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Who is @c_kraack?

Cynthia Kraack Posted on by

A contract sat on the corner of my desk for weeks. My publisher, Calumet Editions, is asking to formalize their social media-marketing program that is Twitter centered. I balked.

Calumet Editions is a small press run by two lovely people I have known for many, many years. I trust these guys. The High Cost of Flowers won two Midwest Book Awards. The book is selling about as well as any release without a publicity machine. Having published four books with a traditional small publisher depending on old school face-to-face marketing, I remain perplexed about how to successfully market books in today’s market.

For years I have managed my website: cynthiakraack.com, a blog, Facebook and Facebook author pages and @c_kraack Twitter account. That is a fairly typical social media formula recommended for authors. Generating readers or followers is an uphill daily effort. There are vendors who will fluff up those numbers and if you’re lucky they will deliver real Twitter users, not robots. You can buy followers by the thousands. If that makes you feel successful.

Before Calumet, I had fun with my 300+ Twitter followers. I knew many of them. We high-fived each other’s achievements and exchanged pithy comments. I followed major authors and agents who would never follow me. I wasn’t hungry for a Klout ranking, but more like a kid with a lot of pen pals writing very short letters.

Fast forward. With over 90,000 followers, Calumet’s algorithms now drop people who don’t follow me or are inactive for a week. Many of my writing friends and book club followers dropped me because of Calumet advertising blocked out spontaneous connections.

@c_kraack is now truly a brand. One that Calumet has built. At any moment someone in kenburns3.jpgthe world could be reading a tweet from @c_kraack that I generated or Calumet generated. Some of those people buy books. From what I read about social media marketing, Twitter has a conversion rate around one percent. The expert advice is accurate that one social media outlet does not equal a marketing plan.

Where is small press marketing sweet spot? I am an author trying to read the trade publications and blogs, but I am not a marketer. I am a writer working to be discovered by readers. I’ll share what I find through a series of blogs.

Next up: Matching book buyers to social media usage.

 

Comments

Who is @c_kraack? — 11 Comments

  1. Ah, so that’s where all the ads in your Twitter feed come from! Do you think it’s worth it to have two Twitter accounts, with one being used for heavy marketing?

  2. U R right. conversion rate is roughly one response/1000. i used to be a publisher online and writer. lost in the digital darkness of the internet. left twitter because everybody copied each other breathelssly pretending to be original and facebook was just so booooooooooooring. i get news-feeds direct but don’t involve in social media except….one where there are some brains. but there is the same disease, self promotion. [sigh]

  3. really good piece Cynthia social media changed how writers work and the publishing world good for you I look forward to reading your blogs best of luck

  4. I look forward to what you find out Cynthia! I’m sure a lot of us are in the same boat, and we thought writing, editing, researching and formatting was the hard part! Social media is a very steep learning curve.

  5. Good article, Cynthia. I always ask other authors what they do to promote their books; there are as many answers as there are authors–even more. I’ve learned it’s trial and error. But that’s not always accurate, as you don’t know which media outlets, ads, etc. contribute to book sales. The rule of thumb I’ve heard is to just keep your name out there in front of readers, and don’t blast ‘buy my book!’ — that’ll turn them away.

  6. Finally someone who tells it how it is. Great article! Many of writers I know are dealing with the same issues. I’ll follow you and see where it goes. I have heard writers talk about getting their books on Nook or Amazon. But they never give out useful information. Thank you

  7. All, I am a late bloomer. Reinventing myself as a writer is doubly hard coming from the pen and pencil and paper generation. (To clarify as my children tell me — stone and pick tools are not worth a darn in today’s fast paced social media world.) As I peck my way through texting one finger at a time, I have to admit they must be right. It is not possible to learn the tools needed to perfect the trade, at the same time you are trying to sharpen your writing skills.

  9. Music, Art, Writing, they are all industries which rely on numbers, they work on the premise that if they increase exposure en masse, something has to hit. They don’t mind if it’s you, or the next author, as long as one of you is making enough sales to work their profits then they can gamble on more signings and keep playing PR (publicity roulette). You on the other hand understand a different kind of math. The one where genuine relationships and rapport = loyalty. Hopefully their numbers will help you hit big, then you will get more control over your future contracts and enjoy your social media again. Good luck x

  11. I think we authors are all in the same boat so I have embarked on a journey to test different strategies and share them with my mailing list. Very exciting to see just how much we can do without breaking the bank. Will be watching your blog with interest.

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