I’m hoping this post will generate a lot of sharing. The past four months have taught me that I “don’t know nothing.” Seriously, there is so much to learn about self-publishing, social media and marketing that I’m often in the process of getting up to speed on a tool I’ve either just learned about or finally gotten around to exploring.
I had decided that I love Twitter and blogging so much that I was interested in getting a degree in Social Media. So, I went in search of a community college, University or online college that offered one. Well, one doesn’t exist (that I can find) and the “certifications” available online are in my mind very questionable and extremely expensive at $3-4K a pop. I thought, “Why can’t I get my own certification?”
What I mean by that is this – why not take advantage of all the how-to YouTube videos out there to become an expert? So, I’ve decided to do just that.
I plan on creating a course of study – by subject. For instance, I will develop a course for self-publishing, one each for Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, etc. and one on each of the available tools for managing these sites.
So, I’ll be surfing the web to see what worthy videos are out there. When I’ve compiled the list I will publish it right here as a way for writers to self-educate. I invite anyone with a video that’s helped them to please share the link in the comments. I will attribute the link to the first person to offer it.
Let’s help each other become more proficient at what we do. Eh?
Love your concept. I am a new follower here and would love a visit/follow on my blog when you have a moment. I look forward to following you. I also shared your blog on My Life.'s face book page. Donna
ReplyDeletehttp://mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com
Great post, Kathy! Every time I think of social media I break out in a sweat-- but I too love Twitter.
ReplyDeleteI will watch you learn and hope it rubs off on me a bit. If you can teach me it will be a red letter day!
Sounds like a great idea - every bit of knowledge helps!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this idea! We're all in uncharted waters here. The traditional industry is struggling with the fact that the gate keepers have been eliminated, and the indie authors are struggling with the influx of new writers flooding the market. What it comes down to is how do I get my story to those who would enjoy reading it? I've been flying on a big wing, big prayer these past few years, and so any light you shed on the subject would be greatly appreciated! :-)
ReplyDeleteHeck ya! Then you can make your own certificates of completion and we can put them on our walls and feel like graduates. Sign me up. :D
ReplyDeleteKathy, this reminds me of when I was in High School and was asked by a guidence counselor what degree I wanted to get in college and told him I wanted to get a degree in writing fiction. That's when I discovered there's no bachelor's degree for novelists.
ReplyDeleteThis feels similar to me. Most Social Media is empirical. Obviously you can't just scream, "buy my book" on every Twitter & Facebook post, so it needs to be a matter of keeping your name out there so when someone hears about your novel they might give it a chance because your name is familiar to them.
I love this idea and look forward to your results. Once you get started organizing your materials, you might consider turning this into a peer-to-peer university course.
ReplyDeleteWow - great response from everyone. I'm expecting this to take about two weeks. Love your idea, Bryan.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. I've learned a lot about social media over the past seven or eight months, but having all that information compacted into one blog would have helped immensely.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend with years of experience as an editor and proofreader who just began a blog. I'm not sure how much she plans to blog about social media, but I thought a great place for a start would be her post.
She specifically discusses Twitter, but it goes for all medias. The concept is how to sell yourself as an author without being overbearing. You can check it out here:
http://manuscriptproofing.blogspot.com/2011/10/no-matter-what-youre-selling-only-thing.html
Hope you enjoy it. And good luck putting the social media information together.
Great idea, Kathy! Kudos to you for thinking of it and taking the time to put it all together. And, yes, we can all contribute. If I come across some fitting resources, I'll pass them along.
ReplyDeleteAlso check out Brazen University's month-long Social Media Bootcamp. I took it in September to work on honing my own social media strategy, and for the $250 price tag, I thought it was well worth it. I can't say I'm a social media star, but I've noticed a happy improvement in my blog traffic, etc.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link: http://brazenu.com/executive-social-media-bootcamp/ Not sure when the next one is, but keep an eye on it. In the meantime, you can get the "for authors" version of the notes on my blog: http://www.sarahcypher.com/?p=877.
Good luck!
I don't know what you've looked at previously, but I find a lot of very useful information from free webinars from DBW (Digital Book Word) and TOC (O'Reilly's Tools of Change). Joanna Penn is a great resource, too. You may want to consider adding a webinar or two to your YouTube fest. People do like to ask questions (and sometimes the Q&A is more informative than the webinar!
ReplyDeleteExcellent, Kathy! We're all just stumbling around, trying to figure out how to best utilize the opportunities the Internet provides. Why not collaborate and be more efficient about it? I don't have a particular how-to video in mind, but I'm more than happy to share what I've learned.
ReplyDeleteI want to thank both Sarah and Kelly for their input. I struggled to find what I was looking for - a solid list of links to videos that would walk people through Twitter, Facebook, etc. But what I did find was outdated. In the process, I found a few useful tidbits to recommend - and include them in the post A Few Good Links. Thanks everyone.
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