Ten Tips on Using Social Media to Promote Your Books

Many of my clients are stumped by the social media aspect of marketing their books. They understand that establishing a strong social media presence is important, but a good number of them avoid it because it appears time-consuming and somewhat daunting.

But creating an effective social media marketing strategy doesn’t have to be difficult. I recommend that authors focus on sites that will give them the most bang for their time and effort. Rather than attempting to establish a presence on all sites, it’s better to start with two or three of them. For those new to social media, I usually recommend beginning with Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, and building a presence on those sites first before expanding to others.

As far as what to post on a site, the most important concept to understand is why readers use social media in the first place. Most people don’t visit social media sites in order to be sold goods and services; they’re there to connect with others and to learn about topics that interest them. So, the best way an author can sell books via social media is to build relationships with readers. Authors will find the most success by being themselves and sharing items that are relevant to them personally. And those interested in the same topics are the best folks to friend or follow; ultimately, they’ll be likely to follow back and peruse an author’s posts and tweets with interest.

Here are ten tips on how authors can make their social media sites work for them:

1. Start your social media efforts early, at least a few months before your book is scheduled for release. Many authors wait until their books are out before becoming active on and/or participating in social media sites. Don’t wait until the last minute – it takes time to build an audience, so give yourself a few months to friend/follow others and develop relationships. And don’t stop with a few friends or followers; set aside time each week (one hour a week is plenty) to follow others and add friends to each of your social media sites.

2. Use your author name as your Twitter handle or your Facebook page title. Take some time and prepare a good, strong sentence for your bio (my recommendation is to keep it professional and brief, and avoid overused catch phrases regarding food, cats, being a nerd, etc.). Also, for consistency, be sure to use this same biographical sentence on all your social media sites. Include a photo of yourself rather than your book cover (this helps with the relationship-building, so that readers identify with you as a person). Include a URL that links to your blog or your website, so that readers know where to go to find out more information about you.

3. Focus on readers (rather than other writers) in your posts and tweets. Spend some time determining who your target reading audience is, where you can best reach those readers, and what will interest them the most.

4. Be a generous participant – post often on your social media sites. Share information that you find interesting and/or that you think readers might like.

5. If you’re stumped on what to post, retweet others’ posts on Twitter, and express your thanks when others retweet you. Comment on readers’ blogsites and social media sites and link back to posts that you find interesting or that you think your readers might like.

6. Use dashboards like HootSuite, Threadsy, Tweetdeck, etc., to schedule posts on social media sites. Be sure to schedule at different times to reach readers who reside in different time zones. If finding time to manage your sites is an issue, consider hiring someone to do some of the scheduling work for you. It doesn’t have to be expensive – a tech-savvy high school or college student can be a great help with scheduling posts and updating info on sites.

7. Don’t be a selfish friend or follower – refrain from posting constant invitations to buy your book, and be judicious about sharing snippets from your work. Instead, be a source of information for your followers --- build relationships with them by providing valuable information and responding to their questions and comments in a friendly, professional manner.

8. Use your social media sites to distribute interesting info about yourself or your book. Announce contest wins, event appearances, new releases, blog posts, and general news that will help readers learn more about you and your book. Do this without pressuring your audience to buy; instead, keep the focus on providing information and developing relationships with your readers.

9. Offer to guest post on other social media sites and blogs and return the favor to those who might be interested in appearing on your sites. Contact other authors whose work is similar to yours or who write in the same genre, and consider working together to create genre or topic-specific blog sites with posts you can then share with your social media followers.

10. Be careful with the content on your social media sites. Steer clear of political or religious statements, and avoid undue criticism of others. Your goal is to build relationships, not destroy them, so avoid any topic that is likely to offend readers who might not share the same views.

The 80/20 Rule: How to Promote Your Books Properly on Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, etc., have become an integral part of promoting books and building an author platform. However, authors must realize that there are right – and annoyingly wrong – ways to use these sites. Used correctly, sites like Facebook and Twitter can help authors position themselves as valuable sources of information and entertainment. Use these sites incorrectly, and authors risk coming across as self-absorbed and inexperienced.

When posting on social networking sites, authors should remember the 80/20 rule. This rule dictates that you spend 80% of your time posting about things other than your book, and 20% selling. That’s right – 80% of what you post should not be a sales pitch. Why is this true? Remember that readers are human beings, who long to make connections with others. They join social networking sites not to receive non-stop reminders to buy, but to develop relationships and learn about topics that matter to them.

So, what should you post 80% of the time? Well, the most important reasons to network are to build relationships with your readers and position yourself as an expert. Therefore, 40% of your posts should be personal: readers want to know about you, your personal life, your thoughts about writing, etc.

The other 40% should be about your subject area, so provide information that your target audience will find interesting and useful. If you’re not an expert in your field or are uncertain about writing on a specific subject area, write about things you do know, such as the steps you took to become a writer, what you’ve learned about your subject area while writing, etc. Share whatever expertise you have that your followers might find useful themselves.

The other 20% of the time, you can remind readers that you have a book they might be interested in purchasing. But be judicious with these posts; remember, some of your followers and friends will have already seen posts about buying your book before. Do your best to make your sales posts relevant and interesting; i.e., only issue these kinds of posts when there is something new to announce, such as a price increase, a revised edition, or an interesting review of the book.

What happens when you ignore the 80/20 rule? Do so at your peril; authors who post nothing on their social networking sites but constant reminders to buy their books will usually be ignored, or worse, deleted by their followers.

For those who wish to make the most of social networking and sell books (rather than offend visitors), here is a list of important do’s and don’ts:

DO

…set up profile and fan pages on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google+, etc.

…post often about what’s happening in your life, your thoughts about your writing and your book’s subject area, and about topics relevant to your audience.

…if you use Twitter, retweet relevant posts by your followers. And thank them when they retweet yours.

…if you share information on Facebook, be sure to acknowledge the original source.

…if friends sign up for your Facebook fan pages, be gracious and follow theirs. Likewise, if someone follows you on Twitter, be generous and follow him/her back.

…share news about interviews, awards, sales, plans for sequels, etc.

…be inquisitive. Ask friends and followers for information and advice, and end your posts with invitations for others to weigh in.

…be social. Respond to your friends and followers when they post, and they will respond to you.

DON’T

…constantly post announcements reminding people to buy your book. One announcement every few weeks is okay, but daily reminders will only serve to alienate your followers.

…constantly announce pricing changes and giveaways. Once in a while is okay, but do this too often and your audience will begin to tune you out.

…hog up the airwaves by posting too often. Be judicious and thoughtful about what you’re putting out there for others to read.

…post inane or useless information; especially avoid constant updates about mundane chores, errands, and household tasks,

…incite others with inflammatory political and/or religious statements. Unless your book is about one of these topics, you stand to alienate 50% of your audience with political and religious posts. Keep your posts professional and relevant, and leave the controversial topics for private conversation at home.

…send out automatic responses to new followers urging them to “take a look” at your website, Amazon account, or segment of a book. Develop a relationship with your followers first, before you clobber them with a back-handed sales pitch.

…send automatic responses at all (they come across as perfunctory and meaningless).

…blow your own horn. Listing yourself as an amazing, bestselling, renowned, etc., author, especially if the book is your first, can be off-putting and make readers see you as pathetic and insecure.

…trash agents, editors, reviewers, or other writers (and if you’re a publishing professional, don’t bash or belittle potential or actual clients). Nothing alienates writers and readers more than someone who appears unkind or has a personal axe to grind.

Finally, as with all other areas in your life, do your best to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Follow the 80/20 rule, be a gracious, supportive, and conscientious social networker, and readers will look forward to reading your posts and buying your books.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I struggled a little with this blog post today, not because I haven’t written one in a while (which is true, I’ve been delinquent), but mainly because this is not a subject I’m happy about.

My topic today is those agents, editors, publicists, and publishers, who use their social media sites to publicly belittle the writers who have queried them or inquired about their services. I’m talking about the folks who post sneering comments on their Facebook or Twitter pages about manuscripts and query letters they’ve received from authors. These are the comments about bad grammar, overblown plot lines/characters/dialogue, angry responses to rejections, or even deals that go down in inappropriate places (I recently saw a tweet from an agent who crowed that she had made a book deal while she was in the bathroom at her local gym).

In rare cases, there may be a legitimate reason to gripe (I’m thinking about a recent blog post by another agent who received a number of expletive-laden emails from an individual she had rejected), but that griping, in my view, should never take place in a public forum. If a professional has to vent, there are more appropriate venues (i.e., private conversations with coworkers, spouses, or friends) for sharing frustration about submissions, clients, or colleagues. But publicly humiliating authors who submit work, no matter how bad that work might be, is just not acceptable.

A writing professional has to believe that the manuscripts and letters she receives have been sent with the best intentions. Yes, many of these submissions are error-ridden and a great number of the manuscripts are not likely candidates for publication. But there is never a time when it's okay for a literary professional to poke public fun at an author who is making an honest attempt to submit a written work.

Maybe it’s because I’m an author myself, but I cringe when I read giddy Facebook posts ridiculing author submissions. Not only is it unprofessional to do so, it is extremely unkind. In my view, a client submission is a private document and one to be considered with the utmost courtesy. My policy is to never publicly discuss any type of inquiry sent to me, no matter how bad the writing (and I do receive some gems, on occasion) or how mismanaged the cover letter or email message. To me, every writer, along with his work, deserves consideration and a professional, private response from me, whether I agree to represent him or not. And every author deserves some amount of common courtesy and respect for at least having taken the time to produce a written work.

I don’t understand why authors continue to submit to literary professionals who openly belittle them in public forums. To me, a person who bashes potential clients in public is either unprofessional or unkind (or both), and hardly a good candidate for a business relationship.

To writers who are submitting work: I urge you to check out the public forums used by the professionals you plan to query before you submit. You may reconsider after visiting there.

And to my literary colleagues who have indulged in this type of behavior, I beg you to remember: public humiliation, in any form, is unprofessional. If that statement sounds too chastising, I submit this thought instead: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.