The Value of Google+ As A Writer's Platform

I've blogged before about the importance of a writer having a platform, what a platform is, and how to build one but I've never talked specifically about the value of Google+ for writers.

Many feel that Google+ was a good attempt to build a social networking platform but that it falls short. For instance, Chuck Wendig has written that he's underwhelmed and more than a little confused by it (Of Google-Plus And Circle Jerks).

It seems to me many people, perhaps most, share Chuck's assessment of Google+.

The question: is Google+ a graveyard?

How To Quantify The Popularity of your Google+ Feed

What I've wanted is a way to quantify how many views my Google+ account received. I've been more active in Google+ over the past month and I wanted to see if that increased activity resulted in increased views.

The problem: I didn't know how to get a listing of views for my Google+ account.

How To Measure Google+ Traffic Using Google Analytics

If you already have a Google Analytics account this is easy to do. If you don't, Google Analytics is free and easy to set up. A friend of mine who gleefully describes herself as a Luddite did it, by herself, in 5 minutes. (By the way, you have to wait a month or so after activating your account to get meaningful data.)

What we're going to do is measure Google+ traffic by measuring referral traffic to your main blogging site, or website.

For instance, say you have your blog on Wordpress or, like me, on Blogger. Go into Google Analytics and open up your blog's profile. Now go into:

Traffic sources > Sources > Referrals 

Here you'll find a listing of which URL's send your blog the most traffic as well as the number of visits you receive from that URL each month.

The URL you're looking for is:

plus.url.google.com

Click on that URL and you'll see a graph that depicts the number of visits from your Google+ account. (You can change it to measure pages per visit, average visit duration, percentage of new visits or the bounce rate, among other things.)

You can also compare how your current traffic compares to the traffic from a month ago (you can customize this feature).

For instance, I discovered that since I've been more active on Google+ that visits to my blog from my Google+ account have increased by 40%! That said, I still get 5 times more referrals from Twitter, although I do have about 12,000 Twitter followers while I have only about 550 people in my Google+ circles.

Is Google+ Worth The Time?

I find it's always a question of time, where one's time is best spent. Every person is different, but it's difficult to decide where to invest your precious time without some sort of objective guide.

My intention in writing this article was to show you a way to find objective measures that could help you decide what is right for you, where your time is best spent.

If you'd like to read more about how to get the most out of Google Analytics for Google+, click here: How to measure Google Plus with Analytics.

Do you use Google+? What social network (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and so on) do you use most?

Other articles you might like:

- The Benefits of Handwriting
- Getting Ready for 2013: A Writer's Guide
- Writing Goals Versus Writing Dreams: How To Get From One To The Other

Photo credit: "U2:all because of you" by visualpanic under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Amazon's KDP Select Program Has A Lot To Offer New Writers, But What About Established Ones?

Amazon's KDP Select program is best for writers who haven't yet cultivated a large readership, but even if you have it can give a boost to a book that's underpreforming as well as broaden your readership. At least, that's what Jeff Bennington says.

Yesterday, thanks to Elizabeth Craig and her marvelous tweets, I discovered Jeff's great post on KDP Select. Jeff has used the program for some time and his article is a must-read for anyone considering enrolling: How to Win in Amazon's KDP Select Program.

Jeff wrote his article on October 25th of this year, before Amazon put an additional $1.5 million into the pot for Select authors, but that just strengthens his argument. (See: Amazon Sweetens the KDP Select Pot For The Holiday Shopping Season)

Amazon's KDP Select: A Great Program For New Writers

Amazon KDP Select is best for writers who haven't yet cultivated a large readership and want to.

Since Amazon's Select program allows you to offer your book, free, for up to 5 days per enrollment period this virtually guarantees thousands of people will download your book (if they don't, take a second look at your cover, your blurb, and so on). (See: What To Do If Your Book Sales Are Low)

At least, if they're anything like Jeff. Jeff writes:

I average about 8,000 (small books) - 15,000 (novels) downloads with every freebie run.

In September of this year he gave away nearly 20,000 books and sold well over 5,000. Not bad!

But lets not even look at book sales. In the beginning what is of critical importance is for readers to find your work. Using Amazon's KDP Select program you can put your book in front of thousands of readers so, at the very least, it's a great way to grow a readership. And, if you include a link back to your blog, you'll get more followers.

As any established writer will tell you, there's no shortcut to success, but it can be very nice to have an initial boost.

Amazon's KDP Select: Can Help Expand Your Readership

Let's say you're an established author, one who already has a large readership, so the benefits of Amazon's KDP Select program aren't as attractive to you. Also, you worry that your readers--those who either don't have access to Amazon or who choose not to buy from it--would be alienated by your choice to publish exclusively through them.

There's still a couple of reasons why you might consider using the program.

1. Books that under-perform

This happens. You've written a book you believe in. You think it's a great book but it's not selling as well as you'd like because it hasn't found its audience. This kind of book is an excellent candidate for the KDP Select program.

What you want is to get your book in front of more people, different people. After getting downloaded thousands of times chances are you'll reach more of the folks who will love it and you'll end up broadening your readership.

2. You change your genre

Established writers sometimes want to start writing in a different genre. For instance, Jim Butcher is currently working on the first book of a new steampunk series. (See: Jim Butcher Begins Another Series, The Cinder Spires: It's Steampunk!)

Mr. Butcher, of course, has enough fans to get the word out that he doesn't need programs like Amazon's KDP Select, but other authors might choose to release the first book of their new series using Select. It might be a good idea to pull the book out of the program at the end of the three month term, but even a one term enrollment could give a new series a nice push.

Jeff Bennington's Amazon Select Success Story

Jeff writes:

[I]n my last six "freebie runs" as I call them, I've hit the Top 20, five out of six times, and the sixth time I hit #58 with Creepy, book 1 in my Creepy series.

Now that's impressive!

Jeff writes more about what he does to achieve these figures at the end of his article. If you're considering using Amazon's KDP Select and wondering if it's right for you, give his article a read.

Other articles you might like:
- Writing Prompts: Defeat Writer's Block And Generate Ideas
- NaNoWriMo Ends. Editing Begins!
- Amazon Sweetens the KDP Select Pot For The Holiday Shopping Season

Photo credit: "Chichicastenango Market, Guatemala" by szeke under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.