By Brian Feinblum
My wife is a nutritionist. She’s naturally thin but watches her weight and exercises regularly. She knows many of her patients have to physically and psychologically work at it if they are to avoid being casualties of obesity or diabetes. Perhaps how we approach our bodies is no different than how authors must approach digital media.
For some authors, they spend too much time online and not enough doing other things. They will click the day and night away, but be absent when it comes to making public appearances, executing a traditional media campaign, or even networking at gatherings.
For most authors, they don’t do enough with online media. They fail to establish a strong presence on any social media platform. They lack knowledge of what to do – or the time to do what they actually know. There are many writers who try to execute a good approach to digital media but fail to fully understand what’s needed. The best approach is to diversify and experiment until it becomes clear which method or approach yields more results.
So what should authors consider doing online?
1. Writing a blog.
2. Hosting a podcast.
3. Creating and posting videos.
4. Circulating author-created content with regularly scheduled posts.
5. Seeking out guest-blog opportunities and writing fresh content.
6. Doing give-a-ways of an e-book or related digital content.
7. Signing up on major platforms and create a profile, post content, comment on the content of others, and seeking out connections. Start with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Linked In, Pinterest, Amazon Author Central, and Goodreads.
8. Locating targeted online media and soliciting them for a book review.
9. Looking to post an article or to be featured in a story, to get interviewed or to have book excerpts published. Online media such as the dot com of traditional media like Forbes.com or CNN.com, or online-only sites, such as HuffPost.com, are worth pursuing.
10. Finding podcasters who will interview you.
11. Finding online book reviewers who will post reviewers of your book.
12. Tracking down bloggers who cover books or your topic, and seeking out opportunities like interviews, book reviews, or guest-posts.
13. Canvasing websites of organizations, businesses, non-profits, schools, and others that you may want to market your book to.
In short, the Internet holds a ton of information, resources, media, and connections.
How will you spend your time efficiently? Which activities need to be expanded upon while others are shunned or decreased? Can you hire someone to do the things you can’t get to, don’t want to do, or don’t know how to do?
Everyone needs to be on a proper food and exercise diet – and every author must go on a digital diet or he or she will one day wake up and feel lost.
My advice? Do the things with the biggest payoff potential, especially if they are things you like or feel comfortable doing. But don’t dismiss the things you don’t understand or feel frustrated by. Dive into foreign territory or write a check to someone who can complement your strengths and efforts.
One day you may just find yourself in a digital paradise – but it will take honest, hard work, savvy, and maybe a few bucks.
Make it happen!
BRIAN FEINBLUM is the chief marketing officer for www.Media-Connect.com, a leading book publicity firm, and the founder of www.bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com