đ˛ The Grid: March round up
post formats to try, need-to-know updates, and a round up of the best bookish marketing insights I've found on the internet this week
Itâs that time of the month already! đ đ¤Ş
đIn case you missed itâŚ
This month I created a âdirectoryâ style round-up of almost all of the essays and videos that Iâve published over the last year and a bit. Itâs organised into different categories such as For when youâre getting started, and For when youâre launching a book that will hopefully make it easy to find what youâre looking for, and Iâll continue to add to it as we go:
For anyone whoâs moving towards publication date and is wondering how other authors approach their marketing and promotion, this chat with Susan Cahill is free for all to watch and full of some absolute gems of insights:
If you find any of the free content I create helpful, but youâre not in the position to become a paid subscriber, you can support me by sharing this post with your networks and/or liking/ leaving a comment. Thank you đ
đPinned posts
Author,
shares some thoughtful insights with about what it has been like to market her book: Your Book Needs More Marketing Than You ThinkThis must-listen podcast episode from
and whose book, We Need Your Art: stop messing around and make something is out now!OHMYGOD these stats đ: Query Stats and Hacks, thanks to
for pulling them togetherOn a more encouraging note,
shares how she placed companion pieces, excerpts, podcasts, and interviews when promoting her bookAnd finally, in defiance of the Age Of The Influencer, Iâd like to shout out
and her piece On Being an Unglamorous Female Author đđź
đŹ Need-To-Know Instagram Updates
Want your Reels to get in front of more people? Pay attention to WATCH TIME. Instagram have clarified that it doesnât matter if someone watches the entirety of a 10 second video, or 10 seconds of a 60 second Reel, itâs the overall time spent that counts, not the % viewed.
Related, Instagram is explicitly pushing videos up to 3 minutes. Their focus on total watch time offers a clear directive for how to create your Reels. Create compelling mid-length narratives that sustain engagement throughout and say goodbye to those annoying 1 second Reels that claimed to âhackâ the algorithm last year. Longer videos in and of themselves wonât guarantee more reach. 2 seconds of a long video is still 2 seconds!
Get bored easily, especially when watching those longer Reels? Instagram are rolling out an option to watch Reels at 2x speed âto help give people a new way to improve their Reels experienceâ. To use the feature when you get it, youâll need to long press on the right or left edge of the screen, and the reel will play at 2x speed until you release. It will be interesting to see what effect this has on view retention/ watch time stats (and yes, a race to the bottom on attention spans seems to be the general vibe đ)
If you cringe or cry inside every time Reels are mentioned, Iâm running a series called Reel-y Simple Reels over the next few weeks in the TOO MUCH INSTAGRAM membership. This is the introduction post to that series. Upgrade your subscription to become a member and receive all of the resources in the series.
đŚClient Spotlight
Calling all parents of sporty kids! Jim - a writer - and Simon - a top Sports Psychologist - are two fantastic dads whoâve started an Instagram account to help parents and coaches better support our kids from the sideline and at home. Theyâre working on a book and have recently started using Instagram to build their audience.
You can expect tips and insights into how to help your child with match day nerves, what to say when things donât go to plan, and how to manage your own emotions (!). Iâve already learned loads and you can find them here: trainyourbrain__sport
đĄFive post formats to try in April
Who would you cast if your book was made into a Netflix series?
how do you store your books? Go as feral/ straight as you like
If you click through on any of these posts, please engage (like, comment, save, send) with the post to send a signal to the algorithm that this post is valuable, and as a way to say thanks to the creator who made them â¤ď¸
If you find what I do helpful and want to help me keep it going, you can now fuel it by buying me a coffeeđđź
Thank you for this!
Thank you so much for linking to my query stats post - still hideous to look back on, even though I clawed my way out of the trenches and have come out the other side!