Get 10,000 Readers

Cautionary Note: This post is filled with snark and bitchiness. If you take such things personally and think I'm actually speaking directly to you and my intent is to hurt your feelings, then stop reading and go on to something else more interesting. 'Cause I seriously don't care if I piss you off.

I think this post rant has been long overdue. Let's begin with a list of things you should not, as an author, do on Facebook (FB).

Terms we'll use today:

Profile - your personal FB "page" with a wall and/or the new Timeline setup.
Page - your business page on FB, most likely your author Page.

Here are some spankable offenses, in no particular order:

• Do not "friend" a peer and immediately pitch your book to them on their profile wall with a link to your Amazon buy page or your website. Here's a clue -- If I don't know you, I don't care about your book. 

And hey, if you're doing this to honest-to-god readers who have graciously accepted your friend request and it actually works to earn you a sale I'd be shocked. This behavior is downright rude and smacks of self-centeredness. Stop it now or I will un-friend your ignorant ass in a heart beat.

My bestselling novel is up for free for the next three days on Amazon only. Would you all consider sharing the link on your wall? If I post it only people that stop by will see it, and plus, it's kind of rude to do that without asking first. ;-) Just stop by my FB Page (click on my name) and you could share the recent update if you were so inclined. Thanks!

If they respond and post it for you, you damn well better thank them or they will never want to help you out again. Example:

Thank you so much for listing my ebook! With your help, it has been downloaded by over XX readers so far. Really appreciate you sharing it with your followers!

Kids had the day off from school yesterday and it messed up my writing and blogging mojo -- sorry for the delay.

I had a request last week to go more in depth on static pages for business pages and I will -- I'll air it with an Author's Dos and Don'ts list for Facebook before Friday, so check back to see it.

This tutorial covers how to invite Contacts, set a username, set page default to All posts, deleting blog posts in Networked Blogs, install some static pages (like Contact me) and rename them, but it doesn't go as in depth as some of you might need. I recorded it before the request was made last week, so the ones I'll post next will show you some step by step guidance on creating a "like gate" welcome page.



As a little experiment, let's see how many of you are on Facebook and wouldn't mind supporting GTR and get some daily tips for authors:

http://www.facebook.com/get10000readers

Go on, give it a click. You know you want to. Oh, and you'll get to see the new like gate page I installed and will air the tutorial for in my next post.

~ C.J.

Hey, everyone! We're back and I've got more video tutorials for you.

I'll be doing a series of these for people to learn the basics of how to set up an author Page and how to use all of the FB functionality to better gain you exposure and readers. If you already have the basics down pat, skim what the topics covered in each one are before wasting time watching them.

The first one covers how to upload a "profile" picture for your Author Page and use the pictures above your Page's wall as an effective "banner".



The second video covers adding Apps to your Page like YouTube and Static HTML Pages, editing the Tab name for these applications, Info/Links on Banner Images, and inviting FB friends to "like" your Page.



On Wednesday I'll be posting a third video on uploading contacts, setting a username to your page, making sure your Page shows all posts and not just your own, how to delete posts imported via the NetworkedBlog app, and how to insert a ContactMe Tab.

If you have a specific question or topic you'd like me to cover in these intro videos, please let me know in a comment below. I may not sound the best in these videos, but I've found the time it takes me to show you what to do via video capture software is a heck of a lot faster than writing coherent instructions out step-by-step. Who knew?

As the weeks progress the information covered will gradually increases in difficulty, so if the topics I'm covering now you already know well, please feel free to stop back at a later date and see what we're covering then.

Wishing you all well on your quest to reach more readers,
~ C.J.

Monday's post talked about FB and why you need an author Page. Today I'll show you some dos and don'ts.

Ahh… here it is… my first attempt at a tutorial. I ramble a bit while doing the multiple comparisons, but hey, we all have to start somewhere, right?

Next video will be on building the Get 10,000 Readers Facebook Page. Never a dull moment here on GTR -- enjoy!

Welcome back, everyone. Last week's post was more of a run down on where NOT to find readers, and the week before was dedicated to why you might want to listen to the crap… er… uh… advice I post here.

I've slowly been getting my feet wet with Twitter, but I still find the best place to met real readers is Facebook (FB). Facebook's culture is all encompassing. I rarely meet people connected through girl or boy scouts, our kids' school, neighbors, or my local book club on Twitter, but almost every single one of them is on Facebook.

The inflated numbers I see on Twitter are due to one simple fact: these people are on BOTH social networks. Many will prefer one over the other, but I'm betting most Twitter users are also on FB.

You may be one of a large group who were angry at Facebook's privacy issues a while back, or their use of your photos in targeted ads (which I believe also stopped), but first and foremost, most issues grew from users' ignornace of how to use Facebook properly.

There is so much to cover on Facebook regarding authors and building a following that I will try my best to cover things in a linear fashion. First -- do you have an author Page or are you using your Profile? Do you understand there is a difference? There is, so let me begin with some FB jargon.

Terms we will use today:

Profile: referring to your FB personal profile
Page: referring to your FB business page
Apps: Free and paid applications you can use on your Page (NOT Farmville ;-)
Tab: the little icons that show up under a Page's "profile" picture (to the left), and represent different static pages a user can access on your Page

It's simple to create a business Page and everyone who is taking their career seriously should do it.

"I have a pen name."

Facebook used to be real sticklers about pen name Profiles a few years back. I'm not sure what their policies are now. If you didn't use a real name you ran the risk of FB deleting your account with no notice whatsoever. I'd met writers who were coming over from MySpace at the time and had lost 2k "friends" because their pen name wasn't a real person.

With that in mind, I launched my business Page back in April 2009, when most of the functionality was extremely limited, and I mean extremely. For example, you couldn't even comment under a post -- if you wanted to thank someone for posting you had to send them a message.  A direct message which inconveniently used my real name from my real profile and was not from the business page. It was a mess and led me to create a FB Profile with my legally registered pen name -- worried the whole time FB might delete it for being "fake".

"Why go through all this? I like interacting with folk on my profile. It's easier and I know how to use it."

Let's start off with some whys and then I'll list some hows:

1. Facebook caps you at 5k "friends" right now. Which may not seem like a possibility, but it will be some day.
2. FB has implemented a new subscriber feature for Profiles, which is great, but it still isn't the same because Profiles have limited functionality for diverse user interactions (meaning Tabs and Apps).
3. Profiles require a lot more security settings to master. With a Page, everything is public so it's easier to understand what you should and should not post.
4. Use your Profile for your work and personal interactions (meaning family, friends, dedicated readers and peers) and understand that your Page is your public face.
5. Pages allow more dynamic engagement from an interested person through available FB applications without them having to become "friends" with you (and yes, some real people don't want lots of "friends" they don't actually know).

Thanks so much for the tweets, the FB comments, and the blog comments on this new venture. I've been excited for a while to cover this topic, but I've always felt overwhelmed on exactly where to start.

Disclaimer: Everything is these posts is my opinion based on my own experiences and observations. You may discover something different when you try an avenue -- as in life, we will each have different journeys, even while on the same path.

If you're new and would like to read why I'm doing this or who in the hell I think I am to give advice to anybody, please read last week's post.

Let's start off with places I have spent a lot of time time around the Internet the past three years and whether or not I felt they were worth the hours I poured in. I'll rate them on a one to ten scale of effectiveness. Worst being posted first:




Authonomy.com: A site where you post your work and get votes from within the community to move you work up to the possible eyes of a Harper Collins editor. Huge time suck and a lot of writers competing for spots, not many actual readers that I could see.

I spent a little over a month trying to get involved and realized soon that even if I got some honest advice and feedback on my work, it was not worth the effort or time. There is a rumor that editors lurk from other publishing houses and might contact you. I can vouch this is true. I did have the COO of the largest erotica publisher in the nation contact me through my seven chapter excerpt up for public viewing on Authonomy.

Site rating for building a reader base: 4.5 (mainly because of the email I got from that COO)




Writing.com: A site that is so large you need a mentor to show you around and explain how things work. Which I did. I made some excellent connections with other writers, received some horrible feedback from people who can barely type in text speak, and got some honest-to-goodness real feedback that helped improve my work.

Once I realized this wasn't the best spot to find deep critiques, I started to use it as a beta reader service. I spent a little bit of money and got eyes on my work and honest (albeit occasionally scathing) comments by awarding "gift points" to reviewers.

When my book was actually published and up for sale, some of these reviewers took the time to go off of the site and post reviews for me on Amazon, B&N, and Goodreads in exchange for letting them read my whole polished MS for free. I made some terrific connections on the site and even though I'm not currently active, I've remained connected to these writers through Twitter and Facebook.

Site rating for building a reader base: 5.5


Fanfiction.net: Obviously, you can't post your published work here. But this site is made up of a HUGE audience of readers -- readers who value the written word and the stories they've experienced enough to want to continue those beloved stories in new adventures. Adventures they create and share with other fans of the show/movie/series… whatever. I've even met an author or two or got their start in professional writing on FF. Don't knock it. If you have the time to write some short Twilight, Star Wars, or General Hospital snippet in your own voice you could have thousands of fans on there reading your professionally written work in a matter of days.

Site rating for building a reader base: 6


Twitter: Ah… I know I'm going to piss a few people off here. Especially the ones who found this blog post via a tweet. I haven't spent a lot of time trying to build a following on Twitter, nor do I utilize it the same way I do Facebook, so my opinion will be biased.

It's real easy for me to find my peers, industry professionals, and even the ever-valuable book blogger on Twitter, but how do I actually connect with real readers? You know, the ones who don't blog (which is like 99% of them)?

I'm not a celebrity, I don't have a recognizable name, nor do I have a platform that puts me into the public eye. I know a TON of people (I'm pretty much a gabby-gus), and yet 90% of the people I've met do not use Twitter. Sure, they may have checked it out when it first launched and got an account, but they don't really use it on a day-to-day basis. If they do "use it" it's keep keep up with the famous people the like.

I did a smarmy post about Facebook spanking Twitter's ass a few weeks ago, and I still firmly believe it is not where I will meet readers and interact with them. It's too fast, too "right now" and not personable. It's great for delivering news and important stuff, but my work and myself don't fall into that category, and neither do most small business people in the world. Nothing I have to say is life changing, and I think what Twitter does best is getting info out at once to whomever is looking at their stream RIGHT NOW.

Regular people follow things that interest them, like news agencies, celebrities, sports personalities…I could go on and on, but my point is, they don't follow someone in their neighborhood or a small time blogger like me. Hey, the truth hurts, I know.

Has Twitter helped me reach may target audience with my books? No. Has it helped me reach writers who will visit this blog to read my advice on reaching real readers? Absolutely!

Site rating for building a reader base: 7 (mostly dependent on if you can reach your target audience)


I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this next bit… You can see the writing on the wall, yes? ;-)

The number one place to build an actual reader base you can interact with is Facebook, which I'll rate a 8.75, because it's not perfect and it takes a lot of time to master.

It's literally filled with regular readers -- readers who never visit blogs, never tweet, never read a novel on their phone one line at a time, never visit a specialized site to read free books from writers they've never heard of, and never visit the forums of any retailer.

This one place will provide you with what you need to build a reader base -- but you won't be able to do it simply by logging on and posting once a day. Nope, way more work is involved.

Please tune in next week when I break down the ways to meet readers on Facebook and the dos and don'ts as you embark on your journey to find more readers.

Have you tried a site I didn't list here? Please share! We all need to know which ones work and which ones don't so we can utilize our valuable time properly.

Until next week, try to spend almost equal time on writing new work as you do reading. Mr. King said it best:

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot…reading is the creative center of a writer’s life…you cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you."

Want to keep this course free and have me do all parts (beginner, intermediate and advanced) here on this blog rather than I create a big fancy website and start charging? Please consider leaving a donation -- thanks!

• My main Facebook Page, C.J. Ellisson, has over 10,000 followers at the time of this posting
• I founded a group FB Page for EE, which is a Kindle blog with a paid subscriber list of about 800 per month. And the Page has over 2k FB followers, through mine and the teams' marketing efforts
• I've recently launched a Reader Page on FB for authors and readers to interact and in less than one month live it has over 2k followers and over 350+ subscribers to the newsletter (exactly two have gone out so far). The concept is to help authors build up a email database of readers interested in their work, and it's working phenomenally well.
• My debut novel released on Oct 2010 with a reader base of less than 500 (meaning it sold less than 500 copies within the first three months). By month five I'd sold around 2500 ebooks and thought things were going well, but I wanted to reach more readers. Within 12 months from its release, I'd built my brand and released the second book in the series and two unrelated novellas to sell 32k books total
• I started out thinking I'd self-publish the right way: through my own company called Red Hot Publishing, a business license, a tax ID number, a block of ISBN numbers, and a business account -- not simply with my name slapped on as the "publisher". But within 30 days I took on 11 other authors and published an anthology making my company, RHP into a real small press. Since launch, we've taken on three more authors, published over three dozen titles, and sold close to 75k books in under a year.
• I've done all of this and polished my craft in less than three years. Let me explain the significance of this: I never wrote a fictional word until February 2009.