I always said - I will NEVER IN MY LIFE work in marketing. As an author - you literally have no choice. Thankfully, on my little platform I can vent and scream, and share my journey as I go.
I am a Marketing Manager for a Big Five Safari Lodge in South Africa - honestly - that's a piece of cake compared to marketing myself and books. Elephants, lions, buffalo's, rhinos, cheetahs and all those beautiful animals are marketable. People love animals. People love luxury safaris. Give them a nice room with a nice view - what more do you want.
I grew one Facebook account from just over 2 000 followers to almost 21 000 - something I'm incredibly proud of. I literally poured my soul into it. I also started another account from scratch and grew it to more than 10 000 followers. (BOTH ARE STILL GROWING)
But I've come to realise if you don't know who your target audience is, you're fucked.
I spent six months transforming my personal Instagram account into an author account. Today - it has just over 3000 followers, but for the past two months, there has been no growth. Believe me - I've tried everything. Flashy reels, beautiful 4K images, carefully planned posts, life quotes etc. At this point - I genuinely think it's the algorithm.
It also doesn't help that I'm NOT comfortable in front of a camera - I mean, who likes speaking to themselves????
I've been trying to promote my book without showing my face - and OMG it's hard.
So - I had to get creative. I commissioned artwork from talented artists (SPENT SOOO MUCH MONEY) and built much of my content around those illustrations. It certainly helped - to a point. From everything I've learned, growing on Instagram today means posting multiple trial reels every single day and letting people get to know the person behind the account. Share your work in progress. Talk about the victories and the disappointments. Show the messy middle - even your messy life. Start genuine conversations. Support other creators. Connect with people instead of simply expecting them to connect with you. In the long run, those relationships are worth far more than chasing the algorithm. SHOW THAT YOU'RE HUMAN.
I'm still learning to do that. I'm hoping that, as I become more comfortable in front of the camera, my readers will find me.
I had some success in a span of two weeks on Tiktok - through paid promotions. Always factor that in when it comes to marketing. To be honest though, I can't stand tiktok. People look for validation and I literally just want to find my readers - build a community for life.
I've had a Twitter (now X) account since I became a journalist - back in the day. It's been inactive until like the 10th of July this year. I literally never used it. I've grown a following of 379 people. Honestly for me - this is success. It's been a few days and I have over 300 followers? What a win! Commenting, reposting, liking and connecting with other people are so important on X for growth. You literally can post anything on the platform, but I would advise keeping it in the field of what you're trying to sell to the world. All these social media platforms are part of the bigger portfolio.
Reddit - I hate you. Seriously. Who designed this place? Try posting anything in a Reddit community. Your post gets removed because your account isn't old enough or you don't have enough karma (WTF is karma???) Or your title isn't formatted correctly. Or you used the wrong flair. Or you broke Rule #47, subsection C, paragraph 12 - which you somehow missed in the five-page rulebook.
By the time you've jumped through every hoop, you've forgotten why you wanted to post in the first place. I swear, Reddit sucks.
I LOVE Pinterest. It lets you create beautiful mood boards for your book, giving readers a glimpse into the atmosphere and aesthetic. You can showcase the places, characters, colours and emotions that inspired you. For me, it's one of the best platforms for visually telling the story behind the story - other than my posts of course.
Let me be clear, though - I haven't actually tried growing an audience on Pinterest. To me - it's my little safe haven away from the pressure of every other social media app. There's no constant obsession over followers or engagement - It's simply a place where I can breathe.
Why is having a large social media following so important?
Unfortunately - I'm not Rachel Caine, Stephen King, Danielle Steel or J.K. Rowling. They built their careers at a time when social media didn't exist. Readers discovered books through bookstores, newspapers, television interviews and publisher marketing. A publisher could put a novel on shelves, invest heavily in advertising, and rely on traditional media to build an author's name.
Today - the publishing world is very different. Publishers still market books, but they simply don't have the time or budget to give every author a massive promotional campaign, especially debut authors. I got lucky - honestly - when Black Rose Writing offered me the opportunity to publish.
Publishers are looking for writers who already have an audience. If you have thousands of people following your journey, that's thousands of potential readers who are already interested in your work before your book is even released. Social media has become your portfolio, your marketing department and your way of building trust with readers.
That doesn't mean a great book can't succeed without a large following. It absolutely can. But having an engaged audience gives your book a much stronger chance of being noticed in a market where millions of new titles are published every year.
It's frustrating at times - I'm mentally exhausted. Sometimes it feels like I'm spending as much time trying to become a content creator as I am trying to become a better writer. But that's the reality many authors face today. We wear every hat - writer, editor, marketer, photographer, video creator, graphic designer and social media manager.
And who the hell has money for an actual publicist???
You just have to keep grinding, even on the hard days. My life has literally fallen to pieces - not ready to share that yet - but I'm still grinding and connecting with other people and their journeys. Progress is rarely overnight, but every post, every comment and every connection adds up over time. And if you're feeling frustrated, you're not alone. Share your struggles with me. I'd love to hear them. ❤️