Everything You Need to Know About the Dreaded ‘M’ Word: An Interview on Marketing Yourself with Annmarie Miles

Welcome to Annmarie Miles of Sunflower Tech who trains people how to make the most of their social media. She starts out by saying, “There is no secret sauce for marketing but there are a few key things that can give us a bit of an edge.”

THE THREE ‘C’S

These are the imperatives when considering our strategy:

• Clarity
• Connection
• Consistency

The one thing that makes our stories unique is ourselves: each of us is a person.

• We need to connect with our potential readers on a personal level.
• We need to communicate who we are.

Clarity is also important. People need to know who we are as writers. We need to be present and connecting.

• Consistency involves planning and talking about who we are and what we are doing – going live – which may not feel safe. But it is necessary.
• Consistency will help your message get out through the algorithm. Blogging consistently is vital.

MEDIA CHOICES

For young readers be on TikTok or Snapchat. For adults choose Facebook and Instagram.

Social media platforms want you to buy advertising. If you write a blog and link to your blog every two weeks and this is consistent, the algorithm expects that. If your link takes you off FB that will take you away from their platform.

Not what they want.

KEEP THEM HAPPY

If we are always linking away, then the platform won’t show our posts widely.

So, we need to have a mix, e.g. if there is 1 link a week outside, then 1 live on FB or Instagram and maybe a static image with a lovely picture that is personal. (Those pretty pictures will attract more reactions than your links to blog.)

Platforms love video. Recorded is good but better still is live video. Live video notifications go out to anyone who is on your page. They’ll see that you were live, even  if they log on later. Maybe start with prerecorded video and work up the courage to go to live.

Consistency over a long period of time is key.

FIND MY AUDIENCE

The first question is: Who is my audience and where do they hang out?

If your readers are 40-60 years old, they tend to stick with Facebook. FB has shown itself to be a resilient platform for family, friends and photos. It’s a great way of keeping connected.

If they are younger, perhaps one of the other choices will work best.

It is vital to know your reader and where they hang out, which may shift over time. It’s necessary to do the research – where are the various ages and profiles hanging out? Education? Hobbies?

You need to adapt your message according to your target audience. Annmarie gives the example of the Prince’s Trust, which used 1 picture three different ways on 3 media, to target 3 different audiences.

GET GOOD AT MARKETING

You need to get good at marketing if you are self-publishing, but also if you are traditionally published. Publishers today are looking for marketeers.

How do you overcome the reticence many of us have to market? Annmarie says we must: “Get over ourselves. Get out there…”

Christian writers writing Christian works have no business not getting their work out there… If God has given us a story that has burnt in us… then what are we doing? We have no business hiding behind anything. If our story is ready to be out there, we need to get it out there.

BE DISCIPLINED

We should be as disciplined as we are with our writing. Everything can be wrapped up in half a day a week: making images and prescheduling. Then go online to respond once or twice a week to every comment.

This is what Annmarie trains her clients to do.

She makes her images in Canva, which offers a free version. Lucy Rycroft (see contact below) offers 2 Canva training videos at £7.50 each.

FOLLOW UP

Contact Annmarie Miles at Sunflower Tech for training enquiries:

• Social Media Strategy
• Confidence on Camera
• ‘How to’ training – pre-scheduling posts, making reels/stories, understanding analytics, platform(s) focus
• Or any other area of social media marketing

Email sunflowertechwales@gmail.com

Website: https://www.annmariemiles.co.uk/

• Books
• Podcast

Bobbie’s pro Facebook page as an example showing Annmarie’s expertise:

For Canva training videos, email lucy@lucyrycroft.com 

Annmarie says: “I don’t get commission or affiliate benefits for recommending Lucy. I did the training myself and think it’s a great way to get started.”

Don’t forget to sign up in the sidebar to be the first to hear about my new posts and receive my 5-Minute Testimony: HOW I MET JESUS. This was in a Jerusalem church where I thought, as a Jew, I wasn’t supposed to be…