As authors building our author brands and promoting our books, social media can be a great tool for us. If we know how to use it effectively, that is!
So what constitutes using it effectively?
To boil it down, there is one simple rule for self-published authors to live by…
Interacting and responding to online conversation is what puts the social in social media!
But how can we possibly find the time to reply and comment to every social media mention we get, every blog post comment that we receive and to continue the conversation in other places online?
Especially when you consider all of the other writing and marketing activities we’re expected to do?
We all have certain time constraints, but there is a not-so-difficult answer.
Go deep or go home!
Rather than spreading ourselves super duper thin trying to do everything and trying to be everywhere all at once, we can actually spend just as much and energy going deeper in fewer places and be more effective.
We’ve got to get engaged
There’s really not much point being on social media UNLESS you carry on a conversation and create relationships. I wouldn’t recommend spending your time trying to be everywhere all at once or trying to talk to everyone. It’s much better to spend your time interacting with a smaller group of people on a more meaningful level. 300 solid relationships will take you a lot further than 10,000 weak ones.
These are the kinds of relationships that lead to spreading the word about your book in a way that people who barely know you just won’t.
Developing relationships and continuing conversation is where the beauty and effectiveness of social media really lies.
Back to those time constraints… here are eight actionable tips to make commenting and carrying on conversation on social media that little bit easier:
1. It's not about saying ‘Buy my book'; ‘Look at this review about my book; ‘Here's why you'd like my book'. Check out ALLi guide to reaching readers without self-promotion first.
2. Choose one or two social network sites you like and stick with them. We all naturally gravitate towards one social network more than another depending on our personality and goals. Don’t spread yourself thin by joining every social network out there and struggling to keep up – stick to one or two and commit.
3. Make use of an RSS reader. Cherry-pick a handful of sites that you wish to comment on daily or weekly, and add their RSS feed to an online reader (I like to use Google Reader). This way you can keep up with new blog posts in one place, without having to visit each site individually. You can then set time aside each day to comment each time a new post is published.
4. Subscribe to the comments of posts you have commented on and revisit them to continue the conversation. You can also subscribe to the comments of guest posts you have written, so that you can regularly return and reply to any new comments that come in.
5. Be aware of the time you spend on social media by following a strategy. Strategies can help you to avoid the social media time-suck, as well as making sure that your time is EFFECTIVE not just ACTIVE. As an example, here’s my strategy for using Twitter in just 10 minutes a day.
6. Make a habit of checking your @mentions or Facebook page once a day and reply to any comments.
7. Encourage conversation by asking questions on social media and at the end of your blog posts. Try to ask questions that require one word answers rather than long, drawn-out replies and you’ll see an increase in the number of people leaving a comment.
8. Create Twitter lists to make Twitter more manageable. When you start following more than a couple of hundred people on Twitter, it becomes impossible to keep up with everyone’s tweets and can start to feel very overwhelming. Twitter lists are a great way to ensure that you’re keeping up with the people you want to hear from, and allows you to reply and re-tweet to their tweets on a regular basis.
Finally, it’s always easier to learn by example rather than theory. Here are some writers/ online folk who are extremely natural and consistent with their commenting and online conversation. Check them out for inspiration!
Talli Roland: http://talliroland.blogspot.com/
Jane Friedman: http://janefriedman.com/
Jeff Goins: http://goinswriter.com/
Qu: Which author do you think is doing a great job with continuing conversation on social media? I’d love to know – leave a comment!
Laura Pepper Wu
Blog post by
Laura Pepper Wu is the co-founder of 30 Day Books, an award-winning book studio that provides book marketing tools and resources for authors wanting to find more readers. Her latest projects include Authorlicious, a website theme built for authors, and the eBook 77 Ways to Find New Readers for Your Self-Published Book. Say hi @LauraPepWu!
Stunning! Ensure your book is well-written, edited, and polished. Consider hiring a professional editor to catch grammatical errors, typos, and improve overall readability.
Laura, with the tips provided we can achieve what is needed to be achieved without dishing out lots of money. This is one of the best read I’ve read.
Hi, Neat posting.. extra There’s a disadvantage in your web site inside website explorer, may perhaps test this particular? IE is still industry primary along with a good part of others will probably pass over your own amazing writing for that reason dilemma.
Really when someone doesn’t understand afterward its up to other viewers that they will assist, so here it occurs.
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get several emails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove me from that service?
Many thanks!
[…] Choose one or two social network sites you like and stick with them. We all naturally gravitate towards one social network more than another depending on our personality and goals. Don’t spread yourself thin by joining every social network out there and struggling to keep up – stick to one or two and commit. (Find time for Social Media: Eight Tips for Self-Publishing Indie Authors. By Laura Pepper Wu.) […]
[…] 5. Find time for Social Media 8 tips for Indie Authors […]
[…] Create Twitter lists to make Twitter more manageable. When you start following more than a couple of hundred people on Twitter, it becomes impossible to keep up with everyone’s tweets and can start to feel very overwhelming. Twitter lists are a great way to ensure that you’re keeping up with the people you want to hear from, and allows you to reply and re-tweet to their tweets on a regular basis. (Find time for Social Media: Eight tips for Self-Publishing Indie Authors. by Laura Pepper Wu) […]
[…] Choose one or two social network sites you like and stick with them. We all naturally gravitate towards one social network more than another depending on our personality and goals. Don’t spread yourself thin by joining every social network out there and struggling to keep up – stick to one or two and commit. (Find time for Social Media: Eight Tips for Self-Publishing Indie Authors. By Laura Pepper Wu.) […]
Facebook is more a numbers game kind of social media. You should strive to get as many followers as possible. For publishers, using Facebook can be a great way to increase visibility and to promote your company’s products – books, magazines, journals etc. But the best way you can use Facebook is by making it a review platform.
Social Media Strategies For Publishers –
http://www.spi-global.com/innovation-lab/social-media-strategies-publishers/
First of all I want to say fantastic blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if you do not mind.
I was curious to know how you center yourself
and clear your thoughts before writing. I have had a difficult
time clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out.
I truly do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are
lost simply just trying to figure out how to
begin. Any suggestions or hints? Kudos!
very good advice…I am now searching for some self-publishing tips since I am about to come up with my little traveler’s brochure. Thanks
I for all time emailed this blog post page to
all my friends, because if like to read it then my friends will too.
Graffiti on the Wall spoke of conditions that varied drastically from one side to the
other. The Harley-Davidson Fat Boy is an iconic motorcycle inspired by the hardtail choppers of the past.
But the difference between this field and other show field is
that the she-males in this cruise are all restaurant waiters.
However, when we think about it, achieving a goal is
merely the end of a successful chapter. Word challenge is the addictive new word game which features vivid animations.
With Under 6, Under 7 and Under 8 players, in their minds, they have not come
to ‘learn’ football – they’ve come to play it with their mates.
[…] imagine my surprise today when I ran across this very interesting, very useful blog post and could not find a share button anywhere. I guess I’m […]
[…] A non-profit, global, collaborative, collective of self-publishing writers, with vast resources of information. Lots of first-hand experience and a powerful force for the publishing community. Publishes daily paper with up-to-the-second news. Example post: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/find-time-for-social-media-eight-tips-for-self-publishing-indie… […]
[…] imagine my surprise today when I ran across this very interesting, very useful blog post and could not find a share button anywhere. I guess I’m […]