Marketing Tips - Cross Promotions

One of the best things about becoming an Indy author for me was the camaraderie with my fellow writers. I joined numerous groups and met so many people that inspired me, helped me by answering questions or offering advice and most of all just made me feel welcomed into the writing world. I jumped in joining as many groups as I could find until I was overwhelmed with pop ups on my newsfeed. I had so much information streaming at me from such a large number of sources I backed off as quickly as I had jumped in.

After a short break I started checking out the groups a few at a time taking things more slowly. I noticed with a little time and observation that there were some common names popping up in different groups and they always seemed to be interacting with one another as well as posting tip and tidbits along the way. Feeling the the new kid in school I watched from a distance for weeks quietly accepting their advice and doing my best to take part only in large group conversations. I wanted to participate but wasn't ready to stand out.

In time though the same people that I was cautiously stalking from group to group had begun to notice my comments on their posts and my questions. They began dialogues directly and in time we became friends. We chatted about current projects and took turns offering advice when people came in to join the groups. I had become one of the people that was watched instead of observing from a distance.

As we moved forward we all began publishing and after the rounds of virtual high fives and we finished spamming every person and group we could think of we realized that even though we faithfully sent out the teasers and promos every week all we were doing was showing the same information to the same people. we needed to expand our reach. And so we began to promote not only our own work but took turns promoting each other's as well.

While we belong to several of the same groups we also have some of our own and of course friends and family outside of writing or local writers and book groups we can share one another's work with. It takes a long time to build a fan base for most of us but having the help and support of fellow writers and being a team player to push their books as well can be a solid step toward growth for everyone involved.