Fan base before marketing?

[moderan]

Wow, this is actually a great idea. Unique too, as I've never heard of something like this being done. Hold contests, use the book as a reward. That's actually really great. I hope everything went well with that btw.

Worked well enough the first time. The art contest is a ton of fun. We have more contests scheduled. Weird fiction is a highly competitive field these days, and one needs creativity to even tread water.

[Ralph Rotten]

BTW: Here is the link to the Google page where you can have your site spidered by their search engine. Essentially if you don't feel like waiting for the google engine to find your posted content on its own, you can throw a URL into this page and have your page spidered immediately.

Good page to book mark for people handling their own marketing.

https://www.google.com/webmasters/to...PEfwMw40&pli=1

[ScarletM.Sinclaire]

BTW: Here is the link to the Google page where you can have your site spidered by their search engine. Essentially if you don't feel like waiting for the google engine to find your posted content on its own, you can throw a URL into this page and have your page spidered immediately.

Good page to book mark for people handling their own marketing.

https://www.google.com/webmasters/to...PEfwMw40&pli=1

THANK YOU!!!

[bangers]

I'm not ready for marketing my book yet. My book is almost finished, but I was wondering, how do I start a follower base for my book?

I am an unknown author, and I do plan on publishing on Amazon and I know its basically a horse race to get my book "in front" everyone. I want to do this the smart way, and get a following base (The earlier, the better imo). But how do I go about doing this? Do I just start a random blog for months (or years) and be like "Oh btw, I have a book I published, check it out" blah blah blah.

I understand that a follower base takes time, which is why I'm not publishing for at least another year (especially since the book isn't finished yet).

My question is what are some other ways to start a fan base? Or what have you done personally, that turned your book into a success?

I would have to say that it depends on the genre of book you are writing. Since I don't know that, I would have to suggest using social media. You can start a YouTube channel and talk with people on topics related to your book. I would suggest not mentioning the book at the beginning of your journey. Wait until you have at least 100k followers. While doing so, you can also write a blog and promote it on your channel, plus tweet & post on Instagram. I think that for one year you will be able to grow your platforms and be able to successfully promote your book. You might find this useful since it discusses tips on growing your social media following. Btw what area are you focusing on and what is the idea behind the book?

[Pete_C]

I would have to say that it depends on the genre of book you are writing. Since I don't know that, I would have to suggest using social media. You can start a YouTube channel and talk with people on topics related to your book. I would suggest not mentioning the book at the beginning of your journey. Wait until you have at least 100k followers. While doing so, you can also write a blog and promote it on your channel, plus tweet & post on Instagram. I think that for one year you will be able to grow your platforms and be able to successfully promote your book. You might find this useful since it discusses tips on growing your social media following. Btw what area are you focusing on and what is the idea behind the book?

I think many people would never get around to doing anything if they waited for a minimum of 100k followers!

The reality is that general social media activity will be pointless if you are looking for a specific number of followers. Most writers would benefit significantly more from 500 followers that are likely to buy a book in the given genre, and then go on to recommend it to others, than 100,000 general people.

People who read generally talk about books with other people who read. That 500 could seed a growing market.

Don't sweat numbers of followers; that's just vanity. Get good followers and you start to build an audience.

[Ralph Rotten]

Something to consider about twitter is that out of 100,000 followers, 92,000 are relatively inactive or not active at all. They are people who joined, played with it, maybe even used it heavily, but in the end they lost interest, moved to another app, got married, moved on, and their account sits there collecting virtual dust.

Most people spend a few years on a platform, but eventually they move to something else.

[LARivers]

When building a base you need to do a couple of things.

1. Be social - on and offline. People support relatable people. Not everyone is who you’re looking for, so who is it you need to know. Support them, comment, celebrate their wins, say happy birthday, basically get out there and make friends.

2. Document your process starting yesterday. One author I know posted his word count everyday he was writing his first draft and made “taco goals”, humor was his vehicle of building a supporting base. Use your personal strengths, highlight more of the positive aspects vs the struggle. 10/1 is good ratio.

3. If you have a character with a unique voice let them do the talking in social medua. Laurie R King did that highly effectively with her Mary R Russell character and was super fun to interact wuth on MySpace/Twitter.

4. BRAG - be excited