# Does Tweeting work for you?



## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

I just began tweeting within the last two weeks as part of the Facebook group, "Writing Kindle Books". I use a tiny URL from a site that tracks clicks, so I know when anyone clicks through from a tweet. Not only do I tweet, but the members of the group re-tweet for me, so the tweets are making the rounds. I reword them, so I've tried several approaches.

This far, virtually NO ONE has clicked through those links from a tweet. I am concluding that this may not be the best marketing strategy, and I may be inclined to give it up.

Does this work for anyone else? Do you have actual figures? Did it take time to build steam?


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## LiteraryGrrrl (Jan 24, 2011)

No idea.
I follow a lot of the cool peeps from that group, but I can't keep up with all of the tweeting and retweeting.
And frankly, to me, it almost seems like no one outside the group is listening.
But I don't have anyway of knowing that for sure.

Shana


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## JJWestendarp (Nov 2, 2010)

Tweeting by itself? No. Tweeting using hashtags? I pick up a follower here and there. Make sure you leave room on a tweet about your writing for the genre (#romance or #fantasy or whatever) and #amwriting. They're usually pretty popular. Not sure how that translates to sales, but you typically want people to know what you're up to in terms of your writing.


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

JJWestendarp said:


> Tweeting by itself? No. Tweeting using hashtags? I pick up a follower here and there. Make sure you leave room on a tweet about your writing for the genre (#romance or #fantasy or whatever) and #amwriting. They're usually pretty popular. Not sure how that translates to sales, but you typically want people to know what you're up to in terms of your writing.


I've been using hash tags. I pick up new followers here and there, but no one has clicked through. I think it may just be the group shouting out to each other.


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## nicholaslasalla (Mar 5, 2011)

Blogger tracks where your viewers click to go to your site, and Twitter has gotten me three or four visits.  Not too bad, but also with numbers that small, one must wonder if its worth the time and energy.

For me it is.  Even if I get one new reader a month through Twitter, it's still a new potential reader.  Need as many of those as I can possibly get, so I don't mind.

For me, Facebook has been more productive than Twitter.


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## Mark Adair (Dec 4, 2010)

Hi Nell. Here's my thoughts on this. Twitter is just one piece of an overall networking package (blogging, Facebook, etc.). Trying to track connections to sales can be a bit misleading. The more you tweet and follow and get followed (and help others along the way), the larger that part of your network becomes. The more established your network, the more exposure and name brand you have as a writer. And that's pretty valuable. Again, it may be hard to directly connect sales to tweets or followers but as part of your overall networking package I believe it to be quite helpful.


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## alexisleno (Mar 4, 2011)

I could never really get into Twitter, but I might try posting more with # tags and see what happens now


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## Jennybeanses (Jan 27, 2011)

Nell Gavin said:


> I just began tweeting within the last two weeks as part of the Facebook group, "Writing Kindle Books". I use a tiny URL from a site that tracks clicks, so I know when anyone clicks through from a tweet. Not only do I tweet, but the members of the group re-tweet for me, so the tweets are making the rounds. I reword them, so I've tried several approaches.
> 
> This far, virtually NO ONE has clicked through those links from a tweet. I am concluding that this may not be the best marketing strategy, and I may be inclined to give it up.
> 
> Does this work for anyone else? Do you have actual figures? Did it take time to build steam?


Nell, it takes time to not only build steam, but to build relationships with your network. Using Twitter means interacting and getting to know people, rather than just sharing "My link, my link, my link," in hopes of garnering interest.

Twitter has worked for me. The first weekend my book The Goblin Market was live on Amazon and Smashwords, I sold 54 copies and I know for a fact that at least 45 of them were from people within my Twitter network. They were also very enthusiastic in helping spread the word as well.

A lot of the time people think networking is a one way street where you walk down handing out your "business card" and everyone who takes it will in turn share it with everyone they meet. But it just doesn't work like that. You have to build relationships, and for some people the effort it takes to do that is too much work.


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## JMelzer (Mar 21, 2010)

Well, from what I see, you have 62 followers on Twitter, and the majority of your tweets are Sample Sunday retweets while the rest are self-promotion tweets about your books. Since February 20th you have "@" replied two people. 

This tells me that you're not using Twitter to build relationships, but are looking at it as purely a platform to stand on and shout about your books. That right there turns me off and doesn't make me want to click on anything you tweet because A) I don't know who you are, and B) I'm not on there to buy stuff.

Twitter is a great "networking" tool, not a great tool for hocking your wares. It is through the relationships that you build that sales come, as people get to know you and "chat" with you and want to support you and the things you have to offer. Only then will you see results from it. Like when you have a new book come out, folks will want to help you spread the word about it, thus retweeting your announcements to their network of friends, who in turn might be interested in it and yes, purchase it, but you can't just expect to be tweeting about your books all the time and have people be interested in you and what you have to say if you never interact with anyone. You have to treat it almost like a micro-forum, posting stuff, answering people back, getting to know one another.

The way it is now, you come across as a telemarketer, and no one likes a telemarketer. 

My wife and I have been on Twitter for a good two years building friendships (hell, we met on Twitter and ended up getting married), following other writers and creative types, and getting to know them as people, not salesman. But you got to be willing to put in the time and effort to do all this. It's not an overnight thing, but it can yield great results. Jenny sold 54 copies of The Goblin Market the first weekend it was out, and the majority of that came from Twitter, with so many people helping her spread the word about the new release. I raised $1000 in three hours for a book promotion I was doing through my network of friends who wanted to see me succeed and helped spread the word about it. 

So yeah, that's just my two cents on the matter. Nathan Lowell is another good one to talk to about the effectiveness of Twitter. Sorry if some of my comments come off a bit harsh, it just annoys me a little when all people use Twitter for is a megaphone and then wonder why no one's listening to them. Look at your Twitter stream, would you want to know you?


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## Tammie Clarke Gibbs (Dec 30, 2010)

Ok... so most of you know yesterday was my first day "tweeting".   So far I think the most beneficial thing has been having some of the people message me with encouraging things and I can tell from the message that they went to my website and read something there so I hope it will be a way to connect with potential new readers.   BTW Thanks to all for the help.


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## Jenni (Feb 20, 2011)

I think twitter is great for sharing information and links and to help drive traffic to where you want it to go. At the Write It Forward blog about half of all real clicks come from Twitter. We get some from Facebook, some from Bob's website or the Who Dares Wins Publishing website. 

Twitter is a tool and used effectively, it can be very useful. One of the keys is to build community and to build it outside of your facebook group. I think one of the best ways to be effective on twitter is to spend a half hour just talking to people, sharing links, and joining #hashtag conversations. Then shut if off and go write. Then maybe come back to it later in the day and respond to those people who responded to you and again, talk and share. 

A lot of people on twitter who follow me know I'm going to put out links to things I find valuable to the writing world as well as links to blogs I have written. Many of the links I share are not necessarily from people I know. This helps expand your community.

Again, it can be a huge time suck, the key is to do it in small spurts, have a purpose to doing it, don't make it all about I, I, I, be real, and don't spend hours upon hours tweeting, but be consistent.


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## Morgan Gallagher (Feb 13, 2011)

Yesterday's clicks on my blog, were 18.

Today, so far, I'm at 57.  So yes, #SampleSunday works for me.  But I'm not selling books, as I haven't launched yet - I'm looking to have more people look-see my work, and respond.

I took a risk today, and didn't do a sample of fiction, but put out a purely for my own eyes, vampire biography.  Because I've found I get lots of interest when I talk about writing.  Which suits me, as I'm thoroughly enjoying doing so.  It's new to me, and I'm enjoying the marketing and somesuch.  I've had more comments today, than ever before, and the hit rate is similar.  It's been very rewarding for me, personally, as I'm still in the throes of butterfly tummies and 'oh my ghod am I doing the right thing'.

However, those 57 hits are coming from Twitter, Facebook and Kindle.Boards, not just from Twitter.  In fact, I got more traffic from here.  Last week it was Facebook.  Although I do pick up a load of new followers on Sundays, and lots of them are writers, or reviewers or book sites.  I find that useful.

My novel blog, which is about 4 weeks old, has over 1500 hits so far.  Quite a few of them will be repeat hits, for people who came back to read the next bit.  However, the biggest hit rate of all time, was when I posted the covers for my ebook, and asked people which one to choose.  I got over 300 hits, and most of them were from here.

I guess my answer is... that #SampleSunday works for me.  And that Twitter is one part of that.  And also, it works for what I'm actually after - which is simply to find my own way on this path.  It seems bonkers to me, that 4 weeks ago I was starting up a novel blog as I 'should' and now it's helping me to form my own sense of self in my work: what I'm doing and what I'm wanting for me.  

So I'd suggest what you're asking is #SampleSunday is worth your time, as opposed to Twitter.  Does that make sense?  And if you are seeing no benefit to you, either in process or sales, and you've given it enough time, then maybe it's not for you.  But my Twitter life is about me, and I post a lot about normal doings and stuff.  I don't use it only for tweeting about #SampleSunday.

I also enjoy the moments I get to read everyone else's work, and so try and comment.  So the spirit of #SampleSunday is there.  But I'm time constrained, and I'm not managing that as well.  

At base, I like the feeling that I'm paying my way here.  I tweet other people's samples as I'm genuinely interested in community, and feeling I'm doing something, and hopefully it will pay back, but if it don't, I don't mind.  But I try and post honestly, and not spam out.  That's because I've been on the 'Net since the good old days of Usenet, in the '80s.  Net life is a normal part of me.  

There will be a point, when this is a chore, and I won't have time for it.  It takes a lot of time for me to sit down and set up all the tweets, and it's frustrating to me that I have 'spots' that go unused when I'm asleep on Saturday night, as I couldn't rake up enough from others before to got to bed.  But that's being on the Greenwich Meridian for you!  But at the moment, the process is benefiting me.  And that's about all I can ask for, I suspect.  ;-)


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

JMelzer said:


> Well, from what I see, you have 62 followers on Twitter, and the majority of your tweets are Sample Sunday retweets while the rest are self-promotion tweets about your books. Since February 20th you have "@" replied two people.
> 
> This tells me that you're not using Twitter to build relationships, but are looking at it as purely a platform to stand on and shout about your books. That right there turns me off and doesn't make me want to click on anything you tweet because A) I don't know who you are, and B) I'm not on there to buy stuff.


Actually, what this SHOULD tell you is that I have been using Twitter for two weeks, very sporadically, and just today learned that if I hold my cursor over a tweet I can click "Reply" to reply to that person. Three days ago I learned about the hash tags. I also don't know 95% of the people who follow me (or know them just from the boards) and feel uncomfortable tweeting that my cat threw up a hairball on the carpet.

I guess the whole point is that it DOES take time. I'm still getting my feet wet, and still figuring out how to do it.


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

JMelzer said:


> So yeah, that's just my two cents on the matter. Nathan Lowell is another good one to talk to about the effectiveness of Twitter. Sorry if some of my comments come off a bit harsh, it just annoys me a little when all people use Twitter for is a megaphone and then wonder why no one's listening to them. Look at your Twitter stream, would you want to know you?


Harsh to a newbie? Just saying...


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

tammieclarkegibbs said:


> Ok... so most of you know yesterday was my first day "tweeting". So far I think the most beneficial thing has been having some of the people message me with encouraging things and I can tell from the message that they went to my website and read something there so I hope it will be a way to connect with potential new readers.  BTW Thanks to all for the help.


That's so nice that everyone did that for you!


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

I use Twitter to connect and keep in touch, occasionally to advertise my books. I've built relationships with others through Twitter and it's taken time, same with every other social network I use. I ignore the tweets that are purely promotion, but I retweet the ones that also build relationships. I agree with the comment made earlier that building your online presence requires time, patience, a willingness to be social, and a combination of all the different social media sites, not just one.


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## Mary Pat Hyland (Feb 14, 2011)

Yes. I've gotten many hits on my websites, sales and interviews through Twitter.
The key is, follow people in the writing/publishing industry, follow celebrities, follow people you know, follow all sorts of media. 
Do NOT bang them over the head with marketing. It's a huge turnoff. Twitter is about dialogue. Talk with people about your interests. I follow people in the wine industry (second novel was about a winery), chefs, gardeners, people who speak the Irish language (I teach it), politicians, local people and all sorts of TV and print media (I'm a former journalist—once a news junkie, always a news junkie). That gives me a broad base of people to interact with about questions I have for my writing, what's happening around the world at the moment and even sharing non-related live events with, such as last week's Academy Awards.
You need to tweet regularly, so your followers begin to associate your tweets with a "voice," a certain "tone."
Through Twitter I had a front seat to the Green Revolution in Iran, following total strangers tweet-broadcasting what was occurring on the streets around the country at the moment. I saw photos and videos days before they made it to mainstream media. It was amazing, and later repeated with Egypt.
Twitter is a very powerful tool. Like any computer program or social media, the more you use it, the more you see it has many options you can use to your advantage.
Must also add how much I have learned about self-publishing through people I follow on Twitter. It's great!


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

Mary Pat Hyland said:


> Yes. I've gotten many hits on my websites, sales and interviews through Twitter.
> The key is, follow people in the writing/publishing industry, follow celebrities, follow people you know, follow all sorts of media.
> Do NOT bang them over the head with marketing. It's a huge turnoff. Twitter is about dialogue. Talk with people about your interests. I follow people in the wine industry (second novel was about a winery), chefs, gardeners, people who speak the Irish language (I teach it), politicians, local people and all sorts of TV and print media (I'm a former journalist-once a news junkie, always a news junkie). That gives me a broad base of people to interact with about questions I have for my writing, what's happening around the world at the moment and even sharing non-related live events with, such as last week's Academy Awards.
> You need to tweet regularly, so your followers begin to associate your tweets with a "voice," a certain "tone."
> ...


So I guess my question is, is Sample Sunday a bad idea for a newbie? It sounds like it!


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## Mary Pat Hyland (Feb 14, 2011)

Read the samples, and maybe pick a couple as your favorites to tweet as #samplesunday, to introduce yourself to followers.


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## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

Twitter isn't a place to sell books.  It's a place to network and get information.  I click on probably 5-10 links a day to blogs and articles that keep me up to speed on the latest news in publishing.  I also 'meet' many people on twitter.  Like everything else consistency, and politeness help, although I have on occasion crossed words with agents who publicly critique query letters on social media.  I tweet back infamous rejections of famous books and that usually shuts them up.
Also, your twitter avatar should not be the cover of your latest book-- it should be your headshot.  After all the brand is, not the book.  Unless you've written To Kill A Mockingbird, you're probably going to have more than one book eventually.


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## Jenni (Feb 20, 2011)

Nell Gavin said:


> So I guess my question is, is Sample Sunday a bad idea for a newbie? It sounds like it!


I don't think its that Sample Sunday is a bad idea for a newbie...but more importantly how do we learn how to use something like twitter effectively. We Are Not Alone The Writer's Guide to Social Media by Kristen Lamb has a lot of really good tips on the uses of Twitter. If you go to her blog http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com she has what she calls Twitter Tuesday where she gives FREE useful tips on how to use twitter.

I really do think the key is to give useful information back to like-minded people, carry on conversations, don't make it about I, I, I and really don't over do it.


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## Talia Jager (Sep 22, 2010)

Maybe y'all can help me with Twitter. I'm new there and I have no clue how to get to know people or what the # and @ signs do. I need a quick, easy lesson on using it.


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## Morgan Gallagher (Feb 13, 2011)

Nell Gavin said:



> So I guess my question is, is Sample Sunday a bad idea for a newbie? It sounds like it!


Nope, it's more basic: is #SampleSunday good for you?

Social networking on new media is a continuum. You have to find your place in it, and then your own voice. Not everything, works for everyone. And it takes time to find your place, and your own voice.

All paths lead to Rome, but we're not all on the same path. I'd stick it out a bit longer, and see how it works for you.  From the sound of it, Twitter is out of your comfort zone. It's good to stretch yourself, and do things that are a bit uncomfortable, and learn new stuff. But if it's too uncomfortable, you'll shut down and not learn anything (Teacher voice here!)

Find the bits that work for you, and build on them, and stray out to the edges and try out other stuff a couple of times, before deciding it's not for you. This is the second time I've tried Twitter - I _hated_ it the first time. But I was using it differently.

Only you will know if it's try try again, or walk off and not waste another thought on it.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

I'm on Facebook, but I don't Tweet. Not even a twitter.


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

Keep at it Nell. I just followed you and listed you on my "Authors" list.

This is a common theme that's showing up here on the Cafe a lot. Here's my take on it.

First, some images to hold while you read the explanation that follows:

Twitter is a river. You come and sit by the banks and watch what drifts by. Sometimes there's stuff you'll fish out and look at closely. Most of it is the amusing contortions of the people floating past you on the rafts. If they're not amusing, you'll stop watching.

~ Or ~​
Twitter is a cocktail party that's been in progress for about the last week. People are clotted up in groups with discussions that form and dissolve with no apparent rhyme or reason. Starting a conversation from scratch is difficult because most people are already involved in one, but joining a conversation only requires that you step up and offer a _bon mot_ or two. Of course, like any good conversation, that requires you to have followed enough of the conversation to understand which is _bon mot_ and which is _faux pas_.

Ok. With those images in mind:

Twitter works for me to make connections and build relationships with my audience. That's all I need it to do so tracking clicks, driving traffic, all those other things? Not important to me. You've got just over 60 followers and you're following about the same number. You've been listed 7 times, and you've got about 70 tweets. Looking back, Jim's right about the tweetage. The SundaySample tags are nice but they're all over the place.

You samplesunday'd a bunch of stuff. While that's probably a good thing for the samplesunday people, I followed you to find out about you. You sent me all these links for stuff that's NOT your fiction, and you really didn't tell me why I should care.

Like this one: 
"#SampleSunday "Diss-Stress" Tips for eliminating stress from your daily grind. http://bit.ly/gzkyBh #wkbks PlzRT"

What about this relates to YOU? Did you read it? Did you like it? Does it tell me something? Is there a reason you think I should pick up the sample? Or is it just a shilling tweet for somebody?

Note: the "PlzRT" is a good way *not* to get retweeted. I know the marketing people will tell you differently, but this is a part of the twitter-culture that marketing people don't get. They also believe the myth that more followers are automatically better. Don't get me started on marketing.

There's nothing wrong with tossing in a shilling tweet now and again. I do it myself occasionally, but ONLY if it's (a) somebody I have a relationship with or (b) something I think the people who follow me will be interested in.

Some things to consider:

Participate in #litchat and some of the other related activities. (See a list of possible activities that use twitterchat as a mode)

[*]Use a tool like tweetdeck to organize your twitter activity.

[*]If you provide a link to content, say why. The old "Content is King" idea is dead. Content is everywhere, context is king and context depends on relationship.

[/list]

Hang in there and keep tweeting. Everyone is a hatchling in the beginning, but I found that twitter is a great place to grow your audience.


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

Wow. Can I shut down a thread or what!  

Sorry about that.


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## Morgan Gallagher (Feb 13, 2011)

Nathan Lowell said:


> Wow. Can I shut down a thread or what!
> 
> Sorry about that.


Take it as a sign of status. In a good way. ;-)


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

Nathan Lowell said:


> Wow. Can I shut down a thread or what!
> 
> Sorry about that.


No, I would say you simply provided the definitive response, and left nothing else for anyone to say.


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

Nathan Lowell said:


> Like this one:
> "#SampleSunday "Diss-Stress" Tips for eliminating stress from your daily grind. http://bit.ly/gzkyBh #wkbks PlzRT"
> 
> What about this relates to YOU? Did you read it? Did you like it? Does it tell me something? Is there a reason you think I should pick up the sample? Or is it just a shilling tweet for somebody?
> ...


There is a group document containing a list of author tweets, and I copy/pasted each one and sent it along. That was how I understand you do #SampleSunday. I kind of dipped my toe in last week and sent one or two, then popped one of my own in for practice every day during the week. But Morgan is right. I don't really like it there. But I didn't want to NOT participate in #SampleSunday because then I would be the author who didn't participate. I was jumping into the group and trying to pull my own weight.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Sample Sunday did help me pick up followers but that's about it. There is so much #SS going on now that my sales on Sunday have slumped. It was great when it started, though.

Now I follow everyone that follows me and I'm finding a lot of good people to follow. When people say something personal, I try to reply. When I reply, I copy the original post into my reply so everyone knows what I'm talking about. 

The best tool for me is @mentions. That way I don't miss replies or RTs. 

I don't have a lot of followers yet, but I'm learning how to build a presence on Twitter.


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

Nell Gavin said:


> No, I would say you simply provided the definitive response, and left nothing else for anyone to say.


thanks.. i think ..

I wish I had all the answers, but I'm pretty sure I'm still learning the questions.

Twitter is one of the things I've studied over the last four years and I've studies social spaces online for going on 20 now, so I get a little carried away.


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## FictionalWriter (Aug 4, 2010)

Yep. That's it in a nutshell.



JMelzer said:


> Well, from what I see, you have 62 followers on Twitter, and the majority of your tweets are Sample Sunday retweets while the rest are self-promotion tweets about your books. Since February 20th you have "@" replied two people.
> 
> This tells me that you're not using Twitter to build relationships, but are looking at it as purely a platform to stand on and shout about your books. That right there turns me off and doesn't make me want to click on anything you tweet because A) I don't know who you are, and B) I'm not on there to buy stuff.


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

historicalromauthor said:


> Yep. That's it in a nutshell.


I have to say how grateful I am to everyone (especially Nathan) who has been supportive to someone just venturing out into a new app. Comments like this one can really get you down if not for the support from everyone else, and I appreciate the help I received!!


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## Jennybeanses (Jan 27, 2011)

Nell, I hope you get the hang of it. I have met some amazing people and made some really close friends on Twitter over the last three years. It's a great way to get out there and socialize beyond trying to sell books, and if you happen to sell a few books along the way because of it, even better.


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## FictionalWriter (Aug 4, 2010)

I didn't mean to offend, but I have a friend who is trying to encourage her friend (whom I follow on Twitter) to become more sociable and engaging on Twitter. We've speaking about the same thing this weekend and despite gentle emails and encouragement, this author continues to only tweet about her book. I want her to do well but I just see her squashing all chances that a tweeter might actually follow the link and check out her book, which I'm told is quite good. My apologies, my criticism wasn't meant in a mean-spirited way.



Nell Gavin said:


> I have to say how grateful I am to everyone (especially Nathan) who has been supportive to someone just venturing out into a new app. Comments like this one can really get you down if not for the support from everyone else, and I appreciate the help I received!!


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## HelenHanson (Sep 13, 2010)

Nathan Lowell said:


> Twitter is a river. You come and sit by the banks and watch what drifts by.
> 
> Twitter is a cocktail party that's been in progress for about the last week.


Thanks for these. I thought it was me who couldn't synchronize with the frenzy. I find it difficult to be fascinating in 140 characters or less.

Where did you get the spreadsheet for scheduled chats?

Thanks.

Helen


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## DavidMacinnisGill (Mar 4, 2011)

Twitter works for me. i can jump in and jump out easily, and 140 characters is about all I ever say, anyway.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

140 characters is about all I have time to read. I'm assuming other people have the same time constraints. It was hard at first, but I'm getting the hang of it.


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## bjm (Mar 9, 2011)

I am still confused about what I am allowed to Post. What if I make a new book trailer? Can I post the link / talk about it or is that considered Selling? When my book comes out can I link it on Twitter or is that also the Hard Sell? It seems like a very fine line. We need a guage. This is the hard part.


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## HelenHanson (Sep 13, 2010)

When it comes to twitter, I've still using training wheels . . . . 

You can, but if that's all you do people will notice.  As Nathan said, "Twitter is a cocktail party that's been in progress for about the last week."  

You can tell people at a cocktail party that you sell insurance.  You can even offer to try and save them some money.  But if people hear the word insurance every time you speak, you might be eating your cocktail weenies alone.


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## wildwitchof (Sep 2, 2010)

I just started tweeting after one of Nathan's posts a couple weeks (one week?) ago, and to my shock and awe, I'm loving it.

Some history: I don't like Facebook. I don't like blogging. I don't like using the telephone. I married a reclusive work-at-home introvert. I am a reclusive work-at-home introvert. My children read quietly in their rooms.

But Twitter? oh! How I love the 140 characters! The jokes, the one-liners, the people you're not related to telling you stories about their life. I started out following Steve Martin and now follow Nathan. I listen to gay activists and frenzied mothers. I'm still mostly following publishing folks (and adding the people I see here) and comedians, but I'm branching out.

Will it sell books? I have no idea. My first goal was to not offend people or look like a fool. I'm sure I've already failed a few times. But that stream flows by and people aren't paying attention anyway. It's the first time I've really enjoyed an online social network (other than the dial-up personal ad in '94 that bagged me a husband).

Thanks for your time in sharing what you know, Nathan--it's great advice and thanks for following me as of yesterday!


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## bjm (Mar 9, 2011)

HelenHanson said:


> When it comes to twitter, I've still using training wheels . . . .
> 
> You can, but if that's all you do people will notice. As Nathan said, "Twitter is a cocktail party that's been in progress for about the last week."
> 
> You can tell people at a cocktail party that you sell insurance. You can even offer to try and save them some money. But if people hear the word insurance every time you speak, you might be eating your cocktail weenies alone.


Also, sometimes for "fun" at a cocktail party you can tell people a whole different story about what you do. This might also work on Twitter? For instance you can develop a new "you" that is an Explorer, or a Private Investigator, or something else quite exciting. And then maybe people will listen and become captivated. You can be the unusual person who sticks out. Or you can also try jokes. Basically you must entertain, keep people happy/excited. I believe this will work.


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## HelenHanson (Sep 13, 2010)

bjm said:


> Also, sometimes for "fun" at a cocktail party you can tell people a whole different story about what you do.


Haven't tried it on twitter, but I once convinced a guy that I played goalie in a local men's hockey league.

I've since reformed . . .


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

bjm said:


> Also, sometimes for "fun" at a cocktail party you can tell people a whole different story about what you do. This might also work on Twitter? For instance you can develop a new "you" that is an Explorer, or a Private Investigator, or something else quite exciting. And then maybe people will listen and become captivated. You can be the unusual person who sticks out. Or you can also try jokes. Basically you must entertain, keep people happy/excited. I believe this will work.


Having fun is the most important thing.

Lots of characters have twitter accounts.

Check out http://twitter.com/wendell_howe

I also started a twitter account for a podcast that was never produced. All I did was tweet what the line up would be in the next episode. It was called Stampod

Some of my favs:

Next on STAMPOD: Leslie shows us how to make snazzy punk jewelry out of barbed wire. And, no, we didn't cut any fences. I swear. Honest.

Next on STAMPOD: Alexander McQueen's lost cowboy fashion. Argyle chaps, feathered jeans, and boots with a lot of heel. Who knew?

Next on STAMPOD: Chaps in Chaps. Are pants optional? Fashion Faux Pas from the trail. Also: More fun with Biscuit Dough.

Next on STAMPOD: Skin Care on the Moove. From Chapped Lips to Chafed Butt, Doc gives tips to help keep your skin silky smooth and healthy.

I'll stop .. You can see more at http://twitter.com/STAMPOD


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## bjm (Mar 9, 2011)

This is another good Novel / Movie idea! I call it "Goalie Girl." She practices hard, pretends to be a guy somehow in the tryout (maybe is new to the school) and then gets accepted. Lots of comedy with her pretending to be a guy etc, but also put in a romance plot line for drama. I suggest one of the guys on the team falls for her. And at the end she reveals who she is. Maybe more drama with the mean principal (like the bald guy in BACK TO THE FUTURE) and how he is trying to stop all the fun.

Also since you did this before it might be something to consider. Maybe add "Memoir" as a marketing category.



HelenHanson said:


> Haven't tried it on twitter, but I once convinced a guy that I played goalie in a local men's hockey league.
> 
> I've since reformed . . .


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## bjm (Mar 9, 2011)

Funny stuff! I just followed them on TWITTER. I don't know much about Wendell Howe but am learning. (Time Traveler Twitter Fiction or Comedy??) 10,000 followers is impressive. That is more than JA Konrath and Amanda Hocking COMBINED. It should be Profitable. Good for you.



Nathan Lowell said:


> Having fun is the most important thing.
> 
> Lots of characters have twitter accounts.
> 
> ...


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

Wendell_Howe isn't me. That's another author who's using the twitter character to tell a story ... fascinating use of the medium


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## Ciareader (Feb 3, 2011)

HelenHanson said:


> When it comes to twitter, I've still using training wheels . . . .
> 
> You can, but if that's all you do people will notice. As Nathan said, "Twitter is a cocktail party that's been in progress for about the last week."
> 
> You can tell people at a cocktail party that you sell insurance. You can even offer to try and save them some money. But if people hear the word insurance every time you speak, you might be eating your cocktail weenies alone.


I use Twitter to keep folks updated on my blog about New Orleans. I hadn't ever thought of Twitter as a cocktail party. I like that metaphor.


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## Ciareader (Feb 3, 2011)

Jennybeanses said:


> Nell, I hope you get the hang of it. I have met some amazing people and made some really close friends on Twitter over the last three years. It's a great way to get out there and socialize beyond trying to sell books, and if you happen to sell a few books along the way because of it, even better.


Agreed.


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## JamieDeBree (Oct 1, 2010)

I find twitter extremely good for sales...in a variety of ways. Hash tags are very important to that though - I find it's often not my own followers buying (if I tweet a link without hash tags, I often get no response), but those actively looking for certain subjects. 

I have a separate account set up under my publishing name - and it's sole purpose is to send out ad tweets, promo for my serials, and the business blog posts. I very purposefully didn't follow people with that one or ask them to follow me when I set it up...and while people do follow that account, I make it clear in the bio that it's my company account so hopefully people aren't surprised to see mostly promo tweets there.  I also have my personal account listed in the bio so people can follow me there instead for actual conversation. 

Nearly every time I send out a promo tweet with the BSB account, properly hashed with the genre and #kindle #ebooks, etc...I get at least one sale very shortly after. I'm careful only to send out 1-3 tweets per day, no more, sometimes less. I'll often retweet those with the appropriate author account (mine or a pen name), but I change the hash tags each time so it doesn't go to the same group twice in a row. I try to spread things out throughout the day, so it's a subtle little reminder that moves quickly by, so as not to be annoying. Promo tweets might not work for everyone, but it seems to work well for me, as long as I keep it low-key. 

I do send out tweets for other authors in the Independent Author Network I belong to - I try to list a reason people might want to check that author out, and I limit that to three per day as well. I've gotten quite a few sales from the other authors shilling for me as well, so it's been a good group for me (and I've met a ton of wonderful new people too - we don't just shill, we socialize as well). 

Other than that, I just chat (evenings/late night, usually). I chat too much, actually - have to force myself to shut it down and get some writing done. And interestingly, even when I'm not saying one word about my books or writing, my sales go up while I'm sitting there socializing with people as they wander through my stream. I don't even know how that works, but seems like all I have to do is be friendly. Pretty simple marketing strategy, really...


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## David N. Alderman (Jan 15, 2011)

What a great thread.  

To be honest, I threw Twitter to the wind a while ago when I couldn't figure out why anyone would want to read about me feeding my cat or why the bathroom smells so odd. I've checked into some of what everyone's had to say on here and realize I may have underestimated the valuable use of Twitter. Looks like I have some learning to do. I didn't even know what hashtags were used for, and I've had a Twitter account for over a year now.


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## Morgan Gallagher (Feb 13, 2011)

HelenHanson said:


> Haven't tried it on twitter, but I once convinced a guy that I played goalie in a local men's hockey league.
> 
> I've since reformed . . .


When I was a late teen, I used to tell people I was from the Enterprise, and had been left behind in a time mission that went wrong. I was IGSTLE. Intergalactic Star Trek Lady Extraordinaire.

I stopped when someone believed me...


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## Jenni (Feb 20, 2011)

HelenHanson said:


> Haven't tried it on twitter, but I once convinced a guy that I played goalie in a local men's hockey league.
> 
> I've since reformed . . .


I did play hockey in a men's league....but no way would I play goalie! I'm nuts but I'm not that nuts!


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## Jenni (Feb 20, 2011)

David N. Alderman said:


> What a great thread.
> 
> To be honest, I threw Twitter to the wind a while ago when I couldn't figure out why anyone would want to read about me feeding my cat or why the bathroom smells so odd. I've checked into some of what everyone's had to say on here and realize I may have underestimated the valuable use of Twitter. Looks like I have some learning to do. I didn't even know what hashtags were used for, and I've had a Twitter account for over a year now.


Well, I don't really want to read about that either, but, I think Twitter is a great place for the sharing of information. I find great links to great articles about everything publishing on Twitter. Hell, I learned about Kindleboards from twitter......


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

JamieDeBree said:


> I find twitter extremely good for sales...in a variety of ways. Hash tags are very important to that though - I find it's often not my own followers buying (if I tweet a link without hash tags, I often get no response), but those actively looking for certain subjects.
> 
> ...
> 
> Other than that, I just chat (evenings/late night, usually). I chat too much, actually - have to force myself to shut it down and get some writing done. And interestingly, even when I'm not saying one word about my books or writing, my sales go up while I'm sitting there socializing with people as they wander through my stream. I don't even know how that works, but seems like all I have to do is be friendly. Pretty simple marketing strategy, really...


Yup. Pretty simple.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

I'm pushing my freebies hard right now and it's paying off in tons of downloads on SW. Hopefully, that will lead to paid sales. If it does, great. If it doesn't, at least some people might get around to reading and enjoying something I've written. 

Other than that, I promote one of my six books a couple of times a day and try to talk to the friends I've made as often as possible. @mentions keep me in touch in case someone is asking a question or just mentions me in a post.

Another great hashtag is #amreading. I've read lots of good books by indie authors and I like to share a good read.

I think Twitter is a blast. Being restricted to 140 characters has taught me to be brief ... very brief. Taglines are now a snap for me.


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## DDScott (Aug 13, 2010)

I also luuuvvv Twitter!

And, as others have said here, Twitter, just like all forms of social networking are most successful when you let yourself and your personality show through...not just your products and links.

I really enjoy getting to know all my Tweeple!

I know who luuuvvvs snow and who's crapping every time they see a flake. LOL!  I know which Keurig Kups are certains Tweeps faves and so on.

And believe it or not, this has really increased my sales and reader and fan bases!

I luuuvvv my readers, and this is a fabulous way for us to get to know each other and have a heckuva great time doing it!

Just a tip too...use the hashtags and also do the fabulous searches...for example, since my BOOTSCOOTIN' BLAHNIKS book has a country line dancing/bootscootin' element, I searched for people who tweet about that...then I know exactly what fan base might enjoy that book.  STOMPIN' ON STETSONS has a cupcakes and bbq element, so again, I searched for people tweeting on those items...and found another fabulous reader base.

Have fun with it...and you'll be amazed at where it can take you!!!


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Good tips, DD.


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## Alan Ryker (Feb 18, 2011)

I'm going to try twitter. What's the best program? Or do people just use the website?


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## tawnytaylor (Feb 19, 2011)

OMgosh, there is so much here to absorb. Is there any way I can bookmark this thread so I can go back and reread later? I've had a Twitter account for months but had NO IDEA how to really use it. I need to keep up with this thread.


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

Alan Ryker said:


> I'm going to try twitter. What's the best program? Or do people just use the website?


I'm a tweetdeck fan.

the website is an abomination unto interface design and a pox upon the web. other than that it's ok.


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

modwitch said:


> I just signed up for twitter about five minutes ago . I decided I couldn't do it as "author", so I'm doing it as "reader", with my new blog. It came out of requests from a few of my readers to help them find other good books to read. I figure I can talk about finding good books, and that's a conversation I really enjoy. It gives me reasons to chat with my readers besides "hey, new book".
> 
> We'll see how it goes. A bit overwhelming this evening!


This is brill, btw. I love it.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

I really like Twitter, both for the fun of it, the networking side of it, and the business end of it. I landed a well-paying freelance gig for a good part of last year as temporary relief for a magazine. I've gotten manuscript requests due to Twitter relationships. 

Then, I've met some really awesome reviewers, readers, and authors. That is a wonderful experience...meeting people is always interesting.


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## mathewferguson (Oct 24, 2010)

Nell Gavin said:


> I just began tweeting within the last two weeks as part of the Facebook group, "Writing Kindle Books". I use a tiny URL from a site that tracks clicks, so I know when anyone clicks through from a tweet. Not only do I tweet, but the members of the group re-tweet for me, so the tweets are making the rounds. I reword them, so I've tried several approaches.
> 
> This far, virtually NO ONE has clicked through those links from a tweet. I am concluding that this may not be the best marketing strategy, and I may be inclined to give it up.
> 
> Does this work for anyone else? Do you have actual figures? Did it take time to build steam?


Twitter does work but it's a slow build process. I've been on there for two years, have 2304 tweets and 1366 followers. When I've posted a link to a particularly good story on my site Two Sentence Stories I can see people clicking through. About 40 is the highest count.

As with any social media, you need to put horse in front of cart. The horse is being interesting, funny, witty, worth reading. The cart is later on showing people some of your work. If you turn up trying to promote something then no one has any reason to click on your links. They don't know you.


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

I like twitter because you can get right alongside people that you'd normally not see around - eg, just today, interacting with Amanda Hockings (yeah, I know several of you know her personally but I don't, so it was a nice thing for me).  90% of your tweets might end up being non-replied but every now and then you are rewarded, so long as you're not being a moron (and sometimes if you are).

Paul.


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## AnneKAlbert (Dec 7, 2010)

My head feels ready to explode, maybe implode! but I'm determined to give Twitter another chance. Thanks for ALL the great info.


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## Kippoe (Jan 17, 2010)

I have been on Twitter for 3 years and i find it very useful and account 50% of my sales from it. You can approach twitter in many ways i found my most useful way is to treat it as a conversation. I have met some great people that fill my day with subject I'm interested in.


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

AnneKAlbert said:


> My head feels ready to explode, maybe implode! but I'm determined to give Twitter another chance. Thanks for ALL the great info.


I took some advice from Mel Comley (@melcom1), pick some people you already know, then each day "follow" another 50 or so people from them, within a week you'll have a few hundred people following you and you'll find it won't take long to make some good friends, so long as you're responding nicely to their tweets, as opposed to being a spammer or such 

Paul.


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Alan Ryker said:


> I'm going to try twitter. What's the best program? Or do people just use the website?


I've tried a few clients... but in the end it seems the WWW site is the most consistent way, even Tweetdeck had me uninstalling it (some more adjustments and it'd be pretty damned good though).

I run it in its own Chromium browser instance, means it doesn't get clobbered if one of the other WWW sites misbehave (like Facebook lately)

Paul.


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

AnneKAlbert said:


> My head feels ready to explode, maybe implode! but I'm determined to give Twitter another chance. Thanks for ALL the great info.


I just followed you, Anne. I had to google your twitter handle because you don't seem to have it listed anywhere (like your profile or your website). (hint)

Also, just a suggestion, but since you're leaning on Read an Ebook Week (nice) you might consider recommending somebody else's ebook. Maybe one you read that you like that's in your genre so that the fans who like your work can find another author/book that might be something they like as well.

Tweet on!


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## Ali Cooper (May 1, 2010)

Nell Gavin said:


> I just began tweeting within the last two weeks as part of the Facebook group, "Writing Kindle Books". I use a tiny URL from a site that tracks clicks, so I know when anyone clicks through from a tweet. Not only do I tweet, but the members of the group re-tweet for me, so the tweets are making the rounds. I reword them, so I've tried several approaches.
> 
> This far, virtually NO ONE has clicked through those links from a tweet. I am concluding that this may not be the best marketing strategy, and I may be inclined to give it up.
> 
> Does this work for anyone else? Do you have actual figures? Did it take time to build steam?


The problem with using any social networking for promotion is that it rarely gets further than bunches of authors chasing each other round in circles. A few people read and retweet but most are just shouting their own thing. Particularly annoying are the automated bookbuzzr tweets.

Apart from very occasionally letting friends know what I'm doing with a book, I don't like mixing business with pleasure. Personally, I'd rather use fbook and twitter for recreation and socialising and sell books via the amazon forums.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

I follow and tweet on other subjects besides my own. Reading and writing are definitely not my only interests. 

Are you a Gleek? Let me know and I'll follow you. Did you cry like a baby when Capt. Phil died? Let me know and I'll follow you. Do you live for Nigel-bashing? Let me know and I'll follow you.


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## bjm (Mar 9, 2011)

I have had Interactions with Yoko Ono, KFC/Wendy's CEO, Twitter programmers, etc. Works for me.


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## Alan Ryker (Feb 18, 2011)

I've avoided twitter, but I think it's going to be fun.

Thanks for the suggestions. I love this forum!


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

Tweeting? What is this tweeting?


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## DDScott (Aug 13, 2010)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> I follow and tweet on other subjects besides my own. Reading and writing are definitely not my only interests.
> 
> Are you a Gleek? Let me know and I'll follow you. Did you cry like a baby when Capt. Phil died? Let me know and I'll follow you. Do you live for Nigel-bashing? Let me know and I'll follow you.


I'm a Gleek too, Gertie!!!

So let's do this...everyone list their Twitter names so we can all follow each other...here's mine to get us started:

@ddscottromcom


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

DDScott said:


> I'm a Gleek too, Gertie!!!
> 
> So let's do this...everyone list their Twitter names so we can all follow each other...here's mine to get us started:
> 
> @ddscottromcom


Following you. My twitter handle is in my siggy.

Everyone should have their twitter handle in their siggy. Sometimes it's not so obvious. I have to use my middle name in mine (makes it so darned long) because there's an actual place in Washington State called Margaret Lake. Apparently, there are some good hiking trails around there.


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## DDScott (Aug 13, 2010)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> Following you. My twitter handle is in my siggy.
> 
> Everyone should have their twitter handle in their siggy. Sometimes it's not so obvious. I have to use my middle name in mine (makes it so darned long) because there's an actual place in Washington State called Margaret Lake. Apparently, there are some good hiking trails around there.


Followed you back, Margaret! Got you too, Nathan!

Who else is on Twitter, and what is your Twitter handle?

TGIF, Tweeple!!!


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## HelenHanson (Sep 13, 2010)

I'm flailing in the surf and struggling to make it out to deeper water.  Love this thread!  It don't know what a Gleek is, or which particular Nigel you want to bash, but my handle is now in my sig.  And I'm stalk--, er, following you.  

I have heard of Captain Phil . . .


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## Elijah Joon (Mar 11, 2011)

Hey Miss Hanson, that's such a badazz book cover!  Love it!  A "10" all the way like a double rainbow


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## HelenHanson (Sep 13, 2010)

Elijah Joon said:


> Hey Miss Hanson, that's such a badazz book cover! Love it! A "10" all the way like a double rainbow


Thank you! Entirely the effort of my artist.


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## LB Gschwandtner (Jun 21, 2010)

Hi Everyone:
It's tough to narrow down what works to promote books but here's my experience. One of my books, The Naked Gardener, is selling an average 80 a day, double what it was averaging last month and up from the previous month etc. 

Foxy's Tale just went live yesterday & it's already selling. 
Page Truly is middle grade & I can't find the market for that yet.

So something is working; I just don't know what exactly.

I tweet whenever there's a mention of any of my books from anywhere. I set up google alerts to track mentions.

My Twitter = @TheNovelette

I think tweeting helps. It certainly doesn't hurt. And it's easy. I use HootSuite to set up tweets & to combine tweets & FB posts.

Also it helps to post on all the relevant Kindle related threads you can find. I do that also.

It's taken 6 months for my sales to really pick up. January was great. Feb was greater. And March is going really well. I know others who had better results than mine much sooner. But mine is literary fiction and I think that's a tougher market to reach right away.

Hope this helps.
LB


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

HelenHanson said:


> I'm flailing in the surf and struggling to make it out to deeper water. Love this thread! It don't know what a Gleek is, or which particular Nigel you want to bash, but my handle is now in my sig. And I'm stalk--, er, following you.
> 
> I have heard of Captain Phil . . .


Following you back. Being a KB author works just as well. I list my author friends from here under KB authors. I started out with an "author" list, but it's getting too big. Using two lists makes it easier to follow the tweets.

Just as a reminder, @mentions is your best friend. That way you don't miss any questions or comments other tweeters have for you.

I also have promotional tweets set up in a file so I can just copy and paste whatever book I'm highlighting for that day. I have two or three taglines set up for each book with separate tweets for #kindle #nook #sony #kobo #smashwords. That way I don't repeat myself too often and I only do one book a day.


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

Ali Cooper said:


> The problem with using any social networking for promotion is that it rarely gets further than bunches of authors chasing each other round in circles. A few people read and retweet but most are just shouting their own thing. Particularly annoying are the automated bookbuzzr tweets.
> 
> Apart from very occasionally letting friends know what I'm doing with a book, I don't like mixing business with pleasure. Personally, I'd rather use fbook and twitter for recreation and socialising and sell books via the amazon forums.


This is a good point, Ali. Everybody needs to find what works for them and it doesn't all work for everybody.

As for the "bunches of authors" thing, that's actually under your control by choosing the people to follow. If all you're getting is broadcast, stop following. The echo chamber IS a problem but it's pretty astonishing what an occasional influx of new following can accomplish.


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## coffeetx (Feb 12, 2011)

There might be something wrong with me but I don't fully understand twitter or how to use it. I have a twitter account which I have just recently started using. I feel like so many people are on twitter that you can tweet something and I doubt anyone will see it. I guess I just don't understand it. I also don't know how people keep up with the number of tweets and retweets. Also, someone said they actually met their wife on twitter?? How? This baffles me. I don't think I understand how to appropriately interact on twitter. I'd like to know!

http://twitter.com/#!/coffeetx


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

I have a Twitter account but I don't use it often.  For whatever reason, I just don't enjoy Twitter to the same extent as Facebook.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

coffeetx said:


> There might be something wrong with me but I don't fully understand twitter or how to use it. I have a twitter account which I have just recently started using. I feel like so many people are on twitter that you can tweet something and I doubt anyone will see it. I guess I just don't understand it. I also don't know how people keep up with the number of tweets and retweets. Also, someone said they actually met their wife on twitter?? How? This baffles me. I don't think I understand how to appropriately interact on twitter. I'd like to know!
> 
> http://twitter.com/#!/coffeetx


You need lists to keep it all organized. When I follow someone I put them into a list. Some lists I only need to check once a day and some I need to check more often.

Look at @mentions every time you go into Twitter to see if anyone has tried to contact you or mentioned you in a tweet so you can respond.

I don't know everything yet about Twitter, but I'm learning.


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## Jenni (Feb 20, 2011)

Dara England said:


> I have a Twitter account but I don't use it often. For whatever reason, I just don't enjoy Twitter to the same extent as Facebook.


Most people I have talked to prefer one over the other. I'm trying to make good use of both since I took to twitter faster than facebook. I have found that the way in which I engage people is different. I've had to change the way I use facebook because the way in which I used twitter didn't seem to be as effective.


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

Just joined (really because this thread made me curious) but don't really get it yet. Normally I'm first into this geek stuff, but not here. I think my username (or whatever the trendy term is) is JHEverington.

Have to have a play with it tomorrow. Too tired tonight.


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## scribblydoodler (Feb 9, 2011)

I do like twitter, but it can be a bit overwhelming. I don't tweet much myself, because I am rather boring, but I like to follow the more socially at ease. The laughter in the next room, and all that. As for selling books, I made a half hearted attempt, but as I only have 29 followers I don't think there was much point.  @scribblydoodler


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## WestofMars (Sep 16, 2009)

the most important thing to remember about Twitter is that it's communication, not necessarily shouting into a crowded room. How do you best be heard in that atmosphere? One person at a time.

TALK to people. Don't just Retweet (RT) links upon links. Be selective about who you follow, but then once you follow them, don't be shy about Tweeting at them. If I've just tweeted that I'm eating an apple and typing one-handed, go and ask what variety of apple and how I'm able to type one-handed so well. 

When you reach out and make connections with people, you'll find they are more likely to click on your links and otherwise support you and your books. This is an age where us authors no long need to toil in isolation. Friendship and support is a mere Tweet away. Struggling with a word choice? Ask Twitter. Reach out, build your community.

And have fun, gosh darn it.


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## Mira (Oct 17, 2010)

Yes, it works, on the whole. My blog reports referrals, and most of them are from Twitter. As a guess, about one in ten visits to my website converts into a sale. My current price is £2.13/$3.43. I expect that the starts are much higher for books at under £1/$1.


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## DDScott (Aug 13, 2010)

WestofMars said:


> the most important thing to remember about Twitter is that it's communication, not necessarily shouting into a crowded room. How do you best be heard in that atmosphere? One person at a time.
> 
> TALK to people. Don't just Retweet (RT) links upon links. Be selective about who you follow, but then once you follow them, don't be shy about Tweeting at them. If I've just tweeted that I'm eating an apple and typing one-handed, go and ask what variety of apple and how I'm able to type one-handed so well.
> 
> ...


Luuuvvv this, WestofMars!

It really is about finding and making your own fun on Twitter...that's what gets people to connect with you...and then your books too.

I have really used the Search feature I talked about earlier to do this...do searches for Tweeple cussing and discussing the topics you like to do the same with...and the topics and elements of your books...there's the audiences you're looking for.


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## DDScott (Aug 13, 2010)

Mira said:


> Yes, it works, on the whole. My blog reports referrals, and most of them are from Twitter. As a guess, about one in ten visits to my website converts into a sale. My current price is £2.13/$3.43. I expect that the starts are much higher for books at under £1/$1.


Twitter and Facebook are my highest referrals too, Mira! Fabulous point!!!


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## EverythingIndie (Mar 9, 2011)

I've just started promoting via Twitter in the last couple of days, and so far I've got a small group of click-throughs to my blog via links. I've also made all of my sales up to yet on Twitter by mentioning my ebook to people, so it's a success so far, it just needs to be upscaled.


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

JJWestendarp said:


> Tweeting by itself? No. Tweeting using hashtags? I pick up a follower here and there. Make sure you leave room on a tweet about your writing for the genre (#romance or #fantasy or whatever) and #amwriting. They're usually pretty popular. Not sure how that translates to sales, but you typically want people to know what you're up to in terms of your writing.


Great advice here. This is how I tweet about my novella on Twitter. Hashtags are the key to twitter marketing success. I have over 4,000 followers on two twitter accounts because of hashtags and following others to follow you. My links not only are clicked on but re-tweeted to others many times.


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## jessicamorse (Jan 31, 2011)

My initial struggle was accepting that I couldn't keep up. It's impossible. Just jump into conversations when you've got time for Twitter, and let the rest go. Once I stopped stressing I've been having a lot more fun on Twitter.


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## David N. Alderman (Jan 15, 2011)

jessicamorse said:


> My initial struggle was accepting that I couldn't keep up. It's impossible. Just jump into conversations when you've got time for Twitter, and let the rest go. Once I stopped stressing I've been having a lot more fun on Twitter.


How very true, Jessica. I felt the same way, which kept me from Twitter until just recently. I've learned to accept that there is an overload of material on Twitter and it's almost impossible to keep up with all of it without sitting in Twitter all day - which most of us don't have time to do, nor would we want to. It's definitely a lot more fun when I just jump in when I get a chance during the day.


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## WestofMars (Sep 16, 2009)

DDScott said:


> Luuuvvv this, WestofMars!
> 
> It really is about finding and making your own fun on Twitter...that's what gets people to connect with you...and then your books too.
> 
> I have really used the Search feature I talked about earlier to do this...do searches for Tweeple cussing and discussing the topics you like to do the same with...and the topics and elements of your books...there's the audiences you're looking for.


Thanks, DD. And yes, I DO need to check in around here more often!


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

For what it's worth, I find twitter really hard to understand, even with tweet deck and I lose any replies I get among the other tweets half the time. However, where it is useful is to tell other people I know, who are on twitter and do actually have some vague clue how it works, what's going on in McGuire world... I find it so complicated compared to e-mail a forum like this or a facebook message... all that @ and the hash tag gubbins and by the time you've finished pointing it in the right direction you have about 3 spaces to say something... I'm clearly getting old...

Cheers

MTM


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

M T McGuire said:


> For what it's worth, I find twitter really hard to understand, even with tweet deck and I lose any replies I get among the other tweets half the time. However, where it is useful is to tell other people I know, who are on twitter and do actually have some vague clue how it works, what's going on in McGuire world... I find it so complicated compared to e-mail a forum like this or a facebook message... all that @ and the hash tag gubbins and by the time you've finished pointing it in the right direction you have about 3 spaces to say something... I'm clearly getting old...
> 
> Cheers
> 
> MTM


Click on @mentions and you'll never miss a reply.


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> Click on @mentions and you'll never miss a reply.


That's gold! Thanks!


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## Aynoit Ashor (Mar 15, 2011)

I like twitter. I'm not always tweeting like some because I don't have a smart phone and have to be at my computer. I use http://www.socialoomph.com/ for scheduled tweets. But, I do go on twitter and tweet. I'm not a bot like some followers I've had in the past. 

I'm @AynoitAshor


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## Michael Scott Miller (Sep 2, 2010)

Has anyone else had difficulty creating lists?  I keep getting an error that says "There was an error updating the list" every time I try to add someone to a list I created.  When I looked at the help section on Twitter, I found that this seems to be a common issue, but that Twitter was only soliciting examples and not offering a solution.  Perhaps I'm just looking in the wrong place.  Thanks for any help.


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## Beatriz (Feb 22, 2011)

Nell Gavin said:


> I just began tweeting within the last two weeks as part of the Facebook group, "Writing Kindle Books". I use a tiny URL from a site that tracks clicks, so I know when anyone clicks through from a tweet. Not only do I tweet, but the members of the group re-tweet for me, so the tweets are making the rounds. I reword them, so I've tried several approaches.
> 
> This far, virtually NO ONE has clicked through those links from a tweet. I am concluding that this may not be the best marketing strategy, and I may be inclined to give it up.
> 
> Does this work for anyone else? Do you have actual figures? Did it take time to build steam?


I have fun with twitter and have a few followers but it hasn't translated into any sales. How does it work anyway? They see your signature, know you're a writer and decide to buy your book? I also enjoy commenting on Huff Post but that hasn't translated into any sales either. Yet they say the minute you email or comment, you're promoting your book. I think you just need luck, and lots of it.


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## Mark Adair (Dec 4, 2010)

After tweeting for several months, I decided to comment on my experience. You can check it out in my blog, On the Way:

Anatomy of a Tweet

http://markadairblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/anatomy-of-tweet-by-markadairauthor.html


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

I still don't understand why the world needs twitter. It's not to communicate, surely. So what, then?


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## Todd Russell (Mar 27, 2011)

Twitter is one of many pieces in different types of online communication. Is it absolutely necessary? No. Can it be effective when used properly? Yes. Can it take you away from writing? Yes.

I'm at @Todd_Russell if you'd like to follow me. I'll follow you back and stay followed as long as you post more than self-promotional tweets and stay active. I promise to do/be the same in return


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## WestofMars (Sep 16, 2009)

Jon, I very much use Twitter as a means of communication. So much so that I won't follow anyone back who doesn't show interest in chatting.


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## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

I've stopped looking at everything as being "marketing." I try to just make an appearance in threads that interest me. I DO get most of my blog hits from tweeting, then from_ here _and goodreads too. When people are interested, they'll stop by. In the end, it's about networking and begin available to readers and other authors ( I've really enjoyed meeting and being affirmed by the other authors). When one has a "down day," all you have to do is show up her and there's ten authors to lift you up. That alone is worth the interaction. Facebook, Twitter and my blog are all extensions of what I'm doing and it keeps it in perspective. Besides, authors from the "big six..." they're having to use social networking too. Hang in there, connect with people and have fun with it!


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## Erin Zarro (Apr 30, 2011)

I absolutely love Twitter. I use it for marketing, sure, but I also throw in more mundane stuff most of the time.  One hashtag that I've been following is the #amwriting hashtag.  It's almost like being in a chatroom.  I usually talk to people on there and it's really fun.

I can't say what it's done for my sales, but that's okay.  The more people I'm reaching out to, the more potential buyers and contacts.  And contacts are just as important.


Cheers,
E.


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## Coral Moore (Nov 29, 2009)

Jon Olson said:


> I still don't understand why the world needs twitter. It's not to communicate, surely. So what, then?


It is to communicate! You can have IM-like conversations between a few people. I've had some great conversations with writers from this forum about everything from airplanes to vampires.  There are some great tweeters in this bunch.


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## WestofMars (Sep 16, 2009)

Hee. Glad you're adding me to your list, Coral! Thanks for that!


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## nobody_important (Jul 9, 2010)

I love Twitter, and I love people I talk to / DM with, etc.

Nell -- it looks like you're following mostly other indie authors, etc.  Although that's nice, if your main goal is to build readership and create / build relationships, etc. you also need to start following book bloggers and other non-author industry professionals as well.

A lot of your tweets were about pimping other people's works or yours w/ links.  Most people aren't interested in ad-esque tweets.  They want to get to "know" you so to speak.

I tweet about all sorts of stuff.  Books I like, RT other people's blog posts / reviews, funny videos or jokes, comment on other people's videos, answer questions, help people when I can, share recipes, ask questions, and so on.  I don't tweet with the expectation that people will buy my book.  I tweet because I enjoy connecting with people.  And when I had my book out in Feb, many book bloggers I met via Twitter, etc. were gracious enough to RT buy links, reviews, guest blog posts, etc.  I don't think they would've done that if they didn't know me via Twitter, etc.


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## Christopher Meeks (Aug 2, 2009)

Nathan Lowell said:


> Keep at it Nell. I just followed you and listed you on my "Authors" list.
> 
> This is a common theme that's showing up here on the Cafe a lot. Here's my take on it.
> 
> ...


Nathan--

Thanks for your list. I'm just over a week old in tweeting. I saw instantly so much advice in self-publishing--and yet so many writers shooting themselves in the feet--that I had to write a blog from the POV of those doing themselves in. It became Blog of the Day on Red Room. Today I started creating self-publication tips. Here are a few:

Self-Pub Tip: If offered a publicity deal too good to be true, go for it. Stay ahead. http://t.co/jtkjhWO

Self-Pub Tip: If you can't pitch your story in a sentence, go for 10. People love more. http://t.co/jtkjhWO

Self-Pub Tip: Do you want to be rich or famous? Click the right spot in setting up your website. http://t.co/jtkjhWO

Self-Pub Tip: If you get a review less than 5 stars, something must be wrong with the system. Complain. http://t.co/jtkjhWO

Self-Pub Tip: Setting price, $2.99, .99 or free? You get richer with free. Volume. http://t.co/jtkjhWO

As you know, writing a book is d*mn hard, and the promise of self-publishing is making people think, okay, it won't happen in a two days, but it should in three. Then they get angry. All that hard work isn't getting recognized. When less-than-five-star reviews come in from strangers, that's one more thing against authors. Don't readers know how much writers have struggled? Hopes are dashed.

I'm trying to get people to slow down and aim for quality.

That said, there ARE some great self-published authors out there. Four come to mind instantly: RJ Keller, Henry Baum, Kristen Tsetsi, and Will Entrekin. Will's upcoming book, "The Prodigal Hour," I'm reading now and I'm literally awestruck. It's in the near future like Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake" and it revolves around time travel, going into the near past: 9/11 specifically. Phil Persinger, Kevin Gerard-such people are breaking through the logjam of self-published books, too.


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## Nick Wastnage (Jun 16, 2011)

I've been on twitter for only a few months and I'm picking up between 3 to 5 new followers each week. I'm in the process of converting my back list of 6 books to ebooks and use twitter alongside FB, a blog and presence on forums to build up a following for when I eventually have all my ebooks up on Amazon, Smashwords and all the other ebook retailers. I tend to tweet 3 to 6 times a day. I tweet on subjects of interest to me, various causes I follow, my books, website and blog promotion and I re-tweet. I can't say if it is working and don't think I'll be able to for a while, but I'll keep at it.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Nick Wastnage said:


> I've been on twitter for only a few months and I'm picking up between 3 to 5 new followers each week. I'm in the process of converting my back list of 6 books to ebooks and use twitter alongside FB, a blog and presence on forums to build up a following for when I eventually have all my ebooks up on Amazon, Smashwords and all the other ebook retailers. I tend to tweet 3 to 6 times a day. I tweet on subjects of interest to me, various causes I follow, my books, website and blog promotion and I re-tweet. I can't say if it is working and don't think I'll be able to for a while, but I'll keep at it.


Sounds like you're doing everything right.

Do you use hashtags for the subjects that interest you? E.G., I love Deadliest Catch so I watch the show and join in the conversation by putting #deadliestcatch in my posts.


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## C. S. Hand (May 27, 2011)

Jon Olson said:


> I still don't understand why the world needs twitter. It's not to communicate, surely. So what, then?


to have piquant discussions with pr0n bots


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## ccjames (Jun 9, 2011)

I did a #1k1h (write 1000 words in an hour) with an author (who lets say is waaaayy more famous than I. Okay, she's famous. I'm not.). But since we were talking back and forth with the hashtag, I noticed all of a sudden a whole slew of people started following me within those couple of hours we kept conversing and writing together. Guess they thought I was more important than I am by association. Hee. Got a lot written that day as well. Added benefit. Tweet and write, tweet and write. 

Which btw I need to #plantmybuttinchair and get writing again today so if anyone wants to #1k1h with me anytime, I'm @cloverautrey or sometimes @ccjah, depending on which author name I'm promoting what day.  

Wonder if I could get JK Rowling or Stephen King to #1k1h with me? No?


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

ccjames said:


> I did a #1k1h (write 1000 words in an hour) with an author (who lets say is waaaayy more famous than I. Okay, she's famous. I'm not.). But since we were talking back and forth with the hashtag, I noticed all of a sudden a whole slew of people started following me within those couple of hours we kept conversing and writing together. Guess they thought I was more important than I am by association. Hee. Got a lot written that day as well. Added benefit. Tweet and write, tweet and write.
> 
> Which btw I need to #plantmybuttinchair and get writing again today so if anyone wants to #1k1h with me anytime, I'm @cloverautrey or sometimes @ccjah, depending on which author name I'm promoting what day.
> 
> Wonder if I could get JK Rowling or Stephen King to #1k1h with me? No?


Good hashtag. I might just join you because when I do #plantmybuttinchair, that's about what I do.

@MargaretAnnLake


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

No, not really.


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## Millard (Jun 13, 2011)

Like with most things, it works if you use it right. Don't sign up just to fling a bunch of spammy links and think that if that doesn't work (it won't), Twitter is pointless. Engage with your audience. Be interesting and entertaining, and use Twitter as part of your general 'brand'. If people dig what you're saying on Twitter, they'll probably check out your blog, if they like your blog, they might chance their arm by dropping some dollars on your books - it should all be feeding off each other as heads of the same monster.

Writing is writing, just look at it as part of the bigger picture.


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## Lisa Scott (Apr 4, 2011)

I still have to start on twitter...sigh...but please please please someone have mercy and explain hashtags and @ to me. Can you give me a sample scenario in which you would use these?    It's my complete ignorance that has kept me from jumping into twitter. Thanks!!!


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## anne_holly (Jun 5, 2011)

I know I have scored reviews via Twitter, so I feel compensated enough.

Besides, today I received a DM from George Takei. As far as I am concerned, Twitter has totally paid for itself above and beyond from this point on.


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## anne_holly (Jun 5, 2011)

Lisa Scott said:


> I still have to start on twitter...sigh...but please please please someone have mercy and explain hashtags and @ to me. Can you give me a sample scenario in which you would use these? It's my complete ignorance that has kept me from jumping into twitter. Thanks!!!


A hashtag (the #amwriting or #amediting, etc) is a little tag you add to your Tweet - this gets you on hashtag lists so anyone looking at that hashtag search (by clicking on a similar hashtag) can read your Tweet even if they don't follow you. This, with luck, gains you followers from outside your regular contacts circle.

The "@" mention is a way to link someone you mention within your Tweet. For example: "OMG guys, you have to buy every book ever by @anneholly2010 because she is more awesomer than sex." That way, anneholly2010 sees that you mentioned her.

Hope that helps a little.


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## Millard (Jun 13, 2011)

anne_holly said:


> Besides, today I received a DM from George Takei.


Oh my!

He was awesome in the DM, right? I couldn't handle it if he'd been rude or something, that would break my heart.


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## anne_holly (Jun 5, 2011)

Millard said:


> Oh my!
> 
> He was awesome in the DM, right? I couldn't handle it if he'd been rude or something, that would break my heart.


He was incredibly awesome. Perhaps more than that.

George Takei - he gives good DM.


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## Millard (Jun 13, 2011)

Phew!


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## Ethan Cobb (Jun 7, 2011)

Along this same idea is there a way to understand what the hashtags mean or do you just have to be in the know?  (Example: #FF)

By the way you crack me up anne_holly.  This made me smile:
"For example: "OMG guys, you have to buy every book ever by @anneholly2010 because she is more awesomer than sex." That way, anneholly2010 sees that you mentioned her."


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## anne_holly (Jun 5, 2011)

Ethan Cobb said:


> Along this same idea is there a way to understand what the hashtags mean or do you just have to be in the know? (Example: #FF)


I don't think there is a master list or anything anywhere, but pretty much everything on there if you highlight and right click to "search Google" in a different tab or window, Google will tell you what it means if it is a common enough meme, which most of them are.



Ethan Cobb said:


> By the way you crack me up anne_holly. This made me smile:
> "For example: "OMG guys, you have to buy every book ever by @anneholly2010 because she is more awesomer than sex." That way, anneholly2010 sees that you mentioned her."


Stealth marketing at its finest, baby. 

Y'all feel free to just copy and paste that into your Twitter.


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## Lisa Scott (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh, anne-holly, I'm all set now!  the hilarious @anne_holly has me laughing while I #amwriting

Right?


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## anne_holly (Jun 5, 2011)

Lisa Scott said:


> Oh, anne-holly, I'm all set now! the hilarious @anne_holly has me laughing while I #amwriting
> 
> Right?


Excellent!

With extra points for the @anneholly2010 love. *kisses*


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## WestofMars (Sep 16, 2009)

Amen, Millard. I've been saying that for eons now.


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## Nick Wastnage (Jun 16, 2011)

C. S. Hand said:


> to have piquant discussions with pr0n bots


 Yes, I use #hashtags and all the gismos on offer.


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## MindAttic (Aug 14, 2011)

I have quite a few followers on Twitter and I don't use it to have conversations. I post little bits of nanofiction through the #vss hashtag, two each day, one funny and one serious. I've been retweeted and had people @ reply to me about my stories and I'll reply when needed, but I've found that Twitter doesn't have to be a mini message forum for people to be interested in what I have to say. I've actually found that posting too many links or discussing things with people actually gets me less of a response, since the people who are following me are doing it for the stories. It also makes marketing difficult, since random links to my novel aren't what the people following my Twitter are interested in. But then again, I'm not on Twitter to market. I'm on Twitter to post interesting tweets and tighten my writing with the nanofiction writing exercise.


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## Heather Hummel Author (Jul 2, 2011)

I read a lot of responses, but not all, so forgive me if I repeat anything...

I use Twitter and have all of my Tweets linked to my Facebook Fan Page - so everything I Tweet gets posted on my Fan Page and everything I post on my Fan Page gets Tweeted. I took it off my personal FB page to avoid redundancy since I have a lot of overlaps. 

#FF means Follow Friday - it's the one day of the week people plug other people they follow. It has pros and cons. You can expect to gain new followers because of it, but at the same time, it dominates Twitter and most of the other Tweets that day. 

I'm up to almost 800 followers @HeatherHummel and that has been with very little effort. I have met some terrific people on there. I like it better than FaceBook for some things - i.e. you can follow someone without them following you back (unlike FB where you have to Friend each other). 

I also use it a lot to Tweet blog posts I've read - my own new blog posts are automatically Tweeted.

One feature that helps to cut down all the chaos is the Lists feature - i.e. I have 3 lists right now - Other Authors, Book Related and Social Media. You can choose to just view Tweets from a specific list.

Anyway - Happy Tweeting! And I follow all writers back, so feel free to follow me @HeatherHummel. I'm also on FaceBook www.facebook.com/heatherhummelfanpage (did you know you can get personalized Facebook links!? Just got mine the other day.)


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Nell Gavin said:


> I just began tweeting within the last two weeks as part of the Facebook group, "Writing Kindle Books". I use a tiny URL from a site that tracks clicks, so I know when anyone clicks through from a tweet. Not only do I tweet, but the members of the group re-tweet for me, so the tweets are making the rounds. I reword them, so I've tried several approaches.
> 
> This far, virtually NO ONE has clicked through those links from a tweet. I am concluding that this may not be the best marketing strategy, and I may be inclined to give it up.
> 
> Does this work for anyone else? Do you have actual figures? Did it take time to build steam?


It depends on what you mean by "works". I don't use twitter to directly try to sell my novels but to drive traffic to my blog and other writers' blogs and to let people get a glimpse of my (rather odd) interests.

I think twitter works for that.


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## Sandy Nathan (Apr 4, 2009)

I've had a Twitter account for ages but have been inactive. I've been using Twitter actively for maybe a month. I use a service called http://timely.is to place tweets. They analyze response patterns to your tweets and send them out at the right times to optimize coverage. You can send up to 9 a day and set them up ahead of time. This was gangbusters for me at the beginning--they also provide an analysis of results. I've gotten 43 retweets so far. I have the free form of timely which has lately been a bust. It stopped sending out tweets days ago. I wrote to the timely people and got the response: "We'll respond to you in a few days. If you want fast response, sign up for our professional program." At $10 a month.

I'm going to investigate Tweetdeck, which I understand also sends out pre-loaded tweets.

What do I tweet about to get these results? Fun stuff. Stories about horses and our ranch. Funny sample interviews. Articles of interest to writers, like a series about my ill-fated Amazon bestseller day. (Gag) I may have sent out a tweet or two about my books, couched in fun terms. "The rules of romance and how I break them," about my upcoming romance and how it breaks all the rules of the romance genre.

I respond to everyone who retweets one of my tweets. Working on keeping up with messages . . . I've connected with some people I like.

I have no idea if this activity has impacted my book sales. I've not tried #SampleSunday. Going to go it right now, late in the day. I like twitter better than Facebook because, so far, they haven't pulled a gigantic internal switcheroo so I lose 80% of my friends and can't find anything on the site.

Twitter is the avenue that John Locke used in his phenomenal sales of 1M ebooks this year. Get his ebook to see what he did.


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## Ann Herrick (Sep 24, 2010)

I'm on Twitter now and I have to confess I still don't totally understand it, especially the #marks business.  But it's fun, and I enjoy reading the tweets. As for promo, I don't know. The old saying is that only 10% of promotion efforts actually work, but you never know what that 10% is. As long as something is fun and not too difficult, I do it. If nothing else, I see a lot of interesting stuff.


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## amiblackwelder (Mar 19, 2010)

I like twitter, but it depends on how you use it. you have to be consistent and tweet every week, or every day. then readers read it, but you can't just post about books stuff, that becomes boring. It works for me. I've had a lot more views from that than not....but also twitpic is helpful!


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