Tell Me How to Use Twitter

[Matt]

I think Twitter is ridiculous, but everyone's on there, so I guess I have to be too.

I retweet stuff from time to time, or post snarky stuff like this: https://twitter.com/roguehomebody/sta...

That's about it. Sometimes a week passes between tweets. I suppose a social media guru would find that sad.

Help me bring my Twitter game to the next level!

[Anna]

I've sacrificed Twitter to give me more writing time, so don't beat yourself up about it :)

[Amy]

I have no idea about Twitter. I’ve shared my links, I’ve tweeted stuff I think I’m followed by people who want me to follow back and buy their books. I’ve not had a single sale from strangers from anything I’ve done on social media. Sorry to sound so pessimistic but that’s my reality.

[Josie]

Twitter has sold me zero books. I just use it to meet and chatter with bookbloggers and other authors. Spamming promo stuff gets you nowhere, and should be a tiny percentage of what you post.

Most advice I’ve seen for authors says: if you don’t want to use Twitter, then don’t.

[Dale]

I don't get most social media, to be honest, but I use it to announce my blog posts, any author events I happen to be doing, and anything else associated with my writing and publishing life. I don't think I'm getting much of a "return" on it most of the time, but I figure it can't hurt.

On Facebook, I created a separate author profile from my personal profile and told people that my author profile was for my authorial posts, while my personal profile would be reserved for the important business of posting cute cat photos. ;-) I do very little serious posting on my personal page, with good reason.

For Twitter, though, I still only have one profile, because almost everything I post there only pertains to my writing life anyway.

[Matt]

LOL - so we're all in the same boat? Thanks for nothing! :)

It sounds like a chicken-and-egg scenario, like so much of self-publishing. If you're an Influencer, people will follow you on social media...but to become an Influencer, you have to engage people on social media...somehow.

I have engaged in a few Twitter chats. They can be fun, but it does get confusing keeping track of everyone.

[Carole]

I can't keep track of it all. As soon as I learn one thing, they come up with another new media thing to learn!! The one my son and assistant think are the best is Snap-chat. I think Twitter has turned into a big advertisement. The publisher of my son's book said people turn off if all you do is blast your books. I don't know- our audiences are growing. I find Facebook keeps my son's book selling. I find bloggers work for me better.

[Dale]

Matt wrote: "LOL - so we're all in the same boat? Thanks for nothing! :)"

Oh, you're quite welcome. Nothing is my strongest skill. ;-)