Someone pointed out to me that I have been knocking it out of the park with my social media efforts. They asked me, how has an as-yet-unpublished author collected 12K Twitter followers in less than a year?
I actually have 12K followers on Twitter, 9.8K on LinkedIn and another 5K on Facebook. And I’m up for new connections.
- https://twitter.com/BenLucasAuthor
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/authorbenlucas/
- https://www.facebook.com/realbenlucas
I built all this after listening to James Scott Bell on Great Courses in August 2020. For some who may not know, James Scott Bell is an excellent authority on the craft of writing. Without him, I don’t think I would have been able to properly structure me WIP.
He said marketing was necessary for traditionally published and indie authors. My immediate takeaway was this is crucial.
JSB’s work led to exploring more references on marketing. I spent a solid month and bit researching, and decided I needed to brand as part of a marketing strategy. Branding seemed so obvious and things clicked from there.
I want to be crystal clear that I don’t believe that I would have these levels of followers without efforts aimed specifically at branding. Building an author brand meant building a social media base to create goodwill and credibility whenever and wherever I can.
Just in case, I wanted to say I have no illusions. With all things related to writing, I’m keeping to my personal motto—I have high hopes but low expectations. None of this is guaranteed, especially if my book that comes out and SUCKS!
However, our TKZ expert, James Scott Bell, says you can’t sell books on Twitter. I think JSB is right. But I also believe there are more important things that social media will offer you.
Next time – marketing vs. branding.
What are your thoughts about social media?
