Jun 11

Jun 11 Twitter Tips & Tricks

Twitter is often ignored by authors, but it can be one of the best places to promote your books! Here are a few tips for conquering this massive social network:

Make Sure Your Tweets Will Be Seen:

Any tweet that starts with an @ sign will only be seen by people who follow both you AND the person that you are mentioning. For example, if you tweet this: @BookBlog said that Trophy Wife is their favorite book this month! <-- that tweet will only be seen by your followers who also follow @BookBlog. Which severely limits its reach. If you'd like to mention someone at the beginning of your tweet, then just put a period before the @ symbol.

How to Schedule Tweets:

While Facebook's scheduling is fairly simple, it can be difficult to figure out where, and how, to schedule your tweets. See below for a quick video showing the process:

Use Hashtags and Tag:

To connect with readers, use #FridayReads, #TeaserTues, #MustRead, and #BookBlast

If you recommend a specific book, be sure to tag that author. If you post about your book and include purchase links, tag the applicable vendor (for example: @Kindle, or @iBooks). If you use a quote from a blog, tag that blog! You may get a retweet, which will expose your brand and increase your follower likelihood.

Twitter Giveaways:

Don't forget to post giveaways on Twitter every once in a while. Here's an example of one I recently posted. It is a great way to give back to your followers, but also can catch the attention of new prospective followers! Whenever I post giveaways on Twitter, I also visit my other social media sources and share the giveaway there, and that helps to boost those followers.