Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

They said it would be simple; that millions of folks use the site 24/7. "Put your book up online and sales will soar", I'd been advised. But you'd better have your head on straight before you jump in because nothing is that simple.

If you're like me, this whole social media thing has you befuddled. Oh, I have a presence on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Linked'n and Google + and have taken webinars on all of them, but I've yet to figure out which media is working for me, or rather, which one best fits my style and warrants my time.

Although I've been traditionally published multiple times, I've also self-published, most recently via Amazon's Create Space. A children's picture book paperback is on the market with an accompanying CD and an Ebook via Kindle. With Kindle comes the opportunity to give your book away for FREE for a short period of time. My consultants say, "Do it. When you give books away you'll create sales down the road." But will it work for my book? One writer friend reported that 10,000 Kindle copies of her Middle Grade novel were downloaded for FREE with little to no results.

Tomorrow, Saturday, December 7th and Sunday December 8th are my FREE Kindle download days for my children's picture book, Arlie the Alligator. We'll see what happens. My fingers and toes are crossed. I'm hopeful that the give-away will generate sales and help to give a shout out about the book and CD to others.

Which social media platform is working for you? What do you like about it?
How did you decide?
How do you divide your time between the various platforms, your writing career and life in general?

I would appreciate any tips you can offer.

Thanks for coming to my blog.

If you're like me, this whole social media thing has you befuddled. What to do? How to do? When to do? Oh, I could read all about it, but I'm such a "show me" person that I need more. Like a child waiting to cross the street, I need someone to hold my hand and show me the way.

Enter, FREE Webinars!

This past weekend alone I've spent several hours going over notes and taking FREE Webinars to help me sort it all out. Using A Facebook Profile to Build Platform by Lisa Hall-Wilson, was extremely helpful. Lisa taught the difference between a Profile and a Page and how important the Profile page is for marketing books and growing an audience. And here I was skimping on my Profile information thinking I shouldn't get too personal. How to Use Pinterest for Marketing, given by Melanie Duncan, stressed connecting Pinterest to Facebook to reach a wider audience. Marcy Kennedy presented, A Crash Course to Using Google+ to Build Your Author Platform. All three shared valuable tips to improve what I've been doing or not doing or should be doing with the social media I've signed onto.

All of these FREE Webinars came with handouts and a call to take more in-depth classes from the presenters. Still, the amount of information shared for FREE can set you and hopefully me, on the right course of action.

I've also paid for a private session from social media guru, Joanne Edwards. Her hour also came with an amazing amount of handouts. She did an excellent job personalizing her tutoring to my needs. Joanne, as well as every presenter I've heard, all stress the importance of finding the type of social media that calls to you. Find the one or ones that you think you can manage. Don't try to do it all, at least not at first.

Before I decide which social media avenue works best for me, I have to go back and fix the things I've done wrong with each of them. Then maybe, I can decide which one or ones -- Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Google+ -- get my total attention.

I am extremely grateful that those in the know are willing to share their knowledge in online webinars.

How have you tackled the whole social media thing? What tips do you have for learning? What courses or webinars were helpful to you?