Twitter can be a tad bit confusing. When you tweet, there can be 25 more tweets from other people before you even finish typing in your tweet. PLUS who can write their thoughts in 140 characters?
If you are anything like me. . . I have a lot to say and 140 characters don't cut it.
But I have found so many helpful authors that were willing to help me learn the in's and out's of tweeting and I've got my own twideas (my made up word for tweet ideas. Hey, I'm a fiction writer in my own world!) up my sleeve.
Twitter is a powerful tool for you to use to reach readers, writers, and other industry professionals.
Using the proper hashtag (#) is the way to reach your target audience.
Before we talk about hashtags, we need to talk about etiquette and how to use Twitter effectively. There are so many times I get tweets from authors that are "buy my book," "check me out," and this is a turn off to me. That in your face marketing really doesn't work for me and my personality, and most people don't like that type of marketing. Think about it this way~ you know those unwanted sales people that show up at your door selling knives, carpet cleaner, magazines? I just saw you roll your eyes! YES! If you get on Twitter and YELL "BUY MY BOOK" "HERE IS THE LINK TO MY BOOK," they will slammed the door in your face or click unfollow.
People want to get to know you, and like you. Trust me, if you establish a likable relationship with your readers or tweet followers, they are more than likely to buy your book because they like YOU! The best advice I can give is to make yourself likable by paying it forward to others.
How do you do this?
Simply by retweeting other's tweets, or even commenting on tweets that you find interesting. It only takes a few minutes a day to get on twitter and tweet back. Reply to simple things that make you personable. Someone might tweet, "what's for dinner" and it only takes a second to reply to that tweet. But be careful not to get sucked into tweeting for hours. It can happen!
I insert hashtags in my tweet to reach the target audience. An example of one of my tweets: I have two kinds of days, happy and happier #inspiration #payitforward
Hashtags help those who seek similar content to discover your tweet.
Another tweet I will have is RT @tonyakappes11 How bad do you want success http://bit.ly/Aod6nh #inspiration #amwriting #indieauthor
Okay...so this is about my blog, I'm not saying don't promote yourself, just don't be in your face. I want to help others with my blog, so I write things here to help do that.
Let's break down the tweet. RT (Retweet abbreviation because we only have 140 characters! UGH!) is a way for me to gently tell people that I would appreciate them to retweet my tweet. @tonyakappes11 is my twitter handle and this is how I can track who is retweeting me, and what tweets get the most tweets. The http link is a link to the blog I'm tweeting using the bitly.com website, and since we can only use 140 characters, I highly recommend using this site. Bitly.com will also tell you how many people have clicked on your link from your tweet. Lastily, I have the hashtags of the target audience.
How often do you tweet?
This is another big thing. Statistics shows that someone has to see something between seven to ten times before they recognize "hey, I think I've seen that before." Ten to fifteen times to remember the name. This is why scheduling tweets can be a good thing. There are a lot of people who say scheduling tweets are not personable and I agree, but that is why you jump on twitter a couple times a day and quickly respond to a few tweets.
I use Twaitter.com to schedule tweets. I schedule hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly. And the tweets that I schedule are upcoming events, blog posts, promotions for others, and a few quotes. This allows me to keep a presences on twitter when I am at the day job, sporting events for my kids, or even out to dinner with my husband. But I also jump on a few times a day and make live tweets.
Ghostwriterdad.com has some other great site besides Twaitter that you can use.
Top writer hashtags (taken from Novelpublicity.com):
1. #amwriting – This is the reigning champ of Twitter hashtags for writers, and should be used early and often while writing…
2. #amediting – …and this is for when you’re editing your work.
3. #askagent – Some agents will answer questions that are tagged with this. You are following agents, right?
4. #fridayreads – So you can tell people what you’re reading. Happens every Friday. This is a great place to get your name out if you can get friends and fans to tweet your book as a Friday read.
5. #WW – This can mean a couple of things, but for the literary types, it means “Writer Wednesday.” This is sort of like Follow Friday. Name some of the writers you follow and tag them up. Some will even return the favor.
6. #pubtip – Agents and authors will often throw out some useful tips with this hashtag, for querying and for publishing in general.
7. #yalit or yalitchat
8. #wordcount – Writers love to commiserate, especially over word counts. Share yours because it might inspire you – or something else – to keep at it.
9. #writetip – This is another great opportunity to find, or share, some inspiration.
10. #FridayFlash or FictionFriday – This is a good way to stay loose. Write some quick fiction on your blog and share it through these hashtags on Fridays.
My top writer hashtags
#inspiration - I love quotes and want to make people feel good about their daily life.
#payitforward - Again, I want to help anyone I can. I believe in it!
#indieauthor -I'm also self published and want to help my fellow authors.
#beading - I write cozy mysteries with beading elements, so I want to reach that target audience.
#cozymystery - This is a target audience for me.
#promotion - Another target audience.
#marketing - Target audience
#sharethelove - Another pay it forward audience.
I'm adding to the list! What are some of your favorite hashtags or twideas? Do you have an twitter questions?
BTW. . .if you would like to have some tweets tweeted for you for free, check out WoMen's Literary Cafe! Sign up! IT'S FREE! Great promo and it's easy!!
