Twitter and Blogging Tips

There are a number of ways for businesses and companies to reach potential customers online, even if that business or company is technically just one author 🙂 Having a Twitter account has its own potential. An author, for instance, on Twitter could follow “influencers” (Schaefer, 2012, p. 31) to get an idea of good methods of tweeting, or insight on writing tips in general. Blogging, too, is a possible means of communicating with an audience, one that could keep followers up-to-date about news and upcoming products. Not too surprisingly, there are tips that can help a blogger or Twitter-user get more from his or her online marketing experiences.

For these tips, let’s start specifically with Twitter, where a tweet could get lost among a crowd of other tweets. This idea could be a good reason to set up lists on the site. Setting up those lists and organizing what you do and don’t see at any given time could help you focus on the accounts that you feel are the most significant to you, and help you maintain the strongest relationships you’ve built on Twitter. Since “these lists can be shared” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, p. 199), building them could also help you interact with new people who are interested in a list.

Those interactions in and of themselves are related to tips, because Twitter (and other sites) should potentially be about “building relationships” (Ashlock, 2016). In fact, one writer says that the “most important tweets are [a person’s] replies” (Ashlock, 2016), not his or her main posts. Why? That writer argues that “[p]eople will remember you more for responding to them, than for the most clever tweet you could possibly write praising yourself” (Ashlock, 2016).

Beyond those aspects, hashtags can be helpful with book marketing as well. Simply adding “#newbook” to the end of a tweet about your latest release can make a random person looking for a “#newbook” come across your work. Hashtags are also central in being a part of Twitter chats, where people are communicating because of a “common interest” (Schaefer, 2012, p. 133). If you attend a Twitter chat for horror books, for instance, you might assume there’ll be a good number of horror readers and writers participating. If you write horror books, this chat could be an opportunity to interact with fellow horror writers, and to potentially introduce yourself and your books to horror fans.

There’s also the idea of going through a site like Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule tweets. Doing so could allow your account to be active, even when you’re away from the computer, and possibly reach more of an audience. As Schaefer points out, “[i]f you’re only spending 20 minutes a day on Twitter, do it at different times of the day, so you have the chance to interact with a broader range of people” (Schaefer, 2012, p. 102). Having pauses between those tweets could further increase your effectiveness on Twitter (Schaefer, 2012, p. 53), and allow those posts to “fan out…throughout the day” (Schaefer, 2012, p. 101) without having to sit at the computer so long.

These ideas, to me, might be some of the main tips for using Twitter. As far as how well the people in the book-publishing world do with these tips, I’d say success can vary. Maybe one author tweets and replies with a level of comfort that another author doesn’t quite have with the site. But I think the existences of book-related hashtags and potential book-centered chats might show that authors are using Twitter in effective ways and using the platform to get to know people while showcasing their crafts. So, all in all, Twitter seems to possibly be an effective tool for some.

For blogs, there are still options to build relationships and draw an audience. One tip is to make sure “people can find the blog” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, p. 116), which can be assisted through a detail as small as “post[ing] comments on [other blogs] to lead people back to you” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, p. 117). Basically, “the blogosphere is a conversation” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, p. 117), and you should arguably find ways to make sure people know you’re taking part.

There’s also the issue of making sure you’re blogging enough. If your blog goes without an update for six months, a person who just happens upon your blog might not feel inclined to invest himself or herself in the page. As one writer says, “[b]uilding an audience for your blog is based on trust. Just as you’d show up to school or work, you need to show up to your blog” (Stauch, 2013). Your posts don’t have to come every day. In fact, “see[ing] an author blog weekly or every other week and be consistent” (Stauch, 2013) is actually okay, since there’s “a pattern” (Stauch, 2013). If readers can be familiar with a certain schedule, they’ll have a better idea of what to expect from your blog and from you. That way, they don’t think you’ve “gone MIA” (Stauch, 2013) because you go so long between posts.

How good are authors with this part of the equation? I suppose the success rate could vary, but for me, I kind of stink at it. Blogging is a pretty low priority for me, to be honest, and if I don’t have something to post, I often won’t. Truthfully, even if I do have something to post about, I’ve been known to still not post. This flaw is something I admit, and if I want to make the most of my blog, it’s something I should potentially fix.

References

Ashlock, C. (2016, February 19). “Twitter Tips for Authors.” Ask the Agent: Night Thoughts about Books and Publishing. Retrieved from: https://andyrossagency.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/twitter-tips-for-authors/

Li, C., & Bernoff, J. (2011). Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies (Expanded and Revised ed.). Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.

Schaefer, M.W. (2012). The Tao of Twitter: Changing Your Life and Business 140 Characters at a Time. [Kindle Version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com

Stauch, S. (2013, October 15). “Author Blog Posts: How Long, How Often?” Where Writers Win. Retrieved from: https://writerswin.com/author-blog-posts-long-often/