Breakout Session: Strategically Craft Reels To Promote Your Book with Erin Lee

 

Erin Lee is an elementary school teacher and artist living in Long Sault, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Ottawa with an Honors degree in Fine Arts, Visual Arts. Erin has published three award-winning children’s books: Benjamin and the Backyard Beast, Out of Season, and Maggie the Magnificent. 

Erin has written short stories and novels since she was a child. As a young student, she idolized authors such as Robert Munsch, Dr. Suess, and Roald Dahl. Having adventures of her own that she wanted to share, Erin began to write stories herself. Erin's love of literature is what inspired her to become a teacher, so that she could share her passion for reading and always be surrounded by books. Erin currently teaches Kindergarten and though, at times, she feels like Ms. Frizzle with her wild avant-garde lessons, she adores her students and often draws upon memorable classroom moments in her stories. It is also through childhood stories that she addresses important topics, such as bullying, inclusion, and anxiety within the classroom setting. She believes that no matter how subtle or minuscule these issues may manifest within the classroom, ensuring that they do not go unheard is crucial for the growth of a child.

Website: www.erinleeauthor.com ~ Instagram: @erin.lee.author.

Erin says it's possible to sell books on Instagram, even if you're not tech-savvy. 

Why Instagram?

Erin likes IG because there are 2 billion active users monthly, lets us post short form narrative in reels, is a powerful search engine, a diverse platform, has a low barrier entry, has potential for monetization, and followers convert to sales.

Things to consider when setting up your Instagram:

- Create or switch to a Creator account.

- Are you serving your target audience? Does your account align with your niche?

- Is your username catchy and concise? Is your bio full of keywords?

- Erin advises getting a professional headshot or company logo.

Identify your audience:

Figure out how to identify your target audience, how to research who they are, what they're looking for, etc. Think hard about how you can help your target audience to achieve a goal, improve their situation.

Study the algorithm, identify your niche:

How can you stand out?

Post only in your niche, use keywords in your niche, only follow people in your niche (train the algorithm)

Erin discussed factors that influence rankings, including creative originality, image or video quality, relevance score, engagement...many more. 

Type of Content:

Aim to create high quality content consistently, advises Erin.

Think about your "Content Pillars": Key themes or topics you want to focus on in your content and become known to your audience on social media. Just a few of the examples she gave: Education, Story Telling, and Behind The Scenes.

And SO MUCH MORE...

This session was packed with much more info, including Erin's tips on how to make your reels be successful, how to increase chances that a reel will go viral, helpful apps, hooks, trending audio, AI options to help generate ideas (Erin emphasizes to NEVER use AI to write a book), Instagram Stories, Story Highlights, time management tips, etc. 

Tips To Turn Up Book Promotions That Reach Teachers and Librarians with Alice Faye Duncan

 

Alice Faye Duncan is a National Board Educator, who writes books for young learners. Her latest titles include This Train is Bound for Glory, Coretta's Journey, Traveling Shoes, and Yellow Dog Blues--a 2022 NYT/NYPL Best Illustrated Children's Book. You can find out more info about Alice at AliceFayeDuncan.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Alice says that there are fewer book reviews being published these days, but she said there are other ways to introduce books to teachers and librarians.

If you want a successful kidlit creator career, it's in our best interests to find ways to connect with educators and librarians. Alice says it makes a big difference.

Just a few of Alice's suggestions:

Join state and local school library associations. Alice suggests picking three states near you or your state and two states tied to your book in some way. She suggested researching the AASL.

If you're a member, you'll have more opportunities to let other members know about your upcoming books, possibly resulting in speaker invitations. 

Join state and local literacy associations. Alice gave an example of the International Literacy Association. As a result, Alice was invited to speak and promote upcoming books.

 Join Facebook Groups where teachers, librarians, and parents amplify children's books. Post helpful resources tied to your book and include your website link in your posts. "Always do more giving than taking."

IG Live: Follow Instagram influencers who are teachers, librarians and home school leaders. After connecting with them, organize IG Live Events. "Instagrammers are always looking for great content."

Contact school districts and make them aware of school visit opportunities. Prepare a set program and have a price set.'

Don't be afraid of contacting your publisher for "marketing collateral": teacher guides, bookmarks, ARCs for book and library influencers, conference sponsorships. Your publisher may not offer, so Alice encourages us to be proactive and ask. "They might say no...but they night say YES."

"Be bold, brave, and benevolent," encourages Alice, calling these the Be-Attitudes.

Full of energy and enthusiasm, Alice shared so many fantastic examples of ways that children's book creators can connect with educators and librarians in authentic ways. Thank you, Alice!

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If you want to view this session to hear the full content, along with the rest of the conference, register at https://www.scbwi.org/events/summer-conference-2023. Replays of the conferences will be available until September 10th, 2023.