Author: CMPR

Making Authentic Connections on Social Media

Posted on by CMPR

Why Make Connections on Social Media?

There are 4.9 billion people on social media; there are bots and marketing agencies spewing generic content; advertising is cluttering news feeds; and if you aren’t a celebrity, you won’t gain followers by the hundreds. So why does anyone even bother, you ask?  Because there are 4.9 billion people using social media. If your audience was just a fraction of that number, you could be happy. Making authentic connections on social media is difficult, but so rewarding in finding the audience for you.

We are so fortunate to be able to reach out to all of these people directly. But you have to be thoughtful, dare I say strategic about how you talk to them. If you do your homework and start talking to your “people” who want to hear what you have to say, then you will grow, and you may even become an influencer someday.  If your social media platforms are not behaving the way you want them to, it is likely that you are not properly focused on who you are trying to reach and what you need to communicate.

Building Authentic Online Relationships

Relationship building online is about earning the trust and loyalty of your customers and audiences so you can maintain and grow your numbers. But how do you do that? Is it by working with a company that will push out “snackable” content? Is it by talking about how great you are or how wonderful your product is?  Would having a roomful of cats posted on Instagram fit the bill?

Even though we can now hide behind our screens, it doesn’t mean that the skills and needs of human interaction are out the window. If anything, you need to be even more thoughtful about your dialogue with others to practice effective social media marketing. Your content needs to be authentic, and you need to do your due diligence and research in advance to identify an audience that will be interested in receiving your messages. After you determine your audience, you need to figure out how to reach it, what platforms to use, the content you will use, and when you are going to post and share.

It Takes Time

To build an army takes an army and that’s what you are doing. You are setting up a foundation of friends and followers who want to know about your ideas or buy your product. If satisfied, they will help spread the word via reposts, shares, and referrals. And as I’ve said, it doesn’t happen overnight.

Don’t try and take a shortcut when it comes to quality, actionable followers. The ones you end up with are often spam and other ineffective types. You need to put a real engagement plan into action, stick to it, monitor the results, and take appropriate action when necessary.

We all need to accept that making authentic connections on social media is going to take a lot of work. Set up a schedule that works for you. Block out time every day to work on internet engagement and research. Find a tracking program or use the tools that the individual platforms provide so you can see how your content is doing. Someone told me once regarding careers that you start with one brick and soon you will have built a wall. So go ahead and start your construction and you will see how things progress.

That Voice by Marcia Menter

Posted on by CMPR

That Voice“‘I learned them all.  At some point I bypassed my father and started buying the records myself.  Ann Drummond-Grant was on six of them, in four contralto roles and two soubrette roles.  In ninth grade, the last year of junior high, she was far and away the most important person in my life.  I never mentioned her name to a soul.  I told my parents I wanted singing lessons but didn’t say why.’”

It was winter in Syracuse, New York, and thirteen-year-old Marcia Menter was plagued with all the requisite teenage insecurities from negative body image to just feeling weird and out of place. When her father brought her a recording of the Mikado, she was unimpressed at first, but once she heard the music of Gilbert and Sullivan (G&S), her life took on a new meaning. Not only did she soon learn all the G&S operas by heart, but she also became obsessed with Ann Drummond-Grant, principal contralto of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, the preeminent British G&S troupe. The story of Menter’s quixotic dream of becoming a singer is combined with an investigative biography of her idol in her new memoir, THAT VOICE: In Search of Ann Drummond-Grant, the Singer Who Shaped My Life (Publication Date: July 2024; 978-1-64742-662-0; $17.95). 

Ann Drummond-Grant rose from a working-class background to become a D’Oyly Carte principal in the 1930s—but lost her job for falling in love with the company’s musical director, Isidore Godfrey, who was married to someone else. Godfrey soon became her husband, but it was more than a decade before “Drummie” (as she was always called) was able to reclaim her place as a major player with the company. Drummie had a glorious voice, but as Menter learned over years of research, it was furious discipline that made her a beloved performer. She was a quiet, unpretentious woman whose dedication to her art was absolute, and whose early death came as a shock to fans on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Menter dreamed of becoming a professional singer and joining the D’Oyly Carte, even though she knew the company didn’t hire Americans. But all through high school, and in college as a vocal performance major, Menter tried unsuccessfully to find a voice teacher who could help her develop her voice. Her stories of ineffective teaching methods and her own struggles with the physical mechanics of singing are told with wit, humor, and a gimlet eye. 

THAT VOICE is at once a coming-of-age story and an account of what it takes to be a professional performer. It is also a tribute to a great singer, and a poignant reflection about the sometimes-unbridgeable gap between dream and reality. Menter’s journey is universal for people who come to understand and accept who they are. The journey itself is the point—especially when it’s as entertainingly told as this one. 

THAT VOICE
In Search of Ann Drummond-Grant,
The Singer Who Shaped My Life
By Marcia Menter
She Writes Press
Publication Date: July 2024
ISBN: 978-1-64742-662-0
Original Trade Paperback
Price: $17.95 | Pages: 262

Flat by Neal Rabin

Posted on by CMPR

Flat“Riveting, HIGH SPEED, CINEMATIC ADVENTURE. This ain’t your history teacher’s 16th century.”
–Hummus Aficionado – One vat is never enough

A wise man once said, “The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.” If this is true, then it stands to reason that Captain Lanning Delaford is about to have the most meaningful day of his life.

In Neal Rabin’s newest, action-packed novel, FLAT (Ponderosa Publishing, Spring 2024, ISBN: 978-0-997046830), Lanning Delaford is torn from his typical routine in 16th Century Spain by a series of comically unfortunate events. Thrown into a swashbuckling adventure he had no intention of taking, Delaford becomes a reluctant explorer.

Set at the tail end of the Spanish Inquisition, when seafaring exploration and discovery were THE thing, FLAT follows the intrepid tales of Delaford and his makeshift crew as they embark on a journey teeming with betrayal, romance, murder, sea battles, and a healthy dose of satirical Renaissance humor. 

A part-time tennis instructor for the prince of Spain, part-time merchant seaman, Lanning lives a comfortable but financially precarious life in Andalusia. In the course of a single day, the fiscal scales tip out of his favor following a narrowly-escaped assassination attempt, a double mugging, and the loss of his loaner boat and its cargo to pirates. Now deep in the red, he has no choice but to rent another boat and make for the nearby trade port of Tangier to recover some of his losses. 

As luck would have it, passage on Lanning’s ship is in high demand, so the captain and his eclectic crew soon set sail. Accompanied by an engaging and diverse cast of characters including Ignatius Loyola, Ferdinand Magellan, (mostly) evil pirates, a mediocre Portuguese butcher, an alluring, bad-ass courtesan, and a peregrine falcon named Doug, Lanning finds that his short trip to Tangier is about to become a life-changing, epic voyage into the unknown Great Sea. 

Fraught with ruthless pirates, brutal storms, and worries about falling off the edge of the Earth, FLAT is a clever, cinematic odyssey. Neal Rabin has crafted a fast-paced piece of historical fiction that is at times both poignant and laugh-out-loud funny with a wit that readers of Douglas Adams or Christopher Moore will enjoy. 

Faced with your own personal precipice, would fear stop you at the edge, or would you dare to venture beyond it?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Neal Rabin is a UCLA graduate who worked for Club Med as a tennis and surf instructor on Reunion Island off the coast of Madagascar. He stocked refrigerators, xeroxed scripts, and served as a ‘fetch’ for Time Life Films. Neal cofounded and spent fifteen years as CEO of the Santa Barbara based global software company, Miramar Systems. He continues to live in Santa Barbara with his wife, two daughters, two dogs, multiple guitars, his piano, and a flock of chickens. Neal is an instrument pilot and has an active lifestyle that includes surfing, volleyball, yoga, and tennis.

The Book of Izzy by Ben Gonshor

Posted on by CMPR

The Book of Izzy

“‘What if we own our deepest flaws, our greatest sins, the things that God himself created in us, like you shtupping men and me just being crazy, and we embrace them openly, honestly, and purely to the point that they become the highest form of godliness? You know what happens then, Sam?’ 

I asked him, and I could tell by his eyes starting to widen and his head nodding that he was with me. ‘That’s right, they become Shir Hashirim, the Song of Songs!’”

Izzy is a writer who’s found himself in a series of downward spirals; between his recently failed love life, his faltering career as both a wedding planner and a novelist, and an ever-looming mental breakdown, he’s at his wit’s end. The Book of Izzy (AOS Publishing, May 2024, ISBN: 978-1-990496-46-2) is the debut literary novel from author and playwright Ben Gonshor, which picks up with Izzy right as he’s decided to take himself off his meds, against the expert opinion of the psychiatrists who diagnosed him. There are freedoms that come with it, but drawbacks as well— including a lot of fretting from his overbearing but well-meaning family. Their concerns redouble after Izzy snaps at an important client and starts being visited by a mysterious bird that no one else seems to be able to see.

Following his encounter with the ominous bird and encouraged by his family and friends, he soon finds himself agreeing to take on the leading role in an amateur production of the greatest play in all of the Yiddish theatre: The Dybbuk, a gothic tale of destiny, possession, and the triumph of love over all. The play may be just what he needs to find creative solace, stay connected with his Jewish heritage, and even reignite his dating life. But when the play’s director dies suddenly and the theatre is threatened with immediate closure, Izzy is thrust into a much greater role, one he’ll soon learn he was predestined to play. 

The Book of Izzy is a story about a man trying to find his own place between two worlds as he reckons with letting go of his painful past to focus on creating a fulfilling present. In the process, Izzy embarks on a fanciful, romantic voyage that not only forces him to come to terms with his Jewish identity, but to also confront the mystifying bird that holds the key to preserving the past and ensuring the survival of his heritage. Fans of Fleishman Is in Trouble or the literary stylings of Phillip Roth will love The Book of Izzy. Filled to the brim with wit, candid discussions about navigating life with a mental illness, and an engaging cast of characters, The Book of Izzy is a captivating modern take on Jewish cultural touchstones and heritage. 

“An engrossing novel about a man resurrected by the power of community, love, and Yiddish theatre. In the tradition of Roth and Richler, Ben Gonshor’s vibrant debut is full of heart and humour.”
—Ariela Freedman, Award winning novelist of Arabic for Beginners, A Joy to Be Hidden & Léa

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ben Gonshor is an award-winning writer, actor, musician and entrepreneur. A lifelong member of The Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre, in Montreal, he has played starring roles in its historic productions of “The Dybbuk,” and in the original musical adaptation of Ted Allan’s Golden Globe award-winning film, “Lies My Father Told Me” and others. His play, “When Blood Ran Red,” won the David and Clare Rosen Memorial International Play Contest at the National Yiddish Theatre in New York. In his spare time, he owns and operates FLUIDS iQ, Canada’s Wellness Laboratory.

The Book of Izzy
By Ben Gonshor
AOS Publishing
Publication Date: May 2024
ISBN: 978-1-990496-46-2
Original Trade Paperback
Price: $18.99 | Pages: 330

Content Pillars Lead Your Social Media Plan

Posted on by CMPR

What is a content pillar?  That’s marketing speak for a theme.  Content pillars lead your social media plan to build an audience.  Once you feel comfortable posting on your social platform, the next step is to identify what you want to write about regularly.  These “pillars” will support your platform and help you create many great things for your followers.

Authentic Content Pillars

Many people are stuck on what to talk about, so they randomly post stuff just to be “active”.  Sadly, that won’t work if you are serious about using social media as a tool to build a following.  You are fighting short attention spans, an overwhelming amount of users, and a mysterious algorithm.  I know it can feel artificial to “create” based on marketing principles and conventions.  However, many people  strike a balance between what comes natrually, and what they need to communicate to grow.

The Content Pillar You Know Best

So here’s what I know from working with artists and writers for most of my life–you are not the best judges of what is interesting to the people who consume your books, music, films, etc.  To authors writing is a purpose, a curse, a discipline, a dream, annoying, easy, difficult, frustrating, and whatever other terms you want to throw at it.  To readers or aspiring writers, your world is a mystery, filled with things they can’t reach on their own.  With this in mind, let’s play with some sample topics around the content pillar of WRITING:

Topic 1: A writing journal, what do you feel like when you write.  Repeat for every day that you sit down at your computer.

Topic 2: Writing advice, tips you provide and those you find from other famous or non-famous writers that you research online.

Topic 3: For fantasy writers, world-building and character-building.  Here you can talk about your process and those of your colleagues, or you can literally talk about the world and characters in your books.   Bring them to life for your audience and talk about what you can’t find between the pages.

Your Goal When Creating Your Content

Your goal is to be able to start with your theme, then take your topics and create a combination of feed posts, stories, reels, or their equivalents on your platform of choice.  For example if you choose to do a journal you could include views that inspire writing as your images.  You could do a reel of something your house pets do when you sit down.  My cat likes (demands) to jump on my lap, then she meows like crazy because I’m typing instead of paying attention to her.  I would put your topic at the top of a page and then jot down all the things that go with it from a visual and an internal point of view.

Cat takes over my work station constantly.
Not mine, but you cat lovers totally get it.

Now, look what you’ve done.  You have some topic ideas that are original to you, and. they can educate and engage your audience.  Ideally it is a good idea to have a couple of pillars that you plan on your content calendar for the month.  Think about who you are trying to reach and what will encourage them to pay attention to what you are saying.  Here are some things we have done for clients over the years that have been successful:

  • For a writer of plausible thriller fiction, we created a tag line for a content pillar that tells readers about Things You Should Know But Don’t.   Every week there are posts relating to something going on in the world that isn’t on the front page, but is important to know.  We organize the posts by topic depending on what is being covered in the news.
  • A male author writing a female character has a platform dedicated to the character who covers her fascinating life, and how to navigate the world as a twenty-something woman.  Her pillars are a regular “Diary” and “Ask Gina”, which is a parody of Dear Abby.  When a new book comes out she talks about what’s happening in her life and teases out aspects to look forward to in the future.

The Simple Things

Once you establish the content pillars to lead your social media planning, you will feel more grounded. It will be easier to generate ideas for different kinds of posts.  As you grow your following, you will learn about your audience and may get suggestions from them.  Sometimes it is the simplist thing that can delight a community.  Recently, an author I met said that she started posting sunrises, because she likes to write at that time.  This took off for her, because, as she said, who doesn’t love sunrises?

For more information and to read more about content creation search “content marketing” on our blog page.  You can also read a recent post Optimizing Your Link in Bio