Linking Your Social Accounts and Other Major Blogging and Social media No-nos

Successful social media is something of an art form—with lots of gray areas. Building a successful online presence takes a good amount of flexibility and a little bit of experimentation. But even though I encourage people to find their sweet spots, there are a few things you want to avoid. Today I’d to weigh in on linking your social media accounts and other major blogging and social media no-nos.

No-no Number One

Do not link your blog with social media. What I mean by that is you don’t want your blog o send a notification of your newest blog post to Facebook or Twitter or any other social network. On the surface it seems that would be a great shortcut for those (almost all of us) who find ourselves in a constant time crush. But it’s not.

Here’s why:

One Thing Marketing: Team Up!

What makes almost any task a little easier?

Help! 🙂

That’s why combining forces with other authors or industry peeps is such a good idea when you’re working to market your books. We all have different spheres of influences, networks and contacts, friends and fans on social media. Cross-promotion and joint marketing efforts make SO much sense.

Here are a few ways I’ve teamed up with others recently:

1) I found release buddies. I checked out a few authors who had books coming out around the same time as mine. We tossed around a variety of ideas for joint giveaways, blog appearances, videos and more.

2) I’m in an author group that just this week began talking about ways to promote our books when we’re in between releases. We’re chatting about finding some way to work together to cross-promote in not-as-busy seasons.

3) Three friends and I formed a small marketing team and SO many of the ideas for my release promotions came from their brainstorming!

4) Two other authors and I all have books in the same genre releasing from the same publisher next spring. We’ve already been emailing ideas about blogs, vlogs and more as we prepare to cross-promote in the coming months.

But what if I’m not published yet?

Rachel Hauck, Susan May Warren, My Book Therapy

Ready, Set, Go! NaNoWriMo

Wow, it’s time for National November Writers Month!

Congratulations to those who are participating for the first time. Or the fifth or sixth time!

I’m in. I’ve a deadline February 1 and I need to BIC it. (Butt-in-Chair)

So, what can you do to help your success?

1. Make a plan. What are you going to do with your time? How, when and where are you going to write? Do you need help? Do you need compliance from your spouse, your family, your friends? Work it out!
2. Plan your story. Read this post to get the core basics of planning a story. Not outlining, but planning! It’s very key to use your time wisely and to get some depth to your story.
3. Determination. Just determine this is a go for it month. You will get up early. You will shut off the TV at night. Say “No” to all you can.
4. Get your kids on board. Make them a part of mom/dad’s goal. Give rewards for them helping you achieve your goal. God is a rewarder. Parents should be too.
5. Do not edit. Meaning, do not go back and rewrite or start over. If you change setting, names, from an historical to a contemporary, do NOT go back. Just keep pressing on.
6. Do not be critical. If you have was in every sentence. so what. YOU CAN FIX IT. But get those words on the page.
7. Okay… all that being said, do pause before each session to consider where you’re going. Do pause to try to the best sentence you can.
8. Set a word count. How much do you need to write each day to make 50K. Figure out the days you can’t write and calculate how much you need to get down at each session.
9. Pray. Ask the Lord for wisdom. Daniel 1:17.
10. And Go!! Participate int he challenge. Log your word count. Press on when you’re tired. Do it.

Social Media Minute—Are You Guilty of Spamming?

by Edie Melson
Spam on the Internet is a big no-no. The definition has changed somewhat over the years and now includes social media posts as well as email. No average Internet user would ever dream of intentionally spamming, but without care we can be guilty of spamming.
Why is it called Spam?
There are a lot of theories about where the term SPAM originated, one school of thought is that it originated from the computer group lab at the University of Southern California. Those there applied that honorific because it has many of the same characteristics as the canned version we find in super markets.
Another accepted opinion is that it came from the Monty Python son, “Spam spam spam spam, spam spam spam spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam” since, Internet spam is often repetitious and worthless.
Regardless of where the name came from, we all try to avoid receiving it, and definitely want to avoid sending it.
5 Ways to Avoid Becoming a Spammer

1. Don’t Click on Suspicious Links. These can be found in email, as well as on social media and can infect you with a virus that sends spam to your contacts. If you get an email stating they’ve seen a funny video of you and including a link, do NOT click on the link.