Does Twitter Sell Books?

I’ve had some discussions about this very topic privately via email and Facebook recently. In my experience yes, it does. A lot? Heck no! Enough to make a difference? Er, probably not. In any given month I’d say I probably sell 0 – 20 books via Twitter. Maybe more, I’m not positive and, sadly, I don’t really have any way to track it. Twenty books might seem great to some of you, but consider I’ve got almost 18k followers and I’ve been moving around 2800 books a month on average in 2013 (and it’s going up). So 20 books isn’t much, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to complain. Every sale is a sale, right?

What prompted this blog post was a Twitter discussion I just had this morning via DM. A new follower asked about my books and checked out my website. She wanted to get one, but wondered where she should start. Whenever I get asked this my response is always the same: What do you like? From there I went on to recommend a couple of books… But wait, it gets better.

My recommendations aren’t what you might expect. You see this is a person that has never read me before. They’re taking a chance on me and we’re both hoping it works out for them. It’s my duty to make it as easy as possible for them. Sure, I spoon fed the book and the link to them, but I can do better. I always recommend one of my free books to them. She chose Wanted.

Wait a minute, I’ve got a guaranteed sale and I’m using it to peddle a free book? What the hell is wrong with me?!

You read that right and yes, that’s what I do. I’m in this for the long haul, ladies and gentlemen. I want people to read my books and I want them to come back for more. By starting them out on something that doesn’t cost them any more than their time I’m setting the stage to prove that I’m not trying to steal their money. I’m no two bit hack or con artist tossing out unedited crap for the sake of making a buck. I’m the real deal and I’m only getting better as I go.

But I’m also an entertainer. My books will never sit beside the likes of “War and Peace” or “All’s Quiet on the Western Front.” Believe it or not, one of the most mind opening books I ever read was “Flowers for Algernon,” although probably not for the reason you might think. I was astonished at how the author could portray that character and develop (and then undevelop) him. I was awed. I honestly don’t believe I could ever do anything like that, though I may try. No, my job is to entertain and to thrill. Perhaps even to titillate. Truth be told, I’ll do just about anything to use the word titillate. It’s such a fun word. Try it out, go ahead. It rolls off the tongue and you can’t help but feel like it’s just a little bit immature and naughty. You’re having fun with it too, aren’t you? Don’t worry, I won’t tell.

So anyhow, back to Twitter and selling books. Yes, it works. But so does sitting at a craft show with a table piled full of trade books. It’s one tool of many and I think Twitter helped me get started moving from 1 – 20 books a month to hundreds and thousands. It’s a tool in a box full of many tools and just like a house can’t be built with a hammer alone, it does need a hammer to get the job done.

My advice is to remember these aren’t faceless blobs buying your books. They’re people looking for value. They want to be pleased and surprised. They want to know they didn’t get screwed over. Brighten their day with a good book and make it even better by giving it to them for nothing. I can’t guarantee a reader for life but I will say your odds are a heck of a lot better this way.

Wanted, post-apocalyptic science fiction by Jason Halstead

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .