Recently, when DD asked what you’d like to see more of on The Writer’s Guide to ePublishing, a few people responded with requests for information on Twitter and Facebook.
To that end, I thought I’d post a list of quick tips to get started on Twitter, and ask all the Twitter experts out there to chime in with what you’ve found has worked for you.
The Basics
- Make your user-name your own so people can find you easily, and include an avatar: most people prefer a photo so they can see a real, live human being.
- Include something to do with writing in your bio – and remember to make your bio reflect your brand.
- Don’t be afraid to jump in and interact with people – the key is to build relationships.
- Downloading a program like TweetDeck allows you to organise columns and keep track of new followers. You can also add a column with a search for your name.
Getting Followers
- Find another tweeter who writes a similar genre and is popular on Twitter, and follow their followers. Most times, people will follow you back.
- Re-tweet links and other tweets you find interesting or to show support.
- Don’t treat Twitter as a one-way broadcasting system. You can tweet about your books etc but it should only account for a very small proportion of your overall tweets.
- Follow people back when they follow you.
- Be consistent and try to choose two different times to be on Twitter, if possible, to connect with different time zones.
General Tips
- Don’t be afraid to jump in and join conversations. It’s a great way to get people to notice you.
- Keep scheduled tweets to a minimum. People want to connect with you, not your Amazon buy links. Quite often when I get up in the morning, my tweet-stream is filled with scheduled promo tweet after scheduled promo tweet from North America. I’m sure it’s the same in reverse, and it can quickly get tiring if that’s all you see from that person.
- When someone follows you, don’t DM them a buy link to your book or ask them to like your Facebook page.
- Be genuine, warm and positive. Remember, what you say on Twitter is public.
Your turn! I’d love to hear others’ tips and tricks for Twitter.
Can’t add much more to that. Except maybe to comment that you can’t keep up an act for long on Twitter, not if you tweet regularly. So be bold and let your personality shine through from the start, even if it’s not always squeaky-clean or PC. Being a real person on Twitter, rather than a carefully controlled persona or promo-machine, counts for a lot. You may offend some and maybe even lose a few followers, yes. But people can sense when someone’s being genuine and most warm to it.
That’s a great point, Victoria. So true. I’ve found the more real you are, the more people respond. Yes, you can’t appeal to everyone — just like writing — but the connections that you make will be much more genuine and stronger for it!
Plus… you may eventually meet people in the real world, too. It’s always disconcerting when I meet someone and their ‘real’ personality is nothing like the one they project on Twitter.
Timely stuff – I’m about to launch into the Twitter-zone and not sure how to ‘do’ it. Thanks for this..
Thanks, Carol! Have fun – Twitter is a great place to meet people.
I also recommend using tools like http://www.tweetdeck.com or going to http://www.tweetchat.com to follow chats such as #writersroad (on Mon) #indiechat (on Tues) #yalitchat (on Wed) #litchat (Mon,Wed,Fri) #Mglitchat (on Thu) and #storychat (on Sun) participation in twitter chats are fun and a great way to gain new followers.
Oh yes, thank you, LM! I should have included a bit about hashtags! Great tip.
I would say, stay totally away from Direct Messaging. Twitter is not Facebook and most people read tweets, but don’t interact that often. Alot of experts say it’s busness, people don’t care what you’re doing or what you’re having for dinner. Offering info, helpful links, and funny quotes or observations is fun. If it’s not fun, it’s too much work. RT for others more than you tweet for yourself and that will help build your presence. I don’t care how many followers I have, I want people who will help me and I help them in return. It won’t matter if you have a million followers if no one buys your books or cares.
I only DM people I ‘know’ – if I have something I want to tell them privately. And that’s it! Very good point on RTing for others. It shows that you’re supportive and willing the help.
I agree, retweet other people’s tweets, then you can get on their radar. I tweet about what I have done writing wise, and retweet other tweets if it’s something I think is interesting to me and others.
Yes, exactly, Julie. If I retweet something, it’s because I want to support the person or because it’s interesting to my followers.
Don’t be afraid to branch out from following “just” other writers, bloggers, etc. People who are lawyers and teachers and freelancers etc are readers, too!
What the heck is all of those # symbols?
the pound sign in front of alphanumeric symbols (0-9, a-z) make what’s called a hashtag. When you click that, it’s a link to every tweet with that hashtag in it. So #RG2e or #WG2E is an example of hashtags. So is #amwriting, and there are fun ones too, like #8wordshakespeare
“Don’t be afraid to branch out from following “just” other writers, bloggers, etc. ”
Great point! Yes. It’s important to reach out to people outside the writing community, because this is where many of our target readers are.
And thank you for the hash-tag explanation!
Talli- thank you for the great helpful hints- thank you. Sometimes I find all the social networking overwhelming
Lois, I agree. It can be overwhelming at times. I try to do it in small doses!
Great advice. I also like to try to give my followers something entertaining or interesting and not make it all about me. I like to make my tweets about them. And yes, hashtags are the key to expanding past the writing world!
Stacy, yes – it’s so important not to making it all about you, all the time! I try to explain that it’s like being at a cocktail party. People who talk incessantly about themselves are rather boring.
Thanks for trying to help us lame tweeters. My challenge is trying to get the hashtags in red so they’ll be connectable. For me, it’s hit and miss. Is there a correct way to do it? Some tweeters post a clever tweet and then hashtag away – no problem. I feel like a bird with a broken wing. Sigh…but I’m willing to try again. Thanks for the reminder to be personable. Needed to hear that.
~Nancy Jill Thames
“Queen of Afternoon Tea”
Hmm, I use TweetDeck, and the hash-tags usually come up as clickable. Are you putting a space after the hash-tag? If so, make sure to eliminate it, and keep your hash-tags all one word. I hope that helps a bit!
Thank you – I’ll try it again.
~Nancy Jill
In my Twittering circle there seems to be this Twitterquette of (daily) thanking everyone who’s retweeted you, then finding something of each of theirs to retweet (RT), then doing all your own tweets for the day, with a bit of ‘connecting’ thrown in. This takes, literally, over an hour – and for what actual benefit for authors it’s hard to tell. I tried it for a few days, but got so depressed thinking that would be my marketing future I’ve just given up!
I’m going to follow the advice above from now on, and just tweet when I’ve got something interesting to share – if I get RTd, fab, if not so what? And I’m going to try and engage with readers by just hanging out on Twitter from time to time, not by relentlessly trying to sell to them.
PS: I’ve not been on Twitter for 3 days now and it’s like being free of a time-consuming addiction! Hey, I can write again …
Joanne, I’ve seen this, too. I always thank people if they RT something of mine, because I think it’s polite, but I do think there’s a danger of people becoming an ‘RT machine’, simply RTing because someone has done the same for them, not because it’s of genuine interest to their followers. There’s a fine line, and sometimes, it’s hard to find it!
I try to dip in and out of Twitter so that it doesn’t take up too much of my writing time. I do some in the morning, and again in afternoon. I try to have some downtime in the evening.
Great post, Talli!
This is a great point: When someone follows you, don’t DM them a buy link to your book or ask them to like your Facebook page.
Also: I’ve found that it’s too time-consuming to get “validated” when a user wants to make sure that you are a real person. Unfortunately, I may be missing out on some great folks, but the extra steps are cumbersome and take you away from tweeting.
Hi Lauren! I hear you on validation thing. Plus, for me, that’s not the point of twitter! I want my tweets to be public.
Excellent. Good basic information every tweeter needs. And for newbies, if they follow these they should find Twitter isn’t as hard as they think.
And AMEN to this one: “When someone follows you, don’t DM them a buy link to your book or ask them to like your Facebook page.” !!!!
Hi Anne,
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who gets annoyed by this. It seems to be getting more and more frequent, too. ROAR! I must admit my patience is waning.
Great introduction! Twitter has its own culture and you are providing great guidance for newbies. I love Hootsuite (different features than Tweetdeck) and often write Tweets as I find interesting info and then schedule the tweet for later in the day or the week. It is also important to use a url shortener like bitly as one long web address can use up half of your 140 character limit!
You might enjoy a recent bog post–Twitter 101: A Crash Course for Authors [http://www.efrogpress.com/2012/06/26/twitter-101-a-crash-course-for-authors] by one of the efrog press editors who now works in social media. She does a great job of defining some of the confusing Twitter terms and symbols!
I have been a loyal reader of WG2E for 10 months and have benefited from all your shared wisdom. Finally replying and sharing.
LC
LC, thank you for sharing! I quite like HootSuite, too, but I’ve got used to TweetDeck now. And thank you for sharing that link – I’m off to check it out now.
Great advice, Talli! I really hate the auto DM’s you get as soon as you follow someone. Or even if it’s not an auto DM and they actually take the time to send it themselves, it’s still a “LOOK AT ME” kind of deal. I know right away they aren’t interested in getting to know me but to sell me something. I’ve started unfollowing as soon as that happens.
I RT a lot of people’s stuff, and while I interact a little, I know I don’t do it enough on twitter. I do most of my interacting on facebook. I am going to work a little more on twitter.
Rhonda, I tend to do most of my interactions between Twitter and Facebook. I love them both!
I’m the same as you: as soon as someone DMs me their buy-link, it’s a huge turn-0ff. Sigh. I’d like to say it’ll probably stop soon, but it seems to be happening more often!
Tweeted for you! ;-D
Yay! Thanks, Sibel!
This is totally fab, Talli! Thanks Bunches!
Here’s a technique I use too to find my target audience of Tweeple who luuuvvv some of the same things I do and many of the elements in my books too:
http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/whats-worked-for-d-d-scotts-ebook-empire-find-your-target-audience-using-twitter
Thanks, DD!
Here’s another terrific tip:
You’ll often see me tweeting about products and places I luuuvvv (that are connected to the elements in my books). And these companies often tweet with you and begin following you! So far, I’ve been tweeting with the Green Mountain Coffee Company peeps, Dove Chocolates, Gigi’s Cupcakes in Nashville and now the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Gaylord Resorts!
Sooo much fun, and wow does it really make the elements in your books come alive for your readers and fans!!!
Great idea!
Wow, I’ve never thought of that. It’s a fantastic idea!
These are excellent suggestions. Thanks! I’ve been having a great time using Twitter and it is very useful too. Your tips will be helpful!