Author: Marc Avery

I Did A Social Media Audit…

Posted on by Marc Avery

I’ve been speaking with my inner circle lately about my 2022 writing goals. Everybody came to the same conclusion. I needed to do a better job of building my audience. In addition to that I’ve been doing a lot of personal development and listening to writing podcasts. I kept hearing the same thing so I decided to do something.

I audited my social media pages.

Anybody who actually purchased my book(s) or I built up a relationship with I added them to my email list (with their consent of course)

I’m super appreciative of the relationships I’ve built through social media but connecting with people off line is important too. Most of my connections were built through face to face interactions. Nowadays more emphasis is based on building your platform through social media.

Social media amplifies what already exists. Rarely does it catapult your book sales. Once I realized this I started moving accordingly. I’m constantly tinkering to see what works and what doesn’t. My goal is to feed my base. My email subscriber numbers aren’t where I want them to be, but I have one. And having one is a lot better than having nothing. Do you have a newsletter?

Don’t forget to text BOOKS to (917) 905–8801 to join my mailing list.

-Marc

Advertisement

Social Media Burnout #writingcommunity

Posted on by Marc Avery

In December 2020,

I wasn’t satisfied with my follower count. So, I decided to research ways to boost my engagement. I found the usual fluff articles about how to increase my numbers. A lot of this you’re already familiar with. Post consistently. Comment on people’s statuses. Then also there’s the three E’s: Educate, Entertain, and Eroticize.

I do two out of three. It all comes down to what people get from your content. I try to strike a balance between what I like to do and what people enjoy. It’s a very fine line.

I would probably post 3–5 times a day on Instagram. And I noticed the engagement levels would spike. The analytics told me what posts did well and which ones didn’t. It also told me which times people were most active. (Which is very important)

You can gameplan all you want but sometimes the algorithm is all over the place. And things are constantly changing and shifting within social media. What worked a couple of months ago might not be so impactful now. I’m always researching so I stay well informed.

In 2021, I posted on Instagram consistently and engaged with other accounts. I tried to offer meaningful commentary and most importantly I aimed to be social.

Sometimes account growth can be slow. Like mind-numbingly slow. I felt like visibility was the key to success. More posts mean more visibility right?

Yes and no.

Some posts just do better than others. There is no rhyme or reason for it. People follow you for different reasons. The major one is that they find value in what you post.

These last few months my posts weren’t reaching the heights they once did and I couldn’t understand why. Then, last week I hit a brick wall. I couldn’t think of anything to post. More importantly, I didn’t feel like posting. For the first time in almost a year, I didn’t post a single thing for several days.

It felt good to not be up against any pressure. People might not talk about it, but it takes a lot out of you to consistently come up with new content. And when that content doesn’t resonate it sucks. Slowly but surely I’m learning to simply log off and spend less time on social media. (Easier said than done)

Scheduling is also a big thing because if I can batch content and post then I can focus my attention on other stuff…like writing.

Have you ever experienced social media burnout?

Don’t forget to text BOOKS to (917) 905–8801 to join my mailing list.

There will be giveaways, updates, sneak peeks, and more.

-Marc

3 Marketing Questions For Authors #writingcommunity #amwriting

Posted on by Marc Avery

  1. What’s unique about your novel? Know what’s unique about your novel and exploit that. Use it to your advantage.
  2. Who is your target audience? Know your target audience and where they congregate. Meet them where they are.
  3. Do you have a team to help you? Build a team brick by brick. To experience true success you need a team of people who support you.

Don’t forget to text BOOKS to (917) 905-8801 to join my mailing list.

There will be giveaways, updates, sneak peeks, and more.

**For authors: When you join my mailing list I’ll send you a marketing plan template.

3 thoughts about being blocked on Instagram #writingcommunity #amwriting

Posted on by Marc Avery

About two weeks ago my Instagram account was “restricted”. The scary part was that I don’t exactly know what I did. My pleas for an explanation for my restriction fell on deaf ears.

I learned a few things.

1. I need to strengthen the content on my website.

I’m consistently inconsistent.

The name of the game is content, content, content.

And I need to produce more and I plan to.

2. Social media is cool but we all need our own hub.

I don’t own my social media platforms and I can be shut out of them at any time. Don’t get me wrong I sincerely appreciate them but I have to build up my platform outside of social media too. They work hand and hand.

3. I need to beef up my email list.

I’m an advocate for utilizing your network. Full transparency:

I severely underutilize mine.

That’s why I’m big on having an email list.

When it comes to bringing awareness to your projects you need all the help you can get.

Moral of the story is build up your platform and utilize it.

Don’t forget to text BOOKS to (917) 905-8801 to join my mailing list.

There will be giveaways, updates, sneak peeks, and more.

**For authors: When you join my mailing list I’ll send you a marketing plan template.

3 tools for your writer toolkit #writingcommunity #amwriting

Posted on by Marc Avery

1. Study what worked before… but don’t be married to it.

As a creator I feel like it’s my job to study the creators that came before me.

I use what resonates with me as a rough outline. You get an idea of what works and go from there. I study marketing campaigns to see why people gravitated toward a particular product.

On the flip side just because it worked for another author doesn’t mean it will work for you. You have to find what’s unique about you and your work. That’s the hardest part.

2. Step outside of your comfort zone.

I’m a huge advocate for this. Doing what everyone else does is comfortable. I’ve been there. You’ve been there. Stepping out of my comfort zone is dabbling into other writing genres. I had never written a female lead character and finally took the plunge. I let fear douse my creative fire and that project laid dormant. Now the more I write about this character the more confident I become. It’s an incredible feeling.

3. Try something new

I’ve always been fascinated by marketing campaigns as I’ve stated before. When it’s time to market a book we as authors default to methods that have traditionally worked in the past.

I’m constantly trying to figure out new ways to say the same thing. Bring a fresh perspective to something familiar.

The moral of the story is to gain any traction with your writing you have to be willing to be uncomfortable and try things that aren’t guaranteed to work.

For some writers writing is a hobby. Some writers want to write full time and have a long lasting career.

I fall in the latter group.

How about you?

Don’t forget to text BOOKS to (917) 905-8801 to join my mailing list.

There will be giveaways, updates, sneak peeks, and more.

**For authors: When you join my mailing list I’ll send you a marketing plan template.

More content to come….

Posted on by Marc Avery

*taps mic*

Is this thing on?

I’ve been slacking on updating this website. I’m working on two projects right now and that’s keeping me busy.

My 2021 to do list is a mile long and my goal is to check off every box.

Soon as I have an update I will post it here.

Stay tuned!

-Marc

“Local” isn’t a dirty word.

Posted on by Marc Avery

As authors sometimes our goals are on a straight line:

Worldwide fame and notoriety. A lot of money.

As much as we would love to explode right to the top it doesn’t work that way. In order to be a national bestselling author you have to go through two preceding steps:

Being a local and regional author first.

Somewhere along the way the word local has become a dirty word. No one wants that word attached to their artistry. The thing about being local is every author has a starting point and that’s not a negative thing.

The trajectory of an author would be local ➡️ regional ➡️ national. Once every level is saturated you can go to the next one. None of the levels after local can be attained before you master the local scene.

Even as we navigate through this horrible pandemic check in on your local indie bookseller and library. You can still take out books and e-books from your local library. You can still order online from your local bookstore.

Build a rapport with your community booksellers and readers. You should know their names and they should know yours. The further along you get in your journey the more people you met. The goal is to convert those people into supporters. Give them incentives to continue their support and let them know what they mean to your journey.

Those supporters will make up your distribution network. That distribution network will carry your future titles to success. All because you went from local, regional, to national.

– Marc Avery

Welcome.

Posted on by Marc Avery

I appreciate you visiting me here on my website. While you’re here feel free to look around and explore. I try to blog multiple times a week. If you enjoy the content don’t hesitate to Text BOOKS to (917) 905-8801 to join my mailing list. Or email me here: mail@iammarcavery.com

Here is my bio:

Philadelphia native Marc Avery is a a husband, father, entrepreneur and habitual coffee drinker with a great imagination and an awesome beard. His debut novel, Redemption Lost, is a story of risk, restitution, and retribution. Marc lives in Delaware with his wife and children. When he’s not working, or writing his new crime fiction series, you can probably find him at Starbucks drinking an iced latte.

Follow me on social media:

Goodreads- https://bit.ly/2zpEs8y

Instagram- https://bit.ly/2RpeRDE

Twitter- https://bit.ly/2PfRqe6

Wattpad – https://w.tt/2VX7YMp

Why The Hell Isn’t New York Undercover Streaming Yet?

Posted on by Marc Avery

I know we have a lot of dope TV shows on the air right now, but Fox’s Thursday night trifecta of Living Single, Martin, and New York Undercover couldn’t be touched.

I watched the show faithfully right up until they killed Eddie off.

That stunt was unforgivable and they really tried to continue the show, too. The operative word being ‘tried’.

They bricked the attempt.

The show had an unforced coolness. It looked natural and the backdrop of New York City helped enhance the visual.

I wanted to go to Natalie’s like it existed in real life.

Andre Harrell and Dick Wolf seemed to fuse two worlds together perfectly.

I assumed that I would just cop the first three seasons and be a happy man.

NOPE.

The show has never appeared on DVD. It ain’t on Netflix. It ain’t on HULU. It’s barely in syndication.

Truth be told it pisses me off.

It was a great show and I hope sometime in the near future it gets a proper release to a streaming service or on DVD.

In the meantime I’ll keep listening to this.

Don’t forget to text BOOKS to (917) 905-8801 to join my mailing list.

There will be giveaways, updates, sneak peeks, and more.

**For authors: When you join my mailing list I’ll send you a marketing plan template.