Facebook Apps for Writers: Market Your Book to More Readers
If you’re still learning your way around Facebook, you may not be aware that you can add some nifty author apps to your Fan Page -- apps that can help you market your books.
These apps are super-easy to install. The vast majority require no website design experience and will take you less than 10 minutes to set up. However, LOCATING them in the maze that is Facebook is the hard part. Luckily for you, I saved you the headache of searching for them. You'll find all the links below.
And yes! You can thank me with oodles of Facebook likes!
Before I launch into the apps discussion, let’s make sure we’re all clear about Facebook definitions:
- A PERSONAL page on Facebook, is where you get friended. (Confused? See mine here.)
- A FAN page or Business page, is where you get LIKES. (Confused? See mine here.)
The apps discussed in this post can be set up as tabs on the Facebook page where you get LIKES.
Note: All apps discussed in this post are free.
Freebooksy:
If you want to make a living writing ebooks, this app helps you market your work through a variety of social apps and email campaigns. Readers can connect directly with each book, buy them, sign up for your email, read your bio – and more. Plus, you can get involved in a variety of promotions via Freebooksy and its sister company, Bargain Booksy.
See how my Freebooksy app looks (Note: I changed the default image. Yes! App images can be changed! I uploaded new images for all my tabs.)
Get your own Book Marketing App. (Note: Let me save you some hassle while you’re setting up your app. The Amazon ASIN can be substituted in the ISBN field; you don’t have to manually add your book info.)
Learn about promos through Freebooksy.
Learn about promos through Bargain Booksy.
Author Bookshelf:
I haven’t played with this one yet, but it has a good rating.
Learn more about the app and download it.
Authorgraph:
Yes, you can absolutely autograph ebooks! (If you don’t have a free Authorgraph account yet, what are you waiting for?)
See how my Authorgrap app looks on Facebook (Note: Once again I changed the default image.)
Set up your own Authorgraph page.
Rafflecopter:
You probably already know that Rafflecopter is one of the easiest ways to run contests. But did you know you can install a contest tab on your Facebook page? (And take it down when the contest is over?) Get your Rafflecopter tab when you set up your widget through Rafflecopter.
GoodReads:
If you have a GoodReads Author Page, you can add a tab to your Facebook page. Follow these instructions.
Amazon:
Facebook only gives you 8 tabs, including spaces for "Events" and "Likes." But just in case you have tabs left, you should know that there's an Amazon app. You probably won't need it, if you're using Freebooksy, but hey, you may be an Amazon diehard, so here's the app.
If you're REALLY Amazon Manic, you can set up a whole STORE on your Facebook page. Some nice person wrote instructions to do just that on a Wiki page.
Amazon also came out with a killer new app for books last week. So be sure to read all about it!
iFrames App:
If you're a web designer -- or a masochist, like me -- you can play around with the iFrames app. It allows you to embed your own, mini webpage on your Facebook site and turn it into the landing page, if you so desire.
If you know basic HTML code, the app should be simple for you. In my case, I know next to no code, so I used the cut-and-paste function to put WordPress code into my iFrames app. That seemed to work. (But hey, if anything blows up when you're examining my "Book Coaching" tab, let me know, okay?)
Learn more about the iFrames app.
Facebook Apps Center
Looking for other types of Facebook apps? Check out these links:
Facebook App Center (includes games, music, communication, and much more.)
Facebook “Book” Apps (Includes Goodreads and more.)
Know of other great Facebook apps to help authors earn a living writing ebooks? Please share in the comments section, below.
