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| Marketing for Romance Writers — Summer Camp |
Marketing for Romance Writers Summer Camp 2013
Join our workshops here:
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=1977
Sign in, or join. You must also join the MFRW group. We are listed
at the top of every page. Full instructions for joining are here: http://marketingforromancewriters.org/media/CTRforuminstructions.pdf
What kinds of things do we teach at camp? See
yesterday’s post for a full listing of the schedule. Everything from writing tips to blogging, making the most of Triberr, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. We have podcasting, using Paper.li, and how to handle queries and pitches.
Here’s a peek at one of the workshops that **did not** make it into this year’s camp.
Top Ten Tips for Finding #Followers on Twitter
Whether you’re a reader or a writer, or both (like me) you might have questions
about Twitter. I have a few answers for you. These are basics, but they have helped
me, and I hope they help you.
Do I need an avatar?
You betcha. Get yourself an avatar, and you’ll start getting new followers.
Folks without avatars (only the egg showing) are referred to as eggheads on Twitter.
Spammers don’t usually bother with avatars because they get kicked off so fast,
so people are wary when they see one. Twitter will let you use almost any picture.
If you have one for Facebook, you can usually use that.
Should I tell people I’m on Twitter?
Absolutely, and give the full URL. Don’t do the @myname thing. Does
@kayelleallen look cool? Yes. But can you click that? Nope. Always give people a
clickable link. Want followers? Give people a link to follow and they will. Write
it out this way:
http://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Where do I put the link?
Start with your author
signature in email. Definitely put it on your website and blog. Are you self published?
Add it to your book in the “about the author” section. If you’re on a
forum or group, add it to your signature there. Put it in your profiles on other
social media. List it in print flyers. Put it anywhere your name is going to be
seen.
Is it necessary to be on Twitter?
Here’s my opinion. Are
you an author? Then yes, it’s necessary. Can you survive without it? Of course.
But it’s like opening a store downtown and thinking that you don’t need a phone.
Why wouldn’t you take advantage of one of the most popular tools for sharing information
in the world? Do you watch TV? Ever notice those little words at the bottom of the
screen that have a # mark in front? Those are Twitter hashtags. People can share
info about the show live using those hashtags on Twitter. If Twitter is that popular
and that much a part of our culture, can you afford not to be there?
How many followers do I need?
Your followers will
talk about your book, help it go viral, and spread the word. Let’s say you have
100 followers. To make this easy, let’s say each of them has 100 followers. If ten
of your followers each share a tweet you send out about your book, your one tweet
just went to 1000 people. Twitter sharing is exponential. Imagine if you have more
followers and a higher percentage shares a tweet? The reach could be huge. On Twitter,
you want lots of followers. How many you get is up to you and how much you share
that’s of interest to your tweeps.
Where do I find followers?
Follow people who interest
you. Here are some easy things that attract followers.
- Look at the lists others make and consider
following the people on them.
- Retweet other people’s info. They may follow
you back.
- Tweet 10 things about other people. Then
one thing about you.
- People love to be talked about. Say something
complimentary. They will notice.
- Spend 10 minutes a day reading and replying
to random tweets.
Anything I shouldn’t do on Twitter?
Yes, and please heed
these.
Never send direct messages
(DMs) unless you are getting in touch
for a personal reason. People view automatic DMs to new followers as spammy. They
don’t like it.
What about those verification programs? Any good?
I don’t recommend them.
The systems require your would-be-followers to do an anti-spam thing. If you are
an author you should want followers. Let them follow you.
Should I follow everyone back?
No. Follow people who
interest you. You don’t have to read every tweet everyone sends — but it’s fun
to see new material and you’ll get that if you have a lot of followers. I don’t
recommend using an auto-follow service. Sadly, if you do you’ll inadvertently follow
spammers.
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| MFRW.org |
What’s a hashtag?
A hashtag is a search
word on Twitter. It’s a word embedded in the message and marked with a #
symbol. When you click the word, it triggers a search for the word. You can make
anything a hashtag. They cannot contain any type of punctuation.
Bonus: Remember to have fun.
Twitter is social media.
Social means hanging out, having fun, and being natural. Twitter is like sex. If
you’re not enjoying it, you’re probably doing it wrong, or with the wrong people.
Lighten up, relax, and do it from the heart. You’ll enjoy it a lot more.
Find Me Here
Kayelle Allen is the owner of The Author’s Secret. She’s also a blogger,
writer of immortal role-playing gamers,
warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever.
Blog http://kayelleallen.blogspot.com
