Social Media Hashtags Writers Should Follow and Why

More than a few blogs posts ago I did a post about Twitter hashtags on my blog. About which ones a writer should follow and why. Then I had a crazy idea, well maybe not crazy. More like cool. What if I had everyone on Unicorn Bell pool their knowledge. And share their nuggets of information on the same subject. But this time on a broader scale.

So that’s what we’re doing today and for the rest of the week. We’re doing a writerly roundup this week and today’s post, see the post title, are about hashtags.


Chrys

Two Twitter hashtags I believe all writers should follow are #MSWL and #StoryDam.

Using #MSWL, you can find out what agents and editors are looking for. These tweets let writers know what kind of manuscripts are on their wish lists and when to query. You can also check their website www.manuscriptwishlist.com for agents’ profiles with a more detailed list of what they’re looking for in general.

#StoryDam is a weekly chat that happens on Thursdays at 8pm ET. Every Thursday, there are 6 new questions that you can answer using the format A1: (Your Answer) for one tweet, A2: (Your Answer) for your next tweet, and so on. Tweet, retweet, favorite. Get to know other writers, make friends, and gain advice. The questions are posted on their blog/website. www.storydam.com.


Marcy

Twitter: I don't tweet much but I do like #MSWL - it's very helpful!


CD Coffelt

Hashtags. Many hashtags I followed in the beginning are extinct. The one hashtag I still follow is #querytip. A writer never knows when something good might pop up.

#amwriting is one of my all-time-favorites, if not for information then as a virtual hug and encouragement.

Facebook is more “buy my book” screaming but Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors is great for advice. As a sidebar, I belong to several family groups that are closed to the public. It is a great way to exchange information and photos. I love that aspect of FB.


Me

I’d said it once already and I’ll say it again. Definitely think about participating in #WIPjoy. Your story feeling stagnant? Your writing journey is making you feel isolated? #WIPjoy is a month long event. And a good way to rejuvenate the feelings of love and passion you first had when you started writing. Like finding out that the love is still there in a relationship. Plus, you get to network with and befriend other writers. The next #WIPjoy part is January 2017. Just follow @simmeringmind for the details. And follow the daily prompts and post on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Have any social media hashtags you’d like to promote? Why?

Miscellaneous Tips

In my non-writer life, I have a small handknit business. (Shameless plug. Here's the link to it.) Recently, I got new book on social media marketing.

As I read, I realized that many of the outlined strategies would work for marketing an author and/or a book. The basic ideas are the same, really. Anyone can go on Twitter and constantly tweet, "Buy my book." But that's not going to get us anywhere.

The book was packed with a bunch of information about online marketing that I'd never heard before. (It also went over some ideas that I was quite familiar with.) I've only managed to share a small portion of the ideas this week, so if this has whetted your appetite for more information on online marketing, be sure to look for other resources.

There were a few other ideas that don't merit their own post but were things that I found to be useful.

• When choosing a link for your profile page on a social network, link to your blog or other website. If you just link to your book, people are more likely to click away. On your own blog, people are more likely to stick around for a bit.
• Set realistic goals as to how much time you have to devote to networking. If you only have an hour every couple days, make that time work for you.
• Find the "influencers" and engage with them. Influencers have highly engaged followers who can be useful in getting the word out about your book. 
• "If it feels spammy, it probably is."
• It's a good idea to schedule posts for different times of the day. Once you figure out when your ideal readers are online, you can make sure to have new posts for them.

Whether you have a book out right now or not, you can start networking and building your platform. These are a few ways you can begin.

What have I missed? What other tips do you have to share?

Marketing Goals

In my non-writer life, I have a small handknit business. (Shameless plug. Here's the link to it.) Recently, I got new book on social media marketing.

As I read, I realized that many of the outlined strategies would work for marketing an author and/or a book. The basic ideas are the same, really. Anyone can go on Twitter and constantly tweet, "Buy my book." But that's not going to get us anywhere.

How do you know if your efforts are paying off? You need to set specific goals for your social networking and then track them.

Google Analytics is a good place to start.

What are your social networking goals? Of course you want people to buy your book, but you also want to keep them engaged with you so that they're around to buy your next book and the book after that. Engaging with people on Facebook, Twitter, or any other site is good. Getting them to follow your blog is good too.

But one thing the book was big on was newsletters. And newsletters make more sense for writers, really. You can send out snippets, scenes, deleted scenes, and short stories. You can let your followers know when you're having a sale on your book and when you have a new book coming out.

How many people sign up for your newsletter is something you can track.

By tracking your efforts, you can see what things work for you and what things don't. You'll have hard data. 

Building a Relationship Online

In my non-writer life, I have a small handknit business. (Shameless plug. Here's the link to it.) Recently, I got new book on social media marketing.

As I read, I realized that many of the outlined strategies would work for marketing an author and/or a book. The basic ideas are the same, really. Anyone can go on Twitter and constantly tweet, "Buy my book." But that's not going to get us anywhere.

Once you've targeted potential readers, you want to convert them into fans. And this is a process. It takes time.

It does not involve frequent "buy my book" posts.

The key is engagement. Answer questions posed by other posters. "Like" things. Comment on others' posts. "Retweet." Share.

Be interested. Participate.

Be yourself, but a professional version. It's fine to offer a glimpse of you, in fact, it's what will connect more people to you.

Share things you find interesting. Remember your reader profile? Share things that person might find interesting.

And the "buy my book" posts? They can happen. Just not frequently.

The ABCs

In my non-writer life, I have a small handknit business. (Shameless plug. Here's the link to it.) Recently, I got new book on social media marketing.

As I read, I realized that many of the outlined strategies would work for marketing an author and/or a book. The basic ideas are the same, really. Anyone can go on Twitter and constantly tweet, "Buy my book." But that's not going to get us anywhere.

Once you have some idea who your ideal readers are and where you can find them online, you'll want to get them to interact with you. The end goal is for them to buy your book (and hopefully leave a glowing review). You're looking for those who will become your fans.

But this is a process. The idea is to create a relationship. In marketing-speak, the steps for the formation of this relationship are the ABCs. Acquisition. Behavior. Conversion.

Acquisition. You want to find people who may like your book. You want them to follow you.

Behavior. You've got followers, but do they really read your tweets? You want people to engage with you. You want to draw them in and get them to pay attention to you.

You want to get a conversation going. Virtually. Get them to read your blog posts. Comment. Perhaps subscribe to a newsletter. Get them to "know" you, so when you publish a new book, they feel invested.

Conversion. You've drawn them in, and now they want to buy your book. They want to review it for you. They want to tell their friends about you.

These are the steps you take as you build your online presence. Having lots of followers is great, but it's much better to have fewer committed followers than a lot of random "likes" from people who never pay attention to anything you post. It's like making friends in the virtual world.

One of the big things in getting someone from A to B to C is to be a part of the conversation. Social media is about access. You want to get to know your readers. (More on this tomorrow.)

The Ideal Reader

In my non-writer life, I have a small handknit business. (Shameless plug. Here's the link to it.) Recently, I got new book on social media marketing.

As I read, I realized that many of the outlined strategies would work for marketing an author and/or a book. The basic ideas are the same, really. Anyone can go on Twitter and constantly tweet, "Buy my book." But that's not going to get us anywhere.  

One way of targeting the sort of people who might want to buy your book is to create an ideal customer reader profile. Of course, we would like everyone to buy our books, but in reality there are some people who will not enjoy them. So, why spend time trying to get our message to those who won't want to buy our books?

To create the profile, you answer a few questions based on who you think your book will appeal to, such as: 

• Gender
• Age
• Where do they live?
• What do they care about?
• Hobbies/activities
• Occupations
• Ambitions & dreams
• TV shows they enjoy
• What irritates them?

Of course, you might have more than one "ideal", and it's fine to create a couple different profiles. What should get your attention are things like hobbies/activities and what TV shows they enjoy. Why? Because that's one way to find possible readers.

You want to find readers who may not be familiar with your work. Where do they congregate online? This is one good place to start.

Dear Distracted Writer + Giveaway

Dear Distracted Writer,

There are distractions everywhere from our day jobs to our children, but the biggest distractions nowadays are our cell phones and social media.

Every day, every hour, and most likely multiple times an hour, we are checking our emails, Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. Not only does maintaining these things take a lot of time, but they suck away time like black holes. We can get pulled into scrolling mindlessly through our feeds, retweeting, commenting, and sharing everything we see. And when we are doing this, we aren’t being productive. We aren’t writing, editing/revising, or whatever else we need to do as writers.

Being on social media is part of that but there’s a point where it goes from being work-related to a big fat distraction that aids procrastination.

So what can you do to end distractions?

Unplug! This is the most obvious solution.

1. Turn off your cell phone.

2. Disconnect your landline.

3. Temporarily delete your Internet icon (on your computer) so you won’t be tempted to click on it. Just make sure to un-delete it before you clean out the waste bin.

Image from Flickr

Once you unplug, try one or all of these following techniques to get some real work done:

1. Every day designate a period of time to writing and only writing. Example: 3pm – 6pm. And during that time unplug using the 3 steps above.

2. Choose a time every evening to shut yourself off from social media until bedtime. Every day about 6pm, I turn off my computer to give myself a break from checking emails, my blog, etc. I unwind when I do this and feel less stressed. And not once do I sign into social media. I guess you could say 6pm is my social media quitting time.

3. Pick one day a week to unplug for a full 24 hours and designate that day as the day to get sh*t done. I pick Sunday for this because there’s less traffic on my blog and fewer people engaging on social media. Not having to worry about social media for a whole day feels great. It allows me to recuperate and gives me energy for the upcoming week.

QUESTIONS: Do you practice of those techniques? Do you have a problem with social media distractions?


BONUS: I have a Halloween giveaway going on now! :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a writing-related question? Leave a comment and I may turn it into a post right here!

See Also:

Dear Withdrawn Writer

Dear Time-Strapped Writer

Dear Un-inspired Writer

Dear Blocked Writer

Dear Degree-less Writer

Dear Young Writer

Dear Aspiring Author

Dear Confused Facebook Author

Dear Scrambling Writer

Dear Writer Not Writing

Author of Hurricane Crimes, 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. Blogger. Reader. Auntie. Vegetarian. Cat Lover.

Find Me:

Facebook / Twitter / Blog / Website / Amazon / Goodreads

Sign up for my FREE monthly newsletter!