How to Create a Facebook Fan Page for Your Novel

Whether you love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. Instead of fighting against the inevitable, how about hooking up your book wagon to a horse that can lead you to more readers? I’m talking about making effective use of social networking tools, such as Facebook Fan Pages, to connect with the people who love your books as well as round up new readers looking for a good story.

One way to attract readers is to create a Facebook Fan Page. Facebook Fan Pages are micro sites on Facebook dedicated to sharing information about a variety of things including a specific business, product, artist, service or, in this case, a novel. A fan page on Facebook provides a place for lovers of your book to congregate and talk about the characters, the plot and provide you with constant writing motivation by poking you, incessantly, for a sequel.

Your novel’s Facebook Fan Page also serves as a marketing tool where you can keep readers updated on release dates, special promotion, author signings and works in progress. You can also use it as a platform to provide additional character and story information that was left out of the book but gives readers a more in-depth understanding of the novel.

Creating a Facebook Fan Page is very easy. You must have a Facebook account first so if you don’t have one (why?), create an account for yourself before you start.

Once you have a Facebook account, go to Facebook.com homepage and click on the link at the bottom titled “Create a Page for a celebrity, band or business”.

Select “Brand, Product or Organization” and then from the dropdown box choose “Consumer Product”.

Fill in the name of the page. The best name to use is the name of your novel. If you want to create a page for a book series then use the overarching name of the series rather than an individual book title (i.e. “Harry Potter Series” instead of “The Prisoner of Azkaban”)

Enter the verification code and then click “Create Page”

Sign into your Facebook account. You will then be taken to the home page of your fan page where you can begin editing the profile.

Promoting your book’s Facebook Fan Page is as simple as adding the address to every piece of advertisement for your book. Be sure to let your publisher know that you have a fan page on Facebook for your novel so they can add it to any marketing material they create for your book.

You should also add the link to the Facebook Fan Page to any signature space that allows live links such as at the end of emails or the bottom of your forum posts (if you participate in forums). Don’t forget to invite your followers on other social networks to stop by and check out the page.

Using social media to promote your book doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Start small by creating a Facebook Fan Page. When you are ready, move on to other tactics that will expand your reach and help you can capture the readers you want.