8 Ways Writers Can Be More Reader-Friendly

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

During the early social media explosion about six years ago authors were everywhere doing everything on social media. I think the frenzy led to a lot of burnout. As a result, I've noticed that many authors who were once really active on social media have grown silent with perhaps an occasional tweet or FB comment. But overall, many authors have been content to return to their writing caves.

In addition to burnout, I've also seen a very strong philosophical shift in author's attitudes regarding social media. The popular consensus is that writers should focus on increasing their output of salable works. Many believe that, "Books sell more books." In other words, instead of "wasting" time on social media trying to market books, writers can better spend their energy by writing more books, pricing the books strategically, and then using those books as a marketing tool.

This "increased output" strategy may have worked well at first, but now the market is extremely flooded with free or cheap books by everyone and their brother hoping to hook in new readers.

While I agree that our main focus needs to be on creating content, I also think social media remains an important tool. Yes, it can help with marketing to a degree. For example with my latest release, An Uncertain Choice, my fabulous Launch Team spread SO much buzz around release day that my book hit several Amazon best seller lists.

However, I think writers all too-often fall into the trap of thinking that social media is primarily for marketing and thus if it doesn't "work" to sell books, why bother?

Perhaps writers who are participating in social media mainly to promote their books have it backwards. I'd like to propose that social media isn't so much about marketing as it is about relating with readers.

In fact, I have to be honest. I'd much rather interact with readers on social media just for the fun of it, than to try to sell my books to everyone I meet. It's much more rewarding to relate to people than to jam a product down someone's throat. Don't misunderstand me. Social media can help spread book buzz (as I did for me recently). But that can't be our primary focus.

Instead, we need a paradigm shift. We need to think of social media as the place where readers can interact with us and our books on a deeper level.

Thus as I plan my website pages and book releases, I'm constantly thinking of ways that I can relate better with my readers. What kinds of things can I institute that would be fun for them?

Here are 8 ways writers can be more reader-friendly:

1. Have a "My Wonderful Readers" slide show for reader photos. I adore when readers take a picture of themselves with my book (or with their pets)! I let readers know that I'd love to display their picture and that they can send me the picture or tag me on Facebook. (I post the pictures on a special "My Fabulous Readers" board on Pinterest too.)

2. Display special artwork on "My Reader's Creations" on your website. Sometimes readers create graphics with quotes, draw pictures, or come up with something else creative. I make sure to give those creations special treatment on my website because I know how much time readers took to make them.

3. Make discussion questions readily available on your website. For An Uncertain Choice, I have a special 27 page Discussion Guide that I've made available for as a free download. I even have a large graphic that makes it easy to locate.

4. Have a "Readers' Board" on Pinterest. I've created a special public board for my latest book, An Uncertain Choice where readers can pin their favorite medieval pictures or post their ideas for what the characters look like. So far readers have had a lot of fun sharing pictures there.

5. Have a "Story Board" on Pinterest. I've designed story boards that give a summary of my story in a picture format so that readers can browse the boards either before or after reading for a little more information about the book.

6. Put an "Authorgraph" widget on your website. Each of my books' pages has a spot that readers can click if they'd like me to "sign" their e-copy of the book.

7. Have a downloadable "Books List." I keep a running list of all my books that readers can print out. I've found that readers really like having a printable list to take with them to the bookstore or library.

8. Do book giveaways. This year I'm giving away books on my Giveaway Page. And no it's not to promote my own books. Rather I'm giving away new releases of author friends as a way to help promote them and also as a way to say thank you to readers for supporting me.

What are some other ways that authors can be more reader-friendly? I'd love to hear YOUR ideas!

4 Ways Authors Can Reach Readers on Pinterest

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

If you haven't figured out by now, I'm a HUGE Pinterest fan! I love the visual appeal of all the pictures. I love the organizational structure of the site. I love all of my various collections of pins (especially my chocolate recipes!).

Most of all, I love the venue it provides for interacting with readers.

As I've studied and experimented with Pinterest over the past couple of years, I've realized that there are many ways for authors to relate to readers on the site. Here are four simple ways:

1. Share the love of reading. 

One of the best ways to connect with readers is to promote books. There are LOTS of different ways to do that. Some users have boards that showcase their favorite books which can draw like-minded readers (via searches).

Others (like myself), have boards that relate to reading in general. For example I have boards for pins that have Reading Humor, Fascinating Book Art, Stuff for a Book Geek, and more. Such boards attract others who have the same interest. When they visit one board, they're likely to browse some of my other boards that promote reading. And while visiting, they're bound to see my Novel Boards, which leads to the next simple way to connect with readers . . .

2. Develop Novel Boards for your books. 
 

Whenever I have a new book release, I also create a Pinterest board that gives a visual summary of the book. I showcase characters, setting, historical events, etc. And within the description of the picture, I share a little bit about the story (without giving too much away). For an example of how I set up a Novel Board, check out the board for my latest release: Captured by Love.

3. Make Pinterest-worthy pins for your website or blog. 

I try to make a pin to go with every blog that I post. I also make pins for book releases, giveaways, or anything else worth mentioning. I use PicMonkey to doctor pictures I've taken or pictures that are "free" for doctoring.

Of course, I make sure to add my website address to each pin so that no matter where the pin ends up on Pinterest (even if the link back to my site is lost somewhere along the way), at least my web address is still visible. Ultimately, I want to draw people back to my website or blog to find out more about me and my books.

4. Develop topical boards that showcase elements in your books.

For example, if your book is set in World War II, consider having boards that have various pins from that era. Or if you write about lighthouses (like I am with my upcoming series), then develop a board devoted to lighthouses.

When other Pinterest users search for World War II or lighthouse pictures, they could end up being directed to your board and thus your site where of course then they'll see that you write novels about that particular topic as well.

My Summary: Pinterest is a visually stimulating way to connect with others. But I offer a word of caution: Make sure that you don't over-promote your books. As with any social media site, your followers will feel spammed if they see you pinning pictures of your books over and over and over.

Readers can sense when we're using social media with ulterior motives and they tend to run far away from pushy authors. Instead we need to join in the fun of creating interesting boards that not only will bring us pleasure, but will also be attractive to others.

Do you use Pinterest? What are some other ways you try to connect with readers there?

Where Do Readers Hang Out Online the Most?

*Image Source John Atkinson* 

 By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

I recently did a blog post about the changing nature of blogging and mentioned that I didn't think my readers really hung out much on my blog. To my surprise, several readers commented about the issue.

Here are a couple things they mentioned:

Sylvia said: I am a reader, not a writer. Reading your blog posts is always something to which I look forward. I just don't comment much. Since I'm not a writer nor a great talker, it's difficult for me to form the sentences into a smooth, enjoyable reading experience for others. Therefore, I don't comment much. I am certain there are plenty of others like me out there who read the posts all the time, but don't comment.

Deanna said: From a reader's view, I enjoy reading author blogs. However, I do know how much time a blog posts takes away from an already busy schedule. Basically I see both sides of this coin. I really think some kind of presence is a good thing or else I may not have found out about your awesomeness!

I truly appreciated the feedback, ladies! Thank you!! It's good to know that some readers enjoy reading author blogs! (And as a side note, I NEVER pay attention to how a comment is written. I don't care if there are typos, repetitions, etc. In fact, I type my comments fairly quickly and make plenty of mistakes myself!)

In light of the discussion of whether readers follow author blogs on a regular basis, I thought it would be a great time to ASK READERS to chime in WHERE they like to hang out the most online. In other words, which social media provides the best avenue for connecting with authors you like to read and follow? (So readers, make sure you chime in the comments with your thoughts! I sure would love to hear!)

From my perspective as an author, here's where I see readers hanging out and interacting with me (going in order from the MOST to the LEAST):

1. Facebook Author Page:

I've found that I interact with readers the most on my Facebook Author Page (not my personal account). On my Page, readers can swing by anytime and make comments without having to wait for me to get around to "friending" them. And they can also comment without the intimidation of the blog commenting system (or the comparison of other comments). Readers usually leave a comment after reading one of my books and let me know what the book meant to them.

2. Emails:

I also hear from a lot of readers through emails (either directly or through the contact form on my website). Emails tend to usually be longer and more personal. I likewise return the email with a personal, longer note of my own.

3. Pinterest:

Although most people don't use the "comment" feature on a regular basis on Pinterest, I find that many readers interact with my Pins by repinning or liking them. And I regularly interact on Pinterest as well. It may not be a place to "chat" but it is quick and easy way to stay in touch with each other via pictures we post. I've found that my numbers of followers is growing at a faster rate on Pinterest than any of my other social medias sites.

4. Blogging:

Like I mentioned in my recent post about blogging, even with my Thursday posts that are geared for readers, I still don't see a lot of readers hanging out at my blog. As Sylvia said above, many readers might be reading, but just not commenting. And that's perfectly fine! I think most of the time, people who comment are usually other bloggers who already feel comfortable with the blogging process. And I'm guessing most average readers don't have blogs.

5. Twitter:

I interact the least with readers on Twitter. Most of my followers there are other writers. Thus I find Twitter a great place to chat about writing stuff, find writing links, and keep up with industry happenings.

6. Other social media:

Generally speaking I don't find that many of my genre readers are hanging out in places like Linked In, Google Plus, Tumblr, etc. I have started to get more messages and comments from fans on Goodreads, but by and large, I don't interact with readers there.

So those are my thoughts about reader hangouts! Now it's your turn to share!  

Readers, where do YOU hang out the most? In your opinion, which social media is most deserving of an author's time?