Reader Question: Should I Hire Someone to Build my Social Media Presence?

By Iola Goulton

An agent liked my manuscript, but said I needed to build my social media presence before he’d consider representing me. I work full time. Should I hire someone?

Short answer: Maybe. 

Long answer …

Maybe. It depends on what your agent means by a social media presence, the kind of books you write and plan to write, on your brand, and on what God wants for your writing.

Let me explain.

I don’t have an agent. I’m not seeking representation from an agent. (I’ll tell you why some other time, if you’re interested.) I’ve lurked on a lot of agent blogs over the years, and one thing I’ve found is that agents are all different.

• Some only accept electronic submissions; some only accept paper.
• Some want a query letter first, others think a query letter is a waste of time and want a full proposal.
• Some seem to think numbers are the only important aspect of a writer’s platform, others make no mention of the subject.

That’s an extended way of saying that for every agent who reads this blog post and thinks I’ve got something right, another will think I’ve got it wrong. The right answer to this question depends very much on the agent you’re talking about.

What is a Social Media Presence?

If your agent thinks a good social media presence is 100,000 engaged Twitter followers, then I can make some suggestions. Start by reading Rayne Hall’s book on building your Twitter following, and implement her suggestions. Then read Ian Sutherland’s book. He built a following of over 100,000 people in around a year, and he offers support services to help other authors do the same. That might be something you could consider … but only if that’s what your dream agent is thinking of.

What does this agent expect in terms of building your social media presence?

But this might not be what your dream agent means. So you need to know what he means before you invest your time or your money in developing a social media presence. Does he mean social media or does he mean a platform—your entire online presence including social media, your website, and your email list?

Also, what manuscript did you submit that he liked?

• Fiction or non-fiction?
• What genre?
• Was it written for adults, teenagers, or children?

You’ve got the basics of a social media presence although it could do with refreshing, updating, and perhaps expanding (depending on your book):

• Website and a blog (although they should be combined onto one site).
• Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.

You also need to consider developing an email list and regular newsletter to subscribers, as this might be what your agent is looking for).

Build Your Brand

But how you do this will depend on what you are writing, and who you are writing for. You need to decide who you are, and build your author brand around that persona. Then you need to attract and engage with potential readers.

I believe you should do this yourself.

Because you can’t hire someone to tell you who you are.

Once you know who you are and who you want to be online, you can hire someone to help you broadcast that message. But you’re going to have to do some of the hard work up front.

It’s generally agreed that a non-fiction author needs more of an author platform to interest an agent than a fiction author. That’s especially true in the case of true-life stories—for example, I’ve read that agents aren’t interested in cancer stories. They’re all too common.

Once you’ve decided who you are, and once you know what kind of platform your dream agent wants you to build, then you have another decision: is that what you want to do? Is it what God wants you to be doing? (I ask because your social media profiles make it clear you’re a Christian.)

Should you hire someone to build your social media presence?

The answer is going to depend on the answers to other questions:

• What does this agent mean by “build a social media presence”? This is the most important question.
• What manuscript is he interested in? What’s the genre? Is this the same as the books you’ve previously published, or different?
• What is your brand? In other words, who are you? How do you want people to see you?
• What does God want for your writing? Is this closed door a challenge for you to get past, or is it a door God doesn’t want you to open? Is chasing this agent God’s plan for you and your writing?
• How much is hiring someone going to cost? What results will you get? Is that return on your investment worth it to you?
• Could you find a way to do this yourself, perhaps by investing in online tools such as Buffer or Hootsuite?

Once you've answered those questions, then you can get back to your original question: should you hire someone?

I suspect the answer is no.

That might change in a couple of weeks or a couple of months, when you find the answers to some of my other questions. By then, I suspect, the answer to your original question will be obvious.

If you’ve got a question you’d like me to answer in a future blog post, please email me via www.christianediting.co.nz/contact, or tag @iolagoulton on Twitter.

About Iola Goulton

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction. Visit my website at www.christianediting.co.nz to download a comprehensive list of publishers of Christian fiction. 

I also write contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist—find out more at www.iolagoulton.com.

You can also find me on:
Facebook (Author)
Facebook (Editing)
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

10 Steps to Creating Your Brand & Website

By Emily Cobb

In an image-saturated, digital world, creating a brand and website is important. As a Christian, I always feel it is a fine line between increasing your viewership and sales through creating a clear brand, and chasing man’s approval. Yet, as we write, we want people to read what we are writing, meaning we want to make it accessible.

Aside from writing my blog, I run a web design and branding business and so want to share a few tips with you as you think about developing your ‘brand’.

1.    Who is your Target Market?

Being clear about your audience is an essential place to start. What women like to view is different to what men like, which differs again to what interests children.

Like many women, I like things that are pretty. Blogs that I follow and continue to read are enjoyable to read because they combine attractive visuals with great writing.

2.    What is your Budget?

When considering your budget, it is important to note that a poor website presence is thought to be worse than having no website at all. Website design trends change every 2-3 years, and so your website needs to be updated during these times. A good designer can ensure your branding is clear and you can have the ability to integrate extra functionality such as an e-commerce store.

If you want to create your website yourself, some self-maintenance platforms include Wordpress, Blogger or Wix. Wordpress is the platform I build on and there are some great templates and tutorials to step you through how to set this up for yourself.

As a designer, in addition to my maintenance packages, I build sites that are able to be self-maintained so that a client is able to reduce ongoing costs once the initial build is setup.

3.    Keep Your Site and Image Clutter-Free

Often people get excited about including as much information as possible however when it comes to websites, people can tend to go over-the-top. Current trends are fairly minimalistic in order to be easy to navigate. Jackie French (www.jackiefrench.com.au) has a very clear site that is easy to navigate. She also has a slider that adds some excitement and movement to her page.

4.    Pay for a Great Headshot

If you are working out what to pay for and what not to, having a great headshot is important. As an author, you are your brand, so it is important to have an image that is friendly yet professional.

5.    Integrate Social Media

Having social media integrated into your site is important and vice-versa. Barriers between an author and their fans have been broken down with social media and this is a key part of developing your brand. Make sure though that you don’t spread yourself too thin- choosing one or two social media platforms is better than all as they need to be kept current.

Websites can also integrate social media feeds and have users ‘subscribe’ to a newsletter.

6.    Be Consistent with Your Design

It is important to be consistent with your layout and design. This means choosing a clear colour scheme. It also means choosing one or two and sticking with them throughout your site. Naomi Reed has recently had her site redesigned, keeping her signature purple a key colour of her site. She has also had a logo designed and has incorporated e-commerce into her site with an online shop.

7.    Buy a Domain and Keep It Simple

A Domain is the address a person enters to get to your site. Purchasing a domain that is easy to remember is really important. This is essentially your ‘Storefront’ and people need to remember the name. Hyphens and elongated names make things confusing, so my advice is to steer clear of them. While sites like Wix or Weebly may seem like a great option, there is nothing worse than them using your site to advertise. Be careful with your footers and domains as nothing screams unprofessional louder than www.iamanauthor.wix.com or “This is a Free Site Created on Weebly”

Spend the extra money and purchase an e-mail address with your domain. To create a professional image, means communicating this image through everything you do, even through your e-mail.

Depending on what website building platform you choose to use will depend on if you need hosting, so make sure you either ask your designer about this or research it before committing to anything.

8.     8.  Make Sure Your Site Is Mobile-Optimized

There is something very frustrating about going to a website on your mobile phone and being unable to read the writing. Nowadays, the majorities of mobile phone users now use Smart Phones, which means that are accessing websites from their mobiles. If this isn’t enough to convince you of the need for your website to be able to be accessed from mobile phones, Google also have come out to say that how mobile responsive a site is will factor in their searches. It is therefore vital that your site is able to be clearly viewed from a variety of devices- mobile phones, IPads, laptops or desktops.

9.    Be Personal Yet Professional

People want to feel connected with those whom they follow. It is important to share aspects of yourself in order to connect with your audience. You want to communicate you are friendly, humble and accessible yet also want to present in a professional way. Purchasing an e-mail address (that you or someone else monitors) is important.

10. Have Fun!

Building your brand and website can be a fun process. Think about what connects with you, what you enjoy and what style you like- if you have a clear style, then your branding will too. Pinterest is a great resource for ideas and working out what you like and what you don’t like.

For the months of November and December, I am offering a special design package for authors. Branding +Website Design for $500 or with e-commerce $700. 

Emily Cobb is a follower of Jesus, a wife and a mother. She blogs at www.PursuitsofGod.com and runs a web design and branding business, EmilyKate Designs www.emilykate.com.au. For more information or to take advantage of Emily’s ‘Author’s Special’, contact her directly at hello@emilykate.com.au