I have blogged often on the importance of adding value when trying to grow your social media footprint.
The way we add value at BubbleCow is to send out links, on a daily basis, to carefully chosen blogs and websites that contain information we feel writers will enjoy.
Let me explain what this means in reality. Each morning I fire up google reader and start to scan through the hundreds of blogs I have listed. To give you some idea the reader is currently telling me was have over 982 posts waiting to be read. I use the stubs that show in the reader, together with the titles, to assess each post. If it looks promising I then open up the post and have a quick read.
Choosing And Setting Up Links
I have a very tight criterion for blogs that are eventually included as links. These blog posts must give advice or insight that will appeal to writers who are looking to write a book, get a book published or build their readership.
Once a blog post has passed the test, it is queued for inclusion. I have used a number of tools to do this over the past year or so, but Social Oomph has recently been superseded by Hoot Suite. To prepare a link I tend to cut and past the blog’s title into Hoot Suite and then add the url link to shortener. I then set a time for the link to go out. (For the record 3-4 p.m. GMT seems to be the golden time for clicks)
One recent addition has been the inclusion of Facebook. I have allows sent links out via Twitter, but in recent weeks I have start to post them simultaneously to the BubbleCow Facebook Fan Page. The aim is to expand the number of readers who I can reach, giving them an option on how to receive the links. An additional channel I use is Stumble Upon. For each link I post out, I also add this page to the Stumble index, hopefully sending some traffic their way in the process.
The Keys To Success
I think the reasons that this works are complex. The first is that the links add value. I only ever include links to blog posts that I would actually read myself. I am very strict about what I send out and always pause for thought before including a link. I am always aware that a stream of crappy links, or links that seem too self-promotional, will harm my following. Secondly, I am persistent. It takes about an hour a day to set up the links and I do it every possible workday – without fail! Each day BubbleCow links show up in people’s twitter stream and Facebook updates.
My final thought is that this works for BubbleCow. It fits my lifestyle, my interest and my Bubblecow’s priorities. It may not work for you. I am convinced that adding value is the key to building a fanbase., However, how you add that value is a very personal thing indeed.
How do you add value?
BubbleCow can provide writers with professional help to pitch your book or edit your book in preparation for submission or self-publication.