Author: Jim Devitt

Jim Devitt’s debut YA novel, The Card, hit #1 in three separate categories on the Kindle Bestseller list in early January and was a finalist in the Guys Can Read Indie Author Contest this past summer. Devitt currently lives in Miami, FL with his wife Melissa and their children. Learn more about Jim at his blog and his Amazon author page.

How to Get Started on Instagram

Is Instagram for Authors?Ever since our post about Instagram for authors a couple of weeks ago, we’ve had numerous requests for a tutorial on using this social media platform. You can view that post here and decide for yourself if this is the right platform for you. It apparently is the right platform for Facebook, because they purchased Instagram for a BILLION dollars a couple of years ago.

As we discussed previously, Instagram is designed to run almost exclusively as a mobile app. You can find details on how to convert your desktop into a mobile app in our previous post. From there, the process is the same to use Instagram. Continue reading “How to Get Started on Instagram”

Instagram: Should You Be On It?

Is Instagram for Authors?Social media is a big part of our lives. There’s no getting around it if you are publishing and writing. The last thing you want to do is add another platform. However, as you watch the pop culture world around us, there is no denying the impact of Instagram. It’s ubiquitous in mainstream media. But, is it right for us as authors?

Let’s look at some of the stats:

  • 300 million active users
  • 70 million posts per day
  • 70% of users are outside the United States
  • Average time on the site by users is twenty-one minutes per day
  • Forty-one percent of the Internet users age 16-24 use Instagram while usage among 24-34 is at 35%.

At first look, the numbers may mean different things to different audiences. If you are a young adult author, Instagram may be the place to be. Here’s an interesting number to back that up: Continue reading “Instagram: Should You Be On It?”

Twitter Announces Deal with Google

Twitter makes deal with Google via Indies UnlimitedTwitter just became more relevant in the search world. Twitter announced last week that Google would have access to its tweets. Gradually, during the first half of 2015, you should start seeing tweets show up in Google search results.

I can remember the first mentions of Twitter toward the end of 2006. By 2007, Twitter had effectively gone mainstream, with talking heads on news shows throwing out Twitter handles with no clue about what they were talking about. My initial reaction was that someone must have paid a boatload of money to get this new app off the ground … it will never last. Continue reading “Twitter Announces Deal with Google”

Tips for Increasing Visibility on your Facebook Page in 2015

Increasing Visibility on your Facebook PageIt’s a new year and the Facebook changes to privacy settings — how others interact with you and what you see — are now in full force. You can read about these changes here in a December post here on Indies Unlimited.

Now that things are different, how do we get the most from our Facebook Pages? As we know, Facebook has crushed organic visibility for Facebook Page owners. It’s quite simple why — they want you to buy ads.

Let’s talk about how we can increase our visibility within our Pages and maximize your exposure while playing the Facebook game. Continue reading “Tips for Increasing Visibility on your Facebook Page in 2015”