As someone who makes his living teaching professionals how to utilize LinkedIn to generate more business for themselves, I remain convinced that the platform is one of the most exciting – and misunderstood – business opportunities available right now.
For whatever reason, LinkedIn can’t seem to shake the notion that it’s “only” a place to find a job or hire a new employee.
But as I’ve learned spending 48 straight months selling products and services on the site, LinkedIn is one of the biggest (and best) opportunities online right now for you to generate oodles of sales leads, add new clients and land new business.
I want to spend the rest of this post sharing the specific path I see successful professionals taking on LinkedIn when it comes to generating more sales leads, adding customers and increasing revenue.
Some of these tips might seem counterintuitive at first glance, but that’s why they work so well – they break from the conventional wisdom and outdated beliefs about LinkedIn.
It’s not a term most writers are familiar with, likely because anything with the term ‘marketing’ in it makes us want to run away and cower in the safety of our tried and trusty pens and pads. Besides, we are writers. We want to create art. Why do we need to do any…
A while back, I wrote an article here on IU which laid out the basics of Twitter. This post does the same for Facebook with an emphasis on what an author would need to setup an “author page” for their marketing and promotional efforts.
I’m going to assume you’re able to find your way to Facebook (www.facebook.com) and sign up for an account. As I did with Twitter, my contrarian nature means I didn’t do any of the things Facebook wanted me to when setting up the demonstration account I’ll be showing here. Really you should consider doing all of what they suggest. If you didn’t, you’ll get a page that is almost a blank slate with the top looking a lot like this. Read more of this post
You know the feeling. You’ve spent thoughtful, planned time snapping the perfect picture, applying precisely the right filter, and crafting a caption to make even Hemingway swoon. You hit post and wait for the likes and comments to light up your screen. But an hour later you find the response to your opus is underwhelming. What went wrong?
The thing is that you can indeed take a great shot and create some well-thought-out wording to caption it, but there are a few simple tips to consider with your posting habits on Instagram to get a bigger piece of that engagement pie and the app’s more than 500 million users. And it doesn’t have take a lot of time or effort for you to get all of the likes.
In my years as an Indie publisher, there have been a number of schools of thought as to what it took to be successful. In the salad days of 2012, the advice was, “Do a free run, then sit down and wait for the Brinks truck to back up with your money.” Those were good days, almost certainly too good to last. Since then, the advice has ranged from “write in a series and make the first book free” to “drive sales through Facebook ads,” to “use keywords and sharpened metadata to drive traffic.” Through it all, though, one thing has been constant: you need a mailing list.
The reason why is simple: You control how and when you access a mailing list, as opposed to investing everything into working the Amazon or social media algorithms. The problem with algorithms is, they change. What might be golden today can turn to lead tomorrow. A mailing list is yours forever, though, or at least until someone unsubscribes.
The key frustration I hear from most writers, though, is that it is awfully difficult to build a list into any kind of size that will deliver results. I feel your pain. Let’s look at the various ways to build a mailing list. Read more of this post
You ask for it and now it’s here. The video is loading and I have it all written down. Make sure you comment below if you have your own tips and tricks. I’d love to hear from you and don’t forget to share this with other authors and writers.
TIME SAVING TIPS AND TRICKS FOR AUTHORS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Focus more time on platforms that give the best engagement.
Weekly checks on your stats can give you n idea of what is working to draw website traffic. Focus o. Items that you see have worked for you. Make sure you also check your search terms, how people looked you up, what sites they clicked on.
Also look at stats from you mailing list : sign ups, sales click thrus, and visits to the websites
You should spend more time a week cultivating. That ROI and riding the tails wind of any spontaneous traffic that came into your site.
Use social media management tools
When posting from your website/blog you should have automatic sharing tools, especially if you’re using WordPress, my favorite. When you publish you can instantly posting to Facebook, twitter GooglePlus, and even Tumblr. Using this method is timesaving.
Also, use Hootsuite.
After publishing or scheduling to post, take the subject and link over to Hootsuite. Paste blog subject and status there to your social media connected and schedule out for later in the day, week, month and or year. This will save you time with promoting the post properly.
Other apps like buffer and Socialoomph assist with scheduling social media statuses to multiple platforms. as well.
Reuse old posts or repurpose older posts
There is nothing wrong with Taking past posts and reposting them to your blog. There could be new ppl who are following you that haven’t seen you older content so giving them an opportunity to check out older post can solidify you to your newer followers as the expert you are.
You can also take past posts and repurpose them. Tweak them and add more content and them publish them again under a new title.
Remember you need a minimum of 52 post a year , once a week, to be considered active. Instead of coming up with 52 new ideas, repurposing and reposting posts, can be a great time saver for the busy writer.
Create systems or work habits to save time.
When posting to your blog, have checklists and systems in place to cut down on thought processes. Adhere to the steps and /or checklist closely initially to help keep you on track. WRITE THEM DOWN AND POST THEM AROUND YOUR COMPUTER AREA, until they become 2nd nature.
Not having to think and doing things naturally help you make. Sure things get done and not having to waste time trying to go back and do things when you really don’t have time.
Batch tasks together and stick to the system.
Doing task while you are in a general mode helps cut time on bumping from site to site or even from task to task and forgetting something. I’m very guilty of this, which is why I stick to batch systems
Batch 1 example
After While working on a blog post, check yr stats, update links and respond to comments, create social media images using canva.com.
Batch 2 example
Follow people on social media, respond to messages, retweet/share statuses
Batch 3 example
Save articles or links to read later, write down post ideas, delete expired promo statuses
Batch 4 example
Check book sales, set up next month promos. Write down promo ideas.
Outsource work– learn when to let go and assign tasks
Who can you outsource too: From new authors that ask to shadow you, older kids with idle hands and stare at their phone, unemployed friends who need gas money and virtual assistants
Guest blogging feature setups on blogs
Repeat general promotion and reminders on Hootsuite
Initial contacting bloggers and podcasters.
Research for upcoming events, library proposals and offline speaking engagements
Ready to watch the video?
Used correctly these tips can save time for all those busy authors that want more time to write.
Almost 8 in 10 Americans aged 12 and older currently use some form of social media, according to the latest annual Infinite Dial report [pdf] from Edison Research and Triton Digital. While Facebook maintains the broadest awareness among respondents (93%), awareness of Snapchat has grown quickly from last year (71%, from 60%), and now takes the top spot in reach among respondents aged 12-24.
A while back, I wrote an article here on IU which laid out the 
In my years as an Indie publisher, there have been a number of schools of thought as to what it took to be successful. In the salad days of 2012, the advice was, “Do a free run, then sit down and wait for the Brinks truck to back up with your money.” Those were good days, almost certainly too good to last. Since then, the advice has ranged from “write in a series and make the first book free” to “drive sales through Facebook ads,” to “use keywords and sharpened metadata to drive traffic.” Through it all, though, one thing has been constant: you need a mailing list.
How To Ebook 