Friday, September 24, 2010

Social Media for Nonfiction

Nonfiction books for homeschoolers
Nonfictions book blog reviews
Tips on Social Media for Writers

I specifically listed those lines above for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Why? Because I want people to read what I write... don't we all? When someone googles "Nonfiction books for homeschoolers", the search engines will scroll the first few lines of a blog post to search for information on the topic. That's why when we title a post we should should think about what words a person may google to find your post.

This month I started writing a series of articles for Toy Directory Monthly on Social Media topics for the Toy Industry.  For me, the entire social media revolution is a game. By accident, I have learned how to play the game - and several national organizations have asked me to write about and educate the toy industry. I chose to go the TD Monthly route.

In reviewing my current article, How to Use Mommy Blogs to Promote Your Products - Free Publicity Comes with a Price, I thought there were a few points that would resonated with the readers of this blog. (By the way, I didn't title the article which has received some negative comments.) And, yes, this may be considered "preaching to the choir" for most of you, but this reminder won't hurt.

Reaching Out to Mom Bloggers: What to Do
  • Read blogs, including the comments, to see which reviewer is a fit for your product.
  • Check blog stats at Compete.com, Alexa.com or another analytic site.
  • Contact the blogger via a link on their page or email.
  • Understand that the blogger may not post a review immediately. Some of the more popular blogs get over 75 per day requests for a blog review.
  • Make sure your Web page and links work and are easy to read and navigate.
  • Consider giveaways as a fantastic way to drive traffic to a blog and to your site.
  • Be prepared for negative reviews.

Before writing this today, I googled and found some fantastic homeschool blogs - many with book reviews.
And lastly, had to mention, that I have a new puppy. Want to know the BEST way to get lots of comments on your facebook page or blog? Post pictures of your new puppy. Works every time!


Now, off to send the link to this blog post to all the search engine sites. And, that's how we play the game!
Comments welcome, especially about Lucy, my new Old English Sheepdog pup!

2 comments:

Linda Zajac said...

Your dog is adorable. It looks like a stuffed animal.

See, it does work every time.

Unknown said...

I've been getting to know how Facebook works recently, and enjoying the challenge of figuring it out... as a result, more and more people are finding my author page.

In addition, I set up a Google alert to be notified any time my name comes up to find out whenever one of my books is mentioned. Because of this, for example, I discovered that the state of Vermont is using my Follow the Money in a statewide financial literacy program this fall.

I get the impression that a lot of authors/illustrators dislike marketing for whatever reason, but people want our books so we have to help them find them, right? Of course, I'm not talking about being a pest about it, just letting interested people know in a nice way.