What is your favourite online platform to use to promote your work as an author? Why?
It was Facebook for a long time but now I’ve switched to Instagram mainly because of the added features they have like Reels and IGTV. Also, I love photographs and beautiful visuals so I find it more interesting and more engaging.
Marketing your work on social media and through personal websites can be intimidating. Can you give us your top three tips for building an author brand online?
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Know your purpose before you build anything. Are you on social media for your books or for your other services as well? How much do you want to spend on it? Do you know what you’re doing or will you be needing professional help? Answering these questions beforehand will help narrow down your options.
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Keep it simple. You don’t need a super fantastic, professionally designed website with five million pages. To start off you only need a good bio, books (or future books), services (if you offer services), a way for people to contact you and a good pic of yourself.
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Don’t jump on the latest popular social media platform. You don’t need to be on all social media platforms (unless you want to, of course). It takes time to create content so make sure you know what you want to achieve before creating yet another social media account.
Do you have any examples where your development or career as an author has benefited from an online presence?
My online platforms have allowed readers to connect with me. They tag me when they read my books. They message to let me know their experience. They tag me when copies of my books run out in some shops. It’s a great way to interact with the readers. Organisations have also contacted me to speak in conferences through my platforms. I’ve learned about conferences, competitions and grants because of my interactions on social media. It really depends how you use these platforms.
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Kristyn Maslog-Levis is a recruitment marketing specialist, author, ghostwriter and former journalist. Several of her stories have landed in The New York Times and Al Jazeera. She finished her masters degree in communication at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore under the ASEAN scholarship. Kristyn is the author of the bestselling YA Engkantasia series published by Anvil Publishing. She started her Doctor of Philosophy candidature in 2021 with University of Technology Sydney for Creative Writing under the Australian Research Training Program, focusing on cultural diversity in middle grade literature in Australia.
Join Kristyn’s seminar, Building an Author Brand for Beginners, Thursday 28 April 2022, 6:30-9.00pm. Enrol here >>
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