Publishing in Kenya

Using social media to build a brand / sell books

Masterclass by Kinyanjui Kombani A.K.A ‘The banker who writes’

About Kinyanjui Kombani

Learning Facilitator, East Africa,Standard Chartered Bank

'The Banker who Writes'

Director (Strategy),Old Gold Solutions Ltd.*Winner, Enablis Launchpad 2010

‘The Banker who writes’

Study text at Daystar University

1st print run sold out in Day 1 after a

social media campaign

Recommended for teaching in schools by KICD (Kenya Institute of Curriculum

Development

Sold in Uganda only

Sold in Rwanda only

Study text at 4 Kenyan & 1

German University

Mentioned in PostGraduate

work at Harvard & Uni. Of

Sussex, UK

The publishing environment in KE

Traditional PublishingUse a traditional publisher who takes care of the publishing process: Editing, typesetting, design, printing, storage, distribution, marketing etc

You take care of the entire/part of the publishing process: Editing, typesetting, design, printing, storage, distribution, marketing etc

Self Publishing

The publishing environment in KE

Traditional Publishing Self Publishing

- The publisher takes care of the risk (the risk of not selling a single book is a reality)

- The publisher has the experience, resources & network to manage the process

- You can let the experts deal with the book as you do your core business : Writing

Pros

- You can take advantage of your own networks to guarantee sales.

- You are in charge of the entire process, so the publishing is done at your own pace

- You take 100% of the income!

Pros

- You are at the mercy of the publisher’s calendar, resources and priorities

- Some publishers are not very straightforward and may understate sales

- Some publishers are not very strong in marketing books / have too many authors

- The royalties you get are much lower than you expect

Cons

- It’s a heavy risk, and can lead to heavy losses/dead stock if you cannot clear the books you’ve printed

- Publishing requires skills in sales, negotiation, design etc which can lead to failure if not perfected

- Quality may be compromised (typos and poor printing work)

Cons

The publishing environment in KE

Emerging trends in Publishing

You can liaise with publishers to co-publish/share costs and revenue(‘smaller’ publishers are more flexible)

Online publishing

Useful links:1.www.alexandernderitu.com2.http://www.masterpublishing.co.ke

Using to build a brand/ sell books

Disclaimer:

I do not claim to be a social media expert. Like many other writers, I am still learning

In the next slides I only try to share my lessons learnt. Feel free to engage me on kinyanjui@kinyanjuikombani.com

Why do writers need to have a social media presence?

Leverage on your network

The many social media platforms available give you a head start when spreading the word about your work.

Why do writers need to have a social media presence?

Social media helps you to:

Be Where your readers are

With billions on social media networks, if you do not have a presence there ‘you do not exist.’

Grow your brand

Social media gives you a relatively cost effective* way of making your brand and work known to the rest of the world.

Note: Not free

How do we go about it?

Approach

Source: https://www.newbrandanalytics.com/blog/2013/11/how-to-create-a-social-media-strategy/

What are your followers saying?

What do you want to say/do/achieve?

How will you know you are succeeding?

Where will you get more value?

Talk with, not to, your audience

Best times to post, etc

Prioritise

With scores of platforms available, you have to identify what works for you. You may not afford to be everywhere

(I am still trying to figure out Instagram and I feel like a socialite – my last post had a whopping 18 likes )

I get 90% of my sales and engagement from Twitter and Facebook, so I dedicate my efforts there.

Not 100% utilising the benefits of LinkedIn. Work in Progress

Good for presentations. I haven't seen this translating to sales. But it has potential

Your online brandCreate a consistent online presence that reflects your writer brand:

Good quality photo for avatar

Cover page that promotes you/your work

(resist the temptation to use your (low resolution photo of yourself chasing chickens at home)

Your online brand

Your bio should be succinct and relevant.

Create a consistent online presence that reflects your writer brand:

How I do it

Product placement?

Cover page

Because I write about social issues, I find this photo to be a good representation of society.

I sometimes change this when I have an event. I rarely put family photos here no matter the temptation, even if it is Day 1 of school.

Bio that talks about things I am passionate about

Metrics I look at

How am I benchmarked against others in the industry?

Am I doing the right thing?

Attracting the right connections?

This is by no means exhaustive. There are many other metrics that social media platforms give: locations, demographics, devices used to access your content etc

Let your readers do the talking for you

Do not blow your own trumpet. If your work is good enough, your readers will talk about it….

Twitter posts + Review on her blog that attracted other reviews

Twitter + Facebook posts + an interview on national TV and Radio

Let your readers do the talking for you

Some of them will be influencers….

420K followers

560K followers

Industry experts with CLOUT

The days after these tweets, the book sold out at bookshops

What is the impact of social media on my book sales?

‘Den of Inequities’ has sold 3 times more books in one year than ‘The Last Villains of Molo’ has sold in 7 years’

By the time ‘Den of Inequities’ was launched, we had sold over 1,000 copies via Pre-orders on twitter (what LVoM sold in 3 yrs)

‘Den’ is arguably one of the most reviewed books in 2014, featuring in major dailies and no less than 10 blogs.

Launched via a Christmas campaign on Facebook, ‘Lost But Found’ sold out before it was released.

Impact of social media on book sales

Other things I have learnt

Promote work by other authors as well.

They will also become your ambassadors.

Plus you are helping improve the reading culture

See, sale done!

(Now Ken Walibora owes me )

Other things I have learnt

80/20 rule

Talk about other people’s work 80% of the time

Talk to stakeholders

Get involved in literary events

Go to bookshops and engage sales people

(The shop attendant is your biggest ambassador. You can’t believe how many people walk to a bookshop and simply ask for a ‘good Kenyan book’

Other things I have learnt

Social media engagement is only one aspect.

You have to be ready to direct readers to where they can get your books. If they cannot go to a bookshop, find ways to deliver.

Most readers don’t mind paying extra for postage

Kinyanjui Kombaniwww.kinyanjuikombani.com

kinyanjui@kinyanjuikombani.com

kombanithewriter

https://ke.linkedin.com/in/kombani

@kkombani @kkombani (I hope..)

http://www.slideshare.net/Kombani