Promo Rules on FB - How to Make Me Skip Your Post

Maybe it's just me, but when I see a post about books on Facebook, there are a few NO-NO's that will turn me away, before I even see what the book is called, who its by or what it's about.

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1 - these fancy schmansy posts with hearts and flowers for about four lines, e.g.

*´¨)

¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)

(¸.•´ (¸.•`  

or this ⭐.•°°•.✫🎶 ღ˚ •。* 🎶.•°˚ ˚

And, no, I'm not joking. I've seen these exact things. To me, it's an eyesore and I skip past them, because it makes my head spin.

2 - OMG! OMG! Like, I just read the most awesome book!

No, you didn't. You were probably gifted the book, asked to post about it or whatever. And, if not, then I'm assuming you were. Why? Because people don't start every single post with OMG! ten million times. And yes, I've seen this too. There's one book blog I used to follow that has this exact problem for EVERY post, about a book review. Now I just skip reading it.

3 - *crickets* Literally, no words.

A sales poster, with no words, no "hey, I thought I'd just drop this by" or "this is my latest book, I'd love for you to check it out" etc. Nothing. Not a word. The same goes for teasers. Unless it's Teaser Tuesday, then I like to see text along with my posters, to get an idea of where I can buy the book, who the author is and what it's about.

4 - When I see one book promo'd in 15 groups a day, often more than 3 times in each group, by a mass-market street team that don't communicate with each other. If you have a street team, make sure you delegate the groups they can post to and don't let them spam groups with similar/same posts about your book. It makes you look like a spammer, even though you're probably not.

And, again, I've seen this happen. Once, it was 5 posts by 5 different people, who all had the same poster, text and were very clearly on the Author's street team. Now, like I said, it may not be the author's fault, but if you want to have a successful street team, pay attention to what they're posting and - if you see a problem - as them to remove the duplicate posts. Not only is it fair to the other authors who are being hidden by posts for your books, but it's also fair to the admins who HATE repeat posts like that with a passion. Not doing anything about it, when you know it's a problem, is a sure fire way of being banned from that group or reported for spam.

5 - DO NOT beg and plead for people to buy your book to get it into the #1 spot. Especially DO NOT say that you deserve it. DO NOT let your street team use this pleading instead, insisting that you "worked hard for it" or "deserve it". Guess what? So do a lot of other people.

Fun fact - when my last book came out, A Royal Craving, I was so close to getting a #1 spot in Amazon DE and Amazon CA, until another author's street team flooded FB with this kind of desperate post - "They really deserve that #1 spot". And, guess what? They got it. At my expense. Now, I'm not one to blame the author, but it was clear they knew about it (and no, I'm not naming names), and they did nothing. In fact, they shared the posts, creating even more of a problem.

My book was my first to ever really get me recognised in the M/M community, to get my work talked about between readers and it was a huge thing for me, to get so close to a #1 spot with it. This other author is huge and has has that little orange flag a dozen times. I had it once, for 3 minutes, a long time ago. It had taken me 4 days to get my book properly out there and noticed, so close to that #1 spot. It took this author 1 day of blast posting to get it.

I'm not the only person who had a book out at that time, so this isn't just about me. It's about being fair to the other authors that you maybe don't know exist. It's also being fair to your readers, some of who will instantly shut off when they see a hundred and one posts about the same book. So be smart and be fair. You're not the only author out there.

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Personally, I can tolerate 1, 2 and 3, by simply ignoring them. But 4 and 5 made me sad, disappointed and angry. 4 and 5 are the signs of an author who doesn't care about their readers or their fellow writers. This is a tough business as it is, but if you want to get noticed, don't step on those that might have helped you get to the top and certainly don't expect them to help you, after stepping on them.

I said it before, sometimes the street teams get over eager. This is why I don't have one, because you can't control them like you can control your own promotions. If I'm the only one promoting my books, I know where, when and how I'm representing myself. I also know that I'm not spamming anyone or using emotional blackmail to get my books out there.

I want to do this the right way. To let the readers decide who deserves the limelight and who they'll be recommending to their friends. This author and street team that flooded FB with a desperate bid for #1 got what they wanted. They also had 3 members and the author being reported by group admins for spam. The author was blocked from promoting their own work for a week, which - sadly - only wound their street team into a whirlwind of outrage and anger, sharing the book in even more places, with less care for other people.

But if you spam groups, readers and fill people's timelines on FB with your own work, so that nothing else is seen, expect to pay the consequences. Expect readers to get fed up of seeing your book cover everywhere and having your teasers thrown in their faces.

Be smart and be fair. I can't say it enough. When you're promoting your book, remember that there are a million other people out there, working as hard as you are, as deserving as you are, all fighting for the right to be seen. Sure, they're competition, but this business is hard enough without us turning on each other.

Stand together.

Support each other.

Share other author's, when you can.

Recommend great books you've read.

Be sparing with your promo's.

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They say it takes 8 times for someone to remember something. So 8 mentions of your book will probably get your stuck in someone's head. That doesn't mean it all has to be done in one place, on one day. Spread it out, over a week or a fortnight, share in 1-2 groups at a time. Or, better yet, offer up free copies to eager readers and let THEM be the ones to show off your work.

Whatever you decide to do, think before you act. Ask for help. Help others. Do whatever you think is right.

Just remember that we're all in this together.

Author Swag Ideas

As an author, one of the most important things you need to plan and budget for are prizes. Generally, it all depends on how you operate, but the most key events to have swag prepared for are: signings, book events, release day, random prize giveaways and other milestones that you want to celebrate with your fans.

As a newbie author, you probably won't do much of this until you really know what you're doing and how to get it done without blowing the bank. But, here are some easy, quick things you get buy that are personalised to your book/author brand, that you can get in the UK. I won't be covering US sites, because - honestly - I've never used them and it would be pointless. I won't talk about something I know nothing about. So, this post is exclusively about UK sites, because they're really hard to find.

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Ordinary Swag

Forget about bookmarks, because unless you buy rackcards instead, you're unlikely to find any UK sites, with decent postage, that won't charge you an arm and a leg for bookmarks. Your best bet is to print your own (2x6, 2x7 or 2x8" are good sizes) or buy some.

Amazon do great bookmark options. You can get these die cut bookmarks, 10 in a pack, for just £2.17, which is a total steal. Then it's just an extra £2.39 (plus £0.45 postage) for a pack of 10 tassels, if you want them, and £6.48 for protective sleeves, if you choose to go that way (only 6 in a pack, but still great value). Bargain!

If you do want to go the route of buying them, you can go to Moo.com and buy a bunch of business cards that can act as bookmarks (you even get nice rounded edges on some designs) or you can head over to Zazzle.com to personalise a bookmark (£6.65 for a pack of 20). You can also try VistaPrint, which always have offers on (TV100 is their advert code). They do 'rack cards' which are basically bookmarks the size of those little booklet flyers you get in banks.

It's all about what you prefer.

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You should definitely check out Moo.com if you're looking for something a little different. If you have the money, you can get some really special adaptations of the usual swag.

Examples:

Their Tailored Collection of business cards include options like gold foil, spot glass or raised spot glass. You can also get letterhead business cards. (shown in order lists)

    

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Unusual Gifts

You can also use business card designs to make something different. I chose to make character cards from mine. I simply chose one front design (my author logo) and used the wonderful feature of up to 100 different backing designs to create character profiles. Each one has their name, book, age and a profile of their character traits, followed by a single quote. Here's a close up:

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I also made series cards. These were made using the square business card option. It was super easy and, again, you could choose one front option and many back options. I simply chose the half-cut layout, with half being an image and half as words, then used the book covers for the image part and a series description for the writing.

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Another great option is to choose MiniCards and make quote cards. I chose one quote from each book and made one quote card for each book.

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For each option, you really have to be careful about your font size and wording, because the space isn't huge. If you play around with different fonts, you'll find one that works best for you. I kept mine the same for every card, in case I wanted to do a 'series' giveaway. You can also change the layout and colour of your background etc, so there are a lot of options for personalising it. I just prefer the simple look and having them all with black text and a white background means that I can mix and match each book/series mini card with the corresponding character card.

As for cost, they were all affordable. Here's what I ordered and what I paid for that order:

Business Cards (Character Cards): Matte Laminate Business Cards x 100

(ordered Dec 2015)

Square Business Cards (Series Cards): Matte Laminate MiniCards x 100 + Orange MOO MiniCard Holder x 1

(ordered Nov 2015)

Mini Cards (Quote Cards): Matte Square Business Cards x 50

(ordered June 2015)

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If you want something really spectacular and different, try out Moo's Limited Edition section:

"Make stunning Limited Edition print with exclusive designs from the incredibly talented Ohh Deer. (And no pressure, but once they’re gone…they’re gone forever!)"

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Hopefully you've found something that tickles your fancy. As soon as I find more awesome swag, I'll let you know.

Spamming or Promoting?

There's a very fine line between Spamming and Promoting, in the Indie world. Why? Because everyone and their mother can self-publish and there are more authors on Facebook and other social media sites than ever.

It's great. Don't get me wrong. I love that we live in a world where anyone, of any age, can put a book out there and live their dreams. I grew up believing that writing was a no-pay, dream-world career and that there was no money or reward in it. That's been proven wrong. But...again, that fine line.

Recently, in the M/M world - gay romance, to those not in the know - this has become a really sticky issue. Authors have been reported to Facebook, on release day or just before it, for promoting their books in Facebook groups or pages and having those posts considered spamming.

Is it?

That's where the fine line comes in. For one, let me point out that they're promoting in LGBT friendly groups, so they're not being reported for posting gay romance in groups that don't want to see it/read it or acknowledge it. That's not the problem.

The problem is that, as authors, some of us have street teams. Street teams that don't communicate with each other. Street teams that post a teaser/buy links/promo post, without asking each other if someone else has already hit that group/page with the same info. How do I know? Because I've seen it first hand.

As a part of the M/M world on Facebook, I can see the author's side and the readers. As an author, promoting yourself in the build up and during the first few weeks of a release are critical. Especially if you're still relatively unknown and don't have a set fan base already gagging for your next book. The authors who have been reported, that I've seen, are not in this category and that's what's getting them in trouble.

Personally, I hate putting myself out there, in promo. I'd rather people found my book the usual way - by accident, by a rec or by word of mouth - because it's something they're interested in, rather than from me pushing it down their throat. And sometimes, promo can feel that way. But I also know that it's really difficult to get word of mouth or recs without first advertising yourself. It's a nasty Catch 22 that I hate.

These authors are so popular and have such a great fan base, that being reported and blocked from Facebook has got their fans up in arms. That's great. That means they're loved and their fans can see an injustice. But, these fans are taking it upon themselves to promote the new releases in various groups. Sometimes 3-4 times a day. Sometimes with nasty comments about the people who reported the author.

Why do I sound disapproving? Because I am. Just because you don't agree with what someone else has done, doesn't mean you get to sit back and judge them or call them names. And this is what's happening. Someone, somewhere on Facebook, decided to report these authors. Probably for what they considered over-promoting - or spamming - a group or page, with their new release. That's fair. If you run a group and have dozens of authors that regularly participate, only for one or two authors who are NOT active in the group trying to take over with their new release, that's hardly fair on the others, who post respectfully and in line with the rules.

Now, if you were fed up of seeing 6 different posts by the same people, in all of your groups, on the same day, numerous times, for the same book, wouldn't you get a little frustrated? Maybe you wouldn't report them, but a group admin might. After all, they're responsible for how the group functions and they have every right to remove members who are abusing the rules.

Does that give anyone the right to call them names? No. They're doing their job, as a group admin, and creating a place where people can talk and interact about books. Books that don't just belong to one author on their release day. That person is just that - a person, with feelings and a life of their own. You don't know what they're dealing with, so be respectful and don't start name-bashing, if you find out one of your favourite authors has been reported. Ask yourself, did they deserve to be reported? In most cases, I can say no and believe that I'm right. Especially when it comes to being reported over a photo or teaser poster.

As a reader, however, I hate spamming. It's like a takeover event where there shouldn't be one. I can see that it's mostly by street teams, who sometimes don't communicate with each other, about where they're posting or how. Or by authors on release day, who maybe didn't notice they posted to the same group twice. When you share direct from your page, that can happen. There's no warning box to say "Oh, stop! You did that page already."

It's sad, because it gives those awesome street teams, who do watch what they're doing, a bad name. It also gives the author a bad name, and they may be completely ignorant of what their street team or fans are doing. They may not.

What upsets me is the name calling. I've been bullied before - in school and online - and it's not pretty. Seeing people posting things like "whoever reported you is an ignorant asshat" or whatever, gets deep under my skin. You don't know who reported the author or why. Maybe it was a mistake. I know I've almost clicked the report button on a post in two different websites, because my mouse ran away with me or because my hand shook (which is a condition, not drunkenness :P ) It may even have been a group admin who is fed up of one book being blasted on their page fifteen times. Either way, I don't see the need for name-bashing.

So how do you tell if you're spamming or promoting?

Read the rules of EVERY group that you join. If you can't see the rules, until you join, then feel free to leave that group, if you read them and decide you can't adhere to them. For example, there's a really awesome group on Facebook "Vampire Writer's Support Group" which is specifically designed for writers of vampire novels, who want to talk ideas, need a boost of ego or just need some support, while working on a really tough story. BUT, if you want to promote your Vampire novel, there's only one place to do it - in the pinned post. If you post your promo anywhere else, you'll get your post removed and a warning. Do it again and again, you'll get removed.

It's important that you read the rules, because if you don't and you violate their terms and get reported, that will be your fault. So we want to avoid that.

Another way to prevent turning your promo into spamming is to keep a log of where you're posting. Generally, Facebook lists the groups in order of where you were last active, so if you were recently in the Vampire Writer's Support Group, then that will be at the top. I suggest opening the 'groups' page and then opening each individual group in it's own window, so that you can see which groups you're posting in. Then, post one post for each group and don't touch that group again for a week, unless you have urgent news - sale ending etc - because that's one sure fire way to bug people.

Also, try to spread out your promo. Don't dump the same thing in 50 groups in one day. Try dropping into a few groups one day, talking about your book and leaving a teaser or quote behind with a link. Then, a few days later, do a few more. It will actually benefit you more if you spread it out.

The key to any promotion is to interact. Don't just join a group so that you can dump a promo and run. People want to know YOU, to get to know your personality, to talk about the things you like. Be a real person in those groups and when you come to promote yourself, people will be more responsive to what you have to sell. If you love a book by another author and gave it a rave review, then share that in an appropriate group and gush to your hearts content. If someone gave YOU a rave review, share it and thank your readers. They'll thank you for it later.

Here are some vital rules I try to live by:

Rule #1 - be authentic.

Rule #2 - respond to your audience. Give them what they want; to know you and feel like your best bud.

Rule #3 - remember that you're a person first and an author second. Your readers - and, in turn, your potential reviewers - will do the same.

Rule #4 - treat others - including groups, pages and readers - as you would want to be treated. If you don't want someone spamming your author page with links to their book, don't spam groups with links to YOUR book. It will get you noticed in the wrong ways.

Rule #5 - NO pity-parties. Never try to encourage people to buy your books by using guilt. Do not go around saying "I had cancer, so please buy my book" (an excuse I could actually use, but don't). Don't complain that you didn't make #1 in a list, when you only made #5 and then beg everyone you know, if they have ever loved you or your books, to get you to that top spot. Don't bitch that you haven't got a #1 Bestseller flag on Amazon, within hours of your release, to guilt-trip your readers into getting it for you.

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The most important thing about promoting yourself is that it takes time. You need an audience and fans and readers and reviews and...so much more. Writing is hard. That's a fact of life, for every author out there. Getting the words on paper is a bitch. Editing them is hell and releasing them is worse.

Finding that fine line between getting noticed for your work and getting noticed for spamming can be tricky. But, follow some simple rules of etiquette and courtesy and you'll go far.

Remember...being an author isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. Most authors take 5 years to build an audience. FIVE YEARS! So, if you're not a best-seller with book 1 and fighting off movie deals from all sides, don't sweat it. One day, you will be. You'll have made your fans through hard work, swear and tears. And when you do get that kick-ass movie deal with Johnny Depp or Megan Fox, or the next-big hot actor/actress, gagging for a role in YOUR movie, you'll know that you worked damned hard to get there and you deserve every second of it.

Easy is overrated.

How To: Create An Animated Gif

With Facebook now allowing you to use Gifs on comments and posts, I thought it would be a good idea to cover how to make them, for all those inquisitive minds. Now, there are LOTS of ways to do this, so I'm going to cover the way that I did it, that I know works. But there will be other options out there, if this doesn't work for you.

Gifs are a great way to advertise your book, especially if you do them right. They have more 'Wow Factor' than a poster, but are also more fun to play around with. You can say more with a gif than a poster, with a surprise factor added in for good measure. Generally, my advise is to keep it simple and only change the text. That's what I'll be demonstrating today.

Also, refer to the post on Author Legalese, if you want to double-check copyright rules about pictures and text you'll be using.

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First, you'll need a picture. I suggest forking out the cash to buy one. You want top quality, but if you can't afford it, you can usually get a great image for free, if you look in the right places. Check out our How to Effectively Advertise Your Book post, for places to find images.

Once you have a picture you like, upload it into PicMonkey. Again, link in the above post. Here, you'll want to get the colours and effect however you want it. Me, I used an image that was already perfect (which was bought) so that I didn't have to play around with it.

Next, you want to add your text. Check out the examples below for an idea of what you can do. Once you've decided, add the first part of the text to your image. Find a font you like and either keep it consistent, for a seamless look, or change it up on purpose, for the second example.

You'll have to save the image, after adding each part of text, so that you then have a set of the same image with different text, as below, in my example:

   

In total, I have 5 images of the same picture just with variations of text.

Now, you upload into GifMaker.Me

When you click the link and go to GifMaker, you're automatically led to the page where you can begin making your gif, so there's no faffing about, trying to find the right button. It's super easy.

This part is really simple, once you know how to do it right. Make sure you've named your pictures above in the order you want them to appear. I went with a really simple 1-5. Then, click on this box here - Upload Images -, to select the images you want in your gif:

You can select all of them at once (example: all five) It's best to do them all at once, so that you don't get them in the wrong order. You can click and drag the images, to rearrange them, but if you get in a real mess, it may be better to remove them and start again.

Upload your pics and then, you'll get an example of what it will look like in the big white "Preview" box on the right. This is REALLY important, because you need to see how it looks before you hit "Create". Why? Because it might be too fast. Depending on how much text you have, you want your gif to be readable, so for a text like mine, I went for the 1650 milliseconds, under "Animation Speed". LEAVE the canvas size at 100%. That ensures that you don't have any white space, though it looks like you will, in the Preview box. That's because the preview box is set to a specific height and width, but your gif will take on the 100% size of the picture you upload. Which is why it's so important that you only use one image rather than many.

Now, you can move on. Here's Step Two:

Here, you can decide whether to leave your gif on repeat, so that it's always playing or only to play it once. Totally up to you.

The next neat little thing is that you can add a Music URL. Now, there are links to YouTube's audio library in the Advertising post, but I've yet to find a way of actually "listening" to my gif, that I added music to. If you find a way, let me know. I want to hear it. :)

Once you've done that, you're done. Click "Create GIF Animation" and it will pop up with a link to download it, just below these black buttons. It will automatically download to your Download folder, then all you have to do is rename and post it wherever you want. Voila!

Congrats! You now have your very own animated gif, to advertise your book. Or, you know, just for fun.

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Want to see how it's done? Mine was an experiment, but Elizabeth's was done by a professional, who knew what they were doing. See the difference between the two and how you can make your own, with no prior knowledge of how to do it. You can also play around with adding tags, like Elizabeth's has, for Amazon or a Title logo. What you add, is up to you.

This is my gif for Courage in the Kiss:

This is a gif that an author friend had made, that I really love, too. It's simple and effective: