I am a bit late in blogging about this,
blame my NaNoWriMo 2017 commitment, but it is definitely something I want to shout
about.
A few weeks back I attended part two of
Anita Chapman’s one-day seminar/workshop on how to get the most out of Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram and blogging for writers.
At this point I will mention that it is for writers of ALL disciplines
and genres, not just fiction writers. Part one was a year ago, I enjoyed it
so much and learnt so much that attending part two was a no brainer for me.
In advance of the day Anita sent out
questionnaires so that she could deliver exactly what we wanted within the
framework of what she had planned for us. She purposefully kept the group small,
just five (it was meant to be six but one person had to cancel just before the
day due to unforeseen circumstances). That way we all had our say and had
personal attention within the class for our specific problems or areas of lack
of understanding. This bit actually seemed to blend seamlessly though, rather
than a somewhat tedious 'deal with person one then on to person two', we all
learnt from each other’s problems as Anita skillfully guided us through the
pros and cons muddle of social media.
The list of what we learnt is huge, but here are just
a few things:
- privacy settings for all social media platforms
- adding/modifying share buttons
- how to link all the different platforms
- tackling the TweetDeck and all it has to offer so that it really works for you and your brand/style of writing (I've gone from hating to loving my TweetDeck)
- Facebook ads – what works and what doesn’t and how and when to use them without losing loads of money on them
I need to give a shout out to the venue
too. The day was held at the Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury – very easy to find and held in
a self-contained seminar suite on the first floor. We had tea, coffee,
snacks……….cake (far too much cake) all on tap as and when we wanted it. Part of
Anita’s own course deal was that lunch was also included. The room was very
comfortable and it was only part way through the afternoon that someone
commented on the lack of a window. I was shocked, I hadn’t noticed,
partly due to really getting into the seminar information, but also because the
room was so comfortable. Here we are in action.
If you are a writer who wants to know how
to get the best out of your social media outlets and really get them working
for you I would highly recommend Anita’s courses. She is so generous with her
information too and you can find a lot of helpful information on her websites,
as well as details of forthcoming courses www.neetsmarketing.com and www.neetsmarketingblog.com but as
with all these interactive things, nothing replaces actually being in the room
with a person in the know directing it.
The proof of the pudding – since putting
into place several of the things I have learnt my blog views have risen almost
threefold and my Twitter account is gathering momentum nicely.
