Mandy’s Media Blog
Friendly tips and tricks for your websites, marketing, and branding.
Writers, take the reins! Get marketing to take you where you want to go
Marketing is something writers tend to dread. They come up with all kinds of excuses to justify not marketing their books: I don't want to make a profit from my book, just see the story or ideas "get out there." Marketing is rude/sleazy and will ruin my...
Promoting Books on Social Media? Who is your Audience?
Knowing your audience is one of the most crucial elements of promoting books, especially in social media. Social media marketing is about making a meaningful connection with people. To connect on a meaningful level you have to get specific, and find common points to...
Which should come first: Platform or Publication
Do I really need to build a writer's platform before I have a book published? Sounds like a classic "Chicken or the Egg" dilemma doesn't it? The answer is a lot less complicated than that old causality conundrum. You do not want to wait until you are published to...
The Biggest Social Media Marketing Mistake
The biggest mistake in social media marketing is forgetting the audience. Our first instinct when writing a social media post, commenting or making a blog entry, is to talk about ourselves. After all, that is what social media is for, that is what the people want to...
Ohhhh! Now I get Google+
I have done a lot of writing about Facebook and Twitter, but there is a new player on the scene and I only recently "got it." I have had a Google+ account since it first hit--or at least since I got my "exclusive" invite. I poked around with it and kept checking...
Twitter vs. Facebook: Which one should I use to build my writer’s platform?
The short answer is both. They are both important social media for writers who are looking to build a platform, but each one is vastly different in it's reach and the types of interactions it generates. Here are some things to think about: Facebook has 800 million...
Facebook For Writers Part 3: The What and the How
Too often people look down their noses at Facebook and dismiss this potentially powerful marketing tool. If you are a writer trying to build your platform, you cannot afford to not be using Facebook. In this final article on Facebook for Writers, I am going to talk...
Facebook for Writers Part 2: The Concerns
In Part 1 of this series Facebook for Writers Part 1: The Wherefores and the Whys I told you a few good reasons why you should make Facebook a part of your platform. Platform is a bit of a buzzword in the writing community. If you want to be published it is essential...
Facebook for Writers Part 1: The Wherefores and Whys
Facebook is a waste of time! All people ever do on Facebook is share TMI, ridiculous pictures and play FarmWars and VampVille. Serious writers don't have time for Facebook. What possible benefit can be gained from having a Facebook account? Didn't you know that...
Get creative with more than just your writing!
Being creative while writing is a must but it is also beneficial to the marketing and even publishing process. There is so much you can do these days that is outside the box, especially with the leaps and bounds being made on the Internet. I am going to focus on one...
3 more tips for promoting your writing online
1. Give it away for free. Pick a few pieces of your writing, or create a few just for this purpose, and post them for people to read. Yes, publishers are still a little picky about stuff that has been posted online. Unless your posting it for free takes it viral,...
Elements of a Great Author Website: Who What When Where How – The Google Analytics Goldmine
Every website owner should have Google Analytics or something like it--even if you never look at it. If you have Google Analytics silently tracking in the background you can make better marketing strategies for today and be prepared for the future. Imagine one day a...