Many authors start on Twitter and either feel overwhelmed or spam their book links, mostly because they’re not sure what to do. Daily I’m asked questions like:
- Who should I follow?
(Photo courtesy of Bigstock.com) - Will it help my book sales?
- What the heck do I tweet about?
Let’s deconstruct.
WHO SHOULD I FOLLOW?
Like anyone on social media, we look for common bonds, which is why authors typically look for other authors to follow. Like begets like, right? Which is great — many of my closest friends, online and in real life, are authors.
However, typically authors are there for the same reason you are: to connect with readers, to get the word out about their latest book, to build up a following of book buyers. Which is why following only other authors will not help you.
Ask yourself this question: Who is my target audience? Of course we want readers, but how do we find them, and how do they find us?
Finding readers: I recommend using the Search or Advanced Search tools on Twitter. Enter any type of reader-centric term (use with or without a hashtag and see what comes up): #bookclub #bookworm #amreading #bookchat, etc. A more advanced application is Manage Flitter, which allows you to search by account and/or tweets, and follow up to 100 at once.
Readers finding you: There’s no one way for readers to find you, which is why we’re always talking about your ‘author platform,’ a term that encompasses marketing activities like advertising, blogging, having an optimized website, blog tours and book signings, as well as social media.
WILL SOCIAL MEDIA HELP MY BOOK SALES?
It couldn’t hurt. Kidding. Yes! It can absolutely help your book sales, both directly and indirectly.
Directly: Add a link directly to your Amazon (or other retailer) buy page on your bio. Twitter allows room for two URLs now, not just one (add the second to your 160 character bio). As I’ve mentioned before, this is useful so you can track how many clicks you get from Twitter to Amazon. I recommend using bit.ly so you can shorten and customize it. Here’s mine: bitly.com/BROKENPIECES. (A side note: be sure to add your Twitter and other social media buttons to your website and make them easy to find!)
Indirectly: By placing your link on your bio, you connect with readers in a more passive way. Instead of constantly sharing your book buy link, instead say, ‘link on bio.’ In addition, building up your following organically (see above) creates a base of readers, aka, potential buyers. It’s also a wonderful way to share info, find betareaders, garner votes for a contest or award, etc. Interaction goes far in creating good will. ‘Make a friend, make a sale,’ is an old sales adage and it plays well here also.
WHAT DO I TWEET ABOUT?
This is a longer discussion about branding than we have time for here, but I suggest making a list of five to ten keywords or key phrases that represents subjects that interest you, that you write about, that float your boat (for example, mine are authors, self-publishing, social media for my business). Pick what truly interests you — what are you passionate about?
Then set up alerts (i.e., Google Alerts) or use a site like Pluggio to enter news search criteria. There’s a massive amount of information published on the web everyday — share with others what is of interest to you instead of simply sharing constant book links to your own stuff (which is annoying).
Be authentic: if you write about social media but also collect vintage birdcages, share stories about vintage birdcages! Just don’t make it the only thing you take about. None of us is one-note — our social media shouldn’t be either.
This should help focus your efforts and get you started. Got questions? Ask below!
