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Author, Brinda Berry, facebook, Gloria Richard, social media, twitter, WordPress, Writer, Writes
WELCOME BACK to my hammock, Brinda, for your 2012 Inaugural Post.
First, I MUST acknowledge that I would be so screwed floundering in the world of Social Media had Brinda Berry not stumbled onto my site and suggested a series titled PIMP MY WEB PRESENCE, wherein she evaluated my blog, Facebook and Twitter presence. Each Wednesday, her series treated us to a bite (byte?) of what I had done right, and where my web presence sucked might be improved.
A bit of history on Gloria Richard Writes…
I do not know when I posted my first blog. WordPress gobbled it when I published the second post on September 9th, 2011. There are those in the “operator error” camp on this issue.
Brinda Berry, Published YA Fantasy Author of the Whispering Woods series, techie guru, and new friend began her PIMP MY Web PRESENCE series in October. Divine Intervention? Who knows?
I know WordPress has not gobbled another post since she came on-scene. She has some serious WordPress and overall Web Presence don’t-mess-with-me moxie.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Make certain you stay with us long enough to:
- Learn what Brinda has in store for us in 2012
- Comment, so we know you were here
- Take a look at the HOT cover to her published YA Fantasy, THE WAITING BOOTH
- Access all the handy links to her sites so you can become a fellow Brinda Fan-Addict.
We decided to change the name of the series this year. Brinda feels I have moved past the beginner stage and am now ready to maximize my presence while maintaining my sanity AND preserving precious hours for writing, home, reading, craft study, and visits to Yogurtland Barnes and Noble.
THANK YOU, BRINDA! With that, I’m getting out of her way (before she knocks me out of the way) and turning the Hammock over to Brinda.
SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY WITH SANITY
by Brinda Berry
Housekeeping to Start the Year
In 2011, Gloria and I looked at blogs and websites, Facebook and Twitter. I would say these are the big three “musts” for authors and in the order I listed them. I focus on the technical side of things because that’s what I know. Gloria is building her audience and marketing network with these social media platforms. Before we move on in 2012 to other discussions, I’d like to take care of a few “housekeeping” items.
Blogs and Websites:
Gloria is currently hosted by WordPress.com. Gloria might consider moving from the hosted site to her own domain name. I looked up GloriaRichard.com and could see that someone else currently owns this name. It is not unusual to find that your name is taken. That’s why some authors immediately purchase the rights to their name and pay the annual fee even though they are not ready to use it. I also saw that the .net version is still available. It’s something to think about for the future.
Facebook:
Last month, we talked about giveaways. I’d like to mention that Facebook does have a policy about running giveaways on their site. Let me say that I’m not sure how they are policing this, but in May of 2011, they put up a list of rules. I must admit that these rules have stopped me from using them to directly advertise a contest. I do redirect to my website where the contest is being held. There’s a difference. I’d like to share the first two rules and the link for the complete list.
1. Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or an app on a Page Tab.
2. Promotions on Facebook must include the following:
a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.
Complete list of rules: https://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php
Twitter:
When I was first on Twitter, I was hacked and my account sent out DM (direct messages) that said something along the lines of “this picture of you naked and balancing a squirrel on your head is so great” and a link. Here are my warnings:
(1) Have a good password for Twitter,
(2) beware of and check out the reputation of the third party apps that you allow to access (read AND WRITE) from your Twitter account
(3) NEVER, EVER, EVER click on a link in a DM unless you know the person and feel positive they sent you a DM. If you click, you will be the next one sending out those mysterious DMs from your account.
If you are hacked, immediately change your password.
So, these are the little things I wanted to get out of the way before we begin our bright, shiny 2012!
Find Brinda: FACEBOOK , TWITTER , WEBSITE/BLOG
The Waiting Booth LINKS: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books, Etopia Press, All Romance eBooks, Borders online
The Waiting Booth TRAILER: http://youtu.be/xIBrZWsJ3Ls
Me again! If you haven’t yet treated yourself to the trailer for THE WAITING BOOTH, take a few minutes to marvel at her talent.
When you visit her site, you’ll also discover the next in the WHISPERING WOODS series is due out in the coming months.
THANKS, as always, for visiting. Share any wisdom (or war stories) you have about effective use of Social Impact, tell us what you’d like to learn, or just say HI! WE LOVE COMMENTS. If you comment, you are guaranteed to win…
A smile from us. And, who can’t use another couple of smiles in their day?
Gloria Richard 
Love your “smart know-how” as always. I am wanting to rev up my facebook author page this year. My friend and writing partner, Antwuan, is working on that, too and he is much more savvy than me. He’s been playing with his page http://www.facebook.com/AntwuanMalone?ref=ts
Any advice? I know that in a previous post you said your page wasn’t your strongest social media presence. I have 9 likes. How do I promote that page and make it look better? Here’s the link to my author page (L.A. Freeland)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/LA-Freeland/330344606982140
I already like you on Facebook, but others need to be able to do it easily. Do you have the Facebook “Like” box on your website? I couldn’t find it. I have a page on my site called social media with the Facebook like box. Second, I also have it in my signature line whenever I send emails. Third, I invited some of my friends from my personal page to like my business page. These three steps might be helpful to build a base of fans for your page!
I think I tried to put the LIKE box on my website and couldn’t figure out how to do it. That’s my first problem.
The link on the email is a great idea. I will look at that today.
Funny little story, but I thought I was inviting my Facebook friends on my personal page to LIKE my author page, but Facebook sent out new friend requests for my personal page to all the contacts from my Hotmail that it had previously imported. All of them. Hmmm. So, now I have a hundred new friends. The upside of my “oops” is more people will see my blog posts. I’m trying to keep it positive. 🙂
Brinda, you always know how to break down the technical info from inaccessible mumbo jumbo to straightforward, easy breezy peasy talk. Thanks!
Thanks, Sherry.
Lori- I’ll help you with the “like” box. We’ll talk later.
Brinda, I’m having heart palpitations about migrating from this site. It’s frustrating NOT to own http://www.gloriarichard.com. Especially since the person who owns that domain is not using it. She uses a combo of her maiden and married name on FB and for her business page. She’s not a writer.
GoDaddy handled site registration for me. They map to my WordPress Site. I wonder if an alternative: Gloria-Richard.com would confuse people.
Unlike most of the blogs I follow, my name doesn’t pop at the top of the charts when I Google my name.
Do not have heart palpitations. I am not able to resuscitate from this distance. 🙂 Yes, I used WHOIS to look up the owner and saw the registration. One alternative is to buy the available http://www.gloriarichard.net. Look at this HarperCollins link at all the authors who have done just that because they probably ran up against the same issue: http://www.harpercollins.com/Author/WebSites.aspx . Another solution is to add the word books- http://www.gloriarichardbooks.com .I’ve seen that many times.
Gloria and Brinda, I want to thank both of you for sharing this journey. I am learning a great deal as I go along. Also, Brinda has been generous enough to try and answer some of my lame questions about twitter.
One. I bought my name two years ago and continue to pay on it. This year I will use wordpress to redirect traffic and make my blog that name … FlorenceFoisInTheCity. I sign off on all blogs as fOIS In The City.
Two. I was also hacked the same way. Sad, that someone has the knowledge and skills to do these things and wastes them on crap.
Sorry, I got cut off. I have two questions Brinda:
Do you think that an unpublished writer can still use wordpress as a web/blog with links? i.e. many web pages link to the author’s blog.
Marketing can become a time suck. Do you have advice on how to use time management not to lose valuable writing time? I have Facebook, belong to three on-line groups, two of which have Facebook pages, I have dong the blog since Oct., 2009 and find the variety and scope of this venue the most flexible. It’s like my own private magazine; replete with “features.” I also have Twitter, but refuse to add another social network. Belong to Shelfari and Goodreads. To you have advice on how to build a presence or get reviewed on book blogs.
Brinda, congrats on the book … love the cover 🙂
Yes, I think you are fine to use WordPress as a web/blog with links. Since WordPress allows you to add pages, it looks like a great website to me. Let me know if I’ve answered your question. The main thing is to have pages showcasing your books, manuscripts, contact info, or any other things you want a reader or agent to access.
Gloria and I talked about time management as a needed topic. I have my own issues with the “time suck” and have 2012 strategies to do better. I’ll also be doing a post on Goodreads later as well. My advice is to designate a time (like a schedule) to promote and network. Pick a time when you can multi-task. Do you watch television or eat lunch at your desk? These are good Twitter times. I log into Twitter and Facebook in the early mornings (5:00am) when there is no way I would be writing that early. I write at night when I’m more awake and functional.
As for book blog reviews, build your list now and find connections. Make a spreadsheet of book reviewers with large audiences (look at how many comments they get and how many subscribers) and their policies for reviews. Ask someone who has already been down that road in your genre.
Ah, the pending post on not letting Social Media be a time suck makes my
nose hairsearlobes tingle. What? “Toes” would have been cliche.And, I MUST find a way to have my presence on the first page, if not the “first up” when I enter my name in Google.
ME! ME! What about ME?
Whoops! Slipped into a flashback.
It is frustrating. We WILL chat about options, Brin. I’ll do the work. You simply need to point me in the right direction(s). I’ll skedaddle off to
chase a new shiny bauble and forget and have to email you againimplement.