How Authors Can Navigate Twitter

by | Feb 13, 2017 | Articles | 0 comments

Way back in June 2016, I wrote a blog post about Facebook vs. Twitter. At the time, I had a whole six months of expertise as a guy running a business full-time, so no wonder I did such a great job!

Well, okay, maybe I overstated my case. But the bottom line of that article was that, as necessary as Facebook is for authors, Twitter is really a place to build an audience and engage with them.

I know, I know, engage is one of those buzzwords that makes you want to gouge your eyes out with a fork. I get it. But it’s a real thing, and it just means that you have some kind of interaction: you message each other, you like or retweet each other…maybe you even end up buying a book. Maybe that person ends up buying your book. Get the importance now?

So here’s a little recap, except that I’d like to point out that, way back in June last year, I was bragging that I had over 2,000 followers on Twitter. Since then, that number has climbed to 11.3K. Yes, Twitter really does work that way, if you work at it. And no, those aren’t fake accounts or ‘paid’ followers. Don’t follow those. No, really, don’t.

Okay, here’s the recap:

  • Twitter is great because of the inherent brevity of your posts – I was resistant to even joining Twitter because I thought it was kind of stupid. I especially hated the cheesy word tweet. Having been on there a while, though, I see the value. Not everyone wants to read your 500-word blog post; have something you can convey to the short-attention-span crowd, too!
  • Twitter is a lot easier to build up than Facebook when it comes to a following – For me, the verdict on that deal is in: I’ve got 250 Facebook fans, but over 11,000 Twitter followers. Granted, a few of those are accounts I don’t follow back, but hey, some of those Facebook followers just clicked Like and then disappeared.
  • The rules for engagement favor Twitter for organic reach but favor Facebook for posting ads – I think it’s safe to say that Twitter ads do not yet generate revenue for most people like Facebook ads do; but when it comes to building an audience organically over time (again, not buying followers, which is always a mistake), Twitter is much more manageable. Maybe more authors are hanging out there, or maybe people find it a more user-friendly platform. That’s my experience, anyway.

How do you navigate Twitter as an author? Well, there are whole books on the subject – see Frances’ Caballo’s excellent Twitter Just for Writers – but here are three tips if you’re starting out.

  1. Don’t just follow; tweet something of value. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been followed by someone, and when I check their profile to decide whether to follow them back, there’s nothing there. No, really, there’s nothing there! They have followed 2,716 people (and somehow managed to get 412 people to follow them), but they haven’t sent out a single tweet. What’s the point of this account? Is there any value in it? Entertainment value, knowledge…anything? Maybe some day there will be, but for now, I’ve got zero incentive to follow them back. In fact, I’ve got incentive not to, because they might be some kind of spammer or nutcase. So remember: start out tweeting something. For ideas, look up accounts of famous people, other writers…get something out there.
  2. Don’t be an egghead. You know how when you first sign up for Twitter, your profile is a little egg with a colored background? Right. That’s where your profile picture goes. If you can’t be bothered putting something in there – preferably a nice professional head shot, but at the very least, something – then I can’t be bothered following you back. Makes sense, right?
  3. Engage, engage, engage. I know, I hate that word, too. Really. But this Twitter thing actually takes a little work. I’m not saying you have to tweet 200-300 times a month like I try to do (I’m a madman), but you have to interact with people if you hope to use Twitter as anything but another social media outlet. If someone likes your tweet, go ahead and check them out. Good chance they’re worth following! If they retweet you, thank them. Don’t send automated direct messages to every new follower. Almost everyone hates those, and they pile up like you wouldn’t believe.

So that’s my small overview on how to manage Twitter. Check out Frances’ book, and feel free to follow my account, @MikeSahno. Odds are, I’ll follow you back. I might even retweet you, if you’re tweeting something cool!

Breaking Into the Top 100

Recently, I posted something on LinkedIn called Author, Entrepreneur, or Authorpreneur? My point was that, if you're interested in breaking into the top 100 in your Amazon category, you're probably going to have to spend some time acting like a businessperson when it...

A Vacation Blog Post and a Manross Library Appearance

The following post has been pre-scheduled. I've never tried to pre-schedule a blog post before, so I had to look up how to do it. If you know me well, you won't be surprised by that. Hey, I'm on vacation while you read this. Modern technology! I find it interesting to...
guest blogging

Guest Blogging: To Post Or Not To Post

So it’s Monday, and as always my calendar says “New Blog Post Due.” My mind, on the other hand, says, Add a quick blog post. This is slightly different, because I have a couple afternoon appointments, and not enough time to write a post between them. Can you say...
political

Navigating the Murky Waters of Political Correctness

“If you don't have a sense of humor, it just isn't funny.”  —Wavy Gravy   When it comes to political correctness, I’m not convinced we should go back to the “good old days.” I mean, do we really want to go back to calling someone born to an unwed mother a...
kicking that can

Kicking That Can Down the Road

When I started writing my latest novel, I didn't have an agenda or even a plan. The story of Whizzers came about very organically, though it has roots in my own life from many years ago. To understand how I evolved as a writer, you almost have to understand how I...

Miles of Files: Where Did It Come From?

I wrote my third novel between about 2007 and 2015. I can’t say it took a full eight years to write – I got stuck in the final third for a couple years – but it was an ambitious project. I’d gone from a third person novel to a first person novel, and now I was going...
break

You Deserve A Break Today

The last few weeks’ worth of blog posts have been downers, and I appreciate everyone who has read them, sent me messages, and in general been encouraging. This week needs to be lighter. A lot lighter. So I’m going back to one of my favorite topics: writing. I’m on a...

Memorial Day 2019

I don't have a special message for Memorial Day. I never do.In fact, looking back through the archives for previous years' messages, I see I don't have any. Maybe I deleted them to save space on the server. Perhaps I deleted something in an effort to avoid courting...
self-promotion

What’s The Problem With Shameless Self-Promotion?

While I still find it somewhat hard to believe, I've been on Twitter for almost eight years. I know this not only because Twitter shows Joined March 2015 on my profile but also because, even if they eliminate that feature, I use a tracker called Who Unfollowed Me? If...
MLK

MLK Day 2023

Here’s wishing everyone a safe, sane Martin Luther King Jr. Day. For many of us, today is always something of a day of mourning: not only mourning the loss of a great civil rights leader, but also mourning the turn our great nation seemed to take in recent years....

Twitter Tips for Authors in 2023

If you follow my blog, you probably connected with me via Twitter, whether you’re a fellow author or not. In 2020, I wrote a post about Twitter for fellow writers that got a good response. Three years later, the landscape has changed, but some Twitter best practices...
rails

Going Off The Rails (But Not On A Crazy Train)

Last April, I wrote a blog post called Back on Track With a Work-In-Progress. Part of that post was to talk about the difference between a “plotter” and a “pantser” (and to describe myself as a hybrid of the two, a “plantser”). Another, less obvious motive, was to...
French

Those Tricky French Authors and Their Obsessions

Today’s blog post was originally going to be Write Whatever the @#$% You Want, Pt. III. However, after seeing parts I and II lined up, I decided to call an audible and make it something less repetitive. Somehow the SEO gods have gotten into my head. As I’ve mentioned...
scared

Write Whatever the @#$% You Want, Pt. II

In last week’s post, I mentioned a pretty well-known author who has publicly reported his publisher “wouldn’t touch” a new release, in part because a character in his novel referred to herself as “fat.” I heard this story on a podcast, and I remember thinking, “Wait...
censorship

Write Whatever the @#$% You Want

I’ve been stewing on this for a while. It’s been brewing for quite a while. I could probably write a song about it (how about a rap?), but I don’t think I will. This is more of a blog post topic, and it might even deserve a series. And that’s the title and topic of...
gratitude

Should Every Month Be Gratitude Month?

When I was a kid, I loved Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. I read it daily and collected nearly every paperback volume of the cartoon, so I could see what I’d missed since the comic strip’s inception in 1950.  Certain things stuck: quotes like “happiness is a warm puppy”...
robot

More Thoughts On Robot Writers and The Tech Dystopia

A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post here called When Will the Robot Overlords Replace Us? Apparently, I’m fairly obsessed with this stuff, because every time I come here and empty my brain, it seems to come up again. Today is no different. Part of the reason,...