From Jane Friedman:
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest … Where do you start? How do you find the time? What do you post? Do you have to be on all of them?
Before you scroll through or dismiss this entirely, I’m going to ask you to take a moment to breathe.
Most of the advice that we see online is geared toward people who are trying to build a business and already use social media regularly. But what if you don’t spend time on social media? Maybe you have an account but it’s dormant, and all you want to do is sell some books and meet some other writers. Let’s start the very beginning.
We writers come in all shapes and sizes. Some of us are working on building a portfolio and pitching articles. Others are building a following that could become a readership for a book we will be publishing. And still others want to approach influencer status and may be willing to spend more time on social media than the average writer.
Before diving in, consider your goals
Do you want to sell more books?
Hint: Take your pick, any social media platform will do.
Do you want to grow your email list?
Hint: Take your pick, any social media platform will do.
Are you promoting your blog or articles you’ve written?
Hint: Facebook and Pinterest might be your best bet.
Do you write poetry (micro work) that you want to publish directly to a platform?
Hint: Twitter and Instagram might be your best bet.
Are you trying to connect with people and share more personal information?
Hint: Instagram and Facebook might be your best bet.
Let’s break down the platforms.
Best if you want a little bit of everything; writing, photography and/or video
Full disclosure, this one is my favourite because in addition to writing, I also love photography. I like taking pictures and matching them to my text. Even though I know that a lot of people won’t take the time to read what I write, there are enough that do. To date I’ve made a substantial number of contacts this way. As Instagram competes with other sites, more features are being added. You can create short videos (aka Reels) and longer live videos. As a bonus, since it is under the same umbrella as Facebook, you can choose to automatically crosspost on Facebook. This is where a lot of people start to have heart palpitations since it sounds complicated, but it really is as easy as sliding a toggle.
Best if you want to focus on one liners and short text
If you have time, prefer to stick to text, and if you can think fast (the average lifespan of a tweet is 18 minutes), then Twitter might be the platform for you. This is where agents and editors like to hang out, so there’s a good chance that you’ll hear about the latest trends or what they are specifically looking for. I have also found that quite a few magazine editors post their wishlists on there, and some will even answer your questions. If you are trying to get a reporter’s attention, this is a great platform for that. This comes in handy if you are trying to be featured in an article.
Link to the rest at Jane Friedman
a comment I made on the OP site:
Make use of Quora. It may not be your typical social media platform, but it’s an excellent place to talk about your books, concepts, research, etc.
I’d add a few pieces of advice.
1. Your website and email list come first.
2. Pick one only (maybe two) and work it well. If you try to do them all, you’ll likely not gain full potential or they’ll become a timesuck.
3. Don’t become dependent on them. They can cancel you in an instant.
4. A 1,000 on your email list is more valuable for converstion than 10,000 followers on most social media.
I agree with all of your pieces of advice, Darren.
*typos
Ugh. Sorry.