Monday, January 28, 2013

Marketing and Promotion with Pinterest

Good Morning. Well, after publishing my latest book, I've had nothing to do this last week. Ha! Like that is ever possible. There's always stuff to be done, marketing and promotion come to mind, hence this post.

Because I'm a "quiet" marketer and hate to do blog tours, or ask anyone for help, I really haven't done much in the way of promoting my books. A few cozy interviews here, (as a matter of fact, I'll be over at my good friend Nicki Elson's on Wednesday if you want to stop by), a guest blog post there, a couple of review requests, but that's about it.

Social media has never been my strong suit. Yes, I have this blog, but this is primarily my writing blog. I blog at Anne Gallagher Regency Romance Writer to allow my fans (if any) to see what I'm doing with my books, because I don't have a website, and quite frankly, a website is static. I blog to let people know what's coming up next in my series.

I've set up a Twitter account. I've been on and off it for a couple of months. It's like an addiction when I get on it, and when my kitchen timer goes off warning me my time is up, I generally ignore it. No one can really say with a definitive answer if promoting your books on Twitter gets you more sales, and if you do promote, then you're labeled as a spammer. (But I see people promoting their books all the time, so who knows.)

I have accounts at Linked In, Goodreads, and Shelfari. But they don't really work for me. I refuse to join FaceBook, MySpace, or Tumblr.

However, after much debate, I decided to join Pinterest. I haven't worked out all the nuances yet, there's still things I need to add, and look at, but I think it takes my books to a whole other level, something I can't really do on my blog. If you want to take a gander and see what it's all about, click on this link Regency Anne and you can see what I'm talking about. If you click on one of the titles of my books, it will give you the cover blurb, and then show you all the pictures of whom I think my characters are.

I'm also planning on doing more boards with Regency clothes, homes, and architecture. Like I said, I haven't really figured out all the tricks (like how to repin, or how to find my friends to follow them) but I'm working on this slowly. Building it up over the next few months. I can then add it to my repertoire of places my fans can find me.

The nice thing is, even if I don't sell a book from my being there, it's wicked fun to do. I had a blast setting up the boards, arranging and rearranging them. It's soothing, like ironing, helps me get my organizational freak on. You know.

If you do decide to stop over there, let me know in the comments what you think. Comment here if you don't mind. (The link opens in a different window, so you don't have to worry about clicking twenty times just to get back here.) I have no idea how to comment there. If you're on Pinterest, please follow me, and once I figure out how to follow you, I'll do the same.

Tell me (the truth if you don't mind) -- Do you think this is a good idea? Or is it just a time suck? Are you on Pinterest with your books? How do you like it?

13 comments:

Karen Baldwin said...

I'll check out your Pinterst board. I SO don't look forward to the marketing aspect of the day I get published. And the strange thing is, I used to do marketing and advertising for clients. There's just no avoiding it though.

Linda G. said...

Nice board! I've so far resisted the urge to start up a Pinterest account. It looks like so much fun that I'm afraid it would really eat into my writing time if I let it. (Um, yeah. Me and willpower are not close buddies. *grin*)

jabblog said...

Pinterest is quite addictive, I've discovered. I'm still not quite up to speed on it.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Gosh, what a subject. I could chat forever about the pros and cons of social media. It's a balance. Some days I strike that balance, while others days I don't. I do have some social media accounts I rarely use; even a few I've forgotten I have. I focus on the most highly traffic arenas, like FB and Twitter. I do have a Pinterest account. I find it simple and quick to use, only spending 5 to 10 minutes there when I surf.

Anne Gallagher said...

Em -- You sound like me when I was a chef. I hardly ever cook anymore. And no, there is no getting around marketing for your books.

Linda -- Thanks. And yeah, it is fun. I only set up my boards though. I didn't go roaming around looking for stuff yet, because I know I'll just be there forever.

Janice -- I'm afraid of what will happen when I really get into the nitty gritty of it. Thankfully, I don't know all the ins and outs, so I just have to wait for the day when I have more time to fool around on it.

Sherie -- I really don't have much of a balance when it comes to social media. I try to blog consistently but that's about it. And even then I'm not really good at it. I love Twitter but that comes in fits. 3 days on, 40 days off. As for the other accounts, just when I get around to them, usually on Sunday mornings.

Carol Kilgore said...

I'm still on Pinterest and hope to go back to being somewhat active there one day. There was a huge issue about copyrights several months ago, and I took all my boards down. If that's been resolved, then I may get over there and start new. I think the only things I have up at the moment are two of my own book covers.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

I haven't signed up for Pinterest and probably won't. I'm kind of social media'd out at present.

Roland D. Yeomans said...

You have to be careful what you pin there. Copyright infringement still applies there. I put up a board with a few images that appealed to me and with covers for a few chapters of my latest WIP at Scrybd. I got a few readers there, but the legal liabilities curb my presence.

Sarah Ahiers said...

OMG! I'm off to follow you on pinterest! (which, if i follow you, you should get an email saying that i did, and the email will have a link to me in it, and then you can follow me back!) lOVE me some pinterest. I get so many good recipes and home/craft ideas from it. It really appeals to many parts of my life.
BLAM! Just followed you

February Grace said...

I didn't read everyone else's comments so forgive me if I'm repeating anything already said.

I loved-- LOVED Pinterest. Until I realized that everything you repin is pretty much a copywrite violation somehow, someway. So I just made myself quit cold turkey.

I still miss it. *sniff*

Unless all the content you're generating there is your own, there is often just no way to really trace something back to the original artist to give proper credit. That is the reason I just couldn't stay there.

I hope it works better for you! <3 Congratulations on the release of the latest book, you are a WONDER!

xoxo
bru

Elliot Grace said...

...my wife thoroughly enjoys Pinterest, but I know very little about it. And perhaps I've just excused myself from under a rock, but what's Tumblr? No, really ;)

We're very much alike in our social networking tastes, however, my son has me nearly sold on joining Twitter. Time will tell...

El

Unknown said...

I've stopped myself from joining Pinterest so far, but I'm on twitter, and everything else. :)

Coleen Patrick said...

After reading this post I've realized I probably fall under the quiet marketer category. My first book won't be out for another month but after spending the day looking at blog tours and the like I was about ready to pass out. I'm okay with FB and Twitter, but Pinterest, now that I LOVE. :)