Marketing

• Novice Authors Must Promote Themselves: Fabulous and insightful article that every writer oughta read [Link: Rachelle Gardner].
• 8 Tips and Resources for Managing Your Business Finances: I rely on QuickBooks for my business and MS Money for balancing the accounts fast [Link: Freelance Switch].
• Tips for Writing a Long or Short Author Bio for Magazine Articles: I try to update my bio on a regular basis and create a short, medium and long version so it’s ready whenever I contribute an article.
• Beast Books: a sign of times to come: Shorter books created faster.
• 69 Free (or low cost) Tools to Improve Your Website: From @thegrok’s good buddy and mine.

And the fun stuff because we need to have fun!

• Etsy Loves Pet Costumes: Fave: Dog Marley.
• Showcase of Designs Optimized for iPhone: Wow. Looks like full-fledged sites. Not enough to get me to switch from BlackBerry though.
• 15 Designs Inspired by Tetris: Who knew a video game can inspire such designs? It looks like a natural.
• Artwiculate: Twitter-based Word of the Day competition. Learn a new word and have fun doing it!

Image Credit: Alex Bruda

No rule book exists to tell us how to behave ourselves in social media. With no eyes peeking into ours, we forget real people are out there reading our stuff and we  make an impression with every sentence we write online. A colleague told me about an agent who posted in public that his or her writers were undergoing plastic surgery and a vasectomy. Joke or not? Who knows. But even if it was a joke, not everyone read it that way.

Social media gives writers a place to find and connect with writers, editors, agents, readers, publishers and others in the publishing and media industry. Keeping your name out there not only leads to gigs and opportunities, but also shows future clients and publishers that you already know how to market your work. Don’t think marketing is important enough? You might want to read Jane Friedman’s 5 Questions for Those Who Don’t Have Time to Market/Promote.

So, here are 10 commandments to do right on social media, build up a following and mind your manners.

1. Thou shalt listen

This helps you get a feel for how people use the social media site or blog. It also encourages you to respond to others after you’ve heard them. Chris Brogan offers tips on listening.

2. Thou shalt do unto others to help without any expectations in return

One word: Karma. Even if karma isn’t real, helping others makes you feel good about yourself and drive you to do more. Plus, people will remember you for it and it’ll strengthen your relationships. Sarah Evans asks, “What have you done for your community today?”

3. Thou shalt read a diversity of resources and people

Spread your eWings and visit blogs, Twitter IDs and other accounts you haven’t read  (check blogrolls, Twitter followers, etc. to find new ones) and check your friends’ connections. Sticking with same people limits your ability to meet others.

4. Thou shalt respond

If people ask you a question or take the time to leave a comment in your blog, you can take a moment to reply. Notice this says, “Respond,” not “Respond to every single message directed to you.” It’s overkill to thank every single person for mentioning you, retweeting you, linking to you. Instead, return the favor by pointing to their stuff, responding in private or commenting on something else they wrote.

Also, write more than “I agree,” “Great post” and “Thank you.” We have so much content online, a lot of it wasteful. Compliments are always nice, but not in a public response that adds clutter. Email the person, if you can’t think of anything else to say.

5. Thou shalt be genuine

Be genuine about mentioning and promoting others. Be genuine about the things you say. Be real. Be you. Some mentioning other people come across as phony looking to ride the wave of someone else’s popularity or kiss up to that person. You love it when someone mentions you, right? And you tend to remember them better, right? Well?

When you write a blog, article or tweet — look for genuine opportunities to link to other people’s stuff, quote them or credit them. Notice this post has a few links to other people’s high quality content that explores a topic further for those interested. Bonus points if you mention a competitor.

6. Thou shalt play nice

It’s incredible how many arguments turn nasty online and how many people say things in a mean way. We all have different opinions. (That’s a good thing — it’d be a dull, dull world otherwise.) We just need to remember to play nice and show respect. It goes a long way.

7. Thou shalt remember that everyone can read your content

Mom, kids, editor, publisher and people who might hire you. You’ve probably heard a few of the stories about people landing jobs only to lose it because of something they said online.

It’s also wise not to cuss in public. Granted, some popular folks cuss. But not everyone can get away with this. You wouldn’t cuss in a job interview, would you? Think of the Internet as one big job interview. After all, writers don’t always do one gig forever.

8. Thou shalt not obsesseth with thy numbers

Email newsletters … Twitter followers … Blog comments … Blog readers. People email me asking how I got so many Twitter followers. Well, it didn’t happen in one night, one month or even six months. But who cares how long it took? The point is to have high quality conversations. Spammers have figured out how to gain high numbers in Twitter — so obviously, quantity means nothing.

Listen and deliver valuable stuff. They will come.

9. Thou shalt not gossipth

The kind of talk of someone else’s private business makes a person look like a gossip and future clients might fear you’ll gossip about them. Yes, skip sharing private details even if the subject is open about it.

10. Thou shalt forgo the hard sell

Social media helps you gain trust and credibility, which will build your relationships. People WILL connect with you and ask about your content. When you do, at least add value by telling people what they get out of it. How much should you self-promote? Maria Schneider thinks 60/40, but I believe it should be closer to 70/30. That’s between Pareto’s 80/20 and Maria’s suggestion.

Not convinced that writers need social media? Maybe Joanna Penn can convince you.

Agree? Disagree? Please share your thoughts in comments or create a blog post of your own and let us know about it.

Want to win a book? We have a few authors stopping by here. Caryn visited yesterday and more will be here in upcoming weeks.

Still need more nominations for favorite books on writing before we take a vote.

• How to Write a Novel Using the Web: How does Mashable come up with the most brilliant topics? Meryl’s brain, get to work!
• MFA Confidential: Applying for an MFA: Like to get an MFA someday, or at least take writing courses. Schedule is full.
• 13 Writing Tips from Fight Club: A Novel author: Over a year old, but still relevant. He’s not big on web writing. If he were, he’d use the tip topic instead of numbers as the bolded headers. Instead of “Number One,” I’d write, “Use the egg timer method.”
• 80+ Social Media Policies from Social Media Governance: We’ll be seeing many of these showing up in organizations as social media because an important factor in building brands and customer service. These will give you a starting point to create your own.
• 100 Tips, Tools and Resources for Twitter: I glanced at it quickly. Didn’t want to tempt myself to take on more addicting twitter apps. But maybe you can use it.
• Building Your Tribe: 6 LinkedIn Case Studies: Explore using LinkedIn for freelancers, selling products and strategies for everyone.
• How to Make Knowledge Work Fun: Simple graph, powerful message.
• Nine Scientifically Proven Ways to Get Retweeted on Twitter: Good content is #1 in my book.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Hello, Kitty gone wild: Scroll down… the gun is only the start of it. Ahem… who knew that kitty had such a sexy following. In honor of my friend Frances… lover of all things (maybe not after this) Hello, Kitty.
• Museum of Kitsch is open for bidness!
• Good Night and Tough Luck by Chirstoph Niemann: Explores the world of sleep…
• Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries: Incredible libraries. The only one I’ve been to on the list is the Library of Congress.
• Giant Tetris: Whoooaaa….
• Spongebob does Queen’s We Will Rock You.

Don’t assume my reading Get Known Before The Book Deal: Use Your Personal Strengths To Grow An Author Platform in any way hints that I want to be known or that I am planning on getting a book deal. In fact, every writer and business expert will benefit from reading the book because it helps with marketing your work by building a platform.

“Platform?” you say? “But I’m not entering for Miss (or Mr.) America and I am sure you’re not talking about that thing speakers stand on.”

You’re right that those are platforms, but writers and experts need another kind of platform in between the speaking they do. Christina Katz’s definition of platform follows:

A platform communicates your expertise to others. It includes your Web presence, any public speaking you do, the classes you teach, the media contacts you’ve established, the articles you’ve published, and any other means you currently have for making your name and your future books known to a viable readership.

Many people write because they enjoy the work and love the thrill of seeing their work published. They don’t do it because it means fame. Smart writers know they need name recognition to lead to bigger and better assignments. Writers who plan to publish a book soon or in 10 years need to build a platform starting now. It’ll increase your chances of landing a book deal with publishers if they know you’ve established yourself and did your own marketing and PR.

Katz outlines everything you can do to build that platform of yours. The book splits into three parts: Defining platform, marketing and putting everything together. She offers actionable ideas and assignments on how to identify your platform. Once you figure that out, she goes on to show you how to capitalize on your platform with a variety of activities and exercises (not the floor kind) with some you already know and others you might not have considered.

Before I finished reading the book, I took steps to pinpoint my platform (still am). Some how to books overwhelm the reader and don’t identify a clear place to start or they throw too much at the reader. Though Katz lists a diversity of things for writers to do, she does it in a manner that compels you to take one action at a time rather than make you feel overwhelmed. And that’s the sign of a successful how to book.

If you like online and blog writing, you’ll love Katz’s first-person, easy-going and straight-forward writing style that comes across like a teacher or mentor who cares about your success. I recommend reading the book all the way through the first time and start doing her suggested activities while you read the book. Then refer back as you complete activities to find the next thing to do in building your platform.

Platform building never stops even if you become a best-selling author with a solid platform. You still have to make sure it stays standing. This book applies to anyone who wants to be an expert on a topic while landing new opportunities whether it’s a authoring a book, keynoting or being the go to expert for a specific topic.

How did you pick your platform? Or if you don’t have one yet, how will you identify your platform?

On the original 9/11, I was in my corporate job in Richardson, TX. I could not believe what people were telling me about airplanes and World Trade Center. Of course, the Internet was overloaded with everyone wondering the same thing. Took hours before we got the full story. I hope the survivors and the families of those who passed are doing OK and carrying on as their loved ones would want them to.

• Reuters Handbook of Journalism: You know… a style guide [Link: Smashing Magazine].
• Writer Unleashed 25 Best Writing Blogs 2009
• How to Develop into a Leader on Twitter
• Case Study: Can You Launch a New Site with Twitter Alone?
• Must See SEO Guide for All WordPress Bloggers: Must find time to ensure this site follows these recommendations.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Do you leave your USB drive in your pants and wash them often? Hubby has MANY times (dryer, too) and his Kingston USB still works!
• This Is Photobomb: Hilarious photos.
• Official Seal Generator
• Icon Finder: Search solely focused on icons.

My favorites that I haven’t posted here from CNN 10 Humor Sites…

• My Life Is Average: It only took six days before my first grader forgot his take home folder. Five for my 5th grader.
• My Parents Joined Facebook: My mom did, but I’m cool with that. Daughter not so happy about me on FB.
• Laser Portraits: Think Star Trek light sabers in the background.
• Historical Tweets: Taking famous scenes and tweeting them. Star Trek’s Trouble with Tribbles: “@Spock Would you consider investing in a powder puff export business?” Written by: Heather Turner of Forfeng Designs
• GraphJam: Charts, charts, charts, baby!

Facebook defines Facebook Pages as “A public figure, business, or brand can create a Facebook Page to share information, interact with their fans, and create a highly engaging presence on Facebook.” Facebook confuses many with its “Facebook pages” because of how it uses the word “fans” on those pages.

The Meaning behind Fan

Many of us writers and small businesses don’t like the connotation that comes with the word “fan.” I’ve also talked to some folks who aren’t bothered by it — I think the whole “Fan” name is split in the middle. Half hate it. Half have no problem with it.

If you want to join a Facebook page, its button says “Become a fan.” Even Facebook’s Q&A about Facebook pages uses the term “fan” often.

Most Popular Pages

The following people have the most fans as of this writing. With names like this leading the pack, some writers fear they’ll send the impression they’re known enough to have fans of their own. Not all of us feel this way. We just want to share our knowledge and information outside of our individual profiles.

1. Michael Jackson
2. Barack Obama
3. Vin Diesel
4. Facebook
5. Megan Fox
6. Starbucks
7. Coca-Cola
8. Adam Sandler
9. YouTube

Not one writer in that list. Stephen King has 60,000+ fans. Not even close to the pages with the most fans. How’s this for comparison? Ferrero Rocher (candy) has over two million fans.

Furthermore, when creating a Facebook page and sending an email — see below screen shot —  encouraging others to join, the note says, “So ‘n so became a fan of Mr. Hotshot on Facebook and suggested you become a fan too.” With a message like this, many especially freelance writers and one-person businesses — will shy away from creating Facebook pages because of what it implies.

Pages vs. Groups

“Pages can only be created to represent a real public figure, artist, brand or organization, and may only be created by an official representative of that entity. Groups can be created by any user and about any topic, as a space for users to share their opinions and interest in that subject. Pages can be customized with rich media and interactive applications to engage Page visitors. Applications can’t be added to groups.”

People tend to choose Pages over Groups because they have more features and capabilities. Facebook only allows you to send email up to 5000 members in a group. Search engines index Pages, but not Groups. Admins of Groups have more control than those managing pages.

Mashable explanation on two features: “Groups are great for organizing on a personal level and for smaller scale interaction around a cause. Pages are better for brands, businesses, bands, movies, or celebrities who want to interact with their fans or customers without having them connected to a personal account, and have a need to exceed Facebook’s 5,000 friend cap. ”

Softening the Fan Blow

Most of us including freelance writers have individual profiles. Only you can have that profile and it must represent you. Rather than creating Facebook pages for a person’s name or business name, perhaps consider setting up a fan page for the topic in your area of expertise. It’ll be easier to share valuable information and people may be more likely to join when it’s about a topic than an individual or company.

A Facebook page already exists for your topic, you say? Join and participate that page. When people see you interacting, they’re more likely to check out your profile or request a connection. Still want your own? Think of another angle or approach for yours.

You can certainly set up a page for your product or service with the idea of sharing tips on how to do things faster or more effectively. Just take care not to come across as salesy or promotional.

You can create a page or create a Group whenever you’re ready. .

Facebook, Dump the “Fans”

Why don’t we just do away with every mention of “fan” and replace it with “pages.” “Join this Facebook page” instead of “Become a fan.” The email could say, “So ‘n so has joined the [name of pages] on Facebook and suggests you join too.”

What do you think of Facebook Pages? Or how do you use Pages vs. Groups?

• The Reality of a Times Bestseller: Think you have to go to 40 signings in one week, every conference, etc. etc. to have a best seller? Not in one author’s case.
• A Day in the Life of an Author: Great lesson for authors with new releases.
• 99 Free Online Classes on Business and Entrepreneurship [Link: SternalPR]
• How to get your press releases read, not trashed [Link: Susan Jacobsen]
• Productivity and Time Wasters in Social Media: Covers much of what I believe in when it comes to social media.
• 12 Ways to Reveal Suspicious Shortened URLs: Ching Ya put a LOT of time and effort into researching this for us. I use Firefox’s Longurlplz, but the drawback is when I do a RT in Twitter — copy/paste copies the longer URL and not the shorter version. So I have to right-click copy the URL to get the shortened version.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• 10 Strangest Allergies: I think being allergic to water is the worst.
• Tech Support Cheat Sheet: I do all I can to avoid making the call to tech support. Google, knowledgebase, forums…
• Awesome Transformer Costume: Gosh, Halloween isn’t so far off. And it’ll be the last year of first grade pumpkin math for my family
• Google Sightseeing: Funny sights.
• Rubik’s Cube for the Visually Impaired: I think this is a great tool for everyone to sharpen his/her senses by wearing a blindfold. I can’t do it without a blindfold, so it’d be pointless to try with one

Yeah!!! Did that sound too happy? I think summer would be more valuable if we stretched out the school year and have two to three week breaks at a time. Then, older kids would miss out the opportunity of having summer jobs or doing special programs. Eh, it’ll never change.

• If Only I Had Some Advice for Writers: I get questions like Rachelle does. Sometimes writing related and sometimes something else. When it’s writing, I point to this blog entry and this one prompted by a similar question. If you’re bold, send them to LMGTFY.
• Marketing Advice for Writers with Molly O’Neill: Mine — always make marketing part of your job no matter where you are in your project or career [Link: Greg Pincus].
• 5 Questions for Those Who Don’t Have Time to Market/Promote: See previous. No excuses for not marketing!
• The Press Releases of the Damned: Love this. I rarely predict things — but I called it on Palm’s Foleo. I had a better article on the Foleo ready for print publication, but Palm killed the product before the article was to print.
• How to Drive Traffic with Repeat Tweets: I repeat-tweet on occasion and it’s not a problem. Few people keep track of all your tweets and won’t notice unless you repeat yourself too often.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Broadway’s Next to Normal Goes Viral, the Twitterized version of the musical. Follow ‘em @n2nbroadway.
• 12 Funniest Wedding Cake Toppers
• Firekites’ Autumn Story Chalk Animation Video: I like the song and the animation fit well with the mood.
• Cardboard Sculptures: (Picture me: Jaw dropped, whites of my eyes peering)
• Grammar geeks unite! [Link: @kylejameson @lydiabreakfast]

LinkedIn can do more than just grow your connections and look them up. I love using LinkedIn Answers, which gives me an opportunity to ask questions to the vast network. Some of you may not have discovered this feature or realize it can help you with an assignment. Take advantage of LinkedIn and all of your connections.

Your Account

1. Create a complete profile.
2. Enter your @twittername or email address after your last name in your profile so it always shows up. (See mine for an example.)
3. Import blog entries into LinkedIn with BlogLink or WordPress applications.
4. Incorporate Twitter tweets into your profile with the Company Buzz application.
5. List clients, publications and writing work in profile.
6. Link to your other social media accounts so account stays fresh with updates.
7. Set up to receive LinkedIn messages in your inbox so you can respond right away.
8. Publish LinkedIn URL on business cards, email signature, email newsletters, web sites and brochures.
9. Import vCards and contacts from other platforms to find more connections.
10. Export contacts to import into other applications.
11. Join industry and alumni groups related to your writing topic, business and past work.
12. Join writing groups.
13. Avoid hard-sell and marketing when posting in LinkedIn because they’re a turn-off.
14. Update your status with recent work that benefits customers such as “Need ideas on how to use Twitter? Read 50+ Writer Uses for Twitter.”

Content

15. Do market research with Polls.
16. Conduct polls and surveys.
17. Share poll and survey results.
18. Post content with value to show expertise without a hint of self-promotion.
19. Ask questions in Answers to find experts, obtain quotes or learn more about a topic.
20. Post questions in Answers to see what customers and prospects want or think.
21. Link to your other social media accounts so account stays fresh with updates.
22. Combine with other social media tools like Twitter. For example, someone asks question in Twitter, you respond in 160+ characters on LinkedIn and link to it from Twitter.
23. Start and manage group or fan page for book, topic, platform or business.
24. Share links to articles and content posted elsewhere with a summary of why it’s valuable to clients and prospects.
25. Post presentations using a presentation application.
26. List your newsletter subscription information and archives.
27. Use LinkedIn’s search tool to find what you need and specify what you need (people, jobs, groups, etc.).

Connect

28. Use search feature to find people, agents, writers, virtual assistants and experts by company, name, industry and city.
29. Research experts, agents and others before meeting or contacting.
30. Write honest and valuable recommendations.
31. Request a LinkedIn recommendation from happy clients willing to provide testimonials.
32. Check connections’ locations so you can meet with those in the city where you’re heading using My Travel application.
33. Ask your first level contacts for introductions to their first level contacts.
34. Connect clients with your first level contacts.
35. Interact with LinkedIn on a regular basis to reach those who may not see you on other social
36. Find experts and writers to invite them as a guest blogger, speaker, guest, etc.
37. Post job listings to find qualified talent to help with a project or be your backup.
38. Look for connections related to a gig you want.
39. Collaborate with others by sharing files, data and information with applications like Huddle Workspaces.
40. Find vendors and contractors through connections.

Marketing

41. Post discounts and package deals for books, writing services and products.
42. Buy a direct ad that only your target market will see.

ShortURL to this post: http://bit.ly/linkedinwriters

What other ways do you use LinkedIn for writing?

• What Happens to Your HARO Response: “HARO?” you ask. See helpareporter.com. I read every submission I get. I can’t respond to them all, but I do let those quoted know when the article is live.
• ScreenJelly and Jing: Capture up to three (five for Jing) minutes of screen action and share. Both are free apps.
• What Language Is This? 5 Online Tools to Identify Almost Every Unknown Language and 18 Great Sites to Learn a New Language: I recommend LiveMocha. Disclaimer: I helped them with some of their web content.
• Plagiarism Checkers: 5 Free Websites to Catch Copycats: When I received my first editing assignment with a publication, the writer was lousy. In fact, calling him a writer is an insult to writers. And it turned out he plagiarized all of his articles. How was I to know considering the poor quality of his articles? I hope I never run into that again.
• 10 Ways to Jump Start Your Social Media Thinking: Love that Jason suggested imaging audience is blind or deaf. I’ve gotten pitches with links to caption-less videos and audio. Not hard to find out why these don’t work for me.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Which Crazy Writer Are You? Me wolf. No, really. Me Tom Wolfe. Ah, the life of a wall flower. You get to hang out with the most interesting people – radio DJs, hot rodders, hippies, Hell’s Angels, Wall Street tycoons, frat boys – and are completely happy putting them into the spotlight. You’re completely happy hanging back with your martini and your little notebook, jotting down all your little observations, in sight but out of mind. [Link: Jane Friedman]
• Cute as Hell Pet Community: cute as heck pets. Here’s my doghter.
• Oddee has lots of fascinatingly odd posts especially misspelled tattoos (what a place to misspell words) and the 15 ugliest products ever, which looks accurate. Odd… lots of chairs made the list.
• 43 Weird Things Said in Job Interviews: Ouch. Wonder if any one of these actually got the job aside from the meth lab one?