The Importance of an Author Platform, Part I
The author platform is key to getting readers to follow you and making sales. Brian Allain leads Writing for Your Life a resource for spiritual writers and provides marketing support for. I met him last year at Publishing in Color, a conference he runs. He says that an author platform is critical to selling books or even getting a traditional publishing contract.
“I think of it as a group of followers. People who are happy to pay attention or engage with you,” Brian said.
New Rules In Publishing
The rules of publishing have changed with authors expected to help with marketing and generate their own author platform. Self-published authors have always had to do this and now traditionally published authors are expected do the same.
“Publishing houses will give authors help with the launch and set up some interviews but in terms of building an author platform and engagements with readers the author has to do that,” Brian said.
Traditional Marketing vs Social Media Marketing
The cost to market a book is considerable however, online marketing offers writers more for their money. Traditional marketing which consists of print, radio and television ads can cost hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars. These ads have set costs and durations. It is also hard to track engagement. Social media marketing puts more of the power in the author’s hands at a fraction of the cost.
The Benefits of Facebook and Twitter for the Author Platform
Social media marketing can really help an author with branding, engagement, and building their author platform. There are many social media platforms, with new ones being created all the time, making it difficult for authors to determine which to use. Brian recommends using Twitter and Facebook advertising due to their number of users and ease of use.
Metrics
Engagement, clicks, and other metrics are tracked and presented in a way that anyone can understand. An author can determine almost immediately if an ad is effective in reaching the intended audience.
Controlling Costs
Facebook and Twitter ad campaigns can be done on almost any budget. An ad can be run for a few dollars a day for any time frame the author chooses with tracking reports given daily. Authors can know in real-time how well an ad is doing and make changes accordingly.
Targeting Audiences
The author can choose who sees the ads based on age, location, and other demographics. Twitter ads have the additional feature of allowing an author to send ads based on another author’s lists or followers. This is useful when an author has written a book in a certain genre and wants to attract others interested in that genre and can help them reach target audiences.
Click on Facebook Marketing For Beginner’s to read Part II of this article.
Candace Waller is a Christian fiction author. Her novel What Goes Around Comes Around can be purchased on Amazon.