I'm a writer and I'm also a marketer.
In an effort to get my romantic novels to a broader audience, I have always promoted the use of social media. A broader audience doesn't equal target audience. Here's how I get to my target audience.
First, I get my brand which is me --> (Lili writes romantic thrillers) in front of as many people as possible. Those people will choose whether my brand is for them or not. Not everyone will "like" or "follow" me or my brand. I don't take it personal and you shouldn't either.
Second, I define my target audience after placing my brand in front of as many people as possible. In order to do this, I use http://manageflitter.com/ to clean up my twitter account by unfollowing spam bots, inactive accounts, etc.
I also use http://who.unfollowed.me/ to find out who "unfollowed" me. I classify those who "unfollowed" as those who are NOT my target audience. I know, DUH! LOL but why keep following them if they are clearly not interested in my brand? Remember Twitter only allows a certain ratio of followers to following. I unfollow those who unfollow me in order to make room for more people who will eventually be my target audience.
Who "Unliked" my Facebook Fan Page?
The people who are NOT my target audience.
Here's how to check your Facebook Fan Page stats. Go to your Fan Page. Click "Edit Page" and on the left hand column, click "Insights" --> it's second to last.
Click on "Users" and scroll down to about the middle of the page and you will be able to see the number of likes and unlikes broken down by dates.
You can also click on "Interactions" which is directly below "Users." I check these stats in order to know which posts generate the most impressions (views) and feedback.
Indie publishing has certainly been a journey of trial and error. I share it with you in hopes that I may help you gain some insight into the ever changing world of Indie publishing.
How has your Indie publishing journey been so far? Do you enjoy being a marketer? Has it been easy or difficult to define your target audience? I would love to hear from you :D
Lili Tufel
Thank you so much for supporting SAND!
