Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Tuesday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

HOW TO ROCK OUT ON GOODREADS

By: Penny Sansevieri

We hear about Goodreads over and over again. Some of us have been on there for a while with little or no activity while some authors have yet to hop on. A select few, however, have really turned Goodreads into a rockstar way to promote their book.

If you aren’t familiar with Goodreads, a bit of backstory first. Goodreads is not new on the scene, in fact it’s been in business since December 2006.

Profile:  When you first start with Goodreads, you’ll be a “user.” Once you have a user profile, you can upgrade to an author profile. When you upgrade to an author profile, you still have a user profile – you may choose to ignore one or the other, but be aware that two exist.

There are a lot of articles out there on creating a great profile on Goodreads. Just be sure to include a professional headshot. A number of authors opt for a professional shot, but not a studio shot. They do more of a candid but still pro shot.   And don’t leave any of the areas on your profile blank; fill in the “about you” section, “books you like to read” section, etc. You can also leave the ‘Ask the author’ option on to allow fans to engage with you.

Here’s a quick link to the author profile info on Goodreads:

Much like any social media site, you want a solid profile, a good picture – a strong bio. If you’ve won awards for your writing be sure to brag here.

Adding your blog to your profile is a fantastic way to promote yourself on the page. Your readers will get to know you as you consistently post good content. Also, it’s a good bit of “SEO juice” with your followers because a blog post on Goodreads generates a link (and hopefully traffic) back to your website. Simply add your blog feed by clicking on the drop-down arrow, then “edit profile” next to your picture (at the top right-hand side of the page).

Also, if you have a book video or an author video, be sure to promote it on Goodreads. 
It’s easy to add video once you’re in the profile settings. Also, it’s best to pull the video directly from YouTube (upload it there if you haven’t already) instead of from your website. In most cases websites hosting services will charge mega fees to host videos on your site due to the increased bandwidth. Also it’s never a bad idea to have a YouTube account, considering that video is a big social media tool.

Adding your book:

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To read the rest of the post, click here:


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Happy writing and running, Kathy

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