This course will teach you to think of your online marketing as community building. We will use online marketing techniques to identify, locate and interact with your audience in ways that don’t feel slimy, cheesy or salesy. You'll also learn how to streamline your marketing activity and focus on the parts you enjoy the most.
The Course
Imagine your online marketing tasks neatly falling into place in your daily or weekly routine rather than feeling like a chore or something you resent because it’s taking time away from your writing. Imagine that you look forward to posting on social media or writing blog posts because you’re socializing with colleagues as well as supporting other writers who in turn support you. This is what online self-promotion for authors can be like and this is the result we’ll be aiming for in this course.
In order to achieve this, we’ll spend the first module exploring your audience, where you can locate them and the type of voice you want to use when communicating with your audience. The second module will guide you in building your platform and planning the content you will place on it. The final module will help you actively increase visits to your website and get your writing in front of new audiences.
Why You Should Take This Course
Authors who manage their own online platform can build this platform to last for an entire career. They will not be dependent on publishers for marketing to happen nor does this marketing need to revolve around book launches. Furthermore, a very active online platform is absolutely necessary for crowd-funding and self-publishing options. This course will help you get started or improve what you’re already working on in an efficient and enjoyable way.
If you want to be part of an online community of women writers, taking this course can be a first step to getting there. By following the advice in the course materials, you will start to create your own network and by attending the calls you will meet other writers with similar goals to yours. I don’t do the type of call where only the seminar leader speaks and any questions addressed get typed into a chat window. My intention is to keep the groups small enough and friendly enough that relationships can begin to be formed.
This course is tailor-made to meet to the needs of writers, namely that I will help you develop a network of other writers and get your writing in front of audiences you might not normally reach. There are a lot of online video courses that teach you digital marketing techniques that can be applied to any individual or business, but this course is narrowed down to exactly what writers need to know. My aim above all is to help you think in creative and innovative ways about your online marketing.
Finally, you get to study with me, Laurie Garrison, MA, PhD, FHEA. That last one means Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. This is the equivalent of having a postgraduate qualification in teaching in higher education. I left higher education after thirteen years partly because I got tired of having to teach women in ways that did not suit their learning styles. Out here in the ‘real’ world, I can innovate to my heart’s content and in doing so, I can make sure those I teach get the most effective learning experience possible.
Who Should Take This Course
In terms of practicalities: This course is for writers who need to promote themselves online. Traditionally published and self-published writers as well as those seeking their first publication are all welcome. There’s no restriction on genre either, but I do need you to be confident that you’re working at a level where publication isn’t miles away. This is because I don’t teach writing skills in this course, just marketing techniques and strategies for writers. You also need to be able to use social media and standard software, but no specific knowledge of online marketing is needed.
In terms of personalities: If you feel like your online marketing is a chore and you don’t like that it’s taking time away from your writing, then this course is for you. If you feel like there’s a constant barrage of new forms of social media and apps and communities and that it’s impossible to know where to start let alone keep up with it all, then this course is for you. Finally, if you feel like you’ve been slogging away at your online marketing for a long time and you just aren’t getting the results that you want, then this course is for you.
Schedule
Online Self-Promotion is set up to be a 12 week course though some participants might want to increase this period to 16 weeks, especially if they are new to online marketing. Participants following the 12 week schedule should expect to spend a minimum of 5 hours per week on the course. These are the unit and weekly titles:
Unit 1: Who Do You Want to Be Online?
Week 1: Author Platforms
Week 2: Finding Your Audience on AdWords and Twitter
Week 3: Defining Your Audience
Week 4: Defining Your Online Marketing Voice
Unit 2: Creating Your Platform
Week 1: Your Website: Tech and Design
Week 2: Website and Blog Content
Week 3: Social Media Activity
Week 4: Building an Email List
Unit 3: Driving Traffic to Your Site
Week 1: SEO: Need to Know Only
Week 2: Guest Blogging
Week 3: Communities
Week 4: Measuring Your Traffic
Each month there will be a discussion session via video call where we will talk about course content and you will get a chance to ask questions that are specific to your situation. These are the scheduled sessions for 2016:
- 26 September, 6-7pm BST
- 24 October, 6-7pm BST
- 21 November, 6-7pm GMT
- 19 December, 6-7pm GMT
One to One Reviews
If you want me to devote some dedicated time to thinking through your genres, subjects and strengths as a writer and marketer, you can book a one to one review with me. This will allow me to provide some advice specific to you and to think creatively about how you can capitalize on your strengths. You can book a One to One Review in the Looking for Xanadu Shop.