Make Your Facebook Page Do The Work For You
So You’re A New Author…
Many new authors get asked, “Do you have a Facebook?” And often, their answer is, “Sure!” But when you ask them for their page link, they just tell you to search for their name. Unfortunately, this leads you to a personal profile and not an author page, which is different.
What to do?
Has this happened to you? Have you been asked and you didn’t have a ready answer?
Profile vs. Page
Facebook pages are great ways for you, as an author, to connect with fans while keeping all of your personal information private on your profile. Pages can be accessed through your personal profile, but are separate entirely. This gives you power – this page is able to be customized in such a way that any new buyers who are looking for more information on you can ‘like’ your page to be able to get new posts from you in their stream. Plus, there are tons of extras that can be added!
Here are some options to consider:
YouTube
Some authors look to produce a book trailer and then don’t know quite what to do with it. Well, your Facebook author page is a great place to place a custom YouTube tab so that new fans are just a click away from your trailer! A video is a popular way to draw potential buyers in by giving them a unique visual of your characters.
Some find that they love spending time on Pinterest more than anywhere else. Did you know many marketing studies show that Pinterest gets more response that Facebook and Twitter? This doesn’t mean you should abandon your other social media – put it to work by incorporating it on a customized tab at your author page! That visual media can really resonate with your audience.
The Author App
Adding The Author App also gives you a great opportunity to put your Amazon link in front of your buying audience as they search your author page. This tab can display your bio, your books, clickable links and a synopsis. The easier it is to buy, the better!
Goodreads
If you’ve gone ahead and claimed your free author profile on Goodreads (which is owned by Amazon, so it sees a lot of traffic related to your listing!) that can also be linked via a customized Facebook tab. Then, your fans can check in and see all your Goodreads reviews, activity and can easily find your blog posts by clicking through. This will let your fans learn about what you love to read in your down time!
MailChimp
A MailChimp tab can be added to make it very easy for subscribers to sign up for your upcoming newsletters. A monthly or quarterly newsletter is a perfect way to keep in touch with your fans by gaining that all important access to their inbox. Sometimes, it takes upwards of 6 or 7 times for a customer to be exposed to your product before they decide to buy. By updating them with teasers of your work, showing them sales and bringing them interesting and informative content, you can help make that decision easier. And signing up can be done while they’re still on Facebook.
Twitter and Facebook may compete, but they can still be integrated. By adding a tab through Woobox, you can let fans know they can follow you on Twitter if that’s their favorite platform. Give them an idea of your tweets, your followers, etc. It’s all free and a fun way to showcase all the work you do on social media.
Making the switch to an author page doesn’t have to mean more work. Put Facebook to work and bring your fans a one-stop location that brings awareness to all the facets of your marketing! Everything mentioned above is free. We know starting out is rough, so even though some of the above websites have paid packages available, the free options still get the job done. Which is your favorite? Let us know what you use the most and how you’ve helped your author page stand apart from the crowd.