Before the onslaught of social media promotions, book marketing was done through more traditional routes such as book tours, mailing book copies out to be reviewed, and radio or TV interviews.
However, while those are still great ways to get word out there, utilizing the different social media platforms is an even more effective way to promote your latest book venture because of the magnitude of people they allow you to reach all at once. And while most people turn to Facebook first for marketing purposes, Twitter is an equally efficient and easy way to spread the word.
1. Create your own hashtag.
Having a unique hashtag (e.g., #HarryPotter) makes it easy for people to find all of the conversations ensuing around one particular topic – in this case, your book. The hashtag should be something pertinent to the book, such as the title of the book (if it’s short enough) or a prominent and well-known character from the book (if it’s from a series).
2. Have a custom landing page.
Your Twitter homepage should be a custom created Twitter page and not one that is a basic, run-of-the-mill page. Having a custom page is more visually appealing to people and shows that you are a professional and not just some random person.
Your Twitter profile page is essentially your first impression, and you want it to be one that encourages people to stay and learn more, not something that gets lost in the crowd. Be sure to include a link to your blog or book website so that interested people can easily locate your book.
3. Make your tweets real.
Don’t only send out automated-sounding tweets that are designed to sell your book. Send out tweets that help personalize you as well. People thrive on feeling a connection with others through social media, so you have to straddle the line between promoting your book and still being a real person. When you can learn to balance the two, you will find yourself infinitely more successful.
4. Market everything.
If you’re doing a book tour, having a book signing, hosting a Twitter chat, writing a blog or anything else that relates to you and your book, then you should be tweeting about it! This will help your expand your exposure.
5. Network!
Follow authors within your genre, reporters, book reviewers, booksellers, literary agents, etc. Twitter allows you to follow anyone and everyone, so you can connect and form relationships with people who can help you move forward within your profession. Once you form a relationship with them, you can use that as a tool to help you in your book promotions.
Twitter allows you to form more intimate relationships with people than other traditional social media platforms because it allows you to create a professional and yet personal persona. Use this the right way and you can escalate your book promotions to a whole new level of exposure and success.
About the Author
Coleen Torres is an editor with http://www.phonetvinternet.com. You can find more about her at her profile for the home phone service.
