Learning to Use Social Media
By Kim Supermutt Goodman
I know if I want to become a successful writer I must get myself out there, not just locally but nationally too. I figure if there are means to communicate I should take advantage of it. If people get familiar with me and know who I am and what I am about they will get excited about my writing when I get to the point where I am able to self-publish my books.
The first social media I used was Myspace, but I got bored with it once I discovered Facebook. I liked Facebook because I could interact with people I know and with people I met and wanted to keep in contact with. I also liked playing the games. After fooling around with Facebook for a while I found out that you can create a business “like” page to keep your business and personal page separate. I created two business pages, one for my writing “Special Books Project” and one for the products I make and sell, “Supermutt’s World Unlimited.”
I then played around with Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram and managed to get the same username, Supermutt101. Twitter allows you to post small messages they call “tweets” and Pinterest and Instagram allows you to use pictures but Pinterest lets you put them in different folders called “boards.” I did open a Tumblr account but I couldn’t find enough users I knew to use it but it’s still active. I experimented with WordPress briefly but I haven’t been on it since January.
In addition to social media I played around with website building. I bought a few web domains. I don’t have a whole lot on them but they are good to have for when I really get into promoting myself online. I chose the domain specialbooksproject.org for my books because each of my books touch on subjects that are nontraditional. Each book will have at least one character that a have developmental disability, a mental illness, a battle with homelessness or an addiction problem. I chose the name supermuttsmegamall.com which was my first domain ending with .com. So far it’s a small website with not too much on it but one day I hope to be able to expand it.
My ending plans for my .org domain is to create awareness to special issues that exist that a lot of well off people never took the time to think about. I want people to see example of homelessness, examples of what it may feel like for a person to deal with a disability or a difference and how it may feel to deal with an addiction problem. If you have never been homeless, never had a disability or never had an addiction problem you might not understand why a person does the things they do. If you know somebody with a disability or an addiction problem or see a homeless person then maybe my written words can help you see the person in a different or more positive way.
My ending plans for my .com is to create an online mall where I can sell many different products from one website. Each product will have their own page and at the end a page that has a link to other sites that sell products that I don’t sell. I also want to add an affiliate marketing page to my website too. My goal is to give my visitors and potential customers the opportunity to visit one website and get everything they need and a few things they didn’t want or need but saw and liked.
If people know me locally and online they can watch me grow and when it comes time for me to move forward I can promote my ideas and products to my local and online circle of friends and acquaintances. I hope one day I can be a successful entrepreneur. For once in my life I would love to live comfortable and have nice things. I’ve been struggling much too long. One day I would love to say I was born with a social communication disorder, ended up homeless as a young adult, sold street newspapers and acted as a voice for the homeless and low-income, but now I’m a well off entrepreneur.
Thank you to all my customers who buy the paper from me and make contributions. I really appreciate it. I want you all to know that your kind words and generosity helps me to stay focused on following my dreams. I enjoy selling the Cleveland Street Chronicle and seeing all the familiar faces. Each time a person reads my article, tells me they liked my article or asks me if I wrote anything in the paper this issue, it motivates me to write more. Sure, I can use the money but I need kind words just as much. I don’t always have a lot of supportive people in my corner.
Copyright Cleveland Street Chronical and NEOCH June 2015