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ASJA 2015 Conference: Connect for Success at the Roosevelt Hotel (map)
May 1, 2015 • 11AM – 12:15PM

Use Social Media to Land Writing Gigs and Make Money (session: F06)

Most  hard-working professionals feel like there’s never enough time in a day. Between deadlines, creative pursuits, and trying to have a life, who has time to blog, update their website and keep up with social media?

In this session you will learn how to use your time efficiently to get the best results. You will be given tips and tricks based on hard-won experience. We’ll talk about the best tools to use for your specific goals and how to stand out online amidst worldwide competition.

You’ll learn about improving your website, blogs, and social media accounts. Find out the different language and etiquette for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Reddit, Google+ and YouTube. And, most importantly, you’ll learn how to use social media to make more money.

Dorri Olds, panel organizer, speaker and ASJA member • www.DorriOlds.com • @DorriOlds

Here are some of my social media stats (as of April 10, 2015): YouTube: 470,000 views (yes, that’s almost half a million!); Twitter: 33,5 followers; Facebook: 4,000 (likes and followers). My areas of expertise include freelance writing, social media marketing, web design and WordPress. I will discuss:

• Social Media Etiquette and the differences across platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube).
  Yes, there is a difference.
• Tips and Tricks: How to use your time efficiently and get the best results. Groups, hashtags, comments, blogging, linking, networking and the way money streams come my way all the time.
• How I’ve landed writing gigs through social media
• What to do and what NOT to do

Most Important Rule: Do not scream, “Look at me! Look at me!” Instead, pay attention to the people you want to connect with. Most editors are writers too. Google them, read some of their articles, compliment them. Share their posts and tag them, retweet their tweets, leave comments on their LinkedIn posts. That is the best way to introduce yourself. One of the biggest mistakes I see writers make is to contact me on Facebook or Twitter and tell me what book they wrote and to please like their page. It’s annoying that they introduced themselves by asking me to take time out of my swamped schedule to do something for them. Why would anybody want to stop what they’re doing for a complete stranger? But! If they’ve commented on my articles or shared my Facebook posts and retweeted my tweets, I will notice them and there’s an excellent chance that I’ll remember them and want to respond. That is how the best connections begin.

MEET MY WONDERFUL SPEAKERS:

Kirsten Koza, author, humorist, journalist and editor www.kirstenkoza.com • @KirstenKoza

Kirsten says: I will discuss Facebook Pages and how to target the right followers and attract publishers. Attend this panel discussion and you could win a waterproof, shockproof Nikon camera and memory card as part of a demonstration on how to quickly grow a Facebook Page of ideal followers using simple techniques such as raffles.

This editor admits it: I just finished reading thousands of stories to make my selection of 30 for a Travelers’ Tales anthology, and at times the writer’s social networking reach was a factor in my decision making process. Of course the story still has to be great, but if it comes down to a tie breaker and one writer has an audience of followers through social networking and I know they’re going to promote their work, then that will sway my choice. Publishers want their stories to be read. The writer is part of that process.

Hot Tips:

1. Facebook Pages have improved how you can target followers. But you still need to avoid click farms.
   See this video re click farms which are sometimes called the sweatshops of social media: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVfHeWTKjag.Avoiding fake accounts LIKING your page can be done easily by selecting the countries you target. You can also select specific interests and hobbies when attracting new followers, or when promoting a story or book.
2. If someone follows your page and you suspect they are a fake account, delete them. Facebook sends your posts out to a certain percentage of your followers and you want those followers to be real.
3. Keep your page interesting and alive. Find your angle. Share material that benefits not just you but your followers.
4. Be generous to other writers on your Page and they’ll promote you on theirs.
5. You don’t know when a story is going to go viral but you can help spread it with a catchy teaser and social networking. And, yes, it is possible to be your own pimp without looking like one by following step 3.

I have 8,600 targeted followers on my Writers’ Expeditions Facebook Page. They consist of travelers, writers, editors and photographers. Through these 8,600 I can reach 100,000. I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned with you.

Tom Miller, Literary Agent, Greenburger • @ThomasWMiller

As an agent, I particularly look for writers who have substantial presences on Twitter and LinkedIn. If an author has 5,000 or more Twitter followers, and if he or she tweets interesting and on-point tweets 2–3 times a day, I take notice. So do publishers — believe me! I also notice an author who has a well-populated and impressive LinkedIn page. I’m not particularly impressed when an author says, “I have 1,000+ Facebook friends” about her or his FB personal page (nor are publishers), but I do notice when an author has an active and well-populated FB fan page with a lot of interactivity on it.

• Join Twitter and tweet about your writing 2–3 times a day. Follow writers you admire and retweet salient tweets from them. Use hashtags judiciously and strategically.
• Start a Facebook fan page for your writing. Invite the friends you think will respond and who can share your posts to their friends and contacts. It’s a matter of getting as many people engaged about your writing as possible.
• On LinkedIn, it’s actually OK to send LinkedIn invitations to people you want to connect with even if you don’t know them personally. Just don’t hound those people relentlessly or send them inappropriate messages. Upgrade to LinkedIn Premium if you want extra benefits.

Nikki M. Mascali, Editor in Chief, TheBlot Magazine • @NikkiMMascali

My areas of expertise are editing, writing, setting editorial calendars and hiring and working with freelancers. I’ll focus on:

• Branding yourself as a journalist
  You could have the perfect pitch that leads to the perfect story, but does any of it matter if no one sees it? Social media gives writers the tools they need to freely reach out to people with similar interests in an effort to self-promote their work and those at their respective outlets.
• Does the initial size of your social reach matter?
  Not necessarily. Sure, I want a writer that has tens of thousands of followers because, let’s face it, we’re all gunning for clicks, but one of the main things I look for as an editor is diligence in cultivating a social presence. As a writer’s body of work grows, so will their following across social media platforms — so long as they continue to seek out new ways to gain valued viewership.
• The king of self promotion for writers
  Twitter, by far, is the most valuable tool, especially for digital edition stories. Its forced use of the 140-character format is helping to establish a new breed of headline writers looking to instantly capture an audience. In fact, I credit my Twitter activity in the site’s early days for helping me become a more concise writer and editor.
• The worldwide pitch generator
  With so many voices spanning the web, digital media is not only a prominent way to promote your work, but to expand on it as well. Use social media as a springboard for story ideas by following subjects that you are interested in. Although most of your legwork will consist of fact checking, there is no other time in history that news can break faster than today’s digital age. I love getting a pitch from someone minutes after I saw that topic trending on social media.
• Reaching Sources
  Now that you have an idea on how to find, write and promote your story through social media outlets, you can start on expanding those articles using the same media. Sure you may have to still deal with publicists and agents, both of which could put speed bumps on the completion of your projects, but people of interest are commonly reachable through their social media channels. Don’t hesitate to reach out to potential sources directly — it may be the difference between your latest scoop and yesterday’s news.

Jason Gross, Social Media Manager, TheBlot Magazine, journalist and author • @jgrossnas

My area of expertise is marketing, promotion and branding. The points I will focus on are:

• Remember that social media platforms have a long memory and that employers (including publishing companies, agents) might search your accounts to see what kind of things you post there. What you say there can stay there, even if you delete it. The rule of thumb is: “Don’t say anything there you wouldn’t say in front of your mom.”
• Choose the social media platforms that are right for your needs and don’t over-extend yourself there. Usually good to pick 3–4 places to concentrate on.
• Arguments and disagreements on social media are fine. Flame wars are bad because they make you look bad even if you’re right.
• You don’t have to be a social media expert but it helps to keep up on the newest features on SM platforms so you can use them to your advantage. Some good sources for this are Mediabistro Social Media Newsfeed, Mashable’s Apps/Software and Adweek’s Social Times

The post ASJA Panel: Use Social Media to Land Writing Gigs and Make Money appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Curation of Content
Curata is a web-based content curation tool that can help you streamline your online content marketing efforts. Now you can easily find, organize and share the best content for your blog. Curata helps you to achieve higher keyword ranking in the search engines and increase website traffic.

Location-based Social Media
The technology in mobile devices is more powerful and more affordable than ever. This combination of power and economy is contributing to an increase in mobile social activity. A large user base with geographic ties allows brands to target small, qualified groups of users with unique and relevant messaging.

LinkedIn
As search engines rely more on social signals, it is important to have an active presence in the channels that carry the most search engine weight. LinkedIn is one such channel, and can be a very effective tool for connecting with business consumers as well as getting yourself to rank higher in search engine results.

The post Social Media Trends for 2012 appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Like any writer/social media whiz, my world is on computer. With deadlines hovering, I awake, make cappuccino, push the power button and hear the reassuring bong of startup. After sorting papers-in-chaos, I prioritize my morning “emergencies” and check emails. Clicking on one link leads me to a zillion more. Aside from the three biggest time suckers—Facebook, Twitter and YouTube—I lose still more time on Mashable, Wikipedia, and Petside.com (yes, I’m fixated on tech news, facts, and my dog). Curious, I polled other writers about sites they waste time on.

The first reply came from freelance writer Lara Bishop, “Does online shopping at Frederick’s of Hollywood count?” Given a reassuring nod she said, “Late at night, rather than focusing on my latest writing project, I surf lingerie sites like PamperedPassions.com and imagine what my life would be like if I had an intimate relationship with something other than a Word document.”

Steve Geng, author of the critically acclaimed memoir Thick As Thieves, said, “I’ll be writing my novel, then hear a little ding and I can’t resist checking to see who emailed—hey, could be my agent. I subscribe to TheDailyBeast.com because I like their journalism—timely, concise, and not too far left or right. Trouble is, at the end of each article are comments. I followed one thread that surged with vitriol and feelings of patriotic betrayal. It was about Christina Aguilera’s Star-Spangled Banner lyrics goof at the Super Bowl. Next thing I knew, after typing several comments of my own, three hours had gone by and I’d forgotten where I left off on my novel.”

Fiction and nonfiction writer Chris Roberts said his favorite site, Figment.com, has colors and graphics that remind him of the iconic 1980s show, Miami Vice. Funny he mentioned that—the above-quoted Geng appeared on many Miami Vice episodes. Roberts said, “Figment is fun for writers and has blog contests. One winner received a Personal Library Kit to keep track of who he or she loaned books to.”

TheFreeDictionary.com describes a gawker as a spectator who stares or gapes stupidly. Aptly named, Gawker.com provides titillating stars’ gossip from Manhattan to Hollywood. Susan Shapiro, an ASJA member and author of eight books in eight years whose motto is “a page a day is a book a year” said, “I hate to admit I still love Gawker, especially when they catch my enemies—or media people who’ve been rude to me—doing something stupid.” On a similar note, Melissa Malamut, author of She’s Got Game: The Woman’s Guide to Loving Sports (or Just How to Fake It!) said, “My guilty pleasures are TMZ.com or PerezHilton.com. Seeing celebs in unflattering photos always makes me feel much better after a rejected pitch or bad review.”

One ASJA member needed computer detox. Alisa Bowman, author of Project: Happily Ever After, said, “It got lonely endlessly staring at blogs and discussion boards. Then I remembered I have a family right here to talk to.” She admitted she’d been checking her Amazon sales rank like a nervous tic, repeatedly refreshing the screen hoping to see a higher number. “It was an ugly situation; I had to quit.”

ASJA’s Hilary Davidson, author of the mystery The Damage Done, said, “MulhollandBooks.com features short stories in its ‘Popcorn Fiction’ section. I’ll start reading and tell myself, ‘Just one more, just one more.’ During a 10-minute break I’ll suddenly realize 75 minutes have flown away!”

Journalist Todd Hill said he couldn’t pick one. “Sites I most frequently visited 18 months ago may not be the same ones I’m looking at now, or will be in another 18 months.” ASJA member Dahna M. Chandler, an award-winning investigative journalist, said, “I keep about 60 tabs open on two browsers. I’m constantly checking blogs looking for content and prowling for ideas. Good excuse for wasting time, eh?”

ASJA member Linda Melone said she’s hooked on TheOatmeal.com. I visited the home page which screams in large black type: “Dumb Jokes That Are Funny.”

“Watch out,” Melone said, “it is addictive.”

Pamela Jacobs, editor in chief at New York’s Resident magazine, is a fan of LameBook.com; “It’s a great waste of time and a scary insight into the depths of stupidity.” I had to see for myself and read the top two tweets. “First was this: Sarah Palin and Snookie having NY Times bestsellers makes me realize being literate is overated.” I wondered if that last word was misspelled on purpose. Post No. 2 said: “Dear Punctuation, I want you inside of me. Sincerely, Quotation Marks.” Yup, I LOL’d.

Freelance writer Bonnie Bernstein said, “Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a Donny Osmond obsession.” She learned the Osmonds followed the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). “Mormons sounded so great,” Bernstein said. “It made me want to marry Donny even more.” It wasn’t until adulthood she found out the connection to polygamy. “While that doesn’t appeal to me, and probably not to Donny, I find it fascinating and spend hours googling FLDS and polygamy.”

And newsletter editor Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, admittedly obsessed with yarn, knitting, and sometimes even weaving, says she spends way too much time at Ravelry.com, a website for knitters and weavers.

Hey, whatever boots your server, loosens your login, or bings your blog.

This article appears in the April 2011 ASJA newsletter.

The post Time Wasters and Online Fun appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Here are some of the latest stats: As of Oct. 2009 Twitter grew 200% from 2008. About.com predicts 26M Twitter users in 2010. Softpedia.com states, “175 Million People Use Facebook Every Day.” Today on blog.linkedin.com the headline reads, “LinkedIn: 50 million professionals worldwide.” How can a business owner, in this hot social media climate, refuse to spend an alloted time every day on social media? If the owner has no time, they need to be smart and create a social media budget and hire people to write blogs, and post to the main 3 social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. Many businesses also create videos and post them to their website and YouTube, while also linking to videos from their other social media accounts.

Many business owners are getting the wrong idea when they hear “social.” They think that means people are only using social media to joke around and shoot the breeze. What they are missing is a powerful marketing tool to help spread the word quickly about their brand and services. Word-of-mouth referral has always been, and remains, one of the best means to reach new clients.

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