The 411 On the Re-Launch of Our Author Branding Bundle

Our office has been abuzz (especially here in the marketing department) with the revamp and re-launch of an old MCP favorite. The Author Branding Bundle sets up your professional presence on all the staple channels of social media to give you a launching pad for your new book and your career as an author. As a publisher we know why these sites are important, but if you’re new to the world of social media, you may not.

Follow along as we break it down for you!

Facebook Fan Page

A Facebook profile is great for interacting with family, old classmates, and friends you’ve collected over a lifetime, but as an author you need to have an official Facebook Fan Page to build a hub for your fans! Facebook is a booming social media platform that almost everyone is on, which means that no matter what genre of book you’ve published, your specific target audience is on Facebook. A Facebook Fan Page allows users to use your private space (Facebook Profile) to post pictures of your children, religious or polical updates, while using your Fan Page to post about your writing journey, upcoming signings or events, and updates about where the book can be purchased.

With our Author Branding Bundle, our team will set the Fan Page up for you, design a custom-branded header graphic with your book cover, and even create your first Facebook update and post it for you!

Facebook Advertising Campaigns

At any given time of the day, there is a lot going on in the Facebook sphere—so you have to stand out! An advertising campaign on Facebook can meet one of several goals:

• Drive traffic to your Fan Page to help build a fanbase there.
• Drive traffic to Amazon or another page where the book can be purchased.
• Drive traffic to your official Author Website in order to build up your email list.

Our Facebook advertising campaigns are thoughtfully and precisely targeted, so your ad is only shown to those most likely to interact with it.

Goodreads Profile

Think of Goodreads as Facebook, but specifically for books. Book readers, book writers, book reviewers, librarians and book buyers all use this site. This is essentially the shopping mall for bookworms. Users create personal profiles (much like Facebook) and then leave ratings and reviews for books they’ve read, make recommendations to each other, and can even leave questions for the authors they’re interested in! It’s a great way to interact with their readers, especially if you’ve written fiction, a biography/memoir, or if your target audience is YA or female.

Why do the heavy lifting yourself? Let our team submit your application to be approved for an official Goodreads Author Profile and build the page for you. They can add links to your other social media profiles, will link to your book on Amazon, and get you set up for success.

Twitter Profile

Twitter is like social media “lite”: best for small bursts of information, similar to a text message, and even cleaner and simpler than Facebook or Goodreads. You only get 280 characters to type in a post, so any information shared is valuable. This platform is excellent for sharing event announcements or tidbits of advice, and hosts a very active reader and writer community. (Did you know Wednesdays are #WriterWednesday on Twitter, with live sharing of writing tips, books recs, and more? You do now!) Your followers can ‘retweet’ something you’ve said—which is then reshared with all of their followers, casting a wider net for your information to reach.

One of the trickier parts of building your author platform is creating consistency and making it easy for people to find you. With this bundle, our team will sit down and check the availability of your preferred social media name (often referred to as a “handle) across all channels before setting these accounts up. Some social media channels only allow one user to have a name, so our team will check availability across the board, ensuring that new fans know how to search for you.

Your Twitter will also feature the same profile picture used for all channels (the goal is to be easily recognized!) and a custom-designed header graphic similar to the one on Facebook. Consistency is key!

Instagram Profile

You’re in luck; we recently added Instagram to our products and just knew it had to be part of this Author Branding Bundle! We know the importance of keeping up with new marketing techniques and this is a big one. Instagram very clean, easy-to-use, and all about pictures. Maybe you just got the first hard copy of your book; post it! Did you get a new banner for an event you’re holding? Show it off! Do you do your writing in a visually appealing space, like an office or at the beach? This is the place to show it!

This is the most visual of all the platforms, so get creative not only with the pictures, but their captions as well. Showcasing your writing process on Instagram is important for YA or Fiction writers; nonfiction writers who’ve written on business, leadership, health, or self-help should use Instagram to post pictures of speaking events, motivational quotes, and techniques they’re using to achieve their goals. Did you write a visual book, like a cookbook, lifestyle book, or photography book? You have to be on Instagram!

Amazon Exposure Page

When your book is listed on Amazon, your name is front and center. With an Amazon Exposure page, shoppers can click on your name for more information about you, including the collection of books you’ve written. This page gives them insight to the person behind the book, which may help them decide to buy.

All traditionally-published authors have an Amazon Exposure Page, so having one that sports the same photos and information found on all of these other channels adds another layer of legitimacy and prestige to your author brand.

Each of these platforms is unique and has a particular advantage. There are some similarities to help with ease of use, but to have a well-rounded brand it’s best to be present on all of them. Meticulously branding each of these pages is just as important so your followers will recognize you, and our team is here to make sure you do it right.

Let our dedicated author marketing team help you get started with these great marketing tools and lead you to social media success. Ask your rep about the Author Branding Bundle today!