sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

5 Minute Promo: Day 3

by

Welcome to Day 3. If you’ve been playing along, by now you’ve posted a blog post about your new book, and set up or updated your Twitter account. Each of these things should have taken you only about 5 minutes. That’s why this series is called 5 Minute Promo. If you are new to the series, feel free to take minutes to catch up. I’ll wait here <grins>.

Okay, so time for today’s five minute promo task. You ready? Good

5 Minute Promo #3

Head over to Instagram  and set up an account. You can do this on your desktop or laptop, but will find it just as easy to use a phone or tablet – and to download the app. That’s because Instagram is designed for phones and so works best there.  Not sure what to do? There’s a quick help guide here, which will guide you step by step through the process. Once you’re set up, feel free to follow me @sallymurphyauthor  and drop me a line so I can follow you back. All of this should take you less than five minutes.

 

If you  already have an Instagram  account, use the five minutes to check that your profile picture, bio and account details are up to date, and of course to post a picture or like the pictures of others.

Not sure what to post? Here’s a recent photo that I posted:

Sage Cupcake Earrings

You can see I took an opportunity to show off my new book (have I mentioned before how much I love the cover? ) as well as the new earrings I’d bought to celebrate its release.

See you tomorrow for Day 4. In the meantime, if you’re enjoying these tips, or have any questions or comments, feel free to comment here and I’ll get back to you.

Book Love: Spreading the Word About Your Latest Read

by

Robyn's beautiful book, Wildlight.

Robyn’s beautiful book, Wildlight.

Recently my dear friend, Robyn Mundy, who is also a brilliant author and all-round lovely person wrote a brilliant blog post about why you should support authors, publishers and readers (that’s you – in fact, that’s all of us) by buying a book rather than borrowing it from someone else (pause here and go and read her post, if you haven’t already).

When I read this post I thought ‘Bravo young Robyn! I agree totally!’ (Which is pretty common because when Robyn says something it is well considered and very  clever)

But then I had a thought. What if you can’t afford to buy the book and don’t have access to a library? Or what if you find a book left behind as part of Bookcrossing? Or what if you are holiday with your bestest friend and s/he says, drying her eye as she finishes the last page: “You have got to read this book, NOW.” Or what if…well, you get the picture. There are times when borrowing or passing on a book might  be a good idea.

So then  I thought ‘well, what can the reader who has borrowed (or found) the book do to show the author some love (which is lovey) or some support (ie sales, which equals money which equals being able to pay the bills and write some more)’? SO, as I sat on an airplane yesterday, I brainstormed some ways that you  (and me – cos I’m a reader too) could show support for the author of that free book you’ve read.

  1. Blog. Write a blog post about it! Could be a lengthy review, could be a short review, could just be a ravey post (which is really a review anyway). Include the cover image so people knows what the book is about, and a link to the author’s website and even figure out where it can be purchased.
  2. Tweet. Haven’t got time to blog? Use Twitter. You can say a lot in 140 characters. Say something ravey, tag the author or publisher and watch it get retweeted very enthusiastically.
  3. Instagram. Take a photo of the book and pop in on Instagram. Even less words required. Could be just a photo of the book, or a selfie of yourself showing it some love, or a styled shot of book and relevant props.
  4. Goodreads. Pop over to Goodreads and give the book a good rating. If you’ve got time, add a review (could be one you’ve written elsewhere). Chat with other fans if they’re there.
  5. Amazon (and other Bookstores). Head to Amazon, find  the book’s listing and, again, rate and review it. Other bookstores that have rating systems include Fishpond
    With author friends loving each others' books.

    With author friends loving each others’ books.

  6. Tell a Friend. Haven’t got a blog, social media account? Just tell a friend about the book next time you see them – or ring them up to tell them. This is just another way of reviewing the book – but what a wonderful way! And a great conversation starter.
  7. Tell a stranger. Kind of the same as 6 (except I don’t recommend ringing a stranger to recommend a book). Strike up a conversation in the supermarket queue or at a party or while you’re browsing in a bookstore. Seriously, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
  8. Respond creatively. If you’re a fellow writer, write a poem/story/whatever responding to the book or its issues or one of the characters viewpoints, or whatever. If you’re a visual artist, respond with a piece of art. If you’re a photographer, or musician or installation artist or whatever – be inspired by the book. Then, when people stop to admire your work, or read it on your blog or whatever, tell them about the book that inspired you.

    These youngsters responded creatively

  9. Pinterest. Create a Pinterest page dedicated to the book and pin the cover, pictures of the author, photos of places mentioned in the book, links to reviews etc. Or just have one pinterest page called ‘Great Books I Have Read’.
  10. Give It as  gift. Not the copy you scored for free – a brand new copy. We all have trouble thinking up gifts for friends/frenemies, Great Aunt Ethel/Bob next door/whoever. If you have loved a book, buy it for someone who you love. They will thank you for it.

The Australian book community is facing massive challenges at the moment, and is in the midst of a battle for survival. If you love a book (especially an Australian book, and whether or not you bought it or borrowed it), show it (and its creator) some love. Today.

Pic Book a Day

by

Publisher EK Books has set up a social media challenge for the month of November with the hashtag Picbookaday. The aim is simple: to post a photo of a picture book each day for the month. There is a new topic for each day:

Pic a Day CHallenge EK Books

I’m not going to post here on the blog, so if you want to see what I’m posting, you can follow me on Instagram (@sallymurphyauthor) or Twitter (@sallymurphy).

You can also follow EK Books (@ekbooksforkids) , or visit their website to see what great things they are doing with children’s books.  And it isn’t too late to join in the #picbookaday challenge.

Got a minute? Social Media in less than 60 seconds

by

If you’re a writer or illustrator, you have probably heard that you need to use social media to promote yourself and your books. But if you’re anything like me, you are balancing your creative work with promotion, with raising a family, with reading, with day jobs and author talks and maybe some exercise or some housework or… My point is, you may well feel that social media is just one thing too many. And it can, if you let it, sap a lot of your time. There is no limit to how much time you could spend on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,  and   Instagram (have I missed some? I’m sure I have!)

But we’re living in a digital  world, and the fact is, the things you do on social media can and will attract readers and purchasers, as well as getting your name known for potential speaking gigs.

The good news is, that once you have set up accounts on your chosen social media platforms, there are lots of things you can do in a minute or less that keep your feed ticking over.

  1. Take a photo. Your desk, your bookshelf, a cloud or a bird you saw on your morning walk, your Pelicans through the windowcat, your dog, your book cover, you. Add a sentence or two and you have a perfect post for twitter, Instagram or facebook.
  2. Share a link. Anything you find interesting online, someone else will find interesting too. Again, add a line or two explaining what the link is for, and pop it on twitter or facebook. If you struggle to find interesting stuff, set up a Google alert, or check out Feedly.
  3. Share someone else’s content. Retweet a clever tweet, share a facebook post, repin a pin. Again, adding a sentence or two of your own shows why it’s significant to you.
  4. Interact by liking or commenting on someone else’s status. Start a conversation on twitter, facebook or Instagram.
  5. Join in a challenge or meme. There are lots of such challenges on both Twitter and Fecbook that challenge you to post something every day for a set period (such as the #postitnotepoetry challenge on Twitter in February). Joining up gives you one topic to post about every day for that time. Some ask for a photo each day, others a poem or piece of writing.

You’ll notice that most of these are not about directly promoting yourself. Rather, you are building relationships, with the two fold benefit that when you do promote it becomes more meaningful and effective, and at the same time you are having fun and making new friends. Perhaps that’s the topic for another blog post.

A minute is not a lot of time, and these five things can each be done in less than a minute. Social media doesn’t have to be an all-day every day proposition. In less than the time it’s taken you to read this post, you can tick promotion off your to-do list each day.

(PS. If you want to see what I’m doing on Social Media, you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,  and   Instagram ),

 

 

 

sallymurphy.com.au