It is amazing how social media absorbs peoples’ lives, and if you can find a way to contact those who care about what you write, on a platform with almost 200 million users, you will be bouncing so high relatives may call for a straight jacket.

You know the platform I’m talking about – the notorious Facebook, with its endless (and ever increasing) number of groups and pages. By joining those which relate to your genre, you can get in contact with a host of potential readers. You can make your presence known by posting on these pages – think of them as a forum or discussion board. The more you participate on these pages, the better known you become. Other participants here will have an interest in your niche and hopefully your e-book. Start inviting people to be your friends if they interact with you on posts. Find the fan pages of authors who write in similar genres to yours, or the pages of experts in your field, and make friend requests to people who also like those pages. You can also create fan pages around your novel and provide people with your synopsis and discussions about your novel, or tips on a topic that interests them, using it like a website – one where people will actively and comfortably engage with you.

Other writers have started recommendation pages for their genre. Erotica writer ‘Summer Daniels’ started a Facebook fan page called “What To Read After 50 Shades of Grey” which has helped her funnel new readers to her own books as well as the books of other erotica authors.

Posts that get the most engagement on Facebook are photographs. So make sure you post interesting, entertaining and relevant photographs on your Facebook pages to increase reader interaction. Remember that your posts for the day should be 70% entertainment/content and only 30% promotion. No-one will join a Fan Page if they are only going to be promoted at.

Facebook allows you to do a whole host of things, such as add interests (or your keywords) to your profile page with your philosophy and bio. Make sure all your websites are listed and give an email, separate from your personal one, where people can contact you. Being aloof will not get you the following and sales you desire – only connecting with people and giving them every opportunity to connect in return will see your following increase and your work recognised.

Emily Craven is a non-fiction & YA fiction & an evangelist for e-books and author marketing. She has run transmedia events & spoken/run workshops on marketing and e-books for the ASA, If:Book Australia, the World Fantasy Convention and the National Young Writers’ Festival. She is the Digital Producer at If:Book Australia collaborating on their blog and projects, and consults with authors around the world on e-book marketing and author platforms. Her latest e-book and course ‘E-book Revolution: The Ultimate Guide To E-book Success’ are now available from her website http://www.emily-craven.com