to promote things, as opposed to on their personal profiles.
Give it a try. I hope it helps!
Testimonial from Liia Ann White
I just received this fab testimonial from Liia Ann White – who booked a blog tour for her latest release through WMS.
I used Lucy’s Writer Marketing Services for a blog tour and was instantly left wondering why I hadn’t used her earlier. I’ve used other promotional companies to organise blog tours and appearances, but none of them compare to Lucy. Within hours of emailing her regarding the tour, she responded – not an easy feat with the time difference between the two of us – and she had great spots booked up within days. The entire process ran smoothly and I couldn’t have been happier.
The tour was a great success and Lucy promoted my guest spots on both her personal Twitter and Erotica For All accounts.
I plan on using Writer Marketing Services again and again and again.
What You Need To Know About Blog Tours
- What is a blog tour?
A blog tour is a way to publicise you and your book. You write guest blog posts or answer interviews which are then posted on carefully chosen host blogs on a set date.
- What are the advantages?
It’s great publicity which boosts sales! As you’ll be appearing on a different blog each day you have the chance to gain yourself new readers, let existing readers know about your new releases and get your work added to those all important to be read lists! You are given the opportunity to speak to readers and engage with them, increasing your chances of them checking out your books.
- What is a guest blog post?
A guest blog post is where you write something that will be of interest to readers, whether it’s about your writing process, your characters, your inspiration, etc. These are then posted on a host blog along with your book cover and buy links to make readers aware of you and your work.
- What should I write about?
See How To Write Guest Blog Posts for more information on this.
- Should I write something new for each stop on the tour?
You don’t have to, though it’s highly recommended. Some tour hosts will insist that your content is unique as sending the same thing out to more than one blog has several drawbacks: the search engines penalise for duplicate content, meaning your post is less likely to be ranked highly; it looks like you can’t be bothered to write new content; there may be people following you on each stop of your tour and they won’t be happy to see the same posts appearing and with each new discussion you have more chance of drawing in different readers as you’re giving them a new ‘hook’ and making them interested in you and your work.
- What happens after the post is made live?
The post will be publicised on social networks as outlined in the Blog Tour Packages information, but you will also need to publicise this yourself. Send emails to your friends, post something on your own blog and send out links via your own social networks. The more visitors you have, the better. Also, you must check back periodically to see if there have been any comments on your piece and answer them and any questions where applicable.
- How long does a blog tour last?
That’s up to you. Packages range from one week to four. For more information, visit the Blog Tour Packages page.
- What do I need to supply for a blog tour?
See Blog Tour Requirements for a list.
- Your prices are all in GBP – does that mean you only work for UK authors?
No, though I’m in the UK so you’ll need to pay me in GBP. Use a free currency converter to find out the rough cost in your currency. Then you can use PayPal to send funds to me in GBP.
- I want in. How do I go about booking a blog tour?
Visit the Blog Tour Calendar & Sign Up Page to find out what dates are available and send me your information.
Brand New Website & Now Booking for February
Today I added another satisfied customer to my portfolio! Diane Alberts, a romance writer, asked me to create a new website for her and her fast growing collection of books, and today the project was completed. As is the case with these projects, there was lots of to-ing and fro-ing, but the site is now complete and Diane has let me know she’s very happy with the results. So much so, that she wrote me this glowing recommendation:
Lucy listened to what I wanted, and gave me all of it..but in a better version than what I’d pictured! I asked for beauty and simplicity, and she followed through. Her updates were frequent, and she never left me wondering if she was working hard on my site- I knew she was! I highly recommend Lucy if you want a friendly, knowledgeable, detail-conscientious web designer!
Check out the newly-updated DianeAlberts.com here!
In other news, I’ve scheduled several blog tours of late, and I’m now scheduling into February. So if you’re looking to run a blog tour for your new book, please contact me ASAP to make sure you get the dates you require! More info and pricing on blog tours here.
Getting Started with Amazon Author Central
Amazon Author Central is a great free tool to help you promote your books. Once it’s all configured and all your books are added, a link to ‘More About the Author’ will be included on each of your book pages. This means readers can easily find out what other books you’ve written/appeared in, more about you, see a link to your website, find out about upcoming events, and more.
Once it’s set up you just have to make sure it’s kept up to date, i.e. when you have new releases or arrange signings/events.
What many people don’t realise is you need SEPARATE accounts for the UK and US versions of Amazon. If you want to make the most of it, setting up just one account won’t do. It’s a nuisance, but you’ll have to do everything twice, and be aware that the two versions vary slightly.
Amazon Author Central UK: http://authorcentral.amazon.co.uk
Amazon Author Central US: http://authorcentral.amazon.com
Just sign up for free accounts on both sites and follow the instructions to set up your page.
Here’s an outline of what you can do:
- Add an author photo (and additional photos)
- Add your books (if you’re listed as the author, this should be straightforward. If, however, you’ve contributed to anthologies, you may find you’ll have to contact Amazon and have them manually add the book to your page.)
- Add a biography (make sure to update this accordingly)
- Add a blog RSS feed (a great way to get your blog in front of new people and encourage them to follow you – currently only on US version)
- List events
- Add videos (great if you have trailers for your books)
- Add your Twitter handle so people can see your latest Tweet and easily follow you
- See sales information for your titles
- See customer reviews for your titles
- Amend and add to product pages (a great way of adding great editorial reviews you’ve had for your books to your product pages – though unfortunately this is only currently available on the US version of the site)
Make sure to take full advantage of everything offered here – it’s free promotion, and a great way to make people aware of you as a writer and hopefully buy more than one of your titles!
All of the features are self-explanatory and easy to use, so get signed up today and make Amazon work for you!
Here are my author pages on both sites so you can see what’s possible:
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lucy-Felthouse/e/B003ZA5I5E/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Lucy-Felthouse/e/B003ZA5I5E/ref=sr_tc_ep?qid=1316187928
**ALSO**
You can also do the same on the French and German Amazon sites now. Your books will be listed under English-language titles, unless of course you’ve had books translated and sold in those languages.
Use your browser’s translate function or have one of the English language sites open in another tab to help guide you through the process on these two sites, as the layout is identical.
The Importance of Updating WordPress
Does your website run on WordPress? Then you need to listen up. Have you ever logged in to the admin area and wondered what that little circle was with a number next to ‘updates’? It’s important, that’s what! Don’t just ignore it and hope it’ll go away. It won’t.
There are two types of updates which will appear there; plugin updates and WordPress updates. Both are important and should always be taken notice of if they appear. Why? There are several reasons you should keep everything up to date.
First, and probably most important is security. Teams of people work hard on WordPress and its plugins to keep it safe from hackers. Making sure plugins and your WordPress installation are up to date is a simple thing you can do to help protect you and your website.
Other reasons include bug fixes, new features and ongoing support. Some developers will not help you out with problems if you’re running an old version. This is understandable, considering many upgrades are bug fixes which could solve your issue/s anyway.
So now you know! Next time you log in and see that little circle coming up – you know what to do. It doesn’t require any technical knowledge and doesn’t take long, either. If it’s an update of WordPress itself (which is usually highlighted by a bar towards the top of the admin area, encouraging you to update), make sure to follow the instructions given about backing up your site – or if you already have a backup system in place, make sure your site’s been backed up recently. That way if there was a problem, you have a copy of your website to revert back to.
An Easy Way to Be Recognised Across the Internet
Do you have a blog? Do you visit other blogs regularly, and make comments? Good! You’re being social and making friends and contacts.
But have you ever wondered why some commenters have nice little photos of themselves by their comments, but you’ve just got a generic image? It’s because you need to set it up.
The “Web 2.0” term for these photos is “avatar”. Your photo is your avatar. You’ll see them on Twitter, WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr… the list goes on. Ideally, if you’re promoting yourself, this avatar should be the same across all your social networks. This helps people, particularly if they connect with you on more than one of the networks, to associate that photo with you. They’ll remember you more easily when they see you elsewhere.
On some networks, like Twitter for example, you just upload a photo of your choice. That becomes your avatar, and it’s as simple as that. However, when leaving comments across the web, it’s not that easy. That’s why you see so many generic images. But it’s very easy to set up so your image appears in these places.
Sign up for Gravatar. A “gravatar” is a globally recognized avatar, to quote their website. All you have to do is register an account – it’s free – upload your avatar and it’ll then follow you across the Internet to all compatible websites, which are many.
So what are you waiting for? Turn yourself from a generic image to you, in a few simple steps! Just go to http://en.gravatar.com/ and get signed up! Test it out here when you’re done, if you like!
9 Twitter Tips for Beginners
Twitter is a brilliant marketing tool for any writer. Not only can you use it to find and chat with likeminded people, it’s also a great place for exchanging information and, of course, promoting yourself. Lots of people just don’t “get” Twitter so they either don’t use it, or use it incorrectly.
I authored a guest post over at Piece of Tales called 9 Twitter Tips for Beginners. If you want to learn more about Twitter, you should definitely go and check it out.
You can follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cw1985
Another Satisfied Customer!
I just added a new project to my Portfolio – the complete overhaul and redesign of D. W. Marchwell’s website. You can see more information on the process here.
When I asked D. W. if he would mind doing a testimonial for my services, he happily obliged. When I received it, I was delighted. I knew he’d been happy with my work, but seeing it in black and white just makes it seem so much more real, somehow.
Here are D. W.’s comments:
I thought the task of redesigning my website would be long and complicated, but Ms. Felthouse made the entire process easy to understand and even easier to finish. Ms. Felthouse’s attention to achieving the look and feel I wanted on the site was exemplary. If you’re looking for someone who is easy to work with, easy to understand and who will get the job done right the first time, you won’t be disappointed with Ms. Felthouse’s work.
Pat on the back for me!