Facebook Page?

[ThinkerX]

Been thinking about this lately - I see a lot of book adds on my Facebook feed - but usually they appear once or twice or thrice and then they are gone.

I also belong to FB groups dedicated to everything from model railroading to religion to local buying and selling, plus I see individual pages dedicated to somebody's hobby or some such.

This day and age, it seems authors are supposed to have their own website - I went and built one myself a couple months back - but the odds of it getting noticed are somewhere between slim and nil.

Facebook, though...maybe I could create a FB page just to promote the books? Put up pics of the new covers, maps, along with flash fiction and commentary on this or that aspect of the world. Maybe toss in links to the various books as they get released. Anybody here try this? Or would it be in violation of FB rules?

 

[Prince of Spires]

You definitely can do this. Plenty of authors do, and it's yet another place for people to find you. You can direct people to it to follow you, you can post updates there etc.

Just be aware of a few things. The main one is that Facebook has limited the reach of these kinds of pages. Not all followers will see all your posts. Facebook offers the option to push or promote individual posts, which means you have to pay to reach all your followers.

Another thing is that you shouldn't rely solely on the Facebook page. There have been plenty of cases where Facebook has shut down pages for no reason, or where the pages have been hacked or where an admin took over the page and shut out the author, etc. This is especially the case if you use a pseudonym. They don't always like that (though that's one that can be fixed).

 

[Ned Marcus]

This day and age, it seems authors are supposed to have their own website - I went and built one myself a couple months back - but the odds of it getting noticed are somewhere between slim and nil.

It takes time. I have a small but growing number of people visiting my website. Basically, I'm providing information for people who want to know more about me or my books. It's also where I have landing pages to sign up to my mailing list. Recently, I've been doing some light blogging; I only write very short posts (a few hundred words or less) so it's quite easy for me. But blogging is definitely not required. Many successful authors don't have a blog.

A website is your home on the web. Somewhere where no platform can change the rules or even cancel you.

Why not put a link to your website in your signature? And as an email signature.

Facebook, though...maybe I could create a FB page just to promote the books? Put up pics of the new covers, maps, along with flash fiction and commentary on this or that aspect of the world. Maybe toss in links to the various books as they get released. Anybody here try this? Or would it be in violation of FB rules?

You can certainly set up a FB page. In fact, you need to in order to advertise. I agree with Prince of Spires' comments on this. If I had to choose between only a website or FB business page, I'd have no hesitation in choosing my website. It actually gets much more traffic than my FB page.

 

[ThinkerX]

Why not put a link to your website in your signature? And as an email signature.

I have thought about this - but first I need to fix the many mistakes I made setting up the site. Not much there at the moment, but still...

Fantasy Stories % (eldritchspheres.com)

 

[skip.knox]

I recommend you get rid of the coming soon, and definitely get rid of the Admin login button. Just put up the titles of your books, if nothing else. Heck, you've said plenty about your novels right here on Scribes. You could scrape some of those posts to seed content on your website.

I agree with Prince of Spires. Your website, however little visited, is your writing home. Everything branches from there.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I've got my personal FB page, which I never really even look at (I hate social media) my Author Page, and a private group with about 750 people in it where I post more exclusive stuff than on the basic page. Plus a website. FB author page is free, might as well have it as a place to visit for folks who see any FB ads you might run, so they can like and follow you. I also have a Twelfth Star Publishing FB page that I don't do much with.

 

[ThinkerX]

I've got my personal FB page, which I never really even look at (I hate social media) my Author Page, and a private group with about 750 people in it where I post more exclusive stuff than on the basic page. Plus a website. FB author page is free, might as well have it as a place to visit for folks who see any FB ads you might run, so they can like and follow you. I also have a Twelfth Star Publishing FB page that I don't do much with.

Well...right now the plan is something like that:

1 - personal FB page I've had for many a year - news source, keeping up with hobbies and younger relatives

2 - Second FB page or group dedicated to the books - mostly because it seems every fourth or fifth person on the planet has an FB page, and FB pages are easier to connect together. Intent is to use it to post maps, covers, flash fiction, and announcements about upcoming books, along with links to such.

3 - Author website, which is in dire need of work, might include in various sig's.