Twitter
If you don’t have a Twitter account, get one. Social media
is an essential part of marketing your writing. Start following readers and
writers in a similar genre. You can search on Twitter just like you do on
Google for mystery writers, crime fiction, romance book lovers, etc. Spend a
few minutes every day searching and following other tweeps that are loosely related to what you are writing. If you are trying to attract readers,
authors and book bloggers to your Twitter make sure you are tweeting things
about your genre. Tweet about great new books you’ve read and where you are on
your writing journey. Retweet other authors, bloggers and readers when they
have promotions or exciting news. Trust me, we appreciate it, take notice and
follow you back.
It takes time to build up a Twitter account and the more
targeted followers you have the better your book launch will be. There are some
shortcuts if you have a marketing budget. Twiends.com connects people with
similar interests for a small fee. Twiends has a seed currency. When you follow
someone, you get seeds and can offer those seeds to people to follow you. You
can also shortcut that process by just buying a package of seeds. The beauty of
Twiends is that you can identify your interests and ask for matches that are
similar.
Facebook
Some people like to keep their Facebook private and personal
but there is really no advantage to an author who is seeking readership to have
a closed loop. Facebook is one of the best places for an author to network
before their book is published. You can start to build relationships with other
writers and book bloggers for cross-promotional purposes later on. Reader
groups are plentiful on Facebook. Friend other writers on Facebook and watch where
the pros are posting their book updates. What are the best Facebook groups for
YA or Mystery/Thriller fiction? Start joining and commenting in these groups as
a reader and a writer. It really helps to just get your name out there. When
you launch your book, they will already know you and be more inclined to buy
it.
The value of setting up Twitter and Facebook long before you
launch your book is two-fold. One, you have a ready market for your book which
can number in the thousands if you work hard to get followers. Two, it’s one
less thing you have to set up when you launch your book, which can be a very
busy and overwhelming process for a new author. The good news is, it just gets
easier from there.
I’ve had readers contact me on Twitter and Facebook to tell
me they’ve bought my books or liked my books so much they retweeted or shared
one of my posts to their own social network. Social media marketing really does
work and you can lay the groundwork before you even publish your first book.
Connie Brentford is a freelance writer and the author of the
Amazon bestselling book The Moonlighter’s Guide To Online Writing For Immediate
Income. Visit her website: www.TheMoonlightersGuide.com
and follow her on Twitter @conniebrentford.
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