Great Marketing Advice from Mystery Author Heather Weidner
So many authors have shared with me that they’ve found marketing and promoting their novels to be even more challenging than writing them! Heather Weidner offers some terrific advice for generating material for blogs and social media sites:
Put Your Book Content to Good Use
By Heather Weidner
Marketing and promotions are a part of every author’s routine, and many authors often struggle with what to post on their blogs and social media sites. One way to generate new ideas is to use your books and their storylines.
Do some brainstorming. Make a list of 10 or 15 words that relate to topics and subthemes in your stories. Think about:
- Your Character’s Job
- Hobbies
- Settings and Locations
- Music
- Popular Culture
- Favorite Things
- Cars
Here are some examples from my series:
The Cozy Mystery Series
- The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries: Glamping, Blue Ridge Mountains, Vintage Trailers, Jack Russell Terrier. Event Planner, Interesting Festivals, Small Town Life, Tiny Houses, Vintage Trailers
- The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries: Beach Town, Christmas Shop, French Bulldog, Tuxedo Cat, Virginia Locale, Vacation Destination
- The Pearly Girls Mysteries: Event Planner, Blue Ridge Mountains, Chihuahua, Music, Honky Tonk, Cave, Serenity Garden, Refurbished Barn, Millennial Sleuth, Boomer Friends, Generational Mystery
My Private Eye Series
- The Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries: Sassy Private Eye, Richmond, Computer Hacker, English Bulldog, Sears Catalog Houses, Small Business Owner, Loves 80s and 90s Music, Fan of Popular Culture
Create social media and blog posts that highlight the subthemes on your list. Use hashtags that are related to attract those with similar interests.
You can also use your list to find groups on social media sites, especially Facebook. There are groups for every kind of hobby or interest. When I was publicizing my private eye series, I found a group that focused on restoring classic Sears Catalog Houses. I found some resources there who were willing to help me with answers to some questions about the historic homes, so that I could get the descriptions accurate. They also had a monthly newsletter, and they featured the series in one issue. It was a great way for me to reach enthusiasts who may not have read my books otherwise. 
Connect your books to a “holiday.” There are lots of online calendars that show all kinds of holidays for any occasion or celebration (e.g. Taco Day, Chocolate Lovers’ Day, Dog Lovers’ Day). Target posts for these special days and highlight your books.
You can also use your list to come up with some creative book signings. I was part of a wine-themed anthology, and we scheduled signings and readings at wineries and wine shops all across our area. There are all kinds of places and small businesses that may work with you to do a signing or to sell your books. Think beyond bookstores, libraries, and conferences. When we created a Virginia location mystery anthology, we held signings at restaurants, tourist gift shops, and a variety of museums.
This is a way to get fresh content for your sites and to promote your works in creative ways.
Biography
Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Pearly Girls Mysteries, the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries.
Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, Murder by the Glass, First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder, and Crime in the Old Dominion, and she has non-fiction pieces in Promophobia and The Secret Ingredient: A Mystery Writers’ Cookbook.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime: National, Central Virginia, Chessie, Guppies, and Grand Canyon Writers, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers, and she blogs regularly with the Writers Who Kill.
Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and two crazy dogs (Disney the Jack Russell and Cooper the Mini Aussie Shepherd).
Social Media Links
Website and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidnerAuthor
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@heather_mystery_writer
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/heatherweidner.bsky.social
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heather_weidner_author
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_mystery_writer/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121854.Heather_Weidner
Amazon Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQ
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/HeatherBWeidner/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-weidner-0064b233?trk=hp-identity-name
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-weidner-d6430278-c5c9-4b10-b911-340828fc7003
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyBjyB0zz-M1DaM-rU1bXGA?view_as=subscriber
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner
About Heather’s Latest Books:
Murder Plays Second Fiddle
Event planner, Cassidy Jamison, and her not-so-helpful sexagenarian staff of Roxie, Kate, Aileen, and Ruthanne are up to their elbows with a high school reunion committee’s constantly changing requirements for an event that must be the most elaborate and memorable at all costs.
When well-known reporter, Darcy Branch, and former cheerleader, Brittany Mahoney, are found dead on her property, Cassidy and the gang have to find the killer before the party’s over. And the more Cassidy and her Chihuahua mix Elvis dig for clues, the more deadly secrets they uncover, including one that changes everything she knew about her family’s history.
The Pearly Girls need to solve this fast before the Class of 2009 goes down in Ivy Springs history as the Deadliest Reunion.
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Second-Fiddle-Pearly-Mysteries/dp/B0DTDP25NX
https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Murder-Plays-Second-Fiddle/Heather-Weidner/9798887981154
Teddy Bears and Ghostly Lairs
The town of Fern Valley, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has overdosed on cuteness for its first teddy bear and toy festival. Adorable bears have taken over every inch of the town, and Jules Keene can barely keep up with all the guest check-ins at her glamping resort. To add to the fun, a team of paranormal investigators set their sights on her vintage trailers and the new treehouse as they investigate the local haunts.
It quickly becomes evident that things aren’t all sweet and cuddly when someone absconds with collectible toys. Then to make matters worse, Jules and her friends trip over something not so other-worldly at an abandoned motel during a paranormal investigation. The very real corpse is the prickly vendor who raised a ruckus about his stolen merchandise and the weird things that were afoot in the cozy, one-stop light town.
Jules has to calm frayed nerves and solve the mystery before there are any other thefts or grisly murders.
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Bears-Ghostly-Lairs-Glamping-ebook/dp/B0G87WV2C1