Why Some Writers Need a Social Media Expert

If you're writing for profit you're running a business. There is no way around it. And all businesses need marketing, writers more than most. Marketing is one of the most important aspects of business and can help your own both stabilize and grow. Running a business without a sound marketing will cost you more money, limit your profits, and will generally mean more work for you.

Thankfully, the advent of the Internet has made marketing easier. It is now much easier, convenient, and efficient to create a successful marketing plan than it was even a few short years ago. As a business owner, the Internet and related technology should factor into your marketing plan. But for many people, even business owners, try to fully understand technology can be intimidating and time consuming. This is where social media experts come in. These people are proficient in information technology and specialize in giving businesses online exposure. There are many reasons to hire a social media expert, but five reasons stand out above the rest.

Social Media Experts are Highly Creative

Most social media experts are multitalented. They are experts in design, marketing, art, and have the ability to combine these talents into a cohesive whole. Creativity is one of the most valuable gifts out there, and a creative social media expert can design a business plan that is unique and has the ability to draw in new customers.

There’s Something to Learn From Social Media Experts

Social media experts know their craft. And you can learn if you pay attention. Most social media experts are more than happy to teach business owners a thing or two. Knowledge gained is never wasted and if you’re going to hire someone, you might as well hire someone you can learn from.

Social Media Experts Can Build an Online Presence

If anyone out there needs an online presence, it's the writer trying to make a decent living. But the Internet is full of pitfalls for anyone looking to market their own business. A social media expert understands technology and the associated lingo, grasps the intricacies of search engine optimization (SEO), and knows how to gain a wider exposure for your business. Simply put, they understand business and how the Internet can benefit business. This can use this understanding to build an online presence for your business, relieving the burden of having to do all this yourself.

Hiring a Social Media Expert is Convenient

Once you’ve hired a social media expert, you have access to a wide range of skills. Most social media experts understand various aspects of business and marketing. Take advantage of this knowledge and work with your social media expert to develop a whole business strategy.

Social Media Experts Can Save You Money

Hiring a social media expert is an expense, it’s true. However, in the long run, it will probably cost less to hire someone than it will to do it all yourself. They know the ins and outs of the business, so they’ll spend less time than you would. They can also usually obtain appropriate advertising at a reduced rate. While you may have to invest a little money at the beginning, the value you’ll receive will more than make up for it.

Most business owners, and most writers, need help and social media experts can provide that help. Their skills can help your business to grow and develop. If you do choose to hire a social media expert, you’ll have a valuable resource at your fingertips. Don’t overlook this person, or the value they represent.

YouTube Marketing Tips for Better Engagement

Using YouTube videos as part of a larger marketing strategy is an excellent idea that can truly benefit your reputation as a writer. You can post book trailers, interviews, or even video journals. However, there is more to this tactic than simply creating the video and posting it on YouTube. You need to find ways to engage your audience, to make them truly want a relationship with your business, whatever that may be (and writing for profit is definitely a business). There are some simple tips that you can use to truly maximize your YouTube marketing campaign.

Allow Comments on Your Videos

Every video you post for the purpose of marketing should be a place where you audience can leave comments and have discussions. It’s also a place where you can engage with your audience and answer questions, and you can even post links to your blog or website. However, you should at least moderate the comments you receive. This allows you to catch spam before it’s posted and keep your comment board neat and clean.

Take Advantage of Your Own Channel

Starting your own channel is a great way to allow your viewers to subscribe to your videos and locate specific videos in your library. This is an easy way to connect with your viewers and ensures that your subscribers are immediately notified of new material. This alleviates some of the burden of getting that new material out there, since your loyal viewers will already know it exists.

Give Your Audience Something to Do

If you’re using a YouTube video for marketing purposes, you probably want your audience to do more than just watch the video. Give them the opportunity to “Like” your Facebook page, follow you on Twitter, or visit your website. Do this by providing links that are visible and direct. Don’t try to hide the destination and trick people into visiting your site. The goal is to build a relationship with your audience, to keep them coming back, and you’ll do this best by providing honest links on your YouTube video.

Make Your Video Stand Out

Videos are everywhere. And it’s unlikely your content is so unique that it hasn’t been covered by someone in some form. In order to attract and keep your audience, you’ll have to get creative. Don’t just make a video, make a professional video. Use high quality sound and exciting graphics to create a video that is truly unique.

Pay Attention to Text

It’s not enough to simply post a YouTube video. You have make sure that video is found by search engines such as Google or Yahoo. To do this, you’ll have to ensure that your text and tags contain relevant keywords and phrases. These phrases should work both to attract the attention of the search engines and interest readers. When tagging your videos, think like a search engine and pick terms that someone might type into Google in order to find content like yours.

YouTube is a powerful tool for promoting your services, products, and business as a whole. With some simple tips and a powerful video, you will soon be able to maximize the potential of YouTube and attract a loyal group of followers.

Poems: Reunion

As I'm in the middle of finishing up a novel, I sometimes get sidetracked, but in a good way. I love poetry and will eventually publish a book of poems. In the meantime, I'll have to be satisfied with writing the occasional poem that pops into my head. I found this one about a year ago scribbled inside one of my journals. I thought I'd share it this week.

 

 I was just a child when we said goodbye.
 Everyone said that it was simply fate.
 But I was much too young to understand
 Why you weren't coming home.

 As the years flew past, I missed you just the same.
 And everybody said my pain would soon abate.
 But truth is a cold comfort and time does not heal.
 So I hold my grief close and pray they do not see.

 This dark tunnel never ends, though time will still creep on.
 Grief burns a fiery cold, refusing warm and comfort.
 I walk, no, I wander, no direction to be had.
 Waiting in the darkness, for what I do not know.

 The wheel has turned, the long night ended,
 And I can see the light.
 It looks like you, it shares your warmth,
 And sings softly as it waits.

 Now I understand.
 And yes, it was our fate.
 Parted once, but reunited,
 And I have no fear.

Writing Software: The Best Thing About Scrivener

I get a lot of questions about writing software, questions I usually find funny. I write with paper and pen. I have pencils scattered across the desk and right now there are index cards covering the floor. A little messy? Maybe. But it works for me, so I don't use writing software.

But when I first decided to be a writer, I did fiddle with the various writing programs available. I was hoping to find something more efficient, but the old fashioned pen is what draws my creativity. Still, if i was going to use a program designed for writers, I might go with Scrivener. It's efficient, organized, and you can get it for under $50. You want specifics? Here are a few of the things I enjoyed when using Scrivener.

1. You can divide the story based on keywords. This is handy if you have a complex plot involving more than one story line. You can search using a character's name (or a place or an object) and have everything involving that character pop up for you. Any scene with that character's name is going to pop up for you. This is helpful, especially if you need to focus on a specific thing, place, or character.
2. It has note cards. I love note cards. Of course, these are electronic note cards, but since they display much of the information you'd write on a note card anyway, they're almost as satisfying. This is probably my favorite feature of Scrivener.
3. You can make notes. If you've ever written a book, you'll know that you make constant notes as you go along. Scrivener allows you to keep these notes within the program. The bonus? No more lost notes. The drawback? You can't use lost notes as a reason to procrastinate.
4. It has chapter files. Have you ever been typing and wished it were easier to move between chapters? Scrolling can get a little irritating. The chapters are actually individual files and show up in the handy sidebar. You can simply click on the chapter you want instead of scrolling.
5. Chapters can be divided into scenes. Moving scenes within a chapter is handy, and Scrivener makes this possible. Because the scenes are also stored as individual files, they can be accessed as easily as chapters. Even better is the ability to move them around, helping to revolve continuity errors or simply streamlining the story.
6. You can put your scenes up on the cork board. Want to rearrange scenes and chapters quickly and easily? Put them all up on the cork board and move them as you please. This is fun and almost as satisfying as the note card feature.
7. It's organized. This program has places for character biographies, research, notes, and all the other little things a writer needs to keep track of. It's nice to keep all these things in one place instead of having to open multiple files.
8. You can export your file to multiple formats. If you don't think this is important, you've never had to submit anything to an agent, editor, or publisher who happens to be picky about file formats. But this is also handy for the self-published author since you can export to paperback and even .mobi (for Kindle). Handy.

If you haven't used Scrivener, give it a go. You might find it useful. If you're like me, you'll be impressed with its versatility but not care so much because you still like pen and paper. But if you work almost exclusively on the computer, you might find yourself using this program frequently. I'll look at other programs in later posts, but Scrivener should be enough to get you started.