As writers, we know how to convey emotion and drama through our words, but media is stealing the show on the social media sites. Photos and videos are where it’s at when trying to get noticed.
I hope that these charts will come in handy. Just remember, as soon as you get this down, they may be obsolete as the sites continue to change to mimic and outdo each other.
Mr. Pish with Jessica Biles of Busy Bee Videography
Now, now, Indies Unlimited is “Safe for Work.” Goodness no, I’m not talking about secret sex tapes or video from the hidden camera in the ladies’ locker room. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.
I do want to talk about book trailer videos. Those are for your book. Let’s stay on topic here, shall we?
Why have a video trailer? Really, now – a video trailer is like a commercial for your book. It’s a multimedia bubble-gum for the eyes attempt at getting someone interested enough to purchase your book. Some potential customers like static magazine ads, some like flash, color and motion. Magazine ads cost money. Making your own video trailer costs you only time. We’ve had posts here on IU explaining how to make a trailer on xtranormal.com and Animoto. Take the time to read those. Animoto is an amazing tool and has a much shorter learning curve than xtranormal. I’ve made trailers using both and in my humble opinion, Animoto’s where it’s at. Read the tutorial. Trust me.
Like-fests are fun and leave your breath minty fresh.
Each Wednesday morning at 5 a.m. Pacific time, we here at Indies Unlimited host a “like-fest.” Sometimes it will be for Amazon.com author or book pages, Facebook pages, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, Goodreads or other social networking platforms. One thing is certain – every Wednesday a large community of authors, readers and reviewers stop by and a good time is had by all.
This past Wednesday, we ran an Amazon.com like-fest. The turn-out was great and we had lots of new participants and books. An interesting question was posed to me by an author: Maybe you can explain something to me about this amazon.com Building Your Empire-Fest. Why should I care about other writers following me or liking me on Amazon? I’m trying to get readers to read my work, not other writers.
Valid question. It’s debatable what technical purpose “likes” serve. There have been rumors that Amazon.com “pushes” books up in the search results if they have over a certain number of likes. I have not been able to corroborate this from an actual source, so as far as I know, it’s still a rumor. Continue reading “What to Like about Like-Fests”
Everyone knows if you’re an author with a published book, you’re supposed to have a video trailer. It’s become virtually mandatory. But many Indie Authors can’t afford to pay to have one done, nor do some of us have the knack for doing that kind of thing ourselves. But all is not lost.
If you have a YouTube channel, and if you have videos on that channel, there is still something you can do to help steer people towards your book(s). It’s extremely simple but most of us don’t do it. (Yes, you can even do it on your book’s video trailer if you’re fortunate enough to have one.) Continue reading “Tuesday Tutorial – YouTube “Links””
Let’s continue with our cheat sheets for social media profiles. Last week focused on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Today, we’ll give you the specs for YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
I hope that these charts will come in handy. Just remember, as soon as you get this down, they may be obsolete as the sites continue to change to mimic and outdo each other.
