Weekly Marketing Club is my new initiative that is free… for now! These live Facebook videos aim to reach those authors new to marketing where they are and take them, one step at a time, towards confidence in promotional activity.

Though it could have been one of my overthought affairs, luckily a talk at by Tzara Attwater prompted me to address the fear and just get started!

You may be thinking: but I don’t want to give away my insights. Reading top books has taught me: we all must give first to our ideal audience–before we ask for a sale.

The foundation for any marketing is our personal brand and those teachings on our topic. No hiding behind pot-plants or blending in with ChatGPT-produced social media content. Inspirational resources for this include Seth Godin’s Purple Cow or for the business-minded, Blue Ocean Strategy by Mauborgne and Kim. These are about creating uncontested market spaces and standing out for being original.

The Facebook Lives are less than 10 minutes and take only 15 minutes of basic scripting, with no editing. I chose daytime because the light in my office is best then rather than using a ring light. Fridays are my favourite day for marketing to a Facebook audience.

Another way to attract more followers, which I am walking the talk of, is setting up and growing a YouTube Channel. Here, the learnings from My Personal Brand (and coming Skillshare course) will stand you in good stead.

I don’t know why it took me 12 years to get over my fear of being on camera, as my wrinkles are even more entrenched now! So, start as soon as humanly possible. With a caveat: set your video camera to 1080P resolution and use natural light on your face. Know which platform (YT: landscape; Insta: portrait) and how long you’ll need. Set out a basic script and use a free teleprompter. Incremental improvements to your videos turn into greater watch-time.

Why You Must Have a Prolific Content Strategy

VidIQ just sent me some researched stats: creators who post 12+ times a month get 53x more views than those publishing videos 1-3 times a month. The growth in average monthly views is at 15% for these folk. (5 million YouTube accounts reviewed).

Alex Hormosi mentioned that his channel hit exponential growth once he got the team to do 48 pieces (short and long) of content per WEEK, rather than initial modest plans. The reason: different people prefer different content types. Shorts often lead to longer video views, but not always, and Stories may lead to more engagement with what’s ‘real’ about your author life. (People tend to believe real smartphone photos over stock ones).

My Weekly Marketing Club aims to get you onto creating various content, strategically.

Another Reason to Go Simple and Raw

Sure, editing videos and adding a transcript can improve views on YouTube or in your Intro reel. But, when it comes to Lives or Reels, simple and raw is best. Still use a tripod (like my $25 one) and up your phone resolution, but don’t worry so much over cutting out umms.

A bullet point method is best for scripting Lives, and rehearsing what you want to convey. Otherwise, rambling or stumbling will happen most often. I started off very slow, repeating So, And, Look, Umm, but after viewing an expert communicator’s tips, I realised that I could get through my troubles with scripting and rehearsal.

True Authors Promote their Books

While I am a book writer, writing coach and strategic marketing coach, I would prefer to remain the person who supports fame rather than seeks it! Happy as a lamb with my blog, book, editing work, and social content, ideally I would never appear on video. These days, though, it’s best to create video content in many different forms to get seen. Sigh.

Very few… practically no… authors are able to write a book then sit back and let the publisher promote it and distribute it. They do book tours, festival talks, bookstore signings, do social media account updates, write newsletters, etc.

Check out and meet Mandy Napier, William McInnes, Bec Wilson, local authors who do many marketing activities for their book promotion.  Judy Nunn is a fiction writer of note — published 20 books, selling one million copies — and you can meet her in North Lakes.