MARKET MONDAY - Twitter Part 2

Did you get your page set up? I'd love to be one of your followers. Leave your Twitter handle in the comments so I can.

This week we're going to talk about content. You have 140 characters to tell people something about your book. Before we get to what you're going to write, let's talk about the SOCIAL part of Social Media.

Think of this like going to a dinner party. You visit with the people who are there. You make new acquaintances/ contacts and LISTEN to what they have to say. Only after you've played the gracious guest, or they ask about you do you share your story. ALL social media platforms work the same way. The content should not be all about you.

Start by seeing what your followers, and those you follow are talking about. LIKE/ RETWEET ones you feel other people would get something from.

Next, add your own tweets about various topics. While they do not have to match your interests, they should. This helps to build a relationship between you and your followers. Either they are other authors or they are potential readers. Some things you might share are links to blog posts that have great writing tips or news updates from publishers. From a reader point of view, share links to pages that connect to you either they book you are promoting or your current work in progress. Sci-Fi fantasy might include links to weaponry or an interesting fact of what ever sub-genre of Sci-Fi you're writing in. Whether you are writing Historical or Contemporary, there should always be something that ties to your story that you can share. You are subliminally promoting your book without flashing the 'BUY MY BOOK' sign in their face.


After you have been SOCIAL, add no more than 10% of self-promotion for your own work. These might include a link to a blog hop you are participating in, a FB launch, announcing a special sale on your release or 'hook' lines from your book.

And you're going to do this all in 140 characters or less per post. If a link is really long, Use bitly or tinyurl to shorten the length of your post. These programs allow you to input a long url and they will give you a condensed version that will work the same as the longer link but with less characters.

When promoting your stuff, add a photo. Graphics get things noticed. The ideal size for tweet-inclusive photos is 440x220


For more great information on working with Twitter, check out Get Twitter-pated by Jen Nipps

MARKET MONDAY - Twitter Part 1

Twitter is one of those Social Media platforms... you either get it or you don't. I have to ask. Have you given Twitter a chance? Do you know how to use Twitter effectively? Speaking from personal experience, my music business grew exponentially within six months thanks to connections I made on this particular platform. Let's start with your page.

If you have a branding platform in place, this step is super easy. The header on your page should be your current release. The inset photo should be yours. You want to bring a personal approach to your page. Build your fan base while letting them get to know the face behind the author name.

The second is the information on your page. Cluttering the space up with #s is not effective marketing. Give a brief - I love writing sweet stories with happy endings. When not writing, I enjoy....  That's it. 20 words or less should be plenty.

The other thing you want is a website link. Give them a landing page to find out more about you, your bodies of work and however else you have your website/ blog configured.

That's it! Your Twitter page is complete. Well, almost. READ THIS before going any further in creating your Twitter page.

Twitter is going to ask to ADD everyone from your contact list. Don't Do This! This is a business page.. not a family reunion. Sure, you want some of your family and friends to follow you BUT you get to choose. Some of those people on your contact list were probably auto-added at some point or another and could care less.

This is your opportunity for a fresh start.

So, let's make friends.
First -  People you want to network with
        Authors
        Publishers
        Editors/ Agents
        Organizations

Second - Do a search for people with similar interests. In the search bar type #(insert one of the interests from your introduction. You will get a HUGE list. Don't follow them all at once. Pick 4-5 then type in the next interest and repeat. If you follow too many at one time, Twitter will think you're spamming and could lock you out of your account for a set period of time. That's not how you want to start ;-)

Work on that this week. Next week we'll talk content.

Creative Blessings!
Angela