When marketing your work, play to your strengths (psst, you don't have to do everything!)

We've heard all of the advice:

"You must have a blog"

"You must be on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, The Erector Set Social Media Machine" (okay, I made up that last one)

"For every hour you spend writing, you need to spend at least that long marketing yourself"

"You must be on TV"

"You need to call Oprah!"

"You need to be on Google+"

"You need to be on LinkedIn and Pinterest"

"You need to do a podcast and video blog"

"Give a bunch of books away for free"

Okay, let's cut to the chase.  As much as there is writing advice, there is advice when it comes to marketing.  If your head is spinning as mine is, rest assured there are successful authors out there who aren't on social media and don't have a blog.  They don't do any of the stuff I listed above.

What do you do?

Do what you love.  If you love Twitter and not Facebook, go for it.  If you love public speaking, do it.

I love blogging.  I am also on Facebook and Twitter, but there's a distinction between the two.  My writing side is more on Twitter and personal stuff is on Facebook.  I don't do much self-promotion on Facebook (although I probably should), but I engage more with fellow writers and readers on Twitter.

I am NOT on Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumblr, or even the Erector Set Social Media Machine (yup, still made it up).  I thought about doing a podcast, but have since abandoned the idea due to time constraints.  The same goes with video blogging.  I love it, but the time it takes I need to put into writing.

And writing is what I love to do best.

(For ideas on marketing, check out Seth Godin's blog.  He is the ultimate resource when it comes to marketing)