You must have heard by now the collective cry of frustration by authors who use Facebook to connect with readers. While they've been rolling out for months, Facebook’s changes seem to be complete. And they stink.
We used to be able to share links in Facebook posts at will. Have a new blog on your website? Tell readers by posting a link on Facebook. Found an interesting article on someone else’s blog? Pass it along with a link on Facebook. Running a sale for your latest release on Amazon? Give Facebook friends the direct link to buy it. To post links like that today will cost you $499/month.
Yep, that’s right! $499 each and every month. There are a couple less expensive options. For $49.99/month, you are allowed to post a whole 8 links. That’s two a week. For some folks, sticking to two a week or even two a month isn’t a big deal, but some of us like to share interesting stuff a little more often than that.
You won’t be surprised to learn that the percentage of Agatha Christie readers on Facebook and Instagram (which is also a Meta platform) far outweighs those on TikTok, Reddit, and other social media hubs. It’s where I find my fellow Agatha Christie fans. So I’m wondering how other authors are dealing with this hurdle.
Quit Facebook
A surprising number of people have just had it with Meta. They’re tired of being manipulated, silenced, and exploited. What used to be a fun way to connect with old friends and find new like-minded souls just isn’t enjoyable any longer, so they’re done. Leaving is certainly is an option.
Instead, authors are relying more on other platforms such as Substack, or they are leaning more heavily on their email newsletters and online group participation.
Apply Tech Tools
There are some technological solutions for getting around the link restrictions. Using a tool like Linktree for your link-in-bio multiplies that one link into several by serving as a middleman landing page. But you do have to remind those reading your posts to click on that link-in-bio.
Comment-to-DM Automation is another tech-based solution in which readers comment on your Facebook post with a keyword that prompts an automatic message containing the link you want to share.
Create Different Kinds of Content
Videos, photos, long-form texts – anything that is created first on a Meta platform is encouraged. Of course, for an author, that means spending more time working on social media and less time working on one’s manuscript. Finding the balance between writing, marketing, and selling is always tricky.
For a while, posting a link in the first comment didn’t count against the two-link limit, and neither did links posted within Facebook groups. But they count now, unless you are posting as a personal profile rather than in professional mode.
I’ve been experimenting with different techniques. For instance, if I see an article I want to share, I’ll check the author’s Facebook page to see if they posted it there already, and then share the Facebook post's link. Sharing links within the Facebook environment doesn’t currently count against the two-post limit. I’ve also written out agathaannotated dot com/blog, hoping readers will take the time to type the URL into their browser. We’ll see what works best.
If you have any thoughts on how you’d like authors to engage with you on Facebook, I’d love to hear them. Or if, as an author, you have found a successful way of staying in touch, I’d love to hear about that, too! In the meantime, I’m busy experimenting while cursing under my breath.
Photo by Patrick