Kat Mayo @BookThingo discussing blogging about books, presented at the readers' advisory seminar 14 March 2018

1. Books in the time of
social media
Kat Mayo
kat@bookthingo.com.au

2. Outline
 Introduction
 Social media platforms
 Book discovery

3. Introduction
W: http://bookthingo.com.au
E: kat@bookthingo.com.au
Social media: @BookThingo
 How I discovered book blogs
 What gap do blogs fill for
readers?
 Bloggers as curators

4. Facebook
Why readers love it
 Closer interaction with authors
 Exclusive tidbits and news
 Largely positive towards the
book or author
 Threaded comments make
discussions easier to track
What to look out for
 Public vs closed communities
 Personal/professional
boundaries
 Facebook algorithms can
change what you see in your
news feed
 Skews towards older readers
(over 30)

5. Facebook: How to find new pages

6. Twitter
Why readers love it
 Immediate interaction (most of
the time)
 Easy to use when mobile
 Easy to jump on and off
conversations, even hours later
 Easy to branch off into side
conversations while still linked to
the main Twitter discussion
 Hashtags can be created on the
fly – e.g. #LoveOzYA
What to look out for
 It takes time to build
relationships
 Retweets carry
conversations beyond your
immediate relationships
 Difficult to give full context in
280 characters
 Twitter has its own etiquette
– and not everyone agrees
on what is good practice

7. GoodReads
Why readers love it
 It’s all about books!
 Readers can add editions and
update information (“librarians”)
 Easy to rate and review
 Easy to sort and categorise
 Useful as a personal library
catalogue
 Discussion groups and book
clubs
What to look out for
 Reader-defined bookshelves
can be very creative
 Ratings don’t always mean
what you think it means
 Annual book awards
 Genre is reader-defined and
can be fluid

8. Amazon
Why readers love it
 Extensive book catalogue
 Seamless integration with Kindle
e-reader
 Cheaper books
 Recommendation algorithms
 Integration with Audible
 Affiliate links (for readers who
blog/link to books on social
media)
What to look out for
 Review farms
 Exclusive ecosystem

9. Instagram (Bookstagram)
Why readers love it
 The books are so pretty!
 Flat lays
 Visual rather than textual
 Live stories
What to look out for
 Huge platform for YA
readers
 Follow the hashtags
 Algorithms
 Skews towards younger
readers (teens and under
30s)
 Alternative: Litsy

10. Hosted platforms
Podcasts
 Popular for people who commute/jog/do
housework
 Longform audio, typically over 30
minutes
 Barriers to entry: cost, skill, time to edit
 One-way communication
Vlogs (BookTube)
 Popular platform for YA readers
 Skews towards younger readers
(teens and 20s)
 Barriers to entry: skill, equipment, a
clean room!
Blogs
 Great for longform reviews and
opinions
 Discussions have moved away
from blogs over the years
 Blog tours – mixed bag due to
repeated content
 Increasingly used as a
promotional vehicle by
publishers and authors
 Currency is reader trust

11. Newsletters
Why readers love it
 Book recommendations in their
inbox
 Tailored to their interests,
including:
 By author
 By publisher/imprint
 Local bookseller
 Discounted title (e.g.
Bookbub)
What to look out for
 Curation bias – e.g.
booksellers, publishers,
discounted books
 Backlist titles not as well
promoted
 Freebies and exclusives –
e.g. pre-release extracts

12. And more…
Wattpad
 Reader/writer platform
 Skews very young (teens)
Radish
 Offshoot of Wattpad
 Includes a business model for authors to earn from their writing
Fan fiction communities
 Hothouse for developing writers
 Great for building communities and a fan base prior to
publication

13. Where to start
 Romance
 Fictionally Yours, Melbourne – Biggest romance reader event in Australia, great for
discovering self-published authors
 Natasha Is a Book Junkie – Australian based book blogger with a huge US following, focused
on new releases
 Smart Bitches, Trashy Books – Great mix of old and new titles across subgenres, robust
comments section
 WOC In Romance – Promotes books by women of colour
 Generalist
 LoveOzYA
 Read3r’z Re-Vu
 Book Bloggers Australia – Directory of Australian based blogs
 Books and Publishing – Monthly blogger spotlight
 Australian Women Writers Challenge – Curates reviews and links to review blogs
 Book Riot – US-based book blogging and podcasting network
 Bookbub – Newsletter with a huge distribution list for discounted books
 NetGalley and Edelweiss – Online portals for advance reading copies
 Individual romance publishers/imprints, authors/author groups, booksellers

14. Podcasts
Australia
 Book Thingo 
 Unladylike
 Bookish Friends
 Better Words
 From The Lighthouse
 Lost the Plot
 Chat 10 Looks 3
 Genrelisation
 One More Page (children’s books)
Elsewhere
 Women With Books
 Book Riot (they have a lot of
shows – choose your genre)
 Smart Podcast Trashy Books
 Romance Romp
 The Wicked Wallflowers Club
 XOXO After Dark Cast
 The Puffin Podcast – Children’s
book podcast that has podfaded,
but a great template for a fun
podcast

15. Book discovery tips
 ASK READERS
 Amazon recommendations –
“Customers who bought this item also
bought”
 GoodReads wormhole – bookshelves,
GoodReads awards
 Australian bookseller newsletters – new
releases
 Twitter and Instagram hashtags -
#LoveOzYA, #RomBkLove
 Join Facebook and GoodReads
community (and leave if they’re not the
readers you’re focusing on)
 Check NetGalley and Edelweiss – Look
beyond Australian catalogues,
especially for genre
Questions to ask authors and publishers
who visit your library:
 Which reader blogs do you find most
effective at promoting your books?
 Where are you promoting your books
online (book clubs, Facebook chats)?
 Which platforms are your readers
using?
Find where the readers are and follow
the conversations.

16. Why social media?
 Insights into what is important to readers
 Understand reader vocabulary
“Do you have a book with an MC hero, no BDSM, a
heroine who is not TSTL, with an HEA?”
 Find adjacent books to extend reading lists for
readers who want a bit of this and a bit of that – e.g.
rural romantic suspense
 Trends, trends, trends
 Because it’s fun!