Sunday, February 27, 2011

Effective use of Twitter

You just gotta learn to use the tools of social networking.
There isn't any other option.
Saying "it's stupid; it's boring; I don't understand it" is like saying you don't want
to give up your horse in 1918.  You may not want to, but the world is moving ahead without you, and you're going to be left behind.

Here are 10 Tips on Using Twitter Effectively. 

Read them, know them.

Twitter works for book promotions.  Don't get left behind.

20 comments:

Unknown said...

It's funny, this must be "Twitter Sunday" or something ... I'd pretty much forgotten about my Twitter, but I've been reminded repeatedly about it while reading blogs today :-)

Thank you!

Nicole said...

And twitter followers are ridiculously easy to get! Took me nearly a year to get 350+ on my blog and a week to get 500+ on twitter...

The Arrival, .99c on Amazon
www.damselinadirtydress.co

Jeff Chen said...

But I like my horse. Her horn is so pretty. I brush her and stroke her and call her Fluffy. Wait, this is off the record, right?

Was that under 140 chars?

TheChosenDarkness said...

*nods* I agree. My friend kept telling me how "stupid" twitter is and how she never wanted to "tweet". Well, after I quit digging in my heels and saying "no" to social networking, I found out it is the best tool ever! Seriously. Now I have my friend tweeting and blogging. If only she would do more of it and write. I know she works, but me thinks she is lazy. >.>

Anonymous said...

Wow, thanks so much for promoting my article, Janet. I was wondering why my site was getting such amazing traffic running through it today. Novel Publicity will officially launch on March 1 (this Tuesday). To celebrate, we'll be giving away a free professional grade book trailer to one lucky author. Very exciting times.

You're the best,
Emlyn Chand
President of Novel Publicity

PS. I'm not just a publicist, I'm an as-of-yet unagented author (wink, wink)

Shelly said...

Great article. Thanks. I posted today on my personal blog how I joined Twitter, but have no idea how to use it yet.

Now, I will.

Amy said...

Thanks for sharing this link. I could the help!

ryan field said...

I already do most of those things, but not hashtags. After reading this, "If hashtags make your head spin just include #amwriting with everything," I'm giving it a shot.

The problem with RSS feeds is I don't always post things on my blog I'd post on twitter or FB, or any social network. And, the blog goes to goodreads, so I make sure anything on the blog is what I'd like people on goodreads to read. In other words, I try to gear each tweet, post or status update to what I think would interest the readers of each network the most. And they don't always coincide. I've seen identical tweets and facebook updates from other people, thanks to RSS feeds, and frankly they are seriously annoying...to the point of "hide," "unfriend," and "block." Part of the secret, I think, to good social networking is not annoying other people. And that's not easy to do.

Queen of Hats said...

Oh, this drives me crazy about lawyers, too! Just because you don't like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter doesn't mean your clients don't - and expect you to have a presence! And it's just the simplest, easiest, and most fun way of networking.

Anonymous said...

Any type of social networking -- Facebook, Twitter, etc. -- is a double-edged sword. Social networking makes you accessible to anyone who wants to find you. Yippee!

And it makes you accessible to ANYONE WHO WANTS TO FIND YOU (read: the classmate-turned-conspiracy theorist; the ex-significant other you haven't thought of in, oh a decade; lonely married people, etc.). And spammers. Lots and lots of spammers.

It is indeed easy to get followers on Twitter. That you don't know. Who want to sell you some spammy good or service. Ugh. It so enraged me that I gave my account the ax.

Simon Hay said...

Twitter has been the best social media tool for me to build a platform. It has created interest from the US, UK, and Europe for my healing work. It was the reason I was invited to a #140conf which is an event I'd never imagined I'd be speaking at. I'm also noticing that people are visiting my blog and website and not commenting or following, but they will tweet you or tweet at you. It's easy, be yourself and have fun. If you believe in your writing you could have an account for one of your characters. It would help with finding voice. Imagine two characters tweeting to each other.

Janet, thanks for the link :)

Charli Armstrong said...

Thanks for the article and thanks to the author for writing it!

I'm still Twitter-illiterate. I'll admit, I dragged myself into Twitter kicking and screaming after Hannah Moskowitz told me I needed to do it. But I'm still in a fog about it.

Like the whole #FF thing. I had NO IDEA what that meant until I read this article and one of my little handful of followers #FF-ed me. LOL

I did customize my profile with one of my drawings. I still have a lot to learn and a lot of work to do to make this work.

Trisha said...

NO I don't want to!

Just kidding ;)

Idiot Cook said...

This is great info. Here's another great post that came out last week, this one from Chris Brogan: An Insider’s Guide to Social Media Etiquette.

Shannon Heather said...

*GRUMBLES*

I have a twitter account. I follow people. I have a bio thingy. I read stuff.

I don't have to like it. I still think Twitter is stupid AND boring.

Mostly, I get tired of the people being so polarly fabulous or complaining.

I hate Facebook, Twitter etc and the Gawldanged horse they rode in on.

Scooter Carlyle said...

I joined Twitter kicking and screaming. Now I love it. It's really helped me network with other authors. I've gotten lots of advice and had several opportunities come knocking.

A3Writer said...

Nearly a year after your workshop at Desert Dreams, and I'm still struggling with the social networking. I definitely know its value, but making it a daily habit is still eluding me. Still, I shall not be defeated! Eventually I will get it to click and work for me my way.

Like all things related to writing and the publishing industry, perseverance shall pay off! Or scotch. I hear scotch works.

Caroline said...

I like Twitter, but I think you can over-post. I'm not sure everyone needs to do at least five posts a day, as the author recommends. If people post too often on my personal account - especially multiple posts in a short span of time - I will unfollow them.

One thing the author didn't mention is dividing your followers into lists. I find this very useful for a work account I manage. They don't want me to unfollow people, so I save myself time by organizing the most interesting people we follow into groups. Then if I need a health-related post, for example, I can look at posts from my health list.

Amanda C. Davis said...

I dunno, I'm unconvinced by the article. Several of the recommendations are red flags that the account is intended for self-promotion (and not, say, meeting people, being amusing, or being amused--it's like bringing a briefcase to a party). I think I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. And loving it.

Anonymous said...

As the author of this article, let me say that you can have fun and build personal relationships while promoting yourself. The two go hand-in-hand. I've formed some very close friendships through Twitter and interact much more in a personal way than in a business-y way.

The article linked by Ms. Janet Reid is the third, I've written in my Twitter series as per the request of my readers--those who are scared to jump in and find Twitter a bit overwhelming. I wanted to break it down for them and make the technology accessible.

My other posts on Twitter can be found here: http://www.novelpublicity.com/category/advice-2/social-media-2/twitter/

Also as awkward or wrong as it may seem, you have to be prepared to promote yourself as a writer. The market is saturated to such a degree that those writers who don't speak out for themselves will get swept aside. You don't have to be egregious with your self-promotion by any meant, but it's important to make at least some effort.

Happy tweeting everyone,

Emlyn Chand
President, Novel Publicity, LLC