"In October 2013 sales of my WW2 novel, The Black Orchestra, had declined to the point where I was selling just 4 books per day.
I asked Laurence O'Bryan to see what he could do to help. Wearing his Social Media 4 Writers hat he guided me through a blog-and-twitter campaign followed by a Countdown Promotion on Amazon.com.
Today, 3 weeks after the promotion, sales are growing again and I am now selling 50 books per day.
Faced with a bewildering number of choices: blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Wattpad etc., it can be difficult to put together an effective marketing campaign. Laurence provided the expert guidance and support I needed to make the right choices and just the right level of pressure to keep me focussed."
JJ Toner http://www.jjtoner.net/
"After the initial burst of sales at launch of my novel died down, Laurence's service has enabled me to maintain visibility for my novels at a very reasonable cost. Although I'd engaged with Twitter and flirted with Facebook, this has focussed my efforts on the things that are really effective. It's an ongoing process, there's plenty of scope for improvement on my part, but blog visits have risen sharply from a few a day to 50-100. The improvements suggested to my blog and website are being implemented and are increasing book sales."
DJ Harrison http://djharrison99.blogspot.co.uk/
"Laurence O'Bryan has helped me for the past two years to manage my social media presence and to reach out to readers and inform them of news on my forthcoming novels. This has been a wonderful service."
Glenn Meade - Author of Snow Wolf and many international best sellers http://www.glennmeadeauthor.com/
SM4 Writers 
Cool idea 🙂
Hi Laurence,
I am game. I keep telling myself I willhave a Pinterest account. Take a look at my webpage. http://www.morgankwyatt. You have my web and twitter address. Thanks.
Hi Morgan!
There are so many boards waiting for you! A selection of your own fav travel pics first. Then cooking, gardening & belly/tribal dance boards, whatever you have the best pics for. I think it would be great for all your interests, as Pinterest is so visual and your interests are too.
Best wishes from sunny Dublin in far away Ireland!
So clever! Love this idea…but wondering how to apply it to historical fiction. Any suggestions are most appreciated!
Website: http://www.JACoffey.com
Book info: http://ow.ly/jP1uh
Very clever! Would love input on how to create this for a historical novel. Much appreciated!
Website: http://www.JACoffey.com
Book info: http://ow.ly/jP22T
Hi Julie,
I see lots of opportunities with each era you write in. So, A Pinterest board about ancient daughters of the Gods and modern women you think might stand in for them. With Pinterest you can take pictures of the web and pin them to your board. I hope you like the idea! Laurence
as long as my articles and posts have an image, I use Pinterest to keep track of them
I’m game. Let me know How I can effectively use Pinterest to sell MichaelJStedman.com
Michael, It would be great if you had your own pictures of Kinshasa, the Congo river or Congo in general. But you can also pin images from the web with Pinterest.
These would add real local colour and help us visualize what it is really like in the places Mack Maran visits on his adventures. It sounds like a really interesting read btw. I believe pictures would help some of us connect with the world of the book.
I’ve recently discovered the great work-avoidance activity that is pinterest. I tweet pics with lines from the novel and am really open to other suggestions. I’ve been doing my best to persuade author friends to indulge also but without much luck. http://pinterest.com/lindabahnan/hot-times-in-goa/ Twitter at https://twitter.com/ldbahnan website: http://www.lindabanana.com
In the not quite terrible category to be funny! That made me laugh! Work avoidance is a serious business. Your strategy is admirable. And playful. What more do we want!
I might be mistaken but I could swear others are copying what I’m doing! That’s great and part of what social networking is all about. I’m getting excellent feedback in other ways, too: a flood of followers and ‘likes’. Thanks for the support.
Reblogged this on EditorEtc LLC and commented:
Nice boards & pins from this Class A author…
Posted on https://www.facebook.com/pages/Change-It-Up-Editing-and-Writing-Services/362306400523555–great marketing idea!
Hi Laurence, What a great initiative! If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. My website is http://sbpra.com/christinaberta/. Many thanks!
Hi Christina.
I think you have great potential for Pinterest. I see images of all the characters from The Journey and many of the settings in Brussels too. I am sure you have lots of photos of interesting parts of Brussels and as a reader I would love to be able to see where the story is set. Best wishes from Dublin! L
http://www.simplytrbaker.com
Thank you.
live.love.write
T. R. Baker
I would love to see a Pinterest board for Shelby & Jules with their belongings, hats and coats and shoes. And one for the street they live in and the coffee shop they argue in and the record shop they make up in and the restaurant where they realize they will never be parted. .
This is a great idea, Laurence. I have tweeted it out to my author followers. Incidentally, I suggested Pinterest to one of my author clients last year, she then sold a book through it within 24 hours of opening her account! Just proves Pinterest does work!
Thanks Sarah! I agree. And visuals are great support for reading. They fill in gaps in our imagination.
Dear Laurence,
Bumped into you at the Southampton CWA thing. Hope it’s all going well for you.
A great idea. With us all doing so much promo work, it’s a great idea to share ideas.
William
http://www.william-sutton.co.uk
Terrific idea- what a world we live in now!
Don’t forget when tweeting extracts with pictures related to your book to include the hashtag #novelines and your genre, #crime
….and, of course, to RT other authors’ Pinterest tweets
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Love your ideas! I have Pinterest boards which illustrate my books: http://pinterest.com/CarmenConnects and am in the process of revamping the website http://carmenamato.net. All comments welcome!
Thanks Laurence, as a new writer, I found you on Twitter, honestly I’ve had great advice from you, and I’ve never even met you!
Last week, I struggled to set up a Pinterest account. Now, all I need to do is finish my first book, I’m a demon for distractions!
I’m always open to suggestions. http://www.stephenbrayton.com
I feel that we can engage readers with Pinterest by creating boards for our characters, sharing books and quotes we love and, as with most social media platforms, simply being ourselves. I also showcase my blog posts, and on occasion, Pinterest is my top referrer. Cheers!
I like looking at things on Pinterest, just haven’t quite figured out how to navigate it well, though.
I would love some feedback…just building a pinterest for my book “Female Fusion” at http://pinterest.com/femalefusion/ My website is http://www.staceyrowcliffe.com Blessings’n Hugs!
Stacey A. Rowcliffe
Hi Stacey….lots of potential here…please put loads of pics up on Pinterest asap!
Hi there! Saw your tweet and clicked the link. I already have a Pinterest board for my book, with loads of stuff relating to it – but welcome any new and innovative ideas: http://pinterest.com/helenxmas/same-face-different-place-beginnings-book-1-by-hel/
Hi Helen, your board is very interesting. My ideas to upgrade it would be perhaps to have items – places – things – people from the book on separate boards. You might also put the cover, maps, a list of locations on one too. It all depends do you want to re-organise what you have or create new boards, subsets of the existing one perhaps. All the best with it all!
Thanks very much, Laurence I’ll have a good think about this and see what else I can find to add to it. There will be another board coming up soon too, for the sequel! Thanks again.
What a great idea! my website is http://www.skye-writer.com, Pinterest = http://pinterest.com/skyewriter/
What a cool idea. I’m definitely interested in ways to connect my book with readers.
My pinterest addy is: http://pinterest.com/skyewriter/ and my website: http://www.skye-writer.com
http://writingforalivinga.blogspot.co.uk/ I need some followers, any advice? It’s a good little blog with all my lessons blogged from my creative writing classes, Amanda
Amanda,
They look like very interesting writing classes. There are many steps and I am sure you are doing some already. Libraries, local bookshop notices, local author Twitter feeds, local publisher inc. newspaper and magazine web sites are all the first steps. Hard work I know and I wish I had an easy solution. Only dedication needed! And a bit of luck! Good luck with the new book. Tweet me a link when it comes out and I will RT: @LPOBryan
Thanks for your response. I actually meant followers for my Blog but new writers are always welcome at the classes too. The classes are actually going pretty well and one is in a library so that helps, although most of my writers seem to find me through my website. Thanks for kind words re new book, I’m just starting to submit to agents – wish me luck!
Hi, I think the only way is to create regular content and link to it from Twitter & Facebook and other sites. If you are doing this you will build followers. Good luck with it all.
Please help me. 🙂 My book is called, MOCHA, MOONLIGHT, AND MURDER. http://viewbook.at/B00CD4AYVG
Hi, Maryann, From what I can see your book is set in Reno. I would love to see a Pinterest board about Reno to help me see what it is like now.
You can use your own images or ones you find on Pinterest. Use the search box, top left, to search for images. Then simply pin the best ones to your new board. Pick the most suitable for the mood of your book. Good luck! And email me if you want a guest post on my blog: http://www.lpobryan.com
Hi and thank you! My website is http://www.naked-reflections.com. My book is on Amazon. Naked Reflections: Shamelessly Sensual Poetry. Most of my book’s poems come from my blog.
I don’t think you need me to help with pictures for sensual/erotic poetry, Stacey. There are millions on Pinterest to choose from. Getting the balance right will be the challenge.
Hi, there! This is such a neat idea! I am terrible with most social media, but I want to expand my reader base as much as possible. Any ideas or suggestions would be most welcome, and you’re a doll to offer the support! Here’s the link to my book: http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Heart-Viking-ebook/dp/B00CYS1VO0
Thanks, again!
This is such a neat idea! I’m terrible with social media, but I’m always looking for ways to expand my readership. I’m slowly piecing together these social media accounts, but this sounds like fun. I’ve always avoided Pinterest because it seems like another huge time suck for me, but if it can be used constructively, then I’d be willing to use it. Here’s the link to my book: http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Heart-Viking-ebook/dp/B00CYS1VO0
Any ideas you have would be most appreciated, and thank you for the support!
Kristy
Hi Kristy,
Pinterest is great for romance novels. Why not start some boards with scenes from the book, flowers, beds, all that sort of thing! Let your imagination fly!