Hi everyone! Today I'm thrilled to be supporting Canadian author Danika Stone, author of titles such as All the Feels and Edge of Wild. She's here with some tips to build up your social media presence and to share an excerpt of her upcoming release Internet Famous! Big thank you goes out to Raincoast Books for including me on this blog tour!
Internet Famous
by Danika Stone
June 6, 2017
320 pages
320 pages
Goodreads Summary:
High school senior and internet sensation Madison Nakama seems to have it all: a happy family, good grades, and a massive online following for her pop-culture blog. But when her mother suddenly abandons the family, Madi finds herself struggling to keep up with all of her commitments.
Fandom to the rescue! As her online fans band together to help, an online/offline flirtation sparks with Laurent, a French exchange student. Their internet romance—played out in the comments section of her MadLibs blog—attracts the attention of an internet troll who threatens the separation of Madi’s real and online personas. With her carefully constructed life unraveling, Madi must uncover the hacker’s identity before he can do any more damage, or risk losing the people she loves the most… Laurent included.
Fandom to the rescue! As her online fans band together to help, an online/offline flirtation sparks with Laurent, a French exchange student. Their internet romance—played out in the comments section of her MadLibs blog—attracts the attention of an internet troll who threatens the separation of Madi’s real and online personas. With her carefully constructed life unraveling, Madi must uncover the hacker’s identity before he can do any more damage, or risk losing the people she loves the most… Laurent included.
Building your Social Media Brand
By Danika Stone
No matter what online site you go to these
days, you’re guaranteed to run into people selling things. Whether it’s irritating
click bait tweets, those endless Facebook ads, or the obnoxious ‘buy this!’
Instagram posts, the concept of sell!
sell! sell! doesn’t end. For many of us, it can be disheartening as a
social media consumer. It’s even worse if part of your job is self-promotion.
Yes, authors, I’m talking to you.
So how do you develop a social media branding force when you feel overwhelmed by the mere idea of promoting yourself? There’s no choice. It’s part of the job. But there are ways to make it easier. Here are a few hints to get you started:
1.
Choose a social media that matches your audience’s demographics. As much as we might think otherwise, Facebook is for the older
crowd. Teens might have an account there (to see Grandma’s pictures), but most do
not actively interact on this social media forum. If your book is aimed at young
adults, go elsewhere. Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter are all great options!
2.
Once you’re on social media, be selective about how MUCH selling you
actually do. My biggest piece of advice is to NOT
aggressively sell your books to other writers. Be a person, not a non-stop
marketing machine. And definitely avoid
the trap of the pushy, used-car salesman! That gets tired fast.
3.
Use Marketing as a way to connect with your readers and with other
authors. Another great way to get your books into
the hands of the right readers is to get involved in author support forums. During
my days as an indie author, I connected with the ASMSG (Author's Social Media
Support Group). Later on, as I shifted into traditional publishing, I found Twitter
writing forums, Bookstagram (on Instagram), and Booklr (on Tumblr), specialized
groups that fit my needs. There are lists and tags online specific to the genre
you write, and even whole websites, such as Swoon Reads.
4.
Be interesting! I know, I know, that’s
easier said than done, but there are things that will make the process easier.
To begin, don’t tweet / share / post the same information over and over again.
People stop listening, and that’s hard to come back from. Secondly, don’t guess
at the best times to share. There’s a reason why some of your blog posts get
lots of reblogs and comments, while others don’t get any. Check your analytics
and use it to guide your posts. Lastly, make good content, retweet / reblog
good content, and interact with those
people who follow you. Before you know it, your numbers will surge!
5.
Be Kind: Help others and they will help YOU too. This is key to so many
things beyond social media, but it happens there too. While all the other points
help, this one is important to master. As the old adage goes: a rising tide lifts all boats. And so it
goes with social media interactions as well. Over the last five years, I’ve
found if you are genuinely willing to help out other writers – with promotions,
with support, with beta-reading – others will help you out. So step outside
that comfort zone and get involved. You won’t regret it!
These are my tips and trips for social media, but how about you? What do YOU do that helps you move forward? Give your ideas in the comments below!
This is very helpful information! Thank you so much Danika for sharing it with us today! Keep reading for a cute excerpt of Internet Famous!
Excerpt
This guy looked more like a college student than high school senior, but there were too many other clues to ignore. Madi’s stomach twisted. Oh God—there’s no way this is happening.
“You’re Madi,” he repeated. “From the MadLibs blog, right?”
“I am,” she said, then forced a smile. “I know this sounds weird, but how do you pronounce your name?”
“It’s Laurent.” The way he said his name tipped her off: Luh-Ron. It rhymed with Lebron—the accent on the second part of the name—clearly masculine. Laurent Abelard, not Lauren Tabelard! she realized. Madi fought the urge to face-palm.
“I didn’t realize it was you,” she said. “I thought you were a girl.”
“I didn’t either. I thought you were—” He laughed. “I don’t know. Someone else. I expected someone… different.”
“Different?”
“I don’t know. You just look like—like—”
Madi’s wanton perusal came to a screeching halt. What. The. HELL.
“Like what?” she snapped.
“Like a blogger.”
“A blogger? What’s that supposed to mean?!”
He shrugged “I… I don’t know. You’re just not what I expected.”
Madi drew herself up to her full height, vibrating with anger. “Sorry to disappoint you, but there are lots of people who look lots of ways—”
“But I only meant—”
“—and bloggers come in all shapes and sizes—”
“Yes, I know, but—”
“—and MadLibs has a HUGE fanbase! Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to my site each month. I’m eighteen years old. I’m an entrepreneur. I’m not some—some kid, or something!”
Laurent recoiled from the screen, his face blanching. “Ah, non! Ce n’est pas le cas! I-I’m so very sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just—I messed up. I didn’t think—I-I—Pardonnez-moi, s’il vous plaît. Je ne veux pas vous ennuyer...” His words tumbled out faster and faster, disappearing into a blur of anxiety-ridden French.
And that was the moment, Madi realized, when she knew she was going to fall and fall hard, because nothing was more romantic than a language you couldn’t understand and a young man who was anything but American who was spouting apologies and wringing his hands. (That doing it onscreen made him look like a matinee idol from some brooding French film was an added bonus.)
Follow the blog tour for more amazing guest posts and fun excerpts!
Great guest post and thanks for all the tips and tricks. ;)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you liked!
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