How Social Networking Works for Writers

Over the past five years since I started promoting my first book, I've had my doubts about whether social networking was really effective. In the beginning, I was on my computer for hours on end commenting, updating statuses, posting bulletins and pithy updates to my wall. The question to myself was, “Is anyone paying attention.” My social network presence was not yielding high sales through my website.

The one thing that social networking and marketing did for me even greater than selling books was building name brand recognition. The tools that myspace, ning, yahoo groups, and facebook provide to specifically target a specific market to get the word out about books and products have the potential to open up other money making opportunities for authors.

Once your name is branded in the publishing industry, bookstore operators will reach out to you to have your book in their stores, invitations for speaking engagements and events will surface, and book club invites will follow. Once you establish yourself as an authority in your field, the offers will follow.

While social networking did eventually yield a few website sales, I soon recognized that I needed to have multiple markets engaged and different revenue streams coming into my business in order for me to make it as a writer. These revenue streams include: * Conventional and nonconventional book signings. * Writing for hire. * Workshops/speaking engagements. * Bulk book sales.

In today’s tough market when financing is hard to come by and independent publishing houses are being run on a shoestring budget, social networking provides a level playing field for new authors looking to break into the literary market. All one has to do to get a successful start at building a platform is to successfully engage their target audience.

For instance, if you have written a book about the challenges of being dyslexic in the Oklahoma School System, you would specifically target first Oklahomians and then seek out organizations where parents of children with disabilities would congregate and offer to be a speaker at events or drive them to your website. If your topic is more broad, find one subtopic that relates to a certain group of consumers and engage that group in a down-to-earth and genuine way. Never come off as overbearing.

Networking and Marketing are two of the most vital parts of business, and the internet makes them both 100% easier and more effective. There was a time when only companies with large marketing budgets could break into huge demographics at a time. Now, with the click of your keyboard you can gain more media on your own than some companies spending thousands upon thousands of dollars on advertising have access to.

Think about it, you can personally touch people and build a rapport where a major company would lack that personal connection. You have the advantage to effectively engage your followers with the clicks of your keyboard.

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Shani Greene-Dowdell is the author of Keepin’ It Tight and Secrets of a Kept Woman. She is also the editor of the erotica anthology series, Mocha Chocolate. She hosts bimonthly workshops on the business of self publishing locally in Auburn, Alabama. Visit her author website at www.shanibooks.com, publishing website at www.nayberrypublications.com. Send emails to info@nayberrypublications.com.