Not so very long ago, my husband joined the wide world of Twitter. He follows a total of ten people and basically just tweets about Streak for the Cash. A few weeks ago we were talking and he said, “Most people just retweet other people. I like when people tweet funny things about their life.”
“Do you read any of my tweets?” I asked.
“They’re usually about your book.”
Uh-oh…
Then the next day, I read Jody Hedlund’s blog post titled Social Media Pet Peeves (I highly recommend).
Social media pet peeve #7 was using social media only for the purpose of promotion.
Social media pet peeve # 10 was making social media all about ourselves.
It felt like a double uh-oh.
I was paranoid.
In fact, before my husband said what he said and before Jody posted what she posted, I was already paranoid.
Because my debut novel had just released.
And let me tell you, I have amazing, amazing, amazing, supportive, supportive, supportive online friends. Many were either interviewing me on their blogs, inviting me to write a guest post, reviewing my book, or hosting a giveaway. All to help me spread the word and create a buzz.
I wanted the people who so graciously hosted me on their blog to be rewarded with some extra traffic.
Which meant I was sending out a lot of tweets and Facebook updates about my books or my interviews.
I wanted to promote these posts as a way to show my appreciation to those who were supporting me.
But I also didn’t want to clog people’s Twitter/Facebook streams with me, me, me.
It felt like a big fat catch-22.
I even said so in the comment section on Jody’s blog.
And she quickly replied in her very wise, encouraging, Jody-like way, assuring me that I wasn’t alone. That this is a common struggle.
She concluded by saying, “You’ve been on your SM’s chatting, building relationships, and giving to others long before the release of your book. So now that your book is here, we’re all excited for you and want to support you….around the release of a book, we WILL be sharing more about our books. It just can’t be all we do.”
And there we have it.
Two really BIG takeaways.
Relationship is Key
And relationships take time. If we jump onto Twitter a couple weeks before our book releases and start tweeting interviews and blog posts and reviews, we’ll most likely elicit a bunch of eye rolls.
Not so if we jump into the pools of social media early-on with the goal of connecting and building relationships (instead of promotion).
I’ve met a lot of really awesome people through Twitter and Facebook. People who have been beyond supportive and encouraging during a time that I’ve needed the support and encouragement. These friends understand that I don’t usually tweet so much about my book. And they understand this is a unique season in my life.
Mix it Up
It’s so easy, in the whirlwind that surrounds a book’s release, to turn into a social media-bot. Conversation and connection get lost in our attempt to stay on top of everything. Especially since we know the people we’ve built relationships will understand.
But what about our new followers? Like my husband.
Even though I’ve been on Twitter and Facebook for a long time and am not generally so self-focused, my new followers won’t know that.
My husband’s innocent comment was a big reminder that while sharing about our books is good and expected, it can’t be ALL we do.
Otherwise, as Jill Kemerer says in a blog post titled Fewer Gimmicks, Please! we’ll come across as….well….gimmicky.
Let’s Talk: What tips do you have for authors who aren’t sure how much is “too much” when it comes to promotion?
Hop on over to Jeanette Levellie’s blog and say hi! She’s giving away a copy of my debut, Wildflowers from Winter!
