Connecting
Authors with
their Readers

Since publicity plays such a big part in marketing your book, I thought I would go to the very top to get some insight, direction, and answers for you.

Jennifer Smith, who served as the Vice President over Marketing and Publicity for a division of Simon & Schuster, was kind enough to answer some questions.

And let me tell you, she's the best of the best! She shares with us some very valuable information that you can apply to your publicity and marketing strategy. 

The first time I tried to sit in front of a camera to do a quick two minute video it took well over an hour. It was a mess. I kept stumbling over my words, my mouth got dry, I was nervous and...uff...it just wasn't good. 

So when Facebook announced Facebook Live I thought, "Oh isn't that nice....I won't be doing THAT anytime soon!" If I couldn't do a simple two minute video how could I do something LIVE?? 

I have a feeling many of you might relate to that statement. What if I screw up? What if no one shows up? What on earth do I talk about? What if I have a coughing fit? 

There are a million "what if" hesitations that we toss out there. I know because I've been there and used every single one of them! 

But here's the deal - Facebook Live is, hands down, one of the best ways that you can boost your engagement and visibility on Facebook. If your reach is struggling and you don't have a budget for Facebook ads, Facebook Live is the answer. 

Are you flat out frustrated with social media? Are you not seeing results, activity, or conversations that you want and need to see growth and improved book sales? 

I hear you and feel your pain. It’s frustrating when you put all that time, effort, and sometimes money into social media and see nothing happen. You understand the value and know that social media is an important and vital part of your overall online presence. But when you don’t see results from your efforts, you feel like simply giving up. 

To help those of you who are facing this situation, I wanted to share some valuable information that you can apply today to see some significant changes in your social media. 

Authors need to know more than what kind of content to share on Instagram. When used correctly, hashtags can help authors connect with new readers and grow a massive audience on Instagram. Hashtags are how people find things that they are looking for on Instagram. It's also a fantastic way for you to connect with readers you might not have discovered otherwise. 

More often than not, when I see authors struggling with Instagram, they are not using Hashtags or they aren't using them correctly.