Twitter Basics for Authors

I’ve poked a bit of fun at Twitter in the past, but it’s actually my favorite social media site. The short messages don’t take long to write, and it doesn’t take long to check in on your “tweeps” each day. I haven’t found it to be nearly as much of a time sink as forums and Facebook (though I’ve been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the Facebook world, and will try to do more there eventually).

Twitter can be a decent place to promote your books, though perhaps not in the way people initially assume (that being the stalk-a-bunch-of-people-who’d-follow-anything-back-and-then-spam-your-book-links-every-15-minutes way).

As I’ve written before, I feel Twitter is more like a Starbucks than a Barnes & Noble. People are there to socialize and network, not necessarily to buy books. If you’re a writer, the real power of Twitter lies in meeting fans, authors, and book bloggers. These are folks who may retweet your tweets (repost your messages for their followers to see), trade blog links with you, and let you guest post on their sites.

Sure, some of these people might buy your books, too, but to think of only that is a little short-sighted. As authors, it’s not just about selling this one book to this one person; it’s about turning your name into a brand. There’s a reason Stephen King’s name is bigger than the title on his books. He’s become a brand, an extremely well-known one!

Here are answers to a few basic questions authors new to Twitter often have:

What should I tweet about?

There aren’t any real rules here. Just try to be interesting. Bonus points if you can be interesting to your target audience (AKA the folks you hope will buy your books). I’m not sure I always accomplish that, but, since I write fantasy, I post a lot of fantasy-related tweets. One of my most popular ones (most retweeted) was a link to steampunk wedding cakes.

It’s good to talk to other people, too, not just create a steady stream of links. After all, you’re here to network and meet future fans, right?

You can use the search box and browse people’s lists to find folks you might be interested in interacting with. Depending on your genre, you may be able to find weekly or monthly “chats” as well. People participate in them by using hash-tag keywords, so anyone searching for those keywords can follow along. I.e. #sfchat #yalitchat

How do I get more followers?

First off, let everybody know you’re on Twitter. Mention it on your blog, on Facebook, in forums, or wherever you already hang out online.

After that, go out and follow people with common interests. And make sure you look like someone people would want to follow back! Put your own interests in your bio–it’ll help people figure you out right away. Not everybody has the patience to read through a stream of tweets, deciding if you’re a common soul worth following.

Also, it helps to talk to the people you hope to entice into following you. Some folks aren’t actively looking to grow their list of followers, and they won’t automatically follow you just because you followed them. They want you to say hi first. Crazy souls, I know!

Okay, got all that? Here’s a little more on being follow-worthy:

People like folks who…

• Follow back — You don’t need to follow spammers or people you’re not interested in, but, unless you’re already a celebrity, it’s a good idea to have a follow-back policy when you’re getting started. You may decide to keep that policy later on down the road, too, as it makes you appear approachable. Not a bad thing if you’re an author!
• Mix up tweets — There’s no formula on what or how to tweet, but most of us are more interested in following human beings than those who could be Twitter-bots, simply retweeting and posting links. Consider a mix of dialogue (comments you make @ other tweeps), interesting links, endearing or wry commentary on what’s happening in your life, and retweets of other people’s posts.
• Limit blatant promotion — I know, the only reason you’re on Twitter is because you want to promote your books, but people aren’t keen on being sold to. You can certainly mention your books with links to your site or the bookstore, but, when you do promote, consider making it less of a hard sell. I’ll often link to guest posts I’ve done, reviews people have written for my books, or just make comments on author life. If people are interested, my website is in my profile.

By the way, you can follow me, and I’ll follow you back if your interests are book-related and you don’t look like you’re going to sell me a used car or a get-rich-quick ebook.

How do I get people to list me?

On Twitter, you can make lists and place people in them (this makes it easier to follow conversations once you’re following a lot of people), and they can do the same for you. Being in lists meas appearing in more places where people can find you.

If you’re already doing the stuff we talked about in the how-to-get-followers section, you’ll probably find yourself placed on lists naturally, as you follow (and get followed by) more people.

Impatient? One easy way to get listed in more places is simply to find some lists where you think you’d fit (writers or indie authors, for example), and then follow the owner of the list. If they’re fairly active and have a fairly equal number of followers/following, there’s a good chance they’ll add you on the spot (just make sure something in your bio makes it clear you belong in that list).

Okay, enough Q&A for today.

Final words:

If you’re brand spanking new to Twitter, and some (much?) of this sounded like an alien language, you could check out one of the books out there for a more complete, starting at Ground Zero, introduction. They won’t be specific to authors and book promotion, but many of them cover marketing on Twitter.

• Twitter For Dummies
• Twitter Power 2.0: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time
• Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day

What do the Twitter pros in the house think? Any more suggestions or caveats for up-and-coming tweeps?