By Indie Authors for Indie Authors.

Tag: author facebook

10 Must-Do Tips for Authors on Social Media

If you’re like me, you constantly have to balance what time you spend marketing on social media with what time you spend writing—you know, that thing you actually love doing and wish you could do full time? Yeah, writing. This doesn’t even account for time with family, friends, hobbies, day jobs, or countless other things that quickly fill up your day.

The point is your time is limited. While social media can be beneficial as you build your author platform, it can also be a never-ending time-suck.

Here’s some advice on how to best utilize social media to build a solid Author platform.

 

Author Social Media Tips

 

1. Be Selective

There’s a mantra I tell myself regularly: You can do anything. You can’t do everything. This is important to remember throughout life.

Managing your social media engagement is no different than other aspects of your life. Be selective on where you utilize social media. Each platform is different.

Twitter can help you reach new readers, while Facebook can drive more traffic to your website and create relationships with readers. Goodreads is wonderful for engaging with the indie author community. Instagram and Pinterest can help you build a brand, if that’s what you’re going for. This is just the tip of the iceberg of social media options.

Figure out what works best for you and focus on those one or two platforms. Personally, I mostly engage on Twitter and Facebook.

 

[clickToTweet tweet=”You can do anything. You can’t do everything. Be selective on social media. #amwriting” quote=”You can do anything. You can’t do everything. Be selective on social media.”]

 

2. Create Better Images

People love pictures on social media. Images get exponentially more engagement than just words. This is the very reason Twitter started allowing images on their platform a few years ago. Their lunch was getting eaten by Facebook.

Spend the time necessary to create better images. One place to do that is Canva. That’s how I create many of the images I use on this site. (No, I don’t receive any kind of commission for referring you to them, but I should, huh? Somebody look into that for me.)

 

3. Engage

This really should be rule number 1. Engage! Engage! Engage!

Don’t just scream for people to buy your book. Engage them. Learn about them and who they are. You’re likelihood of finding a new reader will be much, much higher. Answer questions. Respond to comments. And who knows, you might just find a new e-friend.

 

4. Tag People

If you’re talking about someone in one of your posts, tag them so they’re aware. There’s a higher likelihood they’ll interact with the post or that some of their followers might as well.

However, DO NOT tag people just to tag them so they see your latest marketing message. One of the most annoying things on social media platforms is getting tagged by someone with no context on why you’re getting tagged other than they want you to buy something from them.

 

5. Keep Tweets Short

This may sound odd since the very nature of Twitter is already short quips, but just because they give you 140 characters doesn’t mean you have to use all 140. Try to keep your tweets short and simple. Around a 100 character max seems to be a good sweet spot.

 

6. Try Videos

As much as images and pictures get more interaction than simple text, videos do even more so. If you’re inclined to face your fear of being on camera, it can help your engagements on Social Media.

I realize most people have a fear of being on video. I do as well. Just because you have a fear of something, though, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore it further.

I’ve begun dabbling in videos with my content, both with photos I’ve taken and with being in front of the camera myself. I really enjoy the author and reader videos anaisbelieve creates on YouTube as well. Try creating a video yourself!

 

7. Make Your Headlines Work

I’ll admit, I can be much better at this. People that tease the reader and pique their curiosity get more engagement and clicks. I’m not saying to use click-bait as a strategy. Everyone hates that and Facebook is even working to get rid of it where they can. I’m saying captivate your followers imagination with your posts. Give them a reason to think, laugh, or be moved. Put thought into your headlines.

 

[clickToTweet tweet=”Put thought into your headlines. Give people a reason to think, laugh, or be moved. #indieauthors” quote=”Put thought into your headlines. Give people a reason to think, laugh, or be moved.”]

 

8. Remain Positive

Social media is a real quagmire of negative individuals, isn’t it? It’s obnoxious. If you’re not careful, you’ll find you’ve fallen into one of the two large cess pools that social media hosts: (1) The cess pool of Negative Nancies (or Negative Nates if you please); or (2) The cess pool of look at how wonderful my family / my vacation / my life is.

Don’t fall into those traps.

Keep your positivity. Show your excitement. There will always be haters. Don’t worry about that. People can sense your excitement. They feed off of it. Remain positive and excited.

 

9. Repost Old Content

Reposting something from a few months ago is called Evergreen Content. Don’t be obnoxious and tweet the same thing out over and over and over again. But if you’re judicious, there’s a lot of fantastic content you’ve posted in the past. Don’t let it go to waste. One plugin I utilize for Nothing Any Good is “Revive Old Post”. I set it to randomly send out a previous post of mine every 16-24 hours.

 

10. Manage Your Time

Let’s end at a similar place from where we began. Just like you need to be selective with which social media platforms you spend time on, you also need to be selective with how much time you spend on social media. Don’t forget about your writing because you’re working so hard to get people engaged with your writing. Manage your time and stay focused on the craft. After all, what’s the point of having an author social media following if you’re no longer writing?

 

 

Find more writing and publishing tips at Nothing Any Good.

 

Author Tweets of the Week (3-3)

  1. Tweets of the Week (4-15)
  2. Author Tweets of the Week (6-3)
  3. Author Tweets of the Week (7-29)
  4. Author Tweets of the Week (8-5)
  5. Author Tweets of the Week (8-19)
  6. Author Tweets of the Week (8-26)
  7. Author Tweets of the Week (9-2)
  8. Author Tweets of the Week (10-13)
  9. Author Tweets of the Week (10-28)
  10. Author Tweets of the Week (11-4)
  11. Author Tweets of the Week (12-2)
  12. Author Tweets of the Week (1-20)
  13. Author Tweets of the Week (1-27)
  14. Author Tweets of the Week (2-3)
  15. Author Tweets of the Week (2-10)
  16. Author Tweets of the Week (2-24)
  17. Author Tweets of the Week (3-3)
  18. Author Tweets of the Week (3-24)
  19. Author Tweets of the Week (10-6)
  20. Author Tweets of the Week (11-10)
  21. Author Tweets of the Week (2-16)
  22. Author Tweets of the Week (3-16)
  23. Author Tweets of the Week (4-6)
  24. Author Tweets of the Week (5-11)

 

Welcome my friends! Let’s get right to it. Our first tweet is great advice for any author.

 

 

Sometimes it’s hard to remember this as an author. (I sure could have taken this advice more to heart at some points of my book.) We don’t need to scream everything at the reader. There’s no need to beat people over the head with some theme or subtext or meaning or plot development. Sometimes whispering to the reader is invaluable.

 

This next tweet touches on a common theme here at Nothing Any Good.

https://twitter.com/FarahGhuznavi/status/836591955261845505

Write, friends! You will never make progress if you don’t actually write. You will never become a better writer if you don’t actually write. Write!

 

 

Once you’re actually writing (and not just thinking about writing), then you can consider additional advice.

I love this quote. If you’ve reached a point in your book where it’s really difficult for you to write it, (and I’m not talking about writer’s block), then you know you’re tapping into something. Plow ahead. Embrace that pain. Don’t shy away from that which is painful to write.

 

[clickToTweet tweet=”Don’t shy away from that which is painful to write. #writerslife #amwriting” quote=”Don’t shy away from that which is painful to write. #writerslife #amwriting”]

 

 

A shout out to @val_dmmc, who is writing!

I don’t know why, but I liked this. Something about it spoke to me.

 

 

I have no preference for or against Jaden Smith, but I enjoyed this video.

 

Now that you’re sense of wonder has been triggered, here’s a riddle for you from Carrie Adams Golden.

 

Do you know the answer? If you want to find out, you need to visit Carrie’s Facebook page to find out! While you’re there, why not give her a shout out and a follow?!

 

 

I’m a day late and a dollar short, but I love Dr. Seuss. Happy belated birthday Theodor Geisel! (oh, and rest in peace).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I appreciated this next tweet.

 

https://twitter.com/shannonpeel1/status/837531790394843136

 

I know all too well the perils of anxiety and panic attacks. And before you say that I should relax or slow down or breathe or whatever else you might suggest, read this first.

We don’t talk openly and honestly enough about mental illness. Even the term mental illness is loaded with negative connotations. Thank you @shannonpeel1 for sharing your experiences openly. We need to do this more often.

 

Moving on, I need me some of these magical items.

 

 

Get me some of this! My birthday is coming up in 6 months. You have plenty of time to prepare. Now you know what to get me.

 

Our final Author Tweet of the Week.

 

 

Let me second @oliviamccabe72’s sentiment and offer that encouragement to you all.

Keep it up, friends! You’re doing great!

Your writing sucks? That’s fine! You enjoy it right? Keep going!

Your book isn’t finished? There’s time to finish it! You’ll get there!

Your book isn’t selling? Join the club! 🙂

Don’t get yourself down. Being a writer is a journey in and of itself. Keep plugging away. Keep doing what you love. Keep on writing!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Facebook. Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Find more writing and publishing tips at Nothing Any Good.

 

 

Author Tweets of the Week (7-29)

  1. Tweets of the Week (4-15)
  2. Author Tweets of the Week (6-3)
  3. Author Tweets of the Week (7-29)
  4. Author Tweets of the Week (8-5)
  5. Author Tweets of the Week (8-19)
  6. Author Tweets of the Week (8-26)
  7. Author Tweets of the Week (9-2)
  8. Author Tweets of the Week (10-13)
  9. Author Tweets of the Week (10-28)
  10. Author Tweets of the Week (11-4)
  11. Author Tweets of the Week (12-2)
  12. Author Tweets of the Week (1-20)
  13. Author Tweets of the Week (1-27)
  14. Author Tweets of the Week (2-3)
  15. Author Tweets of the Week (2-10)
  16. Author Tweets of the Week (2-24)
  17. Author Tweets of the Week (3-3)
  18. Author Tweets of the Week (3-24)
  19. Author Tweets of the Week (10-6)
  20. Author Tweets of the Week (11-10)
  21. Author Tweets of the Week (2-16)
  22. Author Tweets of the Week (3-16)
  23. Author Tweets of the Week (4-6)
  24. Author Tweets of the Week (5-11)

 

Last week’s big news was that most all of my Amazon reviews were removed. Well that ordeal ended quickly and without fanfare. I contacted Amazon through a couple of avenues. They apologized and replaced the reviews within days. I’m still not sure why they were removed in the first place, but they’re back. All of us suspecting something nefarious from the big corporate book seller, well we’ll just have to focus those assumptions on other actions that Amazon has taken. They were easy to work with in this instance.

The other big news, for Nothing Any Good at least, was the release of Pieces Like Pottery in print. That’s right friends, it’s out! Without further ado, here is this week’s installment of Tweets of the Week.

 

 

There it is friends. You can get it online now. Or…if you would like a copy directly from me, please email me. I will provide you a signed copy and include a thoughtful excerpt taken from my personal journal. Consider it like your own personal prologue to Pieces Like Pottery. A one of a kind single edition.

 

https://twitter.com/TheBookDistrict/status/742047352777646083
This is a good goal. It’s easy in life to stay inside your comfort zone day in and day out. Try one thing today that scares you. It doesn’t have to be scary to anyone else. It can just be scary to you.

So your scared to buy the person behind you a cup of coffee for no reason? Go ahead and do it today.

You’re nervous to run one mile? Try it today.

Who cares what it is. Try one thing today that scares you.

 

 

This sequence of tweets with one of my readers still makes me laugh. I can’t argue with that @jeanleesworld. Bitch does know you have a lot to learn.

 

 

 

Never forget this. Each day is yours and yours alone. You get to decide how you chose to make a difference. Chose wisely.

 

 

Truth.

 

 

I love this guy. He makes me smile every time a video of his pops up on social media. Talk about doing something that scares you everyday. I love his hugs.

 

@bfisher_books tweeted this in response to the news that Barnes & Noble is (finally) selling self-published books in their stores. Preach @bfisher_books! Preach!

 

 

This article is very quick and very useful, so take the time to read it. I know, I shouldn’t send readers away from own site, but that’s what I do for you, friends. I put your own success and development as writers ahead of my personal goals. You are important to me. You see what I do for you? (For those asking if I would like a cookie or an award, the answer is obviously, yes. I will take one of each thank you very much.)

 

 

If you haven’t noticed, this week’s tweets have had a little bit of a Carpe Diem theme. Seize each moment, friends! The time is now to do what you’re scared to do. The time is now to make a difference. The time is now to do some good.

Let’s end on this note. Keep writing! Have a wonderful weekend.

Find more writing and publishing tips at Nothing Any Good.

 

 

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