writing

I Did A Social Media Audit…

Posted on by Marc Avery

I’ve been speaking with my inner circle lately about my 2023 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. I also realized that I don’t have to be on every single social media platform. Anybody that tells you it’s not hard keeping up with multiple pages is lying. It’s like chasing two rabbits. One will always get away. I recently deleted my Wattpad page ( I never knew was I was doing nor did I ever gain any traction). I also checked my Goodreads page for the first time in years. (I had three 1 star reviews with no explanation from faceless avatars. lol.) I try not to take that site too seriously. I’ve also noticed my Instagram page has been overrun with bots. They’re in my stories and they comment from time to time. If there is anything that I would like to be cleaned up it would be that.

I totally understand why people abandon their social media pages. Sometimes people feel like they aren’t getting ROI. I’ve seen people with over 10K followers just walk away because they’re posting content and not getting the results they want. It’s a tough thing to navigate. Be mindful of the people who you connect with. Nurture those connections because they become invaluable later.

My personal 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 email list.

Thank you for reading,

Marc

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Have You Ever Experienced Social Media Burnout?

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 1-3 times everyday. Make impactful comments on people’s statuses. Then there’s the three E’s of social media: Educate, Entertain, and Eroticize.

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

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. Sometimes things are random. 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. They have to like you and your posts in some capacity.

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 email list.

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

Thank you for reading.

-Marc