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by Edie Melson  @EdieMelson I know it's just the beginning of November, but the holiday season is just around the season.  I'm not advocating rushing the season, but if we take time to get ready now, it  can cut down on the stress that can come during the holidays.  So now is the perfect time to get your social media ready for the holidays. Update Images The first thing you want to look at your cover photo on the different platforms. Consider ways you could enhance it to give it a warm, holiday feel.  There are several ways to create cover photos for your social media accounts: Canva, PicMonkey and iPiccy are my favorites. Here�s a screencast I shared,  Step-by-Step Instructions for Adding Text to Images  using PicMonkey. The dimensions for cover images vary from network to network so be sure to do some research.  Beyond changing the look of your platforms by changing your images, you�ll need to plan ahead for social media updates. And yes, I'm wo...

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson Things that most writers dread.  Social Media Blogging Branding  Marketing Many of us thought writing meant . . . well . . . writing. We didn't sign up for adding these additional�often scary�skills to our publishing repertoire. But in today's world, these are necessary to ensure we reach our audience.  So how does a writer come up to speed on all these additional tools? We can learn as we go, hoping we don't miss anything, or we can build on the experience of others.  DiAnn Mills and I understand the requirements today's writers face. And we're here to guide you. We created the Mountainside Marketing Conference to give writers a chance to get away with experts and learn by doing.  This year we're offering continuing classes on Book Launches, Blogging, and Instagram. Our workshops include instruction on Twitter, Facebook, Working with Images, Email Marketing, Video, and Amazon. Beyond that, we're bringing in Vincent Davis, an...

by Edie Melson  @EdieMelson Social media is big business these days. And like anything that involves large amounts of money, there are lots of unscrupulous people trying to cash in.  While there is no reason to be afraid, we do need to educate ourselves. It�s important that we�re wise in our social media interactions. Today I�m going to share some of the most common scams and some you may not be as aware of. My Basic Rules for Safe Facebook Interactions 1. I do NOT accept friend requests from people I don�t know. We  cannot rely on others to have vetted those they accept as friends. We all make mistakes�we may think we know someone or misread a name. So I NEVER look at how many friends we have in common to decide whether or not to accept a stranger�s friend request. The only exception is if I talk to some I trust�in person�and they recommend someone. Otherwise I don�t accept friend requests from people I don�t know.   2. I do NOT click on strange, or unknown, links ...

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson Social media. Often just the mention of this subject conjures up hours of time. First there�s the time it takes to hang out online, then the time it takes to figure out what to say, who to LIKE and which updates to comment on, share and even retweet. All for what? The chance that someone out there in cyberspace might actually�either now or sometime in the future�buy a book? Or the fact that some editor and/or agent is going to judge the number of friends, followers and likes I have on my social media network? After all�I signed up to be a writer�not a sales person and/or marketer. I�m sure you�re hoping I can either justify your opinion or make a legitimate case to change your mind and show you how easy and how much fun it is. The truth is this:  Social media is hard work. It takes being intentional and keeping your goal in mind. I think most people approach social media with the wrong goal in mind and that leads to frustration. Social media isn�t adverti...

By Edie Melson @EdieMelson When I teach social media, I encourage people to relax and not take on  too much at once. So today I want to back up and start at the very beginning. Because social media can reach millions, it�s way  too easy to think of it as mass marketing. In reality it�s about one-on-one  relationships. That is the beauty and the dichotomy of the medium. It can be overwhelming�this building relationships with millions�especially when our goal is  writing, not advertising. Now the good news: social media is not as  difficult as it seems. It Begins with Community In many ways, it�s a return to small town thinking. In times past, people patronized merchants because the proprietors were their neighbors or  friends. In this day and time, we also find neighbors and friends on Facebook, Twitter and in  blogging communities. And those communities are where we need to  concentrate our efforts. It's vitally important to realize that, despite ...

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson For writers today, an online presence can mean the difference between success and failure. But if we�re not doing it right, we may be our own worst enemy.  10 Ways to Wreck Your Social Media Presence  1. You have an inconsistent social media presence �I�m not talking about taking weekends off. I'm referring to the necessity of spending consistent time building your online presence. This includes showing up on Twitter and Facebook with reasonable regularity, and keeping a regular schedule for your blog posts. 2. You over-promote �The promotion I�m talking about is SELF promotion. Use Edie�s 5 to 1 rule�for every 5 social media updates, you�re allowed one additional update about yourself. 3. Your website doesn�t have social share buttons �I don�t know how much time I�ve spent on sites looking for twitter handles or trying to follow them on Facebook. Most people won�t spend more than three seconds. If they can't find additional information, you've ...

by Edie Melson  @EdieMelson We all know it�s important for writers to have a solid presence online.  But many of us struggle with Social Media commitment issues. We have good intentions, but our follow-through may be less than stellar.  So today I�d like to share some tips to help you stay on track. Stay Committed to Social Media 1. Set Reasonable Expectations.   I think this is the most important piece of advice I can give you. When I first started blogging, I wanted to excel at it. So my inclination was to set the bar high, posting at least five times a week. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I might not be able to keep up. So instead I started slow, posting once a week, and only adding more days to my schedule when I knew I could handle it. It has been the smartest thing I�ve ever done. I�ve managed all my social media this way, and I believe it�s the one thing that has contributed the most to my success. 2. Don�t try to do it all at once. ...