Why You Need Writer Friends

Many new writers are wary (and even scared) of forming friendships with other writers. Creativity comes from living life, ideas come from getting out of your comfort zone, exploring the world.  But even the most introverted individual needs fellow writers to talk to, better yet a close-knit network of writer friends.  Having wonderful, (but not writer) friends, family, and writing to keep you busy is fine, but having professional discussions with other writers is essential, und it would make the writing process a lot less fearful.
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Working in isolation might over time suck the life out of the writing, and you might hit a plateau. Having people you can trust and who understand the crazyness because they had endured it, too. Often writers really want to open up with someone about their writing failures and successes, but never having anyone to talk to. We need someone to tell us when our writing is good (and when it’s god awful terrible), someone to complain with, someone to pick us up when we feel like quitting.
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Writer Friends are Not Only for Socializing…
Becoming part of a small writers or critique group means:

• Writer friends know exactly what you are going through
• Writer friends will help you to improve your writing
• Writer friends will inspire you and teach you new things
• Writer friends will be your first readers and proofreaders/beta readers
• Writer friends will help you to promote your books

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Proofreaders/Beta Readers
Beta Readers are not your editor or proof reader and don’t expect them to do the grunt work. That’s your job. They can help to strengthen your story from the beginning. But they could spot a few flaws BEFORE you release the book. They might discover passive voice, accents, cliches, misspelling, typos.
Beta Reading might save you a lot of money if the editor is charging by the hour.  Beta Readers also help to polish your book before the first reviewer or readers get their hand on your book.
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Writer Friends are Helping to Promote Your Books
Building a platform, getting a follower-ship and being constantly present on social media are not a favored task by most writers. But with a little help from your friends…promoting each others books makes it much easier and not a chore anymore. Start with the basics and exchange this:

• Recommend your writer friend’s books regulrely at Goodreads. You will find the Goodreads page dedicated for this under “Browse” and then “Recommendations”.
• Recommend and share the books on all your social media accounts, as well as to your family and “real live friends.
• Share her or his blogs posts, and use the sharing buttons on each of the Amazon pages and on Goodreads for all books she/he wrote.
• Write guest blogs for each others blog or website, and help your writer friend to find book reviewers in your circles and online communities.

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Where to Find Writing Groups and Writer Friends

• Join writer communities at Wattpad, LibraryThings, Goodreads and Google+
• Meet-up groups are practically in every large town and city and offer critique groups and writers circles
• Find writer friends at workshops and conferences
• Social media sites usually have writer groups in your genre, such as LinkedIn, Google+ or Facebook

No excuses! There is no shortage on like-minded writers that are all looking for pals. Just say hello!
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Writers are usually really warm and willing to go out of their way to help each other. We’re all in this together, right?  Remember: you are in this for a long time – if writing is really what you like best in life. 

Read also: Why Authors Need Beta Readers
http://www.savvybookwriters.com/why-authors-need-beta-readers/

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How to Import Your Linkedin Contacts to Google+

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Import From Ireland (LinkedIn) to California (Google+):

In a recent blog post on SavvyBookWriters.com/blog we explained the possibility to connect all your Social Media accounts.  The task was to post or tweet more – in case you need this for a campaign to go viral.  Saving time on Social Media, allows you to interact more with your followers and readers.  But it also shows them where else they can connect with you.  You can import for example your LinkedIn Followers to Google+.  How this works?  Read more on our new blog site:

Our WordPress blog https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/ has moved to our web domain at: http://www.savvybookwriters.com/blog.

As we cannot transfer thousands of subscribers, so we will re-blog for a while.   If you want to get these valuable tips in the future, please sign up when the pop-up window shows up after 10 seconds on the new site, to make sure you won’t miss any articles.   THANKS

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How Much Traffic Get Your Website / Blog?

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Via: growtraffic.com

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Do you want to be on Google’s first page to be found easily by readers and also to improve your search engine optimization?  Using Google+ should be on your main effort on the list of activities! Make sure that your Google+ social network usage will help with your search rankings:

1. Priority is to get lots of followers, to make sure that your posts are read by as many people as possible and that they get a chance to go viral.
2. Link your Google+ page to your own website. Get more recommendations for your site in Google search and grow your audience on Google+.
3. Fill in the information for your profile and pages completely.  Google prioritizes different areas of the profile for both on-page optimization and in search results: the first 55 characters of your Introduction are important for search results within Google+.
4. Encourage +1′s. Do you have a +1 button (Google+ Sharing Button) on your website? The +1 button is Google’s much more powerful answer to the Facebook Like button.  The number of +1′s your page gets will show up in search results, even if a searcher is not logged into Google+.

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Last but not least:  
Create constantly quality content that readers want to share on Google+.  More tips in a fantastic, useful article by Mary Ellen Slayter: 20 Ways to Get More Website Traffic This Year (Ethically!)

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,130 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? There is also the “SHARE” button for easy sharing at Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook etc.

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The Best Reasons to Be on Google+

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Recently I typed in Google+ in order to explain something to a client and we were both thrilled to discover a 111Publishing.com article appearing on #3 at Google+ search.  The same happened with another clients’ post that appeared on #3 too, when I typed in the word “Amazon” on Google.   Wouldn’t you like a great ranking on Google’s Search engines too?  As more people find you there, as more exposure for you books and articles…  What else does it mean for your writing success?  Not only writing great posts and having lots of followers on Google+ and other Social Media sites, but also improve your SEO, especially your keywords, time of posting and current topics, among other facts.

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Why it is so Important to Be on Google’s Page 1:

• 75% of all Google Search Engine users never scroll past the first page of search results
• 60% of clicks go to the Top 3 of the search results
• 42% of all people on the Internet click on the top-ranked result and only 23% of them on ads

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Search Engine Optimization, short SEO, is not about tricks or manipulating algorithms.  It’s about understanding the online landscape and evolving to meet your customers where they are.  It is essential to establish and/or increase your web presence as a writer.Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
Source: http://www.y2m.ae/blog/the-importance-of-seo-an-infographic/

Sources:
http://www.hubspot.com
http://www.resolutionmedia.comragan.com
http://www.ragan.com
http://www.y2m.ae

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 179 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help:  http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-Book-PR.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 1,110+ of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

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How to Leverage Social Media

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Statistics have proven how important social media networks are for a business:

• 8 out of 10 internet users are reached by social media sites and blogs.
• 87% of small businesses claim that social media has helped their business.
• Marketers saw an increase of 74% in website traffic after devoting just 6 hours per week in social media.
• 85% of business-decision makers believe that at least having one social media channel is very important for technology purchase decisionsHowever, there’s much more to just creating a Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest account and expecting success to follow writes the Search-Engine-Journal. Understand which platforms work best for your brand and where your audience spends most of their time. Don’t forget Goodreads, where readers are searching actively for interesting books!

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Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

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More info about Social Media Networks and how to use them:

6 Social Media Sites that are Important for Writers
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/6-social-media-sites-essential-for-writers/

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Brands with great GooglePlus pages
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/10/18/10-brands-with-great-google-plus-pages/

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Social Media Facts 
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2014/01/17/20-social-media-facts-and-statistics-you-should-know-in-2014/

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How to Get More Followers
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/how-to-get-more-followers-on-your-social-media-sites/

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

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Social Media Obsession? Building Your Networks?

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Jeff Bullas, Marketing and Social Media Guru, explained in a recent post:
“Businesses who are relentless in building a following on social media are in fact creating their own publishing platforms, growing their marketing channels and content distribution networks. It is a digital asset that grows every year.”

This info-graphic shows very clear that Google+ is becoming by far the second most popular Social Media Network on the planet, and Google+  should be at the top of your list when it comes to digital marketing. Check out our blog post: 15 Top Reasons for Writers to Be on Google+
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Take Advantage of FREE PDF copies of What the Plus! Courtesy of Google. Please, share this link with as many people as possible. Get a copy http://goo.gl/eRy6z
Read also a short description: How to Get More Followers on Your Google+ Page

Source: The Growth of Social Media v2.0 [INFOGRAPHIC]
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Search Engine Journal wrote: “Social media has transitioned into an obsession and almost a way of life for online culture, changing the way we communicate with our colleagues, loved ones, and our favorite brands. As social media continues to grow in almost every market, the idea that social media is “just a fad” is no longer worth consideration as more and more demographics move toward utilizing social media on an every day basis.”

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $159 for three months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 970 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
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Why You Should Have a Print Book Too & POD

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Photo Credit: Alex Duret Lutz

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Paperbacks or Hardcover – to Sell More of Your Work?
Many successful authors will tell you exactly how to do start as a real publisher with their books and blogs – from Dan Poynter, Aaron Shephard to John Kremer, Joanna Penn and JoelFriedman. Author David Gaughran wrote in one of his blogs: Making Money from Paperbacks  ”I was really slow to see the potential in print, and it was probably the biggest mistake I made over the last years.”
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Why should you have a print book and not the digital version only? In a former blog post we listed lots of reasons for this:

• The majority of book buyers still chooses printed books at the moment (that will change)
• You can give out review copies to newspaper/magazine or book blog reviewers
• To be hosted at local media / TV interviewers who want to show a copy of your book
• To sell your book easier to libraries
• To participate in a Goodreads Giveaway –
• To sell your book to those who really don’t want an e-Reader or just love paper books
• If you write non-fiction it is almost a MUST to have it in print
• You have an ISBN number and can get listed with Bowker at WORLDWIDE bookstores
• Physical books are just nicer to give on Christmas – unless you put an e-book on a new e-Reader and wrap it
• To sell more e-books! Yes – because they seem to cost so much less in comparison…
• To list your book in more categories / genres on Amazon: per book type you are allowed to choose two categories / genres. Two print and two digital versions – which increases your books’ visibility and also shows you exactly in which genre you have the most success.
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During your pre-production phase you acquired already a bar code (for your print book) and an ISBN, the International Standard Book Number, a 13-digit number that uniquely identifies books published anywhere in the world. How to get one? Or better a block of ten, if you intend to write more books. BTW, the price of a block of ten is the same as buying only two ISBN’s.

Good news for authors in Canada: ISBN are free for Canadian citizens, publishing a book in Canada – no matter were it is sold. But that’s not the only benefit for the publishing industry in this country.
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Selling your e-book on Amazon doesn’t necessarily require an ISBN, you will get automatically an ASIN, Amazon’s identifier. Other retailers may require an ISBN, such as Kobo URL for example.
ISBN numbers are assigned by a group of agencies worldwide coordinated by the International ISBN Agency in London, England.  In the United States, ISBN’s are assigned by the U.S. ISBN Agency: R.R. Bowker is the independent agent in the US for this system. You can apply for an ISBN online. On average it takes about two weeks for ISBN’s to be assigned. Getting your own ISBN is very important, as the initial purchaser of this number is considered officially as the publisher. Don’t fall for “free” ISBN and don’t purchase it from other sources than the official organizations.
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Plan and Calculate Printing Carefully
Unless you have hundreds or even thousands of paperback orders, it doesn’t make sense to have your book printed the traditional way. Book printers expect a run of at least five thousand books to give you a reasonable price per book. Avoid to be one of these authors who have a garage full of books and no idea how to sell them ever. Get your distribution channels (more about this in one of the next blogs) first and then order your printing.
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For Small Print Runs Consider “Print On Demand”
CreateSpace and Lightning Source are recommendable POD’s who offer small print quantities and are distributing your book to wholesale and retailers. They have changed the book publishing landscape considerably. The issue of discounts and returns (the banes in book selling) are one of the primary reasons you might use them. Getting into Lightning Source (LSI) requires you have at least three books for sale. If you have only one book, you can band together with other authors, however, one of you has to be the official publisher. You can get your book into Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com with only a 20% discount, and you avoid accepting returns.
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Use BOTH POD Services for Best Results
Printing through Lightning Source is the least expensive way to get your book into Amazon.com. If you get into Amazon via a distributor or the Amazon Advantage program, you’ll pay a slightly higher discount. Lightning Source is owned by Ingram, so when you sign up with LSI and pay $12 per year (per title), you get your book into Ingram’s large distribution network.
The benefit of CreateSpace: it’s owned by Amazon and your book will always show as available on Amazon’s website. However you can go with both to get full advantages and broader distribution of your book.
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For Just a Few Copies Use “Espresso Book Machine”
If you don’t want to have print books, but would like to have a book signing or your grandma wants a copy of your book in paper, use either a print shop that offers digital printing or any of these Espresso Book Machines that are sprouting up in large cities. You certainly can order it online from them and get it shipped. Their prices are a bit higher, but if you need a bunch of books “yesterday” then it is a good option. Locations can be found at their North America Map.
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Traditional Book Printing
Finding a cost effective Book Printer who wants to deal with a small publisher requires a bit of a search. Most printers can print books but few printers are professional book printers. There are only about 50,000 printers in North America and only a handful of them are book printers. Few book printers want to work with the first time publisher. Get referrals from other writers, check out books in your library that often shows the name of the printer or ask at writer seminars others about their experiences with printers. Don’t just order it from the first book printer you cross, get at least ten quotes for printing & binding prices, including shipping costs and references to have enough points to compare. Then ask those printers to give you titles of books they printed, and even maybe contact the independent authors, who dealt with the printer. A Google search or the Better Business Bureau regarding the printers reputation might be helpful too. Sample printing calculations can be found here:http://www.selfpublishing.com/

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TIP: Expect at least about 2-3 weeks in average including freight, but this depends heavily on your printer’s schedule – The earlier you book, the less time you need to budget. Add at least ten days as a safety margin for unforeseen’s, such as lost freight, weather disasters, machine breakdowns and other delays. A great source for detailed information about the printing process and explanations of trade-specific “slang” can be found at http://www.creativemindspress.com/printing.htm

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Use the Print Time to Spruce Up Your Marketing Efforts:

• Plan and advertise the book launch (FREE on Google+ and Goodreads)
• Start a Goodreads Giveaway (1-3 copies)
• Get as many pre-order for your book as possible
• Increase Social Media efforts and sign up with even more reader forums
• Spruce up your web page and write lots of blogs
• Prepare news / press releases
• Schedule interviews and book signings
• Use Google+, Flickr, Pinterest etc. to show your new books’ cover image

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The book release date is not the end of your book journey, but the beginning. Your book should have an active life span of at least 2-5 years, and much longer for an e-book, as it is a living document and can be revised to a new version any time. You now have almost a full-time job of being an author, and should continue to perform all of the marketing activities in a smart way. Use the content of your book to write articles – maybe even get paid for it.
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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 930 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
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http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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7 Top Reasons for Writers to Be on Goodreads

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How Can Goodreads Help Your Book Take-Off?
Goodreads is a kind of Facebook / Google+ for people who love to read books. A free website for book lovers. Bookshelves, reviews, ratings, reader communities, author pages, book giveaways  … all this is Goodreads. There is more offered on their website: join a discussion group, or start a book club, contact an author, and even post your own writing. More tips about the benefits of joining Goodreads and how you can use Goodreads to promote your blog.
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1. Goodreads Author Program
Use it to promote yourself and your books. What is the Goodreads Author Program? It is a
completely free feature designed to help authors reach their target audience — passionate
readers. This is the perfect place for new and established authors, to promote their books. What
Can You Do as a Goodreads Author?

a) Show Your Author Profile

• Add a picture and bio.
• Share your list of favorite books and recent reads with your fans!
• Write a blog and generate a band of followers.
• Publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and speaking engagements.
• Share book excerpts and other writing.
• Write a quiz about your book or a related topic.
• Post videos. Add the Goodreads Author widget to to your personal website or blog to show off reviews of your books.

b) Promote Your Books

• Sign up to advertise your book to up to the Goodreads Community—16,000,000 readers!
• List a book giveaway to generate pre-launch buzz.
• Lead a Q&A discussion group for readers.
• Participate in discussions on your profile, in groups and in the discussion forums for your books.

How do I join and who can join is explained in detail in one of our former blog posts about Goodreads.
The Author Program is designed for people with published books, or who are just in the process of
publishing a book. It’s best if your work is on a bookseller’s website, such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble, but Goodreads will accept any author who has published a book. This includes authors from
other countries as well as authors who are self-published. If your book is self-published and is not yet in the Goodreads database, you may manually add it.

How To Use the Author Program
Learn more about how to promote your books with special tools on Goodreads. Each slideshow
demonstrates a different aspect of our Author Program.
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2. Reader and Writer Forums
Did you realize how many writer forums and groups are on Goodreads? Just go to the top of each page and click on Groups. A new page opens and shows “Recently Active Groups”, “Featured Groups”, “Goodreads Author Groups” etc. and one the right hand site of the page “Browse by Tag”. This is were all the groups are listed by over 1,000 keywords. For sample:

• Book Club
• Historical Fictionistas
• Non-Fiction
• Young Adult Book Groups
• Suspense
• Super-Natural
• The Perks Of Being A Book Addict
• Womankind Worldwide Book Group

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As you can see, when you scroll down on the right hand site, there are ten-thousands of groups!!!
Books & Literature (26598) Business (1393) Entertainment & Arts (2222) Friends & Common
Interest (6914) Geography (490) Goodreads Authors (2535) Just for Fun (22709) Organizations
(3365) Student Groups (6129)
There is even a group that encourages Author-Publishers (Indies) to promote their books – a rarity
at Goodreads, were obvious self-promotion is not well received otherwise. These groups are a hidden gem to meet readers and reviewers. Almost all are public groups. Anyone can join and invite others to join. However, it’s not a place to blatantly tout your books, with the exception I just mentioned. ”Authors are welcomed and Goodreads supports authors in many ways, but the groups are primarily geared towards readers. Authors should join and participate in the group as a reader first.” Once you are known in these forums, your author site and your books will automatically be read – and often reviewed.

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3. Get and Give Reviews
When I was talking recently with an author, who desperately wanted more reviews. When I asked him how many reviews he has written in the last year, he stumbled … and said: “well, NONE so far”. Shall I say more? Don’t forget: To be a Goodreads member and to benefit, especially from reviews, requires that you are a bit more active on this site, for sample in shelving books of other writers, in participating from time to time in forums, read books and review them. How could someone expect to receive reviews if they are not writing some for others? Be a good pal in this book community!
From a Goodreads statement: “Books with no written reviews are added, on average, by 7 people, while books with just five written reviews are added by more than 40 people.”

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4. Friends Can Recommend Your Book
And you can recommend books from your writer friends? To send out a book recommendation, go to the book’s page and click on the “recommend it” link at the top right side of the page. A new site appears with three possibilities: “friends” “manual” “facebook“.

Under the icon “friends” your Goodreads friends are listed and you click next to the name to whom
you want to send your book recommendation. Enter under “manual” single email addresses of readers that are not yet on Goodreads. The “Facebook” icon lists your FB friends, who are not yet members of Goodreads to recommend the book to.
Click on “My Books” in the top navigation menu and add away! You can add books into read, currently reading, to read categories or edit your bookshelf to add your own categories. Once you read them, write a review!  Many authors who’s books you recommended will return this favor to you.

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5. Share This Book
Another hidden gem on your Goodreads page, that your visitors, readers and friends can use in order to promote your books: “Share This Book“.  Did you realize that everyone of your Goodreads book’s pages has share buttons to submit your book to Google+, Pinterest, Twitter and to their Facebook page, even “like” it on Facebook?  Go to the right hand side of your books page and scroll down, until you see the button: “Share This Book”
There is another possibility to spread the word about your book:  Next to these Social Media icons are two unassuming words: Your Website. When you click on it, a window appears with some code that one can be easily copy and paste onto their blog or website and will show an image of your book and a link.  Another way to spread the work about your book! Let your friends ping to Google+ and FB
On the left lower corner of Goodreads are icons to these two websites to which your friends can send your image, books name and a link for your book – as well as a comment, such as “must read”, “great book” or “you will love it”.
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6. Advertise Your Events for FREE
Goodreads encourages you to publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and speaking engagements. This is a feature, similar to the one which is offered on Google+  –  see our blog
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/announce-your-book-signing-on-google-for-free/. Start about 3 weeks before your book launch with your event announcement. Use Goodreads’ event listing form to start the process. It has an RVSP feature and people can state if they are “coming”.
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7. Give Away Copies of Your Print Book.
It makes sense to give away books – if your goal is to get reviews. More than 50% of giveaway winners review the books they win, so the more books you offer, the more reviews you are likely to get. Run your giveaway for two weeks to a month. Goodreads says, “Giveaways less than two weeks run the risk of not getting enough entries, while a four-week giveaway will generate more entries.

Goodreads recommends even two giveaways: one about three months before publication to build pre-release buzz and reviews, and a second to increase awareness when your book hits the stores. Both will result in a lot of people adding your book to their to-read shelves – visible for all their friends.” Read more about Goodreads Giveaway rules in a former blog post.

 

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 900 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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15 Top Reasons for Writers to Be on Google+

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Let your book’s success take off

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Once more about Google+ : Google is by far the most popular search engine on the planet, and Google+  should be at the top of your list when it comes to digital marketing.  “How to Make Use of Google+ as an Author” was the title of yesterday’s blog post, with several links to other posts about Google+ advantages and displaying an info-graphic with 56!!! REASONS why it makes sense to be on the 2nd largest network in the world why it is worth to be on Google+ and get top Google search engine rankings –  And still, I found a comment from a reader of this blog:
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“Is Google+ worth it?”
This question made me wonder … as I had the impression, the comment-er had only read the headline, and not the 56 reasons, nor the links I provided in my post. The question could also have been: “Is is worth to promote my book?”
So here, once more, a short version of some of the Google+ benefits:
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Short answer: YES, it is worth to be on Google+

• IF you find your book worth promoting …
• IF you want to be high on Google’s ranking in the search engines (SEO) and get more readers.
• IF you want to be on the 2nd largest network in the world.
• IF you want to post your events, such as a book launch, for FREE.
• IF you want to show your books cover & description several times a day to an unlimited number of readers.
• IF you use your book’s keywords in short descriptions at your Google+ posts to get much better search engine rankings.
• IF you want to post your book on dozens of Google+ reader’s communities.
• IF you want to get higher rankings on Google for your WordPress blog or website.
• IF you want to have an extra site on Google for each of your books – up to 50!
• IF you want to introduce your book trailer to a huge audience.
• IF you do NOT want to have restrictions, such as on Facebook (only have “friends you know”).
• IF you are inviting thousands of people to your Google+ sites (can be done with only a couple of clicks. How? Just read the FREE book, mentioned below.
• IF you want your message to go to an unlimited amount of people – on Facebook it goes only to fewer than 200 people – unless you pay!
• IF you want to use a Google+ social sharing button, to invite readers to circulate your post.
• IF you share other peoples articles on Google+, it creates a link back to your site. And being Google, sharing on their social network will get YOUR content indexed almost immediately, and pushes you up the rankings on Google’s search listing.
• IF you value this: a Google+ account allows you to claim authorship of your original post. This keeps your content accredited to you, in case content thieves scrape your work.

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OK, enough said … happy PLUS googling … Here are more professional marketing tips to help you gaining lots of success with your books.

Amazing Correlation Between Google +1s and Higher Search Rankings
6 Beginner Tips for Google Plus Marketing
5 Tools to Grow Your Presence on Google Plus
Grow Your Google Plus Business Page with the Power of Sharing
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Take Advantage of FREE PDF copies of What the Plus! Courtesy of Google. Please, share this post with as many people as possible. Get a copy http://goo.gl/eRy6z  Read also a short description: How to Get More Followers on Your Google+ Page
Don’t miss to learn about the 10 top mistakes on Google+  

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+
http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

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TEST: Do You Know Your Goodreads Page?

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Another hidden gem on your Goodreads page, that your visitors, readers and friends can use to promote your books: “Share This Book“.  Did you realize that everyone of your Goodreads book’s pages has a share button to submit your book to Google+, Pinterest, Twitter and to their Facebook page, even like it on Facebook?  Go to the right hand side of your books page and scroll down, until you see the button:
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Share This Book

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Pin it!

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With one click on each of these icons you can put it on Pinterest, Twitter or Google+, as well as on Facebook – and even LIKE it on FB!  Every visitor to your Goodreads books’ page can spread the word about it on Social Media sites.  Ask all your fans and writer fans to share your book – and go to their Goodreads book pages for the same.
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There is another possibility to spread the word about your book:  Next to these Social Media icons are two unassuming words: Your Website. When you click on it, a window appears with some code that one can be easily copy and paste onto their blog or website and will show an image of your book and a link.  Another way to spread the work about your book!

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Share This Book on Your Website

title link	preview: The Sea of Tranquility
avg rating	preview: The Sea of Tranquility Goodreads rating: 4.55 (16521 ratings)
small image	preview: click here
med image	preview: click here
BBCode

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Watch a brief SlideShare presentation with links at the end to help get you started promoting your books and using the program!
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For more tips how to utilize your Goodreads page and how to use Goodreads to promote yourself and your books, go to http://www.goodreads.com/author/program

Why not arrange a fun afternoon with your writer friends, promote your Gooodreads pages and exchange these book sharing tasks – You pin / google+ / tweet / like their books – and they are doing the same with yours. (while having a coffee or sipping champagne : )
A fun way to promote each others books!

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Read more how you can make the most out of your Goodreads page in these articles:

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/how-to-create-buzz-for-your-upcoming-book-on-goodreads/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/top-benefits-of-goodreads-author-program/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/how-to-add-friends-readers-on-goodreads/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/7-great-features-for-authors-on-goodreads/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/million-dollar-question-how-to-get-book-reviews/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/how-can-you-use-goodreads-to-promote-your-books/

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 810 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Remember the Time Before Social Media?

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Even your grandmother is now on Social Media. Do you remember the time before Facebook, Twitter and Google+?  See the steep curve of the user growth rate in all age ranges and demographics, and the continuing pervasiveness of social networking into every facet of work, play and life in general.

Social Media Facts – did you know:

• 53% of all employers research potential job candidates on Social Media?
• 80% of companies use Social Media for Recruitment?
• 43% of companies used blogs in 2012 and growing?
• 33% of companies use YouTube videos for marketing?
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Readers are making book purchasing decisions every day based on social media interactions.  Social platforms are a way to connect with your readers. Use it and be social!

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Source: The Growth of Social Media: An Infographic
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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 730 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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6 Social Media Sites, Essential for Writers

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Going through my list of tweets for the day, I paused at this one:
1. Why engage in yet another social media when I am already on Twitter, Pinterest & Facebook ?
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It reminded me of other statements from new writers, I hear on a daily basis:
2. None of my friends is on Google+ …
3. I have a website, why should I additionally have a blog?
4. Writing my book, I don’t have time for all these Social Media…

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Answer for question 1 and 2 – Google+
This says it all: Google+ = Google, the famous Search Engine… You don’t join Google+ to meet your friends and family as you do on Facebook!  You join to improve your Search Engine Ranking: As the main search engine, Google indexes and ranks its own site much higher than any other content. Google+ posts – with a main keyword in the first sentence / title – will rank well in Google search and often show up on the first page, for a long time.  And now Google+ outranks Twitter as no. 2 social network, having more active users than Twitter!

On Google+ authors can create a separate page for each of their books. You have immense space to show images, such as your books cover, even if it has 36 MB and you can show your book as often as you want. More reasons to be on Google+ can be found in a former article: “7 Reasons Why Google+ is Perfect for Writers”

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Answer to question 3 – Why should I have a blog?
Your website is something very static. You usually don’t do many changes or new content writing. A blog – either on your website – which would increase SEO – or on WordPress or BlogSpot is adding constantly new content. This means search engines index your blog site higher.
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Writing is fun – why else would you have written this novel!  As a writer, it is only a matter of minutes to write a blog post.  And you don’t need much fantasy to come up with topics. You can write about, well, writing, your writers life, the publishing process, what you have learned about marketing your book… the subjects you can write about are endless.

An important reason for a blog is that you can use snippets from the content to fill your social media sites. For sample: use one sentence and a link to your blog and post it as a tweet.  Readers see your post and click on your blog or website – and voila! they learn about your book. Here are two samples from the blog page you are just reading:

Author of “The Wolf’s Moon” Patrick Jones, in an Interview, talking about the characters in his book http://wp.me/p1uIFg-1il

9 Compelling Reasons to Get Marketing Help, Boosting Your Books Success
bit.ly/X3rwul
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Readers and fans have a reason to come back to your blog, as often as you write a new post, and will re-tweet your blogs and spread the message about your book. Plug-ins and share buttons automatically send your blog posts to all your social media sites.
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Answer to statement 4:
What you are just reading here, was automatically send to Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Stumbleupon, Tumblr, Reddit, Triberr, Yahoo and Goodreads – at the same moment I hit the “publish” button! I don’t need to go to all these sites to fill them with content. What more could you wish for? Writing one blog post, it can be as short as 300 – 500 words an it will be found all over the internet! You certainly can add more Social Media sites to your blogs sharing button, to spread the word even more.

Your post is yet sent more often among Social Media sites:

• Google+ can send your post automatically to Facebook and Twitter, I wrote in December how authors can set up this function. 
• Twitter gets feeds from Google+ and Pinterest, among others
• Facebook for sample gets feeds from Pinterest and Goodreads and your blog
• Pinterest feeds Twitter and Facebook

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SUMMARY: To have maximum exposure for your book and you, as an author, and to save lots of time, join: 

• Google+
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Write a blog.

How to get more followers on your social media sites is explained in one of last months’ blogs, and also at How to Get More Followers on Google+
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Be very selective when choosing followers:
You want READERS and REVIEWERS as followers. NOT your friends. Type into the search functions on top of these pages: readers, book lovers, book worms, reading, love to read etc. to find the right people as your following.
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One last tip: Set up a second page on Google+, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – only for your book. Separate it from your existing private presence.
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Part of our Book Marketing package we offer, is dedicated to help you to create or improve your reader community platform, such as:

• create an attractive media presence
• increase the amount of followers
• learn how to connect all these sites 
• and how to save time on Social Media

Find out how else we can help you to have more success  for your books and more fun in marketing.

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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Happy Valentine’s Day

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Happy Valentine’s Day

These Valentine’s greetings are for our thousands and thousands of followers and readers on our blogs, especially on https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com, and on Twitter, Google+, Chime.in, Facebook, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, FavStar, Goodreads and on http://www.111Publishing.com.

We wish you all a wonderful and relaxing Valentine’s Day.  Spoil the writer in your life with a gift that saves time – more time to write.  See yesterdays post …

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How to Get More Followers on Your Google+ Page

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Google+ or Google Plus, no matter how you write it, is an author’s best friend. Why? Here are just a couple of reasons to join for the ones that are not already on Google Plus, more in an article from September 2011 “7 Reasons to be on Google+“:

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Search Engine Ranking:  As the main search engine Google indexes and ranks its own site much higher than any other content. Google+ posts are easily indexed by Google search, and unlike tweets or Facebook posts, are treated much like regular web pages. That means a well-constructed G+ post – with a main keyword in the first sentence / title and a good amount of engagement – can rank well in Google search and stay ranked for a long time.
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Google+ helps in building your author rank content, and your author reputation will be determined by your Google+ activity, e.g. how many +1’s (Likes or re-tweets) you receive and in how many circles you are.
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An important step in claiming authorship is to link from your blog to your Google+ profile and linking back from Google+ to your blog.
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On Google+ authors can create a separate page for each of their books. You have immense space to show images, such as your books cover, even if it has 36 MB, which I just tried out. And you can show images as often as you want during the day. Important tip: Always add the image of your book cover first, and once it shows up, add text and link to Amazon, B&N etc. If you start with the link, only the ugly generic icon from Amazon appears, not showing your cover at all.
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On Google+ you can publish your press releases, blogs, testimonials, case studies and news. The difference with Google+ is that your content, if found, will be listed at the top of Google personal results mixed in with traditional search results.
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Google+ works with “circles”, which will enable you to “separate” your readers from your private followers or to divide genres in which you write, for sample romance from children’s book readers. Each of your posts can get different audiences.
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Another great feature are the “Hangouts”, which can be “used for interviews, small-group Webinars, question and answer sessions etc.
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Then there is the Event-Planner where book launches and book signings can be announced, including a map where the event takes place. This way an author in Melbourne, Australia can invite people to her book signing or a book launch party in New Orleans can be brought to the attention of readers. URL

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Set up the automatic function of transferring your Google+ posts to Twitter, as described in a blog last month.
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Don’t forget to be “social” and comment and +plus other peoples content. It is called social network, not advertising board, so engage a bit with others and appreciate their posts, it is a two-way lane after all…
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How can you get lots of followers on your Google+ presence?

• First of all your Google+ page needs to be attractive for visitors: Spend some time optimizing your Google+ page and building it up with content and posts before you start promoting your presence.
• Use lots of images, get links to free images at former blog posts, where we listed free photo sites.
• Announce your Google+ page on your other social media sites.
  If people are following you on social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter, they already find value in the content you are sharing.
• Write a blog post about your new Google+ Page,
  what you’ll be sharing there, and why your blog readers should want to follow you.
• Include a Google+ Badge on your blog or website.
  Link your Google+ page to your site. Get more recommendations for your site in Google search and grow your audience on Google+. Just go to Google developers and copy / paste the code there into your website code (choose between an icon, or a small or standard badge).

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Now you can invite people into your circles:

1. Use the icon on the left side of your Google+ page, from there go to “find people” around reader keywords: (type them into the search function on top of your page) book lovers – book worms – reading – books – reads – literature – e-books – Kindle books – publishing – novels etc. and add interesting people to your circles. Try to find readers, not writers and build your own circles.
2. Visit other Google+ circles to find like-minded “Googler’s”
3. Transfer your Gmail account contacts and add them to your circles

Bill Hartzer gives these tips in a great post:

– Follow people and add them to a Circle.
– Wait a period of time and see if they follow you back.
– If they aren’t active and they haven’t followed you back, then consider removing them from your Circles.
The timing of all of this (adding people to Circles, waiting for them to follow you back, removing them from Circles, etc.) is really up to you–I recommend keeping it to about 250 people a day, although there are some limits on Google+:

– You can only follow 5000 people at any one time.
– There is NO limit to the number of people who can follow you.
– There is a limit to adding people to circles, which is 1000 per day.

Read his very useful post with lots of screen shots.

A great help in establishing your Google+ presence is Guy Kawasaki’s e-book (only 99cents) “What the Plus” – which we already described in a former blog post.
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Google+, which was only officially launched in June 2011, has now already more than 400 million registered users, and more than 135 million active users and is rapidly growing. Compare it with Twitter which has only 500 million total users after almost seven years, and more than 200 million active users. Let us know about YOUR Google+ presence and we will add you into our circles. Find our brand new publishing page http://bit.ly/VmtVAS which we just launched, beside the other page, that has around 2,000 followers and 4,600 following (no time to un-follow : )

Google+ is just like any other social network. In order to be social, you need to have friends. You need other people on your social network to interact with, people who are active members of that social network. If they don’t log in on a regular basis and keep their profile active, they can’t interact with you.

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 600 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris

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How to Communicate With Your (Future) Readers

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Even if most of your readers purchase books or e-books at Amazon or in bookstores – who don’t reveal book buyers names or email addresses – you can still communicate with them through social media and later often directly.
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First listen to your readers / customers
Why listen to what your customers have to say? It’s free feedback from the people who matter most to your book business. If you go shopping and a sales associate doesn’t listen to you, rather bombards you with sales pitches, you get annoyed. Same in online book marketing. Listening and asking questions is an important part.  What do your readers want? What are they interest in? Ask them to provide feedback. Are you able to ask or to read between the lines? Google+ FB, Twitter and your blog’s commenters will reveal a wealth of information, keeping an eye on social media channels is a great way for any business to watch for trends.

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Monitor Social Media for your ideal readers
You don’t need any expensive software or services to do so. Twitter and also Google+ offer their own search tools, which allows you to search for any keyword, phrase, handle or hashtag. Facebook will show you anyone who “likes” or mentions your books page or profile in a status update. Same with Goodreads.

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Meet your readers online
After listening to your readers you then are ready to start communicating in real time with messaging systems that they are comfortable with, whether that be Twitter, Facebook or email. If you want to continue to have a relationship, you need to provide from time to time something of value to them. In order to get feedback readers must be able to communicate easily with you. Provide them with several ways to reach you – and also with your name. K.L or V.G. instead of your real (or pen) first name are very odd. How can a reader choose a salutation?  Dear K.L. ?

Scan any Twitter or FB streams, and you will see it over and over again: writers asking people to support their book, to share and promote it. Some will even write simply “Buy my book,” over and over again and wonder why nobody does. They are forgetting to add any kind of value for their readers.

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Send valuable content for free
Apart from useful tips and responding to your readers, give them some free content, such as certain chapters of your book or a short, free story. It gets shared, however, it does not mean that you give everything away – but enough to build trust and spread your content to the global online book readers community. When you then publish a new book they will buy it because they know you and love your writing. Write original articles or short stories, repurpose blog posts, send links to helpful articles written by others. Encourage your readers to subscribe to your mailing list and send out an update several times per year.

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Make it interesting
Provide content in a variety of media, not just in plain text. Find out what type of media your audience wants. Your readers are used to images, videos, podcasts, webinars, book trailers, pdf… not only to reading e-books or receiving plain email text.
Website and social media updates: let your customers know when you have improved your website or are launching on social media such as a FB Fan Page, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube or Twitter profile.
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Offer to write guest posts on blogs of your readers.
Don’t forget: It is cheaper to keep a customer (who spreads the word about your book) than it is to find a new one, and the best way to keep them is through regular, quality communication.
Follow and re-tweet other writers in your niche so that when you tweet, they will re-tweet your content to their followers who will have similar interests. FB-marketing can target interests and geography. Remember that social marketing involves passion and if you are passionate and motivated about your book, it will show, and will be shared.
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Find some inspiration at Publetariat’s article about “Reader Centered Book Marketing” too:
It starts with: “Some authors think that readers will appear out of thin air, throwing dollars at them mere seconds after their book is published. Others see book marketing as some sort of unnecessary burden. And yet others appear to have given up altogether, sadly begging for book purchases on Facebook or Twitter. Don’t let that be you!”

If you’re enthusiastic, confident and passionate about your work, you can expect to jazz up readers. Give more than you take – it will come back.

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 600 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris

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