Author: Kalyani Suresh
Authors, both debutante and seasoned, are turning towards social media to leverage their ‘personal’ brand, and network with their prospective readers and publishers. The new bandwagon of hugely successful, social networking savvy authors are now stirring up a storm in the ‘virtual’ world with their spot-on online media strategy, extending their online cult status to their ‘real’ world. What can wannabe authors, trying to replicate these success stories, learn from them?
Kartik Iyengar – you would not have heard his name before, but now thanks to a 9000-and-counting avid community of hoPfans on Facebook and 1 million prospective readers, the techie-turned- debutante author- turning youth icon is ‘hoPping’ the Indian publishing scene by storm.
His (almost) book, Horn OK Please (HOP), that is garnering so much attention, is yet-to-be written (yes!) and Iyengar (who can now be credited for giving us our own desi youth avatars of Muggles, Harry Potter and Ron Weasly…a.k.a HoPpers, Chief Red Bull and Goose) plans to let his ‘star’ HoPpers inspire the content.
Iyengar’s fans on Facebook are not only queuing up like crazy to book a copy but are also extending Iyengar’s social service arm by chipping in for his cause to support kids in an SOS village in Ladakh and volunteering to arrange a place for the HoPpers to rest for the night during their 40 day road trip from Kanyakumari to Ladakh that will kick off on July 27, 2010 and culminate on September 3, 2010. Iyengar has even managed to get the Government of India to officially support him and has roped in the IT company he works for.
So where did all this start? The epicenter of this earth shattering success was a suggestion that Iyengar should write a book because his status messages on his Facebook page were interesting. Iyengar turned the suggestion into a workable, effective concept that would fulfill his dreams of becoming rich, creative and famous, while ‘doing what he loved’.
Iyengar’s is not a lone success story. The burgeoning bandwagon of budding social networking authors is reflective of a society of letters leaning towards social media strategies to engage in conversations with readers, bring a strong, personal brand to the masses, as well as piggyback as an outlet to drive sales. This is also a platform for them to prove to a prospective publisher that their work has an audience.
Tao Lin, American poet, novelist, short story writer, and artist rose from being just a talented writer to a cult figure through his strong ‘social presence’ online.
Writer and blogger Amit Varma blogged about his upcoming book My Friend Sancho on his popular blog ‘India Uncut’ and followed it up with a cover design competition for the same on his blog.
Sudhakar Ram, Founder & CEO of the IT company, Mastek, moderates The New Constructs blog that promotes thought-provoking, discussion-facilitating, solution-seeking posts on a ‘shift’ from the deeply rooted traditional (read, Industrial-age mind-set) concepts like success, learning, work, consumption, wellness, governance and globalization, to newer constructs more suited to our present ‘connected’ world. Contributions to the blog posts are proposed to be included in the ‘The New Construct Collaborative Book.’ Ram’s blog has over a 1000 Facebook Fans.
The online social ‘connect’ trend has touched even seasoned authors. Some of the biggest names in the ‘author’sphere such as Paulo Coelho and J.C. Hutchins tweet, blog and link up to social media sites regularly.
These facts validate the point that social media giants are conduits of change…and for our ambitious, social networking savvy authors ‘changing the world’ coexists in harmony with ‘the ultimate payday’ concept. The ‘real’ world examples show how passion combined with the right ‘virtual’ network opens up a treasure trove of opportunity.
So for all those wannabe authors hoping to make a mark in the literary world, you never know what you are really worth, until you start believing in yourself and in the power of social media!
Let’s assume you have what it takes to be a person of letters…creative, the ability to put thoughts into words, and the conviction to carry them through from ideation to actualization. When you can cut through the clutter, half the battle is won. What you need now is to sit back and let the Social Media win laurels and fans for you! Here are a few tips that you can use as a springboard…
#First impressions matter. Make sure that from the day you set up a social ‘presence’, you actively engage your visitors with your posts, and reply to theirs. Freshness, consistency and quality in posts retain visitor interest. Show your visitors the authentic, transparent you.
#Establish a close-knit relationship with your visitors. Project your personal ‘brand’, at the same time make sure it is not always about you. Remember to connect with them on their own turf.
#Encourage your peers and friends to connect with you online. There…you already have your loyal ‘supporters’! Many social networking sites have customizable badges (such as member of the month) and other such paraphernalia which can be used as ‘rewards’ for consistent support.
#Leverage other social networks that you already are a part of…cross link them and use each to promote the other for e.g. use your ‘tweets’ to promote your blog, Facebook page, Slideshare presentations or LinkedIn profile.
#Analytics and Metrics are keywords in your social networking dictionary. Display the number of followers that you have prominently on your social media tool. Use social plugins like there is no tomorrow! Erect multiple ‘sign posts’ and get noticed to reach out to a wider share of the audience pie!
#If you are on Twitter, find people with interests similar to yours and only add them if they truly seem interesting and valuable to you. This way you won’t end up following millions while you have only a few following you!
Social Media cannot be viewed as just tools; they are a formulation for a strategy. The right permutation and combination brings success, but a wrong one might lead to missteps. Sometimes, aspiring writers may not develop an online following right away, or may end up facing more brickbats from harsh critics than bouquets from fans. Developing a real following takes time and patience, and perseverance.
At the end of the day, a writer, earning even 1% success off a 100 people’s efforts through the magic of social media is definitely spot-on in creating a stronger, more engaging personal brand than a writer who earns 100% success of his/her own efforts.
About the author
Advertising Professional, Teacher, Bookworm, Writer, Networking Enthusiast, Researcher, Georgette Heyer Fan, Social Media Addict, Online Course Content Creator, Blogger And now, Kalyani@Chillibreeze
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Comments:
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Nice writeup Kalyani, loved the tips.
People are obsessed with social media these days. They are more worried about how their pics look on FB and the comments they receive rather than enjoying the moment.